"How many stars do you figure are in the sky?" Sokka mused aloud as the seven of them lied beneath the sky, counting stars and seeking out constellations.
"Like four-four star," Toph grumbled sarcastically as Sokka pouted in her direction, his gesture in vain. The others laughed, "Why am I even here?"
"Because you love us, Toph, right?" Katara answered with a smirk.
"Sure, Sugar Queen, if that what makes you feel good about yourself when you rest your head for the night," Toph rebutted, grinning.
"Oh, wow, look at that one!" Aang called as a shooting star beamed across the glistening night sky, they all looked up to the sky as the star reflected in their glimmering eyes. Zuko leaned up, cracking his back and inhaling the crisp, fresh, summer night air around the group's cracking bonfire.
"I'm glad you guys talked me into coming out here," Zuko commented as he laced his fingers and stretched his arms forward.
"That's a first, Zuko's admitting we did something good, get a load of that," Sokka joked.
"It's nice out here-peaceful-quiet," Zuko rambled.
"You're so sentimental," added Mai with a yawn as she sat up beside her boyfriend as she leaned her head on his shoulder and began pulling the buns out of her hair, letting the black locks loose for the night.
"Camping with friends can always be a refreshing journey, Zuko!" Aang exclaimed as he used firebending to fuel the dwindling fire.
"That one never tires out, does he?" Mai grumbled, scratching her head.
"Aang's just trying to be sociable, Mai, you should try it out," Zuko teased.
"Maybe I would if you weren't the one telling me to," Mai rebutted as the rest of the group snickered and Zuko pouted, but he put his hand over his girlfriend's.
"Oh! Oh! I know! I think we should tell scary, campfire stories!" Sokka announced as he waved his arms emphatically as his girlfriend rolled her eyes, "Oh, and we can roast some chestnuts while we do it!"
"I'm all for the chestnut roasting," Katara agreed as she reached into her brother's satchel and claimed a handful of chestnuts and a pan. Sokka snatched them both away bitterly.
"No chestnuts unless we tell a scary story first!" Sokka insisted as Katara moped.
"Let's just tell the story of my life and go to bed," Mai mumbled as she yawned again, rubbing her sleepy eyes, still leaning onto Zuko.
"Your life is just so petrifying, Mai," Zuko jested and she shrugged.
"It'd put us to sleep more like it, so I'm all for it," Mai groaned, Zuko laughed at her typical cynicism and bitterness.
"I'll tell something actually scary, listen here and be surprised and amazed, Mai!" Sokka declared as Mai leaned backwards, resting on her hands then rolling her eyes.
"This ought to be good," Mai moaned as Sokka coughed into his hand, ignoring her comment.
"It was a cold, dark night in the Northern Water Tribe. The trees were bare and-" Sokka began, as his sister cut him off.
"There aren't any trees in the Northern Water Tribe, Sokka," Katara corrected as Sokka just stared wordlessly at her through a deadpanned expression and picked up his story; Katara chuckled.
"As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted: It was a dark and cold night in The Northern Water Tribe! An old man wobbled down a dirt path-" Sokka restarted, again ceased by an interception.
"Sokka, I don't think they have any dirt paths there," Aang interjected.
"Can I just finish the story?" Sokka complained.
"I'd love to hang out and listen, but my eyes can barely stay open, despite your adreanaline-pumping, on-the-edge-of-your-seat story there, so I think I'll crawl into my tent and call it a night," Mai told as she stood up and stretched, then bent over and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek, "Goodnight, Zuko," She whispered then stood, "Goodnight, people," Mai said as they all called back to her wishes for a good night's rest and she snugged into her tent for the night. Sokka finally got on with his story, shooing off interruptions and ravishing on his exaggerated tale of a wicked, waterbending serial killer who drowned people in the dead of night, luring him to the sea with his cryptic mystique. The story already had Aang and Katara asleep, leaning up against a tree and leaning against each other's heads. Toph listened at first, but her fatigue got the best of her as well and she was out like a light, curled in a ball near the fire with her feet resting, raised up by a log. Sokka kept on his story, oblivious to the lacking number of listeners, even Suki was sitting next to Zuko, whispering a conversation to him.
"Mai seems to shut you down a lot, Zuko," Suki whispered and Zuko shrugged.
"She's only jesting with me," Zuko replied.
"Even Ty Lee used to say she was a downer to you," Suki elaborated.
"Ty Lee is just...too peppy, so to her of course she doesn't understand Mai," Zuko justified, shaking his head, Suki scoffed.
"Ty Lee has been Mai's best friend for years," Suki stated.
"I know, but I've known her just as long, and I love her," Zuko said as he blushed and grinned like a fool, turning away in embarrassment. Suki stuck her nose up and sighed.
"I never meant to break you two up years ago by intervening," Suki muttered.
