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"hm.. how odd... it's far too early for me to be awake yet."
You muttered to yourself as you sat up from your mattress on the floor. The sun hadn't even risen yet, the sky was still a soft shade of periwinkle
You stood up and stretched for a few minutes before going back to your mattress and folding up the blankets and putting aside the pillows
The city was a lot quieter than usual. A few cars passed by, and the sound of people going to their morning jobs, and people opening shops, were all drowned out by the white noise.
You opened up the window to let some air and sunlight in, the feeling of the chilly air meeting your face....it made the morning seem peaceful
After cleaning up the room, you walked to the bathroom and took a nice shower.
As you were putting on your top, you headed down to the kitchen- ready to prepare some breakfast until you noticed the container of untouched pills you left on the counter
You had left them there and even put a note on it last night when you started to Macaque struggle a bit with his recovery- constant pained groans, back pain, and struggle to move his right shoulder.
You weren't too familiar with this place's type of medication but it seemed more effective and easier to obtain so you put in the effort of going out in the middle of the night to buy him some medicine...
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with some help of course...
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━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ
Tang slept soundly as he hugged his pillow close to his body, he let out a sigh of relief as it had been a tiring day... well as tiring as running around and complaining can be...
His eyebrows furrowed as he felt a weight near the edge of his bed, normally he would just ignore it in favor of getting more sleep but this time he slowly turned and opened his eyes
"Good evening."
"AHH-"
Tang immediately yelled as he saw a figure on the foot of his bed, his scream eventually started to die down as he slowly realized how.. familiar the figure seemed
He kept his gaze on the figure as his hands reached to grab his glasses and hurriedly put them on.
It wasn't that dark, a few rays of light peaking through the window and slightly illuminating the figure that was in front of him, he squinted his eyes and focused a little bit more until-
"Y/N?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE??"
Tang was not only confused but also scared shitless, I mean who wouldn't be? Imagine if just when you thought you would finally be able to sleep and get a good night's rest but suddenly there was a menacing and tall figure looming over your bed, you'd understandably be scared (I mean unless you're into that)
"Hello Tang, I came here to seek your help on something."
Your frame remained as still as a statue, completely unfazed by Tang's loud screams. It made you a bit irritated but you went there to get something done and you sure weren't leaving until then
"Couldn't this wait until morning or something?!"
Tang sat up from his bed and rubbed his eyes, poor guy just wanted some sleep and now he had to deal with you, he didn't mind of course but it still bothered him a bit, and his much-needed beauty sleep
"No. My question pertains to medicine. What type of perception would you give to someone who is experiencing back pain. "
You said nonchalantly. You found yourself a bit confused about why Tang found this situation quite frightening, it wasn't like you were going to kill him. Was it not normal to wake up to your friend standing at the end of your bed in the middle of the night?
Tang sighed and removed his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose
"Maybe some Ibuprofen could ease some back pain? Wait- why do you ask this anyways..? Are you alright?"
Tang glanced up at you with slight concern laced in his comment
" It's not for me, it's for a friend "
Seeing people worry about your well-being always left a bitter and guilty taste in your mouth, you found it unnecessary for someone to worry about you especially if it was about the slightest of things.
Tang let out a sigh of slight solace and loosened up his posture.
Noticing Tang's relaxed state, you found it to be the perfect time to just up and leave since you attained what you needed from him, you did not want to disturb him any further.
Clearing your throat you bowed your head toward Tang
"Well, I will be leaving now. Thank you for your assistance."
In a blink of an eye, you practically vanished from Tang's sight. He had a dumbfounded look on his face as his head darted around the room, his glasses being slightly crooked now since he had been rubbing his eyes. He began to question whether or not you had actually been there or if he was just hallucinating from lack of sleep. He simply just shrugged his shoulder and headed back to bed.
"wait how did she even get in-"
━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ
You let out a sigh and walked towards the kitchen counter to examine the bottle of pills and inspected to see if the seal was still intact and surely enough, there wasn't a single scratch on its surface
You began to ponder why Macaque didn't take the medication, was he no longer experiencing pain or something? But if he still was wouldn't it help him if he took the medicine rather than let his pride get to him and have him simply 'walk it off'?
