#dad Tang | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

janetbrown711 · 2 years ago

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Best Worst Mistake

Tang comes back from a college trip to discover his partner adopted a kid in his absence and also needs him to care for the kid the next day.

Only problem is that Tang has no idea what to do with him.

Psst-- this fic was inspired by @ChopshopT 's fan art on Twitter, so go give that some love <3

If you like this you may enjoy my Dadsy of Two au!

Ao3 Link

“Oh my great sage– you did not–”

“I-i didn’t mean to-! H-he just kinda– you know– showed up!”

“You don’t accidentally adopt a kid Pigsy!”

“It was late at night! Practically closing hours! I had to make sure no creep ran off with ‘im.”

“Okay, but keeping him?! This is– this is crazy! You said you never wanted kids!”

“I know, I know– not exactly like it was an option before– but–” Pigsy sighed.

“Look… I know it’s sudden– I know we’ve talked about it– but… you know I can’t turn him into the police– it’ll ruin us both,” Pigsy looked his shaggy haired partner in the eyes.

Tang sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, lifting his glasses as he did.

“How old is he?” He asked.

Pigsy sighed. “I don’t know– I just know that he was practically starving when I found him– not to mention naked and caked in dirt.”

If it weren’t for the sleeping child in the booth, Tang would’ve exclaimed, “he was naked???? Why didn’t you call the authorities???? What about his parents??? Did you even look around???” but he refrained.

“Does he have a name? Parents? Anything???” Tang asked instead.

Pigsy shook his head. “I stayed open a whole two hours more seeing if any’d walk by, but it’s been a week now, and I’ve had to basically close the restaurant to make sure he doesn’t get into anything– which you already know we can’t really afford– but I did– and nobody walked by.”

“A guy leaves for one week for a campus excursion to Shaolin Temple, and everything changes,” Tang laughed in an attempt to release his nerves.

“Y-yeah, I know this ain’t exactly ideal– I just–” Pigsy looked at the kid. “I didn’t know what to do without you here,” The chef confessed, and Tang kissed his cheek, but Pigsy turned and held his hands.

“So… whatever you thinks right– we’ll do it. Anything– leaving him on a doorstep, turning him into the police– anything. It’s your call,” Pigsy looked the scholar straight in the eyes.

“Woah– I-i don’t know– I-i just– I mean I know what’s legal and this– uh– isn’t– but–” Tang looked again at the kid snoozing away, and for the first time Tang noticed he was using Pigsy’s chef’s shirt as a blanket and stars above if it wasn’t the cutest fucking thing Tang had ever seen ever–

“Does he… like you?” Tang asked.

“Well– I uh– I think so..? I dunno, he doesn’t talk much, though he draws things sometimes– and he’s actually kinda good for a kid his age– and he listens to me when I explain things and he seems to really like living in our place– though I guess he’ll need a bed of his own with you back– I just– I don’t know,” Pigsy blushed and looked away. “I’m asking you though because I know you said you didn’t want kids ever either, so…”

Right.

“I…” Tang pulled on his scarf. “I kinda lied– I’m sorry– I know I shouldn’t have, but when you were talking about your dad and stuff and how you thought you’d make a bad father I was just like ‘oh yeah totally I get that, no kids, I’d never want any either, haha’ and you know– being gay doesn’t help, and if that wasn’t enough, being a human/demon couple means adoption would be off the table even if we weren’t gay and so i just kinda accepted it because I knew it just wouldn’t be possible– but as a kid I thought it’d be nice to have kids because I do like them– but also as I’ve gotten older I’ve gotten like– really bad with them, and I like– don’t know how to interact with them or do with them but i mean–” Tang took a deep breath.

“I’m okay if you’re okay.”

“Wow– that’s… a lot to process, but… if you’re sure..?” Pigsy still looked at him for confirmation.

Tang nodded. “I am.”

A smile slowly grew on the chef’s face. “O-okay then! W-we– we have a kid then!”

“We have a kid then,” Tang laughed. Upon realizing how crazy he sounded, he started to ramble.

“We have a kid, Pigsy-! Oh stars above, what do you even do with those little things??? you feed them, teach them– Maybe I can pick up some books from the library– what about vaccines? We have no way of knowing his records– we don’t even know his birthday!” He shook Pigsy’s shoulders.

“Hm…” Pigsy tapped his chin, then shrugged. “Maybe we can just say it was a week ago when I found him– and he looks about two, don’t he?”

“I know nothing about kids, Pigsy– and neither do you but–” Tang sighed. “If we don’t want him nabbed overseas, this is probably what's best– and who knows, maybe he can find his real parents one day.”

“Yeah, that– uh– makes sense,” Pigsy nodded with slight hesitation.

“So… where’s he gonna sleep?” Tang then asked.

Pigsy thought for a moment. “Well I don’t think we can afford a bed for him yet– or even a mattress- and he is kind of accustomed to our bed so..?”

“...You like cuddling with him, don’t you?”

“Our heating sucks! I couldn’t leave ‘im on the couch– that’s not safe– and yeah, maybe missed cuddlin’ with you– it was a whole week Tang! A week!” Pigsy defended his honor.

Tang burst into laughter. “You looooove me.”

“Shut up,” Pigsy’s face was a deep shade of red as he playfully pushed his partner away.

“Aw, it’s okay Piggy, I missed you too,” Tang kissed his forehead.

“Yeah, yeah,” Pigsy waved him off, his face still red as he went and scooped up the kid, who wasn’t disturbed the slightest by the transfer.

He looked so little and scrawny in Pigsy’s arms– fragile too.

How on earth a kid that small could just wander around Megapolis all covered in dirt and mud– it didn’t make even the slightest bit of sense to Tang. He especially wondered how anyone would let him– whoever this kid’s parents were, he wasn’t sure the kid should ever meet them, even if the opportunity arises.

As he looked at him more, the more Tang realized Pigsy was a total natural– swaying ever so slightly and supporting all the right things to keep him comfortable and upright. Tang watched for a moment, just kind of smiling like an idiot before Pigsy realized he was staring and his face flushed.

“W-what?” He asked, shifting the kid.

“Oh, nothing,” Tang waved him off, grabbing his suitcase while being unable to stop smiling. “Does the kid have a name?”

Pigsy shrugged. “When I gave him crayons, he wrote ‘MK’ so–? I dunno, we’ll have to figure that out later.”

“I don’t know– I kinda like MK– I think it suits him,” Tang looked at the kid.

“I kinda think so too– it’s just that that’s not long enough to legally count, so… I’ll work something out– I know a guy in fake IDs, we’ll see,” Pigsy shrugged. “Could you get the alarm?”

