Work Text:
There were two Erlang Shens.
Or actually, more accurately speaking, there were two versions of Yang Jian.
At this point, Wukong wasn’t quite sure which was the “true” version.
Erlang Shen was the one that everyone knew of. He was the nephew of the Jade Emperor. He was the Divine Sage.
He was the one who burned his mountain and killed his monkeys. He was the one who sneered and smiled cruelly at him when Wukong was getting executed. He was the one who tried to kill him several times during their infamous battle.
He was the one who called him a monster, a demon monkey. He was the one who spit in his face while Wukong was locked up in his cell. He was the one who obeyed all the commands the celestial realm bestowed upon him. He was the war god every Yao Guai feared.
He was the one Wukong hated more than anyone he had ever met, more than Bai Gu Jing. More than the Six Eared Macaque.
But Wukong couldn’t kill him. Wukong wanted to at first, all the time. He already knew how to.
If only killing Erlang Shen didn’t also include killing Yang Jian, then Wukong would most certainly have ended his life a long time ago.
Yang Jian was the one who helped him at Bibotan. Yang Jian was the one who looked at Wukong with eyes full of admiration, of kindness. He was the one who comforted crying children, who opposed the Emperor’s cruel rules, who allowed the Yao Guais to live another day should they show repentance.
Yang Jian was the one who kissed Wukong and said, “I love you.” He was the one who called him cute and who snuggled with him at night during peaceful times.
He cherished those rare moments. The moments with Yang Jian.
Before Erlang Shen inevitably takes over again.
***
It started at Bibotan.
Initially, Wukong was terrified of having to ask Erlang Shen for help. He didn’t want to admit that Erlang might be just a tinyyyy bit stronger than him, and that he did fear for his life the last time they met.
Bajie, luckily or unluckily, did not get the hint and went up to ask Erlang Shen anyways. Wukong prepared himself for the worst, and gripped onto his staff even tighter than before, just in case.
However, not only did Erlang Shen agree to help, he always greeted Wukong as if they were old friends. As if their last meeting hadn’t involved Erlang killing his family in cold blood and smiling when he was on death row.
“Great Sage, it is lovely seeing you here,” Erlang had said happily.
“The same for me…” Wukong stammered out. Nobody else seemed to find this strange. Bajie was busy explaining the situation afterwards and Wukong stayed quiet the entire time.
After failing to capture the Yao Guai the first time, they stayed the night by the river, prepping for a new strategy tomorrow.
Erlang Shen found him while he had been resting against a tree, somewhere far away from the rest of the campsite.
He thought for sure that the three eyed deity had come to kill him. Or try to. He pulled out his golden cudgel to prepare for self defense.
“That’s a very high caliber weapon you have there
It suits you, Great Sage.” Erlang compliments before walking even closer towards him.
“Th-thank you. Your double edged three headed weapon is likely better than mine though,” Wukong smiles, hoping flattery might appease the war deity.
Erlang sits in front of him, much to his dismay and doesn’t seem like he was planning on leaving. He just stares at Wukong with a gentle smile on his face, gaze filled with joy rather than anger.
“Why are you here, Erlang Shen?” Wukong finally asks curtly. If Erlang had been here filled with hate, wanting to end his life it would actually make Wukong feel more at ease.
But he wasn’t. He looked happy to see him. And that was something so unsettling Wukong wanted to run away.
“I missed seeing you. I thought we would never meet again, and yet. Here we are,” Erlang says softly.
Wukong couldn’t sense any lies coming from Erlang’s lips. But he was almost certain the Erlang he knew before would never ever miss him.
“Who are you?” Wukong asks. He turns on his truth vision to double check if this was a Yao Guai in disguise, but it wasn’t (or maybe this yao Guai was so advanced, his eyes couldn’t tell the difference between the disguise or reality).
“You can call me, Yang Jian. May I call you by your name, Great Sage?” Erlang smiled.
“Yang Jian? I’ve never heard of that name before.” He admits honestly.
“It’s my real name.”
“Real?”
Real? What did that mean? Was Erlang Shen not a name?
Wukong thought about it for a while and then nodded, “Of course. You do not have to be so formal with me, Er- Yang Jian.”
Wukong checks again, looking at the three eyed deity up and down, and still doesn’t see any disguise. But the manner of speaking. The lack of hatred. The soft eye contact. This wasn’t the same guy who burned down his mountain and murdered his children. This couldn’t be.
“What? Do you like what you see?” Yang Jian teased, seeing Wukong eyeing him up and down.
Wukong couldn’t help but blush, fur puffing up from embarrassment. “N-No! I was trying to see if you were a Yao Guai!”
Yang Jian furrowed his eyebrows, “Me? Why?”
“Because you’re…well I mean, don’t you hate my guts and want to rip me from limb to limb? Drink my blood and gouge my eyes out and stuff?”
Yang Jian’s eyes widened, looking genuinely surprised, “I said that to you?”
“Yeah. Last time we met. Do you really not remember?”
“No. I’m sorry. For saying that I mean. And for not remembering what I said.”
Now he was apologizing?! The fuck?
Wukong could sense when someone was lying, and this was a sincere apology.
But this was such bullshit!!
His sworn enemy just apologized so easily?? Wukong had wanted to make him pay! Grovel at his feet and beg for his forgiveness while apologizing!
Well, whatever. An apology was still an apology.
When he replied and said he forgave Yang Jian, Yang Jian smiled and gave him such a sweet smile that Wukong was sure that their past fight had been nothing but an illusion. That, or he was currently dreaming.
