#movingforwardau

It was all one big accident, truly it was, no one could have ever predicted this to happen while the trio were out on patrol.

It has been about three years now since the battle against the lady bone demon. Mk and his friends have been healing and rebuilding their relationships with one another with Mk, Mei and Red Son having teamed up together to protect the city. They train together daily and work quite well with one another.

Still with the defeat of the lady bone demon, this only meant that more demons would be more likely to attack the city at it’s lowest, while said city was trying to heal and rebuild. Thus the three young adults put it upon themselves to protect it, with guidance along the way of course with the help of monkey king and many others. They still hadn’t come up with a name that the three of them agree on just yet, that much was still in the works. This all brings us to the now, to how the accident happened. Mk, Mei and Red Son had been going about their usual patrol routes around the city, looking out for any potential dangers or demons looking to cause chaos within it.

What the trio hadn’t been expecting was an age changing demon to attack them, Mk sadly being the only one out of the three to get hit with this demon's power, resulting in Mk getting turned into a toddler. The demon hadn’t stuck around long enough for Mei nor Red Son to apprehend them, leaving the remaining two heroes at a loss for what to do and not knowing how to reverse the curse.

This brings us to the present, two hours after the incident in the city, Mei and Red Son having taken baby Mk back to Pigsy's. The reactions to Mk's situations were interesting, so far.

“So you're telling me Mk here, was struck by a curse from the demon, and the demon just ran off without a fight?” Piggy asked, needing some clarification as if what he was hearing was right, having not believed Mei over the phone at first before the trio had arrived.

“Yeah that’s about it as a whole.” Mei confirmed, all the while helping Red Son with Mk who was currently crying, quite loudly at that. “And you’ve contacted Monkey King about this, right?” Tang spoke up over the loud wails, moving towards Red Son with one of Mk's old, smaller shirts he had grabbed from inside his apartment with a spare key, to cover Mk a little better.

“No, we have not had the chance to contact that simian yet, nor Macaque either!” Red spoke up, the distressed chirps and wails from Mk getting louder, the toddler squirming in Red's arms. Fixing his hold on the now partially clothed Mk, the old shirt dwarfing Mk even more now, Pigsy came over now to better get a look at Mk, taking him from Red son who was more than happy to hand over the screaming baby. “We’ll Mei, get to calling that damned monkey!” Pigsy told the dragon girl, huffing as he moved over to the front doors, flipping the sign to closed and switching the sign off. The chef began to rub the boy’s back soon after, swaying a little to try and calm down the distressed toddler.

Mei did as she was instructed, already calling the monkey king, who was not picking up on the first few rings. On the third ring, the monkey king finally picked up. “Dragon Horse girl? Is there a reason you're calling me this late into the afternoon?” The monkey demon yawned, sounding to have just woken up from one of his afternoon naps probably.

There was shuffling and murmured chatter on the other end of the phone. Mei couldn’t really make out who or what was making the noise, but had a good idea of whom.

“Well uh how do I put this exactly?..” Mei starts, unsure of how to really tell Wukong that his successor, his student, has been turned into a toddler and they have absolutely no idea if it’s a permanent or life threatening curse. This pause caused Wukong to grow nervous “Mei, what happened? Why do I hear a baby crying? Did something happen to you guys on patrol? Is Mk okay?!” Wukong asked, getting more and more frantic as the seconds ticked by.

“No! Well yes? Just, uh Mk kinda, maybe got cursed by a demon and turned into a baby and we have no idea if it’s permanent or if it’s life threatening?” Mei explained all in one breath, moving to the other side of the shop to be able to hear the other a little better, listening as Wukong stayed silent. The noises over on the golden simian's end seemed to also have gone silent with this sudden news.

“WHAT?!” Wukong screamed, Mei winced holding the phone away from her ear at the sudden rise in volume from the now panicked monkey. There was frantic shuffling, more like scrambling of sorts from Wukongs end before the monkey spoke up once more. “I’ll be right there.” Wukong informed Mei before hanging up abruptly.

Mei took that as a sign that help was very much on the way and would be rapidly approaching any moment now. With that sorted she turned to Red Son only to find the fire demon covering his ears in a feeble attempt to drown out the cries and screams of baby Mk “This is not how I thought today would go.” Mei laughed watching as Red Son gave her an unamused glare, “You can say that again, he’s so loud!” Red Son huffed, Mei nodding in agreement, wincing at the pitch of the screams briefly.

“He’s most likely, probably, just really scared and confused right now.” Tang concluded given how distressed the little one was, feeling bad for the kid, never in his days would he have thought this type of situation would occur. Yet again this is Mk we were talking about, this kid got into all sorts of situations and trouble, some situations like this one weirder than most. Pigsy continued to pace all the while bouncing and rocking Mk in his arms, the half monkey demon cubs tail curled around the pigs arms for purchase while he cried.

“I should have just stayed home today.” Red Son groaned, already feeling a headache coming on due to this whole situation as a whole, as he slumped back into his seat at one of the many dining booths.

-

Not a moment later did Wukong arrive at the noodle shop dressed in his casual peach coloured sweatpants and a simple loose fitting t-shirt with the words ‘King’ written in gold, printed on the front. Following in after him was an all too familiar black furred monkey, dressed in an even more familiar looking yellow, black and blue hoodie that definitely did not belong to the shadow demon and lavender sweatpants. Both monkeys had seemed to have shadow teleported to the shop, thanks to the shadow demon. The two of them both looked like they had just recently woken up from a long nap. Said shadow demon was now covering his overly sensitive ears with a full body flinch, “Jeez this kids loud!” The monkey complained with a low whine, keeping his distance from the toddler behind Wukong.

“Oh my god you weren’t lying.” Wukong gaped in shock, flinching back also from the loud wails coming from Mk, fat globs of tears rolling down the toddlers' reddened cheeks. “Of all the things that could have gone wrong today, went wrong.” Pigsy scoffed rubbing at his brow tiredly.

Having had enough of the crying, Pigsy shoved Mk into the monkey king's arms “I’ve tried everything to calm him down, maybe he’ll calm down for you!” Pigsy grumbled, covering his ears as he backed away. “I can handle baby monkeys, baby humans though? Very much new territory for me!” Wukong stated tensely as he held baby Mk out in front of himself, the child seeming to stop for a moment, chirping sadly to the Monkey king as more tears cascaded down his little, fat cheeks. Not liking the fact he was being held so awkwardly, Mk began to hiccup and cry again, his little hands balling into fists as he rubbed at his eyes tiredly.

“Well he’s technically not fully human now is he? You know, with the monkey ears and tail. Just do what you do with the baby monkeys when they are upset!” Mei pointed out, to which Wukong blinked, looking amongst the group as they all seemed to also agree silently. Deciding to try it out, Wukong brought Mk to his chest. Holding the cub close with one arm supporting Mk's body, the other resting against the back of the toddler's head to gently press the boy’s ear over his beating heart.

Mk in question wrapped his little, dark brown tail around Wukongs wrist of the arm that supported him tightly for purchase, he seemed to settle comfortably against the other. Nuzzling his face into Wukongs clothed chest listening to the king’s strong heart beat as he cried and let out warbled, saddened chirps. 

Softly the king began to rock Mk back and forth, rubbing the back of the child's head softly as he let out his own soft coos and chitters of reassurance, “Shh, it’s alright bud, everything's just really confusing right now huh?” Wukong mumbled to the cub, who surprisingly, began to calm down now. Mks cries now only becoming soft whimpers before he settled entirely. Everyone in the room seemed to collectively sigh. Macaque moved beside Wukong, peering over the golden monkeys shoulder to get a better look at Mk, who stared right back at him with those big brown innocent eyes of his.

“Okay so what do we do about this?” Red Son asked, all eyes seemingly turning from the fire demon towards the two magical monkeys for an answer. Feeling all eyes on him, Wukong shrunk back a bit, quick to hand the now calmer Mk over to Macaque, hands feeling sweaty making him worried he’d drop Mk. Macaque went to retort only to have Mk slap his little hand against the shadow demon's cheek with a soft coo. How could anyone resist that little smile. 

“Ah alright you’re not that bad.” Macaque gave in holding Mk on his hip naturally, used to this motion due to all the baby monkeys hanging off of him at flower fruit mountain.

“Well, it definitely seems like a curse of sorts, the magic smell is very thick on Mk.” Wukong started, glancing amongst the group briefly before turning back towards Mk. “If that is the case it must be a time based one? What do you think Liu Er?” Wukong asked thoughtfully, thinking hard about this.

