Macaque didn't let go of Wukong, the immortal's whole face tucked into him so that he could watch MK from over his shoulder as they sat in quiet comfort for as long as they could. The atmosphere should have been quiet and somber and yet Macaque could still hear the noises from the rest of the hospital, the loud talking and commotion quickly getting on his nerves. He found himself trying to tune it out, listening instead to the steady beeping of the vital sign monitor in the room and Wukong's breathing that was broken by small sniffles and hitches of breaths every now and then.
It was easier to focus on those two things than the chaos of the whole building, timing his breathing with the beeping of the machine without noticing.
Eventually, Mei came back in, seeing the two together and not saying a word even as she handed Macaque a bottle of water before sitting back down on the other side of the room. He was glad she hadn't said anything, his own embarrassment at being seen like this smothered by how comforting it was to just be able to hold Wukong like this and have him in his arms.
As soon as MK woke up, he'd be hugging the kid this long as well, possibly even longer if he ever managed to let go at all.
Their little bubble of peace was interrupted by two firm but rushed knocks on the door and he ran his fingers over Wukong's back soothingly when the other tensed at the disruptive sound, letting him clutch onto Macaque's shirt tightly and stay where he was.
Not waiting for a response, the person behind the door walked in, revealing what Macaque assumed was a doctor considering his dress wear.
"Oh, you must be MK's father yes? The nurse mentioned you might be in here and I thought you'd like to know more about your son's condition." Immediately Macaque was perking up, all ears on alert and listening as he glanced back to MK on the bed before keeping his attention fully on the doctor. Even Wukong tilted his head up at the words, though he didn't leave Macaque's arms or try to look at the man as the doctor continued talking.
"Unfortunately your son suffered a hemorrhage and then later respiratory failure, and since he was deprived of oxygen for just over five minutes and appeared to have had an earlier episode we are worried about possible brain damage." As he spoke, Macaque both heard the words like they were being seared into his brain with a laser and somehow couldn't quite grasp them at the same time, his voice muffled even with Macaque's hearing.
He hadn't been there when any of this had happened, he hadn't helped, hadn't been able to protect him and Wukong had been the one to witness all of this by himself. He looked down at the shaking immortal in his arms and understood exactly why he was such a mess.
"He is in a medically induced coma at this time to help him heal faster and hopefully mitigate brain damage but more treatment can be done when he wakes up. We won't be able to know if there is any brain damage until he wakes up though." The man finished and he blinked dumbly, not sure how to react emotionally to what he'd been told as he waited for the words to sink in, to grasp exactly what they meant.
He wasn't put off by Macaque's reaction though and he wondered how frequently the man had to do this to be able to be so clinical about it, to be able to be so calm when MK could have permanent consequences from this. When he was hurt and in pain and nearly died and Macaque hadn't been there for him.
Seeing the way Macaque didn't respond and the way he was clearly overwhelmed the doctor continued in a more sympathetic tone.
"I know it's a lot but your son is in the best hands. I'll let you have some time alone, if you have any questions feel free to use the button on the side of the bed to call a nurse and someone will be with you." Then he was gone, the door closing behind him and leaving the four to themselves.
Wukong seemed to curl into him tighter in response to the information and Macaque could feel the way he trembled harder, eyes squeezed shut as he pressed into Macaque like he was trying to escape something.
He wondered if he was remembering what had happened, still watching what the doctor had said in his own head. Macaque could only imagine what that had looked like and had felt like since he hadn't been there. He wished he had if only so he could suffer now just as much as Wukong was, tortured by the image of their kid flatlining and being unable to take in any oxygen. He certainly deserved to.
"Brain... damage?" He heard Mei slowly mumble out like she didn't understand and he glanced over at her as she looked down at MK, holding his hand carefully at the other side of the bed.
Suddenly she snapped her head up, staring at Macaque as her words came out rushed.
"He'll be okay, right? They- they don't know for sure so- so he's going to be fine, isn't he?" Despite the way she was clearly trying to convince herself he would, Macaque could hear the uncertainty in her tone, the fear in the way her arms shook and her grip on MK's hand tightened.
He looked back down at MK instead of responding, staring at his slack face, able to see little cuts and bruises dotted around before he took MK's hand again, running his thumb back and forth over the back of the kid's hand softly and forcing himself not to break down at the way his whole chest ached with sorrow.
It was so hard seeing MK like this, hearing that he might not be okay once he woke up, that it hurt. It ached deeply and painfully in his whole chest, a feeling so intense it felt like it was going to swallow him whole. He didn't know how to get away from the feeling, sure that at any point it would just become too much for him to live with, but as soon as he'd had that thought he was pushing it back down, swallowing past the lump in his throat and the stinging in his eyes to find words again.
"I don't know, Mei. I don't know."
(I know it's been a while! I've had some assignments due so I've been very busy. The good news is that I'm done now though so now I should have a lot more time on my hands so sorry about the wait.
Also, Macaque doesn't usually call Mei by her name but using kid like he normally would just makes him think of MK so he doesn't.
I hope you guys enjoyed, it's a shame MK isn't out of the woods yet, and I'll see you all again soon!)
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A Son Of Two Dad's
FanfictionMK was orphaned at a young age. He doesn't know why he's never felt normal, doesn't know why he's never fit in and he certainly doesn't know that his actual parents are Sun Wukong and Macaque. This is MK's journey through life, trying to figure out...
