Chapter Text
It had been nearly a week before MK realized something must be wrong.
He had been helping Pigsy close up the shop when he’d casually asked MK what he was going to do on his day off tomorrow. He paused halfway through a stroke of the broom in his hands, his whole body freezing up at the realization. If he had the day off tomorrow, that meant that it was Saturday... and if it really was Saturday, then that would mean he hadn’t seen or heard from the prince in six days. That had to be some kind of record. His first encounter with Prince Red had been just after the Demon Bull King was released, and since then he couldn’t remember going an entire work week without seeing that bright red hair popping up suddenly in front of his vision. He always came bearing coffee or flowers or some thoughtful gift and each time he would ask MK if he’d leave his life behind and come live with him at his palace out in the Fiery Mountains.
MK always said no... but he also always accepted the gift.
It was selfish. He knew that. He had no intention of ever giving up his role as the Monkie Kid, and letting Red continue to try courting him was akin to stringing the demon along. But MK didn’t want him to stop; he loved the attention. He loved that Red would come to see him every day. And he loved the way he melted in his arms when MK kissed him.. he had used that trick a number of times. A chaste kiss on the lips or cheek and whatever scolding the overprotective prince had prepared for him after getting injured in a fight or pulling a too dangerous stunt would die in his throat.
...How had it taken a whole week for MK to miss that he hadn’t seen Red? Sure, there were noodle deliveries and training with Monkey King to focus on, but it hadn’t been any busier than usual. Something must have happened to his friend and it took him this long to even notice. Maybe MK really was just that selfish. He knew if he had been missing for a whole week Red would have torn the city apart looking for him! Doing the same for him, even at this late hour, felt like the least MK could do.
After shouting a quick excuse to a startled looking Pigsy and practically throwing the broom in his hands back into the closet, MK darted out the door of the shop to begin his search.
MK only had a limited knowledge of the demon underworld part of the city and practically all of it was thanks to some of the outings he’d had with Red. He expected to be out all night looking, but thankfully it only took him a few hours to catch wind of what had happened. In a demon owned dive by the docks (the third such establishment he’d gone fishing for information in) one patron had told him of a rumor they had heard earlier in the week that the son of the Demon Bull King had been captured by the gold and silver demon brothers. MK felt a tightness in his chest at the news. If Jin and Yin had captured Prince Red did that mean he was stuck in the calabash? Had he seriously been in that thing for DAYS?!! MK had only been in it for a few hours and he still had nightmares about being chased by those “ perfect ” zombies. The thought that the nicest demon he ever met was trapped in some warped, false reality, having his head messed with by those obnoxious demon brothers was infuriating!
Without pausing to thank the demon for the information, MK sprinted out of the establishment and headed straight for the old warehouse from his last encounter with the brothers.
Once he spotted the building ahead, he didn’t bother with circling around the front to the door. Instead he pulled out the staff and with one massive swing he demolished the closest wall, sending rubble and dust flying. When the loud crash of the destruction quieted, MK stepped through the new entrance he’d made holding the staff at the ready. Jin and Yin hadn’t put up a fight last time, but he was itching for one now. He wondered if they’d run again... and he wondered if he’d let them this time.
As the dust settled around him, MK was finally able to make out the scene in front of him. Jin and Yin were indeed in the warehouse, but they were looking a bit worse for wear. Both of them were scraped and bruised and covered in various bandages. The gold brother had his arm in a sling while the silver brother was in a chair with casts on both of his leg. When they finally caught sight of MK, their terrified expressions dropped and they just looked annoyed.
“Oi, look who it is!” Jin said, propping his one good arm on his hip and sneering at the Monkie Kid. “About time you showed up.”
Yin nodded in agreement with his brother, “Yeah. Woulda saved us a lot of pain if you’d shown up when y’were supposed to, ya brat!”
MK hadn’t expected such a reaction from them, but it only threw him off for a moment before he recomposed himself and went stomping towards the brothers brandishing the staff. They quickly changed their tune as he came at them, made obvious by the undignified shriek that escaped the two as MK approached. Jin went scrambling for cover, ducking behind a nearby shelf, but Yin, with his wrapped legs, was stuck and could only cower and shout at his twin for abandoning him.
Instead of bludgeoning the demon with his staff like he wanted to, MK reached forward, grabbing the silver demon by the collar of his shirt and yanked his head around, forcing him to look MK in the eye.
“ Where is he ?!” He demanded, hoping to sound every bit as furious as he felt.