Tang obliged, doing the closing duties for Pigsy when MK suddenly started to stir in Pigsy’s arms.

“Hey there sleepyhead,” Pigsy chuckled softly. “How’re you?”

The kid blinked and rubbed his eyes, before noticing Tang and gasping, quickly burying his head into Pigsy’s chest.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. That’s just Tang, remember? I talked about him a lot. He’s my partner, he’s gonna be living with us,” Pigsy rubbed the kids back.

Slowly but surely the kid turned his head back towards Tang, looking at him with big, dark brown eyes.

“Um… Hi, MK,” Tang waved awkwardly.

After a moment of intense study, the kid let one of his hands release Pigsy’s shirt and he waved to Tang with a smile.

Tang let out a surprised laugh and waved right back again.

“Looks like he likes you already,” Pigsy chuckled. “Usually he doesn’t even look at strangers.”

“Well that’s a relief,” Tang said. “Let’s get going to bed though– I’m exhausted from all the train rides.”

“Alright, let’s go,” Pigsy agreed, and after Tang turned off all the lights, the three of them headed up the stairs and into their apartment above the restaurant in all its one-bedroom glory.

Once upstairs, Tang got changed into his usual robe and silk pajamas, and Pigsy into his usual tank top and pajama bottoms– though Tang nearly lost it when he saw how Pigsy dressed MK for bed– literally just one of his old tank tops and wearing his socks– which were easily about three times too big.

“One of these days we’re gonna need actual money,” Tang joked as Pigsy put MK down on the bed. “He probably should have some real pajamas.”

“What? You don’t think it’s cute?” Pigsy half-joked.

“I never said that,” Tang rolled his eyes, taking off his glasses and setting them on his nightstand.

Just as he was going to turn his lamp off, MK started making noises, and pulling on Tang’s sleeve urgently.

“Yes, MK?” Tang asked.

“Oh– he– umm– is thinking you’ll sing to him,” Pigsy explained.

Tang gasped. “You sing to him?”

Pigsy blushed even deeper than before. “I– um– just a little– lullabies and all that when he wakes.”

“That’s the cutest thing I have ever heard,” Tang fawned at the blurry blob that was Pigsy. He then looked at MK– who was a little bit clearer. “I’m– uh– sorry, I can’t sing like Pigsy can. Go ask him.” He didn’t know if that was enough and so patted the kids head lightly twice before wanting to die of embarrassment.

The kid didn’t seem to care, as he just turned to look at Pigsy, who looked at Tang, his face still red as ever.

“You can’t laugh at me Tang.”

Tang let out an offended gasp. “Why would I ever laugh at you?”

“Because it feels stupid– I–” Pigsy sighed. “Just– pretend to sleep.”

“Alright, if it helps,” Tang teased him a little before turning the light off and laying down to ‘sleep’.

He was turned away on his side when Pigsy began humming a little tune for MK– the Eastern Cradle Song, if Tang remembered. It was incredibly soothing, and the kid was knocked out like a light in a matter of moments.

It reminded him how much he missed Pigsy’s singing– he hadn’t sang since– forever.

When it was finished, Pigsy layed down, cuddling with MK on the outside, so Tang rolled over and wrapped his arms around Pigsy.

“You sing like an angel,” He mumbled, pressing a tired kiss against his shoulders.

Pigsy laughed a little and cozied to his partner’s embrace, and the new family of three fell asleep.

.o0o.

Pigsy’s alarm had a terrible, terrible habit of going off when Tang didn’t want it to. Every morning, Pigsy blindly fumbled for the button, disturbing his most peaceful of slumber, until his precious, precious warmth was stolen from Tang.

“Pigggyyyyyy,” Tang pleaded with his lover when he could already shift to get up, even though he only hit the alarm five seconds ago.

“Tang, I gotta open shop– you know this. I know this,” Pigsy kissed his head.

“But it's so coooold without youuuuu,” Tang begged some more. If Tang was bothering to open his eyes (and also wasn’t blind as a bat without his glasses), he bet he’d be seeing Pigsy rolling his eyes.

“Pigsy sighed and hugged Tang, which the scholar mistook as a sign he had won and snuggled right back to him.

However this was not the case, as Pigsy kissed his head again and said, “Look, it’s gonna be my first time opening in a week– we need the money and you gotta study for finals so– can you watch the kid for me?”

Kid? What kid?

Tang opened his eyes, blinking at the sunlight before recognizing the blob on the other side of Pigsy and instantly recalling the previous day’s ventures.

“I-i– yeah, I guess that can be done,” Tang forced himself to sit up and stretch before he put on his glasses so he could finally see how relieved and thankful Pigsy looked.

“Great– so I’ll make a quick breakfast for you two, and then I’ll head on down to open,” Pigsy ruffled MK’s hair before getting up and getting dressed.

“Wait– you’re gonna head down? You’re–” Tang gasped dramatically– “You’re banishing me to this apartment?!”

“Tang– he’s just– This is a contained space. The public ain’t. And we need money, and besides, whenever you ‘study’ down there, all you do is give me googly eyes,” Pigsy pointed out, buttoning his chef’s shirt.

“Bah, you love my googly eyes,” Tang stated.

“Kid needs to be watched either way, Tang,” Pigsy snarked.

Tang looked at the kid, who to his surprise was looking right at him.

Tang gave a small wave and the kid waved back.

“Does he even talk?” Tang asked.

“Not much– yet,” Pigsy said, locating his socks and shoes and getting on the bed to put them on, to which MK got up and wrapped his arms around Pigsy’s neck, which made the demon laugh.

“He is a clinger though– hence why I don’t think it’s best to have him downstairs,” Pigsy patted MK’s arm with an affectionate smile.

“‘I don’t want kids’ my ass,” Tang thought with a tsk.

“Alright, alright, I hear you,” Tang said aloud before he cracked his back and started getting dressed while Pigsy went to make the three of them breakfast, MK still attached.

Once dressed and his hair thoroughly brushed and combed, Tang emerged from the bedroom to the wondrous sight of Pigsy’s rice noodles. If there was one thing Tang missed on his little excursion, it was his beloved Piggy’s cooking– not to mention free food.

Of course, Tang wasn’t “allowed” free food during business hours, but Tang “somehow” managed most days– and maybe he’d stop by for lunch or dinner because if there was one other thing Tang missed, it was his teasing.

Tang picked up his chopsticks and the moment noodles hit his tongue, he practically melted into goo.

“Pigsy, your food is soooooooo good,” He exalted.

“Wow, you really think so? Maybe I should be a chef,” Pigsy grinned, but Tang was too in heaven to give any kind of retort.

