Now, dating rules say that the one who asked out will plan the date. Which was pretty much common sense. But Macaque didn't know that and so, ever since that day, he's been writing down ideas, planning possible routes. He unconsciously went to his comfort zone of warrior, and treated this whole thing like it was a battle strategy, against the most ruthless opponent of all: intimacy.
"Dammit!" he slammed his fists on his table, then pushed all his drafts off of it.
He absolutely refused to ask Kat for help. (He didn't think a kid like her knew a lot about dating anyway, even less *adult* dating.) In fact, he didn't want to ask anyone! But as the due date approached, he began to be out of options...

"A date?!" Sandy gasped as he brought him some tea. "Ohmigosh! Mister Macaque, I am *so* proud of you! You're finally coming out of your shell and putting yourself out there!"
"I will actually kill you if you push it." he frowned, sitting on the couch, Sandy's bright expression annoying him.
Sandy laughed.
"You could certainly try!"
Macaque blinked twice, taken aback by this comment. But before he could think about it further, he was handed a cup of tea.
"So!" Sandy sat on a stool across from him, cupping his face in his hands and resting his elbows on his knees. "What are you planning so far?"
'What did I even come here?' he already questioned his decision.
"...I was thinkin' maybe going to the movies and then a restaurant." he mumbled.
He didn't know why he was telling him that. Maybe that guy's therapist vibes compelled the people around him to open up. He did prioritizes people's comfort, which was why he sat a bit farther away from his guest than usual. He wanted to give him his space.

"Mmh~." his eyes narrowed, thinking. "It is a safe bet, but..."
"But what?" he leaned a bit closer with realizing it.
"Isn't it...*too* safe? Shouldn't you be adding a bit of, spice?" he asked, mimicking the act of adding salt on food. "I'd expect someone like you to take more risks. What do you normally do on a date?"
He glared at him. A moment passed before Sandy realized.
"Ooooh," he said under his breath. "you've never been on a date."
"I'll kill you." he stood up.
"Now now now." he raised his hands, smiling awkwardly. "It's perfectly okay. I've never dated anyone either."
"You haven't?!"
"I prioritize self-love over all."
"Then what the hell am I doing here?! You're no help at all!"
"Oh, but two brains are better than one-" his eyes widen, something in his mind clicked. "Or rather, four brains! Let me call the boys!" he took out his phone.
"The what now?!"

"So happy you're here guys!" Sandy beamed. "Together, we'll for sure find a way to help our friend Macaque!"
"'Friend' is a generous term." Pigsy said, him and Tang siting on either side of Macaque, the three of them squished on the couch. "I tolerate the guy. Sandy, you told me this was gonna be a brunch."
"Yes, thank you for the noodles." Tang smiled.
"I didn't lie, eating is a great way to brainstorm."
"No complaining." he said, his mouth full.
Pigsy sighed.

"What are we even here for?"
"We're here to figure out a date plan for Macaque."
"...Sorry, must've misheard ya there." he picked on his ear. "'Cause you said 'Macaque' and 'date' in the same sentence. No offense pal." he looked at him. "But...Who would-?"
"Careful there pig man." he glared at him. "You insult me, you insult them too."
"Them?" he raised an eyebrow.
Macaque's eyes widen and he turned away. Shit.

"No way, could it be?!" Tang gasped. "Are you talking about Kat's parent?!"
He groaned as he sunk in his seat.
"That's the one!" Sandy nodded. "Now, let's brainstorm."
Weirdly enough, the three of them combined actually had decent ideas. Macaque was pleasantly surprised, but he never said it out loud. In fact, he didn't talk much at first, only saying yes or no to suggestions. But as time passed, he began to say witty lines, and even joked with them. With all the times he's been over at their place, Macaque's got a fair grasp of (Y/n)'s interests. Tang's up-to-date knowledge brought out a list of events happening throughout town that they could both enjoy. Pigsy gave restaurant recommendations based on where they'd go. And Sandy just cheered on them in the background. In the end, they've come up with a bulletproof date plan.
"We did it guys!" Sandy cheered, moved. "And we did it together!"
"I can't believe we've spent the whole day on this." Pigsy exhaled, mentally tired.
"The dating scene is much more draining that anyone could expect." Tang readjusted his glasses, speaking in a grave voice.
"I hear ya." Macaque rolled his head. "...Thank you." he mumbled, looking away.

