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Wukong took a deep breath before pushing open the door. The bell signaled his arrival and Pigsy popped his head out from the kitchen.
“Oh, hey look,” he grinned. “It’s free labor.”
“Hi free labor,” Mei laughed.
“Good morning free labor!” Mk giggled giddily. At least he was happy about this arrangement.
“Monkey King?!” Tang looked bewildered. Seemed like Pigsy didn’t tell him.
“Hey guys,” he smiled. The smile felt awkward on his face, stretching a bit too wide and a little tense on his facial muscles.
He was quickly ushered to the back. Pigsy instructed Wukong around the kitchen as Mk and Mei excitedly explained to Tang that the Monkey King had agreed on doing some sort of unpaid internship at Pigsy’s Noodles.
In reality, though, Sandy just brought it up as a socialization exercise suggestion and Wukong agreed a bit too early before he knew what the exercise entailed.
Which entailed trying out a service job for a day. At Pigsy’s Noodles.
Sandy was already enthusiastically calling Pigsy about the arrangement before Wukong could back out.
“– and here is where I keep the good stuff,” Pigsy opened a cabinet that held an array of different bottles of varying sizes. “You just use this measurin’ cup and pour however much I marked on each bottle for different orders. Easy enough, right? Even a monkey could do it!” he chortled at his own joke.
Wukong rolled his eyes before a confident smirk settled on his face. “Yep, sounds like a piece of cake. I can probably run this entire joint without you,” he boldly proclaimed as he plucked a few pieces of his hair, clones at the ready.
His hand was smacked with a soup ladle and he yelped, letting go of the hair. The strands were snatched from the air and Pigsy tossed them into the garbage can. “No monkey business in the establishment!” he scolded as Wukong rubbed the back of his hand, reddened from the hit. “How many times have I told ya? I don’t want any of your hair floatin’ around my noodles!”
“ Wha– But,” Wukong sputtered, pulling up his hoodie to reveal the hidden sling that drooped to his stomach. “How come you told me to bring her if you don’t want animal hair in the kitchen?” The pregnant cat meowed cutely.
“It’s different, she’s here for emotional support,” Pigsy huffed. He reached to rub her nose with his knuckle. “Besides, Honey Buns is a good girl who won’t cause no trouble for me, ain’t that right?” he cooed sweetly at the cat, who had her head tilted and pushed into his hand.
Pigsy then coughed into his fist, “ Ahem. Anyways. You can set her down in Mk’s room. He’ll be busy with deliveries, he won’t notice.”
After Wukong came back from Mk’s room, he groaned as he set eyes on the cramped, humid, busy kitchen again. It really didn’t seem like optimal working conditions. “Do I have to do this?”
“Hey, yer the one that offered,” Pigsy slapped his back, punching out a cry of shock from the King. “Didn’t you say you wanted to repay me for that scan thing?”
“I guess so…”
“I mean, I won’t care if you wanna call quits here,” Pigsy shrugged nonchalantly. “I guess I’ll just tell Sandy you flanked out on me… too bad. He was so happy and excited that you agreed...”
“ Ugh , I’ll do it!” Wukong growled, miffed as his tail slapped itself against a cabinet a couple times. “Whatever. Nothing the Great Sage Equal to Heaven can’t handle,” he indignantly muttered to himself. “Just a stupid little noodle shop, how hard could it be?”
Pigsy scoffed as he tossed an apron and hair cap in Wukong’s face. “Laugh while you still can, king . Let’s see how you’ll like rush hour ,” he chuckled ominously.
~
Monkey King bumped into him in the alleyway outside, around noon time. Mk could already hear the bustling sound of ravenous customers from around the shop and Monkey King looked somewhat traumatized.
His eyes were blown wide and his face flushed so red from exertion that it blended in with his face marking, his fur fluffed up with some strands stuck to his face in a sheen of sweat, his tail twitched back and forth like a ticking time bomb.
“Monkey King!” Mk startled. “Are you okay?”
“I’m great thanks,” Monkey King breathed out quickly. “Well, I’m great now that I’ve escaped, heheh , I bet that piglet didn’t even notice me slipping out,” he giggled threateningly.
He violently snapped his head to look at the large bag in Mk’s hands, fresh with new orders waiting to be delivered. “You… need a break, bud?”
“ Umm ,” Mk grimaced at the crazed look in his eyes. “Not… really?”
