Flora woke up in the morning and felt the cold air hit her body as she crawled out of the mountain of furs. She stretched, her joints popping as she groaned. She sleepily pawed at the space next to her and noticed that like every morning, Helia was not there. While Helia's absence in the morning had not been anything new, the feeling of emptiness that Flora felt inside of her was as foreign as Helia himself.

The rest of the night before had been a blur as she watched Helia and her sister sled down the glaciers on the large penguins. The full moon had kept her up and her mind racing as fast as Helia and Miele came down the glacier. As she watched her sister and Helia, she wrestled with her growing feelings for Helia and whether she was ready to abandon all that she thought she knew and let Helia in. If she let him in, it would hurt more when he eventually left. If she allowed herself to completely feel, then the harder it would be to heal when Helia would row away from her, taking her heart with him.

As she and Helia turned in for the night, making sure that Miele was comfortable, they lay in silence. Flora spent the night with her back turned away from Helia, afraid of what might happen if she caught a glimpse of his face. However, as she heard his deep breaths as he slept and felt his heartbeat against her back, the temptation became harder to resist. His arm draped over her waist, instinctually holding her close to him as if she would blow away, and Flora felt as if she would.

Flora rose from the pile of furs and looked over to her sister who was still sleeping. Getting dressed, Flora put on her shoes and grabbed the bucket at the opening of their home, just as she did every day.

Stepping outside, Flora held her hand in front of her face as the cold air hit her face. It was snowing lightly, indicating the possibility of another snowstorm hitting the South Pole. Spring was right around the corner and Flora was hoping that better weather was soon coming. However, with the colder temperatures and storms, it only allowed for Flora to come closer to Helia every night, being able to blame her intimate sleeping arrangement with Helia on the winter weather. But for now, she would enjoy the light snow that hit her hair and face, looking forward to another night with Helia.

Making her way to the large frozen lake, Flora herself was frozen when she spotted Helia at the lake, a bucket in his hand, gathering water for the storeroom. This too had not been a new occurrence, Helia always came to the lake with her. But this had been the first time she had seen Helia since she had fully accepted her feelings for the firebender.

"Good morning, Flora." Helia greeted Flora as he placed a hot hand on top of the ice, slowly melting the ice away to create a hole to place his bucket. He dumped his bucket in the water and the water began to flood into the metal bucket.

"Good morning," Flora quickly yet politely said as she knelt down a few feet away from Helia and used the bucket to break away some of the ice on the lake.

"I hope that you slept well."

"I did, thank you."

"I really enjoyed last night. The lights and the sledding. I have never had so much fun in my life."

"You can thank Miele for that," Flora replied as she bent some of the water into her bucket, "She is the one who insisted we go. And I am glad that she did. But I can already imagine the protest to return to the mundane."

"What do you have planned for today?"

"I don't think that Miele will be in the mood to do anything after the long night we had. The night after the full moon is always hard for any waterbender, especially one as young as Miele. It is always a fight to have her light the fire to boil the water."

Helia smiled as he stood up from his place at the edge of the lake and made his way over to Flora, the bucket of water in hand. He set the bucket next to Flora and rolled up his sleeves.

"While many people regard it to be destructive, it can also be calming, life-bringing, and well, useful."

Helia placed his hand in the bucket of freezing water and suddenly, the water began to boil. Steam rose from the bucket of water and Flora dropped the cold water that she was bending. She moved towards Helia and placed her hand into the bucket of boiling water and sighed. It felt good. It had been ages since she had water that hot because any fire that she or her sister would make would quickly blow out due to the wind. Without thinking, Flora's hand moved closer to Helia's in the bucket, drawn in by the warmth that it brought.

Flora grabbed Helia's hand and when their hands connected, Helia looked at Flora and she did the same to him. She quickly released his hand.

"I'm sorry." Flora blushed as she removed her hand from the water and wiped it on her large parka.

"Don't be," Helia replied as he removed his hand from Flora's bucket, "as I said, fire can be peaceful and life-giving."

Flora moved closer to Helia and reached out a hand to place in his. She didn't know why she did so. Was she so desperate for the warmth in the frigid morning? Or was she that starved for a physical connection that wasn't a hug from her sister? She leaned in further until the breath that came from both of their mouths in clouds entwined with one another.

"I'm ten years older than you." Helia said.

"I know."

"I am from the Fire Nation."

Flora looked down at Helia's lips, "I know..."

Helia's eyes roamed over Flora's face, taking in her eyes, nose, cheeks, lips, everything...

"You hate me." Helia whispered.

"I know."

"Don't do something that you will regret, Flora."

Flora smiled, "You aren't moving away from me."

"Because I know that I won't regret it."

Flora closed the gap between her and Helia, their lips connecting. She felt sparks as she kissed the fire bender. Was it the fact that she was kissing a fire bender that made everything seem so exhilarating? Or had it been because she had acted on her selfish desire to be closer to Helia, to feel his lips on hers and to taste his warmth? The one person that she should not be showing any affection to was the person who she was kissing. Flora placed her hands on Helia's chest as she leaned in more into the kiss. As she moved in closer, Flora could feel Helia's warm hands cradle her cheeks.

