#tang is so girlfailure coded i love him

[janetbrown711]

Well, Well, Look Who's Inside Again

MK finds out Tang had "sleepover" with Pigsy after New Years, and invites him to play a game or two.

tw for references to child/domestic abuse (both emotional and physical), as well as homophobia

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 8.5 Part 9 Part 10 Part 10.5 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14

Ao3 Link

Despite New Years being an incredibly long night for MK and Mei alike, kids were kids and they still rose with the sun over Megapolis and far before Pigsy did, which was usual for holidays and weekends.

Since it was holiday break, that meant MK and Mei had a few more hours than usual before they had to go to the restaurant to help out, which was also why despite any pre-existing tiredness, they embraced the early daylight.

Well– MK did anyways, Mei was always a heavier sleeper. He didn’t mind though, emerging from his room into the delicate sanctity of the empty living room without much trouble. He was silent as ever, closing his door and barely making a sound as he snuck himself a banana which he ate in record time before strategically placing it under paper plates in the trash so nobody’d find it.

After that he went over to the couch and proceeded to get a head start on building the pillow fort for the game he and Mei liked to play, draping blankets over couch cushions and lamps alike until there were about three separate areas. Now all MK really had to do was wait for his bestest friend.

However, strangely enough, it wasn't Mei's door that opened first, but Pigsy's and–

"Mr. Tang? What're you doing here?" MK tilted his head, noticing the man was in one of Pigsy’s robes and one of his shirts too– and his pajamas pants.

The poor guy nearly tripped over himself before his eyes went to MK in his fort.

"H-h-hi, MK! Fancy seeing you here!" Tang smiled, clutching a hand over his heart.

"I live here," MK blinked.

"That you do," the man gave a laugh even MK could tell was forced. "See, I was just– um– I was going to use the–"

MK stared at him, noticing his hair was disheveled, his glasses were crooked, and he was apparently also borrowing Pigsy's slippers.

"Is Pigsy awake?" MK decided to ask.

"Ah– no," Tang said apologetically.

"Then why are you here?" He tilted his head again.

“Well– umm–” Tang looked around the apartment, clearly looking for a way out of what he must be thinking as an awkward conversation– though MK couldn’t fathom why he’d think that.

“Did you have a sleepover?” MK asked further.

This made Tang even more red in the face, before he cleared his throat and nodded. “Y-yes– a sleepover– I wasn’t in any condition to really go home last night and so Pigsy helped me out– in a way,” Tang muttered that last bit, but MK shrugged it off, satisfied he got his answer.

“Sooo… um… W-what’re you playing?” Tang decided to ask since MK didn’t say anything else.

“Oh, I’m not playing yet– waiting for Mei,” MK briefly explained, adjusting some pillows and a stack of books.

“Ahhh, I see,” Tang smiled and looked around. “Quite the elaborate set up you got here; I must say, I’m impressed.”

MK perked up. “You really think so?”

“Of course!” The scholar laughed. “It takes an impressive eye to see all of Pigsy’s things and be able to transform it into all of this. You’ve got quite the creative mind, MK.”

“Oh, you know, it’s just making a mess– you should see how quickly I can put it all away, Mei says that’s the real impressive part,” He laughed to himself as he adjusted a blanket.

“Really?” Tang sat on the ground under one of the forts.

MK nodded proudly. “I’m a master at cleaning, according to Piggy n’ Mei.”

The scholar’s face twitched ever so slightly, which MK noticed too, but that meant anything then Tang didn’t say.

“Well, that’s very impressive, MK,” Tang said instead, so MK was probably just seeing things. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time...

“So… what’s the game?” The scholar asked.

“It changes a lot, but most of the time it’s about hiding from the sleeping dragon,” MK explained. “We need the forts because if the dragon wakes up and they hear you, they burst in and eat you.”

“Wow, that’s a mean dragon,” Tang laughed a little strangely. “Is it always Mei who’s the dragon and you’re the–... victim?”