“Alright, well it’s roughly–” Pigsy looked at the clock and jumped, “ – 8:15, so I gotta get going.”

The chef then tried to get MK off of him, but once the small child realized what he was doing, he seemed to gain a death grip that Pigsy attempted and failed to loosen until Tang got involved and practically peeled him off of Pigsy’s back.

Naturally, this made MK start crying.

“Hey, hey, hey– I’ll be back I promise, I just gotta work and make money so we can get you real clothes more than the two outfits I found in a donation bin, alright?” Pigsy tried to assure MK in Tang’s arms, but from a distance so the kid didn’t try to latch on again. It didn’t really work, and Pigsy chewed his lip frantically as he tried to think.

Eventually he came up with an idea and hung his head a little.

“What? What’s the matter?” Tang asked, attempting to bounce MK but failing pretty miserably.

“Pretend you’re not listening,” Pigsy ordered, and Tang realized he was going to sing again.

“Do my sleepy words mean nothing to you?” Tang sighed dramatically before Pigsy gave him a look and so Tang obeyed, looking away (because his hands were full– what exactly Pigsy expected, Tang didn’t know but he was fine with it so whatever).

He then started singing the Song of the Sunshine, which he’d clearly sung with MK before because of just how strong and positive his reaction was. Most importantly, it got him to stop crying, and after a brief hug and a passing of tissue, the tears stopped entirely.

Pigsy was about to head out, though right as he touched the doorknob, he snapped and turned back to Tang.

“I have a library book on the coffee table about kids his age you can read when he’s napping and/or you finish studying– oh by the way, he naps around one and usually sleeps for an hour but after that he’s hungry but lunch is before nap time at noon, so just give him some of the peach snacks I have in the cupboard– he really likes those– and if there’s an emergency you can just call– oh and also I’ll make lunch and dinner downstairs too, so don’t forget,” Pigsy listed off.

“Wow, you’re really treating us,” Tang smiled smugly.

“Consider it wages for babysitting or whatever,” Pigsy pushed him jokingly, before looking at MK who was looking at him with big puppy dog eyes.

With a sigh, Pigsy hugged both Tang and MK, giving the former a kiss on the cheek, and MK a ruffling of his hair.

“I’ll see you soon, alright?” He looked at MK. MK looked up at Tang, then at Pigsy, then at Tang again before nodding.

“Alright. See you soon,” Pigsy patted the kids back before he really had to go, and so scrambled down the stairs.

And then it was just the two of them.

Tang’s first move was setting the kid down– since his pathetic nerdy noodle arms were not meant for carrying a (maybe???) two-year-old for long lengths. When he did the kid looked up at him vacantly, making Tang wonder if there was even a thought behind those eyes.

“So…” Tang looked around the apartment, bouncing on his heels and snapping while he tried to think of something to do. The kid certainly wasn’t any help, as he just continued to stare.

“Guess we should get you dressed then, no?” Tang decided, going into their bedroom and finding the two outfits Pigsy mentioned. MK was the one clearly calling the shots there though, selecting the blue shirt and overalls with a monkey on the pocket. Tang was glad it didn’t turn into a whole thing like he knew kids could do. Though there was a bit where it seemed like MK was going to bite his hand off when Tang tried to take his bandana, so he steered very clear of that.

After that though another big question mark hung in the air. Objectively, Tang knew he had to study, but also it didn’t seem like there was much to do with the kid in the meantime.

“Well… um… soooo… do you… like..?” Tang looked around for something– anything a kid would like, but their TV was basically useless, the books were a billion years more advanced than MK could possibly hope to understand, the boxes were too small, and they didn’t have toys– not by a long shot.

MK did seem to have a thought though, as he walked out of the bedroom and towards a countertop where a stack of legal papers were and–

Oh! Pigsy had a box of crayons.

“You want to color?” Tang asked. MK nodded and reached up enthusiastically. Tang grabbed a solid stack of the legal documents, grabbed the crayons and set them on the coffee table so the kid could actually draw on a hard surface.

To his surprise, the kid got to work straight away, and while Tang had literally no point of comparison, he seemed to be pretty good for a kid his age– whatever that was.

Tang left briefly to grab his laptop and books he needed, and when he returned the kid ran up and showed him his work. From what Tang could tell it looked like some trees, though they could’ve been giraffes, the sun in the corner, and right in the middle was a big brown swirl and a waterfall? Unless that was supposed to be the sky, and that swirl was a snake?

“Nice, MK,” Tang would’ve given a thumbs up but his arms were full. He carried his things past the toddler, who kept trying to show him the art.

“Yes, yes, MK it’s very nice, I love the trees– er– sky? –er– the sun especially,” Tang wasn’t sure what the right answer was, especially as MK had a little frown with each attempt, though seemed satisfied at the “sun” compliment and went back to his crayons.

…Tang didn’t understand kids.

But it was fine, this was fine. He had… time. Forced time, but this was just day one– he was crazy– was he seriously thinking a toddler was judging him??? Maybe Tang ought to see a therapist.

Tang took a deep breath to force himself to relax before he cracked open his book and laptop and started “studying” for his economics final.

Pigsy had always believed in Tang and his ability to be smart and know things, but really, Tang was a fraud who was just trying to delay the inevitable that when he finally got his PHD he wouldn’t find a job and would remain a financial burden to Pigsy– and now MK– till the end of his days, and he’d just be a burden like his parents always believed.

With a grumble, he started reading.

“The price, or market, system is the predominant allocation mechanism in most industrial societies today because–”

A piece of paper was slapped atop Tang’s book, making him jump.

“You– um– draw fast, don’t you MK?” Tang immediately set the paper aside, but MK huffed and put it back over his book.

“Look, how’s about you draw five drawings while I study and then you can show me then, hm?” Tang proposed, but the boy just stared vacantly.

“Right. You don’t know numbers,” Tang rubbed his forehead, before looking at the drawing.

This one was slightly more decipherable than the previous, as there was a bunch of pink scribbles roughly in the shape of Pigsy, and— what appeared to be a monkey on his shoulders? It was hard to tell, since it was red and also very crude. There was also another figure, bright yellow but it was hard to tell if that was supposed to be a sunbeam or tree or heck– even Tang. Again there was a waterfall (?) and some maybe-rocks maybe-hedgehogs???

“Is this supposed to be Pigsy?” Tang asked, pointing to the pink scribes. MK nodded.

“Aw, that’s sweet; I’m sure he’ll love it,” Tang smiled and set it down, though that made MK upset, as he picked it up and put it over his book again.

Tang groaned. “Kid, you’re really cute and all, but I need to study otherwise I will be failing everyone I know. Please just– go back to drawing?” Tang pleaded but the kid didn’t budge.