You shook your head and put away the medication and stepped closer to the kitchen cabinets
"Perhaps some breakfast could help..?"
You mutter to no one in particular as you tucked aside your hair and grabbed an apron to start cooking some basic breakfast, perhaps he knew that the medicine did not taste well on its own and needed to be paired with something, you had read somewhere, and witnessed some people who wouldn't take medication unless they had something sweet or tasty to wash it down or to eat with, perhaps he was one of those types of people
You grabbed a notepad that you carried almost everywhere that contained various random notes but also had a few recipes listed down thanks Pigsy, he was a bit hesitant to give his recipes but thought someone like you wouldn't have any ill intention with cooking recipes
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You finished making breakfast quicker than expected.
Putting away your apron you picked up the nicely placed breakfast that was on a tray that you were planning to bring to Macaque.
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You knocked on Macaque's door while your other hand perfectly balanced the tray with the breakfast you made.
"Good Morning. Please open the door, Macaque."
The door creaked open and revealed a tired-looking Macaque who was still in a simple tank top and some pants, his eyes were still squinting and it was quite apparent that he had just woken up
"Breakfast."
You offered the tray to him, waiting for his response or for him to accept it.
"oh... you made me breakfast."
Macaque narrowed his eyes in both surprise and suspicion.
He opened the door slightly, just to make enough space for you to be able to enter but not too much to make him seem too inviting
He sat down on a mattress placed on the floor near a large one-way window in his room, You followed him and closed the door behind you with your unoccupied hand
You carefully placed the tray of breakfast to the side of the mattress and pulled out the bottle of medicine and placed a pill beside the tall glass of water
"I noticed you left the medicine untouched. Is there any reasoning for this?"
You sat down beside him with your body facing the window so it would be weird if you were facing his direction and watched him eat
"Oh, you noticed.. of course, you would...I just don't like the taste of medicine.."
Macaque replied as he looked away, it was a bit embarrassing for him to have such a childish excuse and to have him be called out by you, but it wasn't his fault that medicine tasted a lot different to him compared to how humans tasted it, perhaps it was heightened sense or perhaps it was just him being picky
You pondered for a moment, thinking of a possible way to get him to take the medicine and help him recover quicker. Turns out you were correct about your presumption earlier. You then remembered that sometimes Mei would offer you sweets and candy bars just to see your reaction to the unfamiliar treats, maybe you still had some in your jacket. You reached your hand into the inner pocket of your jacket and pulled out a small wrapped-up piece of candy
"Eat this right after you take the medicine. I assume that you might have found the medicine bitter so eating something sweet might help."
You place the piece of candy beside the tall glass of water alongside the medicine
Macaque was a little taken aback by this, though he didn't show it.
In his perspective, your act of kindness seemed like it was out of nowhere, but here you were suddenly acting all.. nice to him even after his fight with Wukong. Your actions left him puzzled because when he fought Wukong and literally manipulated Mk, he expected you to hate him since he knew that you had gotten close with the kid and would probably defend him with your life.
But despite all his thoughts and theories about this intricate plot you probably have up your sleeve deep down.. somewhere he may or may not have enjoyed the feeling of having someone care for him... Even though he acted all tough and independent he knew that he was hurt
He knew that the fight with Wukong was useless
He just felt like he needed to let off some steam
He knew he was angry at Wukong
He knew hurt them, You knew he hurt them.
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But why were you being so kind to him? Granted- it wasn't like you were spoiling him and tending to his every need or completely pampering him with affection but even if you had done none of those, you still showed that you cared for him through the simplest of actions
Like buying him medicine, tending to his wounds, making him food, and... Treating him like a... Friend
Was that how you saw him?
Was that how he saw you?
A friend..?
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No.. he doesn't see you that way...
At least
He couldn't.
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"Macaque..? The food is getting cold"
Your voice snapped Macaque out of his trance, he nodded his head and shifted his gaze toward the food you prepare for him since he realized that he'd been staring at you the whole time he was spacing out. He shook his head and cleared his throat
'I shouldn't be thinking about that stuff- let alone be bothered by it'
He thought as he placed the tray on his lap and started eating away at the breakfast, it was.. nice
It made him feel warm.
