Iroh:

Iroh, the first born son and child of Fire Lord Azulon was not going to make excuses and say that he hadn't ever had any opportunity at all to console his niece, comfort her, offer her support or even just set out some tea for the girl. He had. He had been given plenty of opportunities to show his niece that he cared about her just as much as he did her brother. He hadn't taken advantage of any of those opportunities. Iroh once wondered what his judgment in the afterlife would be for neglecting his niece, for not being there for her and not offering her a chance to fight against Ozai sooner.

Having many a times been appalled by the idea that a girl would act the way Azula did instead of acting like a double of her mother, Ursa. It had been a disgusting trait of his to bear almost his whole life until his son Lu Ten died and he had been forced to see that none of that mattered.

By then it had been too late. Ozai had sunk his claws too deeply into Azula.

But that had been no excuse; Iroh could see that now. He should have tried harder to reach Azula through the hate the firebender had used to protect herself with. Iroh knew now he was paying for it. He had been paying for it for practically seven years now. Ever since he had taken in his exiled and scarred nephew, the elderly retired former would be Fire Lord wondered what would have happened, had Zuko and Azula's roles been reversed that day at the Agni Kai, and Azula had been the one exiled, then would he have had the strength to council the younger firebender the same as he had Zuko? Would she have even accepted his help? He suspected not.

Azula's pride was too strong.

Pride. That was a terrible affliction. Iroh was ashamed to say that he himself had suffered from it for years before understanding that silly pride was only another obstacle to face in order to truly appreciate life. It had been his pride that kept him from realizing he was wrong for neglecting Azula and not acknowledging that she was just as much of a warrior-even more of a warrior than her brother and deserved an equal amount of attention. It was that pride that now was responsible for him being in this situation now.

He tried to make up for not being there for Azula, many, many times. Each and every time he offered to meditate with her, spar with her, firebend with her, offered her tea, tried to be of some comfort or use with his niece, she made her feelings quite clear to him.

She loathed him. Her behavior towards him had always been rude, vulgar and uncaring, but now that he was trying to offer solace to the damaged princess, she seemed to impress upon him just how much she abhorred his very existence even more.

Iroh always knew that it was his own fault. He had lost Lu Ten in Ba Sing Se and had immediately fixated his feelings on Zuko, as if the boy was a replacement son. He had never held out the possibility that he could help Azula and save her from his brother's manipulations. Iroh had never been afraid of Ozai. That was why his negligence of Azula was even more despicable. He had never been afraid of Ozai, but he had been afraid of Azula herself for a long time.

Yes, he wasn't afraid of a dictator that killed their father, but he had been afraid of a little girl who was a pawn in the dictator's game.

It was disgraceful. Even when he had been the prince of the Fire Nation, waiting to receive the flame crown of the Fire Lord when his father Azulon eventually passed on, he had been an adult, approaching his thirty-ninth birthday, and knew more than enough about responsibility; raiding a city, having married, ordered several armies and having raised a son of his own for up to seventeen years before his son perished, Iroh by all rights should know what being an adult meant.

Iroh didn't know when or how, but somehow, the firebender swore that one day he would make up for all that he had failed to do for his niece. He would beg her forgiveness and try to console her, even if it took him to his deathbed. It was his own fault for not being more attentive to Azula sooner. Iroh knew that. So he knew that he shouldn't be envious of Hakoda.

Hakoda, the father of Sokka and Katara the waterbender, and chief of the Southern Water Tribe village, had been spending time in the Fire Nation palace. Given that the war was over and Katara and Sokka now spent a good deal of time in the Fire Nation, their father decided he wanted to spend as much time with them as possible, so he came from the South Pole, apparently leaving his friend Bato in charge while he was at the palace with his children.

Iroh didn't know when the Fire Nation princess and the Southern Water tribe chief had met. He knew that Azula had spent six months for almost four years now in the South Pole with Hakoda's tribe, so he was aware that the firebender had had plenty of contact with the Water Tribe man. But just what was the connection between him and Azula?

Iroh watched Hakoda and Azula sometimes, against his conscience's words. He often couldn't help it, not when it came to this particular matter. He didn't want to admit it, but he was coming to realize that Azula and Hakoda had a strong bond. The firebdender would make a nonchalant or crude impolite remark and all the Southern Water Tribe man would laugh and say something that he thought was funny or wise and the dark haired princess would nod and lower her defenses. She'd give another crude response, but she'd digress at whatever it was Hakoda had said. Iroh knew that he had no right to be jealous, no right whatsoever. It didn't change that he was.

Iroh was considered wise by many. Many, except for his niece. Yet, his arrogant, stubborn, enraged and emotionally fractured niece accepted the solace that Hakoda, a fairly normal average man offered. Iroh was the prince and had been the first in line for the throne before Ozai took control. But that wasn't what hurt the elderly Dragon of the West. He was Azula's blood uncle. He had known her for years but he had never offered help to the young woman, not once till now. Now it was too late. She had chosen someone else with her secrets and to look up to, again.

Iroh knew he shouldn't be envious about Azula being loyal to Ozai. The man had been Azula's father; that shouldn't anger him like it did. What had twisted the knife right into Iroh's proverbial gut had been when he had walked out into the forest nearby the palace halls, where a bay into one of the main oceans was. There he found Hakoda and Azula, standing and fishing. It was an odd thing for him to see as he'd never imagine fishing to be something that Azula would ever participate in, at least not without immediate results. Both of them were holding brown bamboo made fishing poles, the threads perfectly straight as they dangled in the water.

