The Two Kings

Macaque

A/N: Hey, look! It's Parker!!

Parker stood behind the counter, his hands submerged in soapy water as he methodically scrubbed the dishes from the day's orders. The familiar routine of washing and drying provided a calming respite from the usual hustle and bustle of the noodle shop. But his peaceful moment was shattered when the door suddenly swung open, and Mei's energetic voice came barreling through.

"Parker! Have I got news for you!" She exclaimed as she slammed her hand down on the counter, causing Tang, who was slurping down a bowl of noodles for the millionth time, to jump out of his chair.

"Hey, Mei! What's up?" Parker asked, quickly removing his dishwashing gloves and tossing them in the trash as he turned to face his friend. Before he could even blink, Mei was shoving her phone mere inches from his face, her eyes alight with unbridled enthusiasm.

"Look!" she demanded, scrolling quickly through her device. Parker squinted, trying to make sense of the image on the screen.

"A Monkey Mech phone update?" he ventured, to which Mei let out a sigh.

"What? No!" she retorted, continuing her furious scrolling. "This!"

Parker could only stare at the phone for a split second, reading the words Fire Festival with an image of a young man with spiky hair in a red gi holding a sword made of fire. Parker was getting major stalker vibes from him. He looked like Parker and MK had a kid and that kid was a ninja.

"Uh...what am I looking at?" Parker asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

Mei simply scoffed, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Don't you get it?! This is your chance!" she exclaimed, her voice rising with each word.

"Chance to...?" Parker replied, thoroughly bewildered by Mei's intensity.

"To ask MK out on a date! Obviously!! C'mon, it's like I'm the only one in this group that has brain cells!" Mei exclaimed as fire shout out from the top of Parker's head.

"Uh...wut?" He muttered as a warm blush coated his features. He looked down, visually shaking as steam started to flow from the top of his head. Even when Tang placed a kettle at the top of his head, no doubt using the steam to his advantage, Parker didn't budge, instead he looked to be in even more distress than ever.

"Come on, come on!" Mei yelled as Tang took the kettle off of Parker's head to pour himself a cup. "I know exactly what's going on it that head of you're! You like him~!"

"O-of course I do! MK and I are friends! Pals! Amigos!" Parker exclaimed, faultering with every word. He eventually went back to moping, slamming his forehead down on the counter top. "Ugh!"

"There, there." Tang said as he patted Parker's back.

"I get what you're saying, it's just-" Parker started as he rested his hand on his cheek, "I don't think this is the right time right now."

"Why?" Tang asked.

"We need to be on the look out for DBK and his family. Now that he has the skeleton key who knows what he could do with it. I want to ask him after we save the city. Besides, there's no harm in waiting. What's gonna happen?"

Mei hummed, considering Parker's words, but the lonely look in his eyes was not lost on her. "Okay!" she exclaimed. "At least ask him to the fire festival this weekend! It'll be a great time for you to bond!"

Parker chuckled at Mei's persistence, placing two bowls of rice noodles in front of his friends before turning back to the stubborn noodle bowl he had been scrubbing. "I'll think about it," he said, his voice tinged with a hint of hope.