#dad mac

Except they weren't there again. They were on the sand covered shores of Mount Huaguo, a few small monkeys surrounding them now that the air between them had calmed.

MK had been playing with some of baby monkeys on the island while the Monkey King was off doing... well, something with the rest of the older monkeys. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, maybe he was just taking stock of their health, but the younger ones were getting bored once Wukong had finished apparently and MK arrived just in time to help by keeping them distracted since Macaque had no patience for that himself and had wandered off long ago.

And keep them distracted he did! He did such a good job that he had kept himself distracted and hadn't noticed they made it to a portion of the beach shore that had sharp rocks.

Until he ended up falling and nearly got a face full of sharp rock (and as tough as he was that still would have hurt), only to be saved by the firm grip of Macaque grabbing his jacket and yanking him back to his feet.

MK barely managed out a thank you before Macaque laid into him. He'd never seen the immortal monkey quite like... this before. And he'd seen just as many sides of this man as a set of dice. It was less like he had seen MK nearly trip and fall and more like he had saved him from being maimed by the latest demon of the week because he wasn't taking the fight seriously. He was angry, but under that anger was a clear current of worry and... fear. And he looked tired, so tired.

It wasn't until he had tried to ask him what was wrong and Macaque yelled "Stop acting like a child!" at him, scaring away the monkeys that were on his shoulders the whole time, that the immortal seemed to realize what he had been doing. His eyes widened, and he covered his face with a groan (MK noticed his hands were shaking then) and... apologized.

That wasn't anything MK expected to hear from him. And it was worrying.

Eventually MK managed to coax Macaque into sitting down on ground, the elder almost stumbling a bit in the process, before he removed his headband and let his messed up hair down. He sat in front of him, his intentions clear and picked up immediately as Macaque groomed through his hair with a half growl in his throat.

Something was... well, he didn't want to say "wrong". But that's what it felt like. This felt wrong. It didn't take a genius to tell Macaque had been acting odd the last few weeks. The immortal monkey looked tired all the time, as if he never slept... to be frank, MK was starting to believe the only times he did sleep were when he has been caught by Mei dozing off before she arrived for training with his caffeine fix.

But that wasn't the only thing.

"Am I scaring you?" MK asked after a while, kicking at the sand they rested on. "Is Mei scaring you?"

Had it been a few months back Macaque would have said no, MK was certain of that. There nothing the young man could have done that would cause him to worry at the time. He could have jumped from the tip top of any of the many volcanoes surrounding them and Macaque would have watched him do so with maniacal glee. But now...

"Do you want me to be honest?" Macaque asked, his tone closed off and hard to determine now. The only thing that gave away how he felt was fingers working through his hair more smoothly as his tail thumped against the sand beside them.

It started out small. When they first came back Macaque would generally not be too phased by the day to day life of Monkie Kid and Company, only noting and helping treat and injuries MK got during battles or training.

But then he would take a longer and closer look at MK every time they met up, then Mei after he took her under his wing for "absolutely not training". Then came the day he was treating an injury on his back and saw his scar. The one on the back of his head that was hidden under his hair (he felt Macaque pause for a second when his fingers brush against it, immediately moving to the other side of his head).

He couldn't have been sure whether or not that was when Macaque had stopped sleeping or if it was even related, but that's when he started to notice it. The bags under his eyes, the way his gaze would loose focus as he would lose himself in thought... and then much later the way he seemed to jump at things that weren't there. MK had his share of sleep deprivation in the past and if Macaque was as bad as he thought the monkey was... he was almost certainly experiencing hallucinations.

"I do," MK said firmly, wrapping his arms around his knees as he watched a pair of baby monkeys tussle in front of them. He leaned back a bit with a wince when Macaque caught a particularly bad knot in his hair. That must have come from the grip one of the baby monkeys had on him. "After everything we've been through? I'd prefer honesty." There was a flinch from Macaque behind him, judging by the thump of his tail and the way his knees hit MK's back it must have been a full body flinch. MK immediately felt bad. "Sorry... that was a bit of a low blow."

"Not unwarranted," Macaque sighed out, wrapping MK's headband around his forehead and tying it back up with more care than he treated the knot in his hair. He went silent, rubbing his eyes and looking for all the world an absolute wreck. He needed to sleep, clearly, but was fighting it off even now. "...Kid it's... complicated."

"Everything about our lives is complicated," MK replied, turning in time to see one of the monkeys he had carried to the beach jump into Macaque's lap for a grooming session of their own. He couldn't help but smile as he complied, grumpy expression set on his face as he went through the motions. "You don't have to tell me everything, not even eventually. Even I have things I don't tell anyone else."

Macaque looked up at that for only a moment, but his ears raised in indication that MK had his full attention. "I don't doubt that for a second, somehow."

"Just... is it something I did?"

"No," Macaque said quickly, shaking his head and scowling deeply. "No, Kid, I swear it's not anything you did. Or are doing. It's all on me."

"So Mei and I aren't scaring you, but you're scared for us," MK guessed, watching Macaque's face twisted in surprise and frustration. "Am I right?"

"Sometimes I forget how smart you are..." Macaque muttered, and MK clearly wasn't supposed to hear that. He pretended he didn't.

"I can promise to be more careful if you promise to try to sleep tonight," MK offered without missing a beat. "You don't have to worry about me so much if I'm more careful, but I'm worried about you too. You look..."

"Half dead, yeah, Peaches has made that very clear," Macaque said with a chuckle. But he nodded, tossing the baby monkey in his lap up to a nearby tree branch they caught with ease and watched them scurry up and up until they found one to settle down on. "I can't promise I will... but I can promise I can try."

"Trying is great."

Macaque didn't even get the change to "try" to sleep, as he moved to the base of said nearby tree and asked MK about his last few days. He didn't make it 5 minutes before dozing off, but MK didn't stop talking.

He wasn't sure if Macaque had passed out from exhaustion or if hearing the mundane actions of daily life with no demons around assured Macaque he had been alright and would be alright for a while. Overprotective Papa Monkey not needed for now. But just in case it was the later he went on and on, monkeys eventually surrounding them to listen as well.