There he goes again, doing the complete opposite of what he just told himself to do
'Heavens.. what is going on with me.. '
He furrowed his eyebrows as his face displayed a look of annoyance and frustration at himself, but he couldn't stop himself from questioning all your little actions, he couldn't help his thoughts run wild with all the odd possibilities on why you acted the way you did...
His original plan was to have you as backup, get you on his side as an ally, and turn you against them- while he certainly still wanted to do that, he had only changed his plan once he started... Observing you and your time spent with Mk and his friends
He chewed down on the food with slight aggression as he thought
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Meanwhile, you were still in a sort of daydream-like trance as you looked out the window, you weren't exactly in deep thought nor were you planning something, you kinda just.. sat there
When your eyes wandered over to Macaque who had a pensive look on his face as he ate, it made you a bit curious or more confused about his acts, did he not enjoy the food? You swore you followed all the instructions and bought the correct ingredients... You shrugged and jotted it down to a guess, he probably just wasn't used to that type of breakfast
'I should ask him his preferred meals next time to avoid this.. '
You sighed and reached your hands out to grab the tray off of his lap since he seemed like he had no interest in eating any more than just a few bites until Macaque grabbed your wrists and stopped you from taking the tray
"What're you doing.?"
He looked you dead in the eyes, he was so distracted a few minutes ago but now all of his attention was on you, and you only
"I thought you didn't like your breakfast, judging by how you acted"
You answered back
At the mention of you noticing his previous actions and mannerisms, his eyes widened for a brief moment and then he blinked in a dumbfounded manner. How did you notice almost every single thing he did, even the smallest of actions?
"N-...no, I like it."
There was a slight stutter at the beginning of Macaque's voice which you found odd, stuttering was often a sign of hesitation or false statement. Whatever his reasons were however it seemed like he was dead set on not letting you touch the tray of food
"I see."
You just sat there silently, waiting for Macaque to remove his grip on your arm
Macaque didn't notice this as quickly as he probably should have, but when he did he quickly withdrew his hand and turned away from you in a huff as he went back to eating.
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Y
ou held the notepad you were previously writing on a while ago, you were walking again in the not-so-friendly streets of a certain part of Megapolis
After the whole breakfast situation with Macaque, everything died down and you eventually decided to leave the Dojo in hopes that Macaque would get some rest and also since you needed to get some work done. Macaque just shrugged and nodded, oddly enough he gave you the keys to the dojo and told you to keep them, you didn't want to disturb him any further since he seemed to be at peace when he was alone.. or that's what you thought at least
Jotting down and cleaning up a few notes, you ripped out some of the messy pages. You disliked how your pen's ink would sometimes just stop working- leading to messy writing. You should really invest in some high-quality material since this was for your work after all, and you felt like it often got a bit irritating when you would look through your notes and find that you hadn't cleaned them up and redone them yet.
This time you were not only just tasked to now keep tabs on Mk and his group of friends alongside any other important characters, but your assistant had also informed you that you needed to write an updated version of each of their descriptions after each report
You did feel slightly.. guilty.. that you were partially only spending time with them cause of your job.
But work was work and at the end of the day you would just be a mere memory of theirs, they wouldn't even notice if you suddenly just disappeared from their lives.
You tapped your pen against your chin as you got to your notes about Wukong.
All you had written was:
-taken Mk as his successor
Which was not very detailed.. to say the least. Nothing about his personality, nothing about his objectives, ideas, and other important information. Now that you thought about it.. you had never really recalled spending some time with Wukong compared to the others
With Mk, you would usually be looking after him literally and figuratively. You two would often go on "side quests" as Mk said, it was actually more like a walk around the outskirts of the city and Mk ranting and telling you all about his day, the way he was comfortable with telling you all about his day brought a small smile on your face as you would listen to him eagerly talk about random topics that were unfamiliar to you but you still listened to him nonetheless.
With Mei, it was a bit awkward after the whole fiasco at her family estate but after that, it was all just hanging out and talking to each other, sharing hobbies and interests. Bot Mei and Mk were the more tech-savvy ones that got you more informed about their technology, which your easily understood for the sake of both of them. Mei was also the one who bought your phone a new phone case and a phone charm to match with hers, you did not understand why she seemed so happy about it but it was cute.
