Me: HOLA PEOPLES! I'M NOT DEAD! IT'S A MIRACLE!
Rai: *mutters* More like a nightmare.
Me: Shut up, Raimundo! *glares at him, but the smiles at readers* So, anyway, this is my first real fluff, and I LOVE how it turned out! :D Also, half credit goes to NancyDrewSMARTICUS who collaborated on this with me and allowed me to post it! She also told me that she might write a poem to go with this story, so, keep your eyes open, my pretties! *sounding like the Wicked Witch due to insanity caused by lack of sleep*
When the young Xiaolin warriors first arrived at their beloved temple in China, there were cherry blossom trees near the courtyard, but they strangely enough never bloomed. Master Fung had told them that the trees would bloom when they were ready to bloom. This disappointed Kimiko the most, for the young Dragon of Fire had always loved the cherry blossom trees back in Japan.
Now, two and-a-half years later, the trees near the courtyard were blooming with brilliant hues of pink just as they should.
Kimiko stood a few feet from the courtyard, her eyes closed and a smile on her lips which were as pink as the lightest tinted cherry blossoms. She inhaled the marvelous scent while a light and gentle breeze ruffled her raven black hair that was, as always, being held up in two pigtails.
Another voice indicated that she was not alone, "What is that?"
Kimiko's blue eyes opened and she turned to find the source of the voice, a tan boy with chocolate brown hair and eyes that were like the darkest green jade stone, and she smiled at the Shoku warrior.
"Hey, Rai," she said before turning back to the trees with a smile. "The cherry blossom trees are blooming. Isn't it great?"
Raimundo stood there, his mouth slightly agape. "I've only heard about these things in bloom."
The young Japanese girl turned back to him with a curious expression. "Really?"
He took a breath through his nose before responding. "Yeah. It's really just too warm for them to grow in Rio," he said as he looked around in amazement.
The petite fire dragon smiled and asked, "Wanna know the best way to catch their scent?"
The boy nodded, a small smile coming to his face for a brief moment.
Kimiko smiled. "First, close your eyes," she said, coming around behind him and resting her hands on his shoulders, causing him to relax his shoulders. He hadn't realized that they were even tense.
He obliged to her command and closed his eyes, awaiting further instruction.
A smile still on her face, she said, "Good. Now, you need to wait for a calm, gentle breeze to blow by." He shivered as her breath danced across his earlobe.
When the breeze picked up, Kimiko's direction was simple; "Breathe."
As he obeyed her last request, Raimundo's senses were graced beautifully as his element carried from the trees the sweetest scent to ever come to his presence.
"Wow," he breathed, unable to find a word suitable for what he just experienced and opened his eyes.
Kimiko smiled in a way that she hadn't since the last time the four warriors went on a Shen-Gong-Wu hunt in Japan and replied, "I know."
Raimundo smiled back and said, just kind of blurting it out, "You look nice today, Kimiko."
Hearing him say this, she blushed and asked, "What?"
The Dragon of the Wind blushed as well, but then answered shyly, "You look nice today…"
Her blush deepened and she looked down, avoiding his eyes, but a small smile crept upon her face, "Uh… Thank you…"
Raimundo smiled back, but decided to change the subject before he made any other stupid comments. "So…" as he looked around, "you grew up around these?"
Her smile grew. "Yeah." She sighed. "When we came here, I was so disappointed when the cherry blossom trees didn't bloom…"
Raimundo continued to stare at them in awe. "I've never seen them before… Cherry blossom trees," the words feeling like honey in his mouth as he spoke them. "Now I know what I was missing."
Kimiko's face softened, her face looking a bit distant. "I missed the cherry blossom trees… They were my mom's favorite thing about Japan." She gave a small laugh. "Well, that and me and Papa, of course."
Raimundo smiled. "I miss the passion fruit. Every spring day, my sister Liz and I would stop and grab a couple of passion fruits for breakfast."
"That sounds nice," she replied as the breeze picked up, carrying a few cherry blossom petals with it.
Raimundo saw a blossom floating with the other petals and caught it, gently in his hands.
Seeing this, Kimiko smiled. "It's so RARE that I ever see a full blossom."
Raimundo considered this for a moment before handing it to her. "Here."
Surprised at this action, she paused before shaking her head. "No, I couldn't. You caught it… it's yours."
Raimundo still held the cherry blossom out to her. "I-I want you to have it," he said with a bit of pink tinting the tan skin of cheeks.
She blushed, a small smile creeping onto her face. "R-Really…?"
