Melted

by StarryNights513

Set in the Avatar the Last Airbender universe, Flora lives in the South Pole with her sister Miele during the period of the Hundred Year War. Life is bleak and cold but predictable, that is until an injured Fire Nation soldier turns up on their doorstep in need of help. Will this firebender be able to thaw Flora's frozen heart?

6. Penguin Sledding

"Come on, Flora, nobody will be there."

"I said no, Miele. Now go get ready for dinner."

"But-"

"No, Miele."

Miele frowned with a pout as she looked away from Flora.

It had been a few days since the snowstorm and warmer weather had come to the South Pole. Though warmer still meant freezing but instead of three layers of parkas and furs, one only needed two. Warmer weather only meant one thing in the South Pole, Penguin Sledding.

Miele had hoped to take Helia to the outskirts of the village to where the penguins lived and show him a way that the Water Tribe had fun. Sure, playing Pai Sho with Helia had been fun, but it wasn't Penguin Sledding.

But taking Helia anywhere where he could have been seen by anyone was off-limits as far as Flora was concerned. So when Miele came into the home, asking to take Helia Penguin Sledding, Flora was quick to shut down the idea and refuse. Miele understood why but she still protested, the weeks of following strict rules when it came to Helia starting to take a toll on her. And Flora recognized this.

"I am sorry that it has to be this way, but we cannot control it at the time being. Helia being here is dangerous. You know that if we were caught with a member of the Fire Nation, much less one of their soldiers, that we would be in so much trouble"

"Yet you sleep next to him every night."

Flora shut her mouth, knowing that she could not refute that. Since the night of the storm and the colder weather, Helia had been sleeping in the home, tending to the fire and keeping both Flora and Miele warm. Miele would sleep close to the fire that Helia would start and tend to throughout the night and Flora would curl next to Helia and utilize the warmth that came from his body. It was all for survival, Flora would tell herself. Though she couldn't deny that something inside of her stirred when Helia would sink down next to her and the chill of the morning stung when she realized that she wasn't there anymore.

Still, just because it had been established amongst Flora and Miele that Helia himself had not been a threat, it didn't mean that Helia being here wasn't dangerous.

"Miele, he is just trying to keep us warm."

"Sure..." Miele rolled her eyes.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I am fourteen, not four, Flora. I see the way that you look at him and I see the way that he looks at you. You like him, Flora and he likes you."

"That could not be further from the truth, Miele."

"You aren't threatening him anymore and I have seen you smile on multiple occasions when you are with him."

"Smiling is not an indicator of feelings towards a person, Miele."

"It is for you, Flora." Miele scoffed, "You never smile and now you are smiling all of the time."

Flora sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers, "Look, we are getting off-topic here. Helia and I do not like each other, he will be gone soon, and you are not going to go Penguin Sledding with him. Maybe after the war, you can send him a message and then you-"

"This war is never going to end, Flora!" Miele exclaimed, taking Flora aback as Miele had always been so optimistic about the war. Miele had been the more ideal of the two whereas Flora had always been pragmatic and pessimistic. She never thought that Miele would have said something like that.

"Miele-"

"It has been over a hundred years, Flora."

Flora stepped closer to her sister and pulled her into her arms and wrapped her into a warm hug.

"I know, Miele. I know." Flora sighed as she rubbed the back of Miele's small back, "This is not the life that I had envisioned for us. I don't think that anyone wants this war, other than the Fire Lord and his minions, but we just have to manage the best that we can."

Flora was not going to tell Miele to have hope because Flora learned long ago that there was no use holding out for something that seemed impossible. If the war were to end, Flora had assumed that it would be due to the Fire Nation succeeding and Flora would not be able to see the end of the war as she would be killed for being a Water Bender along with Miele. Or worse, taken as a slave to the Fire Nation due to her use as a waterbender. But Flora would end her life before that were to happen.

