Work Text:
MK blocked a kick from Wukong with the staff, sending dust into the air from the force of it. Smirking, proud of himself for blocking the hit, he pulled back before Wukong had the chance to push off of him, and immediately swung the staff in an arc. Wukong, as expected, ducked down under it, flipping backwards once the staff was out of the way, then jumping and flipping again when MK moved forwards with a follow up attack.
They'd been at this for a while now, dodging and blocking as they sparred. It was still early morning, MK having arrived bright and early for a full day of training.
Wukong landed another flip, only to stumble, just the slightest. MK, in the moment, didn't register how weird it was for the Monkey King to stumble, instead only seeing the opportunity. Planting the staff in the ground, he used it to propel himself as he spun around, kicking Wukong in the side, knocking him into the nearby mountain, birds flying away and more dust flying up as the Monkey King slammed into it.
"I did it!" MK cheered, before pausing. "Wait. I did it? Monkey King, you didn't throw the spar so that I'd win and get more confident or something, did you?"
"Nope, you won that one fair and square bud!" Wukong pushed himself off of the mountain, and MK noted that the Monkey King seemed.... a little unsteady on his feet, slightly wobbling back and forth.
"...Are you okay? I didn't hit you that hard." MK said, eyes narrowing in concern as he re-evaluated his mentor's physical state.
"Oh, I'm fine!" Wukong said- then immediately disproved that claim as he sneezed, the ground literally shaking from the force of it. MK barely kept himself from falling using the staff for balance, looking at his mentor with a deadpan expression. Wukong coughed a little, avoiding MK's gaze.
"Ah." MK said, "You're sick."
"What? No I'm not." Wukong waved his hands in denial, "It was just- just the dust is all."
"I bet if I walked over there and checked you'd have a fever."
"No- No I wouldn't. Because I'm not sick." Despite saying this, Wukong still backed away when MK started walking towards him. "You do know that I can't even get sick, right? It's absolutely a ridiculous notion, I mean, I'm immortal in at least 5 different ways, and not to mention the invulnerability y'know? I'm also made out of stone, so you know, I don't get sick-"
"You're doing the lying smile again." MK didn't stop walking towards him, and Wukong didn't stop backing away. At this point, it was almost starting to look like they were on a normal walk. You know, that is if MK wasn't walking towards Wukong in a mildly threatening manner and Wukong didn't look like he was two steps away from outright starting to run. "You're also rambling."
"Rambling? I'm not rambling, why would I be rambling-"
"Because you're trying to convince me that you're not sick, which you absolutely are."
"I am not." Wukong's back hit a tree, cornering him. MK stopped mere inches in front of him.
"Yes, you are." MK wasn't going to take no for an answer. "I didn't have Pigsy and Tang spend an entire 2 hours teaching me to take care of myself just to watch you attempt to push your limits. You're going to go back to your house and rest."
"I'm fine. And even if I wasn't- what about you're training?" Wukong asked.
"I can come and train another day. I'll just spend the rest of today with Mei." MK went to put his hand against Wukong's forehead to check for a fever, but the Monkey King ducked under his arm, moving to the right, grabbing onto a tree branch and hauling himself up. "Would you stop straining yourself?!"
"I'm not straining myself, because I'm not sick." Wukong sat cross-legged in the tree, looking very proud of himself.
That is, until a monkey climbed up on his shoulder.
Followed by another climbing onto his back.
And another grabbing onto his leg.
"Wh- hey!"
Ignoring his mentor struggling to get out of the monkey's grip, MK turned to a monkey that was sitting on a branch nearby.
"I take it you guys will look after him?"
The monkey nodded, and MK gave it a high-five, before turning and starting to walk away.
"Hey- kid! Wait!"
"I'll bring you some noodles later, okay?!"
-
"Monkey King is sick?"
"Yeah, hopefully the monkeys will keep him resting until I drop by again tonight..." MK and Mei walked down the street as he talked, passing by some stores, a food van, a street sign with a bird resting on top of it...
"Wait a second." MK stopped in his tracks, turning back around, just in time to see Wukong sneeze, changing from his bird form back into his normal self, tumbling off the street sign and onto the ground, indenting the pavement on impact. "Monkey King, what are you doing here?"
"What does it matter what I'm doing here? Can I not be allowed to go about town?" Wukong asked, slowly standing back up.
"I- you're sick, Monkey King. You're meant to be resting." MK crossed his arms, walking over to stand in front of his mentor.
"I keep telling you kid, I'm fine." Wukong emphasized the word fine, dragging it out for a few seconds as he leaned against the street sign-
The street sign ripped out of the pavement and toppled over, Wukong stumbling, almost falling down with it. He laughed nervously as MK fixed him with an unimpressed stare.
"Ha ha, whoops, uh, I totally meant for that to happen, let me just fix this real quick-" Wukong picked up the street sign, trying to place it back where it had been. MK sighed, grabbing hold of the sign and taking it out of Wukong's hands.
"Monkey King, go home and rest, or I'll hit you with this sign." He threatened. He wouldn't actually hit Wukong with the sign, not in the condition the Monkey King was currently in, but he figured that if nothing else, a threat might get through the monkey's stone thick head.
"...I'm not sick, but y'know, I'd rather not deal with a sign related headache so-" Wukong summoned his cloud, taking one wobbly step towards it- and it occurred to MK that, you know what? Having a sick Monkey King attempt to fly home on his own might not be the best idea.
"Mei? Grab him."
