Chapter Text
MK kicked his legs back and forth as he watched his mentor gather up all the blankets and snacks that he'd brought for the night, petting one of the monkeys on his lap. The offer of a sleepover had come not long after his second mentor told him that he'd be going on a trip for a while, and insisted that he take a break from training.
Thankfully, that perfectly coincided with Pigsy staging an intervention, telling him to rest and not over work himself. He'd had to tell Monkey King, which - strangely enough - had excited his mentor. "We can have a sleepover!" The celestial primate had cheered, picking MK up and spinning him around. "I've been meaning to properly introduce you to the little ones! Oh, you'll love 'em!" Which led to where he was now, sitting cross-legged on the couch under a pile of white-furred monkey cubs, as Monkey King ran around excitedly to get things ready. He'd spent the day exploring the mountain rather than training, picking fruit with the monkeys and enjoying the good weather. Monkey King had joined him, introducing him to all of his little furry subjects. There were far too many names for MK to keep track, but none of them seemed to mind.
"Okay, bud!" MK looked up at the sound of Monkey King's voice. "We're good to go! What do you want to watch?" Monkey King flopped down on the couch beside him, the furry babies scrambling onto his shoulders, arms filled with snacks and fuzzy blankets. MK narrowed his eyes in thought as he picked out a pale pink blanket with white tassels. It was really soft, and the tassels were fun to stim with. He rubbed it between his hands, considering.
"Can I go get changed and give you an answer later?"
"Course you can! I should probably put on my pj's too."
MK snickered at hearing how serious his mentor sounded when saying the word 'pj's' before standing up, carefully removing the cubs from his lap. He grabbed his bag on the way out of the living room and headed to the bathroom. He took his time getting changed, seeing no reason to hurry as to give himself more time to make his choice. Hmm, would the cubs enjoy 'Monkey Cop'? he wondered, pulling on his shorts.
It was when he was half-way through tugging off his binder - something that he couldn't typical wear when on Flower Fruit Mountain because it meant he was training - that his phone got a notification. He paused, before struggling the rest of the way so he could check it. His eyes went wide with joy when he realised what the news notice said. "Meteor shower!" He squealed, wiggling in place. He pulled on the rest of his pajamas and scrambled out of the bathroom to go show Monkey King. His socks slid easily on the wooden floors, sending him sliding through the hallway.
"Monkey King, Monkey King!" MK yelled, skidding into the room and stopping himself by crashing into the couch. The monkeys screeched in surprise, tumbling off the couch. "Bud?" Monkey King asked, looking cozy in his peach patterned pajama pants and short-sleeved button-up. MK could see strange scars on his chest, were those-? No, there was no way! Monkeys didn't have anatomy like that, did they? But Monkey King wasn't like normal monkeys, so could those be top surgery scars-?
MK blinked when fingers were snapped in front of his face. "You alright, bud?" Monkey King asked, amused. MK shook his head, feeling his hair come loose from his bandanna, oh so that's what he'd forgotten, and showed Monkey King his phone. "There's a meteor shower tonight, Monkey King! It's in an hour or two, can we watch with the monkeys?" He pleaded, bouncing in place.
Monkey King went silent, a strange look overtaking his face. "I haven't star-gazed in years..." MK heard him mumble, as though he wasn't even aware. But before MK could be too worried, the celestial primate flashed him a bright grin. "Sure! How does a night-time picnic sound?"
MK cheered, sending the monkeys running in fright again.