Author's Note: I know I have other stories to work on, but I really wanted to write a fluff piece since the other two Xiaolin Showdown fics I have going have a bit more to it than that. Thank you for your time.
"So, what do the bees have to do with anything?" Omi asked, cocking his head to the side as he watched a bee land on a flower. "I do not see what love has to do with birds, either. Though I understand that flowers are often given to girls, since both are pretty and very fragile."
"Well, Partner," Clay tipped his hat up, "I suggest you leave off the fragile part if you ever give a gal flowers. Anyhow, this is spring…and I lost a bet to Raimundo…so I get to explain this to you. Didn't Master Fung teach you anything about girls and uh…" he rubbed his chin, "how to be a lover instead of a fighter?"
"I have to choose? Certainly it is better to be a fighter than a lover!"
"Probably, but some girl might come along that makes you feel differently."
"I do not see how this is possible."
Clay rubbed his temples, feeling a headache starting to come on. "I'm fixing to explain it," he sighed. He'd just had to bet Raimundo on who could beat Goo Zombies 12 the fastest. Clay had almost hesitated when the stakes were revealed to be having to teach Omi about girls, but he'd thought he could win. His mistake. "Okay, so, when a guy and a girl really like each other…"
"They simply tell one another and are together then, right?"
"If only it were that easy, little buddy. If only…"
"So then how do they act?"
"Maybe a visual example would work better," Clay smirked. If he was going to be saddled with this job, at least he could use it to his advantage. He motioned for Omi to follow him, and then ducked down in a nearby bush. Clay held a finger to his lips to indicate the need for quiet, then pointed to where Kimiko and Raimundo were sparring in the middle of the temple grounds.
"I'm not going to hold back," Kimiko threatened.
"Like I need you to!"
"Wudai Mars Fire!"
"Wudai Star Wind!"
The wind and fire met each other right in the middle of the fighting teenagers. At first it seemed the wind would overtake the fire, but then they converged, creating a cyclone of fire. The Dragons of Fire and Wind both moved into action immediately, forcing the cyclone to dissipate before it could do any damage.
"Well, that doesn't look like it worked," Raimundo brushed some dust off of his pants.
"Too evenly matched, I guess," Kimiko shrugged.
"I do not understand," Omi whispered, "How is watching Kimiko and Raimundo going to teach me about love?" Again, Clay shushed him.
"That was a pretty good effort," Raimundo admitted, "but we still need to work harder. Your flips have been off center lately."
"Off center?" Kimiko looked like she was about to start breathing fire. "What about your wind power? You need to keep it on your enemies – you blew some of my flames out in the last showdown!"
"Well, then, make the fires stronger than the ones on the candles on a birthday cake."
"They are yelling at each other, and should we not be watching people who are in love?" Omi complained, shifting in an attempt to get comfortable.
"Jerk," Kimiko finally said after a long pause. She crossed her arms before attempting a back flip.
"Well?"
"Okay. Fine. The flip is a little off center, but I'm still landing correctly. Just not exactly where I mean to…"
"I'll try to keep my powers from interfering in yours," Raimundo laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I really shouldn't be a jerk to you guys, especially as your leader."
"Aww, Rai," Kimiko patted his hand, "How would we know it was you if you weren't acting like a jerk?"
Omi leaned forward, studying them more closely. He could see Raimundo give Kimiko's hand a squeeze, and it appeared that she did the same back to him. "Oh, I see! They only fight so loudly with each other all the time because they have feelings for one another!"
Unfortunately, Omi's epiphany was a little too loud. Clay smacked himself on the head as Kimiko and Raimundo both turned in their direction.
"Omi, are you spying on us?" Raimundo raised an eyebrow.
"No, no!" Omi responded, ducking his head down in the hopes that it couldn't be seen, "I am just a friendly little squirrel, hiding in the bushes."
"Squirrels don't talk, Omi," Kimiko reached into the bush and fished Omi out. "Clay? You too?"
The cowboy gave her a guilty look as he climbed from out of the bush as well. "Just trying to teach Omi…well, I'll let Rai explain it to you."
"Hey, I never said to spy on anybody!" Raimundo looked away from the piercing look Kimiko was giving him. "Why were you spying on us?" He was decidedly ignoring what Omi had shouted about his and Kimiko's relationship.
"Clay was just trying to help me to understand about the bees and the flowers and the birds and the nests," Omi explained.
Raimundo sighed. "That's 'birds and bees' and 'flowers and trees'. But why were you two doing it here?"
"Oh, Partner, don't pretend to be that dense," Clay took his hat off and inspected it. "You know why. Omi here's the only one who didn't. And now even he does."
Kimiko tapped a foot impatiently, "All right, someone's going to explain this to me. Now."
