The Good, The Bad, and the Omi

by Mortal Anonymous

The timelines have merged, and everyone remembers all three of them. Opinions have changed, alliances shift, particularly regarding the destiny of Jack Spicer. In the wake of twin futures where his morality makes or breaks the direction the world heads, the battle for who wins Jack over begins instead of who finally gets annoyed enough to kill him.

17. Chapter 17

As four of the six youngest Xiaolin monks polished vases and wiped round, paneless windows in one of the seemingly countless rooms of the temple, they all paused and watched curiously as a Jackbot drifted past behind them with arms piled high. The escorted mound of leaves, debris and even a stray dead rodent was dropped into a waiting garbage bag by the door, this then being tied tight and hefted over the bot's shoulder as it departed.

The four all poked their heads into the next room, where one remaining Dragon Warrior was sat on a pillow, casually leaning his back against a pillar, sipping a canned soda through a straw and reading a comic book as the room sparkled around him. Another Jackbot was fanning him with a large frond.

"Jack! Why are you not assisting with chores?" Omi asked for all of them, a scold edging his words.

The boy in question looked up with a hint of skepticism. "I am. Didn't one-a my boys just go through there?"

"Yes," Omi returned, "But you are supposed to do your chores. Not robots..!"

"Hold on, now," Jermaine reasoned, lounging nearby in recline as he flipped through a borrowed comic, "It's not like he's just mooching off my Goo Zombies skills so he can hang. Chores are still getting done."

Gesturing to the curly-haired boy, Jack nodded. "Exactly. You lot aren't going to get a bunch of free labor out of me this time. I've gone good already anyway, officially a chosen one and everything, so I don't need to 'scrub out my evil' or whatever bologna Omi was trying to push last time I joined you."

Blushing with mild indignation, Omi did his best to ignore the silent glances from his friends. "Perhaps my past instruction proved slightly ineffective," he granted, "But you are still being a sack of lazy! Cleaning the temple is meant to be done by hand. I had thought you had mastered the art of diligence already."

Quirking a brow, Jack challenged, "Hey. I worked very diligently inventing these guys with my own two hands. I deserve to use them to skip a bit of dusting. Don't tell me you've never taken a shortcut on chores."

"Well...I...perhaps occasionally there is a shen gong wu involved...but even so, it is still me doing them..!"

Raimundo considered. "Nah, I think I'm with Jack on this one. I'm all for the zen way and everything, but making chores a little more this century doesn't seem all that bad."

"Thank you," Jack smiled smugly, then taking a final sip of soda and standing with a grand stretch. He threw the can carelessly, which was caught in a net extending from the other Jackbot's chest cavity.

Not wishing to be robbed of the final word, Omi felt he needed to emphasize that his point about laziness still stood. Coming a few steps forward and thrusting a pointed finger up at Jack's face, he insisted, "In that case, if you are going to be skipping your chores, then should you perhaps not be using that saved time to practice your fighting skills? After all, there is soooo much more that you have to catch up on. That is, if you wish to be on a level that can stand with the rest of us." Entering a casual shrug, he rolled his head with the elongated syllable to emphasize the gap in skill.

The other monks all perked at this slight, a hushed 'ooooo' rippling through the suddenly tensing air. Jack's already unimpressed expression pinched, and his nostrils flared to let out a dismissive snort.

However, rather than react dramatically as the onlookers had expected, Jack simply folded his arms in distaste and turned his head, spitting a haughty, "Believe me, Baldy, don't think I don't know. And believe that I'm already on it." Peeking his eye open and looking back at the shorter boy, he added, "But right now, I just kinda wanna settle into this whole Xiaolin life thing. Enjoy...chilling with you guys. Is that so wrong?" Once finished, his brow creased again, as though trying to cover for the fact that he'd said anything sentimental.

Shoulders slumping, Omi had to admit the wind had been sucked from his proverbial sails. It did make sense that this was a far larger adjustment for the albino than any of the others. None of them had uprooted themselves quite to the same degree, even if they had moved locations. If any of them, Omi was the one who hadn't had friends his own age prior to meeting his fellow Dragons. And Jack wanted to savor his time here with them?

Kimiko said it before Omi could. "Awww..! That's...surprisingly kinda touching from you."

Putting a palm up her way, Jack insisted, "Don't read into it."

In answer to his prayers about being saved from this moment, a sudden rhythmic shaking made its way through the hall, causing everyone present to brace. Accompanying the series of thuds, a loud, gravelly laugh could be heard passing by the nearest wall of the temple outside.

Jumping on this distraction, Jack noted, "Speaking of chores, I happen to have a few extra Cyclops-related ones that should qualify me to skip cleaning duty anyway." Smugly, he formed a pair of trigger fingers and walked past the others. A mere second after exiting, however, he poked his head back through the doorway and offered, "Unless...any of you want to ditch with me and come hang? We can take Cyclops up to the mountains and tear up the snow..!"

The others shared a round of glances, this time finding it somewhat endearing that Jack wanted to use his extra time to go romp around like a giddy child.

"Well gee, we would..." Raimundo started.

"But not all of us have got fancy robot pardners to tidy up for us," Clay shrugged.

"Guess you'll just have to go without us," Kimiko gave a breezy shrug, and turned away with the others to return to their cleaning.

Disheartened as the others turned away, Jack exclaimed, "What? For real?" He'd hoped at least one of them would take him up on the offer. Glancing to Omi, he was only met with a small shrug from the yellow boy before he too returned to scrubbing the walls.

Jermaine smirked. "Too bad. We're just not lucky enough to have a bunch of spare bots lying around, huh?"

Absorbing this, lamenting the fact that he would not in fact get to enjoy playing with an entire group of friends, Jack then gasped in realization. A fist plopped into an open palm. "Wait a minute! I've got an idea! Wait right here!"

Eagerly, he darted off to fetch stand-ins for the others, meanwhile behind him, the rest of the monks shared a subdued snicker in celebration of their not-so-subtly implanted thought.

With a cluster of Jackbots dutifully de-cluttering the temple in their stead, the monks happily abandoned their posts and fled with Jack over the back wall, catching up to Cyclops as he ran with abandon through the acres of grassy field outside the building, arms trailing behind him and tongue lolling in the wind as he zoomed.

"HEY! Clifford the Big Red Dope!" Jack hollered through cupped hands as the group watched the behemoth exploring his new territory.