However, the nights that she had spent with Helia next to her and the conversations that they had made Flora think that maybe there was a small possibility that the war could end with a victory for her and her people. Helia spoke confidently about him finding the Avatar and the small group that he had gathered of resistance fighters across the tribes and nations, including the Fire Prince himself, and bringing down the Fire Nation. Still, Flora was hesitant to hold a space in her heart for hope.

"I always thought that the war would end but now I am not so sure." Miele replied as she buried her head into Flora's shoulder, "I just want to take Helia out Penguin Sledding."

Flora pulled Miele away and gave her a small smile, "I know you do. But it is time for dinner and you know the rules. I am sorry that it has to be this way and I am sorry for the war. Now, go wash up and tell Helia to come inside the house."

Miele nodded and walked out of the house and made her way through the small clearing and to the store room where Helia had been spending his days working on crafting the boat that he would use to row away from the South Pole and away from her and Miele. The boat was nowhere close to being done but still, he had been working hard and had told her at night about the progress that he had made. Flora knew that he told her about his progress because he knew how much that she had wanted him out but Flora had to admit to herself that the desire to see him leave had lessened over the weeks.

There was a chill and Flora turned around to see a sweaty and shirtless Helia standing in the middle of the entrance. He used the shirt that had been over his shoulder and wiped his sweaty brow. Flora knew that she was staring as her eyes went up Helia's sweaty torso and up to his face, watching as his parted lips took in deep breaths, his exhales releasing trace amounts of steam.

"Miele said that dinner was ready."

Flora blinked out of the small trance that she was in and it was then that she realized that Helia was smiling at her.

"Stop doing that?"

"Doing what?" Helia asked.

"Smiling."

"Stop smiling?" Helia chuckled, "I smile when I hear that there is food ready."

"It's just sea prunes and seaweed bread."

"Oh but it tastes so good when you make it."

Flora rolled her eyes, "You've never had it any other way."

"But I know deep down that you make it the best."

Flora smiled as she turned and tended to the pot of sea prunes.

"Go wash up for dinner. You are gross and sweaty."

Flora heard Helia's footsteps as he went out of the home and walked towards the storeroom where they kept water for washing up. She took in a deep breath as she tried to recompose herself from the sweaty firebender in her home. Miele had been right. Flora did look at Helia in a certain way. He was attractive and Flora had never been so close to a man before. She was nineteen and if it had been under any circumstances, Flora would have already been married but Flora didn't have the time or space to think about that. But Tui and La had seen to it that when Helia walked into the room, his muscles covered in sweat, that Flora would give him a certain look.

But that didn't mean that she liked him. At least not in the way that Miele was insinuating. This was still a time of war and she didn't have time to think about things like that, especially with someone from the nation that had caused havoc and destruction throughout the world for the past one hundred years.

Flora recomposed herself and turned to grab three bowls from the shelf and three spoons. Flora took the seaweed bread out of the large iron pot where it had been baking over the fire and placed it on the cold, slate plate. As if on cue, Miele and Helia came back inside of the house, smiling and laughing.

Hadn't she just told Helia that she didn't want to see him smiling?

But it made Miele happy and as long as Miele was smiling, Flora was pleased. Flora just hated that many of the time she had been the one responsible for Miele's sour moods.

"...really? I can?"

"Sure, as long as your sister says that it is alright."

Flora looked between the two as she set down the bowls filled with sea prune stew in front of Miele and Helia as they sat down on the cold floor covered with furs.

"If I say what is alright?"

Miele smiled up at her sister as she took the warm bowl of soup in her hand and took a spoonful and placed it in her mouth.

"Helia said-"

"Don't speak with your mouth full."

Miele chewed quickly and swallowed.

"Helia said that I could use his boat for the Ice Dodging ceremony next month."

Flora looked down and nodded, "I see." She took a bite of her sea prune stew.

Helia was the one to speak up, "Is something the matter? I swear that I am good at making boats and that your sister will be safe in it."

"Flora never got to partake in the Ice Dodging ceremony," Miele whispered to Helia.

"I am sorry to hear about that," Helia said as he turned his attention back to Flora, "Miele was telling me how important of a ceremony that is for the youth of the water tribes."

