Zuko was surprised by how much he didn't mind going to therapy. He honestly kind of liked it, especially when compared to the only other time he had seen a therapist, right after his dad was arrested. Talking about his relationship with Azula was far less depressing and upsetting.

He had just left the second, and last, session of the week, when he felt someone jumping on his back. The shock wore off pretty quickly as he realized who it was. If the familiar weight and perfume, or even the gentle but still locked tight feel of her arms around her had not given her away already, Zuko would have recognized her by the way she laughed at his 'misery' when he groaned in annoyance.

"Come on, don't be so grumpy. We both know you missed me"

"That doesn't make you any less of a pain" he made her get off of him, then practically crushed her against him as he turned around to face. It had been a month since they had last seen each other. Their mother had redoubled her efforts to always make sure she knew where Azula was after she had snuck out of the house to go meet him. Yet obviously Azula managed to leave without her knowing "How did you get out without getting caught?"

"I always find a way, dum-dum" she said, like that was more than sufficient explanation "Oh, and I've been thinking..."

"Oh no"

"Don't interrupt me" she looked so cute when she was mad "I've been thinking it's about time we spend time as an actual family again. I want you, as well Lu Ten and uncle fatty to have dinner with us"

He stared at her in disbelief "You think mom is gonna let you do that right after you sneaked out to see me again?"

"Yes. Because she misses you, her husband is mostly on our side, so are Kiyi and Lu Ten, and she has always liked pretending things are perfectly normal even when they're not. Maybe it will take me a few extra days to convince her if she is too mad, but she'll allow it. And since uncle Iroh still wants to pretend he isn't just as oblivious as she is, he's gonna show up and drag Lu Ten along the second he hears about you paying us a visit"

"I don't know about this"

"Please" she begged adorably and he nearly caved.

"Nothing good can come of it"

"You don't know that"

"Yes, I do"

"Kiyi misses you" she said, already knowing she had won.

He gave her an annoyed glare "That's cheating"

She smirked "I thought you'd be used to that by now, dum-dum"

He fought the urge to smile "Fine. I'll go. If you behave"

She was visibly disappointed "Do I have to?"

"Yes"

"Fine. But you're gonna have to make it up to me later"

He pulled her close to himself "Won't be a problem" he whispered, nipping at her ear, feeling her trembling in his arms and then giving a slow, tender kiss.

Zuko didn't know if he was ever going to get used to that. Just being able to show his sister as much affection as he wanted, not having to worry if anyone was going to see them, if one happy moment would just ruin everything by happening at the wrong time. Even after they both got very frankly reckless about hiding their relationship, there was always that bit of paranoia, as well as reasonable fear, making him at least a little worried.

And now here he was. Side by side with Azula, enjoy some time with her, the two of them walking around like a normal couple, stealing a few kisses every now and again, not caring if anyone they knew would see them like this. He might never truly get used to it, but he could certainly like it quite a lot.

If everything went right.

Everyone already knows. The hard part is already over. Stop freaking out.

He focused on just going to a few stores with his sister, buying a few things they'd need for the apartment - that he had already gotten the keys to a few days prior. He let Azula choose everything they would and wouldn't take and what brands they'd buy, not just to avoid wasting their time with boring arguments (that she'd probably win anyway) but also because he knew that if he bought something that broke down too fast he'd never hear the end of it.

They put all the bags in the car, and, miraculously, he managed to convince Azula to actually let him take her home so they wouldn't make their mother even more furious at them... or so he thought.

"You know what'd be nice? Saying hello to uncle" she said with a smirk that filled him with dread.

"I don't think that's a good idea"

"Oh, come on, don't take this too seriously. Let's just pay him a visit. It's gonna be fun to mess with him a little" he saw a devilish spark in her eyes "Maybe he'd call mom and Ikem again. It'd be interesting to see how they'd do an intervention when our step-dad is officially on our side"

"Azula, I'm serious. This isn't a good idea"

She frowned "What's with you? You're being more of a killjoy than usual"

He sighed and parked the car, already preparing for a fight. There was zero chance of her reacting well to what he was going to say "We can't keep antagonizing them like this"

His sister gave him an angry glare "You didn't have a problem with it when we told them, or when uncle was being unreasonable"

"Well, I do now!"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" he lied. Very badly. Which only made his sister get more suspicious.

"There has to be something! This isn't the first time you've been acting weird around me. You just had to let a doctor talk you into being ashamed of being with me, didn't you? Was that really all it took?" despite her harsh tone, he could hear the hurt. On top of making him feel a little guilty, that disproportional reaction, something he would have done but definitively not Azula, showed him that quite clearly that entire month apart was being just as difficult for her as it was for him.

"Hey, don't talk like that" he said, making his voice as gentle as possible, cupping her face with his hands, making sure she kept her eyes on him "I love you. That's why I'm asking you not to do this. I'm not gonna pretend I don't like how you rub our relationship in everyone's face, but I don't wanna risk pushing everyone away completely. I wouldn't forgive myself if you lost the people you care about"

She gave him a sad little pout "That would never happen. Our family is annoying, but if they were going to turn their backs on us, they would have done it already"

"We can't know for sure, and I'm done pushing our luck"

"Is this really the only reason?"

"Yes" he lied again, and for a minute neither of them said anything. He could see it in her eyes that she did not believe him, and half expected her to go back to the argument. Instead, she just gave him an adorably annoyed look.

"Is therapy supposed to make you boring?"

Zuko chuckled despite himself "I suppose we'll find out" he pressed a few quick kisses to her lips, not stopping until he felt her smile "Want to wait a little more before going home?"

"Oh, I don't wanna bother you" she replied in that playful, overly sweet, completely insincere way that never failed to amuse him.

"Come on, we can go to the park, to the movies, visit one of our friends. Whatever you like"

"Well, if you insist..." without another word, she pulled him in for a deep kiss which he eagerly returned, forcing his anxiety to shut up for a little while longer, just focusing on the feeling of his sister's body close to his, her hands grabbing at his hair and shoulders, her lips conquering his "You're gonna have to pamper and spoil me for the rest of the afternoon"

He rolled his eyes "Like you don't make me do that all the time anyways"

She frowned again "We're having a moment here. Don't ruin it"

He smirked and kissed her cheek, and took her to the movies, feeling alright again. Things always felt right when they were together.

Things only felt right when they were together.