Skidding to a halt, leaving ruts in the earth, Cyclops twisted gracelessly at the call, a vague questioning note accompanying the wide, darting eye and and the tongue still flopping out between his gnarled tusks. Spotting Jack, Cyclops perked right back up and bounded towards the group that was once more struggling to steady their legs as the giant thundered to meet them. As Cyclops flopped flat onto his belly, mere inches from Jack, the rest of the monks finally failed to keep upright, bouncing a good couple feet off the ground and collapsing into a heap.

"Still gotta get used to that..." Kimiko groaned. One of the less beneficial parts of taking Jack on was definitely his faithful companion.

Well-adjusted to spontaneous earthquakes, Jack was enthusiastically scratching above Cyclops' ear with both arms. "There he is..! Who's loving their new digs? I bet you are..!" Over his shoulder, he shot, "Eh, don't worry, you'll get your Cyclops Legs soon enough." Back to Cyclops, he enthused, "Anyway, we're gonna go have some fun! You wanna go play in the snow, boy? Do ya?!"

Much like one would with their pet dog, Jack had crouched slightly and placed his hands on his thighs. Likewise, Cyclops pushed up on his hands and grinned widely in response. However, unlike a dog, he garbled elated nonsense and reached down to grab Jack and place him readily on his shoulder in preparation to head for the mountains.

Unable to prevent finding Jack's interactions with Cyclops endearing, Omi finished detangling himself from Jermaine's legs and gave a small smile as he stood. Inspired to cater to Jack's whimsical mood and bring the group closer, he spoke up.

"Actually, we do not have to journey at all if it is merely snow you wish to enjoy."

The others looked at him, particularly Jack and Cyclops in confusion.

Omi continued, arms smugly behind his back. "Lest you forget which Dragon you are are in the presence of."

That said, all at once he leapt into the air. "WUDAI NEPTUNE WATER! ICE!"

The others gasped as they watched high overhead, an impressively huge stream of water rapidly freezing as it gushed from Omi's hands, forming an actual midair iceberg. However, before it could begin to fall, Omi then let out another energized cry, and began spinning at blinding speed, carving into the solid mass with the blades of his hands. As he did, the ice disintegrated into powder flying from underneath where he stuck.

Short work was made of the small iceberg Omi had created. Below, the others watched with slack jaws. Jack marveled as a perfectly-formed snowflake drifted down past his eyes, followed by more. This wasn't just shaved ice. These were actual carved-out snowflakes. The attention to detail was immaculate.

Then the rest of the hand-carved snow caught up with the first sprinkle, unceremoniously dumping itself over the ground and coating Jack and the cyclops he sat on in a good foot of white blanket.

The other monks did not escape this fate either. Amid them all, Omi landed no less smug and awaited praise for his impromptu change in the weather. "And that, my friends, is how you would say...I do."

Wiping the snow from their faces in tandem, four of the six sent Omi matching sour expressions. The next second, the shortest party found himself pelted with a slew of snowballs and his friends cackling heartily for their revenge.

Jack, meanwhile, shook himself out of the snowy covering, but had no displeasure. He watched the others pelting Omi and his lips turned up in a wide, excited grin. This was actually great! Sharing his excited grin with the still-confused Cyclops, Jack then leapt from the giant's shoulder and tackled Omi in a firm hug as the boy had barely managed to right himself.

"Waugh!"

Finding himself crushed, Omi had to blink blankly and process the fresh somersaulting tumble he found himself entering. Only once it had ended and he found himself upright again did he register that Jack was squeezing the life out of him.

"Ahhhh! This is perfect!" Jack gushed, "We never get snow at my house! Now we can block the driveway in protest of shoveling, and put prank sculptures outside the windows, and even go inside for cocoa! Thank you thank you thank youuuu~!"

Wow. Omi had no idea just having a snow day would mean so much to Jack. Hearing him gush so gratefully, however, he could only grant an endeared smile in turn, reaching to pat the taller boy's arm fondly despite his breathing troubles.

Then, just as suddenly, Omi found himself hoisted overhead in both of Jack's hands. A cruel smile in place, Jack now declared, "That said...snow burial!" Cackling, he threw the smaller boy down, reveling in how easily he disappeared under the surface of the snow. "Cyclops, help me keep him down!" Already, he was sweeping to gather armloads of snow to prevent Omi from tunneling back up.

In response, Cyclops grinned and obeyed, scooping up a massive clump of the stuff and moving to help cover the boy. Of course, as he dumped ever more snow on their heads, Jack was buried again as well. His cries of dismay were muffled, and he and Omi ended up both having to claw their way out of the pile together, sputtering and slumping in disgruntle once emerging at its apex while Cyclops was the one laughing.

Jack next found himself the target of snowballs, the other monks pelting him in the face as they were met with fresh inspiration and demanding he release Princess Omi from capture. Ignoring Omi's offense at being designated a helpless damsel in distress, Jack jumped at this chance to play the bad guy, immediately snapping his fingers for Cyclops to help him turn his heap of snow into a proper fortress.

This game was the first of many, ending when the monks successfully toppled Jack and Cyclops' snow tower and reclaimed their 'imprisoned' teammate. From there, everything from snow angels to sculptures were indulged. Jack seemed particularly gleeful about getting to build a snowman with the others, claiming Wuya would never do such things with him. It was a very awkward snowman, having a huge lower segment thanks to Cyclops wanting to contribute, one arm sculpted in Raimundo's arrogant muscular image and the other a well-posed stick by Jermaine. As well, it wore a snowy cowboy hat and sat at an icy campfire. Omi placed a set of stone chi dots on its forehead. Still, as Jack proudly topped it off with a carrot nose, he could say he'd finally built a snowman.

As the group were letting Cyclops pull them around on an activated Black Beetle, a large shield shen gong wu that doubled as a sort of raft they could all fit seated on, Dojo found them over the wall and demanded to know why an Ice Age had just rolled in. Promptly, he was seized and dragged along for the ride.

Only when Master Fung came calling and expressed that while he was glad they were getting along, he would appreciate being able to enter the courtyard, did the group have to pack it up. Jack showed off more of how during those few days to himself before moving in, he'd mastered simply using his element, forming a large bulldozer style scoop, into which his hands were embedded up to the wrists, and under Master Fung's supervision, begrudgingly removed his protest pile from the temple walkway.

Kimiko helped speed the melting by radiating heat from her hands, Omi assisting by simply changing the water's form back to liquid and removing it; Jermaine made sure everything was shaken from every branch, meanwhile Clay tucked stray bits of snow under the earth like a rug.

All in all, it was a pretty great day.

Jack would be surprised at how acclimating to his new environment wasn't quite as jarring as he expected. Already within the week, he was finding himself casually encountering the others and included, a far cry from the seclusion in his new robot room he'd planned on.

