Zuko turned to face her, taking the mask from her gasp and laying it down in his own lap as he turned so that he was better facing her as well. No one had ever said anything so...complimenting to him before. Somehow, saying that the boy--no, man he was behind the mask was the same as the person he was while wearing it was the greatest compliment she, or anyone, could have ever given him. It mad him realize just why the Avatar kept her around once she was done teaching him how to waterbend, why her brother seemed to depend on her, and why everyone seemed to just generally adore her.
He felt his un-damaged cheek grow hot as he looked upon her, not entirely sure why he was blushing. It wasn't something he normally did. Princes did not blush. But then again, he wasn't really a true prince anymore, was he? Maybe he never was. Perhaps he wasn't meant to be.
Raising a hand, Zuko reached out and brushed the backs of his fingers against one of her cheeks, opening his hand and resting his palm lightly against the side of her face, the tips of his fingers touching her hair. It was that impulsive urge to touch her again, one that he wasn't in the mood (or frame of mind) to ignore at the moment.
His head tilted to the side some and a soft smile spread across his lips, yet his eyes were still a bit un-focused.
"I never wanted to be a prince. Or a firebender," he began. "I was...bad at it all. I didn't like what my country did, I didn't want to learn how to bend, because I didn't want to fight. I liked...learning. Not about the accomplishments of the Fire Nation or anything like that, but just books. Different things, things that were knew, things I didn't know. I used to spend every waking moment I had in the library of the palace with my mother. It was when she disappeared that I put that person behind a mask. I couldn't be him around my father or my sister or anyone, really. It's...hard to let him out without being weary of being punished for doing so."
Or, in the case of now, without Azula taking advantage of her submissive older sibling.