#wukongs made of stone so what if flowers grow out of him

[98chao]

bored

[semisolidmind]

Ok I have a question and if I asked this before sorry my memory sometimes bad.

So you said peach's died on the journey with her husband's. How did she die? And did they get revenge for her. Also at this point you would think peach's is there soulmate but peach's not liking it.

And dose she have a Mark of how she died as a brith Mark?

And what was Macaqa and sun frist meating with peach's like?

I really love your work

(tw, slight mention of blood and gore)

went on a bit of a tangent :)

reader was killed during a demon ambush. everybody was busy fighting the demons, and while reader was hiding, one of the demons escaped the warlords' notice. she didn't even have time to scream. it killed her, and then took and ate her body.

macaque was the first to realize her absence, of course. reader wasn't able to make much noise as she died, so he just thought she was scared, but... imagine his horror when he can't hear her heartbeat. he quickly dissapears into a shadow, leaving the fight behind. he checks where reader was hidden, and finds only a small puddle of blood. his breathing quickens as he follows the blood a ways further into the woods. he can feel his rage and anguish growing.

there, in a clearing, a rogue wolf demon seems to have just finished its meal, it's tongue licking the excess gore from its teeth. shreds of reader's clothing lay scattered at its feet, along with her satchel and book.

macaque bears his teeth in an enraged snarl and roars at the stupid beast. struck by grief, he falls to his knees, pressing his hands to his face as tears gather in his eyes.

the sound of his anguish echoing against the trees was enough to summon his brother; wukong, covered in the gore of his slain enemies, appears at his side. the king takes quick stock of the situation, and comes to the same heart-shattering conclusion as macaque.

she's gone. she's gone and this wretched creature destroyed her.

reader is dead.

the rage he feels rivals the burning of the stars.

the two bring down the full fury of their combined might upon the wolf demon. the warlords drag out their dismantlement, tearing the stupid creature apart peice by peice. once the offending beast is little more than a visceral stain on the ground..

...the brothers hold one another, attempting to ground each other through the torrent of their pain. they've lost their one, their only.

their dear reader, their beloved peach....she's dead. all because they took their eyes off her for a second, all because they were made to come on this cursed journey. were they not charged with protecting that blasted monk, they could have prevented this. wukong and macaque come to the same conclusion; they will not soon forgive the ones who brought them here.

the monkey demons gather reader's things, holding them as gently as glass...it's all they have left of her. not even a body to bury back home on their mountain.

the other pilgrims need only see these items and the baleful, enraged, tear-stricken looks on their companions' faces to know what must have happened. wukong and macaque say nothing as the monk says a prayer for her.

the two leave for a while.

they don't come back for three months.

when they do return to the journey at the behest of the heavens, they are reserved. withdrawn. they keep to themselves, only intervening when the pilgrims are in danger they can't solve themselves.

———

the monkey king and the six-eared macaque complete the journey. they refuse their new titles; the rage that simmers in them is far too great for the roles they've earned.

the monkey warlords go home. they grieve, properly this time, alongside their subjects.

the next few hundred years are especially brutal for any enemies of flower fruit mountain and it's king. without his queen, he forgets what it means to be merciful.

———

many centuries later, wukong finds a little monkey demon boy, seemingly sprung from the same stone he did. wukong adopts him, names him xiaotian, and teaches him to become a ruthlessly efficient warrior.

the child grows up hearing the occasional story about the mountains' queen, a once-mortal woman who held his father's (and uncle's) heart in her hands. his caretakers can't bring themselves to speak about her often, but they speak softly and fondly when they do. he hears stories of her adventures on the mountain; how she made friends with her subjects, worked in the kitchens and orchards, and cared for the mountain's children.

both wukong and macaque tell xiaotian that reader would have loved him dearly.

the small shrine in the palace temple (a satchel, a heavy book with nothing written in it, a few scraps of bloodied cloth displayed next to daily offerings of peaches) and furniture in his father's room (the combs, hairpins, and perfume bottles untouched but lovingly dusted) don't tell him much about who "reader" was—but the stories from the people who knew her do.

he wishes he could've met her.

———

when the boy reaches a certain age, he asks to go stay in the mortal world. his father reluctantly agrees.

xiaotian goes to the city, battles the dragon girl mei, befriends her, and allows her to teach him how the city works. she takes him to a noodle shop belonging to one of her friends, a gruff but earnest pig demon named pigsy. there, he meets mei's other friends; a gentle blue giant named sandy (and his cat, mo), a studious yet freeloading human named tang—and a friendly human woman who works at the shop...

...who happens to be nicknamed reader.

[quitealotofsodapop]

I love and find it funny when people headcanon Wukong as a nerd. He is after all The Intelligent Stone Monkey. I really don’t like this misconception that he’s stupid (I blame Dragon Ball).

It was mentioned that Wukong having a sibling gave him the opportunity to lean more into his shyer and softer side. I also imagine that being the older sibling of an immature younger brother made him grow into being a bit more responsible. Not by much, but enough to notice.

I’m also curious how this slight shift in personality affects Wukong’s relationship with Macaque. In the show, Mac has been implied to have been quite shy during the Brotherhood era. And Wukong’s loud and energetic personality often caused Mac to fade into the background. I don’t know whether or not he minded back then.

But would meeting this still ridiculously powerful yet a bit less rough-around-the-edges Monkey King affect how Macaque carries himself around him and others?

And what about the other people in Wukong’s life? Nezha, Guanyin, the Noodle Gang, the Pilgrims, the Bull Family, and the Brotherhood of dickwads?

Prev.

Luzhen and Wukong have a very Cuphead and Mugman tyoe of dynamic to them.

Basically with Luzhen there to be the assertive twin, Wukong (then "Shihou") didn't feel the need to Pretend in order to make friends or be taken seriously. And of course being the more responsible of the two, Wukong stepped up a bit when it came to raising his younger twin, even though he was only a cub himself.

Irl infant macaques will carry newborns if no one is around to help.

Even when Wukong left to train with Subodhi (something Luzhen didn't even bother doing), Luzhen had to face the reality of what Being the Responsible One was like for his older bro. The second Wukong left, Flower Fruit Mountain seemed to have a million problems at once. Luzhen certainly isn't a politician, but he tried his best to govern their people in the years his King brother was away.

To say that Luzhen was relieved when Wukong returned from school would be an understatement.

Although the Brotherhood had the Seven Sages at the helm, they certainly had other unoffical members - their names kept off the record for their protection. Luzhen had zero interest in the political side of the Brotherhood, but still got involved running intel and generally causing havoc for their enemies.

Wukong didn't have to show off and act the party animal to the rest of the Brotherhood if Luzhen was there to be himself.

Which meant Wukong found himself having more time to bond with the softer-spoken Six Eared Macaque...

Luzhen was ultimately the final boss for Macaque in asking for approval to marry Wukong. Luzhen screamed with joy for his brother, before pretending to act aloof and disapproving. Luzhen's only demand was that Macaque "stick with him through tough times".

A demand that gets echoed during a certain imprisonment under a certain mountain... the break-up isn't the last time Macaque visit Wukong while he's imprisoned. Though things stay tense for a long time afterward.

Yellow Tusk and Peng like Luzhen as a friend, but they agree that he's not the most discrete agent. They choose Wukong over him in leading the charge, something which Luzhen is okay with. Luzhen is lot quicker to ange though, so a sly comment from Peng can quickly turn into a fist fight. XD

Azure's reaction though? It's... concerning. His devotion to Wukong as their rebellion's matyr is unchanged - but now he has a "back-up". Someone to latch onto mentally when Wukong "fails" his expectation of him. Luzhen thankfully is pretty quick to peace out when Azure starts acting "odd" around him, and decides to officially quit the Brotherhood when they denounce Wukong as a traitor.

DBK thinks of Luzhen as another little brother. Being an older bro himself, Bull sympathizes with Wukong when it comes to being the Responsible One. But he also gets along with Luzhen like a house on fire since they've similar boisterous attitudes towards life. Together they share only one brain cell.

PIF is *super annoyed* by Luzhen. Ugh, why is he so disrespectful towards his older brother and acts like he can get away with everything? (PIF's own elder sisters roll their eyes at the irony - Tieshan was The Baby of all the royal Princesses). PIF does get a long a bit better with Wukong, appriciating his quieter soft-spoken side. The two happily have brunches together where they talk about life and gossip about the immortals.

Nezha immediately indentifes Wukong as being a Big Brother, being the youngest of three boys himself. He huffs a little bit when Wukong treats him like he's a younger kid (this lotus boy is older than both monkeys put together) but appreciates Wukong's cool head, especially when he meets Luzhen for the first time. XD

Guantin would still be a tired sister/mother figure towards the monkeys, just amplified by there being Two of Them. She is distinctly aware that while Luzhen is the more "troublesome" twin, Wukong hasn't really had any time to be his own monkey. She thinks Wukong would benefit more from a Journey of spiritual enlightenment than his bro would - mostly because Luzhen would have found a loophole to the Circlet on Day One and there'd be minus one Monk. XD

The most shocked out of the Noodle Gang are MK and Tang - "The Monkey King has a brother!?" Obviously because this is an amazing discovery! It's like learning of a lost mythology figure or hero! And ofc Luzhen soaks up the attention from both of them like a sponge.

Pigsy's overall opinion of Luzhen is an annoyed shrug. Who cares? People have siblings who aren't as fampous as they are. Though his opinion of Wukong is vastly raised. He, like many, had thought of the Monkey King as a drunken, reckless party-animal. But now Pigsy learns that Wukong was just an older brother wanting to become stronger to protect his family and people. And that a lot of the stories of his wild personality were misattributed to Luzhen. Pigsy refers to Wukong with a bit more respect after learning about his twin.

Sandy is cheerful to know about Luzhen. A little brother?! It's so nice that they get along so well! He also recognises that Wukong is a lot more well mentally than if he was on his own - he didn't have to bare the weight of the world with Luzhen at his side. Sandy does get a little annoyed when Luzhen's more inconsiderate actions affect the team however...

Mei is confused. Isn't it like, known that the Monkey King had a brother??? Her family records def mention the little guy - he was the one who broke a bunch of weapons in Uncle Guang's armory. Don't mortal textbooks say that? Either way, she's happy to have a new bud to party with! This monkey man can rock!

Red Son is confused; "There was two monkeys??" Turns out Luzhen tricked him as a baby into thinking that the blue-eyed monkey was just a durable hair clone, and that "Luzhen" was his nickname. Red's whole childhood flashes before his eyes XD

And of course there's the world as a whole having Zero clue that Luzhen is a geniune person... except some mortal who saw his name in a second-hand dragon scroll and decided to use it for his own novel, but thats a story for another time.

[nekohime19]

Mini Mac # 10 : How to take care of a drunken Monkey King

Macaque befriend his fanclub and tries to take care of drunk Wukong, it's rather difficult.

Macaque was walking in the high grass of the water-curtain cave, searching for very specific flowers. He shivered when he felt eyes burning his back and turned around, narrowing his eyes at the figures he could see hiding in the grass. It happened frequently since he showed his magic to the sage and little Yue. Mayhaps, the lil cub bragged about it to her peers and it piqued their interests, because since then the younglings of Flower Fruit Mountain had been following him around anytime he dared to walk outside of the mansion. And no matter what he tried to do to deter them, they stayed, not intimidated. Macaque let them do as they pleased once he understood that they weren't going to leave him alone. He noticed that they created some sort of rules in-between them. Only one was allowed to approach him and it was always with some sort of peace offering, like mangoes or flowers. The others would come closer only if Macaque accepted the offering, and then Macaque would entertain them a little with his shadows before resuming his day.

Macaque was broken out of his thoughts by one approaching cub, he recognized him as little Yong, usually the one who approached him with the offering, coming on the frontlines like a scout. Yong was bigger than most cubs, his tail longer, and more expressive than most, always whacking his behind. He cooed gently at him before putting flowers (astonishingly enough the very flowers Macaque was searching for) before Macaque. The black-furred monkey eyed little Yong for a bit before gently taking the flowers and putting them in his bags. Other cubs immediately approached him once he took the flowers, they all gently sat before him, forming a circle around him. Macaque cracked his knuckles and manipulated the nearby shadows to form animals; he continued the story of the wolf and the lamb, his favorite. Most of his stories were silent, but recently he began to put in some words, encouraged by the cubs clapping hands and shining eyes.

Once the story was over, the cubs hollered in joy, clapping and giggling. Macaque winced a little, not liking the sound, but he wasn't surprised by it, it was to be expected at this point. The cubs stopped hollering once they heard the waterfall being opened, even Macaque turned to look. Sun Wukong stumbled in the cave with flushed cheeks, reeking of alcohol. Macaque recoiled, not liking the strong smell of the liquor, but the cubs didn't seem to mind and ran towards their King to greet him.

“Oh~ he, he, he, small fluffy balls!” Giggled Wukong as he crouched down to greet the cubs, Macaque rolled his eyes at the sight. It wasn't the first time Wukong came back home completely drunk, it happened often after his so-called fests with the brotherhood. From what he heard of them, Macaque didn't like the brotherhood very much. He found their plan of dethroning the Jade Emperor foolish, but he could never bring himself to tell Wukong. After all, the sage friendship with the brotherhood was deeper than Macaque's, Wukong would never value his words more than those of his own sworn-brothers. Macaque also thought Wukong was old enough to make his own decision.

Sun Wukong giggled at the cubs before collapsing on the ground. The cubs startled and tried to wake him up, in vain. They then tried to pull him into the mansion but their tiny paws couldn't move the stone monkey. Defeated, they turned towards Macaque with pleading eyes.

“And what do you want me to do?��� Huffed Macaque as he crossed his arms.

“Shadows!” Chirped Yong as he pointed to Wukong. Macaque prided himself in his growing skill in the understanding of youngling langage.

“My portals aren't big enough for this oaf.” Replied Macaque with a sigh, but when the cubs looked at him with puppy-dog eyes, he couldn't resist and relented. He reluctantly made his way to Wukong and tried to make a portal big enough for the King. He somehow managed to do it, the sage slipped in the darkness and Macaque spat him out in the mansion. When he and the cubs went to check where he landed in the mansion exactly, they found him whining in the middle of the living room. “Close enough.” Shrugged Macaque, he had tried to spat the King in his room, but bigger portals were harder to control.

“Ouch…how did I get here?” Mumbled the sage, still very drunk, he brightened when he noticed the cubs and crouched down towards them. “Ohhh, heey, lil fluffy balls!!” Then Wukong looked up and noticed Macaque, immediately the sage's fur puffed out and his trail trashed around excitedly. “Ohh, pretty!” He giggled.

“Just go to your room and sleep.” Sighed Macaque as he pinched the space between his eyebrows.

“But if I do, you'd disappear!” Whined the sage, tears nipping at his eyes. The cubs glared at Macaque for making their King cry.

“He's an emotional drunk, lucky me.” Grumbled Macaque. “Come on, Wukong. Don't you wanna sleep? Sleep sounds good, right?”

“Sleep does sound good…” Mumbled the King. “But then you gotta sleep with me!!” He giggled, cheeks flushed and tail whacking his own behind.

“You gotta be kidding me.” Groaned Macaque. “You know what? Fine ! But go to your room!!”

Sun Wukong erupted in excited high-pitched chirps and rose, he stumbled within the mansion, breaking some things in his wake, and collapsed in the nearby bed. Macaque followed him reluctantly with the cubs. Once Sun Wukong was on his bed, he was breathing rather hard, seeming uncomfortable in his clothes. The cubs helped him loosen his shirt, and he threw it away with gusto.

“You feel better now?” Sighed Macaque as he climbed the bed, Wukong turned towards him and smiled at his arrival.

“I feel gross.” He whined. “Groom me, please ?” He pleaded as he turned towards Macaque. The black-furred monkey rolled his eyes, he climbed on the sage's chest and began to carefully groom him. The cubs helped him in his endeavor, after all Macaque tiny hands could only do so much. It was fine at first, but then Wukong began to giggle and Macaque was shaken by it, it was like trying to stand in the middle of an earthquake.

“Quit it!” Groaned Macaque as he stumbled out of the sage's chest.

“Aww, but your tiny paws tickle me! I'm ticklish.” Laughed the sage, Macaque glared at him and tried to hike on his chest once more. Wukong put a hand on his mouth to bite his chuckles, but he was still very much shaking with laughter. After one arduous grooming session, Macaque collapsed on the sage's heart-shaped patch of fur on his chest. Some of the cubs decided to leave, perhaps to rejoin with their families, while others curled close to the sage and fell asleep.

“Now sleep.” Mumbled Macaque as he began to close his own eyes. The sage chuckled at the sight, he carefully brought one of his fingers close to Macaque's tiny head. The black-furred monkey opened his eyes and looked at the finger suspiciously, but he eventually let Wukong scratch his head a little, it felt nice.

Macaque curled on the warm patch of fur and fell asleep, lulled by the sage's gentle head scratches.

+cut scenes

Cubs *asking about how to befriend Macaque.* : 🥺🙏

SWK : Okay, okay, stop with the puppy dog eyes 😣. He likes food, plums and mangoes. And flowers.

Cubs : 😊

SWK *the morning after his drunken night* : damn my head is killing me 😔🤕

SWK *looks down and finds Macaque sleeping on his naked chest* : 😳

SWK *looking at the wall and trying to remember what happened* : 🫠🫢😳

SWK.exe has stopped working

Ch1 / Previous / Next

[mytchthemyth]

Monkie Kid Thoughts Pt. 2

OK, I just realized I didn't fully explain why I think Nuwa would've wanted to keep Wukong in the dark about MK, so I'm typing this up. Part 1 here.

Wukong would definitely be pissed about some poor kid being specifically created as a tool/pawn for a god, even if that god has good intentions. I don't know if he'd care about his birth stone being used, but he'd definitely be even more pissed finding out the kid is also meant to have his exact powers and to master them all at a pretty young age (especially when factoring in how long it took Wukong himself to learn and master all of his powers)

As previously stated, I just don't think Wukong would've actually been a good father figure. Whether it be due to him not knowing how to care of a small child or him obsessively trying to preemptively take care of all the bad guys before MK ever has to, making him mostly absent for MK's childhood, or something else entirely. When MK meets Wukong in the show he had already been living alone on Flower Fruit Mountain for centuries. His adult people skills are horrible, there's no way he'd be more successful at taking care of a child. And MK potentially growing up to hate Wukong would be counterproductive for Nuwa, considering MK's fanboying over the Monkey King in the show made him very knowledgeable about Wukong's powers and very selective parts of his past. (Idolizing Monkey King also makes it easier for Wukong and MK to do training together, and it allows MK the chance to actually be a better, more heroic version of Wukong right off the bat.)

Like I said in the last post, giving Wukong to MK would probably end up alerting all of the villains that Nuwa made MK to fight prematurely. "What's that? Rumors are going around that Monkey King has a kid?! And that kid can also do everything Monkey King can despite being like, 12?!! Send all the henchmen immediately! Spy on Flower Fruit Mountain now!" It would just ruin everything and make MK being a secret weapon of sorts pointless.

Growing up on Flower Fruit Mountain would be a pretty lonely experience for MK. Sure, he has Wukong and the little monkeys, but he wouldn't get a chance to really experience culture or people. He wouldn't have a best friend like Mei, and he likely wouldn't grow up to care so much about helping people and being there for his loved ones. MK is able to step up and be a hero because of all his connections, and Wukong's lack of connections as resulted in him becoming less heroic over time. Even if Wukong successfully raised MK in secret, MK would probably just turn out as a miniature Wukong. The world barely survives with just one of him running around!

This isn't to say Nuwa never wanted MK and Wukong to meet. On the contrary, I think she probably wanted the two of them to develop the kind of relationship they have now. I just think she knew that there was a right time and place for the two of them to meet, and that was not right after MK was born. I think she was always planning on dropping him off with Pigsy, Sandy, or Tang, but things didn't go exactly as planned when there was outside interference. So instead of being able to slowly get a feel of his powers as he got older, MK couldn't access them at all and didn't realize he had any powers until he grabbed the golden staff.

I'm pretty sure MK has pretty much lived the life Nuwa wanted him to, but now his power is reaching new heights that he can't handle due to...whatever went wrong. And while he had a good childhood and has a great support network, MK was never prepared for all the shit he's gone through, and it's all becoming too much for him at this point. MK just wants to go back to his happy, simple life, but everything's changed too much for that. He's changed too much.

We've seen the mantra of "embrace your destiny" crop up a lot over the show, and it's always been by villains in a negative light, but I think it's something MK will genuinely have to do in order to become more "whole". He has to accept what he is, who he has become, and what is expected of him. He has to "embrace" his destiny first, and then he can rebel against it. He can decide his future for himself, but he's not going to be able to do that wholeheartedly unless he accepts himself first.

