Stolen Kiss...

I drew this a while back and thought I better post it before Zuko’s infamous date…though I don’t really know why…

There’s a bit of a story behind it…

Azula’s perused her brother and uncle into some sort of maze…a twisting canyon, a series of caves, the back streets of some Earth Kingdom city…and has lost them, but knows they’re close by…so the girls split up to cover more ground…

Zuko put his hand back to stop his uncle as he saw the elongated shadow of his sister’s companion…the one with the braided top-knot if the shade was anything to go by…move across the wall before them. With a nod, Iroh began to move silently in the other direction, back close to the wall, until he encountered something soft and warm.

In the overwhelming silence, Zuko heard the involuntary gasp, and quickly put himself between its cause and his uncle, hand on his sword hilt as he glared into the pale-faced, stoic face of his sister’s other friend. A memory came unbidden to his mind…of an apple…fire…a fountain…he knew this girl…

Her eyes narrowed and a smile, completely devoid of any kindness, curled her thin lips. His eyes narrowed in response, his hand tightening on the comfortable weight of his twin swords.

She moved faster than he expected, one hand clamping over his, sharpened nails digging into his flesh to prevent him from drawing his weapon, the other snaking upwards to take an equally painful grip on the back of his neck.

Then she pulled him towards her as she planted an extremely hard kiss on his startled mouth.

“Mai!” Azula’s angry voice bounced off the suddenly very close walls. “Have you found anything?”

The girl broke away, giving him a sultry look as she trailed her hand down his chest.

“No.” She replied in an emotionless tone even as she smiled that same cold smile at him. “Not a thing.”

Then she turned and walked away.

Zuko stared at the spot where she had been, too stunned to move, until his uncle’s voice broke him out of stupor.

“Do you want to tell me what that was about?” He asked with an arced brow and a mischievous look to his golden eyes.

“How should I know?” Zuko retorted as he strode past, taking the path the girl had left open to them. “Girls are crazy!”

Iroh followed, chuckling as his nephew massaged his neck and mouth.

“I think she bruised my lip…” He muttered.

I’m not a shipper…I’m not for this pairing…far from it in fact…I just feel, given the changes Zuko’s been going through, this is all Mai’s ever gonna get.

Avatar: The Last Airbender and all related characters are © of Bryan Konietzko, Michael DiMartino, Nickelodeon and Viacom International Inc