Anthology of Love

By: CrystallicSky

Disclaimer: I don't own Xiaolin Showdown, or any of the characters in it, so...don't say I didn't tell you that they weren't.

Warning(s):Ok, cursing, malexmale relationship, strong references to sex, but no actual sex scenes, and...probably general stupidity, corniness, or idiocy aside from that.

Notes: Well, lately I've been seeing a good deal of those one-word prompts for short/one-sentence stories, and so I figured I'd give it a try. I did a few, and found something out about myself: I really like them! XD So this would be the result.

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501. Sideburns-

"Chase, stop treating me like a kid!" Jack demanded, informing, "I'm almost nineteen, you know, not nine!"

The warlord scoffed. "You are a 'kid', Spicer; when you act nineteen, I will treat you like you're nineteen. Until then, you will be immature as far as I'm concerned."

"......what if I grew sideburns? Then would I be mature?"

Chase froze. "...No."

"Ooh, ooh, what about a mustache? How about that?"

"No."

"Then, maybe-"

"No, no facial hair, Spicer! You can't gain maturity from a mustache or sideburns!"

"Oh, duh," Jack exclaimed in realization, "how could I be so stupid? Of course it has to be a goatee! Geez..."

502. Saxophone-

"So, when your mother forced me into doing the dishes with her, she told me that you play the saxophone, Spicer."

"Oh," Jack remembered, "yeah, I play a li-wait: did you say 'saxophone' or 'sexophone'?"

"Saxophone," Chase insisted with a frown, to which the goth sighed, "Oh, okay; yeah, I play a little."

The warlord soon noticed a disturbed expression on his lover's face and dully asked, "What is it?"

"I can't stop thinking about sexophones, now..." Jack shuddered.

503. Hacky Sack-

"Hey, Chase, I picked up a sport; aren't you proud of me?"

Not even looking up from his book, the man informed his lover, "Hacky sack is not a real sport."

"Dammit!" Jack cursed, storming away.

504. Tuft-

Jack made a pleased noise as a servant washed and brushed his fur thoroughly, small tufts of fur that had been itching him for weeks removed easily, making him want to purr like a feline.

And speaking of felines, Chase was a saint! He'd done so much for the poor terrier: given him a home, food, had him groomed, and even had that awful, iron collar surgically removed and medically treated, and the cat had promised that once the bandages came off, he'd make sure that he would be getting a super-nice collar for him.

He may have been a little apprehensive when Chase had made his intentions clear and had mounted him, but he was very gentle when they mated, and he'd been kind enough to resist the instinctive urge to bite at the scruff of his neck (which was still very sore) in dominating him, so Jack didn't really mind.

He knew other dogs would laugh at him for being a cat's bitch (or as Chase called him, 'his queen'), even for all the luxuries he'd received, but the terrier didn't care: he was pretty sure he was starting to fall for the rich feline.

505. Goatee-

Jack had completely ignored Chase and gone ahead with his goatee plan.

The goth was extremely happy with it, excited about being able to cosplay as Hotstreak with only a clothes change, a blonde streak or two in his hair and a gruffer intonation to his voice.

Chase, however, was...conflicted.

Jack, his mind insisted, was far too young to have facial hair of any kind, but...the rest of him insisted that his lover looked quite dashing now, handsome with a sort of rugged edge that he definitely hadn't had before, and an even weirder part of him had begun to toy with the idea of...maybe, in a year or two, at some point down the line...playing a submissive role to the young man...just once or twice, of course, to see what it'd be like!

But he couldn't let Jack find out yet; he'd never let him live that down.

For now, Chase would just bide his time and see how things played out...

506. Beanbag-

Chase had known Spicer was attracted to him, yes, but when the monks had left after a successful Showdown at the goth genius' home, leaving himself and the youth there alone in the latter's room, he hadn't expected Jack to be so upfront, turning to him and casually asking, no, offering as he gestured to a piece of furniture behind him, "You ever done it in a beanbag chair?"

507. Math-

"Seriously?" Jack gaped at his lover, "You got a C in math?"

The teen blushed hotly with a frown. "I didn't get any sleep before the final because I was up all night studying, and I fell asleep when Mr. Jeffries begins the exam; the definition of irony."

"Aw," Jack comforted, "it's okay. If it makes you feel better, I totally failed music, outright F. I'd need a bucket to carry a tune."

Chase smiled at the attempt to cheer him up, and thanked, "While I appreciate your sentiments, somehow I just don't think my father will be as forgiving as you."