[hcdragonwrites]

Letters (a @journey-to-the-au Drabble)

I made another thing (yeah I couldn’t help myself but this one is shorter I think. I hope you like it!) I just. Brain fire.

Inspired by <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/journey-to-the-au/722003448742248448/may-we-hear-about-the-yaogui-attack-0-apologies" >This Post </a>

(Also I suck at linking things I’m so sorry.)

Liu crossed out the line on the parchment before him, splashing ink onto the stone beneath his feet in an frustrated spray.

“No that doesn’t sound right either!” He gritted his teeth, growing frustrated. General Liu, one of the Four great Generals of Flower- Fruit mountain and friend to its King Sun Wukong, had a dilemma.

He set the brush down, still getting used to holding it in his hands. Wukong makes this look so easy! But things of the unmonkey nature came easily to Wukong- how could they not ? He had mastered the mysterious arts that had given him such power, had defeated the demon who had first claimed Water- Curtain Cave in his absence (and more beside.) Wukong had walked among the men of the world and had claimed treasure from dragons.

Wukong would be able to hold a brush with ease and write words with a steady hand. The general tugged at his fur and looked about himself. Rolls of parchment lay about him like discarded rinds of watermelons. All the failed attempts to transcribe what his heart was trying to speak. He tugged more, hairs coming free.

When Wukong spoke of his experience in the world abroad their mountain, he had mentioned how the important people within that strange world of mortals and immortals would communicate through scrolls and parchment.

“It was too quiet at times for my liking!” He reminisced once, splashing some wine as he gesticulated upon his throne. “What silence! What needed to be written that couldn’t be communicated with a clear voice?” He would then call for one of the troop of his subjects to retell a story, for Wukong loved the telling of a yarn through voice and act.

Liu had understood why one would want words written down however. The things he wanted to say- to tell- either fled him like mist before the sun or stuck in his throat like a peach stone. The Marshal scratched behind his ear, brushing the notched edge and remembering. Remembering her.

Rin Rin.

Liu had never been one for such deep hesitation as he was now. In all the Aolai country, among and betwixt the unicorns and the phoenixes who preened and called themselves the most beautiful, where the leopards and the tigers roamed and boasted their own majesty, Liu had faced all that threatened his home with bravery. He loved this mountain, from every blade of grass to every luminous stone deep in Water-Curtain Cave. He thought none of the beasts or birds or celestial bodies in Heaven was more beautiful than his home.

Except Her.

He wanted to tell her. Tell Rin Rin how she rivaled all the clouds in heaven for her softness. How no flower could compare to her eyes and how they shined like the sea when the sun hit it. Her smile could make the trees cry and her anger could chase the stripes off a tiger.

Liu was afraid. Not afraid of her. Afraid to miss this opportunity! His tail lashed and sent a bit of paper skittering over the stone floor, knocking into several stone bowls of almonds.

The mountain was a paradise. The waterfall that crashed beyond, the pine forests that dotted the slopes where their needles spiced the air. He had faced tigers and demons, fought and thrown himself into situation after situation of danger without a second thought for himself.

Now he was hesitant. He acted as he had on that day Wukong had found Water- Curtain cave: hesitant. Marshal Liu had not been hesitant since that time- so why had he returned to this state ?

Liu looked down at the paper and groaned.

“I just want to tell her how beautiful she is…”

Steps approached from outside Liu’s room.

“So this is where you’ve been!” Wukong called, stepping into the room with a frown on his face. “I have been waiting for you in the Throne room for hours! Sentries have spotted what look to be the makings of a camp. We have a troop of creatures lurking in the shadow of our mountain and I need my Generals— what is all this stuff ?”

Liu didn’t bother to cover up his failings- he just lay his head on the stone table and glared at the brush.

“You only called for a meeting a few minutes ago, my king.” He replied from the table.

“Minutes- hours. It has been too long! What have you been up to in here?”Wukong picked up a paper scroll, the feathered crown on his head bobbing.

“You are as pretty as a … hmm. You never finished this one Liu!”

Liu moved his face to flatten into the stone table, feeling his cheeks burn and his ears itch. Of course my king would start reading them.

Shuffling paper noises sounded again as Wukong picked another scroll up.

“My heart becomes a candle when you are near—“ he frowned. “You crossed out the rest in a mess of black.”

Liu wished he could dissolve into the stone.

“You smell as sweet as a magnolia flower- your eyes are the shape of stars —“

“Please My King.” He begged. “Spare me.”

“You wrote them Liu! I am only reading.”

“And I ask for mercy, please.”

“Seems you’ve had trouble finishing whatever you were trying to say.” Mused the Sage.

“None of the words formed well enough on the paper.” Marshal Liu sighed. There came a shuffle and a brush beside him. He lifted his head to see Wukong had crossed his legs beside him, a shoulder companionably against Lius. The Monkey King twirled the brush between his fingers, unrolling a new scroll of parchment.

“If I help you Write your love poem to Rin, Will you stop mooning so sadly ?” Wukong cocked a brow at his general, side eyeing him in a way only a friend could.

Marshal Liu felt his pride pricked, just a bit. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Liu- you have been my friend for countless years. Longer than most monkeys usually live.” Wukong dipped the brush into the inkwell, checking the ink stone and grimacing at its diminished size. “I know you from the tips of your ears to the ends of your fur. We have fought and bled side by side. You may be a master at strategy and planning but. My friend.”

Wukong turned his whole face to stare at Liu. “You suck at hiding how in love you are with Rin Rin.”

The Marshal sat up, opened his mouth to defend, to deflect —

Wukong, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, waited. His face set in a neutral and very are you really going to argue with me? expression.

Liu closed his mouth, tugged at his fur and set his chin on the stone table. “She makes me feel so—-“

“Mhm.”

“She’s so—!”

“Mhm…”

“I just can’t get the words out!” The Marshal admitted finally. “Each time I start to tell her, I freeze. I’ve tried so many times!”

When Rin and He had shared a sweet patch of strawberries he had tried to say how he loved her.

When Rin had been tending to a scratch on his face, chiding and reprimanding him for his recklessness again. Her anger had made him want to hold her and reassure her that he was fine.

When they had decided to stay out late, tails curled together as they counted the stars. Liu had wanted to compare her to each one.

And each of these times his words had either fled him or had refused to come out.

“And you thought to write them out because they keep getting stuck.”

Liu nodded.

“Give me the words and I’ll write them down.” Wukong set the tip, ready. “If I write this for you, then will come and put your mind back to keeping our mountain safe?”

Guilt itched beneath his fur. “My King i'm sorry—“

A affectionate rub of Wukongs head against his own shut the general up as the king tugged at his ear in play.

“Liu. I may not understand the power of what you are feeling,” Wukong cut off, tail thumping against the Marshals “but that doesn’t mean your feelings aren’t important. And … seeing you so distressed makes me distressed. I can help my friend in this simple task at least.”

Liu felt a warmth well from him. For all his Kings boasting and prideful proclamations, Wukong cared for each of his subjects - even in the face of his incomprehension. He would do what he could to ease his friends, his subjects, his families struggles. Wukong began to write as Liu began to speak, his face warm and his hands slowly beginning uncurl from his fur.

After just an hour with Wukongs transcribing and Liu describing, the confession was complete. Liu clutched the scroll and strapped it to his side.

He had been able to attend the Council with a lighter heart and a smile on his face. The discussion and the plans to increase patrols along the pine forest to the west of Flower Fruit Mountain had been unanimously agreed upon as the troubling information came to light.

The scouts' reports had indicated that there had been activity - a half made campfire kicked over and cold with bones from what looked like a small deer- not a few leaps and bounds from the slopes. Liu had frowned at the description of the tracks- five footed, fur and the scent of musk in the air. Another band of Monkeys … but they seem to be scouting us as well.

When Liu had this brought to attention, an immediate patrol had been sent out to gain more information on how many may be circling their home. The unspoken kept being danced around but all in that council chamber had a suspicion. Demon Monkeys….

Until they knew further who and what they were facing, Wukong wouldn’t risk a war troop to prowl the nearby hills and leave the rest of his family and people exposed.

Liu had a bit of time beneath the growing moon of night to find Rin Rin now. Before his nerves left him. Wukongs handwriting had made the words look better, flow better, feel better to the Marshals eyes. His King had sat through his flowery language, and had written it all diligently if with a little bit of snorting at times. (“Don’t compare her to pine nuts!” “But she smells of the pines and the wood and everything I love!” “…. But pine nuts ?”)

If his words failed him, Liu had them written down. If they stuck in his throat, he could pull them apart with the help of his letter. His heart was thumping, his fur was sticking out a bit as electric nerves rolled on his skin. Liu was in full armor having come from council, and it jangled softly in the night air. But it was a comforting jangle- a separate staccato rhythm against his body.

As the moon rose outside of Water-Curtain Cave casting the spray in silver light, Liu gazed out. Some other monkeys mingled in the cooling air enjoying the clear night. Tending to loved ones by either grooming fur, sharing ripening fruits from the many orchards across the vast mountain, or cuddling down in the soft grasses to gaze upward. Liu greeted each in turn, butting heads or brushing hands. Pride welled in him, making Liu stand taller. This was his home- his family. The peace they lived in was hard won and protected by their King and his Marshals- and that peace was precious.

A small bundle of babes shot past, one carrying a lychee fruit as a prize to be kept from the others. A pair of older simians gazed into the waters of the pool, leaning into each other. Liu would fight a thousand demons, all the celestial beings in the world, to keep this peace. He would tame dragons and pull the moon down from its boughs in Heaven to preserve this peace.

Liu turned, green eyes seeking. There, just beneath the pomegranate tree overlooking a mossy spray of water, he spotted the cloud gray of Rin Rin. Even in the shadow of the tree he could see her moon flower perched behind her ear, the fur perfectly groomed in wonderous swirls. He wished he had a bouquet of moonflowers to bring her or a cup of tea to present to her. He wanted to come bearing gifts and to tend and tidy her hair and weave flowers throughout it.

He came bearing his heart instead.

Said heart thumped against his chest. Steady Liu.

Liu took a moment to groom his finger through his fur, his tail, and to dust at his armor. He grabbed at a small patch of pine needles, snapping them between fingers and briefly rubbing the tips over his fur. He wanted to look his best to smell his best to be his best.

Then, gathering himself and tapping the scroll's top at his hip, Liu straightened and stepped forward.

He would tell her how much she meant to him. He would show her how much she was worth to him- between the words he had been able to wrangle and place onto a page.

Liu would never get the chance to unwind that scroll however. The night air that had been full of gentle chatter and warm conversation was broken by screams as the mountain's peace was shattered into a thousand screams of fury and fear rang off the mountain.

[toxinroxin]

✨️Lore Time✨️

Okay so this is gonna be super summarized as changes may occur later on. While for now this is what I've got so let's roll!! I've also got Huā (my oc) ref sheet at the bottom :)

《~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~》

She's a creation of the Gold Star of Venus, using the trigram furnace, a stone fruit, snow Monkey fur and some lotus petals.

After being raised by the gold star as his assistant she later became the goddess of flowers and fertility.

During that time she met Sun Wukong when he first came to the celestial realm and the two became friends, Wukong being one of Huās first friends (Who was like her a simian) and she was the one to show him the pills without realizing he would be the one to steal them. Eventually Wukong convinces her to come see the mortal realm where he introduces her to Macaque.

So around the brotherhood time Huā had already abandoned her duties of being a goddess so she could stay by Macaque's side as they had become lovers.

After the Brotherhood Era Huā still cares for Wukong as he had become a brother to her and was still her first friend but once jttw starts up the bond is slipping as she's busy focusing on herself and her marriage.

Then Macaque is killed during the journey to the west by wukong which sent huā down a grief stricken path and she wasn't taking proper care of herself even though she was pregnant with twins. She was at the beginning when Macaque died, but in her grief she went from being a very quiet and kind individual to a manic one. She started to hunt humans and even ate them; she only started to regret it when she killed and ate a child in front of its mother.

This action will stain her memory for a long time, during her haze she convinced herself the one who's at fault was Wukong because he killed her husband causing her to grieve and take it out on these mortals. By the time she had killed the mother so the child wouldn't be alone, the pilgrims had arrived to seek shelter at the place. Only for Huā to stumble out covered in blood, she ended up begging them to kill her, to put her out of her misery before she hurt another child and so she could join her husband. The monk ended up stealing her away but not before Wukong had tried attacking Huā believing she too was just trying to trick them to kill and eat the monk. During her time of being sealed away Huās body remained the same but the ones inside her did not thanks to her body's frozen state the cubs couldn't grow or survive so she miscarried them (this part will most likely change with more research) Centuries passed before she was released by Macaque using the skeleton key, the two have a long tear filled reunion as Huā kept mumbling he's alive only to later realize her cubs are gone. So with Huās nature based powers and macaque’s shadows the lost souls of the two cubs were put in husks made of shadows creating Rumble and Savage. They aren't their real cubs and is something Macaque reminds her of but Huā treats them like they are her real clubs to keep her sanity intact.

Throughout the lmk show she follows Macaque until season 3 as she ends up getting a broken leg and is stuck with the monkie kids as when Mk tossed the pipe into the engine Huā got her leg stuck and from the fall plus the explosion badly messed up her leg, even before season 3 she's never physically hurt anyone besides wukong, she just messed with Mk mentally but treated him like a like a proper student during the time with remembrance to keep his mental state in check for the best results.

[ohnoanalien]

Garden

Hi hello! So @lunar-wandering's hiccup hijinks trope is hilarious and @princen-monkie had such a great idea to add to it. I mean, growing flowers when he hiccups? Adorable. It wasn't really asked for, more for lunar to write if anything, but I thought you guys might enjoy it! Soooo...leggo!

---

A silent, warm part of Macaque still wanted Wukong's sunlight. To spend cold nights bundled up between his arms, feeling the soft rock of purring against his un-glamored ears. But those memories and feelings were long gone by now-- or at least, they were supposed to be. It followed him like a curse. It followed him when he woke up. It followed him when MK and Mei showed up at his dojo. And it followed him all the way up Flower Fruit Mountain, tugged along by a favor he owed far, far too long ago to even care at this point.

MK knocked on the door until his fist was a blur. "Sleepoveeer!" 

"Psst! Mac." Mei nudged her elbow to his,  "Pour me the tea! Did you lose a bet? Save the Monkey King from a crazy immortality-killing demon? What gives?"

"...Crushed a peach." Was her old rival’s only reply.

"Crushed a what-now?" Her brow rose, confusion cut off when the door finally opened.

The Monkey King’s energy was a never-ending ball of light. Despite everything, the golden flame inside him never seemed to snuff out. Which made the nervous grin and ruffled fur a strange change of pace. He glanced at the kids beside him. Seems like the flame did shine a little too dimly today, even for the Monkey King's liking.

A large part of him relished at the view. A tiny, insignificant twinge of pain somehow rose above it. "Soooo…what Wukong-brand chaos do we have to deal with today?"

Wukong startled, "Wh-what? Where'd that come from?"

"I dunno," Mei piped up. "You look kinda jumpy.”

"Jumpy? Me? Psshhh!" Wukong waved a dismissive paw, "C'mooon, I'm immortal remember? I'm fi--" He quickly clamped his jaw shut, body jerking silently.

MK narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms tightly to his chest. He circled his mentor for injuries, not missing the way the stone monkey seemed to sweat under the spotlight. "Monkey King."

Sun Wukong winced, chided with all the energy of a disappointed parent. "L-let's just uh. Head inside, alright? I've got snacks."

MK stood silent, holding his ground as his pacing stopped.

"L-look, I'll explain everything. I'm just...I'm still getting used to…" A blush dusted peach-furred cheeks, "Give me a minute. I promise I'll tell--" Another jolt. A paw hovered over his mouth, and glowing pupils darted around the entrance.

Nothing to see here. Yet.

The cub’s concern was lifted with a small smile. "Alright Monkey King. I trust you." The grin immediately widened when a dirty sneaker passed the threshold, bolting inside with a loud whoop. Mei followed suit, energy intertwining in a chorus of cheering. Macaque stepped halfway through the door before slapping the stone monkey's back.

"...Thanks. For inviting me, or whatever." The shadow demon grumbled. Disappearing into the kitchen Wukong stood there, feeling the outline of his old friend's touch burn against his skin. A small hiccup broke the stunned silence and he quickly closed the door behind him, unaware of the patch of daisies that coated the handle.

"Dibs on the Monkey Mech!" Mei cackled, her shadow casting ominously against the light of the old TV. She pressed a button faster than MK could blink.

"Hey, no fair!"

"Excuse me?? You ALWAYS get to play Monkey Mech! You play him in real life!"

"Well! That's! True! But!" MK opened his mouth. Paused. Then heaved a defeated sigh, aiming his sights on Sha Wujing. The Monkey King stayed quiet, but between the jolt of the couch cushions and the claw that nervously tapped his thigh, Macaque felt something familiar brew in his chest.

"Hey." He muttered, "This is kinda against my better judgment but. You feeling alright?"

Wukong flashed nervous fangs, the beat on his thigh tapping ever-faster. "I said I'd tell you guys later and I meant it."

Macaque narrowed his eyes. A sweet, nostalgic scent brushed his nose. It was just on the tip of his tongue, he just needed to--

Oh.

Ohhhhhhh.

A newfound spark lit in Macaque's eyes, and the Monkey King froze on the spot. The idiot was absolutely not going to tell MK. He knew this. He knew Wukong knew this.

So, with all the grace and care of a long-dead advisor, he leaned forward, tails intertwining. "Look. I get it. It's embarrassing."

Aaand three.

Wukong's cheeks flared again, pouting. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Two.

"Oh c'mon, don't be like that." Despite his smirk, an ink black tail gave its ginger counterpart a small squeeze. "You gotta admit at some point  that you have friends now– no one’s gonna judge you. Diyu knows they’ll actually like you more if you let down your guard for like, what, five seconds?"

It was easy to spill his own guts like this. After all, your performance can be pretty believable when your script comes from the heart.

An old friend’s face practically blended with his face markings. "Nope, no way! I’m the Monkey King, I don’t have flaws!"

"Don’t have flaws? Or can’t have flaws? Oh my, is the great king worried the kids might not like it when you don't act like a god 24/7?"

One--

Wukong's eye twitched. "Stop trying to psychoanalyze me! I'm fi--hic!"

The Monkey King slapped a paw over his mouth just as MK paused the game, gasping at the flower crown that blossomed around his headband.

"Whoa!"

"Oooh." Mei felt a silky petal between her fingers, "Pretty!"

"Busted." Macaque sang, wheezing at a sharp smack to the ribs.

Worth it.

"Monkey King!" MK flapped his hands excitedly, "You can make flowers?!"

"'Course he can." Macaque cooed teasingly, pinching a still-burning cheek. He relished  the heat between his claws. "He's a perfect, all-powerful deity. Isn't that right, Wukong?"

"Oh, be qui-- hic!-- quiet." He squeaked mid-lecture, freezing up as a small daisy popped on Mei's jacket collar.

"Awww!" She gushed, "You make flowers when you hiccup? That's so cute!"

"I do n-- hic! not!" The flush spread to the stone monkey’s ears as a small arrangement peppered his coat.

"Yyyep." Macaque snickered, plucking a flower from Wukong's tail, earning a yelp. "Flustered or embarrassed and you get a whole garden. Especially for the people he cares abou-- mmph!" A tail wraps around his mouth, smugly meeting an angry glare. Bite completely defanged as he hiccuped again, flowers spreading across the carpet.

"Will you shut up-- ow! You bit me!" Wukong hissed, pulling away to rub at the offending bite mark.

"I dunno what you're so freaked out over. It looks like your little fanboy doesn't seem to mind." The raven-furred monkey hummed thoughtfully, gaze flicking to their audience.

MK stuck out his tongue in concentration as he braided a few into Mei's bushy pigtails. In return she started weaving a flower crown on her lap. "Two headbands are better than one, right?"

Wukong spluttered, eyes wide. He quickly stood up. "I-I. I'll be right back!" Footsteps padded into the kitchen. Macaque's ear twitched as a hiccup traveled through the thin walls, and Mei giggled as a bouquet filled her pockets.

Hearing the squeak of a faucet, Macaque rolled his eyes, hauling himself upwards. He strolled lazily into the kitchen, leaning against the frame. “Water won't help, dumbass. The only cure is telling MK and Mei why you've got ‘em."

Wukong simply stared his warped mirror down, chugging the drink like it was the last drop of water in a desert.

