Summer Camp

Chapter Eight: Second Thoughts And Finally Letting Go

It was finally night time. But it was not peaceful. They were once again in the clearing, and Sokka lay on his back, looking at the distant stars, while Zuko paced back and forth some feet away.

"Hey," Sokka finally said, "Come here."

Zuko obliged and soon was laying on his back beside Sokka.

"Breathe in," Sokka said, taking a deep breath, "Now breathe out." They exhaled. Sokka glanced over at Zuko, his ever-shifting eyes now a dark starry blue, "Hey, we'll figure it out, don't worry."

Zuko wanted to fall into those eyes; he wanted so badly to be surrounded and held by the soft indigo velvet. But he couldn't. He couldn't-

Zuko pulled away and sat up. "We can't- We can't do this."

Sokka sat up and crossed his legs, sitting across from Zuko, and cautiously asked, "Do what?"

"Do this- We can't be together. It won't work. It's putting you at risk. A-and your sister. And your friends. I- I can't-" A tear slipped down his cheek, then another.

"Hey..." Sokka said gently , "Hey, it's ok." He slowly reached out toward Zuko but the boy flinched.

"I- I'm sorry. I have..." Zuko let out a broken laugh, "I guess y-you could say I have t-trust issues. My family. T-they-"

And in the muted starlight he told Sokka about his whole past. How his mother left when he was young, his abusive father, his cruel sister. His uncle, the only person who was kind to him. About his scar. The searing pain he still felt sometimes in the early hours of the morning on rainy days. About the rain. It was raining when his mother left. It was raining when his father burned him. It was raining. It was always raining.

By this point Zuko had collapsed into Sokka, crying, letting everything out that he'd been holding in for years.

And Sokka didn't talk. He didn't have to say anything. He just held Zuko tighter and let him cry. And when Zuko's tears slowed and he let out a shaky breath, exhausted from finally letting his guard down after so long, Sokka just pulled him close and carried him back to the cabin. Then he spent the night awake, watching Zuko's finally peaceful sleep and lightly brushing his fingers over the boy's raven hair.