Once everyone else had left the room, Azula dropped herself on the couch once again and groaned.

"Let me guess you are grounding me for disobeying your stupid other and now I can't ever leave the Palace anymore… Ever." Azula said in a sarcastic way, but part of her actually wondered if Zuko would do something like that…

Her brother only rolled his eyes and sat next to her.

"No, Azula…" He said in an unamused tone. "I really just want to talk to you." Azula just looked at him, curiously. "Why didn't you tell me you were doing something like this?"

The girl's eyes widened at him in angriness.

"You're kidding, right? The one time I tried to talk about that, you simply said 'no'!"

Zuko sighed.

"Well, why didn't you argue with me then? You used to be pretty good at convince me to do exactly what you want…" There was a little bit of sarcasm in his voice.

Azula glared at him.

"It's not easy to discuss anything with you, when mother is always around saying 'Don't question your brother, Azula', 'Don't make things worse, Azula'… it's just impossible!" She looked away from him.

"You could have waited until mom were gone, then…" He said in a low tone.

She gritted her teeth.

"Mom isn't the only problem, Zuko! You are too!" She shouted.

"Why? Because I said no to you? That's it, then? Every time I don't agree with you, you will simply do what you want behind my back?" Zuko looked at her with frustration.

"No, Zuko, the problem is that you treat me like a child! Whenever I'm not in political meetings or working with you in something related, you act as if I was this reckless unsubordinated kid, who needs to be watched all the time! And this is so frustrating!"

"What? That's not true, Azula… I don't-"

"You literally got me a babysitter without asking my consent!" Azula yelled, raising her arm to the door's direction. "You only listen to me when it's convenient to you! You tell the servants to dress me up whenever you need me! Come on, Zuko… Not even Father used to do these kinds of things…"

Zuko's eyes widened when she said the last part. He looked at her both shocked and deeply hurt, as he opened his mouth trying to say something. Okay, maybe I went too far… Azula thought, frowning.

"Listen, I didn't want to say that…" She started again, now in a softer voice. "I just want you to understand how annoying it is to be treated as a child almost all the time… And it didn't start now, it's been like this since I came back to this Palace…"

Zuko took a deep breath.

"Fine." He began. "I guess… I'm just not used to be a brother."

Azula frowned, confused.

"You are a brother for 18 years, how can you not be used to it?" She asked, with one eyebrow raised.

Zuko just rolled his eyes at her again.

"You know what I mean… You and I… we were literally raised to hate each other. We passed most of our lives fighting and trying to destroy each other. Now it's the first time we can actually act like normal siblings. And I know I wasn't the best brother, I know I wasn't there for you when you need it… And sometimes that makes me feel awful. I was really trying to make up for it. But I guess it's not working very well…" He laughed sadly at her, now avoiding her eyes.

Azula looked a little bit shocked at him. She never expected a response like this.

"Well… you know… you shouldn't feel this bad." She shrugged. "I mean, it's not like I was best little sister in the world either…" She gave him a sarcastic smile.

Zuko laughed a little.

"You certainly were not…" He said, smiling weakly at her. "But still…"

"I know, Zuzu… I know what you mean… And, honestly, I appreciate what you are doing." Azula was looking directly to his eyes now. "But just because you want to fix things between us, it doesn't mean you are responsible for me." She said coldly.

"That's exactly what it means! You are family just like mom, Kiyi and Uncle… I am responsible for all of you." Zuko sounded almost frustrated, his eyes widened at her.

Azula swallowed. She hated how sentimental Zuko could be, and she hated even more how occasionally it meant something for her… Why was she always facing her feelings lately? Life was so much easier when she believed she was above all that.

"Okay…" Azula sighed. "But it doesn't justify the way you treat me sometimes…"

For her surprise Zuko nodded and asked: "What do you want me to do differently then?"

The girl frowned at him for a moment. She certainly did not expect that question.

"Well, many things…" Azula said smirking. "I could spend the day making a list here." She laughed at his unamused face. "Fine… First, I want you to listen to me, for real, and consider everything I say. Not only when I'm working with you, but all my ideas and plans, no matter how crazy you think they are. Like you do to your friends, for instance." Zuko was about to say something, but she cut him off. "Also I want you to discuss with me every decision you make that affects my life. And for crying out loud, will you stop with this older brother attitude all the time? I'm just two years younger than you, I'm not Kiyi!"

