Azula could barely believe that it was finally her 18th birthday. The very next morning, she'd leave her mother's home and go live with Zuko.

No more sneaking around like they were doing something wrong, no more having to lie about where she was going, no more having to wonder if a fight would break out if they got too clingy with each other, no more struggling to keep quiet or rushing to put their clothes back on because they heard someone's foot-steps, and no more having to sleep in separate rooms or worry about the consequences of being caught spending the night together.

All of that was finally about to happen, all she'd have to do was enjoy - and endure - another special day with her family. At least she had gotten to choose the place where they'd celebrate.

Unfortunately, they had all immediately gone to the roller coasters, much to Azula's chagrin.

"Don't worry, Lala. I'll protect you" Zuzu teased, wrapping one arm around her. This time, they didn't get an angry glare from uncle Iroh. Apparently, Zuko giving her affection was okay as long she didn't like it.

"Shut up"

"Honey, you don't have to go if you don't want to" their mom said "I can skip on it and go do something else with you if you'd like"

"I am not a child and I'm not scared, I just don't like roller coasters"

"Of course" Lu Ten said, giving her the same insufferable, teasing grin Zuko had on his stupid face.

"Just get this over with" she said, and wouldn't let anyone argue or try to talk her out of it.

She regreted it the second the damned thing started moving. She was pretty sure she crushed at least twelve of Zuko's bones as she clung to him for dear life, panicking, feeling like she'd die at any second, and screaming her head off. At least Ikem seemed to be even more miserable than she was. The guy was usually so quiet it was like he wasn't there, so to hear him yell like he was being murdered was honestly shocking.

Once if finally stopped and she was freed from that death-trap, her brother took her by the hand and kissed her cheek.

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"Are you okay?" he asked, a tender but still somewhat teasing look in his eyes, and a dumb smile on his ridiculous, adorable face.

"Of course I am. It wasn't even that bad"

"Then why are you still shaking?"

"No teasing me today, it's my birthday" she retorted with a pout.

"You never give me a break on my birthday"

"Yeah, because you always let me get away with it"

"Are you guys done?" Kiyi asked, looking up at them "I want to go to the carousel"

"I'll take you" Azula said, immediately grabbing her sister's hand and going as far away from the rollercoasters as possible, cheeks burning red with embarrassment and anger while hearing Zuko and Lu Ten laughing as she ran.

Azula would never admit it, but she actually had a good time keeping Kiyi busy. The kid could be cute sometimes, and having someone who looked up to her so much was good for her ego.

"Do you really have to move to a new place?" she asked, giving her the puppy-dog eyes "Everyone already knows about you and Zuko. You guys can still live with us"

Azula pulled her in for a hug "It wasn't just because of our family that we wanted to move out, Kiyi. Zuzu and I want our own place. And we'll still visit as much as possible, okay?" when her sister didn't respond, she tried a different trick "Want some cotton-candy?"

"Yes!"

They had found the others close by, and as Azula ate her little treat, she noticed her brother looked a bit agitated. It took her more than time than usual to figure out what was going on, since everyone was talking, laughing, and making jokes, but once she saw him blush as she brought her fingers to her lips to clean them, there was nothing else that could get her attention at that moment.

"Really, Zuzu?" she asked, as she dragged him a bit further away from their relatives, so they wouldn't hear their conversation "Cotton-candy? This does it for you?"

"Hey, this wouldn't happen if you didn't use everything to get me going"

"I would be more selective if you were, pervert"

"Liar"

"Why are you complaining? We both know you love it"

"You're the one who started it!" he argued, making her chuckle and then placate him with a quick kiss.

"You know I can't waste a chance to get on your nerves" she said, eating some more of her cotton-candy, then slowly bringing her fingers to her mouth, one by one, not breaking eye contact with her brother for a single second, smiling as she could almost see all the dirty thoughts going through his mind just by looking at his face.

She didn't get to do it a second time, as Zuko snatched the candy from her hands and ran fast and far, leaving her no choice but to chase after him indignantly, only to find him having already devoured the treat.

He made it up to her by buying another one, which they shared as they walked around, flirting and bickering while choosing which attraction they'd go to next.