"Flora was supposed to sail but the week of the ceremony there was a raid. The ceremony was postponed until it had been canceled altogether. They then needed all of the boats for the war effort. There are others in the tribe who have not been able to have their ceremony but they had another kind of ceremony but it isn't quite the same."

Helia looked at FloraC, his dark blue eyes warm and soft, "Then perhaps Flora is the one who needs my boat."

"She is too old now."

"Oh..." Helia held his head down and looked into his bowl of sea prunes.

"It's fine," Flora said as she looked up and gave Helia and Miele a small smile, "I don't need a ceremony to tell me who I am. And I don't think that they will accept Fire Nation-style boats."

"There is nothing in the rules against it," Miele remarked.

"Because nobody ever thought that a fourteen-year-old from the Southern Water Tribe would be in the possession of such a boat."

"Well, there is always a first for everything." Miele shrugged.

Flora ate some more of her stew and ate from the board of bread. She had moved on from the fact that she had not gotten to participate in the coming of age ceremony but it still hurt when she heard of others talking about it.

"So, how much progress did you make today, Helia?"

"Well," Helia turned to Miele, "I was able to finish shaping most of the boning pieces. Unfortunately, the end of the boat is going to be narrower than I had intended but rather a smaller boat than no boat at all."

"How much longer do you think that it will take?" Miele asked before shoving some bread in her mouth.

"I would give it another month, that is if the weather holds out. I know that the storms become more frequent when the seasons change."

Miele smiled, "Then you might be here for Flora's birthday?"

Helia turned towards Flora and smirked, "Will I?"

"It is the first of the month."

"That is only a few weeks away."

Miele gave Helia a sly look, moving her eyes cheekily between Helia and her sister, making sure that Flora was paying attention to the conversation that she was having with Helia.

"Are you going to give her a present?" Miele asked.

"I am not sure," Helia answered, "I think that my leaving will be present enough for your sister."

"I think that Flora would want something more material. The women of the tribe like jewelry."

"I am afraid to say that I don't have any gems on me."

"No no," Miele shook her head, "we in the Water Tribe like jewelry that has been carved from seal bone or from a smooth stone found near the shores. I think that you should carve something for Flora. Maybe some sort of necklace-"

"Miele!" Flora exclaimed. Miele just laughed as Flora's face turned red.

"What?" Helia asked as he looked between the sisters, "What happened?"

Flora cleared her throat, "Nothing. Miele is just being ridiculous. Just eat your dinner so that we can prepare for the night."

Miele leaned close to Helia, "Our father gave our mother the most beautiful carved necklace."

"Miele..."

"Just think about it." Miele said as she backed away from Helia.

Flora looked up and saw that Miele was eating her stew but that Helia had been smiling at her. Flora knew what Miele was now talking about. Why was he smiling at her like that? Why did she like it? Just like Helia himself, Helia's smile had been warm and Flora felt comfort when he smiled at her. She supposed that she had always noticed the way that he had smiled at her but was too stubborn and resistant to really accept that Helia had been looking at her in any way that could have possibly indicated any form of kindness or affection. Why would someone of the mighty Fire Nation look at anyone from the Southern Water Tribe in any other way than disgust?

The question now on her mind was whether he had realized the way that she had looked at him.

Flora told Helia that she didn't think that they could be friends and that Flora hadn't changed her mind regarding the status of their "relationship". They could not be friends, she would not allow it. She would be his gracious hostess but that was it. They could be friendly but they would not be friends. Certainly nothing more than that.

But if things had been different...

"But maybe she doesn't deserve a birthday gift as she said that we couldn't go sledding together."

Flora rolled her eyes as she ate.

"Well, I am sure that your sister has her reasons."

"Thank you, Helia." Flora held up her head as Helia had stood up for her.

"You wouldn't say that if you knew how much fun that sledding is."

"Miele," Flora sighed, "you know the risks."

"Maybe we can go tonight when the sun is down and there will be nobody around."

"You have to sleep."

