Disclaimer: Don't own these characters, you know the drill.
AN: I think I've found a new obsession. Here, have some more fic.
Unbelievable sights, indescribable feeling,
soaring, tumbling, freewheeling through an endless diamond sky
– "A Whole New World", Mena Massoud & Naomi Scott
"How are you not bored?"
Tripitaka jumped out of her seat and spun around, only to relax at the sight of Monkey hovering over her.
"If you do that again," she told him, "I'll attach a bell to your crown."
His eyebrow rose. "Do you really think a bell would hinder me?"
He had a point. If Monkey wanted to do something, there wasn't much that could stop him. Well, except for her, but she'd made herself (and Monkey) a promise never to use the crown sutra unless she absolutely had to.
"What are you doing here? I'm trying to work." She gestured to the scroll that was stretched out on the table, and the pile of pages that contained the translation. She'd wanted to read through it all before the translation was burnt (a necessary precaution so no more demons got their hands on the information).
Monkey picked up an ink brush from the table and began to pace as he fiddled with it. The candlelight illuminated his expressive face. "Pigsy is eating, and Sandy is watching the Font Demons."
Tripitaka couldn't help but smile in amusement. "You're bored. So, you've come to pester me until I give you attention?"
"Spending time with the one and only Monkey King is far more exciting than…" He gestured to the table with the brush, "reading and writing…"
She shook her head. "I happen to enjoy it. Maybe I can teach you the ancient language, since you never learned?"
He tensed, and it took a moment for Tripitaka to realize why. The Master, his old mentor, had offered many times to teach Monkey the ancient language, and every time he'd refused. He'd told her this himself. Added to that, they were standing in the Master's old chambers, still dark and dreary from Davari's occupancy. Combine these two facts, and there was a good chance she'd just given him a flashback of times he'd lost because of his own arrogance.
"I can learn when the world is safe," was all Monkey said, putting the brush back down, before he turned and walked out onto the balcony.
Tripitaka sighed. "Monkey, wait…"
"I'm sorry I disturbed you," the God called over his shoulder.
Before Tripitaka could call to him again, he leapt onto the balcony's wall, turned, jumped backwards and disappeared.
"No!" Tripitaka ran onto the balcony in a panic. "Monkey!"
"Yes?" His head popped up again from behind the wall.
For a moment, Tripitaka couldn't understand what was happening. Then it clicked, and she wanted to smack her forehead for forgetting.
She hadn't even wondered how Monkey managed to get into the room without using the door, but it made sense. Since his cloud had returned, he'd been using it to go pretty much everywhere.
"Sorry," she said in response to his frown. "I forgot that you had your cloud back."
The cloud rose so it was level with the wall, and Monkey sat himself down on it, his legs crossed. He was smirking at her. "You were worried about me."
"What kind of friend would I be if I wasn't?" she told him with a smile.
His smirk almost turned into a genuine smile, but he caught himself before it did and his expression changed to one of pride. It was the face he pulled whenever he tried to look high and mighty and in control.
"It doesn't matter," he insisted. "There was nothing to worry about. I have my cloud."
Tripitaka leaned against the wall and got a good look at his cloud. Under the moonlight, it looked like it was glowing. "At least we won't have to walk as far now to get the other scrolls."
"That reminds me." Monkey leapt to his feet again, but remained on the cloud. "I want the rest of you to learn how to ride it. Travelling by cloud isn't as easy as I make it look; it takes practise, and I can't have anyone falling off." He held out his hand to her.
She only looked at it. "Right now? But you said that Pigsy and Sandy are busy."
"It'll be easier if you all learn individually, so I don't have to split my focus between the three of you," said Monkey. He whistled and wiggled his fingers impatiently. "You trust me, don't you?"
"Yes, Monkey. I trust you with my life. It's just…" She briefly glanced over the edge. "Last time I was here, I fell."
"You were pushed," he corrected. "And I caught you. Tripitaka, I promise on my life that I will not let you fall."
