Chapter Text
"I've built my own Palace and plan to move there soon."
Those were the words that one Prince Niu Hong Hai'er, also known as Red Son, decided to start his day with, sipping his boiling coffee across from his parents.
The Bull King Mowang and his wife, Princess Iron Fan Gongzhu, froze in their movements, the Bull King's ladle hovering over his wife's bowl as Gongzhu's cup paused at her mouth. She slowly lowers the cup slowly to the table and looks at her son, raising a groomed brow at him.
"Did you now? Are we allowed privy in its location, or, like this sudden announcement at breakfast, is it a surprise to be shown off once you're pleased?" She asked, touching her husband's hand to get him moving again.
Red Son gracefully set his own cup down, knowing better to continue drinking and mentally mourning the loss of warmth the coffee when his mother had set her's down. "I'd rather show off my Palace when it is up to standard, Mother. I am bit of a perfectionist, as you are aware, and until it's complete I would rather keep my home hidden away."
Mowang finished serving his wife and silently filled a large bowl for his son, placing it in front of his calf that he was realizing was no longer a calf, and sat down with the rest of the pot. "Is there a reason why you believe you should leave, my son? Did we do something wrong?"
Red Son shook his head, a small smile on his face. "Of course not, Father. But I am an adult, nearly six hundred years old, and your Heir. It is only fitting that I have my own domain and practice my rule before I am handed part of the Kingdom. You both of worked hard for your territory and to maintain it, I refuse to be the reason it falls into disrepair."
The Bull King's large chest puffed up widely in pride of his son, a smile curling his lips and showing off his powerful fangs, even as his heart ached from the pain of being seperated from his son after his long imprisonment.
He admits, sometimes he looks at the powerful, intelligent young man who stands before him and still sees the small, happy calf who fit in the cup of his palm.
Mowang looks to his wife, letting his sadness and hesitation show only to her, and sees it reflected back in her own eyes, along with their pride and joy that their son was spreading his wings.
The two finally looked at their son and nodded. "When do you plan to move to your hidden Palace?" Mowang asked, picking up his spoon to begin to eat as Gongzhu lifted her cup again.
Red Son took that as his queue to begin eating as well and swiftly picked up his coffee, drinking the now scalding liquid before it lost any more heat. "In a month, perhaps sooner if I find that I ordered copies of certain items for my new home."
After all, he has plans that have been long awaited.
The sooner the better.
----------
"You want me to what?" Mk asked, still stunned at the request given to him.
Red Son lifted a arched brow at him and scoffed lightly, a smile playing on his lips. "Not paying attention again, Noodle Boy? I want you to come with me and paint a mural on my new palace wall. I will be paying you, don't worry." He held up a thick bundle of bills to prove his words, waving it thoughtlessly in the air like he didn't notice every single eye in the restaurant suddenly lock on to it.
Mk shoved his hand down, hissing, "Don't just wave that around!" at him, and dragged him behind the counter to the kitchen, ignoring Pigsy's grumbles about no patrons in the kitchen. "So, you want me to go with you to some remote place you won't even tell me about to paint a wall? Don't you have like, I don't know, professionals for that?"
Red Son snorted, a small puff of fire flaring out of his nose. "Please. 'Professionals' they may be called, but compared to the works I've seen you make? Beginners, and subpar beginners at that. Why would I ask any of them to even dream of touching my Palace when I know a far better artist?"
Mk felt a blush rising to his cheeks, his glamoured tail swishing happily at his feet at the praise, but his nails picked at his cuticles as his nerves whispered in his ears. "I... I'd honestly love to, but I have work at the shop and the City to defend, I can't just take a vacation to some hidden Palace to paint a mural-"
"I've already set my Bull clones to patrol the city," Red Son cuts the monkey demon off with a wave of his hand, "I've also hired a large entourage of mercenaries to defend against any enemy that might rise in our time away, and as for the shop..." He turns his head toward the bustling Boar demon, rasing his voice loud enough to be heard over the hubbub and clanging pots. "Pigsy!"
"WHAT DO YOU WANT, RED BOY, I'M BUSY." The Boar Demon snarled, quickly chopping vegetables as he prepped to add them in the pot. "I SWEAR, IF YOU'RE HERE TO CAUSE ANY MORE TROUBLE, WAIT UNTIL AFTER BUSINESS HOURS-" Words caught in his throat as Red Son shoved a thick stack of bills in his hand, twice the size what.
"This is enough to cover expenses and profit for your restaurant while I commission your delivery boy, yes?" The Prince drawled, checking his nails and frowning at the chipped polish. He'd need to touch them up before he begins his plan.
