When Florian awoke from his surgery a few hours later, the first sight that struck his eyes was Moritz' booger-colored helmet. Florian for once did not comment on it. He finally understood why Mortiz was wearing it.

"Morning, sunshine," Florian teased, his tired voice raspy but filled with warmth.

Moritz leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You scared the hell out of me, you know."

"I know. I'm an idiot."

"You're a role model," Moritz replied. "That means you need to be smart about the risks you take."

"Life's too short to play it safe all the time."

"Life's gonna be real short if you continue taking risks like this."

Moritz expected another snarky comeback, but Florian simply nodded, eyes aiming down at his bandaged leg. "I owe you my life, man. Thanks for helping me out last night."

Shifting his eyes back to Moritz and that hideous green helmet, Florian promised his friend that he would always wear a helmet for jumps from now on. 

In exchange, Moritz promised Florian he would ask Amélie Leclerc out on a date. It was a risk he was now willing to take. Though he still believed that sometimes risks could kill, he could no longer deny that on rare occasions, they could also save lives.

This realization struck him even harder when he learned later that an avalanche had swept through the snowpark shortly after they left. If they had stayed on the mountain and waited for help as Moritz had suggested, the avalanche would have claimed both their lives that night.

The End