Aang looked at Zuko. Zuko looked at Aang.

The eyes reflected by each boy mirrored equal signs of peace, and they could not help but smile.

The dance! The dragons! The colors! It was a cyclone of rising rhapsody, carrying every color a boy could hope to see in his lifetime. How the living rainbow spiraled up towards the sky and dispersed into the universe. Unblinkingly, the two boys had watched this display, and through it, came to understand the true meaning of fire bending. Fire was not a thing to be controlled by rage – it was energy. It was life! Fire was joy, sorrow, love, pride, and rapture. Fire was the personification of birth and death, and of all the emotions between.

They looked again at each other, and their cores radiated enlightenment.

Questioningly, Zuko raised his hand to the space between them.

Aang, perhaps knowing the prince’s intentions, raised his as well.

It was after a brief pause that the two hands met, tenderly at first, then as they grew used to the new warmth, more powerfully. More passionately. The hands began to meld into each other, and Zuko and Aang became one being – a single entity connected not by hands, but by hearts or souls or whatever this overwhelming feeling was called.

They both felt an intense heat in their palms, and separated, far enough to let a stream of fire flow out, up, away. Similar to, and yet not exactly like that of the masters, its spiral towards heaven was tinted with loving colors.

Hearts pounding violently against their chests, as they remembered the rainbow of fire, the two boys turned to one another. Flames in their eyes melded, and they knew.

They were the only ones who knew the truth. The eternal glory of fire bending was their secret, and the dance of the dragons was to be their key. Withdrawing their hands wordlessly and getting into the stance, the held their arms out and danced. Thrusting and whirling, enticing the fire in their stomachs out to their limbs. Nearing the end, fists aligned, the burning became unbearable, and they released it out into the world. Cannons of zealous flame burst forth, and as the heat dispersed, the two boys felt joy wash over their entire beings.

At first, all they could do to express this newborn delight was to hold each other. Zuko, pulling Aang harshly against his chest, and Aang clinging to the fabric at Zuko’s back, pulling him closer, wanting him more.

The need for proximity bore over them like a wave. How wonderful this life. How beautiful this world. Could there possibly be more?

Although neither knew what they were doing, or why they were doing it, they simultaneously crushed their lips together in blistering heat. This was different form kissing – this was burning. Flames licking at the insides of their mouths and scorching fingers clutching to whatever surface they could find to bring the other boy closer.

Later, both would compare this experience to those they’ve seen in the past, and both would either smirk or blush. Girls couldn’t hold a candle to this.

And this was no candle. This was a torch.

The setting sun as their witness, two young men consummated their discovery of life with their bodies.

It had gotten dark, and no sound had been made. No mutterings of “I love you” or throaty crying of the others name. They simply gazed at the graceful burns on one another’s skin, and smiled gently.

After a while, the two bathed, replaced their scorched clothing, and headed back to the temple, saying nothing.This had to be love.