Jack Spicer stalked out of the forest, turning in for the day. He took out the Reversing Mirror and looked at his gloomy reflection. He lifted a pale finger to his face and slid it down his cheek, trying to pick up any face make-up. And, just as expected, none came off. The pale face was permanent. He was born like this, a pale goth boy. The black circles around his eyes weren't permanent, though. That was definitely make-up. Jack started to wipe off his eye make-up, when Wuya came floating along.

"What's wrong, Jack?" She whispered in her misty voice.

"Huh?" Jack continued to smear off his make-up.

"You haven't been yourself lately. You are hiding something from everyone else. It's only when you are alone that the real you comes out."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jack had successfully taken off his eye make-up, and started to change out of his black robe. He always changed after a Showdown with the Xiaolin Warriors. "Look, why don't you go bother Chase, or something? I heard he's got a new hot outfit."

"Ooh, don't mind if I do." The witch floated away to Chase young, who only happened to be a short distance away. He came, as usual, to inspect how Omi was doing. The evil boy genius was glad he was finally alone to change into his ordinary white T-shirt, and blue pants. He looked back at the mirror and smiled, noticing how different he looked when he was in front of others, than when he was alone by himself.

The thing was, Wuya was right. He was hiding something. Not just from Wuya, from everyone. Every single person that he was around. Even the Xiaolin Losers. And the sad thing was, no one had noticed except Wuya.

"Hey, Jack. What's up?" Jack jumped in surprise and turned to see the Dragon of the Wind in front of him, blinking in confusion. He had already changed into his orange t-shirt and green pants, his usual look after a Showdown.

Jack panicked and put up a fake smile. "Nothing! What're you doing here, anyway?"

Raimundo shrugged. "I managed to wander off for a sec without anyone noticing." Then he quirked an eyebrow. "You sure you're okay? You haven't been yourself lately. I mean, no one else can see it, but I can see right through your façade. It's a mask, isn't it? You're hiding behind a mask of—"

"Raimundo, hurry up! I want to get home as soon as possible!" Kimiko's voice echoed down from where she and the others were already on Dojo. Jack was secretly relieved that Kimiko had interrupted Raimundo's little concern speech.

Raimundo turned to the forest with a small frown, but then looked back at Jack. Jack saw the worry in his green eyes. "You'll be okay. Don't worry, Jack."

Jack smiled and nodded, even though he knew all too well that he wouldn't be okay. But Raimundo seemed satisfied with the answer. He nodded and starting running towards the forest. "I'll see you later, 'kay?"

"'Kay!" The goth boy called back, and after one last peek at the mirror, he himself got ready to go home.

While he was cruising home in his new Evil Hyper Jet, he went over what the brown-haired dragon had told him. He was going to checkup on Jack. He was going to try to get another chance to speak with him. Alone. Jack sighed. All right, let's start thinking now... what can I tell Raimundo when he asks why I haven't been acting normal lately...

Well, he could say that he was just stressed about all the work. It would make sense, since he has been making tons of robots lately, repairing them from all the times those stupid Xiaolin losers destroyed them. And there have been many new Shen Gong Wu revealing themselves lately. Wuya wouldn't sit still for more than two minutes before another Shen Gong Wu would reveal itself.

So he could say that. Or he could say that his cousin's been annoying him lately, which was true. She had been over a lot more than before. Jack's parents had somehow taken a liking to Megan's parents, and invited them over more than twice a month. Little Megan had broken more than half of his robots every time she came over, giving him more robots to fix.

Or he could just tell him the truth. Tell him why he wasn't feeling as well as he was two months ago. Tell him why he had taken up using a mask to cover his problems, to cover his problems of confusion and worry...

...and love.

Yes, love. He was in-love. Jack Spicer, Evil Boy Genius, the smallest evil villain in the history of villains... was in-love. Not with a bad guy, with a good guy. Yes, a guy. Meaning, male, boy, man, whatever. He didn't think it was right, to be fond of someone of the same gender. To be fond of a boy with spiked-up brown hair and beautiful green eyes. To be fond of someone that spent every day training to fight against evil.

