#and he did everything to try to make sure xiaotian wouldn’t have to fight this battle

[rayalltheway]

“Monkey King is so cool! He’s so strong, and handsome…”

Lot has changed since then, huh?

Potential Season 3 spoilers, for the outfit

[starsfic]

Random idea, but secret relationship Spicynoodles, except nobody's figured it out by the time S3 rolls around. So Red joins the crew somehow and he and MK have much more time together... except there's a ton more people around so they can't be too romantic otherwise questions will start coming.

A/N: I think @its-kall-the-clown got a similar prompt...

-_-

Footsteps were his only warning before a hand slammed into the wall next to his head. He couldn't help but yelp in surprise, dropping his book to flatten himself against the wall. "Nowhere to run, Noodle Boy."

Xiaotian looked up at the words, a fond smile tugging at his lips. "Why would I want to run away?"

Neither of them did. After all, this had been the most privacy they had gotten together, all alone in the small hallway. Red smiled back before moving forward to seal their lips together. Xiaotian let out a small sigh, leaning into the kiss.

Things had started small. Red Son had dropped by after DBK had been freed, just to make clear that the family owned the Monkie Kid a favor for his help. A week later, the two had bumped into each other at the hardware store- Xiaotian getting a gift for Xiaojiao, Red trying to replace a tool he had broken. Soon enough, the two had found themselves bumping into each other again and again.

Eventually, numbers had been exchanged. And then things had exploded, leading to them making out in the Inferno Truck. After that, their relationship had taken a turn.

And then everything with Lady Bone Demon had happened-

That doesn't matter right now.

The point was, Xiaotian was very happy to spend more time with Red. He just wished that it was in less crowded areas.

Like now, with footsteps just around the corner. Xiaotian pushed Red away, his little inner voice protesting that they'd only kissed for a few seconds. Tang walked past, not even looking up from his book. When he was out of sight, he let out a sigh-

"That's it!"

"What?"

But Red didn't answer him. His hair sparking, his boyfriend turned and marched down the hallway, soon disappearing around the corner. Xiaotian gaped at where he'd last seen his partner, worry and concern mixing together. The loud slam of a door didn't help.

He picked up his book and followed Tang.

Whatever Red was doing, he wasn't getting involved.

An hour later, Xiaotian had returned to his book. His lovestruck haze had died down and, for right now, he was at peace. Next to him, Tang was still reading. Xiaojiao leaned against the side tapping on her phone, a small tune audible from her headphones. It was quiet.

Peaceful.

And broken with an explosion.

Several yelps and screams rolled through the ship. His mind awashed with panic and he scrambled to his feet. Were they being attacked? Was the ship falling apart?

"It sounded like it came from downstairs!" Tang called, throwing his book aside. With that, the trio scrambled downstairs. Xiaotian pulled out the baton Pigsy had given him as they ran, prepared for a fight. They all turned a corner and came to a stop.

Pigsy and Red both wielded fire extinguishers and were currently batting back a fire in the latter's room. Xiaotian put away the baton to cross his arms instead, watching as the duo put out the flames.

Finally, whatever fire had been created had been put out. Pigsy took a look inside, hissed, and shut the door. "Whatever you were working on completely destroyed the room," he reported. "Sorry Sandy."

"It's alright!" the water demon said, patting the fire demon on the shoulder. "These things happen and I'm just glad everyone's okay. The only issue is that I don't have any spare cabins..." Unnoticed by anyone else, Red winked at Xiaotian.

Oh. Oh!

"He can stay with me!" Xiaotian held up his hand, waving it a bit to emphasize his volunteering. "I have plenty of room! It wouldn't be an issue."

Sandy gave a bright grin, clapping a hand on Red's shoulder again. Except, this time, it was apparently hard enough to make the demon wince. "Great! Glad that's all settled! You two can see what you can salvage from Red's room once it's cooled down in there."

With the excitement gone, everyone walked away, leaving the new roommates alone. Xiaotian sighed the moment he was sure everyone was gone. He turned to his boyfriend, raising a brow.

"Really?"

"I'll pay for the damages," Red said, slinging an arm around Xiaotian's shoulders to start leading him down the hall. "But, for now, I think we should go to our room. See what needs rearranging so I can fit."

A small smile tugging at his lips, Xiaotian couldn't help but nod in agreement.

[tigerseye46]

83 with Freenoodleshipping meeting their granddaughter for the first time?

Yessss, I changed the last prompt to add Macaque into the fix and put this to where DBK and Princess Iron Fan showed up but didn’t stay to see their granddaughter and then reconciled with Red a year later, I wanted to see them be nervous wrecks.

Prompt List

83. “You’re the only thing that matters.”

                                   -------------------------------

  Pigsy paced back and forth outside MK’s hospital room, a worried look on his face, Tang was trying to keep his husband calm. DBK and Princess Iron Fan weren’t much better at keeping calm. In another situation, Tang might have found it funny that the demons they fought and were still fighting were turning into nervous wrecks over their granddaughter. They were still evil somewhat but after receiving word of Xiaotian being pregnant, they backed off a bit. When Red sent them a note telling them their granddaughter was going to be born, they had both rushed into the hospital, practically scaring all the staff and patients.

 Tang found it cute but he shouldn’t be focusing on that. He patted his husband’s back softly. “Pigsy, he’s fine.” He kissed his cheek. “He’s fine,” he repeated.

 “He better be! I hope Xiajiao has an update!” Xiajiao had gone to comfort MK with Red, the parents of both sides were too frantic.

 “What if I hurt her?” DBK asked his wife. “It’s been too long since I’ve held a baby.”

 “Darling, you’ll be fine,” she reassured but nervousness was visible on her face, biting her fingernails.

 “What if the kid and the baby aren’t okay? What if somethin’ bad happened? Oh, my gods, they’ve been in there too long!” Welp, that didn’t calm anyone’s nerves, DBK and Princess Iron Fan was hyperventilating.

 “Pigsy! Calm down! Nothing will happen, okay?” He smiled at the two other demons. “Don’t worry, I’m sure the best doctors are on the job.”

 The two demons took deep breaths. “They better be,” DBK said gruffly.

 Xiajiao stepped out of the room minutes later, all four of them crowded around her. “They’re both fine,” the dragon girl commented gleefully before they could ask her questions, they each let relieved sighs. “They said they could have two of the parents there, not all four of you at once so MK and the baby don’t get crowded.”

 The parents looked at each other, mouths opening to tell the other that they could go first. While they each wanted to see their granddaughter, the other should have a chance first, if Wukong and Macaque were here then they definitely would have gone first without warning, they were too impatient to wait, well mostly Wukong, luckily or unluckily, they had both been on some mystic monkey business for a few weeks and would be back soon.

 DBK looked at them and gestured towards the door. “Go ahead.”

 Tang raised his eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

  The king glanced at his wife for confirmation. “Ye-yes! Your son is the one who had our granddaughter so you should by all rights go first!” She waved towards the door with a shaky hand, the two demons were tensing up, silently hoping the pig and scholar would go first. They weren’t ready to see their granddaughter.

  Tang wanted to ask them if they were sure again but Pigsy grabbed his arm and took him inside the room. There MK was with a tired expression, Red holding the newborn baby in his arms as they both cooed softly.

  Xiaotian noticed them and gave a small wave. “Hey bàba, hey papa.”

  Pigsy smiled at him. “Hey, kid. How are ya?”

  “Tired,” he replied.

  “Well it’s to be expected,” Tang said and pushed up his glasses.

  “We’re proud of you, kid but ya should be gettin’ some rest.”

  “Thanks, papa. I’ll get some rest after everyone meets Xiaolian. I don’t want to miss it.”

  “Okay, kid but after this, ya take a nap, okay?”

  “I will.”

  “Good.” Pigsy turned to Red, they hadn’t noticed the tears streaming down his face.

  “Hello Red Son,” Tang greeted.

  “H-hey,” he greeted back in a shaky voice, his eyes didn’t leave the small bundle in his arms.

  “Can we see her?”

  “Y-yea.” He showed them his baby, moving the blanket slightly so they could get a good look at her bright red hair. Her eyes opened and gazed at them with those beautiful eyes that resembled those of their son. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

  Pigsy placed a hand on the blanket. “Yea, she definitely is.”

  “She is the perfect mix of both of you. Welcome to the world, Xiaolian.” Tang placed a hand over his husband’s.

