Macaque was starting to lose his distance.

It was natural to show up to their party for MK on Flowerfruit Mountain, a celebration of another world ending calamity averted while uplifting MK himself. Though he hadn't directly spoken to MK since the fallout of it all, his presence there said the same thing that Wukong and all of MK's friends were saying:

We were so worried.

Don't you see there's no happy ending without you?

He busied himself with hanging lanterns and then sitting ambiguously close enough to the group as they ate and laughed together. Drama expert that he was, he added some of his own flair to Red Son and Mei's fireworks, purple sparks exploding in tandem with all of their colors, then coalescing together into new shapes, chasing the fireworks across the sky.

For a second, his sparks flickered orange. Wukong gave him a sideways glance, but Macaque ignored it.

Out of some yearning to keep the peace, he didn't talk directly to Wukong.

No, it was worse than that. He just didn't know what to say, his heart was so heavy that he was afraid of setting a portion of the weight down and then not being able to get back up again.

MK was so busy with everyone else that Macaque was surprised when he approached him after the party, nightfall already upon them.

"Hey, Macaque! Cool firework trick!" MK grinned, but the weariness around his eyes still hadn't faded. Macaque could've sworn his eyes were still slightly bloodshot. He pretended to not notice. Wukong's state had been about the same.

"Thanks, kid. Couldn't resist." They'd agreed to leave the lanterns up in the cave, so Macaque didn't have much else to do except vanish when he pleased. A monkey hung onto his back as he surveyed everyone else get ready to leave, the monkey's cheek drowsily warm on his shoulder.

Perhaps MK sensed that Macaque was a few seconds away from leaving because he reached out to Macaque, tugging his sleeve. "Hey- I've been wanting to ask a favor for a little while."

A favor Macaque had come close to never even being able to hear.

"Yeah?"

MK's eyes got big. So big, so round, so sparkly. Uh oh.

"Could we do a sleepover?!" he blurted out.

Macaque blinked several times. "Wh…" he wasn't often at a loss for words. "Why?"

"Well, it's been awhile since I really got to talk to you," he admitted. "ANNNNNNNND… I need you to teach me a super awesome power of yours!"

At that, Wukong finally came over, laying a hand on MK's shoulder. "What kind of monkey power do you need that I can't teach you?" The smug confidence in his voice made Macaque want to punt him into the ocean, but the simultaneous fondness he felt managed to surpass that instinct. He tamped it down, scowl plastered to his face.

"It's a surprise!" replied MK, almost bouncing up and down. "A good surprise, promise."

Wukong narrowed his eyes, even though he was still smiling. "What, you two planning to prank me?"

Macaque didn't have any plans at all, but he'd play along. "Maybe," he commented airily, tail waving. He turned his attention back to MK, mind still whirling. MK wanted to spend time with him, and just him. Why was he balking at the idea of getting to see him when he'd just made so many sacrifices for all of them? Somehow, getting to receive the love he'd just fought so hard to keep in the world was difficult. "Alright, kid. Just a warning that we're camping, not sleeping inside."

"YES!" MK actually did bounce, taking off to go and tell Pigsy.

Wukong turned to Macaque, opening his mouth to say something and then closing it again. Macaque rubbed the back of his neck, awkwardness thick in the air between them. "Uh…" Wukong started. "You two should come over for breakfast. If you want."

It was a neutral sort of invitation, but an invitation nonetheless. "Yeah? I'm sure MK would like that."

"And you?"

Stop it.

Macaque folded his arms. "So long as you aren't serving hair, sure."

MK bounded back over to them, grabbing Macaque's wrist. "Alright! Le-go!"

He didn't need to be told twice. Macaque and MK dropped into a shadow, Wukong's expression something complicated as they vanished.

Somehow, even with MK hanging onto him, MK managed to land facedown in the sand on the beach they surfaced on. Macaque shook his head with amusement. "Sheesh, feels like every time."

