Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

MK drove along his usual delivery route the mundane tasks of his job feeling strange after so much had It had only been a few weeks since what is now casually known as “the LBD incident” but he couldn’t help to notice how quick the community had banded together to rebuild and support each other after the disaster.

Neighbors offering food and shelter to those who’s homes or jobs were destroyed in the chaos of the various demon attacks while construction teams from or funded by sister cities re built quickly and efficiently, he’d even heard the beginnings of plans for a parade dedicated to the new hero’s of the city a title he try’s to play humble and cool but can’t deny how nice the respect and ego boost that comes with it is.

Everything was truly healing ready to come back stronger like a phenix rising from the frost left behind by its attackers, the remaining loose threads being woven into a beautiful tapestry of victory and perseverance.

MK frowned for a moment thinking of the one thread refused to be woven properly, Macaque. Well it was undeniably a relief the ebony monkey had joined their side at the end he had still caused quite a few problems for the gang before that and it still remained unclear how much of it was his own free will and what was the bone demons manipulation and control, and that’s without beginning to untangle whatever the mess is with monkey king and macaques shared past they ( frustratingly) refuse to talk about.

Even with all that MK couldn’t help but worry about the shade noticing more and more troubling details about him whenever he decided to randomly show up at pigsys for food or around the edge of group hangouts on flower fruit mountain. The nervous twitching, flinching if Monkey king moved to fast near him, obvious weight loss and growing bags under his eyes.

The day before MK had even prepared a simple care package of sorts with Mei mostly healthy filling snacks and blankets but when they went to drop it off at the dojo they assumed he lived in it was completely destroyed later learning there were no plans to repair it seeing as how it had already been declared abandoned before its destruction leaving them with the unfortunate and obvious conclusion that Macaque was now homeless and for some reason refusing to ask for any kind of help.

“ I mean I obviously still don’t fully trust or like the guy but it still feels weird knowing he’s probably sleeping in a dumpster or something” Mei said in between sips of her bubble tea a treat the duo got together after MKs shift so kindly given to them free by a great full shop owner.

“I know right? I mean obviously he’s still kinda a bad guy but have you noticed how bad he’s doing lately? I have to imagine he’s dealing with some kind of mental issues after all that especially because with the way Monkey king talks it sounds like he had plenty of issues before too. ” he replied swirling his peach and mango drink around watching the popping pearls spin around the plastic cup.

“Anti hero? Nha I don’t know if that fits yet”Mei paused for a moment before continuing “but yea now that you mention it he’s definitely been super jumpy lately and honestly looks like total shit. I don’t really know what we can do to help though he’s so stubborn and closed off he won’t just let us help him even if we knew how.”

MK sighed in agreement “yea well my only idea was to get Sandy to help him I know the boat has a guest room and that some therapy would do the guy wonders but you’re we can’t force him into accepting the help”

The young dragons eyes lit up hearing that last sentence a devious plan clearly being formed behind the green “Who says we can’t make him accept it? Usually I’d say it’s totally wrong to do something like that buttttt he clearly needs the help AND he’s a criminal so we can just call it a mandatory prison sentence! Old man Monkey king has to have something that can dull or mute his powers and Sandy would definitely be happy to help so why not just lock him on big blues boat for a while?”

He thought about it for a very brief moment before enthusiastically agreeing “ YES! It’s a win win! So why not! I mean I’ll definitely still feel bad and he’s definitely going to be pissed but in the long run it’s what’s best for everyone right so maybe one day he’ll see it that way too?”

The team discussed their half baked plan all the way back to Pigsys where a series of phone calls was made securing the agreement from Sandy and some enchanted bracelets from a very amused Sun Wukong who kept cracking jokes about seeing his opponent? Frenemy? ( it’s still unclear what is relationship is but at this point a betting pool is being set up) “behind bars” even when it was explained there would be no literal jail cell.

Now all they have to do is wait for the group lunch tomorrow an event Macaque has never not popped in on typically just to steal some food and poke fun at Wukong but still he’s going to show up and the trap is set so he better be ready for some serious healing whether he likes it or not.

Chapter Text

They should have known it wouldn’t have been as easy as they planned. Pigsy had even immediately informed them of how terrible the plan was the moment they had informed him of it forcing everyone to change the location of the lunch to ensure the safety of his restaurant so that “When and not if this goes to shit my property won’t suffer from your mistakes”.

The friends tried to reassure him that the plan was perfect and he had nothing to worry about but he continued to refuse insisting that they change location or cancel before someone gets hurt. They obviously went with the first.

After a brief discussion and minimal research Mei thought of the genius idea of just having the gathering on Sandy’s boat. “ there’s enough space, we’ve had gatherings before, and that way we don’t have to drag him all the way to sandy ourselves!”

“How did we not think of that first!” Agreed Mk “This really should have been the original plan I guess it’s a good thing dadsy flipped out on us for wanting to use the restaurant huh?”

“Heh yea I guess fate really is on our side! Nothing can go wrong now!”

Oh how wrong she was.

Turns out trying to capture an overly paranoid stressed out hyper aware monkey demon can come with a lot of problems. Problems like but not limited to screaming scratching biting and yelling.

It took just over half an hour of struggling before Sun Wukong managed to pin the guy down while MK secured the bracelets apologizing the whole time repeating how “it’s going to be okay please we just want to help!” And “ I promise this is for the best we’re all just really worried about you“ Monkey king did scoff a little at the last bit but his protégé could tell that deep down he was just as worried about Macaque if not more.

After that whole ordeal almost everyone had at the very least one new claw and bite mark decorating their skin. Only Tang remained completely unscathed since after hearing the plan fully decided to exclude himself and watch from the sidelines with his fresh bowl of noodles keeping him company.

At one point a pot was thrown narrowly avoiding his head but he somehow managed to swiftly dodge it before going right back to his lunch and show.

“I hope everyone is up to date on their rabies shots because I have no idea where this guys been” Wukong joked while getting up from his sitting position on top of the now unconscious Macaque. Turns out being pinned in place by a living boulder can cut off proper oxygen flow leaving someone unconscious.

“I think so? Wait should we actually be worried about that?!” MK replied still trying to catch his breath.

“I mean you’re probably fine but it’s Macaque who knows. There’s a non zero chance he’s carrying something human scientists haven’t even discovered yet”

“ WHAT?!”

“ Don’t freak out kid I’m joking!……mostly” he muttered that last part under his breath. “Now I believe I was promised noodles in exchange for dealing with this”

After a brief medical break the gang sat around the unconscious shadow practically destroying the noodles given to them MK and Mei receiving a gruff “told you so” with their bowls. After quickly eating his portion Sandy went over to check on his new patient moe quickly taking advantage of the newly abandoned bowl slurping up the broth ensuring not a single drop went to waste.

As Sandy picked Macaque up to carry to his new room he requested the rest leave so that they wouldn’t be around when he woke up and cause more unnecessary stress. There was a bit of grumbling about how short the day’s meeting had been but everyone understood the concerns ( even though there was some eye rolling from Wukong) and made quick exits leaving Sandy alone with his new ward.

He carried the sleeping form to a small yet cozy bedroom next to his own so he could hear if anything happened during the night almost tripping on several cats along the way.

The room was nothing too fancy just a simple bed,chair, dresser, and desk that doubled as a nightstand a fluffy rug coving most of the cold hard floor. Along with the main furniture little things that added to the general vibes of safety and vibe of the room were scattered throughout. The port hole windows curtains drifted slightly in the breeze, an old lamp sat on the edge of the desk near the bed while a vase full of fresh flowers rested on the dresser next to a fresh unlit lavender candle and some lovely paintings decorated the walls. All of this would of course eventually be altered to make its new occupant comfortable and at home but Sandy wanted it to still feel homey till then and not like a cell.

The bed itself had a variety of pillows and blankets including some that had been lovingly sewn or knit by the gentle giant himself. As he lay the sleeping demon down on the bed ( first carefully removing the rather filthy boots and nothing else even though everything the shadow wore was dirty) he couldn’t help but notice how even in sleep Macaques face was twisted in worry and stress.

As he gently pulled a blanket over him he couldn’t help but look forward to beginning this healing journey together the. As Sandy quietly closed the door behind him he smiled softly convinced he was ready for whatever challenges are ahead.

Chapter Text

The next day Sandy rose with the sun eager to prepare a proper breakfast for Macaque and get things started on the right foot since while he knew things were bound to start off rough he figured a good full meal would surely help soften the shock of his new patients less than willing journey. Usually he would never force anyone to participate in anything especially something like this but an exception had to be made for the still sleeping monkey since both his clear mental decline and refusal to acknowledge it or accept help had become painfully obvious and deeply worrying.

Breakfast was usually a big meal for Sandy since his large build required more food to function especially since he believed in starting the day off properly with a full belly with today’s practically being a whole buffet to ensure his guest would definitely have at least a few things he could recognize and enjoy.

Fruits,bacon, eggs, sausage, bread, cereal , pancakes, waffles ( both since apparently those two have a big enough difference to cause arguments in some circles) home baked pastries, fresh juices, and of course a variety of teas spread across the kitchen counter in a mouth watering display filling the boat with irresistible smells that would hopefully lure the shadow out in a good mood.

Obviously none of this would go to waste whatever wasn’t eaten would either be leftovers or packaged to be consumed by neighbors who were already very used to and very grateful for random care package meals from him. After many treats and weeks of work he had even trained a few of the bigger cats reliably deliver the smaller lighter takeout boxes!

Unfortunately Sandy was rudely distracted from his thoughts about training cats by a hot thankfully un syruped pancake splatting directly into his face before sliding to the ground with a sad thwap. Before him now stood a clearly fuming Macaque glaring up at him from across the counter clearly analyzing what foods would make the best projectiles.

For a brief moment Sandy had some confusion about how the shade had gotten all the way over here without alerting either him or one of the many cats but that had to be swiftly put on hold as a barrage of his carefully planned breakfast items was chucked at him accompanied by many colorful words he would rather not repeat.

“YOU! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!” the macaque screamed while reaching for yet another pancake.

“Nothing! I would never do anything to hurt you on purpose please calm down so we can talk about this!”

“CALM DOWN?! My magic is busted and every time I try to leave this floating bucket I get stopped so nobody gets to tell me to ‘calm down’ right now!”

Ah. Sandy had almost forgotten about that unfortunate yet necessary requirement. The cuffs that had been placed on Macaque the day prior meant to help keep him from harming himself and others would also keep him from using much magic and going beyond a set area. In hindsight it should have been clear that this would cause problems with the new wearers emotional state but he does have to admit it could still be worse than food even if it was food he had worked hard on.

“ it’s not permanent I promise!” Sandy replied while quickly moving a kitchen knife Macaque had just started eyeing out of reach. “Just for a little bit so I can help you better!”

Macaque snarled while beginning to aim another muffin. “ I don’t need your help. I don’t need ANYONES help especially not from someone who willingly associates with that ginger prick! The best way you can help is by taking these tacky cuffs off of me so I never have to see you again!”

“ Even if I could as a mental health professional and friend I can’t do that in good conscience while you’re in this physical and mental state we’re all worried about you Mr. Macquack at the very least just stay with me until you find a new place to live!” He tried to explain while ducking out of the way to avoid the blueberry speckled pastry.

Macaque for a brief moment paused at that before replying in a broken voice hand shaking around a banana, “I- You’re not my friend. I don’t HAVE friends. You’re not really worried about me this is all just some stupid joke Wukong put you up to so I would be humiliated. I don’t need or want any help and I’m not playing some stupid game to amuse you freaks!”

Sandy peered out from under the counter that somehow managed to cover him relieved at the seemed end of flying food but more importantly concerned about what had just been said.

“Is that really what you think is happening? Oh Mr. Macquack…. I swear on my life and every single cat on this boat I am genuinely here to help you and nothing more. From the moment you entered this vessel we have entered a permanent state of doctor patient confidentiality so nothing you say will leave the two of us unless you want it to.”

‘Macquack’ seemed confused for a moment left ear twitching before he let out a defeated sigh dropping the now crushed banana onto the filthy counter. “Why couldn’t you be lying…? It would be easier if you were lying….” He mumbled under his breath avoiding eye contact.

“I still don’t completely trust you and never will”

“ I know and understand but hopefully one day that second part will be proven wrong.” Sandy looked around at the war zone that had consumed his kitchen and dining area. “ I’ll clean this up in a moment but for now we should just try to enjoy breakfast together! A lot of the food is still good!” Sandy happily said while passing a plastic plate across the counter. ( ceramic is too risky just incase another wave of rage takes over his guest)

He chose not to comment about how Macaque clearly needed the food more than he did even while noticing how the monkies clothes seemed to hang off of him like they were made for a completely different demon deciding that the observation would most likely have a negative effect.

“Fine… since it’s already here and it would be a waste not to.” Macaque replied while slowly and carefully adding some of the noticeably more healthy choices to his plate seemingly making a choice to avoid more sugary options all while tightly gripping the dish and subtly glancing up as if to check to make sure it won’t be stolen.

They ate in silence as Sandy carefully observed how macaque picked around his plate as if checking for something while clearly not eating as much as he should.

After the meal as he cleaned the mess a few times just out of the corner of his eye he noticed Macaque doing small things to help but always stoping to return to sulking if he noticed he could potentially be caught.

As the last of the mess was wiped up Sandy turned to Macaque still smiling “After we wash up I’ll give you a tour and we can figure some things out so you feel more comfortable and at home during your stay! How does that sound Macquack?”

Macaque flinched slightly at this but still responded with a brief nod and a muffled “sure I don’t really have a choice…” before turning to his cabin to wash the filth off.

As Sandy headed to the neighboring cabin to do the same he began to mentally prepare for this task of helping such a broken man heal making a mental note to schedule appointments with his own therapist to make sure everything goes smoothly.

Chapter Text

Waking Up in a strange new room with a very unflattering bracelet locked around each wrist is not something Macaque would refer to as comforting or hospitable. In fact he felt as any normal person (or demon) would experiencing this , pissed off and terrified. So while he would never admit to the second it was definitely affecting his ability to process the situation and act rationally especially after realizing his powers were cut off keeping him from escaping whatever cruel punishment Wukong had thought up.

The next few hours mostly consisted of analyzing his new “prison cell”, checking for any hidden cameras or magic that could spy on or affect him, noting what materials he could use in defense or escape yet finding nothing ( the closets and drawers being near empty while the bathroom only contained basic toiletries and no razors), and of course trying everything he could possibly think of to remove the offending jewelry that seemed to curse him visually and magically.

It did not take long at all for Macaque to figure out what was blocking his magic from use and even less time to realize it must have come from Wukongs treasure hoard. Hoard was (in Macaques objective opinion) the only thing that safety hazard of a room should be called no matter how many names the king came up with, treasury, stash, vault, gallery, and all the rest were just glitter on an unsafe disorganized disgusting hoard to Macaque. He even had a loose memory of when these exact items had been tossed into the mess during one of his many organization attempts unfortunately not being able to recall much of what Wukong said about them since the explanation had most likely been interpreted by an argument about safety for the little monkeys and the inherent greed of it all.

