Chapter Text
Li-Mei and The Destined One grew up alongside each other.
For as long as she could remember, he never spoke, no matter how hard everyone tried. His parents eventually stopped trying to coax anything out of him after a certain age and accepted the fact that their son was a little different. When he needed to express any emotion, anger, sadness, or excitement, his face and tail movements displayed it all. As he grew up, though, he acquired a permanent scowl that only moved in extreme cases. No one ever knew what he was thinking.
No one but Li-Mei. She somehow always knew what he wouldn’t say. It was like she could sense his feelings or read his mind and act accordingly. Some would say she was his interpreter.
Li-Mei was revered as the most attractive Simian on Mt. Huaguo. She had the shiniest black fur, and her eyes were a light caramel brown. She was kind yet stood her ground. She treated everyone with respect regardless of her status with them. She took care of herself, making sure her fur was always clean and smelled good. Most of the males wanted to be her mate, but she had her eyes on only one possible suitor.
The Destined One.
He had something none of the others did. Stoic, strong, and respectful. Those traits of his had her completely wrapped around his finger at a young age. He always treated her like she was a being somewhat equal to him and not something to be owned, unlike the rest of them.
Rumors circulated that they’d eventually become mates. Their only issue was his lack of communication. They wondered how he could be a good mate without speaking.
Li-Mei was never bothered by his silence, though. Even so, she desired to know what his voice sounded like and made it her mission to have him talk to her—just once.
Throughout the years, she did everything she could think of. She tried pissing him off, scaring him, and making him happy; anything she could to get a reaction out of him. Nothing worked. He stayed resilient in his peace. In response to her shenanigans, she would get bright eyes, chirps, or, if she were lucky, a shriek of some sort.
When Li-Mei was getting somewhere with him and thought she had more time to achieve her goal, she looked on in horror, listening to the Old Monkey’s speech about how one of the young male Simians would be the one to find all of the relics of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, and return him to the mortal realm.
The regular Simians with stars in their eyes truly had no idea what that implied. That meant out of the many men going, only one was to return, and precious family members and friends were destined to be lost.
They didn’t care about that, though. The mention of Wukong coming back had them hooting and hollering anyway.
Li-Mei knew better than anyone there that the Destined One would do it. He was the only one who looked like a carbon copy of Sun Wukong based on what they knew of him. The one thing he didn’t have was the king’s cocky personality and whip-like tongue.
It didn’t matter how different he was from the Monkey King; that didn’t stop the countless whispers flowing through the mountain winds since his birth.
Sun Wukong is back.
From where she stood at the back of the crowd, Li-Mei watched the Destined One stand and walk toward the Old Monkey with squared shoulders and determination radiating off of him. He twirled his staff to rest behind him with attractive ease.
Li-Mei pushed through, firmly moving people out of her way and ignoring the angry chitters and snaps she got in reply. She didn’t care because this would be the last time she’d see him for a while, if ever.
Sadness and fear welled in her chest, making breathing hard to do. As the Old Monkey walked from the edge of the cliff that overlooked the many valleys of the mountain, leaving the Destined One alone, Li-Mei rushed to him, calling out his nickname she’d come up with as a young monkey. "Cloud!"
He turned around slowly, wondering who said it, when his squinted eyes landed on her. His normally stoic face softened as he faced her all the way. She crashed into him, sending him stumbling and grunting. Thankfully, he thought fast and used his staff to stop them from falling over the cliff. His arm automatically wrapped around her waist to keep her from tipping them. When the Destined One got their feet stable, Li-Mei didn’t let go, and he made a concerned sound.
“You can’t leave!!” Taken aback by the sudden outburst, the Destined One tried prying her off, but despite his strength, her arms stayed tight around him. “Please, don’t go!”
He kept letting out distressed chirping and tried to gently get her off. After a few attempts, Li-mei finally let him push her back, but only a little bit. Her hands remained on his sides, moving her fingers comfortingly against the soft, almost silky tiger fur fabric he wore. She stared up into his wide brown eyes.
His gaze darted around her face. His mouth kept twitching as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t. Li-Mei hoped he would this one time, and when he didn’t, her shoulders slumped. She was far too bothered to do her normal inventory on his face to understand what he was trying to say.
As he realized that, frustration settled on his features, and his free hand squeezed his staff. Looking around for a second to make sure no one was paying attention, he motioned with his head for her to follow him. She let him go and allowed him to lead them, no questions asked. Together, they descended the mountain a little way. Not too far from the tribe but far enough from prying eyes.
