#mk can’t help but answer cause it’s all instinct at this point

[wilyzombie]

head story in the works

[lunar-wandering]

Glamours and Gauze

well. this fic now wins the title of “longest one shot i’ve ever written”.

seriously, after Shadow Play, the will to write a Macaque fic was way too strong.

Word Count: 6k

Read on Ao3

There was a loud crash outside the noodle shop.

Pigsy paid no attention to it, simply continuing to work in the kitchen, but MK paused mid-sweep of his broom, glancing towards the entrance nervously, bracing himself for a possible enemy attack. (Knowing that the Lady Bone Demon was out there...... one could never be too prepared).

Instead of an enemy however, what stumbled through the door way was a, very visibly injured and bleeding, Monkey King.

"Holy shit, are you okay?!" MK yelped, dropping his broom to the ground as he rushed over to catch Wukong as he stumbled into the shop. A bit of blood dripped down from a rather large gash on the monkey's arm down to the floor. Pigsy would probably murder MK for the stain that would make, but MK was more so concerned about the heavily wounded monkey he held in his arms at the moment. "What happened?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." Wukong grunted out, standing up a little with a wince, trying to push MK's hands off of him, without much luck. "I just came to get some bandages or whatever, then I'll get out of your hair."

"You- You can't just walk in here bleeding and expect me to not be concerned." MK said, leveling Wukong with what he hoped was a disapproving look, before turning and yelling towards the kitchen. "Pigsy! Monkey King's injured, can you get the first aid kit?"

There was the sound of something dropping in the kitchen, MK had probably startled him, and a bit of shuffling, and then Pigsy rounded the corner, first aid kit in his hands, looking exasperated as well as worried.

"I swear, everyday it's something new with you two." He said, "Come on, lets get him upstairs. The blood will scare away customers if he stays down here."

MK nodded, and despite the Monkey King's quiet protests, managed to drag him up the stairs and into his apartment. Carefully, he directed Wukong into a chair, as Pigsy set the first aid kit down on the kitchen table.

"You already know what to do, right?" Pigsy asked, MK nodding in response. "Good. I have still have some orders to get to, but call for me if you need any extra help."

"Got it. Thanks." MK said, opening the kit and pulling out some gauze and bandages as Pigsy turned and left down the stairs. MK reached into a nearby drawer, pulling out a small hand towel, wetting it with some water from the sink and adding a bit of soap.

"Okay." He said, turning back to Wukong. "I gotta clean your cuts so...... take off your shirt?"

"I can take care of myself, bud." Wukong said, quietly, but still, he complied, his shirt disappearing with a snap of his fingers, allowing MK to get a better look at his injuries. Most of the cuts didn't seem too bad, just surface wounds, but the cut on his arm was still cause for concern. MK was no expert, but it looked deep.

....Probably best to start with the most serious injury first, MK thought, giving Wukong no warning as he pressed the towel to the monkey's arm, cleaning the wound. Wukong yelped a little as he did it, his fur bristling and his tail thrashing in response.

"Sorry, probably should've warned you." MK apologized, trying to ignore the way Wukong's glare pierced into him. He hadn't noticed it before, far too worried about the very injured Monkey King in front of him but something seemed.....off about all of this. He wasn't sure what, and honestly, it could just how worried he was for his mentor's health, and nothing else. But still, his instincts had yet to steer him wrong before....... He shook those thoughts out of his head as he examined the injury. "Hm.... Not as deep as I thought. Good news is, it doesn't seem like you need stitches."

Wukong scoffed a little at that, rolling his eyes in a way that clearly communicated how obvious he felt that statement was. MK chose to ignore it, picking the gauze up off the table and starting to tightly wrap it around the monkey's arm.

"You know, I could've sworn all the stories said you were pretty much invulnerable." MK said, in an attempt to make conversation. The Monkey King had been unusually quiet this whole time, after all.

"Heh. You shouldn't believe every story you hear, bud." Wukong said again, and somehow, that was all it took for things to finally click into place. Sure, the Monkey King called MK 'bud' all the time, along with a variety of other nicknames he'd thrown into the mix, but the way he said it just now, his tone-

MK froze as the dots connected in his mind, slowly glancing up at the monkey's face, finding that the other was purposefully avoiding his gaze.

It didn't take true golden sight to figure out who the person MK was currently bandaging up really was.

Not wanting to seem suspicious, MK slowly went back to winding the gauze around the monkey's arm, trying to sort through his thoughts.

Okay. So. The Six Eared Macaque was currently sitting right in front of him. He was disguised as the Monkey King, who was MK's mentor. The last time MK had seen Macaque, he'd kidnapped his friends, attacked him, but then let them all go, giving MK a cryptid warning as he left. And now-

And now he was injured.

And he'd come to MK for help.

As for why the shadow monkey would turn to him for help, MK had no idea, but. As much as he distrusted Macaque, he couldn't just not help someone who was injured.

Alright. Okay. MK could work with this.

He stayed silent as he continued to treat Macaque's wounds, trying to put his anxiety over the fact that he was treating Macaque, of all people, out of his mind.

"...So." He started, nervously, as he finished wrapping up the last of the cuts. "Uh. Any other injuries I should know about?"

"What?" Macaque asked, sounding somewhat.... dazed and confused. MK had been so deep in his thoughts, he hadn't even noticed that the monkey had been spacing out.

"I asked if you were injured anywhere else." MK repeated, narrowing his eyes as Macaque's eyebrow twitched as he looked away, tail swinging back and forth.

"Uh, no. Don't think so." He muttered, seeming.....unusually quiet and meeker than MK remembered him being. Then again, he was supposed to still be pretending to be Wukong, since he didn't know MK had figured him out yet, but still.

"Well. 'Kay, that's obviously a lie." MK said, crossing his arms. "Seriously, are you injured anywhere else? Did you get hit on the head or something?"

Macaque didn't answer, staring at some point on the nearby wall. MK sighed, taking that as a yes.

So probably a concussion then. That......explained why he'd decided to come here for help, of all places. Or, well, at least explained a bit of it.

MK pulled some ice cubes out of his freezer, putting them in a little plastic bag, before wrapping a cloth around it, and placing it in Macaque's hand.

"What's this for?" Macaque asked.

"Put on your head, wherever it was you got hit. It's for the concussion." MK explained, putting the materials he'd used back into the first aid kit and closing it up. "Stay here. I'm going to bring this back down to Pigsy."

Leaving Macaque alone in MK's apartment was probably not the best decision he could've possibly made, but it really didn't seem like the shadow monkey planned on moving anytime soon, from the way he'd slumped against the chair, holding an makeshift ice pack against the side of his head. With one last look over his shoulder to make sure Macaque hadn't moved, MK turned and walked down the stairs.

He found Pigsy in the kitchen washing dishes, as expected.

"How's the monkey doing?" Pigsy asked, once he'd noticed that MK had entered the room.

"Oh, uh, he's fine, other than the mild concussion, but uh. He's um. Not who we thought he was." MK started, setting the first aid kit back into it's usual spot on a nearby counter. "You remember Macaque, the one from the shadow play a week or so ago?"

Pigsy paused, gently setting a place down into the sink as he turned around to give MK his full attention, wiping the soapy water on his hands off onto a hand towel as he did so.

"You mean to tell me." He said, "That the shadow monkey that attacked us a week ago is up in your apartment? And you just left him there? Alone?"

"He's injured, it's not like he's going to go anywhere." MK said, although he wasn't entirely sure if said statement was even true. "Besides, I think. Well I think there's more to him than meets the eye."

"Look, kid." Pigsy sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I trust your judgement. However, if that monkey makes a single move against you-"

"Then he's out of here, I know." MK said, turning to head back up the stairs. He'd left Macaque alone for long enough, after all. "I assure you Pigsy, if I need help, I'll call for you. Promise."

"....Whatever." Pigsy said, "Just go and keep an eye on him. I'll text the others and tell them what's up."

"Thanks!" MK said, and he rushed back up the stairs.

-

Macaque wasn't sitting in the chair.

For a brief moment, panic flung through MK's mind, wondering if, he had, in fact, been duped.

But....there was no way someone could fake injuries like that, and nothing seemed to be out of place, the windows and door still closed, so where-

There was some rustling in the living room.

Cautiously, MK slowly walked around the corner-

Macaque was laying, face down, on the couch. His injured arm dangled off the side, his hand barely touching the floor, the ice pack lazily positioned on top of his head. His tail was curled up beside him, still.

He was no longer disguised as Wukong.

MK cautiously approached him, before lightly poking his back.

No reaction, but he still seemed to be breathing normally. He'd probably fallen asleep.

Well.... MK supposed he could leave him be for now. He'd have to wake him up in a few hours or so, both to make sure that the cut on his arm hadn't gotten infected, and to check on that concussion, but as of right now, he could let him rest. He didn't really want to let Macaque out of his sight again though, so instead he grabbed one of his sketchbooks and pencils and sat down on the floor, doodling as he waited.

-

Macaque woke up to something poking him in the side. He groaned, rolling over-

And tumbled right off the couch and onto the floor with a pained yelp. He landed on his stomach, thankfully not hitting his head again on the way down. Upon this rude awakening, on pure instinct, he immediately shifted back into whatever disguise he'd been wearing before he'd fallen asleep.

Grumbling under his breath, he slowly pushed himself up, looking over to the side.

Oh. And there was Wukong's kid, sitting on the floor, holding his staff and looking both nervous and guilty.

.....Ah, that's right, Macaque had, in a moment of weakness, chosen to go to MK for help. As for what had been going through his mind when he'd chosen to do that, Macaque had no idea, but at least he'd disguised himself as Wukong first-

Wait. His disguise. He'd fallen asleep.

.....How long had the kid been sitting there? Had he seen-

"I'm sorry!" MK squeaked out, distracting Macaque from his thoughts. "I had to wake you up- to check on your injuries. I didn't think you'd uh. Fall."

Macaque did his best attempt at a 'Sun Wukong Original Smile'. He think he only half succeeded.

"It's uh, fine, bud." Macaque said, mentally trying to pull himself together. Come on, he's an actor, he acts every time he has to interact, he can do this. "You uh, did a good job, but I think I'm mostly healed by now already so I'll just get out of your way-"

"Wait." MK interrupted, and Macaque, who had stood up and turned to walk towards the door, froze mid-step.

He could not do this.

