Work Text:
Azure Lion loved Sun Wukong.
It was undeniable from the first moment he set eyes upon the Monkey King. It wasn't any sort of conscious decision on his part, either. He just loved him, and there was nothing he could do to change that.
Not that he would want to, anyway. Every day on Flower Fruit Mountain was an adventure, every moment spent at his side a joyous occasion, and every choice made by the monkey was one fueled by passion- a passion for life and love and the family he'd made for himself here.
That was one of the things that really drew Azure in. This kind of passion was completely new to him, and once he got a taste, he found he couldn't get enough of it.
Certainly the Monkey King could be selfish or arrogant, and at times he was perhaps a bit overzealous, but it was easy to look past all that. The chaos was just a side effect of how deeply and enthusiastically the monkey loved.
That was what Azure found irresistible- the intensity with which Wukong loved.
Of course, no relationship is perfect, and there were downsides to Sun Wukong's abundance of love. For instance, he did tend to share it around quite a bit.
It wasn't that Azure minded sharing... far from it, in fact. The brotherhood that the Monkey King created and invited Azure into gave him camaraderie like he'd never experienced before. The lion loved each of his sworn brothers in a way he could barely articulate, each different but in some measure equal. All of them were brought together by their love for Sun Wukong, who loved each of them in turn.
Which would have been fine... except that there was a favorite.
The Six-Eared Macaque.
He was the first of Sun Wukong's sworn brothers and clearly the first in his heart as well.
Azure tried desperately not to let that bother him. They were all sworn brothers, after all, and no matter how he felt for anyone else, Wukong still loved him... and yet, no matter how hard he tried to remind himself of that, Azure couldn't manage to tamp down the poisonous jealousy he felt bubbling in his chest whenever he saw the two of them go off on their own. They could disappear for days, weeks, months at a time as they had their own private adventures together. Sun Wukong would come back beaming like the sun itself, which was a look he only ever seemed to direct at Macaque.
For his own part, the shadow monkey was just as enamored with Wukong. In fact, he barely even spared a glance for anyone else, unlike all the others in their brotherhood. The Golden-Winged Peng tried to catch his attention every now and then, but to absolutely no avail. It was obvious Macaque only had eyes for Sun Wukong, and, for some reason, that just infuriated Azure all the more.
Obviously the lion would never voice his disdain for the two monkey's relationship. The sworn brotherhood had reached a sort of stability in their interpersonal relationships, despite all the inherent chaos surrounding them, and no one else ever complained about having to share. It seemed that he was the only one who felt overly possessive over Wukong in this way, and he wasn't about to risk losing him, and by extension all the others, by admitting to his own pettiness and jealousy.
Though, perhaps he didn’t have to. There were other ways of getting Sun Wukong’s heart all to himself.
It was certainly nothing he would want to let the others know about, though. And to be perfectly honest, he wavered for some time on whether the method he was considering was even a good idea. He didn't like to think of himself as the kind of person who would stoop to manipulating someone into loving him... but what other choice did he have?!
Winning over Sun Wukong the traditional way wasn't working, and the Six-Eared Macaque, that shady, infuriating monkey, had him beat by a mile in the contest for Wukong's love.
No, Azure wasn't going to let things stand as they were. This had to change, and he was willing to go as far as he needed to in order to make that happen.
So, he began his research into love potions.
It wasn't a quick or easy method, by any means. The skill to brew a magic potion of enchantment was not exactly something he had ever needed, so it required careful and considerable research. He spent months hunting down scrolls filled with alchemical and magical information and even longer pouring over them, learning specific details about different types of potions and their effects and what exactly was needed to create them.
All of this was done in secret, obviously. He didn't intend to let anyone know what he was up to, lest they tell the Monkey King... or worse, try to talk him out of it. He already had a hard enough time trying not to talk himself out of it.
Of course, the longer his research went on, the less reservations he had about his plan. Every time he saw the two monkeys together, which was more often than not, Azure felt his heart ache and his resolve strengthen.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized he would really be doing Wukong a favor by helping him see that Azure deserved his love more than anyone else. After all, the two of them together would be a force for good in the world unlike any other.
Once he listed to Azure more than any other, and stopped allowing the sniveling coward Macaque bend his ear in the wrong direction, he was certain that Sun Wukong could do anything. Perhaps he would be able to even overthrow Heaven itself!
Really, when he thought about it, Azure was doing this for the sake of everyone , not just himself... so was it really so bad to use a love potion if in the end it wound up doing good for the entire world?
It was good. It definitely was. That's what he told himself as he continued on with his research.
Eventually, he had collected enough information to really understand how the magic in a love potion would work. He learned that how well the the potion worked depended heavily on the feelings of the one who ingested it. It turned out the potion was not effective at all if the person was already in love with the target. However, if there was some romantic interest, then there was a sort of medium effect. Rather than being completely overwhelmed with love for the target, it would just strengthen their affection.
That was exactly what Azure was looking for. He didn't want Wukong to become obsessed with him, which seemed to be one of the more powerful effects... No, he just wanted him to love Azure as much as Azure loved him... and that meant more than Macaque. This potion was exactly the boost he needed to put the lion over the six-eared simian.
