Chapter 28: Snow Cones and Ladies on Fire
Quite a bit of ship tease in this chapter. I'm pretty sure I told you guys Valerie would end up with someone-or I told some of you privately. I decided to forge friendships first and go through the first season before I did anything though. Romance isn't supposed to be a big part of this story, so I won't treat it as such. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pairing.
A flash of sapphire blue, the scent of indigo smoke, the sight of petrified people laying on the forest floor, the feeling of falling, falling, falling-
Valerie woke up in a cold sweat. Her legs had tangled up the bed sheets, her arms outstretched, nearly knocking down of the many piles of books near her head. She quickly sat up to kick off the sheets when she felt the loose tangles of her long hair fall apart. She took it in her hands to see the band she used to keep her hair braided. It had snapped apart while she was asleep, and now the tendrils were loose and all over the place.
Valerie would have groped around to find another hair band, but that would require rummaging around for who knows how long. Everything inside her was buzzing; she needed to go on a walk now. Forgetting her phone, she grabbed her blue jacket, put on her brown moccasins and walked out of the dorms.
Going outside for a stroll was no longer an option. Winter was still here at the Xiaolin Temple, the snow completely overtaking the green gardens and the chill air making her breath foggy. Valerie would have to make do with walking around inside the village walls.
One of the things that had surprised her most when walking around the Temple village was how interconnected it was. It was a labyrinth of hallways and doors, all weaving together to create a single organism. It was terribly easy to get lost, but at the same time, it was really cool, travelling from one side of the village to the other without having to step foot outside.
Though what Valerie needed most right now was a walk, and perhaps a breath of fresh air. She was still wearing shorts and a tank top to bed-she never felt cold in the dorms at night-so she would only step outside for a short while. Quietly opening and closing doors, she travelled towards the plaza.
The outdoor plaza should have been covered in pristine snow, but miraculously was still bare. The air was still cold though; Valerie could feel the chill seeping into her skin. But she didn't turn out yet.
Snow was gently falling outside, the flakes drifting lazily onto the large mounds already on the ground. The white shone brightly in a perfectly pristine state, a stark contrast to the inky black of the night. Taking a deep breath through her nostrils, Valerie sighed, the tension in her shoulders already gone.
"Val? What are you doing up?"
She jumped and struck a fighting pose, ready to unleash a can of whoop ass onto whoever snuck up on her. But it was just Raimundo, walking around in olive green pants with yellow smiley faces scattered on them, a light green long sleeved tee with a smiley face on the chest and with a red trim on the neck, sleeves, and hem, and fuzzy dark green slippers. He was holding a half-empty glass of water, and his tousled hair signaled that he was in bed recently.
"Couldn't sleep," Valerie responded. "How about you?"
"Woke up thirsty," he said before downing the rest of his drink.
"I can see that," Valerie said dryly.
"So what's really the problem?" Raimundo asked, suddenly alert.
Valerie started. "What do you mean?"
He glared at her. "Oh, come on! Something's been up with you for months now! Everyone can see it."
"Really? Everyone?" she said sarcastically. "Then why didn't you guys try to pry it out of me like you do with each other?"
"Because you're the type of person to bottle everything bad up inside," Raimundo pointed out harshly. "You're like an onion," he added more gently. "We can't get to your layers until you let us."
Valerie stared at him, searching his face for any hint of a lie. No; he was being serious. He really wanted to know what was wrong with her. She tried to form the words, but for some reason they wouldn't leave her mouth. She took a deep breath and eventually spat out:
"Nightmares."
"What?"
"You heard me."
"No, actually I didn't," Raimundo said honestly.
Face glowing red, Valerie repeated in a louder voice: "Nightmares."
"You've been having nightmares," he stated. She nodded. "And you couldn't talk to anyone why?"
"Because I never had them before I came to the Temple."
Raimundo blinked and gave her an incredulous stare. "How is that even possible?"
Valerie shrugged helplessly. "I've always have a logical way of thinking. Things like the bogeyman or ghosts or monsters under the bed I could easily explain away. And I never had a fear of heights or clowns or anything. I guess, now that I think about it, I could just rationalize everything and make it go away."
Raimundo gazed at her, impressed. "Most kids never really learn how to do that."
Valerie smirked. "I guess I'm just special." Her face fell. "But now that I'm getting nightmares, I don't know what to do with them."
"Don't sweat it; neither do most people," Raimundo said easily. "But if you were really worried about that, you could have just asked us for advice."
Valerie groaned. "And how would I do that? 'Hey Kim, Rai, I just had a nightmare. What do I do to deal with it?'" she said in a chipper tone.
