Chapter Text
Nightmares had plagued Wukong’s mind for so long. Ever since his family died, his heart had broken and cracked. Leaving a gaping whole for years.
But recently it had begun to heal when he had opened up to the others and they had opened up to him.
And while the nightmares hadn’t stopped completely, the burdens felt lighter like there was nothing he couldn’t take on as long as he was with them. Pigsy, in particular, had worked his way into his heart and always told him what he needed to hear. And while he didn’t enjoy the advice at the beginning, he saw his point and they became friends.
Hell, all of them were wonderful but even with them, his heart yearned for his family, for the good times they shared together.
Plucking two hairs and blowing on them, they transformed back to their true form. Two courtship bracelets that he was going to hand to someone who held his heart in every way shape and form. But he never got the opportunity.
He and Bajie were courting but never confessed directly. Everything that could have been slipped away from them in his companions’ passing. He was about to hand Bajie the bracelets before he passed. Make it official.
The king sniffled and got rid of the tears with his elbow. Shaky hands around the bracelets.
A thumb ran over the orange and the red gems. The gold glistening. An engraving inside it that made him want to weep.
A knock was on the door and the jewelry was changed back into hair quickly. “Hey. Is this a bad time?” Pigsy asked.
“No, it’s fine. I’m just… having a moment.”
The pig’s forehead creased and he emitted a small noise. “Do you need a hug?”
“Yea. I’d like one.”
Pigsy wrapped his arms around his neck. The king’s heart fluttered ever so slightly. While he liked Pigsy, there was so much he had yet to get over. The chef was a confidant, a friend and so much more but he was still figuring out the latter.
“There’s no shame in missing him, you know?”
“I know. So you’ve told me.”
“I’m just making sure to remind you, idiot.”
“Wow! Idiot? You’re hurting my feelings.”
“Deal with it.” Nuzzling his neck and breathing hot air onto him, arms curled around him together and he asked, “Want to eat? It will make you feel better.”
“Yea. I’d like that.”
Pigsy pulled him up by the hand and started dragging him to the kitchen. “Come on. Follow me.”
“I’m all yours~.”
Pigsy blushed at those words and paused before shaking his head and continuing to guide him.
At the kitchen table, the pig passed him a bowl of noodles and he gobbled it up instantly.
“You could slow down.”
“I’ll be fine. It’s your fault for making great cooking.”
“Hmph. Don’t let it kill you.”
“I’m fine. I’m immortal. You worry too much.”
“Maybe cause I actually like you.”
“Awww. You have a soft spot for me?” He cooed.
“Not if you’re gonna be like that.”
“I’m not being like anything, piggy.”
“Uh huh.”
“When are we going to land?”
“An hour, I think. Give ourselves the time to relax before we head off again.”
“That’s good. I could use it.”
His friend averted his eyes before standing up and reaching a hand out. “Hey. How about we occupy our time until then?”
The king smiled, placing the bowl aside and accepting the hand. “It’s a dance.”
Surrounding himself with the others distracted him from the sad moments.
And when they landed, the Sage chatted with the others despite the pit in his stomach and the heavy weight in his mind.
Pigsy stuck by his side as they exchanged playful banter.
His family still invaded his brain. His fingers twitched and his feet shuffled as he tried to think of something else.
When they weren’t looking, he grabbed the jewelry again and played with it. He sighed. Recently his mood had been down rather than up despite the attempts to cheer him up. Not that the others would get mad at him if that was the case. But he needed to focus if they were to get what they needed. It was only a matter of time before the spirit caught up to them.
Lifting his chin up to gaze at the beautiful, blue sky and the luscious forest, he spotted a flash of blue and pink. It looked awfully like Bajie. Shaking his head to wave away the image, he suggested, “Since it seems to be a lovely day, why don’t we camp out for the night? Make smores and stuff.”
Xiaotian and Xiaojiao nodded their heads and instantly agreed with the idea. Sandy and Tang shrugged and agreed to set up.
The pig raised a brow. “Shouldn’t we be looking for the last item we need?”
“There’s nothing that says we can’t take a break. Beside, I want to get out of that stuffy dronecopter.” Sandy cleared his throat. “Not saying that I don’t like the place, big guy.”
“Wukong, oh, fine. I suppose we should take a break.”
“See. Now you’re seeing it my way.”
“Hmph. Silly monkey. The least you could do is gather sticks for us tonight.”
The king bowed. “You’re the boss.”
He began to gather sticks for the figure, making a pile in his arms. “ Boss… ” A voice whispered.
“Hm?”
“ Boss… why did you let us die? ” The voice’s voice was bitter.
A shiver shot up his spine. “No… no… it’s not real.”
“ Oh, I’m real. Why did you abandon us? ”
His knees became weak and he almost dropped the sticks. His feet shuffled backwards but he hit something behind him. The wood collided when they hit the ground and he gasped as he saw the face of a ghost.
“No, no, no. You’re not real!”
Bajie stared at him, completely confused as if the Sage wasn’t supposed to react to his appearance like that. Icy blue eyes looked into his very soul. It wasn’t his usual azure. “Not happy to see me, boss?”
