born lucky.

The instant he eyed the flames dancing upon her fingertips, he knew that there was most definitely something he was missing. Yet it was her laugh that made him freeze up, to take a moment to reflect upon everything that he had done in the past few hours to figure out just what he had done wrong this time but he was coming up blank. “Calm down.” Zuko responded as calmly as he could, which was not very, seeing as he didn’t take well to being yelled at. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, I haven’t done anything.”

Zuko pushed open the door with a small shove, exerting more force than he had originally intended. Having recently broken up with his now ex, he was jittery and guilty despite knowing that deep down, it was the right choice for him. Upon turning the corner after entering he came face to face with his sister and he immediately felt his mood worsen. The last thing he wanted to do was to interact with her at all. “Azula. Is something going on?”

There were certain people on the station that Roman made sure to keep track of; those with useful connections, those capable of getting things done, and most importantly, those above a certain tax bracket. There were the Schnee kids, that Styxx girl, Adel’s daughter, and of course, the ruling council. Though most of them had never set foot in his club.

The one that was currently sitting across from where he stood, leaning against the door frame of the VIP lounges, and thus of interest to him, he only knew minimally. The amount of zeros to her name was something he knew well enough to pay a visit, however. It was, after all, important for the club owner to take an interest in his patrons.

“So princess, enjoying yourself?”

@azulayu

Azula looked over the club's other patrons with barely restrained disdain, all but curling her lip in her thinly veiled disgust. They were all so unbearably stupid, unfilteredly simple, that she just wanted to go home and be with Ty Lee and the silence that so often shrouded around their apartment.

The man who had come to speak to her was the owner of the club, which likely meant that he was her to schmooze. Part of her did not like being addressed by her former title, the part that was comfortable around Zuko and overjoyed around Ty Lee and whom liked to knit. The part of her that felt like her father in thinner skin purred.

Seeing her is odd and he wonders if no matter how many times they meet up for something if that feeling will ever go away, if she will always feel more like a distant acquaintance than she does a sister. It’s easier through text, with the ability to re-word anything or type it hundreds of times until it feels right but here in person, it’s not so easy. Zuko isn’t always sure of just what to say to her, of what to even talk about. Most days it seemed like the only thing they had in common was their last name and the fact that they both would prefer to dance around the subject of their parents and their past. But there was this other voice in his head that told him that Azula would be the only one who could truly understand him, understand the choices he had made. Sure his friends did pretty well, but it was hard for them to see what it was really like, they saw his father as a monster and rightfully so. But there was a time where Zuko just wanted his father to be a father, to believe he wasn’t a monster.

“I’m..” He paused, his lips already forming the casual lie he always said, claiming that he was fine. He did it so he would’t make the good seem better than it was or the bad seem worse, fine offered a simple in-between. He swallowed it down, “I’m doing very well actually right now. I’m surrounded by some good people.” He took a small bite of the scone, his appetite never fully there during things like this, “How are you, Azula?”

Azula was the type to observe her brother every time they were together in this fashion, committing everything about him to detailed memory as to consider it later and decide if the two of them were having a good time together or not. She almost thought that if they had enough times like these, if she remembered everything that happened with the two of them across the table, where eventually, they might even laugh, the memories of Zuko across war lines, of her brother never quite coming home, would fade. There was a part of her that thought, maybe if there was enough of Zuko in her memory, some of her father would fade, and he wouldn't affect her so much anymore. She was still waiting for the fading, just learning her brother for now. It wasn't as if she had ever gotten to know him, after all; even as children, they had taken knowing each other for granted, not becoming friends as well as siblings even in the slightest. She wondered how different things would be if they had, if things had been better between them.

Zuko heard the blaring alarm as it echoed out throughout the room but he ignored it for as long as he could, not only did he not want to get out of the warm bed but he couldn’t help but be nervous. He wasn’t sure what it was but being around Azula just made him uneasy, he wished it didn’t, especially when he saw others siblings interact with each other, when he saw Katara and Sokka talk. He was always jealous in a way, jealous that things weren’t quite like that between him and his sister, jealous because they never really even had the chance to have a healthy relationship until now. His hands were shaky as he finally pushed himself up, forced himself to get dressed, and climb into the car. He knew she was going to be early which meant even if he showed up on time, he’d feel bad about being late as she would have been sitting waiting there. But ignoring the alarm had put him behind schedule and he found himself nearly rushing into the shop anyways, despite always telling himself he’d get up on time in the morning.

After pushing open the door and listening to the soft bell that chimed, alerting those in the shop of his presence, he quickly glanced around, his eyes landing on his sister. He offered an attempt at a smile, one he probably knew wasn’t very strong, and sat down across from her. Quickly motioning to the tea and scone he gave her a nod of thanks before taking a sip of the beverage, “Thanks for getting it already.”

Azula looked up to see her brother in much the fashion that she thought she would: looking as if he had rolled out of bed no more than ten minutes ago with the kind of expression that was meant to be a smile, but was nearly half grimace all on its own. She gave her own half smile up at him and gestured for him to sit down across from her and took a sip of her chai to give him a moment to arrange himself before being even mildly expected to speak. She knew how badly unfillable expectations could taste, after all. If anyone understood Zuko's childhood, even in the changed perspective way anyone besides Zuko himself would, it was her. Perhaps Ty Lee or Mai would be able to approximate what their house, what their castle more or less, had been like, but they would not know the weight of Ozai's gaze, or that or Ursa's absence. Azula did not miss home anymore.