Work Text:
### **Desktop Notifications and Mixed Signals**
Sokka’s workspace was an optimized fortress of productivity. He had dual monitors, a color-coded mechanical keyboard that clacked with maximum authority, and a designated drawer for high-tier snacks. He was the Operations and Logistics Specialist at Northern & Southern Marketing Solutions. If something needed to get from point A to point B, or if a budget spreadsheet needed to be whipped into submission, Sokka was the guy.
He was a man of science, logic, and schedules.
Which was why it was highly inefficient that his eyes kept darting to the left monitor, specifically to the Slack channel #office-general, and more specifically to the green active dot next to Ty Lee’s name.
Ty Lee was officially the firm’s front-desk coordinator, but unofficially, she was the emotional glue holding the entire office together. She was the one who ordered the good donuts on Fridays, organized the birthday cards, and could somehow convince the grumpy IT department to fix a printer just by doing a handstand in their doorway. She was a burst of pink and endless optimism in a sea of beige cubicles.
And for the last three weeks, she had been dating Jet.
Jet was a consultant from a rival firm who occasionally dropped by to "collaborate" on regional accounts. Sokka hated him. He hated his stupid asymmetrical haircut. He hated the way he leaned against the breakroom counter like he owned the place. Most of all, he hated the way Ty Lee laughed at Jet’s jokes—jokes that weren't even funny. They were just smug. Sokka was the funny one in the office. It was literally in his unspoken job description.
A sharp *clack* snapped Sokka out of his spiraling thoughts. Suki, the head of Quality Assurance, was leaning over his cubicle wall, tossing a stress ball from hand to hand.
"You’re staring again," Suki said, her tone level and entirely unimpressed.
"I am not staring," Sokka said, his fingers flying across his keyboard to open a completely random, highly complex spreadsheet to look busy. "I am reviewing Q3 projections. It takes intense focus."
"Sokka, you're looking at a blank Excel sheet and you have a piece of lint stuck to your forehead." Suki rolled her eyes, leaning her elbows on the partition. "If you're so jealous of Jet, why don't you just ask her out? He’s not even that great. I saw him leave a completely empty coffee pot on the burner yesterday. Red flag."
"I am not *jealous*," Sokka hissed, dropping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I am merely concerned for office morale. Jet is a disruptor. And I can't just 'ask her out.' We are co-workers. There are HR implications! Katara works in accounting downstairs, Suki! Do you know what she would do to me if I caused an HR incident? She’d audit my life."
"Uh-huh," Suki said, not buying a single word. "Well, your 'concern for office morale' is making you typos-per-minute rate skyrocket. Fix your face. She’s coming over here."
Sokka’s internal panic button was pressed immediately. He scrambled to close the spreadsheet, accidentally opened a tab of a recipe for smoked brisket, and by the time he looked up, Ty Lee was standing at the entrance of his cubicle. She was wearing a bright pastel sweater that completely defied the corporate dress code, holding a stack of freshly printed folders against her chest.
"Hi, Sokka! Hi, Suki!" she chirped, practically vibrating with her usual cheer. "I have the finalized intake forms for the new Earth Kingdom accounts. Sokka, since you're the master of scheduling, I wanted to make sure these get inputted before the weekend."
"Ty Lee! My favorite... inputter of forms," Sokka stammered, his voice cracking slightly. He cleared his throat aggressively, trying to channel 'confident corporate executive' but likely landing closer to 'anxious Victorian child.' "Yes. Put them in the... the bin. The inbox bin. Which is on my desk. For inputs."
Ty Lee blinked her wide, blue eyes, her smile faltering just a tiny fraction. "Are you okay? You sound a little... mechanical."
"He’s fine," Suki chimed in helpfully. "He’s just deeply invested in Q3."
"Oh, good! Because I wanted to ask—" Ty Lee started, but she was cut off by the sharp, distinct chime of her phone vibrating in her pocket. She pulled it out, looked at the screen, and a massive, glowing smile broke across her face. "Oh! It’s Jet. He’s downstairs. He brought me one of those iced matcha lattes with the oat milk foam."
Sokka’s stomach did a miserable little flip. "Wow. Thrilling. A true modern romance. Brought to you by corporate coffee chains."
Ty Lee’s smile dimmed a bit more, her head tilting to the side. "Are you sure you're not mad at me, Sokka? You've been kind of short with me all week. If I messed up one of the scheduling sheets, you can just tell me! I promise I didn't mean to."
"No! No, no, everything is perfect. The sheets are sublime. Incredible sheets," Sokka said, overcompensating wildly. He looked down at his desk, unable to meet her eyes because the jealousy was currently eating a hole through his ribs. "I'm just busy. Super busy. Gotta crunch numbers. You should go get your... foam."