“Hm, yeah you're right, it’s a curse. Doesn’t smell nor feel harmful, and you can definitely tell when a curse is intended to hurt or kill.” Macaque confirmed, holding Mk up once more to better get a look at the infant's eyes. “Yup, definitely a time curse, look at his eyes, see the white pupils? This means it’s a twenty four hour time based curse. These types of curses are highly common in trickster demons like myself.” Mac hummed, allowing Wukong and the others to see the boy's eyes. The child in question giggled at all the attention, happily babbling to himself as if the screaming and crying from earlier never happened.

“If it were dangerous they’d be sickly pink, so we should be fine.” Macaque added on, everyone seeming to relax a little, though still worried for their friend.

“So all we have to do is care for Mk for 24 hours?” Tang asked from where he now sat at the counter on his usual bar stool.  Pigsy leaned on the same counter across from the scholar on the other side, also curious. “Why would the demon curse Mk if it wasn’t intended to harm him?” Red asked confused now as she thought more about it, it was quite the strange encounter after all.

Wukong hummed at this, also thinking about it, “Most likely to distract you three to cause chaos elsewhere? Like a distraction? I’m not too sure honestly, it’s a strange situation that I can tell that much, but it’s an even stranger tactic too.” The golden simian replied, equally just as lost as the rest of the group.

“But! This could also be a learning experience for all of us, things happen for a reason after all.” Wukong spoke thoughtfully, giving a brief glance around the room. The lesson this situation was teaching, Wukong had no idea what it was, but it was teaching something important.

Macaque was next to speak up, clearing his throat to catch the others attention, “If we are going to be looking after Mk, I suggest we get some basic needed baby supplies.” The dark furred monkey recommended with a questioning look, now realising the boy was only dressed in an old shirt of Mks by the looks and size of it. “This isn’t very fitting for a baby.” The monkey chuckled a bit, given how ridiculous Mk looked currently. The toddler simply babbled, trying to grab at Mac's tail from where he was seated on  the monkey's hip.

Mei’s eyes widened with a squeal. “We get to go baby shopping! Oh my gosh we are going to get the cutest little shirts and pants-” Mei was cut off by Pigsy who tapped his wooden spoon against the counter top, “Don’t go buying too many clothes! He’s only stuck like this for twenty four hours Mei.” The chef warned with a snort to which she began to whine in protest. “The pig man is right, Dragon girl, we just need basic necessities.” Red Son backed Pigsy up on this argument, earning more groans and complaints from the dragon girl.

Tang was next to speak up, seemingly wanting the argument to end “Aside from that, who will be looking after Mk? Overnight that is?” The scholar asked looking amongst the small group, all of them seeming to come to the same conclusion.

“Not it!” Mei called out, soon Tang also called out the same phrase, then Pigsy and Red Son. “Well looks like it’s gonna be the monkey's problem!” Mei cheerfully concluded, said monkeys not even getting a chance to protest before Mei grabbed Red Son by their wrist, starting to drag them out of the noodle shop “We’ll be back soon!” She called out before fully leaving the store.

“Why do we have to watch over Mk exactly, what about Sandy?” Wukong asked, baffled by this sudden responsibility. Macaque listened in but decided to just entertain the toddler instead, said toddler was happily cooing and chirping to Mac while holding the black simian's tail.

“Because you have experience with babies! The baby monkeys should have given you more than enough experience! And Sandy is out of town with a friend for the next two days, he still wouldn’t babysit though.” Pigsy replied, motioning with his hands to Wukong as he spoke. Wukong blinked at this “Baby monkeys are very much different to baby humans!..Well..Half humans!” Wukong argued back, motioning to the Monkie Kid himself who clung to Macaque constantly.

“I’m sure you can handle this, he is your successor Monkey King, meaning he is your responsibility. None of us know how to care for a monkey demon, half human baby!” Tang concluded, swivelling in on the bar stool to face away from the golden furred monkey.

“Who knows if Mk still even has his powers? I think you're the best suited for this situation to handle Mk safely.” Tang concluded earning a nod from Pigsy who fully agreed.

“They have a point Wukong.” Mac said shifting his hold on Mk so the kid was snuggled against his chest happily clinging to his own tail in a playful manner. “Wow thanks for the help mango.” Wukong groaned, rubbing at his face, giving the other an unamused look. “Don’t be a baby, this’ll be easy. It’s just like looking after baby monkeys back on the mountain, just with a few more steps and only a whole lot louder.” The black furred simian tried to lighten the others mood about the overall situation.

“Yeah yeah, we’ll see about that.” Wukong sighed as he took his phone out, Mei had insisted that himself and Macaque get a phone to better keep in contact with Mk and his friends, despite the monkeys' protests. “We’ll let's take him back to Flower fruit mountain, it’s safer there anyway.” Wukong murmured as he messages Mei to meet them at the mountain once they got what they needed to get.

Now with both Monkeys forced to babysit, Wukong couldn’t help but wonder just how different it is to look after a human infant, half human half demon monkey to be exact, than caring for a baby monkey. How hard could it be?

-

Everything seemed to be going fine for the first hour. Mei and Red Son had arrived with the needed baby supplies while Wukong easily created a makeshift baby crib from a strand of fur for Mk, along with some toys to occupy the kid. Everything was turning out well! They seemed to be pretty prepared to care for toddler Mk for the next twenty three hours that they had left.

Mei and Red Son hung about for a while longer to both help watch and play with the very energetic Monkie Kid, first having dressed Mk in some more suitable clothing his size, which was a pale yellow onesie with little daisies on it. Mei had insisted that Mk would need it. This gave both wukong and Macaque time to work out a game plan on who does what, they have fought demons and dragons, they could do this surely.

“So, we’ll take shifts tonight, take turns getting up and tending to Mk when he needs us to. Sound fair?” Macaque motioned with his hands as he spoke, fully turning to Wukong now to get the others' opinion on the idea. “Hm yeah this can work, How hard can it be? He seems to be happy and satisfied for now.” Wukong replied, shifting from where he was leaning against his small kitchen countertop. In the small living room of his hut sat Mei and Red son, the two of them keeping Mk entertained with the toys Wukong had created and smiling by the looks of things. Mk was one cheerful and happy toddler by the way the child acted, it was unbearably adorable at times, he could do no wrong in Wukongs eyes. Mk seemed to be pretty obsessed with his old and battered monkey king plush toy Mei had insisted on getting from his bedroom, before they left for flower fruit mountain.

With the plan settled and worked out, Macaque made his way into the living room area where the trio were, sitting down on the comfortable sofa casually. The black furred monkey had been staying with Wukong for about two months now, the both of them slowly working on their relationship and past mistakes with one another. It was a slow process but worth it in the end, no longer arguing twenty four seven nor being hateful towards one another, it was nice.

As if broken from his train of thought, Wukong's ears perked hearing Mk beginning to whine and fuss, pushing Mei's hands away from him with an unhappy babble.

“Whoa, someone's not happy all of a sudden.” Mei gawked, sitting back a little on her hands where she sat on the rugged floor, Red Son glancing between the two briefly with a curious look, “Maybe he’s tired?” The fire demon suggested glancing back at Macaque and now Wukong who finally joined them all in the living room with a normal peach in hand.

A warbled, fussy sounding chirp sounded from Mk causing both Macaque and Wukong to snap their full attention to the monkey king's successor turned baby, eyes dilated and wide “He’s hungry, that’s the same sound the baby monkeys make when they are hungry.” Wukong explained to the dragon girl and fire demon who looked on at the two confused for a moment, blinking as he glanced back to the kitchen, “You both grabbed baby formula right?” Wukong asked, turning back towards the two who both nodded in response to the question.

Wukong gave a thoughtful hum as he bit into his peach, moving back into the kitchen he just came from to make Mk a bottle, he’d nursed many orphaned or runt baby monkeys enough to know how to make a bottle at least.

Macaque had been completely silent, staring at Mk for a moment before clearing his throat, hearing that little chirp gave him a sense of need to protect and care for Mk weirdly enough, what a strange feeling it was. Hearing another chirp, this time more high pitched and short sounding, a call to be picked up and or held close, Macaque's ears twitched.

“Looks like he wants you six ears.” Red Son spoke up, watching as Mk held out grabby hands to the black furred monkey with a small coo, eyes wide with curiosity and want. Mei found this very cute apparently, aweing and gushing over the little grabby hands Mk was making currently towards the shadow demon.

Moving over to Mk, crouching to pick up the babbling toddler who seemed to settle once being held in the shadow simians arms, clinging to the others chest for purchase, as he glanced up at Macaque curiously. Mei was right about Mk being adorable as a toddler, those big round brown eyes and that bright red splotchy face marking around his eyes, a mini wukong for sure but better.