To be fond of Raimundo.

Jack hated it. He hated the fact that he now had someone that he cared about, so much that it might affect his taunting, gloating, or laughing skills, or his goal to rule the world. He hated the fact that he now couldn't go against the Xiaolin Warriors with the same amount of force as he used to have. He hated the fact that someone like Wuya could love Chase, Chase Young of the opposite gender. He hated that he actually allowed himself to love someone.

Still, he didn't hate Raimundo.

He could never hate him. Ever since he figured out the meaning of the new feeling that conquered his body, he cared more about the Wind Dragon than he ever cared for someone before. Some might say he was vulnerable now, that he could never beat the forces of good as long as he loved someone on the other side. But he didn't care. This was love. Love was the strongest force on the planet. Love blocked out all other reasons to live. Love was enough.

Love was always enough.

---------------------------

Raimundo watched silently as Omi practiced his Leopard Strike in the temple garden. He was extremely bored. Kimiko was currently using her Gameboy for Pochika Raider. Clay was sleeping, like he always did right after a Showdown. Dojo was no where to be found. And Omi was out here training.

He did have to admit, though, watching Omi practice somehow left his mind clear of all thoughts. It made him not worry about anything that was going on, sports, chores, Shen Gong Wu. He could watch Omi all day and it wouldn't bother him. He never got that buzzing in his mind like he did when he was just sitting there, doing nothing. Instead, he let in all the sounds in the air, the leaves scratching against the paved road, the bird chirping, the footsteps of someone walking into the temple.

Raimundo closed his eyes, letting in all the natural sounds, when there was a small disturbance in the air. Instead of hearing birds and leaves, he heard a midi file song to the tune of Kimiko's cell phone. He cracked one eye open to see the Gameboy in the hands of a Japanese girl.

"Kimiko," Raimundo acknowledged, turning his attention back at Omi.

"What's up, Rai?" Kimiko said perkily, pausing the game and looking up at her friend.

"Nothing." Raimundo muttered, using Jack's previous excuse. He watched Omi leap high into the air and perform a series of kicks and punches all the way down. This technique was called the Lion Combo; Raimundo had been watching Omi for so long that he actually memorized all his techniques. He nodded at Kimiko's hand-held game. "You done with that?"

Kimiko looked down at her hands, staring at the screen. It was a moment or two before she resumed the game and pressed a few buttons. Raimundo thought that, by her actions, she meant to say 'no', but then the game was shoved into his face. "Here, I saved."

"Thanks," Raimundo replied, taking her game and immediately popping Goozomies Three into it, flipping the On switch and letting himself get sucked into the video game. Kimiko stared at his face, screwed in concentration for the game, and took in all the details. His tanned skin brought out his dark green eyes, giving him a little mischievous look. His spiked up brown hair was the same color as his bushy eyebrows. His tongue came out to the side, still into his game and taking no notice to Kimiko's staring. Kimiko sighed dreamily and looked off to the distance.

He was so perfect...

"What." Raimundo stated more than asked, pausing the game and glaring at Kimiko. He had seen her blue eyes observing every curve in his body, and he had heard that sigh of, what he thought was, disappointment.

Kimiko immediately snapped her head up at him, and smiled. "Oh, nothing. Nothing at all."

Raimundo grunted and went back to his game. He usually wouldn't act like this around Kimiko, as he loved her so much, but today was just a bad day. He had nothing to do nowadays than to play games, train, sleep, or eat.

Although no one else had noticed it, Raimundo could tell Jack was hiding something. Either that, or he was just uncomfortable about something, or he had personal problems. He couldn't figure it out. Jack was so good at hiding things. Or maybe it was just that nobody cared about the Evil Boy Genius besides him. Raimundo considered Jack as a friend. He didn't care that the boy was constantly making new robots to face the good side, or that Raimundo was always fighting against him. Jack was just a boy that liked to play basketball like every other boy (even though Raimundo preferred soccer). He had some side effects, like conquering the world and the hobby of making robots, but other than that, Jack was perfectly normal.

When Kimiko had finally walked away, Raimundo decided that tonight, he would visit Jack to see what was wrong.

