GOOD DIRECTIONS
A/N: Ok, so I've been hearing the song 'Good Directions' by Bill Currington for the past couple days now and honestly, I'm sooo in love with the idea of applying it to Clay, so here it is. It's (obviously) AU and based on the song. Enjoy. :)
Description: It's not uncommon to see people on the side of the road selling home-grown foods, especially in the south, but it's always a pleasant surprise when someone stops for them. Clay/Kimiko, One-shot, AU.
Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown or the song 'Good Directions', but I love them both so much! XD
Clay leaned against up against the door of his flatbed old Ford, taking a deep breath of the fine southern air, "Ah, good ol' Texas." he said with a smile.
Looking around, there wasn't much of anything around him. His daddy liked his solitude so their ranch was far out of town. They were mostly a cattle ranch but lately his mama started her own little vegetable garden and she was so proud of her veggies she wanted to sell 'em.
Leading to why Clay was parked on the side of the road about three miles out of town with a big sign that read: "Home grown! Corn, tomatoes, turnips and more!" in dark permanent marker.
He didn't mind it much, anything for his mama, but still, it sure did get boring after the first hour of no cars. Maybe he should move closer to town.
Shrugging, he reached into the cab of the truck and pulled out a bag of pork grinds. He'd wait maybe another three hours before packing it in.
He scoffed and shook his head "Anythin' fer mama I guess."
Kimiko groaned as she fiddled with her GPS "Come on! This little town isn't even marked! This is the last time I listen to Keiko! 'Why don't you drive to your big fashion show in Dallas' she says, 'It'll be fun, you'll see so many sights' she says! Humph, as if! All I've seen is blank, empty desert and tiny little nowhere towns sprinkled in it! I swear, I'll throttle her when I get back to California…"
She put the GPS down just as she was exiting yet another tiny town that had no listing on her GPS, surprised to see there was a car parked on the side of the road.
"Oh good, maybe this guy can give me directions." she muttered as she pulled up. The sign caught her attention and she nearly scoffed "Home grown? How can anyone grow anything in this desert?"
The man selling these home grown vegetables pushed himself off the truck and put his bag back in the truck before approaching her.
Kimiko was glad she'd decided to drive her convertible; with the hood down she didn't need to leave the car to talk to him. She folded up her sunglasses and put them in her overhead compartment once she'd shifted into park.
He was wiping his hands on his pants as he came around to the driver's side. Kimiko tried not to roll her eyes, "I hope this one has all his teeth." she thought.
As he got closer, it became apparent that he did, in fact, have all his teeth as he flashed her a smile and tilted his hat up to see her "Well howdy ma'am, could I interest ya in some home-grown veggies?"
It took Kimiko a minute to find her voice. Actually, he was kinda cute with those bright blue eyes and that accent…
She cleared her throat "Oh um, no thank you. I'm uh, just kinda lost is all. I'm looking for the interstate. I pulled off to get gas in a town some fifty miles ago and I haven't been able to find it again since."
That charming smile never left his face, even as she turned down the vegetable offer.
When he spoke he turned in the direction down the road and pointed "Well, if you go down yonder, past the busted caution light you'll run into a little country store with an old Coke sign out front."
At that he looked back at her "Ya gotta stop in an ask Miss Belle fer soma her sweet tea before ya head out, best tea in all a Texas. Then, if ya take a left you'll find yer interstate but a right 'll loop ya right back here ta me."
Kimiko smiled, genuinely so surprising enough, as she shifted into drive, "Thank you so much, I'll be sure to try some of that sweet tea."
He nodded, tipping his long brim cowboy hat to her as he back away from her car. She was careful not to pull out to fast; she didn't want to shoot dirt at him.
As she made it back onto the road she yelled over her shoulder "Good luck with your vegetables!"
Clay stared after her as she got back onto the little dirty road. He let out a low whistle "Prettiest tourist I seen in a while, wonder what an Asian girl's doin' down here anyways."