“Nah, I think you do,” the King decided. The bag was snatched out of his head before Mk even registered Monkey King reaching towards him. A stained apron was thrown in his face.
“Hey!” Mk frantically peeled away the apron from his head but the King had already taken off into the distance. “Not cool, Monkey King! You’re stealing my job!”
“What? No I’m not , bud,” Monkey King shouted back, already half a block away. “I’m not even getting paid!"
“That’s worse!” Mk cried. “That’s, like , exploitation of free labor! You have rights , Monkey King!”
“Oh yeah, I think I remember my lawyer mentioning those,” Monkey King yelled, voice faint as his figure ran off past the horizon.
Mk scratched his head. Monkey King didn’t even take his tuk-tuk, not to mention, would he know the right addresses without the delivery app? Mk shrugged. It was fine, Monkey King was Monkey King! He would figure it out somehow. Besides, a break did sound pretty nice, especially with the blistering noon sun hanging over the middle of the sky.
He didn’t make it two steps towards the stairs before a malicious presence approached him.
“Mk,” Pigsy gripped his shoulders, voice shaky with barely-contained wrath. “Did ya see where Monkey King went? He left me hangin’ with seven unfinished orders.”
His self preservation kicked in immediately. “He took off with the delivery orders and said I could take a break,” he easily sold the King out.
Pigsy snarled, dragging a hand down his face. “Well, technically he’s still workin’ so I guess I’ll let ‘im off easy.”
He mercifully let go of Mk’s shoulders and he booked it up to his room before Pigsy could change his mind.
~
Mei laid on her stomach on the floor, in the middle of Mk’s room. She scrolled through her phone, not really taking anything in, but just scrolling for the sake of moving her thumbs and watching the flashes of color and text go by. Man , this infinite scroll thing was pretty dangerous, huh?
Whatever, that wasn’t what occupied her thoughts. What she was really thinking about was Monkey King.
She already sensed something a bit weird when Mk told her about the Monkey King’s sudden busy schedule a few weeks ago. It wasn’t like it was a rare thing for him to dip out on Mk, she thought, bemused, but Monkey King was still doing pretty well with the whole bonding-with-the-group thing, all things considered.
Then, a tired and nervous-looking Monkey King came into the shop a few days ago with a supportive Sandy behind him, asking for Pigsy’s help. He looked absolutely wrecked, no offense , with his darkened eye bags and pale complexion. She took special notice of his arms, wrapped insecurely around his middle.
Now, Mei wasn’t an eavesdropper, no siree , but it wasn’t her fault that she overheard the mentions of ‘babies’ and ‘pictures’ . Sandy was being loud, even Mk and Tang heard him, but the other two didn’t seem to think much of it.
Mei, on the other hand, didn’t exactly mull over it, but she did store the memory in the forefront of her brain. Just something to scratch her head over when she was bored.
BUT THEN , she saw them the next day. Pigsy and Monkey King, walking back towards the noodle shop from their day out from wherever-they-went . She saw them from across the street, strolling past the streetlights that were slowly turning on one by one.
Mei almost called out to Pigsy before she saw the somewhat intense expressions on their faces, along with Monkey King’s mouth moving at rapid speed. She couldn’t hear them but it was quite the sight nonetheless. She didn’t think she had ever seen Monkey King talk so seriously and passionately, as if venting .
Then, she squinted her eyes and saw something that made the alarms go off in her brain.
She mulled over it for a while , her thoughts occasionally drifting back to the topic at random times of her days, and then the realization dawned on her while she laid on Mk’s floor as he climbed through his window from the fire escape.
“Monkey King is pregnant,” she said, eyes wide at her own conclusion.
“Yep, Monkey King stole my job so I’m free for the afternoon,” Mk greeted as he settled on his bed, taking a breather as he leaned back on his hands.
He stared up at the ceiling while he sipped from his water bottle. Mei waited patiently, still a bit shell-shocked herself, as Mk processed her words.
He suddenly spewed out his drink all over the floor with Mei narrowly avoiding the line of fire, “MONKEY KING IS WHAT?!”
“Pregnant!” Mei threw her hands up. “I figured it out! No, I guessed it from the beginning! AHA , I knew something was fishy!”
“ What – No, I mean,” he stared doubtfully, mouth gaped wide open. “HUH? How do you even know that?” He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, “Is this a prank? Are you filming?”