Pigsy stares at the thick wad of cash in his hands, figuring the amount by the weight in his mind, and narrows his eyes suspiciously. "Why do you want Mk? You've probably got an army of painters to work for you-"
"And as I told the Noodle Boy," Red Son swiftly cuts him off, waving a hand in the air, "none of them meet my standards. I have seen his work and I want his. I get what I want. So, that is enough, correct?"
Pigsy glanced between the stack of money and his adopted son, a hesitation on his face even as Mk made a begging expression, his hands pressed together with those innocent golden eyes shining so brightly. "Nope." He popped the 'p' and turned back to his stove, stirring the soup, and set the money on the counter for the Prince to take. "Not enough. Now, why don't you head out and-"
There was a whoosh of fire and a heavy, solid thunk that made the entire restaurant grow silent at what they saw.
Pigsy's eyes closed at Mk's choked sound and he took a deep breath before turning to see what made the noise.
A suitcase.
A large, expensive looking suitcase, locked at the zippers with what appeared to be a solid gold bull head lock.
"The combination is yours and Tang's anniversary." The Prince said, straightening his coat. "Take a vacation. Or that honeymoon that the scholar had said he wanted since you two never got one. Always too busy, correct? I've heard the Holy Islands are lovely this time of year, and filled with not only plenty for Tang to obsess over but rare herbs and spices for you to experiment with." He turned to Mk, not even waiting for Pigsy's answer. "I'll pick you up in a week, bright and early, Noodle Boy. Make sure to pack heavy, and for somewhere very warm."
Mk blinked. "Wait, pack-?"
With a dramatic twirl of flames, the Bull Prince was gone, leaving a spot mark in the shape of his boots on the ground.
The two stared at the two black boot marks on the ground for a moment as sound slowly started to fill the restaurant again, processing the interaction they just had with the Bull Prince as their customers buzzed with whispers and hushed talk.
Pigsy glanced at the large suitcase of money just sitting on his counter, the golden bull glinting almost mockingly in the light, and sighed as he pulled it off to store it below the counter. "Looks like Tang and I are planning a vacation..."
Mk blinked as his Dadsy spoke, his mind finally catching up. "What did he mean by packing heavy...?"
----------
Like Red Son had promised, he reappeared a week later, knocking on Mk's window for once before coming in, eyeing up the monkey demon sleeping unglamoured and defenseless like he didn't have an enemy in the world.
Or was powerful enough to not be bothered with them.
The Prince had to hold in a shiver at the thought of the power he personally knows hides just below the golden skin glowing gently in the early morning light.
He hummed quietly to himself, silently stalking up to the side of Mk's bed to watch him sleep for a moment and look at him in the morning sun.
The golden brown hair and fur that glittered in the rising sun like hidden gold, lightly tanned skin that seemed to glow with it's own light, the dance of pink and white scars across his body to tell the tale of his life of battles he'd won and lost but lived, a deep coral mask with two precious dots on each cheek that highlighted his beauty, the calluses on his long, thick fingers that showed off not only his training but the small one on the inside of his middle finger where he braces the brushes and pencils he used for his art, his powerful limbs that carried him through life with a surprising amount of animal grace, the long and soft tail that thumped happily in his sleep against the bedding, the way his plush lips were naturally curved like they were always ready to break into that smile that warms Red Son's soul to the very core...
He was so perfect.
Red Son couldn't wait for his plan to come to fruition.
He spent a few more moments looking at the sleeping demon, his fingers feather light as they traced over Mk's features and absorbed them into his mind, taking in his soft expression and smiling at the quiet snores coming from him before stepping back to a respectable distance at the foot of the bed.
"WAKE UP, NOODLE BOY!"
Mk shot up from his bed with a scream, limbs flying wildly and hands trying to reach for Ruyi Bang only to hit himself in the face and tumble out on the bed in a jumble of limbs and blankets in a groaning heap on the floor.
Red Son raised a brow at him and huffed. "I told you that I would pick you up early, Noodle Boy. Now get up and get dressed, I want to return to my Palace and start planning as soon as possible. Now, where are your bags?"
Mk blinked sleepily at the Prince standing in his room and motioned toward the backpack and duffle bag by his door, yawning as he stretched to try to wake up. "When you said early I thought you meant at normal people time, not sunrise..."
Red Son huffed and rolled his eyes. Then stared at the two bags with a frown. "Where are the rest?"
It was now Mk's turn to frown, tilting his head slightly. "Those are it. Those are my bags."
The Prince brought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose to hide a giddy smile. "Of course. Of course you do the bare minimum and I have to complete it for you. Luckily for you," he waved his hand, flaring his coat dramatically for effect, and pulled three more suitcases with Bull insignias from his flames, "I came prepared! Now, let's see what peasant clothes are going to be soiling my home."
Mk couldn't hardly get out an argument before Red Son had flung his closet open and began ripping things off the hangers, throwing most of what he found into the suitcases with plenty of complaints.