“Look– I–” Tang rolled his head back. “I don’t know what this drawing’s of. I’m sorry.”

MK took his paper back before going to the table and drawing more.

Tang sighed a breath of relief before going back to his textbook.

“–it is generally the most efficient. Yet not all exchanges take place in a market system. Many medical services–”

Tang was going to gouge his eyes out if he had to read any more of that money mumbo jumbo and so put it back in his back and swapped it out for his Taosim and Buddhism: Face to Face textbook and tried reading that for all of five seconds, before MK slapped the paper down.

The only thing that changed really was that the yellow figure was very clearly not Tang anymore and seemed to have some kind of flowers around him? Her? Them? and also adding a mountain in the background. The creature on Pigsy’s shoulder also had added detail– most importantly what looked like a bandana.

“And is that supposed to be you?” Tang pointed to the red– um… monkey? Spider? Cat?

MK nodded and smiled, jumping on the couch and pointing to the mountains and the yellow figure.

“Yes, yes, you’ve certainly improved your background work here,” Tang remarked. “But who is this person? Is that your mother or father?”

MK shook his head.

Somehow the figure not being one of his parents made it stranger– especially because MK deemed them so important he added more detail.

“Well they’re very lovely either way,” Tang patted his head and MK gave him a big toothy grin– which surprised the scholar.

“Yes, yes– well then, I’ll give this back to you so you can give it to Pigsy at lunch–” He said, handing him back the drawing– “and then I will get back to studying.”

MK was about to get off the couch when he suddenly gasped and pointed urgently to a picture in his textbook.

Tang stared at it and blinked. “That’s the Queen Mother of the West– she’s the wife to the jade emperor.”

At that MK nodded and started trying to turn pages in the book, which Tang tried to stop, but soon realized all that would do was rip the 5541.52 yuan book and so let him have his way. The kid flipped through page after page, until another picture showed up and he pointed to it eagerly.

“Oh, that’s the Bodhisattva Guanyin– she’s a figure of mercy and forgiveness and second beginnings,” Tang explained. Again MK flipped until another photo showed up and Tang realized he was curious about who all the people were.

“That’s Prince Nezha– he killed a dragon when he was young, and because of that his own father disowned him and he died–” Tang told and MK gasped.

“I-it’s okay though! He came back and got his revenge, though remains permanently twelve– I think,” Tang tried to recall before MK flipped pages again, and this time tapped it repeatedly to show his overwhelming excitement.

“Ahhh, I see you’ve taken an interest in Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, hm?” Tang chuckled and MK nodded excitedly.

“I see you have good taste, because he’s probably the most interesting figure in this whole book,” Tang joked. “He’s from a story called Journey to the West where he helps guide a monk to deliver scriptures to the Buddha and goes through personal trials until he reaches enlightenment– though not before causing some serious havoc in heaven.”

MK laughed– he laughed– and Tang felt his heart melt a little before MK started trying to get his head under his arm. Tang was confused, until he realized he wanted to sit in his lap to see the pictures better, and so Tang let him.

“See this one?” Tang pointed to a picture on the top left. “That depicts when he fought off the entire heavenly army after he was kicked out for stealing their wine, pills, and peaches.”

“And this one here–” he pointed below– “that’s when he got trapped under the Mountain of Phases after Buddha successfully tricked him.”

MK tilted his head curiously, tracing it with his finger before looking back up at Tang.

“Yes, yes, a little harsh, but he goes through worse punishments later, as before he was ready to go on the journey with the monk Tang Sanzang, he was given a circlet that would hurt him if he disobeyed,” Tang expanded, turning the page to reveal such an image, which made MK gasp and whimper.

“Yeah, it looks like it hurts a lot, doesn't it?” Tang said, examining the picture closer. It was weird– he hadn’t ever thought about the thing that closely before, but looking back, it was pretty torturous.

“It’s okay though– Monkey King always got back on his feet and got enlightenment like he always wanted, isn’t that nice?” Tang asked, and MK slowly nodded, though his lower lip trembled a bit.

“Aww, it’s okay MK,” Tang patted his shoulder, which MK took as an invitation to hug the scholar, which while it surprised him, he wasn’t against it.

“Here– how’s about I teach you about some of the happier parts of Sun Wukong’s life, hm? Like when he fought the permanent twelve-year-old Prince Nezha? Or when he had a cool shapeshifter duel with Er Lang Shen and his dog? Or– oh! What about when he fought off the Monstrous King of Havoc and freed all of the other monkeys on Flower Fruit Mountain from being eaten or enslaved?” Tang proposed, which instantly put MK in better spirits.

And so Tang started telling him tales, and MK slowly got off and started drawing the scenes Tang described, which was pretty impressive since sometimes Tang could actually see what was going on, which was nice. Plus, it was fun to see him so engaged in his stories.

It was… strange, watching this boy who had been nothing but a confusing vessel become so passionate and alive and giggly as Tang talked. Sometimes Tang actually thought he’d respond with words, but his laughs and nods were good enough for him.

Tang talked and MK colored for hours and hours and hours on end, until the landline rang to life, and Tang left MK to draw Er Lang Shen and his dog while he answered.

“Zhu residence, this is Tang.”

“TANG! Have you looked at the time??? The kid’s s’posed to be havin’ lunch by now!” Pigsy scolded on the other side.

“Oh wow– has it really been that long?” Tang laughed, seeing the clock said 12:15.

“Uh– yeah! Geez– does the kid’s schedule not even matter to you?” Pigsy griped.

“O-of course! It’s just– we were getting so caught up in drawing and The Monkey King– it really is something–”

“I thought you were supposed to be studying,” Pigsy pointed out.

“Yeaaahhh, well a little break never hurt anyone,” Tang totally glossed over the fact he never really started in the first place. There was a bit of pause before Pigsy spoke again.

“So uh– you and the kid been bonding?” Pigsy asked, his tone far less harsh now.

“I– um–” Tang looked over his shoulder at MK, who gave him a big flashy grin. “We have.”

“That’s– That’s really good, Tang, I’m glad,” His partner praised. “I thought’d take the kid weeks to warm up to you based on how he is with other strangers– this is good though.”

“And you left me up here with him alone anyways?” Tang pointed out jovially.

“I am literally just two stories down, Tang.”

“Yeah, yeah– let me do the teasing sometimes.”

Pigsy laughed on the other side. “Alright, alright– just get you and MK down here or else I’ll still charge you for your lo mein,”

“Alright, alright, I’ll get him there,” Tang rolled his eyes. “Love you, Piggy.”

“Love you too, Tangy. But seriously– get your ass down here.”

“I will. Bye.”

“Bye.”

