Warning: This was written by a guy who barely cares about the game itself, relied solely on the wiki and also made up his own details along the way. Please be merciful.
It is a well-known fact the Ionia has one of if not the most beautiful scenery in Runeterra. The blending of the material and spirit realms has created what many would described as nothing short of Eden's Garden. Not only that, an indescribable number of travelers come here every year with numerous purposes. Some are ambitious scholars wished to learn all there is at the Placidium of Navori, or troubled souls wished to soothe their heart at the Garden of Forgetting. Others with more devious intentions may travel to the far east region, Shon-Xan and pledge their allegiance to the Shadow Order. Ionia has a place for everyone, but for those who simply yearns for the true beauty of nature? There is always Omikayalan, the spiritual forest.
The public often know Omikayalan as a forbidden place, with only people of great importance can be invited in, but there are other who knows better. While the land now known as the God-Willow's Grave is sacred, the area surrounds it is left free for anyone to venture in, provided that they have adequate navigation skill. It is an experience unlike any other, to navigate the labyrinth of faunas so hauntingly beautiful even in the light of day. And if one were to dig deep enough, they might just find out something truly special.
It is a quiet night, save for the sounds of the native creature in the woods. The moonlight drapes over the spiritual forest, illuminating it in a glittering silver sea. There are luminous nature spirits underneath the arches of tree branches, floating above the ground and dancing with each other. Their appearance lit up the jungle, yet dim enough that one can see the stars peeking through the intertwining leaves. The trees stand impossibly close to each other, forming a vast and intricate labyrinth reaching to the sky.
Yet, weaving through the small opening, there is a figure. It moves so fast and so stealthy, one would be unreasonable to assume it's a ghost. Looking closer, it appears to be a seemingly normal young beautiful woman, saves for the bizarre canine ears and the massive nine tails trailing behind her. She ducks and jumps and make her way through the forest effortlessly. But, there is restlessness lying underneath her cool appearance. She made a promise, and she's late to a date.
Ahri wonders when did this "thing" between her and Wukong become tradition. They try to meet once every month, or twos; but between her travelling and his adventures, it can take up to half a year for them to see each other. She recalls the first time they had met, when he was freshly exiled from his tribe and she took her first step into the outer world. It was not magical, nor did it end in good terms. The two confused and lost souls regarded each other as a threat instantly and it broke out into a fight, leaving both sides wounded and a sour first impression.
The second time was in the same spot, after he was taken under the mentor of Yi, a self-exiled Wuju swordsman. Wukong had grown more skillful; he fought more methodically and with actual trained skills, equipped with an enchanted staff. The match was even, though, for the young sorceress had also grown strong with a few new tricks up her sleeves. But this time, when they fought until a stalemate, something happened. The staff fighter observed her for a second, dropped his battle stand and offered her the foods he gathered before they stumbled upon each other. It was so unusual, so insane, so idiotic that she dropped her guard entirely and vocally asked him if he had brain damage. He let out a hearty laugh, and the rest is history.
It is a strange thing, how well they hit it off despite their differences. She is quiet and likes to keep to herself, he is brazen and his presence made known wherever he goes. She fits into the larger human society without a hitch, he sticks out like a sore thumb. Her beauty turn heads and people showers her with compliments, his very nature keeps people away and he has heard about every iterations of the word "freak". Ahri damn near ripped a woman's head off once when she spat "Hideous beast!" at Wukong. That was the first and last time they tried to meet up somewhere else. They don't mind it one bit, both are spirits of the jungle and the food at that bar was stale, at least according to Wukong. And so it was settled: they would meet in the jungle. He said that their meet-ups are dates and she dismissed it with a laugh, but the name stuck in her head. It made her unexpectedly flustered, and before long, she realized why.
There is an elephant in the room the half-fox sorceress needs to acknowledge: They are NOT dating. Frankly, she doesn't even know if Wukong understand the concept of romantic love or not. He uses the word "love" for everything, from complimenting a good meal to addressing his mentor. He even said it to her once, which left her mind in overdrive mode for days. Sure, he knows about human courting practices and he know concepts such as "dates", but whether he gets it is another matter entirely. For all she knows, he probably only used "date" because he heard it is when two people go see each other and overlook the romance aspect.
