Chen carries orders to his tuk-tuk, wiping the sweat from his brow as he places the many bags in the passenger seat.
It had been a busy week, and Pigsy wanted to get as many orders out as soon as possible. Especially since MK was "slacking off". In reality, the young man was worn out. He'd been working all day, partying all night and helping Sandy paint his boat all week, and had refused to take a break. Now he was tired.
Chen offered to take some more of the work, just to let the young man take a break. But he'd refused, much to Chen's annoyance.
If he wasn't careful he was going to hurt himself
Although, for the past 2 days he'd perked up a bit. Maybe he'd stopped throwing those parties with Mei.
Hopping into his tuk-tuk, he was about to drive off when he spots MK walking by the noodle shop. As he draws near, Chen waves a hand in front of his face. "Hey, MK!"
MK pauses, lifting one of his headphones. "Yeah?"
Chen took note that he wasn't in his signature working jacket, but he shook it off. "Are you gonna be okay working today? I am going to need a little help delivering all these orders-" before he continue, MK randomly pulls out a strand of hair, blowing it as he throws it behind him, continuing walking down the street. Chen's eye twitches, before he takes in a deep breath, the strand of hair floating to the ground. "Deep breaths, Chen. Just like Sandy said." he mutters, resting his head on the head rest.
The strand of hair begins to glow, and as Chen opens his eyes, he immediately notices it. Eyes widening in shock, he watches as it grows and expands, forming into a perfect clone of MK. It stands there a moment, dazed, before it notices Chen sitting in the tuk-tuk seat, staring at it in disbelief.
Immediately, the clone runs up to him, taking some of the orders. "Let me take those for you, Chen!" they grin, before running off to the other tuk-tuk. He drives off, leaving Chen alone in front of Pigsy's Noodles.
Snapping himself out of his stupor, Chen shakes his head. "Mystic monkey business. MK, you never cease to surprise me." Starting his tuk-tuk, Chen heads off to deliver the orders.
– – –
Several hours later….
"You two did good today, kids. Keep up the good work and I may give you a raise!" Pigsy informs, as he closes his shop. Chen checks his backpack to make sure everything was there. "Don't get my hopes up, pop's." he chuckles jokingly, before walking off.
The MK clone keeps up the pace by his side, humming a tune to himself. Chen turns to them. "Uh…you do know you can go home, right?" he says. The clone nods. "Oh, I know! But I want to help you!" he informs. Chen glances down the street ahead of him, then back to the clone awkwardly. "Uh…"
"I can help water your plants!" the clone pipes up excitedly. "Or feed Shu! I can help you with that too!"
Seeing as the clone wasn't going to stop nagging him, Chen sighs. "Well…I am pretty tired, and it would help to have an extra pair of hands-"
"Yes! Yes! Now let's get to your apartment!" the clone grabs Chen's hand, dragging him down the street. The young man follows, feeling uncomfortable in this new situation.
–
Reaching the apartment, Chen opens the door, and the two enter. Immediately, the clone gets to work, grabbing a can from the cupboard and opening it, feeding some to Shu. The cat hovers around his feet, waiting patiently.
While he did that, Chen fills up his watering can, walking out onto the balcony to water his plants.
The plant Sandy had given him the previous was flourishing well, alongside the others. Chen starts to water the smallest ones. He has to pay Sandy another visit this week.
"What cha thinkin about?" a voice pipes up from right beside him. Chen yells, almost dropping his watering can over the balcony. He turns to see the clone had grabbed a spare jug, and was helping him water the plants. He didn't even hear him coming.
"Nothing." Chen replied, scratching the back of his neck. He puts all his focus on the plants, trying to ignore the clone staring right at him.
After a while, the silence was becoming unbearable. Chen finishes watering his plants, before faking a yawn. "Well, I better be heading to bed. You should head home to the real MK so then he can, I don't know, do some more monkey magic." Chen explains, pushing the clone out the door.
Clone MK starts to protest. "But you haven't eaten yet! I can help you cook! I can help you clean up-" he rants. Pushing him out the door, Chen gives the clone a deadpan expression. "No." with that, he shuts the door, leaving the clone outside.
