Here a pretty Happy Ending, because as long as Wukong suffers my bae is happy


Chapter 2

It was one thing to know that the return trip would be much longer and exhausting than the way there, but it was a whole different matter to face it. Opening a new portal had become increasingly difficult for Macaque, and when he did manage to do so, the distance he could cover shortened along with the dwindling energy in his body.

Macaque wants to focus on the fact that he rescued his Sun, by the gods he wants to, but as the adrenaline began to fade from his body, the weight of Wukong on his back, where he had put him the second time, he failed to open his portals, seemed to increase. It doesn't help him at all, of course, that he hasn't had a proper day of rest and has barely eaten more than was necessary.

Breathing forcibly, he pauses for a moment to clear his vision, feeling the shadows looming around his ankles, not waiting for him to continue, but for him to falter. He swallows hard, moving on his feet in the hope of dissipating them a little, enough to be able to discharge energy without having to worry that at any moment, if he is careless, they will swallow him completely, leaving no trace. Although, he thinks with a humorless laugh, it would be better if his only concern was to prevent his own powers from consuming him until there was no trace of him left; that would undoubtedly be much more benevolent than if the Heavens manage to find them.

Not that, of course, he wishes for the shadows to take complete control and consume him for showing weakness, but that wa, his punishment would be a quick death, unlike what the Jade Emperor might order; for Wukong, for ''daring'' to disobey his orders and, for himself, for murdering a monk in his service. He shudders slightly at the mere idea of his possible punishment and the feeling of the shadows sliding from his ankles to his legs. He shakes himself again, adjusting Wukong better on his back, ready to continue.

"We're almost there, my Sun," he whispers, pretending that Wukong could hear him, "I can hear those stupid birds you insisted on raising in the mountains." He tightened his grip, concentrating all the energy he had left on a new portal.

Fortunately, the little energy he managed to gather was enough to open a portal large enough for both of them, and with a little more luck they manage to reach their home or, at least, the waterfall that serves as the entrance to Wukong's cave. The consequences of exhausting his strength, unfortunately, did not take long to manifest when the weight on his back seems to double, causing his knees to waver, a weakness that the shadows at his feet take advantage of to slip through his body, nestling inside him and causing him to stumble inside the portal. The sudden pain shooting throughout his entire body makes his grip loosen, and Wukong's body slides off his back as he falls on the other side of the portal, at the foot of the waterfall.

He tries to turn around to get up, but it accomplishes nothing but worsens the pain that stiffened his muscles as a horrible weight spreads across his chest, making breathing more laborious with each breath. He is going to die, he thinks, blinking away the tears that blurred his vision.

He is going to die without being able to say goodbye to Sun Wukong, although he is relieved he saved him.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, slowly turning his face to have the silhouette of the other monkey within his range of vision. He tries to reach out to hold Wukong's hand, but he can no longer feel his own body, and his vision begins to dim.

The only thing he wishes, as his consciousness fades, is that he had left Wukong inside his cave, at least, and not out in the open. But at least, in the Flower and Fruit Mountain, no one could hurt him ever again.


Inside the cave, sheltered by the powerful waterfall that prevents anyone from even daring to try to enter, the little monkeys that inhabit the mountain move desperately around the bodies of those they considered their leaders and protectors. Some who used to wait for their King's return near the waterfall had witnessed the moment the shadow portal opened and ran to notify the rest. However, upon returning and approaching both bodies, they were alarmed by their King's wounds and the evident poor condition of their other protector.

Without hesitation, they organized themselves to carry them inside the cave to keep them protected. But now, after hours of waiting for them to wake up and several attempts to clean their wounds, they are starting to panic, fearing the worst. What would become of them if their protectors didn't wake up? Yes, they had enough food in the mountain to survive for a long time, but without anyone to take care of them, anyone could try to destroy their home.

Shaken, they move back and forth, trying to find a solution when a loud inhale of air is heard all around, alerting them. They scream when they notice that their King has finally awakened, but stop before getting closer upon hearing his growl, chirping softly in response, hopeful that their King would recognize them.

Meanwhile, Wukong takes a forced breath, opening his eyes, disoriented, emitting a small groan as his head throbs, as it always does after being punished. He runs a hand over his face, trying to clear his vision, unconsciosly bringing his fingers to his forehead, growling again at the cold metal, cursing himself internally for accepting that stupid journey, for letting them put it there in the first place, for leaving his home, and for not listening to...

His thoughts are interrupted when, as his mind clears, he finally catches the sound of a waterfall. Not just any waterfall, no, the sound of his waterfall, which he would recognize anywhere, accompanied by the chirping of his birds and the soft sound of his herd... but that's impossible, he should be very far away. Was he dreaming? Or was the pain so intense that he had started hallucinating? Well, the pain he feels all over his body would undoubtedly make him hallucinate, and it wouldn't be the first time he dreamed of returning to his home with his subjects.

Although, he thinks as he sits up, in his dreams, he was always greeted by his beautiful Moonshine... Macaque! He thinks with desperation, where is he...?

A pained but weak grunt next to him makes him get into a defensive stance, ignoring the slight pang of pain that shoots through his side at his sudden movement. But all signs of aggression drain from his body when he sees who is by his side.

"Liu Er," he whispers, horrified by the deplorable state his shadow is in. He crawls with difficulty to get closer, touching his cheek gently, fearing to cause him more pain than he is obviously feeling.

