Work Text:
Macaque knew the worst thing to do was to get injured when he was nearly burnt out of energy, resulting in him struggling to create a shadow portal for himself to go through.
So when he stumbled through the small one he could barely muster up the energy to make, and he saw the mountain, trees filled with fruit, monkeys, and his impending doom.
"You have to be fucking with me..." Macaque shook his head, climbing up the mountain and struggling as he swayed left and right with every step he seemed to take.
He was panting when he stopped by a tree and decided to take a quick breather, he leaned heavily on the tree
He winced when he felt his side strike with a hot searing pain, he didn't need to touch his side to know blood slowly flowed out of whatever wound he sustained.
The damage was tenfold, he knew that whatever he had been pierced with held an enchantment. Only causing him further pain.
He let his forehead rest on the tree, breathing in and out steadily to let the pain calm into a less throbbing pain.
A small white-furred monkey came into his vision, and Macaque opened his eyes to look down at the small creature.
It tilted its head, chittered, and then scurried back off. Macaque took in a deep breath, his vision swaying when he began to take steps back up the mountain.
It took him longer than he had wanted, but he was face-to-face with the waterfall sealed with Wukong's magic.
He groaned, knowing damn well he was spent and he didn't have any access to the stupid cave.
So he sat down at one of the rock steps that led to the waterfall, he chose one big enough to where his cloak wouldn't get wet, and he could reach the water easily. And so began to dreadful agony of waiting, letting his hands sink into the water as he began to scrub off the dried blood he hadn't noticed hours ago.
Minutes turned into an hour.
And Macaque was about to get up and muster up a portal when the waterfall parted and he simply looked up, watching and hearing how it split open. Revealing a cave inside lighted by small flaming posts. They radiated more light than they normally would. Macaque stood up, his head having an aftershock of heavy thumping as he began to walk across the rocks and towards the parted waterfall. He knew he was walking into a lion's den, but he didn't know who else to go to, someone he knew wouldn't end his life immediately... well- maybe.
He kept walking, his feet dragging on the rock below as his body began to grow heavier and heavier. He knew he was on the verge of passing out, but he was still pushing forward.
He knocked on the wooden door, his body heavily leaning on the wood beside the door as he waited for it to open. If he was here on another occasion, he would have knocked the door down with his body.
The door swung open, and Macaque could faintly hear the ringing that had entered his ears all of a sudden.
"Macaque what— what in the world!?" He couldn't even muster a grin, his head fell forward and suddenly his body followed, only stopped by Wukong's arms hooking under his and pulling him onto the king's chest.
Macaque would die again before ever admitting he pressed his cheek against Wukong's chest and exhaled heavily, his eyes falling closed and his mind suddenly fading for the first time... in days.
Awakening after having the sudden poison enchantment off was a sucker. Macaque groaned when he moved the wrong way, and he could constantly feel the way his body hurt, mostly his legs from all the walking, but also his head and his neck. He simply felt awful at the moment.
His ears twitched, and he could hear the light footsteps of Wukong in his room doing who knew whatever.
He tried to sit up, but a puff of orange smoke and a hand on his chest stopped him. He stared up at a copy of Wukong. One that didn't hold the same glamour in his hair, letting the white stress show.
Macaque stared, it's been a while since he saw those.
The red eyes were still glamoured up.
"The real deal can't take care of me?" The copy arched a brow before rolling their eyes and huffing. Not responding verbally. But enough to tell Macaque they were annoyed.
He could muster a grin, and he let himself rest against the soft couch, pulling the blanket at his stomach farther up and covering his bare chest(come to think of it, he also felt a bandage wrapped tight around his abdomen, shirtless, yeah, but it felt nice.)
"Hasn't been awake for five minutes and he's already ticking me off." Wukong walked in, and looked at the clone before snapping his fingers and walking towards Macaque. A baggy purple shirt in his hands. "Here. Wear this, so that you aren't entirely shirtless." Macaque rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and preventing Wuking from even attempting to put the shirt on him. "Mac- it's going to get colder, it's November, you're hurt, healing, and getting sick won't help you." The stern tone in Wukong's tone stirred Macaque into sitting up enough to where he could put the shirt on over his head, he winced at the sting at his side.
