In the Morning by Taiyo-chan
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything associated with it.
A.N. This is for Nerf-or-Nothing. Sorry it took so long, Nerf. On top of procrastinating there was school and writer's block but I finally got that out of the way. It takes place a day or two after Sokka's Master, so yeah; it'd be considered dry by now but enjoy.
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Toph opened her eyes the second she felt Sokka, ten feet away, slip out of his sleeping bag. For him to be waking up and the air feeling cool, it must have been morning. She sat up from her sleeping spot and faced him.
"Are you going for morning training again?" Toph mumbled.
Sokka, who had just picked up his sword, jumped at Toph's voice. He turned around, however, and glanced at her with a sheepish smile. "Yeah. Why? You want to watch again?"
The blind Earthbender got up to her feet and earthbent the dust off her clothes. "Of course."
Sokka smirked to himself. "For someone who didn't care that I was gone, you sure do tag along a lot." He added honestly, "Not that I mind."
Toph folded her arms and looked down so Sokka couldn't see her face. "I didn't care." Ignoring the reaction in her heart for telling a fib, she looked up at him. "That doesn't mean I want to spend another day listening to your sister's lame jokes."
At the last part Sokka grimaced. "Then let's go while she's asleep."
Toph smiled at that. "Good idea."
Sokka paused though. "Say, out of curiosity, what jokes did Katara tell?"
"If you miss him so much, why don't you marry him?"
Toph, turning red, growled under her breath. "You. Do. Not. Want. To. Know." Katara may had told some other jokes besides the one corrupting Toph's mind but that one took the whole dang plate of crab puffs.
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Toph sat on a boulder leaning forward and her chin resting on her hands. Thing was that she wasn't bored, but more in thought. Before her was Sokka, training his Water Tribe butt off without anyone to formally guide him. Deciphering from his stance, Toph could say he had his stances right; he had perfect balance. She could also say, no tell that this fifteen-year-old was determined. A small smile crept on her face as she watched.
He shifted his weight slowly and gracefully as he moved his sword around his body. This prompted Toph to pull out the meteorite scraps Sokka gave her. It was a nice gift and Toph would like to think that connected her to him; his sword being made out of this very material. All in all, it meant he thought about her. It lightened her up especially because she constantly thought about him. To be fair, Aang and Katara did too. But still.
"I think I'm getting better," Sokka commented thoughtfully.
Toph focused back on Sokka and shrugged. "Practice makes perfect."
Sokka nodded in agreement and resumed to his stances. Toph put away the meteorite scraps and sat back. Sokka swung his sword without making a noise. Toph took immediate notice to that. The other mornings, he would make quiet noises to each swing. Even that was better than how he fought in the past. But now, he was silent, swift.
Toph was going to comment but she decided against it. He was doing well; she had no need to ruin it, even if he had disrupted her training Aang with him and Appa's lousy stomping before.
"So what did you guys do while I was gone?" Sokka asked, apparently able to multitask. "Besides suffer Katara's humor."
Toph blew a raspberry. "Slept."
"Ouch."
"Yeah, no kidding."
Silence entered between them. Toph didn't mind; she wanted to continue watching Sokka anyway. Without knowing it, she was smiling again.
Sokka saw this. He smiled as well. She was watching him. He didn't know why at first but it made him happy. She was truly watching him and he could tell it was with genuine interest. To think she found him boring. Deep down, he always figured Toph hid how she felt in certain situations. Why she hid it when it came to him, he did not know. At the same time, he didn't really care. This was Toph and that was how she was. He accepted that...just like he knew she accepted everything about him.
"Thanks for always coming with me, Toph," Sokka spoke out loud, making sure to keep practicing. "It means a lot to me."
Toph moved her head to the side. Sokka stopped to face her. "It must be something for someone like you to actually take interest in me training."
"Someone like me?"
"Yeah." Sokka sat down next to her. "I told you guys before, you all are special at something. Me, I'm getting there but it's nice to know someone special is supporting me in some way." He patted her on the shoulder. "So thanks."
Toph smiled lightly. "Eh, whatever, Snoozles."
Sokka rolled his eyes.
"Now enough with the mushy crud and get back to your training," Toph said.
Sokka stood up and saluted her with a smile. "You got it, General."
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An hour after the sun had come up, the duo headed back for camp. Arriving at the camp, Toph looked up at Sokka and said, "Sokka..."
Sokka looked down at her. "Yeah?"
She punched him in the arm. "I'll always have your back...of course, so will Katara and Aang." Wow, nice going there, Toph.
She tried her hardest not to blush when Sokka placed a hand on her head and ruffled her hair softly. "I know, Toph." He gave her a genuine smile before leaving her to see if there was some leftover food in the bag.
"NO MEAT?!" Sokka exclaimed. "What gives?!"
Toph narrowed her eyes; the meat-loving side had awoken, not that she cared. It amused her actually. "You ate the rest last night, remember?"
"Oh." He sighed and left the bag on the ground. "Then I better start hunting while they're asleep."
"I'm coming with you," Toph stated firmly. "It probably won't be long before they wake up."
Instead of declining her offer of joining him in the hunt like he always did, he nodded his head to her. Either way she was coming. What Toph said went. She smiled, satisfied. The two departed from the campsite and wandered deeper into the woods. Together. Like they had always done in many scenarios and would continue to do so until time forbid it.
The End.
A.N. Thanks for the reading and I hope it was okay, Nerf.