Yin just stared up at him, the fear in his eyes slowly being replaced by confusion. “Wait, Prince Red?” He finally asked, “Well, he’s already gone. Obviously!”
Jin poked his head out from behind his hiding spot, also looking confused, “Yeah mate. Where have you been? His parents came ‘round days ago and freed him.” He then addressed his brother, “Told ya we should’ve sent a ransom note directly. This kid has no clue what’s goin’ on unless ya shout it at ‘im!”
MK released Yin but continued glaring down at him. “Wait, so you’re saying DBK rescued Red and did this to you?” He asked, “When?”
Yin scratched his chin looking thoughtful, “Uhh.. lemme see... it was Tuesday, right?”
“Nah,” Jin said, still not coming out from his cover behind the shelf, “we only had ‘im for a day. It had to’ve been Monday.”
Monday or Tuesday... MK’s brow scrunched up in concern. If that was right, and Red hadn’t been held captive the rest of the week, then why had MK not seen or heard from him in all that time? Could something else be keeping him away?
Before he could even put voice to these concerns, Jin spoke up as if reading his mind, “Have you not seen him all week? Doesn’t he usually come see you on the regular? Honestly mate, what took you so long? We thought you liked him!”
MK felt is face flush with shame, “I’ve... I’ve been busy this week.” He lied. Then he paused as he really took in what the demon was saying to him and continued, “Wait how do you know all that?! ...and why did you capture Red in the first place? What exactly was your plan, here?”
There was a momentary pause as Jin and Yin exchanged a look that MK wasn’t fast enough to catch, but then Jin had hopped over the shelf and took up a pose next to his brother with a wide smirk on his face.
“Oh, well you see,” he said, “our plan was to use your good friend Prince Red to lure you here into a trap!”
Yin nodded in agreement and tried to match Jin’s enthusiastic pose as well as he could while confined to his seat. “You see we know all about how the demon prince feels about you, Monkie Kid!” he said, but then he let out a sigh and shrugged, “Too bad though, we didn’t realize just how one-sided it was.”
“Yeah, we thought you’d come by to rescue him the first day he was missing... ‘stead he had to get freed by his parents.”
“Oh yeah, that was rough. Did you see the look on that poor prince’s face as he ran outta here, Jin?”
“Uh... well no,” Jin mumbled his reply, looking sheepish, “...was getting the stuffin’ knocked outta me by Demon Bull King at the time.”
Yin elbowed his brother’s injured arm earning him a sharp yelp. “Well I saw it!” he said, “After his mum scolded ‘im, he ran outta here all red faced.” The demon shook his head in mock sorrow. “So disappointing. Guess all our plan did was embarrass the poor kid and make ‘im cry.”
Cry?
The constricting feeling in MK’s chest grew worse suddenly. He had never seen the prince cry before. He couldn’t even imagine it.. he always appeared so put together, and even that upset expression he wore whenever MK rejected him never felt truly, genuinely sad. What exactly had happened to him inside the calabash?
With a long-winded sigh, Jin leaned against his brother’s shoulder with his good arm. “Well, anyway, we’re not gonna be tryin’ that again. Clearly the Monkie Kid’s got more important concerns than Prince Red.. took ‘im a whole week to even realize the guy who showers ‘im with gifts on the daily was gone!”
“Ha! Yeah, talk about selfish! S’like he didn’t even care enough to notice!” Yin laughed.
MK’s grip on the staff tightened. “No! Y-you’re the ones who- I didn’t mean- You don’t know what you’re talking about!!!” He sputtered, clutching his weapon to his chest defensively.
With one last deep breath MK pointed accusingly at the demon brothers and shouted, “You guys are jerks!! And if you weren’t already beat to hell, I’d kick the crap out of you myself!”
Making sure to block out the laughter of the twins, MK turned on his heel and bolted from the building through the hole in the wall he’d created. It wasn’t true what they’d said. He definitely cared! Of course he did!!! And he was gonna go find Red and prove it.
The sun had long since gone down, but that wasn’t going to deter MK from going. Now that he had set his mind to it there was no stopping him. He used the Monkey King’s staff to pogo his way across the ocean in the dark which was way harder than he expected it to be, but he eventually reached the Fiery Mountains on the other side having only fallen into the water twice.
He arrived at the gates to the Demon Bull King’s court, not having stopped to wring out his jacket or anything, but starting to dry anyway just from he heat of the mountains around him. The moment he crossed the threshold into the courtyard a small demon with scaly green skin wearing a servant uniform came scurrying up to him. She was fluttering her hands in front of her in distress as she addressed him.
