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Chapter Text

"This place looks shady as fuck."

"Compared to our old studio? It's like a castle."

"You know what, that's fair."

Aladdin opened the doors of the dance studio, Alibaba and Morgiana following suite. Aladdin walked right up to the front desk and smiled at the man behind the counter. "Hello there!" he spoke cheerfully. "We need a room that will work for three people please."

Despite being the youngest in the group, just shy of 19, Aladdin was definitely the most extroverted. He was able to talk to and connect with anyone he wanted to and did it with great ease as well. Pretty impressive for someone who's native language wasn't English. 

Of course, they weren't in a studio that was familiar to them, so Alibaba and Morgiana were a bit uncomfortable around the new atmosphere. Their old studio had an accident which had resulted in the entire thing going down in flames. Luckily no one but the owner was inside so no one got hurt, and the owner was able to make it out safely. But this meant the trio needed to find a new studio to practice in

They paid for and got a card to their room, Aladdin grabbing both of their hands and practically dragging Morgiana and Alibaba up the stairs to the fifth floor. Morgiana was able to keep pace but Alibaba got winded around floor three. He really wasn't cut out for endurance stuff.

Eventually, they arrived at the top floor, Aladdin running through the door of room 5-C, stopping in his tracks once he entered. "Wow! This place is huge!"

Indeed it was. The room had to be twice as big as their old studio, and one of the walls was just one big mirror with a bar, probably mostly used for ballet dancers, but it was still really cool. The walls appeared to be soundproof and there was a speaker on the walls where Alibaba could easily plug his phone in to play music.

The trio started off with a few stretches, but Alibaba could see that Aladdin was anxious to dance. He kept bouncing up and down at every chance, and it made Alibaba smile a little bit.

When they were finally finished stretching Aladdin ran to the center of the room and started hopping up and down, truly a child at heart. Morgiana set her bag down and sat down in front of the mirror while Alibaba got set up and plugged into the speakers.

"Alright, Aladdin, what do you want me to play?" he asked, scrolling through the playlists.

Aladdin giggled, then gave Alibaba a little smirk. He knew that look. "You know the song I wanna start off with."

Of course. Alibaba smiled to himself and pressed play on the song he knew Aladdin loved to dance to and sat next to Morgiana as the drums started pounding in the speakers. Aladdin closed his eyes and started tapping his bare feet to the music, that was something that was unique to Aladdin, he never wore his shoes or even socks while dancing. If he did it threw him off entirely.

Aladdin's dancing style was actually incredible, as though he was telling a story with his movements, and especially in this case, with Prince Ali from Disney's Aladdin running through the room, the lyrics in their native language of Arabic, the language Aladdin was most familiar with. Aladdin was born in Saudi Arabia, much like his siblings, and came over to the United States when he was young. He learned English quickly and picked up on dancing even quicker.

His dancing incorporated much of his culture, a lot of fluid movements with his hands and arms and stomping with his feet, mouthing along with the words Morgiana and Alibaba had no way to comprehend.

When Aladdin got to the ending high note he lifted his arms in the air, waving his hands around, and ending in a bow, as though he was in the presence of a real sultan. Morgiana and Alibaba both applauded for him. Aladdin smiled at them. "Was that good?" he asked.

Morgiana nodded, standing up. "Fantastic as always, Aladdin," she said.

Aladdin ran forward, grabbed her hand and jumping up and down. "Your turn, Morg!"

Morgiana nodded once and went to the center of the room as well. Alibaba picked up his phone again. "Song choice?" he asked.

"Um, let's go with Try Everything by Shakira, okay?"

"Yup, that's perfect."

The familiar song started and Morgiana nodded her head along to it. Aladdin nodded with her and Alibaba watched her intently. Then Morgiana started moving. Alibaba would be lying if he said that Morgiana wasn't was one of the best dancers he knew. Her feet seemed to have a mind of their own, and it was magical. She was good with fast-paced songs, taking up a lot of space when she danced, leaping up in the air every chance she got, always doing it with a smile on her face.

Dancing was really her true passion, she loved it with her entire being, it was so important to her, her escape. And she was damn good at it. 

She made eye contact with Alibaba when she jumped up, skirt flaring with black shorts underneath, making eye contact with Alibaba, who smiled at her. She hit the ground for less than a second and jumped back into the swing of things. When she was finished she ended with her legs spread apart, one hand up and pointing at the sky, as though she was posing for the cover of Hamilton.

Aladdin applauded loudly. Alibaba scrolled through some of the other songs, trying to settle on what he wanted to dance to, well all of a sudden there was the sound of a phone notification from Aladdin's bag. The boy in question pulled it out and checked it, face lighting up.

"Hey guys, guess who's on the floor directly below us!" he called. "My brother!"

Morgiana raised an eyebrow. "Which one?" she asked.

"Judar," Aladdin replied. "And the best part, he doesn't know we're here!"

"Have we met this one?" Alibaba asked, pocketing his phone for now. "You have like three siblings. Way too many if you ask me."

Aladdin shrugged. "I don't think you've met Judar. He's like four years older than me, but definitely not the oldest. He doesn't like people though. But I still wanna surprise him! I didn't tell him we were going to this studio, just that we were going to a new dance studio."

Morgiana cocked her head. "Is that the reason you brought us here? Because your brother comes here?"

"Yeah, he and his dance partner come here most often, so I figured if it was good enough for him it should be good enough for us."

That was fair enough. The old studio they went to was the closest to all of their locations, so that's why they went there. But this one was closer to where Aladdin lived, so it made sense that his brother would also come here.

Alibaba smiled. "I think we should at least say hi to him, I'd love to meet more of your family."

Aladdin cheered. Morgiana shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't hurt." she agreed.

So the three crept down the stairs (even though sneaking wasn't entirely necessary) and arrived in front of the door 4-D. Aladdin listened against the door, then motioned for Alibaba and Morgiana to come closer. Then he cracked the door open just enough for them to see inside.

Inside were two people. One of them was standing against the mirror, going through his phone. He wore a white hoodie and grey sweatpants, dark hair and a scar over his left eye, giving Alibaba chills.

But the other person in the room absolutely took his breath away. He was a dark-haired man with a long thick ponytail tied off into puffs trailing behind him, cutting off at his ankles. He wore a black crop top with fishnets poking out at his midsection and where the shirt cut off at his forearms and black baggy sweatpants as well. He had crimson eyes lined with dark eyeliner that stunned Alibaba for a moment. Like Aladdin, he wore no shoes nor socks on the dancefloor. 

Alibaba guessed the one with the eyeliner was Aladdin's brother, they had a similar vibe... and the long hair was kind of a giveaway.

"Alright, which fucking sexy-ass song do you want to warm-up to today?" the other guy asked, not even looking up from his phone.

The man who Alibaba was assuming was Judar laughed. "You know me too well, Hakuryuu. I was thinking... Looking At Me, Sabrina Carpenter."

Hakuryuu hummed and pressed a button. A trumpet sounded and Judar smirked, snapping his fingers before he started dancing with the music. Alibaba was completely enthralled. Judar's dancing was all hips and body, using every feature to his advantage. Alibaba almost blushed, it was like watching a stripper perform. He swallowed thickly.

The song sounded strangely Spanish even though the lyrics were in English, and Judar was matching it perfectly, style going along with its underlying tones, lots of spinning and footwork, but also putting his own spin on it. This wasn't how Aladdin danced at all, were they really siblings?

Alibaba felt all internal organs completely melt into a puddle at the succession when Judar snapped his hips. He covered his face. God, being bisexual was so hard sometimes.

Aladdin was smiling, Morgiana seemed... shocked? As though it was hard for her to believe that anyone could ever think to dance so provocatively. Alibaba was simply trying not to die. 

The song ended and Judar's bangs flopped over his eyes, breathing heavily, but a smirk still gracing his features.

Aladdin cheered loudly and ran into the room, startling the both of them. "Judar! Hey, that was amazing!" Aladdin called, practically running into his brother's arms.

Judar caught him with complete ease, despite being incredibly taken off-guard. Having siblings must mean getting jumped was a regular occurrence. "Aladdin? The hell are you doing here? I thought you went to a different studio." he asked, setting Aladdin down.

The height difference was real. Aladdin, in general, was really small but standing next to his brother it really was apparent. Aladdin smiled. "I told you, didn't I? The studio me, Morg, and Alibaba usually go to got burned down!"

Hakuryuu nodded. "Oh yeah, that was in the news, wasn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah, but you didn't tell me you were relocating here," Judar replied.

He looked up and flinched when he realized Morgiana and Alibaba at the door. Alibaba smiled and gave a little wave, Morgiana was indifferent. "I... shouldn't you guys be practising?" Judar asked, looking back down at Aladdin.

Aladdin cocked his head. "Well, yeah, but I wanted to surprise you! We're gonna be practising in the same studio now, isn't that fun?!" he said excitedly.

Hakuryuu walked over to Judar, lifting his arm up and resting his elbow on Judar's shoulder, who had his arms crossed. "That's really sweet, but we have regionals to practice for, and by the looks of it, so do you."

Morgiana cleared her throat. "Yeah, Aladdin, c'mon. We need to get back to work." she walked over and put her hand on Aladdin's shoulder.

Alibaba looked between Hakuryuu and Judar. "Are you guys going as a pair? Like a partner dance?"

Hakuryuu nodded. "Yeah, have been for the past two years, and this year won't be any different."

Judar smirked again. "Yup, and this year is going to be the year that we win!"

Alibaba blinked. Morgiana rolled her eyes. "You sure you're Aladdin's brother? You seem way too cocky to be related to him."

"Oh shut the hell up!" Judar downright barked at her. "You guys should be grateful that you got to watch me warm up at all, can't wait to see your faces when we get on the stage."

"Tone it down, Judar," Hakuryuu warned.

