"Izumi...can I come in?" Zuko asked, knocking on his daughter's room.
"Yeah." She replied through tears.
Zuko entered the room, his formal Fire Lord robes flowing behind him. It was late, but he had just gotten out of a big meeting a little while ago and hadn't yet had time to change. He found Izumi laying on her bed, in her pajamas, tears rolling down her cheeks. He headed over to her.
"Sweet heart, come here," he said softly, laying next to her on the bed, propping himself up on some of the giant pillows that were behind them.
Izumi scooted over to where Zuko was and he wrapped his arms tightly around her.
"He broke up with me." She said through the tears.
"I know. You're mother told me." He kissed the top of her head. "But it's going to be ok, Izumi."
"How do you know? What if I can't find a guy I like as much as I did him? I know lots of guys, Dad and none of them compare to him. He was able to deal with my emotions in a way no other guy I've been friends with or dated has ever been able to. What if I never find someone like him again? And Dad, I...I loved him, more than I have anyone outside our family. What if I don't ever love another guy as much as I did him?"
Zuko sighed. His wife and him had wondered if Izumi had loved her boyfriend, Akio. The two of them hadn't been dating for too long, but they had been friends for several years before they started dating. Which was probably making the break up harder on Izumi than it otherwise would be.
"Izumi," he said in a gentle tone, "there are tons of guys out there. Just because you haven't met someone, boyfriend, friend, or otherwise that you've loved more than Akio, doesn't mean you never will. And I'm sure you can find a guy that is just as good or even better than Akio. I know how amazing you thought he was, Izumi, but nobody is perfect, he has his flaws and for all you know, there could be someone out there that's better suited for you than Akio is."
"Ok." Izumi said, sniffling, "But," she continued, "dating isn't necessarily easy for me though. I mean with Akio, we were friends first, so I knew he liked me for me. But there are guys out there who are probably only interested in me because I'm the princess. It might be hard for me to find a guy who likes me for me."
"Well...that's true." As much as Zuko hated to admit it, it was true. "But that doesn't mean you can't or won't find a guy who likes you for you, Izumi. You could someday be friends first with some other guy and the two of you fall for each other and he turns out to be the one. Or you could meet a guy at some place random, who doesn't know you're the princess and is attracted to you anyways. Or you could meet a guy from The United Republic of Nations or something, where your status as the princess doesn't mean to him what it might to guys here in the Fire Nation. Or," he lowered his head towards her so that she turned her face to look directly at him again, "you could meet a guy right here in the Fire Nation, who knows you're the princess, but doesn't care and likes you for who you are anyways."
"You really think so?"
"Yes. Your mom loves me. She doesn't care that I'm the Fire Lord."
"That's true."
"Plus," Zuko said, scooting in closer to his daughter, "I will interrogate any boyfriend you have to make sure they have good intentions, and when I do, I can give a subtle warning that if they're only after you due to your status as the princess, that it would be in their best interest to turn back now, because I won't be happy about it."
"Daaad."
"What?" He chuckled.
"You're going to scare them off."
"No I'm not. I'm just going to let them know that they better be genuine and remind them that I can make their life difficult if they hurt my princess."
"I think that's called misuse of power." Izumi laughed a little.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't do anything too awful. Just enough that they learn their lesson."
Izumi smiled. Zuko leaned his head down and kissed the top of her head.
"You should get some sleep."
"Ok." Izumi said. Pulling out of the embrace Zuko had her in. "Love you."
"I love you to." He replied.