Work Text:
It had been a bad idea from the start. Mai should be at the banquet hall right now. Instead, she's sitting on the stained floor of a motel bathroom in the middle of nowhere trying to bleach her best friend's hair. She doesn't have a single clue why they're here and Yue refuses to tell her.
It's been hours since she left her father's dinner party. Azula and Ty Lee promised to cover for her, but Mai can't shake off her nerves. God, what would happen to his political career if someone found them here? What would happen to Arnook's? Her stomach ties itself a new knot.
Mai was going to get through the night like she always has; speaking when spoken to, forcing a smile when they bring out the cameras, and sitting by Azula and Ty Lee the entire time. Their families had been allies long before any of them learned how to walk- well, except for Azula, but Azula had always been a step ahead of everyone, literally and figuratively- and the trio was always grouped together on seating charts. Mai hadn't counted on was one of the workers telling her someone was waiting for her outside. Mai hadn't counted on receiving a dozen missed calls from Yue when she eventually checked her phone either. Standing outside the banquet hall, Yue stood there teary-eyed in pajamas, barely coherent, asking her to come with her god knows where. Mai steps into her car without a second thought, only thinking to ask Ty Lee and Azula to cover for her after they've sped off.
Mai and Yue always knew they were different from the start. Who would they be if it weren't for the piercing stares from relatives? What would shape them into proper ladies if not only being allowed to sit still and speak when spoken to? They weren't allowed to have their own opinions, better yet their own agency- she can hear her father laugh at the thought of her doing something like this. They'd taught-more like trained- her better, but she'd never seen Yue like this. She can picture Azula scowl and call her an idiot for tossing away her basic self-preservation instincts out the window like this, but whatever will happen when she gets back home can wait. This is more important.
"Are you getting all of it?" Yue asks as she reads the back of the box dye. Sectioning her hair took an hour, and bleaching it feels like it'll take even longer. There's just so much hair. "Do you think Find My Friends is still on?"
"Yes, and also if you check now, it'll be the fifth time in ten minutes," Mai says as she unties a section of Yue's hair. Yue checks anyways. She can't blame her, it's not unreasonable to assume that Arnook would work his way around something like that.
"I'm sorry," Yue sighs, setting the box away. She brings her knees to her chest and hugs them tight. "I can't help it."
Mai's heartaches. "You're okay." Yue offers her a nervous smile.
"Are you sure about choosing white? I think I'm almost done with the bleach," Mai tries. "Why'd you pick white anyways?"
"You wanted me to pick red or something, didn't you?" Yue lets out an honest laugh and the sincerity almost startles her. Mai feels the blood rise to her cheeks. "You're such a nerd ."
"It's an objectively nice color!" Mai tries to get her composure back intact. She isn't supposed to get worked up over something so silly, but something about Yue's always making her chase for more.
"I saw a model pull off white hair in that magazine Ty Lee gave me," she tells her. Yue makes eye contact in the mirror in front of them. "I don't know why I thought of that now." She looks at Mai like there's something else she wants to add.
"Yue," she begins, "I-"
A loud thud interrupts them from the hallway. They both freeze. Could it be-
Yue seems to have the same train of thought. All the color drains from her face. "Is it-?" She doesn't finish her sentence. Her voice is barely above a whisper.
"I'll go check," fighting a wave of nausea, she quickly takes off the bleach-stained gloves before Yue can argue.
Mai doesn't know what to expect at the door. Did her parents find her? How could Azula and Ty Lee mess up? It feels silly to even consider it. They'd pulled off worse stunts before, but how else could she explain this? Mai didn't even know how Yue managed to book a motel room, she turns 18 in February. She did see a peek of a fake ID at the counter, but she isn't sure. Hell, it could be Mai's ID for all she knows, but she wasn't about to ask right now . She checks to make sure her knives are still hidden in her sleeve. They are.
She can already hear her relatives talk about this. What would she even tell her mother? She can't bear to think of her father's reaction. "Did you hear that Michi's daughter was sneaking out during her own father's dinner party? They were at a hotel too. I always saw this coming." Or worst of all, it's Arnook and he forbids Yue from ever seeing Mai again. The very existence of their friendship had already been toeing the line, but this might be pushing it completely. The thought of it alone makes Mai dizzy.
Do this for Yue, she tells herself. Get it together. Her heart thumps loudly in her chest. She musters all the strength and peeks through the door hole.
Mai should've seen it coming. The man who'd booked the room across the room with a beer bottle between his shaky hands, muttering something neither of them could make out had fallen over and passed out on the hallway floor. Mai remembers grimacing at the strong stench of alcohol and cheap perfume that managed to linger wherever he went during check-in. He lies there, slack-jawed putting whatever leftover food that was stuck between his teeth on display, drooling.
A wave of relief hits her body like a truck. Mai puts a hand up to her face in frustration and sighs. Yue peeks her head out the bathroom doorway, eyebrows furrowed in a mix of distress and confusion.
"Yue, come take a look at this," she groans. "It's hideous."
She scurries over to Mai and studies him. It reminds Mai of making fun of their classmates together in study hall. "Oh, wow."
"He's got his key card in his hand, too. He's so close, it's kind of sad."
"Is it bad I want to take a picture of this?" Yue cocks her head to the side. Mai catches herself mirroring her behavior.
"He won't remember this, it's okay," Mai justifies, pulling out her phone to take a picture for her.
