Prompt 2: Moonlight (#34)
A/N: This prompt writes itself. Enjoy a more steam-of-consciousness style piece. Set some point after the final battle, with the Gaang back together for another adventure. This one is quite long because I just let myself run with it.
It's not the first time that Sokka's late-night excursions disturbed Toph's sleep. It comes with the seismic sense - helpful for seeing while blind. Not so much for tuning things out while sleepy.
It's almost always the same, no matter what they do during the day or where they camp out. He'll settle into his sleeping bag, but not go to sleep. His heartbeat evens out and his breathing slows to a crawl, but he's still - too still. Sleeping people shift and toss about in their bedrolls, but Sokka just lies there quietly, uncharacteristically so.
The first time it happened, Toph almost panicked thinking something had happened to Sokka. She sat up in her earth tent, her own heart hammering because to her senses, Sokka had fallen into an unnatural slumber. She would have cried out, almost waking the others, if Sokka hadn't inched over and put a calming hand on her shoulder.
"I'm fine, Toph. I'm sorry I worried you." He mumbled, his low, rumbling voice immediately soothing Toph's anxiety. She brushed it off, claiming that she didn't really care at all, but the gratitude in Sokka's voice was nice nonetheless. She could imagine the wry smile Sokka had when he nodded along her claims, then telling her to go back to sleep.
"It's late," he said, "we'll need to be fresh tomorrow."
He didn't sleep that night.
She began counting the nights where he didn't sleep.
Once per month, she counted. Once every month Sokka would lie sleepless at night, then rise from his sleeping bag and quietly - more quietly than Toph knew Sokka could be - make his way out of the campsite.
It coincides with the full moon, too.
Eventually, after carefully asking Aang and Katara, Toph figured out that Sokka stayed up to speak to Yue. His first loved one. She felt vibrations through the ground but didn't know what they were; now she knows that they are the quiet murmurs of Sokka to his lost love.
She didn't know how to make of it at first. Jealousy? Toph never knew Yue, but from how Aang and Katara spoke of her, she sounds like a wonderful woman. Besides, Toph is well over that phase when Sokka was with Suki. She recognizes now that Sokka, despite all his dumb, silly, wonderful flaws, has quite the way with the ladies, and she'll just have to trust that he's just as head-over-heels for her as she is for him.
Toph settled on reverence. Yue holds a special place in Sokka's heart, and for good reason. She saved the world, by sacrificing herself. Toph can respect a woman with that kind of resolve. Toph decided to stay silent about it, to watch over Sokka when he speaks to Yue. She latches onto the gentle humming of his words, making sure they go uninterrupted by anything.
But this night - this night Toph is restless. It has not been a good day for her. They are all tired and sore from a day of fleeing from rebel soldiers, battered from skirmish after skirmish, and on top of it all, Sokka acted odd for most of the day. His heartbeat fluctuated, like he couldn't make up his mind on something, and it reflected on his behaviour, which was standoffish and somewhat unpleasant. He wasn't rude, or hurtful - just careful, is how Toph would describe it.
As expected on a night of a full moon, Sokka rises from his sleeping bag and carefully picks his way though the campsite, his footsteps just barely registering on Toph's senses. Rustle. Rustle. Thump - he sits down a short distance from camp. Toph can imagine him seating himself in the middle of a forest clearing, with a clear view of the sky, where the full moon would be in view.
The speaking starts, inaudible but passing through the ground as gentle murmurs. But this time, it's more urgent. Usually Sokka speaks in languid, calm tones, but now he's speaking in a rushed, quick manner, the vibrations quick and angry.
Toph can't help but wonder if it's something she did - she always pushes Sokka's boundaries, trying to see how far she can push him before she's forced to retreat. With only a little guilt, she wonders if she might have pushed him a little too far, and Sokka is venting to Yue this night.
Soon, though, the angry humming quiets down to a calm bubbling. Sokka's calmed down - for whatever reason.
Footsteps approaching. Toph closes her eyes, knowing that Sokka's talk with Yue has come to an end once again.
"Toph…" Sokka kneels down beside her, his normally loud voice barely a whisper in the night. Like a cool breeze, Sokka's words blow over Toph's ears.
"I'm awake."
"I know." Sokka says, taking her hand. Toph's heart skips a beat, even after all this time they've spent with each other, first as friends, then more recently, as partners. His hand is cooler than hers, and Toph squeezes his hand, sitting up. "You… know what I do these nights, right?"
"Of course I do, stupid," Toph can't help but sneak one in, despite the seriousness of Sokka's voice. It's in her nature, and Sokka doesn't seem to be annoyed. He ruffles her hair with his other hand, helping his girlfriend up to her feet outside of the earth tent. "You're talking. To her."
"Right, right." Sokka scratches the back of his head, slightly awkwardly. Despite all his romantics, Sokka still isn't the best at social situations - for which Toph is grateful, because neither is she. "Of course you know."
"Yep." There's a moment of silence as the two stand there, surrounded by the cool night air, drinking in the sound of chirping crickets, and the rustling of grass and leaves in the gentle wind. A cat-owl calls in the distance. "So…"
"So." Sokka's grip grows firm - not tight, just firm. Toph can sense a slight dampness in his palm, and his heartbeat is quickened - he's nervous. "Do you… want to come with?"
"Yeah." Toph nods, before adding on slightly hastily, "I'd be honored."
