Archive of Our Own

It was dark. He couldn’t remember where he was or how he got there but it was dark. If he had his lantern he, could have lightened it up a bit.

He wouldn’t have minded sitting there and doing nothing if it wasn’t for the fact he could feel something sharp in his side.

It was uncomfortable and painful. And not just the type of pain and small cut would give, the type of pain that people would get when they got impaled by something. Which was exactly what had happened.

Macaque can barely focus on the darkness around him, let alone trying to figure out what was inside him. He attempted to roll onto his back, but yelped at the sharp pain that went through him the moment he lifted his arm to turn himself over.

He fell back to the floor with a thud and bit back another scream. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down after realizing he was hyperventilating.

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t panicking. He had no idea where he was, it was dark, and something big and sharp was ripping his insides apart every time he inhaled to quickly.

He let out a shaky breath and pushed himself onto his back disregarding the sharp and stinging pain around his entire body.

He finally managed to get onto his back and let himself even out his breathing for a bit before even thinking about removing the object.

He lifted his arm carefully as to not heighten the pain. He lowered his hand to his side to feel what it was, accidentally pushing it deeper into his wound.

He screamed and jerked his hand away, rolling to his side and hugging himself. Tears pricked his eyes as he continued to scream into the void. He really wished he wasn’t here right now. He really wished he knew where HERE was right now.

A loud roar. Thats all he heard. He froze in the fetal position he had taken on. His ears pulled back against his head. They were ringing and it made his head ache horribly. The roar was loud. And whatever made it, was definitely big.

He opened his eyes and his pupils shrunk at the sight before him. Hell, he didn’t even what WAS before him. The creature was massive. Towering over him and probably anyone else hes ever met in his life time. Sharp teeth littered its body. And its face, god its face…he felt nauseous just looking at it.

He pulled himself up as fast as he could, ignoring his body’s protest to any type of movement he made. As soon as he was to his feet the creature roared again and started sprinting towards him.

His immediate reaction was to sink into the shadows and get out of whatever this place was. But of course, his powers weren’t working. He started running as fast as he could while his ankles basically screamed in agony.

He didn’t know where he was running, all he knew is that he wanted to get away from this THING. Unfortunately the universe had other plans, as his legs buckled beneath him and he crumpled to the floor with a pained yelp.

The creature leaned over him. He was fucked. He was gonna die here; alone. He didn’t even register the tears rolling down his face. He’d never been so horrified in his life. The stuff they say about your life flashing before your eyes really was true.

He thought back to his life before all this. His life with the other monkeys, back at flower fruit mountain. Life with…no. He didn’t want his stupid face being the last thing he saw before he died. But it would be.

The monster lunged down at him and opened its mouth, and the only thing on Macaque’s mind before he slipped out of consciousness was Wukongs bright smiling face.
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Wukong was expecting a boring day like any other. Sitting alone on the mountain playing with his children. Thats what he usually did when the kid wasn’t coming for training.

What he wasn’t expecting was something to come flying out of nowhere and into the river.

All the monkeys and himself jumped when whatever it was hit the water. Wukong didn’t move a muscle, guarding his children behind him.

He jumped to his feet, walking over to the river to see what it was. The last thing he was ready for was to see a person, no a monkey. And not just any monkey, the Six-Eared Macaque. He froze at the sight, before going into a fighting stance.

Even if the other had helped them defeat the bone demon, he still wasn’t one to be trusted.

He knew Macaque had only done it because if he didn’t the world probably would have ended. “What are you doing here, Liù ěr míhóu?” He said, venom pouring out of his mouth with the last three words.

Thats when the king finally realized that Macaque wasn’t moving. Like, at all.

He stood up straight, raising a brow at the other and crossing his arms in frustration. “Uh, hello? Im talking to you. Get up so we can get this over with.”

When the monkey didn’t give him a response he was convinced it was some type of trick to get him to go closer. Well he wasn’t falling for it.

He huffed and turned back around towards his monkeys, ready to head back inside the waterfall. Thats when Macaque had uttered something.

Wukong spun around ready to attack when he realized the other was still in the water face down. He walked back over to Macaque and bent down to see what was wrong with him.

Thats when he saw it. All the cuts and holes and blood- gods there was so much blood…

Macaque muttered something but Wukong couldn’t quite pick it up because his face was still in the water. He grabbed the monkey by the shoulders and turned him to look at his face.

He froze when he saw it. His once healed scar over his eye, curtesy of your truly, had been covered with a new fresh one.

There was a large gash on his forehead that had waterfalls of blood pouring from it. Macaques other barely functioning eye was also BARELY open. His iris was wobbly, like he was trying really hard to focus on what was in front of him.

