Chapter Text
The treetops rustled as a cloud flew past overhead, leaves from the tips shedding, following the path of the trail of light that illuminated the way back to the water cave, the waterfall opened in a melancholy gash, with the slowness of one who stretches out his arms to receive a person between them.
Wukong's gaze remained on the ground even as he let his weight fall back against the door of his hut, his back sliding across the wooden surface until it touched the ground, hugging his legs.
Her cheeks burning despite the cold she felt after coming all the way from the city to her lonely, hidden home.
If he tried hard he could even recall to perfection the warmth of lips on his, ghostly hands on his body at the parts of Macaque touched him, his mind flew between vivid memories of the dance, the velvety voice of his former love singing in his ear, it wouldn't have been the first time, but it was the most painful, where once there were sugar cubes now there was poison dissolving between the words of tea that so spitefully held the warrior towards his person.
He was not going to cry pretending he was a victim, Wukong was too old to know the crimes he committed in the past, it was enough to see the stunted leftover murals of the stone temple that reminded him why he was just there, feeling miserable on the dirty floor of the moldy wood of an old hut lost deep in a hole destined to be forgotten.
He reluctantly stood up, plucking the accessories from his head as he strode down the winding hallway back to his room, his tail flicking until the gold piece flew off somewhere in the room.
The door to his room opened in a creak, the darkness was removed as the light bulb flickered before turning on, the messy bed and things strewn across the floor were part of the general sight that greeted him, undoing the ties that held his clothes in place, little by little he removed the pieces of the hanfu, tossing it carelessly onto the bed, it's not like Mei was there to scold him of his mistreatment of the expensive garment and he could easily pay her double what it was worth anyway, the royalties his lawyer was making him get were extremely generous.
The mirror returned the look of golden eyes half closed from exhaustion, his mouth curved into a grimace as he washed his face in an attempt to wash away the memories that continued to plague his thoughts.
Wondering if he would even manage to sleep that night, a shiver ran down his spine and he almost collapsed in front of the sink had he not been holding onto the edges of the porcelain, watching the water run into the pipe, not realizing that for a moment his eyes flickered an icy blue, a pop shot through his skull, pulsing his brain like a dagger inside him, spasms took over his body, looking up at the mirror with blurred vision, he thought he saw a smiling face in the reflection.
...
He didn't know what happened next, but the next morning he awoke in his bed, sore and disoriented, the mattress squeaked as he forced himself to get up, MK had was coming today for training and although Wukong really wished the boy was too tired to come he knew that sooner or later his successor would demand answers.
He remembered bitterly that he himself had made Xiaotian promise that a party the night before would not be reason enough to miss his valuable training, well, right now he was regretting that, all he wanted was to crawl under a mountain for another five hundred years and forget his shame, but he was too well known for burying his problems for that to work.
The boy arrived at exactly the right time, Wukong forced a gritted-toothed smile as he tried to act his usual normal self, failing miserably in the process, but at least MK didn't comment on it.
" Kid! You're here, right on time!" he greeted nervously, the delivery man smiled back, both with discomfort evident on their features.
"You said I couldn't miss today's lesson, right? S-so what... What great thing will you teach me today?" He asked with feigned calmness, not wanting to make his mentor more tense, though his tongue was itching to get out all the doubts he had at the moment that stole his sleep the night before, he just had to find a suitable moment.
"Right, right, my bad, uh... why don't we start with a simple fight? You know, no magic or Monkey King powers, I want to see how much you've improved" He snapped his fingers as the idea hit his brain, like a light bulb that had just been switched on.
Master and pupil headed outside, heading for the stone temple, the columns with monkeys carved in rock welcomed them into the open space, the wind was blowing strongly at that height above sea level, the sky blue with lazy clouds overhead, it was a perfect day.
They both took up battle stance, taking a short bow before MK was forced to leave his prized staff stuck in the ground, lunging at his mentor in a rehearsed opening attack.
"In a real battle you can't always expect to rely on your powers to get off well, there will be times where you feel so tired that it will be impossible for you to even transform, you must be prepared to fight hand to hand, in the horrible scenario that you lost your staff you have to stay calm and attack the enemy with intelligence, but above all, never, ever take things for granted" He exclaimed as he placed his arms above his head, slowing MK's fist and using his tail to fling the poor successor away.
Xiaotian slammed into a wall, the impact momentarily knocked all the air out of his lungs before he forced himself to his feet.
