I don't know where this came from. Zuko, why must you be so much fun to write?
Having a glass of Fire Whiskey with Zhao seemed like a good idea at the time. Probably because Zuko hoped he would turn out to be a violent drunk and would thus have an excuse to beat the Admiral and render him incapable of chasing the Avatar.
Zhao, on the other hand, just wanted the prince to get drunk enough to reveal his latest scheme, so he could steal it. Unfortunately, it didn't work out quite like either had planned.
"I-I swear to Agni the floor is moving," Zhao said with a guffaw. "Moving, Prince Zuko, moving! My eyes behold such wonders in this day and age!"
"N...no, you're dumb," Zuko slurred, "the floor's not moving, the walls are! Yer so...uh...back asswards!"
"Baack asswards?" Zhao tittered. "You're shtupid when you're drunk, Prince Zuko." He hiccuped just then. "Uggh...maybe that fifth glass was a bad idea..."
"Z-Zhao, you better-" Zuko stammered, searching for the words. "Don't you, don't you dare puke on me or else! I-I still got...y'know, royal order and junk and I can tell Fatherlord Ozai! He'll kick yer ash!"
Suddenly, the Admiral took Zuko's face in his hands and stared into his eyes.
"You cannot!" he roared. "For I..." He breathed. "Am in love." He exhaled. "With Fatherlord Ozai!"
A ship slamming into the back of his head would have been less of a shock. And as Zhao continued to ramble about his love (or lust) for the Fire Lord, Zuko prayed this was just a drunken hallucination he wouldn't remember in the morning.
But the next day as he was bent over a wooden bowl while Iroh rubbed his back, the only thing he recalled about the night before was Zhao's drunken confessions of what he wanted his father to do to him.
Somehow, it made him feel sicker than the alcohol did.
