Chapter Text
If there was one thing anyone knew about MK, it was that he was not known to idle well. Oh no, not with the end of the universe constantly looming over everything and threatening the very existence of their world.
So it came as no surprise as a certain melancholy settled in as he sat atop the roof of Pigsy’s noodles, chatting with his mentor. They never got days like this… only when Pigsy knew his kid had gone through something absolutely fucked up and really needed a little pick-me-up. Other than that, MK always found himself utterly busy and overwhelmingly worried about what the hell was happening in any given realm, including those above and below them.
When he first got these powers, he swore to end the suffering of those around him. Throughout all of his adventures, it always seemed like his friends were thrust into the beating core of every problem, forced to fend for each other, themselves, and him. No matter how much he denied it, every one of his friends always stood by his side and fought his battles.
During the journey to find the five stones and save the universe from crumbling to dust, MK’s mentor could have sworn up and down that his very dedicated prodigy had finally learned that it was important to ask for help. And he’d done it. And they’d won… for now. And with that melancholy cloud drooping low over MK’s shoulders, shameful windy whispers arrived to buffet the silken gray storm.
He’d asked for help. He’d messed up! Monkey King and everyone else were now paying the price. Macaque had been imprisoned with a demon, as had the rest of them. Mei had been forced to relieve pieces of her own traumatic journey just to help MK progress on his. Pigsy, Tang, and Sandy had all risked their asses just to fix MK’s stupid mistakes. Monkey King had almost sacrificed himself in MK’s place. All in all, it sounded like he’d messed up on all fronts.
There was a secret MK was trying to keep from himself; one that he’d say aloud. It wasn’t about anything one might typically expect: Nothing regarding accidental property damage, stealing, crushes, shitty grades, or rather anything for that matter that had anything to do with a normal teenage existence. Perhaps, while it was obvious to most, MK never realized that he wasn’t exactly a normal teen. He wasn’t set to experience a normal or mundane life.
Well, he had accepted that last part, but not exactly in… sustainable ways. No, MK had set himself up for a life full of impossibly high standards and a constant stream of self-deprecating revelations. Normal teenagers worried about grades, money, the vape tucked in their gym shorts, and when their next off-hour was. MK had literally just helped to stitch the entire universe back together, and they’d only all survived it by the skin of their teeth. Wukong had almost sacrificed himself. Celestials, even those in training, were never exactly known to have it easy.
So, MK had seen that from the beginning, and set to push himself beyond what any of them ever thought he was capable of. He could fly, teleport, summon his staff, make copies of himself, transform, and so much more. That wasn’t even the tip of the ice-berg, and yet MK still wasn’t good enough to stop the apocalypse from almost happening. Sun Wukong blindly sung praise while MK’s shoulders sank inwards. That melancholy feeling doubled and wriggled around in his chest. He was so, so tired. That bowl of noodles and post-carb nap with Pigsy’s help was ages ago. This time of peace, of idling made space for a moment of reflection: How little he’d eaten, slept, and cared for himself during all these catastrophes. MK’s brain was thoroughly frazzled after all it had seen, and there had not been nearly enough down-time to process all of it.
When there was any down-time at all, all those nasty thoughts just came crashing back in. There was a miniscule part of MK’s subconscious that was grateful for the incredible amount of stuff to do all the time. Training, noodle delivery, fighting gods, dancing with friends, traipsing all around the planet for pieces of puzzles created before the beginning of time… normal people stuff. All of that came together to create what MK had begun to coin as ‘The Great Distraction’. Missions with his mentor, cooking lessons with Pigsy, boating adventures with Sandy, and all of the other hubbub that happened in his life culminated into a carefully maintained haze. No time to reflect on the bad stuff if one can’t even process that it happened in the first place.
Hey, it was insanity to deny that his method didn’t work miracles. MK would have gone crazy years ago if not for the fact that he was simply so busy all the time.
All of that, conveniently, came to a halt when Sun Wukong smacked MK lovingly on the back. “Y’know, bud, I’ve been thinking… You’ve really been working so hard lately, you rebuilt my house, saved our world, had life-changing moments with pretty much the entire team, and you’re starting to get comfortable with your monkey form! And… I wouldn’t be your mentor if I didn’t tack on a lesson to my prideful rant,” Monkey King stopped, pausing dramatically with a mischievous smirk. “...So, lately I’ve been thinkin’, and I decided that the best gift a mentor can give his student is the week off!”
MK had always taken the concept of ‘blood running cold’ to be a literary device, and not an accurate description of any kind of feeling… That was, until the moment Wukong decided to speak his thoughts.
Wukong caught sight of his student’s unsure expression and grinned toothily. “I know what you’re thinking: ‘This is some kind of test! My perfect mentor, the one and only Monkey King would never give me time off without teaching me some kind of a lesson, and… you’re right, smarty pants!”
MK’s barely concealed abject horror was hardly concealed under a mask of uncertainty. “That’s… great, Monkey King! Hey, uh, just for the dumb folks in the back, um, what lesson am I trying to master?”
“Excellent question, my pupil. You are trying to master the art of letting it in. ”
Oh, how MK’s internal concept of ‘The Great Distraction’ shivered and warbled. That was fine. He still had work to do, friends to hang out with, and he could train on his own. Training with Monkey King was hardly a time-sucker in his schedule. It wasn’t really even like that guy was around enough to really hammer his lessons in. MK was not star-struck enough by Wukong’s illustrious aura to be able to ignore all of the monkey’s flaws. Just most of them.
Play it cool, MK. A break from training isn’t gonna kill me, MK thought to himself. “That’s great, Monkey King! I’ll be sure to enjoy my time off.” Nice. He sounded like a broken record.
“Aaah, MK. MK, MK, MK. You don’t think I’m that delusional to assume I haven’t thought of other ways you’ll avoid my teaching?”