Alibaba had migrated next to Morgiana at this point, and she was glaring at Judar, he felt like he was in the middle of a catfight. "I'm not sure if the judges would allow that kind of dancing, seems a bit adult for an audience that might have kids in it."

"You wanna repeat that, bitch?!" Judar shouted.

Hakuryuu slapped his shoulder. "Stop it." he looked over at Morgiana. "It hasn't been a problem before, and it's not going to be a problem now, I can assure you of that. Plus I keep him in check whenever we do competitions."

Morgiana looked down at her feet, awkwardly shifting around. Alibaba cleared his throat. "Um, you're right, we probably should get back to our practice. Nice meeting you!" he said, trying to drag Aladdin and Morgiana out.

Judar locked eyes with him, a scowl replacing that confident smirk he had on a second ago. "Hey, blondie. What's your name?"

Alibaba blinked. "Uh, Alibaba," he replied.

"Alibaba, huh? Well..." Judar smiled. "See you around then."

"Yeah, see ya." Alibaba waved as the door closed.

Morgiana sighed loudly once they were out of the room. "Aladdin, your brother is kind of a jerk," she remarked as they started walking back up the stairs.

Aladdin puffed out his cheeks. "Yeah, a bit." he agreed. "But he's a better dancer than me by a long shot, and he's super competitive. He might actually win this year with Hakuryuu."

Alibaba rubbed the back of his neck. "Shouldn't he audition for the solo dance? He seems good enough to win the whole thing even without a fully choreographed dance. It was amazing back there."

Morgiana crossed her arms. "That wasn't really dancing. That kind of dancing is meant to draw attention to his attributes that many girls would kill to have. It's seducing the audience, and it's disgusting."

Aladdin shook his head. "Judar's always danced like that. That's just how it is. He's over-sexual I guess, but that's not a bad thing." he turned around, going up the stairs backwards so he could talk to Alibaba and Morgiana face-to-face. "And to answer your question, Alibaba, he says he's more comfortable with a partner, and only with one he knows well. He's known Hakuryuu for years, and the two work well together."

"As long as they don't have sex on the stage, I'm sure they do."

Alibaba turned red at that. "Now that is definitely not allowed." he laughed it off.

Aladdin turned back around as they reached their floor. "It's only me and him that are dancers though, our other siblings aren't really into it I guess."

They opened the door to the room and the tension from that was completely gone. "Alright, Alibaba!" Aladdin announced. "It's your turn to dance now!"

Alibaba nodded, handing his phone to Morgiana and walking to the center of the room. "Royalty, Conor Maynard, if you please." he requested.

Morgiana gave a nod of affirmation and pressed play. This song started off with lyrics, so Alibaba had to start getting into the swing of things right away. Like Morgiana, Alibaba tended to take up a lot of space, it was an expert at timing his movements, edging the audience on just to enchant them with his movement. It was the way he danced, moving along with practised perfection, going from quick movements to taking his sweet time with a roll of his body, all going along with the music.

Something he tended to do, a habit he hadn't been able to break, was bounce. But only near the end of the song. Once this one hit the halfway point was when the bouncing started for Alibaba. His movements took on a life that wouldn't have been there originally, it was a sure sign he was enjoying himself. He could never start with them, and even when the ending hit and he was hopping up and down with feet movements that he picked up from Morgiana, his shoulders still held the bounce that couldn't be contained.

He ended the dance with a pose that looked cocky, just like he had been in an actual throne room and was presenting himself as the new king. Aladdin clapped loudly, and Morgiana smiled at him. "That was fantastic as always, Alibaba," she remarked.

"You think?" Alibaba asked, walking over and grabbing his bag, taking out his water bottle and taking a long drink. His stamina wasn't great, and he usually couldn't do very long songs without breathers in between practice time.

Aladdin nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Absolutely amazing!" he said. "Is that what you're gonna perform for the auditions?"

Alibaba shrugged. "Probably not. I love the song, but I don't think the dance is performance material. I'll find a song that works."

Morgiana pulled her laptop out of her bag and set it up on the floor. "We should start finding songs that we want to perform because the auditions will be here before we know it."

"Right as always, Morg!" Aladdin said, plopping himself down next to her.

Alibaba crouched down and looked at the screen as Morgiana scrolled through hundreds of song options. He had a good feeling about this year.

_____________________________________________________________________

Two weeks have passed, only two more until the auditions for regionals.

It was raining, Alibaba was running down the stairs. Morgiana and Aladdin weren't joining him this time.

If he was going to be completely honest, he loved his friends, but sometimes he needed to practice by himself, record himself and fix any little things he found when watching back. So he chose today to do it. Luckily, he was really making some good progress.

He stepped into the lobby and saw someone very unlikely. Judar, talking to someone behind the desk. Alibaba froze, as he wasn't sure whether to move forward or go backwards, terrified as to what to do.

Unfortunately, Judar noticed him. His face lit up and he slammed his hand on the front desk. "Alibubu!" he shouted.

Alibaba blinked. Did this guy... just call him Alibubu? "Um... hi?" he said. "That's not my name."

He slowly started walking towards him. Crap, this was going to be fucking awkward, wasn't it? Judar made a face. "Well, it's something along those lines, right? What is it?"

"Alibaba."

"Ah, there we go. I ain't great with names."

"Clearly."

The person behind the desk shifted his eyes between them. "Judar, do you know this guy?" he asked.

"Yeah, he's one of my brother's friends," Judar explained.

"Ah, in that case." he guy stood up and bowed. "Hello, my name is Ja'far. It's very nice to meet you."

"Um, hello. I'm Alibaba." Alibaba replied, nodding. "Are you the owner?"

Judar snorted, which then morphed into a loud laugh. "Nah, he's just fucking the owner," he commented.

Ja'far hit him on the head. "I'm very much not." he huffed. "The owner is my very good friend, Sinbad. You'll probably meet him eventually."

"Ah, cool."

Yeah, this was awkward already.

Ja'far turned to Judar. "Shouldn't you get going?" he asked.

"Wanna talk to Sinbad about something," Judar replied, not even look Ja'far in the eye. "It's about regions."

Ja'far nodded. "Right, I should probably go get him."

And then he left, leaving Alibaba with Judar. There were a few seconds of silence, and Alibaba had no idea how to feel. On one hand, he could start a conversation with him, but then again he should be heading home. Oh God, he was probably overthinking this already.

"How's Aladdin?" Judar asked out of the blue, turning his body to lean back against the counter. "You're his friend, right?"

Alibaba swallowed, okay, so they were going to make conversation. "He's okay, at least as far as I know. He's happy when he's around us at least," he replied. "Is he... any different around the house? I know you guys all live together still."

Judar scoffed. "I mean, yeah technically. But it's not like Yunan stays longer than a month at a time," he grumbled.

Alibaba raised an eyebrow. "Yunan? Is that yours and Aladdin's older brother?" he asked.

"Yeah, good job Sherlock." Judar waved him off. "Our home is fine, but I'm probably the worst of us. I don't really listen to Aladdin, which is why I'm asking about him."

"That seems kinda shallow."

Judar shot him a look. Alibaba covered his mouth with his hand. Why had he said that? It wasn't his place to say anything about their family, so why had he said that? Judar sighed loudly and dramatically, tipping his head back. "Yeah, well I'm pretty fucking rude..." he mumbled, looking Alibaba back in the eyes. "Is his dancing improving?"

Alibaba nodded, relieved that the topic had changed."Yeah... at least I think he is. We're getting ready for regions, and I think he's doing a great job."

Judar's expression softened and he looked away, crossing his arms. "I haven't seen him dance in a while if I'm being honest," he admitted.

"You should." Alibaba blurted out. "He's really good, and... it's important to him." he trailed off.

"Yeah, I know..."

More silence. Alibaba cleared his throat. "Um, why don't you solo dance for competitions?"

Judar didn't answer for a second, and Alibaba was afraid he wasn't even going to. Until his shoulders relaxed and he let out a soft sigh. "It's gonna sound stupid... but I just can't," he replied, voice soft.

"Stagefright?"

"No, it's not that. It's more... fuck, I don't know how to explain it." Judar cursed, raking a hand through his hair. "Solo dancing just makes me uncomfortable, okay? Did Aladdin tell you that I had stage fright?"

Alibaba shook his head. "I just... we saw you dancing, and I thought you were really good."

Judar looked a little surprised. "Oh, um... thanks, I guess? I thought you thought my dancing was 'inappropriate'?" he made air quotes for that last word.

"Morgiana did, but I thought it was really good, I wish I had to confidence to learn that kind of dancing."

Judar offered him a little smile, and he looked... really cute actually. Alibaba smiled back at him. 

Ja'far walked back into the room. "Judar, Sinbad's ready to see you."

"Right, coming."

Judar looked back at Alibaba. "See ya around, Alibubu."

"Okay, now you're just being mean."

"Like I said, I'm pretty fucking rude."

Alibaba laughed and Judar left the room with Ja'far, giving Alibaba one more little wave before disappearing. 

The drive to Alibaba's house was actually pretty calm despite the pouring rain. Alibaba was actually in a pretty good mood, he wasn't particularly an extroverted person, nor was he pretty introverted, but having that conversation with Judar made him feel very warm. But they probably weren't going to get to know each other very well with regions coming up soon. And they were competing in completely different events.

Alibaba took a quick shower and when he came out, his phone was going off. He picked it up and answered it. "Evening, Morgiana. What can I do ya for?" he asked.

"I just wanted to let you know, I'm not going to be at practice tomorrow, I have a friend who needs some help moving into her new apartment and asked me to help," she spoke.

"Ah, makes sense, you are very strong," Alibaba replied, pulling a nightshirt over his head.

"Thank you. Speaking of which, how's your dad doing?"

Alibaba swallowed. "Still in the hospital, but doing fairly well, at least from what the doctors have told me," he told her. "I'm hoping he makes a speedy recovery, but his condition could change."

