Family Portrait
Ever since he was nothing but a young child, Zuko had known there was something odd about his family. At first glance, it wasn't that hard to miss with everyone calling him prince and all. But as he grew older, he saw things no one else saw or bothered to see. For one reason or another, most of his family members suffered from an obsession.
His dad was obsessed with power and with winning the war. He would let nothing stand in his way to achieve what he wanted, sacrificing his wife and son in the process. It was like there was nothing else relevant in his life; the man solely lived for power.
Azula suffered from it as well, but her obsession was more focussed on perfection. All her life, she had done everything she could to outdo him, to be the best at everything she did. Many at court still remember her reaction when Ty lee best her at cartwheels. It wasn't a very pretty sight to behold. In the end, it was her strife for perfection that broke her. She achieved all her goals and still it wasn't enough.
Even his uncle had an obsession of his own. A pretty obvious one at that, tea was his life and he lived for tea. But not many people knew of his other, more obscure obsession. Iroh had had his reasons for picked Ba Sing Se as his area of residence. Every other day, he would attend his son's grave, the grave of a fire nation soldier in foreign territory. His death still weighted heavy on his heart. Had he been stronger, had he conquered the city sooner, his son would still be alive. The remaining of his days Iroh tried to make amends with the spirit world, for that he may be reunited in death with Lu Tien and his wife.
It had taken many years of anger, pain and self-delusion before Zuko dared to admit that he had one as well. Agni knows how many years he spent trying to please his father, in the fake illusion that he might earn his love. The years he spent chasing a mirage, the avatar to get something back he had never lost. But most of all, Zuko realised his obsession when he saw them on the balcony.
Kissing.
He had Mai, he told himself over and over again. But Mai wasn't enough. Who would have guessed that the newly crowned Fire lord always wanted things that were just beyond his reach?