Beneath the Moon
Beneath the Moon
Tokka oneshot. Takes place after The Western Air Temple.
Toph felt the vibrations through her bedroll as Sokka padded across the floors of the Western Air Temple onto the balcony outside. He did that a lot, especially when the moon was full or close to being. Of course, she hadn't known that herself being blind and all, but she would ask Katara the next day what was different about those nights. The earthbender didn't tell her older friend that Sokka slinked out of bed on those nights to stand on the balcony for hours, seeming to do nothing but thinking. Despite her callous nature, Toph knew that these moments were somehow sacred and private to the Water Tribe boy. She'd noticed him doing this for months. At first, she'd just attributed it to planning the invasion on the Day of Black Sun, but now, she had no idea why he seemed drawn away from his bed and out of sleep on these nights. The blind girl had been trying to pluck up the courage for weeks to ask him about his nocturnal musings, but somehow she always found a reason to avoid the conversation. Tonight, she ran out of reasons. There was nothing keeping her in this bedroll but her own fear, and Toph hated being afraid more than she hated losing and heights.
"Fine, time to go pay Snoozles a visit," she murmured as she rolled off of her sleeping bag. Treading lightly, she managed to evade detection by Twinkletoes, Sugar Queen, and the newest addition, Firecracker. She'd nicknamed Zuko Firecracker because of his ability to firebend and his legendary temper. He didn't let it show now, but she'd heard enough stories from the others to figure out that he was a hothead, pun intended. He hadn't liked it, which came as no surprise to anyone. He didn't seem to like much of anything.
She rounded a stone corner and waited at the edge of the balcony, a cool breeze stirring her long bangs. Pressing her side to the inside of the archway, she folded her arms across her chest. She didn't know what she waited for; Sokka wasn't going to notice her presence. The boy was naturally oblivious, and even more so during these nightly hauntings of his.
Just do it, she ordered herself silently. Just walk out there and ask him what the hell's going on. What is there to be afraid of? It's just Sokka. Sokka who went gambling with you. Sokka who got drunk off of cactus juice in the middle of the Desert. Sokka who lets you cling to his arm when you ride Appa.
"I do not cling," she muttered under her breath to the voice inside her head. She let out a deep breath as she gathered her courage to her. It was funny how such a young girl could take on men twice her age and size without flinching but couldn't even face down one goofy, teenage boy. "This is Snoozles whose ass I've saved on more than one occasion."
She walked out onto the stone balcony that overlooked the chasm below. If Toph had not been blind, she would have seen the full, round moon riding high in the sky, making her cycle among the netting of stars. Out here in the serenity of the Western Air Temple, its luminous glow filled the whole place with a brilliant light that gilded everything in silver and created deep shadows in the entry ways. And if one looked especially hard, they could almost make out the curve of a sweet smile on the face of the heavenly satellite.
Sokka was leaning against the balustrade on his elbows with his eyes fixed on the moon. His face had a reflective expression with heavy lidded eyes and a contemplative smirk, but Toph didn't need to see these things to know that he was somewhere deep in thought and what she thought might be sorrow. His heartbeat was slow and steady against the soles of her feet and his breathing deep and measured.
"Whatcha' doin' Snoozles?" she asked as she walked up behind him.
He let out a sharp yelp as he spun around to face the blind earthbender. "I didn't expect to see you there," he said lamely as he tried to save face in front of the young girl.
She smirked at him, "What? You scared of the dark, now?"
He scratched the back of his head with a nervous hand before turning around and leaning against the banister. "No, I just thought I was the only one up."
"Well, the lack of your snoring woke me up," she taunted as she joined him in leaning against the stone railing.
"Sorry," he mumbled as he shot a sheepish grin at her.
For a while, neither one of them spoke. They simply absorbed the all encompassing quiet that seemed to shroud the Air Temple at night. It was almost unearthly how detached this place seemed from the rest of the world. Sokka returned to his moon gazing, and Toph quietly studied him.
Not being able to stand the seemingly unbreakable silence any longer, she decided that it was just best to get it out in the open. It was obvious to her that he was never going to give the honest explanation for why he was doing this himself.
"So why did you come here?" she asked softly.
"I just couldn't sleep," he clarified.
She gave her signature smirk again, "C'mon, you expect me to believe that? I can tell when people are lying, especially you."
"And what does that mean?" he queried defensively.
"It means you're a terrible liar, and you're lying right now," she said.
"Listen, I just really can't sleep. I have this prob-"
"Sokka, you come out here every night near the time of the full moon! You've been doing this for months," she cut him off, her voice growing impatient. "Now, just tell me. I'm-I'm your friend, aren't I? And friends, they share . . .stuff."
He sighed dejectedly and slumped his shoulders, dropping his eyes away from the moon. "It's Yue," he breathed.
"Whose Yue?" she inquired.
"She was . . . she is the Moon," he answered.
"You're losing me here," Toph replied.
He bit his bottom lip in thought as he tried to find the words to describe what had happened to the Northern Water Tribe Princess. It sounded unbelievable even to him, and he'd been there.
