A/N - Here it is. I'm finally posting something after being a member here for four years. I started this last summer and finally got around to finishing it. It could probably pass with a K+ rate, but I just put T for safety. Anyways, this turned out waaay longer than I anticipated and I think I majorly overdid Clay's accent. And the ending is kinda... blech. There's a slight chance that I'll revise that. But whatever. Hope ya like it!
Disclaimer- Xiaolin Showdown (plot, characters, etc.) does not belong to me. 'Nuff said (Is it just me, or does it seem like nobody does these things anymore?)
Sunburn
"Raimundo..."
He cringed slightly at the sound of his name. She almost never called him that anymore, unless she was angry or annoyed... or both. And he didn't really want to stick around when her temper flared up. Speaking of, it would be any minute now.
"How many times do I have to tell you?" she asked, glaring at him over the tips of her sun glasses. "Don't mess with the monk!"
He snickered at her trademark phrase and glanced down to see said monk trying, rather unsuccessfully, to reach the beach ball that was being held high above his head.
"Aww, c'mon Kimi," he sneered. "We're just playin'! Right dude?"
"Playing? Playing!?!" Omi cried incredulously. "Playing is supposed to be fun. And this is NOT fun!"
Kimiko rolled her eyes. It never ended with those two.
"How much longer do ya reckon it'll be 'fore them two start fightin' like a beaver an' a heard of cattle?" Clay questioned, propping himself up on his elbows. It was one of the Dragons few days off, and both himself and Kimiko had been lounging peacefully under an over sized beach umbrella; Kimiko with a few of her fashion magazines, Clay dozing with his hat over his face. That changed, however, when the mischievous Dragon of Wind decided to tease the small and rather naive Dragon of Water.
"Eh, two minutes... wait, a what?"
Clay shook his head with a sigh. "Never you mind. Well, I best be goin' before this here gets uglier than a..." he trailed off noticing the blank stare he was receiving. "Uh, yeah... I, uh, best be going." he finished, picking up his beach towel. "If yer gonna stay, mind bringing in the umbrella?" he asked.
"Yeah, no problem. I brought it out in the first place," Kimiko answered. "I can't be out in the sun for more than five seconds without getting burnt!"
"I know what'cha mean partner. Without my hat, I'd be a piece a' Texas toast!" Clay smiled warmly and tipped his hat in farewell before heading in. The young Japanese girl turned her attention back to the two quarreling warriors.
"Higher Omi, higher!" Raimundo mocked, laughing as the boy jumped and flailed his arms in a miserable attempt to knock the ball from the Brazilian's hands. Omi growled taking a step back. He was clearly fed up with this nonsense.
"Tornado Strike, water!"
"Gah!" Raimundo cried, abandoning the ball and dashing towards the temple doors. Unfortunately, he was a little too late. A huge cyclone of water came barreling at him. Before he even had time to react, it swept him up and tossed him into the small pool that Clay and Omi had created that morning. There was a huge splash and seconds later, Raimundo surfaced, gasping for air.
"Ha ha!" Omi yelled in triumph. "See who is currently giggling!"
"That's 'Look who's laughing now' chrome dome." Raimundo spluttered, pulling himself up onto dry land.
"Hmph," Omi pouted and stuck out his tongue before grabbing the beach ball and heading inside.
Raimundo ignored the young monk and began to shake himself dry like a dog. At this, Kimiko pulled a face while scrunching her nose in disgust. She took a sip from her water bottle, and then stated with a smirk, "Nobody said anything about you going for a swim."
The Dragon of Wind grinned, recalling the conversation. "Water's fine," he replied, getting a slight sense of deja vu. "Care to join me?"
"Nah, water's not my element." she smiled.
"Really? I couldn't tell," he remarked, voice dripping with as much sarcasm as he was dripping with water. Trudging over to her, he continued, "Seriously Kim, you're the one who suggested we go swimming today and you haven't even touched the water!"
She merely shrugged saying, "I burn easily."
"Huh?"
"You know, sunburn? I used up all of my sun block last week, so I really can't be out in the sun for too long." she replied, shrinking back beneath the umbrella as if to prove her point.
"Sunburn?" Rai scoffed. "I've never gotten sunburn in my life!"
"Well of course you haven't. Tan people don't burn, and you're the tannest person I know! I'm just too pale," she complained.
"Oh, c'mon, it can't be that bad. Why don't you live a little? Take a risk! Have some fun! Catch some waves with me," he suggested with his trademark cocky grin and a waggle of his eyebrows.
Kimiko had to turn from him slightly in order to hide her blush. "No way Rai, I'm staying right here."
He sighed in what seemed like defeat. "Suit yourself. Waste your life away hiding from the sun."
