Work Text:
Zuko, Sokka, Aang, Katara, and Toph all piled into Katara’s minivan early on Saturday morning. It was one of the rare times all five of them had both Saturday and Sunday off, and they had decided to make the most of it by taking a camping trip up to a nature preserve that featured a beautiful lake. They were taking Katara’s car both because she was the best driver of them, and also because her car was the only one that had space to fit all the supplies and tents in it among their vehicles.
The trip would take about three hours, so they all settled in, Aang sitting up front next to Katara, Sokka and Zuko in the middle row seats, and Toph sprawled out in the back with some of the supplies that wouldn’t fit in the trunk.
The first half of the drive was pretty quiet. Neither Sokka nor Toph were particularly morning people, so they were napping. Aang and Katara occasionally talked to each other in low voices, but for the most part remained focused on the road and scenery passing by outside with the radio playing softly in the background. Zuko was on his phone, finally going through his personal emails that he had been putting off for too long.
“Mmmhm.” Zuko turned at the sound to find his boyfriend waking up. He smiled at him fondly, and received a sleepy smile in return. He always found Sokka especially adorable when he had just woken up.
“Well, hello there stranger,” Zuko grinned over at him.
“Hello yourself, Hot Stuff,” Sokka murmured back, still in the process of waking up. “How long was I out for?”
“Hour and a half or so,” Zuko replied.
“Hhurrmm,” Sokka yawned. “And what, pray tell, did you do to occupy your time? Since, you know, your favorite distraction,” he indicated himself with a wave of his hand and batted his eyes, “was otherwise indisposed.”
Zuko adopted an exaggerated look of weariness and sacrifice. “Responded to emails,” he said dramatically.
“Yeah, I bet you did. You can make even just responding to emails look so hot.”
“Gross,” Toph supplied helpfully, causing the two to look around in surprise since they had thought she was dead to the world before then. Zuko levelled a glare at her, and turned to Sokka for backup when he realized the other man had already gotten distracted again.
“Oh!” he exclaimed, causing Aang to look up and around in alarm. Katara was far too used to her brother to be surprised by his sudden shout, which was a very good quality for the driver of the car to have in Zuko’s opinion. “I love this song!”
“Hey!” Katara yelled, “Sokka, stop it! What the fuck?” Somehow in the span of about two seconds Sokka had managed to unbuckle his seat belt and drape himself over the center console in the front of the car to reach the radio.
He cranked the volume up high eliciting a shout of “What the shit? Fuck you Sokka!” from Toph in the back. Aang quickly leaned over to turn the volume back down to an acceptable level.
“What?” Sokka asked, face a mask of mock innocence as he looked around at the others. “It’s a good song. It deserves to be played loudly and proudly!”
“You could have just asked me to turn it up you know,” Katara said, “I would have. Now could you please sit back down in your seat?”
Sokka stuck his tongue out at her as he did so, causing Zuko to chuckle. Settling back down Sokka turned to look out the window while loudly singing along to the lyrics of the song. “Couldn’t shake it so, I guess you might be right…”
The group managed to arrive at the campground without any car accidents or accidents of other sorts befalling them. Even more surprisingly, to Zuko’s mind, was that they then managed to set up the three tents without any major mishaps or arguments. By the time they finished it was lunchtime. Moving over towards the picnic table provided to their designated camping area they sat down and took out their cooler with pre-packed sandwiches and drinks.
Aang had brought along several books about wildlife, and had propped open the one about birds in the middle of the table. He was gesturing enthusiastically towards the surrounding woods while keeping up a running dialogue about which birds he might be able to see. Shortly after the group finished up with eating lunch Aang set off into the woods to go birdwatching on his own. Toph and Katara gathered some necessary supplies before heading off to the designated swimming area of the lake. Zuko and Sokka, meanwhile, decided to for a leisurely walk along the lakeside path near their campsite.
The two had been strolling along for about half an hour when they rounded a bend and came across an absolutely stunning view. The trail had led them up an incline, so they now found themselves nestled among the woods on top of an outcropping over the lake. The lake in its entirety was laid out before them, sunlight glistening on its surface. It was also a relatively private spot, surrounded by trees with only the noises of birdsong occasionally disturbing the silence.
