Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender.

Unloved

He would giggle as his mother would rain down affectionate kisses upon his neck. Zuko would hear the wind against the window of their Ember Island house and he knew at night when he would go to bed that his mother would follow him up the stairs. Ursa would either tickle him a small amount cautious and careful not to make him overexcited, but he would love every minute of it. And then she would tuck him in with a lasting kiss on his forehead.

"Good night, my little prince." Ursa would say to him.

Zuko would smile up at his mother in delight at her welcomed affection. "Good night, mother."

"I love you." She'd remind him in earnest.

He would grin at her love and respond with the same with an added extra. "I love you more."

Zuko smiled now, sadly. He remembered every time his mother would leave the room to go down stairs; she'd pass his little sister who would be standing at the door hugging the door frame. Azula would stare at him wide-eyed before she would turn away and retreat to her own room with a childhood toy hanging loosely from her small hand.