MK shook his head. “Me n’ Mei take turns.”

“Right, right,” Tang nodded, scratching his neck– which MK just realized he hadn’t really seen before.

“Mr. Tang, why do you always wear a scarf?” MK asked with zero hesitation.

Tang’s face turned dark red. “I– oh wow– I totally forgot I’m not wearing it right now,” He laughed nervously, his hand covering the back right side of it.

“Yeah, why aren’t you in your clothes?” MK was still confused about that.

“Ah– they got all soaked in the weather last night, it’s nothing really– Pigsy was just so generous– anyways–” Tang coughed. “I wear my scarf because I… like it. Makes me feel safe.”

“I don’t like wearing scarves, they make me feel all… chokey,” MK shuddered.

“To each their own,” Tang said without any judgment, which felt… strange coming from an adult.

“I hate the neckties they make us wear at school,” MK added, fiddling with a book pile. “They’re really annoying.”

Tang laughed. “I’ve never understood school uniforms, I always hated them as a kid.”

“The shirts are so itchy,” MK agreed.

“And the teachers? Yikes,” Tang ran fingers through his hair.

“I hate Headmaster Jianxi, he makes Pigsy feel bad,” MK crossed his arms. “And Miss Yang is mean too.”

Mr. Tang thought for a second. “Do you ever wish you could switch schools, MK?”

“No, I need Mei,” MK quickly dismissed the idea.

“Well, what if she transferred with you?” The man then suggested, and MK had to think about that.

“I… No. Teachers suck everywhere,” he ultimately decided– and that wasn’t mentioning how Mei knew the place and seemed to be okay with it and even liked parts of it. Plus, it was what her parents wanted for her and MK understood that her parents were nice.

Mr. Tang didn’t seem happy about that though, giving a long sigh. “It won’t be like this forever, you know that, right?”

MK furrowed his brows, unsure of what he was implying.

The man laughed a little awkwardly. “I– what I mean is– um–...” he looked away, fiddling with the collar of the gigantic robe. “Not all teachers are terrible, and you’ll probably find one you like in the future. You’re only seven, your life isn’t over.”

“Oh– uh… okay,” MK slowly nodded. “I guess you’re right.”

“Yes! And– and you shouldn’t force yourself to be miserable for the sake of others, so if you really, really, really don’t like that school–”

“I like the school, Mr. Tang. The play yard is cool,” MK lied, uncomfortable with all the concern.

“Right… right, of course, I’m not trying to force you to do anything, of course, I just–... you know what, I think I should go back to Pigsy,” Tang sighed and rubbed his face before getting up, but MK grabbed his (or technically Pigsy’s) pajama pants.

“I don’t want you to go– you left early last night too,” MK pleaded, surprised to see how surprised Tang looked.

“You… missed me?” Tang fiddled with the robe collar again.

“Yeah! Nainai and Mr. Zhu are… they aren’t you and Piggy,” MK still didn’t know how he felt about his grand”guardians”.

“Oh, of course,” Tang sat back on the ground in front of the boy. “Last night wasn’t too hard, was it?”

MK looked away.

Mr. Zhu was weird, and started smoking the second Pigsy was out of sight with Tang. It had sparked an argument between him and Nainai, which almost made MK cry, but Mei held his hand, which was nice. When the fireworks started going off, Nainai’s yelling only got angrier as she blamed Mr. Zhu for there not being any seats left, and Mr. Zhu then called her something MK’s ‘baba’ had called his ‘mama’ often, which had brought back a lot of bad memories and made him feel worse.

After a bit of squabbling, Nainai took Mei and MK’s hands and dragged them away from Mr. Zhu to a little spot where they could all sit. She then acted like nothing had happened at all and even started to braid Mei’s hair. She started going on and on about how she always wanted a granddaughter and how Mei was so pretty and smart and talented and reminded her of herself. After a bit, Mr. Zhu came back and just sat next to MK, and Nainai didn’t acknowledge him at all, just going on and on about how she was when she was a girl and how her mother was a saint and all these things. Meanwhile MK could just feel the cigarette smoke pushing down his neck. He tried looking to Mei for comfort, but Nainai had kept her head forward so she could braid easily, so MK was… kinda alone.

