A Son Of Two Dad's

Didn't know I needed you

Sun Wukong, loath to admit it, had been struggling to keep himself away from his kid as they made it back to their home on Flower Fruit Mountain. He understood that his kid wanted time with his friends and yet he could feel the way his tail lashed about anxiously at the fact that MK was out of sight. 

He was, of course in the living room next door and it certainly soothed Wukong's heart whenever he heard MK yell in excitement or talk loudly but the urge to just check in on him every few seconds made him hover closer to the doorway then he should have been, lingering and keeping out of sight as he contemplated just poking his head in any way. 

By the time his nerves about his baby being out of sight finally overwhelmed the knowledge that his son needed space and he was about to go in anyway Macaque was there, a firm but loose hand gripping his elbow. 

"Leave them be. You're practically smothering the poor kid." He murmured lowly and Wukong gasped, spluttering in offense. 

"What- I am not!" He gasped, frowning heavily but he didn't pull away either as Macaque tugged him gently away from the door and into the kitchen, laughing softly. 

"You most certainly are, you're hovering like a mother hen." He continued and even though Wukong wasn't really offended at all, he gasped again, his jaw-dropping. 

"A mother hen? How dare you! I'm just being... attentive! That's a good thing." Macaque laughed again. 

"It's most certainly not." Wukong rolled his eyes, keeping himself appearing light and carefree while his inner thoughts wandered about how overbearing he must feel to MK. How much of a failure he was to keep clinging to his kid, afraid that if he lost sight of him for more than a second then something terrible would happen and the next time he'd see his boy would be with him chocking on his own gasping breaths, lips turning blue and body jerking- 

"Wukong!" Snapping out of his own memories he wished he could forget, Wukong blinked up at Macaque's loud tone, noticing the way the other was frowning, lips pulled into a thin line that almost looked like concern. 

"Uh, sorry. Got lost in thoughts. What did you say?" He asked, hoping his voice didn't sound too strained as he held his hands behind his back, feeling the way they were trembling and feeling pathetic for it.

"...I asked if you wanted to help with dinner." Macaque finally responded after staring at Wukong for long enough that he felt itchy with the scrutiny. He pulled his lips into a casual but fake smile nonetheless, feining a relaxed disposition as he nodded, pushing past Macaque so he couldn't stare at him anymore while he grabbed a peach and sat down on the countertops, tail lazily swinging about behind him purposefully. 

"Sure, why not. It's not like I've got anything better to do." He huffed, and together they began making dinner. 

Shockingly, it was helpful to keep his mind from wandering into more unsavory thoughts. Though they didn't talk much every time his head started being filled with images of his bloody son Macaque would push something into his hands to chop or stir as the background noises of the kids' laughing and talking and squabbling calmed his heart. 

It didn't occur to him till they were almost done that Wukong had hardly been any help at all and instead had been doing mindless, monotonous but time-consuming tasks like peeling vegetables and chopping them into pieces smaller than they needed to be. Macaque had been distracting him. 

It was more of a surprise than it should have been in hindsight but the realization made him huff a soft laugh. 

"Something funny?" Macaque questioned and Wukong shook his head, feeling soft and warm for the first time in what felt like forever, his mind finally quieted temporarily.