The three men looked at him, then smiled.
"Thank us *after* the date." he smacked him on the shoulder. "If it works out between you guys, it'll be because of us."
"Come on now Pigsy," Sandy tilted his head, his eyebrows furrowed. "the key to a successful date is to be yourself. You don't want your first relationship to be built on a lie right?"
Macaque pursued his lips, his gaze lowering.
"Right, that just wouldn't be right." Pigsy shook his head.
"But that won't happen here!" Tang wrapped an arm around Macaque, pulling him closer, making him flinched. "Our pal here just needs to use his monkey charms and they'll be swayed...Somehow."
"I will eat your arm if you don't let me go this instant." he whispered.
Tang nervously chuckled and let him go, even scooted away to the very end of the couch. Pigsy decided to switch seats and sit in the middle. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, someone was having a similar problem. The boys didn't know it, but (Y/n) has been doing the exact same strategy meeting with their friends. They did originally asked Kat, since she spent a lot of time with him, and they immediately regretted it when she suggested to end the date with a marriage proposal.

'This is happening.' Macaque thought over and over as he approached the apartment complex.
Even when he stood on the rooftop, he waited a few more moments before going down to knock at their window. Him and (Y/n) figured it'd be best that he came to pick them up, they figured it'd be way faster for him to go to their place rather than them to his.
Kat opened the window with a frown.
"You could use the door for a change."
"Eh, force of habit." he shrugged with a sly grin before hopping into the kitchen.
"Gee, how romantic." she rolled her eyes. "You didn't even dress up!" she gestured to the same outfit he's been wearing since she's known him.
"Ssssh~." he ruffled her hair as he looked around the apartment. "Say, where's (Y/n)?"
She huffed.
"They're still getting ready." she turned away. "Nonny~! Mister Macaque's here!"
"I'm here I'm here!"

There were fast footsteps but once they reached the hallway, they suddenly slowed down, and (Y/n) walked in. Their clothes were cheap but the overall outfit had a casual elegance to it, and their hair was stylized in a lovely way.
'Noted.' Macaque thought before looking at their face.
And that was when his heart skipped a beat. They looked so flustered, their eyes kept glancing away from him. Yet they were pursuing their lips to prevent themselves from smiling too much.
"Hey." they said under their breath, but they thought they were too quiet so they said it again. "Hello Macaque."
He did hear them the first time, but he loved hearing his name from them. He smiled.

"Lookin' good there."
"Aw thanks. You...are not much different." they laughed.
"Mmh?" he looked down at his outfit. "Oh, oh yeah!" he laughed and hit his forehead. "Forgot about that. One sec."
He moved his hand, shadows came out of the ground and covered his clothes. A few seconds later, they dissipated and his outfit changes to match (Y/n)'s. All according to plan.
"Much better." he adjusted his jacket and ran a hand through his hair.
This sight alone made (Y/n)'s heart skip a beat.

"Well now," he offered them his arm. "shall we go?"
"Yeah." they nodded. "Let me just grab my jacket."
They walked away and discreetly tapped Kat's shoulder. She got the message and followed them to their bedroom. She walked in first and they closed the door before pressing their back onto it.
"I can't do it." they shook their head.
Kat sighed, her shoulders dropping and rolling her eyes.
"I-I can't!" they continued, whispering harshly. "I haven't been on a date in ages! And I'm already a nervous wreck!"
"Nonny."
"He's so handsome, I'm gonna mess up for sure!"
"Nonny!"
She tugged on their sleeve, making them hunch over to be at their daughter's eye level.

