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Toph and Penance are back at their campsite. Sokka has to admit he isn't quite sure where this Metropolis is any more, or if they're even driving in the right direction -- but nobody really minds. There's plenty of food and water around, they've still got heaps of spare fuel, and all four teens are having the time of their lives racketing around the countryside.

Currently Claire is teaching Sokka a few more of the finer points of driving. Or at least, that's their excuse. There's a lot of laughing and the occasional squeal -- WHICH IS TOTALLY NOT FROM SOKKA, NUH UH -- as they rattle along the road and occasionally come to a screeching halt.

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"Not while the wheels aren't on the road..." Claire says.

She's trying to sound like she knows more than she does - which isn't much at all.

"I'll just keep it in neutral, and you need to... actually, push the front so I can reverse out?"

Sokka sighs, overdramatically. "You just want to see me pull my shirt off and perform hard manual labour," he accuses ever-so-wearily -- before pulling his shirt off to perform hard manual labour, like the good boy he is.

"-----is it working?"

Vrrrrrrm.

Vrrrrrrmmm.

Vrrrrrrrmmmmmmmm.

"Uh. No!" Claire calls back, then has a BRILLIANT IDEA.

She leaves the car in neutral and keeps the handbrak off and hops out to help.

"I'm not taking my shirt off, though."

"Aw." Sokka grins. "There goes that cunning plan."

He eyes the car.

"...if you're not in it, won't it just sort of leap across the road and crash into the other fence?"

"Not if it's in neutral," Claire says, hoping she's right. "I mean, we just need to get it so the wheels can get a purchase..."

Trouble is, it's hard to get a grip on mud in Claire's brand new sneakers, and trying to push the car just makes her feet slip.

She might fall over! Falling over would be bad! SUPER bad. She'd get all muddy!

Sokka's just doing his gentlemanly duty when he slips an arm around her waist. Just to make sure she stays up.

Even if his cheeks are a little bit flushed when he glances across at her.

"You right?"

"Yeah," she says, cheerfully, leaning into his arm. "I'm fine."

She looks at him, and grins less, though she doesn't seem any less happy.

Sokka finds himself unusually reluctant to take his arm away, even though she says she's fine.

"Maybe I should hold on until you're sure you're not going to fall over!" he suggests hopefully. "Because falling ... would be bad!"

Claire places her hand over his arm, not to push him away, but just - so she can, if she wants to.

She finds she doesn't want to.

"I'd get all muddy," she agrees.

Sokka works quite hard to appear confident around Claire and the others, because they need him to.

He doesn't look confident now -- but it isn't a bad thing.

"...which would be bad." He settles his arm a little more snugly around her waist, daringly, and his own smile is lessening from 'goofy' to 'happy' too.

Claire grins again when he clearly isn't going anywhere.

"We covered that," she tells him, suddenly interested in his haircut.

Then his eyes again.

It is a very awesome haircut that totally does not look like it lost a fight with a lawnmower in the SLIGHTEST. But apparently it isn't as interesting as Claire's hair, because Sokka's carefully lifting his free hand to touch a golden lock.

"...yeah, we did. But I thought I better double-check."

Claire blows up at her hair, watching his hand as she does so.

"So now we've established i'm not falling."

Sokka's grin is bright. Her hair's so soft and so pretty.

"...is that a 'let go of me Sokka'?" he asks, without pulling away -- but he will if she indicates it!

Claire bites her lip, and squeezes her hand against his arm quickly

"Not if you don't want to," she says.

"Good," Sokka says, a little quieter.

"...because I don't."

"Do you? Want me to?"

Claire smiles again, almost shyly, and runs her hand up his arm to rest it on his shoulder.

"No."

"So ... you don't mind if I kiss you?" Sokka asks, grin now bright enough to shame the sun.

Claire laughs quickly and fondly, thought she stops herself in case it sounds like she's making fun of him.

No one's ever asked before.

"I don't mind."

Sokka eyes her for a moment -- does she want him to, or does she just not mind?

... but he wants to kiss her, and he totally has permission.

So he does.

EEEEE KISSING.

She was expecting it, which is a welcome first, and she had time to expect it, but Claire likes kissing.She leans into him, passionately and enthusiastic, as her hand reachs up to cup his head.

Hey, he's good at this.

That's totally not just not minding. Sokka would beam, but his mouth's occupied.

Occupied with warm soft good-smelling beautiful Claire.

"Mmm," he informs her, sliding his hand further into her hair in return and pulling her a little closer with the arm around her waist.

Claire would toally say 'mmmm' back, except he's pulling her closer and she's coming closr and...

...she has no grip on the mud, and suddenly she's falling over.

Sokka finds this hilarious.

For the fraction of a second before his own feet slip with the addition of Claire's weight and he lands on his back in the mud beneath her, anyway.

Then he just thinks it's a little funny. It'd be less funny, but he's still got his arms around Claire and that makes everything awesome.

"...whoops."

Claire tries to be angry or annoyed or something, but she's outright giggling, even covered in mud.

"This is totally your fault."