Jiankong one-shots [Erlang Shen x Sun Wukong]

Opposites: The Cave Behind the Waterfall

The cave behind the waterfall, once filled with life, celebration, cheers, and liquor for everyone, now layed completely empty, where an eerie silence dominated the desolation, and a single individual drank in commemoration of those who were no longer there. The Monkey King took a deep sip from his glass, and within seconds, the alcohol was gone. Wukong showed no sign, nor did he make any noise as he sensed the presence of someone else beside him in that cave that he now considered sacred and personal to him.

"You do have the nerve to come here... Erlang Shen. I hope you remember that every one of them... died by your hands," Wukong said, touching the hilt of a sword embedded in the stone a few inches away from him. "After so many years of fighting, you teaching me things from Heaven and taught you from Earth, I really thought you were my friend, and that those up there... had changed. I couldn't have been more wrong about them... and about you."

Erlang Shen remained silent for a few seconds, slowly stepping out of the darkness to reveal himself in the light filtering from the waterfall. 

"...Monkey, you don't understand. In all this, I had no choice..." Erlang attempted to explain.

"Don't you dare call me that. And yes, you do have a choice. Every living being, whether from Heaven or Earth, has a choice. You simply don't want to make it, because you're a coward. A bootlicker for the Emperor, your uncle! Do you think they weren't afraid of losing everything?!" Wukong shouted, releasing all his pent-up anger as he stood up from his rock, leaving his glass on the table. He gestured with an open palm at all the weapons embedded in the ground and the stones. "They were, they were terrified inside, and yet... that didn't stop them from fighting alongside me, against you... and your Heavenly army."

"I want to know if your ideals and desires are separate... or if, after all these centuries, you've been nothing more than a heartless dog who used me for nothing but vile pleasure. That would be the lowest fall possible for a god like you," continued the Monkey King with a disdainful tone. "I want you to answer that question, not here... but up there. In front of those hypocritical gods who claim to be wise, in front of Nezha and your uncle. Negotiation is no longer an option."

As Wukong turned to leave, Erlang quickly stepped forward to approach him. The Monkey King, in less than a blink of an eye, barely felt the other too close to him, turning back so fast he cut the air between them. His golden eyes reflected sadness, pain, anger, and, above all, disappointment.

"...Since you made that hole in Heaven, they've told me you would be our enemy. And yet, that didn't stop me. Not then, not now," Erlang replied, looking him directly in the eyes. Wukong frowned, unconvinced by that answer.

"Prove it to me." They both remained in a tense silence for several seconds, neither moving, and Wukong would have expected any reaction from the dark-haired god, except a simple step forward, and immediately their lips collided. The Monkey King tensed up completely, letting out a small gasp, his fur standing on end. He shakily raised an arm to grip Erlang's wrist tightly, silently asking him to back off, even though his body couldn't react or pull away on its own.

His tail betrayed him as it swayed from side to side, intrinsically telling the other not to stop. He could feel the god's hand on his cheek, and Wukong slowly closed his eyes, resting his other hand on the dark-haired god's shoulder, allowing for more. Inside the cave, not only could the splashing of the waterfall be heard, but also the increasing sound of the kiss between the two warriors. Wukong might have been very angry with Erlang, but... damn, he couldn't deny that the idiot kissed way too well.

Wukong felt the dark-haired god push him backward, and his tongue wanted to entwine and play with his own, taking the lead, but he only stepped back once and didn't let himself go any further. He placed both hands on Erlang's chest to push him forward roughly, forcing the kiss to break, leaving a thread of saliva running down the corner of his mouth, aware of the blush on his cheeks. Their heavy breathing filled the room, but they never stopped staring into each other's eyes. As a final gesture, Wukong wiped his mouth with his knuckles and began stepping back, moving closer to the edge of the waterfall.

"I hope up there you'll be just as honest," the monkey said to the dark-haired god, and without taking his eyes off him, took one last step back, letting himself fall from the waterfall and quickly rising into the air on his cloud.

Erlang could hear how Wukong flew away quickly from the cave. He lowered his head with too many things to think about, not only rationally but also... having to face that pressure he felt in his heart. He placed a hand on his chest and clenched his black tunic right where he felt his strong and rapid heartbeat.

"...Fuck" he cursed quietly and turned around to return from where he came, disappearing into the darkness. He definitely needed a calmer place to meditate on what was coming, not only for him and Sun Wukong but also for the rest of Heaven.