"But it is a full moon and neither one of us will be able to sleep and now that Helia is sleeping in the house with us, we will just keep him up as well. Especially since every full moon you take it upon yourself to deep clean the entire house."

"Just because we will be up doesn't mean that the penguins will be either."

"Sure they will!" Miele smiled, "The penguins are restless because it is about to be mating season. Which means that it is going to be the perfect time for sledding. You know that I am right, Flora."

Flora bit down on her lip and grumbled, "You really aren't going to let this go, are you?"

Miele smiled and held up her head, "Nope!"

Flora sighed and ripped off a piece of bread from the large loaf.

"Fine."

Break

The full moon was bright in the sky, illuminating the frozen ground and making the snow glisten. The wind was calm as Flora, Helia, and Miele made their way across the frozen tundra to the penguin colony that lay at the edge of the village.

"Almost there," Miele bounced as she grabbed Helia's hand and led him toward a large glacier, "and then your life will change forever."

"That life-changing, huh?" Helia raised an eyebrow as he followed Miele. Not that he had much other choice than to follow her.

"You have no idea, Hot Man."

"Hot Man?"

Miele shrugged, "I'm still working on a nickname for you."

Helia laughed as he looked back at Flora who gave him a small smile as she followed behind Helia and Miele.

Miele had finally broken Flora's resolve and after dinner, Flora agreed to wait until nightfall to take Miele and Helia to the glacier where the penguin colony lay for some sledding. It had been what seemed like forever since she had been to the glacier and taken a penguin sledding. It had definitely been before her mother had left and Flora was certain that it had been before her father had left to fight in the war.

"Flora, come on!" Miele shouted.

"Miele, don't shout. Do you want the whole tribe to hear you? Do you want to get caught?"

Miele huffed and turned back around, her hand still in Helia's. Helia looked back at her again as he continued on with Miele. Flora kept her distance behind, still not wanting to get too close to Helia both physically and emotionally. Miele certainly had no problem with becoming closer to Helia though. If things had been any different and Miele weren't fifteen years younger than Helia, Flora may have been jealous of how close they had gotten. But seeing the way that Helia treated Miele and how close they had gotten helped Flora welcome Helia into her life with a little more ease.

"There!" Miele exclaimed, "Do you see them? Just beyond the ledge?"

Helia strained his neck and looked forward to spot the black blobs just before the horizon.

"I think so, are they awake?"

"Who knows, but I think that we can wake them. They are fairly docile."

"Well, that's good I guess."

Miele let go of Helia's hand and ran forward, "I will go wake them."

"Don't go too far, Miele!" Flora shouted out towards Miele but she knew that Miele had not heard a single word that she had said.

"We really didn't need to come out here, you know." Helia said, "I think that I would have been fine never having had the joy of sliding on a penguin."

"It's sledding, not sliding," Flora smirked as she nudged Helia, "And I don't think that Miele would have let it go until I said that it was okay. And she is right, there is a full moon and I am always restless during a full moon."

"And this is the time that you can...you know...with the blood."

Flora looked down at her feet, "Yeah, but I don't like to. So you and Miele be careful."

"Are you not going to sled?" Helia asked.

Flora shook her head, "Not really my thing. But you and Miele should have fun. If we are going to risk being this far out, you might as well make the most of it."

"And what will you be doing?"

"Watching."

"Helia! Come here! I woke up some penguins!"

Helia gave Flora a smile, "Duty calls."

As Helia turned to head toward the colony of penguins, Flora reached out and put her hand out on his wrist, keeping him in place. She found herself reaching out to him more often than she would have anticipated.

"Be careful," Flora spoke softly. Realizing what she said, she shook her head, "You don't want to do anything to your wound."

Helia smiled, "My wound healed ages ago."

He was right.

"Still," Flora said, "be careful."

Helia placed a large and calloused hand on Flora's cheek, "I will. Though I'm not sure if I could say the same for your sister."

"HELIA! LETS! GO!"

Flora and Helia laughed and Helia dropped his hand from Flora's cheek.