His dad was currently really sick at the hospital, with some kind of cancer and another disease that the doctors were having a hard time figuring out what exactly it was. He could very well die at any second, but the hope was he would be able to recover by the end of the year. Alibaba was worried sick about him and dancing was keeping him distracted.

"Both me and Aladdin are hoping he gets better as well."

"Thanks, Morgiana."

The two talked a little bit before Morgiana announced she had to go to bed, and they hung up.

The last two weeks were fully dedicated to dancing. Crunch period came on them, solo dances were two weeks before duo dances, so all Alibaba was able to see of Judar were a few glances. At the moment, he couldn't afford any kind of distraction, and he had a feeling Judar would very much distract him.

Finally, finally, the day came when the solo dance auditions were upon them. Alibaba was so excited, ecstatic even. He wasn't dressed up, just in something that was comfortable and fairly nice looking. He was so ready, all jittery and excited, maybe he'd be able to get that bounce in his dances today right at the start.

Just when he was about to leave the house his phone rang. He picked it up, not recognizing the number at first. "Hello?" he asked.

"Is this Alibaba Saluja?" a man from the other line said.

"Uh-huh, that's me."

"We need you to come to the hospital right now."

"What?"

Chapter Text

Aladdin was pacing. Alibaba was nowhere to be seen, he hadn't shown up and auditions were going to start soon.

"Aladdin, calm down, I'm sure he's fine," Morgiana assured him.

But she was stressed as well. Alibaba absolutely had to show up, this was so important to him. He had worked harder than any of them, and to just skip it was completely out of character for him.

Aladdin let out a silent scream. "But what if he got into an accident before coming here?! What if he's dead in a ditch somewhere?! What if... what if..." he started looking like he was going to hyperventilate.

Morgiana put both of her hands on his shoulders, trying to calm him down. "He will be here," she assured, even though she wasn't certain herself.

Aladdin swallowed, mumbling something in Arabic, then taking a few deep breaths. "Okay... okay..." he whispered. "Okay, I'm calm."

Morgiana smiled. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out. "It's Alibaba!" she exclaimed. She knew it! She knew he would make it! He was just running late is all.

She pressed accept on the phone and put it up to her ear, her smile quickly morphing into a frown, then into a completely shocked and worried expression. "What is it?" Aladdin asked. "What's wrong?"

Morgiana swallowed. "Alibaba?" she asked quietly.

Alibaba was crying. He was sobbing on the other line, words not even coming out. "M-Morgiana... I-I..." he could barely speak. "I-I wanted to... to tell you that..."

"Alibaba, take your time..." she assured him.

She looked over at Aladdin. "I'm going to go out in the hall and talk with Alibaba," she told him, holding the phone away from her.

"Is he okay?" Aladdin asked, voice trembling. It was clear he was worried for his friend, eyebrows knit up, bottom lip caught between his teeth.

Morgiana nodded. "I think so, I just need a second, okay?" she told him, walking out.

She reached the hallway, which was much calmer than the stuffy room where all the people who were here for the auditions were. She leaned against the wall and took a breath. "Okay, Alibaba, do you want to tell me what happened?" she asked.

Alibaba gulped. "I-I'm sitting in the bathroom... Morgiana... I-I can't come..." he hiccuped, clearly choking on his own tears. "I-I just can't... I-I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay, Alibaba. Is everything alright?"

"N-No... the hospital called me... th-they told me that my dad... his condition worsened o-overnight and they wanted me to c-come over..." Alibaba had to stop to take a few breaths, voice cracking. He sounded so broken. "H-H-He's gone... Morgiana... my dad is dead..."

Morgiana was stunned. So that's why...

Alibaba let out a scream, Morgiana flinched from the sound coming over the phone. "I-I wasn't even fucking there for him!" Alibaba sobbed. "I wasn't even fucking there..." his voice quieted down.

"Alibaba... I'm so sorry..." Morgiana whispered. "Are you at the hospital now?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Okay, it's okay, you don't have to come. We can figure something out. Do you need me and Aladdin to come over?"

"No! No don't come! Don't tell Aladdin what happened!"

Morgiana blinked. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Mhm... Aladdin... he's gonna want to make sure I'm okay... and I want you two... I want you two to audition. You guys have worked s-so hard... don't throw that away for me... please." Alibaba replied.

So selfless. Morgiana bit her lip. "Okay, thank you for letting me know. I'll come over later, okay?"

"O-Okay..."

"It's going to be just fine, you're going to get through this," she spoke. "I promise, we'll find a way to get you to audition, okay?"

"Okay..."

"I'm going to hang up now, please just... take care of yourself, alright?"

"Yeah... th-thank you Morgiana."

"You're welcome. I love you, you know that right? Aladdin and I love you so much, and we're here to support you."

"I love you guys too. Th-thank you... so much..."

Morgiana hung up, not wanting to but she knew that Alibaba wanted her to still dance even when he couldn't. She pocketed her phone and walked back into the room. Aladdin looked up when he saw her and ran up to her. "Is Alibaba okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, he's just fine," she replied, then frowned. "But he's not going to be able to make it to the auditions."

Aladdin's face fell. "What?!" he asked.

"He won't be here, but he wants us to dance for him, you think you can do that?"

Aladdin pouted, but he nodded. "Yup! As long as Alibaba is okay that's fine! I'm sure he'll be able to dance at regions still!"

Morgiana nodded. "Here's to hoping."

Meanwhile, Alibaba was making his way home, trying very hard not to cry on the drive. He was feeling very stressed and overwhelmed... and incredibly sad. His dad was dead, that left him without parents. His mom died years ago, when he was twelve, and her death still stung. Now it was like someone had reopened a wound, and it hurt. So much. 

Alibaba pulled into the driveway and just... sat there. He didn't go in, he didn't even open the garage door. He hit his head against the wheel and started crying again. All of this was so much, he didn't think he could handle it. It had hit him like a bus just seeing his dad lay there, heartbeat gone still, face pale and eyes wide open like he had been trying to see through the ceiling. He didn't even know how to process it at first. 

He didn't move for twenty minutes. He had to take so many deep breaths to even calm down enough to convince himself to move. He unbuckled his seatbelt with shaky hands and went into his empty house. He had been the only one living in it for a while, but now it felt extra empty. His dad's death meant his estate and money was probably all going to him, but Alibaba couldn't even think about that right now. So many things were going through his head, he had already been stressed from hospital bills, but now funeral arrangements and working out things with his father's death in general was going to completely wreck his mental health.

Alibaba went to his room and laid down on the bed, pulling the covers over his head and wanting to block out the world entirely. One thing entered his head. Dancing.

He had missed the auditions. Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe he needed the time to collect himself. There was always next year, right?

But then again... dancing was the thing that distracted him from all of this, maybe he needed to go back to that.

He probably drifted off, consumed by the spell that was sleep at one point, but time lost meaning until someone knocked on the door. He didn't want to answer it, but his phone buzzed with confirmation that it was Morgiana and Aladdin and he typed to them that the door was unlocked.

Pretty much two seconds later Aladdin jumped on him, hugging onto him tightly. Alibaba was completely shocked out of his depression. "Ohmygod Alibaba! Morgiana told me what happened after the auditions and I am so so sorry that you have to go through that I can't even imagine what that would be like Ireallyhopeyou'refeelingbetterifnotwewentbythestoreandgotyousomeicecreamyoulikeicecreamright?" Aladdin spoke so fast Alibaba had to take a second to process what he was saying.

"Aladdin, I'm fine, I promise," Alibaba said, hugging his friend back.

Aladdin frowned. "You don't look fine," he remarked. "I know you're really sad, and you don't have to talk about it, but will you please eat ice cream with us? It might make you feel better!"

Morgiana stood at the doorway with a plastic bag in hand, a little bit timid, as she wasn't entirely sure how to approach Alibaba. He smiled at her and gestured for her to come in. She sat down on the bed, pulling out the ice cream. "I know it's probably not enough to heal the ache, but we at least wanted to do something to help."

Alibaba nodded, taking the cookie dough ice cream and spoon that Morgiana handed him. "Thank you, guys... seriously I don't deserve you," he said, poking at the ice cream.

Aladdin had already gotten the majority of his ice cream all over his face and Morgiana held her spoon in her mouth. "I get that you don't really want to talk about it... but with the auditions being over-" Morgiana started.

"How did that go, by the way?" Alibaba asked. "Did you guys do good?"

Aladdin's face lit up. "Yeah! Morg was beautiful as always, and everyone really liked her fancy footwork! I think I did okay, some of the judges gave me a few weird looks, though."

Morgiana shrugged. "I personally think Aladdin did very well."

Alibaba smiled. "That's good. I'm sure both of you will make it to regions this year, you both worked really hard."

This was nice, talking about something other than the pain in his chest. He grief he felt, he knew it wasn't going away fro a while, but at least he could dull it for the moment.

They ended up talking for another hour or so, when all the ice cream had been eaten. Aladdin and Morgiana offered to stay the night, but Alibaba refused, agreeing to meet them at the studio tomorrow so they could find their region songs. Before they headed out the door Morgiana stopped him. "We're going to find a way to get you to regions, okay?" she promised.

Alibaba smiled. "It's okay if we don't-"

"This is important to you too." Morgiana interrupted him. "We will find a way."

Alibaba sighed. "Okay, I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me."

Morgiana locked him in a hug. "And I am so sorry you are going through this, you don't deserve it."

Alibaba hugged her back, not saying anything else. She said her last goodbyes and headed out, needing to drop Aladdin at home before herself. Alibaba watched as they drove away, standing in the doorway of his house until they disappeared from his sight.

Could they really find him a way to get to regions?

_________________________________________________________________________

"Mr Sinbad, please!" Aladdin pleaded. "Aren't you one of the examiners for regions? You have to let Alibaba audition!"