Wukong finally realized what Macaque was trying to say and picked the other up. He didn’t even think before opening the waterfall and rushing inside and back to his house.

On second thought, he probably should have stopped to think. I mean, was it really safe bringing this guy into his home? For all he knows he could be using some type of magic to make himself LOOK injured.

He stopped at his door. Maybe he should just finish him off.

I mean, if this is real then he wont defend himself. And Macaque seemed to be on the brink of death already so he’d be doing him a favor. He contemplated the thought, and immediately wiped it from his mind when he heard the man in his arms let out a quiet whimper.

It sounded pathetic, but it was enough to ensure Macaque wasn’t faking anything. Which also meant that ever injury he saw on him was 100% real, and that Macaque would probably die if he didn’t do something.

He rushed over to the couch and carefully placed his shadowy counterpart on it, running to find the phone Mei had given him. He didn’t think he’d ever really need it but it looks like he was wrong.

Wukong didn’t know the first thing about medical care, being immortal his injuries healed themself. But Sandy did, and so he called him.

“Hello?” Sandy said over the phone.

“Sandy, buddy, hey! I uh, I kinda need your help over at my place-“

“Well sure! What can I do for you old friend?” Sandy interrupted.

Wukong’s speech grew more panicked, “Its Macaque, he- fuck- look he’s really hurt and I have no idea how to help him. Please just come-“ Wukong ran out of breath and took a minute to breathe before continuing.

He was rambling over the line, franticly trying to explain what had happened. Sandy told him he was on the way and hung up, which left the monkey to just stare at Macaque in silence and worry.

As much as he hated to admit it, he was scared. The other wasn’t normal and had survived a lot of things sure, but this was bad. Maybe even worse than when he…he doesn’t want to remember that right now.

He crouched down next to the couch and put the back of his hand against Macaques forehead. He was burning up, so much so that Wukong had jerked his hand back like he had put his hand over a flame.

He started to freak out and jumped from his spot on the floor and called the kid. MK wasn’t a doctor or anything but the kid was closer than Sandy was and a lot faster with his staff.

He dialed MK’s number.

“Monkey King? What-“ MK could barely even finish his sentence before his mentor interrupted.

“Theres no time for me to explain bud, just get to Flower Fruit Mountain and QUICK, please!” Wukong screamed into the phone.

The kid arrived no more than three minutes after the call ended. Wukong ushered him inside the house and pointed at Macaque on the couch. MK froze on the spot in shock.

“What…what the hell happened?!” He walked over to the couch and inspected the state of the monkey. Wukong was to shaken up to answer him and just shrugged his shoulders.

“Do you have any medical supplies or something?” MK asked. Wukong stood clueless, having no clue what medical supplies would be classified as other than those bandage things he kept around for MK. “Like, bandages, rubbing alcohol, pain meds- that type of stuff?” Wukong nodded and immediately headed towards his storage room.

He want 100% sure any of those things were in there but he prayed they were.

The room was a mess. Random objects were sprawled all over and he had no idea where to look for medical supplies. He decided that maybe the storage room wasn’t the best place to look for the things he needed and ran down the hall to his bathroom.

He swung the mirror cabinet open and rummaged through everything, accidentally knocking something out of it and breaking it.

Wukong winced at this, knowing he’d having to clean it up later. He finally managed to find the rubbing alcohol and medication that MK had talked about.

He slammed the cabinet shut and ran outside and back to his living room where MK and Macaque had been.

Wukong handed the supplies to his student. “Don’t worry Monkey King. He’ll be okay. Hopefully…” The boy said, glancing back at the monkey on the couch.

MK walked to the couch and crouched down. He started with the cuts that were on his face and hands and anything else that was exposed and not covered by the monkeys clothing.

He was gentle as to not hurt Macaque more than he already was. The other had whined and squirmed every time the kid had touched one of his wounds.

Finally MK had finished bandaging the smaller wounds and moved onto the bigger ones, asking for his mentors help to undress the other.

The both of that stared in terror at the massive gash in his side that was filled with glass. “Oh my god…” the boy said shakily.

MK covered his mouth in horror, backing away from the couch. Wukong didn’t even think before he started to gently shake Macaque awake to make sure he was even ALIVE.
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Macaque whined again and opened his left eye a little bit. He couldn’t see anything. It was just blobs of color in his face. Orange. Thats all.

There was a voice in his ear calling his name. It sounded familiar but he couldn’t figure out why. The blob cupped his cheeks in his hands, making him move his head to the side.

