A/N: I know I've been kind of off here lately but mostly working is getting in the way. This was written for the atla_crackfic comm over on lj and is for nuitsongeur. Part of this entirely comes from reading the entire Hunger Games series in a week. I'll be back with my regular pairing later...and possibly Hunger Games fics.
Disclaimer: Don't own.
He comes here at least once a week, looking for someone new to charm. He keeps his romances short, no attachments. He doesn't need some girl worrying about him all the time. He also didn't need someone there when he wakes thinking there had never been a war with the Fire Nation and he's safely living in Ba Sing Se almost all his life. He'd purposely moved to a new apartment right by the tower of Fire Nation tanks to act as a constant reminder. Such is his life in the Lower Ring.
He looks around for his next paramour only to see the familiar faces of girls who know better. About to give up he notices a girl sitting by herself in the corner. She's idly spinning a knife she's stuck into the table. He's not sure he would call her pretty from where he stands. Severe, he thinks, is a better word. Her nose is sharp, but not in an unflattering way, as is her chin. He's not entirely sure but he guesses he could draw a straight line with her bangs.
She would be a challenge. He likes challenges.
He saunters, not walks, over to her table. "Hey," he charms.
"Not interested," she drawls.
"You haven't even let me introduce myself. At least talk to me for a little."
She looks him up and down. Even her facial expressions were sharp though her eyes expressed little. "Fine."
"You must be new here. I'm Jet."
"Mai."
"That's such a pretty name," he takes her hand, the one not playing with the knife. "It fits a pretty girl like you."
Before he can even think, he feels the cool steal of her knife against his cheek. "If you touch me again, I'll have you stuck through with knives from your neck," she moves the knife slowly down; he's oddly turned on by this, "to your navel. I'm going to leave and you're not going to follow me. Understand?"
"Perfectly."
She takes the knife away from his neck and slips it up her sleeve before leaving.
He wants her.
The next day finds him wandering the Upper Ring after teaching a little rich child how to use twin hooks. Usually he just teaches a class at the school but wealthier clients, who sigh and huff that they have to bring their children to the Lower Ring to receive the best tutelage, do offer a rather large amount for him to go to them.
He thinks that the boy is improving and actually has some talent and would have gladly offered him a spot in the Freedom Fighters. If they still existed, if he could remember every morning that they ever existed.
He passes the Jasmine Dragon and stops. Tea does sound good. Entering the teashop, he tells the woman by the door that he's alone and she directs him to one of the smaller tables. He sits, leaning the hooks up against his seat. There's a menu but he decides jasmine tea would be best. He watches the servers glide between the tables. There's an old man surveying the place from the kitchen. He thinks he knows him but it's a faint recollection that may or may not be real. Maybe the man just has one of those faces everyone thinks they know.
"What would you like?" a bored voice asks. He turns to face the server only to see Mai.
"You work here?"
"Just order."
"I'll take that as a yes. Jasmine, for two."
"Expecting someone else?"
"You."
She stares him down. "Jasmine for one then." And she's gone.
Before long, she's back. She has two cups on her tray. "Joining me after all?"
"My boss thinks I should at least give it a try." She sits down.
"He's a good man."
"He meddles too much."
"Sounds like you know him as more than your boss."
"I grew up with him. He's my-" she falters, "friend's uncle."
"So he's your boyfriend's uncle?" He wants to kick himself.
"Ex-boyfriend's uncle and my friend's uncle." She doesn't offer more.
"And you still work here? Must be hard. Your ex probably comes in a lot then," he guesses.
"He lives far from here," she offers.
"You don't talk much do you?"
"I was told to keep quiet as a child." They sip their tea and he notices she still has knives up her sleeves.
"You always wear those?"
"Habit."
"Any good with them?" He knows what they are and he's pretty certain he knows the answer but he wants to get her to talk.
She huffs a laugh. At least he thinks it's a laugh. "More than you can imagine."
"Why don't you show me sometime? I'll show you what I can do," he picks up his hooks to entice her.
She looks like she's considering it. "Fine, but only because this place is boring."
He smiles. "Great! How does tomorrow sound?" He needs to keep to his one week limit. She nods. "Meet me outside the bar at midday."
They finish their tea and he reaches for his coins to pay but she waves her hand. "On the house." And she smiles.
