[ Zuko was surprising even himself with this invitation, in fact. The sports — he wanted to win at kuai ball, legitimately. He trusts Yamamoto to be a formidable kuai ball opponent, and he can't lose at his own game. Hide and Explode — a nostalgic whim, might-as-well type invitation. This idea was different, and confused him, who went back and forth sometimes a few times a day on what sort of relationship suits them here... Those times they'd spent together peacefully, despite his own personal anxieties, and their trip to Ember Island, the intimate night on the beach — these were recent memories, and conflicted his feelings of ire and combative defense that had come to follow, but which likewise are all but irrelevant here, going with his model of thinking that'd comforted him until her arrival.
Now, shedding his life did not seem so cut-and-dry. Even if it'd just been Uncle who'd arrived, Zuko knew he'd understand on some level, and they had buried the hatchet very recently before Zuko came. Azula? Technically, threats and whatever had them at each other's throats were all no longer were at play. Logically, there were many things between them that should dissolve here... Easier said than done. Even after inviting her, a part of him had a gut regretful reaction — "why did I do that?" he said aloud. What is his expectation? But on the other hand, a louder part of him told him this was the way to approach their new chance at... something else. This was the right thing to do, it felt like? And truth be told, he found himself looking forward some, thinking/hoping it'd maybe actually be a genuinely nice time, by the time she got there — which surely wasn't very long, no surprise.
The small hall leading from the front door to the living room at least obscured for the moment the decorative horror that lies within. A few pairs of shoes are lined up by the door, as per his Japanese roommates, which he'd nod at to indicate to her once he lets her in. He takes a deep breath before opening the door, and greets her with a somewhat blank expression, brows slightly knitted as naturally as they almost always are. He'd thought about his opening line prior, too. ]
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Now, shedding his life did not seem so cut-and-dry. Even if it'd just been Uncle who'd arrived, Zuko knew he'd understand on some level, and they had buried the hatchet very recently before Zuko came. Azula? Technically, threats and whatever had them at each other's throats were all no longer were at play. Logically, there were many things between them that should dissolve here... Easier said than done. Even after inviting her, a part of him had a gut regretful reaction — "why did I do that?" he said aloud. What is his expectation? But on the other hand, a louder part of him told him this was the way to approach their new chance at... something else. This was the right thing to do, it felt like? And truth be told, he found himself looking forward some, thinking/hoping it'd maybe actually be a genuinely nice time, by the time she got there — which surely wasn't very long, no surprise.
The small hall leading from the front door to the living room at least obscured for the moment the decorative horror that lies within. A few pairs of shoes are lined up by the door, as per his Japanese roommates, which he'd nod at to indicate to her once he lets her in. He takes a deep breath before opening the door, and greets her with a somewhat blank expression, brows slightly knitted as naturally as they almost always are. He'd thought about his opening line prior, too. ]
Hey.