The ebony monkey banished the memory from his mind knowing it would only lead to more unnecessary frustration he could not afford in the moment choosing to instead bite and claw at the tacky gold bands in a desperate attempt for freedom occasionally bashing against the metal door knobs in pure desperation till his wrists were sore scraped and bruised.

Eventually in a rather pathetic display of defeat tired and sore from the previous day’s struggle with the monkey king and many failed escape attempts he retreated to the surprisingly cozy bed to curl into himself left to wait for whatever punishment would come next.

Except the punishment he expected never came, instead in its place the smells of various foods filled the small room making his stomach growl. It had been so long since the shade had a proper non noodle meal, most of the time he had to resort to dumpsters and whatever he could beg for while in cat form, refusing to constantly be the kids charity case. The hunger he had been suppressing suddenly hit like a load of bricks causing him to curl up even tighter in a poor attempt to ignore his rumbling stomach competing with his heads warnings about how it was most likely a trap or torture method.

Eventually though Macaque came to a compromise with himself deciding that once the noise from outside had subsided he would go to investigate, decide if anything was safe to eat then grab it retreating to consume in the privacy of his jail. A plan that would have gone perfectly if not for the fact that apparently the cursed cuffs had affected his hearing too somehow allowing him to be started by the somehow impressively quiet blue giant.

What happened next was shameful, incredibly wasteful, and immature but for some reason his first instinct upon being startled was to attack by throwing whatever he could get his hands on at the poor unsuspecting water demon. The assault was brief yet chaotic painting the kitchen and target in a splattering of various breakfast foods. Eventually though after somehow being talked down from the food fueled panic ( the big guy was surprisingly good at talking him down) he stopped the attack not the least bit happy about what would most likely come next.

Nervously he waited to be punished scolded or screamed at for causing so much damage but it never came instead a seemingly genuine promise to “help” and a plastic plate was handed to him from across the counter.

This deeply confused Macaque still not completely trusting the man in front of him but the food did seem so delicious and he was so very hungry so what else could he do but eat? Quickly before his “host” could change his mind he filled his plate with some of the more healthy choices so that in case it was his last meal for a while he wouldn’t just be loading up on sugar. Cautiously he then poked around his choices doing a quick glance for poison and upon not seeing or sensing anything obvious just deciding to take the jump thinking to himself that if it was poison and he did die that it would be for the best anyway almost hoping that there was something wrong with the food to put him out of his misery.

Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your perspective Macaque was wrong and it was in fact safe and delicious only adding to the guilt of his previous behavior. So while he still didn’t entirely trust the blue man he did feel bad enough that he chose to help clean a fair bit of the mess up when the gentle giant wasn’t looking hiding the help out of paranoia it would be seen as weak or he would have all the cleaning dumped onto him like it had been in the past.

Luckily there were no comments about his contributions only the request that Macaque go clean up at the same time as the big guy ( something that macaque was very grateful to have an excuse to do seeing as how just the thought of being this filthy made his skin crawl) and the vague promise of “helping him get more comfortable afterwards” whatever that means.

While he most definitely did not trust the strange water demon much he did suppose it could certainly be much worse. At least the cats were nice, he always did have a soft spot for them.

Chapter Text

The shower burned Macaques skin the dial pushed to the hottest point possible as he vigorously scrubbed his body and fur to remove the debris from the morning kerfuffle along with all the filth that had accumulated from living on the street for so long. It was difficult to remember when his last proper shower had been unless you count standing in the rain which Macaque certainly didn’t. Going so long without being able to properly clean himself disgusted the simian wounding the pride he felt in his cleanliness and general appearance since no matter how much glamour he applied to himself to hide the shame he still felt all the disgusting dirt coating him.

It was easy to loose track of time during the rather intense cleaning process but once he exited the shower to wipe down the mirror for a visual once over and the lack of ick was to his satisfaction the very long drying process began. The sensation of wet or damp fur was not something Macaque enjoyed in the slightest from sensory to looks it was a disgusting experience only acceptable when properly submerged and floating around him instead of clinging to his thin frame like a cheap coat.

Luckily there was an abundance of fresh soft towels available to help with this process while more unfortunately the bruises already formed from the Monkey king’s assault yesterday made it more painful to push through and finish as fast as possible. Not that they slowed anything down too much seeing as how Macaque had long leaned to dismiss his own pain and work through it for better or worse ages ago but it was still a noticeable inconvenience.

After gods know how long and many towels ( now all hung up and straightened out to dry) he sighed entering the bedroom again dreading how all the hard work he had just finished would be ruined by the still disgusting clothes he would have to wear. Except he when he looked towards where he had left the dirt caked rags next to them was a set of simple all black lounge wear in roughly his size.

It was nothing extravagant just a hoodie sweater sweatpants and socks a size or two too big for him but oh how soft they felt against his hands especially compared to what he had been preparing himself for with the garments next to them he expected to wear. A note fluttered to the ground falling from from the garment he had been examining it for hexes. It was simple enough just offering the choice between the two outfits and a slight worry about the clothes being the right size with seemingly no pressure or obvious strings attached. The handwriting was surprisingly good with a simple signature of “Sandy” and an ink smudge that appeared to be a small paw finishing the note off.

Well at least nothing seemed to be wrong with the clothes and in full honesty anything would be preferable to his original outfits so he quickly slipped everything on promising himself he would not get used to the comfort knowing it wouldn’t last. It was nice to have a name for his jailer since he never really cared enough to memorize the names of the kids gang and Wukongs…. new ….”friends”. Especially since the name already had somewhat positive associations reminding Macaque of two musical characters he recalled from parts of films he had been able to eavesdrop on briefly.

His hand rested on the door knob (slightly dented from his earlier escape attempts) unsure of his own safety if he continued. Historically promises of prioritizing his comfort never seemed to go well or last long and this was when he had magic to defend himself incase things went wrong something he was painfully lacking in the current situation. But on the other hand so far Sandy had done nothing to raise direct suspicion (although the unyielding kindness was rather suspect) and the food was really good plus all those cats seem to love him. Cats were almost always intelligent and good judges of character in the Monkies experience.

As crazy as it sounds maybe he really did want to help….. worst case scenario he just dies again or runs away and it’s not like anyone would miss him so what’s the harm in at least faking a willingness to do whatever this is? Just have to play along until they take these cursed things off of him then he can bolt to the other side of the world and live in a woodland cabin or something away from people and any sign of Wukong!

The handle twisted as he stepped into the living room plan set in his mind, acting always came easily to him so how hard could faking it till he gets out really be?

Chapter Text

The living room was set up with a variety of plush sofas and arm chairs covered in blankets and pillows in a rough semi circle with a decent sized television against the only wall not covered in windows. Sandy sat in the middle of the largest seat as he set up a small tea service for two gently fighting off any cats who tried to mess with the sacks laid out or knock over the fragile ceramic tea set and plates.

It was a bit worrying how long his guest was taking in the shower and he hoped everything was alright reassuring himself that it most likely just took the other longer to clean himself throughly because of his thick coat of fur. Hopefully there was enough shampoo and conditioner and that the type was sufficiently acceptable for monkey demons. He had even picked out some nice non scented ones to make sure Macaque didn’t have any issues with the smell.

After about 30 minutes of waiting the door to the simians room finally opened the monkey in question standing hesitantly in the doorway glaring at his host.

“Oh! Hello! How was your shower? I hope everything was good with the toiletries I tried to stock some basic stuff just until you could help pick out some more personal items that are more to your taste!”

“It was fine and don’t bother I don’t plan on staying long enough for that to matter” Macaque snapped back not moving from his spot.

“Even if it’s just for a day I’d rather you have that comfort than not. Why don’t you come sit down and help find some things with me? Sandy said gesturing to a laptop almost comically sized compared to his large frame.

“I even have a friend who’s going into the city later today and can pick up a lot of the things depending on what you would like so we don’t have to wait long. At the very least would you please come sit down for some cat love and tea?”

The mention of “cat love” seemed to soften the shade for a brief moment as he visibly paused to consider the offer because begrudgingly making his way to sit down in the plush armchair directly across from Sandy the whole time maintaining a visual on his host as if making sure the gentle giant didn’t suddenly choose violence.

Almost instantly a small slightly plump ash grey cat jumped onto his lap purring like a compact engine as it adjusted to fit in a perfect rolled up ball.

“Ooo Daisy seems to like you! You know if you really want her to just completely melt you should try scratching her left ear she just loves that! I find all cats have a special spot that just makes them super happy if you can remember them it just makes everything so much more special for both you and the kitty!” Exclaimed sandy.

macaque looked down at the ball of fuzz resting against him before hesitantly scratching the spot Sandy had just mentioned. In response Daisy pushed her head against his hand demanding more attention mewing in protest when he dared to stop.

“How needy…” Macaque murmured under his breath while still continuing to stroke the sweet little thing.

Sandy smiled at the monkeys soft side shining through enjoying the visual loss of tension with the warm purrs.

“How about you give me a few ideas of what you might like and I show you some pictures then all you have to do is say yes or no? Even if you don’t stay long and I hope you do I’ll let you take everything with you!” Sandy proposed.

Macaque thought for a moment still paying more attention to Daisy before giving a shrug.

“Fine I can’t stop you from wasting your money. Without getting too personal since I obviously still don’t trust you you’re just getting a basic list.” He responded.

“I promise your never waisting my time or money and a list is wonderful idea!” Sandy said while pulling out a note pad and pen ( both cat themed of course) ready to take notes.

“Fine” Macaque visibly acknowledged the pen and paper with some amusement before continuing.

“ Dark colors, theater, reading, stars, nature, nothing modern, and privacy.”

Sandy nodded along jotting everything down while making brief sounds of approval. The next hour or so was spent showing Macaque a variety of things fitting the general vibes of what was on the list while the shade silently either approved or dismissed the items while occasionally grabbing a tea snack when he thought Sandy wasn’t looking. This did slow down the process a bit since after realizing what was going on Sandy pretended to get distracted much more often but to him it was worth it to know Macaque was eating something even if it was just a few cookies and sandwiches.

Eventually though a good amount and variety of items had been selected even some new soap after Macaque had casually mentioned enjoying the sent of lavender when the topic had been brought up again. Sandy chose not to pester too much about clothes but did convince Macaque to at least pick two more colors of pajamas so nothing would get too dirty and the clothes could actually be washed ( plum and burgundy).

It would only take a few days until everything got there even with help from a friend or two but Sandy had quite a few ideas on what to until then but not now since Mr.Macaquack couldn’t move with Daisy still weighing him down trapping him like a thousand pound weight of ultra cozy soft purring motor.

Chapter Text

Apparently Macaque couldn’t just wait locked up in the guest room until all the mail arrived instead having to engage in something truly awful, socializing.

Sandy had “forced” ( gently encouraged with the promise of a late lunch) him into engaging in some barbaric torture method known as ice breakers. Just useless question after question with seemingly no point or end only broken up by Sandy answering his own questions with facts about himself. In all honesty he only bothered to stay because of the cats swarming him.

“What’s your favorite color?”

“….Purple”

“Do you have any other names or nicknames you go by?”

“None of your business”

“Do you prefer cats or dogs? I don’t know if you could tell but I prefer cats”

“Cats” he shuddered for a moment at that one trying to avoid thinking about dogs any longer than necessary.

“Do you have a favorite comfort food? We could cook it together sometime or maybe get take out!”

“Food isn’t for comfort it’s for survival.” If he had been asked this question hundreds of years ago he might have answered with peaches plums mangoes or fresh fruit in general but nowadays those options felt spoiled and rotten.

“Tell me a fact about yourself! Any fact at all!”

“I hate everything about this”

“Oh… I’m sorry to hear that. Hopefully I can change your mind sooner than later. How about a fact in general it doesn’t have to be about you? I’m sure you know some interesting ones!”

“ I know for a fact that I don’t want to be here.”

“….. well if you don’t want to answer any questions what if you ask me some!”

“How long do I have to stay here?”

“As long as it takes for you to be ready to enter the world safely. We’re all very worried about you Macaque.”

Macaque tensed up at the last bit momentarily stopping petting the belly up tabby in his lap the sudden lack of belly rubs seemingly frustrating the cat.

“We’re? Who’s this we’re?! Why would anybody worry about me especially multiple people?! I’m fine!”

The poor cat upset by the noise and sudden lack of attention jumped from his lap scampering away as his private masseuse quickly got more agitated.

“ Well me, Moe, MK, Mei, Tang, Pigsy, and Mr. Monkey king have all noticed you exhibiting some rather concerning behav-“ Sandy replied trying to de escalate the situation before being rudely interrupted.

“ WUKONG?! Notice and care about someone else’s feelings unrelated to him?! Now I know you’re just straight up lying to me that bastard doesn’t care about anyone who isn’t himself.” Macaque loudly interjected.

“ He just wants to laugh at me and my suffering then use whatever I tell you as ammunition against me! Hell he’s probably disguised as a cat in this room right now so he can silently mock me in real time!”

Macaque snatched a rather plump ginger cat off the seat next to his. “ Do you think I’m stupid?! I won’t let you mock me again never again!” He scolded the cat while clearly on the verge of tears.

Sandy jumped up from his seat quickly taking the surprisingly neutral cat away from macaque.

“Please don’t take your frustrations out on the cats! They have done nothing wrong to you so please treat them with respect!”

Macaque scoffed at this wiping his eyes slightly. “That’s not a cat it’s clearly Wukong trying to mess with me I told you that he would do something like this!”

“Macaque. This is peaches he’s a normal cat that just so happens to spend most of his time outside. MK named him a while ago there is no reason to think that peaches is spying on or mocking you.”

Macaque jumped up from his seat at this
“ OH so you think I’m crazy?! I knew I it! You’re just like everyone else listening to that monsters lies and jokes about me. It’s not funny and it was NEVER funny but he just won’t shut up! You would think he would realize that even if it was ever funny
which again it’s definitely not the stupid joke would get stale but nooo!”

At this point macaque was visibly shaking and hyper ventilating while glaring daggers at poor Peaches

“Mr. Macquack! Please your giving yourself unnecessary stress may I please suggest you go rest in your room till dinner?”

Macaque shot one more glare at the ginger before muttering something very rude under about how “anyway to get away from him “ under his breath before Sandy heard the lock click leaving him alone with the army of cats staring down at the ginger still in his arms.

“ Now what am I going to do with you “

Chapter Text

As Sandy gently stroked the chubby ginger cat he began debating his options on what to do with the poor thing since clearly he couldn’t stay here. He knew MK could most likely take him but he had also seen the boys humble apartment and all the various chip and snack bags scattered around. Seeing as how Peaches had a bad habit of stealing all kinds of food not just the stuff made for cats that seemed like a bad option.

Meis room was better because of her strict parents but she had mentioned a few times that because of them she would never been allowed to have a pet for as long as she lived with them. It was very hard to not judge them for that after all it seemed impossible to imagine a life without his feline companions but Sandy did somewhat pride himself on being a nonjudgmental person so he tried very hard to understand.

