Disclaimer: I don't own Xiaolin Showdown nor any of its characters, nor do I make any profit or attempt to with the writing of this or any of my other pieces.
Warnings: For this chapter, just homosexuality. It gets a bit more mature later. For now, it's just fluff!
Deep in the inner confines of Jack Spicer's "evil" lair, the young boy genius sat at his desk, sketching up new designs for his precious Jack-bots. Hacking into Jack's security system had been no easy feat for Chase, but the immortal Heylin prince managed to disable the bells and whistles that composed of Jack's alarms fairly quickly. He was impressed with how the self-proclaimed "boy genius" had grown over the past few years, now actually making a more respectable name for himself instead of "insect" or "worm". Chase approved, and it was high time that Jack knew it.
When Chase reached the deep confines of Jack's lair, he found the redhead lost in thought and deep in work, his head bowed to the desk and his pencil eagerly sketching away at new robot designs. With his sharp eyesight, Chase could see that the designs were shaping up to be something even more destructive than his last bot. A thrill of wicked glee traced up his spine.
"I'm impressed, Spicer. You've changed so much that even your robots look as though they could do some measure of damage."
Before Chase had reached the word "impressed", Jack let out a shriek of terror, jumping up at least 3 feet in the air. He managed to somehow jump behind his desk, squeezing his eyes shut in fear.
"Jack-bots, Attack!" Jack yelled out, having no idea who was actually in his lab.
As usual, Jack's new and improved robots came to life immediately and hurled themselves toward their target, zapping their lasers like machine guns.
"Of course, you're still just as scared and paranoid as ever," Chase said with a smirk. He took down the Jack-bots easily in a blur of fists, feet, and metal. No matter how advanced Jack's robots would be, they would never be a match for Chase.
This time was no different. When the dust cleared, Chase stood in the middle of the room, the remains of several Jack-bots cluttered around his feet. Carefully, Chase stepped over the scraps and towards the desk Jack cowered behind, reaching over and grabbing Jack by his collar. Effortlessly, he lifted Jack up until he and the genius were at eye-level, with Chase's golden eyes boring into Jack's cherry-red ones.
"Is that any way to treat a guest, Spicer? Much less your favorite evil idol of all time?" Chase smirked, showing his sharp teeth.
Jack blinked his eyes rapidly, amazed that Chase had come to visit him. He wasn't even trying to kill him either!
"S-sorry, Chase. You know how jumpy I get." the red-head said nervously.
Even though Jack was much older now and a bit wiser, he was still intimidated by Chase's presence. He still looked up to the warlord, but had tried not to annoy him as much as he used to. Instead of focusing on just impressing Chase, Jack tried to make his creations better and more powerful. By doing this, he was able to retrieve more Shen Gong Wu from the monks without even having a showdown.
Still smirking, Chase let Jack go. "I noticed that you've been hoarding more Shen Gong Wu than you have in the past. I'm impressed with how far you've come, and I decided to visit." He cast an eye around the lab, noting the renovations Jack had made to it: it was sleeker yet darker, and certainly less cluttered. No expense was spared to update the lab. Attention to detail, changing with the times...good, good. Chase crossed to the desk where Jack had been working, peering down at the yet-unfinished design of a new 'bot. "Care to explain to me what this new one will do?"
Jack got up from the ground where Chase had dropped him, since he was still a hopeless klutz.
"Oh, well, this one is going to made of different alloys which are a much stronger metal than I usually use. This way, they can't be destroyed so easily. Besides, the lasers are way more deadly. Not enough to really kill anybody, but it's enough to leave a pretty bad mark." Jack explained, the whole time staring at Chase like a lovesick puppy, as the other studied the designs.
"Excellent, excellent." Chase ran a hand over the design. He was aware of Jack's eyes staring at him, and he made no attempt to tell the genius off. Once upon a time, he would ask Jack "why are you staring at me like a dead fish?" but...at the moment, he truly didn't mind. Chase allowed Jack's cherry-red eyes to rake over his form...for now.
"I understand that you're still lacking in martial arts skills...or in any skills besides technology," Chase stated, breaking Jack out of his reverie. "The robots will only protect you for so long."