--------------------

Raimundo slipped on the Golden Tiger claws and prepared to leave for Jack's house. He glanced down at Kimiko's sleeping figure, her hair out and her lips slightly apart, and smiled softly. He leaned down and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before slashing the air. And with one last look at his love, he jumped into the vortex for Jack's mansion.

He landed on Jack's bedroom window, which happened to be open. He peeked in to see Jack sleeping on a four-poster bed, curled up and breathing slowly. He jumped in the room and made it quickly and quietly to Jack's bed. He was glad that there were no security bots on patrol in Jack's room, or he might have not got in so easily. He kneeled down beside Jack's bed and observed his face. He looked so peaceful, not a smirk or a glare on his face. Just plain blank. Raimundo thought he looked so much better like this...

The Dragon of the Wind shook his head vigorously. When did he start having thoughts like that?

He stared at Jack hard. Maybe if he went into his dreams, he would get more answers out of him than Raimundo would be able to if Jack was awake. But was that right, to trespass into someone's dream? Was it right to know more about someone by spying on them? Was it right to know things about them that they didn't want you to know? Didn't want anyone to know? Yes, Jack wasn't just keeping a secret from him; he was keeping a secret from everyone.

But what was it that the boy genius didn't want others to know? What could get to such a small boy like Jack? It suddenly occurred to Raimundo that he didn't know anything about the boy. Like, what food did he like? What did he do in his spare time (other than building robots, of course)? What type of girls did he go for? And more importantly, how did his mind work? How could such a dope like Jack have a complex enough brain to build his own army of robots? If he was smart enough to mend gears, shouldn't he be less of a sissy? Just what happened to his goddarn brain?

Then again, maybe that was just how evil geniuses were.

The red-haired boy smiled softly and buried his face deeper in the pillow. Raimundo gasped at how relaxed he looked when he was sleeping. He just looked like any other boy. Moonlight crept in from the bedroom window, bringing out all of the curves in Jack's face. His cheekbones weren't sharp at all, and they curved in the perfect way. Upon the perfect face. His skin was so pale, and the moonlight only made it paler. His closed eyes would be that dazzling ruby if he were awake. And his lips were so thin and they looked so soft, almost begging to be kissed...

Raimundo widened his eyes and shook his head quickly to get shake the thoughts out of his head. Maybe he had been spending too much time with Kimiko.

Making up his mind, he stood up and turned around to go back to the temple. He slashed the air with the Golden Tiger Claws and jumped inside, a smirk on his tanned face.

He had a plan.

The next time Raimundo came back to Jack's room, he had two more Shen Gong Wu with him; the Shroud of Shadows and the Shadow of Fear. He was ready to enter Jack's dream, and he wasn't about to get spotted. He was going to hide under the Shroud of Shadows and spy on Jack Spicer. Raimundo still felt a tad guilty about spying on the boy, but his desires to know more about the kid were far greater.

Placing the hawk statue in the palm of his hand, Raimundo whispered to the gadget. "Shadow of Fear!"

And Raimundo, without warning, vanished into thin air.

The next time he appeared was in the forest. It appeared to be right after a Showdown, because Jack did what he always did: took out the Reversing Mirror and look at his reflection. Raimundo was suddenly aware that he was in eye's view, and quickly hid under the Shroud of Shadows, whispering its name. He watched cautiously as Jack started to take off his eye make-up, slowly and silently. He noticed that Jack had a look of sorrow on his face. Sorrow and maybe a hint of longing. He wondered why that was.

Suddenly somebody appeared in the bushes, looking around for something. Then, finding Jack, it smirked and emerged from the shadows. Raimundo gasped at what he saw. The figure was a boy with brown spiky hair, still wearing his green and white shirt from the Showdown that happened earlier. It was him. Raimundo wondered what he was doing in Jack's dream. Maybe it was one of those dreams that had random people in it. Yeah, that had to be it. Why else would Jack Spicer have the Dragon of the Wind in his dream?

"Hey, Jack. What's up?" Dream Raimundo said, and Raimundo felt a weak sense of Déjà vu engulf him. Wasn't this almost exactly what happened earlier?

