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1. teach me how to love (instead of how to bow) by nina_balerinna

   Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender (Cartoon 2005)  

   • Mature
   • No Archive Warnings Apply
   • F/M
   • Work in Progress

   11 Aug 2026

   Tags

   • No Archive Warnings Apply
   • Mai/Zuko (Avatar)
   • Mai (Avatar)
   • Mai's Parents (Avatar)
   • Zuko (Avatar)
   • Ty Lee (Avatar)
   • Michi (Avatar)
   • Iroh (Avatar)
   • The Gaang (Avatar)
   • Aang (Avatar)
   • Sokka (Avatar)
   • Katara (Avatar)
   • Suki (Avatar)
   • Toph Beifong
   • Azula (Avatar)
   • The Blue Spirit (Avatar)
   • Kiyi (Avatar)
   • Tom-Tom (Avatar)
   • Arranged Marriage
   • Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage
   • Firelord Zuko (Avatar)
   • Zuko is a Good Firelord (Avatar)
   • Zuko is Physically Warm (Avatar)
   • Zuko is Down Bad (Avatar)
   • Mai Needs a Hug (Avatar)
   • Business Trip
   • Assassination Attempt(s)
   • Comic: Smoke and Shadow (Avatar)
   • Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
   • Alternate Universe
   • Mai-centric (Avatar)
   • Smut
   • Fluff and Smut
   • Vigilante Zuko (Avatar)
   • Slow Burn
   • Fake/Pretend Relationship
   • Politics
   • Matchmaking

   Summary

   Trapped in an arranged match crafted by her father’s shady debts, her freedom is slipping away- and taking her farther from her little brother by the day. She’s desperate for a way out.

   She never expected her escape hatch to come from the royal palace. When Firelord Zuko unwittingly hands her the ultimate leverage on a golden platter, Mai gets a chance to reclaim her life... if she's brave enough to play a dangerous game with the crown.

   Or, an AU in which Mai grew up in Omashu with her family, not having met Zuko as kids.

   Language:

   English

   Words:

   33,114

   Chapters:

   8/?

   Comments:

   119

   Kudos:

   168

   Bookmarks:

   33

   Hits:

   2,843