"It's your funeral." Macaque shrugged, earning a pained wince in return. "...Still too soon?"

All at once, the golden flame seemed to flicker and shrink again, and Sun Wukong stared tiredly into the half-empty cup.

Liu’er Mihou didn't like it when he was silent. He HATED when he was silent. The room suddenly felt a little colder, and a shiver ran up his spine. He pried the cup from a shaky grip, replacing it with a gentle paw. He wondered if it would break into pieces if he made any sudden moves.

"Peaches." Mihou took a breath. "I used to blame you for my death. Now I'm questioning...a lot. You don't have to forgive yourself right away. Buddha knows I would. But give me some credit. The wound's still healing, but if you're willing to be patient for once, let me sort my own shit out." He moved his free claws to his partner's fur, scratching gently at the scalp. "And while you wait, you can do me a favor too and stop putting so much pressure on yourself. Deal?"

Sun Wukong swallowed. He opened his mouth to reply-- interrupted by a squeaky hiccup. A flower crown wrapped around Macaque's head, looping over his ears. Hanging around four more that were invisibly fanned out, flicking at the warm sensation.

"Sorry! Sorry, I-I. I couldn't control-- hic! couldn't control it and-- hey! Stop-- hic! stop laughing!"

[foresthouseowo]

Fan fiction: "And jealousy is also love"

SHADOWPEACH

Events before and after the victory over the LBD (2-3 seasons)

______

Macaque must admit: despite his ridiculous and gullible appearance– Mk was not like that. Of course, at first the guy was glowing with impatience to learn as much as possible about him, but the further their acquaintance went, the weaker the enthusiasm became. Whether it was the very approach of teaching them MK or his closeness with Sun Wukong (which incredibly infuriated the six-eared demon, since the connection between the two was surprisingly strong and it wasn't even a strange fascination with the monkey king at Mk from an early age)

He eagerly watched, wagging his tail, like a mark on the jacket of the King's receiver took on a bright purple hue, how the boy succumbed to his influence and how quickly, in his opinion, the defeat of Wukong was approaching.

***

Was it heaven's karma? Perhaps, but his triumph did not last too long, even annoyingly quickly: it was only necessary for him to take the strength from this boy, it was only necessary for a moment to taste the sweet-sharp lump of magic that was so rapidly mixing with his own....how HE appeared.

Can't argue, the Monkey King, equal to heaven Sun Wukong looked good, you could even say shining. But Macaque knew how poisonous this light is from his glamour and how the rotten soul of his former partner hides under all this beauty.

Of course, he was waiting for this moment, impatiently swaying from side to side, slightly biting his lower lip. This stance, this malice in Wukong's gaze, the way he tried to block the boy with himself and pathetically tried to scare the black monkey in front of him – prompted excitement in his soul and a desire to start the battle as soon as possible, having tried new forces.

But this fight will only bring him disappointment and a strange sticky feeling in his soul. Sun Wukong was restraining himself for the sake of some mortal. Pathetic. The old Monkey King proudly bore his title of "equal to heaven in strength", he furiously jumped into the center of the battle, delivering rough and sharp blows with his weapon. He was not victorious, cruel and proud, for such you always felt protected by the "mountain", you knew that with him any enemy would be exposed. But today, on this very night, Macaque was convinced – how much the life of mortals is able to influence the immortal war.

***

He began to watch, like a shadow, the Macaque followed the Mk wherever he went. A house, a street, a mountain of Flowers and a desert. However, unfortunately, if not, Wukong also followed him, like a kite, tracking down any threat from the outside.

This...it looked strange. Macaque could not describe this growing feeling in him, which so fiercely burned out his essence from the inside: when Wukong stood with Mk, when Wukong stroked the guy on the head praising him, when Wukong showed his weaknesses next to this child and desperately tried to morally support his student. And even though Mk lost all his strength and he and his friends had to go on a trip, he was happy. The boy was too pleased that his mentor was nearby to give himself up to sadness.

And THIS IS King Wukong? The more looking at how the stone monkey takes care of MK and protects him in every possible way... the more the Macaque wants to separate them and tear this piece out of Wukong's heart as much as possible. Hmm, the thought of revenge made him feel better and he continued to watch the Monkey Boy's company.

***

What did the Macaque say there? Does he want to fight the true Wukong? Well, let his tongue dry out, because that's what's happening right now.

How did he come to this? Here he seems to have recently tried to tear the Mk into pieces (he was blinded by this pain in his soul at the sight of Wukong's sincere smile and that this smile was dedicated to a mortal whom he knows only for a year and a half), and now he has been accepted into the team and the Macaque is desperately fighting not only for his life, but also for newly minted colleagues in misfortune.

Wukong was fast like lightning, gracefully and smoothly bouncing off the blows of the shadows, he easily crushed each into dust. Dodging each blow, he struck his own on a tenfold scale and hit exactly on target.

He was defeated and like a doll was thrown to the ground, and then stepped over as if he meant nothing. It was like he was dead.

Before losing consciousness, the Six-eared demon heard the confident speech of the Monkey King's disciple, and then the voice of the mentor himself.

The Macaque didn't have a chance from the very beginning.

***

They are really close. Previously, Macaque thought of it as a mentor and student connection, but their relationship did not end there: informal communication, constant touching each other, shared jokes and secrets. They were friends, almost family...

this realization did more damage than Mei's hug when his ribs were still broken. About three months have passed since their common victory, the world is gradually recovering, and his colleagues want to see him more and more often. Especially the bespectacled rebirth of the monarch, who is ridiculously afraid of everything creepy and complicated, but is married to a real demon named Pigsy. Basically, their meetings were more like gatherings in the library: they discussed historical books and which moments of them were authentic.

Mk also became more cautious, especially in relation to the demon of the black monkey. And this ruined his own plans for Wukong – Macaque must get closer to him, otherwise jealousy will swallow him completely.

Yes, he is well aware of this feeling and why it appeared. But would he call it love? Of course not. This is her distorted version, because the Macaque still hates Wukong, wants to grab his throat and tear him apart, hurt him physically, mentally and as much as possible, leave him alone in this cold and cruel world. Only now the desire to put marks on his neck, collarbones and arms, tear his clothes and press him to the bed, and also become the only one in the whole world, has been added to this list. He's more obsessed with it, you know? And that's another matter.

The boy could leave his marks (pigtails on short peach hair, paints and drawings), could hug him to himself (hugs, could easily sit on his neck/back and innocently swing his legs) and could, or rather, almost became the only one in this world. Wukong values him, cares about him and wishes only the best for him. And Mk gets all this without trying and asking.

But there are no Macaque. And it angers him with every look at them.

***

What the hell did this kid just say?

- I said, – confidently looking straight into the eyes of the demon of shadows, the guy took a step forward – You're mad at me just because you're jealous of the Monkey King!

Is it that obvious? The macaque grinned and took a step forward in response. He, as a demon and an adult, was much taller than Mk- by a meter exactly and now, the boy is trying not to break his neck, looking up. Will the Macaque descend? No, of course not, since the monkey boy angered him not only imaginary, but also consciously – let him get a response.

– And what made you come to this conclusion? he was surprised at how much his voice was soaked with poison and growl.

Mk swallowed and softened his gaze

– Because you look at him with love and greed...

***

Year. A year had passed since their victory over Lady Bone Demon, a year after his rapprochement with the team, and a year of desperate attempts to get closer to Wukong.

Anything is possible that would be much faster if he wasn't a toxic bastard, as Mae once put it. He couldn't make a banal compliment (and there were a lot of them in his head and they were all disgustingly vanilla), because it sounded more like a mockery. And judging by the irritated flick of the orange tail, he guessed right.

– Since you have nothing to do, then be kind enough to check on Bai Hee – Wukong clicked his tongue and stopped paying attention to the sudden (or maybe not) guest. It's not the first time a macaque has broken into his house on a weekday, but why a peach lover didn't put a protective spell against him is a mystery to both sides.

– She's at school. – Macaque answered easily, looking around at the back of the orange monkey. Wukong was sitting with his back to him and combing his hair, apparently quietly trying to apply glamour. – Yes, and it is much more pleasant for me to be in your company...Your Majesty~

Apparently, his voice sounded sarcastic again, because Wukong growled softly and turned to him with a frown on his face.

Oh, how he dreams of hearing this growl up close when he presses his King to himself. Yours. That's right, his precious Sun Wukong.

***

There is no hurry. The six-eared demon understood this perfectly, but his self-control cracked at the sight of Wukong's bare shoulder, which was wearing a beige robe.

He himself invited him to his house for a cup of wine, and even though they were tempered with different alcoholic beverages, intoxication came quickly and forcefully piercing the mind.

Or are these excuses to finally lose self-control and cling to the orange fur? Perhaps.

Wukong invited him to relax and discuss further relations, since now he is on the team, they will have to get along with each other.

Starting with a simple conversation about the weather and MK, they smoothly moved into a discussion of the past and, oh heaven knows, Wukong was sincere and open at that moment.

The way he remembered his demon brothers and the pilgrims is charming in its own way. But even more charming was the fact that he wrapped his tail around his own, without squeezing too much.

Wukong, time goes by, and you're still the same alcoholic.

***

Perhaps this is the only night in the last centuries when he was able to sleep and wake up not from nightmares, but from the pleasant warmth on his chest.

Opening his eyes, Macaque saw a orange yarn – Wukong pressed against his chest and sniffed sweetly, while his arms and tail were pressed against the body of the shadow demon.

He blinked. Slowly moving away, he took a closer look, no, stared at the stone monkey: his face was relaxed, a slight blush played on his cheeks, several blood crusts were visible on his neck – his night bites, which he greedily gave to his king. Did he really do this to him? No, of course he wanted it, but the realization that Wukong was drunk and as soon as he wakes up, he will grab a mop with a red face, is a little upsetting.

A little bit. Just a little.

Now he is sleeping, and apparently Macaque should have been too, but he was woken up by a quiet purring and snuffling at his side... purring.Wukong purred in front of him.

Let him die today in a nervous battle with a mop, he definitely won't regret it. Well, Well, MK, it's safe to say that in this regard, the Macaque defeated you in the battle for the heart of Wukong

/The End/

.....maybe I'll draw some art for it

If you like it...although it's unlikely, but who knows?

//old art

[jttwlmkaddiction]

this post gave me a story beat idea if that did happen - Macaque going all out to protect MK for Monkey King. Also minor shoutout to JTTW Dr Monkey King. Dude had like 15 professions.

MK shouted and ran toward the demon with no idea what it could do to him. Of course he did. That's what they both always did. And of course Wukong wasn't around to stop him.

Macaque appeared out of nowhere directly in front of MK. The demon didn't stop, but as it struck, MK and Macaque were whisked away into the shadows.

MK rolled to the side and immediately jumped up, not noticing that Macaque had been struck. 'Wait!! The others!'

Macaque rolled up into a ball, grunting in pain. "I, I don't think I can, MK."

He looked up at the kid and saw the panicked expression and knew it was no use to argue. He sighed and summoned every ounce of strength he had and slapped his hand to the ground and summoned shadows to bring the rest of them. As soon as he did he doubled over in pain again.

"We're only safe for a minute kid. It won't take it long to find us."

The crew as usual, ignored him as they argued as they tried to make a decision about what to do. As he fought back tears of pain Macaque did his best to pretend that he was fine, not that they were paying attention to him in the least anyway.

"Macaque? You okay?"

He recognized the voice as the big blue one. Okay so one of them paid attention. He wasn't surprised, but he also didn't care. "No" he answered, watching the black spidery lines spreading through his hands.

Before Sandy could respond, MK blurted "Wait, where's Monkey King?"

It tore at him a bit if he was honest. He just saved the stupid kid's life and he was only looking for Wukong. Of course he was. He had no idea that he was asking because he thought he could fix him.

There was a lot of chaotic back and forth, but the only thing he could focus on was the growing pain. Voices faded to the background as he slowly came to grips with the idea that he was already on the path back to the underworld. Again. He fell to his knees, sweating and panting.

"Macaque!!!"

MK's voice cut through his desperate terror and the pulsing pain. He felt his head in the kid's lap. It was oddly comforting.

"What happened? Why'd you do that? We totally could have. . ."

"That thing would kill you with one touch kid, and you were about to fight it head on. Not smart. There's no antidote for this kind of poison" he grunted, "so just get your friends somewhere safe. Monkey King is already on his way to take care of that . . . thing . . ."

"What? There's no. . .? What do you mean. . .?"

He could hear it all as it happened. He knew Wukong had gone to find the one artifact that could defeat the demon as soon as he'd sensed it's familiar presence. He was already on his way to capture it and within minutes it was done. So easy for him, yet he was going to die again for saving the protege that Wukong actually cared about. It figured. He closed his eyes. Wukong would have lost it if MK had been struck. Then the world would get a chance to remember why you didn't piss off the Monkey King. Maybe it needed to remember.

He heard when the Monkey King arrived with his usual overly optimistic and confident attitude, like he had been a part of the plan all along. He heard the subtle shift in his tone as they told him what was happened to his shadow. He groaned heavily as Wukong lifted him onto his cloud. He heard his desperate urging "Hang in there, Macaque. Please, just hold on a little longer." as the wind rushed through his hair and roared in his ears. What was it about the stone monkey that made him feel like doing as he asked? It almost sounded like he meant it.

He didn't hear him say he knew how to fix it as he slumped over onto the King's shoulder and he didn't see his concerned expression as he pushed his speed even higher.

The next thing he did remember was the little monkey's of Flower Fruit Mountain all gathering around him, concerned whimpers filling his ears. He could sense Wukong in the distance, moving so quickly he couldn't keep track of him. The soothing chirps and warm bodies of the Monkey King's subjects helped him focus enough to try and ask what was going on.

"Wu . . . Wukong?"

He didn't get a response. Whatever he was doing, he was completely engrossed in it. At least the little ones were with him. At least he wouldn't be alone when he had to start the journey back to the underworld. Maybe the Monkey King wouldn't actually let them take him, but that was having extraordinarily high expectations of someone that had watched it happen before. He let everything fade away again.

"Macaque? Hey, bud. Wake up for me, please?"

"Nnnnnnn"

"Hey, I have an antidote Macaque. C'mon, I need to get it in you."

He felt something pulling him up, but he couldn't sit up on his own and he slumped over into Wukong's arms.

"Macaque, come on. You have to try, just a little bit, okay?"

He couldn't stay up on his own, but he forced his eyes to open. "Wha. . .?"

"I just need you to swallow this, okay? It'll fix this. The pain will stop. The spreading will stop. Come on bud, please? I need you to do this. I can't. . . I can't let you go again. I can fix this."

Macaque summoned all of his remaining strength and opened his mouth. The Monkey King gently pushed his head back and poured in a liquid. It burned as he struggled to swallow it, and it stank enough that for a brief moment it was all he knew. Once he felt it filling his stomach a warmth started to spread throughout his whole body. The pain was already staring to fade, breathing was becoming easier and the world slowly was coming into focus.

"What, what did you do?" He turned his head slightly so he could look at Wukong's face. The look of relief he saw expressed on the Monkey King's face pushed all other thoughts out of his mind. They sat there for a few moments, just staring at each other before Wukong threw his arms around him.

"Thank goodness. I had no idea if it was going to work. I thought I was going to have to fight all of hell."

Macaque didn't know what to say, so he said nothing.

"I would have too. I would have fought all of them if they tried to take you. I've done it before!"

"I, I thought you learned to be better than that?" Macaque coughed, still finding his voice.

Wukong did the unthinkable as he rubbed his cheek against his own, his arms still firmly around him squeezing furiously. "Priorities" he chuckled.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why, this?"

The Monkey King pulled back, hands resting on Macaque's shoulders. "We need to put the past behind us, don't you think?"

Macaque gave a small nod, noticing that he was recovering remarkably fast. He looked at his hands as the black lines were quickly fading. "What was in that Wukong? This isn't just an antidote, is it?"

"I maaaybe slipped a pill of immortality in. Just in case it wasn't enough. I was saving it for you know, a rainy day or whatever but this seemed um, like an appropriate time to use it."

Immortality for the Monkey King had always been his biggest driver. It meant everything to him and at first Macaque took it as narcissistic and selfish, but these days he understood it was so he could always be around to protect everyone he cared about. Still, this was different. He gave the pill to him.

Wukong looked at him sheepishly as he explained. "Look, I never said I was glad you're back. I guess I was hoping you'd want to be back for good. And I uh, did notice that you kinda were a bit scared of, you know."

"Dying? Yeah Wukong, I am terrified of it having been through it. I, I don't know what to say. Shouldn't you have given that to MK?"

"Eh, the kid will find his own way if he wants to. He's already pretty indestructible as it is so he'll be fine."

Those same words could also be said of himself, but he sensed there was more to it that he'd never get out of Wukong. "Thank you."

"I was really worried."

Macaque, feeling nearly back to normal, shoved his friend playfully. "Sure you were."

"I was!"

They sat there for a few more moments in silence.

"Thanks for saving the kid. He means ... so much to me."

"I didn't do it for you, you egomaniac. I knew it would have straight up killed him. He doesn't deserve that."

"I should have been there."

"You knew I'd be looking out for him."

The silence was confirmation enough.

"Besides, I don't think this new world is ready to see the real Sun Wukong."

"Yeah well, this is the real Sun Wukong now."

"I know." Macaque smirked. "Bud."

[jttwlmkaddiction]

this gave me a story beat idea if that did happen

MK shouted and ran toward the demon with no idea what it could do to him. Of course he did. That's what they both always did. And of course Wukong wasn't around to stop him.

Macaque appeared out of nowhere directly in front of MK. The demon didn't stop, but as it struck, MK and Macaque were whisked away into the shadows.

MK rolled to the side and immediately jumped up, not noticing that Macaque had been struck. 'Wait!! The others!'

Macaque rolled up into a ball, grunting in pain. "I, I don't think I can, MK."

He looked up at the kid and saw the panicked expression and knew it was no use to argue. He sighed and summoned every ounce of strength he had and slapped his hand to the ground and summoned shadows to bring the rest of them. As soon as he did he doubled over in pain again.

"We're only safe for a minute kid. It won't take it long to find us."

The crew as usual, ignored him as they argued as they tried to make a decision about what to do. As he fought back tears of pain Macaque did his best to pretend that he was fine, not that they were paying attention to him in the least anyway.

"Macaque? You okay?"

He recognized the voice as the big blue one. Okay so one of them paid attention. He wasn't surprised, but he also didn't care. "No" he answered, watching the black spidery lines spreading through his hands.

Before Sandy could respond, MK blurted "Wait, where's Monkey King?"

It tore at him a bit if he was honest. He just saved the stupid kid's life and he was only looking for Wukong. Of course he was. He had no idea that he was asking because he thought he could fix him.

There was a lot of chaotic back and forth, but the only thing he could focus on was the growing pain. Voices faded to the background as he slowly came to grips with the idea that he was already on the path back to the underworld. Again. He fell to his knees, sweating and panting.

"Macaque!!!"

MK's voice cut through his desperate terror and the pulsing pain. He felt his head in the kid's lap. It was oddly comforting.

"What happened? Why'd you do that? We totally could have. . ."

"That thing would kill you with one touch kid, and you were about to fight it head on. Not smart. There's no antidote for this kind of poison" he grunted, "so just get your friends somewhere safe. Monkey King is already on his way to take care of that . . . thing . . ."

"What? There's no. . .? What do you mean. . .?"

He could hear it all as it happened. He knew Wukong had gone to find the one artifact that could defeat the demon as soon as he'd sensed it's familiar presence. He was already on his way to capture it and within minutes it was done. So easy for him, yet he was going to die again for saving the protege that Wukong actually cared about. It figured. He closed his eyes. Wukong would have lost it if MK had been struck. Then the world would get a chance to remember why you didn't piss off the Monkey King. Maybe it needed to remember.

He heard when the Monkey King arrived with his usual overly optimistic and confident attitude, like he had been a part of the plan all along. He heard the subtle shift in his tone as they told him what was happened to his shadow. He groaned heavily as Wukong lifted him onto his cloud. He heard his desperate urging "Hang in there, Macaque. Please, just hold on a little longer." as the wind rushed through his hair and roared in his ears. What was it about the stone monkey that made him feel like doing as he asked? It almost sounded like he meant it.

He didn't hear him say he knew how to fix it as he slumped over onto the King's shoulder and he didn't see his concerned expression as he pushed his speed even higher.

The next thing he did remember was the little monkey's of Flower Fruit Mountain all gathering around him, concerned whimpers filling his ears. He could sense Wukong in the distance, moving so quickly he couldn't keep track of him. The soothing chirps and warm bodies of the Monkey King's subjects helped him focus enough to try and ask what was going on.

