Azula sat down next to her brother at breakfast, smirking at Katara and Aang's obvious discomfort. Zuko's clothes covered the hickeys, bruises and bite marks on his neck, but Azula was wearing her's proudly. If she was going to be forced into spending time with them even before they officially became her babysitters, then she would at least have some fun making them uncomfortable.
"What is going on?" Toph asked, breaking the silence.
"Nothing" the Avatar said in his usual cheery tone, but the nervousness in his voice was as clear as day. He was trying desperately to ignore the obvious tension at the table, and wouldn't look anyone in the eye.
His girlfriend took a more direct approach.
"Azula is showing off her the marks on her neck" Katara sounded annoyed.
Toph laughed "Maybe she'll ask you to heal it later."
"My neck is fine. Zuko's however..."
"Azula!"
"His back might need some healing too"
"AZULA!"
"You two are disgusting" the waterbender said, pushing her plate away "I'm not hungry anymore."
"At least you didn't
"You heard that?" Zuko looked and sounded mortified.
"My hearing is as good as ever, I'm staying in a room close to yours, and your sister is very loud. Of course I've heard it" after that, Toph just shoved a bunch of food in her mouth, eating more like an animal than like a minimally civilized person, let alone like a member of such a important family like the Beifongs "And to be honest, it kinda scared me for a second. I thought you were killing her."
"So, Zuko" Aang interrupted, looking even more desperate to change the subject than both Zuko and Katara, which was saying a lot "Your uncle is going to arrive tomorrow night, right? So the White Lotus can help you?"
"Yes" he answered in a somewhat sad tone.
"Aren't you happy you're going to see him again?" the waterbender asked.
"I am it's just... he doesn't know about me and Azula."
Of course he knows, dum-dum. If even our mother could tell, there's no way he didn't notice.
"It's going to be okay, Zuzu" Azula put a hand on his should "Uncle fatty loves you, and even I can't ruin that."
"I didn't mean it like that" he said, already looking guilty.
"I know, I know, I'm just teasing. But it's true. Uncle isn't going to disown you. He will help us end this mess, then he'll make you some tea and tell you another absurdly long story that you won't understand the meaning of like he has been doing since we were children. You have nothing to worry about" she said, playing with his hair. Zuko looked at her sweetly and offered her a kind smile she couldn't help but return. She caressed his cheek and he leaned into her touch.
When they actually looked at their guests again, Azula noticed Katara had been staring at them, and for once she didn't seem disgusted. In fact, she actually looked a bit... touched? As soon as she realized she was caught, she averted her eyes and started drinking her tea, acting like nothing happened.
Maybe spending time with Zuko's friends won't be so bad after all, she thought with a devilish smirk.