It was hot, he was really hot. He didn’t want the blob to make it worse by smothering his face. He told it to stop touching him, or at least tried to. All that came out was quiet jumbles of words.

His throat felt like it was fire. It was hard to breathe and he ached all over. His side still hurt hurt like hell. The last thing he could remember was that THING and when it leaned over him and tried to EAT HIM.

He shuddered at the memory and his breath hitched as he started to panic. He clearly wasn’t in that void anymore because he could see color. But if he wasn’t there then where the hell was he?

He spaced out for what felt like hours but when he realized he was moved to a different location and a different colored blob was above him he tried to sit up.

Whatever these things were he wasn’t going to let them doing anything to him. He was still recovering from what had happened earlier. The blue blob put a…hand? Yeah, a hand on his shoulder and tried to push him back down.

But he wasn’t giving in. He growled at it and it let him go, giving him the opportunity to stand up off of whatever he was laying on beforehand.

As soon as his feet made contact with the floor he felt something run through him. It was like lightning, and it left as soon as it came. Well, he didn’t know what that was but he didn’t really care either.

He wobbled back and forth before taking a step towards what he thought was the door. Just then the orange blob had returned and moved in front of him, blocking his path.

Before even thinking he threw himself at it and fell to the floor, quickly bouncing back up and sprinting out the door.

Before he could even get two steps away from whatever building he was in, something (someone?) grabbed him from behind and pulled him closer.

His heart raced and he started to kick and scream at whatever it was to let him go. It lifted him up into the air and whispered something.

He didn’t know what it was but it sounded like something he heard way to often back when he was still under the bone demons…control.

No. He wasn’t…not anymore. She was gone. Right? He wasn’t going crazy, they defeated her a while ago and he got away. Or maybe they didn’t. Maybe he was dreaming.

It became hard for him to breathe. Every time he inhaled it felt like his lungs were being filled with water. But he wasn’t in water, at least he didn’t think he was…

His eyelids started to feel heavy the longer he struggled against the blue things grasp. He could feel himself slipping out of consciousness.

He finally fell limp in the blue blobs arms.
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Shit. He’s dead isn’t he? He’s dead in Sandy’s arms right now. Fuck what the hell is he suppose to do? Macaque was dead and it was his fault, he should have looked for him after they defeated LBD thisisallhisfault-

“Monkey King!” He snapped out of his thoughts as MK stared at him in worry. He shook his head and breathed in and out trying to calm himself.

Sandy placed the unconscious Macaque back on the kings bed and turned towards him. “Is he…he’s not dead right? Please tell me-“ Sandy gave him a soft smile which had reassured him that Macaque was indeed fine and not dead, and that he was overreacting.

He sighed and walked over to the bed, sitting at the end of it. Sandy and MK stared at him while he did this, clearly concerned.

“You guys can go. I think…I can handle it from here.” He spoke quietly as to not wake up the knocked out monkey.

The two of them looked at each other before nodding and waving goodbye to him. As soon as he couldn’t sense their presence anymore he scrambled to lay next to Macaque and make sure the other was okay.

He was still breathing so that was a good sign. Jeez, that freakout was scary. He seriously thought Macaque had lost his mind.

He looked so out of it when he stood up from the bed and knocked him over. And when Sandy had grabbed him after he tried escaping out the door and he started breathing weird…

It still led him to wonder why the hell Macaques own lantern shards were what had caused the main concerning injury. I mean, he couldn’t have done that himself.

Unless he did, then that would be 10 times more concerning. He lifted his hand to feel his forehead again. He was still burning up but it wasn’t as bad as before.

Seriously, the poor thing must feel like death right now. He was ready to get out of the bed until he heard the other whimper in his sleep.

He didn’t want to leave him like this but…it wasn’t right. The two of them being so close like this again like nothing happened. He knew he’d feel guilty about it later but he got out of bed and left the room.
______________________________________

He decided to sleep on the couch tonight, as someone was occupying his bed. It had been 4 hours since he’d left Macaque to his own devices while he slept.

As he got ready to get settled in, he heard someone scream, and a loud thud came from his room. He dashed to his door and stopped. Macaque was on the floor in tears, screaming at someone to let him go while shaking uncontrollably.

Wukong didn’t take another second before falling on the floor next to him and scooping the other into his arms and into his lap. Fuck, what was he suppose to do? What calmed him down again- oh right!

He gently moved his hand to the back of Macaques head, frowning at the rough wince he got in return. He pushed the side of his head onto his chest where his heart was, making sure his ears were pressed up against it.

He remembered how his own heartbeat seemed to calm the other monkey down whenever he got upset.