  “Can I hold her?” Pigsy asked, his eyes entranced by the newborn.

  “Well, um… Ummm…” Red looked at MK for an answer.

  “Go ahead, hold her,” Xiaotian answered. Red passed the baby into Pigsy’s arms reluctantly, making sure Pigsy held her correctly. He already wanted his baby back. Xiaotian noticed Red’s protectiveness. “Red, why don’t you wait outside?”

  “Are you sure, noodle boy? I can stay here if you need me.”

  “Red, I’ll be fine. Pigsy and Tang will make sure I’m okay.”

  “Okay…” He turned to MK’s dads. “Watch them, please.”

  “We will, kid. We will.”

  Red nodded and took steps towards the door. “One more thing, are they here?”

  Tang replied, “Yes, they are. They’re nervous, you should talk to them.” Red nodded one final time and left the room.

  “He’s been emotional since she’s been born. I think he’s planning on spoiling her.”

  “Ha! Who could blame him?” Pigsy’s thumb softly touched the newborn’s cheek who simply stared at him. Tang put an arm around his husband’s neck, pressed up against him to coo at the baby. He whispered, “Hi Xiaolian. I’m your grandpa. Ya are so beautiful. A perfect combination of your parents. I’m gonna protect you. Just like I did your dad, no one will ever touch ya. I can’t wait to teach ya to cook and… and…” He burst into tears. “I’m gonna teach ya so many things. I’ll treat ya like you’re the only thing that matters because you are, little princess.” Tang kissed Pigsy’s cheek.

  “Hi, Xiaolian. I’m your yéye. Your grandpa is right, you’re the most beautiful thing in the world. I can’t wait to tell you all sorts of stories. Stories about your grandpa and me, stories about your dads, stories about everything. Particularly embarrassing stories about your grandpa,” he joked and the pig nudged him softly, MK chuckled from his bed. “I know you’ll grow up wonderful, you have amazing dads. They’ll take care of you and protect you. We’ll protect you too. You’ll never be alone.”

  Xiaotian spoke up, “I hope so. I hope I can be a good dad.”

  Tang smiled at him. “Of course you can, you’re an amazing kid, an amazing adult.”

  “I’m only that way because I have great parents. Parents who watched my back when I became the monkey king’s successor. I couldn’t have done anything without you two.”

  Tang shook his head, he made his way to his son, placing a kiss on his forehead and ruffling his hair. “You already had a great heart, we didn’t do much.”

  “You did everything for me. Thank you, bába. Thank you, papa. Thank you for making me the person I am. I wouldn’t be who I am without you.”

  “You are a fantastic son. I am so proud of you. You made yourself who you are. We didn’t do much.”

  Xiaotian was about to say something when Pigsy interrupted him. “He’s right, kid. Ya were already great the way ya were when we met you.”

  “You just made me greater then.” The kid, no, the adult had certainly changed from the kid who use to bottle up his problems until he burst, it made his dads’ hearts melt to see him grow to love himself. They were so proud.

  Pigsy rolled his eyes. “Guess we did.” He walked over to them, rocking Xiaolian back and forth slowly.

  “We love you, Qi Xiaotian.” Tang kissed his son’s forehead again.

  “I love you too, bába. I love you, papa.”

  “I love you too, kid.” He placed a kiss on the baby’s cheek. “She’s so beautiful.”

  “Yea, she most certainly is.” Tang repeated his husband’s actions. Xiaolian’s eyes sparkled as she marveled at her grandparents, she made grabby hands. Pigsy was still crying at her cuteness, Tang playfully shook his head, his husband was just a big old softie, one of the many reasons he loved him.

  They stood there observing her. Time passed until Red came back into the room with a frown. He held MK’s hand, tightly, MK squeezed back. “Red, what’s wrong? How was the talk with your parents?”

  “They weren’t there when I walked out…”

  “Then why did you wait so long?”

  “To give you time and to calm down.”

  Tang apologized with “I’m sorry, Red. They were there earlier.”

   “It’s fine. Not like I expected them to stay. I’m surprised they even showed up.” He stretched his arms out in the hope that Pigsy would pass him his baby back. Pigsy did so, Red holding her gently.

   Pigsy patted his back. “Sorry, kid. They don’t deserve someone like you or Xiaolian. Ya have us.”

   “Thank you, Mr. Pigsy. It’s fine. I have all of you, you are my family now. I have my noodle boy and I have my daughter, that’s all I need.” He leaned down to kiss his husband on the lips before going back to look at his child.

   “Yep, we’ll stay by your side. We’ll leave ya two alone for now. Come on, Tang.”

   “Yes, honey,” Tang replied.

   “Before you go, can you tell the two monkeys to come in? I told them to wait a bit.”

   The two nodded and they walked outside to see Macaque and Wukong in human disguises, Macaque holding Wukong back to prevent him from bolting inside the room.

   “Hey Bajie!” He waved at his younger brother.

   “Hey big brother.”

   Macaque raised his eyebrow. “Can we go inside now?”

   Tang nodded. “Yep, their baby is absolutely beautiful.”

   “Let’s go, Mango!”

   “Yes, Peaches.” He let his arms go from Wukong’s waist. Wukong rushed into the hospital room. Macaque shook his head. “Finally, I’ve been holding him back and we’ve only been here for five minutes.” He followed Wukong, shaking his head again and sighing.

   The two laughed. Tang leaned against Pigsy, closing his eyes. “I wonder why DBK and Princess Iron Fan left.”

   Pigsy shrugged. “Don’t know. I’ll kick their butts next time I see them. How could they just walk out like that?” He scowled.

   “Maybe they were scared…”

   “Still, they shouldn’t have walked out like that.”

   “I know. At least Xiaolian has us. She’s going to grow up great with loving granddads and amazing parents.”

   The pig smiled at him. “Yea, especially with the kid as her dad. We raised a good one, Tang.”

   “Yes, we did. We raised a wonderful son. I’m so happy we could raise him together. You are an amazing dad, Pigsy.”

   “Ya are too. I couldn’t have done it without ya. We’re the best dads ever.”

   “Yes, we are.” He leaned in and smooched his husband.”

   “Ew, dads! Don’t make out in front of me!” Xiaojiao exclaimed in a playful tone.

   “Hey! Ya should be used to this,” Pigsy teased.

   “Not my fault that Pigsy is adorable.” He lifted his husband’s chin slightly, Pigsy purred in response.

   “Ew! I’m going to get something from the vending machine.” She rushed past her dads to go find a vending machine, her dads laughed.

   “Guess we’re finally alone.” Tang winked, lifting the pig’s chin more.

   “Guess we are.” He let out soft purrs. “We definitely did good.”

   “Yep, imagine how well she’ll grow up.”

   “She has amazing parents.”

   “And an amazing grandpa,” Tang added, planting a kiss on his husband’s cheek.

   “She has a fantastic yéye.” They kissed each other again, they were pressed up against each other then their eyes stared adoringly at the door. They were ready to make sure Xiaolian had the best life possible.

[vegalocity]

The Interrim-Red Groom AU

So i’m diving backward into the ‘Dont worry about it’ pool after that finale

SO DON’T EVEN WORRY ABOUT IT YOU GUYS WHO’S UP FOR MORE PRINCESS BRIDE AU?

I had to make an entire scene up because for the Story to keep going Princess Bride Style Red Son needed to get fucked over one more time

--

Soon enough three days time had passed and Red Son was ready to make his escape. Due to the nature of his ruse against the prince he hadn't made any arrangements to set up a forge or workshop for his passions, so he didn't have much by way of equipment to make his escape, and every day the prince asked to join him for at least one meal, wherein he would 'politely' ask over Xiaotian, claiming to want to know a little about the man whom had stolen his groom right out from under him.

He said these things in jest and laughter, but Red Son was no fool and could easily see the flint behind his eyes, ready and willing to twist any information Red Son gave about Xiaotian against him, to try and convince him that his beloved wouldn't take him back. Willing to take whatever details he gave him and put them in some falsified letter of rejection in attempt to make him believe his love wanted him no more, so he wouldn't put up a fight any longer.

So he lied. He spoke of not the Inn that he'd met Xiaotian in, but implied he'd always been the lord of his mountain. How they hadn't been able to be engaged due to his parents having a letter of neutrality between his family and Xiaotian's own, and how he'd had to go on a perilous journey to nullify that arrangement, but they'd believed him dead. He told him Xiaotian favored poetry, and was in fact a gifted shapeshifter, preferring a more human appearance like himself as it made travel far easier when people underestimated you.

