Ends of the Earth [2] (Sokka x Reader)

1~ Avatar State, Yip Yip!

The rocking of a boat in the ocean wasn't something foreign to (Y/n). She spent two years on Zuko's ship. The slow movements on smooth water could help ease her to sleep, and she learned to sleep through the rocky waters; though her stomach dropped with each movement.

But she couldn't fall asleep now.

Maybe it was the vision of Yue that visited her in her dreams almost every night, or maybe it was the feeling of Sokka's body shaking against her own, unable to stop his tears. Maybe it was the feeling that she could have prevented it all, or the feeling that she couldn't hold everything together afterwards.

For whatever reason it was, she only fell asleep for minutes at a time, and woke up in a cold sweat each time.

The familiar rocking of the boat wasn't enough to lull her to sleep, like a baby that refused to be rocked by its mother.

(Y/n) and her friends slept in the hold of a Northern Water Tribe ship. Aang and (Y/n) slept in two hammocks that were stacked like bunk beds, with Aang on the top, and (Y/n) on the bottom. Sokka and Katara were next to them, their beds stacked the same way.

(Y/n) felt the hammock above her jolt as Aang gasped himself awake. He was breathing heavily, probably reeling from a nightmare. He jumped to the ground, and climbed the ladder up to the deck of the ship.

"Aang?" Katara whispered. She quietly got up from her bed and followed him.

(Y/n) groaned, rubbing her face, wishing that she could just fall asleep. The groan might have been a little loud, because another groan responded back.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" (Y/n) mumbled, looking up to Sokka's hammock.

"No, I was already awake. Can't sleep." Sokka said, turning to her and letting his arm hang off the side of his hammock.

"Me either." All (Y/n) wanted was to be asleep. She had barely slept over the last few days, probably totalling to about one hours worth combined.

"You haven't been sleeping lately," Sokka said. "Everything okay?"

(Y/n) cleared her throat. "Yeah. Yeah, everything's fine," She wanted to switch the topic off of her. If she told him all the reasons why she was upset, she'd break down. "Why can't you sleep?"

"I don't know," She saw the outline of Sokka shrug. His hair was loose from his ponytail, and it swung in front of his eyes. "Thinking, I guess."

There was a moment of silence between them, until she heard Sokka get out of his bed. He clumsily jumped to the ground, and cuddled into Katara's bed, which was right next to (Y/n)'s.

They faced each other, without any words. Sokka's eyes were bright, but tired.

The longer he looked at (Y/n), the more he saw. Her eyes were tired, like she had been worrying so much that her brain just shut down. Being awake any longer wouldn't do her much good.

Sokka held out his hand in the space between them, and she looked at it curiously.

"Come on." Sokka said, waving his hand around a bit.

She held out her hand, and he took it. They had bridged the space between them. He took his other hand and traced her scar up her arm.

They fell asleep that way, hand in hand, and they both had gotten the most sleep they had in days.

••

Even just the simplest touch with Sokka was enough to knock her out for the whole night. She slept longer than anyone else, and her hand was dangling out of the hammock when she woke. Everyone else had gone up to eat breakfast, so she decided to join them.