He likes her smile.
Back in the Lower Ring the next day he's been waiting for longer than he wanted and is considering going home because maybe she just agreed to get rid of him.
"Sorry I'm late" even, hurrying she looks composed and sharp. "I had to help out this morning, one of the other waitresses over slept apparently."
He thinks she looks eager - this could be his in.
He offers her his arm. "We're going just around the corner." She hesitates before accepting and he feels her armband. They walk to his school silently.
He introduces her to his coworkers and helps set up a target for her in the yard. Then he watches her.
He's almost reminded of Katara's bending because Mai is so fluid with her throws and kicks (he'd never guessed she could do that). But where Katara's bending curves Mai's movements thrust and slices. He really likes watching her.
He helps her collect her knives, admiring the craftsmanship on most of them while listening to his colleague gush and beg her for lessons. "Where did you even learn how to do that?" The man Jet dearly wants to shout at for possibly hitting on his possible girl.
"The Fire Nation Academy for Girls," Mai answers.
He drops the stiletto he just pulled out. She's Fire Nation. How could he not notice she's Fire Nation? Now it's painfully obvious from her pale yellow eyes to her skin that is lighter than most Earth Kingdom citizens.
He shoves her knives into her arms and stalks away. She actually looks puzzled, he thinks, but he's sure he doesn't care.
He watches her again with a cool eye. She's precise, because she's Fire Nation. She's deadly, typical of the Fire Nation. She's cold, which is ironic that Fire Nation citizens are cold.
He'll take her back to wherever it is she's inhabiting and leave her there. He'll wash his hands of her.
His damned colleague asks if she can come back and teach him just how she does it. She smiles a little (he makes sure he doesn't think of how much it changes her face) and agrees.
Now she's looking at him with a question in her eyes. "Are you all right?"
"Fine, just fine. I'll take you home."
"What, no flirty 'I'll take you for a drink' or 'how about we go to my place'?" He thinks she's actually enjoying his company now.
"Do you want me to take you back or do you want to get there on your own?"
She hardens her expression. Good, he thinks. "What's your problem Jet?"
"You're Fire Nation," he states.
"So?" she drawls.
"So? So? Why are you even in Ba Sing Se? Shouldn't you be plotting how to try to take over the world again or how to destroy your own people? Or is that why you're here? Ba Sing Se isn't going to fall again if I have to stop you myself!" he shouts.
She folds her arms across her chest and sighs. "I've already done that."
"Which part?"
"The taking over Ba Sing Se part. I helped," she says. He glares at her. "And I'm not sure if I'm sorry for what I did. But I'm tired of being the good little girl my parents want me to be so I'm here. I don't really miss the Fire Nation right now, in fact I was kind of tired of it by the time I left."
"How do I know you're not lying?"
"My friend always lies, I make it a point to always try to tell the truth."
He considers her for a moment. "Why aren't you sorry?"
"Because taking over Ba Sing Se was actually exciting. Would I do it again? No."
He's not sure how to respond to that. She's intriguing and he really wants to know more but he's not sure he can trust her. "If you're going to blow me off because I'm Fire Nation just tell me now." He really wishes he saw that coming.
"I'm not-"
"Yes, you are. You're thinking about it. You're just as bad as people in the Fire Nation who think the Earth Kingdom is full of idiots and the Water Tribes are full of barbarians."
He's stunned. "Prove me wrong then."
"What?"
"Prove to me you're different."
"You already know I am."
He does, but he doesn't want to tell her that. She kept too much to herself at the bar; she should have acted like she owned the place. She's working, in a teashop, and it seems she doesn't have to. She agreed to teach others how to use her weapon of choice. The Fire Nation is full of secrets and a lust for power. She's been honest.
"Why me?" he asks. "Before you seemed eager to push me away."
"You're persistent. I like that. You wanted to see me throw. No one's ever asked me to show them before."
He tries not to smile and fails. "I guess there's a first time for everything. How about I show you my place now?" He flirts.
"Ha ha. How about you walk me to the Upper Ring first. Then we'll see about a drink and when I can come back here," she quips.
She's still a challenge, he thinks and he's not sure if he wants to hear about her life in the Fire Nation but he's just intrigued enough to give her a shot. He thinks she's worth more than a week.
Reviews are always appreciated.