"It's alright, I was being a jerk anyway, and it all worked out," Zuko excused.
"But it still wasn't right, and you weren't a jerk. You had a lot on your plate, you were very on edge, understandably," Suki retorted.
"It didn't give me the right to be a tool," Zuko stated.
"I don't know, I don't think she should have abandon you like that. You really needed her then more than ever and she left. You couldn't sleep and you had all those big decisions and not to mention all the assassination attempts. I couldn't believe she walked out on you like that," Suki muttered as she began to trace her index finger up and down Zuko's bicep and he shifted uncomfortably.
"Mai had every right to walk out on me, I was keeping secrets from her. I'm lucky she took me back," Zuko persisted as Suki put her hand on his arm.
"I never left you, Zuko," Suki stated.
"I-I appreciate that, Suki," said Zuko, beginning to blush as Suki leaned back on her hands. Sokka was now standing up with excitement in enacting his story.
"Oh, I'll be right back! I need to get a prop! It'll be perfect! You'll see!" Sokka exclaimed enthrallingly as he jumped up and ran off to his tent to scrummage through his belongings to find a wooden spoon and pot for his campfire tale. Zuko laughed at him.
"Zuko, what I'm saying is that I don't think Mai deserves you, she doesn't appreciate you or understand the things you do," Suki confessed, putting her hand overtop her friend's.
"S-Suki, I-I...I really don't think I deserve Mai to be perfectly honest, I-" Zuko stammered, fumbling on his words awkwardly.
"That's ridiculous," Suki husked into his ear, "And, Sokka...I love him, but he...He's so silly, you know that."
"W-well of course he is-he's Sokka!" Zuko stumbled on his speech as Suki eased in, "But he knows when to be serious too, he isn't all jokes and laughs, y-you know that! He's your boyfriend!"
"I don't know..." Suki mused, rubbing Zuko's shoulder as Zuko gulped, "Sokka may need to mature sometimes, and I just really admire you, Zuko. You're dedicated, courageous, and steadfast...Like a warrior."
"I-I think Sokka's a pretty great warrior!" Zuko exclaimed, shuffling away, causing Suki who was resting her head on his shoulder to fall on top of him when his hand slipped and he fell backward to the ground. Zuko and Suki both began to blush.
"Maybe, but he doesn't have the qualities of a Kyoshi Warrior," Suki whispered as she ran her hand up his chest and Zuko began to sweat nervously and Suki pulled Zuko's face close, rolling him over into a kiss as Zuko's eyes bolted wide-open in alarm. Suki was one of his closest friends, his bodyguard that he only trusted with his life from their personal backgrounds together, he loved her like a sister, and not to mention he loved Mai, he was dating her, and oh no, Sokka. Sokka was dating Suki, Sokka loved Suki, he thought she loved Sokka, Zuko was too shocked to even grip what was going on as Suki pressed her lips to his, running her hands through his shaggy, unkempt, chestnut-charcoal hair.
"I couldn't find a wooden spoon, so I went into the woods and got this stick instead, it'll work just the same, so now I can get back to the-" Sokka stopped mid-sentence, dropping his pot and stick and flinging his heads behind his head, "SUKI!? ZUKO!? KISSING?! WHAT!" Sokka shouted as Suki flung upwards, her face flushing red as Sokka ripped her off of Zuko. Sokka then grabbed Zuko by the collar and ripped him up to face him and started shaking him, "YOU LOUSY, NO-GOOD, CHEATING, GIRLFRIEND-STEALING, JERKBENDING, TWO-TIMING, PIECE OF GARBAGE!" Sokka screamed as he began punching Zuko repeatedly in fury as Zuko stood in awe, taking the punches as Sokka grew frustrated and shoved him to the ground, "YOU PIECE OF S***! SAY SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF!" Sokka ordered, waving his fist in his face.
"Sokka, please stop!" Suki cried as she clung to his arm and Sokka yanked it away.
"No way!" Sokka shouted as he then cupped her cheek in his hand, "Did he hurt you, Suki?"
"No, Sokka! Zuko didn't do anything!" Suki cried, tears watering in her eyes.
"What do you mean? He was all over you!" Sokka yelled.
"More like-" Zuko began to defend himself, but evaluated the situation. Sokka loved Suki dearly and constantly spoke about how losing Yue made him paranoid of losing Suki. Maybe he outght to just let Sokka hate his living guts and take the fall for it.
"It wasn't like that, Sokka..." Suki muttered as she kicked at the dirt ashamedly. Zuko sighed, if he took the blame for Suki, he'd not only wreck his relationship with Sokka, he'd only be hurting him worse by lying and he'd shatter Mai's heart. He couldn't do that.
"What are you trying to tell me?" Sokka screamed, still outraged.
"I-I-" Suki stumbled.
