Zuko felt like the whole world had stopped existing when he finally held her tight against himself as Azula embraced him and kissed his neck. He could feel her body shaking, her hands clutching at his clothes, a few warm tears falling on his shoulder as they streamed down his sister's face.

"I'm sorry" she said in a weak voice, holding on to him like her life depended on it "Zuzu, I'm so sorry. I should have listened to you. I shouldn't have left. I don't know why I did what I did during the battle. I don't know why I'm making so many mistakes. I don't know why I'm making things harder for myself"

"Ssshhh, it's okay. It's okay, Zula" he ran his fingers through her hair, soothing her. He had seen her like this a few times - she'd do something impulsive and reckless to prove to herself and others that she was still in control, and regret it immensely once she started to come back to her senses.

But it usually wasn't something as dangerous as this whole plan, and definitively anywhere as reckless as her behavior during the battle.

"We'll get through this. We'll go home, you go back to your treatment and you'll continue to get better. What happened today won't happen again. I promise you I'll take better care of you"

"It wasn't your fault" she said, pulling away to look at him. With those sad, loving eyes...

He cupped her face, gently running his thumbs across her cheeks, taking in the sight in front of him, staring at his lover in complete adoration before finally capturing her lips in a sweet, desperate kiss. His sister immediately responded by bringing him even closer to her, keeping his body pressed against her, kissing him passionately, completely forgetting there were people around.

For a few sweet instants, time had stopped for them. And even after they pulled away for air, they were clinging to each other as if their lives depended on it, and anyone who was uncomfortable with it was smart enough to keep their mouth shut. He covered her face with kisses, slowly making that saddened expression she wore be replaced by a shy smile.

"Zuko" his uncle awkwardly called, looking like he would throw up or pass out at any second "We still have things to do."

"Start without me" he said, grabbing his sister's hand and leading her to the bedroom where'd stay. He could tell everyone was more relaxed now that they were leaving, and that Azula was nervous about the conversation they would have.

Still, she did not waste any time and went straight to the point.

"You want to know why I tried to speed things up, right?"

"Yes" he answered, closing the door behind himself then sitting next to her on the bed "You insisted so much on going through with this plan, so I was scared when you changed your mind so suddenly."

Azula looked absolutely ashamed of herself, much like she had the days after their Agni Kai. She hated acting irrationally, but it was clear she still couldn't fully control herself "I kept going back and forth so many times" she admitted "I wanted to run back to the palace the second I left, then I felt so confident, then I'd get scared again" she buried her face on her hands, then started rubbing her temples like she did whenever she had a headache "And today I was only going to fight if I was attacked. But being in a battle again, seeing all those enemies around us, knowing all these people would hurt you if they could" he could hear the rage in her voice "I just couldn't take it. I wanted to annihilate them all. If I could, I would have made all of our allies leave so we could take those rebels down ourselves"

Zuko pulled her close, letting her rest her head on his shoulder "I should have never let you try to put this plan into action in the first place. This is my fault, Azula."

"No, it's not" she argued as she got up "I'm the one who should have known better."

"You were my responsibility, not the other way around"

"I could have gotten you killed" she turned to him with tears in her eyes "Once Ty Lee and the others managed to make me calm down all I could think about was what would have happened if I made any mistakes while fighting, if I hadn't been fast or strong enough, or if I had distracted you at exactly the wrong time. I could have lost you" he had never heard her sound so guilty "I could have killed our baby"

For a few seconds, Zuko had no idea what to do, simply staring at his sister in shock. He knew there was a chance Azula was pregnant, but knowing it was truth, that they were already starting a family left him completely paralyzed. Without even thinking about it, he got up and embraced her, holding her tight and comforting her as she sobbed. He then carried her to the bed, lying her down, keeping her safe in his arms long after she had calmed down, just feeling her heart beating alongside his.

"I want be better, Zuzu" she said at last "I want to be a good mom."

"You will be" he promised "You've already made a lot of progress, Zula. You'll be a good mom, a good queen. We'll find a way to make it all work" he kissed her forehead.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I know you. I know how loving, protective and fierce you can be. Any kid would be lucky to have you as their mom, and I wouldn't want to start a family with anyone other than you."

Azula kissed him again, smiling against his lips.

"I missed you so much, you dum-dum."

He chuckled and caressed her cheek "I missed you too, Lala."