"Pfft," the goth scoffed, "and my mom'll be? I've already canceled my plans for the next month, 'cause I am g-r-o-u-n-d-e-d, grounded."

Silence.

"At least you passed spelling, I suppose."

"Mmhm," Jack smirked, "one hundred on math, science, and spelling; I mean, I flunked actual literature, music, art, and Korean, but, you know."

"Nice, Jack," Chase teasingly congratulated, "very nice; now, come; let's go get a coffee or something before we have to sneak out of maximum security prison to see each other."

Jack snickered even though it wasn't really a joke, but more of a reality. "Okay, I just want to scream, 'fuck you' at all the teachers who failed me real quick."

Chase laughed. "And you wonder why your teachers hate you."

508. Dress Shirt-

Jack was absolutely exhausted.

When his mom had decided to take in a six-year-old orphan boy, he really hadn't been expecting the kid to be such a demanding slave-driver to the only being present in the house: him.

"Spicer," came the annoyed demand, "I suppose you've forgotten that you have to drive me to Sarah's gala."

"No, Chase," Jack sighed tiredly, "I remember."

He finished folding a pair of pants and brushed his hands on the pair he was wearing, approaching the child.

"I'll put your tie on for you," he offered.

"Ugh," Chase scoffed as the teen began helping him, "can't you do anything right? It feels like you're trying to choke me! And you're using too much starch in the laundry, by the way; I can hardly move in this suit."

Jack stewed in exhaustion and frustration as the remarks kept coming, jabbing at his skill at doing things he, quite frankly, didn't even have to be doing, and finally, he snapped.

Right in the middle of a comment about his lousy cooking, a pale hand smacked across the boy's face, the older male snarling, "You rotten little brat!"

Chase was stunned. "Y...you struck me..."

Jack gasped, horrified at what he'd done."Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Chase! I...I didn't mean it, I just...I'm sorry!" He grabbed a hold of the boy's smaller body and held it close to his, guilt flooding his heart at the blood staining his white dress shirt; he hadn't broken the boy's nose, but he had caused a nosebleed, something he knew was totally new to Chase.

The youth allowed himself to be held, his intelligent mind racing: Jack had hit him, hit him!

Quiet, submissive Jack!

What the hell could have made him...wait...he had called him a brat...was he a brat?

Thinking back on the past few days, the unthinkable happened: Chase realized his faults.

He had been downright cruel to the poor albino, running him ragged!

He...he was a brat.

"Chase? Are you okay? I-"

"M'sorry." the youth apologized, to which Jack gasped, "Wh-what?"

"...m'sorry..." he repeated, curling up against the larger male's body.

"...it's okay. Now, come on, let's get you cleaned up for mom's gala; I promise I won't hurt you again."

Chase was surprised he'd never noticed how caring Jack was (more focused on the fact that the teen had been doing things imperfectly for him as opposed to that he was doing them at all) and let himself be picked up, his hands fisted in Jack's dark shirt and his face nestled in the crook of his neck as he, for the first time, acted his age.

"Okay, Jack."

509. Folder-

Jack lounged on the couch, flipping through the stolen police records he'd obtained, the manila envelope they'd come in lying forgotten on the coffee table.

The crime scene photos were pretty gruesome, huge chunks of flesh missing, partially-eaten corpses, faces that expressed utter horror before death.

The goth didn't care: they deserved it.

A low, rumbling noise caught his attention, and he looked down to see Chase staring up at him with his big, reptilian eyes. Smiling, the teen patted the back of the couch invitingly, the beast then crawling up to lay on top of him, snout resting lazily on his chest.

Out of courtesy, Jack allowed Chase to see the pictures, too, half-chuckling to hear a proud growl resonate from the reptile's chest. The animal was intelligent, the goth could give him that much; intelligent enough, at least, to know that it was he who'd done that to them and that he'd done a damn good job, too.

Honestly, Jack liked having Chase around the house. He lived alone, so the company was appreciated, and seeing him every day reminded him that he'd done the right thing, had earned this noble beast's loyalty and trust.

It was a good feeling.

Of course, once or twice, Chase had tried to...get frisky with him, but seemed to understand that 'no' meant 'no' at least, and so Jack didn't mind the advances and thought of them as harmless.

Little did he know that Chase's species was persistent in obtaining their mate and that he wouldn't give up until Jack gave in, but for now, the dragon was content to line his future mate's body with his own, proudly looking over crime-scene photographs of his murdered tormentors and admiring his own handiwork.

510. Eyeliner-

Chase watched his lover sleep, feeling only the slightest twinges of guilt at the way his eyeliner streaked down his face from now-dried tears.