"Are you aware that over half of your clothes have rips in them?"
"Well, fighting gets rough, and some are fashionable-"
"Nonsense, having your clothes ripped as fashion? Mortals never fail to surprise and disappoint me, next you will be telling me that those hideous things you wear to sleep in are high fashion."
"Wha- hey, they're comfortable-"
"What is this!? This is fit to be an oil rag, I'm fairly sure this is an oil rag, what is it doing in your closet!?"
"I liked the pattern!"
"Then buy a new one! Burn this thing before it infects me!"
"Infects you- it's not diseased!"
"I HIGHLY DISAGREE-"
Before Mk noticed, there were two piles of every single piece of clothing he owned in his room. One that was getting neatly folded and put into the suitcases, and one that was piled in a corner that Red Son kept glancing at like he was considering burning the whole thing.
"Uh... Red Son? Exactly how long am I staying with you?"
The Bull Prince hums as he folds the last shirt and tucks it away, grabbing the last free suitcase and walking to Mk's desk to begin carefully putting his sketch books and at supplies inside. "As long as it takes. It's a mural, Mk, not painting the entirety of China. It won't take that long." He eyes the meager art supplies in the suitcase and sighs heavily. "Is this all you have? I'll have to order you more, wouldn't want your skills to dull in the middle of my commission."
Mk blinked up at him and quickly shook his head while waving his hands in front of his like he could wave off the offer. "Wha- no you don't have to buy me supplies, I have money, I just haven't restocked in a second, and my skills won't dull in the middle of a project that doesn't even make sense-"
"If I say I will then I will, Noodle Boy." The Prince simply snips, grabbing one of Mk's frantically waving hands to pull the monkey demon up and against his chest, pressing a long fingered hand against Mk's lower back as he tugged the suitcases closer. "Now be a good boy and be quiet a moment while I teleport us, this is my first time transporting another to this location and the first time is always the worst."
Mk wasn't thinking.
He wasn't thinking of how warm Red Son was.
He wasn't thinking of the fact he was pressed nose first into the taunt chest of the taller man, his spicy scent filling his lungs with every breath.
He wasn't thinking about how his core secretly clenched when the Prince demanded he be a 'good boy'.
He wasn't thinking about how Red Son's hand was splayed across his lower back, long fingers sliding elegantly across the small bit of skin his sleep shirt exposed, of the burning warmth of it, of how he swears those pianist fingers moved ever so slightly lower to brush against the sensitive base of his tail and make him wonder for a split second if his magic was electricity instead of fire.
Mk wasn't thinking of anything of all.
No of course not.
Not even of how he was gripped tighter to that chest and the large hand squeezed his waist in a possessive death grip as fire began to swirl around them.
----------
The Palace was hidden on an island far from Megapolis City, the sun's rays piercing down on the sands of the beach and thick forest as jagged peaks surrounded the island in a protective crescent. Birds and animals could be heard calling in the forest, the waves happily lapping on the beach, and the wind blew through Mk and Red Son's hair as nature's music played in the air all around them. A pitch colored path winded up a hill, carved from the stones of the island itself, to a Palace that would put the Bull Palace to shame.
Snow white marble walls with delicate spiderwebs of grey, bright red pillars holding up the next floor with golden vines and peony flowers dancing across the carved and painted wood, the carefully made hip roof arching gracefully over the Palace with flowering vines and lanterns hanging from it's edges. It was a thing of beauty and Mk almost forgot he was still clinging to Red Son until the taller man squeezed his waist to get his attention.
"Done gawking, Noodle Boy?" He asked with a crooked grin, sliding his hand along Mk's lower back and releasing him like he didn't notice he did it. "Now, leave your bags here and the Clones will bring it to your room, I will show you to your work area. This way."
Mk followed just a few steps behind Red Son as he tried to absorb the opulent Palace he was currently walking in, wondering in the back of his mind if he should take off his shoes for fear of tracking mud inside as the Bull Prince leads him through more rooms than the Monkie Kid thought he'd ever been in in his life, each decorated with subtle earth tones and bright gold decor, his fingers twitching at the sight of white walls and tall, snow white pillars-
He literally ran into Red Son's back, stumbling backwards and nearly falling before a strong arm catches him around his waist and yanks him back up.
Red Son raised a brow at Mk and smirked (like his hand wasn't pressed to the small dip of his lower back and not moving unless you count pressing him closer as moving) for just a moment. "What, did you forget to use your eyes to see in front of you again, Noodle Boy? Or has my home's glory blinded you already? You haven't even seen the garden yet."
Mk felt a blush rise to his face as he presses away from the Prince with a nervous laugh, eyes darting around as he tries to not stare at the handsome face(or throat) right in front of his eyes(his new teeth didn't ache what are you talking about). "Yeah! It's just. Wow, I can tell how much work you've put into this! How long did it take you to design everything?"