***
The next time they met, it had been Erlang Shen.
Wukong made the stupid choice of deliberately flying over to say hello while he had been on the tail of a demon’s escape. He just so happened to spot the deity in the distance and thought maybe Yang Jian could help him.
Instead of a cordial greeting, he was met with a glare that could kill and a sudden spear throw. When he avoided that, Erlang suddenly grabbed him by the front of his neck and lifted him high into the air, off his somersault cloud and squeezed.
“What are you doing here, you disgusting scum?” Erlang spit out, still choking him but giving him just enough space to speak.
“Ya-Yang Jian?” He choked out.
“Huh? Oh, you met him? That pathetic loser? Sorry, he’s not available at the MOMENT!”
At the word “moment”, Erlang threw him down, all the way till he hit earth with such a strong impact, a small earthquake sounded, alerting the local Tudi. The old Tudi came out to greet the Great Sage and to make sure he was alright.
When he got up and looked back up, wanting to go find Erlang again, the other deity was nowhere to be seen.
Afterwards, he manages to capture the Yao Guai easily, but still couldn’t get that encounter out of his mind.
***
Xiaotian provided the answers to his questions.
He explained that there were two of them. One was his kind master, the original Yang Jian, who was the “true” Yang Jian.
Erlang Shen was a trauma response, created after his thousand years of training. After suffering and fleeing from the celestial realm, he developed this personality to fight against his enemies and to be able to face his uncle.
Yang Jian had been too rebellious. Erlang Shen was the one who obeyed orders.
XiaoTian personally liked Yang Jian the most, but Erlang Shen treated him kindly as well, since he was always his loyal friend as well as brother in arms.
However, Erlang Shen was the one who was cold and bitter, made to shoulder everything Yang Jian wasn’t able to. Erlang Shen had no friends of his own, other than XiaoTian, and he hated Yao Guais more than anything.
Ah, Wukong thought, that’s why he treats me like the shit beneath his shoe.
The day at Bibotan had been a rare instance where Yang Jian got to hang out with his Meishan brothers, so Wukong had been lucky to meet him then. But most of the time, it was Erlang Shen who was present, since duty after duty was the life of a celestial figure.
***
Wukong couldn’t forget about Erlang Shen or Yang Jian though.
Especially not after falling in love with the latter.
He blames everything on alcohol. If he hadn’t gotten tipsy, he never would have been so stupid, so fucking stupid enough to let Yang Jian kiss him.
That first kiss soon escalated into something more.
He should have never allowed himself to meet Yang Jian more than once. Because the guy was just too charming.
Wukong couldn’t not fall in love with him, not after Yang Jian was the first and only person other than his monkey family to ever sincerely call him beautiful.
***
Right now, he was trying not to enjoy getting passionately kissed by Yang Jian.
They met only whenever Yang Jian came back, which was quite rare. However, it was starting to frequent more than before, much to Wukong’s delight.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Yang Jian says, kissing all the bruises that were still visible beneath his fur, left behind by Erlang Shen.
Yang Jian always apologized. He always sounded so, so sad. Wukong could feel wet tears on his body, falling all over him wherever Yang Jian kissed him.
***
Yang Jian always bought him gifts, lovely beautiful gifts and took him on wonderful dates. They spent many domestic hours together with XiaoTian watching them.
However, Erlang Shen always came back, always with a resounding level of anger towards Wukong for remaining by Yang Jian’s side.
Wukong never got used to the difference between them.
“Why are you still here you whore? Do you enjoy getting your brains fucked out by the other me this much?”
“I love you, Wukong. Don’t listen to him. Please don’t listen to whatever I say when I’m him.”
“The other me hates you too, you know? I’m him. And I hate everything about you.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll figure out a way. I don’t need Erlang Shen anymore. All I need is you, so please stay by my side.”
“Scream all you want. Oh, you’re going to cry? Calling out for your Yang Jian to come back? To save you? Why don’t you fight back, you coward?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll never leave again. He won’t ever hurt you again.”
“Leave.”
“Stay. Stay with me.”
“He’s a liar. He can’t protect you. He can’t stop me.”
***
Wukong knows he should leave.
His master had repeatedly warned him and advised him to leave Erlang Shen. His friends were concerned about him, noticing the dark bruises and puffy watery eyes from crying.
One day, after Erlang Shen poured acidic poison onto his eyes, Wukong decides he’s had enough.
Yang Jian flickers back in, desperation written all over his beautiful face.
“Please don’t go. I’ll heal you! I-
Wukong smiled wryly, feeling exhausted. “It’s ok, Yang Jian. You don’t have to do anything. I’m the problem.”
“No! No you’re-
“-finally leaving? If this was all it took, I’d have done this a lot sooner.”
“That’s not what I meant! You stop-
“-what are you still doing here?”
“I can! I can keep you under control!-“
“No, you can’t.”
Wukong, seeing the familiar (yet still horrific) situation, seeing his lover in such anguish, abruptly turns and leaves, zooming out of there before it was too late.
“WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!”
He could hear both sides of his lover in that voice.
Erlang Shen wonders what’s wrong with Yang Jian for falling in love with a disgusting monster.
Yang Jian wonders what’s wrong with Erlang Shen for hating Wukong.
Wukong wonders if there was a way to stay with Yang Jian. And Erlang Shen too. Because both of them were there. And he loved both, despite the other’s violence and hatred.
For now, he had to stay away. He had to stay away until the bruises faded, until Yang Jian calmed down.
Until the time was right.