Chapter Text
“Come on! Aren’t you excited for this?!” Ahri sighed fondly. Her boyfriend was practically vibrating with energy, his tail whipping back and forth in a circle.
“Calm down, Wu. The night’s still young, no need to get so worked up.” She let herself be pulled toward the lively streets, secretly soaking in the view around her. It was an exceptionally beautiful night, and the people’s mood reflected that. The final sunray had just disappeared over the horizon, and yet, she could feel the festivity in the air. The animated chatters, the children’s laughter… It was contagious, and Ahri let it seeped into her bones.
“Well, it won’t be for long with that attitude. Now, we’re on a date today, remember? Let’s go!” A crimson shade slowly creeps in on her cheeks. Wukong’s excitement dwarfed that of her own. She was ashamed to admit that when he said he had a plan for a date, her laugh had left her breathless. But like always, he managed to surprise her once again. Ever the adventurous soul, Wukong had devised a journey throughout the entire country. And so far, the trip had been no less than wonderful, going from town to town. Their visit rarely had a dull moment, even things as mundane as travel methods were full of surprise. Sometimes they went on foots, while other times, they got their hand on whatever types of vehicles seemed interesting. Ahri was still in awe every time she recalled how Wukong managed to get them a ride on a Windfarer’s back.
Now, they were at the last stop of their journey. A small town near the forest with friendly locals, there wasn’t a better place to cap off their trip. They arrived at just the perfect time too: a festival is currently being held for the end of the season. It was a surprise, but a welcomed one, nonetheless. They rested during the day, and when the last sunlight crossed over the horizon, it was time for party.
“All right, all right.” She giggled, then laughed out loud when she saw Wukong’s expression “Let’s see what they have to offer us.” With that, they joined the crowd and began exploring the streets.
It was magical (and that was telling, since Ahri knew a lot about magic). They had just entered the beginning of summer, but somehow, the weather was as cool as ever. Paper lanterns danced across the light, a ballet of orange flame that was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Coming back down to the earth, the ocean of tourists just further added to the whole experience. The couple had also gotten their hands on a pairs of Hanfu, and the result was quite stunning, Ahri daresay. The raven-hair sorceress looked gorgeous, no doubt, but the real eye catcher here was Wukong. He was hesitant, at first, but seeing how it all turned out, Ahri silently asked herself why she hadn’t got him to wear it sooner.
Speaking of which, the young martial artist was really making himself stood out from the crowd. Wukong was absolutely obliterating a shooting game, and people were taking notice. Children were gathering around him, piling on request after request about which reward they wanted him to win, and he complied with ease. Though it was amusing to see the owner’s face paling by the second, the canine Vastayan is slowly getting jealous of the attention her boyfriend was giving to strangers, so she decided to swoop in.
“Babe” Ahri whispered in her boyfriend’s ear, slyly add a hint of seductiveness to her voice “Don’t you think that it’s enough? We’re on a date, remember?” A try-and-true method, this would surely end his streak of success.
Just like she predicted, Wukong got flustered and miss his shot. She smirked as he threw her a scathing look while a chorus of laughter and children’s disappointment erupts around them. In her defense, it was always a joy to tease him.
“That was a dirty move.” He grumbled, which only make her felt smugger. “I was trying to win you one.” She placed a chaste kiss on his cheek, then quickly swiped a plushie from the counter while he wasn’t focus.
“You did hit the shot before that, so I’ll take this, if you don’t mind.” Ahri winked at the owner, then dragged her disgruntled boyfriend away “Come on now, I’m craving for something to eat.”
Wukong perked up at the mentions of foods. By the time they filled their plate with local delicacy, his mood had fallen back to normal. She teased him about that, too, but he just wiggled his eyebrows, mouth too stuffed to respond. Their date went on without a hitch as they explored more of the festival. High on emotions and drunk in passion, it felt like nothing could made the night took turn for the worse.
Oh, Ahri couldn’t have been more naïve.
Having had their fill of the festivity, the couple decided to spend the rest of the night in a cozy tavern before retiring to their inn. Inside, the chatters were just as lively as outside, if not more so. The barmaids weaved through tables of customers with ease, both taking and giving orders to eager patrons. Fortunately, they managed to find an empty table right in the corner of the building. As they were sitting down, Ahri gave the plushie she got a closer look.
“He looks kind of cute, don’t you think?” Wu gave it a sideway glance and his eyes widen.
“That’s-it’s okay.” Ahri had to stifle her laugh. Since he was fuming by himself at the time, Wukong didn’t notice that she had picked out… a monkey plushie. The stuff animal wasn’t particularly interesting, just a normal children toy with big smile plastered on its face. Knowing her boyfriend, though….
