Chapter Text
Loneliness is suffocating. So consuming when only your thoughts become your companion as the darkness beckons. Still, you force it down. Allowing yourself to bury it down further to instead focus on the current predicament. Your mother and grandmother bothering you about dating as you walk in for your shift. The apron tugs down from the small hook, and you neatly tie it around your back using both hands; the kitchen smells of spices, and the smell of food cooking in the frying pans and pots wafts as soon as you step in. It’s a spice heaven. The well-named ‘Peking [Surname]’ was your family’s owned restaurant from your mother’s side - it was old, and was originally a small restaurant in a small town, before it was moved here years ago by your grandmother, Jing Yi.
“[Name], when will you bring someone here?” Your grandmother began as soon as you started taking ingredients out of the fridge. An annoyance runs through your system at the relationship talk - like seriously? As soon as you step in for your shift? Classic Grandmother move.
“Mother, stop bothering her. She only just came in,” Your own mother, Ai, poked her head round the corner of the kitchen, wearing an apron around her waist, with her [h/c] tied up into a bun. Even as you prepare to open your mouth to thank her, there’s a sense of wistful amusement in her eyes. Even an impish clarity. It wasn’t uncommon, for example, for the next [Surname] to be bothered about having kids and, amusingly so, the [Surname] family were primarily women. A man had not been born into the family for thousands of years and when he was, it spelled disaster.
“Not you too, Mama. Look, I’m not…” A cold sensation suddenly runs down your back and it pauses your usual spiel self-deprecation. You turn, tilting your head to the side but you freeze, hand loosely gripping the knife at the cold glare your mother sent you. Ai was a gentle person, someone you took after the most. But unlike you, the certified doormat, she never allowed anyone to disrespect her or her family. So, to disrespect yourself…made the inner rage simmer.
“Don’t finish that sentence, [Name].” The bell rings, and another order is clipped onto the small line, joining a few other orders. A sigh escapes from the back of your throat, your cheeks burning with embarrassment at her scolding tone - you were 23! A grown woman; quickly, you pick off the orders, reading them over.
“Oh, one of these is a delivery. Can I do this one, Mama?” You felt a presence lean over your shoulder, examining the order: 2x bowls of vegetable dumplings, mapo tofu and vegetable noodles. The order seemed familiar. Was it Wukong? Your eyes drift down to the bottom - oh, yes! The address was the same as his ‘Shame’ Temple, so this was definitely Wukong. It gave you a sense of ease, the painful numbness from earlier was much easier to digest.
It had been a week or so since you had been invited out by your friends, the Monkie Kid gang, so you focused your attention on the family restaurant and making sure Nyx, your black cat, was fed. Loneliness became too vibrant, too consuming in that mind of yours. It befitted someone so used to the company of herself, left to entertain herself through such hateful thoughts. A victim to your mind, you became too afraid to be honest and say anything to those you called friends. Did they notice they left you out? Did they even care? What chaos the mind could be.
Wukong laid back, one leg crossed over the other as he waited for his delivery from Peking [Surname]. His tail wagged from side-to-side, his thoughts a muddle. You hadn’t been around lately, at least not as much. Of course he realised he wasn’t stupid. Sure, he was silly sometimes, was barely serious, but he was observant. None of the Monkie Kid gang had invited you to places for a while - too few tickets was a popular excuse, or that MK and Mei just wanted to go together somewhere. You were just easily forgotten by them, like an extra piece to the puzzle.
The Monkey King rolls over onto his stomach, his ears twitching as he listens in for his delivery. He would be training MK soon, but he wanted time in his Shame Temple before that. He liked to be alone sometimes but even the stubborn simian needed company.
Beep! Beep!
He sprang up almost immediately, pushing open the doors. His tail starts wagging excitedly as he watches you step out of your car, grabbing the bag full of cooked goodies from the back. Oblivious. Sun Wukong, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, was oblivious to his own deep feelings for you - he thought this twinge in his chest was protectiveness, or a simple attraction. I mean! Did you see your curves? He was almost salivating at the thought…he wanted to worship every inch - get it together, Wukong!
“Wukong, I have your food for you! I suspected it was you, so I added extra, and my new peach cake recipe I’ve been working on,” Wukong rested his head onto his open palm, blissfully listening to you list everything. Your voice is a soft, sweet anchor to his mind and he doesn’t hear a thing. He just sees the way your eyes light up, the way the light frames your expression, and -
“You’ll be training MK today, won’t you? I hope you have fun. I’ll just be…working a shift at my family restaurant..” A nervous laugh comes from your throat, while your free hand pokes at the plastic bag full of his food. Wukong squints his eyes, tilting his head to the side in suspicion. That sounded like a lie. A lie disguised by a sense of loneliness.
