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It starts with a question, as every story with Wukong would.
"Mihou?" says a voice stuffed with peaches. "What d'you think of marriage?"
The branch creaks beneath their joined weight.
"Marriage…" the word slips from his mouth slowly. "Why?"
His peach-eating companion shifts his weight, reaching backwards to pull yet another fruit from a branch. He does not respond to the question for a long while, his gaze instead focused on that of the ripeness of his meal, but Mihou forces that attention back to him when he snatches the fruit before the Monkey King can take a bite.
"Mihou…" he frowns, eyebrows furrowed. "Give it back—"
"No," the shadow demon grins, leaning back further and bending the branch slightly. He raises the fruit to his lips and takes a bite of it for himself, humming when the sweet flavor overrides his senses.
To his surprise, Wukong does not explode outward like he expects. There was no brief fury, sudden attack, or quick jab. Instead, the Monkey King simply stares at him, something unreadable in those golden eyes, before he sighs and simply grabs another with an agitated flick of his tail.
They stay in a moment of silence momentarily, the sound occasionally interrupted by the two being's chewing. Mihou takes this time to allow his mind to drift back towards Wukong's earlier question.
Marriage…
He had no reason to think of such a trivial thing.
It was a permanent thing; a flimsy union of two souls to be bound together for however long they desired, but, as he had heard, such a thing required bouts of determination that Mihou most certainly did not have the capacity for.
He didn't even have anyone he'd like to be bound to.
The thought makes him scoff, a little louder than he meant for the finite silence.
Unfortunately, it catches Wukong's attention.
The Monkey King turns in his direction, confusion spilling across his face too fast for him to take it back. He raises a hand in his direction, fingers twitching with intent unknown to the shadow demon. Mihou's fur bristles in alarm, instinctively leaning back when the limb reaches forward.
"Calm down," Wukong grumbles, his voice devoid of any suspicion Mihou assumed was there. "You just had something on your face."
Just then, Mihou realized his eyes had screwed shut.
When he forces them open, he's suddenly aware of the warm weight on his cheek. His eyes drift, left, down, until he finds Wukong's palm cupping the left side of his face.
…
Mihou tries very hard not to react. "What are you doing."
The Monkey King huffs, making no move to remove his hand. "Are you even listening to me? I said you have something on your face."
His thumb digs into Mihou's cheek, sliding downwards to the corner of his lip where it brushes against a wetness he hadn't realized was there. It dripped along the curve of chin and splattered against the forgotten peach in his hand.
Mihou blinks.
He knew he wasn't going to do anything, so why—
"You're a real messy eater, y'know that?" Wukong smirks at his frazzled reaction.
He frowns, smacking the hand away. The warmth lingers, an unwanted imprint against his skin that has him cradling the left side of his face.
"Don't do that again," he breathes, very, very slowly.
Wukong's eyes blink—once, twice—looking over the shadow demon's face with yet another unreadable gaze. After a while, he lets out a sigh, taking a bite of his umpteenth fruit of the day and causing another moment of silence.
Mihou, surprisingly, isn't a fan of it anymore.
"It's stupid."
The Monkey King pauses mid-bite, turning around to face him. "What?"
"Marriage," he responds, huffing. His gaze drops to the half-eaten peach in his palm, its juices pooling in his hand from a tightened grip. "You asked what I think of it earlier, right? I think it's stupid."
Wukong looks at him. Really looks. His eyes squint at Mihou, a scrutinizing gaze that has the shadow demon leaning farther away from the King. Before he knows it, sweat pools beneath his fur, a sticky feeling that causes his stomach to churn.
What are you looking at? he desperately wants to ask, but by the time he blinks, Wukong's gaze has already drifted to the discarded peach in Mihou's hand.
"…Are you sure?" Wukong asks, and his voice is very low. "I thought you'd…humor the concept, at the very least."
Mihou tilts his head. "What makes you think I would?"
The Monkey King shrugs. "You're just…dramatic, I suppose. Marriage is very meaningful, so I thought you'd—I dunno, consider it.
He pauses, bites the inside of his cheek, and reaches out to Mihou's hand holding the peach.
"And, I guess," he quietly adds, "I'm interested in it."
Mihou flinches back, but allows the fruit to slide into Wukong's, disgustingly, warm palm. After recovering, he lets a mocking laugh slip through.
"You, Dasheng?"
Wukong frowns at the title, but allows him to continue.
He rolls his eyes. "Didn't know you of all people'd want to be bound to someone."
The ginger monkey gives an offended huff. "You act like I'd want to get married to a random person."
Mihou reaches back for another fruit, smirking. "I simply can't imagine the Monkey King settling down for a partner."
Wukong's eyes drop to his knees with something akin to embarrassment flushing his face. "Look, Mihou—I know its hard to imagine for the both of us but—"
"Us? Since when did I get involved?"
Wukong pauses, but doesn't address it.
"—I just think it'd be…nice, you know? Finding someone to stay with for…forever, really."
The shadow demon takes a bite out of his peach. "You interested in romance all of a sudden?"
The ginger monkey sighs, placing his chin into his palm after a moment of consideration. "…I've heard it in passing a few times, it hooked me."
He hums, making sure to wipe the peach's juices off of his chin this time. "And so you decided to involve me in your wishful thinking?"
"N-No!" Wukong stumbles, nearly sending them both off the branch with how hard he flinched. "Well—not really…"
Mihou spares him a glance. "Not really?"
Suddenly, Wukong's face turns beet red. "Yeah, um—you just…had me thinking about something."
He raises a brow, waiting for him to continue.
Wukong takes a deep breath, one that rumbles his entire frame.
