cherry

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/33939604.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: F/F
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Relationships: Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), Mai & Sokka (Avatar), Sokka & Ty Lee (Avatar)
Characters: Mai (Avatar), Ty Lee (Avatar), Sokka (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar), Katara
(Avatar), Aang (Avatar), Toph Beifong, Azula (Avatar), Suki (Avatar)
Additional Tags: Background Relationships, sokka/zuko - Freeform, Eventual Sokka/Zuko
(Avatar), Fluff, No Smut, Attempt at Humor, mai steals sokkas lesbian,
that it thats the plot, there is a botanical garden, the ending is kind of
messy but i still think its cute, mai and sokka are roommates and bestie,
but they are also complete and utter morons, mailee main pairing, sokka
and mai are my favs i love them so much and i hope you do as well, ty
lee is also perfection incarnate soooooo, none of the characters other than
mai ty lee sokka and zuko are important tho sorry, First Dates, Strangers
to Lovers, Getting Together, One Shot, i feel like im forgetting tags,
aaaaaah whatever, oh yeah imagine theyre all like in their 20's for this,
not rlly that important but like it'll make sense yk?, zukka is here as a
subplot lol, rate t for cursing and non-explicit jokes about sex, nothing
wildly innapropriate i promise, theres maybe 3 jokes in here ab sex its so
mild
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2021-09-17 Words: 7,432 Chapters: 1/1
 cherry
by hello_yue_here

Summary

“Of course, silly,” the petal stayed stuck in her hair even as her head shook with bubbly
laughter, “and if you’d like to, I wanna go out with you again sometime.”

Mai took a step closer to the shorter woman. Ty Lee didn’t step back, instead welcoming the
closeness and bringing them even furthur together by placing her arms around Mai’s waist.
Mai could feel every inch of her skin where Ty Lee was touching her; it was exhilarating.

“I’d like that too,” Mai said as she plucked the petal from Ty Lee’s far too soft hair.

“I’d also like to do this,” Ty Lee said.

Before Mai could even drop the petal from her hand, a pair of soft lips pressed against her
own. Her eyes fell shut instinctively, and her hands found their own way to cup the soft sides
of the other woman’s cheeks as their lips continued their dance.

~~~

or: Mai steals Sokka's lesbian.

Notes

hello friends!!! long time since i finished a fic but i needed to finish this. i needed to finish it
so bad.

it's rlly very cute i like it a lot (even if the ending is very messy imo and some of them may
seem OOC but hey its fanfic; who doesnt write people ooc at least once?)

anyways i hope you enjoy! this has been sitting in my docs for MONTHS and i said i would
post it when my tumblr got 200 and now im close to 300 followers so whoopsieeesss

anyways i love you all and let me know what you think in the comments!

enjoy <3

See the end of the work for more notes

“Mai I need the apartment tonight.”

She looked up from her novel to look Sokka in the eyes. She loved her roommate, she really
did, but if he was doing what she thought he was doing, she was going to have a fit.

“Sokka I swear to god if you are sexiling me again for Hahn, which you said was over two
months ago I will take my knives-”

“Mai no no no, I swear it’s not that, I’ve learned my lesson and I am done with him for real
this time,” He said with his stupid puppy dog eyes that don’t work on her as well as they
work on everyone else. Mai was still skeptical, she knew he only got this whiney and
pleading whenever he had someone coming over.

“Suki?”

“No.”

“The one brunette from your old job?”

“Also no, you know that ended ages ago.”

“Jet?”

“I have a crush on Katara’s ex-boyfriend for one week,” he mutters to himself, “No, Mai , it’s
not Jet either.”

“...Zuko?”
“Why on Earth would you guess Zuko?” He asked, looking absolutely perplexed. Shame. For
someone so smart he’s pretty fucking dumb.

“I don’t know, I ran out of guesses,” she lied.

“Okay, anyways, it’s none of them. This one’s new,” He said with a twinkle in his warm
brown eyes. He looked like an excited puppy, and Mai couldn’t stand it.

“Sokka why , I literally just got over you talking about how obsessed you were with Hahn
until he fucked that blonde guy from his gym that he told you not to worry about-”

“I don’t appreciate you bringing up my pain-”

“-and then your moping around the house again considering that wasn’t the first time he did
this-”

“-seriously Mai I swear I’m done with him this time. I even blocked him-”

“-and I would just appreciate it if you could give me at least a week's notice before you go
and start up with someone new. I would like to plan out when I can read my novel because
apparently that needs to be scheduled now.”

Sokka sighed and sat down next to Mai on their too-tiny sofa. Mai set down her novel, seeing
as this conversation was probably going to take a while and settled in to listen to her best
friend convince her as to why she should call up Aang or Azula (definitely not Zuko, he gets
all weird and angsty whenever he finds out Sokka has a friend over despite his vehement
denial of his feelings towards the other man.) and convince them to let her stay the night.

“Mai, please hear me out,” he said.

“Fine, but make it quick because that novel-”

“I get it you are reading a novel ,” Sokka replied in a surprisingly decent imitation of her dry
tone of voice, “I just need the apartment for the evening, not even the whole night. No
sexiling.”

Mai stared at him in shock. Had she been Aang or Katara or Zuko or even Toph her jaw
would be on the floor right now. Instead she just raised her eyebrows.

“No sexiling?” she asked.

“Wow, both eyebrows, is this really such a surprise to you?”

“Sorry, Sokka, it’s just,” Mai said, “you always sexile me when you have a ‘new friend’
over.”

“I told you this one was different Mai. I met her at Jasmine Dragon a few weeks ago and we
always kinda flirted whenever we saw each other and now that I’m done with Hahn,” Mai
groaned at just the sound of that asshole’s name, “I decided ‘hey why not ask her to hang
out?’ But I think I should take it slow this time. All of my past relationships or flings started
with sex right away and all of them have failed and I don’t want this one to fail, so my
solution: invite her over to hang out, eat takeout, watch a movie, no sex, and then see where it
goes from there.”

Mai looked Sokka up and down, gauging how excited he was. As much as she would rather
die than admit it, she loves Sokka. The hyperactive man sitting across from her on the couch
might deserve love more than pretty much everyone she knows. He’s been so unlucky in love
in the past; with Yue passing, his on again off again (which according to him is off for good
now because they decided they were better as friends) relationship with Suki, Hahn cheating,
and a long string of failed first dates over the years, and he could really use something good.

After a long stretch of silence from her end, Sokka asks, “Please Mai? I’ll only need the
apartment from like six-thirty to ten.”
She pauses again before speaking, “Where are you getting takeout from?”

“Aunt Wu’s.”

Her favorite Vietnamese restaurant in the entire world. Sneaky bastard.

“Get me Banh Hoi Chao Tom and a cherry fruit tart as well and you’ve got a deal.”

“I knew you’d see it my way,” Sokka smiled before hopping up to get ready in his room,
“You’re the best Mai and I love you very very very much!”

“You better.”