"Suki kissed me, Sokka!" Zuko exclaimed as he stood, wiping some blood from his mouth where Sokka had socked him in rage.
"Shut up, Zuko! That won't work! Don't you dare try to blame my Suki for how you jumped on her! I have a right mind to club you to death, you b*****d!" Sokka screamed, giving Zuko another shove, but Zuko caught his forearm to steady his own balance and stop him, then sternly looked him in the eye
"No, Sokka, I am telling the truth. It was Suki, she's the one who jumped me," Zuko explained as Sokka hesitantly glared at his girlfriend, his eyes threatening unspilt tears. Suki stared downwards in shame as Katara and Mai began to creep out of their tents, awoken by all the angry shouting.
"What in the world is going on here?" Katara exclaimed and Sokka angrily furrowed his eyebrows to his sister.
"Katara, who do you think kissed who, my Suki, or Zuko here?" Sokka snapped.
"Excuse me?" Mai hissed, her tired demeanor completely flying away.
"Yes, you wouldn't believe it, Mai! The fire lord liplocked to his body guard! We should have known!" Sokka screamed as Mai flipped a knife out from her sleeve and she slyly slipped over to Suki, holding the dagger to her neck.
"What makes you think it was my Zuko and not this little...slut!" Mai shouted, showing more venom than Sokka.
"WHAT DID YOU CALL MY GIRLFRIEND?" Sokka screamed, slapping Mai's hand away from Suki's neck, sending her dagger flying across the ground.
"You heard me," Mai gritted through her teeth, glaring at Suki.
"IF YOU WEREN'T A GIRL, I'D FIGHT YOU!" Sokka shouted, waving his fist in her face as she scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Don't let that stop you. I could beat you to a pulp in three seconds flat," Mai bragged bluntly.
"I won't fight a woman, but I'm all ready to take Zuko out!" Sokka screamed, charging towards him as Zuko caught Sokka's punch lugged toward him.
"Sokka, that's enough!" Zuko shouted back, "Suki, are you going to tell them what happened?" Zuko yelled angrily now as he saw the hidden heartbreak and reluctant doubt swirling through Mai's eyes. Suki turned away.
"What do you think, Katara?" Sokka demanded again as Katara threw her hands up.
"I-I have no idea! I'm not getting involved! I just don't want anyone to get hurt!" Katara cried.
"I think that's a little too late!" Zuko grunted, glaring at Suki.
"Fine!" Suki cried, tears now falling from her eyes, "It was me, I kept flirting with Zuko, he kept giving me signs to back off, but I wouldn't listen, it was me," Suki confessed as Sokka's face and shoulders sunk, he looked like he'd been stabbed. Mai sighed in relief, and smiled matter-of-factly as she knelt beside her boyfriend putting a hand on his shoulder. Sokka looked at Suki with disappointment and heartbreak as he extended his hand to Zuko as Zuko took it and Sokka pulled him up.
"I'm sorry, Zuko," Sokka apologized below a whisper without meeting his gaze. Zuko put a hand on his shoulder.
"It's alright, I'm sorry," Zuko said and Sokka clenched his fists.
"Why?" Sokka choked out, hurt.
"I'm sorry, Sokka," Suki said tearfully.
"I love you, you know," Sokka said bitterly, turning from her and gloomily entering his tent. Zuko and Katara just stared at Suki with a mix of expressions bundled into one disappointed look and Mai staring at her with enough hate to kill a man.
"Sokka..." Katara muttered with a sigh, before glaring back at Suki bitterly and going back to bed. Mai kept viciously glaring at her with hate.
"Mai," Zuko said, grabbing her wrist, "Please, let it go."
"How dare she?" Mai spat out with anger, as she span back to face her boyfriend, "You better not have liked it!"
"I-I didn't!" Zuko cried defensively.
"You said she was cute one time," Mai uttered.
"Toph's cute too, it doesn't mean I want to kiss her!" Zuko hissed back and Mai embraced him.
"I'm sorry," Mai whispered, clutching his chest as he rubbed her back.
"For what?" Zuko asked.
"Doubting you, even for a second," Mai whispered.
"It's alright, it looked and sounded bad, and after what I've done, I can't blame you," Zuko muttered.
"But you'd never deliberately hurt me like that, I should have known better and held more faith," Mai said.
"It's alright, Mai, let's go to bed," Zuko suggested and she nodded, holding him close as they both bitterly stared Suki down as tears trickled down her face, lined with rue. Suki walked over to where the pot was thrown on the ground and she picked it up, staring down her own reflection. She began to weep with regret. She was confused. She loved Sokka, but she had romantic feelings for Zuko too. Now everything was screwed up between them all. Suki couldn't even look at herself anymore, she felt uglier than the distorted reflection in the pot portrayed her in. She kicked the pot down the path and fell to her feet and wept.