"You're telling me!" MK brushed himself off, peering around. They were near Macaque's favorite tree. Macaque had set up his own little trove of supplies and trinkets in a sheltered spot in the trees further back. He was already on his way there when MK spoke. "Okay… the super cool power I wanna know-"

Anxiety spiked in Macaque's chest. What could MK possibly want from him that wasn't shadows or chaos or-

"-how do you get all those little monkeys to cuddle you?"

What.

MK pointed to the monkey dozing off on Macaque's shoulder. "See? He's soooooooooo cute! I think the island monkeys like me enough, but they really like you! I just wanna know, you know, how to take care of them."

His relief outpaced his confusion. He should've realized MK would surprise him.

"Uh, I guess I wouldn't call it a power." Macaque gently scratched the monkey's head, feeling him shift slightly to be more comfortable. "This is really what you wanted? Monkey cuddling tips?"

"Yeah!" MK nodded eagerly, so excited that he pumped his fist to the night sky above them. "Let Mission Monkey Cuddle Pile commence!"

Macaque pondered it as a few monkeys from the trees poked their heads out, curious. "Okay, MK. This will be one of your greatest trials."

"I'm READY!"

"They like quiet."

MK froze with his mouth open. Then, he closed it, clearly dying to say more. Macaque smirked. His expression faded as they made their way into the nearest outcropping of trees, a couple of monkeys dropping down to say hello. One outright fell on Macaque's head. MK broke his vow of silence to giggle. "Hey," protested Macaque, unsure if he was talking to MK or the monkey. "They've also known me for so long that I guess I just seem familiar to them. There isn't some kind of secret to pass on beyond that, kiddo." MK's shoulders sagged. Why did he want to get on the monkeys's good side anyway? "You can let them know you want to hang out, you know."

"Yeah?" MK looked around, seeing a monkey poke its head out from behind a few palm fronds. "Hey!" He held his arms out. The monkey climbed down and approached him, looking between him and Macaque. MK pouted. "See? They like you more!"

"Just tell them what you want. They'll understand. No one can read minds, MK."

MK knelt, holding his hand out to the monkey. He sighed. "I just want to be friends. It's hard when you miss someone who doesn't seem to miss you, but you want to be closer anyway." Macaque's stomach dropped. MK's voice got more strained. "After everything… it'd just be nice to know. I almost… I almost didn't come back, and- and I have so many friends that it seems selfish to want more, but not knowing how to be closer, or if you even want it."

Oh no. Oh no no no.

Macaque was at his side at an instant, arm around his shoulders. "Woah, MK. Hey-"

"I just- I just don't know how to feel! You did so much for me, so much more than anyone could ever ask you to," MK sniffed and wiped his eyes, talking through his sleeve. "But I don't know what to do or what to say, and I didn't know I even felt like this! You don't even seem to like me-"

Touchy-feely wasn't Macaque's style, but there wasn't another option.

He brought MK into his arms, hugging him close while MK cried and mumbled apologies. "Don't apologize," he mumbled. The monkey who'd been considering who to go to rested their head against MK's side with a soft noise.

"I don't know what's wrong," rambled MK. "I want to be happy, I should be happy." The tears were there to stay, MK crying hard into his shoulder. "Everything should be fine! But I still feel so bad-"

Macaque was, against all prior judgment, part of Mission Monkey Cuddle Pile whether he wanted it or not. He minded it much less than he thought he would.

The poor kid needed more than a break.

He needed several breaks from everything and Macaque couldn't be confident that he'd get them.

"I've let my actions speak for me," he started. MK tried to say something but Macaque talked over him. "But that doesn't mean I shouldn't have said some words." Where to even begin? Where to start with someone who had, for reasons logical or not, thought that the world would be better off without him? He settled into a more comfortable position to hold MK in, their company of monkeys close by. "I don't know when it started, kid, but I care about you. You were right, all the way back before we fought Lady Bone Demon, I don't just care for myself, even though it's easier to pretend I'm above getting hurt. That's all my loyalty had earned me."