With Tang and Pigsy it would be when you were at the shop, just some small conversation, maybe a few reading together and that's it, maybe some cooking and stuff
With Sandy it was.. comforting.. despite his bulky and buff presentation, he was a very soft and caring being. Sometimes you would ask questions about Moe.. "such an interesting creature." You would state while watching Moe accidentally knock over a vase
Even Redson! You would often bump into each other and end up hanging out in some way or another, Redson would trail behind you or hold onto the end of your sleeve when both of you were in crowds, and he would often be confused about how you could navigate through crowds so quickly and easily. Sometimes you both are some street food- where he would complain about the lack of spice and insult the chefs under his breath.
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But out of everyone.. you didn't really see The Great Sage in your day-to-day life...
This would be a problem, since aside from Macaque- Wukong was someone you had to watch out for the most, his impulsive nature and immense strength were not the best combinations when it came to you having to write his motives... For all you knew he probably didn't even have any or if he did it was presumably something obscure
"Hm.."
You hummed to yourself as you once again tapped your pen at the end of your chin while you were in deep thought
"What if I pay him a visit?.."
"But that would be a bit odd since I don't have Mk with me.."
"But then again, we did know each other before Mk.."
You aimlessly walked through the many many alleyways as your thoughts wondered and weighed your options.
Despite the fact that creepy people were always guaranteed to be found in alleyways and the nooks and cracks of the city, somehow you hadn't bumped into one yet which surprised you...
Though for others, when a person even dared to look at you, they would immediately start rethinking their decision when they witnessed the way you walked, the serious look on your face, and the huge ass sword you carried on your back- to say you looked intimidating was an understatement.. especially when you had this scary looking shadow follow you wherever you went as the shadow practically glared at anyone and everyone who dared to breathe in your direction
Eventually, you reached a small agreement with yourself
You would finally visit him, yourself...
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It was a fairly manageable hike along the mountain path.
The trees calmly swayed and rustled as the sound of wind filled your ears. The soft and serene state of nature around you caught your eye
It was rare for you to enjoy scenery like this.. just admiring the sights
You already headed to Flower Fruit Mountain a few hours ago and when you had arrived there, you were surprised to see that there was not a single trace of Wukong anywhere -just his little monkey buddies who may or may not have tackled you when you arrived there- so you decided to go to his.. so-called "Shame Temple"
The dirt path you followed slowly varied into a stone path. you knew you were heading the correct way.
After a few more minutes you arrived at the foot of the Temple, you were about to put down your small bag of food that you brought when the door flew wide open
"Finally! My noodles have arrived-"
"Oh."
Wukong quickly shut his mouth at the sight of you on the steps of the Temple
You both blinked at each other as silence overcame the entire scene
"Hello Wukong, I apologize for I am not here to deliver your food."
You broke the silence with your always ever-so-nonchalant tone as you bowed to him
"Y/n?! Hey! What brings you here?"
Wukong's confused stare quickly simmered down into a look of shock and pleasant surprise at the sight of you
"Just to spend some time with you or to 'hang out' I suppose.. "
Your words held truth and a hint of a lie, In all honestly you felt like it was more of an investigation or an interrogation of sorts rather than spending time leisurely with one another
Meanwhile, Monkey King was a bit surprised at your words. When you were at Flower Fruit Mountain with Mk it seemed like you only decided to spend time with him for Mk's sake and so that things weren't awkward. Even when you two were sparring, Wukong felt like you were only there to spar- this explains the lack of 'flashy' moves, he felt like your only goal was to put up a decent fight...
He found it odd that you would willingly spend time with him, let alone be the one to make the first move
But.. he welcomed your actions nonetheless
Soon Wukong lead you to a more isolated part of the temple, the entire structure was overgrown with vines and trees of different types, the sunlight barely able to peek through the vast amount of greenery.. it was pretty
You both sat down by a small table, you then emptied the food you had from your bag and placed them on the table in front of you
"Eat. The food is still warm.."