Now that he had all this knowledge under his belt, he felt confident enough to take the next step. Quietly and discreetly, he began gathering the needed ingredients.
Making the potion in secret was more difficult than he suspected. Reading scrolls in the dead of night was quite different from performing spells and brewing a potion. Once or twice he worried he'd be caught by his brothers as he brought the needed ingredients to the private study he set up on the island, and would have to justify what he was doing with such rare and unusual magical components... thankfully, it never came down to that. He didn't think he would be able to go through with it if he had been forced to explain himself... and the closer he got to completing his plan, the more he desperate he was to see it through to the end.
At long last, after what felt like an eternity of preparation, the Azure Lion finished brewing a love potion. All that work and painstaking research had come down to this: a small vial in his hand filled with a glittering, lavender colored liquid that gave off a faint glow.
As he looked down at the fruit of his labor, he couldn't help but smile, a sense of pride filling his chest. This was what would get Sun Wukong to finally love Azure the way he ought to. He had worked hard to create this love potion, and he deserved to finally be number one in Sun Wukong's heart. After all, what had Macaque ever done to receive such an honor? That insufferable, whiny little monkey never had to fight for Wukong's love the way Azure did, and who knows if he even would fight for him?
Well, actually, he was going to find out soon enough, wasn't he? Azure smirked at the thought as he added the final, most crucial ingredient to the vial in his hand: a single strand of his own hair, making himself the target of the love potion.
The liquid swirled around in its vial, enveloping the hair as if it were a living thing trying to swallow it up. Then, a moment later, it stilled and the glow faded away, leaving the potion looking like an unremarkable, only slightly purple liquid. Had he not been entirely thorough in his research, the sudden change in appearance to something somewhat less magical looking might have startled him. However, he knew from his reading that this was part of the process. What good was a love potion that was too noticeable, after all?
So now, with the potion tucked up his sleeve, the Azure Lion turned away from the little desk in his study and headed out. It was almost dinner time, and he was entirely too eager to put his finished product to the test.
The scene as he stepped into the banquet hall on Flower Fruit Mountain was chaotic, but that was to be expected. Their feasts were always chaotic. Whether it was from Wukong climbing up on the table to loudly regale them with his latest adventure, or the other monkeys running and swinging about the room, or perhaps Peng had gotten in a shouting match with someone (probably Macaque) and was causing a scene. Tonight it appeared all three were the case.
That was fine, though. It delayed the start to their dinner and gave Azure a chance to slip over to the serving table where six goblets sat. He selected a jug of plum wine and quickly went about filling all of them up. Then, as he placed the cups onto a serving tray, he discreetly tipped his sleeve in just a way so as to empty the vial into the Monkey King's goblet.
He hoped the smile on his face wasn't too suspicious as he handed out the wine to his brothers, taking extra care that he gave the correct one to Sun Wukong. If it did seem odd that he was in such a good mood, no one remarked on it, and he made it back around to his seat at the end of the table, opposite the Monkey "King.
"And so then, I smashed my way through the Palace of Darkness," Wukong shouted, striking a pose with his golden staff, half standing on his chair and half on the table, "and the Ten Kings were like ' Nooo, you can't erase your name from the Book of Death! Come back here ' and I was just like, BANG-" he paused a moment and slammed the end of his staff down on the table.
Azure flinched slightly, eyeing how close the strike had been to the goblet he'd placed there for the monkey, but he managed to keep his mouth shut.
"And before you know it, I'm back in my body, sleeping under the tree like nothing happened," Wukong fell back into his chair, kicking his feet up on the table with a cheeky smirk, "except now I can't die.... again ."
This was met by a boisterous laugh by his brothers around the table.
"Sun Wukong embarrassing the Ten Kings of the Underworld and becoming even more immortal," The Demon Bull King said through his laughter, "why am I even surprised? How many times have you become immortal now, brother?"
Wukong's face scrunched up in a adorable play at thoughtfulness, "Hmmm, good question," he said, rubbing his chin, "Probably three or four or something like that... But hey, why stop there? I'm sure there's loads of other ways to become immortal that I haven't done yet. I'm gonna do em all!" He paused for a moment, directing a quick wink over to Macaque who sat next to him. "We gotta be immortal so we can spend forever together, after all."
Macaque rolled his eyes, swirling his own goblet in his hand as he did so. "Y'know, just one way would probably do the trick for most people," he said. His voice sounded exasperated, but the slight smirk on his face betrayed his amusement.
"Ha! Do I look like most people ?" Wukong practically shouted back. His foot kicked out as he emphasized his last words, clipping the edge of the nearby goblet and making it rock precariously.
This time Azure couldn't help the small yelp as he watched the potion he'd slaved over for nearly a year almost tip over onto the ground. Fortunately, it didn't fall and remained upright with all its contents still in the cup. Less fortunately, all his brothers were now staring at him questioningly for his outburst.
For half a second, Azure froze, worrying about what to do next. He could just excuse himself with a cough or an awkward laugh, but with the way this table tended to behave around dinner, he was starting to worry that the love potion he worked so hard on was going to end up in a puddle across the ground. So, instead, he decided to make sure that Wukong took a drink as soon as possible.
