Sokka remained transfixed on the large bandage that was wrapped around her stomach. He didn't even care that she was there in her bindings. He just wanted to be there when she woke up, hopefully in the next couple hours.
Toph had been asleep for the past twelve hours. The amount of blood she had lost had her exhausted beyond belief. After she had lost consciousness in Sokka's arms, she had never awoken again. That fact scared Katara once she and Aang finally reached them. She would never forget the sight that approached her: Sokka with Toph in his arms and blood all over them. It made her cringe but strong enough to do her duty.
Now, the young master earthbender lay silently in her quarters, resting for what seemed like forever to Sokka. He didn't even notice someone come into the room.
"Sokka, do you want to eat?"
He shook his head. "Not hungry."
Katara raised her eyebrows. "You of all people are not hungry?"
Sokka just shrugged.
The waterbender walked quietly over to where his brother was seated at the edge of Toph's sleeping mat. She bent down and made a quick check on Toph's vitals before situating herself next to her brother. Her arms wrapped around her knees.
"I was really scared when I first saw you guys after the hideout crashed." Sokka's little sister laid her head on her brother's shoulder.
Sokka returned the favor and put his head atop hers. "I was scared when Toph didn't wake up again. She hasn't even woken up again."
Katara sighed. "She will come around, Sokka. She just needs to rest. The stubborn little brat did lose a lot of blood."
"Not funny." He scowled slightly.
"Sorry."
Sokka looked back at Toph. "Come on! Wake up!"
"Look," Katara turned all the way towards her brother. She pushed his face so that he was looking at her. "I know you are frustrated, but she really does need the rest. Although she won't show it, Toph is going to appreciate you staying by her side through all of this."
"How do you know?" Sokka looked at her confused.
Aware of Toph's affection towards her brother, Katara fixed her response carefully. "Because you're her best friend."
Katara's reply instantly caused Sokka to think about his and Toph's conversation within the cave before the incident. Best friends.
Sokka grabbed his sister's arms gently and spoke with their eyes connected. "What do you think of Toph?"
Katara looked around the room before answering. "Um, what do you mean?"
"Like, do you like her as a person? Is she a good friend? Someone to be around with?"
His sister looked at him longer with suspicious eyes. "Toph is…uh…piece of work. She is stubborn, loud, blunt, and sometimes insensitive."
She saw Sokka's eyes die a little bit.
"But, to be truthful, sometimes we need that kind of honesty within our group. It helps us keep our heads in the game. Toph is one of the bravest people that I have had the privilege to get to know. She is a skilled bender and strong person overall seeing that she turned a disability into one of her greatest advantages. Although we don't get along all the time, I do consider her one of my closest friends and wouldn't want to lose her for anything."
Katara had to admit that it was nice to see her brother smile at her words. It had been far too long, even if it was only a couple of hours.
"Thanks, Katara. Good to know." Sokka sat properly once more eyeing Toph from the side.
"No problem, I guess." She surprised him and kissed him on the cheek. Her next words were quiet. "If this was you asking for permission to date her, I think that's really sweet of you, Sokka."
Sokka pushed her off playfully. "Alright, alright."
Katara stood up and began walking to the exit the room. "Well, I'm going to go with Aang to the celebration hall to build some decorations. If Toph is to wake up anytime I'm gone, make sure she doesn't move too much and keeps hydrated. Also, you are going to change her bandages. Think you can manage that?"
The water tribe warrior looked at Katara, back at Toph, and then at the medical supplies at the other side of the room. "Um…I think so."
"Good." She moved the curtain and stepped out. "If you need any help or anything goes wrong, come call for me."
And just like that, Katara was gone. Sokka rolled his eyes. "Pffff. Permission. Like she asked me if her and arrow boy could date."
Two hours past and within that time, the water tribe warrior had fallen asleep. With his legs crossed, one hand was down while the other was holding up his head. His mouth was open allowing his snores to be loud and clear. It was no surprise that Sokka was startled when Toph finally began to show signs of waking.
A soft kick allowed Sokka's arm to fall causing his head to dip. The action woke Sokka up immediately. He searched the room for an intruder only to find Toph shifting slightly in discomfort. He crawled closer to her head and shook her shoulder as gently as possible.
He whispered. "Toph? You waking up?"
"Mm..mmmm" Was her response.
"As good as it would be if you did wake up," Sokka checked the bandage quickly to make sure Toph wasn't messing with it. "If you feel the need to keep sleeping, feel free."
"Ss…s…" Toph moaned again. "S-Snoozles?"
Sokka couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, it's me."
Toph breathed deeply. "Hi."
"Hey. How are you feeling?" Sokka let his finger rub part of her arm in comfort.
"Tired." Her response was groggy and sounded like it took a lot of energy.
"Like I said, if you want to sleep, you can continue."
Toph turned her head towards his voice. "Tired of sleeping."
Sokka chuckled again. "I bet. You've been asleep for several hours."
"Hours?" The master earthbender made a grunt. "What's wrong with me?"
The warrior looked at her concerned. "You don't remember what happened?"
"I remember the badgermole, a bunch of earth falling, being flung into the air. That's kind of it at the moment." Sokka could hear her taking a breath.
"Well," He crawled over and grabbed the new bandaging. "You missed the badgermole scratching you really bad, losing a lot of blood, and passing out. Although I wouldn't exactly blame you for forgetting that last one."