You softly smiled at Wukong as you placed the food In front of him, You had prepared some noodles with a few side dishes, they were all still steaming warm
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Wukong felt something stir inside of him the moment you smiled and took out the food from your bag.. he had never really seen you with a genuine smile on your face before- he was obviously being overdramatic but it was rare to see you smile nowadays, and when you did it would usually be a smile just for manners or for formalities... But to see you smile genuinely.. it made him.. happy
His thoughts were filled with all sorts of questions like;
'is she making fun of me?'
'she's smiling..'
'does she like the temple?'
'I hope she does.. '
'is she happy....with me?'
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You were eating the dumplings as you enjoyed the calm atmosphere around the two of you, you felt that you really couldn't stop gushing out about how gorgeously the overgrown vines clung onto the wall that was decorated with cracks and crevices
Though despite how distracting the scenery was, your gaze drifted to Wukong who had kept his eyes on you, it seemed like he was stuck in a trance. You wondered if he was simply just spacing out or if he was admiring you so you decided to snap him out of his trance-like state
"Wukong?"
Wukong's eyes widened as he was quick to avert his gaze, he hasn't realized that he had been starring at you for quite a while now- okay maybe he did know that he was starring but it wasn't his fault,
he could barely keep his eyes off of you for a single moment.
"Uh- yeah? Somethin' wrong?"
Wukong cleared his throat and fixed his posture to sit up straight, almost mirroring your formal characteristics, he felt nervousness tingle through his body as he has just gotten caught staring at you, the nervousness was akin to that feeling of having to go on stage to perform but you didn't know what you were doing
"You're food is getting cold. Do you not enjoy the meal I prepared?"
You asked the Monkey that was sitting across from you, you tilted your head to the side. You felt confused. You had sworn that you had followed Pigsy's recipes, perhaps you hadn't bought the correct type of ingredients, perhaps the wrong size of carrots. You couldn't believe that this would happen again, did magical monkeys always have something against your cooking?
"-uh Of course not! I enjoy the food! I love it! It tastes amazing actually-"
Wukong was quick to deny your claim, instead countering it with a bunch of compliments.. maybe too many compliments- he quickly bit his tongue once he realized that he was saying too much
"Ahem... I mean - I enjoy the food, I was just thinking about something"
Wukong cleared his throat and explained in a more calm manner, hopping to not make you question him
"Ah, I see. "
You spoke softly, almost in a whisper.
The two of you ate in silence. For you, it felt nice... you felt as though the homemade food had helped remove a bit of the awkward tension you two had previously when you first saw each other- due to its natural warmth
You felt comfortable in his presence. Wukong always had this warm and bright aura around him, despite how much you disliked his unruly and his impulsive behavior... you couldn't help but feel drawn to his personality.. his comforting presence. You wondered if it was because you two had a past together
Your past.. with him
You quietly reminisced on your memories with him.. your hand- holding chopsticks, slowly reached towards the plate of dumplings.. dumplings
━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ
You sat under one of the peach trees, shading yourself from the hot weather. The bright sun seeped through the leaves of the peach tree, illuminating only certain spots with a golden glow
It was already noon and you found yourself getting a bit hungry. It was odd.
Normally you could go days without food- due to the grueling training you underwent, so it confused you on why you craved food since you had eaten breakfast.. or did you? You couldn't remember.
The sound of bushes rustling caught your attention but you didn't move away from your spot under the tree.. after all, you knew it was just him
The cheeky simian had a mischievous smile on his face as he popped out of the bushes and yelled in an attempt to scare or shock you at the very least. He quickly tackled you to the ground, leaves sprawling around the two of you
As he held his staff to pin you down but you had also kept your grasp on the staff and struggled to get him off you
"Hey, Y/n!!"
The monkey had his signature closed-eyed smile on his face, he backed away and got off of you
"Good afternoon, Wukong"
You greeted him with a smile as you playfully punched the side of his shoulder. He let out a dramatic whine in response and complained about how you were 'being too harsh on his lil' ol' self'
"Owch!"