Pigsy and Tang seemed like the best options but with how aggressive Pigsy was with the lint roller after each of his visits to make sure nothing ended up contaminating the restaurant. Tang did seem to enjoy the cats very much often visiting to sit with them as he read but it was still extremely unlikely he could convince his stubborn husband to allow poor “little” peaches into their home.

That left one option left in the immediate friend group, the Monkey king himself. He had a decent sized house, was almost always home or around it, already used to taking care of all the little monkeys, and could clearly use some good old fashioned cat therapy himself!

Quickly he pulled out his phone and typed out a rushed message message to Wukong asking if he would be okay with and like to watch Peaches for a short while almost immediately receiving a lone thumbs up emoji in response as Sandy sighed In relief.

So it was decided Sun Wukong would be the lucky temporary host for Peaches! Oddly ftting with how much the king obsessed over peaches but Sandy was sure that he would love the cat at least 1/8 as much as he loved the actual fruit! That really was the highest percentage Sandy could hope for anything higher would be extremely unrealistic but with how much he loved peaches 1/8th was still quite a lot of love!

The biggest problem now was actually getting the kitty to Wukong since while the house boat could obviously be driven straight to the island that would most likely be very damaging to Macaque since if even being around a cat that looked vaguely like the king sent him spiraling who knows what would happen being that close to the real thing or anything directly connected.

The only solution left was to ask MK who luckily agreed to safely bring Peaches over with little convincing promising to come pick the fluff ball and their “go bag”in roughly twenty minutes. Just enough time to pack Peaches supplies for two or three weeks but if Macaque needs more time more supplies will obviously be sent over but this seemed like a good start.

Quickly Sandy ran around the boat gently yet efficiently placing everything peaches would need into a large cardboard box. Litter and a litter box went first followed by both wet and dry food then a tightly sealed plastic jar of treats (so peaches couldn’t shatter it to get to the nummys) and lastly a generous variety of toys ranging from a lazer pointer to feathers to catnip mice. Sandy then jotted down some basic cat care instructions accompanied by basic drawings just in case and the promise to come check on everything soon doing his best to explain the situation.

Finally with everything in place a thank you gift tin full of homemade cookies and peach tea was placed on top of everything before sealing the box. Just as MK quietly knocked on the door to pick up everything ( Sandy had requested ahead of time through text that he be as quiet as possible for Macaques sake) he gently lifted a confused Peaches up from his windowsill perch next to one of the other more lazy cats disturbing their nap and causing the black and white cat previously next to him to show some annoyance at the disturbance.

With a quick apology to both cats and few scratches for both Peaches was placed into a cozy carrying bag and rushed into a swift hand off with MK along with many whispered thanks for doing this on such short notice making sure the young hero was gifted his own case of tea and cookies before wishing him and Peaches safe travels and quickly closing the door incase the outside noise was disturbing to his guest.

——————————————————————

After a brief yet relatively uneventful journey MK landed safely with his cargo just outside his mentors home. Unfortunately he did have work to get to so it couldn’t be a long visit and he would have to pretty much just drop off and go but Sandy had done so much for him it would be wrong to turn down such a simple request. Although it was a bit confusing as to how exactly Sandy had convinced Monkey king to agree to this he didn’t really have time to think about it much as he knocked loudly against the door just in case Wukong had fallen asleep before expecting him again.

After a moment the door creaked open to reveal a disgruntled looking Monkey king who clearly as suspected had just woken up from a nap.

“ Hey kid I thought training wasn’t till tomorrow because you were busy with work or something? Wukong yawned.

“ It is! But since you agreed to watch one of Sandy’s cats for a little bit so I came to drop everything off quickly.”

That seemed to wake him up pretty quickly. “ Wait wait what? I didn’t agree to watch any cat! What are you talking about?!”

MK sighed before he responded. “ Like half an hour ago Sandy texted you “Would you please like to watch Peaches 🐱for a bit? it would mean a lot!” And then you responded with a thumbs up emoji agreeing to watch the cat.”

“No he definitely texted somthing about how I like peach’s a ton and that they mean a lot to me” he squinted at his phone before holding it out for MK to see.

“See? That’s what it says!”

“No Monkey King you just promised to watch a cat named peaches for a while! Don’t worry Sandy sent over everything you guys need now I’m really sorry but I have to go back to work and can’t be late! MK shouted in his hurry to avoid tardiness.

“Good luck!”

“WAIT but-!” But it was too late the kid was gone soaring away to return to work leaving the all mighty Sun Wukong alone with nobody but himself a few small monkeys and a fat lazy cat.

“Great. Macaque can’t even handle a single cat and now I’m stuck with it.”

“ THANKS A LOT ASSHOLE “

he yelled out roughly towards where he thought the shade was then sighing before returning to bed deciding that his nap was of great importance.

Chapter Text

Unfortunately even with poor peaches gone Mr.Macaquack still refused to open his door for anything or anyone with the most concerning part about this being the fact that because of this Sandy knew the Monkie hadn’t eaten anything in over three days now and with how thin his guest already was that was even more concerning than it already would be.

The whole time he kept trying to offer food through the door only to be answered with the muted sounds of shifting about, a muffled response telling him some variation of “go away I don’t need you!”, or most recently today and worst of all complete silence. It was very difficult to not assume the absolute worst possible scenario with this but with each passing moment the fear of opening the door to a corpse grew.

So he sat next to the door quietly arranging the couple dozen boxes that had since arrived for to help personalize Macaques room so it would be more difficult for cats to knock over listening carefully yet desperately for any sign of life.

After a couple hours of this he couldn’t take it anymore his concern was too great and he decided that enough was enough and he would just have to check getting up from the boxes to rummage through a nearby junk drawer in the kitchen to find the guest rooms spare key.

It felt awful going about it this way since Sandy had previously promised Macaque complete privacy and safety while in his own room but deep down he supposed he had anticipated something like this happening and prepared just in case of the worst possible scenarios. Rushing back to the door he made one final attempt to enter without force knocking and speaking significantly louder than any of his previous attempts.

“ Mr. Macaque I really don’t want to disturb your privacy but I can’t just stand aside and let you do this to yourself! You have to the count of five to either open this door or make sure that you’re decent I am so sorry it has to come to this!”

“One?” Still silent.

“…..Two” He entered the key.

“Three!” It turned as the lock clicked.

“Four..!” Sandy griped the handle preparing for the absolute worst.

“FIVE!” The door swung open revealing a complete and utter mess. Desk on its side, wallpaper clawed at, mattress on the floor clothes rugs blankets and pillows piled half hazerdly on top and against the small cubby made by desk and walls, as ripped curtains dancing in the breeze from the now open window.

Sandy’s heart dropped upon noticing the small bits of dried blood decorating the edge of the window frame. Of course he had heard of some wild animals being willing to chew through limbs to escape traps but he would never have thought Macaque would be so desperate to escape that he would be willing to loose both hands to do it. How far could he have made it before bleeding out? how could he have let this happen?! How on earth was he supposed to explain this to everyone else?!

In his panic Sandy took a step towards the window hoping that he would be able to identify some kind of clues to quickly find and help the monkey stepping on the edge of the edge of the hoard of rugs and bedding only to be surprised when he felt it move a bit. Genuinely he knelt down to carefully move some of the pile aside revealing the small shivering form beneath desperately hugging a pillow wrapped in an old dirty red scarf.

Sandy let out a deep genuine sigh of relief seeing the shade still under his care although the moment was quickly ruined with further inspection of Macaque revealing his now obvious condition. It truly was a depressing sight to see someone who had previously taken such clear pride in his appearance fall so far.

Thick once fluffy hair and fur now sat flat and tangled littered with Snow White streaks, wrists rubbed raw wounded and still bleeding in some parts already starting to scab around the cuffs. Bone was clearly visible from underneath now unnaturally pale skin making him appear much more gaunt and weak in comparison to the body of a natural born fighter Sandy was used to seeing. As Sandy’s eyes were more drawn to his face observing the sunken cheeks tear stains and deep eye bags something else suddenly caught his attention.

After wincing at how painfully cold Macaque was a shimmer of color peeking out from the mess of hair practically demanded he take a closer look. Assuming it was some sort of hair pin or earring he gently moved a clump of tangled hair out of the way only to instead reveal three perfectly untouched lotus petal ears glimmering in the light.

Sandy gasped seeing them as they twitched slightly at the noise colors shifting ever so slightly with each movement, deep purples indigos and pinks catching the light with a faint iridescent glitter. They were truly beautiful but more importantly the way they moved was a sign of life dispelling any of the terrible thoughts of Macaques passing.

Unfortunately though now was not the time to ogle at the pretty monkey since while he was alive now who knows if that would still be true in a moment. Gently but swiftly Sandy wrapped the monkey in the thickest blanket from the pile taking extra care to not disturb the sleeping position or scarf pillow in the process because quickly carrying everything over to the living area softly placing him down onto a large plush chair facing a small fire place. Quickly in hopes that it would help warm up Macaque Sandy lit the logs aflame and after administering some basic medical aid to his wrists rushed to the kitchen to prepare a good hearty hit soup full of the nutrition and calories they would need to start getting into Macaques body as soon as possible.

The sounds and smells of cooking filled the home as everything for the soup came together. From Sandy’s spot at the kitchen counter he watched as a small pile of cats formed on and around Macaques blanketed form adding their own body warmth to help the fringed monkey. Or they were just using him as a pillow and to get closer to absorb more of the fires warmth for themselves but the first one is way sweeter to imagine so thats the one Sandy went with in his mind.

Almost two hours had passed when Macaque finally woke up with a full yawn before immediately jumping into defensive mode curling deeper into himself without a word clearly too panicked to properly function.

“I’m so sorry Mr.Macaquack I wouldn’t have moved you unless completely necessary I promise I didn’t go through your things and just moved you out here to the warmth.” Sandy said placing a bowl of steaming soup infront of Macaque along with a spoon, glass of water, and a slice of fresh buttered bread.

“I may not be as good of a cook as Pigsy but lve been told I’m still pretty good at it so please eat this! You should be able to stomach it while in this state but let’s take it slow just in case!”

“I’m fine I don’t need to eat right now” Macaque rasped right before the sounds of his stomach growling filled the room betraying him.

“Mr. Macaque I don’t want to be mean or forceful but please understand right now I am not asking. I will make sure that you eat every last drop and crumb in front of you then we will wait twenty minutes and if your body doesn’t reject it we will repeat the process and have seconds and thirds. You need to eat right even if I’m the one feeding you which if I absolutely have to I will.”

Macaque flinched at the sudden change of tone before picking up the spoon and slowly starting to eat. “Fine… just don’t try to feed me I’m not a child.” He said between mouthfuls.

Hearing and seeing that Sandy’s typical energy returned as if it had never left. “ I’m so proud of you! From now on we’re going to do this at least twice a day okay? You can even have pick and cook the food it will be delicious and fun!”

“Do we absolutely have to…? Macaque responded hesitantly while nibbling on the bread.

“Yes we do but don’t forget it’s all to help you and I’m sure you’ll grow to love it sooner than later! Maybe we can even pick a show to watch while we eat if that helps?”

Macaque sighed looking down at the soup dejected. “ fine I guess..”

Sandy smiled. There was still a lot of work to be done and things like the state of Macaques hair and what happened in that room during those three days would need to be addressed soon ( especially the first one) but if he could start setting up a set routine that could potentially do wonders!

Chapter Text

Sun Wukong Loved peaches.

Yellow, pink, Georgian, Freestone, Contender, Redhaven, and of course his all time favorite the immortal heavenly peaches all so perfectly juicy delicious and sweet. So versatile as well blending perfectly into all kinds of other foods and drinks from savory to sweet and Cakes to liquors Wukong found it very difficult for anyone to mess up anything if it contained peaches as a featured ingredient. Aesthetically pleasing too with Wukong owning many a peach themed item and clothing pieces.

They truly were his second favorite thing to ever exist right after himself of course because let’s be honest who or what could ever even dream about toping THE great Sun Wukong great sage equal to heaven in anything? All this made it a big surprise to the king when for the first time in his immortal existence he did not like something directly related to the fruit.

Peaches the cat was a disgrace to his name sake. A stupid cocky stuck up disrespectful chubby little bastard who refused to cooperate or respect his extremely generous humble and stunningly handsome host!

Unlike Macaque who had asked multiple times to bring a cat or two onto flower fruit mountain ( all denied of course) Wukong had never really enjoyed the company or appeal of cats and this experience only continued to reinforce his already made up opinions on them and it was like this one had been specially created to torment him.

Everywhere he went it was there mocking him. Every time he went to sleep or nap there it was hogging the bed. Whenever he went to watch T.V it was plopped directly in his spot. He couldn’t even open the pantry to grab some chips without the fat ass already haven broken in somehow now surrounded by empty packets just chomping away.

The thing had even managed to steal away his sweet little suns who were all now too interested in the beast to pay attention to him! Early on the monkeys had discovered the bag of toys and supplies quickly learning how to play with the cat but conveniently forgetting how to clean up after themselves leaving a scattered mess of cat toys everywhere. A couple of the smaller ones had even taking to riding it around a game that somehow got even more disruptive after they figured out how the laser pointer worked leading the cat in full on stampedes around the house disturbing his sleep and on at least one occasion tripping him.

Not even training was safe since MK kept getting distracted and off task with constant requests to see and pet the cat even bringing Mei along to see it who much to Wukongs dismay had brought a smaller version of his own phoenix skirt crown and tunic to dress it in for a full blown photo shoot using the mountain as a backdrop. A small piece of him wondered what would happen if the cat simply ran away into the woods during this never to be seen again but he tried to quickly push that thought to the side.

Wukong wondered where the outfit had even come from since it didn’t seem like a piece of merchandise he would approve of making a quick mental note to check with his lawyer and merchandising team about it later. The thing didn’t even look like him with or without the clothes so the whole point of the photos and giggling from the two young adults only confused him more like some kind of inside joke he wasn’t allowed to be part of.

At this point Sandy better be looking for a new person to take care of it because Sun Wukong was about three steps away from just dumping the thing right into Macaques lap whether he liked it or not! This whole therapy thing was stupid anyway Macaque wasn’t “traumatized” or suffering with “mental health” he was just a crazy little drama queen criminal who should be facing the consequences of his actions not eating soup and watching movie! The whole thing was just so stupid and infuriating!

He sighed taking a sip from his peach lemonade while watching from the corner of his eye as the other two continued taking their pictures fully aware of the hot water these opinions about the cat and macaque would most likely land him in for some reason choosing to keep them to himself for now just in case he would one day get to say “I told you so” when they would all finally give up on this whole therapy plan!

After all how much longer could this really continue?

——————————————————————

Mei laughed kneeling down to take yet another shot of Peaches in his full Monkey king cosplay glory.

“Are you 100% sure this isn’t one of Monkey Kings clones shapeshifted as a cat?”

“I mean I’m like 99% sure! Pretty hard to be 100% on this one.” He giggled in response. “I am however 99.9% sure he’s the only one who doesn’t see it.”