"Brothers," he said, standing up and taking hold of his own goblet, "a toast... to the great Sun Wukong, our friend, and to his ever growing power! We should all follow his example and seize what we want, lest we find ourselves satisfied with less than we deserve."
His toast was met with a round of cheers and agreements from the others around the table and they each raised their cups to drink. All except for Wukong himself, who was beaming over at Azure, his tail thrashing back and forth in delight. The lion smiled back, enjoying the attention his toast got him, even if his plan to get the Monkey King to drink wasn't quite working. His smile fell, though, when Wukong's attention turned to his left and that smile was directed instead at the Six-Eared Macaque, who was still in the process of raising his cup to his mouth.
"See, y'hear that, Mac?" Wukong said, his grin still wide, but now with an air of smugness to it, "Azure agrees with me, we should never be satisfied with what we've got."
Macaque paused in lifting his goblet and raised an eyebrow at Sun Wukong, "Uh, I don't think that's what he said, exactly," he mumbled. Then his expression grew even stormier and he lowered his cup, smacking it on the table. "And what's that supposed to mean? So you're not satisfied , huh?"
Seemingly ignorant to Macaque's annoyance, Wukong just shrugged, "Nope." He made a loud popping noise with his lips on the 'p' as he spoke. "Me? Satisfied? Why, I hardly know the meaning of the word."
With an annoyed scoff, Macaque rolled his eyes yet again, and lifted his goblet back up to his mouth, speaking into the cup quietly, but definitely loud enough for all at the table to hear, "I feel like that should be my line, Peaches..."
This jab caused an uproar of laughter at the table from the rest of the brothers, all except Wukong and, of course, Azure Lion, who was still eyeing the Monkey King's untouched goblet.
Sun Wukong's eyes narrowed as he glared at Macaque. "Oh, so we're just gonna air all this out in front of everybody, huh?" For a moment the two monkeys just eyed each other, Wukong pouting slightly and Macaque's lips still just hovering over his wine. The others were all just watching the two with varied levels of amusement, wondering what kind of fight they would end up getting into today.
After a few more tense seconds of silent glaring, Wukong slammed his palm down on the table with a loud thunk and announced to everyone else at the table, "Macaque chirps when he's aroused!"
Another round of laughter rolled through the brotherhood, accompanied by an undignified shriek that could only have come from Macaque. Things barely calmed down from that revelation before Macaque was shouting some other equally embarrassing, and probably salacious fact about the Monkey King for all of the others' enjoyment.
Azure just sat there at the end of the table, silently observing as Macaque and Sun Wukong's squabbling continued, eventually ending with the two grappling each other from their seats, pushing and pulling at each other's fur as they growled and spat insults while their brothers jeered and egged them on.
Unlike his brothers, Azure Lion was not amused at all by the scene. It was commonplace for Sun Wukong and the Six-Eared Macaque to bicker and tease each other, and he knew by now that whatever fight they got into, it always ended with the two of them making up in some dramatic, oftentimes romantic fashion. Just give it time, and in an hour or less, the two of them would be snuggled up under the plum blossom trees, mumbling about how important the other monkey was to them and how they should never fight again... It was driving Azure mad to think that's where this night was going to end up. Those two were so wrong for each other, and the solution was right there in that cup!
He wanted to interfere somehow to get Wukong to ingest the love potion, but there wasn't much more he could do, short of shoving the goblet down his throat. That would definitely arouse some unwanted suspicion. So, instead, he resolved to just sit and be patient, waiting and hoping that the monkey would just drink the damn wine already.
Finally, their struggle came to an end when a stray elbow knocked over a cup right into Macaque's lap... thankfully, it was Macaque's own cup, not the one for Wukong with the potion. Macaque pulled away, a vicious snarl on his face as he stood up to shake the liquid off himself.
"Ha ha! Serves you right!" Wukong taunted him, reaching over to grab his own goblet, he tipped it towards Macaque in a salute, and then lifted it towards his lips.
Yes, finally! Azure watched, his breath caught in his throat, as the Monkey King moved to at last take a sip of his spiked wine.
All these months of work, the sleepless nights he'd spent agonizing over perfecting the love potion, and all the unbearable times that he had to endure being brushed aside by his one true love in favor of someone he knew was lesser... At long last it was all going to pay off! The Monkey King was going to love him more than anyone else and they were going to be together forever!
This was it. This was what he deserved.
It felt like the world slowed down for Azure as he watched Sun Wukong go to take a drink, and he couldn't help the excited smile that overtook his face as he did.
His excitement didn't last, though.
The instant it looked like the wine was about to touch Wukong's tongue, the cup was suddenly gone. In a flash of black and purple shadow, Macaque had swiped the goblet right out of his hand and was holding it up triumphantly.
"Not so fast," he sneered, "you knocked over my cup, so you owe me a drink." He lifted the cup towards Wukong, giving him a mocking salute to mirror the one he'd gotten seconds before and said, "Cheers, you prick."