"You don't....need to stay disguised as Monkey King." MK said, and Macaque's fur bristled. Fuck, he'd been found out already, time to get the hell out of dodge-

"Ohoho? So you've figured me out already huh?" Macaque said, letting his Wukong glamour drop, but keeping his other ones, his most important ones, up. He pulled the shadows closer to himself, to make a more threatening appearance. "Hah, I guess every fool has moments of lucidity. Well, I've got all I wanted-" That was a lie, he'd gotten nothing, but might as well make the kid panic for a while wondering what he'd taken, right? That's what villains did, right? "-So I'll just be on my way now. See you later, bud."

Macaque turned, fully intending to walk into the shadows on the wall and teleport away-

The front door swung open, and the lights, which Macaque hadn't even registered had been off, switched on, flooding the room with light. The shadows crumbled in the brightness-

And Macaque smacked right into the wall.

He fell back to the floor, hissing in pain, his tail swishing as his previous wounds, both from the earlier fight and from falling off the couch, were agitated. He rubbed his head as a new batch of pain swept through it.

"MK!" He heard Mei shout, as she came in through the door, a true storm of energy. "I came as soon as I could- is that him?"

Macaque, still rubbing his head, (he was pretty sure his concussion from the fight was gone by now, but honestly he might've just gotten a brand new one), glanced up, seeing that Mei was looking at him with an appraising gaze.

"He doesn't really look all that menacing without the cloak to be honest." She said, shrugging. Macaque blinked at her, confused.

"What? No, you know what, it doesn't matter, I'm leaving." He said, standing up and dusting off his outfit, trying to put what had just happened as far away from his current thoughts as possible. (Later, he told himself, later he could scream into a pillow about how fucking embarrassing what just happened was. But he couldn't focus on it, not now.). With as much dignity he could muster at the moment, he slipped past Mei, walking out the door she'd left wide open.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Someone asked, and Macaque abruptly felt something grab onto his scarf. He stumbled, turning around to see who'd grabbed him, only to find himself standing in front of a large, blue, fish demon.

Ah. This must be that 'Sandy' that Tang had mentioned. Macaque had never met him, and honestly, right now, he really didn't want to.

"Ah, I was just leaving-" He started, tugging on his scarf, trying to get Sandy to let go.

His grip didn't even waver.

"But I haven't even gotten the chance to meet you yet!" Sandy said, easily scooping Macaque up despite the shadow monkey's protests. "Come on back in, I'll even make you some tea!"

Was literally anything going to go as planned today?

Apparently not, as Sandy unceremoniously dropped Macaque back onto the couch, the monkey scrambling to right himself so that he didn't go tumbling off the piece of furniture again.

"What kind of tea do you like?" Sandy asked, "Mint? Peach?"

"I don't like peaches." Macaque hissed, "And I don't like tea."

"Coffee then?" Sandy asked, and proceeded to take Macaque's silence as a yes.

"There's some instant coffee in the 3rd cupboard on the right." MK instructed, and Sandy nodded, heading into the kitchen and quickly setting up a teapot of water on the stove to boil.

"So~" Mei started, plopping herself down on the couch beside Macaque, showing a surprising lack of fear at his presence. "What exactly are you doing here, huh? You going to kidnap our souls again?"

"Oh for the love of- no, the lamp is gone anyways." Macaque huffed, keeping his eyes on the kitchen. He wasn't a fool, he knew a powerful demon when he saw one. Sure, Sandy was only making tea right now, but he'd have to be extra careful around him in the future. "I would've left already if you guys didn't keep trying to keep me here, for some stupid reason I can't even begin to comprehend."

"Well, after much debate, we've decided to attempt to add you to our anti-hit list." MK said, casually leaning against a wall. If the room had been darker, Macaque would've taken great pleasure in having his shadow appear behind him to freak him out a little, but as it was right now....

"What the fuck is an anti-hit list?" Macaque asked, genuinely confused, but didn't get an answer as Sandy walked out, carrying a tray with four cups, three filled with tea, one with coffee, and a small plate of cookies and fruits. He set them down on a small table that, to be honest, Macaque hadn't even noticed. MK and Mei happily picked up their cups, sipping at their tea. Macaque didn't touch his cup, staring at it with obvious distrust. 

"Aren't you going to drink your coffee?" MK asked.

"How am I meant to know it's not poisoned?" Macaque scoffed in response.

"Because Sandy would never do that? I can taste test it for you, if you really want me to-" MK said.

"No thanks, don't want to be contaminated with your dirty Monkey King Successor Saliva." Macaque said, smirking when MK sighed in irritation. Good, maybe if he got under the kid's nerves, he'd let him leave.

"Why don't you try some of the cookies and fruits then?" MK asked, biting into one of the said snacks, "The rest of us are eating them without a care, so they're not poisoned."

"You could just be avoiding the ones that you poisoned so that I'll eat them." Macaque said, relishing in how MK huffed, rolling his eyes. "I'm not going to be fooled so easily. You do remember who I am, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, the Six Eared Macaque or whatever." MK grumbled, and Mei stifled a laugh.

"Kind of a weird name for someone who doesn't have six ears." She said, before pausing. "...Wait, do you have six ears?"

"...It's more of a nickname, really." Macaque mumbled, eyebrow twitching, suddenly very much disliking where this conversation was going. He stood up, pushing the cup that he hadn't bothered to drink out of to the side. "Anyways, I think I've overstayed my welcome here, so if you don't mind-"

"Not so fast." Sandy said, stopping Macaque before he could even take a step.

"What now?" Macaque hissed, glaring at him.

Sandy grabbed hold of Macaque's hand and dropped a tea bag into it.

"I know you said you didn't like tea-" He said, "-But I figured you should take some with you anyways. This one specifically is good for relaxing!"

Macaque rolled his eyes, but he still shoved the tea bag into his pocket, something the others took note of. With a quick glance at MK and Mei to make sure they weren't going to try and stop him again, Macaque finally, finally, left.

-

Cursing himself with every step he took, Macaque snuck into MK's kitchen, pulling out the tea bag Sandy had given him. He'd tried, oh he'd tried, to rest on top of the roof but, as he was right now, he wouldn't be getting any sleep.

Sandy had said this tea was good for relaxation. He could probably trust that, just a little bit.

Keeping an ear (or two. or three. or four-) out to make sure MK didn't wake up, Macaque slowly and quietly set up the tea kettle on the stove. He pulled a mug out of one of the cupboards, and set it down on the counter. Restlessly, he tapped his foot on the ground as he waited for the water to boil.

Really, he'd rather be anywhere but here, in the middle of the night, making tea in the apartment of Wukong's Successor.

But, truthfully, he didn't exactly have a choice in the matter. The Lady Bone Demon obviously had records of all the places Macaque would usually hide out. He wasn't very keen on getting captured again when he'd only just barely escaped.

Right now, staying close to MK was probably the safest place he could be. The kid was under Wukong's protection after all.

...Whether or not Wukong would arrive in time to maintain said protection was up for debate, but the kid is powerful. He'd be enough.

Macaque barely managed to get the kettle off the stove before it started whistling. He poured the water into his cup, blew on it to cool it down, and took a sip.

...Huh. So Sandy hadn't been lying. The tea actually was pretty good, and Macaque found himself leaning against the counter lazily as he continued to sip it. To be honest, he hasn't eaten or drunk anything in... a while, technically he didn't really need to, he could live without it, but. Something about this was... nice, he supposed.

He felt a bit more relaxed than before, almost enough to no longer notice the small aching pains of his healing injuries-

The cut on his arm throbbed with an extreme amount of pain, and Macaque tensed, tail curling up, doing a full body shudder-

The cup went tumbling to the floor.

-

MK woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of a crash and quiet swearing coming from the kitchen. Quickly, he shot out of bed, summoning his staff and rounding the corner-

He just barely caught a glimpse of a shadow slipping back out through the window.

Keeping his guard up, MK slowly reached over and flicked on the lights.

There was nobody there.

But somebody had been there- The kettle was not where he'd left it earlier, and-

There was a broken cup laying on the floor, some remnant drops of tea around it, as well as a very familiar tea bag.

MK sighed, putting the staff away and getting his broom out of the closet instead. He swept up the broken pieces, throwing them into the garbage can. He paused for a moment, thinking. Then, he activated his golden vision, and looked up.

Sure enough, he could see a faint golden outline of Macaque pacing on the roof.

MK debated, for a while, whether or not he should go up there and confront him. After all, an explanation as to why Macaque had broken into his apartment in the middle of the night just to make tea, instead of drinking it earlier when they offered, would be nice information to have.

On the other hand though, MK was tired, and it was late, and honestly, from the way Macaque was pacing, it didn't look like he'd be leaving the roof anytime soon.

MK turned around and went back to bed.

-

When MK climbed the ladder to the roof in the morning, still clad in his pyjama's, his phone tucked in his pocket, the roof seemed to be empty.

MK had long since learned that when things involved Macaque, not everything was as it seemed.

Specifically, a bunch of shadows on the nearby wall looked rather suspicious, if you were asking him. He dug his phone out and turned on the flashlight, shining it over the shadowy spot.

Almost immediately, Macaque fell out of the, now non-existent, shadows, barely catching himself from having another close encounter with the ground. He stumbled a little, clearly off balance. For a moment he looked like he hadn't slept at all, his fur mussed, bags under his eyes-

MK didn't get to see much of it, for as soon as he blinked, Macaque was back to looking the same way he always did.

"Would you stop doing that?" Macaque hissed, glaring at him. MK blinked, turning off the flash and pocketing his phone again.

"Uh. Good morning?" MK said, and, seeing no way to phrase the question delicately, asked; ".....Why did you break into my apartment in the middle of the night?"

"Heh, what are you talking about?" Macaque said, sliding back into his 'cool and composed' persona almost effortlessly. "You must've dreamed it, bud."

MK, in fact, had considered the possibility that it had been a dream when he woke up in the morning. However, the broken porcelain and used tea bag laying in his trashcan proved otherwise. He was about to point this out- when a familiar dull pang ran through his head.

Oh shit, not now.

"Hey, bud!" The Monkey King's voice said, a golden see through version of him appearing at MK's side. "I uh, know I kinda brushed you off the last time, sorry about that, but I figured I'd check in and see how you were doing!"

"Not now, Monkey King." MK whispered, under his breath, but of course, Macaque still heard it.

"Monkey King?" He questioned, before registering the way MK was looking slightly to the side, a slight golden glow reflecting in his eyes. "Ah. He's doing the astral projecting thing, isn't he."

MK didn't answer, instead trying to give Wukong the hint that now was not the time.

"Why, are you busy with something? Meh, I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle." Wukong said, and MK sighed. "Look, my vacation will be over soon, okay? There's just a few more uh, friends I need to visit, and then-"

A hand landed on MK's shoulder, and he barely restrained himself from startling as another, different pang ran through his mind.

