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A solid black line separates his before and after. Before, he was hot-headed, bubbly, bright. Full of cheer and laughter and warmth. Then came the war, then came the ice. Still hot-headed, but oh, so cold. He tries, he really does, to fit into this new world where everything is bright and flashy, but still he finds himself retreating to the dark familiarity of an empty gym and a lone punching bag. No matter how fast he runs or how hard he hits, he can’t get rid of the chill on his fingertips, the sharp frost that makes its way towards his heart.
Growing up, all he knew was heat, whether it was the harsh words that his father spat or the warmth of his mother’s love. Over time he learned to manipulate the heat to his advantage, adopting his fathers sharp tongue and his mothers fiery compassion. When he got older he felt a new type of heat; a pressure building in his heart, waiting for the right moment to burst into flames. His heat only builds after the explosion, turning into a blazing fit of rage and determination. The warm hum of metal on his fingers becomes his second nature. Fire flows through his veins and devours his heart.
The moment they met wasn't just ice breaking, but detonating. Misunderstandings filled with chilling scowls and red-hot glares. Scathing words that were meant to be filled with malice but sounded hollow and forced. They spent the first few months together pushing against each other, the tension building building building until finally ending with one left for dead, the Siberian frost leaving her sharp bites on his once warm heart. In that moment he understood the cold that plagued the other man. In that moment a man frozen in time was filled with red-hot anger, melting his icey temperament.
In the months they spent apart, fire dwindled and ice thawed. Coming together once more, both were at a loss for words. No venomous remarks, no irritated reprimands–only wide eyes, full of remorse and searching for what ifs and what could bes. A tentative hand reaches out, hovering over the frozen man's cheek. Cold fingers cover warm, the touch melting and chilling until a harmony in temperature is found. Hearts pound, lips touch, ice burns, fire freezes.