Jack turned around, hiding the mirror behind his back like he did before. "R-Raimundo! You scared me."

Now that wasn't what happened before.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Dream Raimundo stepped a bit closer to Jack, a small mischievous glint in his eyes. "How are you, Jack?"

That definitely wasn't what happened before!

Both Jack and Raimundo shivered. Raimundo thought that his dream copy was acting a bit strange. Sure, he was a strange guy, being friends with a small boy that had a big yellow head and collecting mystical objects that had special powers, but heck, he wasn't that strange! He was acting so creepy, he thought he was gonna shriek and run out of that place.

Jack looked at Dream Raimundo hesitantly. "I'm fine, thanks. How about you?" Dream Raimundo had gotten a lot closer than before. He was now only a foot's distance from Jack's now eye-make-up less face. Dream Raimundo cupped Jack's pale cheek and started closing the space between them. Jack continued to talk rapidly. "You know, maybe it's not a good idea to be here right now. Someone might be watching."

At those last words, Dream Raimundo froze from only a millimeter away from Jack's pale lips. Dream Raimundo's lips mingled there for a second before moving away. "You're right."

Raimundo, whose eyes had been nearly popping out of his head for the last couple seconds, finally remembered how to breathe when he saw himself a more appropriate distance away from Jack. This was what he was doing in Jack's dream? This wasn't one of those dreams where random people pop up! This was... he didn't even know what kind of dream this was! He didn't even know if he wanted to know!

Jack apparently learned how to breathe again, as well. He inhaled slowly and let out a big sigh. Dream Raimundo, on the other hand, was smirking as he watched the other boy shiver. "I'll see you around, Jack." He got two fingers and saluted the boy genius before heading back into the forest.

Jack nodded and turned around. "See you."

-------------------------

There was a gigantic flash of light, and Raimundo couldn't see anything. Then, the light was gone just like that, it made Raimundo wonder if it was just his imagination. He looked in front of him, still hiding under his magical cloak, and saw Jack walk into his basement. The red-haired boy took off his goggles and tossed them aside. Then he walked over to the table in the center of the room and collapsed on it. Jack's head banged against the hard surface with a loud thud. Jack muttered something into the metal that contained the words, 'stupid' and 'Raimundo.'

Not long after Jack's appearance, did the star of the dream come in. He leaned over Jack's slouched body and got close to Jack's neck. Jack froze when he felt Dream Raimundo's breath on the back of his neck, but didn't bother to move out of the way. Dream Raimundo smirked at this and slowly ran his tongue against the pale skin. Jack gasped but then moaned softly. Dream Raimundo smirked even wider (if that was even possible) and put two hands on Jack's hips, tilting his face at an angle to nap the side of his neck. Jack moaned some more, closing his eyes in a delightful bliss.

"I didn't know that by 'see you around,' you actually meant—gasp—that you'd come to my house." Jack squeaked before another long moan emitted from his parted lips.

"Well, what'd you expect, Jack? That I'd just sit around and think about you?" Dream Raimundo drawled before flipping the boy over so that he was facing him. Dream Raimundo smiled devilishly, staring at Jack hungrily.

Jack stared back, but his gaze was so glazed that Raimundo couldn't read him at all. "You think about me?"

"Of course I do, Jack. Every night, and every day. I'm thinking about you constantly. You invade my mind and my dreams." Dream Raimundo lowered his face and started to kiss the red-haired boy slowly. Jack started to kiss back when Dream Raimundo's left hand crept up from his hip to the back of his head, pulling on Jack's red locks.

As Raimundo watched himself and Jack kiss, he realized what kind of dream this was. It was a wet dream. Yes, Jack was having wet dreams with him in it. And that meant that he had feelings for the Dragon-in-training. Jack was in-love with him. Was that why Jack was acting so strangely? Because he had developed new feelings? Because he now had someone he cared about? And that the person he loved was on the good side? Why did Jack have feelings for him, anyway? Wasn't he continuously fighting against him? Why?

