Author's Note:
So, I've never actually done this before, but I thought it would be fun if I could just get something small up for Tokka week this year...I fully admit this one isn't so good, but I'm hoping the rest of the week's entries will be much better. So if you care to RxR, awesome!
Disclaimer: Yada yada no Avatar owning, yada yada. Only time I'm doing this for Tokka Week.
Tokka Week 2012 Day 1: Bending the Rules
"...Sokka..."
Sokka made an unintelligible noise in his sleep, and pulled the soft and comfortable Ba Sing Se blanket over his head.
"...Sokka..."
He rolled over again, muttering, "Five more minutes 'Tara, the sea-prunes aren't going anywhere..." He snored.
Fed up at trying things the easy way, Toph felt for it and grabbed the blanket he was wrapped in, and yanked. With a yelp, Sokka came tumbling down, falling in a heap at the foot of his bed. Wide awake now, he ripped and tore at the now-infernal covering until his head poked out, hair in disarray, and glared at the offending Earthbender.
"Why, in the name of...Whatever spirit is listening at this hour, did you wake me up, in the middle of the night? And so help me Toph, if this has something to do with your toes, I will-"
"I-I couldn't sleep." She murmured, so soft he almost didn't hear it.
The tone in her voice stole all of Sokka's bluster, and his anger dissipated almost as quickly as it had come. Wordlessly, he got up, fixed his bed back up, and sat down, pulling her down next to him.
"Do you want to tell me about it?" He finally asked, trying to comfort the younger girl.
She shook her head, her long tresses shining softly in the pale moonlight of the open window. "Nothing's wrong. I just couldn't sleep." She argued, no conviction in her voice.
Sokka smirked, just a little. The big, bad Blind Bandit had a nightmare, and couldn't sleep! Any other time, he would have been glad to snicker and poke fun, but tonight...Tonight was different. He wasn't sure why, but the urge to rub it in just wasn't there... He was sure he'd have plenty to taunt her about later, but...Not tonight.
Moving the blanket back, he laid back down, and gently pulled her down with him, covering her with with as much of the blanket as he could spare, and he wrapped his free arm around her waist.
Her eyes grew wide as the familiar red burned across her cheeks, and she managed a bit of courage to ask "Isn't this breaking some rule? Aren't you with Suki now? And won't Katara-"
Sokka shushed her, and surprisingly, she listened. "Do you want to stay here tonight?" He wasn't sure where his boldness came from; He had never dared something like this before. Much to his surprise, she nodded. "Then don't worry about it. I'm not going anywhere. Go back to sleep." His arm cinched a little tighter.
He had a moment of doubt when she stiffened up beside him, but when she pulled his arm up and around her, fully, clutching it like she dared never let go, he knew it was the right decision. So that's how he stayed. With his free hand, he stroked her hair as she shuddered with whatever silent terrors her nightmare had brought her, and Sokka stayed up comforting her long after she fell asleep. It was nearly dawn before he felt his eyes grow heavy and he slipped back into an exhausted sleep, his arm still wrapped her...
And though he couldn't see it, she was smiling in her sleep.