"You're working so hard all the time, you need a break. You're going to go on a date with a monkey man and you're gonna have fun."
They gulped and nodded.
"Now go out with my future dad."
"Shut it you." they gently pushed her away, blushing.
She giggled. (Y/n) took their jacket and the two of them went back to Macaque.
"Alright Kat, while I'm gone, don't-"
"Yeah yeah yeah. Don't open the door to strangers, there's leftover food in the fridge, I'm not going anywhere, just go!" she pushed them and Macaque out. "You guys have fun, byeeee!" and closed the door behind them.
She then happily tossed some popcorn into the microwave and hopped on the couch, turning on the tv and going to see her favorite reality tv show. Meanwhile, the couple blinked twice and looked at each-other before smiling and leaving the building. After they left, one of the doors in the hallway opened ajar.

"I first thought of going to that shadow puppet show," (Y/n) said once the two of them were outside. "but it suddenly left town."
"Really...?" he awkwardly glanced away. "Shame, heard it was 'one of a kind' kind of amazing."
"Yeah." they sighed. "That's okay though, I know this other really cool place."
"Sweet. Where is it? I'll take us there."
"Oh, well...I'm the one who asked you out, I don't want you to work-"
"Nonsense~." he waved a hand. "We'll be there in a flash if we fly."
"But..." they played with their fingers. "I want to walk there, so we could talk more."
His eyes widen slightly, his cheeks dusted with pink. He cleared his throat.
"I guess I could walk. It has been a while since I've actually walked somewhere."

(Y/n) chuckled, and they walked together. When (Y/n) talked about their date plans for tonight, Macaque mentally stomped on his own.
'All that hard work, useless!'
But now that he was here, with them, chatting and laughing, it didn't really matter to him. And besides, (Y/n)'s plan was pretty similar to his, plan E to be exact. There was an installation downtown where they recreated northern lights, even animated in some animals. Since the sun was just beginning to set, the light show won't start in a few hours, so they agreed to go eat first.
"I'm sorry it's pretty second-rate." they apologize with an embarrassed smile once they stepped into the restaurant. "If I had a bigger budget, I would've taken you to somewhere more fancy."
"I told you," he said as he pushed their chair for them. "I don't care about money. Plus, it's nice here."
"Right?! It's so cozy!" they sat down and he sat across from them. "And it's been around for a long while too, though the owner stayed the same."

Speaking of which, a horned demon walked up to them to hand them the menu. He sensed the romantic tension and quickly left to get some candles first, making the couple chuckle bashfully. During their dinner, they chatted about everything and nothing, eventually, they talked about Kat, and how she was the one to thank for their encounter, and so, their date.
"She actually convinced me to ask you out."
They both laughed.
"Are you sure she doesn't just want a dad?"
"I mean, maybe. But not just anyone, she likes you."
He looked at them with a smile for a second.
"What about you?" he finally asked.
They blushed.

"Pfff. Do you think I'd ask you out if I didn't."
"Just checkin'." he shrugged.
"Well, what about *you* huh?"
His smile turned into a smirk. There was a moment of silence.
"You got me (Y/n)." he raised his hands. "This whole thing is part of my evil scheme. This may be dinner, but you'll be dessert."
Their face became red.
"...Because I'll eat you."
"Oh!" they laughed awkwardly, fanning themselves. "Yeah of course!"
"What did you think I meant?" he raised an eyebrow.
"I-uh- Pffff! Haha, you- Mmmh~!"
He cackled. The rest of the date went perfectly. The lightshow was beautiful, although Macaque wasn't paying much attention to it. To him, the look of wonder on (Y/n)'s face was lovelier.

It was past midnight when Macaque walked (Y/n) back to their apartment.
"I had a lot of fun tonight Macaque." they said as the two of them walked through the hallway. "Thank you."
"I should say that, you're the one who asked me out."
"I'm just just talking about the date. Thank you for everything you've done." now in front of their door, they stopped and faced him. "You're... I'm really glad you came into m-... our lives."
He smiled, but then it faded.
"You talk about me like I'm this great guy." he looked down. "When you...barely know anything about me."
"You don't know everything about me either. We just know the important stuff." they placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know that you come here almost everyday, to help me and my daughter out. And you don't expect anything in return." they traced their hand up to his cheek to make him look at them. "That's all I need for me to know you're a good person."
He pursued his lips, touched. He chuckled faintly and place his hand over theirs, leaning his head in the palm of their hand.
"It's a new thing I've been trying."