“No!” Mei dropped her phone on the floor, her hands raised, “I’m serious, one hundred percent!”
“Wh– I, uh ,” Mk sputtered speechlessly.
“I know right?” Mei cackled, pleased that there was someone who could share the same shock as her.
“Wait, no , I mean,” Mk scooted closer to the edge of the bed, lowering his body to peer intensely into Mei’s eyes with unfiltered excitement brewing beneath his stare. “How do you even know he’s pregnant?” he asked, which may as well have been translated to ‘spill the deets’ .
Mei frantically explained her thought process as her hands waved around, Mk nodded every ten seconds with little noises of affirmation, incredibly invested.
“And then I saw him with Pigsy the other day, right?”
“Right.”
“Monkey King was talking about something but I couldn’t hear them. Anyways, that's not the important part,” her voice lowered, “You know what he was holding?”
Mk leaned in even closer, “What was he holding?”
“A piece of paper. And with my 20/20 vision, I could easily see two pictures printed on it. Black and white . Curved trapezoid lighting . Vague blob shapes ,” her voice squealed at the end as she stared at him with wide eyes.
Mk gasped dramatically before pausing, blinking, “I don’t get it.”
“It’s a sonogram!”
Mk tilted his head.
“An ultrasound picture,” Mei explained. “Y’know, the stuff used for seeing half-baked fetuses!”
Mk squealed, “ SHUT UP! So you’re saying–”
Mei nodded her head wildly, “Monkey King went to the hospital that day with Pigsy’s health card–”
“TO GET A SCAN? FOR HIS BABY??” Mk finished.
Mei grinned, “And y’know what’s even more damning evidence?”
“What?”
“He had a belly bump ,” Mei spoke slowly and firmly, gesturing with her hands. “I saw some fabric wrapped around a slight protrude on his stomach .”
Mk gawked for a few seconds. He suddenly shook his head, “ Wait wait , he’s showing? How come I’ve never seen it? We were just training yesterday!”
Mei shrugged, “Probably some mystic monkey shtick , doesn’t Monkey King have shapeshifting magic or something? He also had a bump this morning, under his hoodie when he came in.”
“Seriously?” Mk pouted, the energy shifted and slowed as the excitement on his face transformed into something more akin to hurt . “How did I never notice? And why did he never tell me? Does he not…” he squeezed his fingers, eyebrows furrowed. “Does he not trust me?”
Mei blinked awkwardly. She didn’t mean to make Mk insecure and damper his mood.
She bounced onto the bed and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, “C’m ooonn don’t feel too bad about it. Maybe Monkey King’s just shy about it! I bet he’s preparing a surprise announcement for you any day now, y’know, that stuff where they reveal the sex of the baby and throw a silly little party about it,” she waved nonchalantly with her other hand.
“Really?” He looked at her with his big, puppy dog eyes.
“Totally!” she lied out of her ass. To be honest, she wouldn’t put it past Monkey King to keep the entire thing hidden. The only reason he confided in Pigsy was probably just because he needed to use his health card. And the reason Sandy knew was… cuz he was Sandy! No other explanation needed.
They chattered for a bit, running ideas through their head for how a demon monkey baby would act, or how demon monkey pregnancies even worked.
Then, out of nowhere, they both heard a shuffling from behind, on the bed. Mei turned around, expecting to see some stray bird or animal that climbed in through the window. Instead, there was a moving lump by Mk’s pillow.
“What the–”
Mk looked behind and jumped up in shock.
“What is that?” he cried. “Why’s it in my bed– grab it!
Mei also jumped back with her hands raised, “I’m not touching it! It’s your bed!”
Mk groaned and settled back on the mattress, on his hands and knees as he carefully crawled towards the lump. It was still shaking around, stretching the fabric this way and that. Mk’s hands hovered over it when Mei cried, “Careful! I heard there’s been an infestation of huge, mutated spiders in this area!”
“What?!” he shrieked as he whipped his head back, hand going rigid just a few inches from the lump. “Why would you say that now ?!”
“ Hehe , I’m just kidding. There’s no spiders,” she stuck her tongue out.
Mk rolled his eyes and turned around, about to grab the lump before it suddenly rose in size. He flung himself backwards as the lump shuffled itself to the edge of the blanket. Mei watched with wide eyes and a hand on her Dragon Blade as a small form emerged next to Mk’s pillows.
