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Something jumped over me and I jolted up. A soft weight was on my back, and I immediately knew what it was.
“Mmm… Abu…” I whined, annoyed that the monkey had woken me up.
“You’re still asleep?” Aladdin’s voice filled the space of our home.
“I was” I complained, shoving my head back on the pillow.
I heard Aladdin chuckle as his footsteps grew closer. Abu was still over me, trying to get me to sober up as he made little noises of complaint. I tried to swat him away, but the monkey insisted.
“It’s a beautiful day!” Aladdin, cheerful as usual, poked my side once he was next to me. “We should go out”
Opening one eye, I looked up at him. He received me with a bright grin that made it impossible to be mad at him for waking me up. I opened my mouth to reply and before I could say anything, he had grabbed ahold of my arms and sat me up with a small laugh.
“C’mon!” He urged me, gently tickling my sides. “Let’s go out for a walk!”
I sighed as I lazily rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I could feel his dark eyes focused on me, expectant. Abu was also nudging me, so I absently pet his head.
“There’s no use in resisting, is there?” I smiled in spite of myself, knowing him too well.
“Nope” I wondered how he was so energetic all the time, and how that smile of his never faltered.
“Fine, give me a moment” I gave in, yawning as I tried to sober up. The remnants of my dream still chased me, of a magical being who granted wishes.
“C’mon already!” I yelped when he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to my feet. “There’s so much to see!”
“Yeah” I sarcastically replied as I comfortably leaned on him. “A whole new world”
“We can go somewhere other than the bazaar” Aladdin didn’t let me ruin his good mood.
When he let go of me, I moved to wash my face. Abu jumped on my shoulder, probably following to make sure I didn’t lie down again.
“Slept well?” I looked over my shoulder to Aladdin, who was leaning one shoulder on the wall.
“Yeah” Once my face was clean, I brushed my hair as I turned to him. “Dreamt about a genie who granted wishes”
Aladdin grinned, nodding his head in acknowledgement. Ever since we met, I had been talking about genies and wishes, about what I would wish for. That day, not that long ago, Aladdin came into my life. He helped me and invited me into his home with him and Abu. We had stayed together ever since. But even his company didn’t distract me from dreaming with a better life. Noticing he had averted his gaze and his smile trembled for the first time, I frowned. While I daydreamt with a better life, it always included Aladdin.
“I’m sorry” I walked over to him and put my hands over his arms, which were crossed over his chest. “You are my family, Al, and you will always be no matter what”
The smile returned to his face, which was a comforting sight.
“It had been a while since you last called me Al” He muttered, cocking an eyebrow.
“Because now I know your name” I joked, calling back to when we first met. “Al… Al… What was it? It started with ‘Al’, didn’t it?”
That day I had been so distraught and absent that I couldn’t remember his name. no matter how many times he repeated it –‘my name’s Aladdin, I already have yours memorized, Y/N!’ –it always slipped my mind. Instead, I struggled with it.
His grin widened even more, but he rolled his eyes a little at me. Taking my hand in his, he walked out of our home. I glanced at Abu over my shoulder, smiling at him in camaraderie.
-
Aladdin had been right in that it was a beautiful day. The marketplace was crowded as usual. The sky was clear and the sun shone brightly above us. The weather was warm but not hot. There was a very slight breeze.
However, I had been right in one thing. It was the very same. There weren’t many places for us to go to, so we travelled the same streets of Agrabah. He had tried to make it exciting, like when he told me there was a new stand on the bazaar. But it was the usual anyway.
“Here!” Aladdin tugged at my hand, taking me with him.
“What?” I watched the sweets stands he was approaching. “No, you’ll get in trouble!”
“It’s okay” He winked at me as we reached the stand.
My mouth watered at the sight of all the delicious treats, but it wasn’t worth it Aladdin getting in trouble for that little whim. No matter how much I liked them.
“Hello!” He cheerfully greeted the vendor, only to be received with a scowl.
“Get out of here, street rat!” The man replied, looking at my friend with contempt.
I took a step forward, angry and ready to tell him a few things in defense of Aladdin. But the aforesaid put a hand on my hip and stopped me from starting a scene. Even if his smile lingered, I could tell a wave of hurt crossed his eyes.
“Guess you don’t want my money then” Aladdin held up one coin, tempting the rude vendor with it.
“You probably stole it too” Replied the man, not changing his mind.
“We’ll go spend our money somewhere else, it’s okay” Aladdin shrugged, taking a step.
“What will it be?” The seller reluctantly asked, motioning to the food.
I exchanged a glance with Aladdin, who smiled and read my mind. Knowing which ones I liked the most, he pointed at those ones.
“Two, please” His smile became smug as he gave the coin to the vendor. “Thank you”
I covered my mouth with my hand to hide my laughter at the man’s scowl. We bought our sweets and walked away under the glare of the seller. Aladdin and I giggled as we walked away.
“Where did you get the money?” I absently fed Abu a piece of my treat as I watched my friend.
“I have my methods” He shrugged one shoulder, and I had to laugh a little. It was perfectly possible that he stole it, but I knew he was too likeable to do that all the time.
