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[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

Eventually, the Eden Team gets the car going, by the grace of Sokka's brilliance alone.

(Granted, he's not entirely sure what was wrong with the car still, as it had started up while he was busy kicking and cursing at the damn thing to just start already! ...but no one else needs to know that.)



Steph called first dibs on driving and Sokka and Mel had exchanged a glance and a quick, silent game of rock-paper-scissors to decide who got to sleep and who had to stay awake and monitor Steph's skills. The whispered argument Sokka started when Mel had rock and he had scissors stops abruptly when Steph looks over, but Sokka makes sure to kick his sister before climbing into the passenger's seat.

When his eyes aren't riveted to the window and the ruined buildings around them, he's glancing back at Mel and the babies. Partly to make sure they haven't been stolen to another world already, mostly to make sure no one's going to wake up, start crying, and wake everyone else up while she's at it.

Comments

[alwaysroomforhope]

Steph snorts, eyes on the road, at one of those glances. She genuinely is a safe driver; they're going slowly even when she's obviously itching to put her foot down and just get there, navigating potholes and cracks in the road with care.

"You know, Socks, not only have I been driving safely since I was fifteen, but I've also never lost someone out of the back of the car."

Beat.

"Or out of the front." She flashes him a quick grin. "Except when we were vigilante-ing and they wanted out, but that doesn't count."

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

"Don't flatter yourself," Sokka warns her, smirking and turning one of his glances backward into a glance at her and her smug face. "There are a lot of things more worrying than your driving right now.

"...not that it's exactly smooth either, but not what I'm thinking about."

[alwaysroomforhope]

Steph sticks her tongue out at him, and frowns intently at the dashboard, under the wheel, around the ignition --

"Damn! I knew I should've picked a car with an ejector seat." She sighs, eyes back on the road, very sad. "I guess I'll just have to ask what you're worrying about instead."

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

"Being stuck with you and your face in a small vehicle for a couple of days, that's what I'm worried about."

His smirk doesn't entirely agree with the harshness of the words, nor the teasing tone he says it all with, but that doesn't make Sokka apologize for any of it, grinning while he turns back around. "I'm not worried about anything specific," he admits, leaning back against his seat to get comfortable. "Just making sure they're all right."

[alwaysroomforhope]

Steph nods, smirk softening into a smile, although the road they're driving down now is shattered and clogged with vehicles and she can't spare the attention to look back at them herself.

"If they start fading away, I'm grabbing onto them and going with. And you too. But we only just landed here, I figure we've probably got about a year before whatever's doing it yanks us off again."

It's a good thing to have the road to focus on -- it means she doesn't have to make him uncomfortable by looking at him when she says, with a hint of genuine concern squished under the teasing tone, "How about you, while we're talking about looking after babies? You sleeping all right?"

There hadn't been any booze left in any of the places they'd checked; Steph figures it'd be the first thing evacuees and looters would go for, but she worries about him.

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

Sokka pauses before answering, and it's obvious that he's holding back from giving her a bit of a look. But his voice isn't insulted, and he isn't snappish when he replies, shrugging a bit with his eyes on the road. "Yeah, I was fine. We must've walked maybe fifteen miles the last two days, even with other-me whining for a lot of it. Too tired to do much else than sleep at the end of the day."

Including looting any liquor stores they passed.

[alwaysroomforhope]

Steph grins with relief. She doesn't mind Looks, as long as he's okay.

"Sweet. Does that mean you should be getting out and walking now, so you're tired enough later? Cos I'll totally let you. You can jump out now."

She's obviously teasing, though, not actually slowing down.

"Must've been a change, you being the one having to put up with the whining."

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

Smirking a little, Sokka pauses. This time he does give her a look, one brow arched high.

"...you have met Zuko, haven't you?"

[alwaysroomforhope]

"Like, twice," she protests, but she grins. "...and okay, yeah, you have a point.

"There's just so many mocking opportunities, with a tiny version of you running around."

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

"It's a good thing he's far away, then, isn't it?" Sokka asks, grinning a bit back at her. "You'd like him - he can make anybody look good."

There might have been an 'even you' added onto that sentence, but a row of derelict trucks beside what must be a crumbled car dealership steals his attention for a moment.

[alwaysroomforhope]

Steph laughs. "He did all right. Hey, I didn't know you could use a sword as well as a boomerang. I'm totally impressed, how come you never told me?"

She slows down so he can ogle the trucks, grinning.

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

He notices - which is why she gets an extra grin thrown her way before he slumps back against his seat.

--and sends a quick glance back toward Mel and the girls in the process.

"That was after me - I've never even held a sword. He's not bad with it, though, I was pretty impressed."

[alwaysroomforhope]

"Oh, well, that's a relief," Steph says cheerfully, grinning over at him. "I was afraid I was gonna have to work harder to kick your ass after that display. They okay?"

She's apparently forgotten that she was mocking him ten seconds ago for needing to reassure himself that everyone's here and well.

[slayer_fray]

When Mel wakes up, she doesn't cry.

OK, actually, after she's oriented herself and glanced down to the babies curled up against her, she smiles faintly and touches Hana's sleeping head gently.

Then when she glances up to see Sokka looking back at them, her eyes are wet. But she hasn't woken anyone else up.

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

It's on one of his glances backward that he notices her open eyes. He's already smiling by the time he notices her tears, and his smile barely falters.

He does, however, twist in his seat to hold a hand out to her.

Hey, you, does not really need to be said. Just like I missed you.

[slayer_fray]

Mel grins, a genuine smile, and takes his hand, squeezing it firmly just to check he's still there.

Hey.

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

That gets her a grin and a hand-squeeze in return, other hand lifting to wave a little, just in case she might have missed him.

...it's possible.

[slayer_fray]

Of course she missed him.

But her other hands now reaching into the bassinet at her side, strokingsoft baby hair.

She actually mouths it this time

"Thank you"

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

Brows lift.

"For what?"

He knows what she means - but it's nothing she has to thank him for. Not ever.

[slayer_fray]

Keeping them safe, of course, but mostly "for getting them to me."

She couldn't sleep without them.

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

Hopefully she didn't resort to what Sokka did when he couldn't sleep.

He just smiles at her and squeezes her hand again. It wasn't just for Mel, it wasn't just because they're his nieces. He loves them, almost as much as their parents do.

[slayer_fray]

...actually, she sort of did, but with more fighting.

"What did you thinkof my home town?"

It's mostly a joke.

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

"Tourist attractions could use some work," Sokka replies, joking even if she isn't. "Tour guides are all right, though. Except for the blondes."

It doesn't matter what look Steph is giving him now - Sokka is level Expert on ignoring them.

[slayer_fray]

"So the ones who are you?"

Mel smirks, and shrugs.

"I can see that, yeah."

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

"I'd have to know something about where we are to be a tour guide," Sokka points out with a small grin, "but Loo and Hana were seriously impressive the last couple of days. Don't think we would have survived without them."