The prince had soon grown bored of his prattling, and Red Son found it almost ironic that for once he was not speaking of tinkering and his projects when his conversational partner stopped listening. After those meals scarce as they were, the prince ended up straightening his back primly and claimed he had a meeting of some sort with his macaque general, and left him to his devices.

So now here he was, ready to make his escape.

It took actually took the longest time to try and pare down an outfit from this place so that it would be inconspicuous enough to use for travel, but he'd managed, sneaking some nonperishable food and a spare dagger into his pack for preparation and extra protection had been easy. He just made it seem to the servants that he was still anticipating the response to a letter that was never sent, and eagerly awaiting for a letter that would not exist that stated his return to Xiaotian's mountain was expected, and thus was slowly yet steadily prepping for the journey. The pitying glances he could sense the servants shooting him definitely told that they were aware of the fact that he was being 'tricked'.

But Red Son paid them no mind, after all, he knew the prince was full of lies, and he was going to be gone before the night's end anyway.

But then Red Son was summoned for his usual meal with the prince, and he willed his nerves to freeze over. He couldn't let his plans slip, while he'd long since regained his strength form his injuries in the forest he was only one demon and there was a mountain of servants and guards that would be standing between him and making a break for it if he didn't have stealth on his side.

“Beloved.” The prince greeted him as he entered. “My messengers have returned from their trip.” In three days time? How oblivious did he take him for?

Nonetheless he perked up, did his best to look eager and excited. He was never quite sure if he looked convincing, but he just needed to pretend for a few more hours.

The letter was brought right over to him, and he quickly undid the seal to reveal a message that in no way was written by his love. Though they did a good job at pretending, claiming it was written by 'his mother'—Xiaotian had never spoken of his biological parents, and his adoptive ones were both men, but in his prattling Red Son had invented a mother for his fake backstory—and that she was writing in 'her Son's stead as he was too upset and angry to be able to make a readable response. Going on to say that Xiaotian had returned to 'their mountain' in tears and had sworn that this was one too many cruelties Red Son had delivered him, and that he never wanted to speak to someone so two faced he convinced him twice of their supposed love only to twice have his heart ground into the dirt by him ever again.

It was well phrased, he'd give the prince that. It even stung a little when the supposed 'mother' had regaled that 'Xiaotian' had bitterly given 'his blessing' to his impending marriage. The thought of his love, bitter and betrayed, felt so wrong his heart hurt just at the idea.

But he couldn't let himself linger on that lest he lose his courage.

“This cannot be...” he breathed, hoping beyond all hope his knowledge of the deception read as simply denial.

“Is there something wrong?” The Prince asked around his cup. “Surely your beloved made it home safely.”

“This cannot be...” he didn't know what else to say without possibly giving himself away, so he could only hope that it sounded like shock.

“Beloved?”

He stood, he had to get out of the prince's sight before he failed to properly mask his knowledge.

“This is a lie! She... She never approved of us!” Red Son hoped at least that gave his reaction plausible deniability.

“Didn't you recently just regale to me that Xiaotian's mother loved you as a suitor for her son?” He cursed internally, but before he could scramble to cover the lie the prince continued. “Beloved, I know it must be hard to hear, but we had an agreement. Xiaotian wants no more to repair what he believed you threw away, his mother;s missive reveals as much. You gave me your word that no matter his desire you would respect his choices. Don't be selfish, love.” Red Son would be lying yet more if he claimed that that didn't sting a little.

But he'd get to that bridge when he got to it, so he turned on his heel and stormed from the room. The servants gave him a wide berth as he marched towards his rooms, face fierce but mind preoccupied with escape plans.

So preoccupied in fact he didn't notice a particular shadow following behind him.

Upon reaching his quarters he made sure to scare off any staff that would rat him out and began to scream, his fire coursing and bursting out from his body in waves, scorching the furniture around him and leaving piles of soot to build up atop his shoes. Soon enough the room had enough damage for word of his fury to have been carried to the prince, and the servants far too afraid to make their way in for quite some time. He'd have about an hour of being given a very wide berth before someone came in to check up on him.

Red Son darted for his bed and hidden among the luxurious blankets was his makeshift bag, he double checked the contents inside and nodded to himself when he came to the conclusion that everything was in order. Then he approached the writing desk and reached beneath it. Feeling around for a moment he grinned slightly to himself as he pulled out the small bottle. He'd always gotten praises in potion making, but this wasn't a potion that would make his tutors proud. He didn't NEED any magical properties in it, he just needed it to be flammable.

Which it was.

Just as he went over his plan one more time the shadows in the room seemed to flicker, and Red Son felt strikingly cold despite the amount of fire he'd just unleashed.

“I told him you were more clever than he was expecting out of you.” The voice startling him and nearly causing Red Son to drop the potion in his hands, he scrambled with the glass bottle and turned to the source of the noise.

The Six eared macaque had appeared in his room, how had he gotten in there without him noticing?

“Oh... I uhm...” He didn't have a lie prepared, Red Son's mind raced to try and come up with a plausible excuse but improvisation was never his strong suit, he would so quickly grow flustered and frustrated and usually do himself in so how could he be expected to lie convincingly on first bout?

“Don't waste a perfectly good lie trying to cover up what we both already know.” The macaque stated, a sort of boredom in his voice that made Red Son stiffen. “You know the letter was false, you know what the prince has planned for you.” The macaque took a step forward and Red Son prepared to fight him, but remembered after a beat the fire resistance charm he'd had on his person scant few days ago. He likely had it on him right now.

“I love it, he can't stand it, but I love it... Of course that also means his plans are a complete waste of your talents as far as I'm concerned.  If he hadn't planned that whole 'spider queen and her ilk' situation Your lover wouldn't have found out until it was too late, and we probably could have convinced you to go to war if he'd just been a bit more patient.”

“You're talking an awful lot for someone who supposedly is on his side.”

“I'm on MY side, highness.” The macaque said easily. “The Prince is no one to sneeze at, but then again, neither are you. Tell me, should I endorse this little sneak about and help you escape? What would benefit me from not telling the prince about your little explosive and your plans?”

He racked his brain for a moment. “I can tell my parents of your assistance in enabling my escape, they'd no doubt give you the same power you have here, accompanied by my family's resources you'd find yourself with more force behind yourself than you'd know what to do with. Or if I told Xiaotian he could do the same at his own mountain, he's not exactly a nobody either-”

That second part was a mistake, by how the macaque's expression darkened. “Yes I know He's the 'New Monkey King'. Sun Wukong's Body double.” He stated simply. But before Red Son could take it back or just ensure alliance with his own family, he found his arms being restrained. A pair of clones made of shadow clung to his sides and while they dispersed quickly under his fire  it was only for a moment.

Then there was a golden glow, and his arms all at once felt very heavy indeed as a cold pair of cuffs—the second set of wrist cuffs that the macaque had shown him- how had he forgotten about those?—activated and forced his wrists together. The magic quickly worked its way through his system again and he felt a cold shudder wrack up his spine.

“Your 'beloved' was quite loose lipped once I got him going on the machine. Don't hold it against him, highness, I haven't met a single man that could hold up against that level of pain.”

for a moment the words didn't process in his head, abut when they did any other thought flew right from his head.

There was only rage.

It was pathetic really, how quickly he'd been apprehended, how his fire had only a moment outside his body before once again being turned back round onto him, and his body—now remembering the pain he could do onto himself—forced his magic to cease. There was no instinctual blaze to shatter the cuffs this time, because he realized as more of the macaque's shadow clones pinned him down, that he didn't believe him.

There was no way that Xiaotian had been this monster's plaything. He had learned whatever it was he'd implied he'd learned through other methods, maybe as simple as recognizing Flower Fruit Mountain and Xiaotian had to explain the situation to him.

But If it was just his own escape the macaque was stopping then wouldn't he have not wasted the time in toying with him like that? Wouldn't he have just told the prince and been done with it? Put the cuffs on him without the monologue? Why would he waste his time in trying to trick Red son into believing him possible to sway?

