Archive of Our Own

But he's a bit loopy today, after having stayed up the whole night working on his final for his architecture class. He hasn’t slept in over thirty-two hours and his brain-to-mouth filter is completely gone at this point. So when he passes by the cafe that is usually so busy he never can go inside, now graciously empty because they’ve just opened, Sokka decides to go. It was 6 AM and if Sokka is cursed enough to be awake at this hour, he might as well treat himself while he was at it. When he sees the cashier, his first thought is, Tui and La, he’s so pretty. His second thought is, I will order whatever drink takes the longest to make so I can admire him for as long as possible.

“Your longest, please,” he states very confidently, strolling up to the cash register. The cashier stares at him, mouth agape. Fuck, did Sokka accidentally say out loud how pretty he thought he was? That would've been awkward.

“You think I’m pretty?” The cashier asks, astounded, his eyes wide as if he’s never heard that before. Which is impossible, because this guy looks like he belongs on the cover of Vogue or something. His voice, too, Agni. It's raspy in all the right ways. Seriously, no way this guy is single. He's the perfect specimen, really.

Sokka’s eyes widen as he realizes that most of his inner thoughts are quickly being spoken aloud to this beautiful stranger before he could stop them. Determined to stop making a fool of himself, he quickly says, “One large coffee with cream and sugar,” before striding to a window seat far from the register.

The cashier is still staring at him, now looking more amused than flustered. “Um, you didn’t pay.” 

Sokka groans. When will his humiliation end? He gets up and quickly taps his card, feeling his eyes start to drift to take in the contents of the coffee shop as his mind wanders. 

This time, after paying, he takes a seat that gives him a perfect view of the till so he could shamelessly watch the cashier make his drink. He's helpless to pretty faces and nice-sounding voices, okay? The man has shaggy black hair that seems to frame the harsh edges of his face well, giving him a softer look. He has a burn that covers half his face, and eyes so hazel they practically look gold. He's wearing a baggy t-shirt under the apron that barely conceals the muscles Sokka could see underneath. Honestly, shout out to Sokka for having eagle-eye observation even with so little sleep. Sleep deprivation’s got nothing on a bisexual man with needs. When the cashier brings him his drink, Sokka is able to make out the name tag. 

“Lee,” he reads aloud. For some reason, the cashier—no, Lee—looks very confused before nodding in recognition.

“Yep, that’s uh, me, Lee. Let me know if you need anything else.”

Sokka takes slow, small sips of his coffee, letting the caffeine slowly filter through his body and wake him up. He watches as the cafe slowly began to fill up, and admires Lee’s calm demeanor through the morning rush.

At one point, Lee stops by to take his drink. That isn't necessary, Sokka knows, but he appreciates the extra facetime with him now that he's more cohesive. “Thanks, handsome,” he inclines his head with one of his signature panty-dropping winks. Lee flushes and nearly drops the cup and saucer. But he recovers quicker than Sokka expected, returning back to his stoic demeanor with a polite nod and a “Have a nice day” that is noticeably cooler than the way he spoke to him before. Sokka frowns, not expecting that reaction. Well, he'll just have to come back again and ask for his number next time, even if it means waiting in line for an hour. It would be worth the wait.

 
Over the next few months, Sokka is shameless in his flirting with Lee. He doesn't ever visit that early again, thank Agni, because that means he's finally able to sleep in and not be up at ungodly hours anymore. At least, not until the next finals period, but there's still some time until then so Sokka will live in denial and pretend he can live like this forever. 

He uses a variety of horrible pick-up lines on Lee, calls him handsome or hottie or sexy and never by his name, tips generously, and all-around makes his interest in him very, very clear. Yet Lee is confusingly unreceptive, blushing when he sees him but then immediately sobering up once Sokka speaks. Maybe Sokka's voice is just really annoying? He's gotten that before, but mostly from the assholes in his class who didn't like how much he participated. He figured when they were saying it, it was more commentary on what Sokka was saying, but hey, maybe he has a terrible vocal fry and no one was brave enough to tell him before.

He asks Toph. Not because she's blind and therefore automatically judges him by his voice over his charmingly good looks, but because she would never miss up on the opportunity to critique somebody, which is both the best and worst thing about her. 

"Does my voice sound annoying?" He asks while they're working on homework together in Katara and Aang's kitchen. 

"Nah, it doesn’t. Now, the words that come out of your mouth, that's where the trouble really begins," Toph grins, painfully flicking his ear for no reason. "The solution is to just never speak at all! I think we would all be happier that way."

"I wasn't looking for solutions but thanks, Toph," Sokka grumbles. So it's the content of his words. But does Sokka really want to be with the kind of guy who doesn't like cheesy pick-up lines and dad jokes? Boring.

The answer is yes because the guy in question is so breathtaking Sokka is determined to not let him get away. He waits till the end of the day when the shop is about to close and Lee is halfway through turning the sign from Open to Closed, and then he walks in. 

"We're closed," Lee says, his head tilted in confusion. Tui and La, he's so cute.

"I know, I know, I'm here to talk to you," Sokka responds. Lee turns slightly pink at this. 

"W-what about?" He stammers out.

Sokka smiles, stepping closer. "I like you. I think I've made that pretty clear. Would you go on a date with me?"

Instead of answering his question, Lee counters with another, a small frown on his perfect face. "You don't know me. How can you like me?"

Sokka was not expecting that response. He's been visiting this shop for months, of course, he knows him! He says exactly that, throwing his hands up in the air. He's still trying to figure out what words are making Lee uncomfortable, but so far, everything he's said has been received well. He starts to speak slower, carefully watching Lee to see his reaction to each word.

"You're thoughtful. You always give Mr. Chen an extra biscuit for him to give to his husband. You somehow plan your baking schedule out so that the diabetic desserts are always fresh when Mrs. Wang visits. You notice things. You smile at people who look like they need it, and I swear your smile fills up a room because it's so rare and beautiful—" There. He hears the smallest intake of breath at Sokka's words, specifically when he says "beautiful." 

Sokka plows on. "You're beautiful! You're literal sex on a stick and you look like you walked off the set of GQ but honestly, you're way hotter than all the men on their spread combined." He pauses, noting the way Lee has slightly stiffened. He thinks of what he just said that he's said to Lee before. He called him hot and sexy. Hm. Sokka digs up a memory from the day he met Lee and the way Lee had flushed so prettily when he had said—

"Pretty." There, there's that flush again. "You're so pretty and beautiful and gorgeous and literally I will pull out a thesaurus if I have to but anyways, my point is, yes, I really do like you, so please go out with me?"

Lee smiles, the one that Sokka gets to see him give to customers once in a blue moon, but never directed towards him. Experiencing the full force of his smile is breathtaking, and Sokka revels in it. "Yes, I'll go out with you," Lee answers, placing a kiss on Sokka's cheek, and wow, when did he even get that close?

"But the first thing I have to tell you," he says, with a slightly guilty smile. "My name is actually Zuko."

"What the fuck?"