The demon's ears flickered briefly, feeling Mk's dark brown monkey tail curling around his right forearm securely, he couldn’t help but smile, “Clingy aren’t you?” Macaque huffed watching as the cub reached out to try and grab at his bright six ears curiously, to which the monkey pulled his face back a bit “Hm I don’t think so kiddo.” To this the cub huffed, pouting angrily. “Da!” Mk chittered, placing his hand against the darker simian's cheek, curiously poking at the others face marking. Macaque couldn’t help but find it quite amusing all things considered.

Another flicker of his ears let him know that Mei was indeed recording the interaction, Red Son scolding her briefly before simply giving up on attempting to stop her. She was most likely going to show Mk hours from now when and hopefully the Monkie Kid was back to normal.

Not a moment later did Wukong return to the living area with a warmed bottle in hand, moving towards Macaque who still held Mk in his arms. “I’ll take him from here.” Wukong held out his hands to Macaque while his tail held the baby bottle for him. Macaque handed the clingy toddler over to Wukong with a little bit of a struggle, due to Mk wanting to cling to the darker furred simian. Once freed from baby Mks tight clutches, Wukong sat down on the couch with the fussy boy who continued to whine and push at the golden furred simians chest in protest to being held by him.

With a huff Wukong settled Mk in the crook of his arm, propping his head up with his elbow and holding his boy close in his lap, using his free hand now to hold the bottle, feeding it to Mk who hungrily latched onto the nipple of the bottle hungrily. Once the cub began to feed away his eyes slowly began to drift shut, his little hands holding onto the bottle with his tail wrapped happily around Wukongs wrist for comfort.

It was a very cute sight to behold, Mei looking seconds away from exploding due to how adorable Mk was currently. Even Red Son was smiling at the scene, also finding baby Mk quite cute “So he gets mega hangry huh? Reminds me of someone.” Wukong chuckled, glancing at Macaque who simply rolled his eyes wanting to argue back for fun but stopped himself, not wanting to disturb Mk.

“You're pretty good at that Simian, I never took you for the parental type.” Red son commented with a raised brow, curious as to where the Monkey King had picked up the skill from. To this Wukong hummed thoughtfully, briefly glancing up to Red before turning his attention back to Mk suckling on the bottle that was now half empty, Mk's little ears twitching and wiggling with each suckle on the bottle adorably.

“I sometimes bottle feed the orphaned cubs and smaller runts on the island. I’m their king but they are also my family.” Wukong explained with a soft smile thinking back to the many cubs he’d raised up and cared for over the years.

“Aww that’s so cute!” Mei gushed with a bright smile, snapping another photo of Mk who had now finished his bottle whined and squirmed in Wukongs hold. Setting the bottle down on the couch, Wukong shifted Mk to rest against his chest, head resting over his shoulder as the Monkey King began to pat at the cub's back. Within a few taps Mk had let out a high pitched burp, instantly settling back against the other burying his face into his mentor's neck tiredly. “He sure ate a lot, he must have been pretty hungry!” Mei gawked, looking at the now empty bottle on the couch.

Once again changing his hold on Mk to better rest in his arms, rocking the small toddler gently, it didn’t take long for the milk drunk cub to doze off.

“Heh out like a light.” Macaque piped up from where he was leaning against the couch from behind it. Peering down at the sleeping toddler in Wukongs arms with his chest rising and falling in an easy pattern, his ears twitched once more hearing a gentle slow beat of Mk’s heart, it was comforting oddly enough.

“Thanks for your help today guys, with getting the stuff and all.” Wukong thanked Mei and Red Son as he carefully, with steady hands, moved Mk to lay against his chest as he slowly stood up, swiping the empty bottle from the couch with his tail.

“Any time Monkey King, I just hope this all goes back to normal soon, I miss big Mk.” Mei sighed sadly, a small frown painting her face, Red son placing a hand to her shoulder in a comforting manner. “We’ll get our Mk back, I promise you that Mei.” Wukong reassured giving a small smile to the dragon girl, watching as both her and Red Son began to stand up and stretch.

“We should be going anyhow, it’s getting late after all.” Red Son informed the two simians, nudging Mei to get moving towards the door. Macaque walked the two out, Wukong giving them a quite goodbye as he moved to his and Macs shared room where they had put the crib at the foot of their bed, ever so gently setting Mk down inside it being ever so gentle to unwind the cubs tail from his wrist. Letting out a sigh as the king finally got Mk settled into the small crib. He backed away, flicking the lights off in his room and left the door open just in case.

Making his way back into the main area of the small hut, Wukong spotted Macaque seated once again on the plush couch in their living room, ears twitching as he heard the golden furred monkey approaching. Plopping himself down next to the shadow demon with a groan, the great sage easily slumped into Macaque's side comfortably with a smile.

“And hello to you too.” Macaque chuckled, throwing an arm around Wukongs waist keeping  the other close. They sat like that together for a moment, not saying anything to one another, just enjoying the quiet and stillness of the small home. The darker monkey shifted a bit to better look down at Wukong who rested his head against his shoulder for the moment, their tails having intertwined at some point during their silent cuddling.

“You're really good at that whole, parent stuff. Never took you for that kind of person when we were younger.” Macaque hummed thoughtfully, to which Wukong playfully rolled his eyes, nudging the other with his elbow “You learn a thing or two as an immortal who can never die.” Wukong stated blankly to which Macaque replied, “Hm fair.”

They sat in silence for a moment, just enjoying each other's presence for the moment until Macaque felt Wukong tense briefly at his side. “You alright?” Macaque asked quietly, voice rough yet comforting.

“Hm, just worried about the kid. Worried if he’ll turn back to normal like you said he would.” Wukong replied easily, another thing they had been working on between them and with others of the gang, was to openly state how one another was feeling, instead of hiding it and bottling it up. It was Sandy’s idea in the beginning and it has really helped them with their communication skills between them, helped them be a lot more open with one another.

Macaque hummed at this, the sound rumbling through his chest softly. “We’ll have the kid back to himself in no time. You're worrying about something that hasn’t happened yet, and trust me, this curse is nothing harmful.” The black monkey spoke, waving his free hand around in front of him as he talked, reassuring his partner with his doubts on the matter. Wukong gave a small nod, nuzzling that little bit closer to be more comfortable, the scent of peaches mixed with plums hitting his senses from his hoodie Mac wore. He loved seeing the other demon monkey in his clothing, even if it was a little bit big on the other, it still made the king's heart flutter in his chest.

“How about we watch a movie or something to pass the time?” Macaque proposed the idea to the golden furred monkey, raising a brown in question. Wukong glanced at the other, noting he had let all his glamour drop off completely now, his scar on full display now that it was just the two of them alone. “Sure.” Wukong murmured in reply, happy to do anything that meant he could stay cuddled up against the other simian longer.

-

It was only three hours later did Mk finally wake up, soft cries and wails for attention rousing Macaque first then Wukong, the two monkeys finally registering that Mk had woken up from his sleep. Both monkeys had dozed off on the couch cuddled up with one another, the random TV show they picked earlier still playing softly, it didn’t look all that interesting anyway.

“I’ll get him.” Wukong murmurs with a lazy yawn, sluggishly removing himself from Macaque's size, who had opted to cover his sensitive ears, frowning uncomfortably at the loud cries.

Wukong didn’t take long at all to move from one room to the next, having lived here so long he could move throughout this entire little house with his eyes closed. Moving into their room he flicked the light on, going over to the crib to pick up Mk who was making grabby hands towards the immortal monkey, eyes red and puffy with tears,

“Hey there bud, shh shh, it’s okay Mk.” Wukong cooed, holding the Monkie Kid against his chest, rubbing soft circles into the toddlers back gently in a soothing motion. Mk had quieted down, not fully just yet, seeming to slowly be coming down on his own terms. Beginning to purr softly out of desperation, his chest rumbling with the soft noise of comfort, the golden furred monkey began to sway softly from side to side in hopes to calm the toddler completely.

It took around two minutes to fully calm Mk down, the toddler only sniffling now, smushing his face into the other collarbone tiredly, little tail wrapping around Wukongs wrist once again for purchase.

“You're a natural at that, you know.” Spoke a smooth, lazy, voice having come from the black furred monkey leaning against the bedroom door frame with his arms crossed over his chest casually, tail swaying behind him slowly. Wukong scoffed, rolling his eyes in a dismissive manner. “When you are forced to babysit rambunctious monkey cubs you learn a thing or two.” Wukong humoured the other immortal simian, feeling Mk shift in his arms to now peer over at Macaque with a small chirp. The kid seemed to be in a better mood now having been calmed down from his recent distress.

Wukong began to make his way back out to the living room, sitting down on the couch with Mk in his lap, now seeming a lot more awake now as the child took in his surroundings a little better. Macaque was quick to join them not a moment later after checking the time on his phone.

“Twenty hours to go.” The shadow demon informed Wukong, his ears twitching hearing the light babble from Mk, the small cub having caught hold of Wukongs tail with a playful giggle.

