Disclaimer: I Don't own characters, themes, really any of the stuff that matters so... /shrug

She watched him from the secluded shade of a tree, one of many in the royal gardens, as he absentmindedly tossed bits of bread into the infamous duck pond. She didn't need to know of his recent struggles, decisions... hell, she didn't even need to know him half as well as she did to clearly see how obviously distracted and disgruntled he was. She sighed to herself as she moved from leaning against the tree and started in his direction. Must we constantly be such a drama queen Zuzu?...

He never heard anyone approach, but he was immediately on guard when the ominous shadow fell over him and the young turtleducklings he had been feeding. The animals fled with a haste born of fear, immediately recognizing their past tormentor and finding safety with their mother. Zuko felt every muscle in his body involuntarily seize up and the hair on the back of his neck stand at attention, all from the presence of someone he knew he could not ignore, though he wanted to so desperately it hurt.

"What do you want?" He asked irritably, clearly unamused by her sudden appearance.

"Really Zuzu, is that any way to greet your honorable sister who so graciously helped you return with your honor?" Azula retorted without allowing her brother's less than accommodating words to faze her in the slightest. She stood just barely a few feet away from him, her hands defiantly set upon her hips and a smug look of satisfaction plastered across her face, as if she had already won the battle to come and knew it.

Zuko knew his sister well enough to know she was baiting him... but that didn't stop him from falling for it. "What are you talking about?" He insisted petulantly.

"Oh, seriously Zuko, surely even you aren't that dense." She gave him a pointed glare, as if to emphasize the point. After receiving nothing but a blank, dumbfounded, all too Zuko look in return, she clarified, "You do realize that I had Ba Sing Se completely under my thumb by the time I offered you the choice to join me? That I didn't haveto let you 'assist' me in completing the takeover."

Zuko simply glared at his sister for a few seconds, either unable or unwilling to respond right away. It was true, he had always secretly contemplated exactly why it was she had allowed him to join her in completing what was essentially her grand scheme, her master plan. He had tried not to dwell on it however. Unable to quell the torrent of angry emotions swirling inside of him, he finally snapped at her, "What do you want Azula!?"

If he had surprised her with his outburst, she didn't let it show outwardly. In fact, she was as calm as ever on the outside. After a few tense moments she let out a sigh, tiredly declaring, "You're far too stressed Zuzu, you know that?" He opened his mouth with a biting retort perched on his tongue, only to be cut off all too quickly, "Come on, spar with me. You can blow off some steam." It may not have sounded like much of a demand, but Zuko heard it for what it was, and expressed his discontent with a reflexive scowl, to which Azula merely rolled her eyes, as if sensing his very thoughts.

"Please, I'm not going to try and kill you Zuzu, don't be so paranoid. You are once again the heir apparent," She announced in a voice that sounded more or less unenthusiastic about the idea, "killing you, as gratifyingas it may be, would be tantamount to killing the Fire Lord himself, at least in a legal sense, and I don't have prison planned for my immediate future."

Zuko's eyes squinted angrily, or at least the one that wasn't always permanently set like that, but otherwise his scowl did not soften or otherwise change. After waiting a moment, Azula gave an audible sigh of exasperation, clearly fed up with her brother's insolence. "Fine, stay here and continue to be an angry little child, see if I care." She snapped, "I was just trying to help..." This last part she said with what could have almost been confused with... remorse? Regret?.. Sadness? Something like that Zuko thought, but immediately dismissed the entire thought process. His sister didn't feel any such emotions, and for as confused as he may have been about life, that much he knew for certain.

"Fine," At long last he answered, standing up with a look of utterly irritated determination on his face, "You're on." His sister's eyes slanted ever so slightly in appreciation. This will be fun...