Ahri laughs suddenly, the sound echoes in the woods. Of all the people in the world, she has to fall for someone who doesn't have a single romantic bone in his body.
Other people have asked her why, and she wishes she can say she don't know. The truth is, how can she not? Wukong is brave and courageous; his determination admirable and his optimism unrivaled. Those who belittles him are only because of how he looks, but his friends know different, and she is grateful he counts her among his closest allies. She pays no mind to the look department, for she isn't human in the first place, just looks like one. And, if she may be so bold, he is quite handsome for an anthropomorphic monkey. (Never let this gets to his ears though, Ionia and Noxus will reconcile before he stops teasing her about it)
There is another problem if she wants to take their relationship to the next step: Ahri is afraid. Unlike her oblivious friend, she has had her fair share of lovers. Most of them are flings, sticking around for mundane pleasure and never last more than a few weeks. But one of them stands out, both as her greatest love and her deepest regret. A charming painter, he opened her eyes to emotions she has never experienced before.
Their love was perfect, and his blood was all over her hands.
After him, she never let anybody be that close to her again. Well, anybody but Wukong. He was there for her after she come back from the Garden of Forgetting, when the brave façade went crumbling down and she wept openly on his shoulder. He held her tight and didn't utter a single word, didn't ask for a reason why. They stayed like that until she passed out from exhaustion. That was probably when her feeling toward him started to shift. But what if history repeated itself again? If she let her heart loose once more, will it shattered as it did all those years ago? If Wukong died because of her….
Wukong deserves someone who can complete him. He deserves someone who is bright and unburdened by their past, and she isn't that person. End of discussion.
That doesn't stop her from wondering, though. Treacherous brain.
Ahri's train of thoughts come to a halt. She has arrived at their meeting point. It's a small pond, tucks away in the deep jungle, a perfect place for them to meet without fearing outside disturbance. Underneath the surface, there are multiple species of glowing moss, lighting the scene up in a spectacle of color. There are similar places like this throughout the entire mountain, but this specific pond has a special place in their hearts.
They still joke about when they first crossed path from time to time. She was just getting some water before the bold monkey literally fell on her head. He told her much later that he used the place as a safe haven whenever his tribe got tired of the pranks he pulled. He wasn't entirely hostile, just curious and wanted to take a closer look, but tripped and fell and Ahri snorted because it just sounds so him. The second time he recognized her, too; but she engaged immediately and he didn't have a chance to clear the misunderstanding. But then he saw his chance in the stalemate, and Ahri was glad that at least one of them managed to keep a cool head. She's still embarrassed to this day that that person wasn't her. After that, he offered a truce and that he could share the place with her if she ever need the place to stay. She had rolled his eyes at the audacity he had to claim a public land as his own, but she didn't refuse. Then, she started to come again, and again, and again... Now, here they are.
There are movements among the trees. Ahri was on her guard in an instant. She focuses her listening and then….
"Come out, I know you're there." A near inaudible thud lands behind her. The nine tails sorceress whips around to see a monkey-man, clads in armor, wielding a staff as tall as himself, looking incredibly smug.
"Fox." He greets casually. Oh, so they are using nickname now?
"Monkey." She crosses her arms and try her best to look as annoyed as he looks amused. They are now locked in an intense eye contest, both too stubborn to cave in. But Ahri knows Wukong, and she bet he knows what is going to happen.
Soon enough, the inevitable happen. It starts with the slightest tremble coming from Wukong. His lips start to twitch and she can see his desperate attempt to regain composure. But it's too late. He starts to laugh, it sounds like music to her. Ahri joins in with him, their laughs must be loud enough to startle the local animals. They look insane, and she won't have it any other way.
"Oh, it's so good to see you!" Wukong closes the distance and give her a tight embrace. She returns the gesture with a hug just as fierce. He smells just as she remembers; a combine scent of fresh soil, young grass and peaches.
"Likewise, Wu. I'm sorry it takes me so long to come back." Wukong chuckles, the sound of which sends electricity off her back.
"Not only that, but you're late, too! Have the great Ahri finally lost her sense of punctuality?" the woman breaks away from the hug and gasps in feign horror, sending Wukong into another laughing fits.
"Me? I arrive before you! Have the mighty Wukong lets go his last shred of sanity?" Wukong grins in response.
