STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Christy Hui and Warner Brothers own Xiaolin Showdown and the characters featured in this story. I don't, obviously.

I like Claimundo but Clack is my all time favourite. So why didn't I write Clack? Because I'm lame.

I left it off as a cliffhanger. Uh, if you want to call it that. Hahaha. You'll see.

If you want me to finish, why, just ask. :D

Otherwise, enjoy! Hopefully!

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The handwriting was indistinct, though there was a quality about it that seemed familiar. Like the scent of fall or the air of spring. Clay fingered the paper in his hands for a moment that seemed to linger on forever, trying to decipher who had written it. He had read it a million times, and still he felt that it was incomplete, but a gesture of immense magnitude.

Meet me in the rock garden at midnight if you like me.

The handwriting wasn't Kimiko's. No loops or curls, no quaint femininity to the lines.

So who else's could it have been?

Whoever had written it was obviously trying to disguise their handwriting. But that seemed foolish. How could you follow the instructions on the note if you didn't know who you were following them

for?

Some things... you just know, though.

Midnight arrived.

Raimundo sat quietly on one of the stone benches in the rock garden, staring vacantly off into the darkened sky, counting the stars, every so often turning his head to see if anyone was coming.

He was waiting.

"Gah, this was stupid. I bet he doesn't even know how to read."

"Who doesn't know how to read?"

"CLAY!"

Rai tumbled off the bench and fell on the grass, laying there, face barely illuminated by the light emitted from the sliver of the moon that stood stark in the sky. He was about to muster the strength to push himself up, but felt his body moving before he could even tell it to.

Clay was lifting him up.

"Let me give you a hand there, partner. I swear, you spook more easily than a horse in a pit of rattlers. Now what's this about me not knowin' how tah' read?"

"Uh... nothing. I wasn't talking about you... why are you out here?"

"I was just followin' the instructions on what I figure is YOUR note, Rai. Very funny." He rummaged through his pockets and threw the crumpled wad of paper in Rai's face. The enchanting quality it had once had vanished as soon as he had saw Raimundo sitting on the rock bench.

Or had it?

He had to admit, he had felt his heart twinge. A tickle in his chest, butterflies in his stomach, some kind of anticipation and at the same time a sort of solace. As if he had wished upon a star and watched his wish unfold before his very eyes.

As if he had wanted Rai to be there and was happy he was.

No, that couldn't be the case.

It was Raimundo, after all.

Rai scoffed, looking offended as the paper was tossed in his face, as if it had little or no meaning. "Yeah, haha, it was just a joke. I got you good, Clay. Next time Dojo will be waiting out here for you."

"I reckon I'd prefer him to you."

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN YOU STUPID COWBOY?!"

"You just proved my point, Rai. Goodnight."

Rai's lower lip quivered and in a dejected voice he called out to him. He didn't mean to. He hadn't told his brain to speak but it seemed his heart wanted to speak for him. "No, wait! Don't go!" He blinked, and then slapped his hands furiously over his mouth. "No! Wait! I didn't mean to say that! I, I..."

Clay halted, turning to look at Rai, eyebrow raised. His face contorted into an expression of confusion. Had Rai had serious intentions with that note? No, he couldn't have had. That was too good to be true.

Wait, too good to be true?

"What are you runnin' your yap about, Raimundo?"

"I... I..." He fell to his knees. He felt like jelly. Like he had no control over his body. As if he were immobile, paralyzed, just watching what was going on through vacant, unmoving eyes. He swallowed, hands pushing into the grass. His heart felt heavy in his chest. "I should have signed my name."

"...what?"

"I should have signed my name. On the note. So you'd know it was me. I just sent you on a crazy hunt with a mystery note."

"...you... I reckon you're gettin' at... you meant... to give me that. With no punchline."

"...you got it." He let his face thud into the grass now. "Just leave me here to die, okay? It's nice out, anyways."

Clay trekked down the pathway and back onto the grass, taking a seat next to Raimundo's fallen body and resting a hand on his back. Strong digits gently rubbed up and down the Brazilian's clothed flesh, as brilliant blue eyes quietly observed him in the darkness. The starlight was just enough to make Raimundo visible, but seemingly like a shadow, almost intangible even if he felt his presence under his fingertips.

"I showed up to this hoedown, didn't I?"

"...you..." He shivered at Clay's touch, gently lifting his chin, peeling his face from the grass to look at him. "You... you like me?"

"I was just followin' those there instructions on that there note."

"...Clay, I... I mean... well I..."

"What is it, Rai?"

"I like the way you're rubbing my back." He felt his cheeks heat up.

"Oh... well, I... well I like how your back feels under my hand, darlin'."

Darling? It sounded so nice. He sat up and slipped himself into Clay's lap, resting his head against the cowboy's muscular chest. "Your best friend Raimundo has something for you."

"Better not be another note or I'll throw you into a tree."

"I'd like to see you try." And with that followed silence. He edged his face closer to Clay's until he could feel the heat coming from his flesh, then pressed his lips to the other's, sweetly at first. But the taste of hot sauce and the warmth and moistness of the cowboy's lips drove him into a frenzy, and he latched on greedily after that, arms wrapping around the other's neck, hands finding themselves entangled in a mess of soft, blonde hair.

Clay felt that twinge again, wrapping his arms around Raimundo's waist and returning the kiss. He felt Raimundo's tongue probing for an entrance and he parted his lips, getting a tingle down his spine as Raimundo shoved his tongue into his mouth. The warmth and strength of the muscle as it edged around inside his mouth was an absolutely staggering delight. It was an added bonus that Raimundo tasted of tacos. Whoo whee!

"Mm-- mm-- C-Clay... something's going on downstairs."

"Oh! Sorry, partner! Didn't know you could feel it!"

"I meant for me, but now that you mention it, your boner is digging into my thigh."

Rai grinned and edged out of Clay's lap, getting on his hands and knees before him. "Is it true what they say?"

"What who says?"

"That everything is bigger in Texas?" A coy grin wrapped around Raimundo's lips and he placed his hands on Clay's hips, pulling his pajama bottoms down to reveal the cowboy's erection straining against his briefs.

PLEASE INSERT QUARTER.