Ch 13 of The Found Family Field Guide, "Casting Shells," is up on AO3!
So this was India, huh. Not really worth the hype. They’d seen all sorts of gorgeous vistas on their trip; this one happened to be more green and vibrant than most, but it still wasn’t as good as Wukong’s mountain, not unless you were really keen on temples.
Granted the temples were pretty impressive. The Jade Perfection Abbey looked more like candy than architecture, all pearl-sheened towers and voluptuous sculptures and bejeweled mosaics. Wukong took mental notes for the monastery he and the others were planning.
Because sure, he had been here before, half a dozen times, but he’d always been flying, and flying fast, at that. It was different going at mortal speeds. And seeing it through mortal eyes.
Wukong watched his Master almost more than the landscape. Tripitaka was round-eyed and quivering with awe and excitement. Every glimpse of the lights and colored mists on the western horizon had him all but squeaking. He wavered almost minute by minute between being flattened with nervous insecurity and being so damn proud at having finally made it.
He was such a nerd about Buddhism.
But the monk’s expression was too familiar. It—it was almost exactly like the one Wukong himself had worn on his very first trip up to Heaven.
Not that Wukong thought the Western Heaven was anything like the Eastern. He’d met the Buddha several times. Guy was great. You know, when he wasn’t tricking you and smashing you under a mountain. Or inventing a constricting gold hoop to be delivered to your Master.
Wukong got that he hadn't exactly been an innocent victim—hells, the more he let himself actually think over all his fuckups without the nice insulating fluff of indignation and self-pity to muffle his guilt, the more he realized he’d probably gotten off easy.
But he was just. Wary. Nobody had better do anything to wreck his Master’s joy. The slightest hint of mockery or betrayal, of sniggering behind soft bejeweled hands, and Wukong would…
Do something really, really stupid, probably.
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