"I went looking for foods, it was late and my dinner had long gone." He points to a satchel not far away from them. Ahri rolled her eyes at the explanation. At this rate, Wukong will propose to a homemade meal if he could. The thought of proposal suddenly hit her. Stupid, she chastises herself. Don't think about that...
Wukong must have noticed her shift in expression, cause his voice soften "Hey, don't be too hard on yourself. We both have our own problems to take care of. I can wait as long as you need me to."
Ahri's breath got caught in her throat. Oh no, this is bad, very bad. She is just starting to accept that they can't never be together, and he just has to go and say things like that and make her fall for him even harder.
"Still, it's our first meet-up in so long and I left you wait-" She's abruptly cut off by a hand reaching to ruffles her hair. She tries to protest, but one look for Wukong shuts her up.
"You're here now, that's what matter." She could have sob right there and then, but just give him a grateful smile "Now, let's sit down, get comfortable and tell me what you've been to lately."
And so they talk, about anything and everything. Wukong tells her about all the place Yi and him has gone to and all the heroic deeds they have done. Ahri tells him about her journey to Bligewater with other adventurers and what new information she has found about her tribe. It's almost frightening, how their conversation goes so smoothly after almost a year with no contact. She also notices differences about Wukong. He has grown taller, maybe even taller than her now. His muscle is getting more define, the short fur only serves to highlight the newly added mass. And his eyes… There is hidden maturity before those eyes. Wukong is still as energetic and animated as ever, but his posture, his choice of words…. Time does not let Wukong down.
….Although, there is something unusual. Ahri thinks she's just paranoid at first, but as the conversation goes on, doubt get gradually replaced with certainty. Wukong is staring at her, and he is staring hard. He hid it well, but if Ahri is good at one thing, it's paying attention to details. Wukong has never been one to shy away from eyes contact. A ball of social energy, he faces every interaction in life face-to-face. But what Ahri is witnessing can only be describe as anxious, shy. His tail is restless, swiping across the ground like an enchanted broom. It bewilders her. Is she saying something insensitive? Since when did Wukong get embarrassed?
"…And then the blast of the explosion sent us flying into the ocean. It took me 3 days to get the rotten fish smell out of my hair!" Wukong laughs again, and Ahri could have fooled herself into thinking nothing's wrong. But, she can hear the nervousness deep in there.
"3 days?! Did that happen to you only?" Ahri grimaces.
"I wish. All of us smelled like garbage for days. We almost got kicked out of the tavern hotel we were staying in." Wukong wipes away the mirth in his eyes.
"Damn, aren't you glad that I taught you how to swim now?" He nudged her playfully. She raises an eyebrow back at him.
"It comes in handy, sometimes." Wukong scoffed.
"Yeah, whatever you say" They fall into comfortable silence. It's good to have someone who she can be vulnerable with, Ahri thinks. Someone who knows when to talk and when to stops and listen.
Then, Wukong breaks the silence with a question "So… About your companion…"
Ahri looks at him "Yasuo? What about him?"
"He just sounds like an interesting guy." Wukong says nonchalantly "What's he like?"
Ahri ponders for a moment "He's similar to Yi in a number of ways, I suppose. A swordsman with a guilty conscience, embarking on a journey to find himself. He had a student, too, but they part ways some time ago."
"And what do you think of him?" Wukong absentmindedly chucks a pebble into the water. That's…strange, coming from him.
"Well, he's very quiet. Definitely a wild soul back in the day, but he's mellowed out." Wukong leans in, seemingly drinking in every words she says "He likes a good drink more than anything else in the world. That said, his resolve to do good for the world is admirable. And if I got to be honest, he's quite the looker."
Wukong winces at the last sentence. His tail freezes mid-swing. Now that's something she doesn't see every day.
"Is he a good friend, then?" Ahri doesn't know where this uncalled for fascination comes from, and it unnerves her.
"I wouldn't exactly call him a friend, per say." She puts on her best "uncaring" face "But he is one of the more pleasant people I've met on the road. He didn't try to make a move on me or take advantage of me, which is more than I can say for most people." Wukong perks up at this.
"Oh. OH. Ohhhh. Okay, then." He sighs in relief. Ahri furrows her brows. What's going on with him?
"Wu, are you all right?" She tries to places a hand on his shoulder in concern, but he leans away from it so fast he almost falls into the water.
