Azula wasn't really sure how long she actually expected her relationship with Sokka to last, but here they were six months later and packing for the trip to Hira'a. Sokka had convinced Aang into letting them borrow Appa again, which didn't really take much convincing since the Avatar always meant to get Appa out and flying more than he actually did. So right now Azula was in her and Mika's bedroom, packing up a bag, when she heard the door to the apartment open and Mika's excited squeal,

"Daddy!" Azula rolled her eyes; at some point in the last six months Mika had begun referring to Sokka as her father.

Sometimes Azula thought that maybe she should correct her daughter, but then Sokka would come around and just him being him told her that he wasn't lying when he said he was never going to leave.

He better not leave she thought to herself, just thinking of the effect that would have on her daughter was enough to remind Azula why she almost didn't go out with Sokka in the first place. But she had taken a chance on her feelings and so far she didn't regret it, but the upcoming trip made her nervous.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the presence of somebody behind her, more specifically somebody taller than her with his arms wrapping around her waist and his lips planting a gentle kiss on the crook of her neck. She hated how he could make her melt into him so easily, but not enough to fight it.

"We're not leaving until tomorrow, I thought you'd be home packing." She said to him and he chuckled lightly into her ear.

"Half my stuff is here anyway" he excused and Azula smirked as she turned around in his arms.

"Well half my stuff is there but I'm still packing here" she teased but Sokka didn't counter her with a joke like she expected, instead his face became serious.

"Azula come on, I haven't seen you all week." He began but he wasn't quite sure how to continue, how to ask his girlfriend why she was avoiding him. Truthfully he thought it had to do with the trip, that she's nervous about facing her mother after all these years but what he didn't understand was why she wouldn't tell him such a thing. After everything they've been through she knows he'll be here for her, she knows he'll help her through anything. She knows she's not alone, so why was she isolating herself?

When he didn't continue Azula responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and moving just slightly closer to him.

"I told you I didn't want to get you sick" she excused

"And I told you I don't care" he countered, about two weeks ago Mika had caught the stomach flu from Bumi and a few days later Azula caught it from Mika. Sokka had tried to take care of her but she insisted that, at least for a few days, he keep his distance.

"And I told you that I'd be lucky to be better by today, but if you got sick just a few days after I did then you'd be sick the entire trip and that is a problem I have no intentions of dealing with." Azula explained and when Sokka rolled his eyes with a smile she knew she had won.

"Fine" he said before he leaned in and kissed her, "so I take it you're better?" He questioned, finally releasing his girlfriend from his hold on her so she could return to her packing.

"I'm still not my best but I'm not worried about you getting sick anymore" she answered as she closed up the bag she had been packing and took a seat on the bed.

"You know if you want to wait a couple of days I'm sure your mom won't mind." Sokka suggested; excited as he was for this trip he didn't want to go if Azula thought she was going to be sick the whole time.

But she shook her head, "no I'll be fine. Besides Mika will throw a fit if we delay this anymore" she laughed and Sokka laughed too, of all of them Mika was probably the most excited for this.

Despite her laughter Sokka knew that Azula was still nervous and so he gently placed his hand atop hers.

"Hey, it's going to ok, I promise." He assured her and she smiled before intertwining her fingers with his.

"Thank you"

"I thought you said you felt better?" Sokka questioned when they set off the next morning and after about an hour Azula began throwing up over the side of the saddle.

"No, I said I'm not contagious" She said before vomiting up the last of her breakfast, "Besides I think its just air sickness" she continued and she heard Sokka muttering something under his breath about how he told her that they could hold off a few more days if she was still sick. But mostly he was just kicking himself because he should've tried harder to get his girlfriend to postpone this trip. He knew that Azula still didn't feel great, yesterday morning was the first time he had seen her in a week and even then she told him that she wasn't feeling her best. But they both wanted to go to Hira'a and soon, throw Mika's excitement into the mix and neither of them could bear to put it off anymore.

The rest of the flight passed with the biggest problem being Mika complaining of boredom. It was nearing sunset when they decided to land in a clearing for the night and travel the rest of the way in the morning. Much like the last time Mika was the first one off Appa and was running around excitedly the moment they landed.

"Daddy, daddy watch this!" Mika shouted while Sokka was gathering up wood for a fire.

"Alright I'm watching" Sokka said, momentarily pausing his actions to watch his sort of stepdaughter.

Mika took up a fighting stance and soon began to go through the motions of a basic fire bending form that she had been learning in class. At the end of the form she managed to generate a small spark of fire and turned around looking disappointed in herself.

"Hold your fist steady at the end" Azula advised her daughter before demonstrating, generating a rather large trail of orange fire as she finished.

Mika mimicked her action and made a much bigger flame at the end.