Unless-

Unless he'd heard about Xiaotian planning on coming back for him himself

He almost wanted to laugh even as the clones forced him back to his feet and the Macaque crushed his liquid fireball in his hand. He was unsure if anything could make him as fearful or angry or whatever feeling it had been to make him break his restraints again as they did back in the forest, but it explained his knowledge of Xiaotian's identity, as well as his anger, and his attempt to trick Red Son. To test to see how far Red Son was willing to go to to defy the prince and follow his own heart.

But that didn't matter.

Xiaotian was coming for him.

It was a bitter medicine to take, to have to once again rely on his love to save him, rendered with naught but his intelligence on his side and left close to defenseless with these stupid cuffs back around his wrists, but He'd make it up to him.

For everything Xiaotian had done for him and how thoroughly Red Son had proved himself unworthy of such devotion, Red Son swore then to himself, that once this was all over, once he and Xiaotian were safe he'd make it all up to him. For every moment for the rest of their shared lives together.

Because when he saw him again he was never letting go.

–

“Captain I've heard rumors that the Monkey King is planning on killing my groom.’”

“My prince I've heard no such rumors-”

“Are you implying my spymaster lies to me?”

“Of- of course not my prince! What must be done to protect your groom before the wedding?”

“I'm currently having my beloved moved to a safer, more secure room in the palace to ensure no harm shall befall him before the wedding date, and we're moving the wedding itself up a few days. Go to the village and nearby forest, and the closest town, and round up all with former criminal histories. I want every possible hired gun behind bars by the time of my wedding in three days time.”

“Three days time your highness? Such a feat would require more men than we have at our disposal at the moment-”

“Then form a brute squad! You have my clearance! I want my prince safe from all harm! If He dies, then we'll have no choice but to go to war and we lack the men for such an insurgence against the Monkey King! I would have to go to his parents begging for assistance and that is not a bar I am willing to lower myself to!”

“Yes your highness!”

“Go! Waste no time!”

“Of course!”

–

Xiaojiao stared into the bottom of the jug of wine. Drained, just like all the others.

Her head was pleasantly fuzzy and the wine in her blood buzzed comfortably. It was a familiar state, she wasn't dependent on intoxication, but when she was at her lowest she would often find solace in the buzzed pleasantness of a good bender. Because here she was again.

No work, no leads, no friends.

Spider Queen had told her if they got separated that she should go back to where 'it started' i.e. The inn they'd gotten the job at. So she'd rented a room, and spent the next few days waiting, and when it became clear neither the Spider Queen, nor even Sandy were turning up, when Xiaojiao was made aware that she was well and truly alone, she blew most of her money on as much wine as she could get her hands on and began to chug.

She felt much like the scared twelve year old she once was, clinging to the handle of the Jade Sword and telling herself it didn't matter how terrified she was, as she HAD to fight. Her scar twinged at the memory.

At least no one would sell wine to a twelve year old. She didn't USED to be this pathetic when she was lonely and sad and on the verge of despair.  She used to have other avenues to vent it all when it became too much.

Someone could storm right in right now with news on finding the Six Eared Macaque and Xiaojiao couldn't even be sure if she'd believe them for how despondent she felt.

“Long Xiaojiao?” A voice broke her reverie. Xiaojiao blinked blearily up at the tough looking fellow before her.

“Who wants to know?” she slurred.

“You've been arrested twice for assault and once for theft, as a security precaution all with criminal records are behind detained for the next three days by order of the prince.”

She scoffed. “I'd like to see you try, buddy.” Her fingers felt heavy but she lifted the sword easily.

Her form was off, her limbs felt loose and limp, but she still held her own against the brute's clumsy axe swings. It would be pathetic to lose to this chump.

But before the fight could be solved one way or another, a pair of blue hands wrapped around the brute's torso and lifted him into the air.

And Xiaojiao was met with a very familiar (if blurry through her impaired vision) red bearded smile.

“Sandy!”

“Xiaojiao! So nice to see you again!” Sandy set the brute down but kept hold of his torso. “This is the friend I told you about captain, she's far more dangerous alone than she is with me. I'll keep her out of trouble, I can promise you that!”

She loved watching Sandy loom. The aura around him making anyone who didn't know him reel back as every alarm in their brains fired off danger signs. His pleasant grin and tone didn't change but to the people around them that was more frightening than before.

“Just mark her name right off there and I can handle the rest!” Sandy chirped and the shaking brute did just that, stiffly turning and marching out of the inn.

“Sandy you old bastard.” She cooed delightedly as Sandy shifted his focus back onto her and she felt the cool blue hands wrap around her own torso before she was pulled into a hug.

“You smell like wine, Are you okay, Xiaojiao you don't drink unless...-” Sandy shot her a far too knowing look.

“I've been better buddy, I'll admit.”

“Well, If it helps I've heard a lot of rumors and seen a lot of things as part of this little 'brute squad' some things that might interest you.”

“Hm?” She leaned into Sandy's embrace, her friend really gave the absolute best hugs.

“I think I found the Six Eared Macaque.”

Xiaojiao wasn't sure if it was disbelief, shock, sudden crashing cresting hope, or just the wine, but she suddenly got very dizzy.

And then everything went black.

[rayalltheway]

Even though Sun Wukong knew it wouldn’t mean anything, he still felt he had to fight the urge to smash the rock in front of him regardless.

(major LMK S4 spoilers)

It’d be something for the sake of irony, he supposed. It was him. But he’d had enough of that for the past several thousand years to have this damned scroll to make a mockery out of reminders of his eternal existence.

At least, that was what he figured it was trying to do. Easier to swallow than the shame of having no fucking clue what was going on here.

Why here?

It was the first place he ended up — the first place the scroll took him — after he let it imprison him here. That’s right, let it. Maybe a part of that was not wanting to let the curse have the satisfaction of claiming him in its spell, but that wasn’t the real reason.

Xiaotian’s look of fear and confusion was the last thing Sun Wukong saw from the real world, when he took the blow meant for him. If he had it his way, Xiaotian would just get away. Stay far away and safe from this thing and its powers of torment.

But he knew for a fact he wouldn’t. He was the Monkie Kid. His brave, crazy, silly, powerful student who he never doubted for a moment would, with his friends, do everything he could to put this nightmare to an end.

Sun Wukong knew they could do it, but that didn’t mean he was just going to let this monstrous curse throw the worst it had at his protege and the family he had found, not without him by his side to help him. And he had to force his way through all the darkest, most sinful chapters of his life to get to Xiaotian, then the spell could bring it on.

That’s why he was so confused that the first thing he saw when the ink cleared was his stone. The sun, the clear blue sky, the gentle slopes of mountains that he only just remembered from his first moments of life in this world, and his stone. Undisturbed. Unhatched.

Sun Wukong couldn’t think of anything about this near picturesque scene meant to torture him — it tugged at something in him, he guessed. A sense of melancholy and nostalgia of his earliest days, back when everything was so much more simple. But he knew this scroll’s tricks, and all it did was put him more on edge, scanning around the area for a brief moment, wondering where the catch was. He found nothing.

He huffed to himself, gave the stone one last look, and then gathered all his might for his search. In a blast, he flung himself through the spell, cracking through the border of this chapter and into the next. It wasn’t entirely effortless, but he’d do it as many times as he had to.

Considering that this was a scroll containing the history of every single thing that has ever happened, thousands upon thousands of chapters of time, he knew this method wasn’t exactly ideal. But it’s not like he had any other options, and if Xiaotian and his friends were already here, he feared what may happen to them if he tore through the scroll recklessly.

He made haste, and didn’t focus much on the details, but noticed that what he was encountering so far was not immediately recognizable to him, or things he knew of but hadn’t personally been there to witness. When finding no sign of Xiaotian or the others, he moved on.

He waited to find places where there were no other inhabitants before heading into the next chapter. He couldn’t be sure how many people here were prisoners or simply figures made from memory, but there was no reason to disturb them, not when they were just living their lives, none the wiser that they were just reflections of the past.

Another blast of power, another chapter —

— and he was back at the stone again.

He gawked at it in disbelief. There was no way he went in a circle. But wait — no, he hadn’t, because the memory was different. The sky was lighter now, shades of dawn on the horizon. The tree he knew that hung above his birthing place was less fully grown.

He figured that he’d been incubating in his stone for a long time, but it still didn’t make sense.

He thought for a moment, and decided to simply make his next jump now — he wasn’t going to stick around for whatever the spell was pulling.