"…That's exactly how you would ask," he told her. "Though you'd be a little less perky," he added sheepishly.
"And how would I go about asking that? It's too embarrassing!"
"Val, you've been waking up in the middle of the night terrified for months now. I think you've gone past the point where you'd be embarrassed."
"It doesn't matter anyway," Valerie muttered. "Eric's been helping me through it."
"You've been talking to Iron Man?" Raimundo visibly relaxed. "Well, it's good that he knows at least." He suddenly took on a thoughtful expression. "Hey, do you mind telling me what's been scaring you? I promise I won't laugh."
"I assure you, Rai, that if I told you, you wouldn't laugh at all," Valerie said, serious. "It's the Sapphire Dragon."
He visibly paled. "Sheesh; no wonder you've been getting nightmares." He gave her a reassuring smile. "But it's not like it can hurt us now. There's nothing to worry about."
Valerie sighed, defeated. "And there's the main reason why I didn't want to tell you guys."
"There was another reason?"
"Yes. I know the Sapphire Dragon can't walk again unless someone activates it. So what if Jack stole it and washed off all the soot, or Katnappe, or Tubbimura, or the next evil villain wannabe?" Valerie asked. "The point is, no matter how well we protect it, it'll eventually wake up again, turning everyone on the planet into a sapphire zombie. It's inevitable."
Raimundo face palmed. "Oh, the irony."
"What?"
"You got rid of the nightmares when you were little by using logic. Now you've got a pretty nasty one because of logic."
Valerie blinked. "Oh. Wow, you're right. If it weren't happening to me this would be hilarious. You know, in a mean way," she added.
"I know," Raimundo said before turning to look outside. The softly falling snow was beginning to pick up speed. It still had a dreamlike quality to it, but now the wind was picking up slightly. "Hey, aren't you cold?" he asked before long.
Valerie looked down at her bare legs. "No, not really."
"You'll get sick you know."
"I know."
"So…do you still want to talk some more?" Raimundo asked nervously.
Valerie still had a lot to think about; mainly her role as the Xiaolin side's secret weapon. It was a daunting responsibility, something which had been consuming her mind ever since she went to bed the night before. Normally she wouldn't have minded thinking so hard on such a topic, but this time it had overloaded her brain. Eric had been too busy with his new girlfriend to talk to her long, and not even reading could take her mind off it. She had gone to bed mentally exhausted.
But now…she felt better. Lighter; perhaps that was the word she was looking for. She felt like she didn't have to carry the world on her shoulders anymore, and it felt so nice, not having to over think everything for once.
Valerie smiled. "Hey, do you remember those fruits we had to can during the summer?"
Raimundo looked at her quizzically. "Yeah. What of it?"
"Do you think you could stay up with me for just a little longer?"
Raimundo honestly hadn't expected this.
After rummaging around in the kitchen, they spied all the glass jars of fruit. Valerie immediately took a small jar of peaches, the yellow fruit swimming in golden syrup. Raimundo took a small jar of pink and red strawberries for himself and grabbed a few spoons for the both of them. Then he followed Valerie out the door and back towards the plaza.
She plopped herself down at the edge of the plaza, her feet dangling over, her covered toes nearly hitting the snow. She opened the jar and took a spoon out of Raimundo's hands, scooping canned fruit into her mouth.
With an amused smile Raimundo sat beside her, doing the exact same thing. A comfortable silence stretched between them, the only noises being the sound of them chewing and swallowing.
"So, what brought this on?" Raimundo asked after a time.
Valerie shrugged. "I used to do this with Eric when we lived in countries that snowed. I don't know; it's this weird tradition with us."
"I'm glad you shared it with me then," Raimundo said honestly. It was strange to think that she was willing to let him in on a miniscule yet personal part of her life when she hardly spoke of her time before arriving at the Temple. A certain part of her always seemed to be guarded, as if she were too afraid to let other people in. The sheer fact that she was sharing this part of her spoke volumes.
Though the fact that Valerie was guarded was a bit of a paradox, now that Raimundo thought about it. She was certainly willing to share certain parts of her life-her years hopping around countries, the fact that she didn't know Chinese very well, her obsession with reading- but other parts she kept locked away. She never spoke of her parents-as far as Raimundo knew he was the only one who knew that she didn't see her parents very often.
Though that wasn't necessarily strange. Of course you didn't broadcast your abandonment issues to everyone in the room. Stuff like that was personal. And it wasn't like Valerie never answered a question about her personal life. Sure, her answers were vague, but that probably meant she didn't like people prying into fond moments of her life. That was understandable.