"Good job" Sokka praised, Mika's smile lighting up her face. "You think you'll ever use blue fire again?" He whispered as Azula walked past him.

"I hope not" she answered, "All it's ever done is destroy"

"Azula you didn't-" Sokka began but he was cut off.

"I know Bao survived. But even so that kind of power only comes from pure rage" she explained before glancing over at Mika who was clumsily rehearsing the form over and over again. "That's a feeling I never want to know again," she concluded.

When they arrived in Hira'a the following day Zuko was waiting for them at the edge of town where they decided to leave Appa. It was the first time either Sokka or Azula had seen him since the assassination attempt by Jong and his gang, and the first time Mika had ever seen him.

"You know when you sent me a letter saying you had started dating my best friend I thought you were joking" Zuko remarked as his sister dismounted the flying bison, Sokka and Mika following her actions.

"Funny, I thought the same thing when you said mom was actually looking forward to this visit" Azula shot back at her brother and he ran a hand over his face.

"Azula" he groaned

"Sorry" she apologized, "I'm just…" she trailed off, not really knowing how to admit her nervousness to her brother. But he understood and with a small smile grabbed her hand.

"It's ok" he assured her before allowing his gaze to fall on the little girl peeking out from behind his sister's legs.

Azula looked back at Mika too, only just now registering her daughter's grip on her skirt.

"Mika this is your Uncle Zuko" she introduced, gently ushering her daughter in front of her as Zuko crouched down to the little girl's height.

"Hello Mika" he said but she only jumped back behind her mother, who rolled her eyes disapprovingly.

"Mika come on, you've been dying to get here and see him, it's all you've talked about all morning" she reminded her daughter but the little girl remained hidden.

"It's alright, she'll warm up" Zuko said as he stood up straight again and looked Azula in the eyes. "Are you ready?" He asked

"As I'll ever be," she answered nervously.

Azula carried Mika all the way to her mother's house, which was not very far from the edge of town. Therefor they got there quicker than Azula would've liked and before she knew it she was standing in front of the door. She just stared at it for a minute, wondering if it was really too late to turn around and run back to Republic City. She looked behind her to Sokka who gave her nothing more than an encouraging nod.

"Come on" Zuko finally broke the silence before he opened the door and walked into the house, "mom?" He called out as the four of them walked in.

The room was empty and Azula was sure that was no accident. Maybe they didn't want to see her; maybe they wanted nothing to do with her. She wouldn't blame them for that, but she was wrong. A woman came and entered the living room; she was a young woman with tanned skin and dark eyes. Her brown hair was done in a braid and hung over her right shoulder, Azula knew it was Kiyi.

Kiyi's brow furrowed at the sight of the guests, as if she hadn't really expected them to come; maybe she hadn't.

"Mom, Dad!" She shouted into the kitchen behind her.

A man and a woman entered from the kitchen, Ursa and Ikem. Kiyi turned away and left the living room as if she had no interest in the visitors, and Azula didn't miss how Zuko looked frustrated by their sister's actions. But he dismissed it for the moment and, knowing she couldn't hide behind her daughter forever, Azula handed Mika off to Sokka before facing her mother and stepfather.

"I-" she started to apologize but that was all she managed to get out before Ursa ran across the room and embraced her in a hug. Azula was taken back the action, even more so when she felt her mother beginning to cry. But she returned the hug nothing less.

"I'm sorry," she whispered into her mother's ear.

"So am I" Ursa answered.

The rest of the night went well. Mika eventually warmed up to all the new people and Azula was happy that all seemed forgiven between her and her family, well almost. Kiyi was quiet all night, and when she wasn't quiet she was sarcastic and her sarcasm was often met with a verbal scolding from Zuko if not either of her parents. The breaking point came during dinner when Mika was excitedly babbling about the progress she was making in her bending lessons.

"Mommy's been showing me some stuff too," she announced and Kiyi huffed.

"Hope you don't take after her" she muttered, slightly louder than she had intended.

"Kiyi!" Ursa scolded, she was beyond fed up with her daughter's childish behavior at this point.

"What? You want her to grow up to hurt people?" Kiyi demanded and the room fell silent.

"Mommy, what's Aunt Kiyi talking about?" Mika finally asked in a timid voice. Azula didn't know how to answer her daughter, but surprisingly it was Kiyi who answered.

"Nothing" she growled as she stood from the table and walked off, surprising everyone slightly when she didn't tell Mika the truth.

"I'm sorry, she's never like this. I don't know what's gotten into her." Ikem apologized but Azula only stood up calmly.

"Don't be. I think it's time I talked to her." She said then followed the direction Kiyi had taken out of the room.

