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It had been a quiet thought at first. Only somewhat creeping under your skin, until the arrival of the Lady Bone Demon.
You’re weak, fragile, burdening the team. Proven to you by your memory of your lover, Sun Wukong, under the Lady Bone Demon’s control. Glacier eyes, robotic movement, dead silence. A living corpse of the great sage - cold to the touch, not a single emotion left behind. Chains that bound him far beyond your control, under the starlit sky you each had grown to love gazing at together.
“Wukong,” You sobbed, grasping his shoulders tightly. You did have some powers of your own, healing ones - but even that could not prevent what the Lady Bone Demon calls ‘destiny.’ Your abilities of purification and healing were nothing against demonic possession. You treated cursed wounds and illnesses, exorcisms of this accord were far too strong for you.
“Wukong. Sun.. my dear. Listen to me, please,” You held his face, thumbs caressing his cheeks.
“I know you’re in there. You can fight her, she isn’t in control of you - ” A yell from MK interrupted you.
“[Your name]! Look out!” There was a blur of both Macaque and MK’s shouts, as suddenly you were hit with a barrage of punches. It was too quick for you to heal. You couldn’t think anymore, sight beginning to blur. Coughing up blood, your body hit the rocks nearby, before you began to fade out of consciousness.
…
That was weeks ago, though. Everything was back to normal, including Wukong himself. You had long since healed up. But you couldn’t bring yourself to speak to him. You had recurring nightmares of everyone falling to the Lady Bone Demon, unable to save them from falling out of her grasp. You loved Wukong with all your heart, you ached to see him, but you were afraid. You failed. How could you confront him after that?
Another day, another nightmare. Your eyes bore into the ceiling in the dark. You trembled, sweating like mad, tears streaming down your face as you remembered the possessed corpses of your loved ones. Like marionettes, wrangling in your dreams. Wracked, tired sobs left your lips, breathing becoming heavy and ragged. Your chest began to rise up and down in response, before a pair of arms wrapped around you.
That familiar warmth, fur the same color as the sun itself, soft against your smaller, mortal body. Lean, protective arms, a strong body in contrast to your own, you thought. The sweet smell of peaches and hibiscus filled the air. You realized long before he had said anything that it was Wukong. You blushed brightly, realizing how badly you looked. In your pajamas, with your hair all frizzed up. You weren’t sure whether to keep crying or speak. You whined, beginning a fruitless attempt to wipe your tears.
“Peaches.. Shh, shh. You don’t have to hide this from me. I’ve been having the same nightmares.. About Lady Bone Demon, right?” Wukong intertwined his fingers with yours.
You nodded, feeling your heart start to hammer against your chest. It was so much. You couldn’t bear the thought of losing anyone - possession or not. No more, you wanted to say, but you couldn’t open your mouth. Your body trembled. Was this really happening? Letting Wukong see how weak you are, again?
As if on cue, Wukong sighed, more a sound of sadness than irritation.
“Listen, starlight. It wasn’t your fault.” You made a sound of protest, but Wukong spoke again.
“Nuh-uh. Don’t try to argue with me. You’ve been holding this weight on your shoulders for so long. It isn’t your job to protect everyone on your own, to heal everyone on your own. It took me a long time to see this, but.. We stick together, don’t we? As lovers, or when we’re around MK’s crew. They’re worth protecting, of course, but they’re also worth protecting together.”
You felt your boyfriend squeeze your hands reassuringly, rubbing circles with his thumbs on your palms the same way you had caressed his cheeks back then. His movements were gentle, slow, holding you as if you were both the most precious and most fragile teddy bear all at once. It would have made you giggle somewhat if not for the situation. Wukong was usually all out in his affection.
“Can you take a deep breath for me, [prince/princess]? Don’t be scared. It’s alright. We defeated that witch together, and from now on.. we’ll be a team. Take it easy, sweetheart.” His low voice seemed to reverberate in your ears.
As soon as you did what he asked, he smiled warmly. “Good job. Keep going, you’re doing so well.”
He squeezed your hands again, and you pressed your back against his chest. He buried his face into the crook of your neck, holding you more tightly.
“Tell me if this is too much, or if you need space. Peaches, I’m so proud of you for trying. C’mon, you’re almost there. Some more.. breathe in, breathe out. Remember the meditation I taught you and MK.. That was a relaxing day, wasn’t it?” He let out a low chuckle, thinking of how they had spent time picking peaches and even swimming in the waterfall. You nodded, breath beginning to even out at the thought.
