Iroh sat at the proverbial head of the table, with his son to his right and his father to his left. His entire family was sat down on a round table for their first ever dinner with him as the new Fire Lord. The feast immediately following the coronation had been a blur of relief and confusion after spending the entire morning so worried about his own brother challenging him there and then, where instead all he got was a knowing smile followed by a low bow after the headpiece was finally laid on his topknot.

He also decided his first order of business was to fix the peg on the damned thing since it was threatening to bore a hole into his head with the weight of an entire nation—or perhaps it was better to call it the weight of three nations now?

There were no other challengers to his rule either, since who in their right mind would challenge a royal family that was united for the first time in generations.

Perhaps the record keepers could remind him later whether he shared any words of wisdom after everyone bowed since he, for the life of him, couldn't even remember whether he stuttered or not. Dignity was easier when all he had to do was sit on a throne and look like a proper monarch, but to actually be the person who had the ultimate power to decide? That was still leagues above what he had to deal with as a general.

He had three years of preparation and still there was so much to learn.

"Father," his son said, "you need to eat more."

Iroh blinked himself out of his thoughts and found Lu Ten had spun the turntable to face him with his favorite roast duck.

"Eat," his father said to him in that familiar commanding tone, but one now carrying a smile and no shortage of a stiff but earnest love.

He gladly took a sizeable portion and dug into the succulent meat, savoring the way the smoky fatty juices spread its warmth on his tongue.

Next to his father sat Ozai who ate with the grace rightly expected of a prince, though his palate had changed greatly since taking his new position as the Fire Nation's ever vigilant guardian. His brother had always preferred the typical fare of roasted meats and salted vegetables, but the pile of fragrant fried prawn shells on his plate and surprising amount of rice he'd eaten so far was showing in the new bulk his brother had put on.

Beside Ozai sat Raizu, who was practically fighting his father for control over the shrimp, then Azula who shared his love for well made duck, Zuko who was more than happy to reach over for whatever his sister wanted from the turntable, and last was Ursa sitting next to Lu Ten and eating with the same dignity likewise expected of a princess.

"We should do this more often," his father said, looking between him and his brother. Then frowned. "Is this actually the first time we all sat down together for a meal?"

Iroh searched his memories and drew a blank.

"I think so?" answered Raizu. "To be fair, dad hasn't been home for a while."

Father eyed his brother. "You should come home more often."

And his brother sent him a slightly raised eyebrow and a pregnant pause.

"It would be nice to see my dearest brother more often," Iroh said, though more for their father.

Ozai's shoulders caught the tiniest hitch. He reached his chopsticks over to another prawn but was batted away by his son's deft hand, and sighed.

"If my schedule permits then."

That put a smile on their old man.

"And Lu Ten," his father continued, "you should start looking for a fiancé."

His son choked on stir-fried chickenpig.

"G-grandpa?"

"I've already seen my grandkids, I think it's not too much to ask for great grandkids?"

Iroh laughed. "You know, your mother and I were promised when we were fourteen. Fifteen is old enough, son."

Ursa had on a less than serene expression, Ozai devoted his time to his food, and Zuko was more interested in his cousin turning the brightest shade of red. The twins however, already knew. Knew more than they should. Not because they shouldn't but because they should have had a chance to be children themselves.

"What about minister Hong's daughter?" Father said. "She's graduated top of her class, yes?"

Lu Ten sank into his chair. "Can we maybe talk about this some other time?"

"Fine, deny an ailing grandfather his fun."

Which was as far from the truth as possible. Master benders easily lived past a hundred, and no doubt Father was well on his way beyond that at a still spry ninety-two.

"And you, Raizu," Father was clearly having his fun. "What's with you and that earth bender, hmm? Anything interesting?"

Raizu already had his own plate of prawns that one of the servants had given him, while Ozai had another of his own. Zuko took the chance to try some for himself—and regretted his decision. Azula however, shrugged and put a bit more on her plate. He couldn't help but notice how elegantly his niece avoided her grandfather's probing gaze.

"First off grandpa, I'm ten."

"Already ten."

"Also, Zuko's twelve."

Zuko's face fell. Then stared at his brother and pouted.

Father chuckled. "Zuko has friends, you don't. Or do you? Your staff don't count."

The genuine confusion was more concerning than anything.

"Okay, ouch. Her name is Toph and yes, she is a friend. Also, you don't seem to have any friends yourself, grandpa."

Father smirked. "Most of my friends are already dead."

Ursa, Lu Ten, and Azula stopped their inconspicuous eating, while Zuko was but a lost bearpup caught between two things he'd rather not be caught in. Ozai continued with his eating, packing away more than Iroh believed was possible even with his younger brother being the taller of them.

Father continued, "You have no excuse."

Raizu narrowed his eyes at him. "I don't have a comeback from that."

"You shouldn't." Father jerked his thumb at him, the Fire Lord in a grand breach of etiquette, not that Iroh would even bother enforcing it. "Do I need to have Iroh ban you from the palace before you take a vacation?"

Iroh smiled. Any excuse was better than none. "You know father, we can probably banish him for a few months just so he'll stay away from the offices."

"Does Raizu's 'banishment'"—Azula made air quotes— "involve going to Ember Island?"

"You wanted to go?" Ursa finally spoke.

"Summer time was more fun back when I didn't know the integrated territories had cooler climates."

"Huh," Father said, "I guess you really do like cooler nights."

Azula nodded. "I'd sooner put on a blanket than sweat in my bed."

"Oh, I'm working on something for that too, a way to cool the air in the room without water bending."

"Do I really need to actually have you banished for a while? Or better yet, since I'm technically higher in rank than you in your departments I can just enact a new rule that all royal members who render more than a month of straight service to have a mandatory break of another month after."

Father looked to him.

"Iroh, I used the word right?"

He nodded.

"Nephew, it will do you some good to take time away from work." Iroh pursed his lips. Children shouldn't be working harder than their Fire Lords. "Why not take Azula and her friends with you around the islands? You can… inspect your new farms?"

Father glared at him, then sighed. "And Ozai can bring you around on his airship."

That got his brother's attention, and if there was such a thing as a stoic scowl with a hint of pleading then that as close as possible to what Iroh saw.

"Son, spend some proper time with your children. No work for both you and Raizu for a month. The Domestic Forces can hold their own for a while without everything exploding. And Raizu, have more faith in your staff."

Ozai, took a deep breath and nodded. He had calmed down by lot despite how much violence his new role afforded him. A contradiction perhaps, but his nephew was so accurate sometimes to the point of eerie.

"I don't think my men would mind the young prince on the ship."

"In fact, why not take this time to reconnect as a family?"

And all Father got was silence, and a few surprised looks from the servants.

"Too much?"

Iroh sighed. Their old man had a tendency to get drunk over the atmosphere at times.