The Silent King (Au)

Bonding

(Wholesome-ish one-shots to give y'all a break)

----

Tang observed the monkeys, and had been for the past hour.

Macaque had dropped by, chattering on and on about a play, and Wukong was listening, rocking and swaying the whole time.

Not just that.

Tang had quickly taken note of Wukong's lack of proper eye contact and how both monkeys failed to properly understand the 'atmosphere' whenever the walked into a room.

In fact, the shadow user was known for simply butting into conversations uninvited.

Wukong would also get hyperfocused at random times, perking up and staring at someone or something for long periods of time. And they both despised the feeling of damp or moist items, including their fur.

Convincing them to bathe wasn't easy, or fun.

They both also had a number of stims. Wukong used his body often, flapping his arms or hands, swishing his tail, and even kicking. On the other hand, Macaque made little noises, spun in place, or chewed.

The scholar abruptly stood up, pushing up his glowing frames as he pulled out a laser pointer from his sleeve.

The team perked up, immediatly curious on what his presentation was about.

He pointed at the monkeys and gestured, "Do you know what neurodivergency is?"

--

Wukong chattered excitedly, trying to ramble to Macaque about their newest discovery.

Macaque grinned, "Wukong, I have an idea! What if I'm your voice?"

--

Macaque shifted his appearance to look identical to his counterpart, clearing his throat dramatically.

MK and Mei giggled, playfully poking Wukong. The ginger beamed in excitement as Macaque spoke with an almost-exact replica of his voice, rambling on about neurodivergency.

Wukong felt tears in his eyes, basically watching himself speak for the first time in... Well, a long time.

The king charaded his rambles, which were then translated by Macaque and tranfered into a voice that was sweet yet firm.

That was his voice.

And it sounded foreign yet just as lovely as the day he let it trickle out into the air, shutting it off completely before the words could stay in the world.

----

Sandy moved his hands, showing everyone carefully.

"These are just basic signs, but it's enough to get your point across, Mr. Monkey King! We'll just learn like Mr. Maquack and MK to analyze your body language for broader understanding!"

Macaque faked a gasp, "Wukong, look! I know how to say your name in sign!" The ginger turned around, just to have Macaque’s middle finger pointed right at him.

"Cool, right?"

Wukong huffed out a laugh, holding up two middle fingers and thumbs, making them into an 'M'.

"Oh, wow, you learned how to say my name!"

Pigsy turned bright red, swiping their hands, "STOP FLIPPIN' EACHOTHER OFF!!"

--

The middle finger signs stayed.

----

Wukong pouted as Pigsy pointed out his soiled clothes, "We needa wash them, so take 'em off. Now."