trans_9 | (no subject)

Current Mood: bored
Current Location: Fifth Level - Living Quarters

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So, after finally getting pod-popped and being allowed to go on her merry way, Mai is wandering around the living area. She does have what appear to be throwing knives strapped to her arms or concealed as best she can in her bio-jumpsuit. She's idly twirling one of those knives in her right hand and looks positively bored with her life and surroundings. She pauses to run her free hand through her hair. Yeah, Mai's going to need a mirror and some hair-clips to get it looking anywhere near decent again.

Not that she cares that much.

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Near-decent? That's a laugh. As far as Zuko's concerned, Mai never looks anything less than drop-dead gorgeous.

Not that he'd tell her, since she'd laugh at him. If he was lucky. Which he probably won't be right now, given the method by which he last communicated with Mai . . . when he basically broke up with her in favor of going after the Avatar.

After which he ended up here. Worst follow-up to a breakup ever.

The prince, in his own clothes now, carrying his own swords, stops dead still in the entrance to the living area at the sight of the knife-thrower. "Mai," he chokes out, before he can stop himself.

The last thing Mai was expecting was someone to actually know her name. And the last person she expected to run into here was Zuko. For a moment, she just stares at him, eyes widening in surprise. The knife dangles from her hand and she takes a step or two forward, before finally stopping herself. A swirl of emotions run through her head: relief, anger, fear, dread.

Her face remains impassive, aside from that mild look of surprise, and then her eyes narrow to glaring slits. She strides forward with much more purpose now, stopping within arm's reach of her ex-boyfriend, letting her gaze bore into him for a few seconds before she finally speaks.

"Zuko."

There are people who've criticized Mai for being inexpressive, Zuko included. In spite of this, the subtlety of her emotions has never been lost on him. Mai could say more with a raised eyebrow than anyone else Zuko knew could say with a word.

So he feels, even if it is only a reflection of his own turbulent emotions, all of her anger and hurt, boiling uncomfortably in the pit of his stomach. Yes, he definitely did her an injustice, breaking up with her on paper. She has every reason to be mad at him, even if all he can think of is how pretty she looks when she's angry, with her eyes flashing and her lips pressed together . . .

"Mai." another pause. "You're here. I'm so -" glad.

Wait, that wasn't right! It was awful to be here! The ship was disgusting and disturbing and you were made to fight monstrous bugs when you had a destiny to be fulfilling halfway across the universe. Mai deserved anything but to be stuck here. He'd have to think of something else to say.

". . . surprised."

Surprised? What? Could you have thought of a stupider thing to say if you tried?

She lets him stew for a few more moments, trying to find the right words, trying to find the right thoughts. As much as she was angry with him for what he'd done to her, as much as she ought to utterly hate him, she knows that she still holds a lot of affection for the awkward, sometimes sweet, and moody boy standing in front of her. The fact that he's handsome (scar and all) is a bonus.

Which doesn't mean he isn't going to get a really, really good talking to in the next few minutes. Her anger is still hot, still fresh. Mai hasn't had a chance to take it out on anyone and getting trapped on this stupid ship hasn't improved her mood one bit.

She raises a brow pointedly, listening to him.

"Surprised? I guess you would say that, wouldn't you? Especially after you left me a letter to tell me you were leaving. Did you not think I wouldn't try and find you, Zuko?"

She has to admit, she hadn't exactly planned on this happening on some living ship, but that's somewhat irrelevant to her mood and purpose at the moment.

"You would?"

He says it softly and hesitantly, the level to which he is touched by the idea that Mai tried to find them showing through before his brain catches up to his heart.

"I . . . guess that wasn't the best . . . there just wasn't time." To give you the good-bye you deserved. That, and Zuko knows now more than ever that he could have never said his plan out loud to Mai, because saying "Hi Mai, I'm leaving my comfortable life in the palace as the heir to the most powerful country in the world to help the Avatar take that country down even though I spent the last three years of my life hunting him" would have just reminded him of how dumb the plan really sounded when he thought about it.

"Um . . . you're settling in well," he adds, still trying lamely to make small talk. "I see you found your knives . . ."

"I was on my way to the Boiling Rock before I ended up here, and it looks like I've managed to find you anyway, Zuko."

She crosses her arms, clearly not impressed with his excuse (well, at least she considers it an excuse). She glowers and although her voice isn't raised, it is still cold and filled with venom.

"There wasn't time? That makes me feel so much better to know that you couldn't spare five minutes to tell your girlfriend that you were leaving. You ripped my heart out, Zuko! You can't imagine what you put me through!"

She pauses, seething, then continues grudgingly, "Settling in? This place stinks. I'd rather be back in Ba Sing Se then here."

Mai flips the knife, then balances the tip of the hilt on her finger, "Glad you noticed. At least you're not totally oblivious."

He lowers his head, wincing. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It was stupid, I know, but I couldn't . . ." face you. "Risk being -" slowed down. "stopped."

He sighs. "You have every reason to hate me for what I did. But I wouldn't have left if it wasn't absolutely necessary - Mai, I had to go. The Fire Nation - my father - he needed to be stopped."

He looked her in the eye again, gathering his resolve. "It wasn't about us, it was bout the whole world. I had to leave. For you. For the Fire Nation."