Mei snorted in response. “Yea that tracks doesn’t it. Now for the last few photos do you think you could shrink the staff down a few sizes to be his scale? I want it to look like peaches is holding it!”

MK nodded enthusiastically In approval before complying and gently placing the shrunken staff under Peaches paws careful to avoid crushing them. “ After this we definitely need to find cat versions of us and the rest of the group.”

“Oh totally!!! I mean we already have Moe and Macaque is basically a cat already so how hard could it be? It would definitely be the cutest thing ever though! *GASP* Imagine all the adorable funny cat videos we’ll get!”

“Yesssss! This is now our mission! We just need to check with Sandy when a good time to come over is so we don’t accidentally mess up his progress with Macaque.”

“Oh def but it’s going to be so hard to wait.” Mei said standing up after taking the final few pictures. “At least we have these ones to hold us over!”

“Haha yea! Peaches was practically born to play the part!”

Mei gently removed the kitty cosplay from peaches before carrying him back to the house with MK walking along side while feeding Peaches treats and petting him. As he was carefully placed onto the couch the two continued to gush over the very special boy much to the confusion of Wukong standing in the doorway just staring at the scene as it happened.

Peaches in a moment of pure smugness nobody but his intended target noticed made direct eye contact with the monkey king while he was pet and treated another victory in his paws because Peaches didn’t have to jump through a waterfall or fight the army’s of heaven to be treated as a king because he’s a cat and that’s what cats are, royalty.

Chapter Text

Sandy managed to convince Macaque to finish three bowls of soup and two pieces of bread before he refused to continue to eat, and well yes the servings were pretty small Sandy still considered it a big step towards the monkeys physical healing. Said monkey still sat in his seat wrapped in blankets as Sandy watched him from his position at the sink while washing dishes as more cats slowly swarmed the lump.

“I’m sure you already heard but all the packages we ordered for your room arrived while over the three days you spent alone. It’s still pretty early in the day maybe we could spend the rest of it setting everything up?” Sandy suggested.

Obviously at some point they would need to have a proper discussion about what happened during that time but he had to be careful since right now that conversation would most likely just upset Macaque more than help him.

Macaque sighed at this before glancing up at Sandy to reply.“I already told you I don’t plan on staying here much longer so there’s no point in redoing your whole guest room for me. Just donate everything to someone who needs it more I’m completely fine without anything special. I always have been it’s not a big deal.”

“Well I want to! And besides your room is a mess right now anyway so we might as well add all of this while we clean it! You have to have somewhere to call your own and sleep in while you’re here don’t you? Come on it will be a fun bonding experience!”

“Bonding….? Also why do you keep calling the guest room my room it’s weird.” He said skeptically.

“Yes bonding! If we’re going to live together and be friends we should probably do things together right? And as far as I’m concerned as long as you’re here maybe even after that that’s not a guest room it’s all yours.”

Sandy replied as he finished drying the bowl and putting it away because putting it away and walking towards the pile of packages next to the bedroom door. “Come on it will be fun!”

Macaque sat there for a moment seemingly confused before mumbling something about how “we’re not friends…” before slowly getting up and cautiously walking over leaving his cocoon behind. “Fine but only because it feels like you won’t stop asking until I agree and I really just want to go back to bed.”

Sandy briefly clapped in excitement hearing this quickly stopping after noticing Macaques hands quickly slam to the sides of his head in response. “Oh I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to I must have forgotten about your amazing hearing for a moment in my excitement.”

“I’m fine it doesn’t bother me. Can we just get this over with fast?!” Macaque snapped back hands still firmly in place.

“Of course of course! How about I first open up all the boxes so you can see and go through everything while I flip all the furniture back up and move it wherever you want?”

“Why don’t you do the second part while I open up all the boxes myself and go through everything? It would be more time efficient that way.”

Sandy hesitated for a moment trying to decide whether or not the truth would be the best option here before deciding that just being honest with Macaque was probably the best choice to gain his trust.

“Honestly Mr. Macaquack? I’m a bit scared that if I hand you something like a knife or box cutter right now you might just hurt yourself with it instead of opening the boxes. I just can’t risk it I hope you understand and respect that.”

That answer seemed to shock the shadow for a brief moment but right when it seemed the dark monkey was about to argue about it his hands brushed over the bandages wrapped tightly around his wrists and he gave up his argument before it even started, recognizing that there was no way he could possibly win this argument.

“….. I guess that’s a reasonable conclusion. I don’t have to agree with it but I can’t really say anything to prove you wrong or change your mind can I? Fine just open the stupid boxes so I can go back to sleep…”

Sandy smiled gently at that giving him a gentle pat on the back that made Macaque momentarily stiffen before sitting down on the floor to take a box cutter out of his sweat pants pocket and starting to carefully open each box one by one. “While I do this why don’t you go decide where you want everything? It will be time efficient just like you said!”

“Yea I guess. It’s not like I have anything else to do… ” Macaque sleepily turned to look into the room analyzing for the best possible layout just as Moe moseyed over to start attempting to help by clawing at some of the boxes in a surprisingly successful attempt to open them.

About ten minutes later with all the packages opened and laid out Macaque began to(in between yawns) direct Sandy on where to put everything leaving them with a very different but still cozy layout.

Then the decor began, a small old wood bookshelf in one corner with a tall plant being placed in another. Sandy replaced the light breezy curtains with heavy blackout ones and closed the window as Macaque unrolled a maroon fluffy rug across the floor.

“I have to ask why was the window so far open when you were clearly so cold?” Sandy questioned.

Macaque hesitated for a moment before answering. “ I pushed it open for somthing but when I tried to reach out so I could grab it to close up the stupid bracelets wouldn’t let me stick my arm out to grab and close it. I guess that counts as leaving for some reason and I didn’t want to ask for any help so I just bundled up inside.”

“Please remember you can always ask me for help with anything I promise I won’t judge!” Sandy enthusiastically said while hanging a lunar calendar in the spot Macaque had marked. “After your nap I’ll come in and attach a small rope to the window so you can open and close it whenever you like!”

“Thanks…. That sounds nice. You really don’t have to though.”

“Oh don’t worry it’s really not a problem! I was very concerned about you when I saw you I thought you froze to death for a second there I’m glad you’re okay now. I think I have a small personal space heater in storage I’ll look for it while you nap and we can put it in here too so you never have to worry about the cold again!”

Macaque finished placing all his old and new blankets and pillows on the bed burying the ratty old scarf amongst them. “ that sounds good I guess…” Sandy really didn’t seem to understand how appealing no cold ever sounded after everything he’d been through recently something macaque was grateful for.

Sandy smiled again, happy that his help was being accepted so willingly . “You look like you’re about to collapse at any second how about we finish this tomorrow? I think we have enough set up for now I’ll see you for dinner when you wake up okay?” He said as he quietly closed the door behind him.

“Yea okay sure I guess…” macaque yawned watching him leave. The moment the door closed however instead of going straight to sleep Macaque quickly checked everything in the room for hidden cameras or recording devices magical or technical just to be sure of his privacy still not fully trusting his host.

After it was decided that in fact nothing was there he allowed himself to sigh in relief before closing the curtains and crawling under his pile of blankets and falling asleep instantly letting most of his stress melt away if just for a moment as sleep took hold.

Chapter Text

The sun shone brightly down upon lush greens and bright flowers warming Mihous fur as he sat on the small dock dangling his feet in the water as he watched his mate swim. He hadn’t really wanted to get wet that day repeatedly insisting to Wukong that he would have much more fun just dipping his feet in instead especially since he had already spent significant time getting ready to spend time with his sworn sister later that day but of course that argument hadn’t sat well with the king as he went on to complain about how Mihou was picking his sister over his partner and about how much of a buzzkill he was being.

Mihou of course was used to this and kept apologizing while repeatedly promising that he would come swim all day tomorrow if Wukong would just wait till then.

“Iron fan is always so busy lately we just have to take advantage of any opportunity we have to spend time together I swear it’s nothing personal against you Sun… it will be even hotter tomorrow so we’ll spend the whole day playing in the water together!”

Wukong stopped splashing around the shallow waters to look at his moon and sulk.

“The point is that I’m swimming now Mihou who knows if I’ll want to swim again tomorrow? You’re choosing some fancy outfit and some dumb sworn sister over me! Besides you never get so dressed up for me anymore so what’s so special about this?! Come on just swim for a little bit at the very least it’s not that hard.”

Mihou sighed clearly trying to choose his words carefully.

“ I just told you she doesn’t have much time lately so whenever she does we have to take it. She told me we’re going somewhere really nice so I dressed nicely, if we did nice things instead of ruining around outside all day or you asked me to I would dress like this more often! So can I please stop asking me to swim with you I need to go really soon and I can’t mess this up.”

“Fine I won’t ask anymore happy?” Wukong pouted before disappearing back under the water leaving Mihou to lean back in relief and enjoy letting himself relax for a moment gently kicking his feet back and forth in the cool water unknowing of what was to come.

A moment truly was the best way to describe it.

All it took was a sudden solid tug on his ankles from underneath the water and he was pulled in desperately kicking to stay afloat while weighed down by the layers of fine fabric making up his put together outfit. Typically Mihou was a very strong swimmer much stronger than Wukong in fact but that was when he was appropriately dressed for it and unfortunately today he most certainly was not.

All the layers of silk and jewelry while most definitely a stunning visual were essentially a death wish in the water dragging the poor monkey down as he splashed and choked failing to grab onto the small dock he had been sitting on just moments before. He couldn’t keep afloat screaming out for his sun to help him only faintly hearing the Kings words chastising him for not wearing proper swimming attire while the unfortunate bracelets on his wrists he couldn’t seem to remember putting on that day seemed to continue to gain weight eventually making it impossible to keep going leaving no choice but to sink down as Mihou made one final gasp for breath.

Down down down he went imposingly deep for such a small swimming hole before finally hitting the stony bottom surrounded only by the darkness since nothing was allowed to live down here. Far above the surface was visible its light not daring to reach him as he watched his last bubbles of breath float to the top where his sun did nothing to help.

Mihou was dying.

Mihou was about to die and his love refused to save him.

It was blurry now.

His lungs hurt they were so empty.

Maybe he should have just declared Iron fans invitation and done what Wukong wanted instead.

This was all his fault anyway.

Just as it all ended Macaque jolted awake breathing heavily. Alive, safe, and dry if you ignore the layer of stress sweat on his skin.

Of course the moment he’s actually able to sleep properly this happens. Of course nothing can be that simple! Even in his sleep that bastard just has to screw him over and leave him to rot! That’s not even how that day really ended…!

It’s fine. Whatever. It’s just some stupid dream who cares.

Macaque took a deep breath picking up on the faint smell of toast from outside and choosing to focus on that instead, pulling off his blankets before stepping into a pair of plain fuzzy black slippers and shuffling outside before plopping down at the kitchen counter to watch Sandy spread jam on toast.

“Good morning Mr. Macaquck! How did you sleep? Good I hope!”

But when Sandy turned around plate of toast in hand and actually saw Macaque any hopes of his guest having a good night’s sleep were dashed. Messy fur eye bags the works, he looked like death.

“ Bad dreams?”

“ None of your business.” Macaque murmured grabbing a piece of toast

“It would probably help if you talked about it instead of bottling it up that’s not very good for you.”

Macaque snorted a bit at that. “Yea I’m not telling you this stuff. Too personal. ”

Sandy sighed before walking out of the room and returning a minute later with a small box wrapped in a hastily tied bow.

“You don’t have to tell me but you should let them out. I didn’t have time to wrap it since I didn’t know we needed one till just now but I have a few dream journals in my office from when I used to do therapy sessions! I promise I won’t read it but I still had a lavender one left over plus some purple and black stationary so maybe you could put that desk in your room to good use!”

Sandy pushed the box towards Macaque as several cats began trying to knock it over the counter edge.

“Here all yours!”

Macaque put down his toast to lift the lid to reveal a lavender notebook, pink eraser, a variety of writing utensils (including some glitter gel pens), a novelty cat shaped eraser, and a pack of mini cartoon cat stickers with different emotions.

“Thanks… I guess.” He said taking everything out only for the box to immediately be filled by a cat. “ I’ll go take them to my room to put away.”

Sandy brightened for a moment when her heard Macaque call his room well… his! Watching as he walked back into it and shut the door behind him hoping the supply’s would actually be used instead of tossed or forgotten.

——————————————————————

Macaque had genuinely enjoyed writing all those years ago before he got busy had to stop. Writing plays, reminders, and the the occasional journal entry had been good stress relievers and a rare form of privacy since even if Wukong did find it he couldn’t actually read anything, then again that had also been one of the reasons he had to stop since this frustrated the king immensely.

All that being said the idea of a private “dream journal” appealed to him even if some of the writing tools he had been provided were a bit silly. So he wrote. He wrote every single detail of the dream and then he wrote more.

How that day had actually ended with Wukong saving him from drowning and then going on to criticize his choice of clothes for not being swim appropriate and how he had basically been asking for an accident. How he had to tell the wind to cancel his time with his sister because he was too much of a mess and Wukong wanted to keep messing around instead.

Macaque put down his sparkly mechanical pencil he had been writing with.

It really had been so long since he last saw her properly… he had gotten so busy back then they’re schedules just never lined up, hell if he wasn’t stuck on this boat it would have been nice to visit and catch up.

He sighed placing the book and supply’s in the top drawer of his desk before shutting it. What wishful thinking.

Chapter Text

Once the drawer had been shut and his thoughts locked away Macaque could only bury his head in his hands trying to postpone returning to the rest of the ship as long as he possibly could. This whole thing was just too much every day becoming more and more repetitive and slow. Sandy was a seemingly genuine person of course but being trapped on this boat was just suffocating.

That’s not even getting started on the god forsaken bracelets, at their best they were tacky and uncomfortable and while Macaque did not mind complaining about those parts at all he was decidedly much less vocal about some of their other effects. They were exhausting not in a “ I’m so tired of wearing these tacky pieces of garbage” way but more like a “these abominations are definitely doing way more than just keeping me on this boat” way. Maybe both actually. Probably both.

Macaque would be one of the first to admit that he was not a very energetic person something that had frustrated his much more hyper ex mate so his increased feelings of exhaustion were not an immediate cause for concern. He was in a new environment after all plus Sandy had mentioned that this whole therapy thing could be tiring for some. However what could not be over looked was the recent slipping of his glamours.

Luckily Sandy hadn’t commented on anything yet but the white streaks starting to show up were kind of hard to miss. Bright white streaks appearing in both thin and thick patches tainting the midnight black he had worked so hard to maintain. He tried to hide them under his clothes mostly succeeding with the help of a hoodie but too many stands were poking out for his liking especially with his tail making him appear too vulnerable and naive for his liking.

The black fur was mature, sleek, strategic these spots of white poking through were the opposite of all that mocking any effort he had put towards his appearance and reputation. Worse though was the ears, his entire life he had put so much effort into covering them, hell that had even been a major motivation for learning to shape shift and apply glamour so the fact that all that work was apparently gone now letting them poke out freely was a problem.