“Master Monkie Kid! Sir,” she paused her fluttering, seeming to remember herself, and bowed deeply to MK. A moment later she had raised her head and her hand movements picked up again, even faster. “Thank goodness you’re here!” She said in a squeaky voice, “The young prince is despondent. Nothing we do seems to help! He’s been in his room all week and ordered us not to contact you but... well, since you’re here. Please, won’t you see to him?”
There it was, that tight feeling in his chest again. MK resisted the urge to clutch at his own aching heart at her words, like he was some hero in a romantic novella. No, he may have been coming to rescue his friend, but he wasn’t quite ready to commit to that kind of dramatic comparison. Instead he just nodded to her and allowed the servant to lead him out and around the main palace complex to the back entrance. He had been to the prince’s room just once before, but that time he had snuck in through the window, so he dutifully followed as she showed him up a few flights of stairs and down a long hallway at the top. Halfway down the hall, she kneeled and bowed, gesturing for him to continue on to the end. MK thanked her quietly and hurried forward, approaching the grand looking set of doors before him.
Lifting his hand he knocked quietly twice and called out, “Prince Red? It’s me... uh, y’know, MK. Can I come in?”
There was a long pause where it was silent and he just stood and listened. He was about to knock louder when he finally heard a sound. It was too quiet though and he couldn’t make it out.
“What?” MK pressed an ear to the door trying to listen closer.
The second response came louder, and though it was still muffled he was able to make it out this time: “ Go away. ”
MK let out an annoyed huff of air. Same old stubborn prince. At least that was still the same. He reached forward and grabbed ahold of the door handle. “That’s not happening!” He shouted, “I’m coming in now. If you’re not wearing pants then you’ve got two seconds to cover up or whatever.”
With that, MK was pushing open the door and ignoring a cry of “NonononoWAIT!” From the other side. When he stepped into the room the first thing he noticed was the scorch marks. The wall at the head of the king sized bed and a few places on the floor nearby had long stretches of dark ash burned into them. The bed itself was in a mess on the floor all around; all the elaborate blankets and pillows having been tossed to the side, some of them half burned away in a smoldering pile and others long having been burnt to a crisp. The only thing left on the bed was a single plain sheet that was scrunched up and covering a prince sized lump in the middle of the mattress.
He ignored the state of the room and after swinging the door shut behind him, he stepped over to the mattress and sat down, scooting closer to his friend who remained completely motionless as he approached.
“I heard what happened,” MK started, “y’know, with Jin and Yin and your parents having to save you from the... uh... the calabash.” He paused but Red said nothing in response.
MK lifted his hand but then hesitated, “Uh... y’know buddy, I wanted to like pat you on the head to comfort you but I can’t tell which end of this is your head and which is your butt, and I don’t wanna give you the wrong idea.”
A quiet huff of air akin to a chuckle came from under the sheet. Ah, there he was. MK brought his hand down and felt the top of Red’s head right where the sound had come from. “You wanna come out and talk about it?” He asked.
There was a moment of silence but then he felt the head under his hand shake back and forth, “No... I’m disgusting.” Red’s voice sounded so small and quiet, not at all like the loud, self-assured demon MK knew.
“I get it,” MK said, drawing small circles with his hand over the sheet, “if you’re looking the way you’re probably feeling, I guess I wouldn’t wanna be seen like that either.” He lifted his hand away to give the prince some space after hearing another short chuckle from under the sheet. It was a bit louder this time.
“I’ve missed you though.” MK continued, doing his best to keep his voice at its normal pitch. He didn’t want to sound like this was out of pity because it wasn’t. “When I didn’t see you for a few days there I got worried... so could you come out? As a favor for me?”
Yet another long pause. A bit longer than the last time. Then at long last the prince-shaped lump began to slowly shift until at last Red sat up on his knees. The sheet was still wrapped tightly around his body and head, and his hands grasped it tightly under his chin so only his face with his bloodshot eyes and tear stained cheeks was showing. He looked up at MK for a moment, then dropped his gaze back to the floor before speaking in a quiet, almost apologetic voice saying, “...haven’t brushed my hair in four days.”
“That bad, huh?” MK asked, “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen you with your hair down. You’ve always got it wrapped in that tight ponytail at the base of your head.” It was true. Even the times he had seen Red fall asleep he had never taken his hair down... now MK was curious. He reached forward, making grabby hands at the sheet. “So, you gonna show me or what?”