~~~

An hour later Mai found herself in a beanbag chair in Zuko and Aang’s apartment, once again
trying to finish her novel, while Aang and Katara played animal crossing together on the
floor because Zuko was hogging up the entire couch to mope.

“...Jin eyed Lee with suspicion, for he did not seem the ‘traveling circus’ type…”

Zuko groaned into the pillow.

“You know if you just made a move on Sokka, then maybe you wouldn’t be in this much
anguish right now,” Mai deadpanned.

Zuko pulled his head from out of the pillow he was laying on and flipped her off as he turned
to face her. His cheeks were tinged pink and that was all the proof she needed to be able to
tell that Zuko was about to lie about his dumb mushy feelings.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I just had a long day at work okay?” He plopped his
blushing head back down into the pillow.

“You are a horrible liar, you get like this every time we tell you he has a friend over,” she
said.

“Like what? I’m fine right now Mai, I do not give a single shit about Sokka’s love life.”

“Yes you do.”

“No I do not. Why does everyone think that I like him?”

“Because you’re so obvious about it,” Katara chimed in from her place on the floor.

“Besides why should I take dating advice from you, you haven’t dated anyone since high
school,” Zuko grumbled, ignoring Katara’s comment about his obvious crush on her brother.

“That’s because I don’t want to date anyone. I could have anyone I want, I just choose to be
single because everyone who has tried has either been dull, boring, or dull.”

“You’re just picky.”.

“And you’re just ignoring the fact that Sokka is definitely into you, but he’s just too dumb to
realize it,” Mai responded.

“It’s true Zuko, he may be a genius but my brother’s just really stupid when it comes to his
feelings. We all see how he looks at you; it makes me gag sometimes,” Katara chimed in.
“He said he’s done with Hahn for good. I’d say now's our chance to make him realize he has
the hots for you Zuko,” Mai said.

Zuko looked between Katara and Mai warily, as if he was deciphering how truthful they were
being. He looked over to Aang who simply nodded to him, and Zuko’s face went bright red.

“...you really think I’ve got a shot?” he asked in a quiet voice.

Everyone nodded.

“Fine, I’ll make you a deal Mai: I’ll make a move once you find someone that lives up to
your impossible standards,” Zuko said from the couch.

“My standards are not impossible, I dated you after all,” she replied.

“Yeah in high school, no one has standards in high school,” he quipped.