It was an orange cat. Its fur was patchy in some areas, clearly shaved, while the neck fur seemed rather deformed. When it turned around, there was a clear scar on the throat and a bloated stomach, blinking its big, amber eyes at the other two in the room. The cat yawned cutely when Mk gasped, “Nineteen grams of protein!”
“What?” Mei blinked as Mk lunged for the cat, trying to hug it before backing off when the cat hissed at him. “You know this little guy?”
“Yeah! It’s Monkey King’s cat,” he laid on his stomach, cooing at the little thing as the cat ignored him, grooming itself with its paw.
Huh . Mei didn’t know Monkey King had a cat. People who liked cats were green flags, weren’t they? Mei’s mental chart ticked up in favor of Monkey King.
She didn’t usually like grading people, but she had little ‘pro vs con’ charts for everybody she deemed as ‘on thin ice’ . Like her annoying neighbor. Or her problematic moot. Or Monkey King . Monkey King was close to making it off the ice, though.
“Maybe he followed him to the shop today, what a clever kitty,” Mk mused. “Isn’t he a cutie? Hehe , do you like the name?”
“‘ Nineteen Grams of Protein ’?” Mei grinned, amused. “That’s his name?”
“Well, it’s my nickname for him. Monkey King doesn’t like it,” Mk pouted.
“I wonder why,” Mei said sarcastically as she sat on the edge of the bed. “What’s with his tummy?”
“Oh, this?” he gently poked the shaved belly and pulled his hand back before the cat swung a paw at him, irritated. Mk giggled.
“You’re not afraid of being scratched?”
“Not really,” Mk hummed. “He’s declawed.”
“Monkey King declawed him?” Mei frowned as her mental chart of the King dropped a few ticks from favor.
“No, he would never do that!” Mk frowned, appalled. “Nineteen Gram’s been like this since Monkey King found him. He’s got a little worm infection so his belly’s a little big,” Mk leisurely kicked his legs back and forth. “It’s alright though, Monkey King said he fed the kitty some magic celestial worms that’ll battle the bad worms and they’ll be gone within another month!”
The mental Monkey King chart ticked back up. “ Hmm ,” she shrugged, laying down on her back, next to Mk. “Makes sense,” and she didn’t think much else of it.
They laid there for a while, Mei staring up at the ceiling while Mk whistled one of the recent viral pop songs, the warm noontime breeze running through them from the open window.
A thought suddenly popped up in her head. “Wait… who’s the dad? Like, the other dad?”
She knew Mk knew they were back on the pregnancy topic without confirmation as he rubbed his chin in thought. They were quiet for another few seconds before they both pushed themselves onto their arms in synchronized realization.
“Macaque!” “Macaque!” they cried at the same time. Mei snickered as she imagined Macaque comically sneezing while they talked behind his back.
Then, Mk’s face twisted into a crestfallen expression, “Nah, can’t be, they hate each other.”
“Really? He seems like the likeliest option to me,” Mei said, suggestively wiggling her eyebrows in a way that made Mk cackle.
“No way,” Mk giggled as he sat up properly. “Macaque interrupted our training yesterday to mess with us and I had to drag Monkey King off of him before they ripped each other's throats out!” Mei frowned. Purposely exerting someone who was pregnant with his child? That was a pretty asshole move, Mei decided. Her mental chart of Macaque ticked lower.
“He does that at least twice a month and I have to stop them every time before they level the entirety of Flower Fruit Mountain!” Mk hands raised in exasperation.
“ Hmm… maybe it’s an asexual reproduction then?”
“What?” Mk stared incredulously. “Like how bugs–”
“Well it’s not that far-fetched,” Mei defended. “Mystic-Monkey stuff!” She wiggled her fingers mysteriously and Mk ‘oooh’ ed. Then, they both burst out laughing.
~
Wukong sneezed out of nowhere. “What the,” he muttered, annoyed, as he rubbed his nose. “How’d I catch a cold in this weather?”
He currently sat on a random bench, the sweltering sun beating down on his back. He sucked on a refreshing peach popsicle. The nice granny from the little vendor stall next to him gave it to him for free after he delivered her noodles.
The deliveries weren’t that difficult. With a dozen clones running around the city, either disguised as Mk or transformed into a bird, they managed to cover a lot of ground by knocking on each home and establishment one by one to ask if they’ve ordered from Pigsy’s Noodles. If they didn’t, then it was free marketing. If they did, then the real Monkey King would arrive a few minutes later with their order in tow.
