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Chapter Text

It was a beautiful day on Flower Fruit Mountain as rays of light peeked through the windows of Sun Wukong's hut, landing directly over the king's face and making him stir awake. Wukong covered his face with his hands and turned on his side. Despite having a perfectly functioning bed, he was still more comfortable on the couch. In the king's still slumber-ridden mind, he went over if he had anything important to do, and when nothing came to him, he was content going back to sleep. Wukong shifted around the couch a bit more to get back into a comfortable position, he held one of the throwaway pillows close to his chest. He could almost imagine there was another person there. He doesn't know when it started, but lately, the king has been feeling... lonely. Despite being surrounded by the monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain and Mk and his friends, Wukong can't help but still feel alone. A sort of empty feeling that he's been having ever since the pillar of heaven, one that he can only call greed for more. He thought he stamped out those feelings through enlightenment and his journey, but here they were again, clinging to him like his shadow...

His Shadow...

Wukong mentally groaned. It felt like there wasn't a day that passed when Macaque didn't cross his mind somehow. And it seems he can't even escape him in sleep. This was all his fault.

Wukong and Macaque had a complicated relationship, to put it lightly. They weren't enemies but weren't friends either; they were just allies as shallow as the word was. They would fight on the same side often for Mk but they wouldn't really hang out unless it was one of their post end of the world get together. He would see Macaque occasionally crash on his mountain and talk to the monkeys, but their interactions were limited, mainly talking about Mk or having a petty fight that would deescalate before it could go anywhere. But Macaque's visits on the mountain started to dwindle, and while Wukong could say he didn't care, it felt like a habit to wonder what was going on. He only recently heard from Mk that Macaque was fully moving into the city, which was strange for Wukong to hear since Macaque hated loud noises. But maybe it was a way to get away from him. That's not all too surprising... Was it weird for him to look forward to that petty bickering with Macaque just to see him?

Oh absolutely, but Wukong didn't want to think about the deeper implications of that. He was too tired. He wanted to go back to sleep already if his mind let him. After finally getting comfortable again and forcing the thoughts plaguing his mind to stop, he already felt himself going back to sleep.

...

...

"Wake up"

With how long Macaque and Wukong had known each other, it was hard to surprise or startle the other, but that didn't mean that Macaque didn't try. Wukong's eyes shot open as he shrieked before he fell off his couch, hitting the floor with a heavy thud. Wukong, in his state of blurry vision, could still see Macaque's amused expression, like the cat that got the canary. Wukong's easily tired thoughts that longed for the shadow seemed to melt away as he glared up at Macaque, leaning against the couch frame. Wukong sat himself upright on the floor "Do you HAVE to do that so early in the morning?" Wukong asked not even bothering to hide how annoyed he was "Oh shut up it's already 11, you've had plenty of beauty sleep. But then again, you seem like you need it, you look like a hot mess" and just as Wukong didn't bother to hide his annoyance neither did Macaque hide his slight tone. "What do you even want?" Wukong finally stood up, making sure his displeasure was known. "I just need a small favor from you." Wukong raised a brow, the six-eared macaque himself, Liu er Mihou! Was asking for something? FROM HIM?! Wukong had half the idea to see if he could get the other to beg, but he'd rather not push his luck. "Oh? And why would I help you?" Wukong asked with a teasing grin that did little to impress the shadow. "Don't get an ego about it. I just need you to watch over my place for a few days while I'm gone."

"You have your own place?" Wukong had only heard about it a few times from Mk since the kid visited Macaque frequently, he said it was very 'Macaque-core' whatever that meant. "Why not ask Mk?" Wukong doesn't necessarily want to shrug the responsibility onto Mk, but it just made more sense to him; he didn't miss the way Macaque's eyes shifted in annoyance, as if the question had already been asked 100 times. "Mk said he was busy with his personal life, kid is stressed enough as is. And I know you don't have plans," Macaque continued to talk, not even bothering to look at Wukong, instead glancing around Wukong's hut, he had to admit Mk and his friends really knew how to fix a place up. Wukong wanted to argue and list the many other things he could be doing instead of watching over what he could only guess was a slaughterhouse, but fell silent when he remembered how open his schedule was. Wukong groaned, "Fiiinnneee! But only because I have nothing better to do." Macaque couldn't care less about how whiney Wukong would act because he just sealed his fate, "Great, thanks bud."

Macaque was ready to just fall into another shadow portal and go about the rest of his day, but then he felt himself be yanked back up by the scruff of his scarf, the audacity, Macaque thought. "Hey you can't leave yet. I don't even know where your haunted house is anyway." Oh, right, that was something important to tell Wukong, wasn't it? Macaque looked around the hut for a paper and pencil, seeing some of the stuff Mk left behind, he quickly wrote an address down and shoved it in Wukong's hands. "There. You can meet me here later today, and I can show you around. Now, if you'll let me, I have more important things to do." Macaque was quick to disappear into another shadow portal this time before Wukong could catch him. Wukong stared at where Macaque had ported away and then looked down at the paper with the address on it. It is only now sinking in what Wukong agreed to. Spending a few days at Macaque's to... house sit? Macaque was kinda vague about the details. Wukong thought he might as well have sold his soul right then and there with how easily Macaque got him. 

Wukong wasn't all too familiar with the streets of Megapolis, even less with the more isolated parts of the city, which were less expensive and not as inhabited; some buildings even looked abandoned. Perfect for a creature like Macaque. The area was still nice, but it was less of the overstimulating paradise that was the main city where Mk and friends lived. Wukong had transformed into a bird and perched on a sign, he looked over his surroundings. Seeing a few families walk around, a couple on a bench in a park, and a father watching over his kids playing with a ball. They all seemed so happy together. Wukong couldn't help but daydream of a reality where he was in there place instead, being the one to bandage up a scraped knee, watching over as kids would create the wildest games, or even have his arm wrapped around somebody special and run his hand through their dark hair- Wukong squaked in distrubance. He stuffed those feelings down once more before he started getting odd looks from others wondering why the bird was acting like that, with his feathers puffed up from surprise at his own thoughts, he flew off, he was better than that, better than those feelings of jealousy. 

Wukong transformed back into his normal self and turned the corner, and he was face to face with a long-since-abandoned building resembling a wuguan with a second floor that was surrounded by empty parts of land where other similar buildings probably stood. In another life, it would be brimming with life as a tourist attraction or its intended use for practicing martial arts, but instead, it was dusty with long, overgrown foliage. He checked the address written down on the paper and the one he typed into the GPS. He didn't think there were that many other wuguans around that reeked of shadow magic, so he took his chances and knocked on the front door. He waited a few seconds before he heard the sound of shushing, followed by footsteps, and then eventually, Macaque slid open the door, looking a little frazzled. "Jeez, did I wake your beauty sleep or something?" Macaque didn't appreciate his earlier jab being thrown back at him and scowled, "No. I'm just busy making sure you couldn't possibly mess this up." Macaque seethed, though he was too tired to bear any real bite in his tone. Macaque stepped to the side, and Wukong was quick to walk in, closing the door behind himself.

The wuquan part was nice enough, a bit small, standard stuff, mats on the floor, a few weapons he doubts Macaque has ever used off to the side, and a punching bag hanging by a heavy chain, though it looked scratched and bitten as if a rabid animal had gotten to it. Wukong didn't pay any more mind as he was led further, to the more homey part of where Macaque apparently lived. He had to admit it wasn't looking to be that bad of a space, maybe a little small, but he wasn't one to talk; he wondered briefly how Macaque was living here... he then thought to email his lawyer about whether his credit card information had been stolen again. Macaque opened another door revealing the actual living space a small living room that connected to an open kitchen where something was already cooking on the stove. Macaque walked over to the stove to turn the heat down "Welcome to my humble abode. Make yourself comfortable, you're gonna be here a while. Down the hall is the bathroom, and the room's" Macaque commented more focused on whatever was on the stove in front of him. Wukong does a quick over the place taking hesitant steps around, he pushes down on the couch and feels his hand sink in, comfortable, Wukong thought to himself.

He looked under the coffee table and saw a few DVD cases for various animated and kids' movies. He didn't think Macaque was into those types of films, but he would be sure to make fun of him for it later, after what kind of friend? Monkey would he be if he didn't? His aimless wandering led him down the hall Macaque had mentioned, and there was a closet that was only used for storing small things like batteries, a brom, and a sewing kit in a cookie tin (tricked again), but he'd never seen Macaque sewn before. Wukong simultaneously felt like he knew more about Macaque and less at the same time. He had changed so much in such a short time, it honestly felt like he was learning about him all over again. He felt his face heat at the idea of getting to know Macaque again, but it was replaced with unease at the notion that this Macaque wasn't as passively receptive to him as before. He closed the closet and turned down the hall opening the bathroom to see a tub with a shower overhead perfect for either a bath or a shower, the sink was rather messy, the cup with two toothbrushes knocked over, with a hairbrush, and tie being thrown about like someone was in a rush, maybe Macaque but why would he use such a girly hair brush, was it that much cheaper... definitely not. Wukong stepped out and continued his snooping arriving at the first door there. He was just about to creak it open before a rustling caught his attention.

Wukong turned to the noise of the sound, coming from the other side of the room. He thought his mind was just playing tricks on him, but then he heard a more audible scratching noise. Wukong, now very curious about what was on the other side of the door, took a hesitant step forward extending his hand to the knob. "You're not allowed in there!" He heard Macaque shout at him and sprint towards him, grabbing his wrist before it could even get near the handle. "J-Just snooping a little!" Wukong stammered, watching Macaque yank his hand back, "That's my room. You can go to whatever other room you want, but not my room. Understood?" Macaque's tone left little for argument, making Wukong feel like he was a kid getting scolded by his teacher, so he just nodded his head and followed Macaque out of the hall and back into the living room.

'...What just happened!?' Was all Wukong's dazed thoughts could ask himself. He knew Macaque was a very private person and despised people going through his personal belongings, but that was different than defensive, almost protective, oddly enough. What could be in there that he didn't want Wukong seeing? He was snapped out of his thoughts by Macaque adamantly pushing Wukong out the door "Well, you got your house tour, but I've had enough of you for one day. You come over here tomorrow at 9 am and no later. Now leave".

Wukong was about to say something regarding Macaque's room, but the door was promptly shut on his face and locked. Wukong wanted to barge open the door and demand answers, but the lock sent a clear message: to leave. Wukong just sighed and transformed himself into a hawk to fly back to Flower Fruit Mountain. He'd like to say that he didn't think about Macaque the entire time, but of course he did. He was acting secretive, and Wukong, the hypocrite, didn't like having secrets kept from him. He arrived at Flower Fruit Mountain, and his monkeys scurried over to him before stopping and tilting their little heads at them, before sniffing his clothes. They would only do that if they didn't recognize a scent on him, but so far he had only been around Mk and Macaque and all of his monkeys knew them both well; this day just kept getting weirder. "Thank you, thank you everyone, but I should tap out for the night" Wukong continued moving through the waterfall and to his new hut, the monkeys removing themself as he made his way to fall on the couch. He wasn't tired, but hearing that Macaque was making him go over there at 9 am he might as well get whatever hours he has in.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Wukong is- not on his couch but instead on the floor next to his couch with the blanket he made now returned to just a pile of hair. He grumbles and forces himself awake as he takes in his surroundings. Everything is the same, minus a small key with a sticky note left behind that is distinctly in Macaque's handwriting: 'Key to get in.' Wukong sat there momentarily and contemplated everything that led up to this moment. Going from a walking tornado that left destruction in its path to letting himself be harassed into doing something as mundane as house-sitting. It just so happened that the one who harassed him was Macaque; he wasn't doing it because it was him, no! He was doing it because he had nothing better to do, not because he missed the other monkey and felt very lonely without him there on his Mountain... Yeah! That's why. Wukong sighed.

...

"What?! Where are you going now?!" Mk asked, his voice shrill and complaining. The last time he saw Monkey King packing stuff in a suitcase, it was to ditch him and be all secretive while dealing with the Lady Bone Demon junk, and frankly, Mk didn't want a repeat of any of that stuff happening. "Relax kid, it's not gonna be for long. I'm just house-sitting for Macaque for a few days" Wukong said, throwing the cleanest clothes he owned and a few other random things he thought he might need. He was so focused on packing, he didn't see Mk's face shift into knowing unamusement "So you two are friends now?" Mk asked innocently enough, but of course, he knew the reaction he was going to get at this point: "NO!" Mk wonders why he even bothers asking anymore. "Why not? I've seen how you guys were before and how you talk to each other now. You guys might as well have been married in the past." Mk didn't even have to look to dodge the random Monkey King merch thrown his way. Mk caught a glance of his mentor's flushed face before it soured "It's not like that! It's just... complicated at the moment." Complicating was an understatement in Mk's opinion.

"Obvious question, but why don't you two just talk about it? It can't go THAT bad... right?" Mk said a twinge of hesitancy in his voice, the last time he saw those two fight it was ruthless (And kinda one-sided but he won't tell Macaque that to spare the shadow some embarrassment). Wukong thought about it, there wasn't a day that passed recently where he didn't contemplate how he would go about talking with Macaque about what happened, if he could even get a word in before either of them ran away or deflected entirely. There was also the possibility of talking going horribly wrong because when did things go just right for the two of them? Macaque could despise his guts even more for trying to apologize and leave him once again, they could end in another fight where he fails to control his strength and anger and ends up remaking the worst mistake of his immortal life, a horrifying thought that Wukong is quick to stop thinking about "It can and it probably will. Besides, what we have now is fine." It was fine, just fine; they could talk for a few minutes without killing each other, and they lived on the same mountain sometimes. Compared to how they used to be, they might as well be strangers in Wukong's eyes. But it was fine.

Mk deflated seeing his mentor be so dumb about his emotions, Macaque wasn't getting off the hook either with his brooding attitude, but he wasn't here for Mk to scold, so he settled for doing it mentally. He resigned to just looking on unamused at the familiar scene of his mentor packing his bag. "Okay bud have fun. You know where to find me. Okay, byeeeeeeee!" Wukong rushed out before throwing the bag on his cloud and flying out through the roof of the cave again, creating a Monkey-King-shaped hole in the ceiling right next to the last one he left. Mk turned to look at one of the monkeys who also watched the whole ordeal, who shared an equally unimpressed face. "How many bananas you wanna bet they'll go back to trying to kill each other after this?" Mk deadpanned as he turned his heel to make the trip back to Megapolis, his mind already cooking up the worst-case scenarios for how this would go wrong.

Wukong flew through the sky before his eyes landed on the dingy wuquan he was going to be forced to live in for the next couple of days. He landed by the front door and used the spare key that Macaque handed him to let himself in. Now, Wukong expected many things, mainly to see the same place he saw yesterday in the same condition, but what he didn't expect was for it to look like a wild animal had run through and wrecked the place, there were tiny scratches all over the floors and walls, the mats of the wuquan were forced into ribbons by whatever came crashing through, every weapon that was neatly thrown into a pile were now scattered everywhere with some even looked to be thrown into the wall, and the worst was the punching bag looked nothing more than a dogs chew toy after a year, nothing more than a gutted animal with the contents of sand and rags spilled and thrown out. Wukong wondered what could've possibly made such a mess of the place, the claw marks were too small to be from anything big, but how could something so small cause so much destruction? Wukong made a mental note to try cleaning up the place before Macaque got back, lest he blame him.