The arena stood just as ominous and unforgiving as he remembered, the only noteable differences for him was the lack of a cheering, animalistically enthusiastic crowd, and his father's overbearing silhouette. It had been over 3 years since that fateful Agni Kai, which he had refused to fight and for doing so, earned a disfiguring scar across the left side of his face that he would never be rid of. It was a glaring reminder to him every time he gazed in a mirror, or met a new person, that failure and cowardice would never be acceptable. It was a lesson he had learned well, and because of it, he had taken to pushing himself harder than ever before. If he had been determined and perseverant before, then he was nothing short of fanatical now in his drive to succeed.

Then there was his sister, two years his younger and a born Firebending prodigy. As much as he despised it, and would certainly never admit it, she was better, damn near always had been, but that didn't mean for a second that he wouldn't try like all hell to beat her. Why am I so hellbent on beating her... it's just a sparring match.So it wasn't a full-fledged Agni Kai, and therefore the consequences of defeat weren't nearly as great, but that was no reason not to give it his all. If he could beat her, even just in this practice match, then that would be a tremendous leap for his abilities.

"Ready, dear Zuzu?" Azula cat called out to him from the opposite length of the raised platform, as if hearing his angry thoughts even across the moderate distance between them. Zuko's eyes narrowed as he glared across to his little sister. Instead of words though, he responded with fire.

With nothing but his angry grumble for a warning, Zuko leapt into the air, swinging his right foot down in a flying axe-kick that sent a vertical column of fire sailing across the arena. Azula smirked, That's it Zuko, no warning, only attack!Though she would never admit it herself, she secretly hoped her brother's skills had improved and would continue to do so. He was certainly no threat to her, nor would he ever be she believed, but it would be nice for him to be closer to her level. As she saw in the catacombs underneath Ba Sing Se, they made a formidable team.

She didn't hesitate in her counter-attack, twirling her body 360 degrees and utilizing a spinning back-heel to cut through the offending red flames with her own dazzling azure ones. She followed it immediately by leaping into the air, lifting her left leg as she twisted in mid-air, letting loose a second horizontal arc of blue fire she kicked out while still hovering, and then twisting her entire body rapidly to throw a third blast with her right foot before landing gracefully in a crouch on one leg.

Distance was Zuko's only savior from the hellacious onslaught his sister's first combination of attacks sent his way, granting him the time necessary to react. He punched forward with a powerful right fist, swinging upwards with his left and spinning, crossed his arms over his chest as he inhaled deeply, and as he came back to facing forwards, he threw his arms out and chest forward, unleashing a devastating fireball from his center, almost half of Azula's size in height and as wide if not wider than she was. It easily tore through her much less powerful attacks, losing practically none of it's strength.

Her eyes widened for just an instant as she appreciated the ferocity of her brother's attack. Instead of continuing the 'attack/counter-attack' trend, Azula chose to employ the advantage of her small, nimble body, rolling to the side and avoiding the attack altogether. The moment the bottoms of her feet touched the ground she performed a leg sweep, sending blue fire to coast along the very bottom of the platform, racing for Zuko's exposed feet. She rose up on her left leg, still allowing the momentum from her sweep to carry her around in another circle, her right leg executing an identical sweeping kick only this one aimed at his waist. She finished by leaping into the air and sending a third horizontal attack at his head, every bit the same as the first two.

Zuko had even less time to react to this new barrage of attacks, his sister's evasive roll bringing her that much closer to him. He couldn't side step, and his only options to avoid the attack were next to none. Their timing was perfectly imperfect, making it almost impossible to roll under. He took the dive anyways, going right over the lowest and first attack, so close that he could feel the heat singing his skin and clothes. He rolled as well as he could, summoning a trail of fire with his foot as it came down, cutting a swath justlarge enough for him to avoid having his face burned off by the second line of fire. The third sailed harmlessly enough overhead, allowing him a much needed respite, at least for the moment.

Utilizing his own rolling momentum, Zuko rolled forward once more and using his hands swirled himself around while splitting his legs in opposite directions, spinning out a flaming disc that expanded in every direction, searing a path straight for his sister's knee caps. Azula smirked deviously, a trademark reaction of whenever she heard inside her own head the word "checkmate."

