- One year into the future -

Bolin arrives home very late and shuffles to his bed. Exhausted, not even Mako's snoring will bother him tonight. As he strips down and gets ready for a well deserved rest he spots a wax sealed envelope on his bed. It unmistakably bears the Fire Nation's royal seal which is pressed into a deep crimson wax.

"Mako must have put it here." Bolin quietly says to himself.

Thinking that Mako might have wanted to peek at the contents Bolin inspects the envelope but finds it is still securely sealed and untampered with.

He glaces over at Mako and, after reassuring himself that Mako is actually asleep, quickly breaks the seal. Excitedly he opens the envelope; it's as if the air is buzzing with electricity causing him to tense up in anticipation.

Bolin begins reading the letter and immediately relaxes as his inner monologue comes to life in Iroh's voice.

Bolin,

Since the Earth Empire was fully disbanded there, thankfully, has not been much to worry about except for the occasional pirate ship. Peace, like love, is one of the world's great wonders. We strive for it when we are without it and yet it is something that is so easily taken for granted when we find it. I want you to know that I will be ever vigilant in that regard and that I will never take you for granted.

The days have been quiet and my time here passes slowly. Each moment without you causes me pain, a pain I did not know existed until we were apart. During the night, when I have time to myself, I watch the stars and wonder if you are watching them with me. I take solace in the knowledge that you are also thinking of me; I have your letters as proof of that. Letters that I wait for with bated breath and devour word by word.

I want to promise you that the time will come when we will be together again. Just writing these words makes my days bearable. I want to feel your breath on my face. I want to feel your eyes gazing at me. I want to feel my senses with yours. I work hard to fill the time to make possible what we are waiting for. Each day I tell myself that I will only be apart from you for today. That is as much as I can bear.

I love you,

Iroh

Clutching the letter gently in his hand Bolin lays down on the bed. His body, warmed from the quickening of his heart, shudders as it touches the cold silk bedding. Within moments it pulls in Bolin's pulsing warmth causing him to melt peacefully into the silk. Flashes of Iroh fill his mind as the beginnings of dreams blanket him like a warm summer wind.

"Iroh, I love you too..." Bolin whispers as if speaking directly to Iroh.

With his eyes closed and a small smile unconsciously forming on his face he falls asleep.

- One year earlier, present day -

It has been two months since Kuvira was arrested for her crimes against humanity. And while she called for the disbandment of the Earth Empire many of her officers refused to give up their dreams for a unified Earth Empire. Fortunately, for the United Forces, they are disillusioned and extremely unorganized so no real leadership ever developed.

They are, however, still relatively well armed. This resulted in pockets of guerrilla fighters scattered throughout the Earth Kingdom. While this is definitely a problem, most of the Earth Kingdom doesn't support them which has made rounding them up much simpler than it could have been.

A set of concise, stern knocks resounded from the metal door. The man outside waited a short amount of time before giving another set of perfectly intervaled knocks.

"Sir, are you there? I'm letting myself in."

The man was dressed in a well manicured and pressed United Forces uniform. He became visibly tense as he scanned the room but failed to find the person he was looking for.

"I wish you would just call me by my name. I'm a civilian consultant for the United Forces, I'm not an officer in it." Which was seemingly said by a disembodied voice.

A disembodied voice that was soon given form as a head lifted up from the other side of the bed with a goofy smile on its face.

"Ah, sir... uh, sorry... Bolin, there you are." The uniformed man said with some relief behind his voice.

"I must have fallen out of bed when I was asleep." Bolin said as he stood up and yawned.

"I'm here to remind you that you have a meeting in the war room at 0700. Also... to make sure you're not still sleeping." The uniformed man said the last part somewhat annoyed as he noticed Bolin was still only half awake and half dressed.

"I was sure I set my alarm this time. I must be doing something wrong." Bolin said as he gave an apologetic half smile.

With a sigh the uniformed man turns and leaves, shutting the door.

Struggling with a slow tired twist Bolin turns to look at the clock next to his bed. 0645.

"Oh spirits... well that should be enough time. It's a good thing I took a shower last night." Bolin says in a tired inner monologue.

He walks into the bathroom and looks into a plain square mirror which rests above the sink.

"Not too bad. Not too bad at all... I'm gorgeous." He says as he splashes cold water into his face; smiling into the mirror.

Bolin tosses out a few extra compliments and throws in some pouty faces for good measure while he fixes himself up before setting off.