Ty Lee hesitated, looking like she wanted to say something else, but her phone buzzed again. "Okay. Well... let me know if you need help with those forms!" She gave a small, uncharacteristically subdued wave and walked away toward the elevators.
Suki smacked Sokka on the shoulder with her stress ball.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"For being an absolute disaster at communication," Suki said, shaking her head. "You basically told her to get lost."
"I did not! I told her to get her foam!" Sokka groaned, slamming his forehead onto his desk, narrowly missing his keyboard. "I can't do this. I'm a man of action, Suki. But every time I look at her, I think about Jet’s stupid leather jacket and my brain shorts out."
"Go get professional help," Suki advised, turning to walk back to her own desk. "And by professional, I mean go talk to someone who isn't me, because I have actual work to do."
Ten minutes later, Sokka was pacing the floor of the 4th-floor breakroom. He needed a sounding board. Someone objective. Someone who understood the complex web of office dynamics but wasn't directly involved in his day-to-day suffering.
Naturally, he sought out Zuko, the Junior Vice President of Risk Management.
Zuko’s office was at the end of the hall. He had scored a corner office mostly because his uncle, Iroh, was the senior partner of the entire firm, but Zuko worked himself to the bone to prove he wasn't just a nepotism hire. He was currently staring intensely at a computer screen, a scowl etched so deeply into his forehead it looked permanent.
Sokka didn't knock. He just walked in, shut the door, and slumped into one of the leather visitor chairs.
"Zuko. My life is an unmitigated disaster."
Zuko didn't look up from his monitor. "Sokka, I am currently reviewing a compliance report that makes me want to jump out of this window. Whatever it is, make it quick."
"It’s Ty Lee," Sokka said, throwing his arms out. "And Jet. Mainly Jet. But mostly my inability to speak like a normal human being around her anymore because my chest feels like it’s being squeezed by a giant, territorial python-vulture."
Zuko finally paused his typing. He slowly turned his head to look at Sokka. He blinked once. Twice. "Is this... a medical emergency? Do I need to call HR?"
"No, it’s a *romantic* emergency!" Sokka despaired. "I like her, Zuko! I’ve liked her since the holiday party when we got stuck talking about the optimal strategy for a zombie apocalypse for two hours. But now she’s dating Jet, and I’m acting like a weird, passive-aggressive gremlin, and she thinks I’m mad at her about spreadsheets!"
Zuko stared at him for a long, agonizing moment. He reached into his desk drawer, pulled out a stress-relief tea bag, and just looked at it like it might contain the answers to the universe.
"I don't know anything about that," Zuko said flatly.
"What do you mean you don't know anything about that? You’re in a relationship! You successfully courted a human woman!"
"Mai and I have been dating since high school," Zuko said, leaning back in his chair. "Our communication strategy consists of sitting in the same room in silence until one of us decides we want to get food. I am the wrong person to ask for advice on 'feelings' and 'talking.'"
Sokka let out a long, pathetic whine. "Zuko, please. Give me something. A shred of wisdom. You’re an executive!"
"If you want information on Ty Lee, you’re talking to the wrong person anyway," Zuko said, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "She and Mai have been best friends since they were literal children. Mai knows everything about her. If you want to know what’s going on in Ty Lee’s head, ask Mai."
Sokka froze. "Ask Mai? The Mai? The woman who handles corporate restructuring and looks like she could kill a man with a look of mild inconvenience?"
"She’s in the creative department on the third floor," Zuko said, already turning back to his monitor. "Go away, Sokka. And close the door behind you."
The third floor was entirely different from Sokka’s orderly domain. It was the marketing and design department, which meant there were beanbag chairs, walls painted in accent colors, and an overwhelming amount of modern art.
Mai’s office was tucked away in the back, away from the natural sunlight. When Sokka walked in, she was sitting at her desk, spinning a sleek silver pen between her fingers, looking thoroughly bored by a graphic design layout on her screen.
"Zuko sent me," Sokka blurted out before he could lose his nerve.
Mai didn't even look startled. She just stopped spinning the pen and leveled her dark eyes at him. "Let me guess. You’re losing your mind because Ty Lee is dating Jet, and instead of using your words like an adult, you’ve been acting like a broken vending machine."
Sokka gasped, clutching his chest. "Did she talk to you? Am I a broken vending machine?!"
"Ty Lee text bombed me during her lunch break," Mai said, her voice a flat, melodic monotone. "She thinks you hate her. She thinks she did something wrong on the regional project tracking forms. She was very upset. When Ty Lee is upset, she does backflips in the hallway, and it’s very distracting."
Sokka slid into the chair opposite her desk, suddenly feeling very small. "I don't hate her. I’m just... it’s stupid. Jet is just so... smug. And they’re always together, and I missed my chance, and now I’ve ruined our friendship because I can’t handle seeing her with someone else."