He frowned a bit "Ah dangit, I shoulda asked her name!" halfheartedly he threw his hat to the ground "Prob'ly sound like a big ol' dummy to 'er…"
With a heavy sigh, he grabbed his old hat off the ground and after dusting it a little put it back on his head, "Well, no way this ol' Ford'll catch 'er 'fore she makes it to the interstate, guess I'll never know."
He opened to driver's side door of the truck and sat down, "Ah heck, she prob'ly didn't like me anyhow, pretty little thang like that…" he looked back down the road where he could still see the trail of dust as her car went down the road.
"Dang, if I don't feel as down as a dog left out in the rain." he miserably sighed as he sat back against the seat of the truck.
Kimiko smiled as she spotted the old Coke sign the cowboy had mentioned, "He said a left up here will lead me back to the interstate." she sighed in relief "Finally."
But a creeping feeling of guilt came upon her as she made to pass the little store. She was mostly just trying to be polite in saying she'd stop for tea but…
She couldn't stop thinking about that smile of his. He was handsome, she'd give him that and nice to boot. Not everyone down here was welcoming to someone of a different race, as she noted a few towns back when she first came off the interstate.
The store was close now; she was just about to pass it…
Kimiko groaned as she made a hasty turn in front of the store, "Fine. Stupid conscience." she muttered as she turned the car off.
Today she was wearing one of her favorite outfits from her fashion line, a white dress with a V-cut that stopped just below the knee and she was accessorizing with a black belt and black heels. Her hair was flying free today, though normally dyed and put up in a high-fashion style, she didn't have the time to do anything with it when she left the hotel this morning so it was just down today, though she did tie a black bandana in to match her other accessorize.
She grabbed her black purse as she got out the car. She straightened the ruffles of her dress before nudging the door shut then heading into the small store.
"Huh, made of actual wood, that's different." she thought as she stepped up the three stairs to the door. The whole store seemed to be made of wood.
A small bell dinged as she walked in and a voice from the back yelled "Be there in a second!"
Kimiko looked around; the store was small but packed with junk. About three card racks were by the door full of postcards with various pictures and sayings. The aisles had everything from diapers to candies to canned food to liquor. A few things were hung on the walls also. A big wagon well, a couple farming scythes and hoes were just a few of the things.
Kimiko looked at the counter and noticed knick-knacks and some scorpions and spiders petrified in glass. She shuddered, "Who buys these things?" she thought.
A woman rushed from the back of the store and made it to the back of the register, a little out of breath "Phew, sorry 'bout that hon, how ya'll doin? Can I help you today?"
She was a bit of a heavier set woman, but she had a kind look about her. Kimiko smiled "I was told Miss Belle has the best tea in Texas, so I stopped for some."
The woman smiled "Aw, aren't you sweet. Well, I suppose I make a mighty fine tea but I 'magine you ran into Clay up the road to hear that. Hold on a minute, I'll go get you a glass."
"Oh, you don't have to go through the trouble of getting a glass; a Styrofoam cup would be fine." Kimiko said hurriedly after her.
The woman, Miss Belle, laughed, her voice getting further away "My tea is too good for a cup hon, ain't no trouble at all."
Kimiko sighed and shook her head "Well, so much for getting there a few days early to schmooze some critics." she muttered.
She leaned up against the counter and looked around the store some more. Maybe this place got busier during tourist season, why else would they have so much stuff.
Kimiko looked out the window; her car was the only one out there. She vaguely wondered how the man back on the side of the road was doing on his sales. A handsome guy like that shouldn't have to much trouble, with his worn blue jeans and that button up light blue shirt, accenting his broad shoulders and pecs…she shook her head of the thought.
"So you said the guy on the side of the road's name was Clay?" she shouted without looking back.
"Well yes I did, boy's my son after all."
She jumped at the sound of Miss Belle, who was stand right in front of her on the other side of the counter and had placed two glasses of tea between them.
Kimiko giggled embarrassed, "Sorry."
Miss Belle waved her off "S'alright hon. Drink up."
Kimiko bowed slightly and grabbed the glass "Thank you." the second the tea touched her tongue she could tell people in Texas must love their sugar, the tingly sweetness made her smile as she put the glass back down.
