Azula had been peacefully reading a book in her room to pass time until lunch when she heard her brother yelling at someone. She was shocked to realize the person he was fighting with was their mother. Zuko had always been her favorite, probably because he never argued with her and was always going along with everything she wanted him to. Azula had seen him annoyed her before, but never to the point of raising his voice, and he definitively never screamed at her. She didn't even think he was physically and mentally able to do that.

Hesitantly, she left her room and got closer to the staircase, trying to hear what they were arguing about below, despite part of her wanting to go back and hide. Her father had made sure to 'teach her some manners' after he caught her listening to one of his fights with Ursa, and even though he was gone, with every step she took, she kept waiting for him to suddenly grab and shake her. If he was angry enough, even being his favorite wasn't enough to stop him from hitting her.

He's not here. He can't hurt me, he can't hurt any of us. Zuko and mom are just having a fight. I have no reason to be scared.

"I don't understand why you're doing this, mom! I thought you were happy Azula and I are getting along!"

"I am happy, honey! But I'm also worried about you two. Her doctors told me a million times not to let you guys get too dependent on each other."

Not this again, Azula thought, deeply annoyed. She knew her mother would freak out about Zuko's overprotectiveness again once she found out about what happened at the beach.

"We're not dependent on each other" her brother lied "We just like spending time together."

"It's more than that, and you know it, Zuko" her mother said the very words Azula wanted to say to her brother "You two do almost everything together. You spend much, much more time with each other than with your other friends, and whenever either of you leaves the house you take the other one along. You're constantly talking about each other, she's the one helping you study, you wouldn't leave her side for a single second on her party-"

"So, what? Do you want me to not be her friend anymore? To leave her alone after everything she went through?" he interrupted, sounding absolutely furious.

"Don't put words in my mouth! You know that's not what I'm saying"

Stop getting so defensive or she'll never back off! Azula wanted to yell at her brother. He could miss the most obvious things sometimes, especially when he was angry.

"Think about what's best for your sister. She looks up to you and wants thinks everything you do is right, but just yesterday you beat up a boy so badly he ended up in the hospital"

"He deserved it. He's acting like a poor, innocent victim now, but he started it"

"I don't care who started it! You had every right to defend your sister, but the way you did it was reckless, stupid, and dangerous!"

Dammit, mother, don't make me agree with you.

Ursa sighed and lowered her voice "Zuko, I don't want to hurt either of you, and there's nothing in the world that could ever make me stop loving the two of you, even if I don't approve of every decision you guys make, but the simple fact is that there's something going on between you and Azula, and I can't keep turning a blind eye to it"

"I don't know what you're talking about" he tried to interrupt her, the nervousness in his voice making it painfully obvious how uncomfortable that conversation was making him, but their mother didn't relent.

"Are you two in love?"

Azula felt like time had stopped around her as she waited for what seemed like an eternity for her brother to finally speak up again.

"How can you even ask me something like that? How could you think that she would ev-that we would ever feel that way about each other!"

"I know you two sneak into each other's bedrooms at night"

"It's not what you're thinking"

"How can I possibly be sure considering everything that has been happening?"

"For God's sake, mom, I'm not having sex with her!"

"But are you in love with her?"

"She's my sister!"

"Answer the question!" their mother once again seemed to read Azula's mind.

"No! Happy now? Do you have any more questions or is this insane interrogation finally over? I can't believe you're that paranoid. I thought you knew us better than that, but clearly I was wrong."

Without waiting for Ursa's reply, he stormed off, not coming back home until 3 am. Both Azula and Ursa stayed up, waiting for him. Their mother probably wanted to apologize for angering him - ever since their family truly did fall apart, she seemed to always be terrified of losing either of them again, or even being in bad terms with them.

Zuko didn't come to her room after talking to their mother like Azula had hoped he would, so she went after him. She wanted to make sure he was okay. Instead of finding her brother, she was met by a polite, but cold and distant Zuko.

"I'm sorry I made you worry, but I'm fine, and I just needed some time away from everyone. If it's okay with you, I want to be alone tonight."

Azula didn't argue, simply telling him goodnight, trying and failing to hide her disappointment as she went back to her own room. She knew when she was not wanted.

It didn't matter, she knew this was temporary. Zuko had caved under pressure before and had spent some time away from her when people got suspicious, only to be by her side again after a while, because he knew just as much as she did that what they had was untouchable. Sooner or later, Zuko always came running back to her, like she had found a way to come back to him after all those years their father pitted them against each other.

Their mother could freak out all she wanted, it still wouldn't change the fact that they belonged together.