Mei didn't need to be told twice, rushing forwards and wrapping her arm around Wukong's own, stopping him just as he was about to step onto the cloud. The cloud itself dissipated, as Wukong looked at the both of them, confused.
"Wh- I thought you wanted me to go home?" He asked, struggling to get out of Mei's hold, and honestly, the fact he was actually struggling spoke volumes.
"I changed my mind." MK nodded to Mei, and she turned, heading in the opposite direction she and MK had been walking in. "We're taking you to the Noodle Shop."
"What- to Pigsy's- wait no-" Wukong started struggling more, Mei having to shift her grip to keep him from getting loose.
"What's so wrong about going to Pigsy's?" She asked, "Surely, if you're not sick, there's nothing wrong with going to visit the mother hen of the block."
Wukong opened his mouth, about to argue- only to seemingly realize that doing so would just be dooming himself, as his mouth clicked shut.
MK gave Mei a thumbs up, before sending Pigsy a text, warning him of the storm that was about to enter his shop.
-
By the time MK and Mei entered with Wukong in tow, Pigsy had already kicked out any customers for the day. Tang was still there, of course, chatting with Pigsy about something or other, and Sandy was sitting over in a corner. Mei let Wukong go as soon as the door had shut behind them, and she and MK went over to sit at the counter.
There was some cold medicine set out, along with some various teas and other things.
"What's all this for, is somebody sick?" Wukong asked, looking at all the supplies on the table, and the room went dead silent. Wukong sniffled a little, rubbing his nose on the edge of his sleeve, before processing the way everyone in the room was staring at him. "Wh- hey, I'm not sick, I'm perfectly fine!"
"Monkey King." MK rose from his seat, looking the most serious Wukong had ever seen him. "If you try and insist you're fine one more time. I will call in even more reinforcements, and you will not like it."
"But I keep telling you, I. Am. Fine."
"Your funeral, then." MK pulled out his phone, and Wukong suddenly had the distinct feeling that he might of made a mistake of some kind. "Hello, Mr. Demon Bull King Sir?"
"Wait- Hold on-" Wukong rushed over, misjudging the distance and hitting the counter, cracking it slightly, before pushing himself off of it, turning and trying to grab the phone out of MK's hand. MK, having expected this, practically danced out of his mentor's reach. "Kid-"
"I'm calling you because Monkey King is sick, and we might need some reinforcements." MK continued, completely ignoring his mentor's protests. "You'll be over right away? That's great!"
"No it's not!" Wukong made another lunge for the phone, having to stop for a moment to cough as he swayed, the sudden movement having made him dizzy. "I'm fine! He doesn't have to come over!"
"You do realize you're just proving the kid's point by how much you're protesting right now, right?" Pigsy said, making Wukong yelp as he hadn't noticed that the pig demon had gotten so close to him. Pigsy used the Monkey King's surprise to grab hold of his scarf, dragging him down so that he could press his hand against his forehead and take his temperature. "...Yep, that's a fever alright. Nothing too concerning, but it's there. You're sick."
"...I'm not." Wukong denied yet again, but it was quieter, a little bit weaker this time. He was starting to recognize that he was fighting a losing game.
The door swung open, and everyone turned as the Demon Bull King entered the shop.
"Oh, that was fast. How'd you-" MK started, before noticing Red Son standing just slightly in behind his father. "Oh, fire teleportation, right."
Wukong laughed nervously as Demon Bull King's gaze landed on him.
"I see you're being a stubborn fool when it comes to your own weaknesses yet again, simian." Demon Bull King picked up Wukong by the back of his scarf, letting him dangle a few inches off the floor. "If I remember right, I'm pretty sure you promised you wouldn't do this again after what happened the last time."
"...What happened the last time?" Tang dared to ask.
"It's nothing you need to know about, because there wasn't a last time, because I don't get sick." Wukong said- then sneezed again, this time dispelling his shapeshifting, shrinking a few inches down to his real height. Everyone rolled their eyes, no-one bothering to audibly argue with him.
"The last time the simian pulled this kind of stunt, he ended up in bed for three days after he injured himself in a bout of fever-induced delirium." Demon Bull King clarified, "Truly, I'm glad we've gotten him before he reached the delirium point. It is not a sight you would want to see."
MK momentarily pictured what a delirious Monkey King would be like. He ultimately decided he never wanted to know.
"I'm not at a delirium point, because I'm fine." Wukong somehow managed to pry Demon Bull King's fingers apart, landing on the ground. "I keep telling you, I'm perfectly and utterly healthy."
As he said this, he put one hand down on the table beside him for balance. Said table almost instantly cracked down the middle, crumbling down, Wukong falling down onto the ground with it.
Red Son shook his head, sighing, before grabbing onto Pigsy's arm and dragging him into the kitchen.
"Come, I've got a soup recipe here that'll blow his mind so much he'll completely forgetting about keeping up this whole 'healthy' pretense." He said, Pigsy willing following along after him.
Wukong sat up, pouting, a piece of table falling off of his head. MK sighed, Mei comfortingly patting him on the back.
"Was I this bad?" MK mumbled.
"Maybe in the denial part, but you didn't cause this much property damage, so no." Mei answered.
Sandy placed a blanket around the Monkey King's shoulders, Demon Bull King making sure that Wukong didn't protest or try to stand up by keeping a hand resting on top of the monkey's head. Tang sipped his coffee, contemplating.
"I suppose I'm going to have to make another powerpoint presentation."