“I’m not so sure about that.” The teasing was super effective. Tried as hard as he could, Ahri could see her boyfriend getting more annoyed. Unfortunately, he looks adorable when he’s sulking, so she decided to keep pressing forward.
“He’s handsome, reasonable and doesn’t ignore me when I call for him. He’s also an excellent listener! I can hardly think of anyone else this charming!” To add to that, she sighed just loud enough for him to hear.
Her tactic worked flawlessly. Wukong is visibly pouting now. She did feel a hint of guiltiness, playing him like a fiddle, though, so she stopped herself from talking any further, and waited for his retaliation.
“Is that so?” Never one to go down without a fight, Wukong shot back “Then maybe I should leave now, and leave you be with your new escort.”
“Aw, is someone getting jealous here?” She clutched the plushie closer to her chest “Maybe they can learn a thing or two from this gentle-“
“Yes.” Ahri stopped dead in her track.
“…Huh?” Wukong is facing away from her, his arms crossed tightly in front of his chest. He slowly turned back to her, and the first thing that hit her eyes was the faint crimson shade on his face.
“…Yes, I am jealous. What’s about it?” He sounds hesitant, but he looked straight at her like a silent challenge. Ahri is at a loss of words. She never would dreamt of Wukong verbally admitting something like that, yet he just did it…. For her. She could feel the heat slowly crept up on her face and her grin slowly falling.
Seemingly uncomfortable by the silence, the young martial artist tried to dismiss what happened “Sorry. Just forget it, it’s not-“
Ahri hastily reached out and grab his hand. “No! It’s fine. More than fine, actually!”
She slowly ran her thumb across his hand “I’m sorry for putting you in such a position. Just know that… You’ll always be the only one on my mind, yes?” She swallowed the small lump in her throat, waiting for an answer.
“…Never did doubt it for even a moment.” His gentle smile dissolved her worry. She let out a breath she didn’t know was being held back and returned his gesture. For a quiet moment, they just sat there, relishing each other’s presence.
Abruptly, though, their time were ruined by a loud crash outside the tavern. Wukong tensed up instantly, while Ahri whipped around to try and identify the source of the sound. As if on cue, a group of brawny men came stumbling into the building. With beet-red faces and hazy eyes, they were walking magnets for trouble. Judging by the tavern owner’s expression, this was not the first time this had happened.
“Heyyyyy!” The biggest of the group called out. Unsurprisingly, he was slurring like there’s no tomorrow. They dragged himself to the nearest table, dropping into the chairs with a heavy thud “Anything good on the house today, boss???”
The owner grimaced, but was hesitant to send the drunkards away “You’ve been drinking enough for the night, I think. I can give you water if you want…”
The man scoffed “Nonsense! It’s the holiday, I’m just having a good time!” He narrowed his eyes at the tavern owner “What are you saying here? Do you have a problem?” The mood shifted immediately. The hostility in the air was almost tangible now. At the corner of her eyes, Ahri saw Wukong leaned forward almost imperceptibly, ready to intervene at the first sign of violence.
The owner gulped “No, not at all! You’re always welcomed here!” But the damage had already been done. The man stood up and walks toward the front bar, his eyes harboring a dangerous glint. His friends followed closely behind him, looking way too eager to start fight.
“You think I’m stupid, aren’t you?” The other customers were getting antsy, some had already headed for the door “Everyone talks behind my back, bet you all thought you were so sneaky, huh? Well, I’m here to tell you, YOU’RE NOT!” The owner was terrified, almost tripping over himself as he tried to put some distance between himself and the mob. Some of the men roared with laughter, as if they just heard the world’s funniest joke. The leader of the group came face to face with the poor owner, who was now too terrified to even react.
“Let me show you, what I think about you lot...” He raised his fist, undoubtedly about to give the owner the beating of his life, when-
“HEY!” The entire tavern turned to see who had just shouted. Ahri slowly turned around to be greeted by her boyfriend, who had just drawn the mob’s attention toward them. She raised an eyebrow, at which he slightly shook his head. Of course, Wukong wouldn’t just sat there and watched innocents be terrorized like that. He was lucky that she loved him for that.
“7 against 1? Do you really need that many people to shield your fragile ego?” Wukong continued “Better yet, why don’t you piss off and go pick on someone your own size?”
Ahri could see the man burning with rage, and Wukong was throwing in the fuel. He changed his course swiftly to their table, his minions following closely behind. The other customers were whispering loudly, most likely discussing what seemed like a good-intention-but-ill-prepare couple trying to stand up against the tyrants. Fools, she rolled her eyes, they had no ideas what they just got themselves into.
