"Can you stay with me tonight?" Azula asked already knowing the answer "It might help me relax enough to sleep."

She wasn't looking forward to the next day. She had missed an entire school year, and now she was picking up where she had left of, in a new school. And even though her mother and uncle Iroh kept on telling her this was a fresh start for her since no one knew her, she wasn't so sure about that. Big stories and rumors spread fast, and she was very aware that something like 'the new girl spent eight months in a psychiatric hospital' was the perfect fuel for gossip.

Luckly, she wouldn't be alone. Neither tonight nor when the morning finally came.

Her brother offered her a kind smile and followed her to her room, immediately lying next to her, pulling her in for an embrace. They tried keeping quiet and turned on the TV so their mother wouldn't hear them talking if they she walked past the room. She didn't like it when they spent too many nights together, specially not in a row, unless Azula was feeling depressed or had a nightmare. She was always saying it wasn't appropriate, and Zuko seemed to agree, but Azula often found ways to convince him to ignore that and share a bed with her anyways.

And besides, what Ursa didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

Since Azula was having trouble sleeping, they spent a good amount of time talking, and even decided to watch a movie until to see if that would distract her from her worries for enough time to allow to fall asleep. Zuko had put on one of the cartoons they used love as kids, but Azula wasn't really paying attention to it.

"It's going to be okay, Azula" he promised, playing with her hair.

She sighed and held him tighter "I know. I'm just stressed."

"Worst comes to worst, I'll just have to show them what I do to people who bother my little sister" he said, kissing her forehead and making her smile. She didn't need to look at him to know he was smiling too. This had been one of good things that came from her breakdown - she was closer to him now than she had ever been before, and she wouldn't trade it for the world.

They kept talking for another hour or two, until Zuko fell asleep. Azula turned off the TV and rested her head on his chest, focusing on nothing but on the sound of his heartbeat until she finally drifted off. She didn't have any bad dreams - she rarely had them when she was safe in Zuko's arms.

The first part of Azula's day had been mostly tolerable. She caught a few people staring at her and whispering nervously to each other every now and again, but for the most part the majority of the students either didn't know about her past insanity or didn't care about it all that much. Two of Zuko's friends, Katara and Suki, kept her company during classes. She even got a message from Ty Lee wishing her luck and telling her everything would be okay.

Still she had anxiously counted the seconds for her break, and ran to the cafeteria as soon as she heard the bell ring. She always felt safer and more confident near her brother, and he had already told her she could sit with him and his friends.

They were a truly weird group. Zuko had been friends with them for a few months, and they had even come over to their house once or twice, but Azula still wasn't used to them, and she had was yet to understand how exactly Zuko became part of the group when he didn't seem to have much in common with them.

Then again, they were all very different from each other. And they actually made her brother relax and enjoying himself, so much so that changing to this school in particular had been his idea. They couldn't be that bad if they Zuko happy.

Azula watched them all joking around, laughing way too loudly about all kinds of stupid shit, and getting on each other's nerves. Just as was starting to feel a little left out, Zuko found a way to include her in the conversation - and reached for her hand underneath the table. She gave it a gentle squeeze before entwining her fingers with his.

Dinner felt like a boring obligation, as usual. Lu Ten's visit would have been a nice surprise if his dad had not come along. Azula simply couldn't stand uncle Iroh's dumb, unfunny jokes and absurdly long, meaningless stories, and it seemed she was the only one in the family to feel that way.

Father would have agreed.

She pushed the thought away and asked to be excused the second the she finished her food. Her mother allowed it, and Azula saw her face contorting into that bland expression she'd wear when she wanted to mask her true emotions. Whether Ursa was hiding her joy and relief of not having to interact with her anymore, or her disappointment that her daughter still was uncomfortable around her, Azula couldn't tell.

Just a few minutes later Zuko walked into her room without even knocking first. He was the only who could get away with doing that, and even he was on thin ice.

"I'm proud of you" he said.

"For what?"

"For all the progress you've made" he looked at her with those loving golden eyes "For trying to fit in with my friends and for putting up this family dinner as long as you did even though you like spending with our mother or with our uncle."

She smiled sweetly at him "Thank you, Zuzu."

"Want me to bring you dessert?"

"Yes" she answered, a little too fast, making him chuckle. He liked spoiling her, and she liked being spoiled.

"I'll get it" he cupped her cheeks and kissed the top of her head before leaving the room, making her smile again. When he came back, he stayed in her room, talking to her while they both had some ice cream. After their mother told them to come say goodbye to Iroh and Lu Ten, her brother got ready for bed and went to his own bedroom.

Only to come back again once the lights were off. She deserved a reward after all.