Azula had figured out something had gone wrong pretty fast, since her mother took far, far, far too long to allow them to get out of the room, only showing up a few times to give them some food, but still making sure to remind them to not leave or let anybody in. It was almost midnight when they were finally let out, there were guards and servants running through the halls like scared animals, and her mother looked absolutely exhausted.

The princess had felt as if the floor had crumbled underneath her feet when she heard about her father's death, but her pain was quickly replaced by anger once she learned about how his death had happened - or rather, when she heard Ursa's obvious lies. She knew very well who was the 'mysterious' assassin who took out her father and grandfather. And while she had kept her mouth shut around others, if only to avoid letting servants and guards see just how vulnerable and broken the royal family now was, she did not hold back when they were alone.

"Azula, everything I did was to protect your brother"

"Liar! You hated my father, you wanted him dead!"

"Honey, please, I know you're suffering, but try to understand tha-"

"Shut up!" she interrupted, already tearing up "I don't have to understand anything! You killed my dad!"

"He was going to kill your brother! I had no choice!"

"You could have talked to him, you could have made him understand that this was a bad idea!"

"I tried. Honey, I swear I tried. I never wanted this. But he just wouldn't listen. I couldn't let him kill Zuko"

Azula didn't have the strength to keep arguing. As she started crying, Ursa pulled her in for a hug, stroking her hair and trying to comfort her as she sobbed in her arms. It didn't last long. Azula pushed her away and ran back to her own room, locking the door and refusing to open it even as her mother begged her to. She didn't want to see her. Not now, not ever. She also didn't want to have to put up with the servants and guards looking at her with pity while still being clearly relieved that her father and grandfather were dead. When her uncle came back home, she ignored him completely, and if she could she would have made him leave again - knowing he would be the Fire Lord, that he would have the crown that should have been her father's was just too much. She shut everyone off almost completely, barely leaving her room, and even refusing to talk to her friends when they came to visit her. The princess simply didn't want to see anyone.

...But she couldn't stand to be alone. And Zuko was the only one she had left. He was the only one she trusted enough to let him see her in such a vulnerable, pathetic position.

Despite this, Azula still felt absolutely ashamed of herself every time she gave in and crawled into her brother's bed in the middle of the night, shaking and fighting back tears. She didn't allow there to be any light in the room, and she slept with her back turned to Zuko, hiding her face in the pillow and throwing the blanket over head. She'd push him away whenever he tried to hug her, yet she'd always wake up holding onto him for dear life. Thankfully he'd just silently comfort her instead of asking about her nightmares.

There were two that would repeat themselves over and over in her head, and she couldn't decide which one was worse.

In one, she'd be running through the halls of the palace, being chased by enemies, hearing her family screaming in agony and being unable to find and help them. Eventually, one by one, the screams would stop completely and the enemies would disappear. She'd wander through the empty ruins of what was once her home, trying to find someone, anyone, until she'd end up at the old chambers that once were reserved for any Avatar that visited or lived on the palace. She'd see an airbender standing in the middle of the room, preparing an attack... only to then smile cruelly at her and let her live, forcing her to endure the same her family had made suffer through being truly, completely alone, knowing that everyone she had once loved was gone.

The other was much simpler, yet equally as terrifying to her. He father would wake her up, to train her, but it would in the middle of the night instead of early in the morning. He'd take her to the Agni Kai room, spar with her until she was exhausted. But instead of taking her back to her own room, he'd take her to Zuko's, who would sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of their presence. Ozai would then tell her that, now that she had proved her abilities, she had to prove her loyalty to the Fire Lord - and follow the order Ursa had not allowed him to.

Azula would always wake up before her dream-self could decide what to do. She wanted to believe that, no matter what, she would never do this to her brother, not even in a dream, not even for the Fire Lord, not even for her father. But she couldn't. Mere months prior she thought of her brother as just as enemy. There was no way for her to know - truly know - what she would have done in that situation, and that scared her.

It also made her feel a bit guilty to be comforted by Zuko. He was becoming an amazing brother, yet Azula's mind constantly kept reminding her that would never be truly able to be a good sister to him.

And despite of everything, she still couldn't help but resent him a little. She knew he was suffering too, but he still had uncle. And he still had Ursa, who Azula was sure would go back into thinking everything she did was wrong the second she managed to get over the guilt of having killed Ozai. And Zuko would her favorite again.

Still she couldn't help but want him around. And knowing that he wanted her around was one of the few things that comforted her.

The weeks after his father and grandfather's death had probably been the tensest of Zuko's life. He could almost feel how afraid everyone was of bringing up the subject, and refused to speculate on how exactly they had met their end, and the servants and guards were even more paranoid and self-conscious around them than usual. His mother still seemed to be struggling with some guilt over what she had done, though Zuko suspected it was mostly due to how it affected Azula than out of genuine affection for either man. Even uncle Iroh, despite how appalled he had been by the circumstances that lead to that entire mess, was visibly upset - Zuko could only imagine how he felt having lost three people so suddenly, in such a short amount of time.