When the fireworks ended, MK was exhausted and asked to go back, to which Nainai had said the night was hardly over and there were so many things she could still buy for them, and yadda yadda yadda. Meanwhile, Mr. Zhu laughed at MK and said he reminded him of ‘your punk guardian’ when he was a kid, and it just made him feel weird and confused and sad. He almost cried, but Mr. Zhu had told him ‘it was a joke’ and to ‘not take it so soft’ and that ‘at least he wasn’t a ‘yutao’ like Pigsy was’, which just sounded even more mean.

When Nainai heard that, she scolded Mr. Zhu more and told MK not to cry because Mr. Zhu was "just like that" and he was also "just trying to get a reaction out of you". She then went and bought MK and Mei more things before they all went back to Pigsy’s place, and she insisted on tucking him in even though he didn’t want to and she kissed his forehead and tried removing his bandana. She didn’t like it when he fought on it, but muttered something under her breath eventually and let it be until she told him goodnight and finally– finally left.

MK hadn’t had the energy to go and spend the night with Mei.

“No, it was good,” MK lied again. “I just missed you. Plus, you seemed scared when you left.”

“O-oh… I… yeah, I guess I was,” Tang sighed. “I wish I could tell you why, but… I don’t know. Sometimes loud noises just overwhelm me and I get scared and jumpy. I know it isn’t normal, but I also don’t know how to stop it.”

“Oh…” MK slowly nodded. “That’s okay. I sometimes hear buzzes my teachers n’ parents say aren’t real.”

Tang smiled warmly. “Thanks, MK.”

MK gave a cheesy grin and thumbs up that made Tang laugh.

Good. It was working.

“So… um… do you want to play with me n’ Mei?” MK offered.

“O-oh! I– I’m not too old, am I?” He laughed nervously.

“No one’s too old, Mr. Tang,” MK laughed too.

“Well then… I guess I could use the de-stressor,” Tang joked mostly to himself, but MK just rolled with it.

“Okay! Um… we could set up another house, but I don’t think Pigsy has enough couches,” he looked around to confirm his suspicions.

“Wouldn’t it heighten the challenge if we keep the same amount? That way it’s more likely one of the two of us will lose?” Tang asked.

“Oh! Ummmmmm… yeah, it would,” MK ultimately agreed, despite the fact he hated losing. Then again, maybe Tang was right and it’d be more fun– he’d just have to give it a shot, right? It was what he wanted anyways.

As if right on cue, Mei’s door opened and she tiredly stumbled her way over, her hair still in multiple little braids from the night before.

“Good morning, Mei,” Tang chuckled.

“Mr. Tang? What’re you doing here?” Mei rubbed her eyes.

“He and Piggy had a sleepover so he’s gonna join us,” MK grinned at his friend, who looked at Tang.

“Sleepover?” She asked him, and the scholar's face turned deep red.

“W-well– it was just so late and I was exhausted– it was more of a ‘he nursed me back to help’ type situation– really, it wasn’t like it was all that personal really, it was just– not that I don’t like Pigsy or appreciate his help–! We’re really good friends, it’s just– you know– it was– well it was very nice and all, I’m not trying to sound ungrateful– but I just– you know– it was–”

“Okay,” Mei shrugged, and Tang sighed a huge breath of relief.

“So, uh… is it okay if he plays with us?” MK asked her.

Mei looked at him and thought long and hard (or at least pretended to by tapping her chin and tilting her head back and forth). “Mmmmmmm, he does owe us for last night…”

The scholar blushed. “R-right, I’m–”

“Silence, I am thinking,” Mei stuck a finger in Tang’s face, which made MK giggle.