She easily jumped over the red and orange flames her brother conjured, spinning several times as a tail of blue fire trailed her feet, before kicking out viciously and sending an immolating blast of azure straight for Zuko, still in an awkward position on the ground. He could only just roll out of the way, pushing his entire body away with his hands and scrambling to his feet, readying his fist to strike back-

"You lose." She informed him in a way that made him just feel how smug and satisfied with herself she was. Zuko found himself staring down two extended fingers with nails like daggers attached to their ends. He was beaten, not that it was any surprise. In fact, he would have felt strange if he hadn't been defeated, but losing to Azula, well, it was just to be expected at this point. She didn't even appear to be out of breath, or have broken a sweat for that matter. It never occurred to him whyexactly he was inspecting his sister's alabaster skin, only just slightly coated in a slick sheen of perspiration.

Instead of being infuriated by his defeat and launching into a jealous fit, Zuko did something that gave his sister pause, smirking himself and looking her in the eye. "Your hair's out of place." The look she gave in return was enough to make the humiliating lose worth it in the end. To anybody else in the entire world, it would have been a worthless, petty jest, but to Azula he knew it meant everything, and was more than enough to annoy her for the rest of the day.

"I still beat you!" She insisted finally, standing up straight and trying her best not to let the indignation she certainly felt show. She swiped the insignificantly small number of stray strands back behind an ear, under her bangs that hung down purposefully to frame her face on either side and ending in spiked points.

"Well, you were right about one thing Azula." Zuko began, an undeserved smugness in his voice, and she could only glare at him, already knowing she wouldn't like what he said next but otherwise allowing him to continue. "You areuseful for blowing off steam."

Azula gave an audible huff of annoyance, turning and walking off while shouting back, "I'm going to wash up, I need to get rid of the stench of sweat and your sub-par Firebending!"

"Your hair's still messed up!" He called after her, laughing as she nearly screamed back at him.

"It is not!"

Zuko never would have thought it possible, but he found himself in a more than pleasant mood, all thanks to his... sister.

The evening was growing late, dinner having finished over an hour ago, and Zuko found himself wandering, more or less aimlessly, his thoughts every bit as wayward and disoriented as he himself. So many jumbled, confusing, and disconcerted thoughts were warring inside his head, he barely heeded those few servants and stationary guards that he passed as he made his way in whatever direction his feet decided to go. Why didn't Uncle join them? Was his father truly glad to have him back? Was he really a war hero? Still, the one question that haunted him worse than all the others, was the one which he dreaded answering. Do I even know the difference between right and wrong anymore?

He sighed as he passed by the tapestries of great Fire Lords past, all of them menacing and imposing upon those smaller, lesser living people who looked up at them. Yet despite their demanding, unblinking gazes, the subject who passed under them now paid no attention to their blazing splendor, so preoccupied with his thoughts was he.

It was after more wandering and random turns that Zuko suddenly found himself staring down a dead end. Well, not entirely dead... there was a large set of double doors at the end of the hallways, leading into a room he knew well enough. It was his sister's room, and gauging from the light bleeding out from under the doorway, she was still awake. He couldn't possibly explain what had possessed him not to turn back, right then and there, retreat to the safety and familiarity of his own room. Perhaps he wanted someone to talk to, or perhaps he just wanted someone to berate him and let him know how terrible of a failure he really was, at least then he would stop wondering, and things would at least seem normal. Even still, maybe it was because of the twisted, subtle familiarity, of her room.

As he approached the door, he couldn't help but notice the enticing aroma that spilt out from beneath the doors. He decided it must be her bath salts, or something of that nature. There was no conceivable reason to be applying perfume at this hour. He went for the handle, only to find the door was already, just barely, opened. He had only to push...