He took them to another smaller cliff that showed off the setting sun, much like the other one. It had a massive rock wall that blocked them from view. The valleys below were dotted with luscious green trees and brimming with life of all kinds. The air was warm, and a breeze whirled around them.
Confused, Li-Mei looked at the Destined One. “Why did you bring me here?” She knew asking questions was useless to him because he never answered.
As expected, silence greeted her words. Li-Mei watched as he laid his staff against the rock wall and stared at it for several seconds with his back to her. She followed his broad shoulders as they rose and fell with every breath he took. His tail lashed, conveying some of the emotions he was feeling.
“Cloud, what's wrong?”
At the sound of her voice calling him, his tail stopped flicking, and he slowly faced her. He had the same scowl he normally wore, which expressed nothing at all to her. He began advancing on her, and her heart beat faster with every step closer he got. Without trying, he was incredibly intimidating.
Li-Mei opened her mouth to say something when her face was forcibly smashed into his chest. His strong arms encased her, and a small sigh escaped the Destined One’s lips. Shocked and not knowing what else to do or say, her arms wrapped around him, too.
He never showed much physical interaction. If he did, Li-Mei knew something serious was going on in his mind. They stood there until the sun's bright yellow turned into an attractive orange glow that surrounded them in its warmth.
The Destined One pushed her back, studying her face with calculated eyes. He always seemed to know more than he let on. His hand tensely moved to cup her cheek and hovered over it as if unsure if it was okay to do. Li-Mei didn’t hesitate to lean into it, and a happy sound came from her.
Echoing her sound of contentment, he used his black claws to carefully rake them through Li-Mei’s raven fur. Surprised by his bold actions, she looked into his eyes, trying to decipher something.
When she couldn’t, her gaze moved to the rest of his face. She saw his mouth twitching again. The Destined One’s hand kept absently moving through her fur. He continuously swallowed as if he was trying to remove something from his throat.
“What’s gotten into you?” Concern seeped into her voice, and her claws gripped his clothing. Li-Mei couldn’t tell if he was sick, hurt, or anything. Irritation was simmering in her eyes due to her inability to see what he was thinking. The Destined One noticed, and he took a deep breath to ease both of them.
Suddenly, he brought his face closer to hers, breath feathering against her slightly pouty lips. Her heart hammered nastily against her ribs, and her tail stiffened. She had no idea what he was about to do. Millions of possibilities were running through her head.
The Destined One started making more noises. He sounded like a baby monkey that had just found use for his vocal cords: chirps, purrs, rumbles—then…
“...Soft…” It came out as a raspy whisper. Not quite a full voice.
Absolute shock grasped onto Li-Mei. Her mouth gaped open. Then, in the next moment, excitement crashed into all other feelings. “You talked!!” She shrieked, instant tears flooding her eyes. Her tail lashed happily and the fur on it bushed.
The Destined One’s frown broke into a small smile. He had more joy sparkling in his gaze, and his hand tightened on the back of her head to keep her from jumping from him. His free hand grasped the other side of her face, forcing her to look him in the eyes.
“Must…” He swallowed hard as if speaking hurt him. His voice came out stronger and Li-Mei could get a sense of what it sounded like. “Go.” It wasn’t high or deep. It was that delicious middle ground that, given the right circumstances, could melt your very soul.
Li-Mei knew all too well what he was referring to. He was going to leave to find the relics, and there was nothing she could do or say to stop him. She’d have to wait for him to come back so they could have long, deep conversations. That doesn’t mean she wasn’t going to attempt to stop him.
“But-“
The Destined One’s thumb laid over her lips to silence her. His dark brown eyes swam with pleading. He just wanted her to understand.
They stood like that for a minute, locked into each other’s gazes, before Li-Mei grabbed his hand in hers and held it close to her aching chest. With her watery eyes closed, she murmured, “Promise me one thing.”
He nodded and chirped as if to encourage her. Her eyes opened, and she said, “Promise me you’ll return.” Her face hardened, and she gripped his hand harder. “Find those relics, complete your journey, and come home. ” Desperation made her voice higher than usual and her tail curled around her waist to comfort herself.
The Destined One dipped his head as if to tell her he would do just that. But that didn’t satisfy her. He spoke; he could do it again. “ Tell me.” Li-Mei wanted to hear him one last time. She needed to remember how it sounded, just in case.
Many others before him had made the journey believing they were the ones to bring Sun Wukong back and never returned. Though she had little doubt that he wouldn’t come back, the fear of that not being true crushed her lungs.
The Destined One drew in a sharp inhale, wincing a little. His fingers curled tightly against her palms. Pain flashed on his features for a split second, but he managed to choke out the only word she needed to hear:
“Promise.”