"Monkey King! Good to see ya, bud." Macaque said, sarcasm colouring his voice. "How's your little vacation treating you huh?"

"Macaque." Wukong hissed, looking shocked, but quickly transitioning into anger. "What are you doing with MK?"

"Me? Why would you assume I've done anything to your little apprentice?" Macaque said, "You should be thinking about what you've done, honestly."

"Wh- what are you going on about now?" Wukong asked. Macaque laughed.

"Seriously? You need me to explain it to you? Oh, that's rich." He said, "Wukong, you really need to learn how to take a step back and see the world outside of you, because you obviously haven't realized that you've left your successor behind."

"I- I haven't left him behind." Wukong said, although the glance he sent in MK's direction spoke volumes about how much he actually believed that. "I'm coming right back, MK, as soon as this is done. I promise."

"Oho, we all know exactly how good you are with promises, Wukong." Macaque said, his tail thrashing back and forth. Wukong looked pained for a moment-

And then the connection cut off, Wukong not even saying goodbye as his see through form turned around before fading away. Macaque took his hand off MK's shoulder, laughing in a way that felt....forced.

"Ha....same old Monkey King, huh." He said, crossing his arms. "As much as he tries to insist other wise, he really does never change."

"What, was that?" MK asked, looking Macaque up and down. He'd stayed quiet during their conversation, but now... "Seriously dude, what the fuck?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." Macaque said, waving him off. "Anyways, what are you doing on the rooftop this lovely morning?"

"I should be asking you that." MK responded, "Also, don't think I don't realize that you're attempting to deflect."

"Deflection who? Never heard of her." Macaque said, sitting down on the edge of the roof, his legs swinging off the side. "Besides, don't you have a job to do?"

MK looked down at the clock on his phone. 9:30 am. Shit, Macaque was right, MK did have to be getting to work.

"This conversation isn't over." He said. Macaque pretended like he didn't hear him.

When MK finally got a break and headed back up to the roof, the shadow monkey was gone.

-

Macaque ended up showing up in the noodle shop, two days later.

Tang had nearly choked on his noodles when the monkey had suddenly appeared out of nowhere beside him, barely keeping himself from yelling in surprise. Macaque hadn't even glanced at him, resolutely staring down at the counter instead. Everything about his body language implied that he'd rather be anywhere but here.

So..... why was he here?

Everyone very much wanted to ask, but one look from Pigsy shut them up. They all knew Pigsy's habit of helping people, MK and Tang had experienced it first hand after all, and they deferred to his judgement on things like this.

So they let Macaque be, silently sitting on the stool, his tail swinging back and forth.

Pigsy pulled MK into the kitchen.

"Kid," He started, "When you patched up Macaque, how much gauze did you use, exactly?"

"Only enough to wrap up his arm." MK answered, "There was plenty left afterwards. Why?"

"And you made sure to put it back in the kit?"

"Yeah.....why are you asking me this?"

Pigsy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I was doing inventory earlier- checking to see what things I'd need to stock up on. Figured I'd check the first aid kit too, since you'd used it." Pigsy said, "The gauze is gone kid. And I mean like, gone, gone. There ain't any left at all. Like it was never there in the first place."

"That's....weird." MK said, scratching his head. "Who would want to steal gauze?"

"That's what I'm wondering too."

-

Red Son happened to visit the noodle shop that day. He paused as he entered through the door, noting the monkey demon sitting at the counter, resting his head on one hand.

"...I see you peasants have forced another person into your friend group from hell." He said to Mei, leaning up against a wall. Mei elbowed him in the stomach in response.

"You say that as though you aren't also part of our friend group." She said, rolling her eyes. Red Son huffed, but didn't argue with her claim, so she took that as a win. "Also, he isn't exactly in the friend category yet. We're working on it."

"If he isn't in the friend category, then why is he even here?" Red Son asked, "It's not every day a random demon monkey decides to just hang out in a noodle shop, of all places."

"First of all, his name is Macaque." MK said, walking over to where Mei and Red Son were standing, holding a broom in his hand, since he'd just finished sweeping up the kitchen. "Secondly, we're not sure why he's here. He just kinda, showed up."

"And don't diss the noodle shop either." Mei said, "We all know you like it here as much as we do."

"Whatever." Red Son said, before turning to MK with narrowed eyes. "Anyways, are you okay, Noodle Boy?"

"....What do you mean?" MK asked.

"I can smell blood."

Unseen to the group of three, Macaque tensed, head snapping up as he looked over to them.

"I'm fine though?" MK said, a questioning lilt in his voice. "I haven't fought...anyone, really, in over a week, and I don't think I've cut myself on anything.... Are you sure the spices aren't messing with you?"

"It's kind of hard to mistake the smell of blood, Noodle Boy." Red Son said, rolling his eyes.

Macaque slowly stood up, starting to make his way towards the door. Unfortunately for him, this movement caught Mei's attention.

"Where are you going?" She asked, drawing MK and Red Son's attention to Macaque who, upon realizing he'd been noticed, stepped forwards much quicker, looking like he was about to run-

He stumbled, one hand going up to his head, his other arm waving off to the side as he struggled for balance, tumbling backwards. MK dropped the broom and caught him before he could hit the ground. In front of the group's eye's, Macaque's form seemed to glitch, revealing, for a moment, mussed up fur, a scar over his eye, six ears-

And blood soaked gauze wrapped around his arm.

Almost as soon as they'd seen it, it was gone again, replaced with Macaque's usual look.

There was silence, for a moment.

"Holy shit, are you okay?" MK asked.

"I'm fine." Macaque hissed, attempting to shove MK's hands off of him, struggling. When he found that he couldn't, he stopped, slumping a little. "Put me down."

"No no no, we're not going to pretend that we didn't just see that." MK said, adjusting his grip and lifting Macaque up.

"Wh- what are you doing, I said to put me down, not pick me up." Macaque said, fur bristling. "Also, you didn't see anything. You're hallucinating."

"Stop deflecting." MK said, gesturing vaguely for Mei and Red Son to follow him, as he carried the monkey up the stairs. "If you're still hurt, we need to treat it."

Macaque didn't respond, and MK looked down to see that his eyes were closed, his form flickering again.

"Huh. I guess he really does have six ears." Mei said from behind him.

"Now is not the time, Dragon Girl." Red Son said. MK ignored them as he unlocked the door to his apartment, walking into the living room and laying Macaque down on the carpet. He might regret that later, blood stains were hell to wash out, but that was a problem for future MK.

Macaque's form flickered again, except this time, it stayed on the version of him that looked.... well if MK was being honest, he looked awful. His face was pale, and his fur looked like it hadn't been brushed in weeks.

Not to mention the bloody gauze around his arm.

MK made quick work of removing it, wincing whenever Macaque whimpered in pain in response to the injury being touched. As soon as the injury was uncovered, the trio sucked in a horrified breath.

"...I don't understand." MK whispered, "He's a demon, demons heal quickly right? He got this injury at least 3 days ago, so why is it-"

"It's cursed." Red Son said, sounding terrified, for once. "He's been struck by a cursed blade. Whoever did this really does want him dead."

"What do we do?" MK asked, "We can't just let him... let him bleed to death."

"You mentioned before that Wukong has a room full of items, back on Flower Fruit Mountain?" Red Son asked. MK nodded in response. "He probably has something there that could help."

MK, who had kneeled on the floor to check Macaque's injury, quickly stood up, summoning the staff.

"Mei, get Pigsy and the others. They'll probably be better at taking care of him right now than we are." He said, before turning back to Red Son. "How will I know if I've found something that will help?"

"Truthfully, I couldn't tell you." Red Son said, shrugging. "I've never had to deal with something like this before. ...I'm sure you'd know when you see it though."

"Oh, sure, that's real helpful." MK said, sarcastically, and proceeded to turn and run out the door.

-

"Seriously why does Monkey King have so much stuff!" MK yelled, throwing a box of jewels at a wall. He'd been searching frantically through the mountains of items for.... about ten minutes, and he was, honestly, tired of it. "Would it kill him to hold a garage sale once in a while? Maybe then I'd actually be able to find shit!"

"Hey, each of these items are near and dear to me, I'll have you know."

MK yelped, summoning the staff as he whirled around, coming face to face with none other than Sun Wukong himself.

"Monkey King!" MK said, "You're back?"

"Yep, managed to get all that I- uh, I mean, I managed to catch up with everyone." Wukong said, lazily laying back on his cloud. "Anyways, mind telling me what you're doing in my storage room?"

"...You're not going to like the answer to that." MK nervously rubbed the back of his neck. He knew that Macaque and Wukong had a history, and although he didn't know the full details, he knew that the two of them didn't get along now. Truthfully, he had no idea if Wukong would even be willing to help Macaque at all.

MK himself wasn't entirely sure why he was helping him either, really, he'd done nothing to warrant it.

But then again, he hadn't done anything that warranted a slow death via bleeding out either.

"I'm sure that whatever it is can't be that bad." Wukong said, "It takes a lot to surprise me, kid."

"Macaque is currently bleeding out on my carpet."

"He's what?!"

-

When Macaque woke up, he was back on the couch again. He vaguely recalled passing out after MK had carried him up the stairs, but to be honest, that whole event was.... a little blurry for him. He thinks he woke up a few more times afterwards, but between the blurry faces and surprisingly muffled sounds, he can't make heads or tails of what happened.

He sighed, not really wanting to get up yet, snuggling back down into the couch-

He can hear another heartbeat. There's someone in the room with him.

Macaque sat up laser fast, throwing his usual glamours back on.

"Ah ah ah, none of that now."

Something lightly tapped his shoulder, and Macaque's glamour dissolved completely as a slight golden light went over him.

He turned his head to see Wukong sitting on the edge of the couch.

"Don't want you to pass out on us again after we just healed you." He said, "Seriously, try to keep from using a lot of magic in the next few days. You'll heal faster."

"Oh that's rich, coming from Mr. 'I can't stay in bed for 2 hours'. You don't think I've forgotten when you got hit with that energy depletion curse, did you?" Macaque retorted, crossing his arms. Wukong gave a nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"To be honest, I was hoping you did forget that, actually." He said.

"Please. As though I'd ever forget something that led to the honorable Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, walking right into a tree." Macaque said, a smirk on his face.

They were both avoiding talking about what had happened between them. Neither of them truly felt they were ready for that yet.

They were in MK's apartment though, so they could at least try to avoid an actual fight.

"What's this I hear about Monkey King walking into a tree?" MK said, walking into the room. Pigsy and Mei followed close behind him.

