"All my favorite foods" Azula noted with a smile "Zuko, you shouldn't spoil me so much. I might get used to it."
"Special occasion, special treatment" he responded.
"Oh, well" she said in a playful tone before starting to enjoy her meal.
Zuko noticed their mother smiling at his little interaction with his sister. This whole situation must have felt like a dream come true to her. He remembered how many times he had complained to her about Azula when they were children. And how much she had cried when she found out about everything that happened between them during all the years she had been forced to stay away.
"Speaking of special occasions" uncle Iroh started speaking "I understand your friends are coming over for your birthday."
"Yes" Zuko couldn't help but smile even more. It had been such a long time since he and his friends had all been together "Aang, Katara, Sokka and Toph are probably gonna get here in three or four days. Suki and the other Kyoshi Warriors are going to take a bit longer though. They're pretty busy."
"Ty Lee is one of them now right?" Azula asked, causing their mother to nearly choke on her food.
"Yes" he answered somewhat nervously.
"And what about Mai? When is she coming over?"
"She's only going to be here on the day of the party. And Ty Lee will probably leave after a day or two" Zuko said, hoping he had managed to mask his unease. Azula rarely talked about her former friends. He wasn't sure if it was because of the guilt she felt for everything she had done to them, or because she was still hurt.
His sister simply nodded and continued eating, as if she had not just brought up a subject that had caused her so much pain in the past.
Stop worrying. They've talked it out. They're not friends anymore, but they've moved on. They've forgiven her. They even visited her a few times. It's going to be alright.
Almost as if she had read his mind and wanted to help him calm down, Azula reacted positively when uncle changed the subject and started talking about his tea-shop in Ba Sing Se - something Zuko knew very well she couldn't care less about. Their mother joined in, looking at Azula's interaction with Iroh as if it was the most precious thing in the whole world.
This is what a meal with my family should look like, he thought. We're going to be alright, we just need a bit more time to get used to it. Nothing's missing now that Azula is here.
"Promise me you'll wake me up if you need me for anything?"
"For the billionth time, yes" she answered, rolling her eyes "I promise you i'll run to your room if i need to talk, or if i can't sleep, or if i have a nightmare, or if i just really want to annoy you." She walked up to him and gave him a quick hug "I know you're still trying to figure out how to do this whole 'protective big brother' thing, and for the most part i like it, but you don't have to worry so much."
"Sorry" he said, somewhat embarrassed.
"Go get some sleep. We're going to train together tomorrow, and i don't want you to make up any excuses for why you lost to me."
"I'm not going to lose, Azula." He he tried to mimic her serious, yet somehow still carefree tone. He was pretty sure he failed. No one could exude as much confidence as his sister.
She simply smiled at him "We'll see about that."
