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One of the first things Sun Wukong noticed about the Six-Eared Macaque when they first met those hundreds of years ago, was how meticulously well-kept he presented himself as. Waves of impenetrably black fur everywhere that the eye could see, and not a single hair was out of place. It seemed almost obsessive how insistent Macaque was about keeping his fur groomed, but Wukong had never judged it at the time. Especially much later, when that same fur transformed into such a blinding and beautiful shade of white at his fingertips.
Clearly, those days were over.
Wukong had seen the state of Macaque’s fur during their fight in the mountains, and had just assumed it was a product of the environment. Besides, he wasn’t really thinking about the state of the other monkey’s fur at the time, far more focused on protecting MK from getting hurt. He had only observed the state of the dark fur before moving on.
Here he was now, several months later, and Macaque’s fur was still in horrible condition. Some of the strands were clumped together from the grease, and bits of dead skin could be seen sticking to it. Some areas were so matted together that Wukong couldn’t even see through the patches of dark fur, a telltale sign of terrible - or rather nonexistent, actually - grooming.
When Macaque had arrived on their ship with Red Son, Wukong’s first thought had once again been to protect the others. Fortunately MK and Mei had the foresight to actually ask questions before attacking, and they’d discovered that Red Son had actually rescued Macaque from the Lady Bone Demon, claiming that the shadow monkey had something she needed. That was when Macaque had revealed an all too familiar lantern, earning a flinch from MK.
Apparently LBD had been hunting powerful artifacts, which explained why she had taken the staff from MK, and this lantern was one of them. While she had managed to actually capture Macaque and Red Son individually, Macaque had managed to keep the lantern from her grasp for a short period of time before Red Son had broken the two of them out of her prison with some makeshift bomb - the schematics of which seemed sketchy and hardly functionable.
Thus a temporary truce was formed for the better interest of both parties. Red Sun and Macaque would help them find the weapon to defeat Lady Bone Demon, and in turn they would receive protection from the heroes. While Red Son had been showered with praise by MK and Mei - praise for being a hero nonetheless, which had immeasurably ticked the demon prince off - Wukong had spent the entire confrontation keeping a close eye on Macaque before eventually confiscating the lantern from him. He couldn’t risk any of Macaque’s schemes while his powers were in such a weakened state. If the time came when Macaque turned on them, and knowing him, it would, he needed to have every advantage.
Soon, they’d been assigned their rooms, with Red Son sharing a room with MK, and Wukong volunteering to watch over Macaque - much to the other two’s chagrin. This led them to the position they were in now, with Wukong watching Macaque get settled in the new space.
He didn’t know how long he had stared at the disheveled state of Macaque’s fur, and while part of him wanted to assume it was only because of his imprisonment, Wukong knew deep down that it meant Macaque wasn’t taking much care of his fur anymore. He could still remember back to his youth when Macaque had prided himself on having such beautiful fur - back when his fur would shine in the sunlight, blinding anyone who looked at it, completely different to the darkened mess he sported now. Sure it had been mostly because of Wukong’s grooming, but Macaque couldn’t stand it when his fur got messy or dirty. A trait he forced upon Wukong as well, insisting that the two of them groom each other on a day-to-day basis.
After the untimely end to their friendship and the fight that had followed, Wukong had struggled to keep up with the routine. While his monkey subjects on Flower-Fruit Mountain weren’t awful, their fingers were never as precise as Macaque’s had been, and Wukong wasn’t around them nearly enough to experience the same amount of grooming as before.
“Ahem.”
He shook himself out of his thoughts to see Macaque glaring at him, and instinctively returned the look. Hoping that Macaque would mistake the red on his cheeks for anger rather than embarrassment, he let his ears fall back as he snarled.
“What?”
Macaque rolled his eyes as he flopped down onto his air mattress, something Sandy had set up for him on the floor. “You’re staring. Not that I don’t understand, I mean,” he tossed some of his fur from his face with a condescending smirk that only served to further raise Wukong’s hackles, “I know I’m a lot to take in, but you’re kind of creeping me out.”
