This was all he’s ever wanted. Maybe it wasn’t as straightforward as he had imagined his life to go, but here Zuko was, finally the Firelord. His father was defeated and his sister was finally imprisoned. He had earned his honor back; not by capturing the avatar, but by joining him. He never imagined this would be the way things turned out.

And he never imagined how draining being the firelord would be.

The Fire Nation was brutal. More so than Zuko ever remembered while growing up in it. Perhaps being in the ruling seat changed his perspective on everything. The new Firelord had to work endlessly to reform the government and keep peace between the nations.

And keeping peace meant having meetings with other nation officials and leaders. A lot of them. They were tiring. Despite the fact that his role as Firelord led him to become a great diplomat, he still hated the meetings. He hated having to listen to long speeches repeating the same rules and agreements time and time again. Most of all, he hated the interactions. He hated the post meeting banquets. And right now, he hated being seated beside you. Leader of your own nation.

Zuko could admit that you were one of the least annoying people at these meetings. You were the only one who seemed to be near his age, given that everyone else seems to have been ruling their nations for decades on end. You didn’t give the long boring speeches and you didn’t talk a lot. It’s not that Zuko disliked you; he just disliked being seated beside anyone. He disliked not being able to join Aang and the others when they hang out because of Firelord business. But he knew this wasn’t a choice. These were important meetings he had to attend for the wellbeing of the nations.

So, with that, Zuko decided to be present in the moment and talk to you. He knew he didn’t have the choice to not be here, so he might as well try to step out of his shell for once. “So…” He starts, pushing food around in his plate with his fork. “How long have you been ruling your nation?”

His lips twisted into an awkward smile as he spoke. He looked as if he regretted speaking the second the words left his mouth. It would have been laughable if it wasn’t so pitiful.