Wukong opened the door to the actual living space and was met with a familiar albeit less destructive scene. There were little paw marks on the walls and floor, and stuff was thrown around half-hazardly, the cabinets and fridge were left open, with thankfully most of their contents still in their respective places, Wukong couldn't help but sigh in frustration as of course the place he was being forced to live in the next couple of days was left a wreck 'Stupid Macaque and his stupid home and his stupid face and his stupid everything!' Wukong grumbled under his breath as he threw his bag on the couch. He was going to assess the damage and see what he could fix first, but his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of another person grumbling, coming from the hall. He may not have had Macaque's hearing, but his was still better than most. He turned his head to the hall where he heard most of the grumbling and out came a little girl with her arms crossed and her expression a mix of tired and huffy "-so much trouble once I tell Mr, Macaque about this..." the little girls rambling was cut short the second she saw Wukong standing in the living room.

They both stared at each other silently.

...

"... Uh hi-"

"AAAAHHHH" The little girl shrieked as she made a break for a room down the hall. Wukong didn't even register what was happening until he went after the little girl. He was immediately met with a door slammed in his face, the same room he almost entered yesterday. Wukong was barely catching up with what had just happened before he stared at the door in his face. '...What just happened?!' Wukong found himself asking that a lot in the past few days about Macaque. He quickly unscrambled his thoughts and went over everything that had just happened. He got here, the place was a mess, a random girl showed up, she screamed, ran away, and now she's shut herself in the room... Wukong has no idea what to do. He hesitantly raised a hand to the door to knock. "Uh... Hey there! Sorry if I startled you earlier... Why don't we try a do-over?" Wukong suggested nervously; he never thought himself the best with comfort or with kids, so doing both felt like he was walking on eggshells. He only got silence as a response, but then the door was unlocked "...Can I let myself in?" Wukong thought he'd get silence again, but instead, the little girl cracked the door open and poked her head out the door shyly.

"Hey there... bud. I'm the Monkey King... maybe you knew that?" Wukong tried to smile at the girl, but she just seemed to shrink more into herself. Now that the girl wasn't running away, he got a good look at her face, she looked very familiar to him. She bit the inside of her cheek before responding, "I did... I'm Bai He" She opened the door a bit more and it was then that Wukong finally remembered where he had seen her before, she was the Lady Bone Demon host for the time she spent terrorizing everyone, Wukong did kind of wonder whatever happened to her after that whole ordeal but I guess she was just here... With Macaque of all people? "I'm sorry the place is a mess... a dumb animal came through and wrecked the place before you got here." Bai He spoke with a huff and roll of her eyes as if she was used to it. "Uh yeah, I was kinda wondering about that... Sure did a number on the place... Not to sound rude or anything, but why are you here? Shouldn't you be with your family or something?" Wukong couldn't help to ask, and he was met with confusion. "I live here with Macaque..." Bai He stepped out of the room and left it cracked open just for Wukong to peer through, and was surprised to see how the room looked. The walls were painted a nice pastel purple color, there was a bed in the corner with cutesy but simple sheets, on a dresser was cat shaped lamp as well as a few stuffed animals of other cute animals, to put it short it was not the type of room Wukong could ever imagine in Macaques home.

It started to make sense some of the things he saw yesterday, animated kids' movies, the two toothbrushes, and a pink hairbrush were not for Macaques but for Bai He's instead, realization finally clicks into Wukong... just as the realization that if Bai He lived here, and he was housesitting, that would also mean that Wukong would end up having to look after her! "Hey kid, do you mind if I step out for a quick second?" Wukong said in the calmest tone he could muster up when he was very much not happy at that revelation, she turned to look at him as she started putting the few items tossed out of the cabinet back with a step stool. Wukong just laughed it off before he stepped back out into the messy room and tried his hardest to focus on astral projecting to Macaque when he was in fact, very pissed. After intense concentration (and an angry kick to the already dead punching bag), Wukong was able to astral project to Macaque. He was met with Macaque seemingly riding on some sort of motorbike, he clearly wasn't expecting Wukong to contact him this way as he immediately swerved and dug his heels in the ground to stop the moment and prevent himself from crashing. 'Deserved' Wukong can't help but think as he watches Macaque try to brush off his startlement with a sly grin.

"Hey Wukong, I'm assuming you got there just fine?" Macaque asks his tone all too innocent for someone like him, Wukong takes a deep breath that does little to calm his nerves, he thinks about going over and kicking the dead punching bag again "Cut the shit-" "Language!" Macaque cuts him off with a glare and snarl "Oh like you have room to talk" Wukong snaps back, "The least you can do is not swear in earshot of the kids, I don't want them picking up bad habits yet" Macaque adds bitterly Wukong could only laugh at the sheer audacity. "Oh, so NOW you mention that you had a kid living with you this entire time?! What the... HECK!?" Wukong strained a grin as if to keep himself from completely chewing out Macaque loud enough for Bai He to overhear. "Oh did I forget to say that? Must've slipped my mind" Macaque said with a lop-sided grin that Wukong was not impressed by. "...Okay relax! Don't get your tail in a twist. I prepared everything I could yesterday and this morning to make sure that even someone like you-" He pointed his tail towards Wukong "Hey-" "-can't mess this up! There are leftovers in the fridge, I wrote down a schedule on a notepad, and where everything important is like first aid. And I even asked Mk to check in whenever he gets the chance. You could not possibly mess this up unless you tried." Macaque said with all the energy of someone who had been up stressing for the last 2 days.

Wukong furrowed his brow, he wasn't so much as angry that Macaque didn't tell him he'd also be on babysitting duty (Don't get him wrong though it was still a huge dick move) but more so he was surprised and a little hurt to see that Macaque never told him about taking a kid in. He had always seen Macaque in their younger years being sweet to the Monkey infants of Flower Fruit Mountain and even now he would get brief glimpses of that same Macaque who, despite trying to be a hard ass, was still favored by the monkey cubs and would climb over shoulders or sleep with him in a huge pile on the branches. Wukong would never say it out loud, but seeing those small views into Macaque's life that Wukong craved to be a part of was one of the major reasons Wukong would let Macaque move in and out of his mountain; it was still technically his home at the end of the day. Wukong didn't say anything for a while and just stood there with his arms over his chest and his tail tapping against the ground behind him, muttering his grievances that he was sure Macaque could still hear. Macaque's expression just fell into one of pure exhaustion sighing heavily "...Look, you don't have to do it for me, but do it for Bai He. I don't like leaving her alone for more than a few days at max, and even then, Mk's usually the one with her. But I should've expected this. I'll uh... I'll figure something else out" Macaques defeated expression and his almost begging tugged at his stone heart. 

Wukong didn't know why he was doing this, he was never that good with kids, and he didn't even know where to start but just seeing that defeated pose and tired expression on Macaque... he once again sighed before putting back on the confident facade that always let him faked it till he made it "Nah you don't have to worry about it! I was just a bit surprised is all. You said it yourself that you prepared everything right? I've got it from here! Not a scratch will come to this place or Bai He." Okay, maybe he was overselling himself a little bit, but seeing Macaque perk up made it all worth it. "I'll try to pay you back after, but in the meantime, just make sure nothing bad happens." Macaque breathed easily. Wukong nodded with a confident smile before signing off the astral projection. He could do this, he was the Monkey King! What's a little babysitting compared to fighting almost all of Heaven's forces? Wukong's confident thoughts were shattered once he was met with the reality of the ransacked room. Okay, so maybe it'd be a little harder than he thought. Wukong figured he should get back with Bai He and figure out how to clean the place.

Wukong shuffled back into the living space and noticed Bai He already trying to pick up the place a bit, though she was stumped trying to reach the tallest shelf even with the step stool. Wukong shuffled over next to her and awkwardly coughed in his hands "You want some help?" Bai He turned her head to face him and back to the shelf as if to try and prove herself she jumped up on the stool to try and reach the top but she just barely didn't reach it and instead lost her balance on the stool as it had moved back from the force of her jump, she yelped and shut her eyes expecting to just hit the chair and tumble to the ground but that never happened. Instead, Wukong had caught her and was holding her in his arms "Be careful there kid! Why don't we just do this instead?" Wukong then shifted Bai He to hold her by her sides as he lifted her to the top of the shelf for her to reach. She was surprised, but with the extra height, she was easily able to reach the top shelf. "Thanks... You can set me down now." Bai He mumbled, and Wukong did just that, setting her back down on the ground.

They both looked around at the mess that was still left beside the small cleaning Bai He did in the kitchen "Yeesh what even happened here to make this place so messy" Bai He shifted her eyes away and fiddled with her fingers "I'm not too sure but they stopped and boy when I tell Mr, Macaque!" She clenched her fist and had all the intimidation of an angry kitten. "They are gonna be in big trouble!" She huffed and Wukong couldn't help but bark out a laugh, "Yeah, Mac is ruthless with this sorta thing. We should probably get started now so we don't waste the day just cleaning" Bai He nods her head and agrees and she moves to under the kitchen sink to get the cleaning surprise while Wukong plucks a bit of hair from his head and blows on it summoning 3 clones, Bai He looked at the clones with a hint of awe in her eyes. Wukong didn't even need to say a command as the clones already seemed to get the idea, judging by all their mixed reactions to the wreck of the place, taking some of the supplies from Bai He, and starting to work to clean the place up.

The three clones left to try and solve the wreck that was the Wuquan, while Bai He and Wukong worked on the living part. Bai He was busy sweeping up dust and dirt with a broom while Wukong was working on wiping the prints off the walls, "So... how did Macaque of all people take you in?" Wukong asked, striking up a conversation as it was getting too quiet for his liking, and he was genuinely curious. He could see the hesitation in her body language "It just sorta happened. After the whole fight with... I felt really lonely." Bai He paused her sweeping to look down at the ground. "Everyone was scared of me, they thought I was still her or that I had some remnant of her. Even my parents were scared of me, so I ran away. But Mr Macaque wasn't super scared of me. He treated me normally, so I sorta followed him around for a while. Then one thing leads to another, and now I live with him." Bai He rushed out, attempting to gloss over the more tragic parts of her statements. 

Wukong was surprised, to say the least. Macaque had been notoriously unforgiving to Mk and Mei during the whole fiasco, so he was certain he just hated human children, but here he was, apparently being nice enough to Bai He for her to consider living with him. 'Favoritism' Wukong thought. "You know that's not super surprising. Back on the mountain, the infants loved Macaque. They always cling to him like a magnet, and it's honestly the cutest. Guess he's better with kids than I thought." Wukong's tail lightly poked at Bai He's side making her smile a little. Don't let his easy laugh fool you, half of Wukong was still very hurt that Macaque kept something like this from him, even if the other part of himself helpfully reminded him that he lost the right to know about Macaque's life a long time ago. "Wait, you live with a bunch of little monkeys? Oh, I bet they're so cute! I want to see" Bai He bounced on the heels of her feet as she got the image of tiny baby monkeys in her mind, it was an adorable sight and Wukong had to wonder how Macaque didn't give into every whim this little girl wanted "Well, I could always take you to Flower Fruit Mountain behind Macaque's back... but I'm sure he'd somehow find a way to kill me if I ever did that" Though the idea was tempting. Just him, Bai He, and Macaque living on the Mountain together.

Wukong is quick to snap out of his little fantasy when Bai He tugs on his sleeve a proud smile on her face "I finished the floors before you finished the walls, therefore I win" She announced with a cocky tone "Since when was this a competition? " Wukong raised a brow with playful indignation. Bai He just continued to pose herself like she just won a massive award, as she pushed the broom back to the wall and picked up a spare rag to help finish the walls "Since now" She said, sticking her tongue out at him. "You're something else kid." Wukong couldn't help but chuckle at her competitive nature.

Eventually after checking in with the three clones to see that the wuquan part had been cleaned up and fixed (Minus that punching bag but that just seemed like a lost cause) Bai He and Wukong allowed themselves to collapse onto the couch with a joint sigh of relief at the finished cleaning with no evidence of any rampage that happened. Bai He flopped back dramatically before she leaned over to try and start looking for the remote to the TV "...Have you seen the movie about the Cowheard and the Weaver girl? I think it's a nice movie" Bai He mumbled as she flipped through channels, trying to find the movie "It's getting late, shouldn't you eat dinner first?". Bai He kicked her feet as they dangled off the couch "...Can we do both? Mr Macaque likes to keep food off the couch because he doesn't want to get it dirty" Bai He asked with a little hope in her eye. Wukong raised a finger to his chin and pretended to be deep in thought before sliding an arm on Bai He's shoulder, as if to tell a secret, "Well Macaque isn't here, is he? I don't see why not!" Bai He pumped her fists in excitement and ran off to the kitchen with Wukong following close behind.

They both reheated their food in the Microwave with Wukong skipping out on the meat. He then noticed a small notepad with a list of things on the kitchen counter addressed to him, most likely from Macaque. 'Wukong "Don't mess this up" A guide:' Wukong just rolled his eyes. If he was leaving him in charge, he had to have had a little faith in him. '1: Don't wreck the place and don't leave the place behind dirty.' Well, he already failed that, and he didn't have to step into the place. '2: There should be leftovers for the next few days in the fridge so don't order takeout, don't eat your hair, and don't set my kitchen on fire if you have to cook' Wukong huffs, the one time he looked away from the fire and suddenly he's not allowed to step 10 feet in a kitchen! '3: Bai He has been being picky lately. Make sure she isn't secretly throwing away her vegetables or giving herself less' Wukong promptly looked up from the notepad to see Bai He trying to put away the container of steamed vegetables without a single one on her plate. Wukong raised a brow at her, and she huffed as she moved to fix her plate. '4: Don't let Bai He stay up too late and make sure she gets her homework done' Wukong shrugged. Sounded easy enough.

'5: Do NOT go in my room. I'll know if you did'

That one was less of a rule and more of a threat, but Wukong could tell it was the most important thing written on the page if the bold lettering was anything to go by. It made Wukong slightly curious about what Macaque's room was like if he was being so private about it. He briefly mused on the thought of his room being littered with Monkey King merch of all sorts, and while funny, the most Monkey King thing he'd probably see in there was a picture of his face with darts in it. After heating their food, Bai He was eager to sit on the couch and eat while watching the movie. Wukong had to remind her to finish her food on occasion, seeing her get distracted by the movie; he couldn't blame her too much, though it was a good movie. "Aww the poor girl..." Bai He yawned, setting her plate on the coffee table and lying back. "Well, at least they get to see each other once a year" Wukong responded, noticing Bai He nodding off. He smiled and pushed his plate on the coffee table as well "It's getting kind of late, you should start getting ready for bed" "NO! I'm not tired! I can stay up all night if I want to!" Bai He said, forcing herself to sit up only to slump back down on the couch. Wukong chuckled quietly at her attempt to keep awake "Okay well if you say so. Then you should have no issues changing into your sleep clothes and brushing your teeth. After all, you wouldn't want to stay up and still be in dirty clothes with bad breath," Wukong said, leaning back on the couch, challenging her seemed to light a fire in her eyes that he could only guess Macaque taught her, "I so can!" She hopped up from the couch and ran off down the hall to get ready.