“Whatever, I’m too tired to listen to your dumb ass. I’m heading out,” Mai says as she checks
her phone. 9:47 , if she started to drive back now she’d be home a little after ten. And then
it’s take-out and fruit tart time.

~~~

Driving alone was one of Mai’s favorite pastimes. No one could judge her for singing badly
to her music. No one could complain about how she purposefully drove the long and
complicated way home so she could have more time to herself. She liked the calm that came
with driving, and the opportunity it gave her to process whatever thoughts that had been
going through her head at the time.

And today’s thoughts were all focused on her lack of love life.
Everything she said to Zuko had been true. Well, almost, everything. She really could have
anyone she wanted. And she did choose to be single. But it’s not because she didn’t want to
date anyone. It’s just that… Mai had always been by herself. She didn’t really know what it
was like to be a girlfriend to anyone. Sure Zuko would say she was a good girlfriend back in
highschool, but that was barely a relationship. All they did was stand next to each other at
football games and make out every now and then. They never really talked about their
feelings any more than they did when they were just best friends. She wanted to be a good
partner to someone. She wanted someone to share her feelings with, but at the same time
she’d rather die than think about her feelings.

So yeah, Mai had no idea if she was even cut out for romance. She liked to think that she
was, and she liked to think that she would enjoy all the mushy-gushy lovey-dovey stuff that
she read in her books, but she had yet to meet someone who she could imagine herself being
that open and vulnerable with. Everyone she talked to at bars or on dating apps was either too
annoying or too boring or too awkward. Maybe she was just too picky…

Aang had a bunch of random friends from all over the place and he was always offering to set
her up with someone. Maybe she’d finally take him up on that offer.

She checked the clock on her car’s dash. 10:07. Sokka’s girl would have to be leaving soon if
she wasn’t gone already. She parked on a side street a few blocks from the apartment because
their dumbass neighbors two floors down always had people over and they took up every
spot, and Mai didn’t feel like trying to find one when there was a perfectly empty street right
here.

She began walking towards the building, dreaming of the delicious Banh Hoi Chao Tom that
was waiting for her when she got up there.

She had been so engrossed in scrolling through her twitter feed and dreaming of yummy
noodles and fried shrimp paste that she didn’t even notice that she was about to bump into
someone, similarly engrossed in their phone.

Mai dropped her phone as they collided, shattering her screen

“Shit,” she mumbled as she picked it up.

“Oh my goodness, I am so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going,” The woman said as
Mai reached down to see her newly broken phone.

She was about to respond with a bitchy remark about ‘at least I didn’t shatter your phone,’
but it died on her tongue when she met the woman’s eyes.

They were grey. No, silver. Mai had never seen anyone with silver eyes before. Perhaps it
was just the pale moonlight making her eyes shine like that, but they were beautiful
nonetheless. Her wide eyes were highlighted with a light dusting of pink, and an impressive
thin line of crisp black eyeliner, (and coming from someone who knew a lot about eyeliner,
that was saying something). The woman’s cheeks were rosy, either from embarrassment or
blush, but Mai liked how it looked on her face anyways. She smelled faintly of cherry
blossoms.

A long braid cascaded from the top of the woman’s head, all the way past her waist, with
wispy bangs framing her heart-shaped face.

Mai was particularly drawn to the woman’s lips, plump and soft-looking, shining under a
clear pink gloss. Mai wondered what they would be like to kiss.

Looking down at the woman in front of her, Mai realized she was still talking to her.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

The woman blinked, “Oh! I was just saying that if you wanted I could give you a friend’s
number to fix that. He works with techy things all the time so maybe he could help out! I feel
really bad about wrecking your phone,” she said with a bubbly tone and bright smile.

“It’s okay, I wasn’t paying attention either,” Mai said, “thank you for the offer, but I think I’ll
have my roommate fix it, they're good at this type of thing and owe me big time anyways.”
“Suit yourself! Again I’m really sorry,” she said before starting to walk off again, a bright
pep in her step, “Have a nice night!”

For some reason Mai didn’t want to stop talking to her, “Wait!”

The woman turned around, confusion written on her face, “Yes?”

Mai didn’t do this type of thing. She didn’t know how to flirt. She didn’t ask random
strangers for their numbers.

But Mai was not a wuss and this woman was too gorgeous and kind to not try it with, “I’m
sorry if this is too forward but, you’re gorgeous and I would regret it if I didn’t try and get
your number.”

The woman perked up at that, “Really?”

Mai nodded. The woman’s smile grew.

Holy shit did that actually work?

“I’ll give you my number if you tell me your name first, sugar,” She smiled and batted her
eyes. She was much better at the whole flirting thing than Mai was already.

Sugar… I think I like that.

“Mai,” she said, “And you?”

“Ty Lee.”

~~~

After exchanging numbers with Ty Lee, Mai finally headed back into her apartment complex,
feeling giddy in a way that she wasn’t quite used to.

“How was your date?” she asked Sokka, who was lounging on the couch, “is she a keeper?”

“It was awful Mai,” he groaned.

Mai’s giddiness left. She hated seeing Sokka get rejected again. How could one person be so
unlucky in love?

“I’m sorry Sokka,” she said as she put her food in the microwave and made her way over to
him, “look, I know I give you a lot of shit when it comes to dating, but I really don’t think it’s
you. I think you’ve just had a hard time meeting the right people.”

And a hard time realizing that you’re totally into Zuko.

“I know it’s not me this time Mai. She was perfect. Hell she still is perfect. I had a great
time,” he sighed.

“Then why was it awful?”

“She’s a lesbian.”

Mai had to stifle a laugh at that. Apparently she wasn’t too successful.
“Shut up. I’m still gonna hang out with her again, but she made it very clear the second she
came in that she was interested in women and not me. She knew I was trying to flirt with her,
but she still stayed when I asked if we could still be friends.”