"No! Nothing! I am absolutely fine." Wu say while putting on a smile. Ahri feels insulted. Who does he mistake her for? A child?
"Wukong." She warns, the anger seeping into her voice. His smile falters, but he doesn't give in just yet.
"Ahri." He shots back, but the humor falls flat on his back. She takes a deep breath. No, she won't do this dance with him. If she offended him, the least he can do is tell her. They're too close to tip toes around each other like this.
"Don't do this, Wu. Not to me." The smile wipes itself off of the monkey's face. He hunches forward, looking like an empty shell of himself mere hours ago. Panic rises in Ahri's chest.
"We have a bond, a bond that I do not take for granted." She continues "Whenever I have a problem, whatever the problem is, I know I can count on you if ever call for help. I thought the same can be said for you."
"I noticed the way you stared at me tonight. You're not that stealthy, you know." His head snaps back at her, eyes wide open. Her voice wavers "If I said something insensitive, if you're angry at me for something, anything, just tell me. Don't do this to me, please…" Her vision got blurry and Ahri realizes tears are threatening to fall. The realization fills her with shame, even though he had seen her cries before.
Wukong nearly trips over himself trying to reach her side. He grips her shoulders tightly, so tight it almost hurts, but she doesn't bother to correct him "No! No, it's not your fault. It never was. You have to believe me!" He says with a certainty she has never heard from him before.
"Then what is it? What is it that you are hiding from me?" She looks into his eyes, searching for an answer. His hands fall back down his side and he seems like he is choking on his words.
"I-I….It's…" The whole situation would have been hilarious in any other scenarios, but Ahri doesn't feel like she would be laughing anytime soon. Wukong flails his arms aimlessly while trying to come up with an answer, failing more and more by the second.
But, before Ahri can get angry again, Wukong stops trying to defense himself. He closes his eyes briefly, then SCREAMS to the heaven.
To say Ahri is startled is an understatement. In a blink of an eye, she has stood up and get into a defense stance. However, Wukong pays no mind to her. He just walks away as far as he can, his back turns away completely. His hands are buried deep into his hair, trying their best to yank every single last strand off of his head.
"What going in on with you?!" She demands "Have you lost your mind?!"
For a moment, she doesn't receive an answer. A terrifying thought occurs to her. What if this isn't Wu? Did I just spend the night with an imposter? How did I not notice that? Where is the real Wukong?
Before she drowns herself in worst case scenarios, however, she hears him sighs. He mumbles something inexplicable into his hands.
"Here goes nothing…"
Wukong looks at her, his expression scarily calm. He picks up his staff, his grip on it so strong it turns the knuckles white. Ahri tenses up, her tails flail wildly in the air.
"When we met all those years ago, I was fascinated by you." He starts slowly, ignoring her battle stance "Not many people can, or bother to go this far into the woods. But there you were, a human, at the time it seems, wandering carelessly between the trees. I didn't even know that humans weren't supposed to have tails, or ears on top of their head until I met Yi. When we crossed path the second time, I could finally see you, really see you. There's a fire in you, and I got drawn to it like a moth to… Well, a flame."
Ahri's brain goes blank. No. This can't be happening.
Wukong continues, a resigned smile sits on his face "We starts meeting each other more and more after that. In time, you've grown to be my closest friend, and I couldn't ask for more. But something changed along the way. Now every time I look at you, I feel different. I started to noticed random things about you. Your eyes, your smile, the way you walk, the way you touch me…. I thought about you at even the most random times. I was sure I had fallen ill, so I asked Master. It was the first time I ever heard him laugh out loud. He told me that there was no cure for what I was feeling."
The sorceress' mouth hangs open slightly. Wukong chuckled "Scared me to death, the old bastard. But he did explain to me what it after he calmed down. And I was horrified. You're just a friend, I tried to told myself. My best friend. But I just kept thinking more and more about you. There's no other way to expain it: Master was right."
Ahri's pretty sure her eyes are about to fall out of the sockets. Wukong starts moving closer "You did nothing wrong tonight. I was the one who acted like a fool. The staring, the questions, it was just me trying to hide my feelings. I-I guess what I am trying to say is I lov-"
"No." Ahri finds herself saying, her body moving without her commanding it to. Wukong stops dead in his track, his nervousness turns confusion.