"Ah, it's nothing, he's just lying like always. The medicine is probably making him think of things that aren't true." Wukong said, and Macaque rolled his eyes.

"If you give me some plums later, I'll tell you all about it, MK." Macaque said, ignoring Wukong's protests. "Monkey King needs to get knocked down a peg or two, in my opinion."

"MK, I swear if you agree to that-" Wukong warned.

"Deal." MK said, holding out his hand for Macaque to shake. Wukong yelled in outrage as Macaque laughed.

"Heh, nice to see the two of you actually getting along, for once." Pigsy said, leaning over the back of the couch as he ruffled the fur on the top of both Wukong and Macaque's heads.

Both monkeys froze.

"....You two okay?" MK asked. Wukong and Macaque glanced at each other. An agreement had been made.

They would never speak of this.

In near perfect sync, the both of them leapt off the couch, turning and running off in different directions, Wukong going out a window, while Macaque chose the slightly more reasonable option of going out the door.

MK, Mei, and Pigsy stood there in shock for a moment, as they watched the two monkeys get further away.

".....Stupid touch starved monkeys." Pigsy sighed, turning and heading back down to the restaurant. He'd had enough Monkey Madness for one day.

MK and Mei glanced at each other, and then back in the directions Wukong and Macaque had gone.

"Uhh, I go get Monkey King, you go get Macaque?" MK said.

"You wanna make it a race? See who can get one of them to come back first?" Mei asked.

"Absolutely. Ready?"

"As always."

"Then 3, 2, 1, go!" MK yelled, and two of them ran off, chasing after Wukong and Macaque.

[dancingthesambaa]

The Smell of Plum Blossom Tea Ch 11

Summary: Just like a butterfly wing, a single act of kindness can change the course of the future, it certainly did for MK as a black furred monkey put out a hand towards him.

Rating: Teen and up

Chapter 11: It’s a Bittersweet Reunion

“Monkey King!” MK quickly stood up as he rushed towards his mentor, “it’s not what it-” he quieted down as he felt Monkey King glint ominously as he stared him down.

“You should probably listen to starlight there,” Macaque tried to say, but he sighed when the stare was directed back to him, but a lot more threatening.

“What have you done to him!?”

“Or you can just ignore me,” he sighed dramatically, but his entire body was buzzing in anticipation for the first strike. He knew how this is all gonna go down whether he likes it or not. So he takes a step forward with his hands out and says, “look Wukong, it’s-” then promptly stops as the Monkey sage takes a step towards him.

“Don’t you take another step forward,” he growled out.

“Look Wukong-”

“Don’t call me that.”

“I refuse to call you Monkey King, so Wukong,” he emphasized. He didn’t call him Monkey King back then and he sure as hell is not about to start now. “Open your fucking ears and listen, I’m not gonna hurt the kid.”

“Nice try, but I’m not buying it,” he watched his every twitch, just waiting to see when he would strike.

“But I’m not, you really think I’d hurt a kid?”

Wukong said nothing, but his narrowed eyes were all the answer he needed.

Macaque sucked in a sharp breath and gritted his teeth shut as his nails dug into the palm of his hands. He tried his best to ignore the hushed whispers in his head that begged him to show him real fear. Show how deep our shadows can take him. Show him how to see with one eye like him. Show him painpainpainpain. Then he let the air harshly out of his nose as clenched his teeth as he growled out. “You really think that low of me huh.”

“After what you did to them,” he shifted his foot back and gripped tightly onto his staff, “it does make me question a few things.”

The six eared demon couldn’t stop the jealousy and irritation that flowed through his mind when he heard those venomous words. Didn’t stop his hands from shaking nor his eyes or ears from twitching.

“What were you doing with MK,” he repeated himself.

“Oh some herb gathering, I’m out of stock you know,” he sarcastically said.

“If you're going to lie, at least think of a more feasible story,” Mac really wanted to rip off his tongue at that, “tell me the truth.”

“Or what?”

“But it’s true!” MK tried to say, but it seemed that his words were ignored.

“Or I’ll make you,” he let the golden energy roll over him as he stood in front of his student.

“Just try it,” he taunted as his own violent aura emerged and coiled around him. He knew where this was headed, but at this point he didn’t care, he wanted to vent out all his frustrations to this dumbass monkey for a long time. He sent over a glance to MK, who looked to be on the verge of a mental breakdown, to stand far away.

He heard it loud and clear as he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly before running as far as he could.

Then, in less than a heartbeat, there was a loud sound that blasted out as the two monkeys collided together in a burst of torrent energy.

BOOM BOOM BOOOOOM

They separated as the blow blew them both back, but Wukong charged first once more as Macaque sank into the shadows to avoid the attack. That didn’t deter the golden monkey as he activated his eyes of truth with a quick glance charged at one spot, only to block an attack from a clone emerging while the other followed suit.

“You really think it would be that simple,” taunted Macaque as he rushed in with a swing of his glowing staff.

Wukong easily dispelled the clones and side swept him with his own staff.

Neither side gave him as they instinctively began to run further toward the mountain while still attacking one another.

Both monkeys are opposite of one another in many ways, but those differences seem to not matter when face to face with each other as they both counter each other's moves.

When Wukong became a bird and flew high to drop down into a tiger, Macaque manipulated his shadows to tackle him out of mid air and send him spiraling to become a crater on the ground.

When Macaque tried to grapple him from behind and throw him to the mountain side, Wukong nimbly dodged and sent him a sidekick to the side.

When Wukong sent out a flurry of blows, Macaque easily blocked each strike with his own staff.

When Macaque attempts to kick him to the mountain and pin him there, Wukong jumps high and hurdles him away from him.

When one attacks, the other counter.

When the other strikes, one will block.

It was almost an endless cycle.

It may have been a long time since they last saw each other, but the knowledge and the instinct that was left upon them never failed for a second. So, with both monkeys equally matched it would lead to a stand still as neither side gave in or could push enough.

So how would this end?

With both sides killing the other off with one final blast, leaving the mountain and perhaps even part of the city in ruins?

Not quite. Actually it would end when MK had enough of this stupid fight and recklessly charges in.

“STOOPPP!” He yelled out as he made the final jump and stood in between the two enraged monkeys. He knows this is a very stupid move that he is gonna get lectured on later, but he thinks that this is the only way to stop the two of them from fighting.

And he was right. Both monkeys' eyes widened in horror as they saw where their attack was heading.

“MK/STARLIGHT!” They both screamed as both of them immediately aborted their powered up blast and screeched to a halt before they could run into him.

The sage monkey could feel his heart drilling in his ears as he was so grateful that he managed to stop when he did. Before he could grab his kid, another force beat him to it as he saw Macaque rush over to him. He sprinted over there to stop him from hurting him but it was too late as the black furred monkey grabbed MK, picked him up…and began to examine him frantically?

“Are you okay? Did you get hit? Did the excess release of the energy seep out and injure you? Do you feel any nausea, headaches, dizziness, need to run around and blow shit up, bloody nose?” He began to search not only his physical self, but his inner self in both body and spirit. He may train him and Mei to the ground every session and make them wish they wanted to rip out their own bones, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t take the utmost care of them. Hence why they have never left training with any broken bones or fractures alike, this is probably why everyone calls him a worrywart.

‘…what?’ Wukong blinked at the scene in front of him.

“I’m fine,” he tried to push the hands off him and focus him back on what was previously happening.

“That still doesn’t take away from the fact that you recklessly charged into the fight and almost got yourself killed!” He hissed out.

“Meep,” he lowered his head as he remembered, right, his Dad could care less if the world was burning around them if he was hurt in any way. Though that doesn’t stop the warm feeling in his gut at the thought.

“Ummm, what’s happening?” Monkey King couldn’t help but ask as he stepped forward, only to be stopped by Macaque turning to him, as he pushed MK behind him, and let out a short snarl to him with his eyes burning a bright violet.

He only stopped once he realized just who he was looking at and remembered what just happened not even a minute ago as he slowly eased his posture. But even when his eyes were focused on the monkey in front, he still kept three of his ears to MK behind.

“Wouldn’t you like to know tinker bell,” he couldn’t help grunting out.

“Okay, first off rude and secondly, I just want to know what you're doing with my student?” He rolled his eyes cause at this point he sorta figured out that he may have been slightly wrong about something. He just can’t put his finger on what.

“Oh now you want to talk,” the medicine monkey huffed, “would have been a nice idea before you decided to up and try to kill me.”

“I wasn’t going to kill you,” Wukong immediately said. “Just knock you out,” and that was the solid truth. He may not see eye to eye with him anymore, but he will not take away his life. He refuses to.

“Oh cause that’s so much better.”

“Would you rather you be a hundred feet underground?”

“As if you can manage that, I felt that last punch, it seems you are slacking old man,” he gave him a nasty smile.

“By only a thousand year!” His eye twitched at the age-old insult.

“Keep telling yourself that old man.”

“There may be a standstill but that still won’t stop me from throwing your scrawny ass off this mountain!”

“I would rather not,” both monkeys startled at the sound of MK's voice and they quickly backed away from each other as they just realized how close they were standing to the other. “I rather like my Dad alive.”

“MK don’t do-wait YOUR DAD?!” You can almost hear his neck snap towards his student at his words.

“Yeahhhh,” he couldn’t help but avoid those bewildered eyes as he rubbed his neck.

Wukong could barely comprehend his words as he turned his head to a very smug monkey.

“Surprise mother fucker,” he couldn’t help but say. He was very much enjoying this.

And for the first time, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, finally took a good look at his former friend and noticed that he has definitely changed. He couldn’t decide what to focus on, from his new clothes, his long mane (which really threw him for a loop), his sleek fur, or his very sparkly nails. But he decided it was probably best to focus on the human he is actually willing to protect as he formed up an articulate question in his head out loud.

“Dad?” Nope, he was still very thrown off about this. Macaque is a Dad?!? Are we still talking about the same angst demon monkey that would barely even stand the presence of others let alone a human child?!

“Huh, congratulations. I think you finally broke what was left of his brain no matter how small it may have been,” he complimented his child.

“I really wasn’t trying,” he sighed as he stepped closer.

“Then that’s even more pathetic on his part.”

“I’m still here,” Wukong couldn’t help but announce.

“Oh really I thought you left,” Macaque sarcastically said, “well since you're here then I guess you finally have time to listen or are you just gonna be an impulsive idiot again.”

“Okay, I’ll admit that I may have jumped the gun, but can you blame me for thinking that you would try something to get back at me?!” He shouted back, not knowing the fuse he had lit.

“Excuse me!?” At this point the demon monkey was fed up as he began to march back over to the sage monkey to start round two. He hoped he did not imply what he thought he did.

