Decided to cross post some more fics from our AO3 account!
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It'd become a kind of game to Jack at this point, in a…sort-of-illegal way. Sneak into Chase's house, and see how long he could last before being discovered and thrown out. The first part was easy enough. But the second…
The cats had been a problem originally, but the genius could brag about having worn them down; in other words, he'd learned to bring cat treats along with him. Who knew wildcats liked them too? With the ferocious felines no longer presenting an obstacle, Jack only had the ancient warlord himself to worry about avoiding. Which was, well, some bullshit, seeing as Chase's enhanced senses in dragon form carried over to his human one as well. But Jack was getting better, he swore! In fact, he'd managed to last an entire hour during his last attempt.
He was about thirty minutes into his current, uh, 'visit', when he stumbled across it. At first, it'd looked like one of the tunnels the cats used to navigate the citadel unseen. That was the whole reason he'd raced down it, actually, having thought he'd caught a glimpse of Chase when he'd tried cutting through the courtyard. As he hid in the semi-darkness, though, he noticed a distinct lack of wear on the tiled floor, and the smell of cat fur the other tunnels had developed was suspiciously absent. Curiosity getting the better of him – and hey, that was what got him here in the first place, after all – he pressed on.
The tunnel ended up opening into a small alcove, which had been decorated to be more like a comfortable reading nook. And who should be in said nook but Chase himself! Jack flinched back on instinct, thinking the jig was up, but slowly opened his eyes again when nothing happened. Chase was…yep, Chase was still there, all right, but seemingly oblivious to the goth's presence. Creeping closer, he saw the man was engrossed in a book.
The title had barely registered in Jack's mind before he was blurting out his disbelief, blowing his cover to smithereens. "You read Warrior Cats?!"
The warlord's head snapped up immediately. "What are you doing in my home again, worm?"
In most scenarios, Chase's expression would've been enough to back Jack up with sheer intimidation alone, but the evil genius was too preoccupied giving the room a once over. For the life of him, he could not spot a single book in the room that wasn't Warrior Cats. What the fuck, Chase? "You're seriously– you, ancient Heylin warlord, and you read Warrior Cats?"
Chase rolled his eyes at the exclamation. "A lengthened lifespan doesn't diminish one's appreciation for the art of fiction, Spicer. I wouldn't expect a petulant brat like yourself to fully comprehend the complexity of such literature."
"Yeahhh, sure." Jack drawled out, only to yelp in surprise when he felt himself being lifted by his coat's oversized collar. With a swirl of black smoke, he found the dragon man had teleported the two of them back out to the entryway of the mountain lair.
"I suppose I can count on you to stay out of my house from here on, then?" Chase asked, casually, threatening undertone pushing the limits of what could actually be defined as an 'undertone'. "It would be unfortunate if this habit of yours led to…problems."
"Yeah," Jack countered, "Just like how unfortunate it'd be if I spilled the beans about Chase Young, Heylin prince of darkness, being a huge nerd."
The goth only got a smug look in response. "They'll never believe you."
With that, Chase let go of his collar – albeit by physically tossing him out of the entrance. Jack gave a small "oof" as he landed, the heavy stone door sealing shut behind him.
By the next time a Wu revealed itself, Jack Spicer, evil boy genius, was bound and determined to rat Chase out to the monks – look at him, being honest with the Xiaolin losers for once. It'd almost be laughable if, well, the monks hadn't started laughing first.
"Dude, Chase's warriors and the Warrior Cat books are WAY different. You sure you didn't just have a nightmare?" Pedrosa forced out through his giggles, unaware of the smug look growing once again on Chase's face as he watched the interaction.
Omi, last to pick up on the pop culture joke as always, decided to pipe up right then. "Perhaps they may be different, Raimundo, but I would very much like to read these books Jack speaks of! These cat warriors must be most fierce!"
That had only sparked another eruption of laughter from the monks. Jack gaped at the scene, slowly turning to face Chase, who was now sporting a properly shit-eating grin. One of the man's cats walked up then, dropping the newly-activated Wu at his feet – Jack's attempt at gossip had worked out in the warlord's favor, it seemed.
Picking up the Wu, Chase paused briefly to pat the warrior on the head before straightening. "Come now, Tigerstar, Lionheart." He commented, in a voice low enough that only his cats and Jack could hear. "Time to return home."
The warlord gave a final smirk as they teleported out, leaving Jack staring in shock at the wisps of smoke left behind, caught halfway to pointing at where Chase had once stood. He retracted his hand, shock quickly dissolving to frustration as his jaw clenched. Oh, it was on.
FIN