"If you use only offense you'll end up exhausted, sometimes it's better to go on the defensive, read your opponent's movements and look for the perfect moment to connect a blow" He continued, his scarf flapping in the wind as he spun in the air, escaping MK's key, in an oversight the boy hit him in the stomach.
"Got it" The young man nodded, Wukong was about to dodge another blow when something drew his attention to one of the peaks of a nearby mountain, but when he looked in that direction there was nothing, again, a fist in his face focused him back to reality, the feeling was came behind his back, the chill running through his bones as he tried to focus on his pupil, but it was clear he noticed the alteration in his master much to the king's misfortune.
"Wukong" A whisper caressed his ear, startling him, unintentionally, he stumbled causing both combatants to fall with a thud.
Xiaotian hit his head on the ground, closing his eyes from the impact.
"Uh, hey, sorry about that, buddy" The sage apologized, getting up immediately, he wrapped his tail around his successor's waist, setting him back on his feet, the boy rubbed the back of his neck.
They continued to wrestle, with MK hitting the sage more times than would be believable, watching as his master seemed to look everywhere for something, he tried to question him, but Wukong wouldn't let him finish any sentences, again doing that weird thing of evading any questioning.
Finally, MK got tired, both physically and mentally, the sage stopped as well, looking at him confused.
"Is everything all right? I notice you distracted" MK remarked, looking worriedly at his mentor, in all the time they had been training he never even took the time to tease or taunt him as he made him bite the dust.
"Of course, buddy, why do you ask?" He exclaimed quickly.
"Clearly there's something bothering you" He pouted, sighing tiredly, his shoulders slumped downward, the sound of metal against stone filled the silence of the place as the mythical staff bounced on the ground. "I understand if you don't want to talk about it, but... can I ask you a question?" The boy rubbed his arm nervously, Wukong swallowed dryly.
"Sure, ask me anything you want" he laughed tensely.
MK steeled himself, looking straight into his master's eyes, the sage stirred uncomfortably under the scrutiny.
"What really happened? Between you and Macaque" Wukong could feel his own shoulders hunching, a weight settling on his back like an anvil.
"Oh, no... not that, don't you want to hear a cooler story of one of my adventures instead?" he tried to persuade him, but Xiaotian wouldn't budge.
"I'm just trying to understand what happened, when I first met Macaque he didn't seem like a bad person, and when you fought he seriously seemed to hate you" He emphasized, pointing his finger at the celestial monkey, who chuckled a little.
"That's because he does, dude" he scoffed, shrugging his shoulders, MK gave him back a look that alternated between concern and outright frustration.
"But it's not! What the hell happened at the dance?! why are you always keeping secrets?!" He raised his voice unintentionally, stressed by all these feelings that were simmering in the incomprehensibility of his brain.
"Because it's not something that involves you, MK" He said, perhaps too rude for his liking, the boy's hurt look made him want to punch himself, Xiaotian was just trying to help him.
He sighed heavily, slowly shaking his head, he couldn't let his emotions boil over so easily.
Slipping an arm over his successor's shoulders, he led MK to the edge of the cliff where they both sat, legs dangling over the edge where meters below was a river lost in the thicket of fruit trees.
His back hunched as he tried to arrange the pieces in his head, omitting the parts that the boy didn't need or want him to know, still unable to believe he was about to tell one of the most controversial stories that weighed so heavily on the bottom of his heart, his anxiety almost made him regret it and throw himself off the cliff to avoid his conflicts, but from experience he knew that running never worked, sooner or later his problems would end up catching up with him when he felt the most tired and weak.
"If there's one thing you need to know, MK, is that the history doesn't always seem as good as it sounds, behind the fantastic tales and incredible adventures there is a trail of blood that eclipses those of us who have the bad fortune to star in the pages of human stories, a shadow that accompanies us throughout our lives and gets bigger as we try to get closer to the light" He began, the boy looked at him carefully, making him nervous.
He looked off into the distance, the city was lost in the thick fog that gripped Megapolis that afternoon.
"Macaque and I were like that light and shadow in the world, both young and reckless, I don't remember the exact moment we met, but when he entered my life everything before his existence became a blur, as if nothing existed before him, he was my best friend, We would get into endless mischief together, protecting nearby villages and kicking the asses of anyone who dared to mess with us" He laughed wistfully, imprisoned by memories, images of the past that he had tried so hard to push away began to come into his head.
Centuries ago, in a time where the gods had a closer connection with humans.
"Is that all you've got, Oh handsome Monkey King?!" A more cheerful voice chuckled, dodging a kick from his opponent who gave him a half-sideways grin.