"What the...? I am not hiding from anything!"
"Whatever you say Kimiko."
"And just what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?" she snapped.
"Oh, nothing," he replied in a sing-songy voice, casually picking up her water bottle and taking a sip.
"Hey! That's mine!"
"Oh? Sorry, you can have it back. Here." And with that, he bent over and turned the bottle upside down right above her head.
She let out a gasp as ice cold water soaked her head and dripped down her face. Raimundo gave her a smug smile while Kimiko continued to gape at him.
When she recovered, she shook her head and her eyes turned fierce. "What in Dashi's name was that for?!" she screeched at him.
'Uh oh,' Rai thought, realizing his meant to be harmless actions may have been a mistake. "It was an accident, I swear!" He held up his hands in defense while backing away slowly. "But hey, since you're all wet, you might as well come swimming with me." The way he said it, it came out as more of a question, and he hoped the lame cover up had been able to redeem him.
She growled and stood up, advancing towards him. "You did that on purpose!" she accused. Her pace quickened and Raimundo was running out of room to back up. The pool was right behind him. "You... you... ugh!" she shrieked, giving him a hard shove.
He went tumbling backwards, but grabbed hold of her wrists at the last second, pulling her down with him. They both landed in the pool with a splash.
Raimundo came up first, followed by Kimiko seconds later. He stole a glance at her, expecting the worst, but what he saw surprised him. She was... smiling? He thought she would be so angry he would be able to see the steam coming out of her ears. But there she was, soaking wet, and now her smile had turned into a small giggle, which then turned into a laugh.
He decided to laugh along with her, although his laughter was rather uncertain. "So, uh, does this mean I'm off the hook?" he asked sheepishly.
Kimiko stopped laughing and gave him a devilish grin. "Oh, you wish," she answered before pouncing on him.
-The Next Morning-
"Uh, Raimundo partner, I don' mean ta nag, but I prefer my pancakes light and fluffy-like, not all brown and crispy."
"Huh?" Raimundo turned his attention down to see that, indeed, the pancakes he had been making were now smoking as they burned to a crisp. He began to panic, but good old Clay saved the day by switching off the burner and dumping his glass of water over the pan before it caught fire.
"Raimundo, that is the third batch you have burnt this morning. Are you certain there is nothing in your brain? Whatever it is must be mooost troubling."
"Uh, no Omi, I don't have anything on my mind. Um, Clay, maybe you should make breakfast." Raimundo suggested distantly.
Clay exchanged glances with Omi before grabbing the bowl of batter and picking up where his friend had left off.
Raimundo, who was now sitting at the kitchen table, fell deep into thought. His mind was racing, his train of thought focused on one person and one person only; Kimiko.
The afternoon he had spent with her the day before had been amazing. They had been fooling around and having so much fun that they completely forgot about lunch and almost missed dinner. When they finally got out of the water, their skin was all pruney and they were exhausted, but at that moment, they could have cared less. Then, before they went to bed, Kimiko gave him a kiss on the cheek and thanked him for a wonderful time. A kiss on the cheek! Now all Rai found himself wanting was to spend time with her.
But this morning, when he had gone to see if she would walk with him to breakfast, she merely groaned from behind her curtain and said she would see him later. She sounded completely miserable. Raimundo didn't understand. Had he done something wrong?
"Young Dragons." Raimundo snapped back to reality as Master Fung entered the room. "Today you shall be given the day off."
Omi immediately began to whine. "But Master, this is the second day in a row! My leopard strike is in need of much improvement!"
"Yeah Master Fung, sir. I ain't gonna complain, but Omi here has gotta point. Two days off in a row is a heap of a lotta time 'round here."
Master Fung sighed. "It is a most unfortunate situation, but Kimiko is not feeling up to her full potential today. I believe she will need some time to rest before she is able to train properly."
Rai bit his lip, uncharacteristic worry written all over his face. "Is she okay? Can we see her? Where is she?"
"I'm right here," a voice moaned from behind Master Fung. He stepped to the side and the three boys gasped at the figure before them.
The usually fashionable Kimiko was now wearing a loose fitting red tee-shirt and a pair of short, baggy, black shorts. Her ebony hair hung down her back in a frizzy, tangled mess. But that wasn't even the most shocking part. It was her skin. Every inch visible was tinged a pinkish-red, a big difference from its normal pale ivory.
"Oh my, Kimiko! Did you accidentally dye your skin instead of your hair?" Omi asked, walking over and poking her in the arm. She cringed, and he stared in awe as the place he touched turned white, then pink again. Astonished with his discovery, he poked her again, this time a bit harder.
"Ouch! Quit it!" she cried, smacking his hand away while he continued to stare in amazement.