The trio were in Sinbad's office, Morgiana and Aladdin had grabbed Alibaba the very next day and marched him right into there, much against his own will, practically begging Sinbad to allow him to audition. In reality, he was actually really awkward about the whole thing. Yes, he wasn't to dance, but he also knew there was no way he was going to make it to regions this year.

Sinbad just shook his head. "I'm really sorry, but if he missed auditions there isn't anything that I'm able to do," he explained, standing up. "Unfortunately, I don't have a say on who auditions and who doesn't. Most of the other examiners would say it was unfair that Alibaba was able to audition after everyone else."

Alibaba smiled sadly at the floor. "Just like I thought. It's okay, I-"

"Are you serious?!" Aladdin shouted. "Alibaba didn't miss the auditions because of some dumb reason like he needed an extra practice day! He had a serious family problem that-"

"Aladdin," Morgiana warned. She looked up at Sinbad. "We understand, are you sure there isn't anything you are able to do?"

Sinbad rubbed his chin. "No, I don't think so. Unless..." he hummed. "Well, the duo auditions are in two weeks. If you two have already auditioned for the solo dances then you won't be able to partner up with him, however, if he can find a partner and somehow choreograph and learn a dance in under two weeks, then maybe he would be able to go to regions. But that's going to be an incredible feat."

Aladdin and Morgiana looked at each other. Alibaba flipped his hood up and wanted to die. He could already see them plotting. Aladdin smiled. "So he just has to find a dancing partner?" he asked.

Sinbad raised an eyebrow. "You seem incredibly confident in your friend's abilities," he remarked.

Morgiana crossed her arms, mirroring Aladdin's smile. "You underestimate Alibaba. He's a lot better than you think."

Alibaba let out an awkward laugh. "Morgiana, Aladdin... thank you but-"

"Nope!" Aladdin lifted a finger to silence Alibaba. "No time to be humble! We just have to find someone to dance with you!"

Just at that moment, the door slammed open, as though someone had kicked it, and Alibaba saw a very familiar head of dark hair burst in. "You won't believe what the fuck just happened!" he yelled, slamming his hands down on the desk, startling Sinbad. "Hakuryuu's in the hospital! The guy fucking broke his leg!"

Immediately that triggered flashbacks in Alibaba. His chest tightened and his tongue felt abnormally dry. He swallowed the feeling down, he was not going to cry here.

Judar seemed incredibly distressed, gritting his teeth and grabbing the sides of the table so hard his knuckles turned white. Sinbad calmly looked him up and down. "What happened?" he asked.

"Oh nothing much, just his bitch-ass mom pushed him down the fucking stairs!" Judar shouted, reaching up and clawing at his hair. "I mean, yes they finally got the restraining order, but he's stuck in the hospital with a broken leg and can't dance!"

Alibaba's heart dropped, so Judar was in the same situation he was in, huh? Part of him was relieved that he didn't have to share this burden alone, but another part of him felt so bad. He wasn't even that close to Judar, they had really only met a little while ago, and he couldn't help but feel bad.

Sinbad leaned back in his chair. "Did you and Hakuryuu have the dance choreographed already?" he asked.

"Duh!"

"Do you have a recording of it?"

Judar snorted, crossing his arms. "What do you take me for, some amateur?" he asked. "Yes, we have a recording of us dancing."

Sinbad stood up and smiled at Alibaba. "Then I might have a solution to both of your problems."

Alibaba felt his throat close up. Aladdin looked between Judar and Alibaba, jaw dropped. Morgiana cast a disapproving look their way.

And then there was Judar. He raised his eyebrows, the look of complete surprise was there, like he didn't even realize they were in the room at all. Alibaba whimpered. "It's... It's been a while since I've danced with a partner if I'm being honest..." he admitted. "But I think I might be able to do it."

Sinbad clapped his hands together, walking around his desk to shove Judar closer to Alibaba. "Excellent, if both of you want to go to regions, then this is your way of doing it. Judar, I'll need you to teach the dance you and Hakuryuu were doing, and I'm sure Alibaba will be able to learn it in time."

"Woah Woah Woah!" Judar shouted, stepping out of Sinbad's hold. "I barely know the guy and now you're expecting me to dance with him?!"

Alibaba felt his heart shatter. Maybe this was his only chance to get to regions, and like hell if he wasn't going to take it, but if Judar wasn't down with it...

"Judar, this may be the only chance you're going to get to participate in regions," Sinbad told him. "Don't you still want to dance?"

Judar huffed, looking away. "I thought you were gonna do solo dance. What happened? You chicken out?"

Morgiana snarled. "Take that back!" she shouted. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"That's really insensitive, Judar!" Aladdin shouted next.

Alibaba wasn't entirely sure how to react to that, he assumed all his emotions were kind of delayed at the moment. He swallowed and forced a smile. "It's not like that, I just was having a hard time with a lot of family stuff and wasn't able to make it."

Judar side-eyed him, expression softening if even just a little. "Family stuff?" he repeated.

Alibaba nodded once. "Yeah. So if you don't want to dance with me that's fine. There is always next year, right?"

There was a bit of silence, everyone was waiting for what Judar was going to say. Morgiana bit her lip, Alibaba assumed she was hoping Judar would refuse. She didn't like the kind of dancing he did, and she probably was thinking he would turn Alibaba into some kind of stripper just by dancing with him. Alibaba poked her in the arm, a friendly touch to let her know that he was still here. She dropped the scowl and sighed.

Judar let out a loud groan. "Fine, I'll do it!" he announced. "I'll dance with him."

_________________________________________________________________________

Well, out of the many things that Alibaba was going to learn about Judar today, one was that he was incredibly flexible.

Alibaba stared in complete awe as Judar seemed to have folded in half, having bent backwards and poked his head through his legs, resting his chin on his folded arms on the floor. "What?" he asked.

"Uh, nothing... you're just... really flexible," Alibaba commented.

Judar smiled, lifting his feet up and slowly letting them fall down before lifting himself up. "I'll take that as a compliment." he laughed.

"It was meant to be taken as one," Alibaba remarked. "You're seriously incredible."

Judar moved again so he was sitting with his legs crossed. "You done stretching?" he asked.

Alibaba nodded. Judar stood up and walked over to grab his phone. It was weird, working with Judar. But Alibaba didn't mind it all that much. The man continued to wear crop tops, this time a hooded one with a printed genie's lamp on it. Where all of Aladdin's siblings as crazy about that Disney movie as he was?

"Anyways, this is the dance we have choreographed, I'll teach it to you step-by-step, but as you probably know, it's not going to look exactly like this when it's done," Judar explained, pulling up the video.

Of course, any dancer would know that. Dancing was an art form for a reason, every dancer had their own style, and even when working with others that style will always shine through. The most skilled dancers knew how to use that to their advantage, knew how to combine their styles to make something incredible and new. Alibaba could only wish he was one of those kinds of dancers.

The video started and Alibaba leaned over to watch it. It bothered him slightly that they were so close, but he shrugged it off, no time to get flustered by being near a hot guy right now.

However, the second the song started, Alibaba started getting incredibly uncomfortable.

The upbeat lyrics of Rihanna's Disturbia filled his ears, but all he could focus on was the dance playing in front of his eyes. Judar and Hakuryuu's styles seemed very similar, because the dance involved a lot of hip movements and seductive pelvic thrusts. The only problem was... the intimacy. The two were keeping eye contact almost the entire time, even when they were basically grinding against each other. There was a lot of touching, and while the deepest crevice of Alibaba was thrilled by the fact that he could be that close to Judar, every other part of him was screaming.

He glanced a look at Judar, who was watching with a completely straight face, what the hell was with this guy?

Alibaba swallowed hard, trying to focus on Hakuryuu's movements, the part he was expected to play. The second half of the song was a bit less touchy-feely, was more focusing on their individual dancing styles. Hakuryuu had a kind of frigid movement kind of thing going on, which wasn't a bad thing, because he would completely melt at parts, definitely using everything he had to his advantage. At parts, Alibaba was certain he could match it. But then came the body rolls that made him want to jump off a bridge.

The dance finally ended and Judar threw his phone to the side. "Okay, so we should probably start-"

"Can you give me a minute, please?" Alibaba said, stepping away from Judar. "You... expect me to dance that?"

Judar blinked at him. "What's wrong with it?" he asked. "You wanted to go to regions, this is how!"

"Yes, I know! But is there a different song we can dance to?"

Judar crossed his arms. "Why do you have such a problem with this?"

Alibaba tensed up, looking away. "It's just... the dance seems really..." he couldn't form the words.

Judar facepalmed. "Stripper-like?" he filled it in. "Yeah, I get it, it's a sexy dance, but that's because that's all you're seeing."

"What?"

Judar took out his phone again and handed it to Alibaba. "Put on a song, anyone you like. I have a solo dance to everything in that playlist," he explained. "And I don't want you to watch my hips, watch my entire body. Watch how I move."

He stepped backward into the center of the room. "After this, I'll expect to see a dance from you, I'll record it and watch it with Hakuryuu. He's a better choreographer than I am. He'll figure out how to adjust the dance to make it easier for both of us. Sound good?"

Alibaba nodded once. "Yeah... okay..."

He scrolled through the different song, trying to find a fairly innocent one. He eventually found what he was pretty sure would be a decent song and pressed play. Judar smiled and closed his eyes. "Oh, this is gonna be good..." he spoke to himself.

To be honest, Alibaba hadn't heard this song before. If I Had You by Adam Lambert... it couldn't be that bad, could it?

Judar kicked off into a dance that was completely unexpected. Like Judar had requested, Alibaba watched him intently. It wasn't a song Alibaba inherently thought would be something to dance to, however with the way Judar was moving to it was... enchanting.