"No?" He echoes her statement, clearly perplexed. Ahri just stands there, back ramrod straight, her face perfectly neutral.
"No" She repeats, sounding like an automaton "I know what you're about to say, and it isn't real. I'm sorry Wu. What you're feeling is not real."
"….What?" To his credit, Wukong is handing this much better than she would expect for someone who just got told his feeling is an illusion.
"It's my magic." Ahri finds herself getting more confident as she talks "My seducing magic is a passive ability, I don't need to do anything for it to be casted. I have to keep it in check at all time, but sometimes the magic slips out. You, being the person I have the most contact with, must have had an overexposure with it. I'm sorry."
"You're lying." Wukong frowns "I've seen you used your magic before. The effect disappears almost as soon as you're out of sight of the target. This isn't that."
"Like I said, you got a much stronger version of it." Ahri looks down "Maybe we can cure you if I stay away for some time-"
"Cure?!" Wukong asks incredulously "We're talking about my emotion! And what do you mean, you have to stay away? We haven't seen each other in almost a year!"
Ahri's stomach churns in anxiety "Maybe…" She racks her head looking for an explanation "Maybe the effect still hasn't faded because we still communicate by using other methods. You should burn my letters to be safe-"
Wukong cuts her off again "Now you're just talking nonsense. There's nothing forced about this. I know what I feel, what I want. Just calm down-"
"You're the one talking nonsense!" Ahri snaps back. Her chest starts heaving heavily "The entire point of being charmed is that you don't know it happened! How are you so sure it's not magic?!"
"Well, how are you so sure I have been charmed in the first place?" Wukong cross his arms in annoyance "All you have said aren't evidences, just speculations."
"….Maybe it's just your nature." Wukong's eyebrows shot up to his forehead. This is a such a low blow, Ahri feels disgusted with herself. But she has to try it if that means he can snap out of this delusion. Even if it's going to cause her everything.
"Excuse me?" His words hurt more than a stab wound to the heart, but she pushes on.
"You see everything in life as a challenge, Wukong." She says coldly "You always have to be the best, always have to come out on top. You always have to win. And so you just can't accept that we are equal. You see me as just another mountain to climb, another goal to achieve. You'll get bored as soon as you get what you want."
Ahri concludes "I was wrong about you. You don't see me as a friend, just a plaything. Just do what's best for us and walk away, Wukong." She spits his name out like poison and growls, hoping that her plan works.
At first, it seems like the discussion is over. Wukong's clearly stunned, his jaw unhinges slightly. Ahri feels nauseous after saying those words, but she stands her ground in defiance, waiting for a response.
Unfortunately, Wukong decides he isn't having any more of this.
"Wow, that… hurts." Ahri bites back an apology "What you said is probably the harshest thing anybody has ever said to me since."
He starts walking closer. She tries to protest, but he stops her "Unfortunately for you, you made a grave mistake. You didn't dare to even glance at me during your speech, only after you've finished it."
He towers over her, his emerald eyes burning "If you mean it, really mean every single word you just said, then look at me, see me, and say it."
Ahri opens her mouth, but no word comes to her mind. Wukong's looking at her expectantly, his pupils drilling holes to the back of her skull. Her tails start moving frantically, a tell-tale sign that she is at the end of her wits. Eventually, she stops struggling.
"…. I can't be with you, Wu." Her voice is barely louder than a whisper, but Wukong hear it anyway.
"Why?" The question's asked with such an unheard of gentleness from Wukong, it becomes the straw to break the camel's back. Ahri turns her heels and run, leaving behind a very distress and confused monkey. He shouts her name, but she just keeps running toward… anywhere that is away from him. Duck, roll, jump. Her body is in full autopilot now. She runs, faster than she has ever run and longer than she will ever need to. But she can only run for so long until she hits the end of the road.
She finally reaches a cliff on the East side of the mountain. The sun is coming up. They have spent the later part of the night arguing. She watches as daylight slowly fills the scenery, cover everything in a golden shine. Ahri wishes she has the energy to appreciate it.
"Ahri…?" Of course he would catch up to her, of course he would. Ahri ignores him, but he doesn't attempt to step closer.
"I have a lover, once" Ahri knows he's in range to hear her "He was a painter, one that painted flowers."
"He was the first human to accept me for who I am, to embrace me for all I have, to truly…. love me. We were perfect."
