InsaneJournal

"We don't have to turn into this."
Who: Mai, Zuko
What: State Functions, Schmoozing, Engagement Announcements, and Assassinations(or ARE there?). One of these things is not like the other...
When: Saturday Afternoon/Evening
Where: Somewhere prissy and upper class.
Ratings/Warnings: R, for highly glossed shenanigans. Warnings: Aforementioned shenanigans, highly glossed.
Status: Complete



At functions such as the one Mai had dragged Zuko to, pretending that everything was normal and all was well was the order of the evening. Two people who were enemies outside the office could act like the best of friends on the ballroom floor. Arguments were civil and more like barbs included in polite conversation.

Everyone wore a mask and everyone danced across the floor like porcelain dolls attached to wheels and cogs, dipping and moving around each other by rote. It was a world Mai was completely familiar with, and she went through the motions like a regal queen, dressed in the gorgeous emerald gown that Rarity had made for her. It was elaborate without being too fussy and elegant, embellished with gold, and she’d made a show of wearing real emeralds to go with it.

Her parents were there of course, and despite how strained the family situation was outside of society, they were the perfect picture of a family that evening. People were aware of Tom Tom’s recent tragedy, though the questions after his health were more perfunctory than well meaning. Most people were simply delighted to talk about Mai’s engagement to Zuko.

It was officially announced that evening, to great applause in general, and Zuko had been supplied with a ring to put on her finger so that they could show it off. Everything went smooth as silk, in fact, until Mai went to powder her nose. While there, she got the message about who it was she was supposed to assassinate that evening.

At that point, she went looking for Zuko.

It was a world Zuko knew a lot about. He'd spent a lot of time in it, to prepare him for his own role. He played it well, with the beautiful woman on his arm. The Prince, and heir to the empire.

He was chatting up a General when Mai came up to him.

Mai flashed both Zuko and the General one of her most winning smiles, and rested her hand on Zuko's arm. She decorated it like pretty eye candy for a while, listening to the chatter between the two and laughing appropriately to the General's jokes.

Meanwhile, her eyes scanned the room for her father. Zuko had told her that Ozai's target would be a hard one to swallow. To be honest, she wasn't sure how she felt about it.

On the one hand, he was her father. On the other hand, he'd dared to move against Ozai and had used her as collateral. People who betrayed her got what was coming to them. People who betrayed Ozai knew better.

When there was a lull in the conversation, she flashed a grin at the man, "General, I hate to interrupt the both of you, but my mother is requesting the presence of her new son-in-law, and I hate to keep her waiting. Engagement business, most likely."

"That ring suits you, Mai," Zuko said, resting his hand on her back as he guided her away. Part of him was enjoying this, even if he knew it was an act. She was a beautiful woman. He wished he could see her smile when it wasn't fake. A smile this bright that was real. He lived for it.

Under his breath, he said, "What's up?"

Under her breath, she whispered, "I have my target."

She guided him off around a corner and into a hallway, waving at someone as she went. She already knew her mother was off chatting with some of her old friends in a room where the women were likely to congregate, so there was no threat of their General friend finding out she'd lied.

When she got to the hallway, she lead him off into what looked like a reading room, and shut the door. This behaviour would probably lead to a scandal, but no one would think twice about that considering their happy news, "I can't tell you who it is. I don't want you to be an accomplice in this."

"Shit," he muttered. He followed her, though it was more like they were moving along together, side by side. Zuko pressed her against the door, nuzzling her neck and whispering, "No, I need to know. You can't keep this from me."

Mai tilted her neck back a bit, letting out a low purr before closing her eyes and frowning. She shook her head just slightly and whispered, "If you know, you'll stop me."

"If I don't know, I'll stop you," Zuko replied softly, his hand trailing down to her waist. "This is a test, and no matter what you do, you will fail it. So we have to cheat."

"I'd rather fail myself than fail your father," Mai whispered, stubbornly. It was the truth, where everything else she might have said that evening had been cloaked in a veil of lies or half-truths.

She wrapped one arm around him, however, and pulled him closer, eager to play along with their secondary business for being in a secluded room like that.

Zuko dragged his teeth along her skin, grabbing her ass and squeezing lightly. He was just as eager at playing along with that aspect as she was. The fact that she was didn't hurt.

"Look, what if we make it look like the target is dead, and he isn't?"

"What would you do if I told you that I didn't agree with you?" Mai whispered, though it came out more like a gasp. Her leg came up to wrap around him, taking most of her dress with it in the process.

Fingers danced at newly exposed skin and Zuko had to force himself to focus on something that wasn't the way she felt against him. The way she smelled. The way he wanted to hear her gasp again.

"There's killing in self defense, and then there's this....turning into Ozai."

"I'm not turning into Ozai. Ozai is insane and doesn't do the bulk of his own dirty work." She let out another gasp as Zuko's fingers danced across her skin. Mai was rapidly losing interest in the conversation part of this conversation.

So instead of saying anything further, she kissed him.