"I'm not even warming up!" scoffed Wukong, he jumped back as the shadow staff tried to crash into him, leaving a crater in the ground where the golden monkey had been. "This is too predictable even for you, Liu er!"
The shadow monkey grinned, Wukong let his guard down for a few moments, enough time for Liu er to pounce on top of him, rolling them across the field of flowers, circling his waist as they laughed uproariously.
"You're such a cheater!" the king laughingly claimed once they stopped, the black monkey staying on top of him, his hands held him on either side of his best friend's head.
"You know, I like to play dirty" he winked, the cool breeze tousled his fur, an orphan flower flew into the air, landing in the six-eared wearer's hair.
The afternoon sun hit them with its warm light, making the monkey's fur glow beneath him.
"You're cute" they said in unison, blushing at the same time.
"But if they were so close... What happened?" The king sighed, looking up at the sky sadly.
"I told you before, didn't I? We were reckless, neither of us ever thought about the future, nor too much about the past, we simply existed in the present as if that would last us forever, but... life waits for no one, not even for the gods, time runs its course despite tragedies and good times, everything ends up fading away while the clock keeps moving without a care."
"I don't understand..."
"Macaque and I were many years together, we grew up next to each other, as friends, then as a couple, life was good in spite of everything" He paused for a moment, choked by the lump in his throat, his knuckles tightened in the fabric of his pants." And then I blew it, like always, nothing was ever good enough for me, I was a fool, if only I hadn't gone..."
"The Celestial Realm" MK guessed, Wukong nodded.
"You don't have to go, you know? what does it matter what the gods want? We're fine like this" Macaque spoke behind him, the king remained seated on his bed, finishing arranging the last accessories on his head, order of heaven, they were a bit uncomfortable if he had to be honest.
The stone temple was silent for once, even the monkeys that used to roam the place seemed to have noticed the tense atmosphere of the couple, keeping still in the windows or in the branches of the trees.
It all started a few months ago, when an envoy from heaven arrived at the gates of rock with a proposal, an invitation for Wukong, a recruitment to be part of the celestial kingdom, Macaque had laughed in the face of the messenger, but to his horror the king did not play along, showing thoughtful, even agreed to receive the god of letters inside his home, drinking tea with an angry monkey of the shadows at his side while both celestial beings talked about the whole thing.
Liu er thought it was just the golden monkey's courtesy, but was surprised one night when Wukong told him he was considering accepting, the warrior immediately objected, but his partner did not listen.
They had spent weeks in awkward conversations that wandered from his responsibilities on the mountain and his subjects as of the protection of humans on earth, Macaque simply did not understand why even Wukong was willing to listen to those egomaniacs in white robes.
In the end the decision was made and the monkey king communicated with the messenger his affirmative, much to the shadow monkey's dismay.
The most dreaded day came, the day his mate was to depart for heaven, still, Macaque was unwilling to budge.
"We've talked about this before, Mango, I don't see why you keep harping on the subject" He exclaimed with his back to him, Macaque folded his arms, looking at the golden monkey's face in the mirror's reflection.
"I don't know, Wukong, there's something weird about all this, I mean... they're always trying to cut your head off, and now they want you to join them in the heavenly court? It doesn't make sense" He grumbled, the king stood in front of him, gently taking him by his shoulders.
"I know, I know, I know it's strange, but, the eastern dragon assured me that he wants to work things out, leave the past in the past and start over, doesn't that seem like the best way?" he murmured caressing his cheek, the black monkey hugged his waist with both arms, purring under his partner's touches.
"But... Why do you want to go to the Celestial Realm? We have everything here, our friends are here, our life is made, what could they have that I can't give you?" he asked kissing her cheek, Wukong sighed.
"Macaque, don't you understand, this my chance to see what's hidden in the clouds, I want to know what's beyond, to know with my own eyes what is that place everyone talks wonders about wouldn't you like to know that?" he exclaimed, illusion lighting up his face.
"That's why it wasn't good for you to fill your head with human tales, they tend to exaggerate everything" Snorted the black monkey, they left the room, walking through the open corridors that showed the sea in the distance, the song of the seagulls flying over the cliffs and the steep ravines where they had their nests.
"We're always here, doing the same thing over and over again, every day, haven't you tired of the routine?" he asked, his footsteps echoing, getting lost in the balconies.
"We've been to the nearby villages hundreds of times, Wukong, it's not like you're cooped up" Macaque refuted.