Humming in acknowledgment, Wukong playfully bapped his tail against the child's face, earning squeaks and chitters of excitement and joy, all in a playful nature of course, never wanting to hurt the kid. “I don’t know about you Mango but I feel like an animal, having been stuck in here for the past four hours.” Wukong started with a grunt, feeling Mk shift off of his lap to crawl over to Macaques, who happily scooped up the boy onto his own lap, allowing the toddler to play with his own tail distractingly. “We should go outside tomorrow, I’ve been meaning to restock on some fruit.”

“Sounds like a wonderful idea Peaches, best idea you’ve had all day.” Macaque teased with a snicker, earning a playful punch to his shoulder in retaliation from the golden simian.

“Then it’s settled, tomorrow morning we’ll go fruit gathering!” Wukong declared, getting back up off of the couch with a yawn. Glancing to the clock above his small TV he huffed, it was late into the evening now, Mk would be hungry.

As if the toddler had read his thoughts, the boy sitting in Macaque's lap began to suck on his own little hand with a hangry look on his face. To this Wukong snickered, ruffling the toddlers soft hair “I’ll make him a bottle, could you keep him distracted for a minute?” Wukong asked of the shadow demon as he began to make his way out of the living room and into the small kitchen to make up a bottle for the cub.

Macaque had only grunted in response, ears flickering listening to the small toddler's huff of discomfort “Hey there Kiddo, feeling pretty hungry huh?” Macaque spoke to the toddler who had now stopped sucking on his little knuckles, turning to better face the black furred simian and babble incoherent words in response. “Mahh! Bleesh!” To this the shadow demon chuckled, finding it amusing “What’s that? You think Peaches over there smells bad?” Mk simply babbled back in response. “Baba ah!” the toddler squealed in delight.

“Hey I heard that.” Wukong calls from the kitchen making Macaque smirk playfully. Mk continued to squeak and babble loudly to the other, flailing his little hands as he did as if he were having a full heated conversation. “Really? Oh my, that is quite scandalous of him! And the milk wasn’t even fully warmed either? How dare he!” Macaque asked the toddler who only giggled and squealed in response, slapping his little hands against the others' larger, rougher hands playfully.

“Kiddo here is really talking bad about you peaches, where did he learn such language because it most definitely wasn’t from me.” Macaque teased playfully with a chittering laugh, causing Mk to also chitter back amongst a plethora of chirps and squeaks.

Wukong who had finally re-joined the two in the living room with a freshly warmed baby bottle full of formula and a small hand towel. Mk smiled, settling down as the other finally returned “Baba!” The cub chirped, reaching out for the bottle impatiently. Wukong chuckled, shushing the toddler “Yes yes I know you're hungry.” Wukong laughed, stopping briefly to Look between Macaque and Mk for a moment in thought before speaking up. “Did you want to try and feed him this time?” The golden monkey offered, holding out the baby bottle to the other while Mk tried to reach up and grab it.

Macaque seemed to still, staring at the bottle, contemplating his next move before looking back up at Wukong, “Ah i’m not sure..you're better at this kind of thing, i’m just good at making them laugh.”

The shadow demon stated unsure, his ears twitching feeling uneasy. Giving a soft smile the King scooted closer to the two now, nearly shoulder to shoulder as he began to speak. “What if I showed you how? It’s easy, I promise plums.” Wukong reassured the other, once again offering the bottle to the other. Mk was looking between the two monkeys, squeaking out an impatient protest trying to reach for the bottle.

A beat passed before Macaque finally gave in, allowing Wukong to man handle his arms, showing him how to best hold Mk before finally handing over the still pleasantly warm bottle of baby formula, feeding it to the Monkie Kid. Still a little nervous, Macaque was stiff and tense, unwilling to move in case the movement interrupted or hurt Mk while the baby was feeding.

At this Wukong placed a hand to the dark simian's shoulder giving it a gentle, encouraging squeeze “Relax Mango, you're doing great.” Wukong praised the other who simply brushed off said praise, a small flush of pink dusting against his tanned cheeks and ears.

About a minute or two later did Mk finally finish his bottle, yawning and rubbing at his eyes sleepily, once again having gotten milk drunk by how fast he drank. “Now move him to your chest, resting his head on your shoulder and pat his back, here.” Wukong explained, grabbing the small hand towel from his lap to drape it over Macaque's left shoulder. Macaque did just that, following Wukongs instructions as he carefully rested Mk against his chest, resting that little head of his against his shoulder as the monkey began to pat at Mk's back like Wukong showed him.

Just like earlier that day, Mk had burped and settled once more, already beginning to doze off against the black furred simian with a soft little purr. “You did great Liu Er, really, he didn’t even puke on you so that’s a bonus!” Wukong half joked, genuinely surprised the toddler didn’t spit up on the other given how fast the toddler had drunk the formula down.

Still getting used to Wukong addressing him by his name from time to time, it took a moment for the simian to reply “Well thanks to your help I didn’t mess up somehow.” Macaque replied with a grin, tail swishing against the couch cushions with pride, feeling proud of himself, even if he won’t say that aloud.

Carefully standing up, Macaque began to carry Mk into their shared bedroom while Wukong cleaned up the bottle in the kitchen. Before leaving, the King was sure to switch off the TV and lights in the rooms before heading to their bedroom.

Once in the bedroom he found Macaque setting Mk down to sleep with ever so careful and calculated movements, Wukong of course finding that endearing and sweet. Even though Mac denies it outright, he does have a soft spot for kids. Especially that Bai He girl, the two would meet up every so often during the weekend with Mk and Mei for smoothies and brunch too when the girl didn’t have school. She was a sweet girl who loved cats, her and Mac simply clicked together perfectly.

Moving up beside Mac he took the others hands in his own, pulling the other towards the nest of blankets and pillows that the dark furred simian had insisted on getting for their bedroom, saying that Wukong didn’t have enough of them to be comfortable.

Silently the lamp in the room was switched off, the two Simians cuddling up together in the nest of plush, soft items. Only a few hours to go until Mk was back to normal, things would go back to how they where, Wukong hoped at least.

-

Six hours later, in the late morning given Macaque was not a morning person, Wukong had Mk changed into a new diaper and a light green onesie and fed him a small bottle of formula. The trio left the small hut heading out of the cove and through the waterfall that parted with ease for the king. With three baskets between the two of them to help carry the fruit as Wukong began to lead the way.

The two monkeys made their way down a small dirt path from the waterfall entrance down into the thick foliage of flower fruit mountain, a few of the residential monkeys hooting and chirping out to their king and Macaque in friendly greeting. Wukong all but smiled, chirping back to his subjects, Macaque also giving small chirps here and there of greeting to said monkeys. The monkeys and Mac were slowly getting more and more comfortable with each other, being more interactive with one another every day. It made Wukong happy knowing his subjects were accepting of the black furred monkey demon.

Mk curiously looked around the new area from where he was held in Macaque's arms, resting against the black simians chest clinging to him as they walked, happily cooing at the monkeys nearby that followed the trio to the large fruit trees ahead.

“Yes yes good morning everyone, it’s good to see you all too haha!” Wukong laughed, kneeling down briefly by the tree to better greet his monkey subjects, who all but swarmed the king with happy hoots and hollers for their king. Curious as monkeys are, they had noticed little Mk clinging to Macaque's chest, the cub feeling a little nervous with so many eyes on him now, similar to Wukong with his stage fright funnily enough.

Noticing this, Wukong stood up once more, moving closer to Mac with his hands held out to the other “Let me introduce him, or well, reintroduce him to the monkeys.” Wukong asked to which Mac easily handed over baby Mk who protested a little, shaking like a leaf out of fear and uncertainty. “Hey hey it’s alright! See, look, they won't hurt you I promise.” Wukong reassured Mk, crouching down with the boy in his arms as one of the monkeys came up to Wukong curiously cooing at Mk.

Mk in return trusted Wukong, pulling his face away from Wukong's chest to better look at the peach faced, white furred monkey who carefully touched Mk's soft, dark brown hair gently. The toddler seemed to become a bit more bold, giggling a little now as the group of monkeys began to surround Wukong and Mk, touching, chirping and cooing at the little boy.

“Looks like they like him.” Macaque spoke up, causing Wukong to glance back at him briefly, “They really do, probably because he smells familiar.” Wukong thoughtfully replied to Macaque, swift to stand back up once the monkeys began to lose interest and move away.

“So, shall we get some fruit?” Wukong asked his partner, fixing his hold on Mk to hold the toddler on his hip now as he faced Macaque fully. The shadow demon in question smiled with a nod, joining Wukong by his side “I’m starved.” Macaque replied, earning a chuckle from Wukong who all but agreed, stomach craving for some fresh fruit right about now.