Mai let out a long, slow sigh. She leaned forward, resting her chin in her hand. "Sokka. You are supposed to be the smart one in your department."
"I am! I revolutionized the filing system!"
"Then use your brain," Mai said. "Ty Lee isn’t dating Jet."
Sokka stopped mid-defense. He blinked. "What?"
"They aren't dating," Mai repeated, sounding incredibly exhausted by the mere fact that she had to explain this. "Jet is her cousin’s ex-boyfriend. He’s trying to get back into the family’s good graces because he ruined Thanksgiving last year, so he’s been bringing Ty Lee coffee and trying to get her to pitch him to her uncle for a job opening. Ty Lee is too nice to tell him to go away."
Sokka’s brain completely stalled out. The gears ground to a screeching halt. "He’s... he’s not her boyfriend?"
"No."
"The matcha lattes?"
"Bribery."
"The laughing at his jokes?"
"She was being polite because she’s pathologically incapable of being mean to people," Mai said, clicking her mouse to close her project layout. "Meanwhile, she’s been trying to ask you to go to that weird trivia night at the brewery down the street for two weeks, but every time she approaches your desk, you start talking about 'inputs' and looking at her like she’s a federal auditor."
Sokka sat there, entirely speechless. The absolute mountain of anxiety he had built over the last month crumbled into dust in a matter of seconds. He had wasted weeks being a passive-aggressive nightmare over a guy who was literally just trying to recover from a bad Thanksgiving incident.
"I am an idiot," Sokka whispered.
"Completely," Mai agreed. "Now get out of my office. Your chaotic energy is ruining my aesthetic."
Sokka didn't just walk back to the 5th floor; he practically sprinted. He bypassed his cubicle entirely, ignored Suki, who raised an eyebrow at him as he flew past, and marched straight toward the reception desk at the front of the office.
Ty Lee was there, sorting through a fresh delivery of mail. She looked up when she heard his frantic footsteps, her shoulders tensing slightly.
"Sokka? Is everything okay? Is there a scheduling emergency?"
"No," Sokka said, breathing a bit heavily. He stopped right in front of her desk, gripping the edge of the counter. "No emergency. Well, actually, yes, a personal emergency. Me. I’m the emergency."
Ty Lee set the mail down, her expression shifting from cautious to genuinely worried. "What's wrong?"
"I’m an idiot," Sokka said honestly, throwing caution to the wind. "I’ve been acting like a weird, territorial, broken vending machine for three weeks, and it’s not because of the regional project forms. The forms are beautiful. You are a goddess of data entry."
A tiny, tentative smile tugged at the corner of Ty Lee’s mouth. "Then why have you been so grumpy with me?"
"Because I thought you were dating Jet," Sokka blurted out, the truth spilling out of him in a rush. "And I was incredibly, horribly jealous. Because I don't want Jet to buy you matcha lattes. I want to buy you matcha lattes. Or regular coffee. Or take you to that trivia night at the brewery that Mai told me you wanted to go to. I like you, Ty Lee. Like, a lot. And my brain completely stopped working because I thought I missed my chance."
The office lobby went incredibly quiet for a second. Somewhere in the background, a printer hummed, but Sokka couldn't focus on anything except the way Ty Lee’s eyes widened, a bright, rosy pink flushing across her cheeks.
"You... you like me?" she asked softly.
"I am wildly, embarrassingly into you," Sokka confirmed, his hands gesturing wildly. "I have a whole plan for a zombie apocalypse defense strategy that requires two people, Ty Lee. I can't do it alone. The logistics don't work out."
Suddenly, Ty Lee let out a joyful, bubbling laugh that made Sokka’s chest instantly loosen. She leaned over the desk, her eyes sparkling. "Jet? Oh my gosh, Sokka, Jet is a nightmare. He wore sunglasses indoors during a Zoom meeting yesterday. I would never date him!"
"Yeah? Good. Excellent. That’s a massive relief for my internal metrics," Sokka breathed, a massive grin finally breaking across his own face.
"And for the record," Ty Lee said, reaching across the counter to lightly tap his hand, "I’ve been wanting to go to trivia with you for ages. But you have to promise you won't bring a clipboard."
"I make no promises about stationery," Sokka countered, his confidence rushing back in full force. "But I do promise to win us the first-place prize. I know a terrifying amount of trivia about medieval siege weapons."
"It’s a date," Ty Lee beamed.
From across the lobby, near the elevators, Suki was standing with a coffee mug in her hand. She caught Sokka’s eye, gave him a slow, approving nod, and muttered, "Finally," before stepping into the elevator.
Sokka didn't care. His Q3 outlook had just improved by roughly one thousand percent.