It had been better than what Flora had imagined as she lay next to Helia during the night. She had been close to him before but not like this. Flora opened her mouth, silently inviting Helia to deepen the kiss. She wanted him to deepen the kiss. She wanted more from the firebender. She needed him. It had not been that long ago that she had told Miele that she should have left Helia to die. How foolish and stubborn she had been.

Just as quickly as the kiss began, Flora pulled away. Out of breath and her mind reeling, she gazed at Helia, observing his swollen lips. His hands moved down from her cheeks and landed on her hips, covered by her thick parka. She wanted more. This time it was Helia who moved in closer and closed the gap between their lips.

She gasped as Helia's arms tightened around her waist and she could feel her feet begin to leave the ground. Flora wrapped her arms around his neck, her hands falling lazily on his back, unable to move anything but her mouth over his. He bit her lip and she was sure that she bit back, his hands ran through her hair and she could feel his smooth hair on her fingertips. Flora wasn't aware of anything but Helia. They could have been attacked by a polar bear dog and she would have noticed.

Helia's hand settled on the small of her back and the other on the back of her neck, cradling her head as he seemed to eat her alive, just as fire ate at everything in its path. She could feel his body heat up and felt his heartbeat against her own chest. They were so close that she felt she could jump into his skin if she wanted.

Helia slowly pulled away and placed his forehead on hers. Flora suddenly missed the warmth from her lips but found it once again as she looked at his hooded eyes. Their breaths mixed together and the hand that cradled her head found its way to land softly on her cheek. His warm thumb ran against her skin, down to the flesh of her lips. They stung as his thumb rubbed against them, certain that the cold air had chapped them.

"So beautiful." Helia sighed as his eyes fixed on Flora's.

Flora wanted to protest but she knew that it would be no use.

"I want to kiss you again." Helia whispered, "Agni be damned."

What would the spirits say? When Flora died, would Tui and La forsake her for kissing someone who had been a part of a people who had destroyed the followers of the spirits? Would she be damned for being so selfish, for desiring someone like Helia? Still, the lights of the south, of Tui and La, shone above them the night before as they sat side by side, a breath away from one another.

"And I want you to." Flora replied.

This time when Helia leaned in, his kiss had been soft and sweet. The hunger had been gone and if the first kiss had been a raging fire, this had been the smoldering embers that had been left behind. It was soft, warm, and comforting. His lips moved tenderly over hers, enveloping her further into his warmth. Flora relaxed under his touch and knew that it was at this time that she had completely succumbed to her feelings for Helia.

Did she love him or was this just some desperate attempt to reach out for a connection? Any connection? She had heard the love stories and the stories about her parents and how in love they were. Deep down, Flora had always dreamed of a love like that. She imagined her partner coming into the house after working on the boats or in the village and she would be there with dinner ready and possibly a child sleeping in a large sling on her back. They would talk about their day, their hopes and dreams, everything. Flora would kiss him every morning when she woke up and right before she fell asleep. She wanted a love like that but Flora began to lose hope when all of the men left the village and the war entered its hundredth year. Flora didn't know if she could truly love anyone fully when the stress of war remained an everlasting presence. Flora didn't think that she could have that with anyone, what made her think that she could have that with Helia?

But as she had gotten to know Helia, slept next to him, tended his wound, and shared their hopes and dreams, Flora found herself beginning to build hope that maybe that future could exist and that it could exist with Helia.

Spirits, was she an idiot?

Flora pulled away and used her fingers to comb back Helia's hair. She looked at him, more intently than she had before, looking over every wrinkle of his war-torn face and tracing the contours of his face. He had told her how beautiful she was, but so was he.

"Thank you," Flora said breathlessly. That was all that she could say. Someone had given her a small moment of normalcy and intimacy that she had been craving, not knowing that she had been craving it.

"I should be the one thanking you," Helia replied as he took Flora's hand in his. "I...I...I hope that you aren't regretting it."

Flora shook her head, "No. Not at all."

"I know that you don't want to hear it but I want to tell you that when I leave, I am going to do everything that I can to help the Avatar put an end to the war and I am going to do it for you and your sister. I sought to end the war as it was the right thing to do; to save the world. But if the rest of the world burned but I managed to save you and Miele, then I would regard it as a victory."

"Will you come back to me?" Flora asked, nervous for the answer.

"Nothing but death could keep me away from you."

Flora bit down on her lip as she prepared herself to ask the question that had been at the front of her mind. Maybe because she didn't know if she would be able to provide an answer of her own until she knew Helia's answer. She didn't know if she was ready to admit out loud the extent of her feelings towards him.

But the question still came out in a whisper.

"Do you love me?"

There was a moment of silence that felt like a lifetime. Helia didn't respond but continued to look at her and smile. She held her breath as she waited for the answer. They hadn't known each other long but Flora knew deep down that she loved Helia and silently pleaded that he felt the same. She would be devastated if he didn't but not surprised. She was a poor girl from the Southern Tribe and Helia was a man from the Fire Nation capital. Why would she expect anyone like him to love her?