Bai He returned with a determined expression on her face and new pajamas, sitting down on the couch with a confident smile. "See? I told you I could do it!" She boasted, to which Wukong gave a slow clap "Impressive, guess I was in the wrong." Wukong concedes as Bai He sits back down in her comfortable spot. They were only about 40 minutes into watching some random show that auto-played after the movie to see Bai He was back to almost falling asleep, it took a tremendous effort just to keep her eyes open, it was a little funny to Wukong "Alright kid enough with the games lets get you to bed" Wukong said standing up from the couch and moving to pick up Bai He. She offered up some resistance but couldn't do much and relented, Wukong letting her rest her head against his shoulder for the short trip to her bedroom, Wukong was careful in opening the door and tucking her into her bed, he had never really done it but he thinks he did a good job if Bai He struggling to move her arms out from the blankets was anything to guess by. Wukong was just about to leave when he heard Bai He "Wait..." he turned his head and saw her pushing her face into her pillow as if embarrassed "...Um... Mr Macaque usually stays with me until I fall asleep... Can you do that too?" She asked, and Wukong felt his eyes widen just a little. There was no way they were talking about the same Macaque, the same ruthless warrior would do something so gentle, it made Wukong's stone heart beat just a bit faster. "Yeah, I can do that".

Wukong sat next to the bed, not wanting to disturb her sleep too much. "Wanna hear a story?" He asked, and she nodded, closing her eyes as she let Wukong tell one of the many tales from his childhood. He told her the tale of how he got his legendary staff from The Dragon of the East Sea Ao Guang, how it used to be used to measure the world's floods, and just as he was about to describe the aftermath of how he and Ao Gaung became totally best buds and it wasn't just used as a gift to get Wukong out of his sea he heard Bai He snoring. Wukong ended his tale, and he did his best to quietly exit the room and flick the main light off and noticing she had a cat nightlight plugged into the side. Cute. Once he made it back to the couch, he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding in.

Wukong hadn't really thought about where he was going to sleep. If Macaque's earlier actions and notes were anything to go by, He wasn't sleeping in his room (Though that was a fantasy for future Wukong to dream about), and the other room belonged to Bai He, so he just assumed he was sleeping on the couch. It was like he never even left Flower Fruit Mountain. Wukong flopped back down and turned the TV off as he let himself get comfortable on the couch, then all that was left to do was sit in silence and go to sleep, easy right? WRONG! Wukong could not stop thinking about everything that happened and everything he learned about Macaque today. It was just a collection of little things that left him restless on the couch, the biggest being that he was taking care of a kid, and Wukong was none the wiser until he was smacked upside the head with the news! It all makes so much sense now, the infrequent visits, that different attitude towards the monkeys on his mountain, that tiredness that couldn't just be explained away with over-training. It wasn't just that too! He was apparently gentle enough with Bai He not to scare her away when she followed him around, and since when did he pick up cooking?! He assumed to properly feed Bai He, but wow, it was better than Wukong imagined! And he stays with her when she falls asleep?! Wukong let his hands fall over his further reddening face as he got the mental image in his head.

Wukong takes a deep breath to calm himself down, so what if Macaque had a whole secret life he didn't even know about?! He's allowed to have secrets! Wukong felt just a bit lucky that he was even trying to fall asleep on Macaque's couch and that he wasn't instead falling asleep alone again on his couch in Flower Fruit Mountain... For no other reason other than that he didn't like sleeping by himself, of course! He would sleep with his monkeys, but they all complained about him snoring and talking in his sleep. He had to remind himself that he and Macaque were just... friends at most. And that's all they'll likely ever be, and beggars can't be choosers, and Gods forbid he ever begged Macaque. Wukong felt that creeping sense of loneliness trying to rear its ugly, selfish head again, but then he overheard snoring and rustling from down the hall. Reminding him of his cleaning day with Bai He and her excited expression as she watched a movie he could only assume she's watched over a thousand times, her pout when she was forced to put a side of vegetables on her plate, and the peaceful expression she had when she was asleep. While it wasn't the closeness that he wanted (or likely deserved), he didn't feel as alone; he felt more comforted by the sleeping kid in the other room, and he allowed his mind to relax and let exhaustion slowly creep in until it claimed him once more.

Chapter Text

Bai He was not at all considered a heavy sleeper so it was no surprise when the rustling in the other room woke her up. She brushed her out of her face and groaned into her pillow not wanting to get up and deal with the ruckus but if she wanted to convince Mr, Macaque that she was old enough not to need a babysitter and she could handle herself just fine, that meant stepping up to deal with responsibilities like a grown-up! The only issue is that said babysitter was currently in the living room and would definitely hear her rummaging around and opening doors left and right. Bai He thought back to all the lessons Macaque taught her in stealth (Aka he at least wanted her to try and be discreet when breaking into his home) and was very careful to take one step at a time, toes first before landing on the ball of her heel. Repeat and profit! She made her way down the hall and towards the kitchen, looking over and seeing the Monkey King snoring loudly on the couch. Each new step felt like a gamble with the chance of Monkey King waking up and asking her what she was doing.

GRANTED

She probably wouldn't get in trouble with Monkey King if she just lied, but if Mr Macaque ever found it, he'd be very disappointed in her and then he'd never believe she could handle herself on her own. While Bai He would be ever grateful that Macaque was kind enough to let her live with him and take her in... she found him a bit smothering at times. She guessed having ears that could hear the future might lead someone to paranoia, but she wasn't 10 anymore! She was 11! That's practically a teenager! Bai He let out a quiet breath as she reached the fridge, opened it, she saw the leftover she was going to be eating for the next couple days as well as a lunch box for her on Monday. She reached the fridge and grabbed as many fruits as her small arms could carry without spilling over. She made sure to be sneaky once more as she walked past the Monkey King, though the sudden gasp and snore nearly made her shriek in fear and blow her cover. She tiptoed down the hall and towards the end where Macaque's room was and took in a deep breath before opening the door...

Wukong never went to school, he had basically been around before it was invented and was involved in at least 90% of history (No that wasn't an exaggeration, shut up) but gods above he did not know how to help Bai He.

Along with the duties of babysitting came the duty of helping with homework, which Bai He was doing last minute because she was busy cleaning a wrecked dojo and getting distracted by the great sage being her babysitter for the time being. She furrowed her brow as she stared at the math problem in front of her, 'A 6 ft tall tent standing next to a cardboard box casts a 9 ft shadow. If the cardboard box casts a shadow that is 6 ft long, then how tall is it?' she let her face hit the table as her concentration wavered to the great enlightening sage next to her who seemed to have forgotten all things related to algebra in his time alive and stared at the page dumbly. "Uhh can't you ask your teacher to give you an extension?" He asks, looking at one of her previous pages, which she had already completed, still giving no clues on how to solve it. She shook her head "No way! He gets really scary when he grades my work, I don't even want to imagine what he'll do if I ask for an extra day." She shook her head and went back to concentrating on her problem, trying to work it out on a spare sheet. 

Wukong groaned in frustration at the dead end and thought about just searching for the answers on the internet. The internet is never wrong. And then there was a knock at the door. Wukong raised a brow, he didn't think Macaque ordered anything, did he? Well he'll take anything else besides trying to solve math work, getting up from the table and leaving toward the wuquan part of Macaques' home Wukong went to open the door but instead, he found it slammed against his face and sent him to the floor as whoever was knocking decided to let themselves in. "AUUUHH! I killed Monkey King!" Wukong rubbed his face immediately recognizing the voice "Hey bud..." Wukong groaned as he looked up to see the panic wash away from Mk's face as he confirmed Wukong was not dead. Mk helped him off the floor and Wukong wiped the dust from his hoodie "What're you doing here?" Mk kicked the door behind him closed as he had a bag of presumably noodles "Oh, Macaque asked if I could drop by and I'm not missing a chance to hang out with you and Bai He. Plus, I promised her I'd show Mei racing" Mk said, walking further into the dojo, only for Wukong to blink at the admission "Wait, you knew Macaque took her in?"

"Yeah? I mean, I kinda found out on my own when she answered the door instead of him. But she's chill" Mk said with a shrug as he opened the door to the living space and was met with Bai He answering her homework to the best of her abilities, "Hey Bai He! Wanna take a quick break and watch Mei race before you die of boredom?" Wukong watched as her eyes lit up "Yeah! Uh, get ready without me I'm almost done!" Bai He rushed out as she tried to wrap up her homework while Mk flopped back down on Macaque's couch. He hadn't seen Bai He's eyes light up like that yet, he guesses she must really like Mk. Wukong joined him as the boy quickly undid the bag holding 5 servings of noodles, Wukong raised a brow but didn't question the extra food just yet as Mk did his best to get Macaque's TV working with a concussive massage, aka hitting the head of it until it worked. After Mk flipped through the few channels Macaque had and finally found the one live streaming the race, whispering a triumph yes "Wait for me!" Bai He rushed out, nearly slipping on the floor as she rushed to the couch, slotting herself next to Mk as she tapped her feet against the ground in excitement.

"Woohoo!! Go on Mei kick there butts!" Mk hollered to the TV as the announcer showed Mei's picture and a shot of her on her motorbike "Those chumps got nothing on her" Wukong added as he saw the competition ranging from humans and demons with none of them looking as experienced as her, Wukong pulls a few strands of hair and makes a few little green flags that Mk and Bai He promptly waved around in support. "She's so cool..." Bai He mumbles with barely contained excitement as the Race suddenly begins and Mei is already in the lead, leaving a wave of kicked-up dust and smoke from her bike. This was a race unlike any other because the winner could win a chance with a photo from the Monkey King! Both kids on the couch turned their heads to the Monkey King himself already helping himself to one of the noodle servings the one without meat and didn't even meet their gazes as he was busy watching Mei smoke the competition, more in it for the competition than the prize, after all, she has a gallery worth of photos with the Monkey King and doesn't need an extra with a cardboard cutout that's being held together with ducktape and a dream. Mk and Bai He also went for their helping of noodles with Bai He relished picking off her vegetables and putting them in Mk's bowl when he was not looking. Wukong finished his and eyed the two servings untouched "Why the extra noodles bud?"

"Oh, those are for-" Wukong could see the brief pause and hear the drawing out of Mk's words and he already knew he was lying, it wasn't like he was very good at it "-Macaque when he got back!" Mk lied as naturally as he did breathing with an anxious smile on his face to really sell how much he wasn't lying. Wukong cocked a brow and was just about to call Mk out on it but Bai He just shouted in triumph as in the brief moment Wukong had turned away from the screen Mei had already finished her first lap! It was enough of a distraction (Or excuse) for Mk to whoop with Bai He as his best friend was getting closer to finishing her race, so Wukong dropped it for now, it was just some extra noodles. Where's the harm in that? "Oh wait pause! I left something in Macaque's room!" Mk shouted as he was already up racing down the hall, Bai He did not pause the stream but Wukong did shoot up off the couch to go after Mk "Hey bud! I don't think you're allowed in there!-" Wukong looked down the hall to already see Mk closing the door behind him with wisps of shadow magic desperate to be free of the room. 

...

And then an eerie silence.

Mk was a lot of things, but quiet and silent were not some of those things. Typically, at least one thing broke or hit the ground whenever Mk entered a room, mostly through sheer clumsiness or lack of object permanence, put that on the now dwindling lists of things to teach Mk. So to hear nothing, complete silence from the room, Wukong thought he would at least hear Mk talking as the kid had a habit of announcing his actions very proudly, it was more than just odd to Wukong. He really did want to respect Macaque's privacy and rule about going in his room, but he was also worried about Mk, that kid is never silent, so he compromised with himself. 'Just a peak won't hurt...' Wukong tried justifying himself, why was he doing that? It's just a room... but if Macaque ever found out he was sure he wouldn't ever talk to him again! Wukong took a deep breath, steeled his nerves, and turned on his golden vision. His eyes widened, being met first with massive amounts of shadow magic that jumped and danced along the entire room and its walls, an odd movement to its track like it was potential energy ready to burst. The second thing that caught his eye was the silence seal on the door of the room, expected, Macaque always appreciated his privacy and quiet, but it was specific. Much like the seal under his waterfall, it was specified to make it so Wukong couldn't hear anything happening in the room.

Before Wukong could dwell on it, the door opened and Mk walked out with a Monkey King plush in his hands, though it looked rough with small stitches around the neck and limbs "Found it!" Mk announced with glee almost bumping into Wukong "Hey Monkey King- ouuhhh What happened? You look like you saw a ghost?" Mk asked snapping his fingers in front of Wukong's face to snap him out of whatever trance he had found himself in. "Nothing. I just thought we weren't allowed in Macaque's room. Guess you get a pass" Wukong shot back with a light chuckle as he turned his golden vision off Mk didn't seem to buy it, if his squinting eyes and humming suspicion were anything to go by. "Uh- Hey you have a Monkey King plush? That's adorable! Why have that plush when you have the real thing right here!" Wukong wrapped an arm over Mk's shoulder and ruffled the boy's hair, which made Mk squirm out of Wukong's arm. "For your information, this is one of my oldest toys! I kept it for a while but it was old and the head... kinda fell off... traumatizing. BUT! Macaque offered to fix it up for me!" Mk showed off the mended doll once again. Wukong smiled, not only was it sweet that his successor still kept a plush of him, but Macaque offered to fix it, and as far as his golden vision was telling it wasn't going to come alive and start hunting Mk as another one of Macaque's 'Pranks'.

"HURRY UP!!" Bai He shouted from the other room, making Wukong and Mk perk up, "Coming!" Mk shouted back and ran back to his spot in the living room, leaving Wukong to stand there and think again. He sighed and pushed his thoughts down, choosing to ignore his newfound discovery for now and head back to the couch. The race finished as expected with Mei finishing first place, even when a demon tried stopping her in her tracks she easily cut them down and sent them out of her way with a single slash of her sword, Bai He and Mk shouted with excitement waving hair made flags as they jumped around the couch with joy. Wukong had to admit he was proud of Mei, maybe she wasn't his mentee but even he could still feel pride over her accomplishments ranging from simple racing to helping kick Peng's butt, she was a good kid. Wukong had to practically rip Bai He off of Mk as she begged him to stay a little longer "Sorry Bai He but I still have to go back to work. I'm off tomorrow though so I'll drop by with Mei then, ?" at the promise of Mei coming over Bai He agreed and she and Wukong waved Mk bye as he sped off... after he rammed straight into a utility pole, how he got his license Wukong will never know.