Sun Wukong, MK, Mei, Pigsy, Tang, Sandy, Red Son - they had shown themselves to be friends worth keeping. Friends that understand your feelings, that didn’t think differently of you in any way. For being emotional, or one with little combat prowess, or struggling.
Another deep breath, and you finally squeezed Wukong’s hand back. His eyes shone like stars in the dark.
“That’s my star. Are you.. still feeling shaky at all? Think of your home, or a trip you’d like to go on.. or maybe I could even take you there?” He grinned, a twinkle in his eyes.
You shook your head. “I feel better now, Wukong. Can you.. hold me closer?”
“Of course, of course! Anything for my only sweetest peach!” Wukong exclaimed, his voice now a normal volume. You giggled in response, feeling his arms wrap around your waist completely. He nuzzled your cheek, purring softly.
He stopped for a moment, face in the crook of your neck again as he spoke.
“Y’know.. you aren’t alone. Not now, not ever. Especially with me around. I’m not going anywhere, and.. I’m sorry. For not realizing sooner.. You can only keep your distance away from people for so long before they bury themselves into your heart. Keeping that trust in each other is how we move forward.” He snorted a little, mumbling “corny.”
“If I had already done that, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt. I mean it when I say I’m sorry - ”
“Now you’re being the silly one,” You interrupted him, pressing a kiss to his hand.
“You’ve been this great sage Monkey King for centuries. You’ve seen people like us get hurt, haven’t you? I understand now. Neither of us need to apologize anymore.”
Wukong shook his head, his gaze glistening. “I hurt you, though. Not consciously, but the whole time I could see everything that was happening. That witch’s possession was strong. And then I kept quiet about my plan.. I have to apologize.. Even more for letting it get to this point. I thought you needed your space, but you were suffering in silence.”
“We were both suffering in silence. I’m sorry too, but Lady Bone Demon affected everyone. If you had said everything beforehand, the results might still have turned out similar. We can ponder and ponder, but what matters is that we learn from our mistakes, right?” You pressed a kiss to his cheek, smiling brightly.
The question seemed to take Wukong a minute to process, before he grinned. His tail began to sway from side to side, resting next to you. His laugh rang in your ears, an obnoxious one, but it was your Wukong’s laugh.
“What’s so funny, dear?” You asked, unable to stifle the giggle that left your mouth. Wukong laughing made you want to do the same thing.
“I think, in a lot of ways, we’re both as stubborn as the other. You always feel as if you don’t contribute enough, but without you, can you really say a lot of your friends would’ve come out of those adventures unscathed? You’re mortal and you lament how you don’t have any sort of magical-demon-blood or holy-celestial-reincarnation-thingy going on but you always stand up for your people.” Wukong hummed, stroking your hair softly.
“I need you to appreciate those parts of yourself for me. Courage, kindness, strength. You are strong. You don’t need to have a tough facade or combat prowess to be somebody. You’ll always be more than somebody to me, peaches. I do trust you, with all my heart, and I’ll make sure to prove that more often. I promise.”
You smiled, turning so that you could give him a head scratch. He muttered something in protest, trying to speak, but couldn’t help the purr that escaped his mouth, tail forming a heart. It was only a moment before he wrapped his tail around you, moving you so that you both could cuddle, facing one another.
“I’m glad we both learned from this, then. And you better mean it, Wukong. No more secret vacations or diabolical secret plans.” You teased, kissing his hands.
“Whaaa! Me? Secret plans or vacations? I’ve never done those in my life.” He joked back, snorting.
“If I don’t mean it, I’ll just make you eat one of the peaches of immortality. Then you’d really be safe - ” Wukong smirked as his fangs showed.
“Wukong!” You furrowed your brows, glaring. He laughed, wrapping his arms around you tighter, pressing a soft kiss to your lips.
“Of course I mean it, baby. I know all stories have their different chapters. What happened once may not happen twice. I’ll make sure of it.. Or we can make sure of it, together. I can’t guarantee I won’t still be protective of you, but I’ll tell you everything - including MK and his crew. They all deserve that much.”
The both of you slept soundly that night, in the arms of each other. The nightmares stopped.