A Son Of Two Dad's

Bonding

After the seal, it was a relief to not have to constantly shapeshift anymore, and yet a part of MK missed his other, softer form. He missed the tail like a phantom limb, which was crazy because he'd hardly even had it for a day. 

He didn't get much sleep that night but was up early anyway to go see Monkey King. He was so excited! He was going to be trained by the Monkey King himself, great sage equal to heaven!

It was going to be awesome.

Once he got there, nerves set in and he walked into the cave clutching the staff to his chest, taking a few deep breathes to steady his nerves.  

"Uh, M-monkey King? Are you there?" He called out, walking into the place uneasily, feeling like an intruder. The place had a solemn, empty feel to it, which was ridiculous because someone lived here! 

"Monkey king?" He asked, voice even quieter as he got closer to the wooden house in the middle of the grove. It felt wrong to come this close to someone's personal house without being invited. Then again, he kind of had been invited. 

"Hey, bud. What are you doing here?" His voice came from right behind him and MK jumped forwards with a yell, spinning around, his heart pounding in his ribcage. 

"Monkey King! Wow, I didn't see you there. And you told me to come yesterday, remember?" Monkey King tapped his chin in thought, giving a fake, too brittle smile. 

"Oh, it's today already then. Cool, cool. Follow me, kid." So MK did, walking across much of the field to get to an open area outside the cave where they could practice without damaging Monkey King's house.  

Then, they spent the whole day practicing, though MK had to admit Monkey King was a lot more careless and bad at giving instructions or guidance than Macaque was MK was still making progress. 

Unlike Macaque, who had a more hands-on approach, Monkey King seemed to only be giving instructions and half-assed ones at that. He was vague about what MK needed to do and when he actually did what he was trying to do (like managing to get the staff to extend when he wanted it to) Monkey King just gave him a half-hearted thumbs up from where he was sat. Which was a little disheatening and unmotivating, to say the least. The day passed that way, slowly, until eventually it got too dark for MK to really see and his arms had given out on him.  

As a mortal he was tired, he was a little upset and the snacks he'd brought along hadn't been enough to satiate his hunger. (Especially since they didn't really stop for eating breaks for longer then a minuet. For an immortal, the Monkey King was pretty impatient. 

"Alright, see you tomorrow, kid." Monkey King waved him off, beginning to leave while MK looked at where the sun had just set, wanting to say something but feeling too nervous to actually bring himself to speak.  

Noticing that he wasn't leaving, Monkey King stopped. 

"Something wrong, bud?" He asked, dissmisively and MK twiddled with his thumbs. 

"I- Do you... not like me?" He asked finally, turning around to catch Monkey King's surprised look, eyes widening and he carried on, rambling anxiously. 

"It's just- you've been pretty dismissive all day and- and I can't figure out if I'd done something wrong or-" He trailed off, flushing in embarrassment when Monkey King let out a deep sigh, sounding just as old as he really was. 

"Kid-" His voice was softer than MK had heard it ever sound so far and that was enough to make MK look up at him, trying hard not to fiddle with his hands. 

"You didn't do anything wrong and I don't dislike ya. You're a good kid, MK. It's- I'm just-" He stopped himself, whatever he'd been about to say changing as his tone changed as well.