Red Son let him go, but his eyes drifted around his body, pausing at his throat for a moment, before meeting his with a smug look. "Seven years. Now then, this is the place I wanted the mural." He turns and waves at a large wall-
A obscenely huge wall.
At least as high as a two-story building and wider than Pigsy's was tall, it took up an enormous portion of the room, supporting the edge of a ceiling wide skylight that allowed natural light to filter through the entire room, making it light up like a scene from a movie.
Mk couldn't help but stare. "You... Want me to paint this? It's huge! What kind of mural do you want!?"
Red Son shrugged and checked his nails again. "I'll leave that to you. I despise a large white expanse, so enjoy yourself. I'm trusting your artistic views, though, so please do not fill a wall of my home with that simian."
Mk stared at the Prince for a moment, and pressed a knuckle to his forehead. "You don't even know what you want? Not even an idea so I can let everyone know how long I'll be gone?"
Red Son shrugs again and turns away, already walking to another door. "As I said, I'll leave that to you, you're the artist. Now, this way, I'll show you to your room."
----------
Mk.
Was.
In.
Shock.
This couldn't be his room.
Yes it was everything he liked but....
He was only supposed to stay for the mural, right!?
Muted burnt umber walls, a king sized bed with a dark orange bedspread and a mountain of pillows, a balcony covered in fruiting plants that were perfectly ripe and begging to be picked, a large wooden desk covered in art supplies, an easel set up near the wide windows of the balcony with a comfortable looking stool for him to sit on, and a gaming set up with a large TV for him to play on. Mk slowly looked around the room, shock plain on his face, and turned to stare at the smug looking Bull Prince, who straightened slightly at his gaze and almost seemed to puff out his chest with pride.
"You're joking."
The Prince deflated almost immediately, but hid his disappointment with a sharp frown. "What? Something not up to your standards, Noodle Boy?"
Did he forget something? Snacks, nesting material, games, some kind of art supplies Mk could want, clothes, jewelry-
"This is way too much!"
Red Son blinked at the frustrated looking monkey demon and raised a brow. "Too... Much?" He'd argue that there's too little still, but he has plans for that.
"Yes! Too much! I'm just painting you a mural, not some honored guest! And," he points a finger at the Prince and his growing smirk, "you don't even know what you want! How long do you expect me to stay!?"
Red Son shrugs and glances around the room. A few more blankets and pillows won't seem odd to offer him, would it? "As long as it takes. I am paying you and your adopted fathers very handsomely for your time."
Mk rolls his eyes. "And what if you don't like what I paint? I can't stay here forever, I've got to help at the shop!"
The Prince hums and slowly steps towards Mk.
The Monkie Kid tensed as those intense violet eyes locked on to him, dragging over him as the Prince stepped closer. He felt like he was trapped in the gaze of a predator, like if he moved too fast he's be jumped on, a feeling that set his teeth on edge and made his thighs clench(he's not ovulating right now, is he?). Those too loud clicks of the Prince's metal tipped boots seemed to ring throughout the room as he stepped closer and closer until he was inches away from Mk, staring him down from his slightly taller height.
He almost jumped out of his skin when Red Son finally spoke again.
"If it takes more time than I originally assumed, I'll simply pay you and Pigsy more. I've the money to burn, and I don't mind spending as much as I need to get exactly what I desire. As for me not liking your designs... First of all, if I disagree with the mural, we can simply photograph it and start again. Secondly..." He swiftly took one of Mk's hands and brought it up, turning it lightly to observe the calluses and scars that covered them, his skin burning hot against Mk's. He slowly dragged his gaze up to golden eyes that were wide from surprise and a bit of shock, and felt his mouth twitch in a smile. "I doubt anything these skilled hands could do could displease me. And I leave my home to their careful, wonderful designs with faith and pride."
Mk nearly swallowed his tongue as his hand was brought up to the Prince's burning mouth, a light fluttering of lips against his knuckles for just a moment before he was released and Red Son stepped back.
"I trust that you're exhausted after the trip and excitement of today. I'll have your dinner sent here and will see you in the morning." He turned to leave, but stopped at the door, seeming to hesitate. "And Mk?"
Mk blinked away some of his shock, his skin still tingling from where the burning lips brushed against him. "Y-yeah?"
Red Son smirked and seem to take a deep breath through his nose for a moment. "I will be walking through my own home in my unglamoured form. Feel free to join me if you wish, here we do not have to hide ourselves away. Good night."
Mk could only stare after him.
Unglamoured?
Red Son was wearing a glamour?
.... Fuck he's already hot how much hotter is he going to get-
"G-good night..."