Monkie Kid x Oc: The Bull and the Jade Warrior

Sandy Day

Chen lets out a sigh, putting away the last of the dishes. He and Pigsy had closed up shop, and had just finished cleaning up, ready for the next day.

Hanging up his apron, he grabs his bag, heading toward the door. "See you tomorrow, Pops!" he calls out. Pigsy peeks his head out of the kitchen doorway. "Don'tcha be late tomorrow, like you were this morning." he says sternly. Chen waves him off, leaving. "Love ya too, pops."
Out on the street, he turns right, heading towards the docks.

The street was bustling with activity. People walking quickly to their destination, children laughing and playing, vehicles zooming by and small markets selling their wares.

It only takes Chen 10 minutes to get the docks, and he spots Sandy's boat in the distance. Standing next to it, he calls out. "Sandy? Are you there?"

The large man peers his head over the side of the boat, giving Chen a welcoming smile. "Chen! How's my favourite nephew?" he calls out, as Chen walks up the plank to get on the boat.
Many cats crowd around the young man as he approaches, mewling loudly. He kneels down to pat them as he answers Sandy's question. "Been okay." he says simply.

— — —

A few hours later...

Sandy and Chen were busy watering the plants. The large blue man glances at Chen out of the corner of his eye. He'd noticed something was bothering Chen the whole visit, and he was waiting for the young man to say something. But he'd said nothing.

Sandy turns to face him, worried. "Everything okay, Chen?"
Chen fills up the watering can. "Yeah, just been...a confusing day." he replies. Sandy nods, giving a little hum. "Did something happen while visiting the Monkey King?"

Chen checks over a sprout who's leaves had started to wilt. "Yep. A lot." he hesitates, not sure if he should continue. What would Sandy think if he told him about these new powers?

Sandy leans forward, urging him to continue. Chen rubs his neck awkwardly. "Well...he explained he wanted to train me..."
"Hm?"
"Aaand he said that I have....powers?" he trails off, glancing at Sandy out of the corner of his eye.

Sandy's eyes widened, thinking over Chen's words. Wiping some sweat off his forehead, he lets out a sigh of relief. "Well, that's a relief." he chuckles. This causes Chen to raise a brow in confusion. "Uh...what? What's a relief?"
"Last week," Sandy starts. "When we thought MK, you know..." he clears his throat, and Chen knew he was referring to MK's supposed "death". He nods his head, urging the larger man to continue.

"Well...you kind of...punched the boat hard enough to leave a dent. I saw, but I thought that maybe the dent was already there, and I'd put it there while moving a crate or something. It was either that or I was going crazy." he scratches his neck nervously.
Chen pauses in his watering, looking up at Sandy. "Can you show me?"

Sandy guides Chen over to where he'd been that day. And sure enough, there was a small dent in the metal, not fixed yet. Chen smooths his hand over it, before placing his clenched fist in the centre. It fit almost perfectly.

"I didn't even realise that. I was just so....angry at that time that I'd blocked everything out." he mutters, brows furrowing.

Sandy hums. "Yeah. All of our emotions were running high that day." The large man walks away, returning with a box of chamomile tea and a small plant. "Here, take this. After a stressful week, I think this'll help calm your nerves. And a lavender plant as a gift for your collection." he explains, smiling warmly. Chen carefully takes them. "Are you sure?"
"Of course! It's getting late, and I think you should head home before it gets too dark. Take care of yourself." he guides the young man to the ramp, giving him his bag and pushing him toward the ramp. "And give Shu lots of love for me!"

Chen chuckles, giving him a wave. "Will do, Sandy. Thank you."
"Anytime! Don't forget you can come talk to me about anything, okay? I'll always be here to listen!"

With another thank you and wave, he heads off.

– – –

Unlocking the doors to his apartment, Chen opens it. Inside, a small black blur of fur runs up to him, meowing furiously as green eyes stare up at him.
Chen bends down, giving the cat a pat. "Hey, Shu. Did you behave today?" he asks. The cat meows again, and Chen chuckles as he moves to put the chamomile tea on the kitchen table. "I know, you're hungry. Just give me a minute."

Moving over to the balcony, he carefully opens the sliding door, stepping out into the night.
His balcony is covered in all sorts of small plants, mostly herbs. But here and there were small flowers. All gifts from Sandy, of course. After he found out that the young man held a green thumb, he would randomly gift them to Chen.
Placing the lavender beside some rosemary, he heads inside to feed Shu. The black cat waited patiently on the kitchen table, and Chen quickly shoos her off. "Shu, no! You know you're not allowed on the table!"

Getting her bowl, he puts it on the table, before going to retrieve the bag of cat food. Shu follows closely behind, weaving in between his legs inconveniently. This was annoying, but Chen loved this cat with his whole heart. He didn't want to yell at her.

She did make it hard, though.

Giving her a scoop of dry biscuits, he lowers the bowl, and Shu finally leaves him alone to eat. While she's busy, Chen grabs a nearby watering can. Filling it up, he goes back to his balcony, watering the plants.
There, he spent the next half hour, making sure all the plants were taken care of, pulling out small weeds that had begun to grow.

As he works, he thinks over the events of the day. Meeting the Monkey King, the said sage revealing that Chen had power, and that intense sparring match. His eyes begin to droop from how tired he was.

It all seemed so surreal. All that superhuman stuff was only supposed to happen in books. Yet, here he AND MK were, both gaining powers within the span of a week.
He just... didn't know what to think anymore.

He's snapped out of his thoughts when his phone vibrates. Pulling it out, he realises it's a message from Mei, inviting him out to party with MK.

He taps away at his screen.

Chen: sorry mei boutta head to bed

Mei: Aw ok! Gn goofball!!1!

Chen: night mei you guys have fun

Mei: U kno we will! :3

Placing his phone back into his pocket, he puts his watering can away, stepping back inside and locking the door behind him.