During one stroll to familiarize himself with the Xiaolin Temple's layout, he happened across Jermaine and Raimundo, snickering to themselves as they crouched behind a potted plant in the dining hall. At the table sat Omi, attempting to enjoy some afternoon tea. Seeing Jack walk by, the two crouching boys hurriedly ushered him over.

As he curiously approached, Raimundo hushed, "Don't go out there, dude..! You'll spoil it..!"

Jermaine added, "Better yet, get in on this, yo..! Your boy be trippin' hard..!"

Blinking, Jack couldn't say he wasn't interested. "Oh? Is this a prank?" A short, quiet laugh. "No way. What are you doing to him?"

Sharing a grin to see that Jack was onboard, the other two thumbed toward their victim to silently indicate Jack watch. Jack did, observing Omi in great frustration as he repeatedly tried to drink from his cup. Only every time he moved to take a sip, Raimundo would send a quick, silent breeze across the room to cool the tea inside it instantly.

Jack snorted as he caught on, clasping his hands over his mouth to stifle himself as he watched the pressure quickly build, Omi tossing the cup's contents out into the grass, pouring a fresh cup and only getting a mouthful of cold liquid in frantic succession. Then in confounded desperation, he grasped the teapot itself, quite clearly still hot, and guzzled directly from the spout. A sharp cry and a waterfall of tea poured from his mouth in alarm as all he accomplished now was scalding his tongue.

Behind the plant, all three of the other boys were doubled over and rolling with muffled laughter as Omi desperately fanned himself.

Before they could give themselves away, all three hurried out into the courtyard to more openly let out their mirth and get ahold of themselves.

"Auh, yo," Jermaine praised, "Master of finesse on that blowing, Rai-dawg. Boy didn't have a clue..!"

With a sly smirk, Raimundo passed Jermaine a wink and kissed his palm, opening it in his direction and blowing the kiss his way. Feeling the light brush of air against his cheek, Jermaine touched the spot and loosely wrapped his other arm around his side, perhaps a bit more genuinely charmed than he meant to let on.

Jack noticed the darkest boy hadn't been ready with a quip like usual, and quirked his brow at the less playful reaction. Raimundo, however, was turning his breezy attention Jack's way.

"Man, I'm glad you aren't like up in arms about messing with the little guy. Though not like you going into protective boyfriend mode would stop me. Actually, hard to say if that would be annoying, or make it more fun." A short snicker.

"Pff," Jack countered, "Are you kidding? Messing with Gouda Gourd's never gonna stop being hilarious." A thoughtful beat. "Speaking of air though, how much control do you have? Can you suffocate someone with like, a vacuum around their head?" He hovered his hands around his own to illustrate.

This earned him a pair of slightly wide-eyed stares from the other boys.

"Well that's dark," Raimundo commented bluntly. He had most certainly not ever considered using his abilities to hurt or threaten others in such a way. However, he was known to be a bit darker than the other Dragons sometimes too. Just as Jack began to look uncomfortable and think perhaps he'd ruined things already, Raimundo offered, "Kinda like it, though. In a...supervillain comic-y sort of way."

A tiny apologetic smile from Jack as he hoped to redeem any ill impression he might have made. "Old habits..?"

Relenting hems from the other two, and they decided to brush the cruel instinct off. "Anyway," Jermaine pushed past it, "We done enough pickin' on Omi for one day. What'chyou wanna do now?"

"Hmmmm." Raimundo rubbed his index finger under his chin in exaggerated contemplation. "How about switching targets? Like you. I think I can help you with that height problem of yours~."

Without warning, a gust of air lifted the brunette off the ground and he swooped to grab hold of the shorter boy, carrying him up and in a grand arc around the courtyard.

Jermaine blanched and began struggling immediately as he watched Jack shrink and blur below. "Woah, what?! Hey, not funny, yo! Not funny!"

"Aw, c'mon, Jermaine! I can show you the world~!" Raimundo pressed, not going to any dangerous heights, but swooping elegantly about, meanwhile Jack cackled at the way the curly-haired one flustered.

"You better not!" Jermaine bit back, "I mean it, Raimundo! Too unsupported, too unsupported!" His clawed fingers clambered to clutch at any part of the boy carrying him they could.

Recognizing the mounting panic, Raimundo felt bad and came back down by Jack for a light landing. As Jermaine gladly plopped into a splayed sit, letting out a breath of relief, Raimundo couldn't help a guilty quip. "What, you don't think I'm supportive?"

Jermaine passed him a slightly annoyed tug of his lips while Jack snorted and slapped his palms to his cheeks. "Ooooo~! Dra-ma!"

Now he earned two annoyed looks. Jack seemed to ignore that and offered a breezy, "Settle it in ping pong?"

Jermaine and Raimundo exchanged a neutral look, then looked back at Jack.

"Yeah, okay."

"Could go for a game."

And the boys wandered off together, finding a joint activity to share. It might have been a bumpy start in getting acclimated to one another, but it was still happening. That was more than Jack could hope for.

For Omi, however, things were not going quite so swimmingly. Since Jack had declared himself a Xiaolin, his own head had been filled with ideas about how much more time they would get to spend together, and though they were sharing lessons, and he had gotten so spend some time with the goth boy, it seemed over the course of his first week at the temple, he was seeing his boyfriend less and less.

As the monks earned their own time in the afternoon, Omi decided to find Jack on his own. He'd had luck with this before, and so hoped to get some quality time with the other boy by seeking selective attention. However, a sight he very much did not expect awaited him when he entered the darkened room Jack's robotics lab had been crammed into.

There, sitting on twin low-backed stools, were Jack and Kimiko. Kimiko's laptop was open on Jack's desk, Jack was scanning a couple of holographic computer screens nearby, and they were...holding hands?!

That was what Omi's knee-jerk reaction told him anyway. In truth, Kimiko did have Jack's hand in one of hers, as she was blowing on his fingertips, a nail polish brush in her other hand. These added details didn't do much to quelch Omi's irritation.

"Quit squirming," Kimiko was scoffing, "You're gonna make your topcoat come out all lumpy..!"

"I'm not used to nail polish..!" Jack whined, "My fingers still want to...fing..!"

"If you can sit through a facial, you can sit through this," Kimiko hemmed, "Trust me, this one detail is gonna make all the difference."

A short, impatient sigh, but Jack did his best to comply. "Anyway, if I were to install a wu as more than a power source for my tech, what kind of bugs can I expect? Because I know I'm gonna have to hunt wu with you losers..."

A sour squint from Kimiko.

