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“Hurryyyy” izumi insisted as she dragged her father away from the ministers crowding him and into the garden.
Izumi had been insisting on a picnic for months and now it was the perfect day for one.Spring had begun, a season of rebirth as new flowers bloomed and the turtleducks swam peacefully in the centre fountain.
Lying in the centre of the garden a few steps away from the fountain was a small circular oak table decorated with a yellow table cloth, harboring pastries and tea as izumi’s guests sat around it with name cards on each chair. Izumi's party throwing skills put aang’s to shame.
Zuko took a seat next to another one of izumi's esteemed guests, “it's a pleasure to meet you….firelady Mai” he read of the small piece of paper izumi had made for everyone, customizes with her own crayons and artistic skills borrowed from her mother.
“The pleasure is all mine” Mai drawled as she looked at him from the corner of her eyes, even though this was a pretend tea party the etiquette lessons she has practiced since childhood acted as a reflex. As much as Mai hated playing a proper lady, she loved her daughter enough to comply
“Aand there” izumi huffed placing the large dragon on one of the chairs, placing his front paws on the table.<
Druk had grown a lot since he was brought as a small tiny slither of a lizard and into the size of a koala sheep. He began chewing on the tablecloth before Mai clicked her tongue, warning him to stop and he followed suit.
Izumi dusted her clothes before picking up the teapot from the table and walking around, serving her guests.
“Lady mai, may I interest you in a cup of tea” izumi said, her tone facing a 180 as she slipped into the dialect her mother spoke in front of the court.
“Oh why certainly” Mai accepted. A small smile tugged on the corners of her lips as izumi mimicked the sound of decanting tea as she poured out pretend tea.
Much to uncle iroh’s disappointment Izumi was far too young to brew and pour tea let alone drink caffeine
“What about you, Lord Zuko?" Izumi repeated now near her father.
Her small chubby fingers grasped onto the handles of the specially made teapot her grandpa iroh sent over. Glazed with turtleducks and a small doodle of Mai and zuko on the side maybe as a quiet expectancy towards when she's old enough to brew tea herself.
“She is going to have a brilliant talent to brew tea I tell you, I see it in her eyes” iroh chuckled when he came to see izumi after she was born, red and wrinkled, only yawning and crying.
“Uh-I yeah certainly” he fumbled over his words, facepalming himself in his mind, ugh. He was not cut out for pretend games, even as a child he was often kicked out of azula’s games because he ‘lacked creativity’.
“It's jasmine tea” izumi said with a smile
The pretend aroma of jasmine tea filled the atmosphere of the garden mixing with its evergreen scent of the shrubs and the baked smell from the pastries. Izumi took after him in terms of her taste in tea among other things
“Biscuits?” The little girl suggested, pushing a tray of mung bean cakes across the table to zuko's side, which to zuko's misfortune was very real.
He internally groaned as the sweet smell intoxicated his nose. He hated mung bean cakes, never really appreciated how it just melted into your mouth and so overly sweet too. He, unlike his wife, was never a huge fan of sweets.
Noticing her father's face at the cakes, Izumi's face twisted as she frowned. “Is it not good? I made sure to bake it properly” she said in a low voice. Her two ox buns lowered as if she was a rabbit cat.
“Uhhh” zuko sweated as he looked around for help, his eyes shifted at druk who had once again started chewing on the table cloth before he finally caught Mai's glare.
'Take. It' she mouthed at him glaring, hiding her face from her daughter behind the long sleeves of her ao dai. A look alone from Mai could burn the other side of her face.
“.. actually, I was just thinking which one to choose, they all seem so…. delicious” he finished as he looked down at the toddler working on the mung bean cakes. Taking one of the elegant plates. It was disgusting, but it was all worth it to see a smile run back to her daughter's face.
Izumi poured tea onto the druk's large bowl before taking a seat herself. Picking up her teacup carefully as she observed her father drinking tea before copying proto. Mai glanced at the both of them, her smile—though hidden—deepned underneath the shadow of her bangs.
The family, consisting of a mother, a father, a daughter and an extinct dragon all sat around the table enjoying a nice cup of tea under the shade of an old oak tree.
“Let's play hide and seek” Izumi suggested out of the blue.
“Hide and seek?” Zuko questioned as the memories of playing the games with his friend—including appa and momo—filled his mind.
“Me and druk will seek, you and mommy hide” izumi commanded at them before turning her back to them, burying her face inside her palms as she counted.
“One, two, three…” she started as druk laid quietly next to her leg.
“Hurry, she only knows to count till 20” mai whispered before running away to find a spot to hide as her daughter went over their counting lessons. As proud as mai was at her daughter's intelligence and memory, she wanted to win.
