Zuko wasn't ready to become fire lord. He didn't want to end up like his treacherous, evil father. He really hoped that he would be a great fire lord that did what was best for his people. He also hoped even more desperately that he'd be a better father. His father had been the worst father in the history of fathers. That led him back to thinking about what his family would be like. For the past few months, he couldn't picture anyone but Katara as his fire lady. But of course, Katara was taken. Why couldn't he just go up to her and tell her he loved her? Zuko walked down the fire palace's long hallway to where he was about to become fire lord. He saw Aang meditating. Aang heard him approaching and opened his huge grey eyes. He would honestly never see what Katara ever saw in him. However, he loved Aang as though he was his brother, and he wanted to let him know that he cared.
He felt the need to say something, so he said, "I can't believe a year ago my purpose in life was hunting you down. And now…"
"And now we're friends," Aang finished. Aang looked up into Zuko's eyes earnestly, and any mean feelings he had felt toward Aang vanished. 'He's just so innocent,' Zuko thought.
"Yeah," Zuko said lamely, "we are friends." He thought back to all the times he had tried to capture Aang. He was just a child then. He had matured so much over the past year it didn't seem that Aang was the same person anymore. 'He's a full fledged monk for goodness sake,' thought Zuko. 'Wait, if Aang's a monk now, wouldn't he have had to have taken an oath or something? Monks couldn't marry after all…' Zuko thought hopefully. He would have to ask Aang about that later…
"I can't believe a year ago I was still frozen in a block of ice," Aang said. Zuko looked at him intently. Aang continued by saying, "The world's so different now." The monk looked sad at this. He'd been through a lot of pain and loss too. He'd lost his people, his friends, and also his family, but he'd never actually really known them all too well. Zuko just wanted to comfort the 12 year old.
"And it's going to be even more different," Zuko stated as he placed a hand on Aang's shoulder. "We'll rebuild it together," Zuko said. The look in Aang's eyes was so happy, and Zuko wouldn't have traded that moment for anything in the world. They reached for each other as they leaned into a soft embrace.
Then, they walked out onto the pavilion where Zuko was to be crowned. Zuko heard one of the fire sages ring a gong and then heard erupting cheers echoing through the crowd. He was touched at this, but he held up a hand and said, "Please," in the loudest voice he could conjure. "The real hero is the avatar," Zuko continued. He gestured toward Aang and Aang stepped out. A new set of cheers erupted, and he looked onto his people, along with the soldiers who fought so bravely, and everyone else who were there. He saw Katara for a hundredth of a second, and saw her looking to Aang with a loving look. Zuko couldn't say he was happy about this, but then again, Katara didn't actually know about his feelings for her.
Even as these thoughts rushed through Zuko's head, he continued on. "Today, this war is finally over." Zuko felt the roar of the audience this time because it was so loud. "I promised my uncle I would restore the honor of the fire nation, and I will. The road ahead of us is challenging. A hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided. But with the avatar's help, we can get back on the right path, and begin a new era of love and peace." He looked at Aang as he said those last couple of sentences. Aang's eyes gave him a silent thank you.
A fire sage stepped forward and that was Zuko's queue to kneel. He knelt down and felt the fire sage place the emblem of the fire nation on his top knot as the sage said, "All hail fire lord Zuko!"