Once Bitten

The Calm (47)

Driving was just as boring as ever but at least MK had Mei to keep him company. Part of him wanted to go back to sleep, tired and body exhausted constantly but he pushed through it to play some of the games Mei still had in the car, losing epically at the weird version of chess she'd made him play.

He could feel a headache building at the back of his eyes and Mei's loud yells weren't helping. At least she seemed fairly normal other than the glances she kept sending to MK and the blank look in her eyes for a second before she cheered up again and asked Macaque to drive faster for the hundredth time.

As always, his answer was the same. 

"Do you want me to crash?" He huffed, tone getting more and more annoyed every time she asked the question and Mei laughed. 

"Just don't crash then! C'mon, we'll get there faster if you weren't driving like an old woman!" She teased, but MK knew her impatience came from worry which sullied the normalcy of it all. 

They kept playing until finally Mei asked again for Macaque to speed up and the guy groaned loudly, slowing down to send a glare back at her. 

"Fucks sake kid-" Two hands covered MK's ears swiftly but he could still hear.  

"Hey! Language!" Wukong yelled and MK tilted his head to see his brother glaring at Macaque, turning to see Macaque roll his eyes through the mirror and then sigh loudly. 

"This is hell. I'm in hell." He muttered, sounding done and MK felt a little bad for him, seeing Sandy reach across and pat the grouchy man on the back.

Mei shrugged and went right back to their game while MK looked up at Wukong who was still holding his ears to protect him from the profanity. Noticing MK's gaze he looked down, then quickly let go and rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Sorry, kiddo." He muttered and MK shrugged, going back to the game. 

"It's fine, but you know I've heard plenty of swearing before, right?" He asked, and Mei laughed. 

"Yeah! Pigsy swears all the time!" She giggled, finding it funny and MK felt his heart ache at the thought of his Dadsy, silently wishing Macaque would go faster too just so MK could maybe see his dads one last time.

Although that didn't seem right somehow, since he was pretty sure he'd been bitten a while ago. He felt tired and achy and warm still and his arm ached but he wondered if he was supposed to feel worse. He wondered how long he was going to draw out this whole living thing and why he felt like he had no appetite at all, his stomach hurting most of the time. 

"Hey, you okay, MK? Spaced out a minute there?" Wukong asked, tone worried and soft and MK nodded quickly, feeling a little dizzy with the action as he smiled dismissively. 

"Yeah I'm fine, just got caught in my head for a sec there." He promised, hoping the casual tone was convincing as Wukong placed a hand on his forehead. 

"You're still warm..." He muttered, grabbing MK's water bottle and handing it to him. 

"Don't forget to stay hydrated." He told him and Macaque snickered from the front while MK took a sip of the water.

"Something funny?" Wukong asked with crossed arms and Macaque shrugged.  

"Nah, you just sound like such a mother." He laughed, teasing and Wukong gasped dramatically, hand on his chest. 

"I do not!" 

MK listened halfheartedly to their squabbling until Mei asked Macaque to drive faster again and suddenly the car pulled to an abrupt stop and everyone was staring at Macaque, confused who'd pulled into a gas station and was gripping the wheel tightly.