"Wait, try a Snapchat filter on him."
"How do you do that?"
"Mai, I showed you, yesterday, " Yue sighs. "You know what, just gimmie it for a second. Smile ."
Yue wraps her arm around her shoulders and makes a peace sign. Mai only fully realizes what happens when it's over. The picture's hilarious- Mai's fully formal attire clashes with Yue's pajamas and the towel she's got wrapped around her shoulders. Yue's now blonde hair has so much product in it, you could shape it like clay.
"I should really rinse," Yue laughs pointing at the phone screen. She starts walking away to the bathroom again. "God, mom's gonna kill me."
Mai leans her head back against the door for a moment, trying to take everything in-that doesn't work. Yue's paranoia seems to rub off on her and she catches herself checking if her phone's on airplane mode or not. Azula, cunning as always, figures a way around it anyway. She receives three blank emails with the subject line 'don't be an idiot.' Right as she clicks out of it, Azula sends another clearly from Ty Lee. The subject line is a series of confusing emojis and it's a selfie of her and Azula. Mai smiles fondly at the screen, at least someone's managing today.
"Do you think I'll look like your grandma after we put the toner in?" Yue yells from the bathroom, trying to talk over the noise coming from the shower. "Would you still love me?"
"Depends. Can you bake?" Mai calls back, walking over to her.
"Does cake-mix count?"
"Absolutely not."
"You like the cake slices I bring to lunch!"
"That was cake-mix? I'm never trusting Yuka ever again."
"Don't tell mom I told you, she'll kill me," Yue tries to dry her hair with a towel. "Do you think they'll make us pay for this? I feel guilty now."
"Stuff it under the hamper and hope for the best?" Yue laughs. It's silly to admit, but Mai always feels a sense of pride for making her laugh.
" Mai, " Yue says, looking at her reflection in the mirror hanging above the sink. "Look, I'm a blonde ."
"You act like one, too," Mai replies. Yue tosses a towel at her, giggling. "Shut up!" It's the most laid-back she's seen her in hours like how they'd act together usually, but the moment doesn't last long. Mai's phone vibrates loudly from her pocket, and Yue's face twists into a frown.
"I thought- we agreed to turn our phones off. Were you talking to someone?" Yue asks wearing a pained expression on her face.
"It's just Azula and Ty Lee," Mai rushes to explain herself. "Airplane mode's on. It's just my wifi that's on, see? Just emails."
"Didn't know you knew how to do that," Yue sighs, peering at her phone. She wraps her arms around herself. "I'm sorry, I'm just- yeah."
"I don't want to push you to talk to me," Mai chooses her words carefully, "but I'm worried. This isn't like you."
"Maybe this is exactly like me," she scoffs, visibly tense.
"Yue-"
"Aren't you tired of all this? Having them decide your every move? Look at everything we had to do to just-" Yue crosses her arms. "They decide your every move. You're just going to be miserable for the rest of your life."
Mai opens her mouth to say something, anything , but she just can't manage to knit the words together. She stares blankly at her.
" This is the most fun I've had in years, Mai." Yue grabs Mai's wrists, looking up at her desperately. "You sat on the floor of the dirtiest bathroom- and you hate germs, just to make sure I was okay. I don't think anyone's understood me like you do. I don't think anyone can."
"I don't understand," she stammers. There are a million things Mai wants to say, but she can't afford to ruin this. "Why are you telling me this?"
"I told them I'm going to reject Hahn," Yue says quietly letting go of Mai's hands. "They're going to hate me."
"But things were going so well," Mai stumbles, her voice a little louder than intended. Her heart pounds fast in her chest. "You said you liked him."
"I thought I did, I really thought I did. Fuck, Mai ," she pleads with her. Her free hand twitches, Mai knows she has the urge to pull at her hair. "I just can't do it, I think I'm going crazy. There's-"
"There's what?" Mai asks, half-hoping to hear what she so desperately wants. She picks her gaze off the floor and looks at Yue. She stares right back at her with the same intensity.
Mai feels the air being sucked out of her lungs. The space between them feels much smaller than she remembers- was she always standing this close to her? Yue's face is lit by the harsh white light coming from the cheap bathroom light-bulb, and even then she's so gorgeous. Sometimes, it's easy to forget anyone else matters.
"There's-," Yue takes another step closer, and Mai can feel her breath against her face. She can feel her head spin at a million miles an hour. She can't but help move forward too and their foreheads press together. "Please don't hate me."
The kiss is soft and sweet. Yue cups her face and Mai's arms quickly wrap around her waist. This is everything Mai had been dreaming about for years, but she can't help how heavy her heart feels. Could they only be happy like this?
Yue pulls away first, staring at her with prying eyes. "Was this?" Her voice shakes. Mai kisses her a few times in quick succession to confirm.
"How long has this-?" Mai stares at her.
"I don't know," she admits. "Long."
"How candid." Yue snorts. "You?"
"Since forever," Mai admits in the spirit of honesty. Yue smiles and looks away. When she looks back at her, she's teary-eyed.
"Mai," Yue's bottom lip begins to quiver. "I can't go back. God, what do I do?"
Mai doesn't have the answer to her question. She thinks of Arnook and Yuka, and their picture-perfect home. She thinks of hers, then of Yue. She holds her hands and squeezes them. "We'll figure it out. We always have."