Azure's smile vanished. Even if he weren’t too shocked to move and try to stop this, with his seat being all the way at the other end of the table, all he could do was watch as the Six-Eared Macaque tipped back Sun Wukong's goblet and downed its entire contents in one massive gulp.
Wukong whined audibly and reached over, snatching the goblet out of Macaque's hand. The shadow monkey offered no resistance to this, seeming to have somewhat frozen up once he had swallowed the wine. Wukong didn't pay this any mind, though, as he was fussing over the cup.
"You jerk," he said, tipping the cup upside down to emphasize its emptiness, "that better not have been the last of the plum wine."
"Ah, I think it was, brother," Peng chimed in from the side, looking over at the serving table.
Sun Wukong groaned, tossing the cup aside, "Whatever, I'll just have some peach wine from my stores later," then he pursed his lips and shot a glare over at Macaque, "and I'm definitely not sharing, either!"
His goading didn't get a response.
In fact, it didn't seem that Macaque had registered his words at all. His hand that had been holding the goblet was still raised, and he was just staring off into the distance. When he saw he was being ignored, Wukong seemed to get even more irritated and began waving his hand in front of Macaque's face.
"Hellooooo?" he called, "Anybody in there? Say something, you wine-stealing jerk!"
Macaque's eyelids fluttered slightly, and at last he seemed to come back into himself. He looked over at Wukong, lingering only for a second. Then his head snapped around and his gaze was suddenly lazer focused towards the other end of the table, right on Azure Lion.
Azure met his gaze, but did nothing.
How could he do anything at all? He was using every ounce of his composure to steel his expression and prevent himself from screaming at the absolute horror that this situation had devolved in to.
This was supposed to be his night of triumph, the first night of many nights in which he would have Sun Wukong all to himself without worry of losing him to someone far less worthy. Now, instead, thanks to that exact, undeserving monkey, all of his plans had been ruined.
No, not just ruined, but completely obliterated! The Six-Eared Macaque, the one of his brothers with whom Azure least got along with, had just ingested his love potion. This was an unmitigated disaster! Azure wasn't even sure what exactly was going to happen now. He hadn't focused enough in his research in what would happen if someone who didn't like the target took a love potion, since that wasn't his goal. Would it be obvious he was under the effect of a spell? What if Macaque did something wildly out of character all of a sudden and the others grew suspicious? He could lose his friends, the family he'd built here, and even Sun Wukong.
Oh no... He could lose Sun Wukong forever if he learned what Azure had tried to do to him… and what he now had done to Wukong’s favorite brother.
Damn it all! Why had he thought this was a good idea in the first place?!
As all these thoughts were swirling around in Azure's head, he did his absolute best to keep his expression blank as he stared over at Macaque, waiting for him to make a move and fearing the worst.
Thankfully, the monkey didn't do anything so uncharacteristic as leap across the table or try to kiss him or anything like that. Instead, Macaque glanced over at Sun Wukong one last time and, after folding his arms across his chest in a pout, he opened up a pool of shadows at his feet and dropped into the ground. He reappeared half a second later, this time over by the empty seat next to Azure.
Macaque dropped into the chair, not taking his eyes off Azure for a second as he did. There was slight purple sheen to his eyes, which luckily matched the color of his shadow powers, but Azure also recognized it as the color of the love potion.
"Oh, I get it- so you're gonna sulk all the way down there, huh?" Sun Wukong called from the other end of the table, "Fine, be that way! Don't expect me to care."
The shadow monkey didn't even appear to hear the words, he was far too intent on staring up at Azure. For his own part, Azure just watched him, somewhat nervously, expecting him to do something further. Thankfully, it appeared that wasn't the case.
Time went by, the brothers feasted, stories were shared, jokes were told, and still Macaque only sat there and stared, somewhat awkwardly, with shining purple eyes directly at Azure for the rest of the dinner... there was a slight smile on his face the whole time, too. It was a rare expression for Macaque, one full of adoration which Azure had only ever seen him direct at Sun Wukong.
When at last their feast came to an end, Azure quickly excused himself and rushed back towards his private study.
He didn't even glance at Macaque as he turned and strode away, not wanting to give him any ideas about following or some nonsense. He was lucky that it seemed the potion hadn't changed his personality at all. Macaque could be somewhat reserved when in a good mood, and so he hadn't interrupted the dinner at all, but he was also a bit like Sun Wukong in that he could switch on a dime when he was upset. Azure didn't want to risk that happening by sticking around to talk to him, especially not in front of the rest of his brothers.
No, he had much more important things to worry about right now. Macaque could wait. First, he had to get back to his study and find those scrolls. There had been mention of an antidote in there somewhere, but he foolishly hadn't prepared something like that ahead of time.
The need for it was just not something he had wanted to consider before. He had figured everything would fall right into place once he'd had the potion and couldn't have imagined that it would go as wrong as it did.
Azure muttered a string of curses under his breath, realizing only now when it was too late exactly how foolish- how shortsighted he had been. This whole mountain was steeped in chaos, and he experienced and even reveled in it himself every day. Of course a plan that relied on everything going exactly in a specific way like his was going to fall apart.