Red let out a quiet sigh, then slowly, reluctantly, he let the sheet drop off his head, revealing the disheveled bush that his hair had turned into. The neat, short bangs on his forehead that usually resembled a tiny flicker of flame was blown back and lost in a mess of frazzled red fluff that seemed to stand straight up in parts and jut out and wild angles at others. It was like a fire if the fire was currently in the middle of a tornado. MK clapped a hand over his mouth to stop the laugh in his throat from escaping as he stared up at the whirlwind of hair in front of him.
It didn’t matter though, Red noticed his reaction and more silent tears slid down his face. “Sorry...” the prince mumbled, looking away.
Crap! That definitely killed his urge to laugh, and MK reached forward taking Red by his shoulder, “No, no, don’t apologize, it’s fine! I’ll help you fix it. That’s why I came here: to help!” With that he scrambled off the bed and towards the dresser at the other end of the room. The prince seemed to have had a bit of a tantrum at some point because most of the items that might have sat on top were scattered across the floor, but MK found a large paddle brush (thankfully not burned) and scooped it up then hurried back over to his friend.
He circled around and sat behind Red, pulling him back so he sat up straight and his hair was fully visible. “We’ll get you looking like your old self again in no time,” MK said and then proceeded to stick his hand into the jungle of hair that now made up the demon’s head.
That was a mistake. As he went to pull his fingers out after running them through the locks he found he couldn’t. A few gentle tugs revealed that yes his hand was definitely stuck; one quick stroke and it had gotten completely tangled in the prince’s hair already. This was going to be harder than he thought...
It took the Monkie Kid nearly an hour and a half and a lot of cussing from both him and Red, whose tears were now probably equal parts sadness and pain from having his head yanked around by both MK’s fingers getting tangled and the brush refusing to cooperate and getting stuck so many times MK lost count... but at last, MK seemed to have untangled the last of the monstrous knots and was now running the brush unopposed through the soft fluff of the prince’s hair. It still stood up at wild angles like an untamed fire, but MK got the sense that that was normal. He set down the brush and dug his fingers into the hair again. This time, luckily, he was able to run his fingers through and pull his hand out easily. With a satisfied hum, he pulled Red back so his back was flush with his chest and hugged the demon.
“There you go. Now you’re beautiful again.” He mumbled, pressing his head against the side of Red’s. It struck him how true the statement was after he’d spoken it. Red was beautiful.
MK closed his eyes, leaning harder into the prince as he did and breathing him in. Even though he was definitely not at his best hygiene wise right now, he still wasn’t unpleasant. The typical scent of smoke and ash, like a campfire mixed with the faint smell of his sweat was actually kind of nice. He thought once again, how had he not realized for a full week that he hadn’t seen Red? How had he not missed this ?
He was shook from his thoughts by the feeling of water dripping onto his hand. He pulled his arms back off of the prince’s chest where he was holding him close and turned him around, finally noticing the tears were back in full force, silently running down his face and dripping off his chin.
Oh. MK was being selfish again. This wasn’t about him. It was about Red. And Red was still upset. All he’d done about it was yank his hair around for awhile, but he needed more than that.
“Red...” he said gently, “tell me what’s bothering you.”
The prince’s eyes seemed unfocused and he refused to meet MK’s gaze, even as he was turned around to face him. He visibly hesitated before speaking, but then spoke up at last to ask, “Is this real?”
MK knew that feeling. That feeling that he still got when everything seemed to be going his way, or when someone used the word ‘perfect’ to describe something... those stupid demon brothers. Next time MK saw them he was definitely gonna pound them into dust, even if they were still all busted up.
Leaning forward, MK put his chin on Red’s shoulder and pulled him close in a hug again. “Hey listen, I know Jin and Yin are idiots and all,” he said, “but even they wouldn’t have thought that me getting my hand stuck in your hair for like twenty minutes was romantic. Sorry bud, but this is definitely for reals and I really am that bad at inter-personal hair care.”
That got a smile out of the prince, it was the first one MK had seen so far that night. The tears didn’t stop though, and the smile faded quickly.
“MK... I’m so stupid,” Red mumbled, turning his head away, “I can’t believe I fell for...” he paused, reaching up to wipe the tears away. “They trapped me in a world with everything I could want... I don’t know how they knew, but they pretended to be you and had you living here at the palace with me. And... and every time I got suspicious they just had you kiss me and then it was easy to not notice all the little things that made no sense because it was... it was just-“
“Perfect.” MK finished the sentence.
