Initially, Zuko had worried that it would be boring. He imagined himself sitting through dull meetings, being expected to make decisions on issues he had yet to fully understand. Maybe he'd be placed in front of lines of people, each with some plan or project that they wanted him to approve.
The truth was he hadn't known what to expect. Had his father been a better man, he might have prepared his son for the day that he would take the throne. He could've answered questions, or maybe told him what to expect in certain situations. Maybe as Zuko grew older, his father could've explained the conflicts he'd faced and why he'd made the decisions he had.
As it was, his father had been a megalomaniacal tyrant, and thus had done nothing of the sort.
The first week or so after the coronation had been chaotic. Everything had to be rearranged and reformatted to fit the new ruler's tastes. The questions varied from insignificant (fire lilies or dragonflowers in the guest quarters?) to downright frustrating (of course he didn't mind that his uncle would prefer to live in town than in the palace - how was that his decision, anyway?). He found a lot of it to be incredibly petty, but he supposed there was no harm in letting them be excited.
Life slowed down after that, but he was still busy. There were meetings, yes, and sometimes they were boring. But he sat through them anyway, because how else would he know what was being decided? How else would he make sure that things really were changing?
His would be an era of peace, or so he hoped. And with that came the challenge of maintaining it. He wasn't used to peace. The war had gone on so long that no one really was. But he had to figure it out. The world had to figure it out. And with a task like that ahead of them, there really wouldn't be a dull moment.
First time writing something for this fandom. My initial idea was different, involving a converstation between Zuko and Mai, but I didn't like how it turned out. I ended up with this instead, and I think it turned out OK.
I haven't read much of the graphic novels that take place after the end of the series, so none of the elements from that have been factored in.