A roll of the eyes and a placating palm up. "...guys. But I hate the undulating that comes with dragon travel. Unless you want to clean up puke every time I ride with you, I'm thinking I should really just stick to Cyclops or my jet. But if I can put in a feature to activate the Golden Tiger Claws with say, a button, that'll save a whole lot of trouble. How did you get the Mind Reader Conch to trigger without name activation?"

"Surprisingly?" Kimiko admitted conversationally as she painted, "Still not a lot of conflict between tech and magic there. All I had to do was find the right spot on my PDA's motherboard, so if you're thinking jet, you could probably..." While giving Jack's nails another drying blow, she spotted the other boy hovering in the doorway and turned for him. "Hey, Omi. What's up?"

Likewise turning at the distracted greeting, Jack perked. "Omi..! Check it out! Kimiko and I are coding buddies~!"

"So I see," Omi agreed flatly, glowering at the continued hand contact.

Seeing where Omi was looking, Jack moved to present his nails to the short boy. "Oh yeah, turns out we're makeup buddies too~! Kimiko insists nails are the perfect accent for my look. What do you think?"

They were just done simply in black, sealed under a shimmering topcoat, but they did add a certain touch that complimented the crescent lines always decorating the contours of his cheeks. Distracted and glad Jack was asking his opinion, Omi granted, "Actually, I would agree that your fingerpaints are most becoming."

Jack's head tilted in flatter. "Really?"

"Told ya!" Kimiko leaned in to smugly declare. Dunking the polish brush back into its bottle for a re-wet, the girl invited, "Wanna try it, Omi? You're welcome to join."

Looking between the complex coding plastering the computer screens, and bristling as he watched Jack readily put his hand back out for Kimiko to take, Omi's brow darkened. "No, thank you." These were not things for which he would be able to offer any insight.

Seemingly not noticing the less than enthusiastic tone, Kimiko shrugged, "Suit yourself." As she turned back to her activities, reaching to type something into her laptop, Omi just turned and left. Excited by the prospect of having anything in common with her newest teammate, Kimiko continued chatting to Jack. "And, as promised, as soon as you're dry I'll let you do mine. But you'd better not mess them up on purpose!" She wouldn't put something like that past the boy's mean streak.

"No way..!" Jack proclaimed defiantly, also too excited in discovering similarities to notice something amiss. "You're very clearly a Summer. I'm thinkiiiing 'sunset gradient'." Daintily attempting to scroll without disturbing the wet nails on his free hand, he scanned over some coding plans he had on his own computer.

"Ooo~..!" That actually sounded...pretty cool. "By the way, what kind of processor do you use for your Jackbot AI?"

In no time the two were once again lost in a combination of technobabble and fashion secrets.

…

Thinking he would simply try again when Jack was free, Omi then found himself running into a different issue: Jack was suddenly never free.

Finding Jack out by the railings of one of the temple's rear doors, he was dismayed to see that the pasty redhead was in Clay's company. The Texan was whittling a figurine out of a block of wood, while Jack tinkered with some loose scrap metal and wires next to him, the pair discussing the joys of hands-on crafting.

Presenting their finished products to one another, Clay offered forth a small wooden cowboy posed in a riding cheer, meanwhile Jack slid a metallic robot horse to meet it. Pressing a button, the horse reared up and completed the picture of a rodeo man on his bucking bronco.

"Now if that ain't the quaintest darn thing," Clay beamed, and the pair shared a good chuckle over their crafting skills, chummy arms thrown around one another.

Omi left without making his presence known, stewing.

…

Jack and Raimundo were seated on a pile of cushions in the movie room, the projector displaying a many-tentacled monster bursting forth from the ocean's depths to terrorize a Navy vessel. Jack had a cushion firmly wrapped in his arms as he sat tensely curled. Raimundo was lying on his belly, but was no less tense as he held a blanket around himself and clutched the pillow he lay on.

"I'm telling you, dude, they're for real," he insisted, "We've never seen most of the bottom of the ocean. All kinds of messed up things gotta be down there. Maybe they're even aliens. How would we know? It's the perfect cover..!"

"They're gonna eat our brains..!" Jack readily attached to this paranoid delusion, cowering further into the pillow he held so that only his eyes pinched with worry peeked above it.

"Aw man, I didn't even think about that..! I just thought they wanted to control our brains..!"

The two boys exchanged a wary grimace. The monster onscreen then let out a loud roar as a particularly gruesome dismemberment was displayed. Jack and Raimundo both yelled in terror and flew in tandem to cling their arms around one another for security.

While these two had fun winding themselves up with monster-based conspiracies, Omi once again neglected to make it known that he'd even poked his head in to see what Jack was up to.

…

On the temple's basketball court, Jack and Jermaine were in the midst of a high energy one-on-one match when Omi found them. Jermaine had the ball, and was currently pulling every dodge and fakeout in the book to try and get around Jack as the pale boy crowded him with arms up and spread wide. Trash talk was exchanged plentifully.

"No shot for Shorty! No shot for Shorty!" Jack mocked the boy a good six inches shorter than him.

Smirking, Jermaine countered, "Think you mean Shawty, and Shawty gonna make you eat those words, Beanpole."

Recognizing the playful spin in lingo, Jack rolled with it. "Not if Shawty ain't gonna shoot!"

With a brief tut out his nose, Jermaine took the challenge and made to aim for the basket, but this proved to be another fakeout as he simply dipped his wrist last second while Jack jumped to block, dribbling through the goth's own legs and rolling around him. Catching his own pass to himself, Jermaine then dodged Jack's next couple of swipes before leaping to take an actual shot. The ball swished satisfyingly through the net without even hitting the rim.

While Jermaine caught the rebound and spun the ball on his finger with a fresh smirk, Jack folded his arms and shook his head with his own small smile. "Shawty sure showed me," he admitted, the two sharing a chuckle before coming in for a high five.

Spotting Omi, the pair beamed the yellow boy's way.

"Sup, Omi," Jermaine greeted, "You come to watch me wipe the court with Bot Boy? Talk about weak game, man."

"Hey!" Jack defended, though neither of their tones sounded genuinely hurtful, "You ain't won yet, Tree Hugger. Last I checked I'm still in the lead!"

Elbowing the taller boy, Jermaine assured, "I'm playin', I'm playin'..!"

"Actually...may I play?" Omi opted to attempt to join. If Jack was going to have his attention constantly stolen, then perhaps it was best. Basketball was something he could do well to boot.

A quick glance between the boys on the court.

"Sorry, Omi," Jermaine shrugged, "Can't make it odd. But you can play winner. Sound good?"