Macaque was the first one to start climbing up into one of the nearby pear trees, seating himself on one of the more thicker branches to better hold his weight. The dark furred monkey looked down at Wukong who kicked one of the baskets near the base of the large fruit tree, the last two under a peach tree and a mango tree. “Just grab a handful and toss them in here, we’ll get a bit of everything.” Wukong called up at Macaque, once again fixing his hold on the squirming toddler in his arms.

Not going to be able to climb any of the trees with his arms full of baby Mk, the king decided on setting the cub down, chittering out to a few nearby monkeys who came running to his call “I need you four to watch him for a moment, keep him here.” Wukong entrusted his monkeys who all gave a light salute and nod of their heads. Surely Mk wouldn’t get into any trouble, his monkeys were capable of keeping his cub safe as they do with their own.

Mk was more than happy now that he was on the ground instead of being held in Wukongs arms, babbling to the four monkeys that sat close to him, giggling as he attempted to grab at their tails playfully. Giving one more glance back at Mk and the group of monkeys, Wukong climbed up one of the peach trees, grabbing a good armful before letting them drop into the woven baskets below with practised ease. The golden great sage repeated this process with a plethora of different fruits such as apples, oranges, grapes and lychees. Hearing a soft yet rough chitter above him, he found Macaque jumping down into the lychee tree he was in with an arm full of star fruit. “My basket is full, I couldn’t fit these last few star fruits.” The dark simian informed the golden furred monkey before dumping the starfruit into Wukongs last basket that was also nearly full.

“All this should be enough to take back.” Wukong started with a sigh, wiping the sweat from his face briefly, happy to have been able to get rid of his pent up energy. Macaque seemed to do a double take looking over Wukong with a worried expression, “Where is Mk?” The shadow demon asked, concerned, to which Wukong rolled his eyes in response. 

“I left Mk with the monkeys near the first pear tree we started at.” Wukong started, waving his hand in the direction of the peach tree, getting an even more concerned look from Macaque before he spoke up once again. 

“With the monkeys! I’m not that stupid.” Wukong confirmed with a roll of his eyes, earning himself a punch to the shoulder as both monkeys jumped down from the lychee tree. Gathering up the three full baskets, Wukong carried two under his arms while Macaque carried the one. Making their short walk back to the first pear tree, the found Mk cuddled up with the monkeys playing with a few seashells and shiny stones happily, sucking on his thumb while two of the monkeys groomed the boy’s fluffy dark brown hair. It was probably one of the cutest things Wukong had ever seen, Macaque finding it just as precious.

“Now that's just adorable.” Mac spoke up with a light chuckle, moving over to the group and crouching down beside them, Mk reaching out to Macaque with a soft chirp. “Thanks guys, I knew I could count on you.” Wukong thanked his monkey subjects who all chittered back in response.

They had spent a good three hours outside amongst the monkeys and fruit trees, deciding to eat right then and there instead of walking all the way back to the hut. There they sat under the shade of a large jungle type tree with many vines cascading down from the large branches above, a few of the monkeys around them had even begun to hang from said branches and vines, playing with one another. Mk on the other hand sat contently in Wukongs lap while the king fed the toddler some lychees, being sure to remove the seed in the centre first before feeding it to him.

Macaque was on his third Mango, already having eaten a pear, a handful of grapes and an orange. There was nothing better than eating fresh fruit straight from the source, it was nothing like the foods back on the mainland, although Pigsy's noodles comes to a close second.

“He seems to really like these lychees, he doesn’t like grapes though.” Wukong started to make small talk, wanting to fill the peaceful silence around them. The dark simian only hummed in response, tossing the mango skin and pit to the side as he swallowed the food in his mouth before speaking “Probably because they are the more sour kind.” Mac replied, sitting back on his hands with a content sigh, tail lazily thumping against the grassy earth they sat on.

Wukong ate a bit of everything, loving the peaches most of all of course but the king also really enjoyed the persimmons that grew on the island, which were his all time second favourite fruit. They stayed like that for another hour chatting and relaxing back in the shade of the jungle trees. It was nice, peaceful even, they needed to do this more often under better circumstances of course.

It wasn’t long until Mk was starting to fall asleep in Macaque's arms, having had a grand time crawling between the two, eating all the fruit his little tummy could fit and getting groomed by either the monkey or Wukong.

“We should head back, Kiddos getting tired. I can carry Mk and the smaller basket.” Mac mumbled to the other, to which Wukong gave a nod of acknowledgement, standing up and stretching his stiff limbs. Macaque was the next to stand up, careful and slow with his movements as he adjusted the child to rest against his chest comfortably.

Keeping Mk on the left side of his chest to better see him, he carefully crouched to pick up the small fruit basket with his tail while he held Mk in his arms. His ears twitched, hearing Wukong grunt as the monkey hoisted the two larger baskets up in his arms, full of all kinds of fruits and a few vegetables too. It was true that flower fruit mountain always had some kind of plant in bloom, the island always provided no matter the season, the residents here never went hungry.

With everything gathered, the two headed back to the small hut inside the waterfalls cove, said waterfall parting for the king and sealing back behind him once they were all through.

-

Once they had gotten back to the hut, Mac went off to Wukongs small bathroom, using a wet rag to clean the dirt and grass from Mk's little face, leaving Wukong to store away their haul of fruits and vegetables in his kitchen. All this food would last them a good few weeks until they’d eventually have to go out and get more again.

After cleaning up Mk, he towel dried the monkey kid's face before dressing him in a purple onesie and new diaper, the kid having now fallen asleep. With steady hands, the shadow demon moved Mk over to the crib, laying the cub down to rest, the boy instantly clinging to the old monkey king plushie in a content manner, before switching the bedroom light off.

Macaque came back into the main living area, joining Wukong in the kitchen who was just finishing up putting away a few coconuts they had gotten today as well, a great drink to have on the hotter days on flower fruit mountain. The shadow demon glanced at the clock in the living room above the TV, doing the maths in his head briefly before saying, “Ten hours left, not long to go.” Wukong lent back against the kitchen counter top with a groan, rubbing at his eyes a little, himself also feeling a little tired after all that food “Not long now.” Wukong replied, looking at Mac who had moved closer now, leaning next to him, intertwining their tails comfortably.

“Is it bad that I'm gonna, kinda, miss baby Mk?” Wukong asked in an almost whisper of a voice, though it sounded more like Wukong was talking right into his ears for Macaque. “Hm, sounds like someone's got baby fever.” The shadow demon chuckled teasingly, bumping their shoulders together gently in a playful yet laid back manner. The king in question scoffed, shaking his head.

“Could you imagine me being a father? Now that is a joke in itself.” Wukong replied, looking down to the floor, crossing his arms over his chest with a light hearted chuckle.

In response to the others joke, the dark simian tilted his head, ears flickering gently in thought before speaking up finally after a beat “I can actually, given what i’ve seen over the past fourteen hours.” The black fur immortal stated, tone serious and reassuring, even if Wukong refused to believe that he’d be an okay parent Macaque knew he would be.

Wukong seemed to feel his fur bristle at this statement, the stone monkey's heart beating that little bit faster with a soft blush that rivalled his face marking, crept along his freckled cheeks. “Heh, I find that hard to believe but, go right ahead in believing that if you want to.” Wukong deflected the subtle compliment, leaning a bit against the other with a small smile.

The two of them stayed like that for a moment, chatting and talking about what to do for the next ten hours. They both ended up deciding to sit back and watch some more TV to help pass the time.

-

A whole two hours passed before Mk woke up, chirping out to the monkeys from the crib, sniffling and crying as he rubbed at his eyes tiredly. Macaque was the first one to notice, Wukong having dozed off to sleep about an hour earlier.

Gently, Macaque shifted Wukong to lay against the couch instead of his shoulder, the king only stirring briefly before snoring softly once more. With a small smile the dark furred monkey tossed a light, orange, throw blanket over the others sleeping form before making his way to their shared bedroom.

Mk continued to softly cry out for the monkeys, having now stood up with the help of the crib railing, tears rolling down his cheeks as he continued to rub the sleep from eyes. Upon seeing Macaque entering the room, flicking the light on, Mk perked up with a happy trill of a chirp as the cub began to reach out for the other. The dark furred monkey all but chuckled at this, he was just like older Mk in some ways funnily enough. Briefly wiping at the child's tear streaked cheeks with his thumbs, the demon picked the boy up who instantly cuddled close into the other's chest with a coo, causing Macaque's tail to sway contently. Maybe the both of them really did have baby fever? No, they are overthinking it surely.

Breaking his train of thought the dark simian made his way back into the main living area, grabbing Mks plush toy on the way out. Coming into the living room, Macaque set Mk down onto the carpeted floor. The toddler crawled over to the small pile of toys Wukong had created from his hair a few hours prior, the toys in question having been very handy in distracting the child and entertaining him.

