A Son Of Two Dad's

Comfort

His first thought was that he was going to defeat the Lady Bone Demon by himself, sneaking off and proving himself in some difficult battle that would test his limits, (and probably, absolutely end in catastrophe) scaring everyone else with his impulsivity. 

Then he remembered her cold, blue eyes and unsettling nature and he shivered, immediately scraping that plan because who was he kidding, he'd never be able to take her on.

Maybe Monkey King was right, maybe he was weak and useless. 

"Are... are you okay, bud?" Monkey King asked sounding worried and MK realized he hadn't responded yet, his face tilted towards the ground with a dark expression. It was no wonder Monkey King was worried when MK could never seem to pay attention.  

He nodded jerkily, hiding the frown behind a grin he hoped was convincing. 

"Yeah, yep absolutely. I'm good, fine, great even! I just- I'm gonna just- I forgot I haven't had a shower yet and I should definitely do that so I'll be back when I'm done. I won't be too long okay bye." He rushed out, practically sprinting out the room and almost tripping over his own tail in his hurry. 

The occupants of the room watched him go, different variations of worry etched into their faces. Macaque in particular recognized the look that had been on MK's face and slipped into the shadows when no one was watching. 

Upstairs MK rooted around in his room looking for his towel, cursing himself quietly under his breath with various insults. He was so lost in his own head that when Macaque materialized behind him, sneaking out from the shadows, MK screamed and fell over the shoes that were lying in the middle of his floor, falling onto his butt and wincing at the sharp pain that stung his tail. 

"Ow." He winced, sighing and standing back up while rubbing his tail in an effort to soothe the appendage that he'd fallen onto. 

"Sorry, kid," Macaque said but he looked far too amused for someone who was truly sorry and MK pouted at him, his heart rate calming down from the scare. 

"What do you want and why are you creeping up on me like a creeping creeper?" He asked, folding his arms, and Macaque at least looked slightly embarrassed at that, slightly awkward because he hadn't in truth thought about what he was going to say.

"Are you sure you're okay? You know you can talk about it if you want." He tried and MK scoffed. 

"What, like you do?" He said, sarcastic and Macaque winced at the jab, making MK look away guiltily. 

"Sorry, I shouldn't have-" 

"No, no you're right kid. I shouldn't expect you to do things I don't. But MK, you've got a lot going on right now, and I just want you to know you can talk to me about it if you need to. There's no shame in talking about stuff." 

MK fiddled with his hands, biting his lip and keeping his gaze to the floor as he spoke shamefully and quietly.

"Do you think I'm weak?" It was said so quietly that had Macaque been anyone else he probably wouldn't have heard it. 

"What do you mean? Of course I don't." He reassured but MK knew better, knew that just because an adult said something didn't mean it was true. Maybe Macaque just wanted to spare his feelings. 

"What's this about?" Macaque followed on and MK shook his head. He didn't want to talk about it or think about it anymore. 

"Nothing, it's fine. Seriously it's stupid anyway."

"MK-" Macaque started, voice soft but MK just slapped on a grin and managed to find his towel, picking it up as he interrupted.

"Well, I'm gonna go in the shower now, thanks for the talk." He said, walking out the room though it was obvious to both of them that the talk was the last thing MK had wanted. 

Macaque watched him go, sighing to himself as his ears drooped. 

Sometimes the kid was so like him and Wukong it was scary. 

MK took as long in the shower as he could, enjoying the peace and quiet that came with being alone in a warm area where it felt like nothing could hurt him. 

By the time it became so long in the shower that if he stayed in any longer someone was sure to check up on him he finally came out, drying his fur by rubbing it with his towel until it was frizzy and poofy before flopping down onto his bed facing the ceiling with a tired sigh.

"Hey, MK, are you almost done? We're gonna be leaving soon." MK heard Pigsy yell up the stairs and he sighed, rolling off the bed with a groan. 

"Coming." He yelled back, breathing out a long breath before putting a smile back on his face and going downstairs. 

"Oh!" Mei perked up when she saw him, jumping off her stool and grabbing MK by the shoulders. 

"You're so floofy!" She grinned, stars in her eyes as she ran her hands over his still slightly damp fur and MK laughed, feeling a little bit better in his friend's happy attitude. 

It also helped that Mei's hands, running through his fur and patting gently over him felt soothing and he leaned into the touch, eyes bright.  

"You ready to go?" Pigsy asked, breaking up their moment and MK nodded, running a hand through his fur to smooth it down after Mei had ruffled it up in hopes of looking more presentable. He rocked back and forth on the heels of his feet, tail swishing about behind him as he nodded. 

"Yep! I'm ready." He tried to ignore the way his heart ached at the thought of hiding, at the thought of leaving this to other people and sitting back. 

Then again, he had been weak enough to be trapped, weak enough to have believed it for so long, weak enough to not be able to find his own way out. 

Monkey King, who had been standing near the door awkwardly took this moment to speak up, rubbing his hand behind his neck with a smile that conveyed false bravado. 

"I'll meet you there. It's totally- definitely gonna be a tight squeeze in your truck and it's not like I can't fly or anything." MK went to protest, instantly uneasy at the thought of his parent leaving him but the immortal barrelled on before he could utter a word. 

"But don't worry, I'll keep an eye out till you get there. Eyes in the sky and all that. Okay good, great, see you soon." And with a flash of golden light, he was gone out the door, completely disappearing from view and MK frowned, trying to squash down that crushing feeling that welled up inside him. 

Pigsy huffed loudly, shaking his head as he ushered everyone out the door as well. 

"Come on, everyone out. Let's get a move on otherwise the Monkey King may just get impatient and leave us all behind." And with that everyone left the shop and pilled into Pigsy's truck. 

MK was the last one in, looking behind him for a moment at the shop he called home then around at the familiar city he lived in. His chest ached and felt his eyes sting slightly, wiping at them and schooling his expression before taking a deep breath and turning away.     

(Once again MK has just internalized his problems but at least he isn't out being reckless. And look at Macaque! Actually trying at communication. Too bad no one there knows what they're doing haha. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you all next time.)