Suddenly there was huge flash of light that made Raimundo raise his arm up to cover his face. He waited for the light to fade, and when it did, Raimundo found himself in the most beautiful place he had ever seen.

-------------------------

He was in a meadow.

It was a beautiful meadow, with a huge blanket of flowers on the ground below. The earth's surface was so perfectly even. Everything else was white, the same color as the flash just before. Except it was a softer shade, so that it didn't hurt your eyes too much when you looked at it. The only other objects in the meadow were two figures. Two boys, the same height, the same age, yet completely different.

Jack was staring at Dream Raimundo's back, an expression of so much pain on his face that Raimundo had to swallow his gasp. Dream Raimundo was looking away from him, pain also etched onto his face, but a bit more sorrow. Raimundo didn't think it was right to have such hurt boys in a place as beautiful as this.

"I'm sorry, Jack. I have to go." Dream Raimundo murmured softly, obvious pain in his words.

Jack let out a small sigh. He reached his arm out, as if trying to touch the other boy. "Don't go. Please don't go."

Suddenly a loud moan echoed through the air. "No..." Raimundo looked around to try and see where it came from, but couldn't find anyone else but him, Dream Raimundo, and Jack. Jack and Dream Raimundo didn't seem to notice it, so Raimundo just went back to watching the show.

Dream Raimundo looked to the side slightly. "I have to. It's the only way."

"The only way to what? To really protect the world from evil? Raimundo, I would never attack you in my quest for world domination. Is it the only way to protect my dream? This is love, Raimundo. I can give up my dream for you. I can give up anything for you. Do you hear me, Rai? This is love. Love is enough. As long as I have you, I don't need anything else."

"That's not true!" Dream Raimundo whipped around to face Jack. He had tears in his eyes, but he looked so frustrated. "Why are you being so difficult? You've had that dream since you were a little boy, Jack. I can't get in the way of that."

"It's just a childhood dream! Nothing's as important as you!" Jack said loudly, trying desperately to persuade Raimundo to come back with him.

Dream Raimundo stood still for a second before turning around again, closing his eyes tightly. "Jack, this is for your own good. I can't keep fighting for good if I love someone on the other side. What we have, Jack, is never going to work. I can never be a bad guy; you can never be a good guy. I love you, but it's as if I'm not allowed to love you."

Jack's lips turned into a thin line. He walked over to Dream Raimundo and gave a fierce hug. Dream Raimundo seemed shocked at first, but then relaxed, the expression on his face telling Raimundo that he enjoyed the contact, but didn't want to. "You say you love me. Why can't you do this for me? I've never asked for anything from you. Now I'm asking you to stay with me. Please."

"What good will it do? Me being there won't change anything."

"Yes, but you not being there is even worse! I need you, Raimundo. I need you to survive. Without you, I'm nothing. I'm just an empty shell. Before these feelings for you started developing, all I ever thought about was world conquest. But now, all my thoughts are about you."

"You see? I'm already interrupting your dream!" Dream Raimundo somehow got out of Jack's grip and turned to face him, a fair distance apart. "I can't stay any longer, or you'll completely lose it!"

"It's just a dream, Raimundo." Jack said, speaking loudly and clearly. "It's highly impossible. I used to want it so much, but... but now I want you more."

Dream Raimundo shut his eyes and looked away, gritting his teeth. "Don't say that, Jack. Your own dreams are more important than me."

"Please, Raimundo. Stay with me." Jack continued, ignoring Dream Raimundo's words. "I need you. I can't live without you. I lo-love you."

It was the 'I love you' that made Dream Raimundo break down. Tears escaped from his closed eyelids, trailing slowly down his tanned cheek. His breaths came out shallow and shaky as another glistening liquid crystal fell from the boy's eyes. He pursed his lips together and hastily wiped away the falling tear in an effort to stop crying, but the tears just kept falling. Jack seemed slightly pained to see his beloved cry, but Raimundo could see that he was still trying to convince him to stay.