He just needed to find Xiaotian.

But even more chapters later yielded him, once again, in front of the stone.

He was starting to become deeply disturbed, no matter how hard he was trying to stay focused.

He steadied himself, and then a thought came to him. He turned, looking around once more.

“Xiaotian?” He called out.

He didn’t consider that Xiaotian might end up here, but it was possible. After all, he knew that Mas-

-Tang’s powers could navigate this scroll, eventually the spell would gravitate to where he may be. But if he didn’t know it…Dammit, why was it that now when he needed to tell the others things that could help them, he couldn’t?

Well, trying was better than standing around staring at a rock.

“Xiaotian?…Xiaotian!”

No avail. He wasn’t here.

This continued. Several more times.

No matter how far he went, when he went, the curse would place him in front of the stone again and again. Confusion became entwined with his frustration. He could think of many stand out instances of his life off the top of his head that this curse could use against him, but he had barely seen any chapters relating to his journey. But for whatever reason, he was in a loop that kept circling back there, to his stone. Why? Was it a way of keeping him from finding Xiaotian? Keep him stuck? Why would the curse choose to punish him this way, if only to make him angrier?

…unless, it wasn’t?

Sun Wukong was driven by a single intention. He couldn’t just shut everything out, though — a number of chapters ago he landed in an old woman’s farm, and built her a stable for her geese. There were miscellaneous interactions like that, seeing moments where he could do some small good for those in a state of eternal repetition. Which was incidentally the position he was in. Even so, he knew what he was looking for. He’d taught that to Xiaotian, making things so with his power through intention. It was how he and the others would have to be navigating the scroll.

But he kept ending up in front of his damn rock. If it wasn’t the curse, then it’d have to be him, right? But that made no sense.

He was trying to get to Xiaotian and his friends. Whatever else of his past lurked in this spell, that was all that mattered.

He had to find his student. It was all he could do to keep going, after glaring helplessly at the stone once again.

He just didn’t know why.

…And then he would. And maybe that was the real trick of the curse, Sun Wukong would think in abject horror as he stood within that memory a final time as it fell apart with the curse. A memory that wasn’t his.

He didn’t know.

He didn’t know why he kept coming back to the stone.

He didn’t know what was right in front of him, all this time. And he really was an old, lost, broken fool, he thought.

Because every time, he completely passed over the broken monkey statue that lay but a few feet from his stone. The one he was sure wasn’t there at his birth.

He was looking for Xiaotian. And there he was.

(based on the writer’s conformation we got about what was going ion with Xiaotian’s visions of SWK + the stone though I might be interpreting a bit. tldr the scroll curse is a bitch and the only one really mad at sun wukong this season is gonna be himself calling it now)

[tigerseye46]

4/73 Spicynoodleshipping with their actual child?

Prompt List

Yessss, I imagine Red spoiling her more than MK does. MK is trying to be the serious one but he gives in still.

4. “How did I get so lucky?” 73. “You’re safe now. I’m here.”

                                  --------------------------------

 Xiaolian, their little baby, their little lotus, was running around the house before bedtime. Xiaolian was only five years old and full of energy. Xiaotian and Red were trying to put her to bed but she refused to listen. She was beautiful and a great combination of her parents, she had red fiery hair and MK’s eyes. She looked mostly human everything except for the monkey tail and two horns from her head. She was polite, energetic, a great inventor like her papa. Her grandparents, great uncle, and aunt adored her. They spoiled her rotten, Tang and Pigsy, well mostly Pigsy taught her to cook, Tang on the other hand shared stories, Wukong would sit her on his lap letting her play with the baby monkeys, Macaque ruffled her hair. Sandy had let her sit on her shoulders and Mei spoiled her with plushes even DBK and Princess Iron Fan loved her. The demons had repaired the relationship with their son completely after the last fight four years ago with the White Bone Spirit but had been somewhat around for Xiaolian’s birth which MK suspected was what finally convinced them to go good. It was great for Red to finally have the love of his parents back and they were heavily invested in their granddaughter’s life.

 No one spoiled her as bad as Red did. He loved his baby girl so much. He got emotional over every little thing she did. He cried when she cried the very second she was born, cried over when she tripped after taking her first few steps, cried over her first invention, everything was emotional. MK hoped his husband would grow of it. Gods knows what Red would do if she got a partner! Now MK was more reasonable about the whole thing or at least he tried to be, someone had to be, but even he found himself giving in.

 “Xiaolian, it’s time to go to bed, sweetie,” MK reminded.

 Xiaolian bounced up and down on the couch. “But daddy, papa, I’m not tired! Five more minutes?” She gave puppy dog eyes to her parents.

 Red cooed. “Maybe she can have five more minutes, Noodle Boy.”

 MK crossed his arms and glared at his husband. “No, we already let her have five minutes, five minutes ago. Red…”

 Red smiled nervously at his husband. “Okay… listen to your daddy, Xiaolian.”

 Xiaolian got off the couch and frowned. “Okay, sorry papa and daddy.”

 MK ruffled her hair and got on his knees to look his child directly in the eyes. “It’s okay, love. The sooner you sleep, the earlier you wake up, the more you can play, okay?”

 Xiaolian’s face quickly morphed into a grin. “Okay, daddy!”

 Red repeated his husband’s actions then kissed her on the forehead. “Let’s go, little lotus.” He carried her in his arms and made their way to her room. He pulled the covers away and gently laid her down, placing the covers over her.

 “Can I hear a story?” Their baby asked, her eyes sparkling and her feet kicking under the covers.

  Red wanted to reply with ‘As many stories as you want.’ But his husband responded before he could say something. “Okay but only one story and then go to sleep.”

 “Okay, daddy!”

 MK and Red sat on her bed as they told her their love story. The story of rivals with completely different goals battling against each other until they started a friendship and fell in love and had a baby. They didn’t use specific names or specific details but they could tell their daughter loved it and in the middle of it, she fell fast asleep.

 They both smiled at their daughter and kissed the top of her head, making sure she was comfortable before they left. Red put an arm around his husband’s waist and led him out and into their room. They shared a kiss and got under the covers over their own bed.

 “You have to stop spoiling her so much, Red,” Xiaotian commented.

 “Never, love. Never.”

 “What is she turns out too spoiled?”

 Red rolled his eyes. “She has us as parents, it won’t happen.”

 “Okay… jeez I don’t know what’s going to happen when she grown up and has a partner,” he teased, nudging his husband.

 Red’s face paled. “Par- partner?”

 MK kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry, honey. It won’t happen until 12 years or so.”

 “She’s not allowed to date. Ever.”

 MK laughed and grabbed his sketchbook from a drawer along with a pencil and began drawing. “Sure, whatever you say.”

 What would he do if she had a partner? Yea, she was too good for any partner, she definitely wasn’t allowed to date. Red shook himself out of his shock. He stared at his husband and thought of their beautiful daughter, he had gotten so lucky. He had a wonderful husband and the most perfect baby.

 He kept staring at his husband until MK spoke up. “You do know you’re staring, right?”

 “Hm? Oh, something is on my mind.”

 “What’s that?”

  “How did I get so lucky?” MK looked at him, his eyebrows raised.

  “Red, you always say that.”

  “But how did I? I never imagined this as my life now I have a baby and husband that I love more than anything in this world.”

  “You asked me first.”

  “You said yes when you could have said no. Thank you for not rejecting me back then, thank you for agreeing to marry me, thank you for having our child, just thank you, Noodle Boy.” He leaned and smooched his husband. “Thank you.”

 A blush was left on Xiaotian’s cheeks. He put his sketchbook and pencil on the bed. “You don’t have to keep thanking me. I did all of this because I love you.”

 “I love you too. I just… never expected this… I’ll keep thanking you forever how long because you deserve it.”

 His husband shook his head. “I’ll do the same too. You’ve been amazing, raising our daughter.” He ran a hand over Red’s face. “You’re fantastic, Red.”

 “You are too, my love.” They shared another kiss. It wasn’t long until after that that they decided to turn in for the night.

 They didn’t get that many hours in before “DADDY! PAPA!” They awoke each with sleepy gasps.

 MK rubbed his eyes. “Xiaolian is up again.”

 Red kissed his husband. “I’ll handle it.”

 “You sure, Red?”

 “Yes, I can.”

 “I’ll be there in a minute. Just need to force myself out of bed.”