The clone was starting to creep him out.
Heading back into the kitchen, the young man reaches into the fridge and pulls out some leftovers, placing it in the microwave to heat up. He rubs the side of his face, as he hears the clone walk down the hall.
He should've never let them come home with him.
Sitting down on his couch, he turns on his TV, watching a movie as he eats.
– – –
The next morning, Chen was in a rush. His alarm hadn't gone off, and he was late for work.
Cursing under his breath, he rushes down the apartment halls, his bag half slung over his shoulder as he ties his hair into a messy ponytail.
Stomping down the stairs, he bursts through the doors, about to turn to go to his work when he nearly runs into someone. Tripping over his feet, he stops himself from body slamming into them.
He kind of wished he did, though.
"Morning, Chen!" the clone greets cheerfully. Chen stares at him. "How long have you been here?" He questions. The clone's smile widens. "All night! I've been waiting for you!"
That wasn't creepy at all.
Chen steps around him. "Sorry, I gotta go. I'm late." he informs, walking away quickly. But the clone follows him. "Oh, I know! I was thinking of coming up to tell you, but I figured you had it all under control. So, when are you going home again?" he asks.
Chen turns to him, frustrated. "No. Go home." he instructs. The clone groans. "But I don't wanna! I wanna stay with you and help you!" he explained.
The young man doesn't respond. Instead, he breaks out into a full sprint.
This was getting out of hand. He had to find MK, and get him to do more weird monkey magic to get rid of the creepy clingy clone.
"Chen! Wait up!"
But first he had to lose it.
Running around a corner, he spots the museum ahead. Perfect. Just hide in there until the clone goes away. Simple!
He rushes inside, slowing down to a walk so that he wouldn't disturb everyone else. Moving away from the door, he keeps an eye on the entrance for any sign of the clone.
Seeing that he was alone, he lets out a quiet sigh.
He walks further inside, looking at all the different displays. Most of the exhibits were artefacts with screens talking about historical events, so it didn't interest him that much. It would interest Tang and Rey, though.
Hearing a commotion ahead, he spots three guys by the doors of the storage room. Two of them were trying to push a large, green box inside, while the third one was yelling at them. "Hey, be careful with that! We don't want it damaged before it's seen by the professionals!"
Chen wasn't paying attention to the men, though. He stares intently at the box. It was a jade green, intricately carved with stone snakes, that weaved in and out one another. A small, snake-like voice whispers to him, inviting him over. Something was calling to him, drawing him to the box.
He moves one small, unconscious step forward, oblivious to his surroundings.
A hand grabs his shoulder, and Chen is snapped out of his trance. Turning to face who it was, he inwardly groaned. The clone's bright smile greets him, as he starts to guide him outside the museum. "Chen! Didn't you say you were late for work? We gotta get you to the Noodle Shop before Pigsy blows a fuse!" the clone explains.
Chen scowls, shaking the clone off as he walks out of the museum's doors. The whispering voices disappear, as the young man hurriedly makes his way to Pigsy's Noodles. He was taking this clone to MK himself.
Reaching Pigsy's Noodles, he marches inside.
Pigsy immediately starts to scold Chen, telling him off for being late. But the young man ignores him and Tang who, upon seeing the clone, slides under the table out of sight with his bowl of noodles.
Walking up the stairs with the clone right behind, Chen slams MK's door open. "MK! This clone is a-" he stops. The small apartment he and MK shared once upon a time was empty, with no sign of the young man he was looking for.
Chen pinches the bridge of his nose, growling. "Of course he's not…ugh!" sitting down, he decides to wait for his friend. The clone sits on the bed opposite him, smiling brightly while kicking his feet. All the while staring at him.
Chen leans his head back, closing his eyes. "It's fine, it's fine! MK's bound to be back soon. Then I'll tell him off for leaving me with this clone…" he grumbles.
He really wished he'd had some tea with him.
