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“Do you think we could ever be like before again?” It’s a quiet, moonlit night. They wouldn’t be having this conversation in the daytime, when they could see their faces.
“Maybe we could have, once. But I think you’re even less ready to than I am. And I can’t...” He pauses.
“I can’t wait for you.” Macaque says, and it hits him like Wukong’s staff did once. Because that’s all Macaque has done for centuries, isn’t it? He waited on Flower Fruit Mountain while Wukong ran off to become a royal stable boy, to achieve immortality seven times over, to defy celestials. When Er Lang attacked the mountain and devastated Wukong’s subjects, he waited for Wukong to come back and help defend them. No matter Macaque’s strength, he alone wasn’t enough to defend a mountain full of monkeys. And then he languished in Diyu, waiting for Wukong to come save him. With his name crossed out of the book, his soul was left to wander, unable to find peace for a century before the Lady Bone Demon found him. All he did was wait. He was done.
“I know.” Wukong replies softly. He means it. “I don’t expect you to.”