And with that, Pigsy hung up.

“Alright MK, are you ready to see Pigsy again?” Tang hung up the phone too.

“Dadsy!” MK cheered, drawing in hand that he quickly showed Tang.

“Woah– Dad-sy?” Tang fawned over that so much did didn’t notice MK holding out the picture for him to take.

“Mhm!” MK nodded, shoving the picture in Tang’s face since he clearly wasn’t looking down enough.

The drawing wasn’t the one from earlier– no, this one was probably the clearest of any. On the right was clearly Pigsy, looking much better than his scribbled counterpart, and also very clearly holding MK, who was drawn with proper yellow and brown, with red saved for the bandana. And to the left was–

Him.

He could tell too, because the stick figure was wearing his robe and had huge messy circles around the eyes to be glasses, plus he was wearing a biiiiiiiiig old scarf. He was smiling, Pigsy was smiling, and MK was smiling too. There was also a rainbow, and a bowl of what Tang hoped were noodles and not worms, as well as MK written in the corner in big shaky letters.

“Oh MK– is this us?” Tang took it from his hands and felt himself start to tear up a little.

MK nodded excitedly.

“Dadsy an’ Tang!” He bounced on heels and flapped his hands.

Okay now Tang was definitely crying, and he quickly knelt and gave MK a hug.

“You know, I don’t meet a lot of kids, but you’re easily the coolest one out there, MK,” Tang complimented, giving him a good squeeze.

MK laughed and hugged him too.

“Now c’mon– I bet you’re starving, and I know I could certainly go for some noodles right about now,” Tang booped his nose before standing, at which MK did grabby hands upward. Tang chuckled and handed him back his drawing before picking him up.

“Alright, let’s go give your Dadsy a visit,” Tang was loving the nickname already and was more than certain Pigsy would just about die of cuteness when he heard it too– especially with how happy it made MK to hear it repeated back.

It was strange how much Tang felt he’d changed in a day, but hey, maybe that was just how parenting was–

God– it felt weird, to say it, but Tang was a parent now– Pigsy too. Of course, Tang still had a PhD to obtain, and Pigsy a restaurant to run, but together they were a team and with MK, they might even be a family.

Wow that was a lot to think.

But still, it brought as much of a smile to his face as it did anxiety, and if that wasn’t parenting, Tang didn’t know what was.

#lego monkie kid #lmk #freenoodles #tang lmk #pigsy lmk #mk lmk #domestic freenoodles #fluff #dadsy #dad tang #MK is an absolute precious baby #I legit think the only reason we didn't see tang at first was bc homeboy was gone #and because of that he missed the deadline to be considered a dad sorry bro #you're demoted to father figure but not father #fjdaskl;fjdsa #i'm rambling now #just read it

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666herescared · 6 months ago

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Imaginary Shadow Dad)Ch.12: How do you Manage?

—☆—

Hello! Sorry for the wait.My computer broke, and I was having trouble figuring out how to handle this one because of the massive difference, that is, Macaque watched Wukong mourn him for over a thousand (Give or take) YEARS!

I think I’ve got something brewing. Let’s hope it meets your expectations!

—☆—

Wukong honestly didn’t think this was real. After all, the largest shrine on Flower Fruit Mountain was dedicated to mourning his presumably dead lover. Especially since he’d kept it private so long. At most, he thought he’d be talking to a ghost, though much more likely was that the years of delusion had caught up to him.

Okay, maybe that’s not the right word. The Monkey King knew his lover was dead, and he understood that. The thing is that he’d been mourning for so damn long and still hadn’t accepted it. In fact, he still wore the wedding ring on his tail. His nightmares were meant for him alone, and his guilt ran deeper than the blood in his veins. If Mihou was alive, why did it still seem so hopeless?

Returning to the mountain, Sun Wukong looked around his cave for any signs of further hallucinations or whatever that voice was, and he finally heard it, on the wall to his right.

“Long time no see, Monkey King. Or, well, long time since you saw me.” the voice of his lover said with venom in his tone, causing Wukong to whip around and glare at the shadow on the wall.

Ah, great. Well, eyes of truth confirmed it. Not a hallucination. “Well then, I guess you never learned manners. It’s pretty cruel to take on the form of someone’s dead lover,” he claimed, staring down this presumed imposter with just as much poison in his voice.

That seemed to piss him off. “Oh no, I’m very real Wukong. But I’m not here for a fight-” then OF COURSE, Wukong had to interrupt.

“Yeah, right. Heh. I watched him die to my own damned hand, and to be honest? Still pretty broken up about it. So if you value your life, you’ll stop pretending to be him.” The king stretched himself taller to present a more threatening air, demeanor and furious expression only assisting with that. “Not listening, are you? Trust me Wukong, I already know-” “Stop pretending you know me. Call me Wukong one more time, and I’ll bash your head in.” The disrespect of this stranger!

Not gonna let him talk, is he?

“Wukong, if you actually list-ened!-” Macaque’s voice pitched higher when Wukong punched right into the shadows, then both froze for a moment.

The Monkey King would never get used to the shadow realm’s stasis. The feeling of his hand and only his hand having the blood stop flowing, while still not causing damage, was a strange experience to be sure, but his focus was on something else. That familiar fabric beneath his grip with those same stitches he’d memorized so long ago. So distant yet so vivid.. He - gently as he could - pulled his hand from the shadows, activating gold vision once more to check. He gasped at what his power revealed - familiar ears left with marks from their battles, one eyebrow split by a ghastly scar and the eye below a misty white, instead of the pale gold he always remembered - with fangs bared in a way he didn’t even see that fateful day. - “M-Mihou-” A punch was thrown as his former lover, who was apparently alive, stumbled out of the shadows with gritted teeth. He snapped his fingers and his two loyal sons appeared behind the king, holding him in place. Wukong could’ve overpowered them had he not been distracted by the sight of a man he thought was dead standing over him. “I’m not here to fight, Wukong, but not to reconcile either. I’m here, because you decided my son would be the perfect successor, and I want you to pick someone else.”

That snapped Wukong out of it. Pick someone else? What?! “I can’t just remove my magic from the kid, Macaque! He might literally die! Not to mention that he’d be a sitting duck against the demon bull family without it!”

“Are you doubting that my powers alone could protect my son?” the shadow wielder sneered.

“Oh fucking- You’re ignoring my other point entirely!” the sage responded angrily, pulling against the clones holding him, yet still avoiding using too much power.

“What? That removing magic will kill my kid? I fucking doubt it!” the darker monkey claimed in response.

“Okay then, Mr. Semi-Omniscient. Why not check for yourself?!” Wukong snarked angrily.