Before they could ask what he meant, he noticed something behind them and his expression turned grave.
"What?" they asked, worried.
"Wait." he said under his breath.
Gently, he moved them aside and faced the door. It was then that they also noticed: the lock was broken. Macaque touched it and the door opened by itself with a long creak. It was dark and quiet inside the apartment.
"Kat?" (Y/n) called out.
No response.
"Kat?!" they pushed Macaque aside and rushed in.
"(Y/n) no!"

They turned on the lights. No one was there, there was popcorn all over the living room area, the couch was in shambles, plates have been thrown and broken, shelves have fallen, the photographs on them now cracked. (Y/n) frantically moved around the place, growing desperate each time they called Kat's name. Meanwhile, Macaque quietly looked over the scene, dreading the sight of any blood spilled. Thank the gods in Heaven, he didn't find any. Eventually, (Y/n) went back to the entrance area and suddenly looked at Macaque. He flinched, and even took a step back when they suddenly rushed up to him. But instead of yelling at him (as he suspected), they went passed him. He turned around and watched as they closed the door all the way, revealing a post it note on it. They took it and read it. He went up to them and looked over their shoulder to read it.
'An eye for an eye. Your demon daughter took everything from us. For everyone's sake, please don't get involved.'

He frowned, his fists clenched when he saw (Y/n)'s hands shaking as they covered their mouth. But he became worried when he heard them sob.
"Hey." he softly said.
They hunched over and their legs began to give up on them, but he held them by their arms before they could fall.
"Hey hey hey. Breathe...Steady..." he led them to a chair, placed it on the right side and let them sit on it. "It's alright."
"It's not alright!" they exclaimed, holding their head. "My daughter's dea-!"
"No she isn't. If they wanted her dead, they would've left her here." he stood straight, his outfit going back to normal. "I'll find her."
He closed his eyes. His shadow duplicated by a dozen and they all left in different direction. (Y/n) looked around, then back at him, who was focusing intensely. Within minutes, they all came back to him and he reopened his eyes.
"Where?" (Y/n) asked.
"In an abandoned warehouse in the edge of the city." he walked to the window. "I'll bring her back."

"I'm coming with you." they sternly said, standing up.
"No. It's too dangero-"
"I already lost her once, I'm not going to sit back and wait here." they approached to stand in front of him. "I'm going with you."
They looked into each-other's eyes for a moment. Eventually, Macaque sighed.
"Alright. Let's go."

The two of them stood in front of the warehouse. No one else was around, but they could hear voices inside. Macaque looked at (Y/n), they were still shaking. He took their hand and squeezed it.
"I'll take care of the bad guys, you go to the back entrance and wait for an opening. Once you find it, take Kat and just run."
"What about you though?"
"Don't worry about me. I know how to fight." he stepped forward and glanced back at them. "You're ready?"
They took a deep breath and a step back, before nodding. He nodded back, waiting for them to run away and be out of sight before opening the doors wide open.
Kat was tied up to a chair in the middle of the big empty space, gagged up and surrounded by a large group of people. They were all humans and they looked very normal, your everyday neighbours. They were even armed with everyday objects. One would think this was pretty tragic: People so devastated with what the Lady Bone Demon has done to their lives that they resulted to harm an little girl, whose only crime was to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. But Macaque only focused on one thing: Kat was in danger, and he needed to get her out of here before anything could happen to her. They all looked at him and Kat called out for him, though her voice was muffled.

"Y-You!" one of the humans pointed at him. "You worked for her didn't you? You even became buddy-buddy with her parent!"
"Wait, so the parent is also evil?!"
"Let go of the girl," Macaque said with a clear voice, although he didn't raise his voice. "or I'll show you *real* evil."
The humans all instinctively took a step back.
"W-well jokes on you!" one of them pointed at him. "Just in case she'd use her demon powers, we combined our savings to hire someone to help us!"
Just then, from the ceiling, a horned demon jumped down, landing on his feet, and faced him.
"Just another saturday night." he said, his hands on his hips. "No hard feelings monkey man."
Macaque clicked his tongue and took a fighting stand.
"Hope for you that the money's worth it."
Then, they began to fight. The horned demon was surprisingly good, which caught him off guard. He'd fake mistakes just to strike from his opponent's blind spot. But Macaque had centuries of experience, and was far more powerful, it was only a matter of time before he won. But meanwhile, the humans (Kat and 5y/n) included) watched, dumbfounded. Two demons fighting without rules were really a thing to behold.