Now that the bag of orders was significantly less heavy, he took a well-deserved break under the refuge of a tree’s shade, next to the friendly little granny and her charming little ice cream cart. He was sweating straight through his hoodie but he refused to take it off, which probably wasn’t the smartest idea but he only had enough magic to glamor his face in Mk’s likelihood. He spent too much power on the clones. If he had only worn his shirt, people would see his non-human hairy arms and tail swinging in irritation.
The thought made his eyebrow tick in irritation, reminding him of the conversation with Pigsy from earlier.
~
“Y’know, your casual wear is pretty cute. Less haughty and stuck-up than your kingly armor.”
Wukong frowned, paused from drying the dishes as he clutched the towel in his hand, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I dunno,” Pigsy rolled his eyes. “Why’re ya so iffy all the time about yer image? It wouldn’t kill you to dress casually more. Or, y’know, act less arrogant and proud.”
“Image is important.” Pigsy didn’t understand.
A few hundred years ago, humans would hang a piece of pork at their doorway. They’d wipe the meat over their mouth before leaving the house, leaving an oily sheen on their lips. It was supposed to prove to others that their family is wealthy and prosperous enough to eat fatty foods. Image was important.
“Sure,” Pigsy said, not even looking at him but more focused on the noodles he was making. “But I like this version of you more, y’know? More real. Less of some silly storybook archetype. That type of personality is only a lil’ fun in fiction but pretty unbearable in real life.”
Wukong bit his lip, feeling wronged. So what if he acted pompous or egotistical? Even if it was mostly an act to uphold his reputation, it was still him . Listening to someone shit on it just left a bad taste in his mouth.
“Even now, there’s still a bit of a wall you’re keepin’ up.”
“You don’t know me,” Wukong snapped quietly. They were quiet for a few seconds and he wondered if Pigsy even heard him over the popping noises of boiling water.
“‘Course I don’t. We’ve only talked like this, one-on-one, twice or somethin’,” Pigsy agreed. “But you seem so uptight all the time, y’know? Tense. People can explode if they keep everythin’ in, like a shaken bottle of pop.”
Wukong didn’t reply. Just angrily stared at the spotless bowl he was wiping. He already accidentally broke two of those with his raw strength, but Pigsy seemed intent on him learning to properly wash dishes, so wash the dishes he did.
“You should try tellin’ them about Honey Buns’s pregnancy, be communicative and shit,” Pigsy prompted when Wukong stayed silent. “Mk and Mei still don’t know, right?”
He hummed non committedly, “Neither does Tang.”
“Nah, Tang knows. I told him.”
“You told him?!” Wukong turned around to glare at Pigsy’s back. It wasn’t like it was a big, confidential secret, but he still childishly felt betrayed.
“Well, just about your pregnant cat stuff. None of that ‘I’m not good enough to keep her’ stuff,” Pigsy grinned. “I tell him practically everything, though. Don’t wanna keep it in and pop, y’know?”
“Thanks,” Wukong deadpanned. “I’ll keep that in mind if I ever tell you anything in the future.”
“Fair,” Pigsy laughed unapologetically.
~
Wukong lifted the popsicle away from his mouth as he sighed deeply, head leaned on top of the bench’s back. “Stupid Pigsy,” he murmured into the open air with a pout. “What’s wrong with being a little cute ‘n cheeky?”
“Everything alright, dearie?” The granny next to him asked. He jumped, he almost forgot she was there. Not a lot of people passed by this street and she didn’t get a lot of customers, but it wasn’t like she was trying very hard with her promotion. The old lady seemed content to just sit there quietly, waving her palm leaf fan and only speaking when someone walked up to her.
He licked the sweet peach flavor off his lips. “Yeah, I’m fine. How’s the, uh , the noodles?” he asked out of obligation for the sake of small talk.
“Delicious as always, thank you” she smiled. “What’s your name?”
“Su– I mean, Mk. My name’s Mk,” Wukong backtracked once he remembered his disguise.
The granny hummed, eyebrows scrunching in confusion. “No you’re not,” she said matter-of-factly, so sure of herself that Wukong had to double check if his glamor was still on. “I know Mk’s voice, he usually delivers my noodles but not today. You’re not Mk, you sound different,” she said firmly but without disdain.