Chase stood up and started to pace the room as he often did when he gave speeches like this. At one moment, when Jack had his back to Chase, the warlord allowed his own eyes to trace over Jack. When the hell did he get so tall? Had so much time really passed? Then again, to an immortal dragon like Chase, five years felt like five hours, and five hours felt like five minutes. If he was going to get his hands on Jack, then he'd have to act fast before Jack grew up and became tired of evil.
"Yeah, I know, but it's not like anyone's gonna really teach me any of that. " Jack commented, rearranging some of the sketches on his desk, unaware that Chase was staring at him. "I'm just too..." Jack paused, trying to think of an ideal word, "...ponderous." he decided, picking up some scrolls of paper and walking across the room.
"Are you so sure?" One of the scrolls of paper fell from Jacks' arms, and Chase caught it with ease, now standing face to face with the redheaded genius. "You've grown up to be a fine villain, if not still somewhat...unpolished."
Rather like a gem, Chase mused. Jack was, to use the old adage, much like a diamond in the rough. If taken into the right hands, he could be shaped into a beautiful treasure. Unfortunately, all of the hands that had thus far "held" Jack were far too unskilled to make him shine, resulting in a scratched, scuffed stone. But with the right master...
"What if I mentored you?"
Jack stared at Chase for a few moments. You could practically see the gears of his magnificent mind turning like clockwork.
Then, he burst out laughing.
Chase's eyebrows furrowed over his golden eyes. What the hell was Spicer laughing at? If anything, Chase expected Jack to be clinging to him, spouting out nonsense words of affirmation and squealing like a girl. "What's so funny?"
"Oh, c'mon, Chase." Jack said condescendingly. "The last time you tried to make me your apprentice, you didn't really mean it. You just did that so you could start manipulating Omi. I'm not dumb enough to fall for something like that again."
Jack moved passed Chase to set his scrolls down on a nearby table.
"Besides," he continued, "You don't even like me."
Chase silently fumed, but he held his tongue. "Yes, but that was then, and this is now. Now, you've grown up. You're wiser than I predicted you'd ever be, not to mention far less annoying." He continued to pace, but he never strayed far from where Jack stood. "Why are you still stuck in the past? If you've changed so much, then can you believe that I've changed, too? Dragons do shed their scales."
Despite the fact that Jack was internally smiling at all these compliments, he held his external posture.
"You've changed? Please, Chase. I've known you for a few years now and you haven't changed in all that time." Jack scoffed, his back to the Heylin warrior. "Anyways, you love to manipulate people. How do I know that this time is any different?"
It was a risky thing to do, acting so cocky towards Chase, but Jack was never one for being subtle.
Cocky little... Chase's eyes bore deep into the back of Jack's side. "Because this time is different." He silently crept up behind Jack until his chest was pressed up against the redhead's back. "Think about it," he murmured into Jack's ear, hot breath cascading over cool skin. "Last time, I didn't offer you anything but the position of apprentice. This time...I'm offering you so much more."
Jack's body became completely stiff as if he had been frozen.
"More? What the hell is he talking about? And why the hell is he standing so close to me?" Jack thought rapidly, his eyes wide.
Jack couldn't remember Chase ever standing this close to him without hurting him. He slowly managed to at least turn his head around to meet Chase's eyes. He didn't reply because he honestly had no idea what to say.
Chase chuckled darkly, a low rumble in his chest. "I'm not a fool, Jack. Your body has grown as well as your mind, and I find both equally attractive. Before, you were too ripe for me to teach, but now..." Chase tilted Jack's head up so their eyes locked. "You're perfect."
For a moment, Jack almost became lost in Chase's golden eyes. He'd always found them so interesting, since they were almost cat-like despite the fact that he was a dragon.
"How pretty..." Jack thought dreamily for a few seconds.
Then, his half-lidded eyes flew completely open and managed with surprising strength to push the dragon-man away. Chase grunted as Jack pushed him back, stumbling backwards and catching himself against the desk.
"What was that for?" He growled, teeth clenching tightly in anger.
"I'm not as dumb as you think I am, Chase." Jack said his voice uncharacteristically low. "I know that you're just going to use me as you have always done. How can you go from practically killing me all those times to suddenly being attracted to me?"