Alibaba already knew he was good, but here it was like he was getting a private performance all for himself. The more he watched Judar move around, strutting, sliding, spinning, jumping... the more he really understood. Judar wasn't just good at the sexy dances, what he was good at was using his body in a way that fits with the song, and it was amazing.

Just watching him made his heart race. Alibaba swallowed when Judar started rolling his body, taking the time to look him in the eyes and wink. Now that was just unfair. 

The song ended way too early and Judar stopped, wiping his sweaty mouth with his sleeve. "Do you get it now?"

"I... think so," Alibaba replied.

"Alright, then it's your turn."

Alibaba gulped, walking to his place. Judar grabbed his phone and played the song Alibaba had lined up. Alibaba was almost certain that Judar would think this was stupid, but it was his favourite to dance to by far. The Greatest, Sia's song.

It started out kind of quiet, Alibaba just tapping his foot alone, then moving his arms around himself, closing his eyes and practically losing himself to the music. He had done this hundreds, thousands of times maybe. He knew it by heart.

The chorus picked up and Alibaba started really moving his feet. It didn't concern him that he was being recorded, all he could think about was his movements as he started spinning around as fast as he could, almost laughing when he stopped, moving right into more quick foot dances. He felt his breathing pick up, giggling internally at the irony of the song, he definitely didn't have the stamina for a dance this quick, but yet he still continued to push himself and dance it whenever he was feeling like it.

The song ended and Alibaba almost wanted to collapse. That song took a lot out of him every time, and although he loved it, he knew he could never perform it competitively. He looked over at Judar, who was staring at him with an almost shocked expression, mouth open slightly, eyes widened a fraction, phone frozen in his hand from recording. Alibaba smirked. "Better than you thought, huh?"

Judar quickly recovered and coughed. "Yeah, it was okay," he said, avoiding eye contact with him.

Alibaba laughed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were allergic to giving others compliments."

Judar glared at him. "Not my speciality," he grumbled.

Alibaba only smiled, walking over to take his phone. "We still have 45 minutes to use the room, what do you wanna do?" he asked.

Judar set his phone down and crossed his arms. "Ain't it obvious? Compatibility shit."

"Excuse me?"

"Like... getting to know each other and whateva the fuck. I don't like dancing with strangers, if you couldn't tell." Judar explained. "We don't have to be best friends, but I'm not dancing with someone I barely know. It'll make it less awkward for both of us."

Alibaba blinked. "That... makes a lot of sense, actually."

Judar slid down the mirror and sat with his legs crossed. Alibaba folded his legs under him and, not knowing with to do with his arms, crossed them. Judar leaned his head against the mirror. "I'm gonna ask you a question, and then you ask me one, we'll go back and forth until our hour is up, sound good?"

"Yeah, sounds good." Alibaba agreed.

"Okay, starting off with..." he made a show of looking like he was thinking really hard. "Why did you miss the solo dance auditions?"

Alibaba felt everything crush. He swallowed hard, feeling his head pound. He weighed his options, what would Judar say if he really told him what happened? What if he lied and Judar could tell? God... why was he like this?!

"I... um... my dad died..." Alibaba said in a small voice, looking down at his lap. "And... I wasn't prepared e-emotionally to dance."

Silence, Alibaba thought that Judar was going to pity him, which he really didn't need right now. But...

"Oh, I get it. That's... understandable." Judar finally spoke. "I hope you're doing okay."

Alibaba's head shot up. He wasn't expecting the look on Judar's face. It was one of... complete empathy. He did understand. Alibaba clenched his fists. Right, Aladdin had told him that their parents were killed when they were all really young. Only their oldest sister really remembered them, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt all of them.

"Yeah... um... moving on." Alibaba tried to change the subject, covering his mouth with his hand. "Um... what's... your favourite food?"

His voice definitely cracked. Judar laughed. "Wow, you're really lame, huh?" he asked through chuckles. "If you must know, it's peaches."

Alibaba raised an eyebrow. "Really? And you call me lame."

"Oh shut up, peaches are the food of gods." Judar poked him. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Favorite food, go."

"Um... pizza."

Silence, at first, Alibaba thought he said something wrong. Then Judar made a face. "I've never had it before."

Alibaba's jaw dropped. "What, are you serious?! How do you live in Chicago and haven't had pizza before?!" he asked.

Judar blushed and looked away. "Don't look at me like that. I'm lactose intolerant anyway." he huffed. "Plus, it's not like we eat a bunch of American food like a bunch of peasants. We usually just make some vaguely Arabian when we have the food for it. Sometimes Yunan brings food from the other countries he visits, but then again that only a couple of months from each other."

"Okay, I am making this pact now, you are going to come with us to get pizza sometime. They sell lactose-free pizza, y'know. We'll just get you some of that!"

Judar looked back at him. "Why?" he asked. "We don't really need to hang out outside of dance. I just said we don't have to be friends."

Alibaba cocked his head, furrowing his brows. "Well, that's too bad. I want to be your friend. You're Aladdin's brother, and you're genuinely a cool person. So, that means pizza!"

Judar let out a snort, covering his mouth with his hand to hide his laughter. "Have you been taking Aladdin out to eat American food? He's gluten-free, so that would explain the amount of times he's come how with a bad stomach ache. You fucking  son of a bitch."

Alibaba laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "Sorry, it's not my fault, he always wants to eat anything and everything."

"That sounds like Aladdin."

Talking with Judar turned out to be really nice, therapeutic even. They could make conversation really easily, and it was nice to feel happy for once. They were still talking as they walked down the stairs to head home. Alibaba wasn't paying attention and barely caught Aladdin when he jumped on him. "Alibaba! Hi!" Aladdin yelled.

Alibaba smiled. He knew Aladdin was a super touchy person and he loved hugs. He looked over and saw Morgiana standing, probably from waiting with Aladdin for him to come down with Judar. He looked over at the man in question and blinked in surprise.

Judar looked... kind of upset. Like he was annoyed that Aladdin had jumped on Alibaba instead of him. Alibaba set Aladdin down and took a step back. "Hey, do you wanna go to a pizza place today? My treat," he asked, pointing at Judar. "This bastard hasn't had pizza before."

Aladdin gasped, jumping up and down. "Of course! I'm always down for pizza!" he exclaimed.

Morgiana raised an eyebrow. "Pizza? I mean... I guess I'm okay with that." she said, rubbing her arm. 

Alibaba smiled. "Let's go then!"

_________________________________________________________________________

The pizza place they had chosen to go to was a favourite of the three, Judar tagging along. Alibaba drove with Morgiana and Aladdin with Judar. They arrived at the place within minutes of each other.

Aladdin was the first one to walk in, immediately talking to the waiters and getting them a table. Judar seemed a little awkward but that was okay.

"Oi, Aladdin. Can you text Scheherazade and let her know we're gonna be home late?" Judar asked.

With the way they were seated, Morgiana and Aladdin were sitting together, and Alibaba and Judar were together, Aladdin across from Judar and Morgiana across from Alibaba.

Aladdin cocked his head. "Uh, I don't have my phone," he admitted.

Judar made a face. "Ugh, fine." he slumped down in his seat. "This pizza stuff better be good..." he mumbled.

Alibaba laughed. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that," he told him.

Truth be told, being close to Judar like this was nice. It wasn't like a date, and he shouldn't think of it as one! Because it wasn't. Alibaba couldn't afford a crush, not even a crush, this was just a small infatuation because he'll be damned if he lets it get that far.

"Hello there!" a cheery waitress with a hijab and a very pretty face came over. "My name is Anne, I'll be your waitress for tonight. Can I get you all started with something to drink?"

Judar slumped even further down in his seat. Alibaba assumed he was generally just awkward around newer people, he had mentioned he hated strangers before. But soon enough they had three different pizzas in front of them. One small gluten-free, one small lactose-free, and one normal pepperoni for Morgiana and Alibaba. Aladdin, as per usual, dug right into the pizza. Judar, however, looked at it questionably. "You guys have some funky looking food here..." he noted.

Alibaba already had a slice in his mouth, but he gave Judar a look. "Don't act like you just came over to America," he spoke, voice slightly muffled. He swallowed his slice. "What, are you gonna say you don't understand why Arkansas is pronounced Ark-an-saw?"

Both Judar and Aladdin gave him blank looks. Alibaba blinked. "Oh shit, seriously?"

Morgiana burst out laughing. "Do you guys not get out very much?" she asked.

Judar shrugged. "Not really. It's been a while since I've been out of the house for something other than dance practice. No reason for me to go out other than run a few errands." he replied.

"I get out, but not very often. Most of the time it's with you two." Aladdin laughed awkwardly. "That's probably not normal, is it?"

Alibaba shrugged, already reaching for another piece. "I guess it's fine. I mean it makes sense if you're agoraphobic or something. Not really my place to tell you how to live your life." he said. "You haven't touched your pizza," he noted to Judar, pointing to the lactose-free pizza.

Judar cringed, but then reached over and took a slice. Aladdin had already finished half of his and Morgiana and Alibaba had eaten through about a third of theirs so far. Judar took a tentative bite. Aladdin drummed on the table in a makeshift drumroll. Judar swallowed. "I can certainly see why Chicago is famous for their pizza." he laughed.

The team cheered loudly. Alibaba reached over and hugged Judar around the neck. "Congratulations, welcome to America!"

"So I wasn't an American unless I tried Chicago pizza then?"

"Nope!"

"Well, I guess that the citizenship test meant absolutely nothing then."

"Yup, pretty much!" 

"I swear to god..."

Aladdin laughed along with them. "Is it good?" he asked

Judar nodded, taking another bite, despite Alibaba's arm around his shoulders. "It's good. Usually, lactose-free cheese is gross, but this is pretty good." he looked over at Alibaba, barely an inch away. "I understand why it's your favourite. Although peaches are still better."

Alibaba smiled, ignoring the lack of space. "They can probably put peaches on pizza if you asked."