"It's sun burn, cheese ball," Rai said, rolling his eyes and answering the young monk's unvoiced question.
"Oh, so this burn from the sun causes you pain? Well, that is not surprising, seeing as you are a girl."
"Don't push it, Omi," she hissed through clenched teeth.
But despite the girl's growing anger, the Dragon of Water ignored her warning. "And if this is some sort of burn, you of all people should have been able to control or avoid it, Kimiko," he chided. "Fire is your element, after all. Perhaps you require more training?"
Clay and Raimundo, who had been watching the scene unfold from the sidelines, instinctively took a few steps back. Omi had gone too far, it was clear by the annoyed expression now etched in Kimiko's face. For a moment, it looked as though she was about to burst, quite literally, into flames. But to everyone's surprise, she just gave a frustrated growl before turning on her heels and storming off.
The group stared after her in silence for a few moments before Omi asked innocently, "Was it something I said?"
Master Fung, who had been there the whole time, chose not to acknowledge Omi, saying, "As you can see, Kimiko's condition is causing her discomfort and is..." he paused, seeming to search for the correct wording, "...is leaving her more irritable than usual."
Raimundo couldn't help but chuckle at Master Fung's polite way of explaining Kimiko's attitude.
"Therefore," the man continued, "training shall be cancelled until further notice." With that said, he turned to leave.
"But Master Fung!" Omi cried, running after him, most likely to complain about their lack of training.
Clay rolled his eyes at the boy's enthusiasm. He then turned back to his pancakes, which were practically flaming due to inadequate attention. The cowboy cursed under his breath, turning off the burner and tossing the pan into the sink, adding it to the rising pile of dishes. "So much for breakfast."
"To be honest," Rai said as he slumped back down at the table, "I've lost my appetite."
"Why so glum there, partner?" Clay questioned, noticing his friend's crest fallen face.
"It's all my fault Clay!" Rai moaned, burying his head in his hands.
"I don' reckon I'm followin' ya. Though I can't understand how Kimiko got such a bad burn yesterday. She seemed pretty darn determined to say under that umbrella..."
"That's just the thing Clay! I practically dragged her out into the sun yesterday and I think she's mad at me for it!"
"Well," Clay mused, "it wouldn' be the firs' time ya got that girl in a huff. An' anyway, I don' think she's mad at'cha partner. I jus' think she's, well, irritable. Jus' like Master Fung said."
"Yeah..." Rai paused, processing what Clay had just told him. "Yeah, you're right. And even if she is mad at me, I can just work my 'Raimundo Magic' and she'll forgive me like that," he smirked, giving a snap of his fingers for emphasis.
"'Raimundo Magic'?" Clay muttered, mostly to himself, but Raimundo didn't seem to hear him either way.
"Thanks a million Clay! I gotta go find Kim!" And with that, he was gone.
Clay watched him go and shook his head with a smile. That smile faded, however, when he realized that he was now alone in the kitchen with a sink that was overflowing with dirty dishes. And someone had to clean them.
"Aw, DANGIT!"
Raimundo hesitated at the curtained entryway as doubts towards his course of action began to flood his head.
'No!' he thought immediately. 'Remember, 'Raimundo Magic'. I can do this.' With that final encouraging thought, he took a deep breath and knocked on the door frame.
"Uh, Kimiko?"
At first there was silence, but then he heard her shuffling around and the curtain opened a few inches.
"What?" she snapped. Any confidence he had mustered in the past few minutes disappeared as her now dull, tired eyes bore into him.
"Can I come in?" he asked, somehow managing not to stutter.
She continued to stare at him for a moment before retreating back into her room, leaving the curtain open. He took that as an invitation and stepped into the small living space behind her. After shutting the curtain, he turned to see Kimiko sitting on her mat, fumbling to open a bottle of aloe vera.
"So... uh... hey," he began. As soon as the words left his mouth, he nearly smacked himself for being so lame. But Kimiko didn't seem to notice his "lameness". In fact, she didn't seem to hear him at all. She simply continued to sit and fiddle with the bottle.
It was clear to Rai that he was being blatantly ignored, but he had to admit it was an almost pleasant surprise. He was expecting to get toasted like a marshmallow by the girl's signature 'Judlette Flip'. Regardless, he had to apologize. He couldn't stand it when he thought someone was mad or upset with him. Especially one of his team mates... Especially her.
"Look, Kimiko..." he sighed, kneeling down in front of her. "About yesterday, I just wanted to tell you–"
"Can you open this?" she asked suddenly, shoving the still unopened bottle in his face. "Please?" she added meekly, now facing the floor.
After a moment of silence, he took the bottle from her, unscrewed the cap with ease, and handed it back.