Tossing the plush toy next to Mk, the boy happily grabbing the toy to cuddle and keep close, Macaque looked to Wukong who was still sleeping soundly. He must have been pretty tired, he’d wake him up eventually, just not right now.

Sitting on the floor in front of the couch, Macaque watched Mk for a moment who was currently babbling to himself and the monkey king plush toy. Leaning over to the small coffee table, he picked up his phone and unlocked it, starting to record mk “Mei will love this.” Macaque chuckled to himself, recording Mk as the toddler continued to babble to the plush toy, hugging it close at one point with a chitter and chirp of delight.

Texting the short video of Mk off to Mei, his phone buzzed not a second later with Mei having sent a lot of reaction emojis in response. Smiling the dark monkey set his phone back down onto the coffee table, Mk had at some point crawled over to him and sat himself down in his lap happily. “Baba?” Mk cooked worriedly, staring past Macaque over at Wukong who had shifted now to lay on his back against the couch, chest rising and falling slowly with each breath.

Following Mk’s gaze he smiled, “He’ll wake up soon kiddo.” Liu Er reassured the cub, ruffling the toddler's hair playfully, earning a giggle from the boy.

Macaque entertained Mk for about an hour before Wukong finally woke up with a groan, slowly sitting up from where he was laying on the couch, fur messy and out of place from his nap. Glancing around the living room he found Mac sitting on the floor with a small bowl of peeled pear mango and persimmon slices. The dark furred simian was feeding the toddler small bites of the fruit while also eating some himself, mainly the mango slices.

Smiling Wukong watched the two for a moment, Mk giggling as he chowed down on a soft pear slice while Macaque told the boy to ‘slow down or he’ll choke.’ It was very domestic, so out of place for both Macaque and himself yet it felt so nice, fitting even.

“Looks like sleeping beauty has finally woken up.” Macaque teases the golden furred monkey, who snapped out of his thoughts at hearing the others' voice.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Wukong asked with a yawn, stretching as he slowly stood up from the couch, shuffling his way over to the two as he sat himself down beside Mk. The toddler squealed in delight at seeing Wukong finally awake and having joined them, the king smiled back, curling his tail happily around the boy.

“You looked like you needed the sleep.” Macaque replied with a shrug, pushing the bowl towards the immortal monkey with his black tail, nodding to the other “Cut up some persimmons for you if you want them, Mk isn’t a fan of them.” Lui Er started with a laugh, watching the toddler pull a face of disgust at the fruit in question in the bowl. To this Wukong gasped in a fake offended manner “How could my successor hate persimmons?! This is horrible news.” Wukong grinned watching as Mk laughed and giggled at the golden monkeys fake shocked face he was pulling.

Macaque leaned back on his hands, watching the two eating the rest of the fruit in the bowl, finding it sweet how the two easily interacted. Even in baby form Mk adored the peach faced simian, they really did have a strong bond even during times like these.

A soft ringing from Macaque's phone pulled the shadow demon out of his thoughts, getting up from where he was sitting on the carpeted floor to grab his phone from the coffee table. Picking up the phone he answered, “This is Macaque speaking.”

“Hey monkey man, It’s Mei!” Mei informed the other, her smile could be heard through the phone. With a chuckle he spoke in return, “Hello Mei, is there a reason you are calling me? Wait, no, don't tell me! Another person has been turned into a baby, was I right?” Macaque snickered with a tease hearing Mei groan on the other end of the call. “No! Thankfully no, but I am calling you to ask if you and Wukong wanted to come to Pigsy’s for dinner tonight? Given this will be Mks last night as a baby!” Mei offered the invite to the Monkey, waiting for the others' answer excitedly.

Briefly pulling the phone away from himself he turned to Wukong and Mk, “Did you wanna have dinner at Pigsy’s shop tonight?” Macaque asked his partner, the king looking at the other in thought before giving a thumbs up and quick nod.

Bringing the phone back close he replied, “Sure, what time?” He asked, not before hearing Mei cheering  at the answer, “Pigsy said he’s closing up his shop early so sometime around five this afternoon!” Mei confirmed as Macaque glanced at the clock in the living room, they had two hours.

“Great, we’ll see you then dragon girl.” Lui Er replied with a chuckle as Mei bid him goodbye before hanging up. Setting his phone back down onto the coffee table, the dark simian looked over to see Wukong standing up with Mk in his arms, picking up the now empty bowl with his tail with practised ease.

“We have two hours to get ready and head out.” He informed the king, who only hummed back in response, handing the kid to Macaque as he walked past, heading to the kitchen to wash up the bowl and retrieve a wet rag to clean Mks face of the sticky fruit juices. Macaque chirped to Mk who chirped right back, seeming to be full and happy for the moment.

“That’s plenty of time for us. I’ll get this little monkey cleaned up if you could maybe pick out some fruits for us to bring with us?” Wukong spoke, coming back into the living room to take the toddler back. Passing Mk back to Wukong’s waiting arms, the shadow demon nodded in response “Hm I can do that.” Mac replied, his tail batting against Wukongs own tail as he passed the other to head into the kitchen to pick out some fruits for Pigsy.

Smiling, Wukong left for their shared bedroom to grab a fresh diaper and the last clean onesie, which was a bright red and orange onesie. Having chosen the clothes for the toddler, Wukong carried him into his small bathroom to get Mk cleaned up and dressed.

While Wukong got Mk cleaned and ready, Macaque rummaged around the small kitchen with a woven basket picking out a small handful of fruits. These fruits consisted of three peaches, two mangos, a handful of apricots and two pears. Deeming the basket full enough, the demon set it on the counter top, moving to their bedroom to get himself dressed and ready.

-

The two hours passed with Mk dressed in his Red and Orange onesie, ready to go and have dinner with the rest of the group. Wukong was dressed in yellow overalls, a plain white t-shirt and peach coloured sneakers. Macaque was dressed in a plain grey long sleeved shirt with black jeans and a pair of black boots. With the fruit basket and Mks plush monkey king toy being carried by Wukong, Macaque carried Mk as they travelled on Wukong's somersault cloud to Pigsy’s noodle shop.

The three of them arrived in no time flat thanks to Wukong's cloud, jumping down from the cloud before the king dismissed it, Macaque walked up to the front of the store knocking a few times before standing back with Wukong.

Shuffling and chatter could be heard on the other side of the door from inside the closed shop before the door was opened revealing Red Son. The fire demon was dressed in a black, sleeveless turtleneck shirt, dark blue jeans and black platform shoes. “The monkeys and Mk are here.” The boy announced, stepping to the side to allow them inside. Mk squealed in delight at seeing the many familiar faces once more, reaching for Mei who eagerly took the toddler from Macaque's hands “Mk! Oh my goodness you're still so cute!” Mei gushed with a giggle, snuggling the cub close, said cub chirping in reply, babbling to Mei excitedly “Mey Mea!” Mk giggled curling his tail around Mei’s forearm happily. Mei was dressed in light blue shorts, casual mint green sneakers, her signature jacket and a white t-shirt with a unicorn on the front of it.

While those two caught up, Wukong carried the basket of fresh fruits over to the shop's countertop, finding Pigsy inside the kitchen having already started cooking dinner for everyone. The pig was dressed in a casual white t-shirt, grey sneakers and dark blue jeans. Red Son had returned to help the chef with said dinner preparations.

“Brought some fruits for you Pigsy.” Wukong spoke up, causing the pig to turn and briefly look towards Wukong. “Oh thanks monkey king, I’ll make some desserts out of them.” Pigsy thanked the other before returning his attention back to the noodles he was currently kneading out.

Macaque had taken a seat at one of the bar stools where Tang was also seated, the two already chatting to one another. Tang was dressed in one of his many robes, although this one was a dark blue one, layered with a lighter shade of blue with the undershirt being plain white. Blue suited the scholar well now that the monkey thought about it.

Wukong smiled leaving the shadows side for the moment to sit in the booth Mei was sitting at with Mk on her lap, the two seeming to be playing with the Monkey King plush toy of Mks, Macaque must have given it to the boy on their way in.

“How has it been babysitting Mk?” Mei asked, wanting to make small talk with the immortal monkey, to kill off the silence between them. “He’s been good, super clingy, but just like a normal Mk, just more baby-like.” Wukong chuckled, Mei too smiling at that. “He’ll be back to normal in four hours right? It’s kinda sad that he won’t be a cute, adorable baby anymore but I have plenty of photos and videos hehe!” Mei sighed, looking down at Mk who was cuddling his plush toy happily cooing and chirping to himself, seeming to be in his own world.

