(Wholesome-ish one-shots to give y'all a break)

----

Tang observed the monkeys, and had been for the past hour.

Macaque had dropped by, chattering on and on about a play, and Wukong was listening, rocking and swaying the whole time.

Not just that.

Tang had quickly taken note of Wukong's lack of proper eye contact and how both monkeys failed to properly understand the 'atmosphere' whenever the walked into a room.

In fact, the shadow user was known for simply butting into conversations uninvited.

Wukong would also get hyperfocused at random times, perking up and staring at someone or something for long periods of time. And they both despised the feeling of damp or moist items, including their fur.

Convincing them to bathe wasn't easy, or fun.

They both also had a number of stims. Wukong used his body often, flapping his arms or hands, swishing his tail, and even kicking. On the other hand, Macaque made little noises, spun in place, or chewed.

The scholar abruptly stood up, pushing up his glowing frames as he pulled out a laser pointer from his sleeve.

The team perked up, immediatly curious on what his presentation was about.

He pointed at the monkeys and gestured, "Do you know what neurodivergency is?"

--

Wukong chattered excitedly, trying to ramble to Macaque about their newest discovery.

Macaque grinned, "Wukong, I have an idea! What if I'm your voice?"

--

Macaque shifted his appearance to look identical to his counterpart, clearing his throat dramatically.

MK and Mei giggled, playfully poking Wukong. The ginger beamed in excitement as Macaque spoke with an almost-exact replica of his voice, rambling on about neurodivergency.

Wukong felt tears in his eyes, basically watching himself speak for the first time in... Well, a long time.

The king charaded his rambles, which were then translated by Macaque and tranfered into a voice that was sweet yet firm.

That was his voice.

And it sounded foreign yet just as lovely as the day he let it trickle out into the air, shutting it off completely before the words could stay in the world.

----

Sandy moved his hands, showing everyone carefully.

"These are just basic signs, but it's enough to get your point across, Mr. Monkey King! We'll just learn like Mr. Maquack and MK to analyze your body language for broader understanding!"

Macaque faked a gasp, "Wukong, look! I know how to say your name in sign!" The ginger turned around, just to have Macaque’s middle finger pointed right at him.

"Cool, right?"

Wukong huffed out a laugh, holding up two middle fingers and thumbs, making them into an 'M'.

"Oh, wow, you learned how to say my name!"

Pigsy turned bright red, swiping their hands, "STOP FLIPPIN' EACHOTHER OFF!!"

--

The middle finger signs stayed.

----

Wukong pouted as Pigsy pointed out his soiled clothes, "We needa wash them, so take 'em off. Now."

The monkey continued to pout, staring at the chef with wide, glossy eyes.

A pang of guilt struck the pig and he sighed, "...What's your favorite color? So that we can get something you like to wear instead. I'm sorry, Monkey King, but those clothes need a good sewing, too."

The king slowly used the CSL alphabet to spell out one word.

'Pink'.

Pigsy raised an eyebrow, "Pink?" Wukong nodded, making a biting motion as if he was eating something round. The chef immediatly remembered how Tang and MK would ramble on relentlessly about the monkey's absurd love for a specific fruit.

Peaches.

Which happened to be pink.

"I'll see what I can get."

--

Mei held up the hoodie, it was light pink with soft yellow sleeves with a pink stripe running through each one. Dark maroon sweat pants were paired with it, along with fluffy pink socks.

Wukong took the clothes carefully, examining the soft fabric before blushing profusely as he endlessly signed thank you's.

Mei rubbed the back of her neck, "No need to thank us, it's honestly the least we could do after... Well..."

Wukong only blushed harder at her awkwardness and guilt, quickly leaving the room to go change.

--

As the gang chatted idly about who knows what and playing a board game on the floor, Wukong freely rolled around the place, touching each person as he moved across the tiles.

The monkey then sat up, leaning against his successor as MK whined about losing for the hundredth time that night.

Wukong was delighted when his touch was recieved quite literally with open arms.

----

MK yawned, heading into the kitchen for water.

He blinked slowly, searching for a light switch when he suddenly shrieked as two glowing red eyes stared at him with two golden slits.

The young man frantically turned on the light, clutching his chest.

"Monkey King, you scared me!"

No response.

"...Monkey King..?" MK walked over, staring at his mentor. The young hero jumped in surprise as Sandy suddenly appeared by his side, "Hey, MK! I'm sorry for the scare, Mr. Monkey King sleepwalks."

"...He does?" The friendly giant nodded, carefully guiding the injured monkey back into his room, followed by MK, "I didn't know he sleepwalked."

"I caught him a couple nights ago while Mr. Maquack was here. He told me he does this often, apparently sleepwalking is a result of sleep deprivision in his case."

"Huh..."