The grand mahogany door swung open, slow and silent, to reveal a multitude of candles lit around the room, illuminating everything brilliantly. After just a cursory glance around, Zuko found his sister sitting at her vanity, brushing her hair methodically and, in all likelihood, unnecessarily. Her hair had always been impossibly straight and free from any sort of tangle as far as he knew, but then he didn't exactly make a habit of brushing her hair so, what did he really know about it. Still, he could safely assume that her hair was, well... perfect.

She noticed him almost immediately after he noticed her, meeting his eyes in her mirror and freezing almost mid-stroke with her brush to regard him. "Zuko.. what are you doing here?" Azula almost stuttered, only barely catching herself. Surprisingly, she didn't sound as angry as Zuko imagined she would. In fact, she didn't really sound angry at all...

"Sorry, were you heading to bed soon? I.. kinda wanted someone to talk to, I guess." Zuko admitted, somewhat bashfully as he realized how much he must have sounded like a child. Azula studied his expression through the mirror intently before deciding there was nothing hostile or otherwise nefarious about his intentions. She turned in her seat, setting the brush down to be forgotten.

"Talk about what, exactly? And you're certain it can't wait until morning?"

"Huh? Oh, no, sorry, I guess I was just wandering and wound up here, I dunno, I was just hoping to talk, I guess, to someone. I've been feeling mixed up, confused recently." Zuko swung his arm over his head and proceeded to scratch at his shoulderblade, more out of nervousness then any real need to itch.

Azula merely rolled her eyes, "Clearly," she jeered, pointing out his obvious confusion, "If you think coming here at this hour and talking to me, of all people, will make you feel any better." Her predictably sardonic reply was all too Azula, but when Zuko failed to reflexively scowl she realized he must have been really lost in his own thoughts. Cleverly masking her concern, she urged him, "But do go on, you know how much I enjoy seeing you miserable." In other words that she would never speak aloud, what can I do to help?She twirled a bang around her finger quickly before tossing it aside.

"It's just that- I just..." He sighed angrily, once again unable to find the words he wanted to, before taking a breath to continue. "I don't know if what I do is right or wrong anymore, if I'm turning into a bad person. I mean I betrayed uncle for crying out loud! I- we killed the Avatar!"

Azula stood, sighing loudly herself in exasperation as she did so, and took a few measured steps towards him as she spoke tiredly, as if addressing a child. "On about all this again, Zuzu? Here's something that's helped me put things into perspective; good, and evil, they're just words, labels used to justify one person's actions against another. In the end, it's only the one's who win who get to decide who was 'right' and who was 'wrong.'" She looked at him as if expecting this all to sink in immediately, only to receive a dumbfounded stare in return. She immediately assumed that he was just too simple to understand what she had said, and so simplified with, "Look, at the end of the day..."

What she hadn't realized, was that the look he gave her had nothing to do with the things she was saying. Perhaps he was only just seeing her for what she was, or perhaps he was simply allowing himself to realize it for the first time, but his sister had certainly grown in the time he had been gone. Most noticeable were her new feminine curves, only really pronounced now that she had shed her armor and under bindings, donning instead a simple, breathably soft nightrobe of scarlet laced with gold. Why he was not only noticing, but pondering, the curvature of his sister's body never seemed to cross his mind or cause him to think twice.

Her incredible ebony hair was out of it's usual bindings, free to fall around her head and shoulders gently, and straight as a thousand arrows, a healthy sheen reflecting off of it from all the candles that surrounded the room. Her full, envious head of hair accentuated her heart-shaped face and subtle curves brilliantly, the flawlessly raven black color causing the unblemished creme shade of her skin to simply pop out, all centered around the blazing golden irises of her captivating eyes.

Still, despite all of that, the thing which commanded Zuko's attention in the fullest, enough to the point that he simply didn't hear the words she so clearly spoke, were her full, pale rosy lips. Though usually the rich hue of blood, her lips at this hour were utterly bereft of any makeup, showing off their natural, misleadingly innocent pink shade. He watched them move, but failed to hear the words that passed over them in favor of simply studying the way they pursed and opened, lifted and shifted, calling, no, enticing his darker side out, bringing the forgotten and neglected dark corners of his mind to the forefront of his psyche, allowing him to entertain notions that otherwise, would have seemed simply and utterly insane. Spirits, he wondered how they tasted, how they felt, to the point that he was unconsciously moving closer to them with every indeterminable moment that passed.