Keeping up his quick pace, Azure made it back to his study in record time. He shut the door behind him, glad to at least be alone and not have to hide his frustration. The little side cavern he had dedicated to his work was hardly secure, having only a small makeshift bolt on the inside, but he could at least be relieved in the knowledge that his brothers were unlikely to come in here. As far as they knew, he just came in here to read boring scrolls, and none of them were particularly interested in academic pursuits so they were unlikely to bother him while he was tucked away here.
Pushing that thought aside, Azure hurried over to the desk he had set up for himself and sat cross legged on the mat in front of it, lit a lantern to read by, unfurled one of the scrolls stacked there, and got right to work. Surely one of these would have the answers about how to reverse this, and hopefully the antidote would be less taxing to create than the initial potion itself... He had to be quick about it, even if it wasn't. He couldn't be sure how long before the potion overruled Macaque's generally shy nature and caused him to make a move.
"Hey,"
Azure froze, feeling a chill of dread course through his whole body at the voice. Reluctantly, he pulled his eyes from the scroll in front of him and turned his head around to look.
Standing mere inches behind and looming over him, was Macaque.
He hadn't even heard the door open. A quick glance back proved that it was definitely still closed... Oh, right, of course a door being locked made no difference for Macaque, he could travel through the shadows. He could have even followed Azure in through his own shadow and the lion would have been none the wiser.
"You sure went off in a hurry." Macaque continued to stare down at Azure, those eyes still with a faint purple tinge that almost looked to be glowing.
Azure met his gaze, not sure what else to do in this situation. For some reason he hadn't expected Macaque to follow him in here. Perhaps that was just him being foolish again. Macaque could be reclusive and shy, but that wasn't the case when Sun Wukong was around. He was different with Wukong because he loved him...
And now he loved Azure, thanks to that damned potion.
The lion was startled out of his thoughts as Macaque continued.
"I was trying to get your attention all during dinner, and you barely looked at me." Macaque leaned in closer. Even though he was standing and Azure was sitting on the ground, they were almost level and the monkey's face was just barely above his own. "What's so important that you had to run off like that?" his eyes glanced upward, looking past Azure.
Wait- shit ! Azure quickly turned away, slapping a hand over the scroll laid out on the desk in front of him, hoping to cover its contents. He wasn't sure if Macaque was even actually trying to read it, but he couldn't take the risk. It was unlikely he'd notice, given this love-addled state the potion put him in, but if there was even a chance that he would realize what had happened to him, then he might tell the others. Sun Wukong absolutely could not find out about this.
Turning the scroll around, Azure rolled it back up and placed it off to the side and out of the way. As he did, he felt a pair of hands gently squeeze his shoulders.
"Oh, good, are you done?" Macaque practically purred, his face not even an inch from Azure's ear, "I wanted to talk to you about something,"
There was really no need for him to say anything, Azure was pretty confident he knew exactly what Macaque wanted to tell him.
"Listen, Macaque," Azure spoke up at last, turning fully to face the monkey and also tilting his body away to get any measure of distance between them, "I have some things to take care of tonight. Why don't you go see what Wukong is up to? You could... uh... make him share that peach wine he was bragging about before."
Although he hated the fact that he was sending Macaque away to spend alone time with Sun Wukong, the thing he had spent all this time trying to supplant in the first place, Azure had to admit, it was better than the alternative of having him stay here, and whatever else that might entail.
The suggestion seemed to make Macaque pause. His eyes drifted off of Azure at last, focusing instead on some point in the distance behind him.
"Wukong..." he repeated the name slowly, as if mulling over the word and its meaning to him.
The hesitation he saw in Macaque's face made Azure somewhat hopeful that he was getting through. Perhaps he could help the monkey fight the potion by reminding him of the one he actually loved. "Yes, Sun Wukong," he said, nodding along, "you should go be with him. You love him, don't you?"
"I..." Macaque paused again, his face scrunching up somewhat as he appeared deeply conflicted. "I... do love him," he said, still with that slow, thoughtful tone. For that brief moment, the distraction seemed to be working. However, then his eyes focused back in on Azure, and the lion swore he saw the purple glow that was infecting them grow even brighter.
"But I love you even more." Macaque pressed forward, practically falling into Azure and wrapping his arms around his neck dramatically. "That's what I wanted to tell you. I don't know what changed, but tonight something just clicked and I... well, usually everything you do I find annoying, but suddenly, it's like I'm seeing you in a whole new light, and it's just irresistible."
"Ah, well, you-" Azure started to stutter out some sort of denial in response, but then he paused as he really took in the words Macaque was saying. "Wait a minute, you think that I'm annoying?"
"Oh yeah, totally," Macaque responded with a cheeky grin. He had that playful look in his eyes that, unfortunately, reminded Azure a bit of Wukong. "Y'know how you're always like, making speeches and talking about the brotherhood like it's some great, revolutionary idea and you're gonna all change the world together or some nonsense..." Macaque sighed dreamily, as if it were some romantic notion he'd just mentioned, "I always thought that was moronic drivel. Y'know, because we're all so dysfunctional and chaotic. It felt like you just were so blinded by idealism that you were trying to lead us down this road that would end up getting us all destroyed."