Dismayed, flicking his gaze between the two and getting another useless shrug from Jack as he stood by Jermaine's call, Omi just sighed. Even if he did wait to play the winner, there was no guarantee he was going to get to play with Jack.

"That is quite alright. I would not wish to upset the almighty balance of basketball numbering," Omi returned with a fair hint of sarcasm, "I will find some other numbers to play with."

"Um...okay. That's cool." Jermaine's head tilted, not quite sure what Omi's problem was.

"Yeah, yeah, fine," Jack brushed off with a flap of his wrist before reaching to swipe the ball from Jermaine's hold. "Yoink!"

"Hey!" As Jermaine startled at the dirty play, Jack cackled and backpedaled while dribbling, clearly enjoying the way the New Yorker bristled and now chased after him.

…

Training went as well as it could have. Jack did just fine at understanding katas and going through the motions of what he was given. It was a little dull for the others as they had worked well beyond this point, but they had to work with Jack on some level as a beginner and help him build up. Omi offered readily to help Jack perfect his techniques, by taking valuable time from his day to personally train the redhead in special additional lessons full of wisdom only Omi could give, but Jack swatted him away and passive-aggressively insisted that he had this just fine, thank you. Omi could just be patient.

Shen gong wu training was by far the best form of it for all the Dragons, as this was something Jack had plenty of experience with. He gravitated right towards his old favorites, the Monkey Staff and the Reversing Mirror.

The first time he picked the staff up, Jermaine took note, looking up from the Tangle Web Comb he was considering from the selection Master Fung had brought them.

"Well that was a beeline," he blinked, "You only like one wu or something?"

Glancing to the other, Jack shrugged, "Well, I mean I did get pretty darn good at using all the wu in the future...old future...whatever. So I do have a solid idea on a ranking list...but nah. Just got favorites. Good old Monkey Staff, how I've missed you~." Holding the staff to his cheek and rubbing the monkey carving at the top, he then delivered it a hearty smooch.

"Hm." Taken aback by how certain Jack was about that, Jermaine noted, "Seems like somethin' called the Monkey Staff would be more my speed, yeah?" A short chuckle. "I'm supposed to be king of the vine swingers, yo."

Casually twirling the thing between his hands and behind his back, Jack tutted. "Ah, maybe, but just you watch. Me and this wu? We've got an understanding."

Blinking in more distracted stun now, Jermaine watched the staff swinging around and come to a casual rest in Jack's hands. On his other side, Kimiko leaned to stare at this too.

"Uh...yeah," the New Yorker noted, "I can see that. For real, though, when were you gonna tell us you could work a bo? I thought you said you never did martial arts before!"

Quirking a brow in confusion, Jack just said bluntly, "...I can't." They hadn't done weapons yet.

Kimiko piped up to inform, "But you just did. That was a perfect set..!"

"Huh? What was?"

Kimiko and Jermaine looked at each other in disbelief. Reaching into the chest of shen gong wu, Kimiko then grabbed the Sword of the Storm. "I guess we'll see. HYYYA!"

Without warning, the pigtailed girl lashed forward and sent a powerful downward strike towards the albino boy. Jack screamed, but instinctively moved to block the slicing blade with the staff in his hands, then twisting it to throw Kimiko's arm to the side and jabbing it to send her away from him. She indeed fell onto her back and skidded to a halt several feet away. Jack had crushed his eyes shut, but now peeked to find the girl sitting up and rubbing her head.

"That. I dunno how, but yeah. You can use a bo staff."

"I can? But...I always swing sticks like this around! You mean I was doing something right that whole time?!" Jack couldn't believe it himself. He felt immensely proud for having rebuffed Kimiko's attack as well, on purpose or otherwise. "Yes! I'm the greatest self-teacher ever!" Robots, cooking, metal powers, staff fighting moves...it seemed Jack was just best when left to tinker with things for himself. He was good at finding the best way to work whatever he was messing with.

Tutting at the way Jack thrust victorious fists in the air, Jermaine reminded, "Don't get a swelled head just yet. Let's see what you can really do with that thing." Having selected his wu, he held that out to the side in one hand, meanwhile having taken out his Wudai Weapon to extend in the other.

"Blammer Hammer! Mugong Hammer!"

At once two oversized hammers of varying design were in his hands, and the black-haired boy grinned, taking his turn to attack. Jack's eyes widened and he paled, definitely feeling like he might have celebrated too early. Once more he winced, and once more he held up his staff in defense as it was his turn to slide back under the assault.

"Monkey Staff!"

All he could think to do was activate his own weapon, and as he did, he felt a familiar transformation as he gained monkey-like appendages, fur, fangs and a tail. With this, he felt a sharp increase in alertness and dexterity. He rolled himself sharply to the side, Jermaine swinging the deafening one of the two hammers he wielded to strike where he would have been. A boom echoed as it formed a crater aided by its sonic power.

"Sword of the Storm!"

Escape though he might have, the redhead found himself back in Kimiko's sights, the girl grinning playfully as she opted to keep the weapon she'd selected and use it for its powers as well. Jack found himself battling a forceful gale now as it threatened to blow him away. He dug his extra strong digits into the cobbled arena ground.

"Mm, two-on-one? Okay, that ain't fair," Jermaine quipped, and promptly raised his arms. "Wudai Moon Wood!"

All at once, a great, thick tree draped with hanging vines sprouted from below, spreading its branches wide and forming a sort of mini-arena within their area of the training field. Jack's eyes bulged, but he didn't question it when a vine swung in front of his face. He grabbed it immediately and let it carry him up to safety, a victorious monkey screech sounding as he leapt for the nearest branch and started merrily swooping between them.

"Now who's being fair?" Kimiko quipped a challenge at the boy who just stole her target.

"Again, so quick to judge." Jermaine shook his head sadly. Then he grabbed his own vine and swung to meet Jack, spinning his Wudai weapon to shift it into an axe. As he landed on the same branch as the other boy, he declared, "I'm-a take you both down now. Free for all, yo~."

That said, he swung the axe and chopped the branch in front of his silk slippers, causing Jack to fall with another confused scream. Then Jermaine leapt from the stump himself, swinging the hammer in his other hand for Kimiko now. She laughed at this declaration, and jumped to meet the attack, activating another power of the sword and phasing right through him. He shuddered at the feeling, landing to once again find his hammer striking nothing.

Solidifying, Kimiko reached for a vine herself, only to suddenly find her ankle hooked. Looking, she found Jack using the curled tail of the monkey atop his staff to snag her, his own tail wrapped securely around a branch he'd saved himself with.