“Well that’s good, but it really is, like, cosmic irony that the one girl who actually sounds like
she’d be good enough for you turns out to like chicks instead,” Mai said as the microwave
beeped.

“Yeah, I mean at least I got a friend out of this instead of a heartbreak, but it’s still
frustrating.”

“Yeah, I hear you,” Mai didn’t really get his obsession with romance, but after meeting Ty
Lee she was starting to understand his idea of chasing after every butterfly he felt in his
stomach.

“Enough about me, how was Aang’s place?” he asked as he made room for her on their shitty
sofa.

“Zuko was being mopey again,” Mai said as she sat down and started in on her take-out. The
magic of Wu’s food was that it was still good after being heated up. Mai swore that woman
was magic.

“How come whenever you’re with him he’s mopey, he always seems in a good mood when I
see him,” Sokka said.

Gee, I wonder why.

“I don’t know, he said it was just a bad day at work or whatever.”

Mai suddenly remembered her conversation with Zuko.

“Fine, I’ll make you a deal Mai: I’ll make a move once you find someone that lives up to
your impossible standards.”

“Shit, I need to text him,” she said, reaching for her cracked phone, “Also I need you to fix
my phone screen. Dropped it on my way home.”

“Yeah, no problem, I owe you anyways for kicking you out again,” he said as he change the
channel to some dumb wipeout show.

“Damn right you do.”

“I’ll have it fixed by tomorrow. Why do you need to text Zuko?” he asked.

“We made a deal. He said that if I met someone worthy of my standards that he'd ask out his
crush.”

Sokka sat ramrod straight, “Holy shit when did you meet someone?!”

“Walking home. Pretty girl. Got her number,” Mai said as she texted Zuko to tell him that he
finally had to buck up and do something.

“Damn, good for you,” he said as he leaned back into the couch before sitting up straight
again, “Wait, Zuko has a crush? I’m his best friend! Why didn’t he tell me?”

“Oh, you’ll figure it out soon enough.”

“Do I know them?” Sokka asked.

“Pretty well actually, yeah, it’s crazy that he hasn’t told you already,” Mai said. She knew she
was being mean, but it was so easy to fuck with Sokka that she couldn’t help herself.

“Is it Jet? Suki?” then he gasped, “ holy shit is it Toph?”

Mai shrugged, “Not my place to say.”

“It’s totally Toph. Y’know I never would’ve suspected it because they seem like brother and
sister to me but I’ve got a gut feeling about this,” He said.

Mai tried to suppress her laughter. Why the fuck would he think it’s Toph? They pretty much
are brother and sister. Weirdo.

“Yes, because your ‘gut feelings’ are always correct.”

“Damn right they are.”