The tears start falling, but she doesn't even bother to stop them "I sucked the life from his lips as he laid dying in my arms. He was so kind, so understanding even in the face of oblivion. He urged me on, and I took everything he ever had, everything that made him him. His memories haunt me to this very day."
She turns to face Wukong "That's why I went to the Garden of Forgetting, Wu." Realization dawns on his face "The memories, the guilt, it's too much. I just want to leave it behind…. But I couldn't. I couldn't let him go, he was everything to me."
"But when you held me as I wept, my heart stirs once again." She gives him a tearful smile "When I'm with you, I don't have to worry about everything, I can just be me. No mask, no deception, just me. When all hope is lost, you're here for me. And for the second time, I fell in love."
Wukong is in front of her now, each of his hands holds on tight to hers "You deserve someone more, Wu. Someone who just as energetic as you are, as optimistic as you are. Someone who can always be there for you without going on a wild goose chase for a past she never remembers. Someone who can share a meal with you without getting foods turn to ashes in her mouth. Someone who can love you fully without the obsession with an ex long gone, an ex she killed. You…"
Ahri chokes on her last words "You deserve so, so much more than me, Wukong." She hides her face again, not daring to see his reaction.
What he does next surprise her. He slowly but carefully untangles their hands, then pull her into an embrace, resting his chin on her head. She stiffens instantly, but he just speaks calmly.
"You're the strongest and most resilient person I have ever known." Just like that, she cries again. She holds onto him like a lifeline, her nails dug deep into his his back. It must be painful, but Wukong pays it no mind.
"What happened to you is cruel, so cruel that it would have broken anybody else were they in your steps." His voice come through clearly, even with all the sobbing "But you're still here, still fighting. Still with me."
"I-I killed him…" Ahri gasps for air. Wukong loosen his grip a bit, but adamant to keep her in his arms.
"He encouraged you to do it." He says, his tone indicates an end to this debate "It's not your fault. Never has been and never will be. And for the memories, what's so wrong about that? He's important to you. I can't, won't try to change it. If you want to honor him, who am I to stop you? If anything, it's weird to try and discard such a monumental part of your life." He quickly adds "The love part, I mean! Not the kill part."
Ahri's surprises she still have the strength to laugh "Thanks for the clarification."
He smiles cheekily, but quickly turns serious "Now that you've heard my confession, I just want you to know that whatever you think of it, I'll still be there for you. Always."
Ahri's good mood evaporates "Wait-what?"
"I know what people say about me." It's now Wukong's turn to rant "I'm weird, and that's not just about how I look. I'm hard to keep up with, I talk too much, I don't know anything about appropriate timing, ….."
Ahri listens to his rambling in disbelief. Is this the same guy that just listen to her pouring her heart out?! The nerves that this-this monkey has! Unbelievable!
In that moment, Ahri makes a choice. To Hell with all of this.
"I have so many flaws-umf!" A soft pair of lips crashes onto Wukong's mouth, keeping him from talking any further. His eyes open so wide it was comical, but he melts into the kiss mere moments later. The kiss is extremely messy. Ahri's face is smeared in tears, and she's too tired to muster up the elegance she usually has. Wukong fumbles, obviously never done this in his life before. Neither of them care, though.
"Wu?" Ahri pants as they break apart.
"Yeah?" Wukong looks dazed. Good, she intends to keep him this way for a while.
"Please, shut up." She commands, feeling like she's lighter than air. Wukong's grin got so wide, it can block the rising sun. As they dive in for another kiss, he whispers to her the long-awaited sentence:
"I love you"
….Damn, I really did write all of that, huh?
If you're reading this, congratulations and thank you for reading all the way until the end. This ship has been in my mind for such a long time now, it is baffling how long it takes me such a long time to write a fic about these twos. After a lore rewrite and several new updates, Riot could have easily cut the connection between them and I would understand completely. But no, they're still list as related, and it drives me mad. Either go all in or drop them, Riot! Why are you doing this to me?! If you don't do it, I will!
Sorry. Once again, thank you for reading. If you like it, maybe consider sharing it. Maybe it would boost the amount of fic for this ship (Pleasehelpmeiamrunningonfume). If your uncle work at Riot, even better. Ask him why are they sleeping on such a goldmine (pleasedontimjoking). And…. Until the next time.