Azure's mouth hung open as he listened to the monkey basically call him an idiot... and for something so noble as his deeply held conviction that he and his brothers were meant to do good for the world! He knew that Macaque wasn't particularly fond of him, but he could scarcely believe just how much he apparently despised the very core of his ideology. Azure was almost too shocked to be offended... almost.
It took him another moment to fully realize what Macaque was saying, though. His phrasing made it seem as though he used to feel that way, implying that he now did not. Did the love potion really have that kind of power? Could it change the way Macaque viewed not just Azure, but his entire outlook on the world and what was best for it?
"So, then," Azure said, trying to keep the bite of annoyance out of his voice, "do you mean that you've changed your mind? You agree with me now?"
Macaque, who had somehow moved on to Azure's lap and was now nuzzling his face into Azure's chin, let out a small bark of a laugh, "No, of course not," he said, "I just realized that it's so charming how deluded you are. I really love how completely wrong you are about us being able to do anything meaningful for anyone but ourselves... it's so childish it's practically adorable!"
Ah. Okay... so the love potion didn't change Macaque's opinions. It only changed the way those opinions made him feel.
Azure clenched his jaw, desperately trying to fight the pissed off expression that was definitely on his face. He really wanted to remain calm in this situation, and Macaque was making it extremely difficult to do so. Especially with the monkey's hands now wandering along his body and- oh! Yup, okay, he was squeezing his pecs. This was really uncomfortable.
"Alright, no more of that." Azure grabbed ahold of Macaque under his arms and lifted him up and off his lap. He placed him back on his feet nearby, and then stood up to his full height so he was towering over him, and then glared down at the shadow monkey. "It's time for you to go. I need to be alone."
Macaque's expression changed instantly, the wistful smile falling into more of a pout. "Don't be like that," he said, "I meant all that as a compliment. I love that you think you're better than everyone else."
"I don't think that!" Azure snapped, "There are plenty of people I think of as my superiors... like Sun Wukong!" He wasn't sure why he felt the need to defend himself right now. Macaque clearly was not in his right mind, so anything he said would really not matter, anyway.
This thought proved to be true with the monkey's next reaction.
He nodded along to Azure's statement and said, "Yes, I know! You idealize Wukong so much- way more than he deserves." That cheeky grin of his was back as he continued. "I love how you're so desperate to steal him away from me. It used to really piss me off, but now I can see it's kind of endearing."
" Enough !" Azure shouted, finally unable to contain himself.
The frustration he felt about his plans going wrong, now paired with the embarrassment of Macaque unintentionally throwing his failures in his face, came together in this toxic mixture that bubbled up inside him as just pure rage. He reached forward, seizing ahold of the monkey by the collar of his caplet, and lifted him up off the ground.
"I don't have time for this," he continued, stomping across the threshold and back towards the door, "get out of my study and don't bother me again! Go find Wukong or something!"
With that, he flung the door open and shoved the monkey through it, dropping him unceremoniously on the other side. Azure didn't even stay to watch the monkey hit the ground, instead slamming the door as fast as he could, hoping he would take the hint and retreat.
Unfortunately, he had no such luck. The moment he turned around, intending to head back to his desk, he had to stop as a flurry of shadow magic whipped up in front of him and Macaque jumped out of the darkness and into his path.
"What did I do wrong?" he asked, staring up at Azure with wide eyes and a brow furrowed with distress, "I didn't mean to upset you, I just wanted you to know how much I lo-"
"Stop! I won't hear it again!" Azure interrupted. He slapped his hands over his eyes, groaning in exasperation as he continued, "I just... it wasn't supposed to be you. I didn't want this! I don't want you !"
It was silent for a minute after he shouted this. When he finally lowered his hands to take in the monkey again, Azure actually felt a little bad for his outburst. Macaque looked absolutely gutted; his eyes were wide and shining with tears while his mouth hung open in a look of disbelief. It was a rare look to see on the shadow monkey, and for a brief moment Azure actually considered trying to console him.
He knew he couldn't, though. That would give him the wrong idea and start this whole thing over again... no, he had to just keep pushing him away. It might be cruel, considering the potion was of his own making, but it couldn't be helped.
Besides, if Macaque hadn't stolen the wine cup in the first place, this wouldn't be happening to him. So... when you considered that, whose fault was it, really ?
Tearing his eyes away from the devastated expression on Macaque's face, Azure side stepped around him and headed back towards his desk.
"Go back to Sun Wukong," he said, not even looking over his shoulder at Macaque.
There was another stretch of silence after he said this. Azure wasn't sure how much more plain he could make it, so when no response came immediately, he thought that perhaps Macaque had just quietly fled into the darkness. Before he could get his hopes up too much about that, the shadows in the room seemed to shift.
"Stop saying that."
Macaque's voice was harder, the wistfulness and adoration that had infected his tone the whole conversation suddenly gone.
"Stop talking about him. I don't want to talk about him !"
Azure finally turned back around, fully intending to continue to argue, but before he could even get a word out, the shadows jumped out and grabbed him.
Had he not been taken by surprise, he might have been able to escape, but he just hadn't been expecting to be attacked like this. At least not while Macaque was under the effects of the love potion, that is. Apparently Azure hadn't done quite as much research as he should have if he didn't know it wouldn't prevent something like this from happening.