He cooed at the one in his arms while stroking his fur and told it would be okay. Macaque had slowly started to calm down and stopped screaming. After what felt like an eternity, the only sound coming out of him where soft sniffles.

“You okay now? Do you need anything?” He said hesitantly, afraid he might set the other off again.

Macaque didn’t move from his spot and just shoved his face into Wukongs chest and dug his claws into his back, hugging him tighter.

Wukong let out a sigh and rubbed circles into his back. He hasn’t seen this side of Macaque in years, not since their fallout. Macaques grip loosened and he lifted his head up to look the king in his eyes. He looked…awful.

His eyes were red and puffy from crying, and now that he could actually get a good look at him he could see the bags under his eyes were darker than ever. His hair was a mess and he had scars all over. The new bandaged injuries only added onto it.

“You helped me…why?” Macaque spoke. His voice dry and horse, like the man hadn’t drank anything in years.

Wukong gulped, averting his gaze from the monkey in front of him. “I-“ I wanted to fix my mistake. Thats what he wanted to say. But nothing came out.

“You wanted to fix this, right? Fix us?” The six-eared monkey said. He looked at Wukong and let out a short raspy laugh. Wukongs eyes shot back up at him.

Macaque paused when he realized that Wukong’s face had contorted into something of anger. “What the hell are you laughing at?” He barked at him.

Seriously, what could possibly be funny about this situation? “You really think I helped because I wanted to fix…this?! There is no this, Macaque. There is no ‘us’. You threw any chance of that away the SECOND you hurt my kid.”

Macaque flinched at the sudden outburst. That didn’t make the king any less angry though. Any thought that had come to mind over the last few hours about repairing their relationship vanished.

Wukong stood from the his sitting position and stared down at the monkey remaining on his floor. Macaque grimaced at the look on his face.

Macaque had muttered something under his breath that Wukong couldn’t quite catch. He opened his mouth to say something, but halted when he saw how pitiful the six-eared monkey on his bedroom floor was.

Wukong sighed, running a hand through his fur to try and calm himself. It was unlike him to lose his temper over something so small.

Macaques sudden appearance, plus the fact he had shown up injured beyond belief with his own lantern pieces sticking out of him.

It didn’t add up. Wukong wanted to ask him. But seeing how the other wouldn’t even look up at him right now, he probably wouldn’t get an answer.

The silence was deafening. The only thing that could be heard was the wind from outside through the open window. Wukong began towards said window and closed it.

Macaque perked up at the sound of him locking the window and turned his head back at the golden monkey.

Unfortunately, he turned a little to fast and felt an overwhelming dizziness come over him. He groaned and held his head in his hands.

Wukong turned back at him. Macaque was still recovering, and to top it all off he was sick. The king thought that any questions he has should wait until after the other got better.

The king sighed, walked back over to the monkey on his floor. “You can stay with me until you’re better. After that, you need to leave.” He exclaimed, eyeing Macaque. The other barely spared him a glance before attempting to stand.

Wukong hooked his arm under his to make sure he wouldn’t fall over. He walked the sick monkey to the bed and gently let him go onto the mattress.

Macaque didn’t say a word before flopping onto his back. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was out like a light. Wukong stared down at him, frowning.

He yawned. He was tired. Very, VERY, tired. He exited the room and closed the door, leaving it open a crack. He walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch and laid down.

He’d do something about Macaque tomorrow. Right now, he needed to process everything and get some rest.
______________________________________

The sun poured into the room. Macaque cracked his eyes open, or one of them at least. He could barely recall what happened yesterday.

All he knows is that he was in Wukong’s rooms. In Wukong’s house. In Wukong’s bed. He stared at the ceiling in silence. After last night, he was almost positive there was no way to repair their once good relationship.

He breathed out. It didn’t hurt as bad as it did before, but it still stung a bit. The monkey sat up and pulled the blanket off him.

Macaque glanced around the room, taking in everything. The walls were, of course, a peach color. There was several weapons scattered along the floor, a clear safety hazard. An armor stand with a golden chest-plate on it, clearly belonging to the Monkey King himself.

There was a pile of clothing in a corner, that were lazily thrown next to the basket they were suppose to be in, clearly having been unwashed for some time now.

He grimaced at this. Man, the great sage really was a slob. He swung his legs over the ledge of the bed and stood up. He wobbled a bit but managed to get himself together.

He walked over to the pile and put the articles of clothing into the basket. He lifted it and put it against his hip, making sure it wasn’t the side he had been injured. He was sick and healing sure, but that didn’t stop him from being productive.