“I-I mean you used to never do this before,” he quickly said to calm down the enraged monkey, though he probably should have listened to MK frantic hand movements as they all gestured him to basically ‘shut up before you get killed.’

“I ‘used’ to! Past tense you egotistical fool! People-demons-I can change! I have changed, I know I am not the same demon I was thousands of years ago!” He had to stop himself from dragging his hands to that pretty little throat/begging him to understand. “I am not the same.”

“And you just happen to stumble upon a human who so happens to be able to pick up my staff?” He said in disbelief.

“Want to hear something shocking? Yes! I did! I found him and I adopted him cause I could, cause I wanted to, cause I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving him alone! So get off your high horse and come down to the rest of us beings, cause the world doesn’t revolve around you Sun Wukong.” Macaque could barely hold in his anger as he spat out his name.

Wukong didn’t even flinch as he held his ground, he knows that people can change, he sure as fuck had, but right now he wants to make sure that the demon in front of him had changed for the better. He knows he is driving a bigger gap between them than before (hurtpainpainwhydontdoithetribematefriend) but he can’t take any chances, especially with the kid involved in their mess. “That still doesn’t mean that you won’t try to use him against me like before!”

And it was that moment that the fuse hit the combustion and Macaque erupted in a glorious and deadly violet light as he smashed his right fist into the mountain side and moments later, that came crumbling down.

“How dare you,” the low voice harshly echoed out.

“Wha-”

“How fucking DARE YOU!” Voices overlapped each other as a pulse of dark violent energy instinctively flared out towards Wukong, who was just able to stand his ground against the wave.

“Mac-” The monkey tried to speak but was abruptly cut off.

“How dare you accuse I would do anything to harm my child! Fuck you, you flea ridden coward! Here’s a fucking clue things change! I can admit I done some shit in the past, I screwed many over, and I damn sure stained red with the blood of innocent and guilty, but don’t you even dare for a goddamn moment that you never done messed up shit fuck face! But how fucking dare you accuse I would do anything to harm my child!” His eyes glowed in pure rage as he locked onto shocked golden eyes. He was done.

“No! No I don’t thi-” He shouldn’t have done this, he shouldn’t have said a damn thing.

“Shut up! Like fuck I know I made my own stupid mistakes and even when centuries have passed I will never make up for some of those, do you want me to say sorry? Cause I fucking am!” He clenched his robes to where his heart was as he gripped it right.

Wukong eyes feel like it couldn’t enlarge anymore as he reached out a hand to him, “Mac-”

“I’m sorry for attacking you and your friends so many times! I’m sorry that I couldn’t change my ways back then! I’m sorry that I couldn’t keep up! I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to stay by your side! I’m sorry for all the years you wasted being my other half!”

He is sorry that he spend all those years with his Sun, he is sorry that he couldn’t help but feel alive when he is with him, he is sorry that he couldn’t help but falling in love with him for all those years, but he doesn’t-will not say that outloud nor will he ever truly regret it.

Wukong feels everything shrinking in on him as he only has eyes for only one as of this moment. He could see the anger in his voice, the frustration in his eyes, and the rage in his stand.

But if there is one thing Macaque has always been good at, it is playing the part, cause he can also see the desperation in his tone, the misery in his eyes and the pure betrayal in how his shoulders are a bit too firm.

“Mac no! I-” He wanted to explain that he didn’t want this, that he was being an idiot.

“Shut up!” He didn’t want to hear anymore.

“Listen!” He wanted to explain it all.

“Shut up!” Not a single word, not now.

“Please, just-” He needs to tell him.

Then his glamor flickered as all of his scars showed on his body and his hazy blind one appeared as he bared his fangs and screeched out.

“I said SAVE IT BASTARD!”

It was dead silent on the mountain trail, no bird was chirping, no leaves were rustling, not even a sound of heavy breathing was heard. If you listened closely you could hear the beating heartbeat of every living thing, which was quite a feat unto itself, but it was suffocating to two demons facing each other on the mountain.

MK was the one who finally broke the silence as he walked up next to him, while making sure his footsteps were loudly heard, and gently spoke. “Dad, your glamor.”

That was what snapped Macaque out as he looked down to his scar filled hands and already instinctively knew the ones on his face, let alone the rest of his body, was prominent. So, he took a long deep breath as he held one hand over his blind eye and released it as he put the glamor back on.

“I’ll be leaving first starlight, yell if you need me,” he quietly said as he lowered his hand to reveal the scarless eyes.

“I will…are you okay dad?” He worriedly asked as he looked at him.

Macaque could only muster up a small smile at his child care as he ruffled his hair, before sinking into the shadows.

Not once looking back to his old friend.

MK could only faintly watch his dad shadow travel and as soon as he knew he couldn’t see him anymore, he whirled around to the Monkey King, who still had a very horrified expression, with a pissed off look, “What the hell was that?!”

“What have I done?” He hoarsely said as he still had his eyes on the traveling shadow even when it had long escaped from the mountain.

“I don’t know, maybe jump to conclusions!” He snarked out to the Monkey King for the first time. He respects him, he really does and that won’t change, but that he cares more for the monkey who raised him and took care of him for all those years. So yeah, he is getting some answers out of him whether he likes it or not.

Monkey King, who hadn't moved since Macaque left, finally pried his eyes away from the moving shadow, no matter how much he wanted to follow, and looked to his student. “I messed up real bad, didn’t I.”

“If you mean by indiscriminately yelling at my dad before he even had the chance to speak then promptly fighting him and then going back to yelling at him once more? Then yeah, you did,” he sarcastically said.

He winced at the harsh, but very justifiable, tone. “…so, he’s your dad?” And he still can’t help but ask, because Macaque raising a child was not even on his list of things he could have imagined.

“Geez, how’d you figure that one out?”

“You get your snark from him don’t you,” he couldn’t help but say.

“Oh yeah,” he unashamedly said, “he did raise me after all.”

Wukong wilted at the reminder, “He did, didn’t he.” It was after he said that was when he squatted down, gripped his hair, and let out a short burst of frustration. He doesn’t know if he can come back from this, if things were bad before, they are absolutely horrendous to the pit of despair now.

The student silently calmed down as he blinked at the monkey sage actions then a few things finally clicked into place. “You still care about him.”

“What, the books don’t emphasize enough of our ‘wonderful’ relationship to each other,” Monkey King couldn’t help but sarcastically say. He has read the book and let’s just say that there are some details so far off that it just makes him want to completely rip all his fur off.

“No, but dad does tell me that you were his first friend,” he plopped down next to him.

The Monkey King, “He talks about me?”

“Ohhh yeah, he told me all the things you guys did together. Like that one time where you tried to trick a corrupt ruler by disguising as a pair of priests.”

“To be fair, the two of us were really hungry and that buffet that he had looked real damn good, it’s not our fault that the man got outed in the end and was left on the cliff…well only a little bit,” he snorted. You can’t blame them for being hungry, but they may have had a rather loud conversation out loud about the extravagant feast they saw to a couple of people…in the market of the common folks….and as they were in the middle of a shortage. Things just tend to escalate sometimes, but can you really blame them?

“Dad just said that what goes around comes around.”

“That too,” he said with a small chuckle as he trailed off and sighed, “he was with me since almost the beginning. When I left the mountain for the first time, I didn’t have my monkey nor did I know anyone, so meeting him was a blessing.”

“He told me the two of you met after you ate a mountain deity offering,” MK said.

“Like I said, I was still new to the world and I barely knew a damn thing, but he was there for basically it all and has to be one of the main reasons I’m even alive today, cause I can be real and admit that he was at least 75 percent of my impulse control.” He remembered all those times he had run off at the sight of the newest shiny objects or the next food and the amount of times Mac had to drag his ass away from there before the two of them were caught. “And I managed to ruin that all…twice!” He moaned out as he gripped his hair once more in frustration.

MK just watched his teacher silently self deprecate himself, he knows what it looks like, and sighed as he patted his shoulder. “It’s not totally over.”

“I essentially attacked him twice! I know some of those scars were made by me during our first battle and his eye,” he stopped short as he could feel the bile rise up as he remembered the hazy honey color eye floating back into his mind. “I made him blind, he is blind in one eye and I did that. Fuck I did that…I can’t forgive myself let alone even think he will forgive me.”

“Dad can hold a grudge, but he can also forgive. By the gods knows how many times I messed up before,” he lightly jokes.

“You're his kid and by the looks of it, someone he cares for greatly.” He doesn’t think he has ever seen his friend that worried before unless it was aimed towards him whenever he got badly injured. There is a painful tug of something weird coming from his stomach at the thought.

“And you're his friend, someone who he also cares for,” he shot back. “The two of you need better communication, but you two aren’t shattered and crushed up by a horse hoof during a race, just a bit broken but it can still be fixed.”

The monkey looked his student in the eye, “You really think so?”

“Mmhmm, Dad has missed you for all those years after all.” If he was any less observant he would have missed his Dad's nostalgic expression whenever he told him a story about them or his sad eyes when he would ask questions about the Monkey King.

“He’s not the only one,” he said as he finally sat down from his squatting position. “…can you tell me more about him?” It was about time he got reacquainted with his friend, they had over five hundred years after all. Maybe it was time to go back in the world again and see what he has been missing out on.

“Well he likes to garden,” he switched positions and crossed his legs together, this was gonna be a long talk.

Wukong's eyes blinked rapidly, “Now that’s new, I remembered that when we needed food we would just go to someone's farm and take some food there, there were so many times Mac took out weeds by accident, but damn it we still ate it just for the laughs.” He gave a small smile.

“He still does that from time to time out of habit.”

“Complains about it getting stuck in his teeth?” His eyes brighten.

“All the time,” he agreed.

The monkey let out a short chuckle, “Is that why you guys were up here? To get more plants?”

“Well no, we were here getting some herbs.”

“Herbs? Like for medicine?” He shot straight up and tried to ignore the growing pit of horror in his stomach. “Are you sick? Is he sick? Are you guys okay?!”

MK quickly shook his hands to dispel the worries monkey, he already had one, he was not looking for another. “No, nothing like that. He’s…well I guess basically a Doctor, I mean no one really puts a name on it, but yeah he usually collects herbs for his supply.”

“I’m sorry, he’s a what?!” Great! And here’s another thing he could have never imagined that Macaque being! “When-how-why did he become a Doctor?!”

“Honestly, he just said he was bored one day and saw Ping making medicine and decided to learn from him,” he shrugged. He should be glad that the Monkey King has come out of his depressive state, despite his over reaction to his dad…though it is quite funny.

