Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Obviously.
A/N: The first sentence will reveal the background setting and scene behind the story.
- Colours -
It was after the eclipse when Sokka grew restless, after Combustion Man's alleged demise and Zuko's induction into the group - well, sort of an induction anyway. (It was evident that somehow Katara had seen to it that Zuko would never actually be comfortable among the gang.) It was not something Sokka had really planned on at first because he was really not the type who dwelled on the past. His life moved on whether it was with his body, mind, and soul or not. He hated uncertainty and hated himself when he got involved with it. That constant grating thought in his mind that he had voluntarily lost his self-control for one statement kept him up most nights. When he gazed at the moon in sheer absentmindedness the guilt would overwhelm him to the point of torn confusion; he didn't know what exactly to do to alleviate this burden.
When Zuko and Aang gallivanted off to learn firebending - black magic, as long as Sokka was concerned - Sokka helped his sister with healing Toph's feet. He took her in his arms, and for the first time she felt so vulnerable to him. She was smaller than Sokka had imagined her to be, so he had been surprised but said nothing. As he sat by the flames during one lonely night of many Toph stirred slightly and asked him what he was thinking. Sokka said faintly, "I see her in my dreams." He began to grow frustrated with himself after a long silence. "It doesn't make any sense to me. I should've done something when I had the chance, but I lost it." He scoffed. "Some man I turned out to be. Now I see her in my dreams, and for all I know she's not even real anymore." Toph was quiet for a moment. Sokka's grip on her loosened considerably. He looked down to peer at her glassy eyes, but she had already turned away as if she couldn't bear to be looked at in such a manner.
"What do you see, in your dreams?" he asked her. When she said nothing he seemed embarrassed. He said roughly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." His words trailed off; he had no idea what to apologize for or what it meant, only understanding that apologizing seemed right. Toph replied in a tight voice, "You don't have to feel sorry for me. I don't need your pity." Sokka sighed and stole a glance at the moon. "I used to dream of the moon. I know it sounds crazy, but I think I was in love with her. Now I can't see her or any of her stars as clearly as I thought I did. Every time, I dream of something else... and it's not at all what I expected it to be."
Toph did not move her head and did not even try to follow Sokka's eyes. Sokka's heart softened as he reprimanded himself silently. His tone was sullen. "You've never seen the moon, have you. You've never seen colours." It was more of a statement than a question. It was matter-of-fact, nothing more. She said, "I don't see the things you see. And you don't see what I see." Sokka nodded, only an acknowledgement of visions existing outside of his understanding. Toph reached for Sokka's hand, her small fingers intertwining with that of his large and clumsy callused ones; she looked unfamiliarly solemn when she spoke.
"That crazy Azula was lying to you, but she wasn't telling you the truth. I know your friend is still alive." Toph looked upward and pointed to the sky with her fingers, trying to catch the moon. "I can't see this moon that you say is there, but I don't need to know what colours are or how anything looks like to see everything you see. And everything you don't see."