“Yes... “ Red looked back as he spoke, his eyes wide, “they kept using that word. How did you know?”
Now it was MK’s turn to shift his eyes away. He sat up straight and leaned back looking rather sheepish. “Ah, well...” he started, “I haven’t told anyone this, but... they trapped me in the calabash awhile back.”
“You too?” Prince Red’s voice was quiet and awash with concern. It made MK feel a warmth in his chest to hear that tone, and yet he also felt slightly more guilty. “...Why didn’t you say anything to me?”
“It’s not just you. I haven’t told anybody else... I didn’t want to worry anyone.” He mumbled, “Except I guess it turns out they just used what they learned from my experience and turned it on you in order to set a trap for me... so keeping it a secret didn’t exactly work out... I’m sorry, Red. It’s my fault this happened.”
“If no one else knows, then how did you escape?” Red asked, “I had to be rescued by my parents.”
“Yeah well, I’ve got Monkey King powers,” MK said, rubbing the back of his head, “so when I noticed something was super wrong with the world they made, I just used the staff to bust out.”
“I see.” Red hesitated for a moment before continuing, “If you don’t mind sharing... what was it that made you realize?”
MK opened his mouth to answer but then paused. He tried not to think too much about his experience in the calabash because of how unsettling it was, but as he looked over at the prince he remembered: Red was the reason he was able to escape.
When he had been trapped in the calabash, the first thing the fake Tang and fake Pigsy had told him was that the Demon Bull Family was sealed away under the mountain by him. He had to have them repeat themselves just to confirm, because what they meant was that Red had been sealed away as well. That was all he needed to hear to know that something was seriously wrong with the world he was in. He had been dragged through a few other messed up scenarios where people followed him around reminding him how perfect everything was, but the whole time he was just trying to get to the mountain where he had apparently sealed Red away. Jin and Yin hadn’t known how wrong it sounded, how unthinkable it was for him to do something like that to Red. They didn’t know how he felt about him... and if his earlier conversation with the brothers was anything to go by, they still didn’t know.
But MK knew. In that moment, he knew.
Leaning in close, he pressed a quick kiss to Prince Red’s lips before replying, “It’s because you were missing.”
Red’s face flushed a deep crimson and a thin trail of smoke started drifting from the tips of his hair.
“Are you quite sure this is real?” He asked, but didn’t pull away.
MK smiled at the question, “If it makes you feel any better,” he said, “I can assure you I absolutely don’t plan to stay and live with you here.”
“Hmm. This is the first time that hearing that actually does make me feel better,” the demon admitted. Then he leaned forward, pressing his forehead against MK’s and letting his eyes drift shut. “How about just tonight, then?”
“I could spare one night.” MK smiled, leaning into the prince as well. “If you wanna keep me around though, you’re gonna have to get some new blankets in here; this place is a straight up disaster area!”
At last, that got a genuine laugh out of Prince Red, the kind where he threw his head back and let out a loud bark of laughter.
As both young men stood up and started pulling the sheets off the bed to be replaced, just outside the palace walls on the rocky cliff face nearby, two demons were watching intently from a distance. The gold one was propping up the silver one as he held a pair of binoculars to his face while trying to balance despite being supported by his sibling due to his two broken legs.
“Did it work?” Jin asked, looking up at Yin as he sat on his shoulders. “They madly in love yet?”
“Oh for sure it did!” Yin said with a smirk, “Those two’ll end up together for sure this time. See, I told you my plan was genius!”
“ Your plan???” Jin repeated, “Your plan was to get MK to rescue him from the calabash like some romantic hero in one of those stupid novellas... this part was just spontaneous... AND it was a group effort.”
Yin lowered the binoculars and used them to thump his brother on the head, “Yeah well that first one woulda worked if you’d just let me send the Monkie Kid a note ‘stead’uv spreadin’ a rumor around about us capturin’ him and lettin’ DBK hear about it.”
“It was YOU who didn’t want to send the note!!!” Jin shouted, throwing his arms up.
That proved to be a mistake, as Yin’s balance on his shoulders was already a bit precarious. The silver demon tilted backwards with a shriek, grabbing ahold of his brother’s horns to try and save himself. All it managed was to pull the gold demon down with him and the two went tumbling down the side of the hill, only to fall into a tangled, painful pile at the bottom. They lay like that for a minute before Jin reached over, smacking his brother on his shoulder with a pained groan.
“Alright... you’ve had enough,” he grumbled, “my turn with the binoculars now.”