“You ok, [Name]? Don’t get me wrong, bud, but you seem out of it.” The simian steps closer, his tail wagging from side-to-side while he crosses his arms against his chest. He steps around you, managing a smile. His tail - which had a mind of its own - gently traced over your sides, brushing enough to leave a trail of heat in its wake.
“I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” A sweet smile. A familiar sight, with those beautiful [e/c] eyes of yours; he wanted to melt at the sight, but even such sweetness was not enough to stop him from wanting to unravel each thought of yours. You put the bag into his hands, smiling softly, while trying to ignore the heat running through your system at his closeness. There was always something distinctly intimate when you two were alone…but, who would like you that way? Especially not Sun Wukong of all people.
“[Name], you can talk to me, you know? We’re friends, right?”
Friends.
It twinged something inside you, breaking the cracks of the walls you kept up. Wukong always manages to disarm you whether you like it or not.
But, he realises that he won’t get through to you, so he decides on a different approach. “You wanna hang with me here? I have to train MK, so you could stay for that too -” Wukong wraps his arm around your shoulder, tugging you closer against him. Your chest smushes against his, your head level with his shoulder. The heat is something else, enough to feel your face warm up, your heart beat faster against your chest and Wukong was no different as he tried to remain friendly.
“I…can stay longer with you, but I wouldn’t want to distract you from MK’s training. And, I agreed to a late shift tonight.”
“You are a natural talent, bud. I always think about those dumplings you make.”
He leads you into his Shame Temple, happily talking to you about different things. It was just so natural for the two of you.
Macaque, or the Six-Eared Macaque, had been teaching MK. A suspicious monkey, who likely had something planned. It was likely he was going to use the young man to get to the Monkey King - MK was known to be Wukong’s student, so it was a matter of time before it would interfere with his teachings, or the bonds between them.
Of course, a fight happened between them. Old friends turned enemies. Bonds change, and sometimes, most friendships shouldn’t exist if it creates such pain. It can be tough when you’ve been friends for years, when you went through every life stage with them, but it’s knowing when to let go.
“Oh, dear. Nyx, where are you?” You wrap your dressing gown around yourself as the door is tugged open. The cold air drifts through into your kitchen, kissing at your nose and cheeks. It’s a dark night, the moon glows up above, vibrant and brushing moonlight on the people below. “Nyx!” Stress pricks at your mind, and your thoughts begin to spiral! Anxiety and stress combine in a vile cocktail, testing your resolve - she never was too far away, so where is she? She only went outside sometimes to feel the air on her fur. Nyx was only 3 years old, with black fur and blue eyes while wearing a collar around her neck with your number on it in case she ever got lost. She was a rescue, so she only trusted very few people.
Shadows began to stir, moving with something deliberate, even mystifying. It beckoned the darkness in sight, tempting mankind to feed into their sins. Macaque’s eyes glowed purple as he melted from the shadows, his wide grin in place. Nyx nuzzles against him, a meow erupting from her throat. The familiar meow makes relief bloom in your chest but when you turn around, your eyes widen in surprise.
“Oh…who are you?”
Macaque blinks in confusion and slight irritation, raising an eyebrow. You were part of The Monkie Kid team right? So, why didn’t you know who he was? Surely MK would have told everyone by now. “Eh…Macaque? Full name, the Six-Eared Macaque?” You shake your head. “Oh, that’s sad. Did your friends forget about you? That’s terrible!” He cackles, patting his chest with his free hand.
Irritable. That’s all you felt right now. Your eye twitches. “Give me my cat, please.”
“Ohh~ So pissy.”
Before he can fully react, you grab him by the collar, and with your free hand, you pick up Nyx. Then, you tilt your head to the side, as you aggressively push him up against the wall, causing the wall behind him to shatter and crack. The force of it makes the air leave his lungs, his eyes wide with surprise. He stops, freezing as your eyes narrow through his. A sharp grin stretches across his face. “Thank you for finding my cat, but you need to leave now.”
You let go of his collar, heading inside while cradling Nyx against your chest.
“You’re interesting. You’re a mortal, right? How are you that strong? Your folks pump you full of monster genes?” A sigh erupts from the back of your throat. “I was born with it.” Despite your attempts at trying to ignore him, he followed you further in.
At least someone was interested in your life, right?