"My Moon," he gurgles, leaning his forehead against his, trying to erase the image of his thin, disheveled, and wounded body. He stifles a sob when, being closer, he can feel his breath fading with each passing second.

It is at that moment that the images of everything that happened rush through his mind like a waterfall.

His... Master Tang upset about a comment he made, the pain of the headband that seemed ten times worse than before, his pleas for forgiveness, and Macaque... his Liu Er appearing among the trees, and the monk's order to kill him. He chokes on a growl at the thought of even raising his staff against his Moon, who had sought him out... who had gone to rescue him, risking his own skin.

Macaque would die because of him.

"No..." he whispers, straightening up, alarmed. "No, I won't allow it, I can't lose you."

Determined, he stands up, reluctant to let go of Macaque's body, looking around trying to figure out what to do. Before, in a situation like this, he would have found a way to sneak into the Celestial Realm to look for something to heal him. However, he suspects that he wouldn't be very welcome there, especially now that he is sure Macaque probably killed Tang Sanzang to rescue him, and the Jade Emperor wouldn't take that lightly.

"Oh," he mutters under his breath when he realizes that his time is limited for more than one reason. He knows firsthand that the Monk had a way of communicating with some deity to keep them updated on their journey, and once whoever was in charge of monitoring them didn't receive the next message, or whatever it was, they would know that something had happened.

Above all, they would know that the monk hadn't died by his hands, due to the limitations of the headband, and their eyes would be on the next person close enough to him with the ability to go against the laws of the Celestial Realm, like him, and, more importantly, for him. That is, of course, a problem for the future. Now, he must ensure that his Moonshine has one more day, many more days, an eternity by his side to find a solution.

"What should I do? How could I...?" he murmurs, walking with some difficulty towards his belongings, searching among them for some object that could help, when one of his little monkeys approaches him chirping. Distracted, he blinks, trying to understand what he's trying to tell him, but worry prevents him from concentrating, something the little monkey seems to notice because he seems to sigh with exasperation and runs into the mountain of his small treasures, returning a few seconds later with something in his hand.

"Of course!" he exclaims, recognizing the jug of Immortality's Wine. "Good thinking, thank you," he says, taking the jug and returning to Macaque's side, kneeling down again.

Being as careful as possible, he lifts Macaque's head with one hand, opening his mouth with the other, and pours what's left of the wine into it, tilting his head back to force him to swallow. Once the wine is finished, he leaves the jug aside, waiting for a few seconds, but nothing happens; obviously, he knows the wine won't heal him, but he had hoped it would give him enough strength to wake up, and while he notices his breathing seems to stabilize a bit, it's not... it's not...

"It's not enough," he says, struggling again with the tears in his eyes, looking at the monkey from earlier, now accompanied by others who look at Macaque's body with sorrow.

Refusing to give up, he stands up again, startling the monkeys, who don't hesitate to follow him once he starts walking towards his orchard, hoping that his Immortality Peach Tree had survived without proper care. With relief, he finds it still intact and with some ripe fruits ready to be harvested; before approaching to pick them, his monkeys climb the trunk, starting to collect all the peaches they can hold in their hands, quickly descending with their arms raised, presenting the fruits to him.

"These... these should be enough," he nods, taking some of them to help, returning to Macaque's side.

For a second, he observes the fruit in his hands, not exactly sure how to proceed as it is hard and much more solid than the wine. After considering it, he leaves the ones he took on the ground, keeping only one, which he proceeds to squeeze between his hands until it becomes a paste.

"I'm sorry," he says, placing the paste in one hand and setting the seed aside. "I know you don't really like peaches, but it's necessary." He opens his mouth with his other hand, dropping the paste little by little, doing his best to make him swallow.

When he finishes the first one, he takes another to repeat the process, and then another and another; with each one he forces him to eat, Macaque's body starts to regain some color, and his breathing becomes stronger, until he reaches 6 peaches, where he finally stops. He cleans his hands as best he can against his clothes to take one of Macaque's hands, leaving a small kiss on it.

"Please," he begs softly, gently squeezing the other's hand, muttering words of encouragement and pleas, interrupted by the sound of a sharp intake of air followed quickly by a small fit of coughing.

Macaque opens his eyes, gasping quietly, looking around somewhat disoriented, sure that he is in some kind of hell because otherwise, why on earth would his mouth taste like peaches?

However, the idea of not being alive dissipates from his mind when suddenly a weight falls on his chest, and a bunch of chirps and gurgles fill his ears. He lowers his gaze, coughing again when he manages to catch his breath, recognizing the head of his stupid Sun... At home! He had managed to bring them home.

Without hesitation, he returns the hug with as much strength as he can muster, ignoring the small grunt of pain that escapes the monkey in his arms, he had it coming for jumping on him without giving him time to adjust to the fact that he isn't dead yet. What he can't ignore are the tears running down his cheeks, or the wetness against his chest, and above all, Wukong's little sobs as he murmurs over and over again how sorry he is and how happy he is that he's alive.

Choking back his own sobs, Macaque kisses his head, avoiding the headband as best as he can, stroking his back gently, wrapping his tails around him, gurgling softly, assuring sure that he's forgiven... for now.

They are very, very screwed.

They both know it, at any moment, someone would be sent for his head, and he would accept the punishment with pride. They will accept it; they both think at the same time, holding onto each other tighter, they will accept their punishments with pride.

For now, they will enjoy their small bubble of peace.