Comfort

"Is it so odd?" Mai's question surprised me, her head calmly leaning against my arm as she spoke. For my part confusion was in my tone, one hand coming up to stroke Mai's hair as I responded, "is what so odd?" "That I would do anything to find you," Mai spoke, rather a statement than a question this time around. "Mai," I whispered, leaning down and kissing the top of her head, "Think about who we were, how different we were from each other during those times in the Fire Nation. I never thought that...I could find anyone who would be willing to cook me a decent dinner let alone conquer a city in hopes of locating me." Internally I was congratulating myself, perhaps that one semester of drama in college really did pay off in the long run.

"But that's not who we are now John," Mai remarked, seeming to lean further into my, nearly pushing me over on the couch with my arm still in her grip, "here...we're equal. You're not a ****, I'm not in an elite class...we're just us." Looking up at my I could see something in Mai's eyes, a reflection of hope, of want as she spoke next, "and to be honest...I think it's what I've always wanted." With a soft smile I leaned down and gave Mai a light kiss, our lips touching in a gentle warmth as we held each other close.

Gradually the kiss wore down and we parted, both of us with our own smiles as I gently tugged on the arm in her grasp, "would you like to get something to eat now?" Mai nodded quietly and stood up along side of me, the blankets draped around her body coming with her as we walked off into the kitchen. Soon enough, after some explanation about the 'ease' of cooking in the modern age, I heated up a simple soup that I was certain would heat Mai up as well. As she slowly ate her meal a question rose in my head, how much did her 'experience' in the Avatar world change with me in it. Was anything different, were most things the same? I had to know, the endless question prompting my next words, "Mai, what happened after I left the palace?"