He exited the room and looked around the house for the laundry room. When he finally found it he tossed the clothes into the washer, poured the detergent in, and started it.

Macaque finally realized he was almost naked and was just openly walking around his nemesis’s house. He huffed, walking into the living room. He noticed Wukong sprawled out on the couch. The king was fast asleep.

Macaque wasn’t exactly delighted with the idea of cleaning the bastards house, but if he was gonna be staying there for a while he might as well. Before he started that though, he needed clothes. Pants at least, he wasn’t gonna walk around in his boxers all day.

He returned to Wukongs room, rummaging through the drawers before he found a pair that looked like they’d fit him somewhat. The Monkey King was pretty small, as were his clothes. Macaque was surprised he managed to find something that could get past his calfs.

He exited the room once more and got to work. He picked up any garbage that was scattered around the floor and threw it out. He went through all the rooms in the house, including the wreck of a storage room the king had.

He organized everything, dusted everything off, etc. He had managed to find a mop in the mess of the room he was cleaning out and went to start the floors, before feeling nauseous.

He groaned and held his stomach. He didn’t want to throw up all over the floor. That would be embarrassing. He realized he probably needed food and that it was most likely the reason his stomach hurt.

He propped the mop against the wall and walked into the kitchen and towards the fridge. He opened it, frowning at the lack of variety. Everything, LITERALLY EVERYTHING, was peach flavored. “Is he serious…” He grumbled.

He sighed and pulled out a peach yogurt cup from the fridge shelf, shutting the door and looking through the kitchen drawers for a spoon.

When he finally found one he began to eat the yogurt slowly. It still hurt to move, and it probably wasn’t good for him to be running around like a nut to clean this dump of a house. But he did it anyway. Why? He didn’t know. Maybe it was the small part of him that still cares for Wukong and his well being.

Macaque didn’t actually plan on staying here until he recovered. He was gonna leave after he was done with the floors. As long as Wukong stayed asleep, that is.

He finished the yogurt and tossed it in the garbage, walking back over to where he left the mop. He began to clean the floors, when he accidentally knocked over the bucket of water he was using. He jumped, afraid he woke up the monkey on the couch.

Thank god Wukong was a heavy sleeper. Looks like he didn’t even stir. Macaque sighed in relief, picking up the bucket and cleaning the water he spilled.

And then, it him in. A sharp pain went through his head, his stomach churned and he suddenly felt very dizzy and hot. He took a step back and held his head in his hand, leaning against the counter.

“Shit…I need to lie down…” He said, beginning to walk towards the bedroom. He used the wall as support, eventually having to stop walking because he genuinely felt like he was gonna pass out. He slid down the wall and onto the floor. He felt his eyelids grow heavy.

“Pea-ches…” He muttered before finally passing out and slumping against the wall.
______________________________________

Wukong awoke. He sat up and stretched his arms out, yawning. “That was the most uncomfortable place I’ve slept in forever…” He said, standing from the couch. He froze, looking around his once dirty house.

It was clean. Like, VERY clean. Did someone break in? He looked around in confusion and amusement. He left the room and entered the hallways, to see an unconscious Macaque against the wall. He gasped, rushing over to him.

He shook the monkey gently. The only response he got was a small groan. Well, shit. He picked Macaque up and walked back into his bedroom, placing the man on his bed.

Macaque opened his eye a bit and looked at him. “Peaches?…What…” He said quietly. Wukong stared at the man in horror. Gods, he was really sick, wasn’t he? To have called him that…

Wukong didn’t respond to the sick man on his bed. Instead, left the room to make something for him to eat. And he knew how Macaque was with medicine, so he just snuck it into the food.

“Mac? I uh, made you some soup.” Wukong exclaimed, entering the room. Macaque was now sitting up in bed, panting. The king approached the bed and the six-eared monkey looked over at him.

Wukong scooped a spoonful of soup out of the bowl and lifted it to Macaques mouth. “You need to eat or you’ll never get better, that and rest. Seriously, what were you thinking? Cleaning the entire house? Really?”

Macaque didn’t respond and continued to stare at the king. Wukong didn’t know what to do, so he just shoved the spoon into Macaques mouth. Or he would have, if Macaque hadn’t closed it as soon as the spoon got to close.

The kings eye twitched in annoyance. “You’re gonna make this difficult, aren’t you?” He said. Macaque laughed, no no, GIGGLED. “Of course! Why wouldn’t I?! I’m the Six-Eared Macaque! Thats my job!” He exclaimed. Jeez, he really was out of it.

Wukong sighed, putting the bowl down on the bedside table. As soon as he did, Macaque grabbed him by the collar and flipped him onto the mattress on his back. ‘How the hell is he this fast when hes so sick?!’ The king thought.

