Zuko's silent for a long moment, letting his uncle's words sink in without letting go of his hand, even if he can't meet his eye. What does his heart need most...? Without pressing urgent peril, it's hard to discern clearly what his heart is telling him. He's just been... living. Getting by. Prioritizing his social life, just spends his spare time talking deeply with the people closest to him. Like most anyone might. That in itself bears considering, then...
"...I really have learned a lot since I've been gone, Uncle. Extraordinary things. My friend— ah, Gokudera, I need you to meet him, it's complicated but he's really important to me...! He's taught me a lot. There's this war that happened on his planet — it's fascinating, there's a lot of parallels to our world's war, lessons to be gleaned, I think..."
Iroh's lucky, perhaps, that Zuko's mind, for once, wanders somewhere more positive and encouraging than talking about this, um, genocide and global tragedy that he has studied extensively with no particular business knowing about any of this, as a proper alien? His new special interest in World War II thankfully takes backseat to his unwavering fondness for Gokudera, though, so Iroh's spared further details on this war Zuko's become so fixated on. Surely hearing a little about his friend is a better topic, he figures.
"Oh, and! He's really clever, too! He came up with his own secret code he writes important things in that only he can decipher. But he showed it to me; I can write my name in it. Wouldn't that be so useful for me as Fire Lord? To protect against political opponents or spies? I would've never thought of it on my own, but I want to adopt it now..."
Well. Uh. The subtext there is that Zuko's best friend is clearly as paranoid, or as at risk, as Zuko himself is, apparently. Birds of a feather...? At least he's having fun planning for his paranoia. That's what matters, at the end of the day, maybe...
no subject
"...I really have learned a lot since I've been gone, Uncle. Extraordinary things. My friend— ah, Gokudera, I need you to meet him, it's complicated but he's really important to me...! He's taught me a lot. There's this war that happened on his planet — it's fascinating, there's a lot of parallels to our world's war, lessons to be gleaned, I think..."
Iroh's lucky, perhaps, that Zuko's mind, for once, wanders somewhere more positive and encouraging than talking about this, um, genocide and global tragedy that he has studied extensively with no particular business knowing about any of this, as a proper alien? His new special interest in World War II thankfully takes backseat to his unwavering fondness for Gokudera, though, so Iroh's spared further details on this war Zuko's become so fixated on. Surely hearing a little about his friend is a better topic, he figures.
"Oh, and! He's really clever, too! He came up with his own secret code he writes important things in that only he can decipher. But he showed it to me; I can write my name in it. Wouldn't that be so useful for me as Fire Lord? To protect against political opponents or spies? I would've never thought of it on my own, but I want to adopt it now..."
Well. Uh. The subtext there is that Zuko's best friend is clearly as paranoid, or as at risk, as Zuko himself is, apparently. Birds of a feather...? At least he's having fun planning for his paranoia. That's what matters, at the end of the day, maybe...