"I guess we will see you when we get back down."

Flora watched as Helia ran up the ledge of the glacier, his feet clumsy as he ran. She could have wagered a week's worth of sea prunes that Helia had never set foot on ice before he washed up on Water Tribe shores. Seeing him slip just made him seem that much more human; not some scary Fire Nation soldier.

She walked the rest of the way to the glacier as she waited for Helia and Miele to come down, riding on the back of one of the large penguins. As she waited, Flora felt her blood rushing through her body as the full moon seemed to grow brighter as the time passed. Miele was right, she was feeling restless. Flora took a few deep breaths, trying her best to control the energy that raged through her. Maybe that was the reason why she was struggling with her conflicting thoughts about Helia...

"Flora!"

Flora looked up towards the ledge of the glacier and saw Miele waving down at her atop the back of a large penguin. Helia stood behind Miele and smiled down at Flora as well. She gave Miele a soft smile and waved back.

"Be careful!" Flora called up towards Miele.

"You are always so worried."

"I have to be, you are my only sister."

Without another word, Miele and the penguin came flying down the side of the glacier, the icy surface sending Miele racing down to the bottom. Miele laughed and screamed as she came down the glacier and Flora's heart filled with warmth as she heard Miele's laugh. Miele was growing up and just like Flora, had to grow up faster than she should have. Hearing Miele laugh reminded Flora that Miele was just a child and that she deserved to be able to have fun and laugh, not worry about what they were going to eat that night and when the next Fire Nation raid would be. Flora did her best to keep those worries to herself but Flora knew that Miele recognized the stress of the war.

As Miele reached the bottom of the glacier, Flora ran over to the bottom of the glacier where Miele slid onto, landing into a small snow bank. Miele rolled off the penguin and the penguin waddled away.

"Are you okay?" Flora asked as she helped Miele out of the snow and brushed away the wet snow from Miele's parka.

"More than okay, that was so much fun!" Miele exclaimed, her mouth stretched wide across her face.

"I am glad that you had fun."

Miele turned around and looked up at the top of the glacier and called up to Helia.

"Are you coming?" Miele asked.

"And you are sure that this is safe?" Helia asked.

"Nope!"

"Well, I had a good twenty-nine years." Helia shrugged before sitting atop a penguin and sending himself down the glacier.

He had been more restrained than Miele which Flora had expected but he still laughed and let out a few shouts of excitement. Flora had never heard an adult exclaim like that as most of the adults in the South Pole seemed to have forgotten to laugh and smile a while a long time ago. Hearing Helia, a man ten years her senior, laugh and shout was a welcomed reminder that joy could be felt at any age.

As Helia reached the bottom of the glacier, he fell into the snow pile and rolled off of the penguin, the penguin waddling away from him just as it did for Miele. Miele reached down just as Flora had done for her and pulled Helia out from the snow.

"So?" Miele asked, wanting to know what Helia thought about his first trip down the glacier.

"So much more fun than playing Pai Sho with my grandfather."

Miele beamed, "Want to go again?"

"You know I do!"

Miele turned to Flora, "Come with us."

"What?" Flora's eyes widened in surprise.

"You should ride down at least once."

"I think that I better stay down here, just in case something happens."

"It's just one sled, Flora. Quit being a stick in the ice and sled on a penguin. I can stay down here."

Helia made a motion to speak but was quickly shot down by Miele, knowing that he would either protest and be on Flora's side or offer to stay down at the bottom.

Flora sighed, knowing that there was no way that she was going to get out of this.

"You are so pushy."

Miele smirked, "I learned it from the best."

Flora tightened her parka around her body and headed off to the top of the glacier. Helia followed closely behind her.

"I was going to offer to stay down at the bottom."

Flora turned her head to look back at Helia, "Miele would have had something to say about that."

Helia shrugged, "I guess but look on the bright side, at least I get to have this moment with you."

Flora was taken aback and tripped over her feet by what Helia had said. He reached out and caught her by the arm.

"I think that I slipped on that spot earlier."