Finally finding a place in the small kitchen next to the garden, Mai turned, resting her back on the porcelain as she sighed. Placing a small peach blossom pastry between her lips
“Do you always insist on hiding here?” Mai whispered to her follower as she turned.
“if I'm going to be trapped somewhere for hours while izumi counts and gets distracted while seeking” zuko began in an identical hush as he walked closer to mai before getting close enough to cage her between his arms as they rested on the counter behind her.
“I'd rather be trapped with you” he finished before nearing her lips as he bit pieces of the pastry trapped between her lips.
Mai raised her eyebrows as she carefully observed him bite small pieces off, crumbs falling down to her clothes. He was flustered as he blushed red even his lashes trembled as his teeth nibbed near.
‘Amateur’ she thought before her longer fingers dug into his scalp, pushing him closer as she pushed the small pastry piece deeper into him before brushing her lips against his, crumbs scratching with each motion.
Mai licked her lips after pulling away. Her fingers dusting away the few crumbs zuko didn't manage to wipe off.
“Need more sugar”
Mai looked up at him. He was still red, as the heat traveled up his ear and down his neck, a small foolish smile spread across his more crumb filled lips.
“I can't believe I need to help you with this too,” Mai said, feigning annoyance as her fingers slowly caressed his lips, wiping away the crumbs.
Noticing his fervent gaze from above her, Mai looked up at him as her now unoccupied hands flew across his shoulder bringing him closer than before, “what? You want more?” She teased as her gray eyes shifted between his eyes and lips.
“I mean if you insist…” zuko drawled in a low voice as he placed his index on her chin, lifting it upward towards him.
“FOUND YOU!” izumi exclaimed, jumping and clapped as druk imitating the girl as he was next to her.
Mai and zuko pulled away from each other before zuko walked over to izumi.
“You really need to find a better hiding spot, I always find you both here” izumi said as she lifted her arms, implying she'd rather be carried back to the picnic in the arms of her father as zuko obliged without a halt.
“or maybe you're just really good at seeking” Mai suggested as she kissed her daughter's hand, sniffing her glance over to zuko who was already looking at her with a smile only she knew
"Daddy, why is mouth bleeding?" Izumi asked as her hands locked around zuko's neck as they walked back to the garden.
"Uhhh" zuko sweated, looking at Mai for help who was coincidentally preoccupied with her nails.
"I was giving him pastries but he was too greedy" Mai joined in as her attention shifted from her perfectly manicured nail as she too flashed a secretivee smile to her husband who was already started to fluster.
The sun slowly set as orange and red streaks decorated the sky. Cold winds gusted with the late evenings as turtleducks slowly walked out of the fountain and towards their nest.
The family, now exhausted and well fed with pretend tea, mung bean cakes and peach blossom pastries laid together bundled together against the old tree.
Still a mother, a father, a daughter and an extinct dragon.
The mai sat against the oak tree as zuko arms brought her closer to his chest, permeating warmth during the cold evening. Izumi was fast asleep inside her mother's arm wrapped in mai’s cashmere shawl as druk too went out like a light, resting his large scaly head on zuko's leg.
“Orange is such an awful color” Mai yawned as she squirmed deeper into zuko's chest.
“You're so beautiful when you hate the world” zuko chuckled, pressing a kiss into Mai's hair, reminiscing over their journey together.
From blushing children who hid their conversations and spoke in special languages to brooding teenagers and finally two parents with a 5 year old girl.
Izumi was the best thing that happened to them, he thought as he watched his daughter asleep on Mai's chest.
She looked so much like her from the strong bridge of her nose to the sharp pair of eyes, izumi was a copy of her mother, she was simply perfect.
It was during days like this when zuko felt finally at solace. Far away from the opinionated voices of his ministers and the loud chants of the societies plotting to bring him down.
He'd rather spend the rest of eternity in a day like this. Days of pretend tea parties and happy games and finally watching the sunset peacefully as he embraced him family.
“What are you thinking about” Mai said, opening her eyes from her nap.
“I thought you were sleeping” he asked as he brushed a few stray strands away from her face.
“Barely, this wood is so hard” she groaned as she adjusted, hoping to find a more comfortable position. “Besides, your brooding was so deafening,you have woken me up” she expressed, feigning annoyance.
“I'm just thinking…..” he started as his eyes turned to his daughter, his fingers delicately ran through her luscious black hair—another quality inherited from her mother—a smile appeared as izumi murmured, her eyebrows knitted together in annoyance.
“Thank you so much for giving me our family”