It was 2 am.

2.FUCKING. AM.

And his phone was ringing.

Macaque made an annoyed groan and grabbed his phone from the night stand. He ruffled in the covers a little and brought the device to his colorful set of ears answering the call. He didn't even bother to look who called, waiting for the other party to start talking.

The silence started to stretch, which only served to make Six Eared irritation bigger. He was about to hang up, thinking it was some stupid joke, and make whoever broke his beauty sleep pay in the morning, but then he heard id.

"...Macaque..." it was weak, and muffled, but his ears perked up, recognizing the owner of this vice in a second.

"What do you want, Wukong?" he asked, still half asleep and too tired to even attempt hiding his growing annoyance "How did you even get this number?"

He rubbed his eye with the back of his hand, slowly walking up.

Yet, there was no answer on the other side for a longer while and as he waited and grew more awakened, his anger rose.

"Are you pranking me or some shit?" a growl came out of his throat, as he sat up in his bed.

Nothing.

At this point he was pretty sure the other was making fun of him, because, what else could it be. The only thing he needed to confirm that fully was some muffled laughter.

Yet the only muffled noise he heard on the other side was nothing like laughter. It was more like... well he couldn't tell, he was still too sleepy for this shit.

Almost awake he mustered a longer and more sharp sentence.

"Listen, if it's some kind of stupid joke, I'll send all your peaches to Shadow dimension, so-"

"could you come..?" a weak voice interrupted him mid-sentence "can you... uhm... just give me a minute..." Macaque can clearly hear how the King is struggling to keep his voice from breaking "just wait... it's not a prank... it's just... uhhh"

"Well that sounded dramatic." Six Eared snarled, still annoyed to be woken up at such an hour "So unlike you." sarcasm is dripping from his poisonous voice "What happened? What do you want?" he goes straight to the point, not really wanting to let this last more than needed.

Again. Silence for a couple of loud heartbeats.

"Can we just talk?" is finally said, and oh, if Macaque was slightly angry earlier now he was full of rage.

"TALK?" his tone is sharp and mocking "You. Want to talk. With me?!" he laughs, but it's the type of laughter that is vicious and cruel "About WHAT exactly? What is so important that you needed to talk with ME about it at TWO FUCKING AM, WUKONG?!" Macaque is panting in anger, his ears laying flat, close to his head.

This time the answer comes faster.

"It's just...i've been feeling... weird... lately and..." Wukong is mumbling and getting lost in his own words. Ebony monkey doesn't let him finish; annoyance mixes with impatience.

"What do you mean by weird? AND. Why are you calling ME with that shit again? Last time I checked your problems are none of my concerns." his voice is still sharp and holds poison between words, but Macaque tries to talk more collected and less full of rage "Not any longer at least." he adds bitterly, and adds with a sight "Why hadn't you called MK, or whatever?"

"I... They didn't... I didn't want them to see me like this... so... weak..." Wukong seems to speak quieter if it was possible, fortunately six ears have no problem recognizing the said words.

"Bullshit." he spats, the last glint of sleep disappears from his gaze "MK already saw you like, super low." he argues.

"Yeah, but not... not at my lowest, like..." there is a pause, a moment of doubt "like you did and I thought... I..." another one as if he's rethinking his whole existence, but this time Macaque doesn't interrupt and waits "I don't know, you were just my first instinct to go to. Sorry I guess" the voice has more strength now, but ebony monkey knows it's a protective facade "I guess I won't be wasting your time anymore. Forget I called." and he hangs up leaving Six Eared to himself in the darkness and silence of the room with the bittersweet aftertaste.

Monkey cursed in his mind all gods he could think of at the moment.

•°o.O☽☼☾O.o°•

Wukong was lying curled up on the floor of what used to be his hut. He looked weakly at the light coming from the device he got from MK... There was the boy's number, but when he looked at the photo of the two of them laughing he just couldn't find enough courage in himself to call him. MK was too good, and he surely would come and help him out, but... his successor already had a lot on his own shoulders, and Great Sage didn't want to add to it now. Especially when the matter wasn't even mildly connected with him.

So he curled up in himself in the corner, tail wrapped around one of his legs as a pathetic try at getting any comfort in his state.

Why had he even called Macaque? What was he hoping for? They might have been on better terms, but they haven't even talked anything out yet.

He hasn't apologized yet...

Not that apology would make any difference. Terrible things were done and said, and nothing would erase that part of their history. But he... oh how stupid he was. Macaque went into the scroll not for him but for the sake of the mission. Of course. Of course, he knew that. He knew that very well.

But...

There was still a part of him that believed... that wished, they could... could reconcile, and be like they used to...