But if she was so evasive, why did Raimundo want to know more? It could be despite the months they've known each other, they hardly knew each other at all. Hell, he didn't know the others, not really. He knew their personalities, but not the inner workings of their minds. Though that part was probably something he shouldn't know…
"Whatcha thinking about?" Valerie piped up suddenly. Raimundo started and turned to her.
"Nothing," he said too quickly. He winced at how lame that sounded. "I mean nothing that'd interest you."
"Tell me anyway. You might surprise me."
"Well, okay…" Raimundo drawled. "You know how we've been here a couple months now?"
"Yeah…"
"I don't know. I feel like I should know more about all of you. Our friends, I mean."
"I know what you mean," she reassured him. "But like you said we've only known each other for a few months, Rai. It's logical to know little about your friends. That kind of stuff takes years."
"Yeah, but I feel like I've known all of you for years," he admitted honestly.
Valerie smiled softly. "That's really sweet of you." She held up her half eaten jar of canned peaches. "But not as sweet as this."
Raimundo faked a frown. "Please girl, I'm sweeter than all the candy in the world."
She snorted. "Lame."
"Hey, cut me some slack," he protested lightly. "I'm sleep deprived." Valerie just shook her head and went back to eating.
Raimundo watched her with a puzzled look on his face. He found it weird that one minute she could be happy, her mouth turned up into a smile, and the next be completely pensive. And it was odd that the corner of her lips always seemed to be tugged upwards slightly, as if she were just waiting for a chance to laugh. It was her default look that Rai had gotten used to, but now that he was staring at the side of it he realized just how strange it was.
Not that that was a bad thing. Not at all. Everyone at this Temple was a little strange, even him. Dojo was sarcastic and funny yet always seemed to coming down with some ailment. Master Fung, while wise, always spoke in riddles. Kimiko was tech savvy but obsessed with the latest trends in Harajuku fashion. Omi was kind but far too overconfident for his own good. Clay was the perpetual nice guy that acted a little slow at times. Raimundo himself was a jerk with a heart of gold and incredibly snarky.
Each and every one of them had their particular quirks and personalities that Rai had grown fond of. But he couldn't talk to Dojo and Master Fung about certain things, no matter how down-to-earth or wise they were. And there were some things he couldn't talk to the others-Omi with his limited view of the world, Clay with his countryside sayings, and Kimiko with her temper.
Valerie, on the other hand, he could talk to about certain things. For whatever reason he felt like no matter what he said she wouldn't laugh at him or make fun of him too harshly. Sure, she might snark at him a bit or lightly tease him, but it didn't seem like she would outright bully him. In fact, she might talk whatever it was over with him and decide on the most logical conclusion. She wouldn't judge him at all.
And when it came right down to it, Raimundo had to admit that he simply enjoyed talking to her. Not that he didn't enjoy talking to his other friends. Not at all. It was just that Omi often got on his nerves, and Clay was too calm for his liking, and Kimiko seemed to take what others thought of her a little too seriously. Valerie was cool-headed and sharp, and never acted like she particularly cared what others thought of her. Just like now, for instance: she was wearing black boxer shorts and a hoodie, her bare legs against the cold, eating peaches without a care in the world. She didn't even care about her hair like Kimiko did. Right now it had spilled out of its usual braid, the remnants of it at the very end and the rest tangled together in a bed head.
Maybe that was why he was sitting out here in the cold, eating canned strawberries with her. Because he liked talking to her, or if not, then being around her.
Valerie suddenly swooped down and scooped clean snow into her jar. "Hey, Rai, try this," she told him. She mixed the leftover golden syrup with the snow until it was completely blended together. It took a second for Raimundo to think of the right word to describe it.
"Snow cones!" he cried out. He instantly bent down to scoop snow into his own jar. He mimicked Valerie's movements and put the concoction in his mouth. He hummed in happiness; it was so completely unlike the stuff found in fairs. It was fresher somehow, more organic.
"Let me guess: you did this with Eric too," Raimundo said after a while. Valerie ate the last morsel out of her jar before answering.
"Yeah; I remember suddenly doing this once and Eric going along with it," she said, a soft, wistful smile spreading across her face. It was like her usual expression, except lighter, more cheerful. Raimundo liked seeing her so happy.
"So, where are we going to hide the evidence?" Raimundo asked as the two got up. Valerie thought a moment before saying:
"Break 'em and hide the pieces."
"In what, a trash bag?"
"No, in Omi's socks."