Wukong let out a huff at the gloating, inhaling deeply through his nose before leaning back against the wall. “Not lately you’re not,” he hummed, giving Macaque an obvious once-over. “And you’d know about creeps, wouldn’t you?”
“Ooh, ouch,” Macaque chuckled as he stretched out on the mattress. “I see where the kid gets it from now. Bitter much?”
“Again; you’d know all about that.”
Macaque simply shrugged in response, before squirming on the mattress again. The sound wasn’t pleasant, causing Wukong to groan before he aimed a light kick to the other monkey’s side. “Would ya cut that out? I hate that sound.”
“Well sorry, Mr. Monkey King Sir,” Macaque growled, catching the foot before it made contact with him and shoving it back. Wukong struggled to catch his balance for a nanosecond, before he sent another glare Macaque’s way. “Hard to get comfortable when you’ve been using rocks as pillows for the last few months.”
“Or when your fur is that matted,” Wukong growled, catching how Macaque’s own expression darkened. “No hairdressers in Lady Bone Demon’s lair?”
“Like I’d ever let her touch me,” Macaque sat up and hissed at him. “You know damn well that I hate having my fur touched.”
Wukong laughed at that. Macaque, the one who was always nagging Wukong for a grooming session back in the day, hated having his fur touched? “Yeah right, I don’t buy it. You were always begging for a good groom.”
“And look how well that turned out,” Macaque grumbled in response before laying down again. He reached to scratch at some of the matting behind his ears, and Wukong winced at the sight. He knew Macaque’s six ears had always been extra sensitive to the fur around it due to the excess skin in that area, and he knew from first hand experience how uncomfortable matts could be, but he also knew how stubborn Macaque was when it came to showing weakness. If it was causing Macaque enough irritation to actually mess with it in front of others, especially himself, Wukong could only imagine how much it was actually hurting him.
Letting out a sigh and praying that he wouldn’t regret this, he leaned down next to the air mattress, earning a suspicious glance from the other monkey in question, before reaching out a hand towards him.
“Here,” he mumbled. “Let me. You’re only gonna make it worse.”
Macaque’s glare only worsened, and Wukong could see the fur on his tail begin to poof up. “I literally just said I hate having my fur touched. I know you've only got two ears, but surely you’re not that deaf.”
Yeah, that went about as well as he thought it would. Macaque never was one for olive branches anyways. Taking a deep breath, Wukong hardened his gaze and knocked Macaque’s hand out of his way.
“You look like you just got dumped into a garbage can full of lice and ticks,” he huffed, earning another hiss from Macaque. “Come on. After this, you can go back to pretending like you don’t care about yourself.”
For a moment, there was nothing but silence between them, his gaze unflinchingly meeting Macaque’s own scowl. Briefly, Wukong considered pulling his hand back and going to his own bed, before he saw Macaque slowly lower his tail and turn his back to him.
“Fine,” he grumbled. “But don’t tug too hard. It’s already falling out enough as it is.”
Pretending that statement didn’t hurt to hear took far more effort on Wukong’s part than it should have. When they were younger, Macaque practically feared the loss of his hair, one of his main reasons for keeping it so nice. If he really was neglecting it so much to the point where it was falling out on its own, Wukong wondered how long it had been since Macaque had ever truly groomed himself.
Shaking those thoughts aside, Wukong slowly combed his fingers through the dark fur, immediately coming across a matted knot. He saw Macaque flinch at the action before he slowly began working to undo the knot with his fingers. It didn’t take long before he settled into the old routine of comb, pick, dig, and repeat, using his True Sight to look for any loose holes in the knots that he could work his fingers or claws through. The motions were all too familiar to him, his tail ‘thwapping’ against the floor every once in a while as he relaxed.