Wukong opened his eyes and saw that Macaque had his face only inches away from his own. “Mac, wh-“ The grip on his collar tightened.

“It wasn’t an accident. My lantern. The wound. It wasn’t an accident.” He said, grim expression on his face. Wukong was frozen in place.

‘What did he mean it wasn’t an accident? What, did he break the lantern and try to kill himself with it? That didn’t explain the rest of injuries. Why was he telling him this? Is it because hes out of it?’ The thoughts kept coming.

The grip on his collar loosened and Wukong took the opportunity to reverse their positions. Macaque stared up at the king in shock. “What do you mean? What’d you do with the lantern?” He questioned, holding the monkey down.

Macaques didn’t respond for a while, just staring in awe at the man above him.

“You look so pretty right now, you know that?”

Wukong didn’t register the words that had come out of the monkeys mouth. When he finally did, his face heated up and he sputtered.

“OK! YOU NEED TO REST! URGENTLY! OKAY GOTTA GO BYEEEE!” He yelled, running out of the room and slamming the door closed, leaving Macaque by himself.
______________________________________

When Macaque had awoken, he didn’t feel achey or sick at all. He was just sweating. And to be honest he felt really gross. He decided he should shower before he leaves and returns to his own home.

He quickly got out of bed and noticed the folded clothing on the dresser against the wall. It had a small sticky note on it.

‘Put these on when you wake up. The kid brought em for you. - Wukong’

Macaque huffed and smiled down at the clothes in his hands. He entered the bathroom and took a shower, making sure to be careful with his wounds. Speaking of which, he’d probably have to get new bandages.

He exited the bathroom and walked into the kitchen to see Wukong…cooking? Since when could he cook? Ah, whatever. He creeped behind the golden monkey, “BOO!” He exclaimed, grabbing Wukong’s shoulders.

The other yelped and swung the pan he using to cook with at whoever was behind him. Macaque of course, still recovering, wasn’t fast enough to dodge. The pan hit his face and he stumbled backwards.

Wukong jumped, realizing who it was. He put the pan down and hurried over to him. “What the fuck Mac! Seriously, don’t do that shit! Look at what you made me do!” He yelled.

Macaque moved his hands from his face, and stared at the other monkey. Wukong had an angry look on his face, but it didn’t look like how it did the night he had arrived.

The two of them burst into laughter, Wukong having to use the counter as support. “Oh my gods, your face! It has a massive mark on it!” He said while giggling.

Macaque wiped the tears from his tears, trying to calm down. “You should have seen yours when I scared you, Peaches!” He exclaimed.

“Shut up, you idiot-“ The golden monkeys laughter died down. As did the black furred. Macaque didn’t even realize what just came out of his mouth. His felt his face heat up. “Uh- sorry, Wukong.” He said, averting his gaze.

Wukong just stared at him before turning back around towards the stove and continuing what he was doing.

Now this was a surprise. He was sure the king would have flipped after hearing Macaque call him that. But he didn’t. He just pretended that nothing happened.

Macaque walked over to the couch and sat down. “What are you making?” He questioned. “Pancakes. You want?” Wukong replied, plating said food. Macaque nodded.

Wukong walked to the couch, two plates of pancakes in hand. He handed Macaque a fork and his plate and sat next to him, grabbing the remote and turning the tv on.
______________________________________

They both ate their food in silence while watching the screen. Wukong finished and put his plate down on the coffee table in front of them. He wasn’t sure how to go about asking Macaque about yesterday morning.

What he said about the lantern, and how it wasn’t an accident. And when he called him…pretty.

His face heated up. He looked at Macaque who was still eating his food. The monkey stared back at him.

“What? Somethin on my face?” He asked.

Wukong could actually get a good look at him now that he wasn’t pinning him to a bed or was really sick. Macaque looked a lot healthier than yesterday. He looked clean, and not as tired, and-

He stopped his train of thought. He cleared his throat, grabbing Macaques full attention this time.

“I have to ask you something. Its important, so don’t avoid it.” He said sternly.

Macaque grinned, “Well sure, whats up?”

Wukong breathed in, getting ready for the worst. “What…happened? Before you got here, I mean. You said something yesterday about your lantern. I dunno if it was just because of your fever but I…wanted to know.”

Macaques grin faltered. “I-I’d rather not talk about it. Still kinda…shaken up.” He said. He shuddered, remembering the large creature from the void.

Wukong looked at him with sympathy. He didn’t want to force an answer out of him, it’d probably lead to a fight. He sighed, taking Macaques now empty plate from his hand and walking back to the kitchen to put them in the sink.