“Fine then!” Macaque’s top set of ears twitched, then the annoyance on his face faded to dread, and he paled to a concerning degree.

Wukong looked apprehensive, but kept up a brave face. “So? What’d you hear?”

After a moment of silence, Liu’er’s expression hardened again into a more thoughtful glare. “There’s really no safe way to prevent this..”

The Monkey King looked to the ground, soft remorse on his face. “Mihou-”

“Don’t fucking call me that! I-.. I need to think,” the Warrior muttered, snapping his fingers to get his sons to join him at his side instead of holding Wukong.

Now though, without anything to do, the Monkey King felt… awkward. “So…” He started after a while. “I can see you’re not wearing your ring anymore,” he said, looking somewhat somberly at the bare spot on Macaque’s tail. That certainly got a reaction. Not a good one though. “Yeah, well, someone crushed it onto my tail so hard that it would’ve rotted off if I left it on! Wonder who that was..,” the shadow wielder snapped at first, turning to look at Wukong again, yet his expression softened at the sight of Wukong’s own tail. Just a little. Barely noticeable. “I can see you're still wearing yours.”

“Heh, well… I guess I'm kinda sentimental,” the King said, voice quivering in a way only the Six-Eared trio in front of him could notice. One of the strange, skull faced clones, perked up and said something in an unfamiliar tongue. Macaque seemed to understand it though, because he muttered, “Yeah, that sounds reasonable. Thanks, Savage.”

“Savage”, huh? What a dorky name!

“Alright, Wukong.” The sage perked up when attention was turned to him again. “We need to agree not to fight, because either of our deaths would hurt the kid, and I don’t want him getting hurt in the crossfire,” the darker monkey began. The hero nodded in agreement. “Good. Now listen closely, ‘cause I’m only gonna say this once; My sons are the only things that matter to me anymore, so you’re gonna keep my youngest safe, and if he ever gets hurt because you weren’t there, I’m going to trap you in my lantern for the rest of your immortal life.”

Of course, the threatening tone didn’t work on the king, even when he knew he was being serious. “So, like… do I not get any days off or anything?” Wukong asked with a small chuckle.

The darker monkey in front of him growled and stood back up straight. “No. He’s dealt with enough abandonment in his life. I’m not letting you make this a repeat of how my life fell apart.” The sage gave a soft eye roll and a scoff, which was enough to piss off Macaque again. Noticing this, Wukong defended himself. “Oh- C’mon, Macaque! I don’t want that to happen either! You must have heard me groveling at your shrine, almost every day, for over a thousand years!”

“I wouldn’t call it groveling. What sort of king grovels at the feet of someone they killed?” The shadow wielder’s voice came out sharp, and venomous.

“Uhh~ This one, apparently. Even though technically you didn’t die!” Wukong snarked with a smirk. One of the skull faced clones - Wukong couldn’t tell which - squinted at the sky and tapped Macaque’s shoulder, though the dark primate was far too pissed off to acknowledge it.

“Yeah, no thanks to you,” he snapped, ignoring the concerned chitters Savage was supplying.

“Uh- No, actually. Now that I know you aren’t dead, I’m pretty sure all the immortalities I gave you had something to do with you surviving that.” Wukong sassed as Savage was getting a little louder.

“HA! As if! All that would’ve done was prolong my suffering! I got myself out of that forest after you turned your back on everything we’d built!” Macaque exclaimed. fur in front of Savage’s ears moved back, revealing the slits that laid underneath as they hissed - then Rumble interrupted, leaping between the immortals and creating a massive shadow arrow that pointed up at the hole in the roof of the cave. It appeared to be sunset-.. Shit.

“Wait… He was right outside when we left!” Wukong shouted frantically.

“What the- How is it taking him so long? Did he fall in the lava at the flaming mountains?! Oh no- WUKONG! GO GET HIM!” The shadow wielder demanded, pointing towards the cave entrance.

“What?! He’s your cub!” the king rebutted.

“It’s been ten years since he last saw me! I’m not gonna knock his life further off balance!” “Wait- So you abandoned him? Pot calling kettle-”

“Right back at‘cha!”

“Monkey King?” Mk’s voice came from down the hall.

The six-eared monkeys immediately fell back into the shadows, leaving the king on his own. Peeking around the corner, Wukong could see what had taken the cub so long. He gasped at the cuteness.

The little white Monkeys were curiously patting and pulling at Mk’s invisible limbs and climbing all over him to try and figure him out. The Monkey King’s new apprentice was begrudgingly letting them do so while still trying to walk. It was so dang… adorable! “That’s just about the cutest dang thing I ever saw!” the sage whispered giddily, looking around the corner of his little cottage at the young boy. “We’ll talk about this later.” He whispered to his shadow, before backflipping from the ground up onto the roof of his shack. “You looking for someone, bud?” the ruler asked with a knowing smirk.

“Monkey King!” the young monkey exclaimed, running over to the shack and startling the little monkeys off of him. The king was almost startled by the sudden movement himself, but quickly recognized his speed as an effect of having the magic of two mystic monkeys in his body. That's gonna take some getting used to.

“Sup, bud? So… where's my staff?” the king asked, looking around playfully, before looking back and noticing the panic on his young admirer's expression.

“I’m so sorry, Monkey King! I was trying to get it to you, but there was this whole thing with the Demon Bull King and Princess Iron Fan, also their son, but he wasn't there when she took-” Mk started, rambling and starting to blush when he brought up Redson.

He was freaking out. Wukong wasn't prepared to handle this, so he tried to put the boy’s mind at ease. “Hehe, calm down kid! I already know. Seee… I've been kinda watching you.”

“Huh?” the boy snapped out of it and gave a confused look, before gasping dramatically. “Wait- That was you?!”

The king couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the young monkey's face. “Oh~ The look on your face! You're perfect!” he cackled, though he felt the glare on his back.

Mk looked confused and tilted his head up at Wukong, squinting slightly. “Perfect for what?”

Oh man, the kid was gonna love this. Wukong did a triple flip over Mk's head, crossing his arms as he landed. “To be my…” he started, halfway turning around and pointing at the boy. “-successor!”

Mk looked at him with disbelief for a moment, before shaking it off and starting to pace. “Oh great! I'm dreaming again! Can my brain stop taunting me, please?”

“Uh~ kid? If you'd like I could slap you, but I don't wanna hurt you on acci–dent..” Monkey King tried to keep up the facade, but he looked like he saw a ghost, staring at the headband his successor wore. Huh.. Macaque kept that? For over 3,000 years?

Mk looked confused and placed a hand on his headband self-consciously. “What? What is it?”

