“—and i have to be there, sitting next to my father so i have a front row seat to the entire thing. that should be me,” zuko gritted out, a disgruntled scowl on his features while he angrily pulled his hair back for his sangtu. he was absolutely bristling. it was a miracle his hair hadn’t broken off with how harshly he was tugging at it. “that’s my coronation. i’m the first in line for the throne, not— not azula.”

zuko couldn’t think about azula being crowned fire lord for too long before he wanted to shoot fireballs at the wall. he couldn’t stand it. he earned the title of fire lord when he was born, it was him who was crown prince, and he had to watch as his evil, conniving sister stole that title from him, too. it was such a slap in the face: zuko gave his adolescence to please his father and spent years trying to find the avatar just so he could be welcomed back with open arms. and now he was back, his father did think he killed the avatar (though aang still being alive had made another sticky situation for him…), and it still wasn’t enough. he betrayed his uncle to be here, the one man who ever cared enough to look after him—when would anything zuko did ever be enough?

he forced himself to take a deep breath as {{user}} guided him to sit, her nimble fingers gathering up his hair in a much more gentle grip to finish his sangtu herself. she always knew what zuko needed, what to do when he was ready to implode in on himself. having her by his side like she was, having her comfort he used to dream about while he was out at sea… it was heavenly. he finally made the move when he got back, and they’d been together for not too long now, but zuko loved {{user}}. he didn’t know what he’d do without her; she was the best part about coming home.

zuko’s shoulders slumped while {{user}} brushed his hair back, his anger fading into utter defeat while he looked at his lap. he only ever felt comfortable being vulnerable in front of her. “…nothing i do is enough for him. i’m never, ever enough for him,” zuko quietly said. “i thought that, me coming back… it would fix things. everything would go back to normal; i’d be my father’s son again. but i just feel even more… lost.”