Bai He and Wukong didn't really know what to do so they just went back to watching TV, skipping through some of the channels they landed on a very cheesy drama mid-season making them both confused as to what was going on and having to look up the plot threads to get a clue what's going on, and inadvertently spoiling the show for themself. So now they just watched with boredom as they couldn't find anything else they liked "Y'know I have to ask, Why did Macaque choose to live... here of all places?" Wukong asked, he never pictured Macaque living in really any set place, even when they were younger, Wukong had to beg for Macaque to sleep in the same nest as him instead of sleeping in the weirdest of places, he once found that bastard face down asleep in the dirt like a drunkard. "He said that it was quiet and abandoned so it was an easy choice" Wukong nodded, it was quiet around here, maybe a little too quiet, thinking back on the seal. "I remember when I first moved in there was only one bed so Mr macaque ended up sleeping on one of the mats." A small smile appeared on Bai He's face before falling into contemplation.

"... Monkey King, can I ask something?" Bai He murmured and looked down at her hands clutching her knees, Wukong brows turned in concern as he muted the TV "Sure thing" Wukong tried to be gentle in his tone as he scooted closer to Bai He, which just made her scoot away. "... Whya re you being so friendly towards me?...Don't you still... hate me?" She asked hesitantly, not even daring to look up from her lap. Wukong's eyes went wide "No no not at all! What made you think that?" Wukong tried to reach over to her but she scooted towards the end of the couch, she frowned and sniffled holding back tears as she spoke with a quiver in her voice "...When she possessed me, I remember being out of control... but I still saw everything... The creepy smiles, the bones, and I remember... her fighting you..." She trailed off and Wukong felt the air get caught in his throat. "Kid..." He whispered and she looked up at him with tears in her eyes "...You looked so angry... Even when she said I would die if you destroyed the body, you said I should've stayed... You still... you still..." She stammered over her words as tears fell onto her knuckles.

Wukong grimaced at this. He didn't stop to ever think about the host whenever Lady Bone Demon appeared, her very existence demanded all his attention and he couldn't focus on the smaller issues like the host that she inhabited. And while Wukong doesn't regret anything he did to the Lady Bone Demon, he felt a horrible ache in his heart that he also did those things to Bai He. He couldn't blame her for thinking some of those things he said could also be about her. He steadily reached a hand over "...I'm sorry I scared you like that... I never would've wanted to do those things to you..." His hand landed on her shoulder offering a light and steady rub, red and puffy eyes looking up to meet Wukong's "... I'm sorry that happened to you... but it's okay now. You have Macaque and Mk and I know they would never allow something bad to happen to you again. And for what it's worth... I won't let anything bad happen to you again either." He offered a small lopsided smile to Bai He and she ever slowly scooted closer. "You promise?... You promise you don't hate me?" She asked again with more tears threatening to fall "I promise" He said, holding his pinky out for her. She hesitated before, instead of wrapping her pinky around his, she instead threw her arms around Wukong and buried her face in his chest as tears soaked the front of his shirt. 

Wukong's initial surprise wore off rather quickly as he wrapped his arms around her and let her cry, running his hands in her hair as he let her cry herself out. Once Bai He poked her head out and what was left was a few sniffles, Wukong let his thumb brush over her cheek to wipe the remaining tears. "Besides..." he smiled and then lightly squished her cheeks "How could I ever hate such a sweet girl like you?" Bai He let out a broken giggle as she struggled to squirm away "No no you're squishing my face!" Wukong finally let go and Bai He rubbed her swollen cheeks, "Sorry bud but seriously. I don't hate you and I don't think I ever will" Wukong said patting her back. They ended up falling back into silence until it was interrupted by Bai He yawning and rubbing her eyes "Mmm I don't want to go to sleep yet... It's not even that late..." she grumbled. She was right, it wasn't that late and quite frankly Wukong didn't want to go back to watching drama TV shows, He's gotta convince Macaque to get some better channels.

"We could always go out for a bit?" Wukong suggested and Bai He shrunk "...I-I don't know... What if we stay out too late?" Bai He asks and Wukong laughs "Come on! Macaque can't be that much of a wet blanket that he won't let you go out for a little walk. He nudges her with his tail, "Besides, you know the area better than me, I wouldn't want to get lost." Bai He considered it a smile slowly creeping on her face "Well... I guess a walk shouldn't hurt-" "Awesome! Put your shoes on, we're going out!" Wukong cheered and Bai He lightly giggled. Wukong put his hoodie back on after helping Bai He put her jacket and shoes on as they walked out the door. The night was chilly and Bai He hung close to Wukong as they left the premises.

Walking along the road towards the more populated area, Wukong noticed his surroundings, it was late, so he didn't expect many people to be out, so he didn't bother to put his hood up and just let the small breeze flow through his fur. Nothing was said between the two of them, so Wukong let his thoughts wander back to the ward on Macaque's room. It was normal, expected even for Macaque to have something to silence the constant noise around him, but it was specifically his that bugged him. He's sure Mk must've noticed with sharing the same power and all, but why not mention anything? Why make it so he specifically wouldn't be able to hear what was going on in the room? Just what was he hiding from him- Wukong was pulled out of his question spiral when he felt Bai He lightly pull him to the start of a public park. She looked over to the playground, disappointment slowly replacing her features.

"Aw man, the swings are under construction? That sucks, those were my favorite. Once Mr. Macaque pushed me so hard I did a full 360 on the swing. It was so cool!" Bai He said with a smile bouncing on the heels of her shoes, Wukong was silent, his mind was still reeling about earlier, but he decided to ignore it for now. "I bet it was cool. But I bet I could do better. I could do two 360s on the swing. Now that would be cool!" Wukong watched as Bai He's eyes lit up with a gasp "How about when the swing gets fixed up, I take you and we can shove it in Macaque's face that I can do more than one 360 swing." Wukong chuckled, already getting a nice mental image in his head and Bai He laughed to "It would be kinda funny." "Then it's a date"

They both quieted down with only a few extra add-ins from Bai He when they passed certain places, she said her school was nice and that she thinks she starting to make a few friends there despite the whole thing with LBD, she talked about her favorite ice cream to order and not so subtly judges Mk and Macaques favorite flavors 'Mint Chocolate taste like toothpaste and the mango one is alright but strawberry is still the best choice', she mentioned the wandering cats were her favorite parts about the streets and how she once asked Macaque for a cat before getting shot down instantly, she swore she was wearing him down though. Wukong smiled as he listened to Bai He talk nonstop about anything and everything she could think about. Wukong had already thought she was pretty open before but it seems like with the confirmation that he didn't hate her, she was a nonstop chatterbox. Wukong liked it. It almost reminded him of when he was younger, when he could always find something to talk about to whoever would lend an ear to his talking. Or six.

It wasn't long though before Bai He's walking became sluggish and she was yawning nearly keeping up and that's when Wukong knew it was time to call it a night. They made the walk back to Macaque's and Wukong also felt the exhaustion of the time and a long walk start to hit him. They both took off their shoes and made their way to the couch, too tired to move. Wukong was too tired to even question when Bai He slumped against his arm and started snoring. A responsible adult would probably wake her up and at least take her to her bed, but that responsible adult wasn't also dead tired and so Wukong didn't bother. He simply leaned back on the couch, slightly adjusting Bai He so she was comfortable before throwing a blanket over the two of them. And it wasn't long before Wukong also drifted to sleep, snoring loudly too.

A real pain to anyone with more than one pair of ears.

Chapter Text

"I'm home!" Bai He called out as she moved past the mats and into the living room where Sun Wukong was, already playing a card game with Mei and Mk, who had invited themselves in as they had gotten the habit of breaking into Macaques place to bother him for one reason or another, only getting kicked out 30% of the time. But since he wasn't here, Wukong just allowed them to do as they pleased as long as they didn't break anything and hung out with Bai He while she was there. She kicked off her shoes and set her school bag on the table, "Whatcha guys playing?" she called over as she took out homework and school books, "Poker!" Wukong said "Wait, I thought we were playing blackjack?" Mei asked as Mk threw his cards down "Go fish!" he announced proudly. Bai he smiled as she got to her homework, "Looks like fun, if I get this done in time, maybe I could join you?" "Sounds good to me". Even though it had only been about 5 days with Bai He, the two of them fell into a routine, he'd help Bai He wake up, she'd get ready for school, come back later in the afternoon where Mk and Mei had decided to keep the two company and when they'd go home the two of them would watch movies and eat dinner on the couch, then he'd tuck her into bed and stay with her until she fell alseep. Though... Wukong had suspicions that Bai He might've been doing something at night, but he chalked it up to getting a glass of water. It should be nothing to be concerned over, besides, he had bigger things to question, mainly Macaques' room. He knows he shouldn't, but he just can't help but be a curious little monkey!

Ignoring certain room-based problems, Wukong found caring for Bai He surprisingly easy. Her independence for her age and her lack of trouble certainly helped. When he found out he was babysitting, he'd only considered how badly it could have gone. The only problem now was that they ran out of leftovers for dinner. Now he could order takeout or he could prove to the shadowy bastard that he's far past grown the kitchen burning incident of 600. Wukong wondered briefly where Macaque went for so long and why he had to leave, but a different part of his brain was oddly thankful that Macaque had to leave for a moment because it meant he got to meet Bai He and spend a lot of time with her. It was nice not falling asleep alone, even if Bai He slept in her bed. "Yo! Earth to Monkey King! You gonna place a card down?" Mei called out, snapping her fingers in front of his face. He blinked, not realizing he had been zoning out "Oh uh- Royal Flush!" Wukong placed his cards down and pulled the bag of peach chips back over to him "I don't think that's how that works..." Mk mumbled to himself as he placed the cards back in the deck. Mei went to turn Macaque's TV on by giving it the concussive treatment once more (Seriously, it's a miracle the two haven't punched a hole in it yet, or maybe they have and Mk's been using the staff to fix it.).

About an hour or so later, Bai He joins the three by the couch as they had popped into a low-budget drama movie and gotten way too invested in. "Mr. Monkey King, I'm hungry" Bai He nudged Wukong mid movie, and Wukong stared dumbly ahead "Uh... How do you feel about peaches for right now?" Wukong asked and Bai He thought for a second before nodding and focusing back on the TV. Wukong stood up and went towards the kitchen, he knew peaches weren't exactly the best dinner but it should hold her until Wukong could figure out where Macaque kept his pans. He reached for the fruit in the bowl left out and for a knife in the drawer before cutting the fruit and throwing the pit away, Wukong was satfied with his self at his great cutting skills and turned his head over his shoulder to call out "Hey Mk and Mei, do you guys want some too?" "Nah we're good!" Mei responded shushing Mk as he tried to protest, mumbling about how much he liked peaches. Wukong snickered, there was just something so nice about sharing peaches with your friend. He turned his head back to plate ready to serve.

Only to find it missing

What.

WHAT?!

Wukong whipped his head around the kitchen counter for where the plate could've gone in the mere 5 seconds he turned his head around!? His thoughts went a mile a minute as he thought about the worst things that he could ever think about, 'This is it...Macaques gonna kill me!! He's going to find a way to break through every layer of immortality and kill me!! All because I lost a plate and a knife!! Maybe I could just replace it? Yeah... make a hair duplicate and then he'll never notice until he tries to use it again in which case he'll wring my neck, but I could find a replacement in that time, all I need is a duplicate' Wukong nods his head so sure of his idea that he's already pulling put hair when- "Thanks Mr. Monkey King" He hears Bai He talk in the living room "No problem kiddo" He hears his voice respond in an easy laugh. Except he didn't say that, so who was that talking in the living room? He turns his head once more and sure enough, he sees the back of his head resting against the couch. He walks over to the arm of the couch and crosses his arms, looking over at his doppelganger with a sour expression, seeing the plate of peaches and knife next to Bai He "Yeah, thanks Monkey King". The three kids look between the Wukong on the couch before looking at the one standing, and then the one on the couch, and then the one standing, and then- Mks' eyes briefly flicker with gold before he gasps "Oh wait it-it's Macaque!" The one sitting on the couch and the Wukong on the couch sudden shifts and in a blink Macaque is in his place instead a mischievous smirk on his face and a little worse for wear "Ahah the one and only. Sorry I just couldn't help myself" Macaque chuckled but quickly got the air knocked out of his lunges as Bai He and lunged at him and squeezed him in a hug "Mr. Macaque!! You're back!! I missed you!" Bai He smiled and nuzzled against Macaque's cheek, he hugged her back and patted her on the shoulder "Well I missed you too Wall flower, but I’m back now. Sorry for being gone for so long” After one last pat on the shoulder Bai he finally let go of Macaque.

“Uh, Hey bud? Mind tell me what that was about?” Wukong waved his hand to get Macaques' attention and the bastard has the audacity to just smirk it off “Sorry Wukong, I just couldn’t help myself in making you seem like an idiot or an even bigger idiot than you already are” Wukong scowled, he couldn't believe he just looked after this guys kid for free and all he was getting was the middle finger. "Hey I need to check on something real quick and I'll be right back, you three should start heading out" Mei and Mk were fine with that, they didn't really want to spend the rest of the evening cooped up in the same building all day when the gravity arcade was just beckoning them to go and blow their paychecks on coins. Wukong and Bai He, however, both looked confused, Wukong more so; that was just it? Babysit for five whole days, get to know the sweetest little girl he's ever met, and then go? Tossed away? Wukong wouldn't be being honest if he said it didn't sting his heart badly. Bai He furrowed her brow, "Isn't Monkey King staying over for dinner?" she asked, tilting her head "Why would he? I'm sure he's just dying to get back to lounging on Flower Fruit Mountain and never come back." Macaque commented as he made his way to the hallway and into his bedroom. The eerie silence that followed made his stomach churn. Awkward silence fell over the four, Mei was the first to break it with a nervous laugh "Haha! Well, I guess it's time to get to leaving, right Mk?" Mk nodded the familiar 'everything is fine when everything was not fine' grin etched on Mk's face as the duo wished Bai He their goodbyes before making a speedy dash for the door and getting a breath of air.

Wukong scratched the back of his neck before looking over to the little girl, seeing her disappointed expression, he felt the need to lighten the mood for her  "... Hey, just so we're clear, that's not true. I had a blast spending time with you. We should hang out more, if Mac wants to stop being an asshole" he whispered over to her, Bai He seemed to be in thought but then she smiled softly then softly gasping "oooo you shouldn't say those bad words around me" she whispered "Trust me, Mac has said way worse" Wukong whispered back and they snickered like they gossiping school girls. "Alright, I should probably get packing and clean up a bit." Wukong said dropping the whispering "...Can I help?" Bai He seemed to ask after a moment of hesitation, "Of course you can, but let's be slow about it. Get to spend more time, you know" Wukong said, and Bai He was already on board. The two purposefully folded clothes as slowly as they could, or 'accidentally' misfolding a shirt and having to restart, all the while Bai He told Wukong about her day at school and everything she learned. They were doing nothing productive, not even bothering to look like they were straightening the living room when Macaque poked his head over the corner of the hallway, "Hey Wukong, mind talking with me in private?" Macaque gestured forward and Wukong obliged, seeing in the corner of his eye Bai He go back to pick up the living room.