 Red nodded and bolted towards his daughter’s room. The sight of her broke his heart, she was crying. “Little lotus, what’s wrong?”

 “PAPA!” She screamed and ran towards her papa, hugging him tight.

 Red got on his knees and hugged her back. “You’re safe now. I’m here. What’s wrong?”

 Xiaolian sniffled. “I had a nightmare, you and daddy were gone, you were hurt by some meanie and never woke up!”

 Red gasped. “That is never going to happen! I promise.”

 “But papa, what if it does?”

 “Your daddy has his staff, I have my powers and inventions. Your daddy and I have been through a lot and we’ve been perfectly fine.”

 “But… but…”

 “It’s okay, baby. Daddy and I wouldn’t let anything hurt you or us.”

 “Okay…” She kept sniffling, Red kissed her forehead.

 He was trying to soothe her sobbing as he attempted to explain that nothing was going to happen to them.

 “Do you promise?”

 “Huh?”

 “Do you promise that nothing is gonna happen to you and daddy?”

 Red smiled. “Of course, my love. I promise.”

 “Yay!”

 Red began singing in a soft tune to her. She cuddled up with her papa as she was placed on his lap and handed her monkey plush which Wukong had bought her. MK stood in the doorway of their baby’s room, he loved hearing his husband sing.

 Red stopped his singing and kissed his baby’s head. “See little lotus, nothing will happen.”

 MK approached his husband and his child. “Daddy!” She reached out for her daddy.

 MK shifted her from Red’s lap to his head. “Hi honey, did you have a nightmare?”

 “Yea! Papa made it all better!”

 “Awwww, did he now? Papa is a hero.”

 “Yea!”

 Red smiled. “You’re going to make me blush, love.”

 MK replied, “That’s the plan.”

 Red kissed his husband. “Ewwwww.” Xiaolian stuck her tongue out in disgust at her parents’ affection.

 Red smirked and began tickling his daughter. “It’s not ew. You silly lotus.”

 She laughed. “Ack, daddy help me!”

 Xiaotian laughed along and started tickling his husband. “Hey noodle boy, you’re supposed to be on my side!”

 Xiaotian playfully rolled his eyes. “Not this time.”

 It continued like that for an hour, the house being full of light and laughter and as they finally put their daughter to bed. Red whispered, “Thank you, my little one.” Then he turned to his husband, “Thank you, my love.” Xiaotian shook his head and kissed his husband. They left to their room knowing their daughter would be fine, they basked in the warmth of each other as they both wondered how they got so lucky.

[vegalocity]

The Arrangement, Fluff 42 while Red is working on moving out?

Prompt meme  42. “For (her/him/them), (I’ll do) anything.”

I went with the moment of because i was listening to the Shrek 2 soundtrack and got really excited during ‘Ever Fallen In Love’

--

He had to be fast. He couldn't afford to pause for anything. But if he used his teleportation every magical being within a half a kilometer would be able to sense it with his nerves as frayed as they were. This had to be on foot if he wanted to do this without confrontation.

He had two bags on either shoulder, one full of the essentials, the other with his clothes and hygiene products and things. Of the Bull Clones an approximate twenty of them wished to remain with him and he had their AI's saved in separate hard drives in his bag, ready for new bodies once the ones they'd been recently using were destroyed to cover his escape. The last message he made on his home setup played in the back of his mind, repeating the words he'd spoken and hoping they sounded right.

“Start Recording....Hello Mother. Hello Father. I'm half sure you're going to destroy everything I left behind in retribution for my departure, but if you did decide to try and keep my files for whatever use you may be able to glean from them—doubtful, I've been working on a purging bug that should get rid of 90% of my old blueprints and research into any artifacts of power—Then consider this my farewell.”

The security system was shorting out, all the traps and precautions he'd spent decades setting up were going out in flames, making a clear exit through the Bull Clone's passageways just big enough for one fire demon to slip his way through. His parents likely distracted with a large majority of what kept them comfortable in their underground lair all acting up and going on the fritz at once. And if that was all resolved with a resounding 'break every piece of tech around them' then the handful of favors he'd called in would come in handy and he had a small yet aggravating set of demons ready to cause some distractions (and leave before they were actually in any danger, they weren't there to fight after all) until Red Son was long gone.

“Surely this must have come as a shock, to think that your ever loyal son would decide he'd rather run away and join Team Good Guy. Well... I suppose that makes sense, granted the five hundred years of pointedly ignoring I've been basically singlehandedly keeping this family afloat one might forget that I might be capable of making my own decisions, but I digress.”

One more turn, slide past the charging station he'd put up here, hope beyond hope when he undid the secret exit into the streets that there'd be no one waiting for him. He had one clone shell, AI gone running on simple manual commands, set up to explode right as he left to cover the exit as he left so he couldn't be tracked as easily.

Sure enough the charging station and the secret exit beside it were only guarded by one robot. The one he'd set up there. He punched in the exit code and the secret door slid open. He glanced at the panel again and shrugged, might as well. He lit up his fist into a flame and punched the panel, it cracked beneath his knuckles. The street was right before him. He nodded at the clone. “Self Destruct, access code 'Clean Getaway'”  The Clone beeped once and he had three seconds to clear it.

-Or not.

The explosion just barely grazed him, and it wouldn't have hurt at all if it were just the flame of the explosion, but with the explosion came the shrapnel, and with a stinging sensation and the warm feeling of blood creeping down his hand, Red Son realized he'd been nicked with some stray metal.

He had a garage nearby with a stealth truck—just as tricked out as his more iconic truck, just designed to blend into the city traffic easily—and he had to get there before he was in the clear.

“See, the truth of the matter is, I've been doing a lot of thinking about my life and what I want out of it lately, I'd thought that all I desired was the three of us together again. If our family was complete then everything would slot into place, but it didn't. And I realized I'd spent half of a millennia chasing after ideals and blurry memories. And I came to the conclusion that... I don't really know much about myself outside of the context of the family. But I used to know, And as it turned out, it was when I wasn't trying to plunge the world into darkness, so I figured I could probably do that again, see if it sticks this time.”

He heard a roar behind him, and his blood turned to ice. He didn't care if it would alert his parents to his presence nearby as his equipment went to shit around them, he teleported, a flash of fire zipping through familiar roads and ending in the hidden garage, The wind was howling outside amplifying his father's rage, but his parents didn't know which garage was the one he kept his personal vehicles in.

It was just the injury making his hands shake as he slid into his stealth truck he was sure—the purple one with red flames painted on the hood and sides, but to the outside observer simply a normal truck owned by a normal person who simply liked flames and purple—and quickly shed his more distinctive clothes and pulling a nondescript coat from the camping bag in which he'd shoved as much of his clothes as he could fit. Quick as he could he bundled his hair into a hat and replaced his trademark sunglasses with a big pair that covered most of his face—both of which he already had in this truck for this exact purpose.

He started the car and drove out as calmly as he could possibly make it look.

“So take this as my formal declaration: I'm moving out. Now, You're still my parents of course, so I'll avoid confrontations if I can, but I'm not playing this game anymore. I'm not being manipulated or tricked or forced into this. This is my decision. About time I made one for myself, right?”

Though after the explosions of rage went off, the city was not laid waste to, and the people in this area were used to threatening noises anyway so nobody seemed to care.

He'd probably change back into his normal clothes once he could ensure he'd driven in enough circles around the city he would be virtually untraceable and could made the trip to Xiaotian's home.

Xiaotian...

Only hours away now.

Four months, five days. And not a single one of those days went by without thinking about him. Without reminding himself why he was doing this, reminding himself why it was worth it. To have a future with Xiaotian. To be able to be with him without constantly looking over their shoulders for prying eyes. To have that smile, that laugh, that stupid sense of humor and that dumb thing he does when he's working on a picture where he scrunches all of his face up at once and twitches his nose like a rabbit.

“You're my parents, and I still love you. And I hope, by the end of this you'll understand why I had to do what I have done. If not, then at least you can understand this: doing anything for the person you love has turned out to be a genetic trait. And for him, I'll do anything.”

Five hours of driving around aimlessly. He grabbed a snack and saw one of the bull clones whom decided to stay loyal to his parents from the corner of his eye

Four. He saw the delivery cart dart through an intersection and leaned forward to try and grab a glance, unfortunately it was already gone by the time he could.

