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Aang put his elbows on the table and rocked back and forth like he was struggling to find the right words.
“Sooooooo… how's everything going with Mai?”
“With Mai?”, Fire Lord Zuko repeated, taking a sip of his tea. They were ensconced in his uncle's tea shop, their usual meeting place whenever Zuko needed a break from running a country.
“She's fine, last I heard from her. Did I tell you? She went back to that school she and Ty Lee and my sister graduated from, training to be a teacher. If her last letter is anything to go by, the position's all but secured.”
He smiled and took another sip.
“So you haven't seen her in… a few months?”, Aang queried.
“Yes, it's been, hm, nearly four months now since we last met in person. I miss her of course, but I'm proud too, she's following her ambitions. And she's arranging a trip back home soon.”
Aang nodded sagely, as though he'd found something insightful and slightly troubling in Zuko's words.
“Does she know?”, the young Avatar asked, lowering his voice a little.
Zuko frowned, eyes flicking around the relaxed tearoom.
“Know what?”
“About you and the… other woman.”
“O-other woman?? I genuinely don't know what you're talking about, are you suggesting I've been unfaithful?”
It was Aang's turn to look mystified.
“You just mentioned her!”
“Ty Lee?!”
“No! Your sister!”
Zuko said nothing, his gaze boring into Aang's. The Avatar fidgeted, worried he'd pushed things too far. Then Zuko laughed, heartily and relieved.
“Oh, wow, good one Aang, you really had me there for a moment!”
Aang wasn't laughing. Carefully, he inquired, “So you're… not dating Azula?”
Zuko froze again. What kind of bizarre nightmare was he trapped in? He stood stiffly and motioned Aang into a quieter room.
“What's all this about me dating my sister?”, he hissed as soon as they were behind the curtain. Aang gulped.
“Sorry, sorry, I'm sure this is all just a huge misunderstanding, it's just that we, well, we were sure the two of you were secretly a couple.”
Zuko's head was spinning.
“Hang on, “we”??? How many others are suffering from this, this delusion?”
“I, er, among our immediate circle it's more or less, well, everyone.”
Zuko banged his head softly off a wooden column, wishing he could wake up. He inhaled deeply through his nose and put some of the calming techniques uncle had taught him to good use.
“Right. First of all,” he said to Aang, “what gave you all the impression that my sister and I are an item?”
“You, um. I don't know if you've noticed, but you're very close for siblings.”
“How so?”
“I mean, look at Sokka and Katara,” Aang suggested. “They have what I would call a normal-ish sibling relationship. They're pretty close to each other as well, but nobody thinks anything of it. But you and Azula…”
“Go on.”
“You spend a lot of time together, for one, more than usual for siblings just hanging out.”
“I needn't remind you that we didn't have the easiest upbringing,” huffed Zuko. “The way I see it, I'm making up for lost time. And I feel I have a responsibility to look out for her. I know that not everything that happened in those years was my fault, but even so, I feel like some of it was. And I hate the thought of hurting her again.”
Aang smiled softly.
“Maybe we were too quick to judge.”
“Is that all?”, Zuko wondered. “You assumed us to be a couple just because we enjoy each other's company?”
“Well, no, there was other stuff too.”
“That stuff being?”
“I've seen you holding hands!”, Aang replied, looking amazed that he had to spell this out for him. “In public!”
“That's just to keep her safe from ruffians! I'm doing my job as her big brother!”, Zuko exclaimed!
“Yes, I can see that, and you do a great job too!”, Aang reassured him. “But consider how it looks from an outside perspective.”
The young Fire Lord nodded, seeing his point.
“Not to mention the way you look at each other when you're together,” added the Avatar.
“What? How do we look at each other?”
“Whenever Azula's speaking, you can't look away. I can practically see the hearts in your eyes!”
“Hey, that's just because she gets nervous sometimes! She likes to be reassured that I'm paying attention, and that I really do appreciate having her with me.”
“I'm sorry,” muttered Aang, “but you're really not helping your case here.”
“Whatever,” grunted Zuko, pushing back the curtain, stalking through the tea shop and onto the street. He turned to face Aang.
“We need to get this mess cleared up. Go and find our friends.”
“Where are you going?”
“To see my sister.”
~~~
“They WHAT??!”
“Stop laughing, this is serious!”
“Is it though, Zuzu?”, Azula asked, wiping tears from her eyes. “It's nothing but a harmless case of miscommunication. I'm sure a little embarrassment like this won't tarnish your image in the long term. If anything, I think we should take the chance to mess with them more.”
Zuko shook his head.
“Out of the question.”
Azula cast a look around the park they were strolling through, then turned back to him with a grin.
“Then let's go and set the story straight, shall we?”
~~~
Zuko steeled himself and stepped into Aang's lodgings, where they'd agreed to meet. The Avatar gave him a cheery wave as he entered. Katara, Sokka, Suki and Toph nodded to the fire siblings as Zuko stood awkwardly before them and cleared his throat.
“I've asked you here today because I wish to address some… rumours of which Aang has kindly informed me.”
Katara was blushing deeply.
“Zuko, I'm really sorry, we jumped to conclusions way too fast. You don't have to put yourself on the spot like this, if you just sent Aang round to deliver the message we would have believed you.”
He smiled warmly at her, his nerves settling a little.
“Thank you, Katara. I wanted to address you all face-to-face, though, to clear up any doubt. Anyway. I must admit, I'm astounded that you thought Azula and I were dating, but Aang explained to me how you came to this assumption. I know Zula and I are affectionate, but if there's anything you feel like asking us, just go ahead. It's not like we're going to firebend at you!”
A smatter of laughter went round the room. Zuko chuckled and continued, “So just to be clear, we're not dating. Right Zula?”
Azula pouted and slung an arm around his waist.
“Big brother, you're so mean! I can't believe you don't want me!”
“Oh you can't be serious-”, moaned Zuko as the water tribe siblings gawped, Suki covered her mouth and Aang and Toph erupted in laughter once more.
“Come on.” He hauled his sister from the room, still affixed to his hips while she smirked wickedly up at him. “You and I are going to have a little talk in private.”
“In private, you say?”, called Sokka.
“Oh, not like THAT!”, Zuko fumed. He really needed to keep Azula in line. He hadn't looked forward to untangling this whole convoluted narrative in front of his friends. The idea of going through the same thing all over again with Mai was a prospect he really didn't relish!