"Sooooo what did you want to talk about-" A small handful of cash was pushed in his hands "Thank you." Wukong blinked. Did he hear that right? He doesn't have six ears, so he must've heard that wrong. Macaque thanked him? It was short but sincere, no hint of a mocking tone or any sort of sigh that signified he felt forced to do it. "Excuse me?" Wukong asked a bit dumbly and that's when Macaque deadpanned, "I'm thanking you for watching over Bai He, I'm just so sorry I had to drag you out of your comfortable, perfect life just to do a favor for little ol' me." Macaque spoke, crossing his arms. Wukong heard the small hints of bitterness in Macaque's words, the ones that acted like he was still that reckless and inconsiderate monkey all those centuries ago. "It wasn't that bad..." Wukong pushed the money back towards Macaque, he was downplaying how much he enjoyed spending time with Bai He, Macaque's gaze relieved a little as he waited for Wukong to continue, "She was just the sweetest thing, she's wonderful... I don't know what you're doing, but I think you've done a good job so far" Wukong admitted, with a smile on his face and a warm feeling buzzing in his body. Macaque looked at Wukong oddly, like his six ears were playing tricks on him, as if he had heard something from the past or the far distant future or even an alternative timeline, he felt his face heat, he didn't expect a simple compliment about his care giving skills to affect him so much. He quickly bit his tongue to stop himself from getting too far ahead of himself, he should not be reacting like this "...That... means a lot. You should get going though" Wukong just laughed it off "Alright, alright. I should get going then and get out of your hair".

When Wukong came back to the living room, Bai He had already finished packing his suitcase and zipping it up tight. "Sorry, I finished without you. That should be everything. I double and triple checked everything." She seemed confident in herself, and that was enough for Wukong to believe it "Thanks kid. You really are the sweetest." Wukong ruffled the girl's hair and she swatted his hand away with a grin on her face. "So I guess this is bye?" Bai He asked, twiddling her thumbs as Wukong playfully scoffed Let's just consider this, see you later. How does that sound?" Wukong raised his hand for a high five, and Bai He obliged with a grin on her face. "Okay then, see you later Monkey King!" She waved at him before he made his way to the door "See you around Wukong". And then Wukog left the door and stood outside the home for a long while. He had a feeling he wouldn't be coming back anytime soon, but... that's fine! It was just see you later! He'd see Bai He again soon enough, and hey! Maybe even Macaque won't glare daggers at him for ruffling her hair next time. He hopped onto his nimbus and soared through the air on his way back to Flower Fruit Mountain, he continued to think about his time with Bai He; she was just so interesting. How someone could have gone through so much and still find it in them to smile and be so kind if a little competitive, Wukong was so caught up in his thoughts that when he arrived back on Flower Fruit Mountain, he didn't even have time to land before he was tackled off of his nimbus in a hug by his subjects all hollering and chirping at their kings return "Hey everybody! I'm back! Sorry for the dissaperance I was doing a favor for somebody but I'm back!!"

He and the troop of monkeys ended up in one big grooming pile, he was working on one monkey's fur while another did his as his thoughts continued to drift. He remembers helping her get ready in the morning for school, and offering to groom her hair, but she declined, saying that she prefers a brush and so instead Wukong would brush her hair and it still felt nice maybe not what he was used to but she still looked presentable so who was he to disregard brushes. He wondered if Macaque ever groomed Bai He's hair before she got a hair brush, sure it seems like a common thing in beings without fur, but she couldn't have always had that. He gets the mental image and can't help a rumble in his chest forming, Macaque was always more gentle with grooming than he'd ever admit. Painstakingly removing every bug and leaf, or twig in the monkey's fur before being satisfied. Maybe that's why he always had such soft fur, because he was the best on the mountain, it was always a treat to get groomed by him, he was always so precise yet gentle with his movements, it was hard not to melt under his touch whenever he did so. But an even better treat was to watch him as he'd always look so concentrated, and he would always stick his tongue out as he did so and it was just so cute- Wukongs heard an annoyed chirp and finally looked down to see the work he had done to his poor subject, his claws getting tangled in their white fur "Whoops, I got a bit distracted there"

Soon, night fell on Flower Fruit Mountain, and Wukong retreated to his hut with his subjects wishing him a nice sleep before returning to their nests for slumber. Wukong let out a tired breath as he tossed his bag near his couch and flopped back down on it. He'll go through and put his stuff away later, but right now he was tired and he just wanted to sleep. "Goodnight!" he shouted out, plucking one of his hairs and blowing on it to make a blanket. He waited for Bai He to answer back... but she didn't. Obviously. She was currently an ocean away and there was no possible reality she heard him. Wukong furrowed his brow, he didn't think he'd get so used after such a short amount of time to sleeping with someone in another room, but here he was, wishing a goodnight to a person who wasn't even there. He sighed before shifting around on the couch and closing his eyes... Something was wrong... No, scratch that, everything felt wrong!! He grunted in frustration as he tossed and turned around the couch before he almost rolled off it. Everything was wrong, it was too quiet, it was too humid, it was too uncomfortable; he had never had this much discomfort trying to fall asleep as he did now. It was too quiet, he got used to hearing Bai He's unusually loud snoring from the other room, it was too humid and stuffy, his clothes feeling like they were trying to suffocate him since Macaques place seemed to run colder not that Bai He would ever make a comment about it, and even though his couch was nice it felt so stiff under him. His eyes shot open as he didn't even feel tired anymore, even with how uncomfortable he was. He had gotten so used to someone else sleeping in the other room that now that they were gone, he felt... lonely again. Deafening silence sat with him on the couch before he sighed and sat up, moving to rummage through his bag for some lighter clothes in the hope that maybe that'll at least help him a little.

...

Where was his undershirt? He was definitely sure he had it when he went into Macaques' place with it in his bag because he fell asleep wearing it one night. So then, where was it? Wukong practically threw the entire suitcase contents around the room before he gave up and realized it wasn't in his bag anymore. Meaning it was probably still at Macaques' place, he groaned in defeat as he had now made a mess of his living room for no reason and had no shirt to change into. That's fine, he'll fall asleep somehow. He wanders back to the couch and ditches the blanket, he shifts around a bit more before his eyes fall on the picture of him and Macaque at the beach on the wall of his hut. His eyes then fell on the paper puppets of his journey companions, he sighed, "Goodnight brothers" he muttered before finally just burying his face in the couch's pillow and closing his eyes. Trying to let the sounds of the mountain lure him to sleep.

He didn't get a wink of sleep.

Macaque was currently brushing Bai He's hair with a hair tie around his wrist as Bai He sat at the edge of her bed, already in her sleepwear. She was oddly quiet this time around, even during dinner, she didn't say much. No mention of her day at school or anything random thought that happened to cross her mind, not even talking about the obvious elephant in the room that Macaque was gone for five days, and she was stuck with a babysitter. "Anything interesting happen while I was gone?" Macaque prodded, but Bai He shook her head. However Macaque was no idiot and knew something was on her mind, "Come on, you know you can tell or ask me anything" "...I have a couple questions" she finally managed and Macaque just nodded his head "Alright, shoot" He said as he continued running the brush through her hair "Where did you go and why did you have to leave for so long?" Macaque thought about how to phrase it, "I just had to ask an old friend of mine for something special. It was a long drive there since she wanted to live in the middle of a random desert. Not to mention she made her errand boy in exchange... The point is, it was longer than I would've preferred. I came back as soon as I could." Macaque still shudders at the memory, and Bai He nodded. "Next question, why did you kick Monkey King out so quickly?" An innocent question in of itself, but it made Macaque fur bristle "Things between me and him are still... tense... I never would've wanted him looking after you" "Then why ask him at all? Why leave me in charge?" Bai He asked in response, which made Macaque pause in his movements.

Macaque sighed heavily, "... It was situational. I'm very proud of you, and I'm sorry I had to ask in the first place. I'll try not to let it happen again." Macaque pulled Bai He's hair back and tied it into a braid with a pink hair tie. Bai smiled softly before yawning. Macaque got up and offered to tuck Bai He into her bed, but she declined, saying she was fine as is, as she slipped under her blanket and lay her head back on her pillow, feeling a bump in her pillow as she smiled at Macaque. Macaque turned her lamp off before sitting down near the bed, already seeing Bai He doze off. "I'm sorry again about the surprise babysitting thing. But I promise you won't have to put up with him anymore because I'm here now. It was just a last minute thing, Mk is still always an option." he offered his own small smile that Bai He didn't match as her face slipped underneath the covers "It wasn't all bad... it was fun actually, he was super nice and helped me with my homework and studying, he even watched movies and played games with! I kinda hope I can see him again, please?" Ah, so this was where Bai He's questions were leading to, asking for Wukong to come over more. Macaque was surprised to hear that Wukong had done a good job looking after Bai He; he half expected to come home to a filthy home and a depressed Bai He, but no. He sat there thinking over Bai He's request. It would be easy to say no and break her heart about ever seeing Wukong again as a babysitter, but he didn't have the heart to do that to her now, but on the other hand,d it was just too risky letting Wukong into his home and so close to something he values deeply. He can't have a repeat of what happened in the past. He'll die again before he ever lets that happen.

"I'll... think about it for now" Macaque said, patting her on the head. She nodded before finally closing her eyes. Macaque waited until he heard Bai He's snoring until he fell into the shadows and reappeared right back in front of her door, sliding down the wall as his hands fell over his face, he was tired, gods, he was just so tired. He already had a lot on his plate now, but now he also had to think about this, because Bai He won't forget; she's proven in the past that she will not let things slip past her easily. Macaque just wants to go to sleep; he's been missing his bed for 5 days now, but no, he has other matters regarding his room that he must attend to first before he can even dream about dreaming.

Chapter Text

Meditation

It was something that Mk just barely scratched the surface during the Heaven Pillar fiasco, and while he didn't have time then, he has the time now. It sounded super lame to him initially because how was he supposed to punch the bad guy and get stronger if he was just sitting down? Plus, sitting still sounded like torture. It didn't make sense to him, but now he felt like he could use it more. A lot has changed. It seemed like everyone had new superpowers, and his home city of Megalopolis was still trying to figure everything out, always running to him for answers that he didn't always have. He was lucky his friends were there to support them; otherwise, he might've burned out a long time ago. His times training with Monkey King felt like some of the only moments in time where he didn't have to worry about another citizen with questions or some rando who thought that, because they gained powers now, they could take over the city, a shocking amount. Flower Fruit Mountain truly was a paradise in every sense of the word. A bonus was that it helped him gain more control of his monkey form. He started getting the hang of it after the pillar, switching back and forth on his own will and not just with intense emotions, but he still needs to get used to it more. Leading to now, where he and Monkey King were sitting on two rocks trying to meditate.

Keyword here is TRY

Mk had something on his mind, or more accurately, a favor he wanted to ask his mentor, and he was starting to get impatient. It's hard to relax and clear your mind when you're having an entire conversation in your head about possible scenarios in which a conversation could go. He was sure Monkey King would've noticed his lack of actual meditation by the lack of glowing he was doing or the fact that he was definitely sweating. But he hasn't been called out yet. Did Monkey King seriously not notice, or was he just waiting for Mk to give himself away and then correct him? Mk sighed, finally opened his eyes, and relaxed, waiting to hear about how he wasn't concentrating hard enough. But he didn't get berated, he didn't even see Monkey King look at him. He only saw the great sage sitting in a meditative posture, DEAD ASLEEP! It’s like he wasn’t even trying to pretend to meditate! Mk's shoulder slumped as he looked at his mentor; it was his turn to wait and see if Monkey King would wake up on his own or he’d have to shake him out of it. "Monkey King, I can tell you're not meditating." Mk saw Monkey King stir ever so slightly, "Hm" "MONKEY KING!" Mk shouted in his mentor's ear, causing his mentor's eyes to shoot open as he gracefully fell on his back "I'm up!" He announced, bolting up again. He blinked dumbly at his student "Oh, hey bud" He said, trying to sound as carefree as usual, when a yawn interrupted his sentence. Mk stood with his arms crossed and eyes narrowed on his mentor's state, his hair messier than normal, yawning, and prominent eye bags. Mk knows that look; it's been staring back at him in the morning for the past two years! "Don't 'Hey bud' me young man! What was that just now?" Mk asked, his tone incredulous at his mentors' sleeping while they were supposed to be meditating.

"Sorry kid, I just haven't slept well the past few nights... What's your excuse? You seemed pretty distracted as well. What're you overthinking about now?" Wukong asked, trying to rub the exhaustion out of his eyes like it would do anything. Mk shrank under his concern being thrown back at him, Touché, but this was a perfect time to get what's off his mind. “Okay well I actually have something to ask you!” Mk stood up and dusted himself off, slicking back his hair like a sleezy salesman ready to strike a deal “So since the heavenly pillar incident and everybody gaining super powers, everything has been all wakko and chaos!” Wukong grimaced at the mention of the heavenly pillar but let Mk continue. Mk cleared his throat, his mannerisms becoming less confident “And since everybody is turning to me with questions about how to train their own powers I was thinking… Maybe… Icouldstartmentoringsomeonetoo?” Mk quickly finished under his breath and winced like he was tearing off a band-aid. Wukong stared at his student as if trying to piece together what he had said. Once he finally did, however, “No“ It was quick and stern; he had hoped his tone alone would persuade Mk against arguing, but of course it wasn’t enough “Okay, but let me explain! I’d be a great mentor! Like the 3rd best mentor in the world! I can teach them to focus and listen like you did! Oh! And I can tell them how to make hair clones disappear! You know, very season 1 esc lessons” Mk rambled on very frantically to try and explain to Wukong why he’d be a good teacher. It was only a wonder he didn’t pull out a PowerPoint presentation.

“Listen bud. I don’t doubt you have the skill, but… you’re still so young! You’re like a baby! Both compared to me and most short-lived mortals. You just don’t have the experience to take someone under your wing when you’ve only just started getting yours working.” Wukong mentally patted himself on the back for the nice analogy. “Besides.” He started, “Why the sudden interest in becoming a mentor? Never really seemed like a you thing” Wukong finished, then again he felt like he was beginning to know more and less about his student each day. Mk looked to the ground, tail both figuratively and literally between his legs. “I’m just…” Mk fingers were tied in knots as they fidgeted “A little lost after everything. I was made specifically to fix the pillar, to be the ‘Chaos Harbinger’, to be all these different things that I wouldn’t have even guessed a few years ago when I first stumbled on the staff.” Wukong's expression fell somber as Mk took a deep breath. “I just don’t want to feel trapped by another thing that was ‘destined’ for me. D-Don’t get me wrong! I still love being a hero and saving the city! It's why I did what I thought I had to! But…I guess I just want to figure out what I want to be rather than what I’m told. Make your own path instead of the one given to you, right?” Mk’s shoulder rose in a light shrug with a hopeful smile, which left Wukong to think. Mk was asking to take on a lot, and Wukong wasn’t convinced Mk knew entirely what he was asking when he wanted to mentor someone. He didn’t even know what he was getting into when he took Mk under his wing. 