No matter how hard he tried or how much he focused the dammed things refused to disappear not understanding that they didn’t belong. They were just too bright, too sparkly, too eye catching for him a permanent target built into his body for any threat to see. It didn’t matter how pretty others claimed them and their iridescence to be they were nothing but trouble and needed to be contained.

Pinning them back under his hair with sheer force of will was an option but left too much room for mistakes, adding tape certainly helped but there was only a limited amount of it meaning that it would have to be rationed for special occasions, leaving only the hoodie as a reasonable option. Shoving all his hair and ears into it was not the most easy of tasks but what has to be done has to be done, after all even though he trusted Sandy slightly more now there were only a select few who he trusted enough to see them and one of those people had been banned from the privilege.

Of course it was easy to miss the days when he had been able to proudly show them to the world without worry or embarrassment but that was so long ago so far away and impossible to get again. This was simply the best option now nobody could poke fun or try to grab them leaving the macaque both emotionally and physically safer.

With the hood secured in place he went back outside noticing Sandy already seated on the couch reading, as Macaque chose to quietly sit down across from him to wait for Sandy to finish up before they continued. After about five minutes Sandy briefly looked up to address a cat startling and the sight of his guest.

“Oh!! Mr. Macaquack you started me! How long have you been sitting there I’m so sorry I didn’t notice you had left your room!”

Macaque shrugged. “That’s fine I’m used to it. Sometimes people just forget I’m there and it scares them a little when they remember.”

A brief moment of sadness passed over the giants face. “Still that can’t be a good feeling… I will try my best to not let it happen again! Please don’t be afraid to interrupt whatever I’m doing and don’t forget that right now you are my number one priority!”

“It’s really not a big deal-“ Macaque tried to say before being cut off.

“Nonsense!” Sandy enthusiastically interjected not allowing the shade to pull himself down anymore. “I’m very sorry I shouldn’t have interrupted but you need to remember you matter here and that you are cared for and enough.”

“Oh… um thanks…?” Macaque replied visibly a bit uncomfortable.

“Now” Sandy continued “I thought today we could try some breathing exercises incase you need to calm down by yourself! Just a simple one today before we start meal prepping is that okay?”

“….sure?” Breathing exercises? What a made up sounding thing was it not clear he could breathe just fine? Maybe it was just a water demon issue and Sandy just
didn’t realize other creatures don’t need help breathing on land, but it felt rude to say something about it especially on the off chance it insulted his host so the best thing seemed to be to just go along with it and avoid the hassle.

“Please trust me and go along with what I do and say okay?”

Macaque nodded skeptically but still paying attention out of respect.

“Take a deep breath in and hold it for five seconds count in your head okay?”

Fine okay that’s not hard.

They both took deep breaths in and quietly counted with sandy showing the numbers on his fingers.

*One*

*Two*

*Three*

*Four*

*Five*

“Now slowly exhale and imagine your letting all the stress leave your body”

Macaque copied with some difficulty around the imagination part briefly considering letting the visualization for stress be some little Wukongs before going against the idea since that would mean the bastard would have had to be inside him and that was never happening again in any way shape or form.

“Now just do that on repeat!”

“That’s it?”

“Yup that’s it. That wasn’t so bad was it?”

“No I guess not…”

This went on throughout meal prep with Sandy occasionally stopping to “quiz” Macaque on the simple technique making sure it was committed to memory with positive reinforcement every time. It was a small simple skill sure but it was still a skill that could be used without help so to Sandy that was enough for the day. Another step towards healing no matter how small is still a step.

Chapter Text

Mihou was missing and it was driving Iron fan a little bit insane. While yes it wasn’t completely unlike her sworn brother it disappear for extended periods of time as he got older she almost always received some kind of message warning her not to worry. This time though the winds gave her nothing not even a response to her many invitations and requests to spend time together leading to growing worries about what could have happened.

These worries became fears when after going to his home to force him to spend time together all she could find was a pile of concrete and dust. After a brief moment these feelings soon shifted to rage since after all how dare that idiot have the nerve to die after practically just being brought back to life and barely spending any time with her?!

This of course will not be accepted since at this point the only person who had the right to kill her odd little brother was well… herself. I mean she wouldn’t but the point still stands, the six eared Macaque was not allowed to die again not on her watch. The poor idiot had already wasted so much of his first life on the bastard king so this second chance would have to be lived to the fullest extent wether he liked it or not and that most certainly could not happen if he decided to go die immediately after being freed from that witch’s clutch!

So right down to the Diyu she marched fan in hand ready to fully chew out the guards and if she must ten kings themselves to make sure she wasn’t leaving without that wet cat of a monkey being dragged behind her. The last time he had died she spent months begging and pleading for him to be brought back to no effect so this time resorting to violence immediately didn’t seem unreasonable.

However after yelling at the guards for over twenty minutes about how they shouldn’t have let Macaque back in all while insulting them and bringing several to tears. When she finally stopped for a brief moment to sip some water and hear out their pathetic excuses a very…..interesting piece of information came to light.

“What do you mean he’s not down here?!”

“ M-Miss we can promise you nobody resembling your sworn brother has not been has entered here for hundreds of years s-so please stop yelling at us and insulting our bloodlines!” One of the guards choked out between sobs as another tried to comfort him.

There was an awkward moment of silence after that before Iron fan responded still clearly frustrated. “You should have said something then instead of wasting my time! I could have been looking for him already if you all hadn’t held me up!”

Leaving no time for them to respond she swiftly disappeared in a whirlwind leaving behind a handful of very shaken guards.

“……”

“….My Dad isn’t disappointed in my career position and my kids are not ugly….!” Sobbed a guard who had been forced to dig through mountains of intake documents staring through tears at the framed family photograph on his desk.

The guard closest awkwardly patted their back while avoiding looking at the photo. “Mhmm.”

——————————————————————

Back on the surface PIF had more questions and concerns than when she had first started, her concern rising with every passing moment.

If Mihou was not in his sad empty little dojo or the underworld that did not leave many places left to check since he had never been that adventurous. And while yes the fact that he hadn’t been responding to any of her wind messages could just mean he wanted to be alone for a bit it could also mean something was terribly wrong and either way it was very rude to just ignore her like this so he left her no choice but to hunt him down.

Starting with all the local theaters she (in human form of course as to not scare the mortals) went around inquiring about any shadow plays being put on or guests matching the descriptions of any of his most common forms with nothing recent enough to help.

A small threat to the librarians revealed his human personas account hadn’t been used in a while nor had it been spotted.

The small cafe they frequented together to gossip also had nothing although at least she got two teas and a few pastry’s to go some to fuel the search and the rest for when she found him since he did have a terrible habit of forgetting to eat properly.

And of course with how her day was going the noodle shop was closed for repairs after a demon attack, unfortunately leaving only the most terrible option left to check. PIF would rather find her brother as a cat curled up on the street in a wet cardboard box than comfortable there of all places but she still had to check just in case.

——————————————————————

As always Flower fruit mountain was insufferably sunny and hot the tropical humidity a menace to her perfectly styled twin horn hair style. She would never understand how Macaque had managed to stay here for so many years especially with the sub par company but she still had to check just in case he had relapsed again falling back into that disgusting relationship.

As she walked up to the small palace she couldn’t help but hope that maybe if she lucky he had been kidnapped or something similar, really anything would be better than that disgusting ginger oaf of a creature exploiting him again. It only took two knocks for the door to open revealing a scuffed up Monkey king standing in the doorway shirt sleeves covered in what looked like cat scratches.

“PIF? What are you doing here?” He seemed confused for a moment before spotting the brown paper cafe bag and reaching for it. “Oh! You brought me food to apologize for being so rude every time I see you! Thanks it’s a good start-!”

She quickly moved the bag up higher where he couldn’t reach long having decided to use her full height around Wukong finding the height difference amusing.

“You will address me as Princess Iron fan and nothing else. No nicknames no abbreviations we are not friends remember that. Not everything is for you so don’t even dare thinking about this bag the only reason I am subjecting myself to being around you is because Mihou is missing and for some unknown reason he is pulled towards you so tell me Sun Wukong where is my brother?”

He seemed confused for a moment still eying the bag high above his head before thinking of a way to make this work for himself.

“So first off I don’t want to touch a zombie so yeah don’t worry about that I’m way out of his league.”

Iron fans eye twitched at this as he continued.

“I don’t want him glooming up the place or spreading the zombie plague to the little guys so yea he’s definitely not here. The kid and his dragon friend thought he needed something called therapy so we all locked him out on a boat with
big blue to fix him or something I don’t know. But heyyy if you’re going straight there would you take this cat with you I don’t want to deal with it anymore- andddd she’s gone.”

Princess Iron fan had teleported away the moment a location had been mentioned once again leaving Wukong alone with Peaches the cat.

“Great. Just great.”

Chapter Text

With the latest chapter I have started to receive a swarm of suspicious AI accusations from guest accounts. I do not for a moment think these are real since I know for a fact that a computer could possibly write better than me since as I have said before I am extremely amateur and rusty. I am trying to delete them as they show up but unfortunately if this keeps going and starts to genuinely stress me out I’ll have to turn off guest comments for a little bit and I really don’t want to do that since a lot of guests leave such amazing encouraging comments here.

I am not AI this is genuinely how I write big words and all if someone actually thinks using words that can’t be found in an elementary school textbook is a sign of a machine I think that says more about them than me. Just because someone actually used to read a lot doesn’t make them inhuman and even though it’s probably bots on the off chance it isn’t stop being a dumbass and use your brain instead your laptops.

The reason I upload so close together sometimes is because I’m an insomniac and sometimes when I really just can’t sleep I write instead.

I use big words because I know them.

My character interactions are awkward because this is the first story I’ve ever written.

Whatever stupid game this is quit it and if it’s supposed to be some way to feed the very AI you accuse me of using good fucking luck because this is mediocre at best and will probably just ruin your other stolen samples.

Chapter Text

Sandy continued to have Macaque practice different breathing techniques over the next few days making sure they were drilled into his head so that they would be there for his next (unfortunately inevitable) crisis. This was mildly frustrating to his student who still found the entire thing to be a useless waste of time since with him being party born from the winds practicing something like breathing had little to no point.

Breathing was easy a comforting reminder that he was alive a natural reflex letting him know that he was out of the underworld out of the witches hands and out of the fire.

Fire and smoke made it harder to breathe. Macaque was positive that no amount of practicing Sandy’s exercises would help him with that. If only, at least then they would be actually useful.

He sighed (see? Not that hard Sandy) packing up the step stool he had to use when helping to cook away in its spot and setting the kettle on the stove to boil. The kitchen was clearly built for someone with considerable height and while usually Macaque would just shape shift to match his magic had been fading more and more every day so he was forced to prioritize one specific glamour above everything else leaving no energy left for things like adjusting his height.

The days just kept blending together the same routine over and over a predictable schedule leading to mind numbing boredom. Not even his nightmares had the decency to be interesting always ending with him drowning in the same lake while Wukong complained. Having the same dream three nights back to back probably meant something and usually Macaque would be all over researching it pouring over books until he finally figured out a logical explanation but now he was just too tired and besides where was he supposed to get such resources while stuck on this floating cat sanctuary?

It probably didn’t mean anything important anyway just his mind being so drained for this monotony that it too had given up on changing the program.

Macaque grabbed his consolation covered mug from its spot in the corner of the counter before snatching the kettle off the heat before it could squeal bringing it the mug and pouring the near boiling water in before dropping in the most caffeinated tea he could find in the frankly massive collection since Sandy was rather against purchasing coffee. It hadn’t taken very long for Sandy to realize his guest would be unable to reach most of the higher up cupboards so in addition to the step stool Macaque picked out some basic dishwear that would be his and was kept in a separate place where he could reach it without assistance.

This worked better for Macaque anyway since having his own set of dishes only he could use was comforting in a way. It was organization and control over his own life two things he most definitely craved.

Once the tea had throughly seeped he slowly made his way towards his seat he always sat in while avoiding tripping over any rouge cats scurrying around hoping to make it there before it would become occupied by another creature.

These attempts are of course futile since right as he goes to sit down a large grey Maine Coon jumped up directly into his spot purring proudly at him. This specific cat seemed to truly enjoy being in his spaces and he wasn’t sure about how he should feel. Sandy said that she must just love and want to be around him cooing about how cute it was but Macaque found it hard to believe anything would be so enamored with him for non malicious reasons.

Sandy chuckled slightly from across the room seeing Macaque starting down frustratedly at the cat. “Maybe you could just sit somewhere else today?”

Macaque shook his head frowning. “No I always sit there why would I want to sit anywhere but my own seat? She does this with my bed too it’s weird.”

The water demon smiled at that opening his mouth probably to say something about how clearly the cat had picked him only to be interrupted by a sudden strong gust of wind blowing the boats door open startling but thankfully not harming all the cats except for Moe who remained curled up in Sandy’s lap unfazed with Macaque quickly moving to reclaim his seat before the cat came back spilling a little tea in the process.

Princess Iron fan stepped through the doorway fan in hand scanning the room as she adjusted her height to fit the space without having to break her back.

“You are to release my brother this instant or pay the consequences-!” She proclaimed trying to not raise her voice louder than necessary while in the immediate area of Macaque stopping when the scene she busted in on fully registered.

Both Sandy and Macaque sat there still in their respective pajamas, a fluffy cat themed onesie that had to have been custom made to fit and some plain maroon two piece with black bunny slippers, both still with ruffled bed hair and tea in hand Sandy starring at her as Macaque avoided eye contact seemingly trying to become one with his newly reclaimed armchair.

“ Mihou…? What is happening here I thought you were in trouble! Have you just been here lounging around with some strange man and a hoard of cats while ignoring my messages?!”

Macaque sunk further into the cushions suddenly very interested in the dings and cat scratches decorating the coffee table.

“I looked everywhere for you literally going to hell and back but now you can’t even acknowledge me?!” Her voice softened as she continued, “I was so worried about you please if I did something wrong or if something happened you need to tell me so I can help you.”

Sandy stood up uncomfortable feeling as though he was sitting in on something that he shouldn’t. “I’ll just be outside checking on the door hinges if you need anything…!”he said as he quickly pulled some boots over the footies of his onesie to hurry outside before things could get any more serious still being ignored by the sworn siblings.

“I’ve only been here for about a month…” Macaque muttered still avoiding eye contact.

“And the rest of that time? Don’t lie to me I saw the state of your home it was completely destroyed”

Macaque mumbled something even quieter than before.

“Speak up now we’re not supposed to keep things from each other Mihou.”
Iron fan pushed getting stricter with each passing moment.

“ TECHNICALLY homeless okay?! But I was sleeping in the shadows and had a few good sources for food and water so I was fine! The kids tricked me into coming here and I’ve been stuck ever since are you happy now?!”

Iron fan was most definitely not happy though her face falling at his words. “Why didn’t you come to me? You know the demon bull family home has plenty of room for you and you’re always welcome there.”

“It would have been shameful to tell you why I needed assistance and I don’t want to be a burden to you. The amount of fire is also nerve wracking you know how I feel about that now….”