You simply rolled your eyes and sat cris-crossed on the grass beneath you two, dusting off the leaves on your uniform
"Whatever.. what brings you here anyways? Aside from coming here to bother me Of course"
You finished dusting yourself off and looked at Wukong who was still pouting as he rubbed his shoulder
" Actually~ I brought you something! "
He smiled cheekily and pulled out a small container, seemingly out of thin air
"Hm? What's this... I swear if I open this and a snake comes out I will throw you to the sea"
You spoke with a joking tone as you reached your hands out to open the box
You opened it and it was some steamed soup dumplings
It looked fresh and there was still steam that flowed out of the box
Your gaze lifted back to Wukong who was already starring at you and holding up a pair of chopsticks for you to take
"You didn't steal this, did you..?"
You asked as you narrowed your eyes at him but still took the chopsticks from his hand
"Ehhh...Maybe... Maybe not"
He grinned and picked up another pair of chopsticks and ate one of the dumplings
"You are truly a handful, Wukong"
You sighed and a small smile was drawn onto your face and ate some of the dumplings as well... you couldn't deny that it tasted amazing, maybe because it was free or maybe because it was a kind gesture from Wukong
━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ
The smile on your face remained as you reminisced on the.. cute.. memory, but you reminded yourself it was a mere memory. An event in the past. And the past was something you had no interest in. Your interest was the future.. the future of your work
You felt something sink in your stomach.. right, you had a mission. You had a task that you had to accomplish.. but you also just wanted to take a break or two sometimes.. maybe someday.. one day... you would be allowed to bask in your feelings without worry...
That was it.
That was the feeling Wukong gave you. A calming sense, like a place you could always let loose at, a place where you felt comfy and warm
But that was a mere longing at the moment.
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You had a job to do.
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Focus on it.
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While your head was in the clouds, Wukong was trying his best to remain calm and just eat with you. It wasn't that he was having a hard time eating the food- it was just.. he was distracted by you
For some reason, even when Wulong tried to focus on eating, his eyes always drifted towards your figure that sat silently across from him. Even though you weren't really doing anything in particular- you were just zoning out a bit as you ate, Wukong was in tranced by you
Your quiet demeanor, the way you visibly calmed down, the way you looked so peaceful, the way your hands naturally picked up the food with not a single thought or say, the way you breathe-
'By the heavens- snap out of it you simian-!'
Wukong ripped his gaze away from you, he felt a bit embarrassed that he allowed himself to be so easily distracted by you to the point where he started to notice your breathing patterns
'imagine if she was able to read minds?! She would probably think you were a creep! '
He scolded himself for his improper behavior.
He knew you were only here for the sake of something important and you were trying to be friendly by bringing him food before you started asking him questions or something BUT he held out the hope that somehow maybe you were just there to spend time with him.
"Oh. New Year's is coming up... Do you have any plans?"
Wukong asked, he thought he was being sly. He wanted to spend more time with you, he wanted to reconnect and talk more and what better day to do that than New Year?
"hm. I believe I don't have any plans yet."
You spoke as you narrowed your eyes and thought. You wondered for a while if you actually had any plans or promises that day. You remembered that you didn't really have any plans for New Year.. nor did anyone really invite you to spend time with them
"Wanna spend the New Year on Flowers Fruit Mountain? Last time you were there I couldn't really show you around and y'know... "
Wukong mumbled as cheeks were still stuffed with food, his voice trailed off a bit at the end. He wanted to show her around, especially the spot where he kept all kinds of trinkets and other (probably very important) artifacts. She would probably be interested in some of them.. maybe he could gift her a new weapon even
"Oh, alright. I'd be glad to spend the new year's celebration with you."
You respond. You thought it would be a great chance to take a look around Flower Fruit Mountain since the last time you were there, you only got a glimpse of a few notable places.
Once Wukong heard your response, it took him all the strength and willpower he had to not make his tail start swaying around, she smiled and placed down his chopsticks
"Great! Ah- uhm.. actually can you excuse me real quick"
Wukong asked, you noticed his face held an expression of.. anxiety?
"Of course."
You nodded and continued to eat.
Wuking stood up and rushed to the inside of the temple, he couldn't hold it on any longer
Once he was sure you were out of earshot or sight, he began squealing around like a school girl who just got their confession accepted, the monkey was jumping around and giggling while his tail rapidly swished from side to side
"Yes yes yes!! I can't believe she actually said yes! Okay- okay calm down Wukong"
He told himself trying to calm himself down but even though he calmed down for a second, he went back to smiling like an idiot and getting all giddy
"Okay... Okay... New Year is in a few days and you need to make this the best celebration ever, you need to clean up the mountain, maybe get her some flowers- would she like flowers? Or maybe I should get her some peach chips! Nah but what if she doesn't enjoy its taste.. maybe I should just gift her a basket of peaches! To make it a bit symbolic and stuff.. yeah yeah.. nothing can ever go wrong with a basket of fruits as your gift!"
