Title: Hot and Cold

Summary: Ryouga had a fascination with the young firebender.

A/N: AU where benders exist, or a crossover of sorts with Avatar the Last Airbender.

His father warned him to never go near them. The firemonsters, they were dubbed. Ryouga was told stories of how the Fire Nation had started the century long war, how they murdered and pillaged with no regrets. He should have been horrified.

Yet, here he was in a little hole he had waterbent, looking at the boy from the Fire Nation (at least, he looked not that many years older than Ryouga, and he wasn't considered a man yet).

The boy looked miserable and angry, pulling at his restraints and snarling threats. He looked very out of place in his red clothes, and even shivered a couple times. Ryouga was enthralled by his hair, a mass of spiky locks both golden and maroon.

Ryouga had almost missed seeing his father and a few other men enter the cell, and covered up his hiding spot as best as he could, all the while still watching.

He couldn't hear clearly, but strains of an argument reached his ears as the boy finally lost his temper and screamed "HE'S NOT COMING FOR ME SO YOU AND YOUR NEGOTIATIONS CAN BURN FROM THE FIRES OF AGNI!"

He didn't seem aware of the fire that had burst out of him until the men sprayed him with water and left again, muttering about what to do with him now?

As soon as he knew it was safe, Ryouga bent the wall away and quietly stepped towards the older boy's cell. He could hear sniffles and tiny sobs, and this went again all he had learned, that firebenders had no heart, they never cried, and they never felt remorse.

"What do you want?"

Ryouga snapped out of his thoughts, and looked at the firebender boy who had stopped his silent tears, and was now staring at Ryouga with a mix of anger and fear,

He was still shaking from the cold, and so Ryouga made up his mind.

"Iwasgoingtowaterbendthewaterotofyourclothessoyoucould-"

"What?"

Instead of repeating, he took up a stance, and with a few deft flicks, bent the water out of the boy's clothes. He stepped back with a smile as the boy inspected his clothes, finding no droplets left. He turned towards Ryouga with a questioning look, who answered with his smile, before hurrying away. He could not be caught here.

A faint "Thank you" echoed through the hollow prison.

Ryouga came back a few more times, and learned more about the boy, whose name he was told their third meeting.

Thomas Arclight.

Son of Firelord Byron.

Thomas had cringed as Ryouga thought about how he was having civil (of sorts) conversations with the Fire Prince. But he didn't let that deter him from his goals.

As time went on, they both learned a bit more about each other. Ryouga had a sister, who was severely burned, but spoke of prophecies and helped around their home (and wasn't afraid to beat Ryouga up with her own waterbending). Thomas had two brothers, both of which had died in the war. He had been captured off of a ship, and had been brought here as a hostage.

When Ryouga asked him what was going to happen to him now, Thomas shrugged. He told Ryouga of how his father refused to take him back, and he was afraid, afraid for what would happen now that he was useless.

You aren't useless

They were taught to fight the flame, and instead, he embraced it.