"Okay, let me change these again." Macaque grabbed Wukong's hand, stopping him from pulling the shirt up and touching him. "I can do it myself." Wukong hummed, clearly annoyed at whatever Macaque was attempting to do as a show of strength he didn't have. "You passed out as soon as I opened my door, you've been dead asleep the past day, and you are in pain. Let me help," Wukong went to try to pull Macaque's shirt again, only getting a pinch of the fabric before Macaque forced the hand away.
"Okay look, you came for help, I'm offering help. You were hurt, to the point everything wore off and you haven't even noticed." Macaque froze for a second before he touched the fur on his head, feeling the sick dry feeling of white fur and black, the white always felt dry and cold. He held back a sound in his throat. He focused on putting a glamour up enough to cover all his injuries... but he found he couldn't even muster a single spark to put one up.
"And you clearly can't use your powers yet, you're exhausted beyond your limit. Now, you let me help before I simply don't and kick you out." Macaque thought for a second before he sighed loudly and let off of Wukong's wrist, letting the other lift his shirt and begin to change his bandages. The other was gentle, but it still made Macaque grit his teeth and pull at the fur on his head.
He hated this. He looks so weak in front of his enemy.
"Done, see. Not so bad." Wukong pulled Macaque's shirt back down, covering him with the blanket again.
"It was humiliating." Wukong rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, you and your dramatics."
Macaque spent the next week at Wukong's home. Healing.
He could barely muster a small portal large enough for an orange to go through, and that was after a week of bed rest. He didn't want to be here anymore, but he knew as soon as he left Flower Fruit Mountain he would be hunted, and in his state, he was a simple catch and kill.
Macaque hated the idea of staying longer. He didn't want to be a bother and he didn't want to spend more time around Wukong and the kid. The other little monkeys were okay, he could tolerate them.
"So, he's been staying here because??" MK asked as he swung at Wukong, their training was smooth, and simple conversation passed between the two. Wukong dodged easily, he was on the defensive, showing MK to strike faster. "He's just healing from a fight, nothing much." MK hummed and arched a brow, a sly smirk on his face as he spoke. "For a week?"
Wukong rolled his eyes.
"It was a nasty fight, kid, come on, don't be like that." MK giggled, and they continued to train, words passing between the two as they spoke.
Macaque though, was still trying to move his own shadow, heck, he couldn't go into the shadows without feeling he would lose strength and be trapped. He for sure didn't want that.
So he created one small enough for an orange to go through until he felt exhausted after a while he gave up and decided to leave Wukong's very unstable wooden shack(the stupid Monkey needed to fix his home, this was not a stable home.)
"But if he got hurt, how did he get here?" Macaque walked over to the voices, hiding in the shadows and doing his best to sit down comfortably in a dark spot to watch and hear MK and Wukong talk.
"Don't know, he just appeared," Macaque let his body rest against a rock, not the best thing, but he didn't exactly bring a pillow. And he was spent.
"Oh okay, do you know what happened?" Wukong slowed for a second and he barely blocked the staff with his arms. MK smiled in triumph before he pulled his staff back and their smooth rhythm eased back in.
"I don't, but that's for him to tell me." MK hummed, and Macaque wiped the sudden smile on his face. He didn't need the king's pity.
"Can't he just teleport away now? Or is he still hurt?" Wukong shrugged, ducking from a swing and popping back up. "He hasn't tried to leave, and he's still bleeding, less, but still. I don't think I want him to leave— uh- in the condition he's in!" Wukong chuckled nervously, barely saving his ass. Macaque rolled his eyes, his ears twitching as he caught Wukong's heightened heartbeat.
Wukong didn't want him to leave?
"Ooh, alright. Do you think whatever happened hurt him more than you think? You said he hasn't tried to leave, maybe he can't?" Wukong simply nodded, and the two continued until Wukong stepped back and smiled. MK did too, bowed once before he spun his staff and fared Wukong a goodbye before he left. Macaque kept watching, his eyes on Wukong as he watched the other stretch before sighing loudly.
"You haven't left because you can't, right?" Macaque made eye contact when Wukong turned around and looked at him.
He shrugged.
"No wonder you haven't left, can you make a portal?" Macaque shrugged again, he didn't want to shake his head. He can make one... just not big enough for himself.
"Alright, you can stay as long as you want." Wukong smiled at him and Macaque had to look away. That smile has always been so damned bright.