"I don't think you're stupid." Chase's hand reached out to touch the designs on the desk. "This is more than proof enough that you can wipe the floor with the monks using only your mind." His golden eyes glimmered in the low light. "All those times ago, you were young and all those times ago yes, you were foolish. I must admit, I was...rash in my actions. I failed to notice how quickly and how splendidly you've grown." He stood up straighter. "When you've lived for as long as I have, a year feels like a mere month, a month a mere week, and a week a mere hour. I let time get away from me, and before I knew it, you went from 'Jack Spicer, Insect' to 'Jack Spicer, Evil Genius'."
Chase was a proud man, but he wasn't afraid to admit when he was wrong. Being a pompous blowhard was for pompous blowhards who couldn't admit defeat and kept bashing their heads into a wall. Chase did not like the wall, but he was willing to admit when the wall had won.
"I guess I can understand that." Jack admitted, sitting down on the arm of his black couch, so that he was facing Chase. "However, I don't see how I can trust you, Chase. I mean, you had your door charmed to crush me anytime I came over, you threw me off a cliff, hurled a boulder at my head, threw me at that T-Rex for no real reason..." his voice trailed off.
Jack sighed deeply, "Having you as a mentor would be like a dream come true, but I have no solid reason to trust anything that is coming out of your mouth. You're Heylin, like me. We're not known for our honesty."
"The door is not charmed to crush you anymore," Chase said. "I had it removed last month. Again, all of those things happened when you were very young, and admittedly, very annoying. But you're neither of those things now, and I...regret those decisions."
He moved fluidly towards the couch, bending down so that he was once more eye-level with Jack, nearly kiss-close. "Would the promise of eternal youth earn your trust?" He all but whispered. The offer of eternal youth was not one that Chase made lightly. It also meant that he actually wanted to keep Jack around for the long-term.
Jack's eyes widened as big as saucers.
"Eternal youth?" the red-head thought amazed, his brow furrowing.
"C-can you do that?" Jack asked, leaning in even closer, not to get physically closer to the other, but to look into Chase's eyes as if trying to find even the slightest hint of dishonesty.
He found none.
Chase nodded, strands of his black-green hair brushing against Jack's fiery red locks. "Yes. There are other methods to achieve eternal youth aside from the Lao Mang Long." His eyes glimmered again for a moment. "Unless, of course, you want to be a snarling, soulless hell-beast like me, Jack."
Jack could feel his body trembling with anticipation and fear.
However, he managed to squeak out, "If you don't have a soul, how can you feel this strongly about me?"
"Damned if I know," Chase hissed. His current position was too uncomfortable, so he stepped away from Jack and sat on the couch. "All I know is a strange, squeezing feeling around my chest. Here, to be exact." The Heylin prince tapped his breastplate right over his heart.
Jack couldn't help, but a smile a little. In reality, while Jack did idolize Chase, he did have a humongous crush on him. He couldn't help, but find it almost cute that there was something that Chase didn't understand. He got up from the arm of the couch and plopped himself next to Chase.
"How long have you been feeling this way?" he asked the elder man.
"About a year, give or take. I don't really keep track of time anymore. It doesn't leave." Chase frowned a little bit. "When you're gone, it squeezes tight enough for me to burst, but when you're here, it becomes a gentle pressure...almost like a hand on a shoulder, or a kiss..." Chase's eyes flickered to Jack's lips when he said that. "I thought it would go away, but it only intensified over time."
"Have you ever felt this way about anybody else before?" Jack asked, tilting his head slightly to one side, as he stared at Chase with more curiosity than suspiciousness.
"No." Chase shook his head. "Well...maybe once, a long time ago," he hedged. "There was a pretty girl in a village I visited, and I tried to court her, but once I saw her with another man, the feeling went away almost immediately."
That feeling was replaced with more familiar feelings: anger, hatred, and fury. Chase had torn the two of them apart and ripped them to shreds before traveling to the next village. He remembered being so angry that he neglected his Lao Mang Long regimen for two weeks straight and reverting to his dragon form temporarily.
