Nightmares
The characters are not mine, but I love them all the same ^^
It was the middle of the night. Around this time came the nightmares. Some of them was mild enough to sleep through, but sometimes they wake up screaming. Sokka was the one, who went to the dreamer to tell him that everything was right, to sleep. Sometimes it was Aang, he dreamed of the war, the death of his companions. Toph dreamed of the darkness, that he is alone and can't find his way out. Katara dreamed of her mother's death, she remembered the brutality of the fire nation's soldiers and the deaths of half of their villages. Zuko had nightmares too, but he was silent about it. Sokka had to watch very closely to recognise the signs.
Sokka never had nightmares, at least that's what he told the others. He is always awake when they need him, but he no longer needs them. Sometimes he stays awake for the whole night and talks to the moon. He tells her his fears, and his dreams, and when the sun comes up, he is as cheerful, as always. There was a time when he almost every night woke up with a scream, but that was, when he was younger. He had to grow up, because he was the man of the villages. The older went to the war and they left him here. He had to take care of Katara and the whole villages. When there was no food, he had to go to hunt, he had to teach the younger boys to fight. Besides this he didn't have time to have nightmares.
When they saved Hakoda and their family was together again, the nightmares didn't stop. During the first weeks, Katara always woke up and ran to their father to see that is wasn't a dream. Hakoda had nightmares about the prison and the torture. He was there when Hakoda woke up and thought that he is still in prison. Sokka told him that the won the war and that everybody is all right.
Sokka never told them that he no longer dreams. He had to leave them behind to help his friends and family. He left his dream to be an adventurer behind when Hakoda left and he had to become a man. He left his dream about always keeping Katara safe, when Aang came into their life. He left a lot of dream behind, till he had just one. To keep he friends safe and help them with their dreams.
End