What a liar, Flora thought to herself. He only said it to save her the embarrassment of literally tripping over what he had just said to her. Such words would not have caused her to stumble, but coming from Helia, his voice soft and low, stating that he was glad to have a moment with her had caused Flora to falter in a way that she couldn't even imagine. If she didn't think it before, Helia now had to know how much of an impact he was beginning to have on her. She would just blame the full moon.

But could she really?

Helia had come into their lives and everything that Flora thought to be true about the war, about the Fire Nation, started to crack. Flora found herself growing more attracted to Helia but still, the thought in the back of her head kept itching at her. Don't become attached. Don't let him in.

"Growing up, the Fire Nation always said that the other nations, especially the Water Tribe, were savages and at best primitive."

Flora looked at Helia, "And you are telling me this because?"

Helia shook his head and chuckled, "Obviously I have found that not to be the case and the Fire Nation left out how fun the Water Tribe could be. I think that if the Fire Lord went sledding on a penguin once then maybe he wouldn't be such a tyrant."

"I think that it would take much more than Penguin Sledding to end the war."

"I suppose so, but at the least, he might loosen up and smile." Helia shrugged, "I certainly have never had so much fun nor ever felt so free since being in the Water Tribe."

"We, well I, I have kept you in a storeroom for the past few weeks."

"I would rather be in a storeroom under the care of you and your sister than spend time in the Fire Nation walking free because I have found that being in the Fire Nation is like being in prison with all of their repressive rules, false teachings, and stifling regulations. I haven't been happier than I have been with you."

"And Miele?"

Helia cleared his throat, "And Miele."

Flora looked down and blushed, a grin forming over her face. She brushed back one of her two braids behind her ear and did her best to control her racing thoughts and the blood that had already coursed through her body due to the power of the full moon.

"What about these two?"

Flora's head snapped up as she looked up at Helia, noticing that they had reached the top of the ledge and the penguin colony. Helia had pointed to two of the larger penguins that had been stirred awake. One of the penguins looked to be docile enough but one appeared to have been agitated having been woken up.

"The smaller of the two looks alright but I think the bigger one is a little feisty."

"Oh, I can take that one if you would like," Helia stated as he walked towards the larger penguin.

Flora was about to protest but it had been a while since she had been sledding and at this point, Helia had more experience than she did. Plus, the penguin size seemed to be better suited for Helia, so Flora didn't say anything. Maybe the penguin would come around when he had finally had the chance to fully wake up.

Helia straddled the penguin and it wriggled underneath him. Meanwhile, Flora's penguin calmly allowed Flora to sit on top of it.

"Are you okay?" Flora questioned through a giggle as she watched Helia struggle.

"I am glad that you find this comical," Helia grunted as he tried to assuage the penguin.

Flora's giggle grew louder until she had erupted into a full laugh, "I'm sorry, I just never thought that you would have ever struggled this hard."

"I struggle more than you think that I do," Helia replied as he still slowly guided his penguin to the edge of the ledge.

"Is that so?"

Helia silently gazed at Flora, his eyes starting at her feet and rolling up her body until they gently landed on her face.

"Very much so."

Their eyes met and Flora swallowed hard. This had been the first time that she had felt anything like this and she wasn't sure if she liked it. If there was one thing that Flora knew for certain it was knowing that she knew for certain. Uncertainty scared her and right now when it came to her feelings for the firebender on the penguin, she was terrified.

"Ready?"

Flora nodded and brought her sleepy penguin to the edge and looked down. She hadn't realized how high they had been. Miele looked like a speck and it put into perspective how small the world really was. Were any of them important? Was this war even worth it? Would she be punished if she acted on her feelings for Helia whether they were real or fleeting? Did it really matter?

She just needed to go for it.

With a gentle kick of her heels, Flora and her penguin went flying down the side of the glacier. The wind hit her face and the hood of her parka fell to her shoulder. Her hair came loose from the braids and flew behind her. It was so cold but it didn't matter when Flora had never felt so alive. Among the howl of the wind and the flying snow stinging her eyes, she heard Helia's laugh and saw her sister get bigger as Flora got closer and closer. Suddenly, Flora's cares left her as fast as she came down the glacier.