As the years passed more and more civilizations settled on the nearby shores and plains, attracting the attention of pesky demons or simple creatures of chaos, which in turn brought Flower Fruit Mountain to become a target for those foolish enough to believe they could do anything against the great monkey king and the master of shadows.
Macaque didn't hate humans, but he didn't find anything interesting about them either, they were weak, their lives fragile, their bones would break under the slightest effort, not to mention that their lifespan was so fleeting that it would take only the blink of an eye to realize they were dead.
Yet Wukong seemed bent on wanting to protect them, spending much of his time helping out in villages that were tormented by evil beings, which would often bring him unnecessary trouble with hundreds of people.
"We've been haunting the villages for decades and they're never that different" Apparently the king didn't think so, averting his gaze to one of the peach trees in the gardens, his staff remained firmly in his right hand.
"Before we met, I used to travel a lot, mostly to annoy some deity or because they messed with me, I saw a deep ocean, I saw far lands to the east and south, and nothing ever stayed the same as you think, and that's the great thing about the world, there's always something new to explore, everything is full of life, I want to know what's beyond the mountains, to the west, to the north, every place I haven't been able to be."
Macaque stopped him, cupping the king's cheek, making him focus on his purple eyes to bring him out of his reverie.
"Out there it's just more of the same, earth, nature and insufferable gods, you don't need them" He stated sweetly, Wukong grimaced.
"Maybe not, bu..."
"Peaches, I'm worried about you" He exclaimed seriously, forcing himself to relax his stance, the last thing he wanted was to start a fight. "Please stay here, safe, I don't trust the word of the gods, what if you get hurt?"
"We can go together, Macaque, please come with me" Wukong interlocked his hands, stroking his partner's tense knuckles.
"I don't want anything to do with heaven" He manifested, exhaling a sigh. "I just want to live a quiet life here in the mountain, we have enough trouble with demons coming to bother us almost daily to think about sticking our heads in the clouds" He reminded, in the distance the waves broke on the shore with a loud rolling, filling the pristine sandy beach with foam.
"Oh come on, where's your sense of adventure? Sometime you have to let go of that wire, what better way to do it than with a trip to the Celestial Realm?" Laughed the golden monkey.
"I'm tired" He expressed, his shoulders slumped, the black tail hung limply. "I'd love to go to heaven, someday, not now, not when I have everything I want right where I'm standing" The warrior led them into the garden, the embracing sun blinding for a few seconds his sight, the flowers that grew bright and beautiful stood proudly all the way up to the peach tree, the pink blossoms on the tree fell slowly as the wind plucked them from their branches, filling the path with color.
"Mac..." He wanted to call out, but his mate uttered word again.
"Wukong, before I met you my life was about running all the time, fighting every day to survive, training to exhaustion so I could be sure that the next fight I had would not be my last, I came so close to dying so many times that I no longer wish to try my luck, now I have a home, a roof over my head and you became my family, is it too bad to ask for that to stay that way?" Liu er blushed, ducking her gaze.
"Of course not, Mango, you deserve all the peace in the world" The king hastened to interject, kissing the soft lips of his beloved companion.
"Isn't this enough for you?" He was silent for a few moments, debating whether to be honest with his mate or not. "Am I... Am I not enough for you?" he murmured, so low he almost missed it.
"You are, I love you and don't ever think you're not, it's just... the routine is a little overwhelming" He confessed and Macaque knew it, Wukong had the energy of a sun within him, unable to sit still for long or avoid illuminating others with his light, it would be too selfish to ask to keep that glow just for himself. "the mountain isn't going anywhere you know? it will always be here to welcome us when we decide to return, waiting for us" The king tried to reason, not wanting to leave his friend behind, even if he wished with all his soul to leave, his heart would cry for the distance it would mean between him and his other half.
The warrior denied.
"Please stay here, I really have a bad feeling about this" Macaque pleaded worriedly, from the first moment he had huge suspicions about the hidden truth behind heaven's intentions, but he couldn't know exactly what.
He felt Wukong kiss his nose, giving him a loving smile.
"You worry too much, if something goes wrong I'll take care of it right away, it won't be forever, when I least think about it I'll be back here."
Wukong just wanted to fly, but Macaque wanted nothing more than to keep his wings forever.
"I'm not going to convince you, am I?" he sighed defeated, his ears fell back against his head, Wukong took his chin with both hands, looking at him with all the love possible in his brown orbs.
"You know me" Macaque shrunk in place.
"Yes, I suppose I do" he murmured despondently.