"Wu . . . Wukong?"

He didn't get a response. Whatever he was doing, he was completely engrossed in it. At least the little ones were with him. At least he wouldn't be alone when he had to start the journey back to the underworld. Maybe the Monkey King wouldn't actually let them take him, but that was having extraordinarily high expectations of someone that had watched it happen before. He let everything fade away again.

"Macaque? Hey, bud. Wake up for me, please?"

"Nnnnnnn"

"Hey, I have an antidote Macaque. C'mon, I need to get it in you."

He felt something pulling him up, but he couldn't sit up on his own and he slumped over into Wukong's arms.

"Macaque, come on. You have to try, just a little bit, okay?"

He couldn't stay up on his own, but he forced his eyes to open. "Wha. . .?"

"I just need you to swallow this, okay? It'll fix this. The pain will stop. The spreading will stop. Come on bud, please? I need you to do this. I can't. . . I can't let you go again. I can fix this."

Macaque summoned all of his remaining strength and opened his mouth. The Monkey King gently pushed his head back and poured in a liquid. It burned as he struggled to swallow it, and it stank enough that for a brief moment it was all he knew. Once he felt it filling his stomach a warmth started to spread throughout his whole body. The pain was already staring to fade, breathing was becoming easier and the world slowly was coming into focus.

"What, what did you do?" He turned his head slightly so he could look at Wukong's face. The look of relief he saw expressed on the Monkey King's face pushed all other thoughts out of his mind. They sat there for a few moments, just staring at each other before Wukong threw his arms around him.

"Thank goodness. I had no idea if it was going to work. I thought I was going to have to fight all of hell."

Macaque didn't know what to say, so he said nothing.

"I would have too. I would have fought all of them if they tried to take you. I've done it before!"

"I, I thought you learned to be better than that?" Macaque coughed, still finding his voice.

Wukong did the unthinkable as he rubbed his cheek against his own, his arms still firmly around him squeezing furiously. "Priorities" he chuckled.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why, this?"

The Monkey King pulled back, hands resting on Macaque's shoulders. "We need to put the past behind us, don't you think?"

Macaque gave a small nod, noticing that he was recovering remarkably fast. He looked at his hands as the black lines were quickly fading. "What was in that Wukong? This isn't just an antidote, is it?"

"I maaaybe slipped a pill of immortality in. Just in case it wasn't enough. I was saving it for you know, a rainy day or whatever but this seemed um, like an appropriate time to use it."

Immortality for the Monkey King had always been his biggest driver. It meant everything to him and at first Macaque took it as narcissistic and selfish, but these days he understood it was so he could always be around to protect everyone he cared about. Still, this was different. He gave the pill to him.

Wukong looked at him sheepishly as he explained. "Look, I never said I was glad you're back. I guess I was hoping you'd want to be back for good. And I uh, did notice that you kinda were a bit scared of, you know."

"Dying? Yeah Wukong, I am terrified of it having been through it. I, I don't know what to say. Shouldn't you have given that to MK?"

"Eh, the kid will find his own way if he wants to. He's already pretty indestructible as it is so he'll be fine."

Those same words could also be said of himself, but he sensed there was more to it that he'd never get out of Wukong. "Thank you."

"I was really worried."

Macaque, feeling nearly back to normal, shoved his friend playfully. "Sure you were."

"I was!"

They sat there for a few more moments in silence.

"Thanks for saving the kid. He means ... so much to me."

"I didn't do it for you, you egomaniac. I knew it would have straight up killed him. He doesn't deserve that."

"I should have been there."

"You knew I'd be looking out for him."

The silence was confirmation enough.

"Besides, I don't think this new world is ready to see the real Sun Wukong."

"Yeah well, this is the real Sun Wukong now."

"I know."

Why did we focus on Macaque here? And why was he surprised?

I think this is Macaque realizing just how much Wukong cares for MK. Yeah Macaque has seen Wukong risk his life for MK before. Hell, Wukong protected Mk from himself by jumping in front of him.

But, this time, it was the Jade Emperor's power. The power that Wukong lost to. The power that got Wukong trapped under a mountain.

And here he is rushing into an unstable form of that power, not even thinking twice, to save "some kid".

Seeing this, Macaque might do something drastic to save Mk in season 5. Because he knows, without Mk, there's no telling how Wukong will handle that.

[cryptic-underground]

I recently was going through my miscellaneous music playlist and I got reminded of the song "Woke Up" from Adventure Time: Obsidian, y'know the break up song. It got me thinking of a JTTW Shadowpeach fic idea!

Now I haven't read JTTW, I've only seen OSP's summarizes of the legend and they haven't covered Macaque in the original text so I don't know most of what goes down, this is just a fun idea I had based on LMK

I'm So Glad That I Woke Up

The sky began to set as pink and auburn hues were cast upon the mountains in dying light.

Sun Wukong mind and body were just about spent, and his friend Macaque wasn't helping any.

Tripitaka had been kidnapped, again. Some demons, which he didn't care enough about to remember their names, had showed up while Monkey was distracted and took him away. Macaque had shown up just a few seconds prior to the demons and the other monkey made quick work of getting on the king's nerves.

He sighed rubbing his temples to try and sooze one of his growing migraine, unfortunately the other continued to seat next to him and never halting his excessive chatter.

Macaque tossed small pebbles against a nearby mountain, them bouncing where after he'd catch it before throwing it again. The other disciplines had chosen to avoid the Monkey King in this moment, for fear they'd be the target of his frustration.

"Doesn't walking all this way in one direction boring Peaches? It's got to be so lame!" the other monkey, obviously not reading the aura his friend was casting, said "if you just left we could go in any of the cardinal directions! You already did it before."

Wukong breathed, this was Macaque; his closest friend and companion. He could handle whatever he throws at him, even though he wants to throw him a thousand miles across the East right now. He could handle it.

"Hey Peaches?" The shadow weaver called as he proceeded to poke his arm, when he didn't answer he poked again. And again. "Peaches are you listening to me?" He asked again loudly, placing his lips right next to the Monkey King's ear.

"AGH!! WHAT- WHAT DO YOU WANT MAC?!" The stone monkey yelled out, being quickly brought to his breaking point with the other monkey, "can't you get out of my face for five seconds?!"

Macaque sat silently, the first time since he had shown up. "I have more important things to be worrying about than entertaining you!" He announced angrily towards his friend.

The darker monkey nervously chuckled, he hadn't anticipated it be this hard to get the king to come back with him. "Then why'd ya invite me Peaches?" He said in an attempt to lighten the mood, it did not.

Sun Wukong growled in frustration, his tail swishing against the ground. "I didn't! I was tasked to help a monk on a pilgrimage and you came along!" Monkey shouted. It hurt him inside to be yelling this much at Macaque, he don't remember ever yelling this much at his friend.

The stone monkey sighed loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Go back to the mountain Liu Er Mihou, I can't deal with you acting like trash.." he stated, having his back towards the shadow weaver; his fist clenching.

Macaque stood shocked for a moment. Not believing that it had actually happened. Then his eyes narrowed, glaring at the other monkey, before quickly turning and opening a shadow portal.

The darker of the two monkeys scoffed, hesitating to go through with leaving. The words of an apology seated on his tongue but it dare not leave his lips.

"Goodbye, Sun Wukong.."

And just like that, Macaque had stepped through the portal he'd brought up. Wukong glanced over his shoulder and only saw empty air where the other monkey had previously occupied. The sage had felt his heart ache upon hearing his friend use his name, it had been a long time since the darker monkey had used "Sun Wukong" over "Peaches." He sighed, pushing anymore thoughts of the other in the foregone corners of his mind for now. He can talk this through with Mac later.

In the East, Macaque had arrived back at Flower Fruit Mountain. The population of monkeys that inhabited the mountain had heard the shadow's arrival but chosen to leave him to his own business upon seeing his expression, they had been aware Macaque had went to bring the king home and the look of sorrow and pain that displayed on the warrior's face meant it hadn't gone as planned.

The dark monkey made a b-line towards his room, making sure to lock the door before flopping onto his bed.

Macaque had thought they were close, or at least getting there. That Wukong would come back from a quest upon his request, put their decades worth of relationship over the minuscule amount he'd spent with those silly pilgrimage folk. He thought the sage cared about him, but he was wrong.

Macaque now knew what it was like to get close to the king. He was glad he woke up to that fact before he'd gotten too attached. It may be fun for awhile, you'll have a few laughs, get to know a couple things then a storm comes. It's devastating but the king isn't the one drowning at sea, you are.

He may throw you a life preserver, but he wouldn't actually jump in to save you. Because the king only looks out for number one...

[lunar-wandering]

petals for two

finally, here it is. the Shadowpeach non-fatal Hanahaki AU the people have been waiting for.

Word Count: 13k

Read on Ao3

Bajie and Wujing found Wukong kneeling down by the river.

Again.

For the third day in a row.

"...Elder brother?" Wujing asked, watching how Wukong's back and tail stiffened. "Are you...okay?"

"...Just peachy..." Wukong said, but the way he said it was quiet, wheezy, and entirely unconvincing. Bajie quirked an eyebrow.

"Really? Because that's what you've said the last two times now." He said, crossing his arms with a healthy dose of suspicion on his face. "That last fight was pretty bad- y'know it would be pretty unwise of the 'Intelligent Stone Monkey' to be hiding an injury-"

"I said I'm fine!" Wukong snapped, turning around to glare at them with firey red eyes, his fur bristling with anger.

There was a pause, Bajie and Wujing both falling silent as Wukong continued to glare at them-

And then Wukong's hand flew to his mouth, as he turned back around to face the river, his body shaking with muffled coughs. Both Wujing and Bajie rushed to his side, concerned-

Only to freeze as they saw the purple petals slipping through Wukong's fingers, falling into the river and floating downstream. There was a moment of silence, broken only by Wukong's wheezing breaths.

And then they were both kneeling beside him, Wujing rubbing comforting circles on Wukong's back, while Bajie pulled the Monkey King's hand away from his mouth, letting the petals fall freely.

Wukong, surprisingly enough, let them do this, and the three of them quietly watched the petals float away, vanishing as they went around the riverbend.

If Wujing and Bajie noticed the tears running down Wukong's face, they didn't comment on it.

"...I'm sorry." Is what Wujing chose to say, in a soft murmur.

"It's fine, I'm fine." Wukong whispered, for a whisper was all his throat could manage at the time. "I'll be okay."

They all knew he was trying to reassure himself with his words more so than them.

When the three of them returned to their makeshift camp with an apology and a half-baked excuse, Tripitaka barely batted an eye.

Bai Longma, however, stared at a stray petal clinging to Wukong's outfit with a look of knowing.

Miles away, in a cave hidden by shadows, a figure leaned against the cave wall, one hand steadying himself while the other covered the fresh wound to his eye, petals falling out of his mouth as he cursed whoever decided that love could be unrequited.

-

Hanahaki. The disease of unrequited love.

Or, well, as it was known nowadays, the disease of pining.

Originally, when people were first discovering the disease, they thought it to be only born out of feelings that could never be reciprocated.

As it turns out, that simply wasn't the entire truth.

Overall, about 20% of Hanahaki cases reported end up being due to unrequited love.

The other 80% are due to people who simply, for one reason or another, refuse to confess.

As was recently discovered, about a century or so ago, the one true cure for Hanahaki is to look your beloved in the eyes, and say; "I love you."

As you can imagine, not many people have the courage to do that.

Luckily, the disease has never truly been fatal more than it was a slight hindrance. There even exists some medicines and teas that can reduce the effects of the flowers, although using them comes with its own ballpark of side effects.

Anyways, to make a long story short, MK wasn't surprised to end up meeting someone currently suffering from Hanahaki.

He just hadn't been expecting it to have been the Monkey King.

-

It hadn't really been obvious at first. Hanahaki will sometimes wither slightly when distanced from whoever the afflicted person has a crush on, but it never really takes much to send the flowers into full bloom again.

MK didn't actually hand out with Wukong a lot, and even when he did, it was only for training, something Mk restlessly focused on in the hopes of getting better at being, well, the Monkey King's successor.

Which was why, when during one of their rare breaks, Wukong froze in shock when MK actually asked him a question (one that, for once, wasn't about training).

"...Monkey King? Do you have any friends?" MK asked.

"Sure I do!" Wukong lied, "Why do you ask?"

"Ah- well-" MK stuttered, staring down at the ground in front of him as he seemed to ponder how to phrase his next sentence. "You just seemed... lonely, I guess."

"Well, I'm not, since I do, in fact, have friends, so. Yeah." Wukong said, crossing his arms as his tail slowly swung back and forth nervously.

"Are your friends from now or before?" MK asked, tilting his head in curiosity. "Actually, did you even have friends before?"

"...Before?"

"Before the Journey to the West." MK elaborated.

"Psh, of course I did!" Wukong said, "Y'know, I was even friends with Demon Bull King back then- you wouldn't believe some of the stories I have about him..."

MK had, in fact, already known about Wukong and Demon Bull King having been friends. Tang had been more than happy to bring that up, multiple times.

But what MK really wanted to know was-

"Was there anybody else?" He asked.

"Of course there was! For example, M-" Wukong started, but very quickly cut himself off, the light in his eyes dulling slightly. MK winced, sensing that he'd somehow stumbled upon a sensitive subject.

Before he could apologize though, Wukong suddenly tensed, before turning and starting to walk away.

"Uh, I'll be right back, I just need to check on the younger monkeys for a moment, okay?" He said. It was an excuse that was easily seen through, but MK couldn't bring himself to mention it.

-

Similar situations kept happening.

Sometimes it was understandable, like when Wukong would take a second or so to throw a smile back on his face (a smile MK was starting to recognize as fake) whenever MK brought up the subject of the Journey to the West.

Other times, however, it was a little confusing. Like, for example, when after an unspoken kitchen incident, MK had worn a purple jacket to training. (Mei had let him borrow it from her, since his yellow jacket was still in the wash, due to the Kitchen Incident That Shall Not Be Named).

As soon as Wukong had seen the purple jacket, he'd froze, before hastily turning away and running back inside his little house, claiming to have forgotten something.

MK had taken the jacket off and stuffed it into his bag by the time Wukong returned.

-

It was only after the Macaque fight that things became clear.

They'd been silent, watching the sunrise, and MK had started to doze off, leaning on his mentor's shoulder as he slowly started to fall asleep.

...Only to be jostled back into awareness as Wukong's shoulders shook with barely muffled coughs.

"Are you okay?" MK asked, lifting his head off of Wukong's shoulder and staring at the Monkey King with thinly veiled worry. Wukong leaned away from MK's gaze, a hand still covering his mouth.

He was too busy coughing to give a good response.

"If you broke a rib or something and didn't tell me I'm not going to be very impressed." MK deadpanned. Wukong shook his head 'no' in response, hand still over his mouth despite the fact his coughing fit had already died down. "Well, what is it then?"

MK waited as Wukong seemed to internally debate with himself.

And then the Monkey King slowly removed his hand from his mouth, revealing the petals that he had confined within his palm.

"Oh. Oh!" MK said, realization striking him as the dots connected in his mind. "Oh, you have terrible taste."

"I know..." Wukong groaned, placing his head in his hands, not caring about how this caused some of the petals to stick to his face and fur. MK giggled a little over how silly his mentor looked, Wukong glaring at him and sticking one of the petals onto his successor's cheek in response. MK made a noise of disgust as he wiped the petal off of his face.

Far away from the two of them, Macaque stumbled back into his dojo, nursing a new injury, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve, and holding crushed flower petals in his fist.

-

Well. Wukong could officially say that he'd never been in a situation like this before.

Tangled up and dangling from the Spider Queen's spiderweb, Wukong tried to distract himself from the feeling of being trapped, unable to move.... by doing his best to observe his surroundings.

There... sure were a lot of other demons here. He couldn't figure out if it was good or bad that he didn't recognize most of them.

Wait.

Wukong looked around the room again with narrowed eyes.

Could Spider Queen have also taken-

No.

Wukong couldn't see him anywhere, not to mention that the other monkey had always been concerned with his own safety first and foremost. He'd probably scrambled to get out of town at the first sign of trouble. Wukong wasn't going to find Macaque in here.

He wasn't sure why he'd even looked.

...And there was that warm, tickly feeling in the back of his throat again.

Wukong squirmed, trying to ignore the sensation for as long as possible. He even started humming, his go to method for repressing the petals, but it barely worked, and a small dose of panic started to overtake him. He had no way of covering up the petals that would come, his arms and hands pinned at his sides.

He would not let Spider Queen or the rest of her crew find out about this, not to mention....her.

(If the Lady Bone Demon found out about his Hanahaki... well, she already has enough leverage as it is. Wukong isn't about to hand over any more.)

And then there was Demon Bull King. Wukong wasn't entirely sure how his old friend, (ex-friend, he reminded himself), would react, and honestly he wasn't too keen on finding out.

Still though.

The flowers always win in the end.

Wukong did his best to duck his head into his shoulder, and hoped it would be enough as his chest was wracked with coughs.

-

The Demon Bull King was many things, but he was not, in fact, stupid.

He had been quick to notice the growing panic on Wukong's face, (really, the monkey hadn't even tried to hide it, either due to being lost in thought or because he thought nobody was paying close enough attention to notice), and had decided to watch and see what the Monkey King would do next.

He hadn't expected Wukong to turn his head to the side, doing his upmost best to silence his coughing fit.

He'd expected the flower petals even less.

"You, of all people, haven't gathered up the strength to confess?" Demon Bull King asked, startling Wukong right out of his coughing fit. "I did not take you to be a coward."

"I take offense to that." Wukong wheezed, a few more petals falling from his mouth as he spoke. "Besides, I remember you taking forever to confess to Princess Iron Fan-"

"I'm not the one who held my words in long enough for them to take root and bloom." Demon Bull King said, "Who is the object your affections anyways?"

"None of your business." Wukong said, once again squirming within the confines of the webs. Demon Bull King raised an eyebrow, before glancing down at the petals now littering the floor. The flowers typically would hint at who the afflicted had a crush on, but Demon Bull King was too far away to be able to tell what flowers the petals belonged to.

If he were to hazard a guess though...

"The Six Eared Macaque?" He asked, proceeding to find great amusement in how Wukong's fur stood on end, panic flashing on his face. "Ah, so I'm right then-"

"Shut up." Wukong hissed, his eyes flashing red. "Seriously, shut up. You can't tell anyone else about this-"

"Tell someone- I see flowers aren't the only nonsense your mouth spits out." Demon Bull King said. The red glow faded slightly from Wukong's eyes, as his expression shifted to confusion, with a small dash of hope.

"You... aren't going to tell anyone?" Wukong asked.

"And loose the precious blackmail material you have graced me with? Of course not!" Demon Bull King laughed, and Wukong sighed, sensing that somehow this would come back to bite him later.

-

Wukong forced his suitcase shut, trying to ignore the niggling feeling of guilt as MK stared at him, unimpressed. Okay, so maybe 'going on a vacation' wasn't the best excuse to use, but Wukong couldn't afford to waste any time coming up with a better one.

He was ready for MK to be worried about training.

He wasn't ready for Mk to be worried about him.

"...Will you be okay?" MK asked, "I mean, you seem to not want anyone to know about your Hanahaki, but if you're with friends then you'll be surrounded by other people at all times, so-"

"Oh, it'll be fine." Wukong said, waving MK's concerns away. "Besides, if the flowers act up, I'll just rip out my lungs."

"Please do not do that!" MK said, the horrified look on his face making Wukong chuckle.

"Oh, c'mon, it's not that bad." He said, "I've done it before."

"That does not make it better!" MK said, looking like he was about to start ranting, and Wukong took that as his cue that it was time to go.

-

MK pushed the exit door open, stumbling a little as he rushed into the alley way.

"Ugh- why did you do-.....that......" He said, voice trailing off as he registered that the alley way was empty.

Well. Seemingly empty.

One quick check with his true sight later, (he wasn't going to be falling for any tricks again), and MK was holding a dumpster over his head, revealing the shadow monkey that had been crouched down, hiding behind it. Macaque glanced up, his scarf covering his mouth and his fur bristling in shock as MK set the dumpster off to the side.

"So much for you having been a great warrior, huh?" MK said, crossing his arms and staring down at Macaque with an unimpressed expression.

"Uh- ah, so you figured that out, did you? Maybe you aren't as dense as you look." Macaque said, voice slightly raspy, as he stood up, trying to pretend he wasn't just hiding behind a dumpster-

Only for his scarf to slip down a little, allowing some golden flower petals to fall out. Macaque made quick work of snatching them out of the air, crushing them in his grip as he hid them behind his back, tail swishing nervously, but it was too late.