Dumbass, she thought fondly to herself.

~~~

The soft feel of the first page in a brand new hardback. The bitter burn of a piping hot tea
straight from the pot. The deadly razor edge of a freshly sharpened knife. The tart taste of
cherries.

The tinny sound of Aang’s infectious laughter. The low sighs from Zuko’s dramatics. The
loud boom of Sokka’s groan inducing sarcasm. The quick rhythm of Katara’s passionate
rants.
These were the things Mai preferred. Tangible things. Real life interactions.

Texting and online communication were not amongst Mai’s list of things she deemed
acceptable.

Texting required thought and brought forth doubt and caused confusion. Was this text
supposed to be serious or sarcastic? Is the other person engaged in the conversation or
impassive like Mai typically was?

She despised it. It was impersonal. It was boring. It wasn’t real. Conversations with Mai over
text died quickly and Mai liked it that way. Her friends knew that if they wanted to converse
with her while in different locations they would have to call or facetime her in order to keep
her from getting tired of whatever topic was at hand. If they were dead set on texting her,
they would have to send the first message. Mai never purposefully engaged in text
conversations when she could easily call someone instead. It was simpler this way. And that’s
how she liked it.

Sure, Mai could probably be called a hypocrite in this situation. Her own texting skills were
abysmal, but her friends all knew her well enough to know that her texts were always as
monotone as her voice. They didn’t seem to care, so Mai didn’t bother elaborating in her
texts. She typed what she wanted to say and left it at that. No extra filler words to emphasise
when she was joking. No tangents to explain why she said what she sent. She was blunt and
straightforward through text just as she was in real life. When she did it it was okay. But
when people like Aang or Sokka texted like that, Mai hated it. Sokka was sarcastic and witty
and grumpy, but it was impossible to convey that over text. Aang was long-winded and
bubbly, but through text it came across as an academic essay that Mai didn’t have the energy
to read through. She always responded and replied like a good friend, but she couldn’t stand
it in the least.

But for some reason texting Ty Lee was different.

Mai never had to guess with Ty Lee. She always knew when Ty Lee was happy about
something because she would use an obnoxious amount of exclamation points. She would
send gifs of people or cartoons making outlandish expressions whenever she wanted to react
to Mai’s text with a specific facial expression. Sometimes Ty Lee would even send voice
memos whenever her thoughts became too long, or she got too excited about a story that her
fingers couldn’t type as fast as she could speak.
(And if Mai saved each of her voice memos to replay over and over just to listen to her voice
get higher the more excited she got or how out of breath she sounded when she didn’t pause
for air during her speeches, then so be it.)

Mai was still blunt and straightforward with her own responses, but she did sometimes add a
‘:/’ here or a ‘:)’ whenever she felt a little more emotive.

(and if Mai didn’t do this with anyone else, then so be it.)

Sometimes, Mai would feel the need to share something about her day with Ty Lee. She
would pick up her phone and take a picture of a cute flower and send it to the other woman
without prompting. She would open her messaging app in the middle of the night to share a
thought she had for a book idea. Occasionally, she just wanted to talk to the other woman so
she would start a dialogue with a simple “hey :)”

(and if Mai realized that this was against her strict ‘don’t text first’ rules, then so be it.)

Somehow, Ty Lee has managed to upend Mai’s entire online interaction philosophy in the
span of one week.

It took this woman one week to completely and utterly win a hold of Mai’s attention and
affection.

Even more surprising, it took only one week and one day for them to finally set up a date.

Mai

hi ty lee

Ty Lee
-hiiii maiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii :DDD

Mai

how are you?

Ty Lee

-im great!

-soooo I was wondering

-would you want to maybe hang out?

-in person?

Mai

sure

Ty Lee

-let me try that again lolll

-would you like to hang out

-with me

-in person

-as in like

-a date?? :DD

Mai was both glad and annoyed that Ty Lee asked this question.

You see, Mai was planning on asking Ty Lee the very same thing today. It was the whole
reason she texted the other woman first.
Mai

id love to ty lee :)

Ty Lee

-really?? yay!!!

-are you free around 3 tomorrow?

Mai

yes. where do you want to go?

Ty Lee

-shhh!!! its a surprise mai!!

-unless you dont like surprises

-cuz then ill tell you

Mai

no i like surprises

they keep life from getting boring

just tell me where do go and if i need to bring anything

Ty Lee

-i can come pick you up if that’s okay with you

-and just bring yourself sugar ;)

So Mai sent Ty Lee her address and expertly switched topics to continue talking to the bubbly
woman, failing to contain her blush and being called ‘sugar.’

Mai never would have thought that Ty Lee would be the kind of person she would develop
feelings for. She was very bright and talkative. She liked heartwarming stories about stray
dogs getting adopted and raved for 10 minutes about the deliciousness that was popping
cherry boba (Mai was never a big fan of boba, but the way Ty Lee described the drink made
Mai want to try it for herself, she did have a fondness for cherries).

The soft feel of the first page in a brand new hardback. The bitter burn of a piping hot tea
straight from the pot. The deadly razor edge of a freshly sharpened knife. The tart taste of
cherries.

The tinny sound of Aang’s infectious laughter. The low sighs from Zuko’s dramatics. The
loud boom of Sokka’s groan inducing sarcasm. The quick rhythm of Katara’s passionate
rants.

And now: Every message from Ty Lee.

These were the things that Mai deemed acceptable.

~~~

“Oooooo, why are you all dressed up Mai? Did a rich dude die?” Sokka asked as Mai stepped
out of her room and into the living room of their shared apartment.

Mai wouldn’t say she was all dressed up , but she could admit that she did put some more
effort into her wardrobe today. She decided to wear her hair a little bit differently than her
usual half-up half-down two bun style, opting to put all of it completely into the two buns.
She wore a thin black turtleneck underneath a shin-length maroon dress with black boots. It
wasn’t far off from what she would typically wear every day, but she did decide to dress it up
a little bit with some gold jewelry. Still, it was enough for Sokka to notice the effort at least.
“Sadly no, but I am going on a date. Remember that girl I bumped into last week?” Mai
responded.

“Oh nice, when do you think you’ll be back?” He asked curiously.

“I dunno, probably in a few hours, it’s just our first date,” Mai said, “Why do you wanna
know?”

“Well I was gonna ask you to watch that new slasher film with me today, but this is much
more important.”

“We can watch it when we get back if you want,” Mai said, trying not to sound too excited
(which wasn’t all that hard for her, she had become a pro at sounding indifferent in front of
Sokka. Whenever someone got excited around him about anything his energy levels got
amped up to eleven). In all honesty Mai really wanted to see that movie with Sokka. He was
the best person to watch gory movies with because he was the only other person she knew
who didn’t get freaked out by them. He was also the only person who could match her level
of wit when it came to making petty sarcastic comments about how dumb the protagonists
were.

“I was actually thinking of inviting Lee over, but if that doesn’t work out I’ll let you know.”

“Lee?”

“Yeah, my date from last week who prefers Sappho to Sokka.”

“...That was the worst joke you have ever made. And that’s saying something.”

“You are so mean to me, shouldn’t you be leaving for your date right now?”
“Yeah,” Mai said with a slight smile, already letting her mind drift to Ty Lee’s pretty pink lips
and exciting opinions on boba. “Her jokes are funnier than yours anyways. See ya.”

