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Zuko groggily opened his eyes, slipping his hand under his pillow. He'd heard his door open and prepared to strike with his knife in case someone was trying to kill him. It wouldn't be the first time, after all. He tensed when he heard quiet footsteps.
A voice broke through the silence and he relaxed instantly. "Zuzu?"
Zuko let go of his knife before sitting up. He rubbed his eyes before looking over Azula. His little sister rarely came to his room anymore. At four years old she'd decided she didn't need her big brother's comfort anymore.
"Azzy?" Zuko whispered. "What are you doing here?"
Azula hesitated before climbing onto his bed. "Father was screaming at Mama again."
Understanding came to Zuko and he slowly reached out his arms to hug her. Azula's room was closer to Father's, and even though they didn't sleep in the same room anymore, shouting was still a frequent occurrence.
Azula settled into his arms and he gently tightened his hold. Zuko spoke in her ear, "Don't worry, Azzy. He's not here."
She snuggled closer to him before questioning, "Mama yells at me a lot. Is she gonna hit me like Father?"
Zuko stilled before forcefully relaxing. "Why does Mama yell at you?"
Azula froze. He frowned. "Azzy?"
"... I don't know." She shrunk into herself and started to fidget before forcefully stilling herself.
Zuko released her and gently turned Azula around before lightly taking her hands. Azula tensed, ready to bolt any second, so he rushed out, "Well, that's her fault then." She looked up with her mouth hanging open.
Zuko hurried on. "If Ma-Mother isn't telling you what she thinks you did wrong, then how could you know? Mother's the adult so it's not your fault you don't understand adult stuff yet. I mean, I'm two years older than you and I don't know adult stuff and it's not in any books, at least not that I know and-" A small giggle interrupted him. Zuko smiled softly at his sister who was laughing into her hand.
Azula lowered her hand and gave a little smirk. "We all know you're a dum-dum, Zuzu."
Zuko faked an offended gasp and dramatically proclaimed, "Betrayal! By my own sister, too! Oh, Agni, help me!" He reached his hand to the sky before lowering his hand to ruffle Azula's hair. She batted his hands away and tackled him. He wrestled with her before he rolled her over and started tickling her. Azula let out a squeal before delving into laughter, and he quickly joined her.
Zuko laid down next to her. He turned his head to look at his sister. She was yawning and struggling to keep her eyes open. Letting out a sigh, he said, "It's time to get you back to bed, Azzy."
She frowned and let out a whine. "I don't wanna, Zuzu."
“Well, why not? Strong firebenders need their sleep. You want to be stronger than me, don't you?"
Azula grinned. "Don't be silly, Zuzu. I'm already stronger than you. Father said so!"
Zuko winced slightly. He shoved down his jealousy. "If you don't sleep, I'm going to catch up to you. Don't you want to be the best firebender ever?"
Azula beamed "I'm gonna be the best! Then I can protect you, Zuzu!"
Zuko chuckled. "I don't doubt that." He grew serious. "What's the real reason you don't want to go to bed?"
She looked away. He slowly reached his hand out and turned her face towards him. She bit her lip and admitted, "What if Father or Mother catches us?"
Zuko frowned and clasped her hands. He leaned in and looked into her eyes. "I'll always protect you, Azzy." He stated.
She stared at him and whispered, "Promise?"
"I promise, sister."
And if the next day, Zuko messed up whenever Father started to yell at Azula, well, no one had to know.