She let out a small 'ah' of satisfaction "Wow, that is really good tea."
Miss Belle just smiled "So where you from and what brings ya'll out here?"
"Oh I'm from California; I was driving to Dallas for a fashion show."
"Is that right? Well, I figured you were comin' from some place fancy." Miss Belle said, gesturing to her outfit.
Kimiko lightly rubbed the back of her neck "Yeah, not really dressed for the dirt am I? My friend suggested I drive to see the sights around here."
"Can't imagine yer enjoying that much, not much to see out here."
Kimiko shook her head "Oh no, I mean, it's very nice weather you got around here. The landscape is…nice. I mean," she smiled and took another sip of her tea "I'm enjoying it a lot more now at least."
Miss Belle smiled as well "Well, when yer headin' back home, if ya come by here I'll have batch of tea for ya."
Kimiko chuckled and shook her hand "Thank you, that's so kind of you. How much for the tea I just had?"
Miss Belle waved her off "Free of charge, a bit of southern hospitality for you."
Kimiko blinked in surprise "Really? Wow, well, thanks again."
Miss Belle nodded as she turned back to the register "No problem. You have yerself a nice day now."
Kimiko smiled as she walked back to her car; maybe she wasn't giving this place enough credit. As she closed the door to her car her thoughts went back to the man on the side of the road, Clay, she'd said his name was.
"He did have a really nice smile, kind eyes and that truffle of blond hair that stuck out from his hat…" she thought as she started up the car.
Maybe, well, she was a head of schedule, maybe she was missing out on some good sight seeing…maybe a guide would help…
She shook her head "No, no. This is a work trip, not a vacation." she told herself sternly.
And yet, when she came into the fork in the road, she didn't turn left. She idled there, looking between the left and the right…
Clay walked a little around the truck just to stretch his legs out. The one drawback from selling on the side of the road…well, that and boredom.
Clay wasn't too bored though, he was occupying his thoughts with the nameless girl. Wondering about her trip, her name and thinking about all the things he should've said when she was right there and getting lost in the thought of that sleek black hair and those blue eyes of hers.
The sight of dust being kicked up caught the corner of his eye, pulling him out of his thoughts. Clay looked up to see a car coming up.
At first he thought it was someone from town but as it came closer he could see the red sheen of a convertible, with the hood down.
Clay raised his hat a bit and rubbed his eyes "The Texas heat's gotta be playin' tricks on me…" he muttered.
But it wasn't, coming up the road was the nameless girl. She pulled up and came to a stop right next to him.
Clay shook his head a bit to get it together "Hey now, thought you were headed to the interstate."
Inwardly he cringed, "Oh yeah, that's how yer gonna get 'er to stay." he thought.
She smiled and actually came out of her car to talk to him, "Well, I was, but after I got some of your mother's tea…"
She paused, suddenly looking a little flustered, "I don't know, my friend said driving to Dallas would be more fun than flying because of the sights I'd see and…well, I haven't seen much of Texas on my drive and I kinda thought, well, maybe…if I had someone showing me around that is…"
Clay felt the big smile coming to his face as he tipped his hat to her "Well shucks, if you wanna see how great Texas is I'd be moren' happy ta show ya around."
The woman smiled a smile that nearly knocked him clean off his feet "I'd like that."
Clay could feel the dumbstruck look on his face, but couldn't help it. He held his hand out to her "Uh, m-mah name's Clay. Clay Bailey."
She giggled "I know, you're mom told me. I'm Kimiko. Kimiko Tohomiko."
Clay gently took her hand in his "Kimiko…" he said softly.
Holding her soft hand in his, he'd never been gladder in his life that he loved his mama enough to stay on the side of the road to sell her vegetables.
Kimiko couldn't fight the smile that came to her face when he said her name. The sound of her name through his voice made her heart speed up.
He was so handsome and so cute when he looked embarrassed. Maybe this trip would be better than she thought, with some good directions to lead her way.
-End
End A/N: Aww! I love that song! Well, that's the story, hope you enjoyed reading it half as much as I did writing it.