They both paused, hand in hand, drinking in the view before them. With a grin Sokka pulled Zuko over to some low flat rocks and the two sat down.
Zuko leaned his head onto Sokka’s shoulder, “It’s beautiful,” he murmured.
“It definitely is,” Sokka agreed, turning to give his boyfriend a light kiss on the forehead. They sat like that for a while in companionable silence.
“So,” Zuko started, pulling back away from Sokka a bit while still staring out at the lake. “I haven’t told you yet about how the meeting with Azula’s therapist went the other week.”
Sokka cleared his throat, he hadn’t asked Zuko about it because he didn’t want to push him to talk before he was ready to. “No, you haven’t. But, like, no pressure to share if you don’t want to right now.”
“No, I want to share,” Zuko said. He hesitated before continuing. “I’ve just needed to be alone with my thoughts. Process them more you know? Before sharing with anyone else.”
Sokka nodded, “I understand. And I’m always here whenever you do feel ready to talk. About this, or anything else.”
Zuko reached over and squeezed Sokka’s hand, turning to look over at him. “I know. And I love you so much for that. Well, that and a bunch of other things. You really do have so many loveable qualities.”
Sokka’s breath caught in his throat. “I love you too.” The two leaned their foreheads against each other, and just stayed like that for a few moments, content in their closeness and giving weight to what had just passed between them.
Zuko then pulled back, while still firmly holding Sokka’s hand, and continued with what he had been saying before. “The meeting was productive, but… different than prior ones.” Sokka tilted his head, indicating for his boyfriend to continue talking. “Before we’ve always had more of a focus on Azula, how her progress is going, what the next steps are, and all that. This was- Well, it was more about me. About my feelings regarding the whole situation. The therapist she- She suggested it might be good for me to see someone. Not her, another doctor, in order to give me my own space to work through things with a neutral party.”
Sokka rubbed his hand encouragingly. “And what do you think about that? Do you want to?”
Zuko swallowed, “I think I might. I realized while in the meeting, though really I think I’ve in some way been in the process of realizing this for months now, I realized that there’s a lot of stuff I never adequately worked through myself. Stuff from our childhood. Azula was the one who needed more help than me though so I put her recovery first. And- and she’s my little sister, I guess I wanted to assume the position of older brother who can protect her, and in doing so I sort of pushed my own feelings off to the side.”
“Then that’s what you’ll do. Find a therapist of your own, and begin working through all that. You can do that while still supporting Azula’s journey as well. It’s important for you to take care of yourself.”
“I know,” Zuko murmured, “I know.” Another few minutes of silence pass between the two, with them sitting together holding hands and staring out over the lake. “Can,” Zuko stuttered a bit, “Can I share something else with you? Something I’ve never told anyone, even Uncle?”
“Of course you can,” Sokka said. “I love you, and I’m here for you.”
Zuko took a deep, halting breath, as though dreading what he was going to say. “I blamed her. For a long time I blamed her, even though I know I shouldn’t have. Knew I shouldn’t have then. But I still did.”
“For what?”
Zuko looked over at him sadly, and gestured to the scar on his face. “For not stopping him. For not doing something, anything. I don’t even know what I would have wanted her to do, I don’t know what she could have done. But she just stood there, watching as it happened.” He swallowed roughly again and looked away. “And I blamed her. But I shouldn’t have. She was just a kid, god she was just a kid.”
“Hey,” Sokka said, grabbing Zuko’s arm and turning him to face him again. “You were both just kids, you hear me? You didn’t deserve what was done to you. Neither of you deserved what was done to you,” he said sternly. “You also shouldn’t beat yourself up over the way you coped with that abuse, okay? You’re a good person, and you care about your sister. I see it in you and in your interactions with her everyday. You’re not the same person you used to be, and she’s not the same person she used to be. Together you are working to find a way forward, and that is what’s really important right now.” Zuko looked at him, glassy eyed from the tears he was holding back and nodded. “Alright,” Sokka said, “now let’s sit here and look at this beautiful lake for a bit longer. And once we’re back home from this camping trip we’re gonna find you the best therapist in the state of Maine.”