"Raimundo... all I have left is you, everyone else's left me! Wuya's just using me... Chase is independent—he's always been independent... I haven't talked to Tubbimura and all them for a long time, going on three months, now... Please, Raimundo... you mean the world to me... just having you there brings me happiness... You don't even have to be doing anything, just stand there and I'll feel whole. When you're not here, I feel lost and confused... I don't know how I can survive without you..."

"Jack, you're not being fair. You can't count on a person like that; it's just not right." Dream Raimundo gasped, wiping his last tears away and finally looking back at Jack with those beautiful green eyes that haunted all of Jack's dreams. "You have to be strong, Jack. You have to learn how to live without me... I know it'll be hard, but you'll get used to it... You're a strong boy, Jack. You can do this."

"I don't know if I can." Jack whispered, looking down at the flowers at his feet. Raimundo was shocked to see that pale face contain so much pain, so much hurt and desperation. "You were always with me, always comforting me and telling me it was all right. Telling me everything was all right. Whenever you were gone, I would never smile. I would just think about you, wanting to be in your arms again. And I'd feel so empty and incomplete... If you leave me like that, I... I don't... I won't be able to live!"

"You have to, Jack!" Jack gasped when he felt Dream Raimundo weave his fingers into Jack's red hair and pull the red-haired boy towards him, resting his lips against Jack's ear. Raimundo felt a strange feeling, as if he wanted to see himself kiss Jack's scalp instead of his ear, as if he wanted to see Jack's face pressed into his chest, as if he knew the story would've been more perfect that way.

But alas, the story was not perfect at all.

"You have to live on without me... I know you can do it... I believe in you, Jack..." Dream Raimundo whispered harshly.

"Why're you doing this? Why can't you just stay with me? Then we can be happy. Together." Jack whispered back, hugging him tighter.

"I have to, Jack. I'm sorry." Then Dream Raimundo pulled Jack to eye level with him, holding his face with both hands, and looked straight into Jack's desperate red eyes. "I'm so sorry. I don't want to do this. You know that, don't you, Jack?"

"Yes," Jack whispered, eyes beginning to fill up with tears. Dream Raimundo saw this and kissed the tears away. Then he kissed Jack on the lips, kissing him as if it were the last thing he did. Jack kissed him back with just as much vigor, trying to stretch out the moment as long as possible. The kiss seemed to be the longest kiss they had ever shared, yet it ended all too soon. When Dream Raimundo finally pulled away, he let out a short breath and pressed his forehead against Jack's, hands clutching to the sides of Jack's head possessively.

"I love you, Jack. I always will." Dream Raimundo whispered, tears of his own beginning to fall.

"I love you too, Raimundo. Forever." Jack whispered, tears falling endlessly.

Dream Raimundo hesitated before giving Jack another fierce hug. He let go almost as soon as he latched on, and then, with a final loving look, he turned around and started walking away. Jack just gazed upon his lover's back, as if expecting him to turn around and run towards him, telling him that he couldn't leave without him. When he saw Dream Raimundo keep walking away, never looking back, he called out his name. But it didn't do anything. The brown haired boy just kept on walking...

"Raimundo!" Jack called again, fat tears falling from such ruby eyes. Raimundo's vision began to get watery, and he had to bite down his lip to stop form crying. It was just so sad. To see Jack calling out his name in such longing, and seeing himself just walking away... it was just too much for him. He wouldn't cry in one of the sad movies that Kimiko would shove him onto the couch to watch, but the fact that this was all happening in Jack's mind, and that it was him being the one to make Jack's face look so pained like that made it more depressing.

Jack clenched his fists and his whole body started trembling. "RAIMUNDO!"

Raimundo himself was about to break down and cry openly, when suddenly there was a great flash of light, brighter than the previous ones. Raimundo felt like he was being squeezed through a small tunnel, everything pressing down on him like a stamp. His teeth sank through his lip, letting blood slowly escape, in an effort to shut himself up from pain. Raimundo wanted everything to just stop. Wanted all the pain, the squeezing, the light, to stop.

And it did.

All too soon, the light faded, and the brunette found himself back in Jack's bedroom.

-----------------------------

Jack was fidgeting on his bed, arms thrashing wildly about as he moaned openly, "No, don't go... Please come back... Raimundo... oh, Raimundo..."