"Don't count me out yet!" he sneered, "I'm still showing you what I can do!" With another animalistic shriek, he swung the snagged girl into the trunk of the tree and slammed her repeatedly against the bark before the staff unhooked.

Dazed, Kimiko relented a thin, "Good one...but I don't think you thought this through. Only you could have prevented this forest fire."

As Jack quirked a brow, the girl peeled herself off the trunk and aimed her finger like a gun. "Fire!" she echoed, and a flame burst forth like a flare from her fingertip, aimed directly for Jack. He yiped and tried to turn to flee, but the flame only landed on his rear, igniting his pants in an instant as he began scrambling to extinguish himself. Kimiko snickered to watch.

As heated as this spar had become, it remained shockingly friendly. All three took turns laughing as they gained the upper hand and learned their fighting dynamics with their magical weaponry. Jack and Jermaine especially were finding all sorts of fun combinations they could do while Jack was part monkey. Most easily, Jermaine could set up any number of perfect launchpads for Jack to use to navigate the field and attack from.

From his position in the remaining trio, Omi couldn't help observing with a grimly furrowed brow. He was supposed to be practicing with Clay and Raimundo, but the way he kept hearing laughter on the other side of the field, and the way he saw Jack merrily flitting between Jermaine's trees, he couldn't help a spike of jealousy. He should be laughing with Jack. He should be helping him hone his craft. He should be the one coming up with partner moves and encouraging him during spars.

As he was glowering at his other friends, he found himself sideswiped by a large fist of earth.

"Better keep in the game, Omi pardner!" Clay chided, "Lest you wanna get bucked from it!"

Pushing himself up from his hands and knees, Omi let out a sour growl and decided enough was enough. Even in training, his own boyfriend was gravitating towards others? He refused to be so completely tossed aside!

Having gotten a bit distracted – he'd blame the monkey brain – Jack dangled by his tail and had gotten experimental with his element, forming shiny spiked spheres around the ends of the branches of the large tree. Below, Jermaine too had taken a curious note, giving a few punches and making the tree mimic him as a sort of oversized boxer with sharp gloves.

"Okay, now you are making it two-on-one," Kimiko quipped, though she had her elbow leaned casually on the Sword of the Storm's hilt. Clearly the fight had taken a backseat.

This is when Omi scampered up next to her, loudly declaring, "Monkey Jack! You believe trees are fun? I have a much better element for you to play with! And a shen gong wu!"

Jack's attention was caught by this, brow quirked in puzzlement, and the next second Omi had pulled out the Orb of Tornami and activated it to summon forth a massive wave. Jack's eyes bulged now, as well as Jermaine's, and neither got to make a sound before the wall of water overcame them.

As the wave settled, Jack and Jermaine drifted to rest sodden on the cobble, Jack inside a metal bubble he'd formed out of fright. The tree sagging just as soggy, and the metal accessories tarnished with a heavy coat of accelerated rust.

"See?" Omi pressed, "We can do teamwork moves too! It is...surfing?" Sure Jack's bubble looked more like an egg than a surfboard, but it still counted, right?

Promptly, the casing just as rusted as the rest of the surrounding metal crumbled to dust around Jack. Likewise, the spheres in the trees collapsed almost like emphasizing an unspoken point.

With an indignant stiff posture, Jack stood, knocked some water and a goldfish out of his ear, then stomped gruffly over to Omi, his dour expression only emphasized by his monkey features. Once standing in front of the short boy, he raised his arms and let out a lengthy set of irate shrieks. From there, he let his posture sag once more and a displeased snort shot out his nostrils.

Feeling quite awkward all of a sudden, Kimiko observed, "I'm...sensing some tension. Don't mind me. Think I'm gonna go train with Rai and Clay for a while." On tiptoe, she slunk away from the scene.

With an expression holding back an obvious swell of distaste, Jermaine stood and opted to take his leave too. As he passed, however, fists balled, he sniped at the Chinese boy, "Not again, Omi. Really think I'm with Monkey Boy on this one."

Arms wide, Omi turned with Jermaine's stride, calling after the others, "What? What did I do?"

A set of hairy-knuckled monkey fingers clamped tightly around one of those outstretched arms, causing Omi to hiss through his teeth at the unexpected and admittedly painful grip. He was then tugged, Jack depositing the Monkey Staff into the chest he'd taken it from. The grip loosened in strength as he morphed back into his upright human self, but the boy doing the pulling looked no less displeased.

Throwing Omi around in front of him as they reached behind the first temple wall within sight of the training yard, Jack promptly crossed his arms and demanded, "Okay. What was that about?"

Rubbing his upper arm slightly, Omi then looked up and his brow creased. "Why are you cross with me? I am the one only trying to involve myself with your training because you are all of a sudden ignoring my existence the rest of the time!"

"Uh, excuse me?" Jack glowered, hardly believing what he was hearing, "Who's ignoring you?"

A sharp finger thrust towards Jack's face. "You are! All of this week I have been seeking your attentions, but you have only wished to spend it with the others, doing much of the frivolous touching in the process I might add!" He poked several times up Jack's body in emphasis, causing the other boy to recoil and slap him away in annoyance.

Putting some pieces together, Jack countered, "Good sweet Dashi, are you actually insinuating what I think you are?"

"If you are insinuating that I am insinuating that you are preferring my friends over me!"

"Are you kidding me with this?!" Jack opened a palm to the air. "Have you even asked for my time once this week?!"

Omi thrust his fists groundward. "I have come looking! It should be obvious I would like to spend time with my own boyfriend! And you should be wanting this too!"

Jack's arms spread wide. "Who says I don't?!"

"The fact that you are now not spending any of it with me, even during training, perhaps?! Instead you are perfecting moves with everyone else, and your favorite partner is Jermaine?!"

Jack's brow quirked in angered confusion. "What's wrong with Jermaine? We've got a good element vibe!"

Omi gave a sour grimace. "Do you not remember? It is Jermaine! He is already better than me at apparently everything else, so why should I not assume you would also consider him a better boyfriend than me?!"

"What?!" Incredulous, Jack threw his hands up in perplex. "Omi, are you even listening to yourself right now?!"

"Are you listening to me?!"

"Uh, yeah? And you're nuts!"

"I am not squirrel food! What other reason is there for you to say my observations are unfounded?!"

"Seriously?" Crushing his eyes shut with a gruff scoff, Jack glared at the shorter boy. "I like you, okay?! Being better training partners with someone else isn't going to change that. And so what if I've been hanging out with the others? You could have asked, at literally any time, to come hang! Pretty sure it was even offered!"