Morgiana wrinkled her nose. "Gross," she commented, sticking her tongue out. "That's worse than pineapple on pizza."

Alibaba scoffed. "How dare you insult Hawaiian pizza? You wound me."

He put the back of his hand over his forehead and fell over so he was laying in Judar's lap, imitating a damsel in distress. "Look at that, Morgiana, you've killed me. Judar, make sure they play the Pizza Hut Taco Bell song at my funeral."

Judar blinked, confused as to why he had a lapful of Alibaba. "You seem really comfortable with me already..." he remarked, raising an eyebrow.

Alibaba smiled, reaching up and pinching his cheek. "Of course, your our friend now. No take-backs." he snickered.

Aladdin smiled even wider. "Yay, now we have a group of four! This is going to be amazing!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in celebration.

Alibaba sat back up, brushing himself off dramatically. "Now, Morgiana, take back what you said about Hawaiian pizza."

"Never." Morgiana hissed, but there was no bite to it, in fact, she was smiling.

The rest of the night was incredible, and Alibaba can't remember the last time he had this much fun. He felt like everything was back to normal, but now with the addition of Judar. It was really nice to be around everyone like this, without having to worry about everything else on his plate at the moment. He knew eventually, it would end, but for now, he lost himself to the high known as happiness.

Chapter Text

"So what I'm getting at here is that he's pretty reserved, especially at the beginning, the longer the song goes on, the more he kind of relaxes. We can work with that, but he's going to have to touch you at some point, you know that?"

Judar nodded, arms crossed. "Yeah, I'm fine with that. But he gets all weird when it comes to touching and dancing super close like that. He's perfectly fine with it in any other scenario."

Hakuryuu hummed, biting his lip. Judar's friend was sitting on the ground, broken leg out while the other was bent. He was reviewing the video of Alibaba's dancing while they waited for the blonde to get to the studio. "Is it because of the sexual nature of it?" he asked.

"Probably. Is there a way we can... work around it a bit?" Judar replied.

Hakuryuu cocked his head. "Possibly. I can probably figure out a way to incorporate Alibaba's style into the dance, paired with your style. It's gonna take some work though."

"We can do it."

"You have less than two weeks to get this down to pat, are you certain?"

Judar smirked. "Of course, trust me when I say, we can do it," he said.

Hakuryuu nodded, looking back at the video.

The door opened and walked in Alibaba, eyes looked red and puffy. "Hey, sorry I'm late, was having trouble working out some stuff with my dad's will," he said.

Judar felt his chest tighten. Alibaba had probably been crying, he hated that. He understood that the man needed to cry a bit, but for whatever reason, he absolutely hated seeing him upset. Luckily Alibaba seemed composed enough to dance. Judar helped Hakuryuu stand up and the other hobbled over to Alibaba. "Hi, nice to meet you again, I'm Hakuryuu."

"Alibaba. Nice to meet you, too." Alibaba replied, nodding.

Hakuryuu hopped back over to Judar and stood next to him. "We've been reviewing your dancing, and I have a couple of ideas for the routine. It's going to change drastically, but not enough so it's completely different, of course. However, it will make the dance a lot more comfortable for the two of you while also keeping the entire thing alive with your styles," he explained.

Alibaba nodded again. "That's good, I can follow directions. Just let me know what I need to do."

Hakuryuu had the two of them take the starting position, talking the entire time. The beginning part was being changed, mostly to focus on Judar's abilities to give Alibaba a chance to get into the swing of things, to adjust. It was going smoothly so far, Hakuryuu was explaining the steps and they were going through them without music. However, at one point they ended up pressed together, Alibaba's back against his chest, basically trapped within Judar's arms, one hand barely at his neck, almost like he was going to choke him, other held carefully at Alibaba's waist. Hakuryuu stepped back, narrowing his eyes. Judar hoped Alibaba couldn't feel his rapid heartbeat. He couldn't see the other's face but he bet it was mortified.

"Okay, Alibaba, you have the right idea, but you're tense. Just relax. Judar's going to guide you through the first part, just let him take control for now, okay?" Hakuryuu spoke.

Judar heard Alibaba let out an audible gulp. "Yeah, okay..." Alibaba replied, a hitch in his breath.

Oh, fuck, he was probably super uncomfortable with this. Judar drew his mouth into a line. He could only hope they could relax enough before the auditions. Hakuryuu corrected a few things about their position. "And Judar, you need to chill too. I know it's not me but I need you to get your sparkle back." Hakuryuu commented.

Judar scoffed. "Tozz feek," he growled. 

Hakuryuu snorted. "You're hilarious." 

They finally got out of that position and moved on to working on some of the other movements. This is where it especially started to differ. Hakuryuu gave Alibaba strict instructions on certain dance parts and was even lecturing Judar at certain new points. It was interesting. Alibaba seemed to be having fun, though. He was even warming up a bit to the more suggestive touches like he was finally getting comfortable with it. Judar let out an internal sigh of relief. Thank God, the awkwardness was going to kill Judar otherwise.

Hakuryuu had them go through the whole thing, of course, there were a lot of mistakes, and those got fixed. It still wasn't perfect, but it was certainly a start.

They had paid for two hours and it was over in a flash. Judar picked up his bag and Hakuryuu's, swinging both over his shoulders. Alibaba grabbed his bag as well. "Hey, thank you for today," he said. "I had fun, I think we have a good chance of at the very least being ready for auditions."

Judar blinked at him. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

Alibaba dropped his smile. Judar smirked. "We're gonna get to regions, and when we do, we're gonna win."

Hakuryuu sighed, walking over with the crutches under both arms. "You're awfully cocky, you know that, right?"

Judar laughed. "Yeah, but that ain't a bad thing," he replied. "I'll see ya later, Alibubu." he saluted with a wink.

"Right..." Alibaba trailed off as Judar held the door open for Hakuryuu and they walked out. 

Once they were out and walking to the elevator, Hakuryuu gave him a look. "Y'know, he's really good-looking," he commented.

"Who, blondie?" Judar asked. "Yeah, he's alright."

"And a good dancer. He might just be perfect for you."

Judar was so tempted to shove him into the elevator. "Shut up," he grumbled. "He's a friend, that's it. I can't get distracted by a dumb crush anyways."

"So you admit you have a crush on him?"

"Kol khara!"

"Thought as much."

The elevator doors dinged and they walked out. Ja'far was sitting behind the desk, talking on the phone. He vaguely smiled at the two before returning to his conversation. Judar once again opened the door for Hakuryuu to step through and they came outside. Judar huffed. "I don't like him, okay?"

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing."

"I can't, Hakuryuu."

Hakuryuu hummed. "Yeah, I know," he replied. "You have to get over that eventually."

"And eventually, I will. But for now... I'm just going to stick in the friendzone where I belong."

Hakuryuu cracked a smile. "I don't remember you being so self-deprecating."

"I'm not." Judar wrinkled his nose. "I'm really not."

_________________________________________________________________________

Actual_Sunshine added 3 people to a chat

Actual_Sunshine: hey hey hey! :3
PrinceAli: hi?
PrinceAli: Aladdin wtf
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: it appears to be a group chat with four people
PrinceAli: who's the fourth person?
God👑: ah so this is why my phone is blowing up
God👑: this is my new hell
PrinceAli: who tf
PrinceAli: JUDAR?!?!
God👑: Present
PrinceAli: omg
PrinceAli: wait how the hell did you get emojis in ur nickname?
God👑: magic
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: this will be entertaining
Actual_Sunshine: I just thought it would be nice to have all of us in a group chat
Actual_Sunshine: bc we're friends now :>
PrinceAli: to quote one of the most infamous but underrated vines ever:
PrinceAli: what was the reason
Actual_Sunshine: :(
God👑: goodjob, Alibubu, you made him sad
PrinceAli: ah fuck
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: GASP
God👑: LE GASP
Actual_Sunshine: :0
PrinceAli: what?
God👑: how DARE you swore in front of the chid
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: chid
God👑: stfu
Actual_Sunshine: Judar I'm nineteen
God👑: exactly
God👑: child
PrinceAli: I stg
God👑: wait Aladdin can I add one more person into the chat?
God👑: I refuse to suffer through this alone
Actual_Sunshine: sure who?
God👑: just trust me kk?
Acutal_Sunshine: Ok! :)
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: why trust him with anything?
God👑: okay, first of all, fuck you
God👑: second of all, everyone say hi to Hakuryuu
Eternal.G.Note: why
PrinceAli: :0
PrinceAli: hi Hakuryuu!
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: good afternoon, Hakuryuu
Actual_Sunshine: haiiiiiiiiii!
Eternal.G.Note: ohmygod
Eternal.G.Note: wait who even are these people?
God👑: PrinceAli: Alibaba
God👑: Actual_Sunshine: Aladdin
God👑: ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: Morgiana
God👑: and you know my username
Eternal.G.Note: I'm already terrified
PrinceAli: be very afriad >:)
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: afriad
God👑: afriad
Eternal.G.Note: afriad
Actual_Sunshine: HA
PrinceAli: :c
PrinceAli: I'm offended
God👑: good
PrinceAli: FUCK YOU
God👑: wouldn't get a chance ;)
PrinceAli: gahvbsbhgosyrnsaqogz 
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: I think you broke him
God👑: ha
God👑: s u f f e r
Eternal.G.Note: this was a bad idea
Eternal.G.Note: why am i a part of this?
Actual_Sunshine: sorry, no going back :)
Eternal.G.Note: lovely
Actual_Sunshine: there was a reason for this chat actually
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: enlighten us

