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Two weeks without a good morning text.
Sure, it was a silly thing to worry about. Mei understood that, honest! But she and MK had been friends for forever and ever since he could afford a phone, they sent them. 9:10 AM, like clockwork, a bright "GOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNINGGGGGG 🩷🐉!!!!" text flashed on her lock screen, no matter where she was.
And yeah, with all the stuff that happened with Azure a month ago, it made sense that he was— shaken. Distant. So Mei tried really hard to give him space.
Until she went to call him, invite MK out with her for a few hours, and the line went straight to a service memo.
"The number you have dialed is no longer available. Please check you dialed it correctly or call again later."
That's what made her stomach sink. Mei stared at the phone, "MONKEY MAN!!! <33" in bright orange letters on her screen. MK never turned his phone off, never even let it die. Seriously, she watched him beg a bartender for a charger at 1 in the morning just so it wouldn't. So to say she was worried was…
Putting it pretty fucking lightly.
Mei hopped off her motorcycle, clicking the helmet off and barely even setting the stand before she rushed into the alley beside Pigsy's. Yanking down the fire exit ladder, her mind raced. Did Pigsy finally fire him? Why hadn't he told her? Was he okay? Getting kicked out? Nothing on the Mystic Monkie side of things had been happening, so it had to be personal, right?
Opening the window wasn't hard— the lock was broken. Had been for a few years. MK never got around to fixing it. So she slipped in and shut it behind her. "MK? Yo, it's been a while! Where are you, Monkey Man?" She tried to sound normal, but her voice was too high. A breathy laugh escaped her before she looked around his room.
Clean. Bed was made, desk was cleared off, not a dirty sock in sight. Hell, even the dishes were put away. She stiffened a bit. This room was never clean— MK said it helped him think better with the clutter.
One thing that bugged her more than anything else? All of his Monkey King posters were down. The only sign being the lighter color on the wallpaper and some thumbtack holes. Mei frowned and looked around again. It looked…. bare. The only sign of her bestie being his jacket on the chair and a pencil beside a stack of papers, most of which were crossed out.
The dragon girl walked over and skimmed one. This was a huge invasion of privacy and she was totally overstepping, but damn it! Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back!
"None of this makes any sense and i dont know what to do and i love you guys so much but i cant fuckign do this anymroe okay"
Mei frowned. This… was not satisfaction. It felt like a goodbye. She hated goodbyes. The hero set the note down and looked around the room again. Bare. Clean. The calendar was still up, but it looked thin. She walked over to it.
June, July, August, and—
Nothing. Just a day circled in August. No words, just circled in a black pen. Not even red.
The fear that flooded her. When was the last time she saw MK? In person? Even their face times from— shit was it a month ago?— were all done from the comfort of his bed. Mei never pushed. She didn't like forcing him at all, just was there if he needed her.
The bathroom door opened.
"Mei? Uh— kinda naked right now— Don't worry!! I got a towel on!!!" MK's voice hit her ears as he laughed. He sounded normal. But Mei was just staring at the calendar. "What are you doing here?"
"What the hell has been going on?" She was quiet, staring at August 17th.
"I'm sorry? Dude, I've just been here, so nothing much?" MK had moved around her, rummaging through his dresser for some clothes. She looked at him finally. His fur was wet and he looked… relaxed. A towel around his waist and his tail just dragging on the ground beside him.
"Nothing much? Okay, sure." Mei laughed again, a wheeze, really, which made MK turn around. "Quick thing— sorry, just really speedy quick— when did we start lying to each other?"
Silence. He was holding some clothes in one hand and the towel up with the other. He paused for just a second too long. "Mei, what the hell are you talking about? I'm fine, really, it's just been a few days! Yknow, bad head space and shit—"Now was his turn to give the most unconvincing laugh known to mankind.
"Xiaotian, if you don't tell me the truth right now, I'll fucking spell it out." She picked up a plant— a sprig or rosemary that MK had been really excited about and had taken care of for months. It was withered, on the verge of death. Like it hadn't been watered or pruned in weeks.
MK stayed quiet.
"You stop training with Monkey King. You break things off with Red Son out of nowhere— yeah, she told me, by the way. Pigsy shuts off deliveries. And now your room is clean for the first time in— Well— I-I don't know! Since before we even met! Your phone's out of service or something and no one's seen you in almost a month. And you're writing cryptic letters—" "You read those?" "—and your calendar is fucking destroyed!" She ignored his quiet, fragile sounding question, the words rising in volume.
"MK, what the fuck?! I have been trying, reaching out over and over and you've been here planni—" She couldn't finish it. The way her best friend, the literal platonic love of her life, was looking at her. He looked like a deer in headlights, brown eyes wide and not even looking for an escape.
So Mei choked back a sob and hugged him, wet and towel covered as he was. "Why didn't you talk to me? To someone?" She barely noticed that he wasn't hugging her back, just digging her nails in the fur on his back. Like she could force MK to stay right here, hug some fucking sense into him.
But she couldn't. MK just gently unwound her arms from around himself and stepped back. He was smiling, but it didn't fully reach his eyes. "Mei, I promise, everything's okay! I-I have been talking to someone. Sandy, actually. It, uh.
It didn't help. Not really. I mean, it helped the thoughts stop for a while. But they kept— coming back! A-and all of this is my fault. Save for stopping DBK the first time, I a-always was directly part of what made the rest of the big bads become powerful! So, it's like m-my brain's telling me that if I just— t-took myself out of the equation, no one else will get hurt! You'll be safe, Monkey King can retire again—"
Mei was horrified. Beyond it, actually. But MK was pulling at his hair, tears streaming down his face, and laughing. Like this was so obvious, why hadn't anyone seen it before? She…
Didn't know how to handle this.
Not how you're supposed to anyways. So she just grabbed her best friend's arm and pulled him towards his perfectly made bed. The sight made her stomach turn, but not more than the way MK was hiccuping, still muttering about how he had to. It was better for everyone. How sorry he was that she found out.
But she just laid down on the bed, pulling him close. His fur was still damp and actively getting her prized jacket wet, but she didn't care. Mei crushed him against her chest and just… held him. MK dug his claws into her sides and sobbed into her shoulder. Gross, but she just pressed her cheek against his hair.
Maybe she'd get a sleepover after all.