“Whose Ping?” He knows that this is not someone the both of them knew when they were still friends, so this must have happened after.

“Ping is the human who-” MK cut himself off as he realized that perhaps he shouldn’t just tell his father personal secrets to someone he just had a fight with. “…who is one of his friends, he can tell you more about it if you ask.” Which will not be any time soon.

“Yeah, I’ll do that,” he said with deceit dripping from his voice, totally spacing out when he heard the word ‘friends’. “What else?”

“He sometimes likes to do shadow puppetry in the theater.”

“Now that’s something I know he won’t give up, I remember that he was more dramatic than me when it concerns his puppetry.”

“That’s what I said and he still is!”

Now everything still wasn’t fine despite the lighthearted atmosphere that surrounded the two. There was still a bone deep hurt that needed much time to be healed and nurtured between the two immortal simians, but this was the first step, no matter how small this may be. It will take time, patience, and so many apologies before anything can be forgiven, but for now it was the time to learn and let both monkeys calm down. For when it is time to meet once more, it is needless to say that a certain impulsive simian is going to go full force.

The sun was setting by the time MK got back from the mountain, he decided to go to his dad’s place for the night after he called up Pigsy to tell him the small change. When he entered through the front door the whole house was completely dark and silent as not a single light was on nor a single sound was uttered.

‘Oh no,’ he silently thought to himself as he made his way past the living room, passed their bedroom and finally faced a closet where they stored all of their pillows and blankets. He gently opened the door and his heart dropped as he saw his dad there in almost pitch darkness, kneeling with his head almost touching the ground and his hands covering all six of his ears as he methodically tapped the back of his neck with his middle finger.

MK opened his mouth to ask if he was alright, but promptly closed it as he realized just how stupid that question was, so instead he quickly head out to gathered some items before coming back. He placed the bowl of fruit and water bottles on the shelf above, he gently pried his dad hands off his ears and put the headphones on instead, he made sure to wrap the weighted blanket around the both of them, and he gently redirected his dad head to instead lay on his lap after he closed the door and began to groom his dad mane.

And yet throughout this entire process, Macaque had yet to utter a single word nor even shift an inch from his spot.

The boy knew he wasn’t going to respond, but he still can’t help himself but feel a twinge of anger directed at the Monkey King at what he has done.

‘This whole day was a disaster and a half,’ he narrowed his eyes as he numbly threaded his fingers in the fluffy fur. ‘He may be a God, but he’s not infallible…he’s not perfect.’ And with this little thought, he began to really realize that despite status or power, no one can be truly perfect. Not the Monkey King nor any other higher being that claims to be above them all. It’s a cynical thought, but he thinks that maybe it’s more real than he can imagine.

But those thoughts can wait for now. Right now, all he wants to do is focus on grooming this fur and just being there for his dad.

In the forest when the moon was high all were mostly sleeping and all was calm. Though some were laid to rest, there were other creatures, both mythical and not, that were waking up to their nightly routine. Everything was the same as always and nothing had changed enough to really bother any creatures despite.

Not even for a newly planted Plum Blossom seed that lay deep within the forest.

[do-not-call-me-meathead]

aposiopesis (part two)

My Orphan Black fic on A03 

part 1   part 3   part 4  part 5  part 6  part 7

@agoddamnsupernova

Scott wasn’t saying anything. Not that it was incredibly odd that he wasn’t talking, but Cosima could tell that there was something that he wanted to say, but was holding it back. She didn’t know if it was something about her and Sarah or about his few hours with Felix, but she could tell that he was keeping it quiet for a reason unbeknownst to her.

“Where did Felix take you?” She asked him to try to get him to start talking. She even poked him a few times, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was lost in his own thoughts.

Scott blushed and answered sheepishly, “A few bars.”

It was vague, but Cosima didn’t want to press for more. Scott had always shown her privacy and respect when it came to her personal life, and she didn’t want to push him away with any of her own meddling.

“Well, thank you. Seriously, dude. Sarah and I… we needed that talk, you know?”

Scott nodded and swiveled in his chair to finally look at her. “You looked really happy when we walked in. Felix told me he was worried about it, but I guess it all went alright? Not that I know what’s really going on. But my point is, I haven’t seen you that happy in a long time.”

Cosima could read between the lines. She knew that he was really saying that he hadn’t seen her this happy since she was with Delphine. She didn’t know if that was exactly true. Delphine made her feel electric and passionate and vibrant. Sarah… Sarah made her laugh and feel warm. It was different.

“Everyone’s having a rough time right now. I think… it was just what we needed at the moment. Did Felix tell you about Alison and Donnie?”

A text early in the morning the next day made Cosima wonder if Sarah ever slept. Not that Cosima hadn’t been awake when she received the text. Kendall’s death had been plaguing her dreams. Sometimes Kendall was replaced by Delphine and she imagined seeing them getting killed over and over and over again. She wondered if Sarah had similar nightmares. 

The texts turned into a phone call. 

"Oi, Cos,” Sarah murmured softly with an almost husky-just-woke-up voice that made her accent sound that much more pronounced. "Hope I didn’t wake you."

“You’re fine, Sarah. Any news? On MK or Donnie or…” 

"I think Alison’s able to visit Donnie today. With Fee and Adele. I’m hopin’ this turns out to be a My Cousin Vinny scenario with Adele and she’s secretly a genius or somethin’. Or it could be total shite. I’ve been warned to keep out of it."

Cosima chuckled at the idea of Sarah actually staying out of something (she didn’t think that was possible). She could imagine Mrs. S begging Sarah to bite her tongue about Adele being the family lawyer. 

“And Felix is going to tell Adele that Alison is your…” 

"Twin. I dunno how we’ll keep all this from her but whatever. Art’s still pissed, though, even if this all because of Neolution. But I can’t really judge Alison with the drugs, though, can I?"

“We all do stupid, impulsive things, right? Isn’t that what you said? None of us are perfect.” 

"Oi!" Sarah shouted in a tone that would have scared any person who didn’t know her well, causing Cosima to snort. "Are you sayin’ I’m not perfect, Niehaus?"

“Yo, my hands are in the air in surrender, Manning. I’m not saying anything.”

Sarah laughed, her voice ringing slightly, causing an echo on the phone. Cosima wished that she could hear the laugh in person. Her laugh always sounded raw, like her voice wasn’t completely used to it. 

"I guess there’s a reason why they call you smart, Cos. Speakin’ of, MK did call. She’s gonna hook us up to Susan somehow. I told her that you need to be involved too. I’d come over to you but… S is under the impression that Neos might be after me."

That didn’t surprise Cosima in the slightest, but it did make her wonder about Sarah’s foster mother. “How’s Siobhan doing?” 

"She’s not angry with me anymore, but she’s angry, Cosima. Not at you or us or anythin’. But at Neos and Evie Cho and Duko. Kira’s ‘specially worried ‘bout her. I dunno, Cos. I feel… like something's happenin’. Or about to happen. I dunno who to trust."

Cosima understood that feeling better than anyone. Trust was something that was easy for the scientist to gain, but once she loses it… She immediately thought of Delphine and Shay and how she hadn’t felt like she could completely trust someone she was sleeping with for years. 

“I know, Sarah. But there’s a bunch of people that are on our side. It’s my turn to be optimistic. We’re going to get the cure and we’re going to destroy Neolution.” 

Sarah sighed with what sounded like tiredness. "Yeah, but at what cost?"

.......

Her screen was blank for a few minutes until she could see everyone. Sarah, Susan, Rachel, and MK. This was what she was waiting for. Scott was by her side, which was reassuring. The two of them had finally come up with an idea for a cure that might actually work.

“Yo, Rachel.”

"Yo."

The rest of the conversation wasn’t as exciting as those first words. She was surprised that Rachel and Sarah hadn’t begun fighting on the video call, but there was something strange happening on Sarah’s end that made Cosima question what was happening over there at the safe house. She was even more caught off guard when Sarah had shut her computer off while they were in the middle of a conversation with Susan and Rachel, not that it seemed to faze them at all.

It was time for her to finally voice her idea. She didn’t want to work with them. She barely wanted to converse with them. But the only way she could actually pull off this cure was with their help.

“So,” Cosima finally began, knowing that she couldn’t hold back any theories if she ever wanted a cure (even if that meant working with their enemies). “I have a couple of ideas.”

........

She had texted Sarah. More than once. She didn’t want to bother her, but she was concerned with how abruptly she ended the video call. She tried to not read too much into it (Sarah was infamous for her unread text messages) but it was almost impossible to not be worried with everything else going on.

And besides that, she needed to talk to her. After hours of debating possibilities for the cure, they could only come up with one possible solution. One possible solution that Cosima actually thought might work. She hated to admit it, but Susan and Rachel were fairly brilliant. They kept up with all her insane thinking.

She was excited to tell Sarah about this new possibility, but she was also terrified. Not only did she need some of Sarah’s eggs, but she would also have to go to the island to actually do the science in a lab that was much more qualified than their own.

The door blasted open, interrupting her thoughts and conversation with Scott about what she would have to bring to the island. She was surprised to find Siobhan standing at the door with a huge ass gun in her hand. On instinct, Cosima almost raised her hands up in the air, but S didn’t look angry at her.

“Duko’s comin’ here. Art and Sarah too. You two are going to stay down here and not say a word. No matter what. Got it, loves? Don’t come back up until someone gets you.”

Cosima and Scott shared a look but they didn’t have the time to ask her about what the hell she was talking about. It frightened them, but they followed her directions. They knew not to go against her orders (that would be a death wish).

Both of them listened intently to the room above them, but they could only hear murmurs of familiar voices. Cosima had expected screaming or yelling or something horrifying as that, but she barely heard a thing until… the indistinguishable bang. Cosima immediately grasped Scott’s arm. After Kendall’s murder, she had hoped that she would never have to hear gunfire again. After a few minutes, the door opened for a brief second, but only for a short enough period for Hell Wizard to enter the basement.

“Duko’s dead,” Hell Wizard announced, looking as pale as a ghost. “Detective Bell and Sarah left.”

Cosima felt like fainting. She thought the idea of anyone else getting murdered would be horrifying, but part of her actually felt a wave of relief to find out that Duko was dead and wouldn’t hurt anyone else in the family. She knew Kendall’s death was only partially avenged. They still had to find a cure and put a stop to Evie Cho.

She felt her pocket buzz.

Sarah Manning: i gotta see kira, i’ll come clean tomorrow, S’ crew will be there in a few to get the body

Cosima Niehaus: Are you OK, Sarah?

Sarah Manning: i’ll update u tomorrow,,, pls dont go upstairs

Cosima thought about texting her back, begging her to tell her everything, but she knew that she couldn’t push her. That it would only push Sarah away from her. Instead, she put her phone down and announced to the others what Sarah had told her.