She's nervous too - Sokka doesn't need earthbending senses to feel the slight tremble in her. For a strong willed girl like Toph, shaking is not something Sokka sees from her often. He puts an arm around her comfortingly, and she leans into the taller water tribe boy, sharing their body heat. He breathes in deeply, slightly nervously. "You'll like her. She's cool."
"Mhmm." Guiding her by the shoulder, Sokka brings Toph past the sleeping Appa - with Aang and Katara entwined at his side - into the woods. Twigs and dry leaves crack underfoot, and the couple are silent as they slowly walk to their destination. Silent, but not separated - with every squeeze of a hand, and nudge of a shoulder, the two experienced companions communicate volumes with the slightest of gestures.
"We're here Toph." Sokka says, quietly. Toph puts her hands under the pair, and a smoothly curved slab of stone rises from the ground, forming perfect seats. They sit, automatically leaning against each other, hands interlinked, Toph draping one leg over Sokka's lap. It's an odd posture, but she finds it comfortable, so Sokka tolerates it.
Toph, by habit, has her eyes to the ground, but Sokka gently cups her chin and directs her gaze skywards. She feels the glow, even if she can't see it. "…Is that her?"
"Yeah." Sokka says. His tone is mixed - happiness, sadness, acceptance, regret, bitter melancholy.
Toph nods slowly. "She's beautiful."
Sokka looks down at Toph, the question clear even when unspoken. "There's a feeling. Crisp, clear and calm. Like… drinking a serene fountain. It sparkles, but is still at the same time. Beautiful."
"Huh." Sokka breathes, and Toph has the feeling that he has a faint smile on his face. He, too, looks up to the sky. "That sounds like Yue alright."
"Mhmm." The two sit there for a while, not really responding, just basking in the dappled moonlight. Eventually Toph nudges Sokka in the side.
Sokka starts, stroking Toph's shoulder. "Oh, right. Let's do this then." He takes a deep breath. "Hey, Yue. I'm back."
He stops for a moment, his head cocked to one side as though straining to listen to a distant sound. Toph suspects, despite him not having the sharpest of senses, that he truly does hear Yue's lunar call.
"I brought company." Sokka says. "She's… the one I've been talking about. Worried about."
Worried? Toph doesn't turn to look - there's not point - but she does stiffen slightly. "I thought maybe… so soon after Suki, that I was rushing things."
"I thought maybe I should take it easy. Go home, spend time with my dad and Gran-Gran." Sokka chuckles softly. "I'm a war hero, after all. I deserve some rest. Spirits know I need it."
"After Suki… you know… It was really rough. I couldn't sleep. I didn't have the strength to move or eat or do anything. The weight of the world just sort of… crushed down on me. I couldn't breathe, almost. I felt like I was in this alone, without any hope of help…"
Toph rests her head against Sokka's shoulder - a sign of solidarity. She understands. She's there for him. He squeezes her hand appreciatively.
"But then, just like how she punched her way into our lives in the very beginning - this proud, ferocious, beautiful earthbender punched her way into my heart." Toph's heart flutters again, feeling herself melt slightly - sometimes she forgets that Sokka is a natural poet.
"Toph." It's a simple word, but it communicates so much. A prompt for her to speak. An expression of all his love for her. A promise. A praise. A name.
"Hi, Yue. I'm Toph." She falters, uncertain as to how to continue.
"Just be yourself. She'll appreciate it." Sokka murmurs in her ear, quietly, gently.
Nodding, Toph continues, "So… I hope you're okay that I'm dating your boyfriend now."
She pauses for a moment. She swears that she feels a ripple - an affirmation - through her feet.
"I've heard a lot about you. You're a hero. You basically saved all our sorry asses…" Toph stops, feeling as though she shouldn't be this crass in front of a princess, let alone a spirit. "You saved us all. By giving up your only chance at living a happy life on this world."
"I… don't think I can do as much." Toph says, her gaze slowly lowering to the ground. "I just… I love life. I love the world. I love… I love Sokka. Too much to give it all up."
It's Sokka's turn to feel butterflies in his stomach now, listening to his usually brash and headstrong girlfriend explain her intimate thoughts.
"I won't say that I know you all that well. But if what I've heard is true, you wouldn't want me to sacrifice myself, anyway." Sokka looks at Toph questioningly. "You want Sokka to be happy, right?"
The moon seems to glow slightly brighter, all the sounds and sensations around the couple growing stronger - but not clashing. They blend together in a harmony of the night.
"I'll protect him." Toph vows, quietly. "He's a clumsy, silly, hopeless dunderhead - so I'll protect him. I'll keep him safe. Make sure he lives a long and happy life until he's gray."
The forest around them rustles from a sweet-scented breeze.
"I'm Toph Beifong, the world's greatest earthbender. It's the least I can do."
The distant forest stream gurgles its approval - and the forest falls silent once more.
Sokka smiles, exhaling deeply, fully relaxing his body. "Guess I was nervous for nothing. Should have had faith she would like you."
"Duh. I'm irresistible." A punch to his shoulder, firm, but communicating a million emotions. Toph leans into him, her breath tickling his cheek. "Time to live up to my promise…"
Sokka chuckles, and turns his head ever so slightly.
Their lips meet, their forms intertwine, and their silhouettes merge into one under the dappled moonlight.