But this didn't feel like anger. Chase didn't feel like he wanted to tear Jack apart and rip him to shreds. Strangely enough, he had never felt that way towards Jack, despite all of his attempts to harm the genius. Now that Chase thought of it, he had never truly hated Jack...
"Well, she sounds like a complete idiot for choosing some loser over you." Jack commented idly.
The Heylin prince glanced up at Jack. "Indeed. And what about you, Jack? Have you ever felt this way about someone?"
Jack leaned back against the couch, honestly thinking about Chase's question.
After a few minutes of thought he admitted, "Not really. I mean, I've come to terms with the fact that I'm bisexual and I've had small crushes on some people, but I've never completely been in love with someone. Hell, I've never even been in a relationship."
Jack chuckled sarcastically, "How sad is that?"
"That's not sad; it just means that you haven't found the right person yet." Chase looked a tad...dejected. A small part of him hoped that Jack would've said that he felt the same way towards the dragon lord, but he tried not to show it. "Tying yourself to a person that you have no feelings for is sad." His golden eyes flickered back up to Jack. "If you accept my offer, then you have all the time in the world to search for who you truly love."
Jack turned his head back to Chase and studied the dragon lord's face. Believe it or not, after getting to know Chase for a few years, Jack had developed a secret skill for decoding Chase's facial expressions. Earlier, he had been so suspicious of his behavior that he hadn't been looking at Chase's face closely.
Jack realized that Chase's hidden expression was that of honesty and sadness. There was something else there, too. Then, he became conscious of the fact that Chase also held love in that stern gaze that he always had plastered across his face.
With this new information, Jack made his decision. He slowly reached over, a bit nervously, and put his hand over Chase's, which were strangely not gloved today.
"I think I already have..." Jack croaked out, a bit amazed at his own words, but not regretful.
Chase started slightly when Jack touched his hand. In contrast to the rest of his body, his hand was surprisingly warm. Removing his gloves so as to properly feel Jack's hand, Chase turned the hand over to inspect the palm, tracing his fingers over the delicate lines he found there.
"Have you?" he asked his voice soft and low.
Jack nodded silently, feeling as if he had become temporarily mute. He tightened his grip on Chase's hand, feeling as though his heart was souring higher than Cloud 9. After inspecting Jack's hand with his own hands and eyes, Chase hesitatingly lifted Jack's hand to his lips, placing a soft kiss on the back.
"Jack Spicer...will you be my apprentice?"
Jack chuckled a bit and replied with confidence, "I would be honored, Chase Young."
Chase's eyes lit up brightly. "Excellent." He didn't let go of Jack's hand, idly tracing patterns in the back with his thumb. "I will return tomorrow to fetch you. Is that enough time to gather your belongings together?"
Jack nodded eagerly. "Yeah, that's perfect. I do have a question though. Would you be alright with me building a lab in your citadel? As much as I can't wait to learn from you, I can't separate myself from my robots for good."
"It would be fine, on one condition." Chase dropped Jack's hand and moved closer, putting an arm over the top of the couch so that his hand brushed against Jack's head. His mind wandered for a split second as his fingers toyed with Jack's hair: Chase was glad that Jack no longer used so much product in his hair. It felt so soft and natural, almost like silk.
Jack grinned dopily as he shut his eyes at the soothing ministrations.
"What is it?" he asked.
A smile bloomed on Chase's face when he saw Jack's pleased expression. He continued to weave his fingers through the crimson locks while leaning in slowly to brush his nose against Jack's.
"A kiss," he whispered breathlessly.
Jack's eyes opened slowly as he was greeted my Chase's golden orbs. He almost shivered at the way Chase was now breathing.
With a small gulp, Jack responded with, "Sounds fair."
And with that, his lips met Chase's softly, but firmly.
Oh, oh! It felt like the pressure on Chase's heart gave way to an explosion the moment Jack's lips touched his own. Immediately, his hand tangled itself in Jack's hair while his other arm wound tightly around his waist to deepen the kiss slowly. Chase was willing to bet his stash of Lao Mang Long that this was the redhead's first kiss, and he didn't want to scare him off.