“This is a dream. I’m having a nightmare again,” he muttered.
“Hm. If you say so… but I am very real.
“No, no, you’re not.”
“Jeez, that hurts. Thought you would be excited to see an old friend but apparently not. At least give me a hug.” Stepping towards him with arms outstretched, Wukong, with a trembling breath, shuffled away. “Don’t ignore me, eldest disciple.”
“STAY AWAY FROM ME! This isn’t real. Wake up, wake up, Wukong.”
Bajie frowned. “Eldest disciple… I thought you loved me. Or have I been replaced by that other pig? Hmm… maybe we’ve all been replaced by that new group of yours. Ah, I understand. We aren’t important anymore.”
“That’s not true. I would never replace you. You’ll always be my greatest companions.”
“You’re lying to me. I understand. Hell, I’d get tired of us too, especially after what I did.”
“No! Yea, I hated you in the beginning but I warmed up to you. You changed. We all changed eventually.”
“But it wasn’t soon enough, was it? I could never change enough. Could never live up to expectations. You all wanted to drop me the second you got a chance.”
His gaze turned soft. “That’s not… I wouldn’t. You changed. We did that together.”
“Still, we’re not that group. After all, they didn’t put the amount of expectations we did on you. I bet you like that pig demon a lot.”
“You apologized for it. And Pigsy is his name.” Bajie’s face scrunched up at the mention of the other’s name. “He’s nice but… you’re… you’re… I miss you.” He bitterly laughed. “What am I doing? I’m talking to a ghost.”
The pig screamed at him. “HEY! I AM REAL!” Wukong shirked at his yelling. “I’m sorry. Hmm… You know I did love you…”
The Sage’s ears perked up. His tail drooped. “I loved you too… once… but those moments are over now.”
“Then why have you still kept those bracelets?”
“You… you know about those?”
“I had known for a while. You’re not as sneaky as you’d like to believe, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. Being a romantic was always more of my area so I can’t say I blame you. We could have had something…”
“I… I was trying.” What was he doing? He was on the brink of collapse. “I was gonna confess to you. I know you felt the same way.”
“But you were too scared to make the first move.” Wukong shuddered as the pig cupped his face. There appeared to be fog surrounding his feet. “So was I. I get it.”
“Get away from me.” His tone came out as panicked, a hitch in his breath.
“My love… You really don’t love me anymore. There was so much we could have done. Maybe my death wouldn’t have happened. But how could you have known? None of us could have predicted those events but you spent so much time blaming yourself. And I’ll admit I thought the same way.”
“Bajie… are you saying you blame me?”
“No. Of course not. I could never. In fact, I missed you.”
He sniffled. “I miss you too…”
“We could be together like we always wanted to. The others will be there too. Don’t you want this?
Despite the rational part of his brain screaming at him to fight this, to pull away, the other part of his brain wanted to linger. He wanted to drift and pretend as if his life wasn’t a confusing mess of pain and misery.
“Of course I do. You’re my home.”
“Then why don’t you do me a favor? Then we can all be a family again. The others are waiting.”
“Yes. Of course. What is it?”
“Get those rings for me.”
His eyes widened. “I can’t do that. We need them.”
“To defeat the spirit I know. But don’t you think it would be better in our capable hands? After all, we've shown we’re more powerful than your little friends.”
“They’re capable. You could come with us.”
“I can’t do that. Hmmm… maybe this will change your mind.” Leaning in, lips puckered, Wukong gasped and was tempted to lean away but the blue eyes held him in a trance.
He was about to return it, their lips almost touching until they separated when they heard a, “WHAT THE HELL?”
Xiaotian and Pigsy were standing in front of them with complete disbelief. “Guys!”
“Wukong…”
“Dad…”
“Look, it’s Bajie! Oh, I’m so excited for you two to meet him!”
Xiaotian’s golden eyes glowed. “Monkey King, you need to get back.”
The king waved his hands. “No, it’s fine! It’s Bajie!”
“That is not Zhu Bajie.” Xiaotian growled at him. “It’s the White Bone spirit!”
“No, it’s not! I would have seen it!”
Pigsy asked, “Did you even check?”
“No but I know it’s him!”
The chef’s eyes held jealousy and hurt. “It’s not…”
Bajie smiled at the other. “You must be Pigsy. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Go to hell.”
Bajie looked shocked. “Wow. That’s rude. Wukong told me a bit about you.”
“Yea… I bet he did.”
Wukong grabbed Pigsy’s arm. “Why are you being so hostile, Pigsy?”
“Because that is not your friend! Wake up!”
“He and the others are waiting for me! Maybe they could join us!”
“No way! Come on, Wukong. You know this isn’t right!”
“You don’t get it! He’s my family! So are the others! I can finally be together with him!” Xiaotian approached Bajie. “Kid, what are you doing?”
Then he decked him in the face. “KID!” Pigsy held him back.
Zhu Bajie rubbed his snout. “That hurts, ya know? Jeez and here I thought there was something great about you. But, wow, punching your mentor’s old love, how awful.”