Raimundo was frightened. He had figured out what that moan was in the last part of the dream. It was Jack's moan. It was as if he knew what was going to happen.

Before he could think, Raimundo set down the magical cloak and the hawk statue, shaking Jack furiously. "Jack, wake up. It's me."

Jack's eyes snapped open and they immediately rested upon Raimundo's green orbs. His widened eyes looked at him as if he had no idea what he was doing there. Jack swallowed hard, trying to breathe steadily again. "What... what happened? Why're you here?"

Raimundo blinked. He let his arms rest by his side and started to scratch the back of his head. "Uh..." What could he tell him? That he had come to raid his Shen Gong Wu? That he was dragged here by Kimiko, who actually had a heart for him? That he was going to attack him in his sleep?

Or should he just tell him the truth? Should he tell him that he was just worried about his strange behavior lately, and wanted to know what was going on? Should he tell him that he went inside his dream to know exactly how the red-haired boy worked? Should he tell him that he saw everything? That he knew... knew about his secret that could have been kept for so long...?

Jack's ruby eyes landed on the hawk statue laid upon his bedroom floor, and Jack immediately sat up, looking scared to death. His eyes swiveled to Raimundo. "Did you...?"

"No, of course I—well, yeah... I guess. I wasn't trying to spy on you, or anything!" Raimundo added, noticing Jack's suspicious look. "Look, I've noticed how strange you've been acting lately. I wanted to check on you, but I couldn't do it in the day time, or else somebody might suspect and start a search for me. I couldn't've done that, so I escaped at night, when everyone else was asleep. I thought I'd get a bit more information out of you if I went in your dreams..." Raimundo trailed off embarrassedly.

Jack leaned in a bit closer, eyes widening in fear. "Did you see... everything?"

"No, I couldn't've—er, yeah... Yeah, I did." Raimundo stared guiltily at the floor, just knowing that Jack was hating him more by the second. He just knew that the red-haired boy was wearing that scowl, glaring at him in that unforgiving way. He knew that the boy genius was disgusted with him in every way for spying him in his dream, but when Raimundo finally turned to him, he saw that the boy was staring down at his blankets a small frown gracing his pale features, looking as sad as ever.

And in many ways, that was worse.

"I've had that dream... for a long time now..." Jack whispered, swallowing after. "And it's always the same... You always leave right after kissing me like that... against my desk in my basement, you know?... And every time, I can't do anything about you... leaving... You always leave me with that terrible whole in my heart..." Here, Jack hiccupped and started sobbing, moaning loudly.

Raimundo had seen enough crying in the last fifteen minutes that it was no longer unusual to see Jack cry. What was unusual, though, was that confession he had made. It touched Raimundo and made him guilty for making that innocent boy cry like that. But he didn't know what to do to make him feel any better. All he could do was stare at Jack, frowning slightly, with that dull ache in his chest.

Finally deciding what to do, the Brazilian stood up and made to leave. He picked up his three Shen Gong Wu and was almost about to Golden-Tiger-Claws himself back to the temple, when he heard Jack wail behind him and froze.

"R-Raimundo?" Jack whimpered. He had been crying into his ruby, thin blanket (that brought out the color of his beautiful eyes, Raimundo added silently) and now he withdrew his face to look at Raimundo. Raimundo turned and almost gasped out loud when he saw those red eyes shining with tears... those red eyes that held so much pain and sorrow, it almost made his heart break... "Don't go... please don't go..."

It was as if the red-haired youth was speaking through a memory. Didn't he just hear those words, coming from the Jack in the dream? Was his dream about to turn to reality? Was Jack about to confess his undying love to Raimundo, even though he already knew about it?

Was this all really real?

"I'm... sorry, Jack... I have to go." Raimundo said, repeating himself from the duplicate of Jack's dream.

Jack let out a wail that made Raimundo flinch. And he started to cry all over again, pleading all the while for Raimundo to stop his torments. "Raimundo, don't do this to me! You can't... you can't bring my dream to reality... It's just not right! It's unfair! I... I've already been though that about fourteen times... Ever since I began to love you, it's always been that dream... I've never had a dream without you... Don't do this..."