Actual_Sunshine sent an image

PrinceAli: omg
God👑: ALADDIN WHAT THE FUCK
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: :0 !!
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: I wasn't aware that you didn't just have tattoos on your eyes
God👑: FUck!!! Off!!!
PrinceAli: Sir are you using SEPHORA BRAND?
Eternal.G.Note: Hoenstly I'm not surprised
Eternal.G.Note: Jesus, fuck, I can't spell today
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: I believe we've abandoned the 'do not swear in front of the child' rule
Actual_Sunshine: why am I the child????
Actual_Sunshine: also, yes that's Sephora
Actual_Sunshine: bc Judar spends wayyyy too much on makeup anyways
Actual_Sunshine: i needed to share this with the world
God👑: I'm going to murder you
Actual_Sunshine: bet
Actual_Sunshine: OH SHIT
Actual_Sunshine: GUYS HELP
Actual_Sunshine: I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE
PrinceAli: 0_0
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: Hakuryuu, what are the chances of Aladdin surviving this?
Eternal.G.Note: how tf should I know?
God👑: I'm not gonna kill my own brother
God👑: I'm not that petty
God👑: all I did was take the box of soft cookies he hides from our sister and put them on a self he can't reach cause he's smol af
PrinceAli: Okay but that *is* petty as fuck
God👑: sir
God👑: I'm sure we have established already
God👑: my one personality trait is sassy
Actual_Sunshine: I thought he was gonna tell Scheherazade about me having cookies in my room
God👑: I could still do that
Actual_Sunshine: NO
Eternal.G.Note: tf kind of name is scheherazade?
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: sounds like a sneeze
God👑: Scheherazade is our oldest sister
God👑: not the point
PrinceAli: Aladdin
PrinceAli: are they those Safeway cookies?
PrinceAli: liek the five-dollar holiday ones?
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: apparently no one in this group chat can spell
PrinceAli: SHUSH
Actual_Sunshine: yeah it's those cookies
PrinceAli: t a s t e
God👑: uh, i think the fuck not
God👑: Aladdin is a little smthng called GLUTEN INTOLERANT
God👑: THOSE COOKIES COULD VERY WELL KILL HIM
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: oh damn
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: Aladdin, Jesus
Actual_Sunshine: what??
Actual_Sunshine: they're really good...
God👑: i know they;re good, but i will not have you dying on my watch
God👑: Scheherazade would blame me and you know it
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: DID ANY OF YOU GO TO SCHOOL?
Actual_Sunshine: English is hard :(
PrinceAli: seconded
Eternal.G.Note: thirded
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: fourthed
God👑: fifthed
PrinceAli: bitch don't talk
God👑: bitch shut the fuck up
God👑: language in general is hard
PrinceAli: touche

_________________________________________________________________________

"Judar, you seriously need to relax a bit more," Hakuryuu said.

Morgiana looked up from her phone, Aladdin was watching Alibaba and Judar intently, and Hakuryuu was correcting their movements. They had a week until tryouts and Alibaba certainly thought they were coming along nicely. For the past two days they had been working with music, and Alibaba had most of the steps down exactly. He knew that dancing was much more than just moving your body, though, so he was focusing on getting into that bounce that he loved so much.

However, it seemed as though Judar was having the most problems. Hakuryuu was constantly telling him to relax, just slide into it, but he just stayed tense, especially when it came to the touching bits. Alibaba was stressed that it was because of himself and that he was making Judar uncomfortable.

Judar ruffled his hair. They had stopped momentarily from thirty minutes of non-stop dancing. Alibaba was running low on stamina, but he was going to persevere. Aladdin stood up and walked over to them. "Hey, Judar, are you imagining Hakuryuu instead of Alibaba?" he asked.

Alibaba raised his eyebrows. What? Judar grumbled. "I mean... yeah. Hakuryuu's the only one I've been dancing with since this whole thing. Why shouldn't I?"

Aladdin clicked his tongue. "Don't do that." he shot a finger gun at him. "Alibaba isn't Hakuryuu, he's Alibaba."

Morgiana let out a little laugh. "Hm, yes, and the floor here is made out of floor..." she mumbled to herself.

Aladdin suppressed a smile. "The key to getting you to relax is just understanding that Alibaba isn't Hakuryuu, and he isn't going to dance like him."

Hakuryuu hummed, agreeing. "You think you can do that, Judar?" he asked.

Judar hesitated, but then he nodded. Hakuryuu smiled, twirling his finger around. "Alright, take it from the top!" he said.

And just like that, the tension was pretty much gone. Alibaba had a much easier time dancing with Judar, and it was great because whenever they made eye contact, Alibaba felt like Judar was really looking at him. The day was dedicated to fixing mistakes, and then Hakuryuu announced they would be working with emotion tomorrow.

"Emotion? Why the hell do we need emotion for dancing?" Alibaba asked, sitting down and practically drowning himself with his water bottle.

Hakuryuu and Judar shared a look. "Well, your emotions are going to impact your dancing significantly, also simply when your dancing absorbs the emotions you want to portray then you can really get far," he explained. "This song here has a kind of psychotic vibe, so basically we're going to try to emulate that."

Judar snorted. "I thought that was obvious when we literally break to Junko pose midway through the song." he laughed.

"If I do recall that was your idea," Hakuryuu spoke without even looking over at Judar, who started sputtering aimlessly. 

Alibaba hummed. "Okay, I don't think that will be my strong suit but I'll try."

Morgiana and Aladdin were waiting for him at the doorway, and just before he was heading out to meet them, someone grabbed him by the shoulder. "Hey," Judar spoke, voice quiet enough for only him to hear it. "You'll be fine. Just watch me."

Alibaba blinked, nodded dryly, then continued to walk away, feeling quite a bit light-headed.

It may not seem like it, but Alibaba really needed to be alone at the moment. Practising non-stop had really taken its toll, and he really needed to just be in his bed and sleep. He basically collapsed when he got home, passing out almost immediately even though it was only four in the afternoon. When he woke up it was a little past nine and he felt incredibly sore. He rolled over on his side and tried to go back to sleep but just couldn't so eventually he got up and walked into the kitchen, blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

It was almost dark outside, stars being seen but the sky not completely black yet. Alibaba slumped onto one of the barstools next to the kitchen island, not even bothering to turn on the lights, and just pulled out his phone. He knew he was delaying the inevitable, but what else could he really do? He knew he had to wait on arrangements for his dad's funeral until at least after auditions, but that just felt... so disrespectful. Yes, his dad had been sick for the past half a year but when he was healthy and around the house, he was genuinely so nice and Alibaba missed him more than anything. His dad believed in him more than anyone and he knew his dad would probably still want him to continue working hard but... it all just felt so wrong. 

His phone buzzed and Alibaba was jolted out of his shock.

God👑: pspspsps
God👑: you awake?
God👑: Aladdin's passed out on the couch
God👑: check it

God👑  sent an image

Alibaba laughed out loud. In the picture, Aladdin had his face squished against the arm of the couch, one arm trapped between his body while the other hung over the arm in an awkward position, one leg dangling over the side, blissful smile on his face while droll was spilling out of the corner of his mouth.

PrinceAli: lmfao
God👑: i don't wanna move him bc i think he's having a wet dream
God👑: gross
PrinceAli: just leave him
God👑: don't mind if I do

Alibaba didn't know what possessed him to do this, but without him being in full control of his body he pressed the call button. Judar answered right away. "Hey, wassup?" he asked.

"Are you free to talk?" Alibaba asked, hoping the desperation in his voice didn't show.

"It's only 9 pm, sure thing," Judar replied.

"How late do you stay up?"

"Usually till around 1 ish."

"Damn."

"Then I get up at 9 because I need time to do my makeup."

Alibaba laughed. "Yeah, can't relate. I don't think even Morgiana wears makeup."

"Yeah, I've gotten pretty good at it over the years. I should send you the pics of when Aladdin got into my shit when he was like 10, it was hilarious."

"Yes, please send me those."

"Gotta find 'em first. I'll send them in the group chat tomorrow if I remember."

"Judar, if you don't remember it would be a crime against God."

"I gotchu covered babe."

Alibaba blinked. Babe? He swallowed, tongue suddenly uncomfortably sitting in his mouth. "Babe?" he asked.

Silence. Then Judar cleared his throat. "Sorry, force of habit. I call everyone I know pet names like that. Hakuryuu can vouch for that." he spoke, voice a little wavy. "Sorry if it's uncomfortable."

"No it's fine, it just surprised me is all," Alibaba replied, trying to sound calm. He really didn't mind but... having Judar say something like that made him feel really fluffy, and it was nice. He wanted to keep talking to him. "I'm probably not gonna be able to sleep until later as well so... I don't mind staying up and talking with you."

Judar hummed. "Is Morgiana also asleep?" he asked. "I feel like she would be nice to talk to, probably better than me."

"She is nice to talk to, but she's probably in bed, plus I feel like I would end up crying if I talked to her, y'know?" he frowned. "That came out wrong. I like Morgiana, but she's not... how do I say this? She's the kind of person that you can count on and the kind of person you go to when your stressed to get it all out. I don't want that, I just want to feel good."

"I get that," Judar replied. "So, I make you feel good?"

Alibaba flushed, oh God he could hear Judar smirk on the other line. "I hate you."

"No, you don't."

"Yeah, that's fair."

They ended up talking well after midnight, and Alibaba even stayed on when Judar fell asleep by accident. Maybe it was creepy, but hearing his friend's gentle breathing calmed him down a bit, and when he felt his eyes droop, he finally hung up, shuffled to his bed, pulled the covers over his head, and promptly fell asleep.