The rotten bitch deserved his pain for everything he put him through, making him think he was dead!

He had been furious at the goth, and had enacted severe punishment for the ruse, including the permanent marking on his hip of the man's initials (so no one else would ever have him), a fractured ankle (so he couldn't try to escape him again until it healed), and a few forced matings (something he wasn't proud to have stooped to, but discipline and dominance had to be enforced).

The albino seemed repentant for his ruse, and didn't seem to mind the pain Chase had caused him as much as he'd thought he would, and in fact, seemed to have accepted it as something he deserved as punishment.

The warlord lay back down next to the youth and pulled him closer, pleased at the way he was cuddled against despite his earlier hostility.

while he was still very angry, he was glad that Jack was alive.

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A/N:

Sideburns- Heh, only Jack. XD

Saxophone- I don't know what a sexophone is, but this situation kinda happened the morning I got the word 'saxophone' from a friend, and after I misheard it as 'sexophone', I couldn't stop thinking about it, either. o.0

Hacky Sack- It's not really a sport, is it? It's a game, but games should only be classified as sports if people will pay money to watch it. Honestly, though, I find the whole concept of sporting events a bit silly (a bunch of people get together to watch people who are payed millions of dollars to play a game), but, you know, not a sports buff at all, so I guess I'm biased. -.-

Tuft- Continuation of Neglect from Chapter 48; Jack settles in to a new life with Chase. He deems that it is very enjoyable. :)

Goatee- ...I love Hotstreak. XD But that's really beside the point. I don't know, I think a Jack Spicer in his early twenties would look pretty hot with a goatee; I mean, hell, Hotstreak really does have a lot of the same physical characteristics (except, you know, he actually has muscles XD) and he looks good with one. I mean, that's personal opinion, I guess, so I can't exactly speak for everybody else, but I think he'd be pretty sexy, and I think Chase's mind would start wandering down a nearly untouched road as it has here. XD

Beanbag- I imagine doing 'it' in a beanbag chair would be...somewhat awkward, but hey, Jack sure can make conversation, right? XD And honestly, I can almost see it playing out with Chase being like, "Why no, I haven't! I believe I must try that, and since you seem to be the only human being available, we will do it together!" And of course, all of that is in a random, British accent in my head, for some reason. XD

Math- Grr...I hate finals...I have two tomorrow, and then I'll be home free...you know, that is until report cards come in. Then I might be grounded or something for not getting an A in Chemistry, History, and Geometry, because as the world knows, a B means you're stupid. -.- Rawr, damn perfectionist parents...grumble, grumble.

Dress Shirt- This idea has always been sort of appealing to me...not child abuse, but I mean, a child being a total rotten brat, driving his/her parents crazy, and then he/she gets smacked once and goes, "Damn...I'll be good, now." Probably because I'm hoping that if I ever have kids, that's how they'll be. It's unrealistic, but I hate those really obnoxious kids you see in malls and stores and stuff, screaming and crying and yelling at their mothers, it just...I don't know if I could have kid like that; I'd go to jail. If my kid ever started throwing a tantrum in public because I wouldn't buy him/her candy or some crap and started calling me names and hitting me, I'd punch 'em out. I hate that kind of stuff, it's infuriating. But, back to the main point, Chase is smart enough to know better: he will be good, now, even though Jack probably won't ever hit him again because of guilt. And now that Chase isn't a bossy, little brat anymore, he'll be able to see the real Jack, and not just, 'that guy who can't do anything right', and if I have my way, they'll eventually get together. :)

Folder- Continuation of Initiate from Chapter 42; just some closure as to what happened to Jack and Chase after the incident.

Eyeliner- Continuation of Anguish from Chapter 45, because I really just felt like wrapping that one up; it was one of those ones I literally couldn't leave hanging. It isn't really forced, by the way, because despite what Chase thinks, Jack is willing; he feels bad for deceiving Chase like that, and figures whatever pain he gets right now, he pretty much has coming. He's okay with it, because he knows Chase is just...really pissed off, and he'll be nicer once he's had a while to calm down. All he really cares about is that he now knows that Chase does love him (as proved by the whole 'depression-after-thinking-he-was-dead' thing) and so that tells him that, yeah, Chase is mad and, as is his nature, he will hurt him for the deception, but he won't hurt him too badly to the point of torture or serious pain; all he thinks of it as is a little rough sex and tough love. So, yeah, there's my revised author's note on that. :)

And there's Chapter 51, so...yeah, thanks for reading, and I hope you liked it! :D