--

Wukong yawned, stirring around his oatmeal, patiently waiting for it to cool down.

MK plopped down, "Did you know you were a sleepwalker?"

Monkey King let out a groan, clearly saying 'Not you, too!'

----

Wukong stared at the cup of tea, watching the steam float upward.

Sandy looked down, "Is something wrong, Mr. King?" Macaque hummed, "He can't drink or eat anything hot."

Mei leaned over, drinking from her own cup, "Why?"

The shadow user shifted uncomfortably, "Uhhh, he was force-fed metal pellets and molten copper..?"

Mei's eyes widened, "No." Tang held up his copy of The Journey To The West, "Nope, it's depicted here."

MK grimaced, standing up, "Pigsy, where's the ice?" The chef stared at MK blankly, "Kid, where do people keep ice cubes?"

"...The freezer."

Bai He hesitantly raised her hand, "I... Can help with that." She walked up to Wukong's cup, hovering her hands over the steam.

Her blue streak of hair, a result due to her struggling to contain LBD's powers in her possession, glowed. Her brown eyes grew blue as well as frost fell from her finger tips, gently coating the tea.

Wukong stared at her with wide eyes, slowly signing a thank you.

--

Wukong sighed happily, sipping his freshly iced tea.

Sandy beamed, "I'm glad you like it!" The ginger nodded along, gulping down the drink. Macaque snorted, nudging Wukong playfully.

----

A noise startled the king, stirring him awake.

He sat up before nearly jumping out of his skin, fur puffed out completely as a figure flickered across the room.

GHOST?!

Wukong jumped out of bed, bolting out of the room and into the hallway, crashing into his student. The brunette fell over, staring in shock.

"What..?"

Monkey King yanked him up before screeching as he yanked MK's arm, trying to pull him along. MK yelped, looking behind him to see what was causing the monkey so much distress.

Two, glowing eyes pierced the darkness, each on an intense purple with a matching grin.

The figure was staring into his very soul, scaring the young man as much as his poor mentor.

MK screamed as well, running with his mentor from the ghost aboard the ship.

--

Macaque cackled, knowing the pair would realize it was him, even if they were going to fling him off the ship for scaring them, he still decided to simply enjoy the moment.

--

Macaque sighed, they had swung him off a railing.

As he free-fell among the clouds he couldn't help but smirk. Worth it~!

----

Wukong sighed, staring at his hands.

Everyone had decided to stop for a break, apparently the engine had been acting up.

The king plucked a flower, twirling it between his fingers.

He was thinking about his counterpart, Macaque.

See... Wukong had always had trouble understanding romantic emotions. He knew what love was, and in rare times he'd feel it, but it was always only a limited amount.

But it was always toward his moon.

Wukong wanted to form that special bond, one that meant more than simple friendship.

But he felt... Guilty.

How would he be able to explain this to Macaque? To explain how he wanted them to join hands but wouldn't truly feel whatever he was supposed to feel? That he couldn't bring himself to do anything too mushy, but not because of Macaque?

Would Macaque think he didn't love him?

The king puffed his cheeks before abruptly screeching.

--

MK plopped down beside his mentor, "Okay, spill. Something's up. AND-- I stole some of Tang's journal paper and a pencil, so here."

Monkey King slowly took the items, scribbling away what was on his mind. Literally everything.

He then handed it over to MK, who read it carefully before looking up at Wukong in amusement, "Monkey King, this is something else we have in common."

...Huh?

"You're under the aromantic umbrella, too! Though it looks like you're cupidromantic-- Same though. Like, I want a bond like that, too!"

Wukong stared in pure confusion and leaned back as MK rambled on, slowly learning what he was feeling.

"--So in conclusion! Tell Mac. Or write him a letter the way you wrote how you felt to me!"

MK pulled out another sheet of paper, smirking, "I am so grounded for a week."

--

Macaque read over the letter, blushing violently.

He looked up at Wukong, inhaling deeply, "Wukong."

The king perked up nervously as the shadow user gestured at the poetic letter, "...Wukong what the fuck. This is just--"

He screamed into his hands, and then playfully started hitting the ginger. Wukong chirped in confusion, "You idiot! I..."

Macaque simply hugged Wukong, mumbling angrily, "I accept you and your offer, you dumb fuck."

Wukong grinned, shifting in place before hugging back joyously, more than happy he finally found the bond, that special person, he'd always wished for.

And he was more than grateful that he wasn't expected to feel or act a certain way.

All Macaque wanted was to be by his side, and all the sun wanted was just that.

To finally have his moon.

----

ALRIGHT SO I PROJECTED A BIT IN THE FIRST AND LAST SCENE (Sue me) BUT IT AIN'T A CRIME SO THERE. 😤💅

And now the sweet scenes have ended so prepare yourselves lol