Maybe that's why his first instinct was to call Macaque... hoping that, like in the past, the ebony monkey would comfort him, would come and make everything better by just being there. That one squeeze of a tail could make all his problems run away, just to be consumed by the shadows, to never come back to him again.

A tear fell from his ruby eyes, and another, and soon he was crying a river on the floor in the corner with no walls or roof. He hugged himself, memories flowing before his eyes.

Golden images of his young, foolish self cuddling and playing with Macaque. Never knowing, even in the worst nightmares, what terrible ending the future has for them. That what once seemed to be given and indestructible, will crumble under the consequences of his action. That he will bury all that with his own, bloodstained hands.

And maybe he would have preferred that they had never reconciled, for now the pain was even more unbearable - watching Macaque so close, yet far beyond Wukong's reach. Their shared history weighed heavily on his heart, a complex tangle of emotions he wasn't sure he could untangle.

Storm of regret and despair churned within him. He couldn't help but replay the countless moments when he had chosen pride over friendship, arrogance over understanding, and now, as he reflected on those past choices, it felt like he had lost everything that had ever truly mattered.

The echoes of laughter and gold glimpses of smiles on shared adventures with Macaque, once a cherished melody in his heart, now felt like distant, haunting echoes and eerie visions. His chest tightened with the weight of all wrong choices and ignorance, and he couldn't escape the feeling that he had irreparably damaged the bond they once shared.

Wukong's soul ached with the heavy burden of remorse, and he questioned every decision that had led him to this desolate point. The emptiness around him mirrored the void within him, and he didn't even register when a cold hand touched his forehead.

"Shit. No wonder you're acting so delusional, you're burning." Wukong would jump at that if he had any strength left, but he doesn't. His heart speeds up as he looks up and sees an ebony monkey crouching above him.

"What are you looking at like this? You look like you saw a ghost." Macaque says, trying to joke, but it comes out dry. Receiving no answer he just scoops Wukong and stands up with him "Hold on tight, we're going to my place." he decides as he looks around with clear criticism for the last time before dropping into the shadows. When they reappear in his place he warns "If you throw up on me, I will literally drop you to the sea."

He takes Wukong to the bathroom, wordlessly undressing him. None addresses the already waiting lukewarm bath and peach scent filling the room.

Ebony monkey slowly undresses the King, before helping him into the bathtub. Only then Great Sage realizes how hot he felt before and how his head is hurting. A painful grimace paints on his face as he lies down in water, letting it cool down his burning body.

He's looking down and the water's surface, distorted by ripples, offers a fragmented reflection of his weary face, mirroring the turbulent storm that raged within his heart. Wukong's brow furrowed as he struggled with the unspoken question that hung heavily in the steamy air: why was Macaque helping him now, despite all the hurt and anger that they shared?

Wukong's eyes, rubies heavy with fatigue, stared back at him from the watery mirror, and in their bloody depths, he saw a longing for reconciliation mingled with a profound sense of remorse. He wanted to bridge the chasm that had grown between them, to heal the wounds he had caused, but he was also unsure if he deserved this unexpected act of kindness from Macaque. He slowly looked up to the other, his mind racing, gaze unsure and full of unsaid questions.

"What?" Macaque raised an eyebrow as he took a bit of water in his hands to pour it carefully over Wukongs temples.

"You came..." the stone monkey said weakly, with so little belief as if he thought it all was only a feverish delirium.

"Yeah, no shit. You woke me up for it, so don't act so surprised." warrior deadpanned, as he continued to cool down Wukong's body.

"But you said-" the ginger monkey was quick to counter, but Six Eared didn't let him finish.

"I know what I said" he growled "It's two in the morning, Wukong. And you woke me up mumbling, and talking all delusional," he ranted but his gestures remained calm "of course I was angry." he concluded with a sight.

"...but you're not anymore...?" the other seemed to not believe that.

There was a pause, silence, and the Great Sage does not dare to look to the Moon.

"...no, I'm just mildly annoyed. But don't test my patience, you know very well I am not a morning person." he warned, but it lacked poison that earlier dripped from the phone.

Wukong looked up at him, a golden visions of the past flashed before his eyes.

When he got sick or had a nightmare and woke Macaque up, all those centuries before, the ebony monkey had always been a pillar of comfort and care. He was gentle, and sweet, and looked at the King with such sincere worry it always managed to melt the stone heart. Back then, he endured all the sick tantrums, mood swings and gloom of Wukong, not wanting to show his annoyance.

Now Six Eared wore an annoyed expression like a finest jewel. He didn't hesitate to speak his mind, unburdened by fear...but the gaze in the dirty gold eye held the same past care and concern, and even dressed in all the wrongs, anger and bitterness it managed to melt the stone heart once again.