Scott just shook his head and returned to the computer while Hell Wizard offered a pot brownie. Cosima didn’t refuse.

.........

Someone was shaking her awake. She didn’t know when she fell asleep (or how exactly she fell asleep after last night) but when she woke up, her head ached. Somehow, Hell Wizard must have convinced her to drink too. Not a good mix.

“You okay, geek monkey?” Sarah asked her with pure concern and crossed arms. “Party hard or somethin’?”

Cosima sat up, rubbed her eyes, and realized that it was just the two of them in the basement. “Where’s--”

“When I got here, Scotty boy and Wizard boy were both scrubbin’. They don’t seem too thrilled with my presence.”

Cosima rolled her eyes. “Well, most people don’t like it when you kill someone a few feet away from them. But hey, that’s just a guess.”

Sarah glared at her. “Piss off, Cos. I thought you’d be the last person who’d be angry at Duko’s death.” When the scientist looked away from her, she sighed. "Cosima, S had to. For Kendall.”

“I get it, Sarah,” Cosima snapped. “I just would have liked to know before it happened, you know? A little heads up or something? Because dammit, Sar. I would have liked to not be here when it happened.”

Sarah sat down onto the bed next to Cosima and stared at her own muddy boots. “Loads happened yesterday, Cosima. I know that sounds like an excuse, but it’s true. Alison was threatened by Duko to give up my location in return for not knockin’ Donnie off. The only way to make sure no one died was to kidnap Duko and kill ‘im.”

Cosima raised her eyebrows. Sarah wasn’t wrong. A lot had happened. “But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have called me at the very least. Jesus, Sarah! Why can’t you just let someone into your life so you don’t have to go through all this alone?”

Sarah jumped up and headed for the stairs, ready to run away. Back turned to the scientist, Sarah said, “I should’ve told you. You’re right, Cos. I didn’t mean to keep you in the dark. But I can’t… I fucked that up. Shite. It’s what I do.”

Cosima’s anger dissipated from her body, though she didn’t quite know why. “You’re so dramatic, Manning. And I thought Alison was bad.”

The lighter tone in the scientist’s voice made Sarah turn around. “That’s the worst thing you coulda said to me. She’s a bloody theater actress for fuck’s sake. Though, I did grow up with Fee. Maybe he rubbed off a lil on me, yeah?”

“Just a little. But seriously, Sarah. Why are your communication skills so damn awful?”

Sarah only shrugged and felt her body condense into itself. She didn’t want to talk about herself or her fucked up nature or why she was so shit at life. In fact, she avoided those conversations at all costs. Which was why she normally avoided Cosima most of the time too. Cosima was the only one who wanted to know that kind of stuff about Sarah.

She turned around again and said, “Yeah, well, I dunno, do I? I gotta go see Kira--”

Cosima ran over and grabbed Sarah’s hand as she tried to walk off. She didn’t know what to say when Sarah looked at her, her eyes watering and lips quivering slightly (Cosima wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t been staring so intensely). She hadn’t wanted to piss her off, but she needed answers. Sarah had almost always been an enigma to her. She wasn’t one at first, not with her bitchy attitude and con artist tendencies. But now that Sarah was their leader, their person, she felt like she knew her less and less.

“Sarah… I’m a blunt person. So truthful to a degree that I like end up offending half the people that I’ve met.”

The other woman didn’t know where she was going with this. “Yeah, good for ya, Cos.”

Cosima grumbled. “What I’m trying to say is, I am going to be honest with you. It’s who I am, Sarah. And honestly, I don’t understand you. You act like nothing affects you until it does. You struggle with loving people and yet you’re the most loyal person I know. And you’re always alright, even when you’re not. I just want to know who you are, but you won’t let me.”

Sarah wanted to let go of Cosima’s hand and run. Run far and fast. But her grip was strong and something in Cosima’s eyes told her that this is what the scientist needed, though Sarah didn’t understand why.

“It’s not just you, Cos.” Sarah confided when she couldn’t think of a way out. “Why do you think I pushed Cal to leave? Why do you think I keep S at arm’s length and left Kira? Felix is the only one who’s ever opened me up. And that’s because he forced me. After years of bloody naggin’. It’s got nothing to do with you, yeah?”

That didn’t make Cosima feel any better. She could have guessed all of that. “But why, Sarah? Why can’t you let me in? Let me help you?”

Sarah sighed and wiped her nose that was running with her sleeve. “Because I’m an orphan, Cos. I grew up unwanted. Jumped from foster home to foster home that was either too crowded, too handsy, or too damn lonely. I didn’t have someone like you growin’ up. Or Alison or Cal or anyone. Not until Fee. But even then… Jesus, Cos. Why you askin’ all this?”

Cosima grasped her other hand and tried to smile. “Because I want you to trust me, Sarah. Like I trust you.”

“But I do trust you, Cos. I do. I just wanna protect you from all this shit. That’s why I didn’t tell you about the night I almost ended it with snortin' and drinkin' and shaggin' couples. Or about yesterday. Or all the other shit I’ve kept to myself. You already have so much to deal with. I can take care of everythin’ else.”

Cosima groaned and facepalmed, letting go of the other woman's hands. “But you don’t have to! You’re not the only clone, Sarah! Let someone help you for god sakes!”

Sarah shook her head. “I can’t.”

"Why?"

“Because I deserve this,” She shouted and pounded her chest like she wanted to hit something (and decided to hit herself). “I’ve wasted my shit life doing shit things. Maybe this is the way I can make it better, yeah? You’ve got science, Alison’s got school boards and her plays, Beth was a cop, hell Krystal’s even got cosmetics. I’ve got nothin’. I’m just nothin’ but a shit mother and hustler and lover of abusers.” She fell to her knees before Cosima had a chance to even try to catch her. “Everyone’s better off w’out me.”

“I’m not,” Cosima told her immediately. She crouched down and wrapped her arms around the shaking body. “Listen to me, Sarah. You’re a survivor. Restless, remember? You’re wicked smart. Strong. Brave. You’re my hero. My friend. My… god, Sarah. Do I have to say more for you to understand? We wouldn’t have gotten this far without you. You’re our rock, Sar. Our hope. We need you. I need you.”

Sarah rested her head on Cosima’s lap and held onto the scientist's shirt like she was trying to hold on.

“I feel her, Cos,” Sarah confessed as quietly as she could. “I feel her with me. I see her everywhere. All my dreams are about her. I’m worried that I’m… turnin' into Beth.”

Cosima blinked. She knew that there was a connection between the clones. A connection that couldn't be explained by any science that she was aware of. It was why Kira was unexplainably different. She didn’t understand why Sarah felt connected to Beth (or if anyone else had this feeling), but she wanted to.

“I won’t let that happen. I’ll protect you, just like you protect all of us.”

Instead of telling her about the island and exchange with Rachel like she knew she should have, she dragged Sarah to the bed and commanded her to sleep.

Their fingers intertwined and Sarah, with one last exhale, finally closed her eyes.

...........

Cosima would have never expected Sarah to be cuddly. The lion-hearted girl with the lion’s mane had her body practically wrapped around the scientist’s, her head rested gently into the curve of Cosima’s neck, breathing into her hair. It was surprising and endearing and made Cosima’s heart beat faster than normal. She couldn’t remember being this physically close to someone without sex being involved.

She would have never thought that Sarah would look this delicate as she slept. And she was sure that the punk would be the first to deny it too. She felt Sarah’s warm hands around her body and she didn’t want her to ever peel away. Cosima decided that she could live like this forever. It would be easy, she thought. Simple. The idea of staying this way with Sarah Manning made her grin and smile and it subsequently scared her.

She only felt this way with Delphine.

Sarah had her face. It was obvious and made her shake her head at the idiocy of the immediate thought, but she couldn’t stop staring at it. They had the same face. But it wasn’t the exact same. Or maybe their faces were the exact same and Cosima just imagined little differences because they were incredibly different people with different scars and different stories. Maybe Sarah seemed older because she had done more things and lived a harder life. Maybe Cosima felt younger because she admired Sarah so intensely. But for some reason, Cosima didn’t see Sarah like the rest. She saw her face in Alison, Beth, even Helena. But Sarah?

“Cos, why’re you bloody staring at me?”

Cosima raised her eyebrows. Sarah hadn’t even opened her eyes and yet she somehow knew. She didn’t know if she was freaked out by that or completely intrigued.

“I’d say it was because you’re hot, but I wouldn’t want it to go to your head, weirdo.”

“Narcissist,” Sarah snorted and finally opened her eyes. She moved her body immediately away from the other clone. “Fuck. Didn’t mean to hold you that tight, Niehaus. What time is it anyway?”

Cosima checked the time and sighed. In only a few hours, she was supposed to be in the air on the way to the island and she still hadn’t told Sarah about it.

“Listen, Sarah...” Cosima had already begun to trail off, just looking at the way the punk’s smile faltered and filled with worry and concern. “No, no. It’s nothing bad. Actually, something good. I think… I think we might have figured out the cure.”

Sarah gaped at her and then jumped up out of the bed and shouted, “Holy shite! That’s… that’s… and you’re not playin’? Don’t mess with me, Cos. This is--”

“Real, Sarah. I have good feelings about it. It’s the breakthrough we were all waiting for.”

“That’s bloody amazin’, Cos,” she muttered and ran her fingers through her mane of hair, still gaping in awe with disbelief. “You’re brilliant. I always knew you’d figure it out.”

Cosima felt her stomach knot. She had left out the worst part of the news. On purpose. Knowing Sarah’s moment of pure joy would soon vanish and be replaced with… well… she hoped that it wouldn’t be anger.

She opened her mouth, but Sarah had already started talking again. Shouting, really. In a strangely unlike-Sarah kind of way that would have normally made Cosima extremely thrilled.

“Kira’s gonna jump up and down when she finds out. Honestly, everyone will. Bloody hell. I could just kiss you right now, I’m so fuckin’ happy.”

Sarah was still grinning as if she hadn’t heard the words that came out of her own mouth. But Cosima heard them. Her mouth felt dry and she felt like her heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t stop visualizing it.

Her mouth on Sarah’s.  

She tried to shake it out of her head because she was sure that Sarah hadn’t actually meant that she wanted to kiss her. Besides, Cosima knew that her thoughts would have disturbed the punk. She tried to think about anything else, anything else, but it wasn’t working.

Instead, she blurted, “I need your eggs.”

Sarah froze, no longer jittery, and muttered, “What?”

