Chapter Text
MK finished tying back his headband. Despite the formal nature of where they were about to meet up, he proved to be the most casual out of the three of them. Redson regarded his partner with a hidden fond smile, appreciating MK’s consistency.
As for him, he ran a brush through his long silky hair for a final time before deciding he was satisfied with how his hair (if it counted as that) had turned out. Besides the flames that licked up towards the end, Redson thought he looked presentable, more than usual, at least. He examined his skin closely in the mirror to make sure no surprise pimples decided to make a guest appearance before such a big event.
“I can’t believe you managed to tame it!” Mei teased, bobby pins hanging from her mouth, “I do miss your ponytail though, promise you won’t keep your hair like that forever?” She pleaded, eyes wide. She looked like a puppy who was trying to get food from an innocent person who happened to be eating.
“If you insist,” Redson feigned annoyance. “I was planning on it anyway. I feel…” She struggled to find the words.
“Out of character?” MK Suggested lightly.
“Phony?” Mei added, less helpfully.
Redson gnawed on his bottom lip. “Both of those, I suppose,” Redson sighed. “I just really hope they all like me,” He chuckled nervously.
Mei nodded in silent agreement. “Yeah… I get you, dude,” She exhaled, “Even though we’ve, like, known all of them for so long, it’s nerve wracking, y’know?” She made a circular motion with her hands around her head that illustrated her point pretty well. Meeting your partner's parents was always a lot to deal with. But, in typical MK fashion, he always had to up the stakes. Instead of just meeting one, two, or maybe even three parents, Redson and Mei were handed the task to meet a grand total of five. And of course, there was the fact that MK was introducing his family to more than one partner, but that wasn’t as important to any of them.
“You both just need to believe in yourselves!” MK chimed in, “Trust me, my parents will love you guys,” He chuckled. “Just be yourselves, that’s all you can do, right?” He shrugged. Of course it was easy for him to be so easygoing, he wasn’t the one who had to deal with the anxiety Redson and Mei felt.
Mei threw on her battered Letterman jacket. “Yeah, yeah!” She nodded, “Just be ourselves, that sounds good,” She hummed. The jacket looked goofy overtop her nice dress shirt, which made MK smile. He was glad that Mei wouldn’t be subjected to hiding herself to try and appease his family. If there was one thing he could always count on her for being, it was unapologetically herself.
Redson carefully put on his red coat and smoothed it out meticulously. Yeah, he was the one MK was more concerned about. Redson didn’t have the same bond as Mei with MK's family, in fact, his only bonds with them had been through fighting or bickering back and forth (IE: the 'half baked' incident). MK didn’t hold their families past tensions against Redson—He would never think of it—But it raised concerns he didn’t know how to express without sounding rude. He nervously pulled Redson into a casual side hug, “You’re gonna do great,” He promised in a low whisper.
“I really hope you’re not just saying that,” Redson replied, looking at the ground. “Let’s get going, if we’re tardy that will be one point taken away from us already,” He huffed.
—
The light from the restaurant’s sign cast an orangey glow on Redson’s worried expression. She hugged herself while wrapped up in the comfort of her warm jacket and pushed into the restaurant after MK and Mei had burst in excitedly. They just hadn't been able to contain themselves, apparently.
The scene spread out was joyful. Sandy, Macaque, Wukong, and Tang were all laughing with Mei and MK, patiently waiting for Pigsy to bring out their meals. The restaurant had been closed for the evening, that way there was no need to worry about a customer bursting in and interrupting dinner. Redson quietly yearned for his own family, who was most likely eating without him and getting ready to watch cooking shows and go to bed. He reminded himself quietly that he would see them shortly. He quickly added as an afterthought, Don’t be so clingy!
Mouth watering smells wafted in from the kitchen, making Redson’s stomach rumble. He sat down at the counter with MK’s family and nervously smiled at each of them. “Ah, hello, everyone!” He chirped and waved awkwardly.
Sandy returned Redson’s awkward smile with a welcoming grin, “Hello there!” He waved, “I’m glad you’re able to join us. And you too Mei!” He turned to the girl. Sandy seemed to have a lot of smiles to share with the world, as he gave her a familiar and kind smile, which she excitedly returned.
“It’s nice to have a sit down dinner with both of you,” Tang commented. Which was funny, considering he had a sit down dinner at the restaurant nearly everyday. “It feels like it’s been so long since we’ve done something peaceful together,” He glanced at Mei, since Redson knew that her and Tang have never once spent even a second of ‘quality time’ with one another.
“Agree! Like, when was the last time we weren’t on some super dangerous quest?” Mei laughed loudly.
“I do always love our lighthearted adventures, though,” MK reminisced about peacefully.
Near the end of the counter, Macaque and Wukong shared a momentary glance that Redson was curious about. What's that all about? He wondered, but then brushed it off as him being paranoid. He shook away the worry and focused on the ambiance of the room, a habit he picked up a long time ago. “I agree with Nood-MK,” Redson cleared his throat, “It doesn’t even have to be an adventure…Just travelling is always fun,” He smiled nervously. He rested his elbows on the cool counter top, resting his head in his hands in an attempt to relax.
“I would love to take a vacation,” Tang wished blissfully, eyes closed while he (most likely) imagined a peaceful vacation for himself.
“You bum off of me all the time! Everyday is a vacation for you!”
Tang jumped from his seat, “Ah! Pigsy!" He cleared his throat, "Is dinner ready?” He quickly adjusted his round glasses, smiling fondly at the swine.
“Yeah, it is,” Pigsy huffed, “MK!” He called.
MK jumped, “Yeah?”
“Come help me with these dishes, will ya’?” He gestured impatiently.
MK jumped up from the counter, bounding after Pigsy back into the kitchen.