"I thought, um…what if we—"
"…Got married?"
…
…
…
"What."
"I know it's weird, but listen—"
"Wukong."
"—You're the only person I'd settle down for, honestly—"
"Wukong—"
"—And really, nothing much would change regardless. It's just a guarantee that we'd be together…forever! Like we wanted!"
Mihou stills.
…
…
…
Wukong frowns, worry crossing his features. "Mihou?"
"Wukong," he says in turn. All earlier hints of mockery are gone from his voice, only leaving room for pure, unfiltered horror. "What the hell are you talking about?"
He flinches at the tone. "I just—"
"Just what?" Mihou interrupts, his eyes creasing in an uneven arch. "Thought that I'd agree to all of this because I'm dramatic?"
Wukong shakes his head frantically. "No! I never said you had to agree—it was just an idea I wanted you to…think about!"
Mihou sneers. "Oh yeah, because I'd totallyyy want to take marrying the Monkey King into consideration."
He flinches at the hurt that overcomes Wukong's face. "That's not…"
Still, he doesn't stop.
"I never said I wanted forever, that's all you! Hell, do you even know what I want? Have you ever taken the time and asked me, Liu'er Mihou, what I think would be best for us? Even once?"
"I—"
"Or did you decide that for the both of us?"
"I never meant to!"
"God, you're so selfish! You just want to be everything, don't you? You want to be Dasheng, you want to be Monkey King, and what? Now you want to be my partner?"
"Mihou just listen—"
"No! I'm done listening to this stupid fantasy of yours! I can't believe you'd want to bound me down in something so trivial—"
"I'm sorry!"
Mihou blinks. Slowly.
"I'm sorry, okay!? I don't know why I thought you'd like the plan—idea, I don't even know why I tried! It's trivial and—and dumb. You said it yourself, right?"
Suddenly, he can't find the words to say anymore.
Not because Wukong said something revolutionary or astounding, but because—
…He's crying.
The Monkey King, Great Sage Equal to heaven, is crying.
Real, hot tears are rolling in fat waves down his cheeks, showing no sign of stopping. His tail is wrapped in a death grip around his own thigh, squeezing the muscle until it bulges obscenely from pressure. Mihou wants to say something to make him stop, but words keep pouring from his mouth like an unending stream.
"Fine, maybe I am selfish! I don't even know why you're so upset because of such a dumb question!" he sniffles, wrapping his arms around himself. "All I want is for us to be together, is that so bad!? It doesn't even have to involve romance!" He turns around to look at Mihou now, his ruined expression on full display. "I just want to be with you, Mihou! To…to keep you safe, to stay by your side—"
…
"Am I so terrible for wanting that?!"
…
"I'm sorry, Mihou, I really am!"
…
…
…
This is getting bad. Terrible, even.
He…he didn't want Wukong to cry because of it! All he wanted was for him to understand where he was coming from!
…But did you try to see where he was coming from?
Yes, he did! He sat through all his selfish reasons and explanations—even entertaining them! It wasn't that hard to understand—
Are you sure that's how he meant it?
Yes, he is—
Or are you trying to villainize him because you know you're wrong.
…
You know exactly what he meant.
Why? Why freak out over nothing?
Wukong's right, and you know that. Stop doing that.
What does he do then? What does he do if not defend himself!?
…
All he wants is to defend you, too.
Is he really so terrible for wanting that?
…
…
…
"Okay."
Wukong abruptly chokes on a sob. "What?"
"I said okay, Wukong." Mihou avoids his gaze in turn, focusing on the, now squashed, peach in his hands. "We can…get married."
…
"What!?"
"Listen—"
"But you just said you wouldn't marry me!"
He lets out a ragged sigh. "That I did, but—"
"And you said it's a dumb and selfish idea!"
"Okay, yeah...I did say that—"
"Plus, you also—"
"Would you let me speak!?" he exclaims, throwing the peach directly at Wukong's face. Unfortunately, he catches it perfectly in his hands before it could make contact. "I know I said all of those things, and I'm sorry!"
Wukong sniffles, somehow managing to take a bite out of the peach despite that. "…You're sorry?"
Mihou sighs, swallowing back a wave of embarrassment. He obviously couldn't say that seeing him cry flipped a switch in his brain! "Look, I…freaked out, okay? I wasn't thinking and it just…I just took it the wrong way."
"…Wrong way?"
"You meant it innocently, right? Like…us just being together. Forever, like you said. I took it completely wrong, Wukong. I thought you…wanted it to be a forceful thing—like I didn't have a choice and couldn't do anything."
As expected, Wukong all but explodes. "WHAT!?"
"Yeah, I know, it's pretty far-fetched—"
Wukong abruptly places both hands on his shoulders, forcing him to cut himself off with a gag. "Mihou, I would never, ever do that—it's all your choice in the end!"
He tries to shuffle out of his grasp. "I just notice that after your breakdown, idiot—"
"Seriously, I don't know what made you think that!"
Mihou wrenches himself free. "Again, I'm sorry! I know what I said was wrong and I'm acknowledging it!"
Wukong frowns. "No—you're not wrong! I…I am selfish and all those things! I should've—"
"—Nothing, Wukong! You were…just trying to introduce me to an idea! I took it wrong!"
"B-But—"
"No buts, Monkey King! I want to hear nothing more from you."
Surprisingly, that makes him shut up.
They sit in silence on their branch, the sound only occasionally broken by Wukong disgusting slurping up the peach in his hands. Mihou had half the mind to slap him, but that'd probably cause another conversation he wasn't ready for.
…
Marrying Wukong…
The concept still has its thorns, but..
Maybe, just maybe—
He could allow it, just this once.