“I wont make you give me an answer, I suppose…” He said, glancing at Macaque.

“Oh there was something else. MK and Mei invited us to some party…Uh, I didn’t know if you’d be better or not so I turned em down.”
He said.

Macaque knew where this was going and raised a brow, smirking at the golden monkey.

“And-“ “And you want me to go with you because your oh so scared of speaking to other people?” Macaque interrupted.

Wukong inhaled harshly, not knowing what to say to that. I mean, he was right. He wasn’t good with interacting with people. Let alone such a lively group as MK’s friends and family.

He rubbed the back of his head, face going red. Macaque smirked, getting up from the couch and walking over to Wukong. He slung an arm over his shoulders, “Well, don’t you worry old friend. I’ll come with ya.”

Wukong flinched. The physical touch was a bit much for him and he moved out of Macaques hold. Macaque had noticed, and immediately felt guilty about making him uncomfortable.

“Uh, thank you, Mac. I appreciate it…” Wukong spoke, turning away and walking towards his room to get ready.

This was gonna be a long day…
______________________________________

Wukong had decided to dress nicely for this. He didn’t have to, but he did. He never usually put in the effort but something inside him was telling him to dress nice. Its not like he had anyone to impress.

Wukong exited his room, closing the last button on his dress shirt. He went into the bathroom and look in the mirror, tying his back into a ponytail. After he was done fixing that, he exited the room.

“Hey! Mac! You almost done? We gotta go so-“ He froze.

There in the middle of the living room, stood Macaque. A very dressed up one at that. He had his long hair up in a bun, and he was wearing one of his black, sleeveless turtle necks. It was pretty tight considering it belonged to Wukong, so it clung to his body, capturing all his muscles.

For once in over a millennia he was speechless over someones appearance.

The king sputtered. Macaque had obviously noticed him staring. Macaque smiled at him.

Wukong didn’t like that smile.

“See somethin you like, peaches?”

Wukong flushed and held his breath. Macaque was teasing him, wasn’t he? Well, he wasn’t gonna give in. He stomped over to him and grabbed his arm.

“I see nothing but a monkey in MY clothes. You thief.” He said, laughing a bit. He dragged Macaque by the arm out of the house.

He whistled, summoning his cloud. He hopped on and looked back at Macaque.

“Uh, is this safe…with two people?” Macaque question, clearly anxious.

Wukong cocked his head to the side, raising a brow. “What? Don’t trust me? I’ve done it with MK plenty of times, and he’s just fine.”

Wukong put his hand out, waiting for Macaque to grab it. He smiled brightly at him. “Cmon Mac, trust me! I promise, you’ll be okay!”

Macaque didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the others hand and Wukong hoisted him onto the cloud.

“Hold on, okay?”
______________________________________

When they had arrived at the address MK had given him, Wukong wasn’t expecting this. It was a large green, white, and gold mansion, most likely Mei’s house.

Wukong helped Macaque off his cloud, and the two of them approached the massive double doors before them. Wukong was practically shaking. Macaque could tell he was under pressure, clearly not ready to speak to anyone inside the building.

Even after everything they’ve went through together on their journey to defeat LBD, Wukong was still anxious about speaking to them. Macaque placed a hand on on Wukong’s shoulder.

“Hey, relax. Okay? If your that worried about this, talk to the kid. I’m sure he can help. And besides, I’m right here. If you need me to talk for you I can.” He said, trying to reassure the nervous monkey.

Wukong inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to calm his nerves. “Yeah, I know. I…I’ll be okay. I can handle this.”

Wukong knocked on the door. They both waited patiently for someone to come and open it for them.

It only took 5 seconds before someone had rushed to open he door, swinging it open.

“Monkey King! And Macaque! I’m glad your here!” MK beamed. Wukong chuckled.

MK ushered them inside, leading them to where everyone else was. The manor was filled with trophies and artifacts, all ancient and valuable. It was a nice place.

Wukong was still shaking a bit. He moved closer to Macaque, almost touching him. Macaque had noticed and closed the distance between them, shoulders now touching.

Wukong relaxed at this. MK didn’t seem to notice, thankfully. They continued down the long hallway until they came across a big room, filled with people.

The room had bright lights, enough to kill anyone with even minor epilepsy. The music was blasting, and even though they only just got there, Macaque could feel a head ache coming on.

“Monkey King! Macaque! Your here!” Mei called out from the opposite end of the room. The two monkeys waved at her as she came running towards them.

She pulled them into a tight hug, Wukong immediately freezing at the contact. Macaque noticed and tried to play it off, telling Mei she was suffocating them. She released them.

