Our Ball of Tangled Yarn

Chapter 11: The King's Apology

So I brought Wukong back! And he's planning on fixing his mistake with Mk. Also I promised you guys that Macaque was suffering so grab whatever tissues you restocked on while I was on break-

Also do note I finished this at 2:00 am because I was desperate to push this chapter through-

Enjoy! 

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After that day on the mountain, Wukong never asked for Mk to come back. He never visited the boy either in disguise, too scared that he might act out and lash out on the child like before. Wukong hugged his knees, and leaned against the large tree. "Míhóu...what should I do?" He looked up to the tree, silently watching the plum blossoms fall from the branch and float down onto the king's palm.

Such a small little flower in his hands... Wukong enclosed his hand around it, and crushed it, clenching his teeth as he did. "...I should apologize to him. I'll give him our mountain's best fruits as a gift, and I'll get on my knees too if that doesn't work!" He said and stood up in confidence, before he leaned against the tree and slid back down, defeat swelling in his heart once more.

"Who am I kidding? Giving him stuff and saying sorry won't be enough." Wukong groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Gods, why did I act like that? I'm his mentor, but I acted like a monster to him." He remembered the look in the boy's eyes- pure horror, stuck in place with shaking eyes that seemed to beg for escape from the anger Wukong seemed to grow inside when he raised his fist.

A flutter of air blew against his hair, and the Great Sage looked up to see a familiar wispy figure sitting in one of the branches of the great tree. Wukong's eyes softened, and he looked away to the other trees, and he let out a defeated sigh. "Have you come to whisper how this was all my fault again...?" He mumbled under his breath, too tired for an argument with his dead sister-in-law.

"You look awful enough, I doubt my words would make the view below any worse." Savage answered nonchalantly, raising her eyebrows when she heard him snort in agreement. She sighed, and looked at her niece's grave, past memories flickering in her mind of the girl she helped raise with her brother. How this new child reminded Savage of her, even if it was a human child. That boy, Mk, was the only one who managed to excite Wukong, to make him jump around in joy and talk to his kin once more, to make the Great Sage curious of life, curious of the world, curious of society- everything Wukong once did in his past when Macaque and his child were still on the mountain.

Savage also knew how protective Wukong was of this corner of the mountain- it was the only place he ever let himself crumble, the only place where he wasn't a king, nor a Great Sage, nor a mentor. But a husband, and a father. A monkey who wanted nothing more than peace and comfort for his child and mate who he could not protect properly despite his promise to hide them from harm.

"The longer you dwell on this thought, the longer you leave the boy in his own self-doubt, do you know that?" Savage spoke up after a comfortable amount of silence.

"I know." Wukong murmured out.

"You're doing the same thing you do whenever you make a mistake that truly hurts someone." Savage continued. "You sit in your corner and wait for the other person to come seek you out to forgive you."

"I know." Wukong said, a bit louder.

"This isn't like before this time, Wukong." Savage looked down and frowned at him. "That boy won't come here to check on you like he did."

"I know-" Wukong repeated through gritted teeth, his hands curling into fists.

"That boy was scared of you, he thinks you hate him right now. He won't think about whether or not you're okay. He's not Míhóu-"