Kiyi was alone in her room, thinking bitterly and regretfully about her behavior. She knew it wasn't justified, that Azula probably had her reasons for not coming home until now, but that didn't help calm her anger. It was a family trait, she figured. Both Zuko and Azula had suffered from anger, though Zuko's was an anger that she understood. She supposed that if her sister hadn't been so absent all these years then maybe she would understand her too, but that's nothing more than bitter thinking.

"Go away mom" she said when she heard a soft knock on her door, now was not the time for a lecture from her mother.

But the door opened anyway, "what about me?" A gentle voice questioned, Azula's voice.

Kiyi scoffed as she turned around to face the doorway where sure enough Azula was standing. "You already did," she said bitterly. Azula frowned as she quietly closed the door behind me.

"Kiyi I'm sorry about attacking you guys all those years ago-" she began but Kiyi only scoffed.

"You seriously think I care about that?" She questioned, folding her arms over her chest as she stood from her seat on her bed. "Yeah I was scared that day but that's it, I was never angry." She confessed and Azula eyed her curiously.

"Then what are you mad about?" She asked

"You left." Kiyi deadpanned, "you just ran into that forest and never came back. Every night for months all four of us would wander aimlessly in those woods for hours but we never found you. Eventually Zuko had to go home and it was just mom, dad and I. But we still searched every night with no sign of you. Eventually, and by eventually I mean after two years, we stopped going. But every night mom and dad sat at the edge of the forest, desperately listening for any sign of you. They stopped when I was fourteen, and when they did I returned to searching. I've searched those woods at least once a week for the past seven years only to find out that all this time you were perfectly safe and living out of the forest with a new family!" She exclaimed. "Do you have any idea what my life's been like?" She demanded, "to have my own sister just show up and not only hate me from the moment she met me, but then just disappear! I've spent my entire life wondering not only what I ever did to make you hate me so much but also what happened to you! I've spent my life half wishing you were dead because that way at least I would know what became of you!" She ranted before her voice became a deadly calm. "But the worst, the by far worst, is learning that during all those years of suffering you were happy and you were safe, and you could've ended it for me if you weren't so concerned with forgetting your own misery." She spat in conclusion. Azula simply stared at the ground, tears clouding her eyes, while her little sister stood before her seething with rage.

"Believe it or not, I know exactly how you feel" the older woman finally said but it only enraged her sister more.

"No you don't! You-" Kiyi began to shout but she was cut off.

"Lost my mother when I seven!" Azula shouted even louder than her sister, and it stopped her rant cold.

"You think I don't know what it's like to go through life confused and desperate for answers?" She asked, "I'll let you in on a little secret Kiyi, I was never exactly an angel of a child. I was rude and bratty and I tortured Zuko. Mom was always scolding me and hugging Zuko, I was convinced that she hated me from the minute I was born. I was convinced that she never even wanted me; she already had her perfect child. Then one morning I woke up to find that my grandfather was dead and my mother was gone. You think I didn't wonder what happened to her? That I didn't wonder if she was dead or alive? Then how do you think I felt, when after all those years, I found her here? With a new life, a new family, a new face, and no memories whatsoever of me. She chose to forget about me, her daughter." She explained then narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, "Kiyi I am truly sorry for putting you through what I did, because it's a fate I've been through and would never wish on anyone." She concluded and by now Kiyi had returned to sitting on her bed, her face now showing nothing but remorse.

"Would you hate me if I said I understand why you tried to kill her?" She asked but Azula shook her head.

"No, in fact I'd be concerned if you didn't want to kill me when I walked through that door today." She admitted, daring to sit beside her sister.

Kiyi looked away, not wanting to let Azula see how much regret she was feeling.

"Hey, can I tell you something?" Azula finally asked, Kiyi looked up and nodded.

Azula opened her mouth but the words wouldn't come, she wanted to tell Kiyi about this, she had to tell someone. But the words just wouldn't form on her mouth, as if saying this out loud would destroy her, like she thought it did last time.

"Never mind" she finally said but Kiyi only eyed her curiously before she looked away again.

"I'd tell you you can trust me but I can understand why you wouldn't," she said

"No it's not that!" Azula said quickly as she stood up and began pacing the bedroom, "It's not that at all" she assured. "It's just that… look I trust you Kiyi, I do. It's just, and I'm not worried about you telling people; in fact I think it'd be helpful if you did. But the last time this happened…" she stuttered awkwardly around what she had to say. Come on Azula just say it! She mentally scolded herself.

"You're not in trouble are you?" Kiyi asked skeptically

"No, no, nothing like that" Azula quickly defended.

"Then tell me. Come on whatever this is it's scaring you, but I can't help if you won't talk." Kiyi said and Azula nodded

"Ok" she said before taking a second to calm her racing mind, she was thinking of ways to say this but it was pointless, because she knew the best and easiest way was to just spit it out.

"I'm pregnant" she confessed.