Looking for a specific fic
Apologies in advance for the vagueness, I read this at least a year ago, so I may be misremembering things. It was about Zuko acting as a prince to the Fire Nation citizens in Ba Sing Se, taking care of them, and demanding to the Earth Monarch their safeguarding. I don't recall Iroh being there, albeit I may be wrong. The Gaang are also there, and they veer more towards the interests of the Earth Nation in the negotiations between the Earth Monarch and Zuko. They don't act as inmediately hostile as they do in the 3rd book, I believe they just treat him as a general enemy, which is why I don't think Zuko betrays the Gaang and works with Azula, and I believe he steered away from their conflict in this fic. I think the Dai Li were absent here, this was right after the liberation of Ba Sing Se, the Gaang were already familiar with the Earth Monarch.
The Fire Nation citizens regard Zuko with respect and reverence, and I think the event that sets off the fic is that a mother recognizes him and pleads for his help. There are also some Fire Nation children who accompany him. I believe the fic was only in ao3.