Wukong kept going on a rant, pacing back and forth in the room he was in as he rambled on and on about how he was gonna make this the best and most memorable New Year you had probably experienced.. probably since he knew nothing could top what happened when you were celebrating new years with Nezha-
As he rambled on, he noticed the painted mural of Tang Sanzang, he swore it was starring at him with this smug expression the whole time he rambled
"Don't go lookin' at me like that! Y'know how important this is to me"
He pointed his finger at the mural as he narrowed his eyes at it. He sighed and pouted.. this really was gonna be important to him.. he wanted it to go perfectly
Wukong snapped himself out of his thoughts when he noticed he had left you for a few minutes now, he quickly stood up and rushed back to the garden area outside of the temple, where you two ate
He found you already cleaning up the food and packing up the extras into containers
"oh, you're done already? Y'know you could've called for me. I could've helped you pack up"
Wukong walked towards you and picked up the remaining containers and placed them neatly into your bag, he didn't want you doing all the work
"Hm... Wukong. "
You spoke, calling out his name but your gaze was still fixated on the containers you were tidying up
Wukong looked up and starred up at you, he let out a small 'huh?' he wondered what you were gonna tell him
"Let's go for a walk down this mountain. I quite enjoy the scenery and it would be a waste to bask in it all alone."
Wukong's eyes widened when he heard you speak... you were also inviting him for a walk? He swore he had to hold himself back from pinching himself because he thought that this was just a dream, not only had you two eaten lunch together, but he also successfully invited you to a New Year (date) and now you two were also going on a walk down the mountain?!
"Of course!- ahem, uh I mean- sure, why not"
Wukong nodded eagerly
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Footsteps were heard along the stone path, as you and your companion traversed along the path of the mountain, leading to its edge. The sun was setting already, coating its light in a golden hue that passed through the greenery of the trees and wildlife.
"BUT THEN I WAS LIKE- Nuh uh guys! That is totally the same demon and she's just tricking you! But they didn't believe me! "
The calm state of the landscape was disturbed by Wukong's loud voice, retelling one of his many stories. You had practically heard it all when it came to Wukong's tales, he used to tell you one every single day and he would call it his 'story times'
You sighed as he retold a certain story that he already told you a while ago, but you didn't have the heart to tell him that you already knew what happened, you swore you could almost recite the story word for word if you wanted to
" It was totally not my fault too! Right? I mean if I told you the person you were talking to was some shape-shifting demon, you would believe me, right? "
He looked towards you with his brow raised
" Hm, Depends. "
You uttered under your breath with a small grin on your face, maybe you could pull on his leg a bit
"I knew you would agre- WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN DEPENDS?!"
The monkey stared at you with wide eyes and feigns offense, he lets out an overdramatized gasp, his hand landing on his chest
"it depends if you seem trustworthy enough, for all I could know you could just be playing one of your elaborate pranks on me"
You spoke back to him, attempting to hide the small grin that slowly crept up to your face after seeing his reaction, you always found his overdramatic nature to be quite fun, especially when he was the one being teased
" AH- wait yeah you actually have a good point.. "
Wukong was about to say something in order to defend himself but he remembered that she actually had a point, he wasn't exactly the most honest of people/deities back then...
"See? I stand correct."
You stated matter-of-factly with a smile creeping on your face, his dumbfounded expression looked cute.
" Well- either way! They didn't trust me and you know what happened next? I literally got kicked out! Well not really but-"
Wukong continued to voice out his story. As he told you the continuation of the tale, his words were more emphasized alongside his dramatic hand gestures and other theatrical-like acts.
You let out an audible laugh when you heard him complain about how he was completely correct.
'His personality can be a bit loud and overbearing sometimes but.. his silly antics bring a smile to my face'
Meanwhile, Wukong was engrossed in his dramatic storytelling- when he heard you laugh at his voice acting and his storytelling, he swore his heart stopped.