The war room is a well lit medium sized room without any windows and most of the space is taken up by a large metal table. Bolin had only been in this room a couple of times before but he can't help but be impressed. Covering the entirety of the table is a very detailed map of the Earth Kingdom. Every mountain range, canyon, and province is being shown in fine detail. Strategically placed on top of the map are several large models which represent the United Forces and the remaining Earth Empire military.

There are a handful of officers in the room but there is one in particular who makes Bolin uncomfortable. Bolin takes his place next to the table and glances at the officer who takes notice immediately.

"Ah, how kind of our 'War Consultant' to grace us with his presence and on time, at least today... I can see how they did things under Kuvira's command." The man says with a sarcastic smirk on his face.

"I..." Bolin started to interject but decided against it.

That hit a nerve with Bolin and shame washed over him. He was used and kept in the dark intentionally by Kuvira. He had the best of intentions for joining the Earth Empire and wanted to do some real good for the people. Being so close to many of Kuvira's officers on a daily basis gave him a set of special knowledge. And while Bolin deeply regretted his role he was here to make amends and help with what he could.

"I'm... sorry. The base is so big and I got confused when I first arrived..." Bolin said as his face became hot.

"I don't want to hear your excuses." The man said plainly.

Bolin nodded and looked down at his feet.

The door slowly shut and General Iroh calmly walked towards the head of the table. All the officers in the room immediately stood up and saluted him.

"As you were." Iroh said in a very conditioned way.

On his way to the table he gave Bolin a soft pat on the shoulder and a small reassuring smile. Bolin immediately calmed down and began to ease up a bit. Iroh then made direct eye contact with the officer who was just addressing Bolin.

"I'd remind you, Lieutenant Bukara, that without the information Bolin supplied to us we would not be as close as we are to routing out the Earth Empire in this province. You would do well to remember that." Iroh said as he gave an emotionless stare at Lieutenant Bukara.

"A.. aye, sir. I will sir." Lieutenant Bukara said in a slightly shaken manner.

Bolin avoided eye contact with Lieutenant Bukara but he couldn't contain a small smile forming on his face after seeing Iroh stand up for him.

Bolin instead looked up at Iroh and nodded a thank you.

"Right then, let's begin." General Iroh said as he motioned with his hands.

The meeting went on for five long hours. There were quite a few heated discussions and by the time they had wrapped up Bolin was mentally exhausted.

It was lunch time now and Bolin started to head out wondering where he could grab something to eat. The base where he has been staying was next to a major port city so there were probably quite a few water tribe restaurants for him to check out. Before he could give any serious thought about it though he felt a hand grasp his shoulder.

"Hey, Bolin, hold up. I've been wanting to talk with you since you arrived. You've been here for two days now? How are you getting on?" Iroh asked inquisitively.

Bolin was about to answer Iroh but was interrupted by the loudest stomach grumble he had ever heard.

Iroh laughs, "Hungry?"

Embarrassed, Bolin brandishes a goofy pout on his now reddening face. "Yeah, uh, kind of. Sir."

"Bolin, you're a civilian and my friend so drop the formalities; just call me Iroh. And if that stomach growl was only kind of hungry then I'm scared to know what really hungry sounds like." Iroh laughs.

Bolin lets out a belly laugh that surprises him. He had been pretty tense since he arrived on base but he's starting to feel more like himself now that Iroh is talking to him.

"I've been stationed here for awhile and I know some great spots. I thought we could catch up and you could fill me in on how everyone is doing. My treat." Iroh said with a genuine smile.

"Ha ha, that would be awesome! I wasn't really sure what I was going to do and, oh boy, am I starving." Bolin says excitedly.

Glancing up as they walk together he notices that Iroh has a large smile on his face. Bolin's face turns slightly red and he suddenly feels a strange sensation in the pit of his stomach; not quite hunger but something similar.

"He's handsome... " Bolin blinks.

"He's handsome? Oh spirits, did I say that out loud or think that?" Bolin worries to himself before he quickly glances at Iroh again to make sure.

"Are you okay?" Iroh says as he notices the confused look on Bolin's face.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine. I think I'm just hungrier than I realized." Bolin replies, embarrassed that Iroh noticed his look of worry but relieved that he DIDN'T say it out loud.

The two of them leave the base and after a short walk find themselves in the busiest part of the town. Lined along the main road are many small shops and restaurants with beautiful signs that attempt to lure in people visiting the port town. The air is thick with spices and smoke from cooking meat and Bolin can't help but feel like he never left Republic City because the atmosphere is so similar. There are so many people here; everyone is laughing and eating. It's so loud that Iroh can only get Bolin's attention by patting him on the shoulder. Bolin looks at Iroh who points at a water tribe restaurant before walking in and Bolin happily follows.