“Yeah, I can relate, he is pretty adorable like this but I do miss my student more than anything.” Wukong replied, his tone honest and genuine, he really did miss the bigger Mk. It wouldn’t be long now until they would hopefully have their Monkie Kid back to normal, here's to hoping.

-

It was an hour later when Pigsy and Red Son had finished up dinner for the group, everyone deciding to go to the roof of the store with a few spare blankets and pillows to sit on, to eat dinner while watching the sunset together.

Pigsy and Red son had made a plethora of dishes for everyone to eat, having even cut up some of the fruit Wukong and Macaque had brought for everyone to share. Some of the dishes consisted of chow mein, kung pao chicken, baozi buns, mapo tofu, soup dumplings, spring rolls and a large serving of fried rice for everyone to share amongst themselves. Wukong favoured the vegetarian dishes more while Macaque indulged in the more meaty foods. Thanking Pigsy and Red Son for the food they all began to pile their bowls high with food.

Tang was the first to start eating, Pigsy chiding the scholar for being so gluttonous causing the rest of the group to laugh. They all seemed to be enjoying one another's company, chatting easily with each other and sharing the food just as easily. Mk would be back to normal in due time, hopefully, god the king was really hoping he would.

Said toddler was sitting in Wukong's lap while the black furred monkey fed him small bites of food from each of the dishes, the kid liking the kung pao chicken and the baozi buns the most. “This Mapo is delicious Pigsy, I might have to order from you more often.” Wukong spoke up, the group turning to face the monkey who shied back a little due to all the eyes on him briefly. “I’m glad you like it monkey king, I'll have to make it for you again sometime” Pigsy easily replied back, causing the golden furred monkey to smile, tail swaying from side to side happily.

Beside Wukong, Macaque was digging into his portion of soup dumplings, fried rice and the chow mein. Finishing his soup full, swallowing it down with some water the dark furred monkey chirped in delight “Pigsy's food is pure gold, I refuse to eat any other take out.” Macaque hummed licking his fangs satisfied, earning a chorus of laughs from the group. Mk who was chowing down on a large baozi bun, filled with a red bean paste by the smell of it, chirped back to Macaque, face covered in food and sauces “Mk also agrees.” Mei pointed out, leaning over to wipe the boy's face with a napkin, earning a small thanks from Wukong.

“So, when does Sandy get back from his trip?” Tang spoke up, glancing at Pigsy for an answer. The pig was finishing up his bowl of food, wiping his mouth with a napkin before speaking “Tonight I'm pretty sure, I haven’t heard back from him so he must be enjoying his time out with his friend.” Pigsy replied, resting back, leaning back on his hands with a sigh, feeling full and satisfied.

Red son who was also finishing up, now just snacking on the last soup dumpling, glanced at Mk who was playing with the golden furred monkeys' overall buttons. “Do you think noodle boys will remember any of this?” The fire demon questioned. Said question made the dark furred monkey speak up.

“No, half the time when a human and or demon is cursed with these types of changing curses they have no memory of it. Usually feels like one big, weird dream.” Macaque explained with a flick of his ear, hearing Mk giggling as Wukong tickled the boy's sides playfully, seeming to have also finished his dinner.

“Huh, well at least I have tons of photos to show him when he’s back to normal!” Mei giggled, snapping a quick photo of Wukong playing fighting with Mk, who was squealing with delight, the older monkey tickling the cub with a chuckle.

-

Two hours passed by with the gang eating up the rest of the food, having cleaned up the plates and used dishes, Wukong and Mei helping Pigsy and Red Son wash up. Now they were all eating some fruit and ice cream as their desert for the evening. Wukong and Tang chose peaches, Mac and Pigsy chose mangos, Mei having chosen the pears and Red Son and Mk having chosen the apricots to have with their ice cream. They were all sitting on the blankets and cushions they had brought up to the roof earlier, watching the last of the sunset dip below the horizon before the stars began to show themselves along with the moon.

“An hour to go and we should have our Mk back to normal.” Wukong informed the group, said toddler had finished his small portion of ice cream and apricots, his onesie having gotten completely soiled in all kinds of foods and sauces.

This earned a sad look from Mei and a relieved look from Red Son, “About time, we’ve missed him.” Pigsy replied to the king, sighing. “Let’s hope you two are right about this curse.” Tang spoke up, looking a little saddened also, more so worried for the boy more than anything.

“Babab?” Mk cooed looking up at Wukong, rubbing at his face tiredly with a yawn. Ears twitching, the immortal monkey looked down at Mk in his lap, smiling softly “Someone's getting tired.” Wukong hummed, wiping a bit of ice cream from the boy's face with a napkin.

“Did we bring any extra clothes?” Macaque asked Wukong, the dark simian having finished his desert, collecting his, Mks and Wukongs empty bowls up, stacking them neatly to the side for the moment.

Wukong shook his head as he began to stand up, taking the sleepy toddler with him “I’ll just make some clothes from my hair, no biggie.” Wukong reassured the other, playfully flicking Macaque's ears with his tail as the king left the room, heading downstairs to Mks apartment.

The shadow demon watched Wukong leave, grinning like the idiot in love he was before turning back to the group. Noticing Mei starting to collect the bowls and spoons, he got up to help her, the girl thanking him with a warm smile. Tang, Pigsy and Red Son started to pack up the blankets and cushions as it was starting to get cold outside now, everyone wanting to head back inside where it was warmer.

Back inside Mk’s apartment, Wukong had changed Mk out of the dirty onesie. Cleaning him up in the boys bathroom, the king created a plain white onesie out of a strand of his hair, dressing the boy in it with practised ease. Mk in question was starting to fall asleep in his arms now, resting against his chest, head nuzzled into the king's neck tiredly with his tail curled around Wukongs forearm. There was something so precious about this, Mk’s soft breaths and steady heart beat, the quiet of the apartment even more comforting. The immortal monkey truly was going to miss this, taking the moment to indulge in it while he could.

Unknown to him, a certain scholar stood in the doorway leading into the small apartment, smiling fondly at the scene before him, surprised that the king hadn’t noticed him just yet.

Giving the two a moment, Tang waited until Wukong seemed to register him in the doorway “Oh Tang! I didn’t see you there.” Wukong chuckled quietly, cheeks flushed a light red in embarrassment, feeling as though he were caught with his hand in a cookie jar.

“Baby fever is one hell of a thing monkey king.” Tang replied with a chuckle of his own, the monkey blinking in surprise at the answer “When he was sixteen he moved into this apartment, Pigsy doted on him, always making sure he had what he needed. We both grew attached to Mk, the day he called Pigsy dadsy was the day I was sure he had a heart attack.” Tang smiled happily at the memory, remembering how embarrassed Mk was for the rest of the week, it was sweet. “Even though he won’t admit it, Monkey king, he does see you like a third dad to him, even after the whole bone demon situation.” Tang murmured softly, keeping his voice down so as to not wake the sleeping cub.

“Heh, yeah..You're not wrong about the whole getting attached ordeal. I love the kid, really, I couldn’t have chosen a better person to be my successor.” Wukong clutched the boy that little bit closer thinking about it. “Macaque sent me up to give you this, for Mk.” Tang explained holding out the worn old monkey king plush toy.

Wukong huffed, taking the toy from the other with a brief thank you, having forgotten all about the toy. Tang only nodded briefly, turning to leave but not before saying, “You should tell him that, Mk, about him making you proud.”

This left the golden furred monkey baffled, staring off after the scholar as he left him standing in the middle of the apartment lost in his own thoughts. Feeling Mk shifting against him, stirring a little before settling again, Wukong took this as a sign to put him to bed. Breaking from his thoughts Wukong carried Mk over to his bedroom in the small apartment, every so carefully laying the boy down into the many blankets and pillows, making sure his monkey king plushie was right beside him. The cub stirred once more making a soft chirp of discomfort before settling back into the plush pillows and blankets on his bed.

Draping a light, white sheet over the boy's form, he sat on the edge of the bed. Taking this moment to just look at Mk, watching his small chest rising and falling, enjoying the last few moments of baby Mk's existence. Carefully brushing the boy's dark brown hair back out of his face the king sighed, hand lingering on the little boy's face. “Sleep well bud.” Wukong whispered, finally pulling away from the toddler, standing up and leaving the apartment, being sure to shut the door behind him on the day out.

Heading down stairs into the main area of the noodle shop the peach faced monkey found Liu Er and Mei chatting, Pigsy and Tang also chatting with one another near the front door. “Me and Red boy here will stay with Mk when he wakes up!” Mei informed the group as Wukong joined Macaque near the front door by his side, easily taking his hand into his own more or less for his own comfort, squeezing it lightly.

Red son was the next to speak up, “We will be sure to contact all of you if anything happens.” The fire demon concluded with a light nod of his head, already heading upstairs with the dragon horse girl who was practically dragging him up them.