“For the cure, I mean. We need both Castor sperm and Leda eggs. To make--”

“The original,” Sarah whispered and slouched over slightly. “Yeah, I get it. W-when?”

Cosima scratched her head. “Now would be a good time, actually. I mean, the procedure needs to be done soon. Like really soon.”

Sarah tilted her head with a questioning stare. “What’re you not tellin’ me, Cos?”

Cosima sighed and felt herself wishing that she wasn’t the one who had to tell her this part. “We can’t do this alone, Sarah. We just don’t have the resources.”

Sarah blinked, not connecting the dots yet. “So?”

“So, I’m going to a place with ample resources and… and guidance. I’m going to the island.”

Sarah’s posture immediately changed. She crossed her arms and started pacing around the room, unable to be stopped by any force.

“No. Not with bloody Rachel and Susan.”

Cosima frowned and confessed, “Actually, Rachel’s coming here. With Ira. They’re here to… help. Supposedly. I’m not quite--”

“And you think this is a good idea, ey?” Sarah asked and waved her hands up in her air, getting more pissed off by the second. “Makin’ deals with the devil—“

“Evie Cho and Neolution are the villains here, Sarah!” Cosima interrupted and got up from the bed so that she could walk up to her. “Us not having the cure, that’s our enemy. That’s our killer.”

Sarah shook her head and tried to avoid being near her. “You’ve forgotten all the shit Rachel and Susan have put us through! Cos, I want this cure as much as you do--”

“Really, because I don’t think you’re the one that’s dying, Sarah, even though you sometimes want to.”

Cosima regretted it the second the words flew out of her mouth thoughtlessly. She watched as all the color vanished from the other clone’s face. She and Sarah might not have always seen eye to eye on everything, but she had never made Sarah go silent and pale before. She didn’t know anyone could do that.

Sarah sniffled, backing away from the other woman who tried to reach out, and said, “Yeah, okay, Cos. You got the eggs, yeah? And I’ll play nice with bloody Rachel. I’ll do all this for you, Cosima. Because… Jesus, do I really have to say it out loud? I thought you knew better than anyone that I would do anythin’ to have the sickness instead of you. Jus’ seein’ you… it’s my curse. I’ll give you my bloody eggs.”

She walked away with tears in her eyes. Tears that Cosima knew that she had caused. She slammed her fist into the air and bit her tongue instead of screaming. She didn’t want to scare Scott.

[madmonarch]

THAT HEADCANON ASK DROP FROM YESTERDAY ( thank you to @selfsaving​ and @lacksmotive​ for sending them and keeping me busy on the road trip! ) ALL UNDER CUT CAUSE ITS LONG

“ would mk ever use his telekinesis during sexy times ? “  Ironically enough I actually thought about this a day or two ago and forgot to post anything about it. But the answer is if the opposite party already knows about his telekinesis then yes, yes he absolutely would. His favorite thing? Keeping hands occupied but using his power for tools or other parts ie tying stuff, knives, softer objects. Though sometimes he will use it on the opposite person themselves too

“What is The Most Violent thing mk has ever done?”  this one is fucked up I’m going to say this. It was in his late 20s, and the reason he has that huge stomach scar of his. It was the first time he got kidnapped. Obviously I already mentioned he doesn’t like being bound in a room alone. And young MK wasn’t used to physical torture- what he received in the past was all psychological. At least for the most part. So some guys he had gotten on wrong terms tied him up and start to open his gut. MK, without a better choice of words, snapped. Killed most of the men in the room with his telekinesis. A reason that its dangerous for him to use his telekinesis when pissed is its terrifying. A lot of the men got impaled, but some parts of their bodies were torn off or ‘exploded’ without any external cause. With his torturer, he physically assaulted him for about 15 to 20 minutes with his fists or other parts of his body before rigging up a make shift machine in his containment location to keep him alive. Tortured him back for the better part of 7 hours past the point that he should be dead. And this isn’t even the most visibly gruesome thing he has done. But the other instance was mostly post mortum

“ is mk a good cook ? does he prefer to cook or get takeaway ? “ oh I’ve actually thought about this before and yes he’s actually a pretty good cook! Given that he was alone most of the time when he was a kid he had to cook his own food, so he learned pretty quickly. However given how busy he is with work work and villain / criminal work he often just picks up. Usually higher quality food as he can be quite particular on what he puts in his body. Though he occasionally indulges in fast food. He also has quite a sweet or salty tooth.Edit / add on: due to his ‘super’ sense of smell he is real precise on spices and stuff like that which can be good or bad. Certain food with a bad odor or overpowering he can’t do

“ when did the title 'mad king' actually come about ? “  as I said Riain was more of a serial killer in his early adulthood so the paper tended to give him names, especially as he started marking his victims with the crown symbol. The most common he heard was The King or The Bloody Crown. Well he was also into plays and old books about kings gone, well, Mad. Low and behold, he pieced together the name The Mad King and started to push that one at public eyes. It wasn’t necessarily one he pieced together, either. He used the name a few times before hand for throw together plays he did back in acting.

“ if mk had a pet, what would he want ? “  actually he has three (had, at least. Its unlikely they carried onto other verses besides main.) A frog with 5 legs, a two headed snake, and a cat depending on verse / character connections. The first two for sure. He likes animals with genetic oddities, and given that his early experiments were generally on frogs there is that reason too.

“ where is mks favourite place for a sexy encounter ? “  mmm well a sense of danger is kind of a turn on for him. Areas of potentially getting caught but low likelihood of it happening. Or you know, more physical danger. He’s also a fan of shower / bath sexy time or oddly enough, car. Back seat specific. Honestly Mad King is big into indulging just about anywhere at any time on or against probably just about anything.

“ Has mad dad ever tried to reach out to any of his family members or vice versa?? “  Mad King himself hasn’t tried to, neither has any of his family as far as he is aware. He prefers it that way. They did try to once or twice immediately after he ran away, but he knew it was just to drag him back to being a good little lab rat.

“ if someone put their hand over his mouth ( in a NON sexy way, in a like 'shut the fuck up' and / or 'this is a kidnapping' kinda way ) would he lick them yes or no?  “  lick? MKs a biter. He will actually tear the flesh off of someone’s palm if that happens. He’d try to go for his knife or something first and cut their gut, but its a split second difference of which one would go quickest for him. Licking is saved for sexy stuff or him being a messed up piece of shit and licking up blood

“ does mk own a human skull ?”  oh he absolutely does. A few actually. Most are made into something or other- technically speaking, a lot of skulls he does own would be hard to tell from other house hold items (mk uses parts. That means be careful with household items in his house. Your spoon could have been made from an arm bone). But he’s edgy. He uses some unchanged just for looks in areas he can get to. For a bit he used on as a stand for his crown but that was for a real short amount of time

“ how is mk with children !! “ he’s alright with them. I’ve said a long time ago that children are the least likely for him to hurt. He doesn’t have a reason to. Beyond that, he doesn’t really like seeing kids being hurt. However, he will not go out of his way to help a kid especially if it interferes with a plan of his. Generally speaking, he won’t go out of his way to talk to kids nor will he really break who he is to look kinder in front of kids. Though I think he honestly has some dad instincts buried under that arrogant demeanor of his. Secretly might want an ‘heir’ but would never say that.Obviously he’d be far more obviously better with / if a kid is his and not just some random kid.

“ does mk like birthdays + does he / how does he celebrate his ? “ when it comes to his own birthday, no he doesn’t celebrate it. He quit celebrating it a long time ago when his family showed no care towards it. For him his birthday is just another day of the week. He doesn’t even tell people when his birthday is. Which is odd, given it would be even better of an excuse to have people treat him like royalty. But then again, he’d rather force that belief then make excuses.As far as others, it is likely he does celebrate them. He isn’t flashy about them, and he doesn’t really abuse the fact he has money. If he cares enough to celebrate another persons birthday, he isn’t just going to get them stuff with a large price tag. He is going to go for something of personal value.

“ does mk like horror movies ? does he taken any inspiration from horror movies / villains for his own bad shit ? “  he adores horror movies! His favorite genre and if he actually has free time he’ll watch them. He has taken some inspiration for some of his killings, but its more bits and pieces for one or two kills. He makes fun of killers that take too much inspiration from horror. However, arguably the one he has taken a lot of inspiration from happens to be his favorite horror movie / book- Silence of The Lambs

“ WHAT ARE MK'S FAV PET NAMES EITHER TO BE CALLED OR TO CALL OTHERS “ so the ones that apply to either calling others them or being called them himself; dear, darling, honey, and to a lesser extent babe and loveNow I’ve talked about this too much but won’t stop tbh but like if he likes you? You for sure have a title brewed in his mind already. The fucker loves titles. Specifically royal titles. (And for half the ships I have I may or may not have figured out what specific titles he would give and why)As far as ones he LOVES to be called. Call him ‘My King’ in a non mocking manner. Also 'My Love’ or 'My Dear’ are good options.He’s not a fan of overly sappy ones. Like honey bear or stuff like that.

“ does mk prefer to share a bed or have his own space ? “ depends. Concious / appearance keeping Mad King prefers his own, but its pretty obvious subconsciously and if he were to relinquish some pride issues he much prefers having another person with him. Its comforting. Like I mentioned he cuddles up to people rather quickly when he falls asleep. And his prideful butt hates that fact when he wakes up. Especially the fact his body yearns to keep the contact despite the argument of mind. Of course I’ve mentioned he’s awful about falling asleep. Aka he doesn’t get enough sleep ever. Actually, probably his best sleep is gained if he’s with someone.

“ what's mk's favourite weapon to use during a kill and why ? what weapons does he like in general for what purpose ( like what's he like to use for torture stuff ) ? “ he actually really likes to get creative with his crown. The tips of his crown are razor sharp- like, they can put plenty of knives to shame. Of course he wields it in such a manner that he can be precise whether he wants a real deep cut or not. But he’ll use it to cut chunks off, slit throats, or lodge through people. Other then his crown, its usually blades. Knives are of highest preference- a harpy or curved blade is fun, but he also likes basic hunting knives (the one he carries in the GTA AU fits one of these.) And speaking of GTA, his favorite guns are generally the bullpup rifle / shotgun or (ironically if I remember correctly) the MK Pistol. Though for torture? It changes. He likes pliers. And his knife. Chemicals. Also does enjoy fire. Basically, the King likes anything with power but is efficient and aesthetically pleasing at the same time.Of course, if he’s feeling creative he will build tools for torture. Draining people, slowly cutting them apart piece by piece, triggering electrical impulses naturally occurring in the body to go into overdrive to burn the person inside out. It depends on his mood. It really does. And he’s tried plenty.