"Oh very funny. How do you expect us to break these without making noise?" Raimundo waved around the jar for emphasis.
"We break them outside," Valerie said simply.
"In that?" He pointed outside, where the wind had picked up once more.
"Oh don't worry I'll do it myself," she told him flippantly. Raimundo's eyes bugged out as Valerie took his jar and begin to walk away.
"Are you insane? You'll get sick!" he protested. She suddenly stopped short and looked at him, a small smile on her face. He faltered back and asked hesitantly, "What?"
"Thank you," she held up her jar, "for this. And for listening." She suddenly stood on her toes and leaned forward, putting her lips on his cheek. For a millisecond he could feel how soft and sticky they were before she leaned back.
Blushing madly Raimundo stood there, not daring to move. It wasn't until he brought up a hand to the spot did he realize that Valerie had already left.
"Wait, Val!"
The next morning
Valerie sneezed once before she sat down to meditate with the others. Raimundo shot her a smug look. She stuck her tongue out at him.
She quickly sat down in her usual spot-to the left of Kimiko- and went to clearing her mind. The only problem was that it kept traveling to last night. It had been fun, staying up late and talking to Raimundo. It had felt nice to not have to worry so much for once, to not have someone judge her. She had met a lot of people like that; it seemed to be a universal thing, having someone judge you over something small, like Valerie's travels across the world. Many of her peers had viewed her as simply another tourist, someone who would leave at a moments' notice. It was one of the reasons why she didn't have many friends growing up.
But it had been nice, to simply talk about her troubles with a friend her own age. Raimundo hadn't made fun of her lack of nightmare experience and didn't question the funny tradition she had with Eric. It left her with a warm feeling inside, making her so giddy that she had to kiss him as a thank you. It was on the cheek, but still.
Vaguely she wondered why kissing him gave her such a bubbly feeling inside, but then her mind began to blank as she wandered into peace, feeling the energy flow through her. She could sort of hear footsteps approaching her, but not even that could deter her state of mind.
"Something wrong, Master Fung?" Clay suddenly piped up, waking everyone from their stupor. The master rarely disturbed their meditation, usually only coming in when it was time for them to go to class. It wasn't like him to barge into the middle of a session.
"Nothing is wrong Clay," Master Fung reassured him. "It is only that there seems to be a blizzard surrounding the Temple. We will not be able to have martial arts lessons outside today." Everyone cheered, since it had been extremely cold as of late.
"Wait, we'll be having them indoors, won't we?" Kimiko suddenly asked as the cheering died down. Everyone groaned, accepting the inevitable. Master Fung smiled.
"No. I believe you all deserve a rest from training. After your morning classes you have the rest of the day off."
Everyone jumped up from the ground and high fived each other in midair. Master Fung gave an amused shake of his head and left them.
"I call movie marathon!" Kimiko cried out as they all landed back on the ground.
"Ooh and we should have popcorn and stuff," Valerie added happily.
"What movies though?" Clay asked. "I'm not really in the mood for Christmas movies."
"Why not?" Kimiko questioned him. "It's the right time of year."
"Too much snow."
"We could always watch Disney movies," Raimundo piped up. Everyone turned to him. He blushed. "What? I grew up watching them."
"So did the rest of us, Rai," Valerie said with an eye roll. "But we should vote on this. All in favor of watching Disney movies?" Everyone except Omi raised their hands.
"Tell me friends: what is Disney?" the little guy asked.
"We'll tell you after classes," Kimiko reassured him.
After said classes
The entire morning seemed to drag on, the required classes seemingly more boring than usual. The students clearly wanted the morning to be over so they could relax finally. The teachers understood this and made their lessons shorter as a result.
Now with that tedious part of the day out of the way, Valerie quickly changed into comfier clothes: soft, worn jeans, a black tank top under a wine red wool sweater, its v-neck dipping past her collarbone. She let her hair out of its braid, letting the slightly frizzy waves out of their bindings. She put on soft red socks and slipped her feet into her brown moccasins and left her room.
She heard soft grunting noises from Kimiko's room. Concerned, Valerie knocked on the rice paper walls before entering. There was Kimiko, sitting Indian-style on the floor, wearing a soft pink cable knit sweater two times too big on her, black tights and black ballet flats. She was leaning her head over to the side, a hairbrush entangled in a giant knot in her sleek black hair.
"Need some help?" Valerie asked.
With a grunt and a defeated sigh, Kimiko muttered, "Yes."
Valerie sat next to her, weaving her fingers through the knot and disentangling it that way. Kimiko cried out in pain a few times, but slowly but surely Valerie worked the knot away. Eventually she just took her friend's hairbrush and slid it through Kimiko's hair, brushing it out for her.
