Sleep

Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown.

Raimundo sat up abruptly on his small cot. He rubbed his hand furiously against his sweat-matted face and brought wet brown locks across his head, only for it to fall back unto his forehead. He massaged his temple and took a deep breath to calm himself.

Those dreams kept coming back.

He shuddered in fear and rubbed his arms, knowing that it won't do him any good. He tried grabbing and hugging Ninja Fred tightly to his chest, but to no avail. He rubbed his eyes drowsily and wanted to do nothing but go back to sleep. Fear, however, kept him from doing so.

Defeated, he returned his teddy bear back in its place on his cot, under the blankets. He then strolled out of his room, armed with only a towel, and began training until dawn again.

"Partner, you look more tired than Dojo after ten miles of flying." Clay remarked as their leader literally slumped unto the table during breakfast that morning. The cowboy had been scarfing down his eggs at this point, but Raimundo was more surprised that he had actually stopped out of concern for him.

Raimundo waved him off. He groaned against the cool wood as he continued to press the surface against his face. It felt too good.

"Are you down in the garbage, Raimundo?"

"That's "down in the dumps", partner." Clay remarked as Raimundo didn't even bother correcting Omi. The little monk, along with Kimiko, had just arrived to the table. Omi took his place next to Clay and Kimiko took the one next to Raimundo.

Raimundo sighed in content when small hands delicately ran through his hair in a soothing rhythm. He immediately reached out for the owner of those hands and sighed appreciatively as he buried his nose to her stomach, inhaling her scent and wrapped his arms around her waist. The hands never stopped their motion and Raimundo almost fell asleep.

That was until Dojo burst into the room screaming about another Shen Gong Wu alert. Dojo never even realized he had disturbed something until Kimiko had gestured to the tired man hugging her waist. He clamped his mouth a little too late, because Raimundo had already risen to his feet and was commanding everyone to just get it over with.

Kimiko watched with worried eyes as Raimundo drowsily trudged to the back of the now enlarged Dojo. She bit her lip to prevent her from saying anything else. She quickly hopped unto the dragon, behind Raimundo in which he used her lap as a pillow throughout their whole trip. Omi and Clay could only look at the scene, knowing that something was troubling their leader.

"For the last time, Omi, I'm fine."

Raimundo exclaimed, only growing frustrated due to the fact that he was tired and was in no mood to deal with the bald monk's inquiries. He knew that Omi had meant good, but there was only so much a man could take. When Omi had asked once again if Raimundo was alright, the brunette placed his hands on the shorter monk's shoulders and literally pushed him out of the way before closing the door to his room.

He heaved a sigh and flopped unto his cot, grabbing Ninja Fred and stuffing him to his chest. It was really a shame that ever since those nightmares started appearing, the teddy bear just didn't bring him the comfort he needed.

He groaned in annoyance when a knock from his door forced him to get up. He angrily stomped to the door. "Look, Omi. I told you…"

"Rai…"

Raimundo stopped mid-rant and green eyes softened considerably when he observed the petite Japanese standing before him. He sheepishly scratched the back of his head and explained his behaviour, "Sorry, Kim. I thought you were Omi."

Her worried expression never left her face as she reached a hand out to cup Raimundo's face. He leaned against her touch and gave her a tired smile. She returned one of her own and brought his face down to hers as their lips touched in a sweet kiss. The kiss was chaste and it made Raimundo's heart swell.

'She's still worried,' he noted when they pulled apart. He crushed her against him and just took in the moment of feeling her body against his. He squeezed her slightly before he pulled back to feel the circular object against her chest. She blushed and easing her arms from Raimundo's grasp, she traced the string holding unto the medallion to bring it out in full view.

Raimundo had proposed to her two months ago after she had turned 23. Since he couldn't find the time and money to shop for a ring, he had given her his prized medallion instead with promises of giving her a real one in time. Kimiko actually didn't mind it. In fact, she would have preferred this over any ring. She still didn't get why Raimundo was so insistent of buying her a ring.

He fingered the medallion between his fingers and brought his face down to kiss the center of the medallion. He was glad, however, when his whole body which had been tensed since this whole sleep problem happened, relaxed. Kimiko didn't comment, but concern returned to her features.

While others thought that Raimundo only relied on his teddy bear for comfort, she knew that when he was really feeling down or really tense it was actually his medallion that he turns to. The medallion had been a family heirloom that he had received from his grandmother when he was young. He had never taken it off since he first received the medallion. During fights, at times, he would hide it in his clothes. Otherwise, he displays it around his neck for the world to see.

The medallion bore immense sentimental value to Raimundo as it was the only memento he had of his late grandmother. When she was still alive, at the toughest of times when even his parents failed, she made Raimundo at ease with a loving stroke on the head and a kiss on his cheek. Her death had been hard on Raimundo and he wouldn't speak to anyone for days. Ninja Fred was bought much later and though he still missed his grandmother, he found having a teddy bear was better than nothing.

His pleased sigh interrupted Kimiko and with another kiss on the metal, he let go of the medallion. He had been doing this way too often for the past few weeks. He watched it fall to her chest and he broke out a grin. He said, "Thanks, Kim. I really needed that."

