This was written for taliaxlatia on tumblr, who requested Maikka for the crack scenario game. It was meant to be super short, but I got carried away hahaha. Hope you enjoy.
Kiss, Kiss (if you dare)
Mai smothered a yawn with her hand. Fifteen minutes left before her shift was over and she could leave this pink monstrosity of a kissing booth. (And tear off her equally pink shirt bearing the legend, Kiss, Kiss, Save the Racoosloths, complete with fuzzy animal drawing.) Not that she had wanted to take a shift in the first place. Kissing people for charity was not her style. Ty Lee, however, had organised everything. Ty Lee had also been called away for an Azula-sized emergency. Mai, reluctant but cursed with a loyal streak, had agreed to fill in for her friend. (At a high cost, though. Ty Lee would be shouting her fruit tarts for the next millennium.)
A boy wearing Earth Kingdom green dared to approach the booth. He had green eyes and long brown hair and was aesthetically kind of cute, if puppycubs were your thing, but all Mai could see was the moustache. A caterpillarslug of brown crawling on his lip. It probably moved when he talked. It would touch her if she kissed him.
Gross.
Mai picked up one of her many knives and twirled it round and round, then was sure to train her eyes on him in a death glare. Moustached Puppycub flinched, hesitated, and then spun round on his heel and marched off in the other direction. Her lips curved the smallest amount. That was the tenth boy she'd scared off.
This was actually kind of amusing.
She placed her knife back down and waited for the next idiot to be lured by the pink frills and kissy faces covering the booth. (She did not feel guilty about chasing away the customers, as Ty Lee had already made more than enough cash. Also, Mai did not waste her time—or her lips—on those who were not worthy.)
"Oh, wow! A kissing booth!"
The excited, and all too familiar voice, made her still. Sure enough, the Avatar, Loudmouth Boomerang Boy, and Dirt Brat walked over.
"Hi, Mai!" the Avatar said brightly.
"Avatar," she greeted in a flat tone.
Loudmouth Boomerang Boy grinned. "Quick, someone grab me a paper, quill, and ink."
"Why?" the Avatar asked.
"Because I need to capture this in picture forever."
Dirt Brat snorted. "As if it would matter. Rocks draw better than you."
Dull colour bloomed on his cheeks. "What would you know? You're blind!"
"I have ears."
Mai glared at them. "You're too noisy. If you're not here to pay and kiss up, you can leave."
"I don't think Katara would be very happy if I kissed another person," the Avatar said, "not even for charity. I'll give you money for the racoosloths, though! I love racoosloths!" He grabbed a handful of copper and silver pieces from his pocket and put them in the jar.
"Thanks …"
Dirt Brat picked her nose and flicked the snot behind her. "I have no interest in kissing Knife Girl. I'm gonna go beat up some knuckleheads at the bending tournament. Come on, Twinkletoes, you come too."
"But—"
The Avatar was whisked away, leaving Loudmouth Boomerang Boy standing at the booth.
Mai raised her eyebrow. "Plan on standing there all evening?"
He propped his elbows on the booth, leaning closer to her level. "Tell me, do you really kiss anyone who pays up?"
"Yes." Her lips curved the teeniest amount. "But only if I let them get money in there first."
"And how many have you let pay?"
"None."
A gleam entered his eyes. The next moment there was a series of clinks as a few silver pieces fell into the jar, the exact amount for a kiss.
Mai's eyes narrowed. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I paid. That means you have to kiss me now, right?"
His grin was too smug, like he expected her to shy off. Idiot probably planned to tease her about it as well. (And, unlike the good old days, she couldn't avoid these people anymore. Ty Lee and Zuko were friends with them. Maybe even she was … a little.)
What a pain.
She stood up and grabbed his collar, earning a small meep and wide eyes from him. "Moisten your lips."
"Huh?"
She rolled her eyes and dragged him in, pressing her lips against his. Chapped, just as she knew they would be. Ugh. Her tongue traced the seam of his mouth—just to make it feel nicer, of course—and he made a muffled sound. Their lips slanted and parted, all tingles and silky caresses. Unexpected flutters stirred within her. His hand skimmed her cheek. His fingers dug into her hair.
She might have made a soft sound.
Mai pulled back, tugging on his bottom lip slightly with her teeth. "There," she said, and hoped her face was not as pink as it felt.
The idiot's mouth was still hanging open. He looked dazed, like someone had come up behind him and hit him with his own boomerang. That was kind of flattering.
"Th-that was … um, wow." He took a step backwards and almost knocked over a sign. "You, um, you keep up the good work, Mai. Save the racoosloths. Yeah."
He scuttled off to into the crowd of festival goers. She sat back on her chair and gave a satisfied, tiny smile. Maybe it wasn't a bad thing he'd managed to pay.