Strangely, Jack felt himself relaxing in Chase's grip. It was firm, yet very gentle. The way Chase's hand tightened in his hair sent a barrel of fireworks through Jack's heart causing him to tilt his head more into the kiss. The warlord was right in his thinking that this was Jack's first kiss and the evil genius was enjoying every nanosecond of it.
A hum of approval escaped Chase's throat as Jack responded to his kiss. His fingers continued to knead through Jack's hair while the hand on his waist moved up to rub his back gently, almost reassuringly. Slowly, Chase tilted his head so the arch of his lips could caress the curve of Jack's own. Jack slowly slithered his skinny arms around Chase's neck, starting to feel a little light-headed at this new sensation, but not wanting to stop for the world.
Even though he was immortal, he still needed to breathe. Chase pulled away to replenish his breath, not taking eyes off Jack.
"More?" He asked breathlessly, his usually even voice sounding husky.
"Yes, please," Jack replied breathlessly, finding himself incredibly attracted to Chase's voice. He slowly ran his fingers through Chase's hair, subconsciously fascinated by how Chase's hair, although long, had absolutely no tangles.
Chase murmured pleasantly as Jack stroked his hair. It had been a long time since he allowed someone to touch his hair willingly, and it felt good. He wasted no time in pressing his lips against Jack's once more, although this kiss was a tad more...feverish. Jack knew this too, but didn't protest. He opened his mouth even more, leaning even closer to Chase. His fingers tightened even more in the other's hair, but he barely noticed.
Chase took the opportunity to wind his tongue past Jack's lips, pushing the evil genius so close to him that, if they were any closer, Chase would be wearing Jack's red Frankenstein shirt. The evil genius pushed his own tongue into the other's mouth, tasting the enticing flavor. He managed to lift his body up a little so that he was sitting in Chase's lap.
"Mmm~" Chase groaned a little into the kiss, rubbing his tongue against Jack's, the taste of pudding cups the most prominent flavor.
At this point, as much as it pained Jack to do so, he needed to breath, so he slowly pulled away, breathing heavily.
"Was that...too much?" Chase panted his cheeks flushed pink from lack of oxygen.
Jack let out a shaky laugh. "Nah," he panted, leaning in to put his head against Chase's breastplate of armor. The cold metal helped cool him down and allowed a place for his head to rest. He was eternally grateful, since his head had gone from light as a feather to feeling like a ton of bricks.
"G-good." Chase gently lifted Jack's head so that he could remove his breastplate and rest his head on Chase's chest instead. "I'd hate to think...that I'd gone too fast."
"T-that's very thoughtful of you." Jack said, nuzzling softly against Chase's chest, feeling more content and pleased then he'd ever felt in his whole life.
"Mmm," was Chase's only reply as he leaned back against the couch to let Jack cuddle him.
"I hope you realize that this isn't a one-time thing, Jack," he murmured, placing a soft kiss on the top of Jack's head.
"God, I hope it isn't," Jack responded genuinely, curling his arms around Chase's waist.
"Is the evil boy genius Jack Spicer a cuddler?" Chase teased gently. Not like the Heylin prince had any room to talk, laying on Jack's black couch in his lair with Jack on top of him, snuggling.
"Shut up," Jack replied with a fake huff, his voice muffled from his spot.
Jack almost didn't want to separate himself from Chase, in a childish fear that if he removed himself from the dragon, Chase would disappear or Jack would wake up to find out that everything was just an amazing dream.
Chase could feel all the emotions radiating from the evil genius: love, elation, relief, and a bit of desperation. Chase understood: Jack didn't want him to leave. To be frank, the dragon lord didn't want to leave, either. He remained content to run his fingers through Jack's hair, closing his eyes and letting out a soft sigh of contentment.
"Spicer, I warn you: I might fall asleep here."
"You'll have to help me pack in the morning, then." Jack warned him, his own eyes falling shut.
"It's a deal," Chase murmured, drifting off to sleep.
A/N: Hello, everybody! This is an ongoing CHACK RP between myself and Rhapsody-Shaman from DeviantArt.
Moonheart13: Jack
Rhapsody-Shaman: Chase
There will probably be more chapters to this, just so you all know. This is on DeviantArt as well. (And no, this story is in no way associated with my story, "Road Trip".)