For further drama, Mei circled around the scholar, who looked completely lost for what he was supposed to do. He just kept looking at MK who gave him two thumbs up that the man returned, which MK found funny.

After a bit of this though, Mei came to her verdict.

“He can play. It’ll be fun to kill him,” She grinned.

“Aha… just like old times,” Tang pulled a bit on his borrowed t-shirt’s collar. MK tilted his head, which made the man quickly shake it off. “Nevermind– let's get playing, no?”

“Okay! I’ll be first!” Mei grinned mischievously and jumped over the couch so she could get behind the forts. “I’m going to sleep! Such a sleepy little dragon am I,” Mei giggled as she curled into a ball and began to “snore” at a volume that could rival Pigsy.

“Okay, so what do we do now?” Tang whispered to MK.

“Well, we gotta try and not be too loud, and whenever Mei stops snoring we can’t make a sound or else she'll wake up,” MK explained, already crawling over to a different fort than he started.

“Ah, okay I see,” Tang started moving around too when Mei went silent and the both of them froze and looked at each other.

Mei went back to snoring.

“So, how many times can she, you know, just go back to sleep?” Tang asked as he and MK again switched their forts.

“One time she actually fell asleep, but that was kinda funny,” MK giggled until Mei stopped snoring again.

She continued.

“So she can do this all day? No limits?” Tang puzzled.

“It’s why we’ve never asked Piggy to play; he snores great, but I’m pretty sure he’d sleep too,” MK laughed and this time when Mei stopped snoring he didn’t stop in time.

“RAH! I’m gonna get you!” Mei cackled dramatically, and Tang and MK scrambled to different forts before Mei snuck behind the one Tang was in and tackled him.

“Got you, Mr. Tang! Omnomnomnomnom,” Mei started “eating” his arm and the man laughed while blankets and pillows fell everywhere, though MK was quick to try and fix it for them.

“Okay, so that means it’s now your turn, Mr. Tang,” MK informed, realigning some books.

“Sure, if you can get this little dragon off of me,” Tang tried shaking his arm out with a laugh as Mei kept ‘biting’.

“Sorry MK, you’re no match for this hungry gal,” She flashed him a cheeky grin and continued eating his arm.

“Meiiiiiiiiiiiiii,” MK huffed and the girl stopped and rolled her eyes.

“Alright, alright, I hears ya,” She got off of Tang and helped MK rebuild the fort, while Tang glanced at the boy.

“MK, that was a little mean don’t you think?” he whispered.

MK froze.

“I-I didn’t mean to– I-I–”

“Woah there– I was just– maybe let Mei do what she wants for a little bit longer, alright? She’s just having fun,” Tang placed a hand on MK’s shoulder, which he didn’t like.

“Okay, Mr. Tang,” He straightened himself out a bit.

Tang smiled a little sadly (which MK double didn’t like) and finished the fort before going behind as Mei had and curling into a ball.

“There’s no way ol’ Tang’s gonna win against us, right MK? We’re champs at this,” Mei grinned with pride as she went from one fort to the other.

“Y-yeah! We’re– we’re good at this,” MK couldn’t help but feel shaken for some reason and he hated it.

Mei looked like she was going to say something, but Tang stopped snoring and they had to freeze. That didn’t stop her from looking at him, though MK certainly didn’t look at her.

…Jeez, how long was Tang going to not snore???

He could see Mei trying to mouth his name out of the corner of his eye but properly ignored it.

Tang finally continued his snoring.

“Dude, what the heck?” Mei looked at him.

“I’m trying to win, Mei, duhhh,” MK lied with a laugh.

“Oohhhh, I see how it is,” Mei bought it with a smirk. “Smart.”

“That’s why they call me ‘smartie kid’,” MK grinned.

“Who? Miss Jiayi?” Mei laughed. “She doesn't count.”

“I– other people call me smart!” MK protested, feeling his face get hot.

