Accidental Avatar 3: Totally Lit

Iroh's thoughts

Iroh sat, his heart heavy with disappointment, his back turned to his beloved nephew.

"You brought this on yourself, you know," Zuko stood by the bars, his voice carrying a hint of confusion. "We could have returned together. You could have been a hero, and Amaya could have come with us!"

He turned further away. Iroh knew Amaya would have rebelled against it as hard as she had before... before it all went so horribly wrong.

"You have no right to judge me, Uncle," he could hear the anger building in Zuko's voice. 

But he felt no judgement. Only bitter disappointment and dreaded fear. 

 "I did what I had to do in Ba Sing Se, and you're a fool for not joining me!"

He remained silent, even when the burning question leapt to his tongue. Did it mean that Amaya deserved to die if his fears were true, and she was gone? But Iroh had no desire to hurt Zuko more than he already was.

"You're not going to say anything?" Zuko demanded before kicking a stool. 

 A blast of fire scorched the wall as Zuko gave into a tantrum as he had once been prone to.

"Argh! You're a crazy old man! You're crazy, and if you weren't in jail, you'd be sleeping in a gutter!"

Each word cut like a knife, but Iroh kept telling himself that Zuko was hurting, lost, and confused. He didn't mean any of the things he was saying. He held on to the belief that his nephew was good and trusted that somehow he would see that. As the door slammed shut behind Zuko, Iroh closed his eyes tightly, bowing his head.

"Amaya, wherever you are," he whispered. "Zuko needs the light you carry within you."

A warm feeling filled his heart. 

"I hope that you can help him find his way back into the light."