Once he'd been wrestled to his knees by grinning, shadowy clones of the monkey, they finally seemed satisfied and stopped dragging him down. That made sense, because kneeling as he was, he was just about at a height to be face to face with Macaque now, and the shadow monkey was on him as soon as he was at that level. Macaque seized Azure by the tufts of his mane on each side of his head and forcing him to meet the gaze of those blazing, purple eyes.
"Don't you get it?!" he said, his voice at a low, furious growl, "I only want you !"
The grip on his mane tightened and Macaque surged forward, pressing his forehead against Azure's own. His expression softened at that small bit of contact, as if it were a relief he'd been desperate for.
"We're meant to be together, how can you not see that?" Those glowing eyes fluttered shut, his whole body seeming to melt against Azure, even as the lion tried to lean away. "I don't want to go to Wukong- I don't even want to hear his name! So stop trying to make me leave, because I won't ."
Even as he was being held fast by the shadow clones, Azure was tilting back and away from him so far that he was nearly splayed across the desk behind him. Macaque continued to press against him, nuzzling into the lion's cheek as he begged not to be turned away again. In his current position, Azure wasn't exactly capable of throwing him out for a second time, but even so, the monkey's words were starting to pique his interest.
Not the nonsense of them belonging together and being in love or any of that, but the way Macaque was so quick to cast aside the Monkey King. He did admit to still loving him just a few minutes earlier, the love potion clearly not able to remove that feeling, but the feelings it gave him for Azure were apparently so potent that he was completely uninterested in Sun Wukong so long as Azure was in the picture.
This changed things... after all, the thing that Azure Lion wanted was to take Macaque's place as first in Sun Wukong's heart. Now, Macaque no longer wanted that place, so it would be left open for someone else to slot into. Not only that, but if Macaque were to be seen to spurn the Monkey King's affection... well, Wukong was a prideful sort. He was like Azure in that he wouldn't tolerate it if the person he loved most actually loved someone else more. No, it was likely to infuriate him and turn him against Macaque entirely.
This wasn't how Azure had planned for things to go, but since he was already in this predicament, perhaps he should just use it to his advantage. If he played this just right, Azure might be able to get Sun Wukong to forget about Macaque of his own volition with no more potions or magic or anything else required.
Of course, he still had to figure out what to do about Macaque himself after he'd won over Sun Wukong, but for the moment being, Azure decided it was best to just go along with it until he did.
"Alright,"
Hearing him speak up, Macaque paused in the pleas he had been mumbling into Azure's fur and opened his eyes at last to properly look at him.
"I'm... sorry for pushing you away," Azure said, doing his best to sound genuine. Though, with Macaque enchanted as he was, it probably wouldn't even matter if his acting was lacking. "I wasn't sure you were being serious before, but if you actually want us to be together, then I could see that happening... if you're really willing to let go of Sun Wukong."
There was zero hesitation from the monkey in his answer. He threw his arms around Azure's neck, pulling him into a passionate kiss. The shadows around them all slithered away, and without the extra support, Azure finally fell back against the desk, sending scrolls and parchment scattered across the floor around them.
Macaque followed him down, quickly perching atop the lion and smiling mischievously down at him. He brushed aside a lock of fur that had settled onto Azure's face, taking the opportunity to playfully run his fingers through his thick mane, substituting words for a quiet chirping noise.
Azure had to admit, even though this was the wrong monkey, he couldn't help but be a little affected by the flirtatious touch. The position they were in, with Macaque hovering over him and practically pinning him down, was just adding to the effect. That wasn't much of a surprise, though. After all, apart from his coloration, he did look strikingly similar to Sun Wukong.
That thought gave Azure an idea. Reaching over with one hand, he fumbled blindly behind him until his hand fell upon the lantern on the edge of the desk. With a quick pinch of his fingers, he snuffed the candle within and putting out the only light in the room. Like this, all he could see looming above him was a silhouette and the faint glow of purple from those eyes... much better. This way he could almost let himself believe that it was a different monkey.
Now that they were shrouded in darkness, the monkey took that as permission to continue, and tried to lean in again to resume the kiss that'd been broken up by their fall. Before he could, though, Azure reached up with one hand, pressing a finger against the lips just as they were about to touch his own.
"Hold on," he said, actively trying to sound flirtatious to match the monkey's energy, "I just want to hear you say it out loud. Is it actually possible for you to forget Sun Wukong?"
It probably wasn't necessary to make him promise that. The potion would make sure that Azure was always Macaque's main focus... but he just really wanted to hear him say it.
Even in the darkness, the sharp, white fangs of the monkey above him were visible as he smiled broadly down at Azure. He gently pushed aside the hand in front of his mouth and continued to lean in, his lips brushing against the lion's own as he answered.
"Sun Wukong who ?"
₊˚ ✧ ‿｡ﾟﾟ･‿୨୧‿︵･｡･ ✧ ʚïɞ
On the other side of Azure's study and unseen by both the other occupants who were now understandably distracted, hidden in the gnarled roots of the dirt ceiling, a colorful butterfly sat perched in the darkness.