"... all that matters is who comes out on top," Azula was explaining, in a more or less nonchalant yet still convincing tone, while her brother simply stared as if captivated by some invisible force surrounding her. She continued without pause, simply assuming him to be listening intently, "And we clearly make a good team. You were right to say we killed the Avatar, because we did. Together, working as a flawless team. If together we can defeat the Avatar, then together we can defeat the world. The point I'm trying to make here, is that so long as we win together, then we can write whatever history we wish to ensure that we are the "good guys." She couldn't help but notice that we staring straight at her lips, and she felt just a tad impressed. When he wants to focus on what somebody is saying, he can really focus on exactly what they're saying.Still, something seemed... off, and she had to ask.

"Zuko? Zuko!" She snapped her fingers to help get his attention, but it hardly seemed to affect his oblivious state. "Are you even listening to what I'm saying? Zuko!? What areyou staring at!?" She demanded, finally fed up with his incorrigible behavior.

Unable to help himself whatsoever, he replied with the only thing he could, "..You."

The truth, breathed out with a lustful gust the could neither be ignored nor denied.

Apparently, during her entire speech, she hadn't noticed that he had been inching forward towards her, and he now stood barely a foot away, close enough to close the distance with a simple lean forward. Despite her best attempts, she could not at first respond to his answer, it being, in all honesty, the very lastthing she had ever expected him to say. Stuttering and unsure of the situation in it's entirety, Azula tried once again to get his attention as he stepped yet closer to her still, "Zuko what are you-"

Only to be cut off as he lunged forward, pushing his lips against hers. Azula's eyes grew wide, wider than she had ever seen even Ty Lee's go, and yet she couldn't help herself. The entire situation was so unexpected, so impossible to plan against, so-so... incredible. Despite her incredulous surprise, she found that she could not break the contact, nor deny the urge to lean, no, to meltinto it, as her impossibly wide eyes began to seal themselves in a slow, deliberate effort of surrender, despite herself.

All too suddenly, Zuko realized exactly what it was he had done, was still in the process of doing, and broke it off without warning, forcing Azula to suck in a sudden rush of air as opposed to the pressure of his lips, which she had unknowingly to even herself been attempting fervently to taste.

The empty space before her and the sudden cold air in her face snapped Azula back to reality in half a heartbeat and her eyes shot open. She straightened her back, as apparently she had been leaning forward, and regarded the look of absolute shock and uncertainty on her brother's face as something that probably wasn't too far off from what she had on her's.

"I'm sorry-" Obviously the first thing he would stutter out- "I don't- I just- I mean..." Maybe without even realizing it, Azula had chuckled, at least a tiny bit, instinctively at seeing him so flustered with himself and incapable of thinking on the spot, and it was enough to unconsciously calm Zuko just enough to take a breath and think for a second. "I couldn't stop myself. I guess I just.. had to." He admitted, sounding every bit the guilty party, something he seemed to play quite well.

"Had to what?" She shot back incredulously, a reflexive response most likely, "attack me!?" It was pretty lame, but at the moment the only thing she could think of to describe what had just happened. Zuko's eyes hardened in response, remembering all-too readily who he was dealing with.

"Had to see if you were even real I guess, I don't know!" He shouted, sounding absolutely frustrated, but more at himself than anything in all actuality. Azula blinked, the only visible sign she ever showed when she was taken off guard by something, which was a rare occurrance to be sure.

"To see if I was real?" She repeated with nothing shy of absolute and utter disbelief. Amazingly, for as terrible of an argument as it first appeared, he carried it.