The king snapped out of it and shook his head a bit. “Uh~ C-Can I see that headband for a moment, bud?” he asked tensely, reaching one hand out.

The boy in front of him looked suspicious, but untied it and placed it in his hand, letting his hair fall into its long and messy natural appearance. He could trust the Monkey King with it, right?

The sage was gentle with the band of fabric, then looked at the embroidery and gave a soft sob that one could mistake for a cough. It was like he was holding his memories in his hands.. He handed it back with a soft smile. “Thanks, kid..”

Mk smiled and took it back. “Of course, Monkey King!” he grinned. He was happy to help, “Now; what are we gonna do about the giant evil bull king who's RAVAGING my home, and probably KILLING my friends!?” -but he also had some basic logic.

Ah, right. “Pfft, c'mon! You can handle it!” Wukong brushed it off, falling back onto his cloud as it formed behind his back. “Consider it a trial,” he claimed, before spotting the glare of the shadows, and adding, “Tell you what; If you take more than~ thirty minutes to win, I'll come and save ya’, alright? You'll be fine,” he assured him, glancing at Macaque a couple times to gauge if that sated him. The glare was there, but it'd softened.

“Well- How would I even get back?! How- How can you just trust me to figure it out?” the boy asked with a squirlish look, gesticulating wildly. Small flickers of purple and gold magic slipped along his body, but were calmed when the Monkey King placed his hands on Mk’s shoulders, steadying him. That much uncontrolled magic.. Hm.

“Kid. I’d never tell you to do anything you can’t do. If I say you can beat DBK, you can beat DBK. Just believe in yourself! Even a smidge, can make all the difference,” he said with a soft smile. “And as for that other thing.. You’re not scared of heights, are you?” the sage suggested ominously with a more mischievous grin.

A moment later, Wukong hopped onto his cloud and offered Mk a hand to get on behind him. “Now remember, you have thirty minutes to beat him before I come to help. You succeed-.. I dunno, I’ll give you one of my first merch items! That sound good?”

The kid was nervous until the reward was mentioned. Then he got excited. “REALLY?! Like, the Monkey King original first edition plush?!” the fanboy exclaimed cheerfully.

“Sure, if that’s the one you want. I honestly expected you to be more of an action figure kid, but that’s good too,” the king responded cheerfully, before zipping the cloud forward with no warning. Mk, startled, grabbed the ruler’s shoulders and shut his eyes tight. Within a single minute they had reached the battle, and Wukong was picking Mk up and placing him on the ground. The king patted his head twice and said in his native language, “Good luck, little monkey. Here's hoping it goes well!” before zipping off. Macaque was psychically bugging him again.

The boy was stunned by the sudden speed for a moment longer before a massive crash sounded behind him and he finally spotted Mei, who was in full dragon form and beating the shit out of Redson. He perked up, phantom tails flicking cheerfully. “Jie Jie!”

She was startled and looked over, eyes lighting up in recognition. She threw the Demon Bull Prince into the air and slapped him away with her tail, before turning her full attention to Mk. “Di Di! You’re okay!” she said happily, hopping into the air and doing a somersault as she shapeshifted back to human form. She landed with a grin and bounced up to her brother to give him a big ol’ hug. “I was so worried!” “I’m fine, Jie Jie,” the little monkey claimed with a smile.

“Xiao Houzi! Did you find the Monkey King?!” his Ba Ba called from the ground, always one to gather information.

“I did, Ba Ba!” he replied.

“Then where the heck is he?!” Dadsy called up as well, almost sounding pissed. “He said he’d give me the original plushie if I could do it! He’ll be here in like half an hour!” Mk called down with a grin. Pigsy face-palmed while Tang stimmed, a nervous and conflicted look on his face. After all, that plushie’s worth a fortune! But he didn’t want his son to get hurt. Mei, ever the enabler of Mk’s stupid decisions, immediately called her bike and grabbed Mk’s helmet from its saddle bag to put it on his head. “We’ll be backing you up, Monkey Man!” she said with a grin, hopping down from the building with a backflip. The Monkey Kid smiled down at his big sister for a moment, before hopping aboard the dragon-cycle. Mei had given him one or two lessons in her free time, so he knew the basics, but he didn’t expect how different it was when actually going fast. His turns were tight. He worried he might tip the bike over by going quite so fast. Then DBK noticed him. Ah, shit.

DBK scowled. It was that pest his brother called a son. He’d have to stop him without killing him. Such a pain.

Going quick, and hearing the Demon Bull King saying something, Mk ignored it and tried to think of an attack he could use. His balance was thrown off, but he managed to right himself, though his panic was causing his magic to grow restless. The wild flickers of magic seemed to blend in his eyes, causing purple and yellow to swirl as the world turned gold and lightning zapped from his eyes. He swore to himself, skidded to a stop, and covered his zapping eyes, only to peek through his fingers and spot the furnace burning in DBK’s chest, which held the staff in its center. He absently spotted the indignation on the king’s face from having the little monkey just skid past him instead of attacking. A plan began to form in his mind as he once more ignored the Bull King’s insults and began driving. An attack was thrown at the ground in front of him (DBK must be a poor shot) and Mk managed to tilt the bike up and drive right along his hand and up his arm. The ruler noticed the plan brewing in the boy’s mind and went to try and snuff it out by plucking him off.

The Little Monkey just launched himself off of the bike and right towards the furnace on his chest, meanwhile the bike tipped over to the other side and was caught by Mei. The Demon Bull King looked shocked and almost angered as Mk launched into the furnace. The young boy gripped the staff, yet quickly felt stiff, hard, rock surrounding him. With a gasp, he pulled on the staff harshly.

Before all went black.

—

After checking her bike for damage, Mei noticed how everything had gotten quiet. She looked around, worriedly, soon spotting how everyone, even their opponents, had frozen in shock and dread. What happened? She felt a sinking feeling in her gut and looked up at the hole in DBK’s chest. She’d figured it out.

Tears fell from her face as she dropped her bike and ran back to get a better view. Oh no.. Oh, gods no! “DI DI!” She gave a terrified, blood curdling yell. Her baby brother, the smaller, sweeter, more sensitive boy she loved so much, had gotten killed in the furnace!.

She growled harshly as she shapeshifted slowly, grunting in pain at the exertion it took to shift so often within a day. She didn’t care at the moment. The bastard that killed her little brother was standing right front of her, standing still as though in shock. She lunged at him and threw him towards a nearby building, snapping her friends and foes out of their stupor.