"Flora, look out!"

Flora looked back and saw Helia barreling towards her, the penguin thrashing as it sped down the glacier. It wanted Helia off of him and like any wild animal, did not care for the other animal's safety. Flora knew this simple law of nature all too well.

"Dig your heels into the ice!"

Helia stomped his foot into the ice but being a firebender, instead of finding friction under his feet as they broke through the ice, the slick ice melted under his foot making the ice more slippery.

"Well, that didn't work," Helia remarked as he looked up at Flora.

Flora watched as the penguin fought with Helia to get him off and Helia held on for dear life. Had it been a few weeks ago, Flora would have not cared what happened to Helia. One less fire bender in the world would have been a piece of welcome news. But as time went on and both she and Miele became closer to Helia, Flora knew that she had to come up with something to help Helia make it down in one piece.

"Jump on to my penguin," Flora instructed.

Helia looked at Flora and then at the penguin.

"Will it be able to hold both of us?"

"I don't know but it is worth a try. Either way, you are screwed."

Flora could see Helia weigh his options but soon, Helia was throwing himself off of the penguin and landing with a thud behind Flora. He wrapped his arms around Flora as they continued down the glacier. They landed in the snow bank, Helia on his back and Flora on top of him. As the snow settled, both Flora and Helia became aware of their intimate position.

But neither of them moved.

Helia's hands lingered on her waist as she lay on top of him. She had to reckon that this hadn't been much different than the nights that she had spent curled next to him on the cushions, tangled in the furs. But as he looked into her eyes, Flora knew that this had been much different.

"Flora! Helia!" Miele called as she came running toward the pair in the snow.

Flora rolled off of Helia and out of his grasp. She sat up and rubbed the snow off of her parka and shook the snow from her hair. She felt a hand on her head as Helia wiped away the snow that she could not see. His touch was warm and she glanced up at Helia who sat close to her.

"Oh my," Flora smiled, "look."

She pointed to the horizon and Helia turned to see a collection of purple and green lights intertwining. Flora watched as Helia's eyes fixed to the lights and his mouth parted in wonder at the lights. It had been a while since the southern lights came to the South Pole and Flora couldn't think of a better night to see them. And to think that she wouldn't have seen them if she hadn't been convinced by her sister to come out to the glaciers.

"I have never seen anything like it," Helia stated in a whisper as he continued to watch.

"We in the South Pole believe that the lights are the spirits of Tui and La dancing together in the night sky."

Helia broke his gaze on the horizon and turned back to Flora.

"We have a similar legend but with dragons and fire. Ran and Shaw, the original firebenders. But the legend isn't this beautiful. Nothing in the Fire Nation is as beautiful as what I have seen in the South Pole."

Their eyes met again and their faces were centimeters apart. Flora would blame it on the full moon and the energy pulling her towards Helia. She wanted him and she felt that he wanted her too. Maybe it was the way that she shouldn't want him that made her want him more. She wanted to feel the warmth of his lips, the feeling of his hands on her skin. She wanted to gaze into his eyes after she had kissed him and poured her desires into him. Flora wanted Helia so much and Flora was tired of trying to rationalize her way out of it.

Screw the war. Screw who was an enemy and who she was supposed to hate. She didn't hate Helia, not even a bit. What she hated was the guilt that she had felt for wanting him and for enjoying his warmth at night. She hated that she had to hide him and his feelings for him when all he did was make her and her sister so happy. Miele said that she hadn't seen Flora smile in so long but the same could be said about Miele. Flora could see the impact that Helia had on her sister and she could feel the impact that Helia had on her.

And Flora wanted him.

She wanted him to stay. She didn't want him to go. She wanted Nanook to destroy the boat that Helia had been working on, forcing Helia to stay. She didn't want him to leave just like everyone else. She didn't want to be his friend. She wanted so much more.

But Flora never got what she wanted.