Zuko's friends listened to him closely, paying attention to his every word. Despite being part of the group for two years now, he still wasn't used to that - being listened to. For so much of his life he had either been ignored or mocked, and even his uncle was always the one who actually knew what he was doing, not Zuko himself. And now all he had to do was speak or sign a piece of paper and an entire nation would do as he said. It felt surreal, but he did his best to never let it show anymore, not even to his friends. As Fire Lord, he had to appear fully confident.

But that didn't mean he wouldn't acknowledge possible threats to him, to his people, or to the ones he loved. He had already decided how he would split the army - which soldiers would to which city, which ones would stay at the palace to defend him and his family if they were to be attacked, and which ones would join Azula on her plan to 'free' the insurgent benders they had imprisoned, join them, and them lure their allies to a trap. Aang, Katara and Toph would be following Azula around, both protecting her and making sure she wouldn't hurt anyone. But that wasn't all he would ask of them. His sister needed someone to that would listen to her, soothe her, and help her with anything she struggled with.

"You want us to babysit your insane sister?" Toph asked.

"I want you to try to get along with her"

"You want us to be Azula's friends?" Aang sounded incredulous.

"Look, I worry about her. I wish I could go with her on this mission, but I just can't. And since I won't be able to help her, I want there to be someone who can be there for her while we're separated, and there's nobody I trust more than you guys."

"Oh, Azula will open up to us and be our best friend" Katara mocked.

"Maybe we could take her on a vacation to Ba Sing Se and show her that spa we went to a few times"

"Excellent idea, Toph!"

"Will you two quit being difficult?"

"Zuko, they have a point" Aang tried to rationalize with him "Azula knows we would never do anything against you, but that doesn't mean she believes we have her best interest in mind as well. How can we help someone who doesn't trust us at all? How can anyone help her if she doesn't trust anyone but you?

"I'm not the only one she trusts, there's her doctors too."

"And it only took them, what? A year and a half? We only have two weeks to win her over. After fighting against her on a war. After i helped you defeat her and chained her up."

Zuko felt tense the second Katara brought up that event. He would never forget those horrible moments both during and after his Agni Kai with Azula, no matter how much he wanted to. Yet he knew they had been incredibly lucky - both his sister and his friend had survived, and both we're still in his life. But that didn't mean he would ever make them truly get along.

"Please try. For me"

And for her. She's still a human being and she needs help.

He did not say it out loud. He was already pushing it by having this conversation, and he knew Azula couldn't stand being seen as weak (even though he personally did not see this as a weakness). She still avoided showing her softer side to anyone but him, and as much as he liked it, he had to think of what was best for her. Even if it meant making her really mad at him.

Aang sighed "We'll try. But keep in mind that this probably go the way you're expecting it to.

"Thank you" it felt like the weight of the world had just been lifted off his shoulders. His friends would take care of his sister.

Now he only had to make sure she wouldn't kill him for it.