A phrase, unbidden, sprang to Macaque's mind: to pain. He ignored it, continuing as MK finally quieted down.

"But faced with losing you? It was unthinkable. Even for me."

MK trembled in his arms, weak. "I…"

Macaque toyed with the ends of MK's headband, his fabric phoenix feathers. "It all worked out, but you've done things you wished you hadn't had to do. I'm just gonna say it, Misery Kid- you don't like yourself."

There was silence except for the waves on the shore.

"I talked to him," mumbled MK. The phrasing shot a chill through Macaque and made his fur stand on end, but MK didn't notice. Macaque hadn't even thought that MK could access his other form, let alone speak with him. As to what all of those parts of MK were like, well, he remembered how poorly MK had been sleeping ever since the scroll. "I've accepted it. Everything I am and don't want to be. He's me."

"And did you think you'd get over all of it overnight?"

MK paused.

"Kinda, yeah."

Macaque scoffed, though it wasn't with any real scorn behind it. He quieted down, weighing his words. MK knew he wasn't one to sugarcoat, always going in with direct honesty and twisting the knife if he had to.

"You know I don't believe in happy endings, kid." He let his fingers drop the ends of the headband and just rest on MK's back, his hold reassuring. "But I don't think it's the happy part that isn't real. It's the ending. We keep going on after these battles and rough spots, and we'll get more and more scars that don't go away."

MK pulled out of the hug, eyes on Macaque's right eye. It took effort to not turn away. Macaque continued, "These things change us, but they can be healed changes, not open wounds. There's a wealth of happiness waiting for…" MK looked so hopeful, so pleading, almost desperate, and Macaque realized that hope just for himself would never be enough for MK. "...us."

He'd almost stumbled, but Macaque was immediately glad he'd not gone with 'you' as MK relaxed, a bright smile on his face. "You think so? I guess… you know how long it can take, but if you really think it can happen, then it will."

"It isn't easy," warned Macaque. "You've had a lifetime's worth of shock in the past week. Don't rush it."

MK sighed. He held a monkey on his lap, cuddling it close in his arms. "Sort of sounds like something Sandy told me, about always having to deal with yourself and emotions you can't get rid of. It's never just gone."

"See? You've got a lot of teachers."

Maybe MK was in better hands than he'd thought. Macaque reclined against a tree, eyes on the sky. MK still seemed a bit downcast, looking at a few monkeys who'd gathered around them. He glanced back to Macaque. "They understand me, right? I was never exactly sure, but…"

He shrugged. "Well enough, yeah. They're closest to Wukong, of course."

MK flickered orange.

Macaque bolted up, worried as MK's form changed. His hair was longer and more like fur, and he was covered in black fur. He'd only ever seen MK use his monkey form to fight, but MK seemed calm. He even waved his jet black tail playfully, like the shadow of a branch moving in the breeze.

A few monkeys looked from MK to each other, inching closer out of curiosity. The monkey in MK's arms felt the fur on his wrist and made an inquiring noise.

"Uh, hey," said MK, addressing the gaggle of monkeys around him. "I wanted to tell you all that I'm sorry. Last time you saw me like this was pretty scary." He sighed. "Before that… I hadn't been able to protect you from the scroll, or Monkey King either. I know now that there's no way I could've done it on my own, but it was still hard on you."

He laughed, not the sharp laugh that his more wild side favored, but still MK- just subdued. "I was scared too, but you know what?" MK felt some of the fur on his face. "Being a monkey isn't so bad. Some of my favorite people are monkeys too."

Macaque had to ignore a pang that shot through his chest at that.

MK spread his arms out to the monkeys. "So… can we be friends?"

Five monkeys jumped on him at once and MK laughed, tumbling over on the ground. Macaque watched with folded arms, only one monkey still insisting on grooming the fur on his head while the others mobbed MK. MK looked at him, upside down on the ground, arms full of monkeys. "It worked! There really wasn't a secret!"

Macaque huffed. "I told you, you don't have to earn people caring about you. You just have it, if you ask."