Mai left before Sokka’s indignant squawking could turn into more bad jokes.

~~~

As Mai exited the apartment complex, Ty Lee was waiting for her in the parking lot.

And she looked, well, amazing .

She was wearing a large pink sweater over a white button up and matching white skirt. Her
long brown hair was down today, and fell well past her waist and was shinier than a brand
new coin. Her stunning grey eyes popped beneath a precise wing of white eyeliner, and her
radiant smile was sporting a shinnery clear gloss.

“Hey sugar, ready to go?” She asked brightly as Mai approached the cute girl and he equally
as cute cherry red volkswagen beetle.

“You finally gonna tell me where we’re going?” Mai said as Ty Lee beamed up at her.
Despite the fact that Ty Lee’s white boots had a decent sized heel on them, Mai still towered
over her. That little detail made Mai’s pulse quicken, she did always have a thing for shorter
people.

“Don’t be silly, Mai, I told you it was a surprise!” Ty Lee giggled, “C’mon get in, I don’t
wanna be late!”

Ty Lee bounced over to the driver’s seat as Mai climbed in on the passenger side. Her car
smelled sweet; like cherries and cinnamon and sugar.
It was their first time seeing each other in person since their fateful meeting a week before.
And Mai couldn’t help but stare at the gorgeous woman beside her as Ty Lee drove.

“You’re staring Mai,” Ty Lee said without taking her eyes off the road.

“Does that bother you?” Mai asked.

“Not at all,” Ty Lee responded with a shy smile, “I would stare too if I weren’t driving.”

“I can’t help it,” Mai replied, normally she would never be so forward, but something about
Ty Lee made it impossible for Mai to hold back.

She just looked really nice in the daylight. She looked nice under the streetlights when they
first met, but the sunshine just made the other girl seem to glow.

A few minutes later Ty Lee was pulling into a parking garage, and Mai was mildly
disappointed in herself for not paying attention to where Ty Lee was driving. Sue her, she
was getting curious about whatever this ‘surprise date’ was.

As they left the car and walked side by side out of the parking garage, Mai voiced her
curiosity again while trying her hardest not to think about how close she was standing to Ty
Lee.

“So now will you tell me where we’re going?”

“You’ll see in a second!” Ty Lee said before gripping Mai’s arm and pulling her faster down
the road, clearly not sharing Mai’s worries about standing too close and making things
awkward. It was nice.

Mai let Ty Lee lead the way and infect her with her contagious excitement. At this point, Mai
didn’t care if their date was at the city dump. As long as Ty Lee kept smiling like that, they
could be picking trash off the side of the road for all Mai cared.

Once again distracted by Ty Lee’s bubbly attitude and bright smile, Mai had lost track of
where they were going until Ty Lee stopped and squeezed Mai’s arm tighter.

“We’re here!” She exclaimed as she pointed upwards to a metal gateway in front of them.

Miyuki Botanical Garden

Mai just stared up at the gate, unaware that her jaw had fallen open in shock. Tickets to get
into this place were supposed to be, well, not cheap , especially considering the new
‘enchanted’ orchid exhibit that Mai had read about.

It was only once Ty Lee squeezed her arm again and asked her what she thought in a nervous
yet hopeful voice that Mai realized she should probably respond.

“How’d you know I liked flowers?” Mai asked.

“Well, you sent me a picture of a hydrangea once out of the blue and the idea just kind of
popped!” she said with a bright emphasis on the ‘p’, “into my head.”

“That’s… very thoughtful of you. Thank you Ty Lee,” Mai said, unable to contain her smile.

Ty Lee beamed up at her in response, before tugging her arm again and dragging her further
into the gardens, chittering happily about wanting to see the sunflower maze.

~~~
If you asked Mai what her favorite part of the garden’s were, she would be unable to give you
a good answer.

She wouldn’t tell you about the towering walls of gardenias that lined the interior of the first
greenhouse. She wouldn’t tell you about the ancient Rome inspired exhibit with bright red
roses in every elegant vase. She wouldn’t even tell you about the main greenhouse, where the
light bled through the mosaic windows, illuminating every tulip and marigold in a flood of
rainbow light.