The hours had passed unbelievably fast. It was already night-time, and they still had not seen everything the park had. Only one had disappointed them: the haunted house.

Yet even that ended up being fun, as Zuko, even while telling her not to be mean, loved hearing her jokes at the expense of the "monsters" with cheap costumes, bad make-up, and incredibly poor acting skills. By far the more terrifying part of the whole ordeal was uncle Iroh staying behind to flirt with one of the old ladies who worked there.

To compensate for that horrifying experience, Azula took her brother to the best part of any amusement park - the bumper cars. This park had the advantage of having one solely for firebenders instead of just the regular ones. Azula's flames being more powerful than everyone else's always gave her an advantage, and Zuko, as usual, was the only person competitive and stubborn enough to challenge her every single time, even once it was clear she could not be defeated.

Last time they had played in one of these, they were politely asked to never show their faces at the park again, since all their fighting scared the kids and led to many seriously damaged cars. Since they liked this place, they controlled themselves a bit more.

It still led to her brother spewing out every insult and bad word in the English language as she'd hit his car at almost full speed and force, while holding back with everyone else. She also managed to avoid nearly every single one of his attacks, laughing whenever she managed to get out of the way at just the right time to send him crashing against something, or someone, else.

Once nobody had the guts to play while they were still in there, but were still watching their "battle" for quite some time and making bets on who would win, Azula hit him with all she had, and Zuko left his car, fuming with rage. Some idiot made the mistake of trying to mock him, and ended up getting shoved to the ground in a split second. Everybody got the hint and let him walk away without bothering him.

To avoid dealing with Zuko's tantrum over her provocations, Azula grabbed his hand and practically forced him follow her, demanding to go to the Ferris Wheel. He managed to free himself of her grasp, and gave her a playful smirk before running away from her, the two of them laughing as she ran after him, unsure if it was a chase or a race. Either way, once she caught up with him, she jumped on his back, laughing as Zuko lost his balance and nearly fell down. She would not have cared one bit if they had ended up on the ground like two immature, over-excited idiots. This was a special day, she could give herself the permission to be foolish.

"I just had an idea" her brother said as he walked around with her on his back, the extra weight seeming to barely even register to him now.

"Do tell"

"I'm thinking the guys operating the Ferris Wheel might let us stay away from everyone a little longer if I give them some money"

"I like that thought, but the place is still too public, so you're gonna have to behave" she said, nipping at his ear, and giving him a small squeeze with both her arms and legs.

Zuko chuckled "You're one to talk"

"Again. My day. Shut up"

Once everyone had been properly bribed to stop the Ferris Wheel at the right time, the siblings got on their small cabin by themselves, not even bothering to wait for the thing to start moving before they were getting clingy, cuddling, making out, and whispering sweet nothing to each other.

By the time they were at the highest spot ever, Zuko got a bit bold, sneaking his hand underneath her shirt to grope one of her breasts.

"I told you to behave, dum-dum" she said, forcing him to stop and giving him a stern look, which he promptly ignored as he pulled her close again.

"I am behaving. I waited until we were up here. No one will see anything. Just let me make you feel good, just for a little while" he pleaded, kissing her neck and placing his hand on her inner thigh, gently rubbing it, making Azula have to fight back a needy sigh as she considered letting him slip his hand under her skirt, pulling her panties to the side and...

NO! Not here!

"Zuko, even when we first started having sex you were not that fast" she argued, pushing him away again "You know we'll get carried away, and I'd rather not be kicked out of the park, having mom yell at me on my birthday, and be charged with indecent exposure for letting you fuck me in a place where any little kid could easily end up seeing something they shouldn't - including Kiyi"

With that, he started looking at her like a kicked puppy, but didn't try to change her mind, simply embracing her, and kissing her forehead as they enjoyed their romantic moment like two frustrated lovers who just wanted to tear each other's clothes off.

"Good boy" she purred, feeling him shiver.

"You're not helping"

"I know. You can punish me tomorrow, at our place" she said, offering him a loving smile, earning herself a tender kiss.

"I love you, Lala"

"I love you too, dum-dum"

She'd never understand what she had done to deserve having him all to herself, and she'd never stop being grateful for it.