Tang stopped snoring, so MK just tried to hide his face and Mei covered her mouth to stop her laughing.

He continued.

“You almost got me caught!” Mei accused.

“What?! How is your stupid joke my fault?” MK was genuinely confused.

Mei blew a raspberry and laughed while continuing her regular switching pattern while MK just felt very, very lost and… and bad too.

He tried shaking it off for the game's sake and continued crawling.

“Your dorky face got all red– it’s funny,” Mei informed with a giggle, but MK’s face just got hotter.

“I-I’m just– trying to win, haha,” MK lied yet again, barely even moving.

“Ahhh I see, the statue strategy,” Mei squinted as she continued to move.

“Yes–! It’s– um– a new thing I’m coming up with, so… uh… yeah,” MK swallowed a lump in his throat.

“I see, you sneaky li’l devil,” Mei grinned.

“Mei, can you n–”

Tang stopped snoring.

MK sighed in annoyance– before realizing that was the exact opposite of what he was meant to do, and the two of them rushed their ways to different forts and Tang ended up tackling an empty one, which MK quickly went to fix.

“See, MK? What’d I tell you? Mr. Tang is no match for us,” Mei crossed her arms smugly.

“Yep yep,” MK forced a weak agreement before picking up the books.

“Drat, it looks like I’ll just have to get you next time,” Tang grinned mischievously at Mei.

“If you even can, oldie,” Mei stuck her tongue out.

Tang gave a fake offended gasp. “How dare you! I’ll have you know I have plenty of youthful years left.”

Mei laughed more. “You’re old~”

“What?! What makes me old, hm?” Tang crossed his arms while MK rolled his eyes and struggled rebuilding.

“You got old man glasses,” Mei pointed out. “And you go to old man schools and study old man things. I bet you even knew that Monkey King guy personally.”

“Woah there, I’m not that old,” Tang laughed.

“Whatever, oldie,” Mei blew a raspberry just as MK was able to finish rebuilding.

“Um, the fort’s rebuilt so–”

“MK…” Mr. Tang glanced at him with this– this look that made MK shrink back.

“Go back to your old person cave, oldie; you’ll need your rest to catch a ‘youngster’ like me,” Mei smirked.

“Oh, I’m not letting you go that easy this time, so you better watch your back,” Tang stood and did one of those ‘I’m watching you’ signals, which Mei returned until Tang was back behind the forts and ‘snoring’ again.

This time, Mei didn’t even try talking to MK, too busy trying to sneak peeks at Mr. Tang and giggling to herself. She didn’t manage to correct in time when he suddenly stopped and this time, he successfully guessed the fort Mei was hiding in and crashed it all down with a big roar.

“Who’s the ‘oldie’ now, huh Mei? Huh?” He grinned wide as he began to tickle Mei who kicked and squealed happily while MK just… watched.

Tang and Mei were destroying the other forts left and right, and MK wanted to fix them, but there really wasn’t a point. They clearly didn’t really want to play– or at least with him.

They were fine on their own. They didn’t need a “nag” like him.

And so quickly and quietly, MK walked out of the living space and made his way to his room where he promptly locked the door before laying on his bed in the dark.

It was just a joke. It was all just “fun” . Why was MK always ruining these things? He didn’t mean to. He never meant to ruin or hurt anyone or anything. He just… did. It was like he was a “no fun” magnet– maybe that’s why Mei was his only friend. No, scratch that– that was why Mei was his only friend.

Jokes jokes jokes jokes jokes– “Lighten up, Xiaotian, it’s just a joke”. “What kind of kid can’t take a joke?” “She’s just having fun”.

Ugh…

…A part of him wondered how long it would take Tang and Mei to notice he was gone.

Another part of him hoped it wouldn’t be for a long, long, long time.

Eventually he heard steps running to his door before there was knocking, and he could hear Mei panting.

“MK– MK, we’re setting it up again, c’mon!” Mei urged him, but MK knew she didn’t really want that– she was having more fun with Mr. Tang.

