Can't Teach an Old Monkey New Tricks

P is for Please Ignore Me!

"Great job, Bud!" Wukong cheered. MK grumbled from where he was face-planted on the ground. Redson was in a similar state, hunched over on his knees. Wukong may have been a little hard on them this time around, but conditioning is hard for everyone. Or at least it should be. "Now, where did Mei go-"

"Hey, Wukong!" Mei popped up, sticks and leaves in her hair. "Look at this weird bug I found!"

"Oh! Look at that guy!" Wukong chuckled, inspecting the multi-colored bug Mei was holding. "Hold on, I think I know this one." He pulled his journal out and flipped through a few pages. "Aha! A spotted Lantern Fly! I caught one of these guys the other day! Did you know that these guys are invasive in so many other countries?"

"Ugh, you're starting to sound like Tang!" Mei groaned, releasing the bug.

"Yeah, who knew teaching him how to read would turn him into such a nerd?" MK laughed, pushing himself up. Wukong scoffed.

"Everyone likes learning things!" He huffed, snapping his journal shut and shoving it back in his tunic. "I mean, that's what you guys are doing here!"

"Yeah, but learning how to fight is actually useful!" Mei said before tilting her head. "Wait, you didn't know how to read? MK's been teaching you?"

"Uh, yeah, it's kinda a thing we've been doing... Not that you need to worry about it!" Wukong patted her head, picking out a few sticks and leaves. "And knowing about bugs is important. I just said that Lantern Flies were invasive in several places-"

"How come you didn't ask me to help?" Mei asked MK, fleeing from Wukong.

"I didn't want to embarrass him by telling everyone he couldn't read!"

"Wukong? Embarrassed? Never," Macaque said from behind Wukong. He jumped and whipped around, fur poofing out. "How's training?"

"Good..." Wukong fixed his fur, ignoring the pounding in his chest.

Upon realizing his feelings and desires, Wukong had no idea what to do about it. How do people usually deal with those feelings? Would it even work for him? Would it work for Macaque? What would he have to read to figure it out? So, instead of going through that headache, he decided not to do anything (right now). He and Macaque were still working on things; inserting his feelings into this fragile relationship would break everything really fast. Wukong had just gotten Macaque back; there was no way he was going to lose him to something like this.

"Peaches, I got something for you."

"You did-" Wukong interrupted himself with a gasp, forgetting what he was thinking about. "A red Spider Lily!?"

"Yup!" Macaque held out the potted plant to him. "I happened to stumble across someone at the market whose fields were the perfect conditions for these guys."

"Oh, my stars!" Wukong excitedly grabbed the pot, raising the flower above his head as if it were the most divine thing in the world. "They're so pretty! I didn't think I'd ever see one of these on the mountain! I need to find somewhere where these can take root!"

"You can just make a garden, Peaches," Macaque chuckled. Wukong turned pink.

"R-right, duh!" Wukong cleared his throat. "I've been meaning to do that anyway! But first!" He turned his gaze on the group of kids gaping at the two. "Mei still needs to do her conditioning."

"You go start your garden, Peaches," Macaque hummed, his tail brushing along Wukong's. "I'll handle training for the Dragon girl."

Wukong laughed, holding his new plant close. "Okay. Don't go too hard on her!"