#peachteashipping

During their time on the Dronecopter, they became friends and Tang’s crush had developed from that into love. If only he knew how to tell the other.

He tried to hide it as best he could but this was Tang and he was no good at hiding the fluttering feeling the king gave him.

He was going to act on them... if the king hadn’t been avoiding him for the past few weeks.

Tang wasn’t sure what it was. Maybe Wukong had finally grown tired of him. His head was resting on the dining room table, wallowing in despair, when the door opened and the king walked in with a peach in hand.

The scholar quickly put a hand up. “Monkey King! How are you?”

The king massaged his neck nervously. “Oh, hey, Tang. I’m good... what are you doing here?”

“Waiting for Pigsy so I can steal dinner from him.”

“It’s two p.m,” the king pointed out.

“You never know. Maybe he wants to cook early. So while you’re not busy... do you want to hang out?”

“Actually... I have to train the kid. See you!” Then the king bolted out of there.

Tang sighed and trudged over to Pigsy to complain.

As he pressed his forehead against the pig’s back and complained, his best friend merely chuckled and said, “Crushing hard, huh?”

“Obviously. Now show me some sympathy. Preferably with noodles.”

“No, you’re already a freeloader enough.”

“Then help me. What do I do?”

“Talk to him.”

“Have you been listening? I tried! He won’t talk to me. What did I do wrong?”

“I’m sure ya didn’t do anythin’ wrong. He’s probably got a lot on his mind. We are tryin’ to find the parts to defeat the White Bone Spirit.”

“Yea, I know but he doesn’t avoid you or MK or anyone else. Just… just me. Maybe he got tired of me.”

“I would too,” the pig sarcastically stated. “But honestly, Tang, try and talk to him more. If he doesn’t talk to you, come to me and I’ll deal with it.”

“Okay. I’ll try. Thank you, Pigsy.”

“No problem, pal.”

The scholar walked around the ship and thought to himself. Maybe he would get lucky enough to see the king. His heart ached. Seriously, what had he done? Did the monkey despise him now? Was he unnerved by the scholar being in love with him?

Tang didn’t have much of a concept of personal space when it came to people he admired. New Years had proven that.

It wasn’t until a few days passed that he spotted the king again. The king was in the training area, shirtless. Tang blushed. Maybe this was the perfect time to find out what he had done wrong.

“Uhhh, hey!”

The monkey paused and spun around. “Oh, uhhh, hey, Tang...”

“Hey... how are you?”

“Good... Look at the time. Got to go!” The monkey threw on his shirt and was about to bolt.

“Wait, Monkey King! There’s something I have to ask you.”

“Can’t it wait until later?”

“No! You’ve been avoiding me! And I don’t want that.”

“I’m not avoiding you.”

“Yes, you are!”

“Look...  Monkey King.” 

“Bye!”

Tang panicked and shouted the first thing that came to his mind, “I really like you!” A hand clasped over his mouth. “Uh… I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that.”

The king’s face was a deep red. “Tang, I…”

“Yea. I know… you don’t feel the same way. Sorry to bother you.”

Then Tang ran and slammed his bedroom door shut. Face flushed even when his heart ached. It hurt more than he could say.

The next few days made him avoid the group. On a beautiful starry night, he was crying and sniffling. He hoped the book in his hands wouldn’t be covered by tear stains.

Steps came towards him but he refused to lift his head. “Hey,” a familiar voice whispered. He looked up to see the king with creased brows, eyes showing he was worried. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s none of your business,” he growled.

“It’s my business if you cry because of me.” Sitting down next to him, he sighed and reached a hand out but it was slapped away. “Tang, I’m sorry. Look... You’re special to me.”

“It doesn’t feel like it.”

“It wasn’t right for me to avoid you but I might as well tell you. Over the past few weeks, I realized I developed feelings for you and I know you like me but I wasn’t exactly sure if it was a simple infatuation or if it was more than that. I needed some time to think over the situation and when you told me, I was frozen. I didn’t know what to do.” The king threaded fingers through his fur.

He continued, “Then I realized after you ran away that you appreciate people only after they’re gone. And with what’s happening now, I realized I didn’t want to leave anything unsaid.”

The king gasped as he was wrapped into a hug. “You’re so stupid. Of course I like you.”

“I have so much making up to do. I’m sorry.”

“You better be. It still hurts but I might forgive you if you give me some stories.”

“Alright. I can do that.” Tears rolled down his back but he didn’t seem to mind. They enjoyed the warmth as they held each other.