A secret, third part of MK wished he hadn’t invited Mr. Tang to play at all.

“MK?” Mei knocked again. “MK, you there?”

MK didn’t respond, picking up his beloved monkey Luanshi and hugging them tight as he just stared up at the ceiling in the dark.

He deserved to feel bad about this. He was being mean. And a “bummer”.

“MK..?”

He heard his door’s handle shake, which instinctively made him cling to Luanshi tighter– but it stopped and he could hear Mei going back to the living area to play with Tang again.

Good.

…

MK was disappointed in himself. He was supposed to be acting better for Mr. Pigsy’s sake. He remembered clear as day what Mr. Tao said and how he needed to be good and human, not selfish and mean, and– it didn’t feel right to call those emotions demonic since Pigsy wasn’t any of those, but– well–

Ugh– why did things always have to be so confusing? He really thought being good would be a lot easier. And not his “parents” version of good– actually good.

There was another knock at his door, this one being much softer than the previous had been, which meant it had to be Mr. Tang’s.

“MK..?” The man in question spoke up. “Are you alright?”

MK didn’t feel like answering that, it would just ruin their fun.

“MK, if this is about what I said earlier I’m–... I’m sorry, I was out of line, I’m not your parent– I just– I don’t know why I said that…”

MK glanced at the door over his shoulder but remained curled on his bed.

He heard Tang sigh and sit on the ground with his back against the door. “Pigsy’s a lot better at this than me– which is good because this– this really isn’t my place. I’m so sorry, MK, I shouldn’t– I– I’m just… I’m sorry.”

MK bit his cheek. “Pigsy’s not… my dad either.”

He felt horrible for saying it, but it was what Pigsy believed…

“Oh…” Mr. Tang said quietly.

MK traced over Luanshi’s stitches again and again.

“That–... MK, do… Do you know there are people who love you?”

“Y-yeah, I have Mei,” He said, only half-believing it.

“But me and Pigsy– we love you too… do you know that?”

MK blinked. “I-I, um…”

“MK… I’m… I’m going to ask a personal question, is that okay?”

No. Not really.

“Y-yeah…”

“Did your… ‘parents’... love you?”

Ah, beans.

“I-I um– y-yeah, I think so,” MK half-guessed, half-lied. “Mama would say it sometimes.”

“Would she only say it when she was… intoxicated?”

MK sat up and looked at the door, startled he could guess such a thing.

He heard the man sigh again. “My parents weren’t good either, MK. They didn’t like me or who I was and sometimes they’d… hurt me over it.”

MK hugged Luanshi tighter.

“They’d also make me feel like it was my fault– but it wasn’t. I was just being who I was and they were two full grown adults who just couldn’t handle that. It’s so… it’s just so stupid, looking back,” The man laughed weakly through the door.

MK looked at the door again and slowly but surely crept off his bed and onto the ground. “Did… your parents call you names?”

“A lot… most of which I wouldn’t even dream of sharing with you.”

“My parents called me stupid. And a brat. And a thief, and a bastard, and sneaky, a-and a devil, a-and a demon, a-and–... and other things…”

“I’m sorry, MK. That wasn’t right of them. You’re a great kid,” the man assured.

‘I’m sorry.’

Mr. Tang liked saying ‘I’m sorry’ a lot– it was weird for MK. Adults weren’t supposed to apologize like he did.

MK crept a little closer. “Your parents hit you too?”

“Sometimes my father would, if I failed him.”

“My mama would hit me cuz of her moods n’ drinking– n’ baba would hurt me if I made mama mad.”

“I’m sorry, MK.”

“S’okay.”

“It doesn’t have to be ‘okay’, MK… Things can just suck sometimes.”

MK frowned, finally crawling to the door where he sat with his back turned. “You… you won’t tell Pigsy, will you?”