She sighed trying not to chastise her brilliant yet stupid little brother. “It’s not shameful what happened to your home is clearly not your fault, you are never a burden to us and we can figure out a solution to the fire problem. None of this explains why you have been ignoring all my wind messages.”

Macaque seemed confused at the last bit. “What messages? I haven’t been receiving any messages from you or anyone else lately.”

Iron fan stood there confused and concerned. “I’ve sending hundreds there’s absolutely no way they all missed you. Is everything okay with you are you sure nothings wrong? This combined with how un glamored you are right now is extremely worrying.”

Macaque hesitated for a moment fidgeting with the sleeves of his sweater before answering. “My magic has just been acting up for about a month now that’s all … I guess I didn’t realize how bad it had gotten until recently since I’ve just been too tired to notice.”

Her eye twitched hearing this frustrated at his apparent lack of worry for the situation. “Mihou that is extremely bad and we need to give it immediate attention before it gets any worse. I’m taking you to the family doctor immediately if you like it or not.”

“I don’t need a doctor PIF.”

“I will carry you out of here right now if you don’t come willingly this is not optional so don’t be an idiot.”

“Sure good luck.”

“Mihou I have carried children who weigh more than you you’re not a concern weight wise and you know that so unless you have somehow miraculously gained all of Sun Wukongs weight while still looking like a twig this will not be an issue.” She said while gently scooping him up with little resistance him already being used to this from when they were younger.

“Rude…” Macaque muttered under his breath as she walked to the door so she could safely teleport them outside only to be blocked by some invisible force.

“See? This is why you needed the luck no need to insult me.”

“Ugh! You should have warned me better one or both of us could have gotten hurt.”

“….well you didn’t really give me a lot of time.”

“Oh we had plenty of time and you know it.”

Iron fan gently placed Macaque down on on the floor to stand on his own. “Just tell me what kind of curse is upon you so I may break it and we can leave.”

He rolled up his sleeves to reveal the golden cuffs clasped around his wrists somehow even more bright and gaudy than he remembered. “It’s just these.”

PIF scowled gently touching the unnaturally warm metal before going slightly pale as things clicked into place.

“These need to come off immediately they’re draining your magic to power themselves keeping you here. I don’t know what will happen when it gets to the end of your supply but I don’t think we want to wait around for that to happen so we can find out. Do you have any idea on what we can do to unlock them?”

“I already tried biting clawing and smashing them and it didn’t work.”

*sigh* “I’m going to assume that they’re messing with your brain too since I know you’re smarter than that.”

“You!!” Iron fan raised her voice slightly still trying to manage her volume as she pointed at Sandy who was desperately trying to mind his own business on the opposite end of the boats deck. “Water demon with the cat! Come here!”

Sandy turned around slightly startled at his sudden acknowledgment before waving putting on a smile and cautiously walking over to them Moe still perched on his shoulder. “Hello..! Welcome to my little boat please don’t break anything we’re already lucky the hinges on my door are so strong. Is there something I can help you with it’s very nice to see Macaque get visitors so I didn’t want to intrude on anything personal!”

“Yes you may in fact be able to assist with something, these unfortunate cuff must be removed immediately before they can cause any permanent damage or worse.”

Sandy shifted uncomfortably at this clearing his throat before continuing.” I unfortunately wasn’t given a way to do that trust me if I could I would have done it ages ago it’s wrong to force someone into something they don’t want to be a part of and it’s most likely stunting our progress. As far as I know the only way to get them off would be for the owner to come do it…”

“And who might that be?” PIF asked already dreading the answer she knew was coming .

Sandy avoided eye contact for a few seconds before replying.

“……Mr. Monkey King……”

Chapter Text

Hearing that name Macaque instantly lost all hope of escape, thinking that he would die here and the body would have to be hidden away somewhere on the boat unable to be removed even in death. The only solution left was to simply cut his hands off and the wrist right under the bottom of the cuffs and hope there was no magical work around that would keep their power in place.

The three of them stood there quietly for a moment not knowing what to do Iron fan starting to turn red with rage clutching her fan like her life depended on but right before she could declare war on the ginger monkey Sandy clearly sensing the bubbling aggression spoke up.

“Before we resort to violence maybe we should try some other things first before anyone gets hurt! It should only be a last resort please don’t jump straight into it before trying anything else!”

“Before anyone gets hurt?! That bastard has already hurt my brother enough this alone could be causing irreversible damage to his magical core and body! That ape will not listen to reason from any of us there is no other option!” Iron fan exclaimed while gesturing towards Macaque who had moved to sit on the floor staring at the wall as he began to accept his fate.

Sandy paused to think for a moment. “What if we ask MK to convince him? They seem to have a solid relationship I’m sure he could convince him easily!”

“Fine I suppose we can try that first but no matter what I will be getting a few hits in both physical and verbal and nothing you can do or say will stop me.”

“I don’t think I could even if I wanted to.”

“Correct.”

“….Would you like some tea while we wait for him to get off work?”

Iron fan scoffed at that slightly while heading back inside to sit down in the seat next to Macaques. “I will try some since there’s not much else to do but I doubt anything from this vessel will match the quality I’m used to so do not be surprised if I don’t finish it.”

Insisted of being offended by this Sandy gained a twinkle in his eyes taking the remarks as a change instead of an insult. “Oh I’m sure you’ll be more than pleasantly surprised.” Turning back to the kitchen to prepare the perfect blend.

Macaque soon sulked into the main living area too tired and in too much shock to properly comment on his situation instead choosing to plop himself down in his surprisingly empty seat and bury his head in his hands. It didn’t take long though before the massive grey cat returned pawing and him and mewing for attention until he brought his hands down from his face to pet her.

“She won’t stop yelling unless I give her attention.” He explained to Iron fan without looking up from the task in front of him.

“What a needy little thing. She’s lucky she’s cute isn’t she?” Iron fan commented slowly reaching out to pet the cat. “ So soft too. I dare say she’s softer than your own pelt which I must say looks to be in significantly better condition than when I saw you last.”

“Ah… yea I’ve been able to wash it more often now and the cats keep trying to groom me. I don’t really know if that parts been helping much but they keep doing it so I gave up on trying to stop them.”

PIF paused for a moment allowing the gentle humming of purrs to fill the silence before she continued. “You’re doing well here aren’t you? I can tell you’re less anxious than normal and starting to get back to a healthy weight again. I’ll admit I was a bit scared of what I would find here but I’m pleased to admit I was wrong and it could be significantly worse. I’m obviously still not at all okay with how you got here and the cuff situation but at least you’re not being tortured.”

Macaque snorted at that last part a little bit. “Don’t worry I got all the being tortured out of my system from being forced into service for Lady bone demon no more of that for a while hopefully.” He almost made a joke about how the drowning nightmares could be considered his own mind torturing him but decided against it reasoning that she already had enough on her plate and didn’t need to worry about some silly dreams too.

Just then Sandy came in carrying a tray covered a full tea set and several light snacks most likely specifically chosen to pair with whatever flavor was in the pot. he proceeded to set out a cup in front of each the all themed after a unique cat before pouring the steaming hot tea into them one at a time. “Enjoy! I tried to pick out a good blend we would all love! If I remember correctly MKs shift ends in about twenty five minutes so I’ll have to wait until then to call and ask if he would help Macaque.”

“I don’t see why we can’t just call him immediately my brothers life is significantly more important than some noodle delivery job.” Iron fan said rolling her eyes as she brought the calico cup to her lips eyebrows raising slightly in pleasant surprise.

“Back when I was….monitoring him for Lady bone demon” Macaque visibly cringed saying that bit. “I noticed he usually puts his phone on silent during work since otherwise Pigsy would scold him for getting distracted during work. Sandy most likely couldn’t even reach him if he wanted to until the work day is over.”

Sandy nodded. “Yes exactly. We need to be patient.”

Iron fan reluctantly nodded before placing her now empty cup on the table. “Fine but we will not wait a moment longer than absolutely necessary. I refuse to loose my brother again especially if it’s to the likes of that pathetic excuse of a king.” She cleared her throat before changing the topic. “Now I must ask where do you acquire this tea from? It is surprisingly delicious.”

Sandy’s face lit up hearing this immediately going to pour her another cup. “I’ve spent quite a bit of time and research finding the best most sustainable suppliers from across the country and even some from around the globe! Along with cats tea is one of my great passions!”

The two continued to discuss the culture and quality behind teas for the next twenty or so minutes lowering their voices after noticing Macaque had fallen asleep in his seat cat practically draping over him and PIF taking a moment to double check he was still alive before continuing the conversation only for it to be interrupted by Sandy’s phone ringing.

“Oh! It’s MK what luck! “ He enthusiastically picked up the phone answering it. “Hello MK! How was work? I apologize for being so sudden but I have a very important urgent favor to ask of you- What happened?” Sandy’s face fell. “He just dropped him off at your apartment and ran? No no of course you can bring him back here I’ll figure it out everything will be fine just come quickly we can talk more when you get here okay? Okay good bye I’ll see you soon then.”

Sandy hung up placing his phone on the table then doing a few rounds of deep breaths.

“Is everything alright with the boy? We still need him.” Iron fan asked.

“He’s okay. Apparently Wukong showed up at his apartment just as he got off work and dropped Peaches off while rambling about some kind of vacation. I told him to just bring Peaches home so we can talk about this in person. So sorry context, Peaches is a cat I asked Wukong to watch for a while since he was making Macaque stressed and uncomfortable due to his apparent resemblance to the monkey king.”

Iron fan looked at him judgmentally. “You trusted that oaf with a cat?”

“I know I know it was a rushed decision and looking back on it I regret it.”

PIF stood up the rage starting to show again. “I can’t believe that ass is doing this again!”

“Doing what again?”

“Running away from his problems and mistakes like a coward all while leaving the rest of us behind to pick up his mess.”

Chapter Text

“Now hold on we shouldn’t immediately assume the worst! Maybe this was a pre scheduled trip I’m sure we can still get into contact with him and he’ll be right over!” Sandy tried to reason.

Iron fan was visibly displeased at this seemingly about to raise her voice before catching herself. “Do not try to justify his behavior that bastard was barely there for Mihou even when they were together why would he start putting in the bare minimum amount of effort now? I do not care about your no violence ideals I plan on finding that pathetic excuse for a man to verbally and physically beat the ever loving life out of him immortality’s be damned! “

Sandy was quiet at that not knowing how to respond in a way that would convince her to do anything otherwise. The silence continued to hang in the room for a moment before being broken by MK slamming the door open Peaches under one arm both visibly frazzled.

“Im really sorry for having to bring Peaches back on such short notice but Monkey king just handed me him and dipped out yelling something about a trip! I just can’t take care of a cat right now, I’m always out of the house, my apartment is a mess, and I’m worried I’ll forget to feed him so I couldn’t think of anything else to do I’m so so sorry I know you didn’t want him here.”

“MK calm down. Everything is okay I’ll figure it out, I’m glad you brought him here instead of pushing yourself.” Sandy said gently taking Peaches away from MK holding him gently as he pet him.

“Do you have any idea of where Monkey king might be? It’s an extremely urgent time sensitive matter.”

“No I- he didn’t say anything about where he was going. I can try to astral project to him when I calm down a bit more in a second but that won’t give me coordinates or anything like that.”

He looked around finally noticing Iron fan glaring at him. “Oh heyyy Princess iron fan never expected to see you here. Can someone please tell me what’s going on?! I don’t understand what’s happening and it’s starting to freak me out a lot.”

“You’re pathetic excuse for a teacher decided it was appropriate to use a very dangerous artifact to restrain my dearest little brother that is beginning to have extremely negative consequences on his physical and magical health and only he can remove it which is why I would appreciate it if we could move along quickly.” Iron fan said while getting up from her seat to move in front of Macaque who had been awakened by MKs loud entrance only to immediately start dozing off again too fatigued by the cuffs to put full energy in with the cat still purring away in lap.

“Little brother…? I didn’t know you had siblings or that there were more of those cuffs in Monkey king’s vault.”

“No you idiot! Macaque is my younger brother we’ve been sworn siblings for hundreds of years and may as well be connected by blood at this point. Don’t tell me you share the same dim brain as the bastard you worship. Now get me that location this instant before I make you.”

MK stepped backwards a few steps hands held up in a sign of surrender. “Okay! Okay! No need to be so rude let me just step outside for a few minutes and I’ll do my best to get his location no need for threats!” He slowly backed out maintaining eye contact before making it to the door and practically bolting outside.

Sandy sat at the counter watching the scene play out while brushing out Peaches coat. “Have you ever heard the saying that you catch more flies with honey instead of vinegar?”

“Silence. This is an emergency that requires urgent actions and behavior besides that particular saying is a bit foolish isn’t it? Why pick flies over a much
more desirable creature?”

“…… You could be over thinking it just a little. ”

——————————————————————

Outside MK was attempting to hype himself up not particularly excited about the up coming conversation. Well yea Monkey king was a good guy and all he definitely wasn’t that fond of Macaque and there was a pretty good chance he at the very least kinda knew what the cuffs could do to him. Also if this went wrong he REALLY didn’t want to be the one to tell Iron fan since that felt like a personal health risk.

Postponing the inevitable wasn’t going to do anyone any favors if anything it was just going to make things worse for Macaque, it had been so strange seeing him passed out like that before PIF had moved in front of him , so exposed nothing like that tense closed off monkey he kinda sorta knew. So with a deep breath he focused on finding his mentor through astral projection and after a few moments he felt himself lock on.

“Heyyyy Monkey king um we’re having a pretty big time sensitive emergency over at Sandy’s boat right now could you please come here to help like immediately as soon as possible?”

It was still a bit blurry surrounding him since he hadn’t gotten great at this whole thing yet but MK could see Wukong pacing back and forth startling slightly at the sound of MKs voice before turning around to face him.

“Kid are you sure you can’t figure it out by yourself? I’m kinda busy right now and I’m pretty sure you’re strong enough to beat whatever demon is bothering you without my help.”

MK fidgeted a bit feeling Iron fans eyes burning a hole into the back of his head.
“No we specifically need you right now! Those cuffs you had me put on Macaque are really really dangerous and draining his magic they might actually kill him if you don’t get here to take them off as soon as possible!”

Wukong stopped his pacing entirely at that his expression shifting to something unreadable. “Macaque is already dead MK he’s been dead for a long time now. I don’t know what the Lady Bone demon did to bring him back but it definitely wasn’t healthy. He’s a villain don’t forget everything he’s done to me! To us!”

“I’m not stupid Wukong I remember everything but that doesn’t mean I don’t think he deserves a second chance! You’re right what Lady bone demon did was wrong but you need to realize that he probably got the worst of it! He’s clearly hurting and I know Sandy can help him, hell he clearly is already helping if even Princess Iron fan is seeing results so if you’re right and he’s still a bad guy you can say I told you so but right now you aren’t acting much better so get down here before PIF finds you and drags you back.”

That finally shut Sun Wukong up for a moment as he clenched and un clenched his fists contemplating what to do next.

“What would people think about you if they found out you let someone who helped stop her die? You know Mei has a lot of followers online and a lot of influence.” MK threatened quietly not happy about having to resort to such methods.