"I reckon that job oughta fall to Raimundo," Clay suggested.
"I concur!" Omi agreed gleefully.
"Then you two need to clear out of here," Raimundo pointed in the direction of the temple. "Aren't there some chores we didn't finish?"
"You best be along in a minute to help, then. Come on, Omi."
Kimiko and Raimundo watched the other two walk into the temple. They waited a few moments to ensure the other pair had not snuck back into the temple grounds to spy again.
"All right," Kimiko said after she was certain they were gone, "Want to explain what that was about?"
"Clay was trying to teach Omi about girls. I thought it'd be funny."
"What exactly about girls?"
"You know…dating. Besides, the little guy needs to start learning this stuff."
"I agree that he should start learning about it, but why didn't you ask me to tell him about it?"
"Not nearly as funny," Raimundo smirked. Kimiko rolled her eyes. "I guess Clay was trying to use as for an example of," he ran a hand through his hair, "how a guy and a girl should interact."
"Shouldn't he have chosen people that actually like each other?"
"You don't like me?" Raimundo gave her his best puppy dog eyed look. "I thought we were friends!"
Kimiko elbowed him in the ribs. "Of course we're friends, Rai. But uh…you know. The other thing that they were implying. We're not…that," she paused. The silence seemed to grow between them, swelling until it was almost palpable. "Are we?"
"Let's go sit down. I think we need to talk this out," he put his hand back on her shoulder, guiding her to the very edge of the grounds and outside of the gate. They sat on the stairs there, each one waiting for the other to start.
"We can't really talk this out without talking, Raimundo."
"I know. Ai, this is hard, though. So, we've known each other a while now and …do you remember when Hannibal Bean got all up in my head?"
"How can I forget? You and your inner self appeared in the sky. It was one of the freakiest things I've ever seen – which is saying something, in our line of work."
"Anyway, he went through my dreams. …You were there. But then you turned into Wuya. Then you were there again, but you turned into Hannibal…"
"Okay, that is incredibly gross."
"I know. But he was manipulating everything. You were there because…well, sometimes I dream about you. And I think about you sometimes. I just didn't want to say anything because we're on the same team and…"
"And if I said I wasn't interested, things would get weird."
"Or if you said you are interested, Clay and Omi might feel shut out. So I was just going to leave it alone, but if Omi figured it out with just a little prodding…"
"Then everyone knows," Kimiko finished for him. "And then it's still awkward even if we don't talk about it. But Rai, you forget something."
"Yeah?"
"I'm not as dense as Omi can be. I figured it out a while ago. I just didn't say anything for the same reasons you just said."
The sun was starting to go down, casting the pair in a golden light. They watched the sun's descent in silence for a moment, Raimundo wanting to ask her how she felt about everything, but figuring if she didn't want to say anything, there was a reason for it.
"Well?" Kimiko asked after a while.
"Well what?"
Kimiko scooted closer to him and reached for his hand. "It's out now anyway. Clay and Omi didn't seem to mind. And as for your other concern, seriously? You couldn't tell I liked you?"
"You kept hitting me. I have more bruises from you than I do from anyone on the Heylin side combined," as proof, Raimundo rolled up his sleeve where a large bruise was forming. "That one's just from today!"
"That's how we knew she liked ya, Partner." Kimiko and Raimundo looked up to see Clay and Omi sitting together on the gate. "And me and Omi don't mind it none, do we?"
"So long as we do not have to watch you kissing," Omi agreed. "So this means we have been playing…that guy who wears the diapers?"
"Cupid," Clay filled in for the younger monk. "Seriously, you two, get on with it. I ain't waiting another few years for you to work through this tension."
"I don't know whether to thank you two or deck you," Raimundo shook his head.
"Thanks you guys," Kimiko gave Clay and Omi each a hug, "We appreciate you two being so supportive of Rai and I…I guess being in a relationship. But that doesn't change the fact that you spied on us. I have an idea for our first date…"
"Us against Omi and Clay in a sparring match?"
"You read my mind," Kimiko smirked evilly, and Raimundo's grin matched hers.
"Hey, gang, look alive! We got a wu alert!...why is everyone out here?" Dojo had come out to meet the others, carrying the scroll that showed which Shen Gong Wu was activated.
"We'll tell you later," Raimundo insisted.
"Well, all right then. We need to get going on this one, guys, it's a high powered wu." The dragon slithered back inside the temple before transforming into his larger size. Clay and Omi obediently followed and hopped on.
"Rai, aren't we going?" Kimiko started to go towards the others, but Raimundo grabbed her and spun her back in. Before she could say anything, he dipped her and planted a kiss on her lips.
"Okay, now, we can go."