"It's a long story, but she was the Princess of the Northern Water Tribe. The Fire Nation attacked the North Pole, and when they did the Moon Spirit died. Yue sacrificed herself and became the moon. I know it sounds really weird, but it's the truth," he finished breathlessly.
Toph nodded in agreement. "I can tell. I know this sounds kind of rude, but why do you care so much?"
Sokka bit his lip again. "She was kind of my . . ."
"Girlfriend?" Toph finished. She felt her heart sink just a little. Another one, she thought irritably.
He nodded, "Yeah."
"You still love her, don't you?" the earthbender stated boldly.
"I think so," he confessed in a pained voice.
Her heart ached and her throat tightened for just a moment before she swept those things aside and pressed on with the conversation. "You feel guilty about it, because of Suki?" she asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I do. I love Suki too, but I just can't help the way I feel about Yue. It's not fair to anyone really, and I know that, but still. It's just. . . it's just. . . I don't know," he muttered as he threw his hands into the air in frustration.
"It's complicated," she offered.
"You can say that again," he exclaimed as he turned around and pressed his back against the stone. He no longer felt comfortable staring at the moon while discussing Yue. He almost knew that she was listening to this conversation.
"Alright," she said, "it's complicated."
The silly joke elicited a small smile from Sokka. He reached over and ruffled her hair affectionately, mussing the perfectly rounded bun at the back of her head.
"Hey," she cried petulantly as she swatted his hand away. "Do you know how long it takes me to get my hair like this?"
"Yeah," he replied, "I hear you and Katara fighting and complaining over it every morning for like an hour or more."
She punched him in the arm.
"Ow, what was that for?" he whined as he clutched his upper arm with his hand.
"Because I felt like it," she proclaimed arrogantly, turning her face into the newly blowing wind.
"So, do you think I'm a terrible person for being in love with two people at once?" he asked timidly.
She narrowed her eyes at the question, and wrinkled her brow. She thought it over for a moment, ignoring her own feelings for the lovesick teenager standing next to her. "No," she finally answered. "I think you're good at getting yourself into weird situations and not getting out of them, but I don't think you're a bad person, Snoozles. You're just confused."
"Do you think Yue hates me?" he said seriously.
She shook her head. "I think she honestly wants you to be happy. If she loved you back, then that's what she'd want," she replied softly and confidently.
He turned his head to study her profile. "Have you ever been in love with someone you couldn't be with?" he spoke in a quiet voice, almost afraid of her reaction.
Her heart lurched in her chest at his question. Did he know? Had he finally figured it out after all of this time? No, of course not, she thought sadly to herself. She laced her fingers together and lowered her head a little. "Not that it's any of your business," she said indignantly, "but, yes, I have."
He raised his eyebrows at the confession. "Really?" he asked in a curious tone. "Who is it? Aang? Teo?"
She jabbed him sharply in the side with an elbow. "It doesn't matter, got it?"
"Got it," he wheezed in pain as he nursed what he thought might be a bruised rib.
"But don't worry about Yue and Suki," she assured him, trying to change the subject. "I'm sure everything will work out. Yue wants you to be happy, and I think Suki would understand."
Sokka turned towards her again, forgetting his pain for the moment. She was still leaning over the railing, her face in perfect profile. For a moment, he could make out the shadow of what she would look like as a young woman, when some of the roundness of her cheeks melted away and her lips filled out. She'd break hearts someday as well as bones. His arm reached out to brush away a stray lock of hair out of her face when he stopped himself short. He shook his head and turned back to the moon.
She's just a kid, he pondered. Like another little sister, and she just thinks of me as the big brother she's never had.
He shook his head clear of the thoughts pooling up there. "Thanks, Toph," he said. "Listen, can this just be between me and you? I don't want this getting out to anyone else."
She turned her head towards him, quirking an eyebrow and flashing a familiar grin. "Well, this would make great blackmail, but I guess I could let it slide just once."
He smiled in return. "Great," he stretched arms over his head and let out a yawn. "You know what? I think this conversation tired me out. I'm going back to sleep."
"Sweet dreams, Snoozles. Don't get too scared of the big bad Mooselions that lurk around here," she quipped as he started to walk away.
"Don't worry, if I do I'll be sure to call my favorite earthbender," he called back to her over his shoulder.
"You better not wake me up," she hissed back to him.
He smirked as he paused in the doorway to take one more glance at her leaning against the edge of the balcony. "You know, Toph," he whispered so softly that only her keen ears would hear it, "whatever guy gets you is going to be really lucky."
Her cheeks burned as the blood rushed to her face at the irony of the compliment. If you only knew how much I wished that "lucky" guy was you, she mused as she listened to his footsteps grow steadily softer before they stopped completely.
She sighed and turned away from the balcony, casting a blind glance to the moon that she knew lay somewhere above her. She'd always known she was below Suki when it came to Sokka's affections, but now it seemed she was beneath the moon as well.
Thanks to anyone who read this. I hope you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing. I really like the "Tokka" pairing. I think it's so sweet. So please feel free to review and give me any feedback or concrit you want.