She herself touched the medallion, finding where Raimundo had approximately placed his lips. She looked back at Raimundo who was looking at her, intrigued by her actions. She asked him tentatively, "Do you want me to return the medallion?"

When Raimundo's eyes widened, Kimiko quickly added, "You look like you could use it. Perhaps your sleepless nights are due to the fact that you don't have your medallion with you." Raimundo seemed to consider it a bit and Kimiko was preparing to slip the medallion off her neck. As selfish as it sounded, she didn't really want to let the medallion go, but Raimundo needed it more than she...

"No."

Kimiko was startled and her grip on the medallion faltered as it once again bounced to her chest. She tried to talk him out of his decision, "But, Rai..."

"No buts, Kim. That medallion is already as good as yours. I will not, under any circumstances, take back my medallion and you are certainly not going to lend that to anyone, including me." He gently took hold of the medallion yet again and stroked it. "Besides, Kim, this is the only proof that you are mine."

He jolted slightly in surprise when she took his hand in hers, squeezing it tightly. He was shocked to find fire in her eyes as she said, "Me loving you is enough proof that I am yours." He gathered her into his arms and whispered into her hair, "That's true. The medallion is a physical proof though."

She slapped him when he grinned cheekily and she brought him down for another kiss.

"Um...am I interrupting something?"

They both groaned in annoyance to face the small bald monk.

"Partner, that's the fifth cup of coffee you've had this morning."

Kimiko was getting more and more worried as they days passed. The bags under Raimundo's eyes were growing, his body was getting more and more tired and now, he looks as if he couldn't even stand properly.

She watched him gobble up his sixth cup of coffee and it was only nine in the morning. He had also, apparently, turned into a coffee junkie. He slammed the mug unto the table and he looked as if he could hardly contain his caffeine rush. He regarded to Clay who was beside the coffee machine. "BEAN ME!"

The cowboy was hesitant about giving him another cup. Clay looked at Kimiko for help which she did as she gently grabbed the cup away from Raimundo's twitchy hand. He made no resistance as his teeth continued to chatter and his whole body trembled in action. He was twitchy, fidgety and on an adrenaline rush.

Ah, they were the very signs for caffeine overdose.

"Raimundo, why don't you rest for the day?" Kimiko tentatively suggested, hands reaching out for Raimundo's face.

"I'm FINE, K-Kimiko." Raimundo managed through chattering teeth. He bounced off the cushion they called a chair and nearly toppled the table when Dojo announced yet another Shen Gong Wu had gone loose. He was out before anyone could stop him.

The room was quiet for a few seconds until Clay broke it with a comment.

"Did he take my mug of black coffee with him?"

Kimiko woke up startled one night when she felt something moving around her room. Being the only woman in the temple, it was about time that Master Fung had given her a room to call her own. She had received it the day she turned 13, an age when boys started acting on their hormones.

She hastily glanced around, trying to find what was lurking in the dark shadows. She unclenched her pale hand from the pink blanket of her futon and instead, brought it to her heart when she heaved a sigh of relief as Raimundo stepped out from his place by the door.

"Rai, you scared me."

Raimundo shrugged slightly as he continued to walk closer to where she lay, only stopping when he was no more than a foot away from her futon. She frowned though when she realized something. He had yet to speak a word. This worried her. Raimundo always had something to say, no matter what time of the day.

She slowly flipped the covers off her as she tried to stand, but before she could, Raimundo collapsed and buried himself on her lap. She was about to fuss over him when his tired voice called out to her.

"Please, Kimiko. Just let me rest here."

And with that, Kimiko decided to listen to Raimundo. She adjusted herself and folded her legs, while trying not to jostle Raimundo's head around as she did so. Once she was settled, she began stroking and combing her fingers through his hair and she hummed a small lullaby.

"Kimiko, you sure are tone deaf." He drawled out tiredly, his eyes slowly drooping.

"Shut up and sleep." She tugged his hair, but her fingers never ceased their motion.

He chuckled.

A strangled cry broke out in the middle of the night that had Kimiko, Clay, Omi, Master Fung and Dojo running towards the source. They stopped when they reached Raimundo's room. Screams, groans and pants grew louder and Kimiko was the first one who went in. She gasped in horror.

Raimundo was turning and tossing on his cot. Sweat poured profusely and he was shaking badly. Ninja Fred and his blankets were thrown askew as he continued grunting. He was pale in the face, horrible groans ripped themselves from his mouth. With another piercing scream, Raimundo sat up on his cot. He looked at Kimiko in alarm and tears started rolling down his handsome face.

Kimiko quickly approached her fiancé and held him close to her. She squeezed him tighter when she felt him shaking hard. By this time, the rest of the people had filled in to the tiny room and they could only watch as Kimiko whispered reassuring words into his ear, stroked his hair lovingly and continued to crush him to her.