"Ugh, why do these things happen to me?"
Sokka rubbed her arm softly. "Because you like to do things the hard way."
Toph opened her eyes slightly. "Remind me not to do that."
"I'm afraid that's not possible." Sokka smiled down at her. "Alright, here is the tough part. I need to change the bandages on your stomach. I'm going to need you to sit up."
"Do I have to?" Toph whined just like normal.
"Sorry. Sugar Queen's orders."
Toph didn't say anything. Her scowl was enough of a response for Sokka taking it as an "okay let's get this over with." The water tribe warrior carefully pulled Toph up, his hands support her back. Her hands went to his shoulders and as she sat up further, her grip tightened.
"Alright. Just stay like that while I change the bandages."
Toph remained death gripped to his shoulders. He could tell that she was trying her best not to fall back down. As he unwrapped the old bandaging, beneath it presented two long gashes across her abdominals. No longer were they bleeding, thanks to Katara, but it was important to keep them from getting infected. Shifting the wounds was obviously very painful for the earthbender, so Sokka hurried and applied the new bandages.
"There ya go." Sokka carried her back down as sitting up took all of her energy.
Toph let out a shaky breath once she returned to lying down. "Spirits…"
"You doing okay?"
The young earthbender let her head roll to the side. Her eyes were closed once again. "Just okay."
"Don't move too much. Do you want some water?" Sokka brushed her bangs out of her face. He was surprised to feel Toph respond and nuzzle into his hand slightly.
"Not right now."
The two remained in silence for a little bit. Sokka watched the light of the fire flicker on Toph's face. Her breathing was a little shaky, but that was understandable. He almost lost her today. Sokka would take anything just for her to be okay again.
"Thanks." She almost whispered.
Sokka cocked his head to the side. "For what?"
"Catching me when I was up in the air. You didn't let me fall this time."
"You remember that?"
Toph coughed spiking Sokka's concern, but it was minimal. "Yeah, I do. My memory is starting to get jogged."
"Oh." Sokka brushing his fingers through his hair seeing as Toph appreciated it so much. "No problem. It is my job after all."
"Nice. You didn't mess up for once." She tried to laugh.
Sokka joined along. "Shut up."
"I'm serious. You really came through when I needed it most." Toph opened her eyes halfway. The light of the fire danced in her milky green eyes.
Sokka snickered. "Are you getting soft on me? Did that badgermole scratch away all your sarcasm and rudeness?"
"Trust me. It can come back in an instant if you keep making fun of me like that."
"Alright, alright. Well since you didn't fall this time, how about I ask you a question?"
Toph's breathing stabilized fortunately when she answered. "Fair enough. Shoot."
Sokka didn't even ponder on a question. "Do you ever wish you can see?"
Toph grunted. "I can see."
He shoved her lightly. "You know what I mean."
The earthbender put a hand atop her wounds before speaking once more. "I won't ever say that I wish I was born with eye sight. My blindness is something I treasure since it's made me stronger. But I guess, yes, there are times when I wonder."
"Wonder what?"
"How you see the world."
Sokka took her answer into consideration. He noted in his head how she said yourather than other people. Maybe there was a difference.
"Like, I mean," Toph continued. "I have no idea what color is. Blue, red, yellow, green, orange. I can't even try to imagine something like that. Blue doesn't have a texture. Red isn't cold or hot. Green doesn't make sound."
"Color, huh? That is a tough one."
"Yeah there is the fact that I won't ever be able to read a book, but hey, that saves me less time and learning. But color. I am always curious about color."
"Have you ever stood on a really big plateau?"
"Huh? Toph quirked an eyebrow.
"Have you?" Sokka asked her again.
Toph waited a second before answering. "Uh, yeah."
"Blue is kind of like that." Sokka had still been combing his fingers through her hair. "The way it feels endless. The sky and the ocean are blue. They are the two things in the world that seem endless. That's what blue is like."
The earthbender remained silent.
Sokka kept going. "However, blue can also be very sad. That's why people say 'are you feeling blue?'"
"What," Toph started. "What other things are blue?"
"Water in general is blue. My eyes and Katara's eyes are blue."
"Huh."
Sokka moved on. "Now red, red is like fire. It's hot and dangerous at times. It can represent anger and passion. In fact, fire is red. Except for Azula's. Her's is blue for some weird reason."
Toph laughed making Sokka smile. "Well she is crazy."
"You got that right. She is definitely angry red. Zuko, on the other hand, is more passionate red."
"What about orange?"
"Orange is peaceful. It's why Aang wears it all the time, him and his nomad self. It can be light, just like how the autumn leaves float towards the ground when they fall."
"And green?"
Sokka laughed lightly. "Even though you can't see it, I do believe green is your favorite color. Green represents the earth. I think it's why you wear it all the time. It's the feeling of the grass when you lay on it which is green. It's the smell of the dirt and rock that you bend. It's natural."
"My favorite color is definitely green." Toph smirked.
"Your eyes are green."
"Are they?" She sounded very intrigued.
Sokka shrugged his shoulders. "Well, because you are blind, it's a bit faded. But it is still there. I like it. It's different."
Toph suppressed her blush as good as she can. She made her way to punch him but stop midway since she lost all of her energy. "Thanks."
Sokka shook his head and laughed. "Yeah."
"What other colors are there?"
Sokka continued talking until she fell asleep again.
