His eyes closed as Zuko spoke again. Knowing the people involved, he could almost picture the scene. And if it wasn't exactly how it played out, it was how it would last in his memory for the time being. And he could guess what the treason was, what the cost had been... because he knew what he had come home to. He had come home without his son, to the ruins of what remained of his family.

And then Zuko apologized. Iroh opened his eyes and looked at his nephew, through his tears. "In all of this, Zuko, you are the one who owes no apologies," he said gravely. "It is we who have failed you."