He's about to get up to wait downstairs for the young man, when he feels someone push him back down. He looks up in surprise as the clone holds duck tape up, grinning almost maniacally. "You look stressed! I can help! I can help you! You don't need MK! I'm MK! I'm your best friend! The best friend who's here to help you!" he laughs, trying to put tape on Chen to trap him in the chair.
The young man instantly grabs the clones wrists, kicking them in the stomach. The clone is left winded, as Chen rips the tape from his hands.
Chen glares down at the clone as he gets to his feet, grabbing him by the scruff of his shirt and lifting up. "Clone, you can't just DO that to people!" he growls. "Now where is MK? Did you do something to him too!?"
Before the clone could respond, Chen could hear a commotion downstairs. It sounded like Pigsy yelling at…."MK?"
Dragging the clone behind him as he walks down stairs. Reaching the bottom, he could see Tang and MK, looking down at another, chubbier MK laying on top of Pigsy.
As he enters, Tang and MK turn to see him dragging the winded clone behind him. Chen folds his arms, letting go of the clone. "So, which one is the REAL MK." he asks, looking between the MK next to Tang and the MK on the floor.
Tang points to the MK next to him. "This one."
Chen now glares at the real MK. "MK….were you aware that your clone was creepy before you pawned him off to me?." he says calmly. MK laughs nervously, looking down at the crumpled clone on the clone. "Uh….no…." he responds, rubbing the back of his neck.
Tang takes a sip of his bowl of noodles. "So, MK, are you gonna clean this mess up?" the man asks. MK nods, prodding the delivery clone with his golden staff. When nothing happens, he turns to Tang, exasperated. "Mr. Tang! How did Monkey King get rid of his clones?"
Tang pushes his glasses up his nose. "Hm…I don't know."
MK groans. At that point, Chen had had enough. Grabbing his bag, he heads toward the exit. "Tell Pigsy I'll be back when you're done." he grumbles, leaving the noodle shop.
– – –
Pigsy had closed early due to the massive mess MK had made with his clones. And MK was punished by cleaning the whole noodle shop and paying for all the food the clone had eaten.
That left Chen to have the day off. He had no plans other than relaxing, so that's what he did. He sat on the couch with the TV on, flicking through the channels.
Feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket, he brought it out, realising that Mei was calling. He answers. "Hello?"
"Chen! MK and I are having a sleepover at his. Did you wanna come? We're watching the Monkey King marathon tonight!" the girl says excitedly. Chen thinks about it, continuing to flick through the channels. "I don't know…."
"Pweeeeeaaaase? MK said he's sorry for what happened today!" Mei cries out in protest as the phone is yanked out of her hands, and MK speaks through the phone. "Please? It'll just be us three!" he begs.
Chen hums, turning off the TV. "Sure, why not?" the two on the other end cheer, as Mei finally grabs her phone back off of MK. "Great! See you in a bit, goofball!" Mei says before hanging up. Chen rolls his eyes, getting up from his seat to get ready and head to Pigsy's Noodles.
–
Ten minutes later, Chen was outside Pigsy's Noodles. Looking up at the window, he could see MK's light flickering on and off. He pulls out his phone, sending them a quick text that he was here. Now all he had to do was wait.
And wait.
And wait.
10 minutes flew by, with no sign of any of his friends. With a groan, he makes his way over to the ladder, climbing up till he reaches the first balcony. He then walked up the stairs, reaching the window. The lights inside were still flickering, so Chen knocked on the window. "Hellooo? MK? Mei?"
He peeks inside.
Mei was holding down an MK, while another MK was backed into the corner of the room, as far away from Mei as possible. He deadpans, straightening himself back up. Well, that explains why they wouldn't answer.
Pulling out is phone, he decides to ring them. They hadn't responded to his voice OR his knock.
He could hear the phone ringing in the room. Leaning against the wall, he keeps the phone to his ear. Finally, MK answers. "CHEN? WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"Outside your window. What are you two doing?" he asks, peeking inside. At that, MK finally looks up to see Chen. the young man waves, hurrying over to open it for him. "Chen! Thank goodness! Mei just-"
Chen smacks MK upside the head, and the younger man yelps. Chen points to Mei and the MK on the ground. "What is this?"
