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The campsite they eventually pick is in the middle of a large, dead plain, nothing obscuring vision in any direction for hundreds of yards. It might have been a farm once; it's all dead now.

They're all exhausted. It was dark when they'd camped the first time; it's close to midnight by the time the two cars pull off the road and into this field, and it's raining - cold, thick, heavy rain that blows any hope they might have had of making a fire.

Thank everything for Toph.

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"Yeah."

He sighs and flops back, shoulders hitting the mattress and rubs his eyes with a hand. "So... no, she's not okay. She'll be all right while we're doing stuff, but when we get back, it'll be a problem. I'll... figure something out, talk to her, I just..."

They had to. They had to. But it was duty, not revenge, that started it.

"I'll be there too," Steph assures him, tucking her head into his shoulder, staring up at the rock ceiling blindly. "Oh, Erin."

Steph never had siblings. She's only too aware she can't even begin to understand.

"Anything Mel needs. I can keep Babs off her back, at least."

Curling his arm tighter around her, Sokka bows his head to her hair again, making a soft sound of recognition, at least. "Babs? Why would she care?"

Steph tucks her face into his neck. "She called. I told her what we were doing."

Immovable forces. Opposing sides. Steph had to pick one.

The we was deliberate.

"None of her business anyway."

Sokka's eyes open, staring at the rock in front of his face, boring holes into it.

"What did she say?"

"Not much." Steph has her eyes shut, her face in his neck; she can't see. "Didn't need to. I said some pretty dumb stuff, though. I should probably apologise."

Sokka is silent at first, scowling angrily at the rock wall.

"She told you we were wrong?"

"There's always another way," Steph repeats miserably. "It's supposed to be our lives - the Bats - before anyone else's, even filthy scum cannibals. Babs is just ... really disappointed that I didn't try to stop you or, I don't know, throw myself in front of them or something. It's what we're supposed to do."

She makes an unhappy, angry noise and flops over to her back, doing her own scowling at the rock.

"But that's - it just doesn't make sense any more. And what else were we supposed to do? We had to! Even if I had the choice again I still wouldn't stop you!"

"Fuck her."

Growled, angry, protective, his arms tightening around her. "What the fuck does she know? If she wants to roll her ass out here and find a way to stop them, she can be my fucking guest. Until then, she can shut up."

Steph blinks at him, startled out of her own sulk, and leans over to kiss his cheek, arms tightening around him in response.

"'s what I said to her too," she says, lips twisted in a not-really-smile. "She doesn't - I don't know. It's not like it was in Gotham."

Her reaction calms him - or ashames him. One of the two.

Taking a deep breath, Sokka closes his eyes and ducks his face against her shoulder. "It's not... but I know it's hard for you."

"'s not easy for you either," Steph points out, slipping her hand up to run her fingers through his hair gently. "Anyone who thinks it is is blind or deluded or both."

"I didn't grow up thinking I'd never have to kill," Sokka points out softly, wrapping an arm around her waist, hand gentle at her ribs. "I'm sorry. That it happened."

She nods, playing with his hair softly. "It's not your fault - you shouldn't apologise for anything, Socks. Things just happen. And I - I don't know, maybe I was always going to end up being kicked out of the Bats. I'm okay with it being because I wanted to stay with you."

Frowning, Sokka rolls toward her, sliding a hand up her back. "Yeah, but..."

It's what she always wanted.

He kisses her cheek and sighs, eyes closing. "I'm sorry anyway."

It's like the dog, her first kill.

It doesn't even matter that Steph didn't wield the knife - or the boomerang. Not when she could have stopped them and didn't even try. To the Bat point of view, that makes no difference at all

To a Bat point of view, she should have hurled herself in front of the flying steel to protect Mick.

She snuggles into him, quiet and unhappy. "I wouldn't ask you to do anything 'cept what you did," she promises softly. "I don't know if it was the right thing to do, but - but it was the only thing to do."

The only thing. Three tiny words that lead to the road to Hell.

Sokka sighs and kisses her neck. "Can you sleep?"

"Don't know," Steph admits. "Probably, if you're here. Can you? - can Mel?"

"Mel's got the girls, she'll be all right. I've got you."

Which doesn't answer if he'll be able to sleep or not, but he'll at least make the attempt.

Steph turns her head enough to kiss the top of his, wrapping her arm over him tight and snuggling down comfortably.

"'s me. Sleep Aid Steph." She's smiling, though - it's nice to feel needed, to feel useful. Especially when she needs him so much. "If it doesn't work, we can get up and run laps in th'rain."

"Wetter," Sokka points out softly, stroking her back. "Try to sleep. We're the ones supposed to be awake during the day."

"Lucky us."

She'll do anything he says for back rubs. sighing happily and going boneless and soft next to him.

"You sleep too or I'll be mad," gets mumbled into his shoulder.

"I'll try."

It's a promise as much as a hope. Sokka's already decided he won't be driving for months after this trip, incredibly sick of it, and even more sick of the demands it places on him. Like having to sleep through the night so he's awake in the morning.

Bah.

The back rubs continue, echoing her sigh and relaxing against her.

Definitely lame. For her part, Steph has resolved to make sure she teaches Suki to drive as soon as humanly possible.

... it's more about being separated from Sokka than anything else, though.

She stays tucked against him and eventually manages to fall asleep, although it's not a very restful sleep. She doesn't let go of Sleep Aid Sokka all night.

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