A comfortable silence settled between the two of them as Wukong carefully picked through Macaque’s fur
Thankfully, Macaque didn’t seem to have any bugs or dirt in his hair, the other monkey soon relaxing into the touch. After a while, Wukong felt something brush the fur of his tail, and he glanced down to see Macaque’s own fingers slowly working through the fur there.
The action brought a smile to Wukong’s face. He couldn’t remember how long it had been since the two of them had sat down like this together, carefully grooming each other in comfortable silence. Wukong had almost forgotten how relaxing it could be - sitting with Macaque like this as they groomed away the pressure from each other.
There was just one thing missing.
It had been centuries since the last time Macaque’s fur turned white upon sensing his presence. INfact, he could still remember the day he’d watched with utter dismay as the once flawlessly bright fur faded away to black in front of him. Macaque had always had dark fur, but the transformation from dark to light had been a powerful testament to their profound bond, and while they may have never truly learned what caused the change, they had always known that it meant their meeting had been destined; It was proof that they belonged together. Wukong’s heart ached at the memory of him being Macaque’s beloved - and when Macaque had been his.
Shaking his head out of his thoughts, he smoothed down the fur on Macaque’s back and let out a sigh. Things were so different now, and as much as he knew he still cared for Macaque, there was no ignoring the anger he felt for him as well. Macaque had attacked Tripitaka, his close friend, because of his jealousy. Then he’d hurt MK, on more than one occasion, and not once had he apologized for any of it. Macaque was too caught up in his own jealousy and misery for Wukong to see him as he had once been.
He flicked his tail out of Macaque’s hands, ignoring the jolt that passed through the other monkey at the action and assessed his handiwork. He’d managed to undo most of the knots and matting, the more severe ones likely needing to be cut if they were ever going to be removed, but for the most part Macaque’s fur looked much better.
“You didn’t get all of it,” Macaque grumbled out as he slouched forward.
Wukong rolled his eyes. He hadn’t been expecting a thank you, but that didn’t make it any less irritating. “You’re welcome,” he huffed sarcastically, before scooting around to Macaque’s front. “There’s not a lot I can do about matting without a pair of scissors or something.”
Macaque was silent, not meeting his eyes but not looking away either. The silence was unnerving, making Wukong’s fur slowly raise before he cleared his throat. After a minute of hesitation, he spoke again.
“Besides. Would have been easier to see it if your fur wasn’t so dark, you know?”
It was just supposed to be a - mostly - playful jab about Macaque always making things difficult, but true to that very nature, Macaque took it the other way completely. His eyes snapped towards Wukong with a sneer, a low growl coming from somewhere in the back of his throat. He pulled away from Wukong, his newly groomed fur bristling with irrefutable fury as he bared his teeth at him. Wukong should have guessed the comment would have ticked him off, but he must have gotten too caught up in his memories that he forgot the Macaque sitting in front of him currently hated his guts with every ounce of his fiber.
“Are you serious?” he snarled out, and Wukong watched with mild amusement as his tail whipped back and forth. “It’s not like I asked for you to attack me that day!”
Wukong rose a brow, leaning forward and crossing his arms with a smirk. “Coulda fooled me. It seemed like you were asking for it, impersonating me and attacking my master like that. Did it ever occur to you how that might look?”
Macaque barked out a bitter laugh at that, rising to his feet and glowring down at Wukong as he remained seated. “Did it ever occur to you how I might have felt seeing you like that? They put a collar on you and forced you to be someone you weren’t! All because of some pathetic monk who couldn’t be bothered to protect himself on that ridiculous journey!”
Wukong’s careless grin vanished in an instant. He could feel the familiar surge of anger rising in his chest, but forced himself to remain seated. A full-blown fight wasn’t something they needed right now while they were several thousand feet in the air on a highly pressurized ship. While he and Macaque were immortal, as well as Red Son, the other passengers most certainly weren’t. He couldn’t risk them like that.