No, she would not tell you about any of those things because the only thing she could
remember about the entire date was the sparkle in Ty Lee’s silver eyes and the fainty laughter
that rang through each exhibit.

~~~

The exit pathway of the botanical garden was lined with rows and rows of trees with curling
limbs and bursting with pastel petals. Mai ran herr thumb along the side of Ty Lee’s hand as
she held it tight in her own while inhaling the delicate scent of the cherry blossom petals that
padded their steps to the end of their date.

“I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed myself on a date as much as I have with you,” Ty Lee piped
up suddenly.

“Really?” Mai turned to her and found Ty Lee staring right back. There was a pink petal in
her hair.

“Of course, silly,” the petal stayed stuck in her hair even as her head shook with bubbly
laughter, “and if you’d like to, I wanna go out with you again sometime.”

Mai took a step closer to the shorter woman. Ty Lee didn’t step back, instead welcoming the
closeness and bringing them even furthur together by placing her arms around Mai’s waist.
Mai could feel every inch of her skin where Ty Lee was touching her; it was exhilarating.
“I’d like that too,” Mai said as she plucked the petal from Ty Lee’s far too soft hair.

“I’d also like to do this,” Ty Lee said.

Before Mai could even drop the petal from her hand, a pair of soft lips pressed against her
own. Her eyes fell shut instinctively, and her hands found their own way to cup the soft sides
of the other woman’s cheeks as their lips continued their dance.

Mai could still feel the tingle on her lips when she arrived back at her apartment. She leaned
against the door for a moment just to remember it once more before returning to her Ty Lee-
less life at home. Looking down at her feet she saw the petal was now stuck to her shoe.
Picking it up, she sniffed it again to see if the sweet scent still lingered.

Mai had always loved cherry blossoms to best.

Ty Lee tasted like cherries.

~~~

“How was the date?” Sokka said before Mai even had the chance to shut the door behind her.
She could hear the sounds of a woman screaming and the distinctly fake sound effect of a
knife cutting through flesh; he must’ve found someone to watch that slasher film with him
after all.

Upon walking into the living room and seeing the pair on the sofa, Mai smirked, “Great, how
was yours?”

Zuko sat up from where he was leaning on the far end of the couch and removed his feet from
Sokka’s lap, “Wait you had a date today too?”
Sokka looked between Mai and Zuko in confusion, “No? Mai what the hell are you going on
about?”

“I wasn’t talking to you, Sokka,” Mai said, “So, Zuko, how did it go?”

Zuko fell back into his position and folded his arms like a petulant child, “Not funny Mai.”

“What am I missing here?” Sokka asked.

“Oh nothing, I’m sure Zuko can fill you in,” Mai grinned as Zuko glared daggers at her, “I’m
gonna head to my room now and text Ty. Don’t forget our deal Zuko.”

Mai winked at Zuko as he flipped her the bird and retreated to her room where she could
unwind from her date in peace. She could hear Sokka pestering Zuko relentlessly about his
‘date’ through the door. After a minute, Mai could hear Zuko’s trademark exasperated groan
followed by exclamations of “Where are we going?” from Sokka and the sound of Sokka’s
bedroom door locking.

About damn time.

~~~

A month had passed. Mai and Ty Lee had gone out on six more dates during that month, as
well as countless little meet-ups to get coffee or relaxing hangouts at Ty Lee’s apartment. Mai
was enthralled. No one had ever been able to make Mai feel so alive the way that Ty Lee
could. Every touch sent shivers up her spine, every word made her heart flip, every kiss made
Mai swoon.

So, the only rational thing to do next was to ask her out officially. Mai wanted nothing more
than for Ty Lee to be her girlfriend.
But there was one minor issue:

In order to make that happen Ty Lee would have to meet her friends.

Who could be a little… much.

So she kept chickening out. Putting it off. Trying to drop subtle hints to Ty Lee in hopes that
she would ask Mai first.

But in a shocking turn of events, Zuko of all people was the one who finally called Mai out
on her hesitation.

“If I can pull my shit together and finally get together with Sokka, which you bullied me into
doing by the way, then you can pull your own shit together and ask out a girl who you
already know likes you,” Zuko before slurping his tea in the annoying way he knew that Mai
hated.

How on Earth did Zuko and Sokka get together before me and Ty. Unfair.

“I know that you’re right but I’m electing to ignore you just to get you back for all of the
pining you two put me through.”

“Fair enough,” Zuko shrugged, “but I’m still gonna bug you about it until you do it. Revenge
is a bitch ain’t it?”

“Fuck off.”

“Just invite her over tonight and ask,” Zuko said, “Quit acting like me and just do it. There’s
only room for one overthinker in this friendship and I’ve had that role for years.”

“Can’t, Sokka’s bringing Lee over to meet everyone, remember?” Mai said.
“Really? I don’t remember him mentioning that.”

“Yeah because you’re too busy staring at his ass.”

“Uncalled for, Mai,” Zuko blushed, “but that’s fine just invite her over tonight too then or I’ll
talk about Sokka’s ass, and Sokka’s arms, and Sokka’s di-”

“Okay okay fine just shut your dumb gay mouth already. I’ll ask her to come over, just quit
being gross,” Mai grimaced. Maybe she shouldn’t have tried setting them up. They were
absolutely awful.

Zuko just laughed at Mai’s disgust, “Wow Mai, I was going to say Sokka’s dimples get your
head out of the gutter.”

He squawked as soon as her sharp nails flicked her head.

“Quit that Mai, you know how Uncle hates when people make a scene in his shop,” he
flicked her back anyways, earning a few sideways glares from the other customers.

“Says the guy who almost got into a fistfight with Sokka’s ex in here,” Mai said before going
back to sipping her own tea, “God you were so obvious.”

“It’s not my fault! Jet had the nerve to show up here only a day after dumping Sokka with
another guy-”

“Who turned out to be his cousin-”

“-well I didn’t know that!”

“So obvious Zuko, so obvious.”