“FINE! I’ll be right there just give me a second okay?!”

“Thank yo-“ but the connection was cut off before MK could finish.

He turned back to face Iron fan as she walked out of the boats cabin growing back to her impressive full height and brandishing her fan with a white knuckle grim a look of barely concealed rage across her face. “If he is not here with the minute I will be calling in every last favor I have to find him.”

MK gulped as he stared up at her making sure he was slowly backing away to make sure he was fully out of the main fight zone. “Completely understandable.”

Surprisingly it didn’t take long for Wukong to show up his cloud quickly approaching on the horizon speeding towards them before he landed with a heavy thunk against the cold metal of the ship deck.

“Hey PIF! Didn’t expect to see you again so soon! How’s it going? Nice weather- ” Before he could continue he was interrupted by a swift hard slap to the face.

“Okay ow… I’m here to help so no need to be so rude.”

“For the last time you have no right to use any form of nickname with me and we wouldn’t need your assistance if you hadn’t caused the problem in the first place you ignorant buffoon!”

“Yea?! And I don’t have to be here OR help so why don’t you respect me before I walk out?!”

“Oh like I would let you walk out on Mihou again you owe him this much after everything you’ve put him through.Just do your job so we never have to see you again.”

“Fine just calm down it’s not a big deal.” He said as he walked through the entrance and straight to Macaques room before Sandy jumped in his way blocking him from grabbing the handle.
“What do you think you’re doing? That’s a private area you have no business with!”

“Relax I just assumed he would be in that little room you set up for him jeez your both so on edge.” Wukong said while rolling his eyes. “Where is it then anyway?”

“HE is in the chair over here where all the cats are crowding.” Sandy said while pointing towards the area. “Wait how do you even know about his room…?”

Wukong ignored the question as he walked over to the seat causing the surrounding cats including Peaches and the one still on Macaques lap to hiss at him starting the Macaque awake enough for him to register what was happening and impulsively kick Wukong in the shin.

“What is wrong with you people!? Last I checked you don’t hurt people you want to help you if that was true I would probably be in a different position right now.”

“It’s not my fault you’re so kickable.” Macaque scoffed up at from his seating position as he held his wrists up shaking slightly from the anxiety of the situation. “Just get them off already looking at you makes me feel sick.”

“Again I don’t have to help you I’m only doing it at this point to get everybody off my back so be grateful for once.” Wukong said as he harshly grabbed onto the cuffs making Macaque visibly flinch as the soft clicks of locks seemed to echo throughout the living room before the offensive jewelry clattered to the ground.

However before Wukong could pick them up princess Iron fan swooped in out of nowhere to snatch them up out of his reach.

“Hey! Those are mine!”

“Not anymore. You clearly cannot be trusted with them so I will be confiscating them to be placed in my family’s treasure vault under proper security far away from the likes of you.” PIF scolded while leading Wukong back out the front door.

“Now I do believe you are in need of a more severe punishment for this behavior however I am very aware that my attacks are not much against your frankly idiotic levels of strength so while I may not be doing anything of note this exact moment do know your time will come sooner than later and you will have no chance of escape. Do you understand?”

“Yea sure do your best. “

“Good. I will never understand how someone could treat their own mate so terribly you are still every bit as monstrous as the creatures you vanquish dare I say worse than some.”

“Yea well Macaque stopped being my mate and became one of those monsters when he attacked the monk that was his choice not mine.Things would be different if he just waited for me like always.” Wukong replied as he stepped back onto his nimbus.

Iron fan openly gagged at that before once again slapping him harder this time. “You disgust me Sun Wukong how dare you imply that’s the only way you hurt him. Now begone looking at you is hurting my eyes.”

Wukong scowled at that while he held a hand to his quickly reddening cheek making the surprisingly wise decision to quickly fly back to his mountain without another retort as PIF watched making sure he was truly gone before heading back inside to check on her brother.

——————————————————————

Macaques wrists where the cuffs had been were red and raw from struggling with them for so long along with small marks almost definitely from the magical effects leaving their mark. Sandy sat next to him doing the best he could with the ship’s medicine box applying disinfectant and bandages on both sides. The cats were still all huddled around Macaque except now instead of hissing it was all purrs making it sound like the boats engine was running even though it wasn’t.

“We must discuss what will happen now. Mihou you clearly have no home to return to and while of course my palace will always be open to you but you also have a room here now too assuming Sandy is true to his word.”

Sandy nodded along as he finished tying off Macaque bandages. “As long as I have this boat and you want it that space is yours!”

Macaque hesitated to respond as he pet the large grey cat that still removed.

“Logically I should probably spend most of my nights here. I’m really sorry Iron fan but I just can’t trust that I’ll be okay yet or won’t relapse into bad habits again. I could barely keep it together just now with Wukong and who knows how seeing him again will affect me subconsciously. But now that I can hopefully teleport again I’ll make sure to visit constantly until you’re sick of seeing me.”

Iron fan nodded disappointed but at the same time understanding as she genuinely held her brothers hand causing the cat in his lap to make a confused sound at the sudden absence of pets. “Very well. I understand your reasoning and while disappointed you will not be living with me I recognize that being in the presence of someone who is trained in mental health would be a beneficial and wise decision. However if you do not hold true on your promises of us spending time together I will make sure to hunt you down and make you. I will never grow sick of you Mihou do not confuse my feelings for you with those directed towards other celestial monkeys. We must go back to our gossip cafe soon too I’m sure we have plenty to discuss!”

Macaque smiled tiredly up at her.
“I can’t wait.”

Chapter Text

Even a week after he was freed Macaques wrists ached. They burned they itched and every time Sandy applied new ointment and bandages they stung. It was getting to the point where he was debating whether or not it would be worth it to lie or avoid him whenever it was time for a refresh but he also realized that wouldn’t end well, either with infection scolding or being dragged back by Iron fan most likely some combination of the three.

Worse somehow was the lingering emotional and psychological pain that stubbornly stuck around. Macaque hadn’t realized how badly seeing his ex mate the bastard king would affect his mental state especially since he had been quite literally at his mercy during the interaction but if the idiot was good at anything it was leaving his mark on anything and everyone he wanted.

Macaque cringed a little bit forcing himself to think of something else as he did his best to get comfortable for the night a task only complicated by the large grey Maine Coon who had decided to take up half his bed. Having long learned that attempting to move her was a waste of time and energy he instead chose to carefully climb over the gently snoring cat before crawling under the covers and allowing himself to drift off.

———————————————————————

The sun was bright perfect for the eternal summer the island of Flower fruit mountain was blessed with little monkeys running around everywhere doing as they pleased causing chaos however and wherever they wished it was all so disorganized so foreign to Mihou. He had grown up only knowing order and control so needless to say the whole situation was very overwhelming to him.

An arm slung around his shoulder suddenly startled him out of his thoughts the monkey king beaming at him a smile somehow brighter than the sun itself.

“Awesome isn’t it? Way better than stuffy old heaven with all its boring rules!”

Mihou nodded slightly not fully convinced but scared of disagreeing.

“I can’t believe you lasted so long with those stuck up losers! So glad I found you there honestly you’re lucky you got fired so I could bring you back home!”

Fired. Fired from the job he loved and worked so hard for but yes fired with barely explanation was lucky not deeply insulting. The shame he had felt alone was devastating not even mentioning the looks everyone had given him before sending him off with some loud mouth stable attendant.

Monkey king just kept rambling on and on about something or other grip on Mihou firm even as his attempts to gently shake it off went unnoticed.

“Ya know they should put more respect to my name! After all I could totally beat the crap of all of them if I wanted to but I thought I would be a little bit more merciful especially since it wouldn’t have even been a challenge just borrrringggg. Hey! I know! I deserve a better title don’t you agree? Something that really fully represents who I am!”

Mihou was only half paying attention at this point not fully knowing how to contribute since in full honesty he could barely remember the now ex stable boy’s name much less help think of a full title that wouldn’t get him crushed for offending “his majesty” although even that title felt a little bit sketchy.

“Oh um yes of course a title. Isn’t Monkey king already one though? And I thought titles were either given to one by others or earned not a gift to one’s self?”

Monkey king stopped for a moment to stare at him blankly making Mihou shrink in on himself in fear of having said the wrong thing before the king started laughing and clapped the smaller monkey on the back making him stumble and cough as he desperately attempted to make sure nothing in the box he carried spilled.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about that! When you’re as great as me those kinds of rules don’t apply anymore. Trust me I give myself a title everyone else will use it too and besides it’s not like they have that much of a choice right?”

Mihou nodded slightly still hugging his box as they reached a large waterfall blocking their path. He was very grateful he had remembered to apply his noise blocking spells earlier that day since between the Kings rambling and the rushing waters he didn’t think he would have survived.

“Where do we go now..? I may be mistaken but I don’t see any path to continue with.”

The monkey king chucked a bit.
“Oh come on I thought you were supposed to be smarter than this?” And with that gave the unsuspecting young demon a solid shove through the waters.

Mihous shrieks echoed through the cavern as he quite literally fell through before landing on the cave floor with a thud stuff scattering out of the box and around the surrounding area. The Monkey king stepped through absolutely cracking up as he pulled Mihou up off the floor passing him a now half empty box.

“Jeez are you okay? It was not a joke I thought you could handle it.”

Mihou frantically went to gather his things shaking slightly as he checked for damages too shocked reply not that it mattered since the other hadn’t waited for one instead choosing to continue walking down the path to a large ornate palace bathed in the light of a large skylight leaving him to chase after once he had finished collecting everything.

Once inside the doors quickly shut behind them as the still talking king lead him down to hallway lined with doors before stopping to point at one that glimmered in gold.
“ This is my room! “He then pointed to a more plain red door directly across the hallway. “There’s yours! Welcome home! Now if you excuse me I’m going to go take a nap dealing with all of heavens stupidity makes me feel tired. “

The ginger swung open the door giving Mihou a glimpse of the large fancy room inside complete with massive plush looking bed before the door shut behind him leaving Mihou alone in the hallway left only to open his own door.

The room was small and dusty making him sneeze a few times as he set his box down on the dresser sending a cloud of dust into the air causing more sneezing and a blur in his vision as it faded into his significantly cozier room on Sandy’s boat took it’s place.

“Home. What a joke. You don’t have a home you’ve been kicked out every place you’ve called that. Heaven, Flower fruit mountain, the sad building you call a dojo, why will now be any different? You don’t deserve a home and it’s only a matter of time before you lose this one too.”

A voice Macaque could almost recognize until it slipped through his fingers whispered into all six of his ears at once past present and future.

“Remember that. Remember what we could have had if you weren’t so weak.”

Suddenly he felt a cold paw slapping him across the face mewing interrupting whatever it was about to say next waking Macaque up breathing heavily as he sat upright. There Misty sat directly on top of him demanding his full attention only stopping her smacks and meows when full proper pets were given.

*sigh* “Good girl Misty.”

Chapter Text

Misty continued to paw at Macaques leg as he jotted down some notes in his “not a diary” dream journal occasionally meowing at him until he paused to pet her. Several times she attempted to jump up onto his lap but due to her rather large size he unfortunately had to move her back down to finish writing each time with a promise of attention when he was finished.

Macaque supposed that if anything he was grateful to have something different to write about instead of the same drowning dream over and over on loop but it would be nice to have a dream without the sunshine prick constantly insisting himself. It was bad enough that he was forced to let the obnoxious ape touch him again but the fact that even in his dreams that bastard refused to leave him alone was beyond frustrating.

He sighed before gently placing the journal and pencil bag back into their drawer glancing at the thankfully silent clock (a ticking one would have most likely driven him more insane than he most likely already was) that sat on the corner of the desk. Six am felt like too late to go back to sleep but on the other hand he hadn’t slept well at all. Macaque knew that Sandy wouldn’t come bother him until well into the afternoon just to make sure everything is okay so with both options weighed he decided on the most likely more responsible choice and went to collapse back onto his bed passing out almost instantly.

This was much to the dismay of poor Misty now disappointed by the continued absence of scratches instead choosing to curl up right next to her new favorite person to ensure that come morning her needs would be met. And morning did come yet Macaque didn’t rise until around nine thirty am still half asleep but startled awake by a sudden series of knocks. Macaque pulled a pillow over his head scowling. It was too early for Sandy to be checking in so urgently and he wouldn’t disturb him unless it was an emergency so surely something must be wrong.

Thankfully he need not worry long though since after another round of knocking a distinctly feminine voice could be heard through the wooden door.

“Mihou you have ten seconds to make sure you’re decent before I come in whether you like it or not!”

Because well yes Sandy would never intentionally disturb or intrude on him his dear sister most definitely would.

Suddenly the door swung open revealing Iron fan brandishing a shopping bag surprisingly dressed in modern street wear instead of her usual traditional wear albeit a more luxurious take on it.

“Were going out on the town today just us! I have a whole itinerary planned out and don’t try to say you’re busy I know you’re not I just finished checking in with Sandy your day is completely clear.”

Macaque moved the pillow to the side blinking up at her groggily still trying to register the situation as Misty jumped down from the bed to begin head butting princess Iron fan for attention instead. Iron fan in turn almost immediately set down the bag before kneeling down to dote on the large cat.

“Oh hello you brave little angel! How pleasant it is to see you again! Still helping protect my stubborn little brother aren’t you? What a good girl you are yes indeed!”

“Why does it feel like you’re more excited to see her than me?” Macaque questioned as he got out of bed still rubbing his eyes. He had long leaned that once his sister had her mind set on something resistance would only make things worse.

“Well she didn’t ghost me for over a month or make me think that she was dead not to mention she’s adorably soft!”

He paused for a moment before exhaling unable to think of a good defense. “Yea that sounds about right. Look I’ll gladly do your day out but be warned the only clothes I currently own are all basically pajamas.”

As if on cue the shopping bag soared through the air before smacking him in the chest and landing on the floor at his feet.

“I’m insulted you would think I wouldn’t be prepared for that. Go change we have a reservation for brunch soon and I will not be late.”

Macaque sighed in defeat as he scooped up the bag and trudged into the bathroom mumbling something about lost sleep.

“Freshen up a bit while you’re in there I can’t be seen with a slob human disguise or not!” Iron fan half joked behind him.

“Yea yea I got it don’t worry.”

After one of the fastest showers of his life somehow managing to wash his face hair body and brush his teeth in roughly five minutes Macaque finally peered inside the bag to inspect the new outfit. From only a quick glance it was obvious to him that the clothes were more geared towards his human form something that wasn’t much of a surprise since it would be rather foolish to just waltz around the city in full his demonic vision.

This worked well with the shower anyway since humans did tend to towel dry significantly faster than those fur. So after a quick shape shift to his base human form and a speedy drying process Macaque started pulling on each layer of the outfit before Iron fan started worrying about him teleporting away to escape the social interaction.

On went plain black pants, deep red turtleneck, leather jacket, and some simple lace up ebony boots. Macaque grumbled as he tied up the boots trying not to remember how long these kinds of knots took to form him learn. Back in the brotherhood days he had struggled particularly badly with them leading to Wukong always insisting on doing them for him yet refusing to teach him how all while Peng mocked him from the sidelines.