But… something about, even after everything, still wanting to help people, he sighed, “...I suppose we can test the waters for a bit-”  A squeal of joy and Mk's lunge forward interrupted Wukong's agreement; Mk almost tackled Wukong to the ground in a tight hug, thanking him repeatedly. Wukong chuckled before pulling the kid in his arms and giving him a playful noogie which made him groan and push Wukong right back off him “Alright now it’s your turn” Mk said pointing his finger at Wukong

“What?” Wukong asked with a clueless smile

“It’s your turn to explain why you haven’t been sleeping well” Mk said accusingly. Now it was Wukong's turn to freeze under his student's gaze, since when did that start happening “...I dunno what you’re talking about” Wukong tried to wave off “NUH UH! You admitted it! I said what was on my mind. Now it’s your turn. Fair is fair” Mk said, crossing his arms and waiting for Wukong to spill. Well, he can’t really argue with that “Ah I’ve just been uh… thinking about Bai He and… Macaques place” He admitted and Mk blinked, surprised at the answer “Really? What? Did something bad happen while I wasn’t over?”. Wukong shook his head “No it's not that, I’m more surprised that she’s… around? That’s not the right word- What I mean to say is I never thought about Bai He after Lady Bone Demon was defeated.” He admitted with a guilty expression on his face. “But apparently everyone else knew about her. And not to mention that apparently Macaque of all people was looking after her! Since when did that happen?!” He asks his tone getting increasingly frantic as he rants “I thought for sure after everything we’ve been through with each other he might’ve at least told me he was taking in a damn kid! But no! I had to march into his home and find out by accident! But it seemed like everyone else knew about her! What else is he keeping secret from me?! Next, you’re going to tell me he already has a partner and I won’t find out till the wedding that I won’t be invited to!” Wukong shuddered at the thought.

Mk watched with rapt attention as his mentor outwardly spirally and word vomited out his thoughts. It was interesting to watch, and also a little sad, he nodded along as Monkey King then switched over to continue on about something else, “And! And! Not to mention that Macaques' room has a silence spell placed over it. Which seems normal if you think about it, but also not at all because he was specifically blocking ME from here what’s going on inside! Why’s he blocking noise from the inside? What else is he hiding from me!?”. Mk then suddenly went wide-eyed at what Wukong was saying, turning his gaze away and whistling under his breath, making sure to look as inconspicuous as possible. However, shocker, Wukong noticed this and raised a brow at Mk. “What’s with that look bud? Do you know something you’re not telling me?” he questioned, and Mk suddenly felt like he was on an episode of Monkey Cop during an interrogation scene. “Noooo…..” He lied, and Wukong's gaze remained unwavering as he watched Mk start to crack under his pressure. “Okayokay! I confess I know about the room!”

Wukong lit up, finally thinking he was going to learn what was going on with Macaque… only for it to be dashed when Mk shook his head, “It’s very personal to Macaque though. Like SUPER personal. I don’t even think I was supposed to find out, but I did. Even though I think it’s dumb I can’t tell anyone else, I also can’t really argue with him about it…” Mk trailed off, making Wukong slump in defeat. So it was something super personal, Mk and Bai He likely knew, but they aren’t allowed to tell anyone, or realistically, they weren’t allowed to tell Mk’s friends or him. That was nothing to work with! He was losing sleep over a mystery he wasn’t even allowed to figure out the answers to. “Thanks anyways bud. It was just awful knowing I was left out of knowing about her” Wukong said, patting Mk on the back “I see her a lot more than the others. I can tell you how she’s doing from time to time.” Mk offered “Thanks… That’d be nice.” 

“So should we get back to trying to meditate, or should we try something else?” Mk asked, now wondering what they should do now. Wukong paused “I’ve still got too much on my mind to meditate… Give me 500 push-ups before the sun sets” Wukong could help but chuckle at Mk’s slumped form moving to position as the sun was already threatening to fall over the horizon.

With the sun setting into the clouds over the horizon, Sandy found himself finishing up cleaning the deck with Mo and another one of his therapy cats lounging on the seat he had set out for when the gang came over. He wiped the sweat off his brow as he marveled at his clean work. He saw Mo stir before hissing at the shadow below his feet, watching it dance up the cargo until a familiar figure stepped out of them and made his presence known “Hey there blue guy. Hope I’m not interrupting your spring cleaning.” Macaque snickered at the way Sandy and Mo initially jumped from surprise. It never gets old. Seeing it was just Macaque, Sandy offered a warm smile and set the broom off to the side “Hey Macaque! It’s been a while. How are you and Bai He doing?” He asked, kindly as ever. For a while, the two have had infrequent meetups. Macaque would need to do something important and have to drop Bai He off somewhere. Naturally, she wanted to go with Sandy so she could play with his plethora of cats, and in exchange for watching over her, Macaque would get tea leaves and ingredients for him whenever he asked. “We're doing fine, I’m just a bit tired is all… Anyways, I have a favor I need to ask of you. I hope this isn’t too unexpected” Macaque said, dipping his hand into a shadow portal and pulling out a bag.

“You’re into making tea right? I need a special blend that uses these ingredients here.” He handed the bag over to Sandy, Mo jumped over to Sandy's shoulder to sniff the bag and practically recoiled back at the smell of heavy shadow magic. Sandy opened the bag and did a once-over‌ of the ingredients; they looked like normal plants and roots, but if the thick, dark smog emanating from them was anything to go by, they weren’t normal ingredients. “Um Macaque, you’re not trying to poison someone, are you?” He asked cautiously, tying the bag back up. “No? What gave you that idea?” Macaque asked, “It’s just that these ingredients don’t look very… safe for consumption all” Sandy said as Mo pawed at the bag with a skeptical glare. Macaque sighed, “Look, it’s not exactly meant to taste good. They are all powerful herbs meant to grant more and stabilize power.” Sandy looked at the bag in his hands once more. ”I already spent a long time drying out and withering those things, so this should be fast.” Sandy looked over the bag once more before smiling, “Okay Macaque, I trust you.” Mo shot Sandy a side eye as the gentle giant opened the door to the home on his boat. “Come in, I’ll try and get this done as fast as I can.”

Macaque muttered a quick thank you to Sandy before stepping into his home. It was nice, small, comfy, and crowded with cats. Just. So many cats… Macaque stiffly scooted around them before landing on the couch. Sandy was in the kitchen grinding the plants and roots in a mortar and pestle, seemingly adding extra stuff to it to make it taste better. Macaque sighed, his tail thwapping against the floor, making a gentle thud. It seemed after a while before Sandy returned, a few bags of tea were made and one already brewed. Macaque furrowed his brow “Why make the tea now?” “We should taste test it before all else!” Sandy replied with a smile once more before setting two small cups of tea and a kettle beside them, and they were also decorated with cats. Macaque looked down at his cup before looking back at Sandy. “Thanks, but really I shouldn’t drink any of this-” Sandy's expression faltered “Come on Macaque. I can tell you’re tired, surely you have time in your busy schedule for a tea break.” He lifted his cup, hoping for Macaque to do the same. Macaque stayed silent before rolling his eyes and lifting his cup next to Sandy’s, making a small tinking noise. Macaque did think it was rather funny the way Sandy bought the cup to his mouth to drink, only to try his best not to recoil at the taste “W-wow… these are some strong… flavors” He choked out. 

Macaque shrugged it off with a grin, “Again. It’s not meant to taste good. It’s more like a medicine than anything” He chuckled as he swished the tea around in the cup, seeing his warped reflection in it. Sandy raised a brow at that “Medicine? Is Bai He sick?” Hi voice laced with concern, Macaque’s eyes shifted “No she’s not sick… and this stuff wouldn’t help her anyway. It’s for-” Macaque briefly thought on who he could shrug he blame onto and pretend to care about “-the Monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain. I think a few of them got sick from Mk and Wukong wouldn’t get off my back, so I spent the last couple of days running around getting all this stuff” He laughed. He hoped Sandy’s love of animals wouldn’t get him to question too much about the details, as he was lying straight to his face right now, maybe a bit shameless, but he wasn’t actually going to tell what was going on. He was rewarded with a sigh of relief on the gentle giant's face that warmed up “That’s incredibly kind of you Macaque. It’s nice to hear that you and Monkey King are getting along now.” He said while a few cats appeared closer by, sniffing the tea before also fleeing at the smell, Macaque raised a brow, “What do you mean ‘getting along’? Who told you that?” a quizzical look overtaking his features. 

Sandy blinked. “Oh. Well, I just assumed that you were. First you let Monkey King into your home, then you let him watch over Bai He, I’ve seen how overprotective you can be about her” Macaques’ face flushed in embarrassment, he wanted to argue that he wasn’t overprotective, but Sandy continued “And now you’re helping him on the mountain. It sounds to me like you’re getting along now”. Macaque sputtered, “I-It’s nothing like that! That was situational, I was desperate!” Not flattering to admit, his pride taking an unexpected right hook, but he’ll take it over thinking he’s getting along with Wukong. “I never would’ve invited him over, let alone watch Bai He if I had other options” He scoffed, and his tail thumped against the floor in annoyance. Sandy seemed more confused “So… you’re not friends with Monkey King?” He asked slowly “No!...” Macaque said quickly, though not as confidently as he may have hoped to come across. Sandy took notice of this and quickly sat up, running over to the kitchen before returning with a small plate of tea cookies and a notebook and pen. “Macaque, while I have you here, can I do an exercise with you?” Sandy asked, clicking his pen. Macaque's eyes darted around. Was this really happening? Now of all times?! He tried to brush it off “Whatever. Not going to complain if you’re offering free snacks”

Macaque's hand went to reach for a tea cookie, but the pen slapped his hand away. “This is all a part of the exercise! For everything you answer, you can have a cookie” Sandy explained, shaking his pen. Macaque could only wonder if Sandy viewed him no different than a dog with the way he was speaking “...Sure… You go first…” He answered bitterly, his arms crossing over his chest. Sandy smiled gleefully and clicked his pen one last time before looking towards Macaque “Let’s start simple. What’s your opinion on me and Mo? And be truthful.” Mo perked his head up at the mention of his name. Macaque let himself think. They were… sort of friends? More like he was more acquainted with Mk, and so Macaque was just friends with Sandy by association. Many years ago, a similar situation happened with the brotherhood; they were all Wukong's friends, never really his. They were never out right mean to him, and Azure bless his soul, tried desperately to include Macaque, but even he knew that Macaque was just an odd figure in the group. But then again, he never had one-on-one tea sessions with Yellow Tusk, and he would’ve rather choked than let Bai He stay with Peng “We’re… friends? I guess? I think we’ve gotten closer recently. I normally don’t let anyone else watch over Bai He, not that she would want to visit anybody else. So I trust you by association” He admitted. He saw Sandy's eyes light up, and just as quickly as one admission was another wall “… but you’re a bit too touchy. It’s like you’re trying to suffocate me in those hugs of yours” he quickly added. Sandy didn’t seem to take offence and simply nodded his head, writing something down. “I get that, I’ll try hugging you a little less tightly next time.” Silence followed, Macaque just avoiding eye contact as Sandy seemed to think.

He handed Macaque a cookie "So what about your thoughts on Mk?” Another question, Macaque had an idea where this was leading. As he popped the cookie in his mouth, he couldn’t help but think how much he didn’t deserve Mk in his life. How the kid has never quite given up on him, even when he gave up on himself, he’ll never understand. Even from the first moment he met Mk, he knew the kid was special, maybe not as special as the harbinger of chaos, but that kid had something to him that his mentor lacked. And he was willing to kill the kid if that meant getting back at Wukong. Did he even apologize for that? He doesn't think he'll ever fully forgive himself for what happened back then. "He's a nice kid. He's got too much on his shoulders, though. I think I speak for everyone when I say that he's putting too much on himself. But still a good kid" Macaque said with a shrug of his shoulders to downplay how much he cared about Mk. Emotional vulnerability was never his strong suit, even now, as Sandy handed him another tea cookie, he couldn't help but feel like he was being led straight into the den of his emotional baggage. "I agree! I think Mk's practicing meditation with Monkey King. So I'm glad he' picked up a hobby that helped him clear his head." Macaque resists the urge to chuckle, the old Wukong he knew would've never been able to sit through meditation without complaining about how boring it was. "Yeah? That's good to hear..."

He popped another cookie in his mouth as Sandy wrote something down "So what about Bai He?" Macaque hardly had to think to know what he thought about her. She was just the sweetest little girl he knew, not that he knew many, but he doubted that they would compare to how lovely Bai He was to be around. He knows she won't admit it but he's seen the way she's picked up some of his mannerisms like crossing her arms too much, and the thought alone makes him smile. Could you really blame him for wanting no more harm to come to her after what happened to her? "What's there to say? She's the brightest person I know." Sandy didn't feel a need to question for further elaboration, though Macaque still felt the need to be secretive about Bai He; anyone with a pair of functioning eyes could see the way he may have been favoring her over the others. While he passed Macaque another cookie, he began to dread what he was going to ask next. He had to mentally prepare himself for what he had to ask next.

"What are your thoughts on Monkey King?" Sandy asked, maybe it was a bit more blunt than he intended, but he just had to rip the bandage off and get it over with. He could see the way Macaques' expression slowly fell and stopped chewing. Macaque stopped and looked down at his lap. Truth be told, he didn't know what he thought about Wukong anymore. One minute they were trying to tear each other apart, and then the next thing he knew, he was sacrificing himself so he and Mk could get away from Li Jing, and then no later Wukong is reaching a hand out to him at the end of the world. Was this his sign that he wanted to reconnect? Was it just because the world was ending? Why hasn't he done anything else after that? Was it so simple to forgive Wukong for severing their relationship in the way that he did? Would it be so simple to fix everything after Macaque purposefully kept lighting the already burnt bridge on fire so he could hurt Wukong back? He kept thinking back on what Peng said during their fight: 'Is there anything Wukong could do that would break his hold over you?' Was there? Could Wukong really kill him, and he'd still come back to be loyal by his side like some dog?

Macaque was tired. He couldn't deny that a small part of him did want to reconnect, to push everything that happened behind and look forward to the brighter future he could see thanks to Mk's decision. He just wanted to go back to how things used to be, live that life of lazy luxury that was promised all those centuries ago. But it was hard. Wukong hurt him. And he hurt Wukong. And fairytale happy endings don't exist, and they certainly don't happen to creatures like him. Happily Ever After only happens to people like Mk and his friends, good people who did good things and saved the day. Not to villains like him, who made it their goal to hurt the heroes and stop them on their quest. Why was he even allowed here? Sharing tea and cookies with Sandy, he should've been left to rot in the archive along with the Lady Bone Demons' thrall. Sandy waved his hand in front of Macaques' face. "Are you okay? You don't have to share if you don't want to... I think I overstepped" Sandy said with a downcast expression on his face. Macaque didn't say anything, since he didn't know what to say about his feelings on Wukong. Instead, he asked his own question, "Why do you hang out with me?"