He nodded. "Go on. Take it."
She gingerly accepted the small pink blossom.
Raimundo then smiled at her. "Besides… I'm looking for something much better than a single cherry blossom. I mean, what good is it if you don't have anyone to share the moment with?"
Kimiko looked at him, and then dropped her gaze just as quickly as her cheeks reddened, and another smile appeared. "Oh… That's, ah… really sweet…"
Raimundo smiled a bit and, not knowing what came over him, kissed her cheek before quickly pulling away.
Kimiko looked up at him, stunned, and was even more shocked to see that his cheeks were pink and he looked shy as he stood there, avoiding her gaze.
Kimiko couldn't help but smile, and she swiftly kissed his cheek before running off in the direction of the trees.
He was frozen for a moment, before shaking off his shock and running after her and shouting, "Kim! Wait!"
She hid behind one of the trees, smiling playfully, and gave a squeal as he shouted, "BOO!" and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her from behind and she laughed, having real fun for the first time in a while.
Once Raimundo made the mistake of letting Kimiko's feet touch the ground, she squirmed out of his grip and took off, laughing as he chased after her. It almost as if they were playing a game of tag as they wove through and between the blooming trees of pink.
As she ran, Kimiko picked up a handful of the coral petals and threw them behind her at the boy following at a quick pace.
She squeaked as Raimundo caught up to her and lifted her once again, but only for a moment before setting her back down. He remained in his position of holding her tiny waist from behind.
"Kim," he said with a smile as he turned her to face him.
Her cheeks were then tinted the same color as the blossoms on the tree branches. "Yeah?"
Raimundo brought a hand up to caress her cheek, causing her to shiver, and asked in a quiet voice, "Can I stay here?"
Kimiko responded in the same small tone, "What do you mean?"
Something in Raimundo grew excited, and that part of him WANTED this. He continued, "In this moment, with you, forever?"
The blush on Kimiko's cheeks deepened, going from cherry-blossom to crimson within a few seconds. "Y-You mean it?" she stammered.
There was a tint of a blush on Raimundo's cheeks as well by this point. "Y-Yes…"
Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Of course… I-I… I don't WANT you to leave."
He took a step closer to her, his hand still resting on her smooth and usually pale cheek. "Can I try something? Something that will make this moment stay?"
A small smile curled the corners of her lips in a way that Raimundo thought was beautiful. "Anything…"
He leaned in and his lips connected with hers.
Her breath caught before she relaxed into the kiss, his free hand coming to rest on her bare cheek, cupping her face in his soft hands… his even softer lips feeling like velvet against her own, she gave a shiver of pleasure and wished that she could be encased within this moment for all eternity.
As he parted their lips all too soon, he looked her in the eye and asked, "Kim…?"
"Yes?" she responded breathlessly.
He gulped and questioned, "You know what I said about wanting so much more than a cherry blossom?"
She nodded her head in response, her cheeks still contrasting pink against the rest of her ivory colored skin.
He looked into her eyes and said, "I wanted someone to share it with. Kim… I-I've liked you for a while…" he continued as he rubbed the back of his neck and looked shy. It was so unlike him to be this timid, and yet Kimiko mentally found it absolutely adorable.
She smiled and responded, "I like you too…"
His cheeks reddened once again and he asked, "What would you say if I asked you… to be MORE than friends…?"
Kimiko's cheeks flushed with anticipation. "You… You mean…?"
Raimundo attempted to swallow the lump in his throat and he confirmed," Yes… I-I mean… w-would you… be my girlfriend…?" As he asked his question, he couldn't help the stammer in his voice or the shaking of his hands.
Her breath caught in her throat once again, and a small, shy smile curved her rosy lips. "R-Really?"
He nodded, his cheeks still a bright crimson.
Kimiko smiled as her hand slid into his. "What would you say if I said yes?"
His own lips curved at the corners, and he felt overjoyed. He felt SO ecstatic, that he felt as if his heart would burst and he wanted to just live this moment for as long as possible before he awoke from this dream-come-true. "I'd be happy, and wouldn't be able to believe my luck…"
She stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his once more. This one wasn't as simple and chaste as the previous kiss, but it held the same emotion and bliss and pureness of heart as it mixed with the newly ignited passion between the two that could only have been possessed from their complimentary elements.
Raimundo parted from the kiss just enough to press his nose to Kimiko's and keep his upper lip barely touching her own and smiled down at her. "I caught the full cherry blossom…"
And he dove in for another kiss.
Me: *yawns* Okay, I'm done. R&R PLZ!