Raimundo turned back to Jack, a look of alarm on his face. "No, Jack, that wasn't what I meant! I'm not gonna leave you forever, just for now. I've gotta get back to the Xiaolin Temple, or someone might suspect something!"

"Are you... regretting you ever came to see me?" Jack said, barely over a whisper.

"Jack, it's nothing like that! I've just gotta get back in time, that's all!"

"Can't you stay...? Just this once? I've never been able to talk to you for so long, or have you even there, standing before me for so long... Please, just this once..."

Raimundo hurried over to Jack's bed once again and collapsed to his knees. He cupped Jack's cheek, not taking notice to what he was doing, not taking notice to how he was making Jack feel by touching him. "Oh, Jack..."

Jack panted for a few seconds, looking back at Raimundo, not knowing what to do. Then, apparently not being able to stop himself, he tangled his own fingers with Raimundo's and held his hand closer to his cheek, holding it as if it were a precious treasure. He looked happy just for that moment when he held Raimundo's hand close. And he cried all over again, though this time it was from happiness. Raimundo guessed that he was happy he finally was able to touch his love... to hold him close...as if never letting go...

"Raimundo," Raimundo was now so used to hearing his name from Jack's mouth that it did not make him feel uncomfortable or alien in any sort of way anymore. "I don't know if this is too much to ask... but can you hold me...? Just before you go?"

Raimundo panicked. He didn't know what to do. He didn't exactly have any problem with holding Jack... but then why was he having such difficulty in agreeing? Was it because he knew he didn't love Jack back? Was it because it would be a fake kind-of love? Why?

But Raimundo agreed. Sliding his hand off Jack's cheek, he rested both hands upon Jack's waist and leaned in close, practically on top of him and the bed now. He buried his nose into Jack's shoulder, feeling Jack shiver from the sudden warmth and maybe from excitement. Raimundo knew it was wrong to do this, to bring Jack's hopes up when he didn't love him. He knew it was an immoral thing to do, yet he didn't want to see jack hurt again. He never wanted to see the pain in Jack's beautiful ruby eyes again, like when the boy genius had discovered Raimundo knew about his secret.

"Raimundo," Jack said again, his voice a bit higher. "C-could you out your hand on my right hip...? It's what you do in my dream..."

Even Raimundo knew that that was going too far. He knew he shouldn't do it, for holding Jack was good enough, yet he still did. He slid his right hand down from the waist to the hip, making Jack gasp. The brown-haired boy was so comfortable like this, holding Jack in his bed. He knew it wasn't real love, but it didn't hurt to pretend once in a while, did it?

"Raimundo..." Jack groaned from such intense pleasure, even though all Raimundo was doing was holding his hip. "I know this is too much... and I know this is all really uncomfortable... but please... please kiss me..."

"What?" Raimundo blurted, taking his face out of Jack's revealed shoulder. He looked at Jack, bewildered.

"It doesn't have to be on the lips or anything, just... on the cheek or something... you know?" Jack looked away embarrassedly or disappointedly, Raimundo didn't know.

But he agreed. One hand still on the boy's hip, Raimundo leaned in to kiss Jack on the pale cheek. He stayed there for about three seconds before he pulled away, one red-haired evil boy genius looking rather disappointed. Raimundo stood up, taking his hand off Jack's hip, and stared down at him. They stared at each other for a good five minutes before Jack broke a smile. "You should probably go. Before the others start to suspect something."

Raimundo didn't sense the feeling of hurt and longing in the boys words and merely smiled back. "Yeah. You be good now."

And then, with a mutter of a mystical object's name, he teleported back to his home with just a slash of the air and a step into a vortex. And he left Jack all alone, suddenly feeling very lonely and empty after what Raimundo had just did. But after a couple of minutes, going back to those moments where the dragon of the wind had actually wrapped his arms around him, actually kissed him, he slid back down and rested his head back on his pillow and wrapped the blanket over him, falling into an immediate deep sleep, even though the sun was already beginning to climb into the sky.