He went quiet for a moment and his eyes drifted to you, your eyes were closed and you were laughing while clutching your stomach... Something in his stomach twisted in a weird way, he felt the need to keep you happy, to continue to make you smile.. to laugh
Your laughter dies down and you slowly opened your eyes again, your hands went to wipe away the small tears at the ends of your eyes. After you cleared your throat you went back to look at Wukong only to see him starring back at you
You two stared at each other for a moment, you raised your brow
"Is something wrong?"
Confused, you asked Wukong since he seemed to be spacing out, you thought he might be thinking of something
"Oh! Uh.. eh... I was just thinking about.. your bag! Yeah! Your bag looks heavy, let me carry it for you!"
Wukong snatched your bag with his tail and held it in his arms
"You do know that I could've carried it myself, right?"
You sent a questioning look in his direction, why would he hold something for someone who could very well do it on their own, you knew he meant no harm but you felt a bit.. undermined? Like maybe he thought you weren't strong enough to carry your own bag- which you sure as hell were
"I know but I am a gentleman"
He spoke jokingly, a confident aura surrounding him, he noticed how you might have misinterpreted his actions and was quick to use humor to lighten up the situation
" Wukong we both know that you are far from being a gentleman"
You sighed and let it go, maybe he was just doing it for the sake of doing it? Or maybe he just did it cause he liked you, you wouldn't know.
"Hey! At least I try"
He gasped and flipped his hair or fur- in this scenario- and sassily walked along the trail
" I know, I know-"
You sighed with a smile on your face, his sassy behavior made you grin a bit. You followed him slowly before he accidentally tripped on a branch and tumbled down the path
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You closed the doors to the dojo shut, the sound echoing through the building. It felt quiet. You carefully walked towards the kitchen, your senses heightened due to the odd feeling in the air
You placed your bag on the counter and emptied it out, you carefully put the container filled with the leftover food near the sink.
As you prepared to reheat the food so you had something to snack on while doing work, this creeping sensation wouldn't leave you no matter what, it made you feel like something was wrong. very wrong... It gave an odd sense of dread despite the rather boring and tedious task you were doing
You tried to pay no mind to it, focusing your gaze on the sizzling pan that was frying the rice.. though you felt uneasy every time you had to focus your eyes on one thing knowing that something else could be creeping behind you without your knowledge.
You shook your head and turned off the stove, you placed the fried rice in a bowl. You placed the rest of the food on a tray that you would bring upstairs...
Speaking of which-
"I wonder where Macaque is.."
When you would return to the dojo, he would usually be sat on the beanbag chair or he would be training.
Maybe that's what gave you that odd feeling.. knowing that Macaque wasn't there just felt.. amiss
"Perhaps he's out in the city again..."
"But it's already far later than he usually is out for.. "
" Stop worrying... you sound like an overbearing mother.. "
Your inner thoughts had a small argument as you walked up the stairs while carrying the warm food, you instinctively stopped for a moment. You looked at Macaque's room...
"Maybe.. knocking wouldn't hurt..."
You walked towards his door and knocked on it
"Macaque..? -"
The door slightly creaked open without you even pushing or nudging it
You decided to take a small peek inside
ㅤ
It was empty.
ㅤ
The countless amounts of clothing on the wall, the various pieces of armor and weapons that were once mounted onto the wall, any other item aside from a mattress on the floor.. it was all gone
You stood there for a moment, it took you a second to realize what was going on
You noticed a small note on the side of the mattress
You slowly approached it, crouching down and picking it up
ㅤ
"I'll see you soon, I just needed to do something.
-Macaque"
ㅤ
You sighed and placed the note in your pocket, you slowly stood back up and picked up the tray of food. You walked out the door and closed it shut.
ㅤ
You didn't question his actions. He was already a shady guy so it wasn't unexpected for him to just randomly leave and not leave a single trace of his identity behind.. but it still bothered you... why would he leave so soon? And specifically why now..?
ㅤ
"What are you planning to do... Macaque.."
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Not proofread
Hi, sorry for leaving for 4 months (I think) I got busy with schoolwork.