“You are not Zhu Bajie!”
“Hmmm… I am or are you too stupid to realize that? You made a bad choice, boss. Guess that’s why you left him.”
“Bajie!”
“I’m just telling the truth. You left him because you couldn’t handle him. After the kid seems annoying but you leave everyone. After all, you left us.”
“I didn’t leave you! You died!”
“But you’re the one who let us go and now here you’re trying to replace us with new people. I can’t believe I loved you once. You’re still so selfish. Undeserved of the title you believe you’ve won. You’re no protector. You couldn’t even protect us for all these years.”
“Bajie…” Pigsy stuck an arm out to prevent the king from advancing.
“In fact you probably didn’t care about us at all. You probably celebrated when we were finally out of their hair.”
“No…”
“YES, YOU DID! We were only nuisances to you.”
Wukong, with tears flooding his vision, shouted, “NO, I DIDN’T! I ISOLATED MYSELF FOR YEARS BECAUSE I COULDN’T PROTECT YOU! I… I was so lost without you…”
“It’s not him, Wukong. It’s not him.”
“You don’t know him, Pigsy!”
“And maybe you should have stayed lost, Sun Wukong,” Bajie whispered. “It won’t be long until I rip the memory of you from this world.” His voice slowly shifted into one that had filled him with complete terror.
“It really is you.”
Snapping her fingers, the Spirit transformed back and cackled. “Did you really fall for my tricks, Great Sage?”
“When- when did you get here?”
“Is that really important?”
Xiaotian shouted, “Stay away from my mentor!”
“Shush, little boy, the adults are talking!”
“I’m an adult, you-” He growled. “How did you find us?”
“It’s quite easy. I have been tailing you for a while. Did you think I wouldn’t catch up? Oh if only you hadn’t interfered then I would have won. Poor precious Sun Wukong, you would have betrayed your own friends for the dead and the long gone.”
“I wouldn’t have betrayed them! I would have told them! Not handed the rings willingly.”
“Hmmm… it didn’t appear that way. You’re pathetic. You know that, right? Willing to snatch any bit of love you could get for someone who has long since passed.”
Wukong felt as if his heart was about to leap out of his throat. His knees became wobbly. Pigsy pulled him by the hand to prevent him from dropping.
“It was fun. Wukong would do anything for his precious family, wouldn’t you?” Her voice quickly went to Bajie’s before smirking and saying in her normal voice, “It’s pathetic.”
Pigsy tugged him by the arm. “We have to go.”
The king’s legs were jelly. The pig huffed and picked him up. “Let’s go, kid!”
“Yes, dadsy!”
They began running, the spirit, with a mischievous glimpse in her eye, sighed and shook her head. “You can’t run, Sun Wukong.” Then she sent her spirits to chase after them.
Xiaotian and Pigsy huffed as they ran. Wukong held a guilty look on his face. A flash of blue showed the White Bone Spirit’s minions were approaching.
The two bolted faster and seeing the ship in the distance, yelled, “Get on the ship!”
“WHAT?”
“We have trouble!”
Upon seeing the minions, they immediately jumped onto the ship with Pigsy and Xiaotian following behind. As soon as they were all on, Sandy hit the button and they were immediately in the air. The spirit frowned at her prey escaping but then a triumphant smile came back at remembering how she broke the king again.
Pigsy placed the king down gently. His whole body was trembling. “Pigsy… I… I’m so sorry. I should have listened to you.”
“It’s okay. No harm was done. Do you want a hug?”
“Yea…”
The pig curled his arms around him, whispering gentle reassurances. “I’m here… I’m here.” How the fuck could the spirit do something like that? But then again, he didn’t expect anything less.
“I’m so sorry. I just…”
“You thought you were gonna be with your family again. I understand.”
“But I know I’m not! You guys are my family now. I thought I was changing but…”
“You are. You are. Don’t dismiss all the progress you’ve made. I got you.” Why was it always that selfish pig demon plaguing Wukong’s mind and heart? And the Lady Bone Demon had manipulated Wukong’s love for his deceased family.
Fuck, he wanted to be angry but settled for comforting the king instead. Even though jealousy clawed at his heart.
“I could have given away the rings.”
“You never would have done that. You’re better than that.”
“No… I…”
“Hey. We’ve got you. The spirit tricked you.”
“I feel so lost,” he whimpered. “Trying to get better then something happens and I’m the same all over again.”
“It’s gonna take time. I know that from experience,” Sandy said.
Pigsy cupped the king’s face. “I’m here. Whatever you need.”
Wukong fixated his eyes at the ground then took out the bracelets, tears flowing. He slid them across the floor and sobbed louder. His heart broken and an unbearable pain inflicting him.
Pigsy shushed him and told him he was there forever and always. The others asked if they could hug the king and when he gave a small nod, they formed a group hug.
Glancing at the bracelets, agony flowed freely. And while it was mostly because of the king’s sobs and gasping breaths, Pigsy felt as if there was another underlying reason.
He shook his head and gave the king more comforting words.
And no matter what, he never let the envy show.