“What you have is charm and puppy brown eyes” I teased him, shoving my shoulder against his. To my surprise, Aladdin let out a genuine guffaw.
“Are you calling me handsome?” He dedicated me his best dashing smile.
“Shut up” I replied, rushing to finish my treat to busy myself with something else.
“You know what you have?” Aladdin chuckled, pinching my chin. “Chocolate on your face”
He tried to wipe it clean, but I pushed him away to do it myself. He didn’t stop smiling.
I had almost forgotten about Abu, and that might have been the reason why he squeaked at me to complain. I stuck my tongue out at the monkey, knowing he didn’t like it when Aladdin and I got so playful.
My heart fluttered at the moment, but it stopped when I realized his grin was falling. I knew Aladdin well enough to realize what was bothering him. I linked my arm with his and smiled at him when he looked down at me.
“You’re not a street rat” I gravely told him. “You know that, right?”
He frowned slightly, but didn’t reply. All response I got was a reluctant head nod.
“But you are a thief” I joked, wrinkling my nose to reinforce my playful tone.
“I only steal what I need…” He defended himself, shrugging a little.
I noticed he was trying to distance himself from me, so I squeezed his arm with mine.
“Did you need my heart?” I smugly replied, causing him to quickly turn to me.
“Y/N…” Aladdin whined, half annoyed and half amused.
We locked eyes, and ended up laughing together at the silly moment. Still, I meant my words, and judging by the grateful look in his eyes, he knew that.
“Al?” I muttered, leaning my head on his shoulder.
“Yeah?” His voice was soft and gentle again.
“With you, I couldn’t wish for a better life…”
I felt my cheeks burning. The sensation only intensified when Aladdin stopped walking out of shock. I kept my head glued to his shoulder so he couldn’t see me blushing.
The moment was over, however, when Abu intervened. He shrieked in annoyance, making me jump up at the sudden noise. I separated myself from my friend to look at the monkey on his other shoulder.
“Sorry, Abu” I delicately petted his head. “We’re done being cheesy now”
Aladdin chuckled, causing me to look at him. His eyes were full of fondness. To tease me about the corny moment, he wiggled his eyebrows. I stuck my tongue at him to shut him.
“Here, look!” Aladdin got ahold of my arm and gently tugged at it.
“What is it?” I stumbled, struggling with his sudden quick pace.
Abu, who had settled over my shoulder, moved back to Aladdin’s. We moved to an emptier area, and he stood by the front of a tall building that was partially in ruins.
“What are you scheming?” I asked him when he stopped and turned to me.
“Trust me” There was a mischievous hint to his smile that intrigued me.
I opened my mouth to speak, but he had scooped me up in his arms and lifted me up to get me to a ledge at the side of it. Doing what I assumed he wanted me to, I held on to it and tried to push myself up.
“Climb” Aladdin said, slowly letting go of me when he assured I had secured myself. “I’m right behind you”
I leveraged myself until I was up there, looking down at him from higher ground. I leaned out and held my hand for him to take, knowing it was too high for him to get up on his own. He was gone.
“Need help getting up?” He asked me, startling me.
“How did you…?” I glanced from the ground below us to him standing next to me. “That was fast!”
Aladdin smiled as he offered me a hand to pull me up. I took it, admiring the way his lips curved up. I truly hoped he never stopped smiling.
Abu called us from a few meters away, jumping in place to gather our attention. When I looked his direction, I gasped at the wonderful sight. And I thought the view was breathtaking from our home.
“I always forget to bring you here” Aladdin mumbled as I made my way towards Abu. “I knew you would love this place”
“You can see all of Agrabah!” I mumbled in awe, still taken aback by the view.
It was a lot higher than our home, so everything seemed calmer and smaller. However, the city spread before my eyes as it lost itself in the horizon. I could see the marketplace that surrounded us, but also the port and even the palace.
Aladdin sat down and gently pulled at my hand until I took a seat next to him.
“Can we stay here for a while?” My eyes were still fixed in the distance.
“As long as you want, Y/N” He got comfortable, leaning his hands on the ground behind him.
-
Hours had gone by. We had been in complete silence. All we did was enjoy each other’s company as we admired the view. It only became more beautiful once the sun started setting. The sky changed colors, from soft blue to dark, accompanied by orange, pink and purple.
Aladdin lingered by my side. Abu had settled on my lap, half asleep as I absently petted him. I couldn’t possibly imagine a more perfect moment.
A chill took over me as a gush of wind surrounded us. Night had fallen, bringing a cooler weather.
“Are you cold?” Aladdin broke the silence that had established for hours.
Not waiting for a response, he took his vest off and put it over my shoulders to coat me.
“The vest isn’t helping much” I giggled, passing my hands through the arm holes. “But it’s the thought that counts”
“You’re welcome” Instead, Aladdin put an arm over me and shoved me against him. His body warmth immediately helped a little.
I shielded myself in his embrace and sighed. I closed my eyes, forgetting about the view that had fascinated me for so long. All it mattered now was the wonderful feeling of his closeness.
“Are you comfortable?” Aladdin softly asked me, now rubbing his hand against my arm.
“Yes” I smiled to myself. “I couldn’t wish for anything better”