Three. He could sense his mother laying out a searching enchantment and rolled up his window, the protection charm on the truck keeping him from prying eyes.

Two. The sun had set and twilight blanketed the sky

One. He changed back into his normal clothes and fixed his hair as best as he could. His wound had mostly stopped bleeding, but that would likely change if jostled. He wanted to make a nice first image after four months, but he couldn't look anything better than driving around for almost six hours would do to a person. Though he wouldn't care if Xiaotian looked a little more rugged than usual, so he consoled himself with the idea that he would have a similar mindset and simply be happy that the waiting was over.

And now, a future.

“I’ll see you soon, but I doubt it will be on good terms. Goodbye for now. End Recording.”

--

Send me stuff! 

[vegalocity]

7/46 for Spicynoodleshipping, before Red disappears for four months while getting ready to leave his parents?

Prompt meme

7. French kisses where they trace every tooth with their tongues as though trying to memorize them. // 46.A lingering kiss before a long trip apart.

I think this one just came out cheesy, I think it’s like 90% cheese so like... not for those with a dairy allergy

--

Xiaotian had thankfully not blown their secret prematurely when he'd saved him from his parent's ex-ally, he'd done enough Nominal Goody Two-Shoes things over the years that his parents hadn't thought twice about him hugging Red Son for almost dying. And He'd made his own 'stance' clear that he was simply proving a point TO his parents and saving Xiaotian from their supposed Ally was simply means to an end. To show that he and his were more than willing to go back on their agreement now that they'd had his tech and no longer needed them.  Even going on later to say that he'd overheard their actual plans but he knew the two of them weren't going to listen without any proof, so... he had to take matters into his own hands.

His mother both berated him for taking risks like that and lightly chided for being so weak that a hit like that had stunned him for long enough he'd needed to be saved. His father as usual, had nothing to add. Xiaotian when they'd seen each other that night had received his own berating FROM Red Son about risking everything they'd arranged because he wasn't thinking. To which Xiaotian responded with his own rant about Red Son acting just as thoughtlessly by taking the hit for him in the first place.

When Xiaotian finished his rant he was holding back tears, brokenly finishing that he wouldn't have any idea what to do with himself if Red Son had died to save him. He'd tried to remind him that something like that couldn't do him in so easily, but it hadn't helped. He could only submit to his fretting, especially because he couldn't apologize, even if it were just for making Xiaotian so upset, nor could he promise he wouldn't do it again. But he could hold Xiaotian as he continued to grumble about how badly Red Son had scared him.

He'd meant it when he'd told him he'd do it again a million times over, and it was like something had loosened in his chest after their 'activities' that night. He found himself far less worried over accidentally falling asleep, found his tongue looser and relishing in the pretty blush his passion driven words would bring to Xiaotian's cheeks, and when he returned home found himself looking over exit strategies.

Whether he'd been cognizant of it at the time or not, that day saving Xiaotian had been a watershed in his life, and he'd... he'd made his choice.

And he picked Xiaotian.

And sure his parents didn't know that that was what had happened, but he did. And he'd never not know who he'd pick again; because there was no guarantee that that fool of a clan leader wouldn't kill him, wouldn't rip his head right off before anyone could have stopped him, he knew that, that was why he'd been so afraid for Xiaotian: his only thought was to get him out of there and didn't spare a second one for himself. Just because he was made of sturdier stuff than a mortal didn't mean he couldn't have died in that fight, and he'd come to terms with it in those split seconds, if it meant Xiaotian didn't die instead he’d accept it.

Though at first the change was just... noticing things he'd been pointedly ignoring. It was HIS tech that had been used against them, against the city they wanted to RULE not DESTROY, and not a single scrap of some of his most advanced work was even saved and tossed back at him nonchalantly, every scrap of metal bent into disuse as his parents took their dissolution of allyship out on the former clan leader's men. 

He was gonna need more time for those upgrades to father's armor because he was mostly working on THAT OTHER project they'd tasked him with, He'd need to redraft that ENTIRE machine from scratch and he was ALREADY in the prototype phase if they wanted those changes.

And he'd started daydreaming. He'd been daydreaming about Xiaotian ever since they started their Arrangement, but those domestics that would occupy his mind in the middle of the menial parts of putting together machinery felt... different... than they used to.

He used to fantasize about bringing Xiaotian with him to his own home, usually heading back to the Firey Mountains, though sometimes other family homes would show up, and the two of them would...simply be. But those had become few and far between lately, what had occupied his mind as of late was a... more humble dream.

A medium-ish sized apartment in the city, near the noodle shop so Xiaotian could continue to work without too many commute related worries. He'd have a proper drawing easel in the living space, preferably by the window in the 'guest room' so he'd have a nice view. And though Red Son probably would keep most of his own projects in that 'base' Xiaotian had told him his friend had constructed he would have his own worktable for minor tinkering and blueprint drafting. They were both only 'perfectly okay' as cooks, so they'd generally decide who would make dinner depending on who got home first.

Red Son would likely wake up first every morning and get to finally see Xiaotian when he's so deep asleep he's just a limp noodle sprawled across the bed—and the bed was big enough for the both of them and then some, so no one would fall off. And as he'd put together his morning routines he'd realize he hadn't been this content in actual centuries and-

and he had to come to terms with the fact that a future with Xiaotian meant one without his parents, because there was no intersection of the two. Being Xiaotian's partner meant turning against his parents, and being a dutiful son meant being complicit when his father struck down his revenge and slaughtered Xiaotian.

And as he'd so recently come to terms with, that was unacceptable. He could live without his parents as he'd done it before, it would be difficult, and terrifying, and he knew he'd probably need to battle himself relentlessly for it, but now that he knew on a bone deep level that Xiaotian was not allowed to perish, he couldn't wait for the eventuality and hope he could swoop in then.

No. He couldn't chance that.

He needed to move out.

And if he was going to do this he had to do it right. He had to make his break as clean as possible, so there was no doubt on whether he was doing this of his own will or not. So he'd need some time staying back home, to ensure if things got out they were on no one's terms but his.

He'd of course been telling Xiaotian everything, and he was well aware of his plan. And now...

Now was the last night he could spare before he would make his leave and had to disappear for a time.

Their activities had gone on long into the night, savoring every moan and sigh and shiver because heavens knew how long it would be until either of them saw the other again, and Red Son found a particular joy in the act of memorizing every inch of Xiaotian's body that he possibly could branding every dip and curve and hardened muscle and gnarled scar into his mind so he'd have vivid memories to keep him company until he returned. 

He didn't have to map out Xiaotian's mouth so intricately, he'd been kissing it for nearing on two and a half years now, he knew the shape and feel, the exact heat of his mouth and the slide of his tongue against his own, but Red Son found it would not be complete without it. So when allowed to plunder Xiaotian's mouth he worked slowly, moving across the entire area, and brushing playfully against every molar and sharpened canine (Xiaotian insisted he was still mostly human but the monkey magic was starting to seep in, eventually he'd sprout a tail and Red Son hoped he could see that when it happened) until the taste and feel were so deeply understood they'd be forever scorched across his heart.

“I will come back.” He whispered, “I swear I will return.” He reiterated for the... had to at least be the tenth time that night. The very last thing he wanted was Xiaotian doubting him for how long it might take or what may happen in the interim.

But now he had to go. He wanted to linger for longer, he could tell Xiaotian wanted him to linger for longer, but if he started out this whole thing with his parents already suspicious of where he'd been it would make things considerably harder. So he slipped back into his street clothes, maybe a little slower than his usual speed, and watched Xiaotian slip into his pajamas out of the corner of his eye. But by then, he was dressed and had no further excuses to stay.

Except maybe...

He cleared the short distance between the two of them and kissed Xiaotian one last time, a kiss that was eagerly returned. Not to memorize, just to savor. Full of longing instead of heat.

“I will return.”

“I know you will.”

--

send me stuff!

[tigerseye46]

I kinda have this headcanon that if sandy is Sha Wujing, that Pigsy is the only one He’s told. So imagine the Jasminetea angst when it is revealed, Tang is understandibly upset at Sandy for telling Pigsy and not him. (a fact made worse if they are dating at the time) - Pixel Anon

Honestly I can see it since Pigsy went to Sandy to go Flower Fruit Mountain and they exchanged glances during the Lunar New Year special so even if he doesn’t know Sandy is Sha Wujing, he at least knows something. And I love that Jasminetea angst >:)

———

It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair at all.