"It...It wasn't worth it." the horned demon managed to whisper, beat up and laying on the ground.
"Don't care." Macaque said as he hit him on the head, knocking him out.
He then turned towards the group of humans and his blood ran cold. One of them had grabbed Kat by her hair, tilting her head upwards, and drew a kitchen knife close to her neck.
"S-stay back! Leave us be!" the human said. "We're only taking out revenge! We've lost everything! We gotta have some closure dammit!"
"He's not gonna do anything if we keep the girl hostage!" another one said.
"Yeah! Leave us, or else!"
He noticed the knife shaking under their grip. With how fidgety they all were, even if he used his powers to stop them, he won't be fast enough. He needed to do something that'd scare them away. And he knew exactly what.
"You don't value your own lives? Fine."
He enveloped himself in shadows, growing bigger and bigger, until he turned into his giant shadow beast version. So big he destroyed the roof, but he placed his giant hands on the other side of the room to that his head was above them, shielding them from the fallen debris.
"Go on. Do it."

The weapons were dropped, and the humans all ran away screaming. Macaque quickly turned back into his normal form then cut the ropes and the gag. She hopped out of the chair, just then, (Y/n) walked in.
"Nonny!" she ran up to them.
They got on one knee and opened their arms, catching her into a tight hug. After a short while, they let go of her and looked at Macaque as they stood up. Macaque couldn't bring himself to look at them, fearing the way they'd look at him. Horror? Rage? Disgust...? He felt a heartache just thinking about it. And the silence was even worse.
"Nonny." he heard Kat say. "Let's go home."
"...Yeah, let's."
He sighed and summoned a shadow portal beneath the two of them. He heard them gasp.
"Macaq-!" and just like that, they were gone.
And he was alone.

The shadow portal appeared above the couch, (Y/n) and Kat safely fell on it with a dry 'oomph'. They both blinked twice, confused. But their eyes widen even more when they saw the shadow duplicates cleaning the apartment. Not downright fixing what was broken, but putting everything back to its place and throwing away the broken plates and shards of glass. They also barricaded the door, since the lock was broken. And then they were gone, without a word or a nod or anything. A moment of silence passed. Finally, (Y/n) sighed.
"We should get to bed."
"Nonny... About Mister Maca-"
"No thoughts." they placed the tip of their index on her mouth. "No thinking. Right now, we're just going to sleep. It's getting late."
Kat looked sad, but she nodded. Despite what they said, (Y/n) didn't get much sleep. Macaque didn't either, he stayed up all night watching their front door from the outside, in case anyone tries to break in again.

The next few days, Macaque stayed alone, brooding on top of buildings, making sure to not be seen by anyone, wallowing in regret and self-loathing.
"It's alright." he'd say to himself. "I'll just never see them again and then we'll all forget about it and move on with our lives."
The next night, he couldn't sleep, the thought of (Y/n) and Kat keeping him awake.
Finally, one day, he asked himself: what would that big annoying therapist-wannabe would say.
"...Talk about your feelings?" he narrowed his eyes. "Look...within yourself, to look for...the root- I'm just gonna go and say sorry." he stood up and started practicing what he'd say. "Sorry, I didn't mean to actually destroy homes, I just wanted to draw enough attention so that Wukong's disciple would see me defeat that thing and I'd gain his trust long enough to steal his powers- That's even worse!" he groaned. "Why can't things just be simple?!"

After hours of rehearsing, he came up with what he believed was a great apology. He flew towards their apartment and, out of habit, was about to knock on the kitchen window when he saw something that made his jaw drop. (Y/n) was sitting on the couch with the Monkey King, they were drinking tea and talking, their discussion looked serious. Macaque leaned back with a frown, inclined to just leave. But he didn't, instead he finally went to the front door - the lock of which has been repaired - and knocked. After a few seconds, (Y/n) opened it ajar, since they've installed a chain of it now. Their eyes widen.
"Hey." he awkwardly smiled. "Um-"
They closed the door. He pursued his lips and looked down, boy did that hurt. But before he could turn around, the door opened again, all the way this time.
"Macaque." they exhaled, running a hand through their hair. "Hey, come in." they stepped aside.