Even as he said it, he made a mental note to check in on MK more often. The kid clearly needed sincerity on his way back from that pillar.

They got out bedrolls and blankets to camp out with, though Macaque noticed MK put them right next to each other. Given their monkey entourage, he guessed that the cuddle pile would continue. He was right.

MK was back in his human form, curled up with a few monkeys on his sleeping bag. Macaque tried to play it cool next to him, but he couldn't resist petting the monkey curled up on his chest.

"I knew you were a big softie!" proclaimed MK.

"I'm not."

"Uh huh." MK scooted closer and threw his arms around Macaque, face against his shoulder. Macaque's eyes widened at the sudden expression of affection, but it wasn't unwelcome. "Yeah. And you're super warm and fluffy." A few of the monkeys chattered in agreement. "I could tell everyone how nice you actually are in secret."

Macaque couldn't keep a scowl on his face as he watched the other monkeys pile on top of them, every space between them a new coveted monkey cuddle spot. With the cushioning of the soft sand under them and all of the bedding, it was surprisingly comfortable. Closing his eyes, he dozed off moments after saying, "Whatever, kid. No one will ever believe you."

Macaque always woke up with the sun when he slept outside. He nudged MK, who'd managed to roll over into faceplanting into the sand, up and got to his feet, sending a few monkeys scattering with playful howls.

"C'mon, kid. If you don't want to eat hair for breakfast, we should get over there before Wukong wakes up."

MK brushed sand off of his face, blinking awake. "You want to cook breakfast for Monkey King?"

When he put it like that-

"For us, in Monkey King's house, that's all."

MK gave Macaque a smile that proved he wasn't convinced at all. Damn it, he was observant of only the things that personally inconvenienced Macaque. "Sure! Race you there!"

It felt a bit like cheating to race by shadow against a cloud, but they were close. MK tumbled in the front door as Macaque slid out of a shadow in the kitchen. MK got over his loss instantly, opening the fridge and peering inside. "Yeah. Peach… everything. Should've seen that coming."

"We can do peach pancakes," suggested Macaque. "Is all you do deliver food, or can you cook?"

MK put his hands on his hips. "Uh, I so totally can cook! Pigsy's been teaching me. Let me pull up a recipe…" MK used one hand to dig out a bowl, flour, eggs, sugar, and other ingredients as he scrolled through recipes.

Macaque's ears twitched as he heard footsteps meander around the next room. He leaned against the counter, playing nonchalant as Wukong sleepily drifted in.

"Oh…" Wukong looked between the two of them as MK measured flour. "It's so early. What're you doing?"

"Pancakes!" MK dropped the measuring cup back into the flour bag, conjuring a small flour cloud that stuck to his clothes. He rushed to hug Wukong, inadvertently getting flour on him too. "Good morning, Monkey King! This was Macaque's idea, by the way."

Macaque shrugged, cracking eggs into the bowl. Wukong made eye contact with him, expression endearingly hopeful and open. He wasn't ready for this new era of ever seeing Wukong with his guard down. "Yeah, we didn't want to eat hair."

Wukong smiled, so slight Macaque was sure it was genuine, the gentleness in his voice making his heart ache. "Thanks, you two. I forgot how nice it is to wake up to company." He let MK go back to mixing the batter, standing between the two of them. "You think this could happen more often?" he asked, eyes over flickering to Macaque.

Macaque could feel himself spiritually eating his own words as MK replied for him.

"You have us no matter what! You don't earn people caring about you, you know?"

Macaque turned away to do the dishes, hoping his face wasn't showing any warmth. Luckily for him, Monkey King had left a decent amount to do, giving him an excuse to stay by the sink. "What he said."

MK and Wukong were loud and inefficient as they cooked, made worse by the passing in and out of monkeys through the kitchen looking for fruit to snack on, yet their antics made Macaque smile to himself as he tidied the kitchen.

Despite everything, happiness wasn't so far away after all. For all of them.