The bravado of the Monkey King was gone, replaced with the sincerity of Monkey, her best friend. With his hair tied back in a bun, none of his face was hidden – though letting his hair down never stopped Tripitaka from reading him like an open book. No matter how hard he tried to hide his emotions or pretend that he didn't even have them, she always knew what he was thinking and feeling.
There was no humour in his expression, no sign of mischief. He wasn't about to take her up into the clouds and let her drop, before catching her again close to the ground. That would be something he'd do to Pigsy, but not her. Especially after what had happened.
Until now, she hadn't been out on the balcony since Davari's defeat. The memory still haunted her, of being flung over the side, falling downwards and spinning out of control, seeing Monkey fall with her in a desperate attempt to save her… She'd known that if she stepped out onto the balcony again, those feelings of dread and fear and helplessness would return. She hadn't been thinking when Monkey had jumped over the side, and being close to him banished those negative feelings.
Flying with Monkey, she realized, would help her confront and accept her fear. She wondered if that was Monkey's real reason for taking her on a practise flight; not so she could learn how to do it, but to ease her fear of falling and assure her there was nothing to worry about.
In that regard, perhaps the practise flight was for his own peace of mind, too. She'd already suspected that her fall had scared him just as much as it had scared her. Taking her out on a gentle test flight to assure himself there was no danger…
There was no reason to say 'no'.
She slowly reached out and took his hand.
He pulled her up onto the wall, and any thoughts she had about the long drop below were forgotten, his warm touch chasing them away. Monkey steadied her with his other hand as he helped her onto the cloud.
"Can we sit?" she asked. She felt off-balance, standing on something so small that was so high up. The thought of moving while standing did nothing to ease her nerves.
"Of course." They sat down together, their hands still linked and his other hand still gripping her elbow gently. He removed the second hand once they were sat cross-legged on the cloud, side by side. "Ready?"
Tripitaka nodded.
She didn't know how Monkey commanded the cloud to move without using his voice. One moment they were still, and the next they were slowly moving forwards, away from the balcony. Her grip on Monkey's hand tightened, and he squeezed back reassuringly.
They passed over the town, and the mountain grew smaller the further and higher they flew. A whirlwind of sensations hit her all at once; the fear was still there, but it was joined by wonder and enjoyment. Flying wasn't something she'd ever expected to do in her lifetime, for obvious reasons. To find herself doing so was overwhelming.
A wide smile lit up her entire face. "Where are we going?"
"Anywhere you like." Out of the corner of her eye, Tripitaka noticed that the genuine smile which had tried to break through Monkey's bravado earlier had sneaked past his defences. She didn't dare turn to him, in case it disappeared again. It made him look even more attractive than he already was.
She blushed at the thought, and hoped that it was too dark for him to notice.
"We could follow the water." She pointed down at the river they were passing over. Her other hand remained linked with Monkey's; she wasn't letting go anytime soon, but it had nothing to do with still being nervous.
Again, there was no voice command; the cloud just started to follow the river on its own. It flew lower so they were closer to the water, and Tripitaka gasped with delight when they passed through a group of fireflies. The creatures parted instinctively, letting them through, and it was like they were flying amongst the stars themselves. Tripitaka wondered if Monkey's cloud could go that high, but didn't ask; it was her first flight, and she didn't want to overdo it by flying too high.
The sound of the water grew louder, and Tripitaka didn't realize why until she saw the waterfall up ahead. They flew right up to the edge and over, the cloud dropping down to follow the water, and the sudden dip had the girl laughing in delight. Her other hand reached across and clutched Monkey's arm while she partially buried her face in his shoulder. In response, Monkey let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her.
The spray from the bottom of the waterfall hit their faces, and while Tripitaka welcomed it, Monkey was less than amused.
"Not so close next time, hmm?" he told the cloud.
Tripitaka laughed again and used her sleeve to wipe the water droplets from Monkey's forehead. She only realized how close she was to his face when it was dry, and she quickly sat back.
Monkey didn't comment, instead asking, "Ready to go higher?"