She watches him impassively. He certainly sounded sincere and her anger was beginning to cool. She was still hurting, but perhaps there could be reconciliation.

"You're sorry? You had to go? Zuko, you're betraying your nation, not helping it! I don't care about your father or any of the rest of it! I..."

She scowls and looks away, "I care about us. About you."

Softly, "I care about you too."

She doesn't understand. He doesn't know how to make her. All he wants to do is take her in his arms anyway.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry."

"Didn't mean too? You left me a letter! Couldn't you at least have looked me in the eye? Told me face-to-face?" She rubs one of her temples, irritated.

"I've already said that, haven't I? Ugh."

She glares again, "See what you're doing to me? And now I'm stuck on this stupid ship for who knows how long!" She pauses and adds, grudgingly, "At least you're here."

He cracks a smile at that. "Yelling at me might make you feel better."

He's touched again. She's actually glad I'm here. This is a terrible place to be, but still, she's glad to see him.

"I promise if I find a way off . . . I'll tell you about it, not leave you a note."

"What do you think I've been doing, Zuko? Singing your praises?" Mai rolls her eyes.

She crosses her arms and gives him what can only be described as a death glare, "You'd better tell me! If I have to go through that again, you will be sorry you were ever born."

Mai reaches out a finger to prod him in the chest, "And don't you ever break up with me again!"

Just like that? It's that easy?

Nothing in Zuko's life is that easy.

Except, apparently, this. The prince's momentary gaping turns into a smile of relief.

"I won't. I promise."

Mai keeps giving him that glare, "You'd better not."

She turns on her heel, glancing over her shoulder, "What is this place, anyway? Some ship? What are we doing here?"

"It's a ship, yeah. It sails through the stars."

He just walks behind her, content to see her at all, especially now that he knows she isn't going to kill him ~~right away~~. "Whoever's in charge of the ship brought us here to fight a war, but the ship won't give us any information beyond that."

"Sails through the stars...? How is that even possible?"

She walks along, not bothering to take in her surroundings or even pay much attention to any of the rooms or passages they were passing. It wasn't like she cared, anyway.

"Fight a war? Doesn't it have any of its own people?"

"I guess not. Or maybe they're just too lazy to fight their battles themselves."

Zuko DOES care - he's angry about it, and it shows.

"We've already been attacked by an army of giant roach-beetles. I don't know what's next."

Mai frowns softly, "Sounds like a few generals I've heard of..."

She turns back to him with a sigh, allowing her confusion to show through her facade of apathy. Really, Zuko is the only one she usually drops it for.

"An army of giant roach-beetles? Sounds fun."

She does manage to offer him a small smile of encouragement, despite the sarcasm in her voice.

"It's not. The people here are crazy. Even more than usual."

Well, Sparhawk's all right. But Brainy's obnoxious, Leela's annoying, Ax is weird, and don't get him started on Will.

The smile of encouragement hits him where he melts. Mai's smiles are special, partially because they're hers, and partially because they're so rare. "At least things will be a little more sane, now that you're here."

"Wow. Real vacation spot."

Mai likes this less the more she hears about it. Being stuck on some starship and being forced to fight giant bugs is not her idea of fun (that definition is relatively tiny, anyway).

She is, however, relieved to find Zuko here for all of the frustration and anger she was dealing with. He was something familiar and someone she actually cared about. It would (probably) make her stay a little more sane.

"Yeah... I'm glad you're here. Can't imagine what it must've been like to be here all alone."

"It was -"

Well, it's not as though Zuko hasn't been alone before. He's been a stranger in a strange land before, but being a Fire Nation Prince in the Earth Kingdom was a few steps down from being the only person from his entire world on a starship.

". . . it was pretty lonely," he admits. "Nobody here even knew what Bending is."

He smiles, thinking of Brainy and his scanner. "Some of them didn't even believe me when I showed them what it was. It's crazy here. There are green people, and people made of light - people who fly who aren't airbenders . . ."

Mai actually looks surprised. People don't know about Bending? Everyone knows what Bending is. Don't they?

"Nobody? How can they now know what Bending is?"

She pauses, listening to him for a few moments, "Sounds pretty crazy. At least it makes life a bit more... interesting."

"I don't know. A lot of them can do strange things, but they don't call it Bending. I wouldn't, either."

"Interesting. Yeah, that's about the best that can be said about it." he smiles a bit. "It's better now that you're here."

Mai shrugs and then smiles. It's one of those smiles that's reserved for Zuko and only Zuko, "Yeah. I'm glad I'm not here without you."

His hand finds hers. He squeezes it, gently.

It's a good thing nobody else is around, because if they saw Zuko smiling like a sap, his carefully crafted image of perpetual angst would be sunk.

She squeezes back and then moves forward to give him a hug.

The same is true of Mai as well, except it would be her perpetual indifference and apathy.

Here be one spookily glowing guy walking towards the Obs Deck, who suddenly notices Mai.

"Uh, hey. You just get popped out of the pods of ooey-gooey grossness?"

Mai looks at the glowing guy. She takes a step back, blinking, then sighs.

"Yeah."

"Then hiya. Name's Danny." He held out a hand.

Mai simply looks at him (or through him?) and folds her arms.

"I'm Mai. Let me guess: podmate?"

Noting sh'es not likely to shake his hand anytime soon, he pulls it back and scratches his neck. "Um, yeah."

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