It alarmed everyone when Raimundo roughly pulled away from Kimiko and his hands came to rest on her chest. His fingers traced the ends of the yukata she wore. They were not expecting what happened next as Dojo, Omi and Clay blushed hard when Raimundo parted her robe and bared her back for the world to see. Master Fung was surprised that Kimiko didn't even flinch. This must have been something that has happened for quite some time. He ushered everyone out to not disturb the couple. He was confident that Kimiko could handle everything herself.

Kimiko watched as he kissed the medallion nestled in between her naked breasts, kissing it several times while wrapping his arms around her lithe form. His kisses grew frantic and frustrated as he continued. The look of grief on his face when he finally pulled away from her told her everything. The medallions powers had worn off.

She nearly cried when he whispered, broken, "K-Kimiko..." She hushed him, taking him to her again. He buried his face into her still bare chest, not minding the cold metal on his cheek. He could feel himself calming down as he listened to Kimiko's steady heart beat.

That one night he slept in her room had been his first and last peaceful sleep for weeks. Every night after then, Raimundo would slip into her room kiss the medallion until he was satisfied enough and then leave his room. The few nights before today, he had steadily grown more and more desperate as he kissed the medallion, at times, like tonight, roughly pulling open her robe to kiss the medallion directly at her chest. Kimiko knew that eventually the medallion couldn't work its magic anymore.

She just didn't think that it would wear off so soon.

Her heart broke as another sob broke out from the man in her arms. She removed his face from her chest and it pained her even more as fresh tears rolled down his tanned cheeks. She kissed his eyelids and stroked his cheeks with her thumbs.

She whispered, "Please...Rai." She could feel herself crying. "Please tell me what's wrong." She had constantly nagged him to tell her what was preventing him from sleeping and he would always answer her in riddles or vague terms or he would avoid the question altogether.

But, she won't allow that tonight.

Raimundo tried avert his gaze from her face, but her hands kept him steady. "Please, Rai. I want...I want to help."

Silence met her worries as she tried yet again to elicit a response only to be stopped when Raimundo uttered a single word. She froze entirely. She wasn't surprised that she knew that one word was the root of all his problems, after all, a word was enough.

"Wuya."

After being her minion, Raimundo had never talked about what had transpired while he was at the Heylin Side. She left it alone and wanted him to tell her whenever he was ready. He never did and now, the woman continued to haunt him, even though she had been for almost a decade.

"She keeps...keeps coming in my dreams." Raimundo started, visibly shaking yet again. Kimiko squeezed him to her, but nonetheless, urged him to continue by gently prodding his elbow. He buried his face as close as he could to her chest, listening to the steady beating of her heart. She blushed hard when she realized her breasts were still out in the open, but could care less about that when she felt something wet on them.

"The dreams...were first of her torturing me." He continued, "...I was fine with that." She flinched. "And then, Omi and Clay got involved, and then Master Fung and everybody else."

He tightened his grip around her waist. "She scared me so badly that I couldn't sleep for several nights...but then, I was getting used to it." She bit her lip.

"But...these...these last few nights, she started torturing...you." More wetness ran from his cheeks and she kissed his hair.

"She would do everything she could to make you scream out in pain. I...I couldn't take it. And then, tonight...tonight..." He stopped as yet another sob broke out. Kimiko could feel her own tears spilling out.

"Tonight, she...she...killed you."

Immediately, Kimiko took hold of his face and brought it out to look at her. He looked even more of a mess than he did awhile ago. His eyes were now puffy red and tears continued to streak down his cheeks. She wanted nothing more than to cradle him back to her, but she resisted the urge and looked at him squarely in the eyes.

"That's just a dream, Raimundo. Those are just dreams. Nothing's happened to the temple. Omi and Clay are still here. Master Fung and Dojo are still healthy. I'm still alive, aren't I?"

She kissed his wet cheeks before continuing. "Wuya's long gone. Everything is alright, Rai. Wuya's gone."

There was a slight pause. Raimundo let everything sink in and then, his whole body relaxed. Fresh tears poured out of his eyes, but a small smile now lingered on his lips. "You're right, Kim. You're right." He buried himself into her chest yet again.

"You're right."

It took the rest of the night to calm Raimundo down and finally, he drifted to a peaceful sleep with her right beside him, cooing in his ear and stroking his scalp.

Kimiko would never know what had happened with Wuya, but that wasn't important.

What's important is that she was there to vanquish everything, she was there through his weakest moments and she was there to readily provide her comfort when all else failed.

That was enough for Raimundo.

Author's Note: First story for Xiaolin Showdown. Go easy on me!

This idea sprouted with the medal on Kimiko's person. And then the Raimundo kissing the medal and his brief siding with the Heylin. Ever wondered what happened with Wuya? Well, it was probably a pretty bad experience for him. Anyway, the ending was definitely something I didn't want, but this story's debut was way overdue. I can't write dramatic or sad scenes to save my life. ;_;

Sorry for any grammatical or spelling errors. Hope you enjoy! Reviews are loved.

PS: I just had to add that BEAN ME from a Garfield comic. And pretty random, but Kimiko is waiting after marriage to do IT which is why she is pretty embarrassed to expose her breasts to Raimundo.