Disclaimer: I do not own TLOA. This idea just struck me out of nowhere and pardon me if there has been a story like this. To be honest, I haven't even read any of TLOA fanfictions so, yes, this is obviously my first try.

"Is it true?"

Zuko quickly peels his eyes away from the woods to look at the small figure of the little girl before him.

"Is what true?" He asks softly, kneeling down in front of her. Kiyi hesitates for a moment, her eyes darting back and forth from him to the floor before she whispers quietly, "You're my brother?"

It's not the question he expected, but Zuko smiles nonetheless. Maybe there's a reason why he gets along so well with this little girl. "Well, yes. We're born from the same woman. Your mother is my mother too."

Kiyi's eyes glisten with delight. "Really? The Fire Lord is my brother? You're not lying?"

Zuko laughs, tapping her nose with an amused smile. "Yes, and no. I'm not lying."

The girl bounces up and down before throwing her arms around his neck, completely catching him off guard. Mean, insane sister he is used to all his life. An affectionate one? Never. Though he can't say he doesn't welcome it.

Just as quick, Zuko's hands wound around Kiyi's middle, engulfing her in his arms. But when he's just about to relish the feeling of warmth this little girl suddenly give him, she pulls away abruptly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Your Majesty. My momma will be angry for being rude!" She says, her eyes full of terror in such a scale only a kid could own.

Again, Zuko merely laughs. "Kiyi, you're my sister. Your mother is my mother, too, remember? Why would she be mad at you hugging your own brother?"

Kiyi tilts her head to one side, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she processes what he has just said. "Oh! Right!"

She grins cheekily up at him, before suddenly her brows furrowed again. "What is it, Kiyi?"

The little girl looks up at him, pure innocent curiousity swims in her eyes. "If we only have the same mother, then who is your father? Why is he not here?"

The question leaves him speechless. How is he supposed to explain his complicated situation to this girl? One that is so innocent and pure and still full of hope and joy, one that got him wrapped around her little fingers since the first time they met.

"Well, my father is... not a good guy. He can't be here to see mother. Just me and my friends."

Kiyi gasps. Both her hands fly to cover her mouth. "He's a bad guy? Like in daddy's play?"

Zuko smiles, glad to know the innocence of his newfound sister is intact in spite of the current circumstances. "Yes. Something like that."

Still, Kiyi's frown remains on her forehead. "But you're not a bad guy?"

The Fire Lord pauses, an internal debate is taking place in his mind. Is he a bad guy? He once was. He sure hopes now he's no longer the old version of him during the most part of Ozai's banishment.

"No. I'd like to think I'm more like our mother."

The wide smile on Kiyi's face is so contagious that Zuko can't help but smile back.

Suddenly a thought occurs to him. "But maybe, I can be a little bad too sometimes..."

And his hand goes to tickle Kiyi's neck. The girl squeals as she takes of running, Zuko laughing while chasing after her.

"Mommy! Zuko is a bad guy! He's tickling me!" She yells when they pass the kitchen window, where Ursa is preparing dinner. The woman laughs and waves through the window, smiling brightly upon looking at her children goofing around with each other. Kiyi's small step is nothing compared to Zuko's gait, and in no time Kiyi is squirming in Zuko's arms, him mercilessly tickling the girl while she laughs out loud with tears in her eyes.

Ursa chuckles, then peers out of the window before she yells, "Tickle him back in the waist, honey!"

That's enough to make Zuko pauses. His mother still remember his ticklish spot, causing his heart to suddenly get warmer. Though it's also mixed with annoyance that now Kiyi knows his weak spot. In that split second he scowls at his mother, Kiyi has reached up to his waist and dances her fingers there.

Zuko yelps, tripping on his own feet and eventually sending both of them spiralling to the ground, laughing boisterously while rolling off back and forth on the dirt.

Little does he know, all eyes around the quiet house are on him and Kiyi. Aang's and Katara's from up the roof, Ursa's and Ikem' s by the kitchen window, even Sokka's from below the tree.

"He seems so happy." Katara says, a content smile graces her lips. Aang's head bobs up and down in agreement, glad to see the rare smile and laugh on his friend's face. The usually brooding Fire Lord is currently nowhere to be seen.

"I think Zuko has finally found peace after all." He responds.

Down at the yard, Kiyi is running off toward her parents, pointing excitedly at the Fire Lord crown sitting on top of her head. "Momma, momma, look! Zuko says because he's a king then he can make me a princess!"

Ursa lets out a watery laugh, nodding her head as she reaches out of the window to pat her daughter's cheek. "That's great, honey."

She looks up at Zuko, flashing him the most joyous smile she can muster at him. In return, he grins as he walks to pick up Kiyi before carrying her into the house on his shoulders. Once he's inside, Aang and Katara hop off the roof, Sokka follows in soon after.

Zuko looks around, all at the faces surrounding him. Some of the very few people who care about him, whom he also care about deeply. Right then, he feels home. The peacefulness that soon settles in him makes him realize: peace has not been anywhere. It's been there all along, waiting for him to realize its true whereabouts.

It's in there, in all these people present before him, his uncle Iroh, Toph, Suki, Mai - his family. So long as he has them, he will always find peace.

A/N: virtual penny for your thoughts?