"Thanks." he walked into the living room and glared at the Monkey King. "Wukong."
"Heeeey buddy!" he happily waved at him. "I heard what happened, what a first date! Did you really pretend to be me for a second?"
"What are you doing here?" he asked through his teeth.
"Calm down." (Y/n) calmly raised their hands. 'I called him here, asked a few people for his number. I wanted his opinion on something." they looked at him. "Thank you Monkey King." the nodded.
"No problem." he stood up. "I better get going now, you guys must've a loooot to talk about." he shook their hand. "Really nice to meet you (Y/n), Macaque's a lucky guy!"
"Get outta here!" he shouted.
"Byeeee!" he dashed out of here, leaving them alone.

Macaque huffed before facing (Y/n), who folded their arms.
"Look, about the whole..." now that they were face-to-face, he couldn't find the right words.
"You know, I suspected that it was you for a while."
"What?!"
"Well...You do have *shadow* powers."
He sighed, and looked down, thinking for a moment.
"...Remember when I talked about this new thing I've been trying out." he looked at them.
"Yeah?"
"Being good, that's what I was talking about. Before that, I've been...kind of a jerk. And I've only stopped recently." he paused. "I don't want you to think I've been helping you guys out of guilt. I...I genuinely like the kid. And...I don't want our relationship to be based on a lie." he sighed. "The favors? Screw them, I'll go away if you want me to. Just... I don't want you to hate me." he said softly, his eyebrow furrowed.
(Y/n) took a deep breath through their nose, their lips pursued. They nodded as their gaze wandered, processing what he just said. Those few seconds of silence felt like painful hours to him. Finally, they looked back at him.

"Well, you have a long way to go. 'Cause what you did that was a jerk move." he looked down. "You destroyed my house, you hid the truth from me..." they sighed, their eyebrows furrowed. "And you saved my daughter, twice."
He looked up at them, just in time for them to kiss him on the cheek. His heart jumped, the two of them blushing. (Y/n) smiled.
"I asked for a day off today." they said. "Do you wanna sit on the couch and watch those stupid reality tv shows with me?"
"...Heh." he smiled. "I'd love that. And you know, they're not that dumb."
"Are you serious?"
"Once you know the context, it is *thrilling* to watch*!"
The two of them laughed.

Kat walked out of school, she's been looking at her feet all day. Even though some kids went up to her and tried to be her friends - which did make her really happy - the thought of never seeing Macaque again just made her sad.
"Kat!"
"Oi, kiddo!"
She suddenly looked over to see (Y/n) and Macaque, standing side-by-side and waving at her. Her face light up and she ran to hug them both, laughing wholeheartedly.
"You guys made up?!"
"You could say that yeah." (Y/n) nodded, patting her head.
"Does that mean you guys are dating again?!"
"Sure does." Macaque smiled.
"Wait wha-?"
"Woah~ Kat!"

The three of them looked over to see Kat's classmates surrounding them, looking at Macaque in awe. He let out a small and awkward 'uh...'. (Y/n) held his hand and smiled at him. He smiled back.
"Before the Monkey King, now this guy?!"
"Who is he?"
"He looks just like the Monkey King, but edgier and cooler!"
"That's Mister Macaque!"
The kids all let out an 'oooh!' of admiration and began to shower him in questions and praises. All that positive attention overwhelmed him and the look on his face made (Y/n) chuckle.

"Back off!" Kat hugged his leg. "That's *my* dad, I adopted him!"
"Wha...?" he mumbled, his face red as (Y/n) laughed.
Their laugh got to him and he started laughing too.
"Why are you guys laughing?"
"Come on, let's go home." they held her hand, and Kat held Macaque's with her other one as the three of them walked away.
"I'm serious! Hey!" she sighed. "Adults."

💖- The End -💖