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"Hey, Macaque?"
"Yeah, Tang?"
"Do you think my golden jangly stick could teleport me faster than you can reemerge from a shadow?"
Macaque shrugs. "Maybe, but I honestly doubt it."
"Is that a challenge?"
He gets in the nerd's face and says, "Hey, if you wanna make it one, you're on!"
Tang and Macaque exit Tang's apartment and relocate to the top of the building.
"Alright! When I count to three, you and me will transport ourselves over to that building," Tang points to a rooftop three buildings away, "via our preferred methods, and whoever gets there first wins!"
"Clear enough. Start counting, specs."
"Okay, 1, 2," the scholar raises his khakkhara, "3!"
Simultaneously, Tang taps his weapon on the roof, and Macaque falls into a shadow portal. Tang arrives atop their destination first in a mere second. Macaque emerging after the fact two seconds later.
"Ahaha, looks like I win!"
The monkey scoffs, "Yeah, sure, only because I got distracted though, so?"
Sarcastically, Tang replies, "Right, surrre."
He puts a hand on his hip and says, "So I'm guessing you'd like to try at it again?"
"Was I being that obvious?"
"Hm, maybe a little too much of a sore loser, more like it."
"Ha-hey."
Tang starts counting again, and like last time, they transport themselves to a rooftop 3 buildings away. And just as before, the scholar comes out on top by three seconds.
"Again!" Macaque declares.
With the patience of a saint, Tang obliges and repeats their little race once again and again and again.
"Alright, Mac, that's enough. You're just going to have to accept you've been bested by the Tang Man!"
He looks around the rooftop he's on and doesn't find the shadow monkey anywhere.
"Huh, Macaque? Where did you go?"
Macaque sneaks up behind Tang, grabbing him up from under his arms.
Tang screams out in fear before looking up and realizing it's just Macaque. He lets out a sigh of relief and says, "Oh, it's just you."
"Who else would it be?"
"You know you still lost, right?"
"Did I though?"
He lets go of Tang and rests his arms over his shoulders.
"Do you want a consultation prize?"
Macaque tilts his head, leaning in for a kiss.
"Hey, it's the least I deserve for trying."
And with nothing else left to say, they kiss.