Zuko gave a small chuckle. “And what if the best therapist in Maine is all the way up along the Canadian border?” he teasingly inquired.
“Then I guess I’m gonna have to find a car that gets really good gas mileage for the trips.”
After leaving their spot by the lake, Zuko and Sokka walked the trail a little bit longer before deciding to turn around and head back towards the campsite. Abruptly, Sokka pulled Zuko off the trail and dragged him a little ways into the woods.
“Is this how you’re planning to kill me?” Zuko joked.
“No, dumbass,” Sokka said rolling his eyes, “I saw a patch of pretty flowers over here and wanted to get a closer look.” They drew further into the woods.
“I don’t see any flowers…” Zuko said, narrowing his eyes at Sokka.
Sokka then pushed Zuko up against a tree with a grin. “Whoops!” he trilled. “Looks like I lied!”
“I knew it!” Zuko exclaimed. “This is all part of your grand plan to kill me.”
“It’s definitely part of a grand plan of mine, but I think you might have the outcome wrong there buddy.”
“Mmmm,” Zuko smirked at him, “then what is the outcome you want instead?” The next moment Sokka’s mouth was on his, and all thoughts rapidly exited his head beyond how to get Sokka to keep doing that with his tongue.
They stayed like that for quite a while, before some semblance of reality crashed back on Zuko when he shifted and suddenly found a rather sharp branch digging into his back. “Are we really making out against a tree?” Zuko mumbled into Sokka’s mouth.
“Maybe,” Sokka laughed, the noise rumbling against Zuko’s chest in a way that made him shiver. He then moved his head down and began kissing Zuko’s neck.
“As much as I love this, and believe me, I do, we’re gonna need to move because I have rather a bad case of attempted tree homicide right now.”
Sokka pulled his face back and gave him a confused look. “What the fuck does that even mean?”
“Hey guys!” Aang appeared out of nowhere to their left before Zuko could answer.
“Fucking hell Aang!” Sokka yelped, startling away from Zuko so fast that he lost his balance and almost fell down on the forest floor. Zuko managed to grab his arm to steady him before he totally ate pine needles.
“Sorry,” Aang said. “I thought you would have heard me walking up to you.”
“Well, we didn’t,” Sokka huffed indignant at the moment being ruined. “You always walk so quietly. I swear to god, one of these days I’m gonna put a fucking bell on you!”
“Like a house cat?” Aang giggled.
“Exactly!” Sokka said, pointing a finger at him.
“Okay!” Aang replied cheerily. “I think I’d like that. It could be fun wearing a bell around…” Sokka gave an exasperated look to Zuko, who just shrugged as if to convey that he should have expected that response. “Anyway,” Aang continued, “we should probably be getting back to the campsite anyway, don’t want Katara or Toph thinking we got eaten by a mountain lion!”
“Let’s be real here, Toph would probably find that funny,” Zuko drawled. “But you’re right, we should be getting back.” Sokka pouted a little bit, clearly still annoyed with the interruption. “Come on Oscar the Grouch,” Zuko laughed, “the sooner we get back to the campsite the sooner we can have dinner!”
“Dinner?” Sokka perked up.
“Dinner.” Zuko confirmed. “And if you stop pouting there’s even s’mores in it for you!” That did the trick, and the three set off towards the campsite, Sokka keeping up a running commentary on his preferred s’mores making techniques.
Once night had fallen over the lake it was finally time for those most sacred of camping traditions, s’mores and stargazing. The group gathered around the fire pit in their designated campsite and passed the supplies around.
“As always, can somebody just like, warn me when my marshmallow is ready to be made into s’mores goodness?” Toph asked the group.
“I could just make one for you, you know,” Katara offered.
“That takes the fun out of it Princess. We’ve been over this,” Toph sighed.
“I’m just saying the last time you told us to warn you about the marshmallows Sokka purposefully let yours burn to mess with you and then you tackled him and you both almost fell into the fire,” Katara said.
Sokka grinned, “Ah, memories!”
