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He doesn’t realize it until later, but it starts under Ba Sing Se.
She is desperately open; she doesn’t care that he sees inside her heart. And he thought she hated him, but she turns around and touches his face, offers to give him her most valuable thing for no reason except to help him.
She plants the seed of hope, then – hope that somewhere, kindness is normal; that simple acceptance is a thing.
It stays in the back of his mind until he finally gathers the courage to jump into an unknown that only promises him one thing: her.