Uh oh.
“You’re taking this week off, bud. No work, no saving the world, no training. You just need some time to chill. ”
“I-” I don’t need to chill, I need to be stronger! The whole world needs me and we barely scraped by during the most recent catastrophe! That’s what he wanted to say, Step up, puff up his chest, and say I got this, Monkey King. MK knew how to care for himself, and he knew when he needed a break. The great sage displaying the urge to moderate MK’s work/life balance felt a little… infantilizing. Ugh. “Monkey King, I’m fine! Besides, training with you is one of my favorite things to do, are you really gonna take that away for a week after everything we just went through?” Oh yeah, time to work some MK persuasive magic.
But instead of backing off and taking a moment to reconsider such an obviously dumb decision, Wukong only pressed further, insisting. “Pffft, nice try, bud. The ‘cutie kid’ act ain’t fooling this monkey. Seriously, I promise you’ll still be training, just in a different way. Instead of training your body, you’re given’ your brain a little bit of a work-out! …I know I’m not always the best at understanding what’s going on in peoples’ heads, but I can tell that you just need a moment to… breathe.”
And that was that. Anything that MK tried to say proceeding Wukong’s final verdict was immediately deflected with a “I’m not taking no for an answer!”. Once MK found out that Pigsy was on Wukong’s side, he dug his grave and laid in it.
The next morning, MK’s first official “day off”, he woke up with renewed determination.
Well.. “Woke up” was not quite the appropriate word to use. The teenager peeled himself off the mattress with a huff. Sleep had been a tricky and elusive thing as of late, with the majority of his dreams being filled with the Lady Bone Demon’s whispers. So, he… slept less than normal people. MK spent a lot of time on his phone and video game set, having found that both provided a slight brain-numbing effect if he really got into them. On top of that, the last time that MK had really let himself sink into the bliss of a deep sleep, the literal universe started cracking apart. Now, it didn’t matter how many delectable bowls of ramen Pigsy could shove into his adopted son’s face, he just couldn’t let go for terribly long.
That was okay though. MK didn’t mind taking the night shift. He was literally the Great Sage’s successor. He probably didn’t need as much sleep as regular people. Anyways, he just felt tired all the time no matter how much rest he got. Why sleep for eight hours when three did the trick? If MK was going to be anywhere near as strong as Sun Wukong, he needed to prove that he was capable of protecting the balance between realms. He was not a harbinger of chaos. The teenager would have to spend the rest of immortality proving this, but he knew he was capable. One day everyone would believe that he was enough.
Despite wearing only a ratty tank top and a pair of red gym shorts, MK made his way downstairs to Pigsy’s kitchen. Tang was in his usual seat, reading some thick textbook about one of the celestial realm’s many magic artifacts. Pigsy was busily chopping vegetables at the speed of light, each slice a perfect copy of the last.
“Mornin’ kiddo!” He greeted, tossing a small handful of carrots into a waiting bowl.
“Morning, Pigsy. Hi Tang.” MK replied, mindlessly veering over to the kitchen sink where the morning dishes soaked in soapy water. Without thinking, the teen reached in and started scrubbing Pigsy’s well-loved bamboo chopping board.
“Oh no you don’t!” Both men said at once. The swine marched over, shut off the tap, and had MK stumbling out of the kitchen and into the dining room in a whirlwind of convincing, pushy hands. “Monkey King said that you were taking the week off. Said you had some kinda lesson to learn.” Pigsy grunted.
“Yeah, I sure am taking the week off! Doesn’t mean I can’t wash a dish here or there, right? Deliver a bowl of noodles or two, just to get out of the apartment?”
“I ain’t stupid, kid. You need a break, I can tell. I meant to give you some time off after the whole evil scroll disaster, but then the next world-ending crisis happened so quick that I never got the chance to speak up.”
MK’s plan to maintain ‘The Great Distraction’ crumbled like a forest set ablaze in the July heat.
First, Wukong didn’t trust him, but that was fine. That was fine. Sure, it felt insulting and infantilizing to have a celestial benching his own successor under the guise of a “restful break”, but… Pigsy hopping on board and also pumping the breaks was really something else. It’s like they didn’t believe that he could handle the strain. MK could do much more than handle the strain. He was going to master it, bend it to his will. Then, Sun Wukong could get his own break, a peaceful period so utterly deserved.
Monkey King had spent so long with the world resting on his shoulders. MK so desperately wanted a turn saddling his beloved planet between his shoulder blades, much like the Greek titan Atlas. He knew he could keep everyone safe if he could just prove that he was strong enough.
… That he could endure enough.
“Guess I’m going out, then.” MK said, voice sounding even but a bit cold. Pigsy stepped back and his shoulders slumped.
“Oh. Well. that was easier than I thought it was gonna be.” And the swine would have kept talking if his adopted son hadn’t just walked out of the restaurant and launched into the sky on a crisp, white cloud.
MK saw what this was, now. Another one of Wukong’s tests, and a big one. It was going to take all of MK’s smarts to figure out a way to best his mentor, but he already had one solid idea of the trick Wukong was trying to play:
He was seeing if MK would slack off if left to his own devices. Monkey King was trying to test the waters of retirement, see if the teenager could fill such big shoes. Was the boy autonomous and mature enough to build his own strength?
Oh, this was a challenge, all right. MK was the Monkie Kid, wielder of the staff, and protector of Megapolis.
For his first day off, MK would be proving to Wukong that he was strong and capable by training his absolute hardest. With a solid, unbreakable resolve, MK flew to a far-off desert where he knew he could train uninterrupted.
MK has a secret that he’ll never tell to anyone, not even himself. Sometimes, despite all of his efforts, that secret remembers how to use its claws.