Still, the nerve to talk about Tripitaka like that...
“You had no right to take your jealousy out on him,” he said, sitting up straight and making a conscious effort not to raise his voice. “He pulled me out from under that mountain and made me realize that what I was doing with my life and my power was wrong. He taught me to be a better person. What was I supposed to do, stay with you, DBK and Iron Fan on Flower-Fruit Mountain forever?”
“That’s exactly what you were supposed to do! Not leave me the second you got a better offer! You could have come back as soon as you were free!”
“You know I didn’t have a choice, Macaque. And it was for the greater good! There was so much more to it than me just leaving you!”
“I don’t care!” Macaque’s eyes flashed as the shadows around them danced in a furious motion. Wukong raised an arm instinctively, but they died down before he could do anything. He turned back to see Macaque’s angry eyes welling up with tears, and his arm dropped back to his side.
Macaque swallowed before speaking again. “That’s what your problem is, Peaches,” he choked out. “There’s always, ‘something more to it,’ with you when there shouldn't have to be! There shouldn’t have to be more to it than the fact that you left me! I didn’t care that the world needed you to be its hero, we were supposed to stay together!”
Wukong watched in silence as Macaque’s shouts of anger became indistinguishable from his sadness. With every word, he slowly began to realize how black and white everything must have been from Macaque’s perspective. But even if he’d caused him this much pain, it didn’t justify what he’d done. “So what was I supposed to do, let innocent people die?” he growled out.
“As long as it meant that you wouldn’t leave me, then yes! I would have watched the whole world burn if it meant I could have stayed with you!”
Wukong’s eyes narrowed at that as he slowly rose to his feet, meeting Macaque’s gaze directly.
“Why?” he demanded. “What reason could you have had for wanting me to stay so badly that it meant letting people be killed?”
Tears were rolling down Macaque’s cheeks now as his glare worsened.
“Because I loved you, Peaches!”
The silence that followed was deafening as the two of them stared at each other in shock. Wukong’s shoulders slowly relaxed as he took in the sight of the other monkey, and he allowed the words to soak into his brain for a moment, breathing shakily as he did. He’d always known Macaque had loved him. Not once had he ever doubted that, but…
“Macaque,” he whispered softly. “Did you think that I didn’t feel the same? Don’t you realize how much it hurt me to leave you and everyone else behind? I never wanted to leave Flower-Fruit Mountain, but once I saw how many people needed my help, it wasn’t even a choice anymore. I had to leave.”
He watched as Macaque closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Once again, the shadows around them danced, but no longer worried Wukong with their movements. Part of him wanted to reach out to the other monkey, and maybe he might have started to move to, but he knew that Macaque would probably rather die than be comforted by him. Besides, it was late and he was tired. He didn’t have the energy to keep this argument up anymore.
“Look, I’m going to bed,” he sighed out as he rose to his feet. Awkwardly rubbing at the back of his neck, he kept his gaze away from the other monkey in the room and tried to think of something to say. “It’s getting late, and we need to be up early tomorrow. You should get some sleep.”
Slowly, Wukong stepped off of the air mattress and made his way back to his own bed, seeing Macaque nod out of the corner of his eye and crawl back under the cover. He paused when he finally reached his own bed, his fists clenched together as he considered saying something else. Seriously, he was too tired to start another fight right now.
He looked back over his shoulder to glance at Macaque, seeing that the other monkey had already settled into bed and had the blanket drawn up to his chin. He'd turned his back to him, likely to stay that way for the rest of the night.
Wukong sighed. He couldn’t end it like this… Not this time.
“I missed you too,” he murmured, quickly climbing into his own bed and turning off the light before he had the chance to take back what he’d said. Left alone in the dark with only the sound of Macaque’s breathing and his own thoughts, he wondered if that had been the right thing to say after all.
He didn’t notice the streaks of white briefly peek through the fur on the back of Macaque's head before they vanished again.