Why did it seem as if Pigsy knew more about his boyfriend than Tang did?

He knew they were close, had known each other before Tang and Sandy. Pigsy was the one to introduce them to each other after all and he was grateful his best friend had done so, he was grateful for a lot of things his best friend had done for him over the years but that wasn’t the point.

It always seemed as if Pigsy knew more than the scholar did. That left him jealous when they exchanged glances over a private matter that only they knew. In the end, he would step away for a bit under the guise of getting some fresh air and he’s sure they knew he was angry based on the way he stomped out the door.

He just wanted to know more about his boyfriend, was that so wrong?

And he had asked about Sandy’s past, trying to gain information but the demon was shut tighter than a drum. It was always “it’s not important, Tang” or complete silence.

It was important! He wanted to know more about him. He knew of Sandy’s past as a rage filled warrior but he didn’t know details.

What made him become so rage filled? What feats did he accomplish as a warrior?

Okay so maybe they weren’t the best questions to ask (and he never did ask them) since Sandy was content forgetting that part of his life.

But what about before he became one? Where did he grow up? What was his family like? Did he have a good relationship with them? What stories did he have that had been passed down generation from generation?

He just wanted to know, he wanted to be let in like Pigsy was. There would always be a thought in the back of his mind if Sandy told Pigsy everything, why don’t they date instead? He was getting in the way of them.

He was aware that wasn’t true, Sandy loved and chose him above all else and he had chosen him in return. Sandy was a sweetheart and would never use him, if he wanted to date the chef, he would have done so.

He was being a bit selfish but he was a curious man, always trying to pull information from anything and everything around him.

Tang sighed as he threaded his hair through his dark locks and read his book, his eyes analyzing every word and pretending as if he wasn’t affected by his lack of knowledge about his partner. Sandy pressed a kiss to his cheek and laid an arm around his shoulder. “Hey, starlight,” the demon greeted with another peck.

“Hey, dream boat,” he greeted with a nuzzle.

“What are you doing?”

“Thinking about you,” he answered with a smile. Thinking about how little I know.

Sandy grinned. “Rather cheesy, Tang.”

“Well you make me cheesy,” he responded.

He snorted, “Not like I haven’t heard that line before.”

“Has someone else said that to you?” He asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Nope but one of my brothers was quite a flirt so I heard every line possible while I was with him. He used to flirt with every gorgeous women he came across.” He smiled fondly at the memories.

Tang took in this information, he didn’t know Sandy had brothers and he voiced this, “I didn’t know you had brothers.”

Sandy rubbed the back of his neck as if he didn’t mean to reveal that fact. “Yea, I do.”

The scholar quickly bombarded the demon with questions. “How many do you have? What are their names? Are you the oldest or youngest? What do they do? How come you haven’t mentioned them before?”

Sandy’s lips pressed tight and Tang cursed himself for asking since he wasn’t going to get any answers. “It’s not important.”

The scholar narrowed his eyes, he despised that answer even if it he had expected it. “Not important? Not important! You have a family!” He wanted to know about his future in-laws (because Sandy and him were definitely going to get married one day). “A family that is going to be my family one day!”

“Look… it’s… it’s.”

“It’s what?”

There was a clear pain in the tea lover’s eyes and Tang let it go in an instant, “Forget about it.”

“Tang, I’m-”

“It’s okay, sweetie. Just forget about it.”

Sandy said with complete adoration, “I don’t deserve you.”

The human nudged him in the chest. “And don’t you forget it.” He was hoping he would be let in one day before their relationship went further down the line. He was hoping it didn’t take until they were married and possibly with kids for the demon to finally open up about his past.

The human pushed that out of his mind and went back to reading his latest purchase of Journey to the West. As a scholar, he loved to see how each translation compared and rather they were accurate. He had a lot of copies of the adventures, this one had visuals.

The visuals were beautiful and he loved scanning every bit of it… well… almost everything. The pictures of Sha Wujing (his celebrity crush) could use some work. It seemed as if no one could get the sand demon right, no one could properly capture his beauty. The demon was way handsomer than depicted surely!

The demon was probably as handsome as his boyfriend. After all, they did share a slight… resemblance. He squinted at the picture of Sha Wujing then glanced at his partner from the corner of his eye. They did look really similar.

It was almost as if they were twins! He laughed in his head then thought of it no further even when the back of his mind told him to do the opposite.

He should have listened… because weeks later they were in the midst of a fight with a demon that knew Sandy and he had called him… Sha Wujing.

Then it clicked, Sandy didn’t resemble Sha Wujing, he was him. Xiaotian, Xiaojiao and him were shocked by the revelation. Who wouldn’t be? Unless… unless they knew.

Pigsy was the only one who didn’t have a reaction out of the group. Oh he knew, he fucking knew.

And Tang was pissed. How could the pig have known and he hadn’t?

When the battle finished and words were exchanged between Pigsy and Sandy along with questions from Xiaotian and Xiaojiao, the scholar hissed and approached them. “Sandy,” he yelled.

Sandy stared at him with concern. “Tang, are you okay?”

Pigsy glanced between the two, perfectly aware of what was about to transpire. “Uhhh, big guy.”

“Yea?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Tang asked with his fists clenched and eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t you tell me you were Sha Wujing?”

A bead of sweat appeared on the demon’s face and Pigsy quickly pushed the kids out of there so the two could talk. “Uhhh…”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He repeated. “Yet you told Pigsy.”

“Maybe we should go somewhere else for this,” he suggested, trying to dodge the question. He walked towards the boat where his partner followed, his arms crossed.

They went in Sandy’s home, the demon preparing tea to soothe the other. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I heard you the first three times, Tang,” Sandy said.

“Well you haven’t answered me. So?”

Sandy sighed. “I told Pigsy because I trust him.” His eyes widened at his wrong choice of words.

Tang hissed, “So you didn’t trust me?”

“No! Of course I did! It’s… it’s…”

“It’s what?” He would give the other a chance to explain himself.

“I was scared.”

“Scared of what?”

Wujing rubbed the back of his neck. “Scared of how you would take it.”

“That’s a stupid reason.”

“I know. I know. I told Pigsy because we knew each other a long time. It was before I met you. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you hurt.”

Tang held out his arms to indicate he was already hurt. “Well I’m hurt but not physically.”

“And I’m grateful that you aren’t, physically at least.”

“Any other excuses you want to give me?”

“Well I said I was scared of how you would take it and I was. Back before you told me you liked me, it always felt as if you didn’t, you know? I just didn’t think you enjoyed having me around and it didn’t seem like you liked me as Sha Wujing either so I didn’t say anything. Didn’t want to see the look on your face when it was revealed.” He chuckled, aware of how ridiculous it sounded especially since it was proven the scholar loved him.

Tang took in his words. “Did I make you feel that way?”

“No, it wasn’t your fault. It was all my imagination and it doesn’t give me an excuse.” Tang walked closer to him until they were face to face. “I wish you would have told me that but you’re right. It doesn’t. I am pissed but there is way to make it up to me.”

“And that would be?”

“If actually tell me the truth. Every story from you I want to hear. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“I also want a lot of kisses and hugs to make up for it. And you and Pigsy better watch your backs because I will strike when you least expect it.”

Sandy gulped and nodded. “Okay. I accept that.”

Tang had a mischievous glint in his eye even though he was still hurt. He wrapped his arms around him. “You better. I love you but you have a lot of making to do.”

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“I believe you, dream boat. At least I have the somewhat amazing Sha Wujing as my boyfriend.”

“Somewhat.”

“Yep. Somewhat.” He nuzzled his chest before realizing something. “Wait... does this mean the Monkey King will be my future brother in-law?”

“Yea.”

Tang pursed his lips. “I might forgive you sooner if you introduce me.”

“Deal.”

[angstandhappiness]

DUDE WHY MUST YOU BREAK ME FURTHER

OP's tags @rayalltheway: #I just need a scene like this in season three#just Swk getting to read in pain staking detail how much his protege loves and admires him#and he let him down#and he did everything to try to make sure xiaotian wouldn’t have to fight this battle#but failed#:D#I missed them OK#also this new pen means that’s some paints are working again yay#Man those effects

“Monkey King is so cool! He’s so strong, and handsome…”

Lot has changed since then, huh?

Potential Season 3 spoilers, for the outfit