"Yes! Spirits Azula, look at what you do sometimes, the way you act. It's like you're not even a person, like you aren't even real!" He shouted, perhaps slightly louder than was called for at this hour but he could clearly care less. He seemed so typically frustrated, just like at their little fire on the beach the previous week, the only difference being that this time, it was pretty clear who he was more frustrated with.

Azula found herself stricken suddenly dumbstruck. She had nothing, there was no pre-assembled response for the situation she currently found herself in. How in the world did this all suddenly turn on... me?She thought, and just as she did she felt her stance in the argument shift ever so slightly, and she answered back with the only thing she couldn't help but manage to ask.

"Why are you saying this now, Zuko? Why did you- and, and say something like-?"

"Because of how you act when we're alone." He answered the question he knew she wanted answered, even if she didn't know how to word it. Zuko caught his sister's eyes, ever a perfect mirror of his own, shift so slightly Mai would have had trouble catching it, but he saw it, and took it for his cue. "Whether you want to admit it or not, Azula, you show me a different side. A human side, even if you are still opinionated and stubborn, I can still tell you let yourself slip, even just a little. I guess what I wanted to know was, why? Why am I different?"

She caught and held his level eyed stare, read the look of determined desperation, and surrendered in a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. "I don't know Zuko, okay?" He made a face that said he was ready to push, but she silenced him by proceeding, "What do you want me to say? That I feel safer around you? That I feel like, I don't have to have my guard up 100%, that I find some, some weak, emotional security in your presence, like I know that if something, anything happened, you would jump in front of me before you even thought twice about it? Is that what you want me to say, that I feel like maybe you're the only person in the world even worth consideringto trust?" Azula's voice was challenging yet defensive, and suddenly it was Zuko's turn to be caught off guard. It was their little duel from earlier all over again, the rules had simply changed from Firebending to a verbal debate. With Azula, both were just as dangerous.

"You.. trust me?" He asked in utter disbelief, the very words alien when he considered who he was asking. He couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

Her eyes dropped, as if she were ashamed of the very fact she trusted anybody, even to some degree, before she looked back up at him, a sudden look of desperate uncertainty appearing in her eyes, a desperation to confirm what she had always, deep down, known to be the truth. "You would never hurt me."

Dumfounded yet again, Zuko could only come back with the obvious, "Of course not, Azula why-"

"I'm so scared," She said, without warning her entire facade of calm control shattering around her as the tears swelled in her eyes and her breathing hitched, "every day, Zuko, I'm scared. Scared of everything, everyone, of things I shouldn't be but I'm scared all the same." Then she looked at him, tragically beautiful tears gliding down her porcelain cheek and she whispered softly, "But I'm not scared of you."

At a loss for words, the prince could only respond with what seemed appropriate at the time, wrapping his arms around his sister in a warm, comforting embrace the she melted into without resistance, tentatively placing her own arms around him in kind and resting the side of her head against his chest. It was such an alien feeling of security and safety that she felt wash over her, to just be held like you were important to someone, to be cherished and protected. To be loved.

The realization itself simply made her cry harder into her brother's shoulder, which he merely encouraged with a soothing hand pressed against the back of her head. "It's alright," He told her reassuringly, trying beyond reason to just hush all her pain, all her fears and troubles away, with but the sound of his voice and the security of his embrace.

"When you left," Azula started, a sniffle interrupting her as she struggled for perhaps the first time in her life with her emotions, or at least the first time Zuko had ever seen, "When you left I was so scared Zuko. I had to pretend like I didn't care, so nobody could know the truth but when I was alone- when I was alone at night, in my room I cried so hard. I cried so hard Zuko I didn't think I'd ever be able to stop, I was so scared Zuko."

He listened helplessly to her tear jerking confession, unable to do anything as he felt his own eyes sting with hot moisture, the pain and guilt he felt rising up inside of him when she asked, "Why did you leave me Zuko?"

"I..." He tried but failed to come up with an answer.

"Why did you go?"