Toph laughed. “The danger is part of the excitement of it all! Will the marshmallow burn? Will I sacrifice Sokka to the camping gods? Who knows!” Katara sighed and handed Toph a stick with a marshmallow on it, knowing this was an argument she would lose.
The night continued on, with the group telling scary stories, or attempting to anyway. They had all heard each other’s scary stories by now, and so nothing really fazed them. In a switch from the last marshmallow incident Zuko told Toph her marshmallow was done before it was, earning him a box of graham crackers to the face.
While the others talked and laughed in the background, Aang seeing how far he and Toph could stretch a marshmallow, Zuko and Sokka lay down to get a better look at the stars. Zuko loved cities, he truly did, but one thing he hated was how the light pollution prevented him from being able to see the stars when he was there. And god, if there was one thing he loved more than the city it was the stars. He found them comforting. Some might look at them and be dwarfed by their own small size and insignificance in the universe, but Zuko actually loved that. He loved looking out at them all, wondering about what the universe was like out by those pinpricks of light. He liked the idea that those things that occupied his mind and everyday life might not be the only thing that mattered. Things could get so heavy and so hard, and for him looking at the stars made those things seem smaller and more manageable somehow.
Sokka seemed lost in his own thoughts and considerations when Zuko turned his head to look at him. He smiled, seeing the way his boyfriend too seemed absolutely lost to the beauty of the universe the same way he had been. He loved him. He loved him so much more than he loved the city or the stars. Smiling, he turned his attention back to the sky. Just in time too, a shooting star passed overhead in that instant.
“Did you see that?” Sokka whispered. The two were lost in their own little world made up of just them and the stars.
“Yeah, yeah I did.”
“Did you wish for anything?”
Zuko just smiled up at the sky without answering.
The group finally headed off to sleep sometime between midnight and one in the morning. By that time the fire had completely died down, and Katara had basically already fallen asleep before Aang took charge and announced it was time for bed. After some grumbling and lies about not being tired that were more fitting for a group of five year olds than a group in their twenties, they gave in and headed off to their tents.
Once they were ensconced in their tent, Sokka and Zuko moved closer to cuddle in their sleeping bags. Unfortunately, this noise subtle as it was, was enough to garner the attention of Toph’s sensitive ears.
“You two better not even think about getting up to any freaky-deaky shit over there! Have a care for my poor virgin ears!” she shouted for the entire group, if not the entire wider campsite area to hear.
“Toph!” Zuko yelped back, utterly mortified.
“Seriously?” Sokka yelled back. “You seriously think I would get it on with my boyfriend in a tent?” Toph’s hysterical laugh broke through the brief silence. “Well, I would but not with my sister literally only like ten feet away!” Zuko groaned and buried his head in the crook of Sokka’s neck.
“Sokka! Toph! For fuck’s sake!” Katara shrieked. “Can everyone just shut up and go the fuck to sleep? The sooner we do the sooner I can work on burning the memories of what you just said out of my brain!”
They could hear Toph snickering in her tent at that. “Goodnight then Princess! Goodnight lovebirds!” She proceeded to make cooing and kissing noises before chuckling again and going silent.
Zuko and Sokka snuggled further together, and Zuko was just on the verge of sleep when Sokka quietly said, “It could be kinda fun though…”
Zuko wearily brought his hand up to cover Sokka’s mouth. “No.” Sokka gave a muffled reply that Zuko couldn’t make out. “This is one of those situations where I have to put my foot down darling. Neither Toph nor Katara would ever let us live that down and quite frankly I don’t want to be at my fiftieth birthday party having to listen to Toph regale the guests with the story of the time I got it on in the woods. And I don’t even want to consider the ways Katara would make us pay for that. She might actually make good on her earlier threat to leave us here to fend for ourselves.” Zuko removed his hand and sleepily patted his boyfriend’s cheek.
Sokka sighed, “You do make a fair point.”
“I know I do, now go to sleep.” The two shifted slightly so that Sokka was spooning Zuko.
“Mmmmm,” Sokka murmured. “But how about later this summer we come back here, just you, me, the tent, the stars…”
Zuko smirked a bit in the darkness, reaching to entwine his fingers with Sokka’s. “I think I could be persuaded to see the benefits in that…”