“What did you just say?” The drunkard’s voice was low, trying to intimidate them. All Ahri could focus on was not to gagged at the stench in his breath “You think you and your little whore here,“ He gestured at Ahri, and Wukong’s face hardened “can just talk shit and get away with it, ape?”
Ahri snapped “Watch your tongue!” She sneered, letting her fangs out “Or you will know exactly what we can get away with.”
“Ooohhh, somebody’s being feisty.” The bastard and his friends mocked her back. He noticed the little plushie on the table and snatched it before she could stop him.
“What’s this?” He examined it mockingly “A little souvenir for lover boy? How cute.” Without warning, the drunkard grabbed the plushie by the head and ripped it in two. The mob roared with laughter once again. The plushie’s tattered remains fell to the ground as Wukong stared at them.
“Ahri, don’t-“ he said urgently, but his warning was falling on deaf ears. The ringing in her ears is getting louder. How dare they? How dare they?
He leaned down, and Ahri had to stopped herself from gouging his eyes out. He reached out to tilted her chin up “After we’re done with your boyfriend here, maybe we can have a little fun-“
The man never got to finish what he said, for at that precise moment, Ahri slashed his face from one ear to the other. All hell broke loose. Looking back, Ahri could scarcely recalled the exact details of the fight entailed afterward. She knew there was blood; blood and a burning hatred so intense she could had choked on it if she wanted to. Wukong had to jogged her memory: Apparently, she went on a rampage. Wukong joined in the fight, too, but he didn’t exactly go to back her up. He was there to protect everyone from her. The poor man had to juggle between getting the terrified crowd out of the tavern, sending the shell-shock owner back into his home and preventing the mob from being turned into fine paste. They tried in vain to put up a fight, but a group of alcoholics stood no chance against one of the most powerful sorceresses in the land. When the dust settled, she found herself pinned to the ground by Wu, the scene surrounding her an absolute ruin. She was trembling, not from fear, but from the last remaining vestiges of fire inside her thrashing out. Having made sure she was subdued, Wukong turned to the crumbing mess behind him. The man who started this was curling into himself same as his friends, half sobbing, half begging for mercy.
“Get out of my sight and never come back,” Wukong warned “or we will finish where we left off.” Needless to say, they scuttled out in an instant. After that, he gently helped Ahri get back on her feet, his eyes scanning her thoroughly.
“Let’s go.” They got out of the tavern and back to their inn, hand in hand all the while. Not a single word was uttered as they pushed pass the nosy crowd trying to catch the latest piece of drama. They retired early to their room with silence hung heavily in the air. She did not dare to face Wukong even as they got into bed, opting instead to face the window, wishing the moonlight could chase her whirlwind of thought away.
“I can hear you all the way from here, you know?” Wukong’s voice rang out like a gunshot behind her “Care to share it?”
Signing, Ahri forced herself to face the emerald-eye Vastayan “What do you want me to say? I ruined everything.”
“Last I recalled, you weren’t the one to call them to our table.” Wukong grimaced “I could have, should have taken them outside-“
“Don’t” Ahri cut him off “You were trying to protect the people, nothing is wrong with that. I was the one who wanted to flay them like animals, all because of a plushie.” Tears started prickling at her eyes, threatening to come out. Wukong wordlessly pull her closer, and she accepted it without a complaint.
“Still, I’m sorry for putting you in that position” His voice was soothing as he ran his hand across her back “You deserved so much better than having to deal with such perverts.” She slowly melted into his embrace, letting the tension in her body go.
“And I am sorry for almost getting us arrested with first degree murder.” Ahri managed to put up a smile. It soon dropped, though “I don’t understand why I was so angry then. It was so trivial-“
“They insulted you, treat you like a toy and a piece of meat.” Wukong calmly explained “I won’t say I condone it, but I understand.”
She laid still in his arms, then said half-jokingly “First thing in the morning, we will have to compensate that poor owner. I think I almost pulled the entire building down.”
“Agreed” He said, then his hand paused “And I will get you a bigger plushie.” He shut her down before she could protest “Nope, no argument here. I will get you the biggest monkey plushie in Ionia and it will be my greatest achievement for all the days to come.”
“Fine” Ahri huffed “But you will have to carry it for me, understand?” When she heard him hummed in agreement, she just shook her head and sink deeper into his chest.
“…Good talk?” Wukong said suddenly, and Ahri looked up to saw him staring at her. She thought for a moment, then agreed.
“Good talk.” Their lips met each other in the middle. It was nothing too much, just a reassurance that everything would be okay. Right then and there, in that moment, Ahri thought that maybe it was not so bad, after all.