Tang made a noise at that, something between a wince and a sigh. “He really should know–”

“No-! I’m– I’m supposed to be good for him a-and it’s not even school yet– I can’t let him know I failed now– I-I promised!” MK blurted out.

“Woah, woah, woah– what’s this about a promise?” he heard Tang sit up a little.

MK cursed his stupid brain.

“I– um–”

“MK, Pigsy would love you no matter what– he does love you no matter what,” Tang emphasized. “You don’t have to be anything for him. You can just be–”

“A brat? A-a stupid, selfish brat who ruins everyone else’s games?” MK repeated bitterly, setting Luanshi on his knees and messing with their arms so it looked like they were hitting MK’s head.

“You aren’t a–” Tang stopped himself. “MK, you slipped up, but you are not your mistakes.”

MK huffed.

“MK, I’m not mad at you, and I don’t hate you and neither does Mei– we love you, MK,” the man pleaded a bit and MK just lowered his head.

Mr. Tang didn’t talk for a while, though MK could hear his foot tapping anxiously.

MK was fine with that though, he liked being alone and in the dark.

“MK, I–... I meant what I said earlier; it won’t be like this forever. One day you’ll forget all about your mean parent’s cruelty and you’ll just know the love Pigsy has for you.”

“How do you–...” MK hesitated.

“‘How do I’ what..?”

MK closed his eyes. “How… do you know Pigsy… loves… me..?”

“MK, he adores you and Mei so much– why, he upended his whole entire lifestyle to make room for you two. That’s… not something someone does just because they’re nice and they could,” Tang laughed a little.

MK thought about that. “But… if he… does, then why doesn’t he ever– you know… say it?”

Mr. Tang went quiet for a moment. “I don’t think it’s easy for him. I think… I think he’s been hurt before and he doesn’t like opening himself up because of that– but he does love you, trust me, he does.”

MK thought about that too. “So he… he doesn’t think I’m a brat? Or a thief?”

“No, MK– but if he ever calls you that, I promise he doesn’t mean it. Like– you know he calls me a ‘freeloader’, right? Well, he doesn’t mean it. He’d never kick me out of his restaurant and I’m pretty sure if I ever paid for my noodles, it’d kill him,” the man laughed a little. “When he says those things, he often means the opposite– but if it makes you feel bad, you should tell him, the last thing he wants is to hurt you, MK.”

MK slowly nodded. “Y-yeah, I guess that makes sense.”

He heard Tang hum with relief. “I’m glad I could at least kinda get through to you, MK. You’re a good kid, MK– You’re a really, really good kid.”

The boy rolled his eyes a little at the sappiness. “Thanks, Mr. Tang.”

“No problem, MK… Now, do you want to finish playing our game or do you want to do something else?” He asked softly.

MK looked at Luanshi as his stomach growled. “Is Pigsy awake yet? M’kinda hungry.”

“I can check for you if you’d like,” Tang offered, standing up.

“Yeah, that’d be nice, Mr. Tang,” MK slowly stood too and looked up briefly. “A-and… thank you.”

Mr. Tang chuckled. “It’s no problem, MK. You two are delightful to be around.”

MK laughed a little as he slowly heard Tang walk away.

Well… all things considered, it certainly wasn’t his worst morning ever. It was fun for a little bit there, and… and Tang was cool. He liked knowing Tang, and he also liked knowing what he knew. He was cool.

He… wasn’t sure if he believed he or Pigsy really loved him yet, though. Heck, he barely even knew what love was, except that it was like what he and Mei had as long time friends. He knew that parents were supposed to love their kids, but his parents hadn’t and Pigsy and Tang weren’t his parents, so it left a lot of question marks in the air…

Oh well, MK had time to figure that out in the future. For now he needed to apologize to Mei for running off and being weird, but he wasn’t worried about that; Mei was pretty cool too. And besides, the sooner he apologized the sooner he could start feeling better, and then he could just focus on thinking about how good breakfast was going to be.

MK was going to be fine.