Zuko laughed at little at her last statement.

"Fair enough. I will try my best, I promise, but you need to play your part as well…"

"What do you mean?" Azula asked with a fake innocent voice.

Zuko only frowned at her.

"You know! Tell me what you're plotting… And not simply do things behind my back when I disagree with you…"

She made a grimace and sighed.

"Fine, I will try it. Anything else?"

"Well, it would be nice if you talked to mom…" Zuko began.

"Now you are going too far…" Azula glared at him.

"Come on, Azula… You know she loves you…" He insisted.

Azula growled.

"Zuko, she told you she thinks I'm in no conditions to be your adviser and she basically wanted you to make me a prisoner. So, excuse me, if I don't want to talk to her or even stay around her…" She saw her brother sighing. "However I must I admit I was impressed that you didn't listen to her in any of those cases." She smirked at him. "I guess I need to give you more credit and make a real effort to fulfill our deal."

Zuko couldn't help but smile a little at her.

"Am I free to go now?" Azula asked sarcastically, as she stood up with some difficult, because of her ankle.

Zuko rolled his eyes, helping her to keep her balance.

"Oh, one more thing," Her brother started. "I didn't know having Sokka as your guard was such an inconvenient to you… So, if you prefer, I can dismiss him and, until this whole story is over, you can have Ty Lee or one of the girls as your guard instead…."

"NO!" Azula shouted, before she could realize what she was doing. She froze. Great. She hated how whenever it comes to Sokka, she always acted like a complete fool.

"No?" Zuko looked at her confused.

The princess cleared her throat quickly.

"Seriously, Zuko, after more than two weeks around him all the time, I'm more than used to it." Azula explained, as she rolled her eyes, trying to act as her normal self. "Also, yeah, Ty Lee is my friend again, but I'm not sure I can handle being around her the whole day. You know sometimes she can drive anyone crazy. And I'm really not in the mood to have a stranger as a personal guard right now…"

Zuko nodded, opening the door for her.

"It makes sense…" He smiled.

"Okay, then. See you later, dum-dum." Azula said in a playful tone, waving her hand as she left the room.

Sometimes she really had to thank the spirits for having such a naive brother.

Sokka was waiting for her outside. He gave her a concerned look.

"So, is everything okay? I didn't hear any screaming or lightning striking… I wasn't sure if everything was fine or you had just killed each other really fast. Wait, Zuko is alive there, right?" Sokka's eyes widened at the door.

Azula just looked at him unamused and shook her head.

"We just talked, idiot… And yeah, things are fine."

"Really? I thought he would freak out." He said, as they walked to her office.

"Yeah… It's really rare, but Zuzu can be unpredictable once in a while…"

The rest of Azula's day went on almost perfect. Even though she could barely walk, she had almost every servant in the Palace doing exactly want she wanted. And because of her condition they seemed to be even more afraid to unplease her than usual, which not only amused her but also made them really efficient. So everything she needed was handed to her really quickly, the food they served was better than usual, and they weren't annoying her with any unnecessary questions… The only thing that kept bothering her was that since she and Sokka came back from the woods, they hadn't spent more than thirty seconds alone with each other.

Ty Lee and Kiyi were always around, not mentioning the servants… The Princess couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen now. They had kissed again and he clearly showed interested on her. She had never had a boyfriend, so she didn't really know how these things worked. Were they together now? Azula certainly didn't want anyone finding out about them now… But that didn't mean she didn't want to be with him. She smiled and blushed, thinking about their kisses again. She shook her head softly, coming back to reality, and looked around, Kiyi was playing with Sokka in the other corner of the room – he was helping her build a weird toy –, and Ty Lee was looking at a paper distractedly, sat on the couch next to Azula. Every once in a while Sokka would look and smile at her. Part of her wanted to scream at him to be more careful because there were people around them, but another part of her was really enjoying that.