Still nothing. The silence stretched on interminably, deafening in it's intensity, until at last he said with some difficulty, "I'm so sorry Azula.." His voice was wavering and thick with remorse, and he repeated himself, "I'm so sorry," hoping it would make her feel even slightly better, anything to ease the terrible burden of misery that was crushing her.

"It's alright Zuko. Just promise me you'll never abandon me again." His lack of an immediate response gave her cause for concern, and she drew back to look him in the eye, insisting forcefully, "Promise me!"

"I- Azula," He stuttered, knowing in his heart it would be a lie if he said yes, knowing what his plans for the next day already were. He hadn't expected this at all, hadn't planned on telling Azula of all people what he intended to do, but now he was here, he knew the truth, what was he supposed to do? "Come with me." He blurted out without even realizing what he said.

She gave him a look of utter confusion, as if he had said the sky were green. "What?"

"I don't want to leave you again Azula, not if it means hurting you again. Please, come with me." Zuko begged, an urgency in his voice that couldn't be ignored.

"But what are you talking about Zuko? Where-"

"Trust me. Please, just trust me Azula." It was all the explanation he could afford to offer her right then.

She studied his features, trying to discern something out of them, and without knowing why she answered, "I trust you," hugging him close again. "But, I'm still confused Zuko, where are you- where are wegoing? And what about the invasion tomorrow, and-"

"Shhh, don't worry about that, alright? Just pack whatever you need and be ready to leave tomorrow after the eclipse ends. Everything else just do as you've already planned, make sure the Avatar doesn't reach father,"

"So he isalive?"

"Yes, trust me, and he'll be leading the invasion just as you suspected. Keep him away from father, just as you planned on doing, and then get back here as fast as you can. Be ready to leave as soon as I get here." There was a seriousness to her brother Azula could rarely recall ever seeing before, but she trusted him, and was willing to go along with whatever he had planned.

"Alright Zuko," She sighed heavily, hoping she was making the right decision, "I hope you know what you're doing."

He stared off into nothingness for a moment, holding his sister close and hoping he wasn't making a huge mistake. "Me too," he admitted bleakly. "Me too."

After another indeterminable stretch of time, Zuko made to leave, stating with some degree of regret, "I have to go Azula." Only to find that she refused to let go of him.

"No, no you don't." She insisted, finding the security of his embrace too comforting to end and fearing the cold emptiness of being alone again. "Stay with me, please?"

"Azula.. I can't, that's- that would be.. well, weird, don't you think?" Zuko was befuddled by the implications.

"You mean weirder than kissing me?Weirder than taking off somewhere after the invasion?" She asked pointedly, as always knowing exactly what buttons to push and how to put him off his guard and leave him unable to respond. "I just don't want to be alone anymore Zuko. I'm so sick of being alone.."

Sighing inwardly as well as outwardly in defeat, he answered the only thing he could. "Alright, I'll stay. On one condition though.." He intoned, giving her a devious look. Before she could even ask though, he leaned in and gently captured her lips in a loving, affectionate kiss that stole the very breath from her lungs and caused an unconscious moan of appreciation deep in her throat.

When they broke apart she gazed deep into his eyes with a sly grin and answered coolly, "I think those terms are acceptable."

After sliding in under the crimson silk sheets, Azula snaked her arms around his chest and snuggled next to him, determined to find some long lost sense of blissful safety. Judging by the content look on her face as she slept peacefully, Zuko decided she must have found it, at least to some extent. His own peace of mind, however, did not come so easily, as his thoughts raced with ideas for the day to come. Everything was going to change, even more so than he had originally expected, and it was all thanks to just one kiss...

Author's Note: Alright, alright I know, you were totally expecting it but it never happened xD There's a reason for that though! I wanted to actually explore the intricacies of the relationship a bit, give it a proper build-up and treat it more legitimately. Sorry for those of you lemon hunters out there, I know it's damn near blasphemy for me to make anything Zucest related without giving it the zest but rest assured, good things do come to those who wait! All in good time, all in good time.. As always, thanks for taking the time!