With that settled, the who immortal monkeys bidded Tang and Pigsy a good rest of their evening, leaving through the shop's front door.

-

The next morning rolled around, the first thing Mk noticed was that he was very much naked under his blankets, he couldn’t recall what happened the day before. Stumbling out of bed, taking a blanket with him to keep himself covered, he grabbed a random white shirt, boxers and a pair of random jeans from his floor. Hurrying to his bathroom he showered to wake himself up and got dressed, still trying to figure out what happened the day before, all the monkie kid could recall was going out on patrol with Mei and Red Son and that was about it.

Shifting on a pair of socks and his black and white sneakers, Mk left his apartment with his keys and phone in his jean pocket, he didn’t recall drinking at all last night and definitely didn’t feel hungover.

Making his way down stairs he noticed Mei and Red Son seated at the front counter side Tang in Pigsy's noodle shop, casually chatting between one another while they ate what looked like breakfast. The pig himself was already cooking food in the kitchen for the three of them. “Mk! You're back to normal!” Mei cheered with delight, practically launching herself at the boy, Mk having to use his tail to keep them both up right instead of falling to the floor.

“Whoa Mei! What do you mean back to normal? What happened? I can’t remember anything from yesterday.” Mk asked, clearly confused and lost in the matter. Red was the next to speak up, swivelling in his chair “While out on a patrol two a day and a half ago, you were cursed by a demon, that curse turned you into an infant version of yourself.” Red Son explained nonchalantly before continuing before Mk got a chance to ask questions “Monkey King and Macaque looked after you for the majority of the time you were cursed.”

Mk blinked for a moment, his brain processing this new information rapidly. Mei was the next to butt in, shaking Mk by his shoulder with a squeal making Mk a little dizzy and off balance. “Oh my gosh I have so many videos and pictures to show you monkey boy!” She giggled, already getting her phone out to show the other.

-

Mei had sent a text to Wukong earlier that morning before Mk woke up, saying he had turned back to normal with nothing out of the ordinary. Both monkeys were relieved to know Mk was okay and that they were correct about the curse.

Wukong may or may not have stayed up most of the night sick with anxiety and worry for the kid, not used to not having the toddler version of Mk waking him up in the middle of the night. He had eventually gotten to sleep with the help of Liu Er, the dark simian forcing the golden monkey to get some sort of sleep with the promise of many cuddles and even breakfast the next morning.

That brings us to now with both monkeys having eaten a breakfast consisting of eggs, toast and fruits, specifically peaches, persimmon, plums and mangos. Wukong seemed a lot better this morning, Macaque more glad that he was able to get the fool to sleep last night. Finishing up the last bits of food on his plate the shadow demon spoke up, “Why don’t we go and see the kiddo, you know, to be sure he’s fully okay?” Macaque proposed to the king, who instantly brightened up at the idea “Great idea mango, I’ll go get dressed!” Wukong replied, hurrying to finish his food and tea before rushing off to his and Mac's bedroom.

The dark furred simian rolled his eyes with a light grin, finding Wukongs excitement both cute and just a little too much for how early it was currently, given he was not a morning person in the slightest. Taking his time to finish his black coffee, the demon monkey cleaned up the small kitchen space, washing up the dishes and putting them away before finally joining Wukong in their bedroom.

Both monkeys were dressed and ready to head off. Macaque dressed in a casual dark red sweater with the words ‘Spicy Monkey’ which was written in a white font, a gift from Mei who thought it was perfect for him. Along with the sweat he also wore plain black jeans and a pair of dark red boots. Wukong on the other hand was dressed in light blue jeans, his dark brown boots and a plain yellow T-shirt with a daisy on the back.

“Come on, let's get going!” Wukong whined in protest at the darker simians' slow movements, getting impatient the longer he had to wait. “He’s not gonna go anywhere wukONG- '' Macaque yelped out the last bit of his sentence, clinging to the golden furred monkey as Wukong's somersault cloud jolted into action, moving at a lightning fast pace.

-

It took the two simians not even a minute to arrive at the noodle shop thanks to Wukong's cloud. Macaque was the first to get off of the soft cloud, a little frazzled and shaken by the speed Wukong was travelling at, so glad to be back on the sweet sweet ground.

“Don’t ever do that shit again Shi Hao.” (Shi Hao - Stone Monkey) Macaque huffed, tail flicking from side to side irritated like. To this the golden monkey laughed, taking the other hand into his own to settle the dark furred monkey, “Ah sorry Liu Er, I’ll warn you next time, promise!” Wukong smiled, eager to see his student finally back to normal.

The two of them walked up to the front of the store, walking inside to find the four sitting at the front counter eating and chatting. It looked as though Mei was showing all the baby videos and photos she had gotten of the other. “I was pretty cute as a baby.” Mk laughed in response to the videos and photos. Tang was the first person to notice the two monkeys, nudging Mk briefly to catch the boy's attention, his monkey-like ears perking before glancing over to the entrance of the store.

“Monkey King!” Mk beamed, jumping out of his seat and rushing over to his mentor, practically throwing himself at the immortal king. Macaque swiftly stepped out of the way as the two clashed together. “Good to see you back to normal Kiddo, I’m sure Mei filled you in on everything?” Macaque spoke up, moving to go sit down with the others to allow the king and his successor to catch up.

“Mk Bud! Had us worried for a bit there!” The simian spoke up hugging Mk back just as tight, the boy in question muffling his laughter into the king's shoulder “It all felt like a dream! Then Mei showed me the photos and videos and..and you both looked after me right?” Mk rambled on, pulling back briefly to better look up at his teacher, the monkey nodding in response “Yeah bud, and I gotta say, you were pretty adorable as a cub. Very clingy to might I add and your hangry tantrums, now they were something else.” Wukong spoke, rambling on and recalling the past twenty four hours spent with baby Mk.

Embarrassed, Mk buried his face into his hands, stepping back from the monkey who only laughed “I’m never going to live this down am I?” Mk asked to which they all replied with a simple ”Nope!”

Things were good, Mk was back to normal and everyone seemed well all things considered. Sandy had even arrived at the noodle shop with Mo of course, from his time out of town with his friend, that friend who they all soon found out was huntsman oddly enough. After filling in Sandy and Mo on what had occurred, the blue giant also agreed that baby Mk was very cute and squishy, so the group decided to have tea together. Sandy had a tea he bought while out of town, wanting to share it with his friends. Things couldn’t be any more perfect than right now.

As they all sat around drinking the sweet tasting tea, Pigsy even giving Mk the day off to recuperate and recover mentally, Wukong couldn’t help but think back to what Tang had mentioned he should say to Mk.

Waiting for the moment Mk was alone, the monkey nudged the boy asking to speak with him in private, leading Mk up to the roof of the shop where they would have a moment to themselves. Once they were alone on the roof Wukong to a breath, sitting on the edge of the rooftop, legs hanging over the edge casually, Mk soon joining beside him with a small smile.

“So, what did you need to talk to me about monkey king? Is it about training?” Mk asked, clearly interested and curious as to why they had to be alone to speak about it if it’s about training. “Hm? No uh nothing about training per say, uh, I just..” Wukong started, tail flicking uneasily as he tried to put his thoughts into proper words, his hands felt very sweaty all of a sudden.

“I just wanted to say I'm proud of you kid, really, I couldn’t have asked for a better successor or student. You’re going to do amazing things Mk and I hope to see these amazing things for myself one day.” Wukong spoke from his heart, how he felt for Mk and how very proud he was of the boy. “I know I don’t say it enough and haven't done enough of it in the past but I care for you and I'll always be here to catch you if you feel like you're going to fall.” The king finished off, finally looking at Mk now to find the boy’s eyes teary and wide with what looked like shock.

He was going to say more only to be hugged tightly by the younger half-monkey, the boy's tail curling around his own tightly for a sense of purchase, the motion feeling all too familiar to how baby Mk would wrap his tail around his arm. “Whoa kid you alright?” Wukong asked, worried he had said something wrong and upset his successor, only to feel the boy shaking his head with a small chirp sounding from the boy.

Now it was Wukongs turn to feel shocked, the king wrapping his own arms around the boy tightly in return with a soft chitter of his own.

They stayed like that for a moment before both pulling away, the two of them smiling happily as they stared out at the bustling, live city. There was a comfortable silence between them, their tails still intertwined comfortingly before Mk decided to break the silence once more. “You might have not been there when I needed you the most in the past but I’m glad you're here for me now Wukong.” Mk murmured just loud enough for the other to hear, this causing the monkey king to tear up himself “Of course bud, i’m your mentor, it’s what i’m supposed to do.” Wukong replied briefly, glancing at Mk before turning back to face the city.