You 'ard Enough?

June sauntered into her bar, two strings of cash looped around her neck. The rest of the bounty had already been put into the coffers of her favorite banker in Omashu; the sakks were tucked into the hidden pouch of Nyla's saddle-bags. If someone somehow got past her shirshu and found them without alerting her, they deserved the damn things.

There wasn't a table free in the place. She shrugged, picked the one she liked best, and kicked over the chair of the only guy sitting there.

"-the fuck?" Big guy, Fire Nation accent. Looked like he'd been hit a few times by the ugly stick as a kid, and he was staring at her like he couldn't quite believe that just happened.

"You picked the wrong table," June said, pulling out the other chair. "Hey, Chan! Get me a dark!"

The bartender waved an acknowledgment. Good man.

She leaned back and kicked up her feet on the table. Her chair creaked alarmingly, but the only time she'd ever seen any of Chan's furniture break was over someone's head.

The guy got to his feet and picked up his chair. Big guy. Taller than Omashu's resident crazy old man, damn. Not as broad-shouldered as some earthbenders she'd met, though he didn't seem to go for the usual Fire Nation thing where exposed skin was evil. His clothes actually showed off his arms.

Nice arms, too.

He sat the chair down across from her with a deliberate clatter and planted himself in it. Then his heels hit the table hard enough to make it shake and nearly upset her balance.

Oh, wasn't that cute?

"Don't see your name on it," he growled.

June grinned and tapped her heel against one of the many characters carved into the table. "You didn't look hard enough."

The guy scowled down at the character for 'falcon'. "June?"

"The one and only."

"Never heard of you."

She laughed. "You're Fire Nation. Why in the hells would you have ever heard of me?"

He scowled, and Chan brought her the dark she'd asked for. The mug felt cool against her mouth as she took a long drink, and she'd missed Chan's brews. Ba Sing Se, Omashu, the desert, the Fire Nation colonies... None of them had lagers like Chan kept on tap.

"Don't break my bar," the green-eyed man said like he thought she would listen. "Don't you either, Fire Nation."

"I gotta name," the guy grumbled as Chan left. "Chit Sang."

June shrugged. "Never heard of you."

"I sure as shit hope not!" Chit Sang shook his head like a hedgedog with a particularly hard-won bone. He puffed out his chest a bit. "Why do you think I'm all the way out here?"

"Don't know, don't care."

His shoulders sagged. "... Right."

June grinned and leaned back to drain her beer. "So," she said, setting the mug down and thunking her chair's front legs back down to the floor. "Want to arm-wrestle?"

Chit Sang looked her over and snorted. "Nah. Too good a night to make a pretty girl sad."

Momma always said 'big and dumb' was the best sort of man. Poppa always rolled his eyes and muttered about how he wasn't big or dumb, which was why she'd had a kid with him. June smirked and pitched her voice to carry. "You think you can beat me, Chit Sang?"

Heads came up all around the bar. People began to grin, and June heard the murmur of bets being placed.

Chit Sang noticed the change in the atmosphere immediately and scowled at her. Then his feet thudded back to the floor, and he leaned forward to offer his arm. "Your funeral."

June just smiled.

As soon as she grabbed his hand, she knew he wasn't taking her seriously. Insulting, but hey, that just meant it'd hurt all the more when she slammed his hand down on the table.

His eyes narrowed as soon as she began to push, and she saw him re-evaluate her- and the moment when he realized his grip was all wrong if he wanted to have a chance in any of the hells. He still tried, though, so it was harder to slam his hand down than she'd expected. Apparently the muscles weren't just for show.

He didn't let go of her hand, and her eyes narrowed.

"You Fire Nation?" A grin tugged at the edge of his mouth.

Why did men always think that? Was it the tattoo? Red wasn't the exclusive preserve of the Fire Nation, and nothing else about her said mixed-blood, much less Fire Nation. "My father was Zhan Barleycorn."

He looked blank, and she wondered briefly why she'd expected a Fire Nation man to recognize an Earth Kingdom drinking song.

"I'm all Earth," she replied, digging her fingers into his hand.

"You sure?" he said. "'Cause you're hot."

June laughed. It just burst out of her - she'd heard a lot of doozies over the years, but this one! She liked this guy. Anyone who could pull off that kind of stupid joke with that sort of grin that says 'I know this is dumb, but I want to say it' without laughing...

Well, she wouldn't kick them in the head for it.

He grinned, and his thumb rubbed over the back of her hand.

She glanced down at where he still hadn't let go of their clasp then smirked. "You think you're up for it?"

"I can satisfy any woman," he boasted. "You'll be worn out by the time I'm done."

Big and dumb! Momma was right. "You promise?"

"Damn straight."

June leaned forward, still grinning. "I'll hold you to that, Chit Sang."

"As long as you hold that body against me," he leered.

Her grin became toothy. "You know what they say about the stamina of Earth Kingdom men? Double it for an Earth Kingdom woman."

A panicked look crossed his face, and she tightened her grip on his hand.

"No backing out now," she purred. "I want a good time."

-End-