A flash of light illuminated the sky at that moment, the clouds parted in half where a glare prevented seeing what waited above, both monkeys headed towards the exit of the temple, Wukong summoning his cloud, his robe crumpled a bit as he sat down, but he couldn't care less about that.
"Hey, don't worry, I'll be back soon" comforted the king, taking his mate's dejected face in his hands.
"I'll be waiting for you" He whispered against his lips, the breeze ruffled his robes, as if to signal a farewell, Macaque held Wukong's arms until his hands loosened as the cloud rose away from his grasp, the ribbons of his robe flapping in the air as Wukong was meters above the ground, the immense light behind him forcing him to squint, watching the king drift away in the sky, the clouds slowly closing in on the arrival of the new celestial being.
And Macaque kept his promise to wait for him, but Wukong never kept his promise to return.
And without knowing it, Macaque was left waiting each day since his departure in his special place, sitting under the peach tree where their names had been carved in a past that was simple enough for both of them to understand how perfect it was.
Day by day, praying for the sky to open up again and give her back her beloved, dreaming every night of the moment when she could wrap her beloved king in her arms and never let him go again, thinking of the peachy smell of his fur or the way his brown eyes looked like beautiful hazelnuts in the sunlight.
Waiting under the peach tree even as it lost its leaves, spring went, summer came, autumn turned the forest into a pile of dry trunks, winter whipped over his head, covering his cold fur with snow until spring brought the grove to rebirth, but no matter how long he waited, Wukong never came back.
And all those kisses he imagined he would give him died in his withered and betrayed heart.
Doomed to watch the blue sky overhead that seemed to mock him, knowing that among its clouds held everything Macaque could have ever dreamed of.
Had he known this would happen, he would never have let it go.
Because Wukong was his world, but to Wukong, Macaque was just a rock he could cling to when the tide was too strong.
Just when he thought the worst had happened, the sky opened up.
But no one descended from the clouds that were tinged blood red, lightning and thunder consumed the silence in their wake, stunning the sensitive ears of the black monkey, stormy clouds swirled over the mountain.
And the fire began.
When he returned to the present, Wukong found himself trying to hold back tears, but it was clear to MK just by seeing how glassy his eyes had become.
"There's something that still doesn't add up to me...if Macaque was with you all this time, why had I never heard of him? Even Tang never mentioned him to me before" he muttered in confusion, eliciting a broken chuckle from his mentor.
"The Six-eared Macaque.... or as his real name, Liu er Mihou, was a name history purposely forgot, erased from everywhere his life was once told, destined to live in the shadows, it's not like either of us could have foreseen the outcome" he exhaled with a blank stare, MK looked down at his hands in his lap.
"I see."
"Anyway..." He pulled himself together, shaking his head to clear himself of all the resulting emotion. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can talk about it anymore, I'm not.... I'm not ready for all the memories to come, I know it seems like I'm trying to avoid them, but I swear it's not how it seems" He excused himself, hoping that at least that little snippet would be enough for his student.
"I understand."
"What?" He had hoped for more prodding, but the boy just smiled with understanding.
"I don't want to push anymore" He assured, rising from his spot. "But if one day you need someone to listen to you, I can be that person, I'm your successor, right? I must know history well if I want to be better someday" Wukong smiled, his boy was such a kind person.
"Of course, kid, I promi...I'll make the attempt to tell you the whole story one day."
"Don't make promises you don't know if you can keep" he reminded himself.
"I'll be waiting."
They both stared at each other for a few moments, before MK's embarrassment interfered.
"Ah, it's getting late, I guess it's time to head back to my apartment, I'm sure Pigsy will need help closing up store" He muttered nervously. "...Will you be okay?"
"I will be, don't worry about me" MK hesitated for a few moments, before jumping in to hug his mentor, Wukong was a little surprised, wrapping his arms around the boy's body, they stayed like that for a while, enjoying the comfort.
"W-well, I guess I'll be going then."
"Sure, have a good trip."
The sage watched him walk away as he waved goodbye until the human figure was lost in the distance, the sun was about to disappear over the horizon and night was becoming more and more present in the now dark sky.
"Something is disturbing the energy" He thought amidst a shiver, his tail wrapped protectively around his leg, his gaze fixed on the city.
"I don't want to have to part with you" A young Macaque whispered, hugging the golden figure tightly.
"You don't have to" The monkey broke away, intertwining his little fingers, their foreheads touching against each other. "We'll always be together, I promise!" Wukong exclaimed, Macaque's shoulders relaxing, smiling.
"Always?"
"Always!"