MK had seen.

"...Oh. Oh!" MK said, feeling torn between screaming in frustration or laughing in amusement over what had just been revealed to him. "Oh, you have terrible taste."

"...I have no idea what you're talking about." Macaque said, sighing and breathing out a few more golden petals as he did so, completely unaware of how much this revelation had shaken MK's already very delicate mental state. "Seriously. I don't even know where you got the idea that I'm in love with someone or something like that, because I'm definitely not."

"I never said anything about you being in love." MK said, starting to lean more towards being amused at this entire situation as Macaque stiffened, his tail stilling. "I just said you had terrible taste- maybe I was implying your whole 'performance' with the shadow play back in the theatre was simply lackluster."

"I take offense to that." Macaque hissed, his shadow growing slightly bigger as his tail once again started to thrash back and forth, this time in anger. MK ignored this obvious attempt at intimidation for another question that was on his mind, a much more pressing one, in his opinion.

"You still haven't answered my question from earlier, why did you do that?" He asked, watching as Macaque took a minute to process the question, having not expected the sudden subject change.

"....Why did I do what- Oh! Why did I break the lantern, you mean?" Macaque said, suddenly avoiding eye contact, his hand twitching like he wanted to grab hold of the edge of his scarf as he chewed on the corner of his lip, nervously rubbing the back of his neck with his other hand. "Well, I was going to do the whole 'watch the hero get tormented by their inner demons and insecurities' thing like all the other villains, but you seem to already be doing that to yourself so- yeah. Didn't want to bother using my own expansive list of abilities when I could just lay back and watch the show you were already putting on for me."

"But I thought you wanted to be center stage, not in the audience. Y'know, because you want to steal the spotlight from Monkey King." MK said, raising an eyebrow as Macaque's hand finally grabbed the edge of his scarf, and he started fiddling with it nervously. "Or well, either that or you want to share a stage with him."

Something must have been brought to the forefront of Macaque's mind when MK said that, as suddenly he was turning away, using his scarf to cover his mouth as he coughed. MK remained standing in front of him, arms crossed, waiting patiently for the shadow monkey's response.

"I- I have no intention of shar- sharing a stage." Macaque eventually wheezed, pulling his scarf back down as he spoke so that he could be heard clearly. MK amusedly noted that he could see some golden petals peeking out from within the confines of the red cloth. "Not now, not before, and not ever."

"Ah, sure, keep telling yourself that." Mk said, staring pointedly at the flower petals.

Macaque flicked him on the forehead.

"Ow!" MK said, recoiling, a hand going to his forehead to try and numb the sting, his eyes closing reflexively as he leaned back. "Why would you do that for-"

MK paused, blinking bewilderedly, as he realized Macaque was no longer in front of him, seemingly having vanished entirely, having used MK's momentary distraction to fade away into the shadows, only a single left behind flower petal revealing that he had ever actually been there.

If MK had used his true sight again then and there, he would've found that Macaque was now resting on top of one of the nearby rooftops.

As it was though, his friends burst through into the alley way, prepped with questions he wasn't ready to answer.

(Later, Macaque would severely regret failing to remember to warn MK of the danger that was approaching him. But that would be later, and now he fully intended on sneaking back into the theatre to retrieve his shadow lantern...)

-

Life on the ship honestly wasn't all that bad. Sure, MK had lost all of his powers, and there was the ever looming threat of the Lady Bone Demon, but ignoring all of that important stuff?

Life on the ship was actually rather nice.

"You know what? I think I could actually get used to living like this." MK said, leaning against the railing of the ship, letting the wind rustle his hair. Wukong hummed in agreement, sitting on the railing beside his successor.

"...When all this is said and done, we should take a vacation." He said, "A real vacation. Together this time."

"Can I bring my friends with me?" MK wasn't so sure he could handle leaving the others behind after everything that had happened.

"Sure, go right ahead, if that's what you want." Wukong said, shrugging. MK visibly brightened, and an idea struck him.

"Oh- and you could bring your friends along too, you know, the ones I haven't met yet!" He said, and Wukong stiffened.

"....Uh.... about that..." He started, and MK's smile fell, replaced with a mixture of disappointment and concern.

"...You lied about the whole 'having other friends' thing, didn't you." He said, looking his mentor up and down before rolling out another accusation. "You're far lonelier that I thought you were."

"...Immortality isn't all it's cracked up to be, Kid." Wukong said, a sad, half-hearted smile on his face. MK tried to come up with a response, either a joke or maybe some comforting words (how do you even comfort an immortal, who has been through so much and had probably heard everything you could possibly say?)-

Only to be completely distracted as the ship was heavily rocked by something crashing into it. MK's grip tightened around the steel railing, steadying himself as he heard the others rush up to the deck, shouting in confusion. Out of the corner of his eye, MK could see Wukong scramble to keep himself from falling over the side of the ship. (Which MK had to admit was... strange. Wukong had his whole cloud sail thing, he could fly, why would he be concerned about falling off?)

The rocking stopped, the ship steadying itself, and MK could smell smoke. Cautiously and slowly, he turned around, mentally preparing himself for the possibility of an attack, brought about by the Lady Bone Demon or one of her 'followers' (demons, that she had entranced to think that they were getting a good deal out of this, when in reality all she was doing was using them, with the full intent to throw them aside once they had served their purpose).

MK expected the broken bits and pieces of another, smaller ship, some parts still burning (and really, they should deal with those fire before they became a bigger problem. Sandy seemed to be running to get the fire extinguisher, so hopefully there wouldn't be any fire induced explosions today).

What he hadn't been expecting (but in hindsight, really should have been), was to see Red Son, standing in the center of the debris, nervously dusting the dirt off of his jacket, with Macaque laying face down on the deck behind him.

-

Red Son was having a very long day. Or, well, it had been about three days, really, but that wasn't the point here.

He brushed the remaining ship debris off of himself, making himself more 'presentable' while also purposefully prolonging the amount of time he could go without meeting the questioning gazes of MK and his friends.

Catching sight of the monkey still laying on the ground behind him, he turned and nudged Macaque with his foot.

"You really aren't making a good impression here." Red Son hissed, under his breath, knowing that the other's exceptional hearing meant that he could easily hear him.

"There truthfully isn't a good impression to be made." Macaque said, voice muffled by both the deck and his scarf, as he continued to lay face down, making no move to get up. "Not to mention, I'm feeling a little... singed, at the moment. Not everyone is as fire proof as you are, you- you hot headed fool."

The shadow monkey had, overall, been a great help in escaping from the Lady Bone Demon's dungeons, but Red Son wasn't past the point of kicking him in the side. Hard.

Macaque yelped in pain, curling up a little as though to shield himself, but continued to not even try to get up.

Red Son was unfortunately stopped from kicking the monkey again as he was tapped on the shoulder. Turning around, he found himself face to face with MK and Mei, their expressions completely neutral.

"Ah- Hello, Noodle Boy, Dragon Girl." Red Son said, politely nodding to each of them, trying to ignore his own nervousness (he did not feel like getting thrown off a ship today, thank you very much). MK and Mei said nothing, and Red Son began to wonder for a moment if crashing into their ship twice was somehow crossing a line.

But then both of them smiled, and Red Son braced himself just in time as Mei tackle-hugged him, MK laughing as he watched her do so.

"Wow, you really don't have much luck with vehicles and driving, on the ground or in the air, huh?" MK said, pushing a piece of debris from the miniature ship Red Son had flown in to the side with his foot. "Seriously, it's a wonder you ever managed to pass a driving test with skills like this."

"A driving what?" Red Son asked, immediately regretting it as both MK and Mei fixed him with a look of complete and utter horror.

"Oh heavens." Mei breathed, her grip on Red Son's shoulders growing almost uncomfortably tight. "You entered a race without knowing how to drive."

-

Too loud.

It was far, far too loud.

Still though, it was much better than being trapped down in the Lady Bone Demon's cold, dark, and desolate dungeons.

Or, at least, that is what Macaque thought to himself, even as he subtly pulled his scarf up over his ears, trying and failing miserably to block out the rumble of the engine, the hiss of the fires from the remains of their ship, the hushed whispers from Tang, Pigsy, and Sandy, and the trio's argument about Red Son's apparently non-existent drivers license.

(If he had known Red Son had never really, truly learned how to drive, Macaque wouldn't have let him pilot their escape ship.

...Albeit, Macaque himself wasn't all that much better, having had no idea as to what over half of the buttons in the ship were actually for.

Still though, he would have at least tried to land a perfect landing, instead of going all out on making sure they, quote, 'crashed in style', like what a certain hot tempered demon did.

Seriously Red Son. What the fuck.)

It took a few more minutes of laying there, trying to block everything out, before he realized that, over the roar of the engines and the trio's arguing, he couldn't hear where Wukong was.

...Was that a good thing or a bad thing?

Macaque stiffened as a warm hand landed on his shoulder, its grip alternating between being soothing soft and threateningly tight.

"...Macaque?" Wukong's voice asked, and Macaque felt the unfortunately all too familiar twinge in both his chest and throat.

Ah. It was definitely a bad thing then.

-

Wukong pulled his hand back as Macaque abruptly stood up, stumbling away from him and towards the side of the ship. For a moment, Wukong genuinely wondered if Macaque planned to just jump off the ship, despite the fact that they were thousands of miles above ground.

But Macaque simply grabbed hold of the railing, leaning slightly over it, his shoulders shaking.

"What's the matter, are you sea sick already?" Mei asked, noticing Macaque's movement. "Or, wait, would it be air sick? Meh, it's probably the same thing..."

Macaque gave no response other than raising his hand to flip her off, which simply made her cackle like a mad man. Wukong would've walked right on over to him and smacked the shadow monkey for the rude gesture-

That is, if he hadn't been already preoccupied with covering up the petals his concern for the other had caused him to start coughing up.

Unseen by either of them, MK glanced back and forth between the two monkeys, seeing how Wukong tucked the petals into the pocket of his shirt, and spotting a few golden ones fluttering away from Macaque, carried by the wind. MK sighed, ignoring how Mei and Red Son, the two closest to him who had noticed his reaction, looked at him in confusion.

It was going to be a really long trip.

-

Macaque stirred a bowl full of cake mix, deeply lost in his thoughts.

You see, being stuck in a ship, thousands of miles up in the air, surrounded by people, especially MK and the others, was a very stressful situation to be in. And unlike back at his dojo, Macaque didn't exactly have any training dummies to take said stress out on.

So, he naturally defaulted to another, less violent technique.

Stress baking.

Macaque had waited patiently in the shadows until Pigsy had left the kitchen to join the others up on the deck, and then had promptly taken over the entire room.

...He wasn't sure why he decided to make a chocolate cake though. He had really just been going through the motions, using the first thing he saw or what was directly in front of him, not feeling like putting in the effort to really search for anything else.

Well, at least thus far only MK had stumbled upon him like this, and the Monkey King's successor had been easily chased away by a purple glare and a hissed threat.

'...Although...' Macaque thought, stirring slowing down slightly as he heard footsteps coming down the hallway, approaching him. 'Maybe saying that I was poisoning everything in the kitchen wasn't the best choice of threat.'

He very nearly dropped the bowl when Wukong entered the room.

"So." Wukong said, leaping up onto the counter and sitting down, cross-legged. "Poison, huh?"

Well. He might as well go along with it. No use in changing his excuse now.

"Yep." Macaque said, taking the spoon out of the bowl as he gestured at the room. "I'm so one hundred percent done with all of you, so I have decided to poison all of you. Finally get rid of the noise, have a bit of peace, you know?"

As he said this, he made the mistake of putting the spoon within Wukong's reach.

The Monkey King, spurred by nothing but his own impulsivity, leaned forwards and casually licked the edge of the spoon.

Macaque pulled the utensil back at record breaking speeds (he avoided putting it back into the bowl, he knew far better than to do that) and proceeded to stare at Wukong with the most offended expression he could manage.

Wukong completely ignored it.

"Your 'poison' happens to taste an awful lot like chocolate." He said, taking a glance around the kitchen, noting all the ingredients on the kitchen island, before looking Macaque up and down. "...Stress baking?"

"Poison." Macaque corrected, glaring at the other as he got a new spoon to stir with. "I'm making poison."

"...Poison for yourself, maybe." Wukong said, looking thoughtful, "If I remember right, you can't eat chocolate, can you?"

Macaque didn't bother to grace him with a response, instead turning his back to the other monkey, continuing to mix more ingredients into the bowl. It was blessedly silent for a while, but-

With Wukong sitting right behind him, watching his every move, even stress baking wasn't able to help Macaque relax.

Not to mention the flowers in his chest that were once again begging to make themselves known.

Macaque forced the flurry of emotions and petals back down as much as he could. He flicked an ear, listening behind him.

Wukong was still there. Why was he still there-

Macaque slammed the bowl down on the kitchen island, barely avoiding chipping it, and taking brief pleasure in how he could hear the Wukong's breath catch, before the Monkey King descended into a small coughing fit, probably from surprise at the shadow monkey's sudden movements. Macaque turned back around to face Wukong, crossing his arms over his chest as he did so.

"What do you want from me?" He hissed, his tail swishing back and forth from agitation. Wukong's tail swished too, but Macaque could tell that his was a sign of nervousness.

"Ah, oh nothing." Wukong said, his hands behind his back as his legs swayed back and forth over the counter. "Just making sure you don't actually decide to poison anything."

"If I had poison, you and I both know that I would have used it already." Macaque said, "I don't even think there's anything I could even use as poison on this ship."

"...Point taken." Wukong said, leaning forwards and resting his chin on his right hand.

(He kept his other hand tucked in behind his back. Macaque did pick up on Wukong seemingly acting suspicious, but was far too focused on trying to get the Monkey King out of the kitchen to actually think much of it.

Something that Wukong was extremely grateful for, as it gave him the time to actually hide the crushed flower petals in his palm within one of his pockets.)

"Um, so uh, how do you know if the kid and the others are all okay?" Macaque asked, deciding to try a new tactic of getting Wukong out of the kitchen, hoping that the Monkey King's stupid over-protectiveness would prompt him to leave the room, which would let Macaque finally bake in peace.

"Oh, I left a hair clone with them." Wukong said, and Macaque slumped, his hopes dashed. "...Say, on a different subject, how do you know if it tastes good?"

"Huh?" Macaque asked, befuddled for a moment before remembering the cake bowl on the table behind him. "Oh- the cake? Well, I don't know really, usually I just sell it or something... Not that I really do this often, mind you! This isn't- I don't- I'm- wait. You want to taste test it more, to get free samples, don't you?"

Wukong simply gave a non-commital shrug, but the smirk on his face gave his intentions away. Macaque sighed wearily, before pulling a smaller spoon out of a nearby drawer with his tail, scooping a bit of cake batter into it, and tossing the spoon at Wukong, mentally willing the utensil to hit the Monkey King smack dab on the forehead.

The utensil, unfortunately, did not, in fact, obey Macaque's wills, as Wukong caught it with ease, and started licking the cake batter off of it, his tail wagging happily.

Macaque bit the inside of his cheek, nearly drawing blood as he used the pain to push the flowers in his throat back down, a light blush dusting his cheeks as he realized just how... cute the other looked in the current moment.

...No, nope, absolutely not-

Macaque spun back around, throwing himself entirely into the task of mixing the last of the ingredients together, and doing his upmost best to ignore the monkey sitting behind him.

Wukong's incessant humming was absolutely not helping in any way shape or form.

Things continued on, Macaque making the cake and occasionally tossing a batter covered spoon over his shoulder so that Wukong could taste it.

(Macaque silently told himself that he was doing it in the hopes that Wukong would become satisfied and leave, already-

But, deep down, he knew it was just because he liked seeing the other monkey happy.)

Macaque dumped the cake batter into a pan, setting the now empty mixing bowl off to the side before shoving the pan into the oven, and setting a small timer.

When he looked back over to where he had placed the mixing bowl, fully intent on washing it and proceeding to use it to make some icing, the bowl was gone.

"What the-" He started, looking around bewildered, before realizing what must have happened.

Sure enough, Wukong had the bowl on his lap, and was using a spoon to scrape the remaining cake batter out of it, to eat.

"...It's not like you were gonna use it anymore... right?" Wukong asked, almost looking sheepish as he realized Macaque was staring at him, and he curled around the bowl protectively.

Macaque glared at him, using his magic to make his eyes flash purple and make the room grow slightly darker.

"Get out of my kitchen before I retract my truce card and cash in on punching you in the face." He threatened.

Although the threat didn't hold much weight (Macaque would probably end up breaking his hand punching Wukong before he could ever hope to actually injure the other) Wukong still scrambled to get out of the room, taking the bowl and spoon with him as he went.

As Wukong rushed pass Macaque in his haste to leave, their tails lightly brushed together.

And that was the last straw for Macaque, who, once he was sure the other was gone, hurried to turn on the sink to cover up the sound of his coughing.

'..........Stupid monkey....' Macaque thought, leaning over the sink and watching flour and flowers go down the drain.

-

MK found Wukong in the hallway, with petals falling out of both the Monkey King's pocket and his mouth. He seemed to be spacing out, lost within his own thoughts.

He was still carrying the mixing bowl.

"...So I take it you didn't confess to Macaque?" MK asked, sounding almost disappointed.

"What- no- why on Earth would I confess?" Wukong asked, snapping out of his reverie. MK merely shrugged in response, but mentally he cursed.

'I was so sure that baking together would settle this whole mess once and for all.' He thought, watching as Wukong balance his bowl in one hand and softly rubbed a spot on his tail with the other. 'I guess it's back to the drawing board...

....Maybe the others would have some ideas?'

-

"How to get someone with Hanahaki to confess?" Tang asked, setting his book to the side. "MK, you know that's not really a thing you can force, I mean, look at how long it took Pigsy and I-"

"I know, I know, the both of you have told me about your confession, and how long it took to get there, multiple times." MK said, rolling his eyes. "But like, this is worse than you guys, which honestly, before now I didn't think it was possible, but. This has been going on for centuries."

"...I feel like there's a majorly important piece of information I'm missing here." Tang said, leaning forwards with renewed interest. "Who, exactly, has Hanahaki?"

MK paused, debating for a moment on whether or not he should actually tell him.

But, well, it was kind of obvious, and he seriously needed help getting the two of them together, so-

"Monkey King and Macaque." MK said, before adding, for clarification; "Both of them have it. For each other."

"Oh. Oh, that makes so much sense." Tang said, sounding as though pieces of a centuries old puzzle had magically connected right before his eyes. "...I'm sorry though, I can't help you."

"...Oh. Okay, I'll just ask someone else then-"

"However. I am not opposed to starting a betting pool."

-

"Hanahaki? Why would I know anything about Hanahaki?" Red Son asked, sounding oddly nervous as MK stood in the door way to his room. "...Why are you even asking me about it anyways?"

"Because Monkey King and Macaque have been pining for centuries, even back during the Journey to the West if the stories from Mei's great grandfather are to be believed, and while I've only been witness to a small portion of it, and I guess it's kinda been amusing, I am so done with it, like-" MK waved his hands around in frustration. "Why won't they just confess already?!"

"...I'm....sure they have their reasons." Red Son said, "What... did Mei say, about this, exactly?"

"Oh, she just laughed when I told her about it, and then cemented her place in the betting pool." MK said.

"There's a betting- Noodle Boy, why didn't you start with the betting pool?!"

-

Red Son had, in fact, already known about Macaque's Hanahaki.

That kind of thing was a little hard to miss when you're locked up in a cell with someone for an extended period of time.

Finding out Wukong also had Hanahaki came as a little bit of a surprise (though, really, now that he knew about it, it was kind of obvious, but as they say, 20/20 hindsight-).

Outside of making bets though, Red Son was mostly content to just sit back and watch the two monkeys stumble around each other. Sure, he did think their inability to confess made them cowards, but.

At least MK was too wrapped up in his frustration over the monkeys drama to notice the fire demon coughing up smoke and petals behind him.

-

Wukong slowly sneaked into the room, as quietly as he possibly could. Staying low to the ground, he tip toed over to the shelf, cautiously reaching up-

Only for someone to grab a hold of his hand, stopping him from reaching his prize. A nearby lamp flicked on, and Wukong looked up to see Sandy intently staring down at him.

"...Hi." Wukong said, laughing nervously as he slipped his hand out of Sandy's grip. "Um. I totally wasn't sneaking around or anything, I was just... sleep walking?"

"...I see." Sandy said, reaching over and taking one of the tea tins off of the shelf. "In that case, this one right here will do wonders to improve your sleep-"

"Ah, oh, no thank you, it's fine, I can handle it." Wukong said, subtly scanning the shelf of teas, slumping slightly when he couldn't seem to find the one that he wanted. Upon seeing the monkey's dejected face, Sandy sighed.