"Anyone ever tell you you got nice hair?" Valerie asked absentmindedly. "It's all soft and shiny."
"That's because I take care of it really well," Kimiko said loftily. "I don't use whatever shampoo that's on clearance. Or mens' shampoo," she added, addressing Valerie pointedly.
Valerie raised an eyebrow Kimiko couldn't see. "It says shampoo on it."
The Asian groaned. "That's not the point. The point is that you've got nice hair and you should take care of it."
"I can take care of my hair even when using mens' products. They're made with the same ingredients," Valerie pointed out.
Kimiko groaned. "There's no talking to you, is there?"
Valerie set down the brush and quickly went to braiding her friend's hair. "We'll find the guys in a little bit. You got a hair band?"
After a while they left the room to find the other members of their little gang. The boys themselves had slid the walls of their rooms apart so it could be one giant space. Raimundo and Clay had already set up the TV and had the Netflix logo on the screen. Omi scampered past the girls, arms spilling with soft drinks and snacks.
Omi suddenly put the treats down to reveal…his monk robes. Unlike the others he had stayed diligent and refused to wear lazier clothing. It was a stark contrast to Raimundo and Clay. The cowboy was wearing a blue and green striped sweater and jeans, his feet in old boots and his cowboy hat nestled on his head. The Brazilian was wearing gray sweat pants and a green hoodie with long sleeves and his fuzzy green slippers.
"So what movies are we watching?" Valerie asked as Clay scrolled through the choices.
"We can't decide," he admitted. "I was thinking 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, but Rai here thinks it ain't a Disney movie." He turned to glare at him.
"Well it isn't!" Raimundo protested.
"Technically it's a Walt Disney picture," Valerie mused. "It's still considered part of the franchise."
"Ha! Told you!" Clay shouted triumphantly. Raimundo grumbled inaudibly.
"I'd rather watch Cinderella," Kimiko told them. Omi looked at her strangely.
"Why would we watch a film about a lady on fire?"
Everyone stared at him, stupefied. Valerie was the first to find her voice. "That's…that's not the movie at all."
"We should probably watch it at some point," Clay said.
"Why not now?" Kimiko asked.
"Does anyone else have something they wanna watch?" he asked the others.
"Beauty and the Beast," Valerie answered immediately.
"Of course you do," Raimundo said with an affectionate eye roll.
"I wanna see Atlantis: the Lost Empire," Clay said.
"I'd rather watch Toy Story," Raimundo said.
"I am most curious about the fire lady," Omi piped up innocently.
"…Cinderella it is," Clay said, scrolling through the movie options. Everyone immediately went to getting pillows and blankets. Once settled, they all pawed at the snacks. Valerie opened a box of instant hot chocolate and said:
"I'm gonna go make some hot chocolate. Anyone want some?" Four hands went up. "All righty then," she muttered.
Raimundo rolled his eyes. "I'll help." He got up and went with her to the kitchen, grabbing mugs and pouring powder into them.
After pouring hot water into five mugs, Valerie said quietly, "Last night was fun." She didn't know why she was bringing it up. She simply felt like she had to say it now, when they were alone.
Raimundo smiled, setting mugs onto a tray. "Yeah, it really was."
The bubbly feeling was rising inside her again. "We should do it again sometime."
He frowned slightly. "Hopefully it won't be so cold outside."
"It wasn't that cold."
"We were almost trapped in a blizzard."
"What's your point?"
Raimundo shook his head. "You're insane." He picked the heavy tray up. "Let's go."
They walked back to the others as quickly as they could, which was hard because Raimundo was carrying a tray of three full mugs. Valerie herself was carrying two to help lighten the load. Eventually they got back to the others, the TV screen black.
"Hot chocolate! Get your hot chocolate here!" Valerie shouted, alerting their arrival. Omi bounded up and with a quick thank you took a mug from her hands. He immediately went to drinking it despite it being scalding hot.
Kimiko gently took the other mug out of Valerie's hands. "We waited for you, you know."
Valerie smirked. "I noticed."
Once the mugs were distributed, they sat under the blankets, pillows propped up against their backs. Valerie found herself sandwiched between Kim and Rai, a position she wasn't uncomfortable with. The funny, bubbly feeling in her stomach had come back with a vengeance, but it was somehow pleasant.
Valerie leaned back, content, as the opening of Cinderella began.
Like I said, minor ship tease. I don't think either one of them knows they have a crush on the other. But we can see. *evil grin*
So, thoughts anyone?