Sandy met Macaques' stern gaze and placed his pen and notebook down "When I was younger, I used to be so hateful and violent. Everyone thought I was a monster, so I was going to give them one. I ruined a lot of my friendships back then, a lot of which still don't want to see me anymore because of how I acted back then." He paused as if to think back on all the people he's lost through his own reckless past self. "I didn't understand why Tang and Pigsy stayed by me through those times. Even when I wanted them out, they refused to leave on their own accord... I admit when I first met you, I saw a bit of my past self in you" Sandy admitted. Their first encounter wasn't great, him trying to crush Sandy in the palm of his mech made Macaque unclutch his hands on impulse. Sandy continued, "I want to stay by your side during this point in your life! Everyone needs an anchor in their life. And I'd be happy to be yours" Sandy's face lit up. Macaque couldn't help his face burning red, it was such a sincere and genuine affirmation, it almost made him want to throw up at how sweet Sandy was being. 

"That... really sweet Sandy" especially after Macaque gave such a half-assed affirmation of trust in him earlier, he really didn't deserve what he was given. Sandy let him take another cookie despite not answering his earlier questions. A silence fell over them. Macaque didn't want to say anything else, and Sandy didn't want to overstep any further than he might've already. Macaque stood up abruptly, the cats jumping since he did move, and took the tea bags with him "Thanks for the tea and cookies Sandy, but I've stayed here long enough... I need to get home." He said trying to excuse himself to leave, Sandy nodded, giving Macaque one final small smile "It's no problem Macaque. If you ever want to talk, take a break, or need to drop Bai He off here again, I'll gladly let you." Macaque waved one final time before dipping into the shadows once more and ending up in his home. He stood there longer than he probably should've. He just had a to on his mind now.

And it was all Wukong's fault again somehow. One simple, stupid question, and he was getting distracted again. He already had a lot on his mind, and he couldn't add 'Think about your relationship with Wukong' onto his schedule without literally losing sleep over it. He groaned. At least he was home now though, and he won't have to interact with Wukong in the near future.

Chapter Text

Wukong had been avoiding it for two months now.

He left his shirt at Macaques, and he doesn't want to go get it. He could always call it a loss, get a new one, or make one out of his fur again. But really, it would be a good excuse to check in on Bai He. He hasn't heard much about her from the others, not that he didn't ask. Wukong only spent maybe a few days with her, but they were special to him. He got to hang with and watch over the sweetest little girl in the whole realm, and Macaque didn't try to kill him afterwards! He even thanked him, which he'd be lying if he said those words hadn't at least echoed in his mind a few times. The only reason he didn't just fly over there when he first noticed his shirt missing was because going over there would mean having to talk with Macaque again. And he's still not quite sure where the two of them stand.

Surely, he must trust him enough to look after his home and Bai He, but he also didn't seem all too thrilled to disclose that information, keeping her hidden from him and saying he would "just be house sitting" while he was away. He's still a bit peeved at that. That must've meant that Wukong was a last choice. Wukong wasn't just a Plan B; he was a Plan Z, the last absolute option that Macaque would have chosen to watch Bai He. And that's really what it came down to, huh? Macaque didn't trust Wukong around Bai He. It was almost funny, if it hadn't also hurt tremendously. He couldn't stop thinking about how close they used to be compared to what they were. He just didn't understand Macaque anymore. What he wanted, why he did anything he did, and what he needed. Maybe he never did understand him from the start.

He didn't want to spend all day cooped up on his couch pondering his relationship with Macaque and the erratic trust they had in each other. He was putting too much thought into it. It was just going to get his shirt and come back and then see Macaque... whenever he decided to come back on the mountain. His visits have been so infrequent. He rarely got a chance to talk with him, not that Macaque would make much of an effort to speak with him as well. He wished his troop goodbye before transforming into a bird and flying to the mainland. He was just picking up a shirt. In and out. Simple. No need to overcomplicate things. He swooped past the colorful lights and buildings to the more desolate part. He almost lost track of Macaques Wuquan because the grass was actually cut.

He transformed back and landed in front of the door, all that was left to do was to knock... Just knock... yeah... so why wasn't he just knocking?!

Wukong's hand stayed frozen in the air, just above the door. Maybe... he should practice, just in case. He lowers his hand back down to his side as he paces back and forth in front of the door 'Hey Macaque! Long time no see! SO I left a shirt here' That way is too friendly for someone he was just on okay speaking terms with. 'I left my shirt here, I need to pick it up' but that's too standoffish, he's not trying to be a complete dick. He takes a deep breath, practicing was a bad idea. Just go for it already! His mental yelling seems to pay off as he finally knocks on the door. He hears a commotion of noise going on in the building before the door cracks open to see Macaque peering through. "Wukong" He doesn't sound surprised at all to see him, those damn six ears. "Yup. Me." Wukong only said two words, and he's overthinking. Did he sound too nervous? Too unbothered? Annoyed? Rude?! His seconds-long internal panic is cut short when Macaque speaks again, "And here I thought you had had enough of this place? I even told Bai He you never wanted to see her again. It broke her heart" He said with that same easy-going smirk that he always had when stirring shit "You did what?!" Wukong knew for sure he sounded panicked now.

Macaque's not-so-quiet snickers are cut short when he feels a pair of small hands punch at his back. "Don't lie about me like that!" Bai He said, annoyed, with her cheeks puffed up in anger. She pokes her head from behind Macaque and smiles when she sees Wukong, "Monkey King! You're here again!" Wukong feels instant relief when it's revealed that Macaque was just lying to get a reaction out of him. "Hey there kid!" He raises his hand lower so she could run over and meet him in a high-five. Macaque watches the two's reunions with his arms crossed over his chest. Bai He is already running back in the Wuquan, leaving the two adults to themself. "I take it you want to come inside?" Wukong silently nodded his head, not trusting whatever his mouth could come up with.

Macaque stepped to the side and allowed Wukong back into his home. It's the same as it was before, though now it has a replacement punching bag! Wukong followed Macaque further into his home and saw Bai He running off into her room. "You're gonna trip one of these days if you keep running like that" Macaque called out to Bai He, who didn't respond. He turned back to Wukong "So, why are you here?" straight to the point. "Oh right- I forgot one of my shirts here, I was hoping you'd let me look for it?" Macaque raises a brow "...You waited two months just to come get a shirt?" "Yeah..." The two stand in silence. Macaque then groans, "Fine, but make it quick." Wukong doesn't waste any more time; he mutters a quick 'thanks' before returning to the living room and searching under the couch for his missing shirt.

The walk to the park wasn't long; Wukong remembered the route from the last time he and Bai He had gone night walking. The area was much more lively than it was at night. Cars were speeding past, unconcerned with the noise they were making. A group of friends were filming each other doing hoverboard tricks, and a father and mother were carrying their son by the arms, laughing along with him as his feet dangled in the air... Wukong turned his head back to make sure he wasn't staring too long. The park finally came into view, and Bai He broke away from both of their grasps to run over. "Don't run so far that I can't see you," Macaque called out to deaf ears, picking up the pace to catch up with Bai He. It was interesting to see Macaque fret over such a little thing as Bai He running too far away. Wukong couldn't help but snicker a little.

Macaque must've heard him, of course he did, as he snapped his head to look at Wukong. "Something funny?" He questions, Wukong just shakes his head, "Nope, just thinking over here." Macaque narrows his eyes at him for a second before scoffing in amusement, "Don't hurt yourself". Wukong's smile tightened as he watched Macaque finally catch up with Bai He, who was waiting at the edge of the park for Macaque and Wukong. "-Macaque, I promise I'm gonna be fine! I won't wander out of sight, now can I go already?" Macaques expression lightened at Bai He's playful words before patting her head "Yeah yeah just don't break a bone out there" Bai He smiled widely before looking over to see Wukong "Monkey King come look at the park!"

She ran up to him and grabbed his hand, pulling him along. "No need to tug kid. I'm comin', I'm comin'." In the corner of his eye, he saw Macaque move to sit on a bench in full view of the play area. Wukong rolled his eyes but let Bai He pull him along. It was a rather nice play area, it looked way better in the daytime with actual little kids zooming past him. "I've never actually been to one of these things. What do you even do around here?" Living on a mountain isolated from most of humanity's inventions will make you ask weird questions like that. "Just sorta play. The slide is the most boring" Despite her words, Bai He climbed up the steps to a blue tunnel slide and went down. Wukong watched with mild amusement as she disappeared for a few brief seconds, then reappeared with her hair all frizzy and messed up. "It's still kinda fun, but it gets old fast." She dusted her skirt and cardigan off. "So then what's the point?" He asked pointedly, "Well- the slide is for little little kids. I'm just getting too old for it, is all."

He laughed, "Oh, right. You're a big kid now. Too good for the slide now." She smiled as she led him to a set of bars "These are monkey bars. You kinda just climb and dangle them" she spoke as she was already climbing up the small things and pulled herself up the bars, her legs dangling as she did her best to hold herself up. "Monkey bars huh?" Wukong chuckled softly at the name, joining her on the bars as she climbed and pulled himself up on the top of the bars with ease "Show off" she said, her arms giving out as she landed the small distance on her feet. "Aw c'mon kid. I know you can do better than that!" He flipped on the bar dangling upside down by his legs, "Try copying me". She nodded before climbing up the bars like Wukong; she was already higher off the ground than she would've preferred. Wukong noticed her nervousness "What's with the look?" "...What if I fall?" she asked, clutching the bars just a bit tighter "Then get back up again! You just gotta believe in yourself" that advice usually worked with Mk, but maybe because she was younger, she still didn't seem all that convinced.

He hummed in thought for a second, "If you're really so worried about falling, I'll catch you. Simple." She looked at him with furrowed eyes "You promise?" She asked, her grip loosening, "Promise." He made sure to sound more sure of himself, even if he was silently wondering how he would catch her if she did fall. Bai He took a deep breath and finally shut her eyes tight, before letting go of the bar and letting herself fall. She was expecting to meet the ground with a thud and hit her head, but the thud never came. She cracked an eye open and saw the world hung upside down; the sky was the grass, and the grass was the sky. "Woah, the world looks weird upside down" She mentioned, fully opening her eyes, Wukong couldn't help but laugh at how adorable her reaction was "Yeah, I guess it is pretty fun" He watched as her headband threaten to fall of her head "I feel like a vampire... or like a bat" She mentioned hugging her cardigan closer to her arms, playing around like they were bat wings. "Just as long as you don't try to suck my blood, I feel like you'd make a great vampire so far" she giggled at his comment.

After a sufficient amount of time hanging upside down he finally pulled himself up, and helped Bai He pull herself up as well "Ughhnn Everything is dizzy now" Bai He mentioned, her hand coming to rest on her forehead "Yeah, that'll happen if you hang upside down for too long" Wukong chuckled. They waited for Bai He's dizzy spell to be over before climbing back down from the monkey bars. It only made sense to run over to the roundabout next. Bai He grabbed hold of the handles and used her leg to get the momentum started "Monkey King, can you spin the thing faster? I wanna see how long I can hold on for" She smiled determinedly, gripping tightly on the handles, a few other kids noticed and held on as well. Wukong looked at the small group of kids and Bai He before smirking, "Alright, but don't blame me if you can't hold on long enough". He pushed the rounding about not too hard, can't send every kid flying off the machine before it even starts. They screamed and yelled for him to go faster, and who was he to deny? He continued pushing, watching as it started spinning faster.

A smile crept up on his face as he watched the kids all yell and scream for him to go faster, though some had the unfornance of being unable to hold on, falling off. They just bounced back as if nothing had happened. He saw Bai He cheering in happiness as she still held on better than most of the kids, even going so far as to wrap her arms around the handle for a better grip. "You having fun kiddo?" He asked, a slight chuckle escaping him, "YESSS!!" She screamed out before the final kid fell off the roundabout. "I win!" Bai He announced proudly attempting to stand up from the round about, only too immediately lose her balance and fall on her butt. "You sure did kid." He reached a hand up to help her stand up while the rest of the kids seemed to be going for another round on their own. "You doing alright?" He asked while she struggled to stand up straight, "Never better!" A large grin was plastered on her face. Well, he couldn't argue with that.

Thankfully, the final playground equipment didn't seem likely to make her dizzy again. A swingset, the one she was really eager about last time the two hung out, she sat down on the swing's seat and slowly pushed herself back, watching as she swung high into the air. "Hey, you said last time you could make me do two full 360s with a swing! Can you try now?" "I did?" Wukong questioned, good on her for having a better memory than he, because he does not remember making that promise. He glanced over to the bench where Macaque was and saw his gaze pinned directly on him and Bai He. "Uh- I dunno. Macaques watching, and I think he'd try to kill me if I did that" he hoped she wasn't too disappointed. Bai He's face fell a little "Aw man... Can you at least push me so I can go higher?" she asked more hopefully "That's something I can do," A fond feeling bubbled in his chest as she lightened up, pushing her on the swings, watching her go higher and higher with each small push.

Macaque watched the two play with a diligent eye, his ears fanned out, making sure to listen to every word spoken by the two. Sure, he may be acting paranoid, but he just couldn't help himself. He just didn't understand why Bai He seemed to enjoy herself so much around Wukong. He still didn't want to fully trust Wukong, trust that he could handle Bai He with the care he believed she deserved. He watched as she slid down the slide and came back out with frizzy hair, a sharp reminder that he should brush her hair when they get back home. He watched as she and Wukong giggled as she hung upside down by her legs, pretending to be a vampire. It was cute to watch Wukong help her up the bars again. The roundabout made Macaques' nerves fry, worried she might fall off and get seriously hurt, but she just laughed it off, even when she fell. And now the swings. Bai He loved the swings; she mentioned that she liked going very high, and when she was younger, would jump from the swing while she was high in the air. She did it once with him and hurt her ankle pretty badly after that. He didn't want her doing dangerous stuff like that again.

He was focusing so hard on the two in the swingset that he didn't notice when an older woman sat down next to him "If I was mistaken, I'd think you were trying to kill that man with your mind" she giggled at his jumpy reaction. He briefly glanced over "Ah- Ms Zhou. You sure know how to creep up on people without them noticing" He mutters, focusing back on the two, watching as Wukong gets on one of the other swings and goes along with Bai He. Ms Zhou was an aquentence with Macaque, he met her a few times while coming to the park, and the two have occasionally run into each other when he went afterwards. She had two young boys of her own, and they would sometimes play with Bai He and the others. The two sat in silence as Macaque continued to watch the duo have fun, while he sat on the bench.

