Catch As Catch Can

Zuko shifted from foot to foot, his face burning. He was glad that his back was to the three girls who were – apparently – bent and determined on making his life miserable. Azula and Ty Lee stood close together, Azula trying to smother her sniggers and Ty Lee not even bothering to pretend to do the same.

A few feet behind him, he knew, stood Mai, probably looking bored or frustrated but hopefully still co-operative.

Or maybe she wasn't? Maybe she was just laughing, too, and actually was nowhere at all behind him like he thought. He assumed that she was behind him with her arms held out, her body poised to catch his weight the moment he fell backwards. He assumed that she would catch him without so much as a blink or a stagger. But he had no way to prove this! Even though she had started hanging around he and Azula more often ever since ... he swallowed hard and steered his thoughts away from his mother. The point was that Mai was a girl second when it came to being friends with Azula.

There was no way she would catch him at all. It was just a horrible rotten joke set up by Azula to again make him look stupid, easier now that ... that they spent more time alone in the gardens. Everyone knew that Mai and Azula were tight, and that Mai only hung around him because Azula made her...

"Come on, Zuko," Mai's voice suddenly called from behind him, bringing another flurry of giggles from Azula and Ty Lee. Her voice, however, was oddly warm. "Just pretend I'm the only one here, okay? I know how hard that is, but just ignore anything shrill."

Thatshut them up. Azula scoffed, but Zuko was smiling, his eyes already closed and his hands out at his sides. Ty Lee was saying something, almost sounding sugary and teasing, but all he could hear was the breeze gently drifting through the garden, rustling Mai's robes.

And then he fell.

And both Azula and Ty Lee gasped, though later Azula would deny it.

And then Mai's arms encircled around his waist and tugged him close, holding him up while staggering backward just a little bit.

He opened his eyes, feeling warm all over, feeling his face crack into a dopey grin. Mai was looking at him, and the best thing happened, then: she giggled.

A giggle like warm winds, like tickling gusts. Comforting and cooling all at once.

And even though later she jerked away once Azula started to tease her, she didn't do it until she was sure he could stand on his own. And even when she walked away, her eyes were on his, her cheeks pink … and a small curve of a smile still upon those lips.

It was at that moment that Zuko decided to trust in Mai for the rest of his life – no matter what.