"Is this what you were looking for?" He asked, pulling a tin of tea out from behind his back. Wukong looked at it in shock.

"How'd you-" He started.

"It was just a lucky guess." Sandy said, setting the tin in Wukong's waiting hands. "Use it sparingly though, I'm running a little low on supplies right now. Oh, and be careful with the side effects, okay? Stop taking it if anything seriously bad starts to happen."

"...Thank you." Wukong said, pocketing the tea tin and turning to leave Sandy's room.

"Oh, one more thing." Sandy said, causing Wukong to pause mid-step. "The next time you try sneaking around in the dark, use a stronger glamour over your eyes. The glow seriously gives you away."

"...Duly noted."

-

It smelled like smoke.

That was the first thing Macaque noticed as he stepped out of the shadows in the corner of the storage room. Immediately, he tensed up, his fur standing on end. After all, where there was smoke, there was usually fire as well. And although Macaque would never, never admit it... he wasn't exactly the most... fond of fire.

(A capture hero, trapped and unaware.

A burning mountain, the air choked by smoke.

And an abandoned warrior, trying desperately to escape the mountain's flames.)

But... Macaque couldn't hear any of the noises that usually accompanied something burning. Instead all he could hear was someone's slightly irregular heart beat, and their wheezing breaths.

Macaque forced himself to walk forwards, curiosity starting to over power his caution.

He rounded the shelf of boxes just in time to see Red Son cough out more smoke, along with a few burnt petals.

Macaque paused, knowing the other had yet to actually see him, as he pondered what to do next. His hands twitched towards the edge of his scarf, but he kept himself frozen.

On the one hand, he could just turn around and leave before Red Son could even notice him. As was said before, Macaque was truly not very fond of fire, and despite having spent at least two days trapped with the fire demon, Macaque hadn't really gotten over his general...wariness of him.

On the other hand though, now that he'd seen the other demon, Macaque's curiosity was peaked.

...Well, they say curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back, so-

"Who's it for?" Macaque asked, chuckling a little to himself as Red Son startled, finally noticing the other's presence.

"What?" He asked, looking at the shadow monkey in shock and confusion.

"Your Hanahaki." Macaque elaborated, "Who is it for, Mei or MK?"

Red Son remained silent for another moment, blinking in confusion, before the question, along with what was currently happening, seemed to register within his brain, and a furious blush over took his face, a few sparks flying off of him.

(At the sight of said sparks, Macaque took a hesitant step back, glancing around for anything that was possibly flammable.

Red Son was far too wrapped up within his own emotions to notice the monkey's anxiety.)

He sputtered for a moment, struggling and failing to come up with a proper response.

"...Both. It's, It's both of them." He eventually muttered under his breath, avoiding eye contact with Macaque as he shyly rubbed his arm.

"What was that? Sorry, I didn't hear you the first time, could you say that again?" Macaque said, not at all surprised by this new development and instantly deciding that now was the perfect opportunity to mess with the fire demon.

"You damn well did hear me and we both know it." Red Son said, shifting from flustered to angry in the blink of an eye.

...Macaque outright laughed at hm.

"Oh, oh, like you're one to laugh." Red Son said, "I know all about your thing for Monkey King. You're in the same boat as I am, both literally and figuratively."

"...Okay, first of all, we are in an airship, not a boat." Macaque said, leaning 'casually' against a wall of supply boxes. "Secondly- I have literally no idea what you're talking about."

"Why haven't you confessed yet?" Red Son said, moving on with his line of thinking and completely ignoring the shadow monkey's denial.

"Conf- I, I could ask you the exact same question!" Macaque said, caught off guard before pulling himself together and recovering. "Why haven't you confessed?"

"I, am simply waiting for the right time. I'm planning a big romantic gesture, I'll have you know." Red Son said, "You, on the other hand, are simply being a pining idiot."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Macaque denied yet again, a slight growl making it's way into his voice as his eyes flashed purple.

Red Son wasn't impressed.

"Your pitiful attempts at denial and intimidation have little to no effect on me." He said, "Seriously, just admit that you're in love with Monkey King already. Pretty much everyone else already knows about it."

"...I won't say I'm in love."

"Do not start the random musical numbers again, you already did it far too many times when we were trapped together in that cell, and if I have to bear one more minute of it I will not hesitate to toss you overboard."

-

The tea was bitter.

Very bitter.

Still though, it tasted leagues better than weed killer, which had been a not very well though through experience that Wukong never ever wanted to repeat.

And the tea worked better too, repressing, the flowers better than humming or the previously stated weed killer ever could.

Still though, there was a reason as to why Wukong had never opted to try this method before.

Said reason, of course, being the side effects.

He sighed, staring at how there were now purple flecks within his red eyes. Nothing that his usual glamours couldn't cover, but his magic was dwindling fast. He would have to start cutting a few corners soon if he didn't want to end up completely and utterly powerless, and the glamours concealing his height and eye colour would probably end up having to be the first ones to go.

Other than that though, it was concerning that the eye colour change was happening so soon, not to mention the speed at which it was progressing. A change in eye colour was the most common starting side effect of repressing Hanahaki, after that... things start to tend to become strange and rather unpredictable. The list of side effects caused by repressing Hanahaki was miles long, and was always having new things added to it- the reaction seemed to always depend on the person.

Basically, Wukong had literally no idea of what the side effect would be for him, nor how he could prepare for them.

And, of course, this meant he wouldn't be able to know how to hide them either.

-

When Wukong woke up the next morning and found that his eyes had already turned fully purple, a faint sense of unease settled itself over him like how a morning mist settles in a forest. He supposed he should've expected this to happen quick, he was repressing thousands of years of pining after all, but still, he hadn't been expecting it to progress this fast....

He felt fine though, nothing different than usual. (He did feel a bit weaker, but that had already been happening before the tea. No, that was something else.) For a moment he wondered if his immortality had made him completely immune to any possible side effects, but immediately shot that idea down, as if that had been the case, his eyes wouldn't have changed colour at all.

Wukong exited his room, throwing his usual glamours back on just in case, and made his way to the ship's kitchen as quietly as possible, he'd awoken a bit earlier than usual this morning, and didn't want to accidentally wake any of the others up.

Warming up the kettle and taking the tea tin out of the pocket (he sadly noted that it was almost empty already), he carefully followed the instructions on the side of the tin, not wanting to mess anything up and risk the tea not working.

A few minutes later, and Wukong sat at the kitchen table, spacing out a little as he slowly sipped his Hanahaki Repressing Tea.

He was starting to almost fall asleep in his chair when Pigsy entered the kitchen.

"Morning." Pigsy greeted, looking Wukong up and down with a mix of worry and suspicion. "You're not usually up this early, is something wrong?"

'No, I'm fine, perfectly fine.' Was what Wukong wanted to say.

Instead though, no sound left his mouth at all.

Oh.

Oh shit.

-

It wasn't every day that someone say Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, speechless.

Today, however, seemed to be one of the days where he was.

Pigsy watched as Wukong's mouth clicked shut, panic briefly flashing across his face before being replaced with an easily recognizable nervous smile as the monkey drew his tea cup closer to himself, as though to hide it. Pigsy rolled his eyes, pulling out a chair and sitting down across from Wukong, immediately noticing how the monkey avoided eye contact entirely.

"Experiencing the side effects, huh?" Pigsy asked, "Don't give me that surprised look. Even if Sandy hadn't told me about you taking the tea, you're being rather obvious right now."

Wukong visibly winced at that, sipping his tea again.

"How exactly do you plan to get through the day without being able to talk huh?" Pigsy asked, leaning forwards slightly. "Surely you must have some plan prepared."

Wukong started to shake his head no, to show that he didn't, in fact, have any plan here, but then he paused, looking thoughtful.

A sudden pang ran through Pigsy's mind, and he gripped the sides of his head, looking down at the table as he winced, trying to collect himself, feeling as though he'd been set off balance.

"-an you hear me?" Wukong's voice was faint and echoey, before growing stronger. "Can you hear me? Hello-"

"Yes I can fucking hear you." Pigsy said, looking back up, and proceeding to be almost shocked (but at the same time really not) to find that there were now two Wukong's sitting across from him. The new Wukong was obviously Wukong's golden astral projection form, as it perfectly matched how MK had described it.

Or well, it almost matched perfectly...

"Oh, good." Wukong said, via astral connection, "I wasn't sure this would work, but since it does I can just talk to the others like this-"

"Does this form of yours normally look like.... well, that?" Pigsy asked, interrupting.

"...What?" Wukong took a moment to analyze his astral form.

Unlike MK's description of it being 'Monkey King but in gold, like a shiny pokemon', Wukong currently had three tails, one pink, one red, and one purple. Said colours were also splashed all over his astral body, almost giving him a sunset-like appearance.

"...Huh. That's new." Wukong said, "I guess the side effects go deeper than I thought."

"Is this something we should be more concerned about?" Pigsy asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, no, it's fine. At least, it's far better compared to everything else. Maybe. Probably." Wukong said, the nervous smile on both his real self and his astral self growing slightly bigger.

"...Everything else? Probably?" Pigsy questioned, sitting up straighter with worry.

"...Ah, you weren't meant to hear that part." Wukong said, wincing. "Which I suppose that means it's time for me to go-"

"Hey, wait-" Pigsy started, but didn't manage to get any words out as Wukong abruptly closed the astral connection, before standing up and leaving the room faster than the other could ever hope to follow. Pigsy sighed as he caught the barest glimpse of Wukong's tail going out the door.

That damn monkey was definitely going to need a serious intervention one of these days.

-

"Monkey King this is an intervention." MK said, crossing his arms as he tried to do his best impersonation of one of Tang's infamous glares. He assumed he failed miserably, given Mei's muffled snickering, but Wukong at least shrunk down sheepishly, so he must've been doing something right.

MK sighed as a pang ran through his head, having expected it- before blinking in shock at the astral image that now stood before him.

"Why do I need an intervention? I'm perfectly fine." Wukong said, both his real self and his astral self smiling nervously- and the three other astral copies of him mimicked the motion. One was pink, one was purple, and one was red. They were each surrounded by a faint golden glow, and were each connected to the main golden astral version of Wukong by their tails.

"You- you are definitely not fine!" MK shouted, still having not recovered from the shock, and wasn't given any more time to try and process what he was seeing as the three bonus Wukong's started speaking.

"Shit." The red one hissed, frustration in his voice. "Fuck." (MK blinks, shocked to hear any version of his mentor swear, and immediately decides to smack Wukong on the arm the next time his mentor tries to reprimand him for swearing.)

"At least he's learning how to read people better, now he won't get tricked as easily." The pink one said, sounding almost....proud?

"I won't be able to trick him anymore either- He's catching on. He's starting to catch on now-" The purple one said, panicked. "I need to lie, lie lie lie-"

"Once again, I don't know what you're talking about." The golden, normal Wukong insisted, seemingly ignorant to the existence of the others.

MK had, of course, set up this intervention to talk about how Wukong tended to repress his emotions, (specifically those concerning a certain shadow monkey), but he definitely hadn't been prepared for... whatever all this is.

"Are you fucking seeing this?" He asked Mei.

"I'm not seeing shit." Mei said, wrapping her arm around MK's shoulder and lightly knocking their heads together, as though doing so would transfer the images that MK was seeing into her own brain.

"Language." All four astral Wukong's said, in perfect unison, and MK reached over and smacked the real Wukong on the arm for his hypocrisy.

The hastily put together intervention steadily went downhill from that point forwards, Mei complaining about not having been let in to the Astral Connection, and Wukong closing said connection the instant that MK had revealed the existence of the astral copies to him. The Monkey King had left the room rather swiftly after that, and MK sighed, for what seemed to be the millionth time since he'd found out about his mentor's Hanahaki.

He would have to do a much better, and much more well put together intervention next time.

-

Wukong ended up running out of tea the next day.

On the one hand, this was a good thing, as it meant he would only have to wait a day or so for the side effects to finally wear off, and he could go back to actually speaking again.

But on the other hand, this meant that he'd be back to coughing up flowers again, much, much sooner than he would like.

Wukong sighed, leaning against the railing of the ship, watching the sunset. He could probably jump off the ship and find the materials needed to make the tea himself, but without his cloud sail, it would certainly cost him precious time.

Time that he currently absolutely could not waste.

So he resigned himself to what would have to happen, and tried to mentally prepare himself for the flowers that would return within the next twenty four hours.

.....For some reason, he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched....

-

In his many years of having known Wukong, Macaque had never seen him be quiet.

But he sure was quiet now, leaning against the ship railing, peacefully watching the sun as it dipped below the horizon.

(The fading colours of the sun reflected perfectly off of Wukong's fur, covering the other in golds, red, purples, and pinks, and overall making him look really pre-

No, nope, Macaque absolutely could not think about that right now, if he started coughing up flowers here and now it was sure to be noticed, and he absolutely couldn't have that happen.)

Macaque really wanted to consider the silence a blessing, finally, a break from the seemingly endless amount of chitter-chatter-

But instead, he couldn't help but feel worried.

Sliding back down to hide behind the crate he'd been sitting on before Wukong had come out onto the deck twenty minutes ago, Macaque lightly chewed on the edge of his scarf, thinking.

Option one: he waltzes over there, throws on a Perfect Smile, and asks Wukong what's wrong. Maybe he could even throw in a jab or two, or say it sarcastically in order to hide his very real concern.

Option two: he sneaks past Wukong, reenters the ship, and hides out inside of his room until he feels confident enough that these stupid emotions have passed.

Macaque was just deciding on option two- when the shadows surrounding him shifted.

Glancing up, he found that Wukong was now holding the crate the shadow monkey had been hiding behind over his head, and was staring down at him, unimpressed.

"...Hi?" Macaque said, letting the edge of his scarf fall out of his mouth and glamouring away any sign that he'd been chewing on it in the first place. "Um. Fancy meeting you here?"

If possible, Wukong's unimpressed look deepened.

"I was- I was here first, I'll have you know." Macaque said, hurriedly standing up, brushing non-existent dirt off of his clothes. "I don't really appreciate you encroaching on my personal space."

Wukong's expression did not waver, but he did set the crate down to the side, so at least Macaque no longer had to worry about having it be thrown at him. Still though, Wukong continued to stare, so maybe he wasn't out of the woods yet.

"So uh, what's with the whole silent act, huh?" Macaque asked, trying his best to be nonchalant about it. He hoped the response would be something meaningless, like a silly little bet or something along those lines.

He didn't expect to receive no verbal response at all, with Wukong's expression shifting away from unimpressed to something Macaque immediately identified as nervous.

Which....probably meant that this really was something to be concerned about.

Which probably also meant that asking any more about it would eventually result in some kind of long, emotional talk, which absolutely was not Macaque's forte.

...Well, he'd been planning to go with option number two from the beginning, so-

"Welp, this was a nice talk." Macaque said, "But, unfortunately, I have some other stuff that need to be tended to so.... bye!"

And with that, Macaque awkwardly flashed a peace sign, before falling down into the shadows, reappearing within the comforts of his own room. Deciding that he'd definitely had enough for one day, he crawled into his bed, pulling the covers over his head and trying his best to banish any thoughts of Wukong from his mind as he fell asleep.

-

He'd tried to sleep.

Really, he'd tried.

But after his third petal coughing fit of the night (courtesy of his brain refusing to forget how beautiful Wukong looked in the light of the sunset), Macaque gave up.

Which was why he was currently sitting on the couch, staring at the shadows on the wall, letting his mind play tricks on himself, making it seem like the darkness was moving.

He startled when he heard the sound of someone walking down the hallway.

Macaque wasn't entirely sure how long he'd been up for, but something told him that it was still far too early for even the early-risers to be up and about.

It was at the exact moment that someone sluggishly entered the room that Macaque remembered his glamours were down, and he tensed, knowing it was far too late and that he was far too tired to throw them on now.

He relaxed ever so slightly once he realized that the one who had entered the room had seen him glamourless multiple times before.

...Still though. What was Wukong doing up so late?

"...Got nightmares? I hope they're all about me." Macaque said, almost instantly cringing at the words coming out of his mouth, wanting to take them back and shove them into whatever sleep deprived corner of his mind they had come from.

Funnily enough though, Wukong didn't react at all, there wasn't even a small twitch of the ear or tilt of the head to even indicate that the other had even heard him.

There was a beat of silence, and Macaque chewed on the edge of his scarf, distracting himself from the awkwardness of it all by focusing on the sounds of the ship at night.

The beeping of the autopilot, the whir of the engines, the quiet sleeping sounds of the others, Wukong's steady, slow heart beat...

His.... slow heart beat...

"Oh" Macaque breathed, his voice partially muffled as he still had part of his scarf in his mouth. "You're sleep walking."

A contradictory mixture of concern and relief flooded through him at this realization. For a moment he just sat there, watching as Wukong continued to sluggishly make his way around the room.

And then Wukong bumped into the edge of the coffee table, and Macaque got up in record time, ready to catch the other if he fell-

Only to pull himself back as Wukong righted himself, still fast asleep. Macaque sighed, sitting back down on the couch. Why had he even been worried? There was literally nothing to worry about here, Wukong was literally invulnerable, he'd be fine. This was fine.

He rescinded that thought when Wukong suddenly turned, slowly but surely making his way towards Macaque. The shadow monkey watched the other's approach warily, stiffening when Wukog clumsily crawled onto the couch beside him.

Macaque stayed as still as possible, practically frozen, and partially hoping Wukong would get back up and sleep walk his way back to his own bed.

That, of course, didn't happen, and Macaque barely bit back a gasp, the edge of his scarf falling from his mouth to rest on his lap, as Wukong's tail found and curled around Macaque's own.

'Okay.' Macaque thought, feeling the flowers surge within his chest, as well as a faint tingling sensation covering most of his body (it had been a while, since he'd had any positive affection). 'Okay. I can handle this.'

And then Wukong leaned against him, his head resting on Macaque's shoulder.

'I can not handle this.'

-

When Wukong woke up in the early morning, the first thing he noticed was that he was not, in fact, in his bedroom.

'Ah. I slept walked again.' He thought, wincing, slowly pushing himself up. '...At least I didn't collapse in the middle of the hallway or inside of MK's room this time...'

The second thing he noticed was fabric sliding off of him, landing in a pool on the floor.

Leaning over and picking it up, he instantly identified it as Macaque's scarf.

He'd. Been sleeping while curled around Macaque's scarf.....

Almost immediately, he started coughing, purple petals falling from his mouth.

'Well. There goes the last effects of the tea.'

(When Macaque opened his door later on in the after noon, he would find his scarf sitting on the floor in front of him, perfectly folded.

He would find a singular purple petal within it upon unfolding it, but immediately dismiss it as being unimportant.)

-

"Why is it a forest, why did the engine need to malfunction and land us in a forest." Macaque complained, laying in the shadow of a tree, staring up into the branches as though the tree would give him an answer.

"Hey, it's better than a mountain." Wukong said, setting down a glass of lemonade beside the other monkey, before turning to hand another one off to Tang. (Pigsy had, for reasons unknown, made Wukong act as his waiter for the day. Nobody was quite sure why, and from the way Wukong glared whenever the subject was brought up, they figured it was best not to ask). "Can you hear how MK and the others are doing though, they've been gone for a while..."

"Why don't you just use your cloud to go check on them?" Macaque groaned, but still did what had been asked of him, tilting his head to the side, listening intently. After a moment, he was able to pin point the trio's voices. As for what they were saying....

Macaque smirked.

"They're fine." He said, "Although, they might be another few minutes before they come back."

When the trio came out of the forest wearing flower crowns, Macaque mentally cheered.

(After somebody with Hanahaki confesses, the flowers need somewhere to go. Usually they simply pop out of the ground around the person who has confessed.

It was a popular tradition to make and wear flower crowns using said flowers if your love was reciprocated.)

"Oh, did Red Son finally confess?" Tang asked, "We've been waiting on that for like. Ever."

"Oh heavens- Was I the only one who didn't know?" MK said, hiding his face in his hands.

"Oh no, I don't think Monkey King here knew either." Sandy said, lightly patting Wukong on the head. Wukong had been adorned with a look of utter shock since the trio had returned, but now he finally broke out of his surprise, and before the trio could even think to move, Wukong had grabbed hold of them, lifting them up a little in an excited hug.

"Oh my gosh- I'm so happy for you!" He said, only putting them down as Red Son started struggling. "We've- we've gotta throw a party- Pigsy can we throw a party-"

Macaque rolled his eyes, blocking out the current party planning, going back to staring at the sky through the tree branches.

