They stood in a clearing surrounded by towering pine trees, staring at the pile of gear dumped from the SUV. It looked like an REI exploded.

Turns out, none of them had successfully set up a tent before. Except you and John. Bucky noticed first. He watched you out of the corner of his eye, arms crossed, silently impressed. Yelena tried to copy your technique. It ended with her tarp upside-down and her pride very, very bruised.

Ava’s tent looked like it was actively losing a fight with gravity. Bob accidentally trapped himself inside his own. “Guys? I think my tent is sentient.”

Alexei refused help, declaring “Real man does not need instructions.”

It collapsed on him immediately.

Somehow, they made it to nightfall with no injuries, one functional fire, and only mild emotional damage. The campfire crackled, stars blinked above, and everyone found themselves sitting closer together than they probably wanted to admit. Exhausted. A little smoky. Still twitching at mosquito sounds.

Bob passed out s’mores. Yelena was roasting a marshmallow with a little aggression. John tried to tell a ghost story. It devolved into arguing with Alexei over whether zombies counted as “ghosts with meat.”

You sat on a log beside Bucky, silent as ever. He passed you a piece of chocolate without looking.