Groaning into the kiss, Zuko lifted her up so she could wrap those long legs around his waist. It would let him touch more of her skin as he let himself be seduced. He knew she was seducing him so they'd stop talking about this.

He didn't really care right now. For one thing, if she was here in his arms, she wasn't killing anyone. Zuko cupped Mai's face with one hand and deepened the kiss.

Of course when they were done, that was another story. She was almost certain she'd have the stamina to leave the room before he could stop her, as weak in the knees as he was going to be, when they were finished here.

It wasn't just about playing him, however. She needed this, and wanted this, and she took it while the taking was good.

That wasn't fair. He was determined to make sure she was too weak to move either. It would be a scandal. After all, they were against the door, and he was kissing her harder by the minute. He took her while the taking was good, and it was more intense than the last few times.

Several minutes later, Mai was trying to get her dress re-situated and her hair smoothed back into place. She still hadn't told Zuko who the target was, and now that she'd had some time to clear her head, she was ready to go do this.

She made sure her knives were still all in place where she'd snuck them, and headed back to the door.

Zuko grabbed her wrist, "Mai. Don't do this."

She looked down at his hand on her wrist, and closed her eyes, "What do you think he'll do to my brother if he finds out that I didn't do this?"

“He won’t do anything,” Zuko hissed. “We’ll get to him first. My sister is watching him right now.”

"Your sister can't pay his hospital bills. Not if Ozai cuts her off." Mai pointed out, softly.

"We'll find a way, Mai. We have to. We don't have to turn into this. We can take care of Tom Tom."

"What if I've already turned into this, Zuko? What are you going to do, then? Stop loving me? Stop trying to save me? Will you leave me alone if I tell you how many people I've already killed? Can you really tell me with 100% certainty that if I don't kill my target tonight, everyone I know and love will be safe?" Mai turned to face him as she spoke. Her eyes were hard, like black diamonds. She spoke of love, of people she loved, but there was a part of her that was pushing those emotions aside, just like she'd always done before.

There was another part of her that welcomed that, and it made it even easier to do.

Zuko's voice was quiet, and even, though it was drenched in emotion, "I don't want you to lose yourself. You're better than this. We're better than this. We have to be. It's not too late."

But he thought that maybe it was.

Maybe it was, or maybe it wasn't. Mai often had nightmares - not just of the Fire Nation world, but nightmares of another kind, that involved disappearing into a sea of ballgowns, finery, and fake smiles.

The more she thought she needed to become this, the more she worried about what she was becoming. It struggled with the parts of her that had been trained not to feel, that had been trained to be obedient. Often, Mai didn't even know which side would win in any given situation until it was over. The obedient side won, the most.

It could be different this time. It should be. She refused to meet his eyes, instead looking off at some decoration or other in the room, "It's my father, Zuko."

Rubbing his palm down his face, Zuko sagged against the wall. Her father. Ozai was going to make her kill her own father. It was diabolical, it was evil, and he wasn't sure he had a way around it. Ozai probably had someone waiting, in case Mai failed, or didn't go through with it. So he didn't say that her father was a dead man walking. She already knew.

"Okay," He whispered. "Okay, lets walk through this...this situation. The whys, and the hows. I think I know a way to at least kick the can down the road a few weeks, buy us some time."

Mai tucked her arms into her sleeves, and leaned against the door. She hadn't expected herself to tell him. She was planning on giving him the slip and then getting it over with, her father's death. When she tried to summon a feeling about killing him, there was nothing there.

So it was surprising she'd mentioned it at all. Her lips thinned into a line, "This is why he wanted me to marry you, you know. These emotions of yours. They aren't suited to this business."

They were, however, why she loved him, "... It's not just playing me to see what I'll do. He's probably more certain that I would do it. The uncertainty is if you would let me, or not. This is your test, as much as it's mine. To see how you handle it when your wife gets sent to kill someone who you might still consider an ally or potential resource. We already know that my father betrayed him, which is probably the only other reason he needs."

"I'll start a fire," Zuko said evenly. "They'll have to evacuate, you'll lose your chance to take him out for now."

He snorted at the resource comment. Her father was an ambassador. It would bring in the feds and all sorts of other problems that would be an issue for the syndicate, "We both know that sending you to kill an ambassador is a sign of my father losing his mind. And that I want to see him dead too. But not like this."

"No, he isn't thinking clearly. He's lost his mind. I could tell that when I went to see him. But that's why we need to keep our heads in this, not... let them go daydreaming about a world where we aren't a part of this." Not yet, at least.

The fire idea would work, for now. Not even Ozai's backup would be able to get to the target, not with all the ruckus it would cause, all the security personnel that would come out of the woodwork over it. She held up both of her hands, as if to show she was surrendering for now, "Do it, then. The longer I take, the more likely it's out of our hands."

Zuko cupped her face in both of his hands, cradling it really, and kissed her, "Okay. One thing at a time. We'll take care of this, and then we'll figure out what to do. Together?"

Mai nodded her head, “Together.”