She nodded, and the cloud began to climb. The breeze on their faces became stronger, and as the distance between them and the ground grew, Tripitaka expected her fear to grow with it. She expected her body to go tense with the nervousness she'd been feeling over the past few weeks, whenever she'd glanced at the balcony.
It didn't come. Whether it was because the awe outweighed the fear, or because of Monkey's warm presence pressed against her side, she didn't know. But why question the absence of something she was glad to be rid of?
She gasped again when they passed their first cloud. More surrounded them, but as it was a fairly clear night, there weren't many. The moon and stars shone down upon them as the cloud finally settled at a reasonable height. While Tripitaka didn't dare look down directly, she could see the ground just under the horizon, and it appeared to be very far beneath them.
When they flew directly under a cloud, Tripitaka slowly raised her hand to touch it. Unlike the one she was riding on, which felt like the softest pillow in the world, the one above her wasn't even solid; her hand passed right through it and came out wet.
The breeze picked up, and on impulse, Tripitaka shifted positions so she was kneeling on the cloud. She pulled out of Monkey's embrace and slowly leaned into the wind, her arms spread wide. The wind pushed back against her, but not as much as she wanted it to.
"Move forwards slightly. And into the centre," said Monkey. He shuffled behind her as she moved both forwards and towards him. She then felt his hands rest on either side of her waist, and his touch dared her to lean further forwards with the knowledge that he wasn't going to let her fall.
With her gaze fixed on the horizon, she couldn't see the cloud she was riding on. It felt like she was flying on her own.
There was a sudden, stronger gust of wind, causing the cloud to bump suddenly. Tripitaka lost her balance and yelped in surprise, but she didn't fall forwards. Instead, Monkey pulled her backwards and she fell directly into his lap. His arms came around her and held her against him, like he thought the wind was going to rip her away at any moment.
Tripitaka tried to slide off and sit by his side like she was doing before, but Monkey's grip on her tightened. She was about to ask him to let go – until she heard his fast, uneven breathing, and felt the subtle tremors shaking his whole body. It sounded like he was only moments away from having a panic attack.
"I'm fine," she assured him. He made a noise in response; it sounded like a whimper.
He was more scared of her falling than even she herself was. She realized in a moment of clarity that everyone he'd known five hundred years earlier was gone; he had no one left. No one but her, Pigsy and Sandy. He didn't want to lose anyone else.
So, she relaxed into his hold and let him do what he needed to in order to calm down. There were worse places to be (in fact, she could count on one hand all the places that were better than Monkey's embrace, but she was reluctant to admit that even to herself), and his warmth combated the cool night air. She also noticed that the cloud was returning to Jade Mountain; there was no use moving if the flight was over.
By the time they approached the balcony at the top of the palace, Monkey had calmed down, but still didn't let her go. The cloud stopped right next to the wall, and Tripitaka let out a surprised "Oh!" when Monkey picked her up and rose to his feet. For a moment, they were in the same position as before, right after he'd rescued her, and then Monkey jumped over the wall.
When they landed, Monkey let out a huge breath before he finally set her down on her feet. It looked as though he wanted to keep in contact with her, with the way he gently rubbed his thumb along her arm, but then he brought his arm reluctantly back to his side and fought with himself to keep it there.
"I really am fine," Tripitaka said. "Thank you."
He nodded. "I was thinking… We really only need to use the cloud for the harder parts of the journey. Climbing the mountains, crossing seas… It'll be good for us to walk when we can. Keep in shape. The seven hells know that Pigsy needs to."
Her eyebrow rose knowingly. He was still fretting over her almost falling, and was trying to cover for it by making other excuses. She mimicked his smirk from earlier in the evening and said, "You're worried about me."
It didn't take him long to recognize the words. "What kind of friend would I be if I wasn't?" he said, repeating her own response.
Tripitaka took a step closer to him and placed her hand over his heart. Then she leaned forwards on her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.
"Come on." She pulled back and offered him her hand. "My offer to teach you the ancient language still stands."
Monkey only hesitated for a moment before he took her hand, and they shared a smile before she led him inside.