Wukong leaned back on his chair, resting his arms behind his head peacefully. He used his tail to hold onto the counter, balancing himself, preventing the chair from falling over. “Man!” He exclaimed, “I’m excited! It’s been awhile since I’ve had a nice home cooked meal.” He patted his stomach.
“Same here,” Macaque chimed in, smiling softly at Wukong's energy. Although Macaque wasn’t as excessively relaxed as Wukong, he still carried his own air of calmness in his words, “I’ve heard amazing things about Pigsy’s cooking from MK and Tang,” He explained, “I haven’t been able to try it for myself.” Of course, because Macaque had always been more of a slinking figure in the shadows. Unless he was trying to bother somebody, he seemed to prefer his alone time.
“Just remember to thank Pigsy for such an amazing meal,” Tang reminded, in a good mood because he was eating for free, "You're in for a real treat!" He promised.
Then, Pigsy and MK burst through the door, arms full with bowls of noodles. Everyone turned in anticipation, eyes widening and stomachs rumbling in excitement. The food smelled heavenly, and through the air Redson was able to pick out the use of peppers in the meal. Which meant…
“Are those spicy noodles?” He asked suddenly.
Pigsy regarded Redson momentarily while he set out peoples bowls, “Yours is, yeah. MK thought you might like them,” He explained, “He said they needed to be… ‘Extra super duper spicy,’” He quoted.
Redson blushed, “Oh. That’s… Very sweet of him,” He stared down at his bowl so Pigsy wouldn’t see how red his face was getting, “Thank you, Mr. Pigsy.” He nodded. He folded his hands in his lap and patiently waited for everybody to be ready to eat.
MK and Pigsy laid out the plates, and then followed it up with a bowl of plump fresh fruits. They looked heavenly as well. Small water droplets dotted the surface of their colorful skin. Mei snickered at Wukong and Macaque, who were eyeing the fruits ravenously, their eyes glinting with almost evil greed and hunger.
After the fruit and the noodles, MK and Pigsy took their seats on the opposite ends of the counter. “Let's eat!” Pigsy threw his hands into the air.
The group had no haste. They immediately started to dig into their food, greedily shoving noodles into their mouths and reaching over one another for fruit from the center bowl. It was a tad bit overwhelming for Redson, who was used to quiet dinners with refined manners. Compared to that, this was like feeding with a pack of wolves, who would tear each other to shreds if they got in one another's way. Despite the chaos, though, there was no bloodshed among them. Macaque and Wukong shared the fruit with eachother, taking turns between bites. Sandy and Tang happily chatted about their respective days, and Mei and MK laughed back and forth, jokingly teasing each other from across the table. Redson ate his noodles quietly, appreciating the heat that came after every bite. It was rare that he was able to eat spicy food, because MK couldn’t stand them. Watching over them all was Pigsy, who appreciated his cooking and his family with a proud smile, rarely commenting on the conversation while he ate.
Wukong absentmindedly chewed on a peach, staring at nothing. Without warning, his eyes lit up with a dangerous spark and he slammed his hands down on the table. “I just remembered!” He exclaimed, “Y'know, what we talked about?” He looked down at Macaque, who stared back with a confused expression.
“Oh yeah!” Tang's face lit up, “Did you want to tell them now?” Strangely, Tang also had a look similar to Wukongs… What was the word for it, Redson wondered. Evil? No, there was nothing malicious in what they were doing… Well, not in the sense that what they were planning was dangerous.
Wukong nodded. He faced Redson and Mei, who stared on with anxious expressions. “Alright, listen up kids!” He ordered, “If you want to date our MK, you have to prove yourselves!” He smiled wickedly, “So we’re gonna have some fun with it!” He leaped up from the table and landed on the floor gracefully. He waltzed over to Redson and Mei, throwing his hands around their shoulders and shaking them a little.
“Prove ourselves?” Mei shouted, “That is outrageous! C'monn!” She groaned, “Pigsy, Tang!” She pointed, “You know me! I shouldn’t have to prove myself! Right..?” Her voice faded from aggression to being laced with self doubt.
“It’s nothing personal, kid,” Wukong offered awkwardly, “We just wanna make sure it’ll work out. Sure we know you guys as heroes—”
“I am NOT a hero,” Redson interjected.
“—But we don’t know you guys as… Partners, you know?” Wukong finished. He retracted his arms from Mei and Redson and went back to his seat next to Macaque. “Don’t worry, you guys will do just fine!” He promised with a casual wave.
“Easy for you to say,” Redson grumbled under his breath. Thankfully, nobody heard him but Mei, who snickered. “MK,” He glanced across the counter, “Did you know about this?” He questioned sadly.
“No!” MK jumped, “I didn’t! This is all news to me!” His eyes were incredibly frantic. Despite not moving, he looked significantly more disheveled than when he had sat down. “This really isn’t necessary,” He tried to argue.
To no avail, “No way, MK. Your safety is important,” Pigsy placed a supportive hand on MK’s shoulder, “I know these kids,” He gestured to Redson and Mei, “They’ll be fine.”
MK sighed. “If you say so,” He replied.
After everyone was finished eating, they were almost able to forget about the impending events. Almost. Redson and Mei spent time putting dishes into the sink and washing them with Pigsy and MK, laughing and flinging soapy water back and forth at each other until they were all damp.
“Alright!” Pigsy clapped his hands, “We’ll meet here tomorrow morning, alright?” He said seriously, he meant business. “I wanna be the first to test you guys,” He smirked pridefully, “After all, I was MK’s first dad,” He gloated.
And so it was true: Mei and Redson would have to prove themselves to MK’s fathers. All five of them. All Redson had to say on the matter was an exasperated, “Oh boy…”