She gave a small smile in thanks, which he almost didn't catch, before turning her attention to the now opened aloe. She put a good sized dot of the lotion in the palm of her hand and then proceeded to rub it into her arms. Rai frowned, watching her wince as she felt the familiar sting of the soothing gel. He just couldn't stand the thought that he had done this to her.
"I know your mad at me, but..." he trailed. Now it was his turn to face the ground.
"Rai, just stop," she said almost pleadingly.
He looked up at her, trying (and failing), to mask his surprise.
"I'm not mad at you," she admitted. "And if anyone should be apologizing, it should be me. I was being stupid." She turned away, hoping to hide her blush of embarrassment which she just knew would be noticeable even with her already red complexion. "It's just that my whole body aches and I barely got any sleep last night. I guess I wanted someone to blame, but it shouldn't have been you."
Almost before the words left her mouth, she felt a soft hand on her shoulder, which pulled her around gently. Kimiko looked up to see Raimundo staring straight back at her. The look in his eyes could only be described as, well, strange. He seemed slightly confused, but she thought she detected a hint of amusement in those gleaming green orbs of his.
Suddenly, in one swift, fluid motion, the hand on her shoulder was gone, and she felt the warmth of his palm against her forehead.
"Uh, Raimundo?" she questioned, giving him a curious look.
"Doesn't seem to be a fever," he mumbled to himself, palm still pressed to her skull.
"What are you doing?"
"Well, you're apologizing about something. Apologizing to me, nonetheless. You've got to be sick. There's just no other explanation," he grinned.
Kimiko, on the other hand, frowned. She was in a generally sour mood at the moment, yet she still had the decency to apologize for being a jerk. And he goes and makes a stupid joke about it. Typical.
"Wow, I'm really messing up today, aren't I?" he asked, noticing her demeanor.
"No," she sighed, going back to applying the aloe vera, this time to the side of her face. "It's just–"
"Here, let me help you with that."
"No, really, I..." she began. But before she could keep protesting, his hand replaced hers on her cheek and began to gently rub the aloe into her smooth skin.
The simple touch of his fingers to her face sent an electrifying shock throughout her entire body. At first she was completely frozen, amazed at the fact that he could do this to her. Soon, her subconscious took over and she leaned into his hand, causing his palm to rest upon her cheek.
He could feel her shudder in his grasp and that alone sent multiple shivers up and down his spine. Before he knew what he was doing, he felt his face inching closer to hers, and she didn't seem to object.
Skin met skin as their lips connected in a sweet and tender kiss. It only lasted a mere few seconds before he pulled back, tentatively awaiting her reaction.
Kimiko's eyes opened slowly as she tried to shake off the sudden sensation of dizziness. Staring up at the boy before her, she wondered how a simple kiss from him could send her head spinning. Regardless, she wanted more.
Rai opened his mouth to apologize for his actions, taking her silence as a bad sign. However, Kimiko grabbed the opportunity, as well as Rai's head, and pulled him towards her, covering his mouth with hers.
Unlike the first, this second kiss was fierce and filled with pent up passion that neither knew they had. As Raimundo's hands found their way to Kimiko's waist, he began to back her away from the curtain; forgetting in the heat of the moment that there wasn't much space in her pathetic cubical of a room.
Kimiko let out a soft yelp of pain, jumping forward and away from the desk she had just collided with. Her actions caused Raimundo to stumble slightly, but he still managed to keep his hold on her and stay upright.
"Ow," the Dragon of Fire moaned, trying to massage away the dull ache in her back. "Sunburn," she added weakly, after noticing Rai's confusion.
"Oh," was all he could manage. He was relieved to know that it wasn't him who had caused her sudden jolt but at the same time, he was a bit embarrassed by the whole situation. 'Now what?'
There was a brief moment of awkward silence in which the two were blushing madly and looking at anything but each other. Finally, Raimundo decided to break the ice saying, "Well, we'll see if a little 'Raimundo Magic' can't fix that burn of yours."
"Huh?" she questioned, wondering what on earth he was talking about.
"Here, let me show you," he grinned, pulling her closer and pressing his lips to hers.
And despite her pain, she couldn't help but smile.
Well, there you have it. Yay for rushed endings and super cliched kissing scenes!! Anyways, if you read, I kindly request that you review as well. I'd especially appreciate it if you could leave me some constructive criticism. I've never really considered creative writing to be my forte, so it would help me out a ton if you could let me know what you think I'm doing right and/or wrong. And trust me, I can handle it if you find more things you don't like in this fic than things you do.
So yeah, click on that little button down there and send me some love ...or hate. I'll take anything! XP
-Stormy