~~~

Mai

hey ty

are you free tonight?

i want you to come over and meet my friends

Ty Lee <3

of course silly

i already said i would

Mai stared at her phone in confusion. Did she already make plans with Ty tonight and forget
about it?

Mai

perfect

i cant wait to see you again

Ty Lee <3

me too sugar ;)

~~~
Mai didn’t like the churning feeling she was having in her stomach. The normally soft fabric
of the chair in her and Sokka’s living room felt scratchy beneath her skin. She couldn’t even
bother to pick up her novel to distract her. Aang’s usual bubbliness was putting her on edge
instead of at ease. Suki offered to make her a drink but Mai declined; it would only make her
stomach feel worse even if the alcohol would put her at ease.

It was just Ty Lee. What did she have to be nervous about? She knew that her friends would
like her. She was positive that Aang would enjoy her outgoing presence, and that Katara
would praise her for her makeup. She knew that Toph and Suki would like her because of
how well Ty Lee can take a joke and that Sokka would like her just because she made Mai
happy. Hell, even Zuko and Azula would both like her because they’re both too scared to get
on Mai’s bad side.

And yet she was still nervous. Everyone was already at her apartment and a few beers had
already been cracked open. But with each ticking of the clock that was a little too loud sent
another pang of anxiety through Mai’s body.

The only other person who was missing was Sokka’s friend Lee. Mai hoped Lee would get
there soon so her friends would be too focused on her to interrogate Ty Lee.

Just as she was about to start pulling at another thread in her cardigan, the doorbell rang.

“That’s Lee! I’ll get it!” Sokka exclaimed before untangling himself from where he was
sitting on the couch with Zuko, “It’s probably Lee, anyways.”

Mai let Sokka get the door, grateful that Lee showed up first.

Only it wasn’t Lee.

Standing in the doorway, looking as radiant as ever even while getting tackled in a hug from
Sokka was Ty Lee.
“You made it!” Sokka exclaimed, “Everyone this is my friend Ty Lee, but you can just call
her Lee and-”

“Mai!” Ty Lee exclaimed as soon as she laid eyes on her. Mai was too shocked to even begin
processing the information that Ty and Lee were both Ty Lee.

She was walking home from my apartment that night.

She was Sokka’s date turned lesbian.

Oh my god. I stole Sokka’s date.

Mai was still processing and too shocked for words when she felt a small body collide into
her own.

“I missed you,” Ty said as she squeezed Mai tighter.

Mai finally let herself sink into the embrace as well; something about Ty Lee’s presence
already alleviating her nerves, “I missed you too, Ty.”

“ You stole my lesbian?!”

Ty Lee and Mai let go of each other and turned to Sokka who was standing by the doorway in
shock. Everyone in the room was frozen as well with expressions varying from confusion
from Zuko to absolute delight from Toph.

“Sokka, what the hell are you talking about?” Katara asked.
“Mai is dating Lee! You know, my Lee! My friend from the coffee shop that I wanted you all
to meet tonight!”

“Of course ya goof, you knew this already!” Ty Lee giggled.

“No I didn’t!”

Ty Lee gestured to Mai and said, “Then why did you have this one confirm that I was
coming?”

I never did that.

“Wait a minute Ty,” Mai said, “I didn’t know you were Sokka’s friend either. I just wanted to
invite you over tonight anyways.”

Ty Lee looked back and forth between Sokka and Mai before bursting into the most adorable
fit of laughter, “Oh my gosh! You really did steal his lesbian!”

Toph and Suki joined in on the laughter as well. And Mai couldn’t help but find the whole
thing amusing too. After all, how had she and Sokka not figured it out already?

“For the two smartest people in this friend group you both are really dumb,” Azula said
coolly from the kitchen.

“Very dumb,” Ty Lee agreed.

“Hey!” Mai and Sokka exclaimed in unison.

Ty Lee turned Mai towards her and pulled her into another embrace, “a very cute idiot is still
an idiot, Mai.”

Mai laughed and returned the hug once more. The longer she spent in Ty Lee’s presence the
less stressed out she felt. She ducked her head into Ty Lee’s hair and began laughing along
with the group.

“Am I a cute enough idiot for you to call your girlfriend?” she whispered into Ty Lee’s hair.

Ty Lee moved her head so she could kiss Mai, “Of course dummy.”

Mai leaned in for another quick kiss from her girlfriend.

She tasted like cherries.

End Notes

hehe hope you liked that. i wish the ending was better but this was the best i could do rn. im
thinking of maybe doing an accompanying fic about zukka?? maybe not i have too many
other wips. idk i rlly love this story and im ver y attached to it and if i based Mai off of
myself just a teeny tiny itty bitty bit then that's nobodies business.

let me know what you think in the comments!!!

(also this is not beta-read so plz ignore any and all spelling and grammar mistakes okay
byeeeee)

also follow my tumblr hello-yue-here

okay NOW byeeeeee

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