Quieted just a bit by the admission that Jack still liked him, Omi was also still confused. "Perhaps," he admitted, "But it is you I was wishing to spend the time with. Like how it has been in the past! If you truly still enjoy my company, should you not wish for this as well?"

"Again, never said I didn't," Jack shot back with another open shrug, "Excuse me for wanting some one-on-one time with my new friends I never thought I'd have! I expected to be the same old shut-in I've always been when I got here! Even if we're cool with each other, I didn't think any of you guys were gonna be so welcoming! I never expected to find so much in common with the rest of those guys, either!" A thumb was tossed over his shoulder. "Sorry for getting excited about trying a variety of new stuff! Jeez, I thought you were over all this, but you are literally the most jealous person I have ever seen! Even more than me. And that definitely came out right!"

Crossing his arms in a huff, he turned sharply away from the other.

As Jack spoke, Omi felt the fire in his belly shrinking, until that last accusation sent it fizzling out with an icy punch of shame. He glanced off to the side when Jack turned from him, brow now furrowing upward as he absorbed the feelings Jack had expressed. It was an excitement Omi himself had felt when he'd first met his new group of friends. When he'd started bonding with them. When he'd started bonding with Jack. Of course for the pale boy, it had been the other way around. He'd softened to Omi's presence first before learning he had a chance to be on good terms with the others. Jack's words were all too relatable.

As well, Omi felt called out regarding his jealousy. He hadn't felt an overly powerful surge of it in quite some time. Not since Jack had shown him how effective at controlling his emotions physical exertion was for him. Something about seeing the boy he loved having such an openly great time with others, without him, however, had caused it to take him back over without him even realizing. Clearly, he still had work to do on himself.

"I...I am sorry. You are right," Omi admitted in the lingering silence, head bowing.

Not expecting to hear an apology, Jack peeked back over his shoulder.

Glancing up to see he had Jack's tentative attention, Omi went on. "I did not even think about how this would be such a great change for you, Jack Spicer." One hand gripped the opposite sleeve down by the wrist in guilty tension. "All I was thinking about was all of the fun things we could be doing together much more easily, now that you are under the same roof. After spending so much time with you all to myself, I believe I simply felt you were stolen after seeing how easily you have bonded with the others. Without me."

Arms loosening, Jack then let them hang by his sides as he turned back around to study the yellow boy's face. It sounded like Omi actually understood the problem, and was admitting to it much more readily than usual. In a way, Jack could even understand where Omi was coming from.

Seeing the more receptive posture, Omi took a step forward and opened his palms towards the taller boy. "It is only because I care so deeply for you that I do not wish to lose our time together. I did not mean to let my emotions get the better of me. And I admit, I should likely have just asked for your attention." A bit reluctant to make that admission, he looked to the side again, flatly.

After another moment of silence, Jack assessing the apology a bit more, the redhead let a sigh out through his nose. One hand going to his hip, he relented, "Alright. I accept your apology. Maybe to some degree, I even should have expected this. I know how needy you are. But you'd better get used to this, Chrome Dome. You're just gonna have to share me now." An index finger pointed sternly at the Chinese party.

Smiling lightly in a mix of relief and gladness, Omi gave an agreeable nod. One palm went up peacefully. "Not to worry. I will put forth my greatest effort not to lose my trusting in you ever again. And, if you will excuse me, I believe I shall take a moment to do the thing that I likely should have remembered to be doing this entire time."

Tracking Omi as he walked away, Jack's expression was curious. As soon as Omi was out of sight, hardcore thrash metal exploded out from where he'd gone. Jack's brow went up a few degrees as Omi's raw screams joined the cacophony. This carried on for several seconds before it all shut off just as suddenly as it had begun, and Omi walked casually back into the scene, arms folded neatly behind him.

"I'm good," he said simply upon return.

Jack smiled. "Glad to hear it. And y'know, if you're not such a little jerk about it, there is a combo or two we could probably work at."

Perking with interest, Omi beamed. "Really?"

"Sure. You can do ice, right?"

"Naturally."

"Right. So make a path back to the field. And make it rampy. I got an idea."

Now the curious one, Omi did as he was asked and summoned an icy path that could have belonged in any snow park. Then he let out a surprised note as Jack picked him up without warning and threw him into the air.

Following close behind, Jack swished his hands and pointed with flair downward, twin jets of liquid metal appearing from nowhere and fastening themselves to the soles of both boys' silk slippers, hardening into two pairs of ice skate blades.

As those blades hit the ice at the top of the ramp, the two now zipped like lightning across the yard, aiming to rejoin their friends. Registering what was happening, Omi had to reel his arms, having zero talent for skating, but he felt Jack's hand grasp his arm again, this time at the wrist, and send them into a series of spins as they rocketed over the first hump Omi had constructed.

"Wheeeeee~!" the stout boy cheered, finding this an inspired use of their combined elements. He and Jack grinned together as the pair trick skated their way back to meet the others. The rest of the monks blinked in surprise at the sudden re-entrance, Omi opting to make more path for Jack to guide them over.

The others hadn't expected jovial skating when the two boys came back, if they came back at all, so while this was better than fighting, it also invited befuddled stares. When Jack and Omi finally ended their little ride around the training field, however, the group was more than happy to hear that the problem had worked itself out, and Omi assured them he would not be forcing his way into any more spars. From there, practice resumed as normal. Even Jermaine and Omi were back to functioning as teammates.

…

Omi continued to be proud of Jack's progress, the goth boy getting the hang of his lessons far more quickly than he ever could have expected, especially after how his first day had gone. In fact, almost suspiciously so. His taolu were near form-perfect the first session returning after learning them. With a mind cleared of jealous stewing, Omi couldn't help but wonder, and the very next night, after a day observing Jack for any signs of being somehow even more a prodigy than himself or Jermaine at fighting, he would go to bed finding nothing unusual and puzzling more. Perhaps Jack really was just a lucky beginner?

Returning from getting himself a glass of water, Omi would let his thoughts drift to how glad he was that he and Jack were still at peace when he heard a shuffling of cloth from inside the team's shared resting quarters.

Brow going up, not knowing if it was an intruder or just one of his friends moving around in their sleep, he zipped to the edge of the door frame and took a careful peek around the corner.

His brow raised even more to see Jack hunched over, shifting his blanket gingerly in front of him to make it look like he was still tucked in. He was looking around at the other mats, clearly mistaking Omi's bunched blanket for the smaller boy being asleep as well, and, seemingly satisfied that everyone was out, stood and silently tiptoed his way for the door.