The butterfly watched for a few moments more, its little monkey tail flicking sharply as it did. The longer it watched, the more agitated its movements became, and so finally it seemed to decide that it had seen enough and turned away. Crawling back among the roots, the butterfly followed the small, nearly imperceptible hole that followed the root all the way back to the base of a nearby tree.
Once back on the surface, the butterfly took off, flying with much more purpose than any butterfly really should, and headed straight for the main cavern of Water Curtain Cave. Before it crossed the threshold to the great palace within, the butterfly finally transformed with a golden flash back into the Monkey King.
Even though he had long since mastered his seventy two transformations and it was perfectly easy to hold them... this time it had been difficult to remain disguised for as long as he had. In fact, had he had even one less speck of self control, he might not have come back to the palace after all and done something much more drastic... something he'd certainly regret later.
That didn't mean he couldn't sulk, though. And it sure didn't do any good to sulk as something so fluttery as a butterfly.
After a quick stretch of his neck, Sun Wukong continued along the palace halls, his stomping feet nearly cracking the tile beneath them in his fury. He barely even noticed, though. His mind was consumed by what he had observed and overheard.
It was one thing for Macaque to get pissy with him over one of their spats and give him the cold shoulder for a while, but he'd never gone so far as to run into the arms of one of their other brothers. Wukong didn't think that it was ever something he would have to worry about... and, honestly, it wasn't the sharing that bothered him so much. That wasn't a big deal. All of them shared... well, except, up until now Macaque hadn't . And for him to go to Azure of all people! How many times had Wukong had to listen to the other monkey complain about the celestial lion and his bold, revolutionary vision? Too many to count, for sure.
So what was Macaque thinking going to him tonight? And why had he made such a ridiculous promise? The words still rang in the Monkey King's head- Sun Wukong who? It was infuriating! Sun Wukong and the Six-Eared Macaque were inseparable. Everyone knew it. There was no future he could imagine without them being together... So, obviously Macaque couldn't mean what he said, could he? But then why had he said such a thing?!
As he finally reached the end of the palace hall, Sun Wukong threw open the massive double doors leading into the palace throne room. They slammed against the adjacent walls with satisfying BANG that left all the monkeys perched around the room chattering angrily.
Good. He was annoyed, so why shouldn't everyone else be?
Wukong stormed up the dais towards his throne, ready to throw himself into it and continue his pouting. He paused, though as he approached and noticed a tray placed next to the seat on a small stool. It bore a large wine jug and two cups already filled to the brim with sparkling peach wine.
The sight was enraging. Sure, he may have asked his monkeys to set up two cups for him like this, but he was supposed to need two cups tonight. How had Macaque not come crawling back to him tonight like he was supposed to? Obviously when he said he wasn't sharing his peach wine he wasn't serious! Macaque would have known that, so WHY ?!
In a fit of anger, the monkey lashed out, slapping the tray away and sending its contents clattering across the floor. The force of his hit smashed the wine jug, sending a pinkish-orange splatter across half the dais and dripping down the steps to the hooting and hollering of angry monkeys all around the room.
Wukong paid them no mind, and fell into his throne, feeling no less troubled for his outburst.
Perhaps he was missing something.
They'd had a fight that evening- honestly, it was more like bickering really- and in the middle of it, Macaque had stolen his wine. After he drank it, he suddenly didn't want to fight anymore and moved over to be with Azure... someone who, up until he had that drink, Macaque had found the company of to be nearly unbearable.
Wait... maybe that was it! This sudden interest in Azure, which was seemingly out of nowhere, wasn't really out of nowhere. It was completely on purpose.
Macaque was just trying to make Wukong jealous!
Of course he was! Macaque was far too clever for his own good and must have gotten bored with their usual bickering. To be fair, it was getting a little tired how they would fight and make up in the same way every time. So instead, the shadow monkey was shaking things up. He was only pretending to be interested in Azure because he knew it would drive Sun Wukong wild with jealousy.
Really, it was the only explanation that made sense.
It also meant that, so long as he held out and pretended it didn't bother him, Wukong was sure to win this little game the shadow was playing. Macaque couldn't stand Azure, so this wouldn't last long. Soon enough, he'd come crawling back and Wukong could graciously forgive him and all would be back to normal.
Feeling a deep sense of relief at his realization, Wukong plucked out a single strand of his fur and gave a quick blow, transforming it into a new jug of wine. After kicking up his feet along the arm of his throne, he threw the jug back and drank directly from the brim.
This wouldn't take too long. If things were still going in the direction it seemed they were back in that little study room, then Macaque was probably already regretting his decision. Wukong wouldn't be surprised if his little shadow came bursting into the throne room looking for him before the night was through.
With each sip of his wine, he became more sure that would be the case. Any second now, Macaque would see his plan wasn't working and come back.
Eventually, the Monkey King's head fell back against the arm of his throne, the now empty jug falling from his limp hand as he passed out.
He woke up the next morning to the chittering of monkeys surrounding him and to a throbbing headache from sleeping in such an awkward position... however, Macaque was still nowhere to be seen.