But the person he was worried about the most was still his sister. While she was doing better, and had started hanging out with her friends and practicing her firebending again, he could see she was clearly still hurting.

And she had obviously not forgiven their mother. Truth be told, he also struggled to accept that what Ursa had done was necessary, and even though his father had stopped caring about him a long time ago, Zuko couldn't help but mourn him. He could only imagine how much pain Azula was in, considering not only that she actually had a good relationship with Ozai, but that she did not get along with their mother.

He knew Ursa never meant to hurt his sister, but all the time he had spent with Azula let him see just how differently their mother treated her. She wasn't as understanding, patient or forgiving whenever his sister did something wrong, and she rarely spent time alone with her like she did with him. Even the little progress they had made before Ozai's death wasn't all that great since it took Azula being kind to him for her to see his sister as more than a just a difficult kid, and Ursa had never punished him for being mean to his sister as harshly as she did with Azula when she was mean to him. His uncle, for whom the young prince had just as much love and respect as he had for his mother, often acted the exact same way, seeing his sister as a problem to be dealt with before seeing her as family.

Sure, neither of them were never as cruel as Ozai and their way of playing favorites wasn't as explicit, and likely wasn't even intentional... but it still happened. And Zuko felt bad that he once thought Azula deserved this, that it was fair that he got to have someone who preferred him since their father clearly favored her, and she had friends and the admiration of everyone in their nation since she was a prodigy. Now that Ozai was gone, he could truly see how lonely she was.

And he simply couldn't accept it.

So, Zuko tried not being in her way anymore. He talked to their mother and uncle, explained why he believed they had been unfair to his sister. He also let her play alone with her friends and went back to training by himself instead of alongside her, even though he had gotten used to being with her all the time. But, of course, he would still be there for her whenever she needed him.

But maybe he should have talked to her about it as well, instead of just to others, and assuming she'd understand. It hadn't even been an entire week before she barged into his room, demanding answers.

"Who do you think you are?" his sister asked in that absolutely indignant tone, taking the scroll he was reading from his hands "Why are you ignoring me? Why is everyone acting weird around me? What is it you keep talking to them about?" with each question, she pushed him, until his back was against the wall.

"I'm not ignoring you" he tried to explain "I'm just trying to help you"

"How? By telling everyone I'm a stupid, needy little kid? You think I can't get people to like me or treat me with respect without you having to beg them to pity me?" Azula kept trying to sound angry, but Zuko could hear the pain and confusion in her voice. He was sure she would have never let her emotions get the better of her for something so small if she wasn't still suffering. His sister was a proper princess; she didn't lower herself to making a scene for foolish things, and she had a much easier time at controlling her temper than he had.

"Azula, I thought we were past that" he grabbed her by the shoulders "We're friends again, aren't we? Do you really think I wanted to be away from you?" when her expression softened, he pulled her in for a tight embrace, but she didn't hug him back "I know mother and uncle were unfair to you, and I know that hurt you more than you want to admit. What kind of brother would I be if I didn't try to help"

She pulled away from him "What about my friends? I thought you liked it when we all played together"

Zuko blushed "I-I thought y-you didn't want me to do that anymore... because of Mai"

He saw her getting angry again "So she has a stupid crush on you. Who cares?"

"You care" he said without thinking, earning himself a punch in the arm "What? It's true!" he complained, rubbing his arm "You were acting all weird since you noticed she liked me, and you won't even let me talk to her"

"Why do you want to talk to her anyway?"

"That's not the point!" he didn't like where this conversation was going "You don't want me to talk to her, so I'm keeping my distance. I didn't think you'd be hurt. I thought this would make you happy"

"Well, it didn't" she actually pouted "I don't to see her acting all stupid around you just because of a silly crush, but I'll put up with it" she gave him a sheepish look "I need you, Zuzu"

He smiled sweetly at her "I need you too, Lala"

"Don't call me that!"

Zuko smirked "Don't worry, you'll get used to it"

Azula had been a little hesitant to go to her brother's room that night. She no longer needed it that much since the nightmares were no longer as frequent, but she still wanted him around. She just lied next to him, waiting to fall asleep despite being unable to relax. But this time, out of excitement, not stress. Zuzu had promised to start spending time with her again.

And even though she told him he didn't have to, he still said he'd let her have more time alone with their mother, so they could try to work things out.

She couldn't help but be touched by his action. Specially because she knew that had hurt him. Zuko had always loved their mother and uncle so much, and it was clear he thought they could do no wrong. For him to not only recognize that they had made a mistake, but also saying that to they AND being willing to spend less time with their mother, meant the world to Azula - to know that she finally had someone who just cared about her happiness.

"I'll make you happy too, Zuzu" she whispered, squeezing her brother's hand as he slept peacefully "I'll be the sweet, loving little sister you want me to be"