Encouraged, she moved to strike again, but then DBK gasped and bent over in pain, clutching his chest. She watched as a strange stone egg fell from the hole in the furnace. It shifted, it cracked, and it seemed to throw itself into the air. She stepped back in shock and lost her focus, shifting back to a mostly human form. Sandy had managed to get over there in time to catch her, and still got to watch as the Monkey king’s staff cut through the stone shell and burst it, revealing Mk bathed in golden light so bright and purple shadows so dark that they should’ve overpowered one another. He rested the staff across his shoulders as the light formed a circlet across his forehead and the shadows formed six dark ears, three on each side. With a cackle of pure delight, the boy rushed DBK with the staff, jumping up to strike him upside the chin, and growing the staff to jab at his face. Launched backwards by his attack, the boy narrowly dodged the laser that was fired at him from his enemy’s arm as he fell to the ground, then used the staff to bounce back up to DBK’s level.

Although daunting, DBK’s size made him hard to miss, and he was repeatedly attacked by the nimble kid. Said kid then landed back on the ground and cut off a large part of a nearby building, intent on using it as a hammerhead which he swung down at DBK. The demon wasn’t about to be taken down so easily, however. He fired his laser, shattering the building into dust, before landing a brutal punch and sending the boy flying into the ground nearby.

Skidding across the pavement was painful, but not quite as much as DBK’s next taunt. “Even with that old fool’s staff, you can’t defeat me! My brother should be disappointed in you.” His brother. Macaque. The six-eared Macaque. It wasn’t hard to deduce.

Mk wasn’t a fool, he’d long since figured out that Liu’er was his Shadow Dad. If the visual and magical similarities weren’t enough, the fact that a gift from him said Liu’er Mihou on it was. He’d just denied letting it sink in. Now though? With a hulking monstrosity destroying the city, and taunting him with the prospect of his first real parent being disappointed?..

He felt pain; The thought was one of his own. An intrusive one he hated. He felt anger; He didn’t appreciate DBK calling his Shadow Dad “brother”, and he didn’t deserve to know a name his father never even told his own son. He felt release; He didn’t have to rely on Shadow Dad’s opinion of him anymore. He’d never make him proud if he was so quick to abandon a child. He felt rage; Why should he care what Shadow Dad thinks?! That bastard didn’t even care enough to stick around! He didn’t even tell his son his real name! Did he really think so little to believe he’d never find out?

He grit his teeth as he picked up the staff with a brutal grip, standing back up, fully enveloped with a dark aura. “And who told you I care what your brother thinks?” He whipped around to throw another strike at DBK. This wasn’t just business anymore; this was personal. As though on instinct he slammed the Ruyi Jingu Bang into the Demon Bull King’s face, spines made of shadow running along the length of it to stab and slash at the ruler’s skin. Mk didn’t even notice.

“Insolent brat!” DBK exclaimed, launching another laser shot at the boy, only to find he’d seemingly disappeared.

“Missing someone?” His voice was layered with echoes of the void and it was a chilling sound, even for his allies. He jammed the staff straight into the Bull King’s back, slamming the beast into the ground. A swing at the demon king’s side was countered by a laser shot, though Mk just darted around it.

The ruler stood and sent another shot at the boy, though the odd purple lightning in his eyes decided to deflect it, causing the young adult to yelp in pain. It felt like his eyes were burning, though he just channeled that pain into more determination. He would finish this fight. Not for Monkey King. Not for Shadow Dad. Just for him and his city. He would finish this fight.

He slammed his staff into the ground, causing blocks of it to change shape. Earth turned into a metal mech of enormous size, shaped like a monkey. Yes. His choice of final attack was a video game reference. “You wanted me to fight you?” he started, pulling out a larger version of the staff from his mech’s ear. “Well, I’ll fight you then.” He launched into the sky and grew the staff even larger. “It’s time for you and your family to be brought to justice!” he exclaimed, readying a final blow. “Here comes Monkey Kid!”

He slammed the ginormous staff down hard, creating a crater in the earth and shaking the ground. As he shrunk the staff back to a manageable size and lowered to earth again, he wondered if he knocked anything out of orbit with that attack. He spotted a shocking amount of cuts on DBK’s form as he watched the king attempt to stand. Huh. Guess he must’ve knocked him into something sharp.

“Im…possible..” the ruler tried to claim.

Mk snickered. “Nothing is impossible if you just believe in yourself. You, my friend, just got M.K.O-ed!” The corny line was delivered with his voice back to it’s normal state.

Red Son shoved some rubble off of himself and looked down into the crater. He almost looked shocked that it was his father who wound up so harmed. “Do-Do you think this is over, Noodle Boy?! Well, it isn’t! Get out of that dorky mech and fight me, you coward!” the prince exclaimed, before fainting and falling into the crater next to his father. Mk snickered at the sight and reached down, only to be stopped by Princess Iron Fan’s winds.

“We know when we’ve been bested,” she grit her teeth as she showed her face. “But this won’t be the last you see of us, Noodle Boy,” she trailed off into maniacal laughter as her winds carried her and her family to safety.

“Whu- Hey! No fair! You can’t just run away when I’m just about to win!” Mk exclaimed in annoyance and disappointment.

“Mk!” Mei called from the ground. The boy in question peeked out of his cockpit to see what she needed. “You totally kicked DBK’s butt! Without us, the City would be toast!” She didn’t seem to realize that the city was already kinda destroyed.

Nor did Mk, honestly. “Hehe, yeah.” He hopped out of the mech and landed in front of his sister, who immediately hugged him tightly.

“Now don’t scare me like that ever again! I thought you were dead, twice today!” the dragon girl exclaimed, holding him close, then Sandy picked both up into a group hug.

“You did it, little man!” the gentle giant said in an almost soothing tone.

“Xiao Houzi!” Mr.Tang exclaimed as he ran over and reached his arms out for a hug, at which point Sandy put the young adults back on the ground. He immediately gave one of his soft yet sturdy hugs and held his son close in his arms with a sigh of relief.

“Aww, did I really scare you that much?” the boy asked, before both he and his Ba Ba got lifted into a tight hug.

“Yes! Never do that again, dang it!” Pigsy exclaimed as he squeezed his family in a bone-popping hug. “Okay! Okay, I’ll try!” Mk replied through mirthful giggles, managing to free an arm to hug his dad as well. It might not last with the Demon Bull King walking around, but they were safe for now, and at this point, Mk’d earned that dang Monkey King plush!

Macaque smiled at his son as he celebrated, before lowering into the dark and finding his Brother once more. He took a deep breath, and exclaimed,

“WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?!” This was gonna be a long night.

—☆—

SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT! I didn’t even realize how bad it was getting!

I just wanted this to be perfect. I’m so sorry.

I hope you all enjoyed anyway, and as always,

Have fun, and happy scrolling!

Prev- Chapter 11 and Next- (Coming Soon!)

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