But that was the past now he could tie those knots without mockery or assistance. He had learned he had grown and now the shoes were perfectly tied without any errors if only Peng could see them now.

Macaque took a final glance in the mirror double checking everything was in order, the human disguise was perfectly in place as he checked his now non demonic face the only remaining marks being the stubborn ones left behind that resembled a bright red eyeliner and wing decorating each of his eyes. His hair a solid pitch black was still quite damp but he had no doubt Iron fan and any local wind spirits would quickly dry that once he left the boat. Finally he gently brushed the three delicate iridescent earrings in each ear quietly casting all the necessary spells so that the day’s experiences could be actually enjoyable.

Taking one last deep breath Macaque pushed the bathroom door open to see Iron fan sitting on his bed Misty stretched out in the former celestials lap completely melting into her touch.

“Oh good everything fits you perfectly!”

“Even if it didn’t I could just shape shift so they did right?” He tried joking.

Iron fan shook her head. “No no that wouldn’t do. These are your clothes not some other version of you. I don’t think it’s very good for you to force yourself to fit into something else like that, clothes should fit you not the other way around.”

She gently moved the now snoring kitty off her lap and stood up. “Now come along being even five minutes late for one thing could offset the entire day and I know if anyone is more paranoid about scheduling than me it’s you.”

———————————————————————

Brunch was at a cute fancy little cafe a roughly 20 minute walk from where Sandy currently had his boat docked, not that they walked when it was so much more convenient for Iron fans winds to carry them to a secluded spot much closer plus this method included Macaques much needed blow dry leaving his hair an overly fluffy delight that constantly got in his eyes and mouth leaving him no other choice but to create a hair tie from the shadows much to Iron fan’s disappointment.

“It looked so cute all fluffed up like that why must you remove such simple joys from the world I didn’t even get to ruffle it like old times!”

Macaque didn’t even glance up from his menu smirking from behind it. “Well if you did that then it would be ruined for the rest of the day wouldn’t it?”

“Yes but still your hair gets so soft and you used to love when I played with it when we were younger.”

“I would still love it if it’s from you in a safe space it’s just…. accepting physical contact from people is a little hard right now. Maybe later tonight when we get back to Sandy’s home if I’m still up for it? That sounds really nice.”

“Oh I will make sure to hold you to it.”

The waiter came and went with Iron fans ordering a tea service and some fancy overpriced bagel topped with some sort of deluxe cream cheese and things like caviar while Macaque simply tried to order what could only be described as the most caffeinated cup of coffee known to man, celestial, and demon kind repeatedly insisting that more and more espresso shots were absolutely possible and necessary only receiving actual food when Iron fan added a fruit plate for him.

“You know I’m completely broke right?” Macaque said to her softly from across the table not wanting to cause any unnecessary attention to himself.

“And I assume that you know I am filthy filthy rich. Family doesn’t pay when they’re with me and as far as I’m concerned my dear brother you will always be family. Now eat your fruit plate and know I am making sure it’s actually eaten I haven’t forgotten your bad habit of only pretending to eat so don’t waste our time trying since it won’t be getting past me any time soon.”

There was a moment of silence as the two of them ate their respective plates of food Macaque trying to avoid eye contact after being called out wishing the menus hadn’t been taken away so he could cover his face again.

“So do you think you’ll be trying to date anyone again anytime soon? I know how much you hate being alone and I would love to help make sure we don’t repeat any previous mistakes.” Iron fan said breaking the silence.

Macaque choked on his caffeine sludge almost spitting it across the table.

She continued seemingly oblivious to the current situation across from her.

“I know plenty of fine single celestials spirits and demons that could be a good fit for you! Ooo maybe I could even check Sandy’s availability you two already live together and he really is such a wonderful person!”

“PIF I’m so sorry but no. I just……I can’t right now okay? It’s still too fresh. Also I could never date Sandy so give up on that right now he’s more like…. Like…” Macaque interjected.

“A friend..?”

He turned away slightly embarrassed.

“I understand and I won’t push but do know when you put yourself out there you must tell me so I may vet them you have proven that you’re taste in men requires some supervision. You deserve someone who loves you and worships you. I will say however it is so nice to know you have made at least one friend even if you can’t fully admit it.” Iron fan smiled at him softly gently holding his hand.

“Now then we have eaten our brunch and I do believe that we have a show to catch.”

After leaving a very fat tip Iron fan gently pulled her still very embarrassed brother around the city for about ten minutes before suddenly stoping in front of a stunning historical theatre brightly colored signs lights and posters advertising the current show.

“SIX the musical….? Are you trying to make some kind of weird joke? It’s not very funny.” Macaque said squinting up at the glowing text above the theater entrance.

“Not a joke Mihou just a wonderful coincidence. I got us the best tickets for today’s matinee showing that way we can have time for some shopping afterwards and you can still get your beauty sleep.”

“Oh shh!“

“Don’t shh me when we both know that you need all the help you can get right now!” Iron fan smiled down at him jokingly since even in human disguise she had quite the height advantage over her little brother.

“Now I for one would love to purchase a glass of red wine to enjoy with the show before it starts. I assume that you’re still sober? They have waters juices and sodas too I’ll get you one of those if you would like.”

“Ah yeah still sober… being stuck around the brotherhood for so long can do that to you I guess. Waters fine.”

“I trust you will continue to tell me all the…. let’s say entertaining things my husband did during that time so I might bring it up to him when he won’t stop boasting about his “glory days”?” She smirked

“Oh of course I could never without such priceless information from you.”

After getting their drinks and sitting down in their designated seats to wait for the lights to dim and show to start Macaque realized that he had a rather important question about the situation.

“What’s this show even about? I haven’t been able to keep up with theater news lately.”

Iron fan smirked just as the lights began to shut off. “Oh don’t worry I’m sure you’ll love it.”

———————————————————————

She was in fact as always very much so correct. Several times during the show Iron fan looked over to see her brother sobbing both tears of joy and sadness occasionally passing him tissues she had packed for this exact moment. Even as the two exited past the merchandise booth and out the door ( of course picking up a few souvenirs along the way) Macaque chatting the whole time about the show.

It did make her sad though the fact that her sweet brother related so heavily to such tragedy’s. At least the show made him feel somewhat happy and seen even if it was a bit bittersweet. She checked her watch sighing at the time, they didn’t have much time left before she had promised to bring Mihou back to the boat so no time for the planned shopping spree on the original schedule just enough left for one store on the way.

The large pet store stood before them glass doors and windows offering a view into kitty cat and pup paradise.

“Why are we stopping here? I thought we were heading back to Sandys.” Macaque questioned.

“I think your little guardian deserves her own special treats don’t you? Misty is such a good girl after all.”

He softened a bit at that. “Yea she does. Hopefully the other cats don’t get too jealous though they might get mean with her.”

“Oh we’ll just close the door when we give them to to her so they don’t see!”

“We..?”

But Iron fan had already marched into the store her mission clear. Soon her newly acquired shopping basket was full of treats toys and little outfit pieces Macaque tagging along to joke about the situation.

“I’m starting to think you love that cat more than me!”

“Of course I do ——-not! Most definitely do not!”

“Does she really need so many tiaras?”

“Yes Mihou she is of royal status and it must be shown!”

In the end they showed up at Sandys door with two large paper bags of gifts for Misty.
Gifts that would mostly be shared with the rest of the cats but in spirit were for misty. After being welcomed home with a cup of tea and open arms Iron fan still had one more thing she must do before leaving.

She turned to Mihou now back in his true form sitting on his bed in his pajamas as they gently pet the now treat filled tiara wearing Misty .

“Mihou may I still play with your hair?”

He blinked up at her. “Really? You still want to?”

“Yes.”

“I mean sure then. My hair brush is in the top drawer of my bathroom cabinet if you want to use it.”

She nodded carefully getting up to retrieve the brush as to not disturb the cat before returning to sit beside her brother so she was angled slightly behind him.

“ permission to touch?”

“Granted. I don’t know why you like this so much.”

“You’re very soft and it’s meditative. May I please see the white too? It’s so lovely on you.”

Macaque hesitated for a moment before without a word allowing the white chunks of his hair to fade in standing out bright against the majority pitch black.

“See? So pretty.” She said as she gently brushed through.

The gentle brushing and kind whispers continued for another ten minutes or so before he fell asleep to the motions and lack of stress in the moment. Carefully iron fan adjusted him to a more comfortable position and pulling a blanket on top.

As she slowly snuck out to go home she turned back to him and smiled whispering softly “ That really hasn’t changed since we were young has it?”.

Chapter Text

For the first time in a long time Macaques sleep was deep and uninterrupted with no strange dreams or memories to bother him. Misty gently snored by his side keeping watch her new tiara upon her head glinting in the light from the crack of the bathroom door. The whole night stayed that way peaceful and calm until the sun rose and the birds began their daily chorus.

The smell of fresh pancakes filled the boat before making its way over to waft under Macaques door combining with the sounds from the kitchen causing him to stir cursing slightly under his breath at the disturbance. Misty realizing he was awake slapped his face lightly a few times only stopping when he finally gave in petting her gently as she purred leaning into his touch.

Slowly Macaque began to get up doing his best not to disturb Misty too much as he slid into his slippers and after quickly washing his face allowing himself to be lured out by the smell of food Misty begrudgingly following behind.

As suspected Sandy was working his way around the kitchen finishing up all the cat food bowls before hurriedly putting them in there places so he could get back to making sure the “people” food didn’t burn. Upon seeing him Sandy smiled enthusiastically waving him over.

“Mr. Macaque what a lovely surprise you’re up much earlier than usual today! I really hope I didn’t disturb you in any way. I was just cooking breakfast for myself but if you give me a minute and would like it I’ll get a second serving going so we can eat together!”

Macaque sat down at the counter yawning as he rested his head in his hands. “Don’t worry it’s fine. I’d like some just not a lot I’m not too hungry.”

Sandy nodded as he whisked together some more batter before adding some more butter to the pan.

“After breakfast I think we should sit down and have a proper therapy session it’s been a while since the last one and please don’t take offense to this but I do think we still have a lot of things to discuss.” Sandy said as he flipped the pancake in front of him with practiced ease.

Macaque suddenly seemed a bit more uncomfortable noticeably pausing before he responded. “Fine.”

“Just fine? This needs to be consensual with full effort from both of us to be able to help you Mr.Macaque.”

“Fine I have nothing better to do today so why not. Is that better?”

Sandy nodded as he placed the still steaming pancake onto the plate Macaque had picked out for himself in front of him . “Better!”

Breakfast was with quick Sandy carefully buttering each of his mountain of pancakes before raining them in a slightly more than healthy amount of syrup while Macaque ate his with only a thin spread of salted butter saying something about “not being a big sweet tooth”.

After everything was finished and all the dishes had been washed and packed away it didn’t take long before the two of them migrated to the living room to take their respective seats, Misty with a few crumbs still stuck to her face jumping right onto her favorite living seat.

“So. Do you have anything you would like to start with today? Or may I make a few suggestions?”

“I feel slightly offended that you have multiple suggestions.” Macaque joked dryly.

Sandy quickly straightened up having obviously missed the joke. “Im so very sorry I didn’t mean to be rude! Honestly whatever you feel most comfortable my suggestions are all pretty unspecific anyways!!”

“…That was supposed to be a joke.”

“Oh! I’m sorry I didn’t realize! Knowing that it was a bit funny!”

“It’s okay you don’t have to lie to me I know I’m not the funny one.”

A moment of silence hung in the air before Sandy awkwardly cleared his throat and tried to move on.

“If I can ask how do you know Princess Iron fan? It’s really nice to see you so happy and relaxed around someone!”

“I used to work in heaven before I was randomly fired. When we were younger she would always try to pull me from my work to spend time together so we got close fast, it was her idea to be sworn siblings even though it pissed her family off. Honestly she still did that even as we grew up it was fun albeit a little annoying when I actually had work.”

The word “fired” spat out like a bitter poison before his words melted slightly recalling the fonder childhood memories.

“You still seem upset about being fired all these years later. Do you want to talk about that? I can feel a lot of built up frustration and resentment it’s not good for you to carry that around.”

“Of course I’m still upset!! Those elitist pricks didn’t even give me a reason why they just saw Wukong leaving and decided that his final job was taking the trash with him! I had a perfect record I did everything right and yet that still wasn’t good enough! I wasn’t good enough and nobody even had the decency to tell me why!!!”

Macaque had to pause and catch his breath fingers desperately combing through Misty’s fur as he tried to calm himself her purrs showing a deep satisfaction.

“I think you’re good enough Mr.Macaque. You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone here we all know how hard you must have worked and agree that the way you were let go was just plain unfair and rude!” Sandy said while gesturing around to all of the cats. “And please don’t compare yourself to trash that helps absolutely nobody.”

“It’s not that much of a comparison since they literally threw me out like trash, sending me with that ape without even allowing me proper time to gather all my stuff. I was given one measly box and barely three minutes before they chucked me out how doesn’t that sound like trash to you?”

“It does sound closer to an abusive cut throat office drama then what I typically imagine heaven to be like. That’s so awful what happened to you Mr.Macaque I imagine that the lack of closure just makes everything so much worse. I wish there was a way I could help you find it but for now the best I can do is help you find acceptance inside yourself.”

Macaque looked down at Misty avoiding eye contact as he muttered something under his breath.

“Do you mind speaking up a bit? I unlike you I don’t have super hearing!”

Macaques head shot up slightly surprised. “I said that just Macaque is fine since Mr. Macaque feels so formal and makes me sound old. Who said anything about super hearing?”

“Oh I guess I just assumed you had super hearing because of your extra ears and all? So I tried to make a joke out of it!” Sandy immediately realized he messed up when Macaques expression quickly went from shock to extremely upset and betrayed in a matter of seconds.

“Who told you?! Was it Wukong?! Or did you get Iron fan drunk before interrogating her for all my secrets!” His hands quickly flew to the sides of his head protectively as he rambled on in a panic.

“No! No! Nothing like that I swear! Back when you locked yourself in your room and passed when I carried you out I could see them along with all the white streaks in your fur! I swear I didn’t mess with them or hear about them in any other way!” Sandy swiftly interjected attempting to save the situation before it got any worse or Macaque tried to run away.

“I don’t think there’s anything to be ashamed of Macaque I don’t think there’s anything wrong with them if anything they’re very pretty!”

Macaque now back to hyperventilating glared at Sandy from across the room Misty pawing at him for more attention.

“Did you tell anyone?”

“Of course not this isn’t my thing to share.”

“And you haven’t heard Wukong say anything about them? He doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut and I’m sure he would just love to humiliate me like this.”

“Not that I know of but we really should get to the bottom of your hyper fixation on him trying to hurt you.”

“It’s a very necessary hyper fixation if I don’t want to suffer at his hands again emotionally or physically let alone die again! He just can’t be trusted!”

The quiet that followed was thick and heavy seemingly stretching out for much longer than in reality occasionally induced by the odd cat sound.

“What do you mean die again..?”