MK looks away, taps his fingers together anxiously. Mei picks up the MK off the ground. "Alright, you! Do the magic gold thingy and get rid of it!" she says firmly. MK sighs, before giving the clone a light tap. It disappears in a poof of hair, and Chen hacks as he breathes some in.
– – –
The clone was dealt with, and Chen, Mei and MK all help clean up the bits of hair all over the place. After they were done, they all plop down on nearby chairs, all facing the TV. The Monkey King marathon had already started, but nobody minded.
As they sat there, watching the movie peacefully, they also told stories of the clones they had to deal with that day.
"So, you had a party clone, huh? Lucky. I got one that clung to my like glue." Chen chuckles. Mei shakes her head. "Nu-uh! You weren't forced to party all day and night. OR tied up in a giant machine and almost died!" she points out. Chen shrugs. "Hm. Touche. Yours seemed fun, though."
"Yeah, he was fun." the girl leans her chin in her hand, watching the TV. she gasps, eyes brightening as she turns to Chen with an idea. "Oh! Can I do your hair?" she asks, stars in her eyes.
"No."
"Pretty please? I'll make it look cool! I promise I won't put ribbons in your hair like last time." she begged. But Chen shakes his head. "Nu-uh."
"Can I at least put it in a man bun?"
Chen thinks for a moment, looking down at Mei's hopeful expression. "...fine." he caves in. Mei cheers, as Chen hops off his chair to sit on the floor. Mei takes his spot. "Hey, MK, do you have a comb?" she asks.
The young man grabs a comb from his bed side table. "Oh! Oh Oh! Do me next!" he says excitedly. Chen places his chin on his hand, watching the TV as Mei messes with his hair.
"Hey, Chen, can I dye your hair?"
"Nope."
Mei pouts, but accepts the answer. As she works, MK sits in front of the TV, eyes shining as he watches the movie. Chen smiles softly.
He wouldn't change these guys for anyone else in the world.
"And…done!" Mei informs, and Chen taps his head, feeling the bundle of hair tied up. MK quickly shoves him aside. "MY TURN!"
Chen growls as he's shoved aside, but instead of lashing out, he takes a deep breath. Like Sandy said….
Glancing around the room, Chen notices one of MK's pillows laying within arms reach of him. He smirks, as an idea begins to form.
Mei was done with MK a few minutes later, and as the young man was thanking the girl, Chen whacks him with the pillow. MK yelps, trying to protect himself from Chen's attacks. "HEY! NO FAIR!"
Chen cackles maniacally. "I reign superior!" he laughs. MK tries to protect himself from the pillow attack as much as possible. "I YIELD! I YIELD!"
Chen stops, not noticing Mei was behind him, holding up her own pillow. "So you agree that I'm superior?"
MK gets up. "I agree….that you're a big dork! Attack!" he yells, bringing out a hidden pillow from behind his back. That's when Chen was attacked from all sides, with Mei coming from behind and MK charging from the front. The two hit the man with the pillows over and over. Chen holds his hands above his head, dropping his pillow. "Alright! Alright! You win! You got me." he says. The two then drop their pillows, all three laughing as they calm down.
MK flops down on his bed, followed by Mei. "Man, I'm beat. Who knew fighting clones and cleaning the shop all day would be so tiring?"
Chen sits down on the chair, resting his arms behind his head. "Well you better get used to it, Monkey Boy, cause I'm guessing you're gonna be doing this at least once a week." he chuckles. MK sits up. "Yeah! Beating up bad guys, saving the city! Honestly, what could go wrong?"
The three chuckle, as MK turns to the TV. "Aw, we missed the best part of the movie!" he whines. Mei pats him on the head. "Don't worry! We still have the whole marathon to watch!" she states. Chen nods.
The trio sit back on the bed, predicting the next parts and talking as they watch the movie. Eventually, they all pass out, tired from the long week.
– – –
A/N: Idk how sleepovers work lmao. Or how kids hang out (mostly cuz i never had friends till high school)