"I do."

Had she heard him correctly? Did he just say that he loved her? Her? Her? Her? Why?

"I...I love you too." Flora replied with a frown, "But I am afraid to. I am being so selfish. I don't want you to leave but you must. I want you to take Miele and I with you. I want you to stay here and be with me. I just want to be with you and I have never felt this way before and it frightens me."

"My grandfather always said that it is the strongest of feelings that scares us the most. That to love and be loved is both a blessing and a curse. The warmth of love is a blessing and the risk of being burnt is the curse. I have no intention of burning you."

Flora placed her head on Helia's chest, "There are a lot of things that we do not intend to happen but they happen anyway. I never intended to fall in love, especially not with a member of the Fire Nation and a fire bender at that. You say that we won't be burnt, but I feel myself getting closer and closer to the fire every time I see you, every time I touch you or am in your presence. If something were to happen to you, I fear that my whole body will feel as though it has been set alight."

Flora took a deep breath, "But it will have been worth it if you love me too."

Helia gave Flora a smile and his eyes wrinkled in the corners, just the way that Flora liked. The wrinkles at his eyes were indicative of his ability to still smile and show warmth despite the horrors that he had seen. It was a wonder that either of them could smile or love. But stranger things have happened.

"So," Helia said as he brought his head down to Flora's once again, "do we tell Miele?"

Flora pulled her head back and laughed. Looking into Helia's eyes, she leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"I think that she knows already." Flora answered, "But I think that I would like to keep this between the two of us. I don't want to get Miele's hopes up that you might be staying. I will carry the burden of heartbreak when you leave by myself."

"You don't need to, Flora."

"I want to," Flora sighed, "I don't need her burdened by something that could have been and holding onto hope for something that might not come true. I have accepted long ago that I would live the rest of my days alone but I want Miele to have hope that she might be able to experience love like how I have with you."

"I don't think that you give Miele enough credit. She is a very intuitive young lady." Helia smirked, "Don't tell her I told you this as she had sworn me to secrecy but she did tell me that you had harbored some feelings for me."

"I never told her that I liked you."

"You didn't need to," Helia shrugged as he rubbed his thumbs over the back of Flora's hands, "I might have a Fire Nation education that might not be the most...reliable...but the Fire Nation trained us to be observant and know the enemy."

"Am I the enemy?" Flora raised an eyebrow.

Helia shook his head, "No, but when I realized that you might share a fraction of the same feelings that I had for you, I knew that I was in danger."

Flora closed her eyes and sighed when she felt Helia's hand gently brush snowflakes that had fallen on her nose and cheeks. She was sure that her face was red both from the cold stinging at her face and the blush that had crept up from the way that Helia touched her and shared his feelings of love for her.

"Should we head back to the house?" Helia asked, "Before Miele sends out a search party?"

Flora nodded, "Let me grab my bucket."

As Flora made a move to walk from Helia and the few paces to her bucket of now lukewarm water, she felt something tug on her wrist. She was spun around and met with another kiss on her lips.

Flora's hands landed on Helia's chest as her body crashed into his. She let out a small moan as Helia kissed her hard and deep. She was once again consumed by his heat and wanted it no other way. The heat of Helia's love beat the cold any day.

Helia pulled away first and chuckled, "Sorry, I just had to one more time."

Flora swallowed a breath as she attempted to recompose herself, "No...that was...no need to apologize."

"Sleeping next to you is going to be extremely difficult."

Flora laughed, "No funny business, fire bender. Or you will go back to the storeroom."

"And there is no chance that you would reciprocate?"

"I am a good Water Tribe woman and I will push you away," Flora said, with some seriousness in her voice.

"Of course," Helia replied, knowing that it best to move away from the subject lest he lose whatever connection that he had formed with Flora, "I will be the perfect Fire Nation gentleman."

"There are not too many of those."

"I know," Helia sighed, "but please believe me when I say that I will do my best to be someone you can trust and feel that you can love without fear or reservations. Because I want you, all of you, and I will give you all of me."

Flora silently nodded, not knowing what to say. Helia had come into her life in a whirlwind and challenged everything that she thought to be true. Flora thought that the Fire Nation was filled with monsters, that all people from the Fire Nation were like the soldiers who came to raid her village, like the soldiers who killed and kidnapped without a second thought, some of which reveled in the sound of screams and cries. But not Helia.

When Flora looked at Helia, she saw humanity and the same expressions of love and warmth that she had seen on members of the Water Tribe. Flora could see behind the trauma of war that Helia still had love for his grandfather, grandmother, and mother as well as for her and her sister. Knowing that if someone like Helia, if someone like her, could still open their heart to love after a lifetime of war and destruction, then there had to be hope for the rest of the world to do the same.

"Come on," Flora smiled as she finally was able to break free from Helia's hold, "let's bring the water back. The tasks of the day are not going to complete themselves."

Helia bent down and grabbed his bucket of water for the storeroom, Flora gazing over his body as he bent down in front of her. She said that she was a good Water Tribe woman but she was still a woman after all.

"Helia?"

"Yes?"

"Please, take your time with your boat."