Iroh had stepped closer, and had taken that moment to announce his presence.

Iroh took notice of how Azula looked. Her dark hair wasn't in its topknot like it usually had been (but it hadn't been like that for years) her ebony hair had been properly cut and now was growing a little longer, a few inches past her shoulders in a neat, straight length. Her amber eyes were narrowed in concentration at the water. Iroh then coughed a little, realizing that this might be rather awkward, "Ah, I didn't realize that the bay would be such a good place for fishing."

Azula turned and glared at the older firebender. She was about to say something, most likely something cutting and angry when Hakoda started speaking, "It seemed like something that Azula could do in her spare time. She refuses to help Zuko in anyway, so she has a lot of free time."

Azula gave the Water tribe man a condescending look and then snipped out, "Zuko didn't earn his place on the throne. Besides, I don't want that throne anymore anyway, why would I involve myself in such nonsense? And at least these waters are warm. We don't have to worry about the lack of fish like we did in the South Pole. Honestly, it's a wonder how any of us-how any of your people are still alive."

Iroh didn't miss the words that Azula corrected. And neither did Hakoda. The Southern Water tribe lifted an eyebrow, looking at the princess, smiling, eyes gleaming with an emotion Iroh couldn't decipher. Azula saw how the Southern Water Tribe man was looking at her and scoffed, "Don't get sentimental, Hakoda. It was a slip of the tongue, nothing more. It was a reasonable thing to wonder."

The brunette warrior chuckled, turning back to the water as he fished, "You know that answer already. It's not my fault you got too frustrated and assumed that the fish wouldn't come into cold waters. Fishing takes patience which unfortunately you don't have a great deal of." The warrior added, giving a side grin to Azula, "But you have to admit, frozen fish has its appeal."

The Fire Nation princess snorted, "The world is blessed, for we don't just have one but two Sokkas." Iroh watched the princess carefully and noticed how her golden eyes appeared as they observed Hakoda.

That was when Iroh's heart fell. He had seen Azula look at Ozai like that. Like Hakoda and Ozai were the only authority figures that she ever truly respected. It was at that moment that Iroh felt like the ultimate failure in the family. It wasn't Ba Sing Se, it wasn't Lu Ten's death, it was this very moment that made him feel like he had truly failed his family. He should have been the one there for Azula but now he saw the consequences of him not being a surrogate father for the dark princess and not being a source of strength for her. She had confided and put her trust in someone else; another adult figure who had proven to be far more dependable than he himself had been.

He didn't want to say it, even to himself but Iroh understood what that moment between Hakoda and Azula had been about. He understood the way Azula had looked at the Water Tribe man. After being abandoned by Ozai when he had declared himself the Phoenix King, her trust in any "father figures" or really anyone with authority had clearly diminished. It seemed that her trust had been repaired by this Hakoda. That was when Iroh realized that he couldn't stay on the bay with them anymore. It hurt too much to see those emotions in Azula's eyes that were indescribable and yet so clear and obvious.

And he had no one but himself to blame.

As he turned and left, wishing them good hunting with the fishing, he noticed Azula glare at him over her shoulder before Hakoda placed a hand on that shoulder and she turned back to the water.

Even now as that memory played itself over in his mind, Iroh never got used to it. The Fire Nation princess had embraced a Water Tribe peasant as her father, ignoring his status in life and seeing him as worthy of guiding her into doing the right thing and teaching her.

But then, Iroh couldn't really blame her, could he? After all, unlike himself, Hakoda had earned his niece's respect.

The more Iroh thought about it, contemplated his life, drinking his tea, he realized that like everyone else in the world, he had only brought his fate on himself. He had been the one that chose to invade Ba Sing Se and had chosen to send his own son in, getting the peace-loving young man killed, he had been the one that had neglected to help Azula in any way and as a result she had gone into the council of the only adult with some sort of authority who had rightfully won the young woman's faith.

Iroh wasn't foolish enough to think anyone was safe from Agni's judgment, including himself. Stepping down from the throne might have made him safe from Ozai for so long, but karma had come around to show Iroh why he failed his family.

Now, whenever he saw Azula walk with Hakoda, stare at the Water Tribe man in a way that could only be described as respectful and admiringly and another emotion that Iroh had never thought he'd see in the firebender's eyes, but had been noticing a lot lately in her features. Adoration, affection.

Iroh had once thought Azula incapable of allowing those feelings creep onto her face. Hakoda and the Avatar and his group proved him very wrong.

Iroh had never done anything till now to aid Azula in her trials, but now it was too late, and for good reason. Now, Azula saw who her father was and he was there for her while Iroh never had been.

Funny, despite the war and the fall of Ba Sing Se, his son's death and Zuko's betrayal at Ba Sing Se, Iroh had never known what karma and what being a failure truly felt like, till now.

All he could do was pretend that he wasn't envious of Hakoda. He had never been one for envy, except for seeing how much Azula adored Ozai. But now, he knew exactly what the burn of envy was like. Hakoda taught him after all. Though he did not know the Southern Water Tribe chief at all, he might have had the former Fire Nation heir's jealousy, but also his respect. Hakoda had accomplished what Iroh had never been able to do. Hakoda had won Azula as a daughter. And Azula had made her choice. Azula had chosen who her father was. It wasn't Ozai and it certainly wasn't him.