“I heard what happened, you uh, you okay man? MK said it was pretty bad.” Mei questioned. Macaque nodded at her.

“What are we waiting for? Cmon, everyones been waiting!” MK exclaimed, dragging the two monkeys with him towards the other side of the room.

The Demon Bull Family was in a corner. They all looked like they wanted to leave, besides Redson. She looked pretty happy. Mei ran over to him and grabbed them by the hand.

“So, whaddya think? I did a pretty good job dressin him up right?” Mei said, presenting Redson like she was her most prized possession.

Macaque gave her a thumbs up, while Wukong was to focused on his students red face.

“Hey bud, why don’t you uh, go dance with Redboy over here. I need to talk to Macaque for a minute.” He yelled over the music. It was really loud in here, he could see the discomfort on Macaque’s face.

Wukong didn’t wait for a response and just dragged Macaque out of the room. He probably should’ve considered the music would be loud. It was MK and Mei’s party after all. This was also an excuse to get out of socializing.

“You okay? I know it was kinda loud in there…” He asked the six-eared monkey. He didn’t get an answer in response, only a pained whine as Macaque’s hands came up to cover his ears.

He looked up at him guiltily. He shouldn’t have brought him. He only just got over his sickness, and he was probably still healing. The only reason he had come was because Wukong said he needed someone to be there with him.

He grabbed Macaque’s forearm gently as to not force the hand away from his ears and pulled him in the direction of what he believed was the courtyard. When he deemed it as quiet enough, he removed the others hands away from his ears.

“It should be okay here. I know you have super hearing or whatever but-“ Before he could finish, he was being pulled down onto the grass.

He stared at Macaque, interested as to what he was doing.

“Wukong, we need to talk.” He started, hesitance in his tone.

“About?” Wukong responded, trying to play it cool. In reality, he was worried.

“About the lantern thing I- Uhg. This is gonna be hard to explain. Look, I tried to lock myself in the lantern but it totally backfired. It blew up and I thought-“ Wukong stopped him.

“Wait wait, you tried to WHAT?! Macaque, what the hell were you thinking? Why would you lock yourself in the lantern?”

Macaque stayed silent for a moment, before continuing. “I felt…I felt guilty, about everything. About what I did to the kid and his friends, and to- and to you. I fucked up, peaches. I didn’t think you’d ever forgive me and I thought that if I just disappeared I could solve all my problems but…” He stopped when he saw the shock on Wukong’s face.

The golden monkey let out s shaky breath, “Macaque, no. I know you’ve said and done some fucked up shit in the past, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t done anything. I…I killed you, Mac. I hurt your so much. I’m the one who should be begging for forgiveness. I’m the one who should locked up. Your not the only one I’ve hurt either. The kid, his friends, my master and brothers god-“

Macaque could see how glossy the others eyes had gotten. He felt bad. He didn’t want to be the reason that made Wukong cry. He grabbed the others hands, “Then I guess we both need to apologize, huh peaches?” He said, rubbing circles into the immortals palms.

Wukong sniffles, wiping his face. He let out shaky laugh. “When did you start calling me that so freely?” Macaque gave him a soft smile.

“Do you…want me to stop? If you don’t like it I can-“ He got interrupted when the other had pushed his face close to his, noses touching.

“No. Never. Please, never stop calling me that. I missed it, I miss it so much. I missed- I missed you, mango.”

This was it. This was Macaque’s chance. That nickname. It was a signal, and he heard it loud and clear. He pulled the golden monkey into his lap and fell back onto the grass, Wukong on top of him.

“I didn’t say that stuff because of the fever, by the way.” Wukong tilted his head in confusion. Then he remembered. His face grew red and he fell silent.

They sat like that for a while. Just staring into each others eyes under the moonlight. God, Macaque looks so pretty like this. The pale light on his fur, it made it look silver.

“I think your pretty too.” Wukong said softly, smiling down at the other.

Macaque sighed, “Do you…do you wanna fix this? Fix us? I know I asked before but-“ He didn’t get his answer. Well, he did. But not in words.

Wukong pulled him into a kiss. Macaque’s head felt fuzzy. He hadn’t experienced this in so long. It felt so good to have Wukong back. It felt so good to have him around, to have him touch and speak to him.

Macaque closed his eyes. He didn’t do anything but enjoy the moment. They pulled apart, and Macaque laughed breathlessly, pulling Wukong next to him on the grass

“Peaches?…” He said, almost a whisper.

Wukong turned his head towards him to look him in the eyes.

“Yeah. I think…I think we can fix this.”