"Wukong? Ey, don't cry you idiot. I just told you I'm not angry." Macaque looked at him conflicted and slightly panicked, as a river of new tears started to paint ginger's cheeks, streaming from bloody rubies "Shit, you just can't let me have that, huh? Selfish, peacheating asshole, that's what you are and always be." he huffs, not really angry, his tone is rather sad and melancholic, so it is an even bigger surprise when it draws a weak laugh from the other. A small half smile visits his lips for a moment, as he gets Wukong's face into his palms and wipes away the tears, and then with a sight adds "Just don't make a habit out of it, 'key?" the stone monkey only nodded weakly at that.

•°o.O☽☼☾O.o°•

It is later, when Macaque feels Wukong's fever go down, that he helps him out of the bathtub, dries him up with a rug, pushes some chopped peaches down his throat and takes him to bed. He looks at the clock and sees that it's around 4 am already. He sights, tugging the King under the covers just to lie down next to him and groom ginger furr carefully.

"So... you wanted to talk, right?" he starts, if he's not going to sleep, he might as well get to the bottom of the issue, right?

Again, silence lasts a few heartbeats.

Macaque started to count them at this point, to not let anger rise again.

"I... thought about what happened in the scroll..." Wukong finally says, curling slightly into himself "I... might have remembered the fight we had under the mountain... differently." he admits, and Macaque's ears flutter a bit with past screams and words.

Six more heartbeats pass.

"Well to be fully honest with you, I also... remembered it not really as it was." Macaque admits as he catches eye contact with Wukong.

"No, Macaque, I fucked up so hard." the rubies again are on the verge of crying, when he shoots the other a glare full of pain, guilt and self loathing, and now Six Eared seems to understand why he called him specifically "I pushed you away, and I said so many things I didn't really think... I was angry and I took it out on you, when you tried to be there for me and-" he cuts it short.

Now, in the stark clarity of the moment, Six Eared realized that Wukong hadn't called him seeking comfort or help. The ginger monkey had wanted him to unleash his pent-up frustrations, to draw out his anger and unleash curses upon him. It cut like a dagger through Macaque's heart, for he understood the painful truth that Wukong believed he deserved every ounce of that anger and judgment.

"Wukong. You were trapped under a fucking mountain." he grasps his cheeks, making them both lock in eye contact "Yeah you said shit you shouldn't and you hurted me, but I should know better than this." trembling rubies seem to fell into pieces any moment, but dirty gold and snowy white won't let them "I knew you were hurting, and yeah, I wanted to tell you a thing or two that irritated me, 'cause you, like, never listened, but it was not a place or time for those words." he stated firmly "I shouldn't have left you back then. I should have made more and been a friend that you needed." he admits, his own gilts singing poison into his colorful ears.

"No, you've done so much for me Mac," Wukong places a weak hand on the shoulder of the monkey hovering over him "and I feel ashamed to realize it after so long... I took you for granted, and I am sorry... I... It won't happen again... I promise." his voice is quiet, and full of sadness, but it acts wonders on three sets of ears, getting their full attention as always.

"Was this why you were so gloomy and anxious tonight?" Macaque asks, stroking ginger's cheeks softly. His own heart vibrating with warmth of words he didn't know he needed to hear, but he's glad he did.

"Yeah... I just got lost in thoughts about what happened in the scroll, and.." he starts but stops himself, another six heartbeats passes before he finally asks weakly "...do you hate me Macaque..?"

"Wha-." Macaque is stunned for a few moments, four heartbeats pass before he spats, his tail lashing from emotions and he huffs "Stones for brains, no matter how easier it would make things for me, I couldn't hate you. Even when I used to want that."

"So you..?" Wukong asks unsure, still not daring to finish the question.

"I don't hate you, Wukong. And I don't want to." Macaque says firmly, and lies down again next to the stone monkey.

A weak smile blooms on ginger's lips "I'm glad." he says with a still weak voice as he moves to snuggle into black furr.

Macaque welcomes him in his embrace as he sights calmly, feeling the fever went down a lot "We still need to talk over view topics, and reopen old wounds to let them properly heal... but we have time for that Wukong... We're gonna do it one thing at a time." he again tangled his tail with ginger one under the covers.

"One thing at the time..." Wukong echoes quietly, hiding his face in ebony strands.

"And next time, I beg of you, let's talk during the day. You don't have to bring yourself into such a state to talk with me." he sights, placing his chin on the top of Wukongs head.

Only thing that answers him is a weak laugh and then there is only a steady heartbeat, soon joined by a second one, as two monkeys sleep cuddled into each other.

•°o.O☽☼☾O.o°•

FH:

Well I hope you liked this one'shot, it was suposed to be an angst but turned into a short sick-fic hihi

Comment to let me know what you thought! 

See ya!

=)