"...Macaque."

Macaque looked over to see Red Son standing beside him.

"...Yes?" Macaque asked.

"...I'm braver than you are."

"What the fuck does that mean-"

-

Of course, Wukong had ended up deciding that they couldn't have the party on the ship. For some reason or another, he was utterly convinced that this party had to be big, which, of course, meant that there had to be a large space to hold it in.

...Had the situation been different, he would've brought everyone to Flower Fruit Mountain.

As it was, he found the next best thing.

"How the fuck did you know about my family hide out?" Red Son asked, watched as Wukong knocked three times on the door.

"You forget I was friends with your father, Red Boy." Wukong said, sending Red Son a smirk. "Oh, and watch your language."

The rest of the group stood slightly behind them, some of them prepared to run away if, somehow, this went awry.

Luckily enough, they didn't have to worry. Demon Bull King and Princess Iron Fan took the fact that Red Son was now dating his former enemies surprisingly well, and were fully willing to let them use the base to hold a party.

Wukong, surprisingly enough, ended up being the one to regret the decision to come here, the realization that maybe he had made a mistake hitting when Demon Bull King grabbed him by the back of his scarf, lifting him into the air. Wukong went slack immediately, knowing that struggling would be futile.

"The rest of you can keep sorting things out." Demon Bull King said, "I would like to have a few.... words with the simian."

And with that he turned, walking out of the room and bringing Wukong with him.

-

Demon Bull King entered a smaller room, reaching and closing the door behind him as he did so. Unceremoniously, he let go of Wukong's scarf and let the monkey drop down to the floor. Wukong let out an 'oof' as he hit the solid concrete.

"Ow." He hissed, glaring up at Demon Bull King. "Ya could have been a little more gentle there, Bull King."

"You can handle it." Demon Bull King said, "Now, onto the real matter of business. You haven't confessed yet, have you."

"What? Oh, is that what this is all about- I mean, I have no idea what you're talking about." Wukong said, laughing nervously. Demon Bull King stared down at him, unimpressed.

"So I'm right, you really still haven't confessed." Demon Bull King sighed, "Really, I expected better from you. Oh well, I suppose it is a good thing that my son is braver than you, not that that's very hard."

"Ouch." Wukong said, slightly jokingly. "You...really aren't pulling back your punches today huh."

"You trapped me under a mountain. I can be permitted to throw a few heavy hits." Demon Bull King said, "As it is though, if you do not confess sooner rather than later, you may miss your chance."

"Huh?"

"Do not make me out to be a fool, Sun Wukong. I can see the way your body grows weaker." Demon Bull King stared pointedly at a scrape Wukong had gotten on his hand when he'd been dropped onto the floor. Wukong, following the other's gaze, hid it behind his back. "You can't hide it from me. A month ago that fall would've been nothing to you. The Lady Bone Demon has affected you more than you're letting on."

"...So what if she has?" Wukong asked, "It's fine, it doesn't really mean anything, my powers will come back to their full strength sooner or later, you know."

"When I carried you, you weighed a little heavier than you used to."

"Hey now, don't go making comments about my weight!" Wukong said, letting the glamour on his eyes drop so that he could give Demon Bull King the red-eyed glare. "Seriously, I don't know what you think you've figured out, but just, drop it, okay?"

"...If that is what you wish." Demon Bull King sighed, opening the door and standing slightly to the side in order to let Wukong through first. "Promise me one thing though, for the sake of our old friendship."

"...Of course."

"Please confess before the time runs out."

"I'll... I'll try."

-

The party had been great.

In fact, the party had been spectacular.

Which was why, of course, that merely a week after the party, their luck seemingly ran out.

One of the Lady Bone Demon's 'followers' attacked the group during a supply run. Somehow, someway, Wukong and Macaque had managed to draw it away from the others, giving the rest of the group ample time to get the ship loaded and get everyone to a safe place.

Now all the two monkeys had to do was find a way for themselves to escape.

Macaque ducked under a wave of magic, glancing over at Wukong, hoping that the other would have some kind of plan.

He could immediately tell from the look on the other's face that he did not, in fact, have any sort of plan.

Macaque kept dodging as he watched Wukong impulsively take the offensive, sliding under a wave of magic, running up and jumping to kick the demon in the face- Only for the demon to catch him by the foot, spinning him around and tossing him. Wukong's back slammed against the mountain they'd ended up fighting beside, and he fell onto one knee for a moment.

And then he slowly stood back up, his fur messed up. He used his sleeve to wipe some blood away from the corner of his mouth, his eyes burning red and oh-

Oh, that was kinda hot-

Macaque immediately cursed letting himself get distracted, as the flowers grew in his chest, and he stumbled, wheezing as a few golden petals fell out of his mouth.

A wave of magic hit him from behind, knocking him to the ground and sending him skidding over to where Wukong now stood.

"Shit- are you okay?" Wukong asked, keeping one eye on the demon, who simply watched them in slight amusement, as he helped the shadow monkey back to his feet. Macaque glanced between the demon and Wukong, feeling the flowers in both his throat and his mouth.

Fuck, he wouldn't be able to win this fight if he stayed like this, in this state.

...Which only left him one option.

Taking only the barest of seconds to prepare himself, Macaque grabbed a hold of both side of Wukong's face, ignoring the monkey's confused squeak as he made sure their eyes met.

"I love you." Macaque said, a single petal falling out of his mouth.

"...I love you too?" Wukong said, confusion and shock filling his face.

"Wait, what?" Macaque asked, but was given no time to question it as the demon seemingly had enough of waiting, and threw a whip of magic at them, the two monkeys having to separate from each other and leap to different sides in order to avoid the attack. As the dust from the attack settled, Macaque locked eyes with Wukong again, the Monkey King's face coloured with a blush, looking shocked, and Macaque was sure the expression was reflected on his own face.

"You love me too?!" He asked, sliding to the side, to avoid another attack.

"Yes!" Wukong shouted, backflipping out of the way of a burst of flame.

"Then why did you say it as a question?!" Macaque asked, slowly making his way back over to the other monkey while avoiding the demon's attempts to hit him at the same time.

"I don't know, why did you confess in the middle of a fight!?" Wukong asked, mirroring the other monkey's movements.

"It seemed like the best option!" Macaque said, leaping over top of another magic whip, spinning around and finding himself back to back with Wukong. "I- I didn't really think it through."

"And people say that I'm the impulsive one." Wukong muttered, deflecting a beam of magic away from them with his wrist.

"I heard that." Macaque hissed, turning ever so slightly to glare at him.

"I know." Wukong said- before turning and knocking Macaque to the ground, just in time for a blade to go sailing over top of them. "When did he get a scythe?!"

"How should I know?!" Macaque asked- before his ear twitched, and he grabbed Wukong's shoulders, rolling the both of over to the right, swapping their positions as the ground where they had previously been suddenly broke apart, a spike rising out of it. Both of them stared at it in shock, before glancing back at each other.

"Well, there's one thing that I think we both know." Wukong said, as Macaque stood up, pulling Wukong to his feet along with him. They both turned to glare at the demon. "And it's that we're starting to get real sick of this guy."

"...You know, I hear that there's a solar eclipse coming up." Macaque said, and Wukong immediately smirked.

The demon sent another blast of magic, and, still holding hands, the two of them stepped to the side, Macaque even taking things one step further, twirling Wukong as they dodged the blast, before pulling away, giving the Monkey King a small bow before falling down into the shadows. Wukong, smirk still wide on his face, turned to face the demon with a determined look.

Running forwards, swiftly moving left and right to stay out of the way of the demon's attacks, Wukong got himself right up in the demon's face. Jumping, he flipped backwards, hitting the demon in the chin with his foot as he did so, before landing on his feet slightly further back than he'd been before.

The demon rubbed his chin, eyes blazing with anger, and Wukong laughed.

"C'mon, is this the best you can throw at me?" He taunted, practically dancing out of the way of the spikes that shot out of the ground at him. "Surely you can do better than this!"

The demon growled, not seeing the trap for what it was, summoning his scythe and charging forwards. Wukong stayed where he was, smirk still firm in place on his face.

When the blade was almost close enough for Wukong to taste the tang of the metal, the shadows in front of him shifted.

Macaque shot up from the shadows, with a spear made out of the darkness, easily blocking the demon's attack, his eyes glowing purple as he stepped forwards, shadows still trailing and swirling around his feet as he forced the demon to take a step back.

The demon grit his teeth, so focused in trying to keep Macaque advancing any further- that he failed to notice as Wukong slid beside him, his eyes glowing red as he took power away from his glamours and channeled it into making sure this punch was the last one.

The strike hit, and Macaque stepped back, his fur rustled by the wind as the demon was sent flying past him, slamming into the mountain, hard.

The two monkeys stood there for a moment, panting, staring at the demon's prone form.

A minute passed, and that was all it took for the two of them to confirm that the demon was not going to be getting back up.

A sigh of relief left the two of them, Wukong falling down to sit on the ground, while Macaque slumped, leaning against his spear as the two of them took a moment to finally relax.

Only to jump as a field of yellow chrysanthemums and purple, flowering wisterias appeared around them.

The two of them stared around themselves in shock for a moment, Macaque dispelling his spear as he sank down to the ground beside Wukong. A breeze flew by, knocking loose a few petals, mixing yellow and purple together.

"...You know, I can't decide if these flowers are hilariously late or perfectly on time." Macaque said, and Wukong laughed.

"Say, who do you think has more flowers for them?" He asked, and the both of them took a second to think about it, looking out over the field. Wukong abruptly stood up. "Why don't we make some clones to help and find out?"

Macaque laughed, standing up and summoning his own shadow clones as Wukong blew on a few of his hairs, and they went to work, counting flowers.

...In the end, they ended up giving up after the third recount also ended up in a tie.

-

When the two of them finally returned to the ship, adorn in matching flower crowns, MK took one look at them, a brief expression of shock flickering on his face, before he fell backwards onto the couch, a strangled laugh escaping him.

"Fucking finally!"

[quitealotofsodapop]

What do you think of the idea that there might be an elder Stone Monkey, thousands upon thousands of years old, who managed to survive the Floods (was probably an infant at the time) right up until Wukong was hatched and they had been the Troupe's storyteller when Wukong was a cub? What if they tried to pass on information about the Stone Monkeys to Wukong, but death took them before they could tell the little cub his true identity as the Lost Prince of Last Matriarch. Perhaps it was this elders destht hat had been the catalyst of Wukong seeking out inmortality?

ooo that sounds so cool

Like all the survivors of the flood are preparing for their Matriarch to go for the Long Sleep (aka create her Stone Egg), and the Troupe's Storyteller is told to stay behind for whomever next inhabits their homeland, and tell them the stories of their people.

That old Stone Monkey waited. And waited. And soon monkey demons pushed out of the mainlands of China by the rapid rise of humans arrived on boats and rafts, following the tales of Stone Monkeys that left an island of endless Fruit and Flowers after the Flood.

The Storyteller would be very old by the time other demons found him, rather frail and his memory not as good as it once was. But he was sharp enough to govern, and guide the fragmented troupes around their new home. He told them that Others came before them, and that they left behind a paradise for whomever respected their sacrifice.

The Monkey Demons take the Storytellers word and value it. And they made him their Elder.

Once day as Elder was telling a story about the stars, a massive crack! rang out from atop Mount Huaguo.

THe Elder paused mid-sentence and started ambling towards the mountain with the speed of a far younger monkey. That sound. It was instinctual. He couldn't forget it in a million years.

His Matriarch's egg was hatching.

The youngsters he'd been tending to followed his heels closely, wondering what the excitement was about. Little Ma, Ba, Beng, and Liu had always kept close to the Elder, and they followed him up the steep cliffs to where The Boulder sat.

But The Boulder was not whole like it had always been. In it's cracked form lay a smaller, egg-shaped stone with a little paw reaching out. Ma, the boldest cub with a number of little siblings, immediately leaped forward and began cleaning bits of dirt and dust off the mysterious "Little Stone Monkey's" face.

The four cubs were very confused when the Elder began crying with joy. The newborn monkey a near copy of his long-lost Matriarch. His troupe's Prince.

That same Prince would grow into a fine young man. One that discovered the buried Stone Palace in his own terms, and invited his non-stoney troupe inside with open arms. A Prince that was soon crowned Leader of the troupe for his discovery and protection.

A Prince that held the Elder's hand while time itself had decided to take the elderly monkey to Diyu. The Elder finally told the Princethe truth. That he had a mother that loved him, loved him enough to wager her own life to ensure the survival of her son and of her people's culture as a whole. A mother who was also The Matriarch of a dying species. A species of which the Prince belonged to and would soon be the last known member.

The Prince declared to the Elder without thought; "I will find a way to live long enough to see our people return! You'll see! And I'll find a way to make sure I'm not the only one left!"

The Elder laughed. His Matriarch's son was so much like her.

The Prince set out for the Mainland the day after the Elder's pasding. In ten years he would return and free his people from the tyrany of an opportunistic demon that preyed on the loss of the Elder.

The Prince was soon declared King under his new name, one gifted to him by the man that taught him the words of humanity;

Sun Wukong

[morfanerina]

How did it happen so real?

After Demon Bull King was sealed and the Monkey King disappeared for a few years, Macaque decides to go check on his rival and maybe, hopefully, get the revenge he has yearned for. It doesn’t quite go that way

Or snippets of an au where Macaque bullies Wukong into better health (mental and physical) and grows closer to him as a result.

Can be considered shadowpeachy or just gen with implied hints from other characters here.

Also posted on AO3

The mountain was quiet. Though the sun shone and the flowers bloomed, FlowerFruit Mountain felt somber. Small monkeys chittered quietly to each other, only noticing the visitor as he passed by. A few were following him at a distance, eyes shining with a yaoguai’s intelligence, but none stopped the dark yaoguai monkey from entering the waterfall passage.

Macaque bristled after he entered the hidden meadow, glaring at the path he was going to take. With the waterfall so close, he couldn’t hear anything of note, but the mountain’s magic had always been attuned to its stone made child in a way that Wukong’s mood could affect the environment at times and it felt… mournful. Distracted. Still powerful enough to hide the mountain away from wandering, spiteful eyes if one didn’t know its’ magic and paths as he did, but still significantly weaker, not even giving any resistance to his magic as it tended to do.

One would think that this would make Macaque happy. His eternal rival, showing weakness, definitely unaware he was present in his territory? A perfect match for a possible victory over the damned Monkey King for once.

Macaque hated it. He always thought he would love this situation, but just the mood made something inside him clench and he felt anger at something . Someone . Probably Wukong as he was the usual target but it was weird that that it was not his first thought.

The path changed, redirecting the visitor to another plane, an added magical defense that broke him out of his anger enough to pay attention to his surroundings again. That was new. He considered just using his magic to nudge to the more familiar part of the kingdom but curiosity surpassed anger now. What was Wukong doing ?

Said Monkey King was sitting outside of a half constructed wooden little cottage, his back to Macaque. Though he could certainly hear him as the black monkey didn’t bother going stealthy, Wukong didn’t react.

Unused to being ignored by the other monkey so blatantly, Macaque’s anger spiked again. The absolute gall of the other monkey, not even attempting to put some sort of defense to himself. Did he really think so lowly of Macaque’s power now?

With a predatory grace, he walked to the golden monkey - who still didn’t react to his approach - with his anger simmering underneath his skin. Stopping a few steps from Wukong, the dark furred monkey crooned mockingly “ Hello Wukong ”

Much to his surprise however, Wukong startled and twisted to look at him in shock. No witty answer or sullen silence, just a shocked look in his unusually unglamoured face.

Ah. Wukong had been crying. Was crying.

Both monkeys stared at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time, Wukong seeming frozen in place, silent tears stopping but leaving the fur beneath still wet.

Macaque, studying the other’s puffy eyes, broke the stare-off by glancing at the old clothes and mussed, knotted fur visible the vain monkey would usually at least try to glamour, and made a decision.

Moving quickly, Macaque picked up Wukong from where he was still sitting, ignored the yelp the golden monkey gave, quickly shadow traveled to the nearest shallow body of water he could recall and dumped the monkey in it.

Spluttering and thrashing in the water, Wukong barely heard the other monkey bluntly answer to his fumbling demands of why with “Because you are utterly filthy, it’s actually pathetic”

-:::--.:::-

Neither of them were sure how they arrived to the point where Macaque was grooming Wukong. Somehow, after the impromptu bath, shouting match and getting a dressing down by a few of the older monkeys around for their language (Macaque wasn’t sure how to feel about being scolded like a cub by his enemy’s subjects and his bafflement kept him from reacting through the five minutes it went on), they both ended up sitting near the waterfall, fur damp.

A small fight had been attempted by Wukong to get Macaque away but it ended with Wukong dizzily falling to the ground. Macaque had scoffed and then stared as the golden monkey grumbled under his breathe that he hadn’t eaten for a couple of months. Or five. Then the other yaoguai sighed and just. Started grooming the Monkey King.

Wukong was confused but at least the grooming felt nice. It had been a long while since he had been groomed by anyone but baby monkeys, though his generals had offered…

He tried to not squirm at the thought, guilt weighing on him. He could feel at least one of his generals looking at them, hidden somewhere, and wondered what this looked like from their side. Their king, accepting a grooming from his enemy, couldn’t even fight him off-

“Stop it” Macaque ordered, tugging at his fur.

Wukong had never been very good at keeping still “Why are you here?” he blurted, feeling the other falter for a few seconds but rapidly pick up from where he had been.

“To defeat you, obviously”

That was par of the course with him but it was not exactly what they were doing, now was it? Monkey King was unsure how to continue the conversation without making the situation even more awkward, so he decided to drop it and continue to brood.

The session ended fast after that, with Macaque grumbling a “Done” and quite literally dipping into a shadow to disappear before Wukong could even mutter a “Thanks” back at him.

Oh well. Maybe it was for the better to not acknowledge that this happened. Ever.

Even if it made Wukong feel better than he had for months now. Maybe he would join in with his generals at grooming times sometimes.

-***----**--

It became a semi-regular occurrence. Macaque would appear, see Wukong in a slump and, instead of instigating a fight he just… forced him to do anything but brood. A few times, he simply force fed Wukong with fruits that were not peaches after the latter collapsed by not having eaten anything again , while mocking the golden monkey viciously . Another time he forced the monkey to change from his pajamas because “It’s the middle of the day , have some class Monkey King ” by ruining them to the point there was no salvaging them. There were other situations: dumping a few baby monkeys that wanted to play on his lap because “They are making annoying sounds, that’s why. Shut them up”, stealing a peach while mocking the golden monkey, forcing the king to run after him until he was out of breath and thinking just of how annoying the black monkey was, and so on. And as the years went on, Wukong stopped brooding over his losses as much, stopped trying to isolate from the tribe in fear they would all get hurt from his decisions (again) and started to play more as he used to, visibly starting to act more like the joyful stone monkey he had been.

He started looking forward to Macaque’s visits despite the mocking, even.

-***---.---

One day the cottage was finally finished. He had decided to maintain the separation between his former kingdom and the meadow plane as a safety precaution in case an invader popped up. Wukong reminded himself to go send the old immortal that taught him this spell some cakes next time he went out to see what the humans were doing.

He felt the magic before he heard him and turned to greet him (read: yell at him in fake annoyance) when he saw the others’ state.

Small cuts littered Macaque’s arms and what was visible of his legs by the rips in the fabric, a few matting the nearby fur with blood. His face had a cut underneath his glamoured scar still dribbling blood. His pupils were largely different from one another and the monkey was barely standing, dizzily stumbling everytime he accidentally leaned too much to one side.

Macaque blinked, confused, and looked at him when Wukong panicked, ran to the other, and yelled “Are you alright?”

“Wukong? What are you doing on my dojo?”

Baffled, Wukong steadied the other “You are in FlowerFruit Mountain, Macaque” he said slowly, trying to lock eyes with him “Not… wherever your dojo is”

“No, no, I asked my shadows for a safe place” Macaque said, matter of factly, trying to focus on anything around, unsuccessfully.

Not knowing what to say to that, the golden monkey eventually managed to convince the other into getting his wounds looked after and staying in the cottage. Via lying through his teeth.

When the concussed monkey regained consciousness and realised he was not, in fact, in his dojo, alone, as he was supposed to be, it took Wukong refusing to let go of the other while keeping his balance so as not to fall in the formed shadow portal until the other’s magic collapsed from the effort to keep him there. Even then, only releasing Macaque when he grumbled a promise to only go away when he didn’t look like he was going to keel over.

That it took double the time than the worst of the cuts took to heal over was left unspoken.