Azula knew that was really wrong, the last thing she should be doing now was allowing herself to have this kind of feelings for him. For anyone actually. She was being weak, and she knew it. But it felt so good, she couldn't help it. The Princess caught herself anxious for bedtime, because after everyone went to sleep, he could sneak to her room… What's your problem, Azula? She shook her head again, trying to focus on the scroll she was reading.

"Hey" It was Sokka's voice. "I will be right back…" He stood up and left the room.

Before Azula could wonder what he was going to do, Ty Lee sighed in relief.

"FINALLY! He would never leave, and I was dying to ask you what happened last night…" Ty Lee gave her a suspicious look.

"Shhh…" Azula's eyes widened at her as she glance at Kiyi, who was still playing distractedly.

"So? Did anything happen?" Her friend asked excited, but in a lower tone.

Azula blushed. She knew she shouldn't talk about this, this wasn't even supposed to be happening…

"We may have kissed again…" She admitted, blushing a little and smiling.

The other girl almost screamed.

"I can't believe this is happening! Look at you… It's so cute."

"SHUT UP!" Azula glared at Ty Lee, now angry at her friend. The other girl just laughed.

Half an hour later, Sokka came back. He was wearing a different outfit, a fancier one. Azula frowned, confused.

"Azula, you won't mind if Ty Lee stays as your guard tonight, right?" He asked, casually.

"Uh? Why?" The Princess asked.

"Hey, Sokka, let's go?" Another voice asked, it came from the door. Suki. She was all dressed up as well.

It took a few seconds to Azula finally understand what was going on. Her heart stopped. He was going out with her? How could he possibly do something like that? After all that happened between them, they were… They were what? She realized. They were nothing. They kissed and that was it. She couldn't simply think there was something between them, just because they made out one night, right? And the worst part was, she couldn't just forbid him to go out with the Kyoshi Leader. He was her guard, but he was doing it as a favor to her brother. It wasn't like he had to obey every order of her…

Azula felt nauseous and wanted to scream, but no one could tell it by her expressionless face.

"Fine." She shrugged.

"See you tomorrow, okay?" There was something in Sokka's voice, she didn't recognize what it was because she was too focused, keeping her neutral expression. Everything was a blur when they finally left.

"Azula?" A quiet voice called for her. "Are you okay?" Her friend was looking at her with concern.

It took Azula a while to reply.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be okay?" She folded her arms, glaring at the girl.

"You know… I bet you weren't expecting-"

"Ugh, Ty Lee, I'm too tired for your silly talks…" Azula cut Ty Lee quickly. She wanted to run away to her bedroom, but then she realized she couldn't run. "Would you help me walk to my room? I need to rest…"

"Azula…"

The Princess ran her hands through her hair with frustration and stood up abruptely.

"Fine, I will go by myself!"

Ty Lee sighed.

"I just-"

"I help you, Azula!" Kiyi ran to Azula's side, holding her hand.

Azula just glared at Ty Lee, daring her to speak again. So they left the room silently.

When Azula was finally alone in her room, she lied on her bed and buried her face on a pillow to muffle her scream. She knew something like this would happen. She knew it and she was stupid enough to let herself get into this mess. She was Princess Azula of the Fire Nation. She wasn't supposed to fall in love and fantasize with boys. And mostly not now that she was finally building a life she actually enjoyed. How could she be so weak? Falling in love with the water peasant. Not even Zuko did something so stupid.

She already had many examples in her family to know that love was weakness and it only brought horrible consequences. And now… Well, now there was this horrible pain in her chest she didn't know how to cure. Azula felt tears running down her face. Pathetic. She deserved this. So, she would learn to never let something like this happen again. But it was over now, for good. After tonight, she would be like her old self again. He would be nothing but a simple inferior employee to her. He would mean nothing.

A/N: So, before anyone gets mad at me. I know this is a Sokkla story, and I spent too much time in a scene between Azula and Zuko only. I'm sorry but I really needed this scene for Azula's character's development here. She is building a new life and everyone (specially her family) is part of it… And even though Sokka and Azula are the most important part of this story, I really don't want everything in Azula's new life to be about Sokka (because that's not even healthy), so eventually there will be scenes like this. But my main point will be always our favorite couple :)

Thank you all for reading it! I would love reviews! :D