"What are you writing?" her brother asked, looking at her with a curious expression as he walked into her room.

"None of your business" she answered with a teasing smile, holding her diary close to her chest.

"Oh, come on, Azula, you always tell me everything that's going through your head anyway"

"No" she pushed him away, making him laugh "There are somethings you're not ready to know. And what are you doing here anyways?"

"Some of my classes are already getting too complicated for me to keep up. I need help studying."

She smirked "And you couldn't ask any of your friends to help you because?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes "Because they're not as smart as you. I've never met anyone as smart as you. Will you help me now?"

"I'll think about it."

"Brat"

"So, did you get it?"

"I think so..." he didn't sound too sure.

"I'll ask you some questions, get them all right and we're done for the day"

He gave her an exasperated look "Please don't tell me we're going over all of this again if I get even one question wrong."

"If we don't do that, then how are you going to learn, Zuzu?"

"Don't call me that in public" he snarled at her, looking around to see if anyone had heard it, even though they were alone at the library.

"We're alone, you dummy. And my God, can you be difficult at times. You wanted my help, and I'm helping you" that was only partially true. They had not gotten to spend much time together that week, and a girl on Zuko's class had been flirting with him, so Azula wanted to remind him who he belonged to "We're not leaving this place until you get all the answers right"

"Why didn't I just ask Katara to help me?" he murmured to himself.

"Because she might be smart enough to get good grades on the classes we have, but that doesn't mean she can understand and explain all the stuff you are being taught. And like you've so kindly said, I am the smartest person you know."

"I only said that because you practically forced me to" he looked angry when Azula started laughing "I'm serious!"

"I'll pretend I believe you" by that point, she was completely sure that her brother knew better than anyone just how smart she was, and he was by far the person who had been the most supportive of her. He had spent an entire year telling her she was amazing, after all.

"I would have gone to someone stupider if I knew you'd be that strict"

She smirked "Too late. And just got yourself five extra questions for making me waste time."

"I can't believe this" he groaned and crossed his arms.

"Don't pout. It's not a good look for you."

Azula barely even had the time to look at her brother as he slammed her door wide open before he held her tight, lifting her off the floor.

"I assume this means your classes were easier to understand after our lessons?"

"Yes! Thank you so much, you insufferable genius" he said, making her laugh.

But she couldn't take all the credit. He brother had never been top of his class, but he was a bright young man. The only reason he'd struggle at school sometimes was because of the unclear and uninteresting way somethings were taught, and because he lacked the patience to focus on subjects he didn't like or wasn't immediately good at. Still, he was far from lazy or stupid, he simply needed some guidance.

When he finally put her on the ground, he got a glimpse of the drawings that were all over her desk "You made all of these?" she nodded and he looked unbelievably proud of her. That was one of the things she loved the most about him - he truly appreciated all of her talents and her dedication.

He started looking through all the finished drawings and drafts she was planning on working on, seeming genuinely impressed. There were self-portraits, images of her friends, one of uncle Iroh, a few of Lu Ten, and a ton of images of him.

But his smiled faltered as he saw the only one he couldn't not see, and that Azula had forgotten she had kept along with the others. A drawing of the two of them, their mother...

And Ozai.

Neither of them said a word for a long time as Zuko seemed to be almost hypnotized by the image in front of him. Azula was just about to say she was sorry and try to make him understand that this didn't mean anything, that she had not fogotten how horrible their father had been to him, and that she would never forgive him for all the abuse he put them and their mother through, but her brother broke the silence himself.

"Why are you so good at everything?" he asked, offering her a kind smile that made Azula feel like a weight was lifted off her shoulders.

"Because somebody has to teach you how to do things, dum-dum"

Azula didn't even bother to wait until she was sure their mother was asleep to go to her brother's bedroom. He had been a little distant since he saw her drawing, and Azula wanted to make sure everything was okay, that he wasn't feeling betrayed just because she still had some affection left for the man their father used to be.

She crawled into Zuko's bed, lying next to him, but he didn't turn to look at her. They talked about some banal things before he actually asked her what Azula was sure had been meaning to ask all day.

"Do you miss our dad?"

She didn't hesitate.

"No. I just... I sometimes think about the time when our family was actually happy. I wonder what it could have been."

"Me too" he said, still staring the ceiling, only allowing Azula to see one side of his face - the unscarred side of his face. That had been their father's last act of cruelty before he was finally arrested just a little over a year ago. He had burned Zuko's face with acid a few days after their worst fight, and her brother not losing his vision on that eye was nothing short of a miracle.

That night had forever turned Ozai into a monster in her mind... or rather, had finally allowed her to see him for who he truly was. The realization of how broken her family had become was the final straw and Azula would probably have never recuperated without her brother's support. Even though she had been awful to him for years do to their father's influence, he showed her nothing but love and compassion when she was sent to that psychiatric hospital - which was why it was so important for her to know he wasn't angry at her.

After a long moment of silence, she spoke up again.

"Do you want me to leave?"

Her brother smirked and pulled her in for a tight embrace "You're staying right here. We haven't done this in a while, and I need my little sister with me"

She kissed his cheek "I need you too, Zuzu"

Always did, always will.