Ms Zhou followed Macaque's gaze to Bai He and Wukong. "You don't normally let other adults around your kids. Did you finally get a boyfriend?" she playfully teased. His face flushed a little before he scoffed, mumbling into his hand "He's not my boyfriend. Just a friend... a babysitter that Bai He really liked. He offered to take her to the park last time he was here, and so here we are..." His tail twisted around the bench's leg to prevent it from thumping against the ground in annoyance. She raised a brow at what he said, almost like he didn't believe him. "Just a friend, huh? You sounded quite unsure there. I take it it's complicated?" He sighed heavily, sinking into the bench "Very, very complicated". She hummed softly at his stress. "I see... is that why you aren't playing with Bai He now?" Ms Zhou said, looking over to see Bai He attempt to push Wukong on the swings now, but she wasn't very good. Macaque looked back at her "No, I'm just... really tired. I don't think I have much playing energy in me today," He said, trying not to slump in the bench. He had been exhausted the past few days, using his unstable shadows so frequently, not to mention the shadow clones currently all over his home; it was even a miracle he was keeping himself awake.

"...I think you should still try to play with her." It was a simple suggestion, but he looked at her skeptically, waiting for her to continue "It's just that. Your kids grow up so fast. One minute they're playing in sandboxes and swinging on the swings, next they're wanting to go out with their friends instead of staying home... I think you should cherish these moments while you still have them. You never know when the last day they want to go to the park will be." She seemed to be speaking from experience, her eyes landing on her own two kids on the monkey bars. Macaque's expression softened as he continued to watch Wukong and Bai He.

That's right, she was going to grow up one day, be an obnoxious teenager one day, then a fully independent adult. She was already 11 now, how fast could he blink, and she could be 16. Ageing was a thing he stopped worrying about many centuries ago, when he and Wukong shared their first immortal peach together. It was a taste so divine, made even better by who he shared it with. As a result, most thoughts of ageing escaped him until just now. She wasn't going to stay a little girl forever, and he was currently spending some of those precious moments letting another person play with her while he watched. He couldn't lose that. What if this was the last time she would ask to go to the park with him? No. He wasn't going to let that happen. Despite his body telling him to sit back down for some rest, he was already walking over to Wukong and Bai He on the playset. Ms Zhou just watched with amusement as he stumbled forward.

He saw Bai He on top of the play set while Wukong looked up at her "What've you guys been playing?" He asked a bit awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. Before Wukong could question Macaques' sudden interest, Bai He spoke up, "We're playing pretend. I'm pretending to be a ballerina princess, and Monkey King is going to be the bad guy" She said in her cheery tone. Macaque couldn't help but smirk at Wukong's confusion "And! To make it even better, you can be my knight" she said, moving over to Macaque's side. Macaque was familiar with this game, apparently she played it a lot when she was younger with her dad at a different park "Well what if I don't want to be the knight?" He asked his tone not holding much seriousness, she huffed, "Knights don't get to object." "Fair enough I guess, sorry princess" he heard Wukong snickering at him, but he decided to pay it no mind.

"As my knight, I demand you take me to my castle, away from the evil king!" He rolled his eyes affectionately as he took her over her shoulders "Mind pointing out where the castle is then?" He asked. Bai He pointed to one of the tall trees that surrounded the playground "Of course, princess, I'll get you the safety. Can't have the nasty evil king catch us." He didn't miss the chance to take a jab at Wukong. "Not if I can help it!" Wukong announced with a poor attempt at an evil laugh as he chased after the two. "You won't catch us!" Bai He taunted from Macaques' shoulders. Despite being bone tired, he still made an effort to run towards the tree and help Bai He climb up. They made their way to one of the sturdier branches and watched Wukong from below "Can't get us up here now!" she taunted.

Though maybe challenging a monkey to tree climbing might've been a bad idea because Wukong laughed, already scaling up the tree. "That's what you think. I'm coming for both of you!" Bai He yelped before she and Macaque continued up the tree, climbing higher and higher. Macaque didn't really get the game itself, but he was just happy to see Bai He laugh and smile freely. They were reaching the top of the tree, and the branches were getting just a bit thinner. Bai He seemed fine, sitting on the very top and smiling down at the two monkeys chasing after her. It must have looked like quite a sight to passersby. Macaque was distracted, though. He looked up at Bai He, smiling down as he placed his foot on one of the thinner branches.

He used to have better reaction time, maybe this was a sign he was getting weaker, or he was too tired to do something as basic as react in time, but he didn't immediately react when he felt himself losing his footing. On a better day, he would've just made a shadow gate under his feet and reappeared fine, or just grabbed hold of a stronger branch to support himself. How embarrassing was it then when he just started falling? He heard Bai He gasp, attempting to grab his hand, but she wouldn't even have the strength to hold him up; she'd just get dragged along as well. Thankfully, she missed his hand. Unluckily for him, he was still falling. Just waiting to smash into numerous amounts of branches before hurting his back by falling to the ground.

Instead, he felt a pair of arms catch him, holding him tightly- like way too tightly. He froze up upon seeing who caught him, of course, it had to be that peach-brained bastard, looking down at him with an expression Macaque couldn't understand entirely. Concern? It couldn't be. He had no reason to be; Macaque's taken much worse hits and has been fine. Besides, why would he ever be concerned with him? He knew they were playing pretend, but that didn't mean he could just go looking at him like that. Wukong seemed to have realized he was holding Macaque for too long and let the other go, looking away nervously and mumbling an apology. Macaque didn't care what he had to say. He looked up and saw Bai He's scared expression, a heavy dose of guilt in her mannerisms, and the way she closed in on herself. He didn't want her to panic over nothing "I'm fine kiddo! Don't stress too much" He said in an easy tone, a smirk on his face.

He didn't see the way Wukong raised a brow at his easy-going reassurance, more for Bai He's sake than anything. Bai He slowly let out a sigh of relief "Okay!... Um... I think I'm done playing pretend. It wasn't as fun as I remember." Her tone was not as happy as it was before. Macaque tried to ignore the way her downcast expression squeezed at his heart "That's fine. Want to jump down then?" He waited for her to carefully climb back down before taking her in his arms. "Yeah! I'm kinda all pretend out as well. Playing a villain just doesn't suit me." Wukong tried joking to lighten the mood. Macaque made sure to check Bai He for any scratches or cuts on her face or legs. He still couldn't believe he fell like that. The second he wanted to join in and play with Bai He, he ruined the game and left the atmosphere tense.

Wukong felt very uncomfortable now watching Macaque fret over Bai He while her expression was downcast. He didn't want to leave on a bad note, so he just patted Bai He on the head "Don't look so down kid! Why don't we... Get something to eat! Yeah. That cheers me up" He smiled down at her. She seemed to pause "I mean... I am kinda hungry... Mr Macaque, can we get ice cream?" Bai He asked, tilting her head back up at him. Macaque seemed taken aback by the request, "I don't know about that kiddo..." The way he spoke made both Wukong and Bai He deflate. One set of puppy eyes was bad enough, but a second was even worse. He tsked at the sight, he didn't exactly have the pocket change to just willy nilly get ice cream 'The things I do to make this little girl happy' "Fine, but I'm only paying for our ice cream. You're buying your own Wukong," He sighed out, watching as the two moods lit up right then and there.

He sighed, a small smile forming at the scene, watching Bai He and Wukong cheer like that. Bai He was... thrilled. She was grinning so much he could see the way the muscles in her face were starting to hurt. And all because of... him. It felt nice to see the two so happy, over something so trivial as ice cream. A part of him felt he should thank Wukong in some way for catching him when he fell, and also for making Bai He so happy. But another part of him felt a pit in his stomach at the thought of Bai He growing close to Wukong, just for her to get hurt again. It wouldn't be the first time. He quickly cleared his throat to get their attention "Alright, c'mon, I'm not gonna waste a shadow portal for a shop down the street". He held out his hand for Bai He, but it never came. She was instead dragging Wukong ahead by the hand, stars in her eyes.

He must've looked like an idiot, his hand outstretched for no one to grab. That kept happening, huh? He quickly shoved his hand in his pocket and followed next to Bai He, his ears pinned to the side of his head, as there were a lot more people outside this time around, which meant more noise. "What flavor are you gonna get Monkey King?" Bai He asked as she finally let go of Wukong's hand to skip ahead of the two. Wukong just laughed a bit nervously, "Anything that's vegan friendly, I guess." "That's the one where you don't eat meat, right?" She asked, "Yeah, sorta. It's anything that has animal products in it" He corrected.

Macaque stood in line with Bai He by his side. Opening his wallet and looking down at what he had... He didn't have enough for everyone. He mentally sighed, scolding himself for promising something even when he was tight on money. He was doing mental math, seeing what he could get with the amount he had on hand... It was just enough for a medium serving and two small ones. Guess he was skipping out today.

Wukong stood in Line with Bai He and Macaque by his side. The line wasn't too long, just a few families and the odd couple getting ice cream together. He briefly mused on the thought that he, Bai He, and Macaque might look like a family to an outsider. He had already seen Macaque talking with a woman on the park benches earlier. He didn't have Macaques' six ears to hear to the corners of the world, so he didn't pick up on what they were talking about. However, a more egotistical part of him was wondering if they were talking about him and Bai He. He felt giddy at the thought. This already seemed to be a good outing, even getting to catch Macaque and hold onto him, how long has it been since they did that? He could still feel the phantom weight of the other in his arms. 

Wukong looked over to Macaquee was placing his order "1 medium cookies and cream, and 2 small vanilla" He said, sliding over the last remaining bills in his wallet to the person over the counter. Wukong piped in, "Do you have anything vegan or vegetarian?" he asked a bit hopefully. These kinds of places never really had many options for him in that regard "We have a new vanilla flavor that should meet that requirement" the worker spoke calmly "That'll do". The three waited off in the side for their orders to be done. "Buying two ice creams for yourself? You must want Bai He to strave." Wukong chuckled. Macaque just rolled his eyes "Aren't you supposed to be paying for your own stuff right now?" "Oh right..." The three of them waited a bit more until they were given their ice creams, eating and walking back home.

Bai He was once again skipping ahead as Macaque was holding the two uneaten small cups of ice cream. Wukong watched as they slowly melted "Ice cream isn't as good if you let it melt" he helpfully reminded the other through a mouthful of his own treat. Macaque just shrugged, "I like it better that way." Wukong just raised a brow; he wanted to point out that Macaque was lying, but he bit his tongue. Why lie about that? It's just sometimes so small it should be inconsequential. Macaque seemed to take great pleasure in watching others squirm and get tangled in his words. Wukong thought it was endlessly frustrating.

He watched Bai He throw her empty container in a public trash can, with him following soon. Macaques' place wasn't too far out now. He watched as Bai Hes' steps seemed to turn from overly energetic skips to a slower stumble. She must've been tired. The home slowly came into view and the three of them walked back in until they were in the living room "You should shower. You and your clothes are all dirty" macaque mentioned to Bai He "Alright. It was nice seeing you again Monkey King!" despite Macaques earlier comments about being dirty, she ignored them as she wrapped Wukongs lower body in a hug. Wukong was briefly caught off guard but returned it with a bright grin "Of course! It was nice seeing you too! Don't be a stranger now. Go get cleaned up now" He ushered away. There was the faint sound of footsteps before the bathroom door clicked.

Now it was just the two of them in the living room. The silence rang heavy, and Wukong was never a fan of silence. "...That was fun." He spoke, trying to ease the slight tension. Macaque didn't respond right away. Instead, he moved towards the kitchen, placing the almost-soup ice creams in the freezer. Wukong followed after, "I mean it! Bai He seemed to be having fun until you ... your welcome for that by the way." Wukong muttered the last part, not even bothering to look at Macaque as he stared at the empty countertop. "Bai He really likes you." Macaque said flatly, his usual snark in tone gone. It was spoken as if it were a matter of fact, which caught Wukong off guard. "Yeah, I guess she does." Wukong scratched the back of his neck. What was Macaque getting at? "...I was watching you two play. She hasn't smiled like that in a while." Now Wukong was really curious what Macaque's expression was.

"Well I'm glad I got to make her happy." He wondered if Macaque could hear the smile in his tone. Macaque went silent again. Hauntingly so "...Bud-" "Don't." Any words Wukong was going to say died in his throat. The silence remained, and Wukong was starting to wonder if he should leave now. "If I..." What was Macaque getting choked up about? "If I let you two hang out, do you promise to keep making her happy?" His voice was barely above a whisper when he spoke, as if even the air between them was too fragile to hold them. "You... Actually mean that?" Wukong was wondering if this was just another one of Macaque's attempts to get a reaction out of him. "That doesn't answer my question." Macaque's tone was sharper. Wukong nodded his head, "Y-Yeah! I promise!" He didn't mean to stammer, but he really didn't want to mess this up.

"I can't control whatever happens between the two of you. As much as I didn't want you near you at all" Macaques finally moved, seeming to try and distract himself with cooking. Reaching into the cabinets for something easy for dinner. Wukong frowned "Do you seriously distrust me that much?" It sounded like such a stupid question, but Wukong felt the need to voice it anyhow. Macaque didn't answer him immediately. The only sound being echoed was the sound of running faucet water. "Don't you have training tomorrow with Mk? You should leave so as not to get home so late." It wasn't so much a suggestion as a subtle demand to leave. Wukong didn't want to. He wanted to stay and question Macaques' strange behaviour, to just talk. But Macaque didn't. He sighed heavily, turning heel "Right. Yeah. I'll get going then... It was nice seeing you. And tell Bai He I said bye as well." Macaque gave a small nod, and so Wukong took his final steps towards the door and clicked it behind him.

Macaque waited until he heard Wukong transform into a bird before letting his head fall into his hands. Wiping away tears he didn't dare let shed. He let out a sigh of relief that sounded shakier than he wanted it to. Admitting that Wukong made Bai He happy made his stomach churn with worry beyond. Wukong made him happy at some point. He was his sun. His sole reason for even clinging to hope to begin with. He made him feel as light as a cloud and made him smile wider than anyone else could. He doesn't want Bai He to fall into that same pitfall. Wukong had changed. He had seen that. But he just couldn't risk Bai He getting hurt like he did. He can't have her turn into him. A broken fool that's still stuck in the past. He tries to focus on dinner. Because that's easier to think about.

Unbeknownst to the two monkeys in the living room. Bai He had pressed her head against the wall, her hands lightly gripping the wall for support as she heard their exchange. She heard the way Macaque agreed to let the two interact more, and she heard the way Monkey King sounded so sad when he asked if Macaque distrusted him. She stood there silently, not knowing what to think. They were fighting over her, it seemed. She slowly slid down the wall till her knees met her chest. Was that just how it always had to be? The people she cares about fighting and arguing with? All over her. She should be happy. But how can she when her happiness seems to keep coming at others' expense?

She pulled her pink headband out of her hair and saw how dirty it had gotten. Her fingers were trying to rub the dirt out. It only made it worse. Small tears fell down her cheeks. That didn't help her mood at all. She stood back up and left her headband on the bathroom sink. Turning on the shower to let it drown out any sniffling she was doing. Bai He knew Macaque could hear her if she did cry, and then he would worry over her. She didn't want him to worry. It was suffocating to both of them. She was suffocating. She grabbed a towel and looked at the mirror. She smiled. Watched as it smiled back, before turning her head away. She didn't want to see her when she wasn't feeling her best.