A Son Of Two Dad's

Lean on me

It took a while for MK to leave Macaque's room, shutting the door behind him gently as his ears twitched at the loud sounds of the others in the boat. He didn't really want to see them right now but knew he had to eventually. 

He avoided them on the way to his room though, stepping back into the shadows in the hallway along the way as Sandy passed by, humming cheerfully and oblivious to the eyes watching him from the darkness. As soon as the hallway was clear MK made it to his room, clicking the door shut behind him before padding over to his bed and laying facedown on it. 

He'd been so filled with energy before and yet now he only felt tired, bone-deep exhaustion sinking in. 

Maybe it would be okay if he took a nap? He hoped he'd feel better once he woke up. 

With that thought in mind, he slipped under the covers, curling into a ball and closing his eyes to the world. 

Though tired beyond belief he found he couldn't fall asleep, laying there awake as time passed by slowly.

At some point, he heard footsteps and opened his eyes that were strangely heavy, telling himself to move but unable to get his body to follow the command.

"MK! Are you there? Let's play some games!" Mei yelled through the door, knocking on it repeatedly the whole way through and MK sighed, forcing himself to sound okay. 

"Yeah, okay, just give me a sec I was just getting into my PJs." He lied, feeling like he'd managed to hide the sadness in his voice pretty well. 

"OH! Good idea! Lemme get in my PJs too! BRB." He heard her skid away from the door, footsteps rushing down the hallway afterward as she legged it to her room.

Taking a breath of relief at not being caught out on his lie had she come in, MK left his bed, scrambling to put on his PJs before she came back. 

It wasn't long at all before Mei was knocking on the door again, letting out a loud, 

"I'm coming in," before slamming the door open and inviting herself inside. 

"Woah." She paused in the doorway as soon as she saw MK and his heart leaped up in his throat, wondering what it was she saw that made her pause. 

"MK! You look... yeesh. What's wrong?" She sounded worried and MK cursed himself for being a burden to his friend. He hadn't realized he looked so down even though he knew he felt down. He thought he'd been hiding it pretty well. 

I'm okay, he meant to say to her, not wanting to trouble her any further and yet somehow her caring, considerate voice made everything spill out.

"Macaque's gone." He confessed and Mei gasped, looking surprised. 

"Really? Why?" She asked and MK shook his head, his heart feeling heavy. 

"Monkey King's in trouble. I saw it. He went to help but I-" So far he'd done a good job of keeping his voice level and relatively emotionless but at this part, small tears welled up in his eyes and his voice grew louder, more passionate. 

"I'm worried about him! I'm worried about them both!" Just saying it out loud made him feel lighter somehow but it also made it feel more real. 

"Oh, MK I'm so sorry. I'm here for you." She sat down next to him, tugging him into a firm hug that he immediately returned, comfort warming his heart. 

After a short second of MK trying to make himself feel better Mei spoke. 

"They're both strong, you know? It's normal that you're worried about them, that's understandable, but if anyone is okay it'll be them." She said softly and MK nodded along, knowing that what she was saying was true.

"And Monkey king is like the second strongest person alive! Ain't no one gonna take him down!" Her voice had picked up, loud with confidence and MK laughed, smiling at her as she struck a triumphant pose. 

"Yeah... yeah you're probably right." The worry was still there but somehow it was more bearable now. He smiled at her, not for the first time silently grateful that he had met her.     

"Thanks, Mei." His voice was kind and sincere and Mei squished him into a crushing hug, smiling widely. 

"That's what friends are for! Now come on, let's go do something to cheer you up!" She tugged him off the bed and he let her, being dragged along as she brought him to her room for a sleepover with games.   

They spent the evening together, Mei eventually falling asleep in a pile of tangled limbs spread out over most of MK. Her mouth was open a smidge and he watched her, smiling to himself as he yawned and moved his arm a little so the pins and needles that had been gathering there stopped. 

He wished he could fall asleep as easily as her and though spending time with Mei and distracting himself had helped his nerves, now, in the dead of night surrounded by quiet he couldn't help but think about Macaque and Monkey King and what they were doing at this very moment. 

He hoped they were okay. 

Maybe... maybe he should check? Just call in again and see how they were doing. 

They were probably fine, he reassured himself. They were probably on their way back now, map in hand and completely a-okay but still... He could check just to be sure. 

That would settle his mind. Right? He nodded to himself, mind made up before more thoughts tumbled in. 

What if they were in the middle of something important and MK distracted them? He could mess everything up! They might even get annoyed at him and realize he was stupid and annoying and-

Mei moved in her sleep, cutting off his thoughts as her leg swung over his leg, trapping him even further. He sighed, shuffling into her carefully so that he was more comfortable and letting the pressure from her leg over him ground him, taking a few deep, even breathes. 

Things would be okay. Macaque had promised anyway and Mei was right. He should just focus on going to sleep. If his dad and Baba came back tomorrow then he'd need to be well-rested. The thought of seeing Wukong again made him smile to himself, heart wiggling happily as some of the worries gave way to the burst of excitement at the possibility of being about to give his Baba the biggest hug ever. 

So yes, going to sleep was definitely the right choice here and with that thought in mind MK let his eyes close,  relaxing his body and thinking about the game he'd played with Mei to get his mind off of everything else. 

It took a long time but eventually, tiredness crept in and at some point, he slipped into the lull of sleep. 

(Look at Mei being the best friend ever. She even comforts him in her sleep. I need to get myself a best friend like that. 

Sorry I was a day late, I was out drinking last night even though I hadn't planned on it and had way too much to update and proofread this before going to bed. So yeah, hope you enjoyed and I'll see you guys soon!)