During this time it was… Nice to have each other’s company. Macaque, mellowed by the embarrassment of the situation and the concussion, didn’t throw the standard biting remarks he was so fond of. This led to a surprisingly comfortable silence on the first day, then to quiet moments of banter until they were having actual conversations without falling into screaming matches.

At the end of it, Macaque slipped away in the night, only leaving a small paper puppet in his place.

It was of a monkey.

Wunkong was disappointed but stashed the little paper puppet near the shrine he had hidden away with familiar looking origami figures.

-**--***

After that Macaque was… gentler. Less aggressive. He also appeared more, in good days where the laughter came easier and even the mountain seemed brighter, which made Wukong suspect that he had been listening in and just appearing when the golden monkey was in a slump for too long.

His generals, hearing his theory, just gave him amused looks that told him they had already figured that out years ago.

Wukong decided to ignore the other pointed comments about Macaque his own closest subjects were happily pointing out, though it mostly explained why none had bothered trying to stop the other monkey from coming in after the first times.

(The first times the generals and marshals had been wary to join in, hoping the enmity would take their king out of the slump but ready to jump in if necessary to help. Instead of a fight, they watched as somehow both spiritual monkeys got into what started to look like a weird mix of courtship rituals, a sort of equivalent of a human male child pulling a female child’s pigtails while at the same time giving her her favourite candies.

The older mountain inhabitants' rumour mill definitely got stirred by that for quite awhile.)

Macaque started to bring some of the new creations from outside the mountain, mostly human-made. New sweets and small inventions, a few different types of clothes, even some toys. At the end of each visit there was always a comment about how everything was changing now, a hint Wukong pretended he was deaf at, refusing to get out of his mountain as he had been for the last century and some decades. Up until he was just outright kidnapped by Macaque via his shadow portals.

Wukong wasn’t sure whether to be amused or annoyed that his most trusted marshals blessed the temporary kidnapping to the nearby human town and his generals helped it happen.

-...--...--

Macaque wouldn’t lie to himself, he enjoyed the little kidnappings he did to Wukong. Especially with the support of his subjects, the annoyed face the Great Sage made when he realised what had happened was outright hilarious. Notably, the golden monkey never returned to his kingdom before Macaque took him to where he had planned, even as he grumbled and warily looked around with his eyes of truth.

The black monkey would have felt insulted but shrugged it off at how uncomfortable the other monkey looked. He also didn’t comment how close Wukong got, to the point they were brushing shoulders, when they got into crowds.

If Macaque decided to go to the less frequented streets after the couple first kidnaps? No one knew about it but him.

Regardless, he managed to slowly bring the other monkey into being more comfortable around strangers again. Not as friendly and open as he once had been (Macaque remembered curious and joyful golden eyes on a monkey who greeting him with cheer and an ease he had rarely seen, inviting him to eat with him, time and time again, willing to dance and party with anyone who felt comfortable with it-) but enough that he started going himself to the nearby stores and stalls and even made some small talk with the jovial owners.

And then one time, he got a lawyer.

Somehow.

“Why?” the black monkey asked in bemused amusement “You can barely deal with small talk, how are you going to deal talking business with a human for hours?”

With an insulted expression, Wukong decided to ignore the last question “They have been using my image! For advertising their crummy products!” several more complains were added after that, the monkey moving his arms wildly as he rambled, a few people around having to dodge, scowling at the glamoured monkey.

Macaque snorted. He was as vengeful as ever, if less bloodthirsty.

-...---...---

When Wukong first talked about getting a successor, it was a rare day where it stormed on FlowerFruit Mountain, Macaque having visited with the new, and ugliest, piece of unofficial Monkey King merchandise he could find to offer him.

Macaque didn’t comment at first, just studied the other as the Monkey King started to fidget, eventually breaking and rambling about his thoughts for it and the reason why. The black monkey wasn’t happy with the way the other said retirement but had hummed noncommittally when Wukong repeated his want of a successor.

It took longer than he had expected for Wukong to choose one but it did show he was serious about it. He saw Qi Xiaotian while hiding in the nearby shadows, hanging out and laughing with uncomfortably familiar faces and auras.

He visited Wukong right after, in front of the small origami altar he had made, one of the figures in his hands. Macaque sat down next to him in silence, feeling the other leaning on him almost immediately.

“Have you seen them?” Wukong asked in a whisper.

“Yes.” Macaque answered, not bothering to ask for a clarification “Are you sure about this? With having a successor who is friends with them?”

“The kid picked up the staff by himself” Wukong carefully played with the figure in his hands “I just gave him an incentive.” a small pause, Wukong’s head bumping Macaque’s shoulder “He’s a good kid” he added, his voice already so fond, and Macaque knew that there was no turning back, not when he already sounded attached.

Macaque supposed it was time to introduce himself to the kid.

Note: this has a bunch of personal headcanons. Of importance here:

Wukong totally got social anxiety from his self imposed isolation. Also his guilt of losing and/or hurting people because "he got close to them" or he screwed up big. Also, FlowerFruit mountain kingdom's location has been written down, I like the idea that the Monkey King had been attempting ways to solve that security issue without fully moving said kingdom to another place entirely. There are reasons for why I want this. Macaque is actually very soft to those he likes, he just has troubles with trusting said person will not take advantage :( I see FlowerFruit mountain kingdom as being kind of chill? They can be very official and hierarchical in front of other people but as a general rule their formalities aren't strict. Sun Wukong is acknowledged as king at the same time as, say, a mother of a child he was playing with is (lightly) scolding him for playing in the mud with said child. Also he will never deny playing with children. Blame 1996's jttw series for this depiction.

Might make it a series, might not.

[chaozsilhouette]

A Revealing Performance

My rendition for the Shadow Play in @winterpower98's Swap Au.

It was supposed to be a simple thing, then it sort of spiraled into this whole deal. For the effects of the Shadow Lantern, I drew some inspiration from her Cursed Au as I never thought simply using her friends was cruel enough for the Monkey Tyrant.

It serves to show just how far Macaque has grown, but also to highlight just how monstrous he was.

_____________________________

Mei refrained from downing her bubble tea as she waited for the play to start. It had been a rough couple of weeks with Spider Queen and that creepy girl. And failing to find where Xiaotian had run off to after the misunderstanding. When Macaque sent her tickets to the local theatre, she was ashamed to think it was a trap.

Pigsy and Sandy were right. After everything that happened, she needed some serious me time. She had been too stressed.

Besides, everyone knew Macaque was a total theatre nerd. Few people knew that the star puppeteer was actually the Six-Eared Macaque himself. He would totally send her tickets from his stomping grounds as a way to unwind.

It was a shame that Tang couldn’t join them. Apparently, he finally managed to schedule a meeting with the Celestial Realm and was Taking the demon brothers to figure out a new way of sealing the Monkey Tyrant. It was also his chance to explain their little break-in during New Years. He encouraged her to have fun and if it was good, he’d join them for the next showing.

So here they were waiting for the performance to start. Although she wondered what the fake mayor was doing here. They hadn't seen him since he gave her the skeleton key. Still wasn't sure why he had it or why he gave it to her? Supposedly she was only supposed to have it for a day, but he never stopped by to pick it up.

_____________________________

Sun Wukong was a monkey of many talents, but even he had to admit Macaque was a far better storyteller and his mastery of shadows was sheer perfection. But that just made this plan all the more perfect. What better way to teach his wayward beloved’s little flower a lesson than through a trusted medium.

Obtaining a spot in the local theatre was child’s play, a little magic and they were all but begging him to take center stage. Apparently, they had been scrambling to find a new performer after their star puppeteer had to leave for a family emergency (three guesses as to who that was). And with a little glamor, a set of tickets was left at the little flower's doorstep. As far as she knew, Macaque was proud of her progress and believed she had deserved a reward for all her hard work. She was so desperate for something to go right she hardly questioned how her mentor, who was in parts unknown, managed to secure tickets for a new performer.

In his personal dressing room, Wukong delicately touched up his human disguise. Even if he was going to be hidden in his hanfu and cloak, it wouldn’t do to spoil the surprise. Applying his eye shadow with artful flair, the Monkey King took time to appreciate just how handsome he truly was no matter what form he took. Honestly, who would have thought such perfection existed?

A pulse of dark magic drew his attention to his latest partner in crime.

The Shadow Lantern gently floated before him. Its dark magic practically purring at the thought of being used. Wukong could almost laugh at his beloved’s foolishness. He was there when his darling created the lantern, when he infused his own shadows into its very foundation. Did he honestly think such a masterpiece would tolerate being left to collect dust in a cave?

Normally a magical artifact would never consider turning on its master, but after centuries of abandonment, all Wukong had to do was whisper his intentions to return Macaque to his former self to secure its loyalty. The second he first made contact, he could sense a twisted hunger writhing within and with each performance granting it the chance to feed on the life essence of the viewers…. hehe, he almost couldn’t contain himself.

Looking up at the clock, he saw it was just about time for his next performance. His clones had reported the girl’s presence along with the pig and the water demon. Strangely the one with glasses and the little matchstick was absent. No matter, he could make do with two hostages just fine.

After all, the show must go on.

_____________________________

The overhead lights dimmed, signaling the start of the play. Smoke slowly poured from beneath the floorboards, generating an air of mystery. In a flash of golden light, a tall man wearing a beautiful cloak manifested on center stage. The crowd silenced themselves at the display.

“Welcome viewers to a performance you shall never forget!” From the folds of his sleeves, an exquisite lantern floated in front of him. A mesmerizing yet familiar purple glow emanating from the center.

“Our tale tonight is one of love, companionship, and how even the strongest of bonds can be severed through the trickery of the wicked.”

In the background, the shadows twisted and grew in the lantern’s light. Carefully they formed a beautiful scene of a mountain covered in flowers and trees. Attention was gradually guided to the top, where a round stone basked in the sun.

“It all began with the birth of a King.”

The round stone broke, revealing a figure that resembled a monkey. But no, this was a monkey demon, a monkie if you would. The King journeyed down the mountain until he found a tribe of normal monkeys. The group frolicked for a while as the King established himself as the undisputed ruler of the tribe.

A large figure with an ax appeared. The monster brought down his ax upon a small collection of monkeys only to be stopped at the last second by the King. The King used his superior strength to steal the demon’s ax and used it to decapitate the intruder in a single stroke. The monkeys jumped around the King and praised his strength, but the King did not appear satisfied.

“The young King was born with great power and strength, but he sought out more to protect his people.”

The King crafted a raft and set out on a dangerous sea. The King was shown to face off against mountain gods, human warriors, and demonic sorcerers always to reign victorious but never satisfied.

“In his travels, he learned much and faced many enemies, in time his efforts were handsomely rewarded.”

The King climbed a fleet of stairs carved into a mountain to reach a humble monastery. At the top, a stern human stood, but behind him was another monkie. This one however possessed six ears.

“His quest for power led him to a Warrior of potential equaling his own. At first, neither was sure how to react to their mirror, but they quickly forged a comradery that took them far.”

The two monkies trained together, mastering new powers as they sparred.

“Their time together increased their power exponentially and as they grew stronger their feelings blossomed into something beautiful.”

The two were on a cliff overlooking the stars, slowly leaning closer to one another. Eventually, the two faced their opposite and leaned in close.

“Their fates had become intertwined. Their power was unmatched. It was then the King realized what he had been searching for all this time.”

The two shadows merged together in a complex dance until they separated into two beings once again, but not as they began. The two monkeys were now garbed in elaborate, yet practical armor and silks. The King wielded a staff and the Warrior took up a spear.

“Slowly their strength grew to where nothing could challenge them, whether in the Celestial Realm or on Earth.”

The King and Warrior were shown battling heavenly armies and powerful demons with confident smirks. Each battle resoundingly won through their combination of speed, strength, and cunning.

“But it was not enough. The King wished to ensure that he and the Warrior would be able to fight together forever and sought the power and respect needed to secure their future.”

The King took to the Heavens, where he stood before an Emperor in the most extravagant outfit, surrounded by massive guards in magical armor. The Emperor was clearly afraid as the King effortlessly toppled one guard after another, slowly approaching the throne at a steady pace.

“The King’s noble actions were viewed negatively by those who feared his ever-growing power. Eventually, a prison was crafted that could restrain the King, one that not even his beloved Warrior could destroy.”

Just before the King’s latest attack could reach the Emperor, chains wrapped around his limbs and dragged him down to Earth. With a quick flex, the chains shattered, but the King was doomed as a mountain landed on him with a seal placed at the top. The Warrior tried to pry off the seal or find some way to weaken the mountain, his acts growing more desperate with time, yet nothing worked.

“Cruelly, the King was forced to wait until he could be freed, forced to watch his precious Warrior defend their Kingdom on his own.”

With a heavy expression, the Warrior abandoned his efforts to return to the original mountain as dozens of terrifying figures surrounded the monkey inhabitants.

“Centuries passed and their love still burned strong. Soon their patience was rewarded, the King was freed but he was soon trapped in a new prison.”

A monk approached the mountain and removed the seal. The King swiftly destroyed the mountain. The monk humbly bowed to the King and offered fresh clothing and a fillet. The King garbed himself in the gifts only to collapse in agony when the monk prayed.

“Enraged the King played along until the time was right. The King and the Warrior reunited in secret and crafted a plan that would allow them to take their revenge on those that dared to separate them.”

The two monkies hugged and nuzzled each other in appreciation. A quick conversation later, the Warrior changed to resemble the King and joined the monk as the King headed into unknown lands.

“Decades later the King was ready to retrieve his love, confident in his regained strength. But when he arrived the Warrior had changed. It was as if the warrior had lost a crucial part of himself. The Warrior tried to dissuade the King from killing the monk and his companions. He even tried to convince him to give up his rage at the Celestial Realm, believing the war that would ensue wasn't worth it.”

The disguised Warrior was traveling with four colorful characters. The King dropped from the sky in front of the group, a massive crater forming around him. The Warrior regained his true form, but instead of returning to his rightful place, he blocked the King’s view of the monk.

“The King could not believe his ears. This could not be his Warrior. His love always understood his goals and knew why heaven had to pay. The King knew this change was the monk’s fault. The King moved to silence the deceiver in one quick strike only to find it blocked by the Warrior.”

The King and Warrior exchanged blows that tore mountains asunder, split the heavens, and burned down forests. The other demons following the monk tried to aid the warrior, but nothing they did seemed to slow down the King, if anything their attacks only served to further enrage him.

“The two clashed until the Warrior fled with the jailers. Time and time again they clashed, but never could the King reach the Warrior he held in his heart.”

The group fled from the battle, but time and time again the King tracked them down. The locations may have changed, but the carnage after each battle remained as world-shattering as the first. In the end, the Group managed to truly escape, and the Warrior vanished into the shadows he wielded, leaving the King alone with nothing but his memories.

“Even now the King yearns for the companionship of his beloved Warrior, knowing that at his core the Warrior craves the same.”

With the final line sending shivers down the spines of the viewers, the puppeteer vanished in a flash of light.

_____________________________

As Mei waited for her family to walk out, she couldn’t help but think about the play. It almost sounded like they were telling the tale of the Monkey King. But that was ridiculous. No one knew the Monkey King’s origins aside from minor details from the Journey to the West. Besides the narrator seemed to view the Monkey Tryant as a hero and victim. Clearly, that guy needed a reality check.

“Hello, young one.” Nearly choking on the remainder of her tea, Mei turned to see the puppeteer standing behind her with a knowing smile.

His cloak shrouding the top of his face in shadow. For a second, Mei envisioned her father Macaque. He would adore that look. Actually, didn’t she see a similar outfit in his closet on Flower Fruit Mountain? Doesn’t he wear that outfit when he’s hosting a shadow play?

Wait. How did he sneak up on her like that? Was she that out of it?

How long has she been quiet? Crap! Say something! “Oh. Ah-hello. C-can I help you with something?”

“I was about to ask the same. You do know the theatre is going to close soon right?”

“What?” Mei grabbed her phone. The digital clock flashed that it was past nine. That couldn’t be right. That meant she had been waiting for nearly an hour. But where were the others? Surely, they wouldn’t have left without telling her. Were they in trouble?

“Is everything alright?”

“Ah- yeah, everything’s fine.” It’s cool. It’s cool. She could handle this. She just needed to stay calm. “No need to worry about me. I just ah-I have a few questions about your play.”

“Yes.”

“How did you could up with the concept? I mean, no offense, but your premise could be taken the wrong way.” Maybe it was the panic over where her family had disappeared to, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being sized up.

“Hm. Have you ever heard the expression ‘History is written by the winners’?”

“Yes. It’s pretty common.” Like one of the most used sayings in the world.

“The tale was designed to show that love is one of the most cherished feelings of all and that in order to protect it, one must be willing to do anything to keep their loved ones safe. The King only wished to keep his beloved by his side, but the Warrior was misled and forced to battle against his love. That story may belong to only two, but similar tales can be experienced in anyone’s life. Tell me, can you think of a time you fought with those you cared about due to a misunderstanding?”

Without even considering it, horrible memories resurfaced. Mei arguing with MK as she tried to stop him from leaving with the newly released Monkey King. Mei forced to battle Red Son as his mind was slowly consumed by the True Fire of Samadhi. Tang lying to them about his true identity. Macaque leaving when they needed him most without saying why.

“I see you can.” The puppeteer gently guided her back into the main hall, where she took a seat on an empty bench.

“It’s nothing. I just-” She honestly didn’t know why she was pouring out her heart to stranger. Maybe she really was that exhausted. “-there’s so much going on and I’m supposed to be strong no matter what. But sometimes it hurts, just thinking about all my mistakes. Sometimes I wonder if I truly am strong. What if bringing me into this was a mistake?”

“What if it was?” That voice!

Mei turned to see Macaque garbed in a strange outfit, one that honestly reminded her of the Monkey King’s. She was confused. She had never seen him wear anything like that, he looked like the Monkey King’s twisted shadow.

And that expression! Her father Macaque had never made that face before. It looked as though he was reveling in her suffering.

“What’s the matter, little jade? Don’t worry, I won’t leave you alone.” He extended a hand slowly with the intent to cradle her face. A normal gesture he would use to comfort her, but her every instinct was screaming at her to get away.

Mei jumped to her feet and pulled out her spear, aiming it right between the imposter’s eyes. “Enough games!”

Macaque stared at the spear for a second, his fiendish expression only growing more vicious. He threw his head back with a full-bodied laugh, showing how little he thought of her threat. “Ha. Ha. Ha.”

In a flash of light, the Monkey Tyrant was standing before her, still wearing his puppeteer disguise. “Wow. About time. For a while, I was wondering if you’d ever figure out it was me.” His red and gold eyes carefully roved over her body, taking in every shake and fearful twitch. “Put down the spear, kid. We both know you’re not nearly good enough to scratch me with such a pitiful copy of the Dragon Blade.”

That may have been true, but she’d sooner make out with DBP in full view of Queen Iron Fan than leave herself completely open before this tyrant. “So the play was from your perspective. I always figured you were delusional, but this is a new low. Where is my family?” She all but growled, unknowingly her canines had slightly elongated in response to her rage.

“They never left. I’m surprised you didn’t recognize this.” The Monkey King took out the lantern, once more bathing the room in that familiar glow.

“What’s the big deal about a lantern?”

The stone monkie found her ignorance all the more entertaining. To think he hadn’t warned her of his own past.

“The big deal is that my dear warrior crafted this lantern long ago. It was his finest work and like everything he made it has multiple uses.” With a simple hand gesture, the silhouettes of Pigsy and Sandy appeared on the walls. “The Shadow Lantern can do more than enhance one’s skills in shadow magic, it can trap the bodies and souls of its targets. So long as the targets are trapped, the lantern can steal the shadows of its victims so its master can use them as a personal army until there is nothing left.”

“You expect me to believe Macaque made something so disgusting?” Even as Mei said it, she couldn’t help but recognize how similar the lantern’s magic was to her teacher’s. It was cool and soothing, but on the edge, there was an unmistakable edge of malice. “Even if he did, I doubt he made it without you whispering in his ears.”

“Oh child, you have no idea how many secrets he keeps from you. Let me share one with you.” The lantern grew brighter, and the silhouettes of her family members gained more substance as they peeled away from the walls.

Mei adjusted herself so all opponents were in her sight, but nothing could stop the sweat collecting on her forehead.

She sensed something powerful appear behind her. Jumping out of the way as a spear nearly severed her arm. She faced her new opponent. Only to almost drop her weapon.

Standing before her was another copy of Macaque only this one was even more disturbing. Its eyes burned with purple light, the shadows loving curled around it, but worst of all was the sneer filled with razor-tipped teeth.

“Did you honestly think my love was always so nice?”