“You can’t see?” Wukong gawked. The granny seemed so sure of herself, the way she navigated around her cart and strolled around the area to stretch her legs. She didn’t even have a cane, even though her hair had already aged to pure white and she walked with an obvious slouch.
“I’m not completely blind yet,” she chuckled lightly. “Just bad eyesight from old age, so everything I see is rather blurry and out of focus, but I can handle myself just fine.”
“Is it not annoying?” Wukong asked crudely, out of genuine curiosity. “Why not just stay home? People have ‘pensions’ nowadays, right?”
“People at my age tend to get antsy when they just sit around at home. There’s a sense of uselessness that makes time pass slower, that can make you more depressed,” she explained. The granny gently shook her head, “All my old friends have passed and my children rarely visit me. This world moves fast, constantly changing, it’s not very kind or forgiving to elderly people like me who can’t keep up.”
Wukong stared, his tail twitching from under his hoodie, not sure what to say. In a way, he could understand, but he probably shouldn’t drop such a bomb at her.
The old lady dipped her head bashfully. “Sorry for spilling all of this on you, dearie,” she chuckled. “My lips have become loose with age, always chatting to whoever would listen.”
“Ah,” Wukong startled, shaking his head frantically. “No, it’s okay! I don’t mind.” She gave him such a tasty popsicle even though her business wasn’t that prosperous. Listening was the least he could do, he reasoned.
“Even if my body isn’t what it used to be, I’ll come outside and walk around while I still can.” She sighed, “Even though my generation’s time has long passed, I still want to connect with people, nurture some sort of mutual understanding despite our age gaps.” The granny grinned, her skin stretching in folds to accommodate the expression. Just from her wrinkles, Wukong could tell she didn’t frown often. ”The world is changing, but there will always be some integral, innate part of us that seek companionship. Humans are social animals, after all.”
Wukong nodded. He wasn’t human, but on some level, he understood her.
~
Mk finally managed to lure Nineteen Grams to lay on top of his chest when there was a knock at his door. Mei looked up from her phone, “Pigsy?”
“Wrong.” The door opened, revealing a sorta apprehensive-looking Monkey King with a nervous smirk. “Hey guys.”
“Monkey King!” Mk grinned. An ‘oof’ was punched out of him when the cat sprang off his chest, running towards Monkey King with a shrill ‘meow’ . He sat up, rubbing his chest, “How was deliveries?”
“Pretty good, pretty good,” Monkey King bent down to hold Nineteen Grams. “I have an– um …” His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “I have something to tell you.”
Mk gasped as Mei swiftly teetered next to him. “Act surprised,” she muttered to Mk under her breath. Then, she stood up. “Welp! I’ll give y’all some privacy, toodles!” she briskly left, mouthing to Mk ‘text me the deets later’ from behind the King before she slammed the door shut.
“ Um ,” Monkey King stared blankly at the door before turning back towards Mk. “I guess I can just tell her later, it’s not that big of a secret.” He walked towards the bed and sat down next to Mk, laying a disgruntled cat between them.
“Here, bud, touch the belly,” he nodded towards Nineteen Grams. Mk rubbed the tummy. “ Gently ,” Monkey King chided when the cat twisted uncomfortably.
Mk nodded and rubbed gentler, then gave the king a questioning look, asking him to continue. Monkey King sighed, his shoulders reached his ears as he looked away from Mk awkwardly, “I lied. She doesn’t have worms.”
Mk blinked his eyes, “‘ She ’?”
“She’s pregnant. Her belly is big from the babies, not from 'demon worms' and 'celestial worms' fighting and consuming each other for dominance,” he made quotation marks with his fingers and scoffed, as if incredulous that Mk believed him.
Mk’s eyes flickered back and forth from Monkey King’s face to Nineteen Grams, mouth wide open in shock. Impulsively, his hand shot out to grab the King’s stomach and Monkey King jumped at the sudden movement, a weird squeaky-chirp sounding from his throat.
Mk felt around the abdomen, fondling through the fabric of the hoodie. Sure enough, it was flat, if not just a little pudgy but certainly not big enough to fit a fully-formed fetus.
Mk had spent the last few hours agonizing over his ability to be a good uncle or brother or whatever to Monkey King’s kid, wracking his brains for what sort of baby shower gifts he should prepare, and it was all for nothing?
“So… you’re not pregnant?” he croaked.
Mentor and mentee stared at each other, Mk's hands still groped around Monkey King's belly.
“I’m WHAT ?!”