Omi pulled himself back and flat against the wall in a spike of panic. Jack was sneaking out?! Where? Just as silently as the other boy, he sent his chi into his palms and feet and scampered backwards up to the ceiling as the albino boy exited the room, glancing left and right to ensure he remained alone.

As he departed, Omi's eyes narrowed sharply in suspicion. He couldn't help old instincts arising, having been swindled far too many times in the past by that boy to not suspect foul play. Dropping to the floor in a perfect three-point pose, he quickly darted after Jack like a shadow.

He remained Jack's shadow as the redhead walked through several halls and across several yards. He quirked a brow when Jack stubbed his toe and knocked over a potted plant, only to shove the cracked item behind the nearest pillar and pretend the mess wasn't obvious, but didn't break his silence. A sting of panic then shot through his chest as he saw the direction Jack was heading next – the same direction as the building housing the shen gong wu vault!

Having lost sight of Jack's back for a mere second, Omi darted from his hiding spot and more firmly felt old instincts rising. No, Jack, please no..! Not after that talk they'd just had about trust..!

Rushing, Omi sped his way into the round, domed tower housing the vault, skidding to a stop in the center of the circular room. Glancing about, however, no one was there.

"Jack..?" Omi questioned to the air, "Jack Spicer..?" Had he somehow entered the vault already? Looking below, Omi got on his hands and knees and attempted to peek through a crack in the stone yin yang center of the floor that might let him see if the vault was in use while somehow still being closed. Of course, the crack was so minute, he could see nothing, especially in the dark. Sitting back up on his knees, he scratched his head at a loss.

Then, in the hush, he detected a distant sound. A sound from outside. A series of sharp, breathy sounds that Omi easily identified as the sounds of striking effort.

Wandering outside, Omi looked about some more to locate the source. He identified it to be coming from behind the temple's perimeter wall. But it was definitely Jack's voice.

Now irresistibly curious, Omi jumped up to grip the wall's edge and peek silently over the lip. There was the stream that ran behind the Xiaolin Temple, and there, hopping between a series of rocks protruding from the water, tunic thrown to the wayside, was Jack. He was punching, kicking, balancing in the moonlight, quite obviously running through the set of moves he'd been given today.

Omi's jaw slacked, muscles un-tensing as he realized exactly what was happening. All at once he recalled Jack insisting that he had playing catch-up under control despite his lounging around, and the the fact that indeed he seemed to be doing incredibly well in lessons despite having no outside tutoring.

Jack wasn't being sneaky to revert to his old ways...he wasn't even cheating his lessons. He was being sneaky to help his new ways!

Straight away Omi felt bad for assuming the worst, but it was then steamrolled by a fresh swell of pride, the largest he'd felt yet. A smile found him as he watched Jack work, a better example of his diligence hard-pressed to be found. He didn't want to be left behind, but he clearly wanted to improve on his own terms. Omi could appreciate that. In fact, he let his chin sink into the forearms he now casually folded as he dangled off that wall, his beam stretching as he opted to take a moment admiring how Jack threw himself wholeheartedly into his task as always. He was so persistent. A light sheen of sweat built up within minutes of leaps and flips, glistening in the soft light as much as the water. Omi found himself incredibly attracted to this image. Jack with the spirit of a warrior, shining with bare-chested determination in the night...here, Omi surprised himself to realize that Jack was just as capable of fitting his idealized fantasies as Master Monk Guan or Grand Master Dashi.

Jack paused in his forms, dragging a forearm across his forehead with a puff of breath. "Muggy tonight..." he muttered to himself. Crouching, he grabbed a quick cup of water in his hands and splashed it over his face.

Without even realizing, Omi stared harder to watch the beads of water wetting Jack's hair, clinging to his skin and dripping down his neck to his chest. His mouth felt a bit dry as Jack splashed himself a bit more before taking another few practice kicks.

Pausing with one leg high in the air, Jack stared at his covered limb in consideration for a moment before taking another glance around. Once more to himself he spoke in an off-handed mutter. "Eh. Like anyone's ever here to care." Then, unbelievably, he reached for his waistband and slid his pants down, boxers and all. Stepping out of his shoes, he then tossed the wad of clothing to join his top on the stream bank.

Now bending his elbows back overhead, Jack took a stretch and enjoyed the breeze for a moment before swiftly entering another one-legged stance and sending both fists to strike with another curt "hua!"

Omi's eyes had inflated tenfold. He was very aware of how shriveled his entire mouth felt now as he chomped down hard on his lips. He was tense all over again. More tense than he'd been before. There was no question where he was staring.

Great Dashi's ghost, he knew Jack was rather immodest, but he never would have expected...this..! Out in the open..! So casually..! In such picturesque lighting!

Catching himself tensely trembling, Omi sharply got the sense that he most definitely shouldn't be watching this anymore. Immediately, he whipped around and released his grip on the wall, falling to land bluntly on his behind. Both hands slapped over his mouth, both to prevent himself making a sound, and out of pure shock. His face burned as brightly as the image still at the forefront of his thoughts. Jack was...Jack was...SO HOT!

All of a sudden, a tightness came to Omi's attention, and his eyes drifted in question to the source, finding it to be located at the front of his own trousers.

If it was possible, his eyes inflated even further in alarm. Taking his hands from his lips, he bit them harder and sprang up in panic, palms slapping promptly overtop the offending bulge. At a pace that felt faster than he'd ever run in his life, Omi sprinted back for the sleeping chambers. What was this what was this what was this what was this?!

Diving safely beneath his covers, Omi bundled himself firmly and kept his his sandwiched palms locked firmly between his thighs as he curled tightly. This had never happened before! Not like this, not in reaction to anything! All of a sudden, Jack was flooding his mind and it was having some very direct effects on his body! His memory admired Jack even more than he'd been doing already, but instead of favoring diligence or determination, it was tracing every contour, picking out every bead of water kissing milky skin, slathering itself in the shamelessness of how freely that one spot was exposed. The same spot now reacting on him in a terrifying and equally shameful way.

Trying to control his breathing and force himself to relax, Omi reasoned that if he calmed down, the problem might go away. This was because he'd been startled, surely. He hadn't meant to look at Jack that way. Of course not. That was a violation of privacy, even if Jack was out where anyone could see him.

Yeah. For that matter, why was Jack out where anyone could see him? This was kind of his fault too..! Being so indecent. Did he really not think someone was going to notice him gone, follow him, learn his secret and then stay to watch him train?

...knowing that sounded ridiculous, Omi let out a breath as he failed to fully justify the line of thought. With a confused and strained note, he turned his head to groan into his pillow. Whatever this was, he would just do his best to ignore it and go to sleep. Hopefully it would go away by morning.