_________________________________________________________________________

Actual_Sunshine: whatever Judar is about to send do not look at it
Actual_Sunshine: ignore it all
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: OwO, what's this?
Eternal.G.Note: what the fuck
PrinceAli: Morgiana... please never do that again
God👑: great! everyone's here!
Actual_Sunshine: bitch you better not
God👑: make me, short stack
Eternal.G.Note: :0
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: :0
PrinceAli: :0
Actual_Sunshine: >:0
God👑: :)
God👑: we're getting off-topic, I still have a cold glass of revenge
Actual_Sunshine: I feel my soul leaving my body
PrinceAli: OH WAIT IS IT THE PIC YOU TOLD ME ABOUT??
God👑: yup B)
Actual_Sunshine: YOU TOLD PEOPLE?!
Actual_Sunshine: I feel betrayed
Actual_Sunshine: my own brother...
Actual_Sunshine: how could you
God👑: oh shut up I just told Alibubu
God👑: although I'm about to tell everyone else here
Eternal.G.Note: *sips tea* you had my curiosity, but now you have my attention
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: hey same
God👑: be ready for your eyes to be blessed
God👑: either that or have bleach and/or a melon baller nearby
PrinceAli: damn that sounds gruesome

God👑 sent an image

Actual_Sunshine: AGH
Actual_Sunshine: AVERT YOUR EYES
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: aw
Eternal.G.Note: why are you putting eyeliner on your mouth
Actual_Sunshine: I WAS TEN OKAY?!
PrinceAli: THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE
Actual_Sunshine: ALIBABA I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS
PrinceAli: WE ARE
PrinceAli: AND FRIENDS LAUGH AT THEIR FRIENDS WHEN THEIR BROTHER SENDS HILARIOUS PICS TO THE GROUP CHAT
PrinceAli: THAT'S HOW SOCIETY WORKS ALADDIN
Eternal.G.Note: omg
God👑: I'm wheezing over here
God👑: Scheherazade thought I was dying, which just made me laugh harder
God👑: I can barely type
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: are you and Aladdin in the same room?
God👑: nah
God👑: am in my room
God👑: Aladdin's in the kitchen, prolly trying to take his cookies back from on top of the fridge
Actual_Sunshine: I'VE BEEN CAUGHT
God👑: Scheherazade gonna yell at ou
God👑: already sent her down
Actual_Sunshine: b e t r a y a l
Eternal.G.Note: hey let us know how it goes
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: this is a soap opera in itself
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: wait can I put a few cards on the table?
God👑: do it

ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild  sent an image

PrinceAli: omg I remember this
Actual_Sunshine: why do you all hate me?
Eternal.G.Note: pffft-
Eternal.G.Note: why am I not surprised?
PrinceAli: Judar?? Thoughts??
God👑: ...
Actual_Sunshine: shit
God👑: oh yeah, Scheherazade is definitely gonna hear about this one
Actual_Sunshine: WAIT PLEASE NO SHE WILL LITERALLY GROUND ME UNTIL I DIE
PrinceAli: you were the one that wanted to sneak into a strip club
PrinceAli: be grateful that we busted you out before you went to juvie
Actual_Sunshine: Hakuryuu is my only true friend
Eternal.G.Note: as if
Eternal.G.Note: please explain how we would get along at all?
God👑: yeah Aladdin, Hakuryuu ain't even into that kinda stuff
God👑: tbh he's probably the most innocent of us all
God👑: also still a virgin
Eternal.G.Note: i take pride in that
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: i think the only one who isn't a virgin is Alibaba
PrinceAli: HA
God👑: EXCUSE
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: oh sorry i just assumed
God👑: BITCH
God👑: NOT EVEN
PrinceAli: I still feel superior
Actual_Sunshine: what makes you all think I'm a virgin?
PrinceAli: bc u r a child
PrinceAli: and that would be paedophilia if anyone DID have sex with you
Actual_Sunshine: I AM FUCKING NINETEEN
Eternal.G.Note: child
God👑: child
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: child
PrinceAli: child
Actual_Sunshine: i hate all of you
God👑: no you don't B)
Actual_Sunshine: >:(

_________________________________________________________________________

"Hey, Judar can you come and help me with something?"

"Yeah, coming!" 

Judar practically jumped down the stairs to see Scheherazade at the bottom of the stairs, putting on her coat. "Can you come with me, please?" she asked. "Aladdin's taking a nap right now and I'm going to need some help getting some stuff."

"Yeah, sure." Judar hopped down, pulling on his leather jacket and boots and following Scheherazade out to the car.

She sat in the front and turned on the music, classical station as usual. Judar stared out the window as they headed to wherever they were going. Judar probably needed to get out of the house anyway, it had been a while since he'd gone anywhere other than the studio, and since the auditions were only a few days away he needed a mental break. It barely registered when Scheherazade pulled into a Starbucks drive-thru. "Do you want anything?" she asked.

Judar gave her a sideways glance, smirking. "I feel like you should have my order memorized by now." he teased, poking her in the shoulder that was exposed by her light pink sundress.

Scheherazade rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah yeah, I remember." she rolled down the window. A barista greeted them, asking what they wanted, and Scheherazade gave the order. "Hello! Can I have one grande hibiscus refresher and a venti vanilla frappuccino with raspberry syrup and blackberries, and can you do that second one with soy milk please?"

"Sure thing, can I get a name for that?"

"Yeah, this might be a bit hard to spell, so let me know if you need me to spell it out. Scheherazade."

"Oh wow! That's such an exotic name!"

Judar cringed. Their culture wasn't exotic just because it was different. He had half a mind to tell this girl off right now. But he kept his mouth shut and just slumped in his seat. Scheherazade spelt out her name and they were asked to go around. The barista met them at the window with a smile. "Hey there! How are you?" she asked.

"I'm doing well, how about yourself?"

"I'm okay, just work stuff."

Judar didn't bother making eye contact with her. Scheherazade and Aladdin were more similar while Judar related to Yunan, both of them were more reserved, even though Yunan travelled a lot. Scheherazade and Aladdin were more extroverted and unfazed by little things.

Unfourtunerly for him, the barista noticed him. "Oh, hi there! Is that your boyfriend?" she asked.

Scheherazade laughed. "Allah, no. He's my brother."

The barista's smile wavered, and Judar knew exactly why. Out of all of them, Scheherazade was the only one who still partially practised Islam. The other three were Atheist and while Scheherazade didn't participate in all of the practices, things like that would slip out and confuse the Americans around them. Judar wanted to die.

"Oh, that's cool." she waved at him. "Hey! I like your makeup!"

Judar ignored her, he didn't care about being rude, he just wanted to stop talking to her. Eventually, their drinks were ready and the obnoxious barista gave them to Scheherazade. "Thanks for coming, Scheherazade," she said, butchering her name, somehow adding a completely unnecessary accent to a few of the vowels.

Judar scowled. "It's Scheherazade." he corrected her. 

"Judar, faqat 'iahda." Scheherazade hissed at him.

"Telhas teeze, I ain't dealing with this bullshit today."

Scheherazade sighed but said nothing else as they pulled out of the drive-thru. They were quiet for a bit, and Judar didn't look at his sister as he gently sipped on his straw. "You didn't need to start drama." she finally spoke.

"I can't stand it when they pronounce your name wrong. Yours or Yunan's or Aladdin's or even mine. We're people, not Disneyland face characters." Judar replied.

"While I share those same feelings, it's really fine. That's just how it is. Now drop the subject, please."

Judar huffed. Scheherazade made an exasperated sound. They parked in Target and they both got out, Judar maybe halfway done with his drink while Scheherazade wasn't even a third of the way finished. "What do we need from here again?"

"More makeup for you because you're gonna whine if you run out, and a few other things. We can get dinner while we out as well, I think there are a few restaurants nearby."

"We're going without Aladdin?"

Scheherazade put her hands on her hips. "Aladdin is currently grounded," she replied with a smile.

Judar mirrored the look on her face. "You are such a petty bitch and I love it."

"Thanks, I learn from the best."

"I'm taking that as a compliment."

Target was fine, Judar did get some weird looks but he was used to it by now, he looked different, understandable. Not his fault he hadn't cut his hair since the day he was born and liked wearing makeup, something that probably wouldn't fly back in Saudi Arabia but he could do whatever he liked here in Chicago. There was a guy that started hitting on Scheherazade but she handled herself pretty well. Come to think of it, Aladdin was probably the only one of the Magi family that was heterosexual, everyone else was part of the community. Judar was gay and Yunan was queer, and Scheherazade was pan. Again, not something that would have been acceptable had they not been in the US. 

They checked out and went back into the car, Scheherazade scrolling through her phone. "You want Italian or Mexican?" she asked.

"Italian, always."

"Should have seen that one coming."

Judar was blissfully oblivious to what was going to come, but the second the two of them stepped into the restaurant someone yelled his name. Judar jumped in his skin, looking around for whoever it was, locking eyes with a particular blonde bimbo who was standing in his seat grinning like a maniac. "Alibaba?" Judar asked.

"Are those friends of yours?" Scheherazade asked.

"Um, yeah they are but-"

"Judar get your femboy ass over here!" Alibaba called.

Judar facepalmed. Scheherazade giggled under her palm. "Well, I guess we've found our seats." he teased.

"Kill me now."

Scheherazade dragged him by the scarf over to sit down in the booth with Alibaba and Morgiana. "Hi, there! My name's Scheherazade, I'm Judar's sister." she introduced herself.

Morgiana shook her hand. "It's very nice to meet you, Ma'am. I'm Morgiana and this is Alibaba. We're good friends with Aladdin as well."

"Cher, stop acting like you're my mom," Judar grumbled, wanting to disappear into the void. 

Scheherazade laughed. "Right sorry." she apologized. "I don't mean to sound rude, and I don't want to assume, but are you two on a date?" she asked Morgiana and Alibaba. "We'd hate to be a burden if you are."

The two looked at each other, then back at her, then started laughing. Even Judar had to snort. Morgiana and Alibaba were close, but definitely not close enough for a romantic relationship. Maybe if they really wanted to they would, but for the moment they were missing the things that they would've needed for that type of relationship. Not that Judar was a huge expert, any and all relationship he's had before had gone up in flames, but he knew the kind of telltale signs that couples usually exhibited, and Morgiana and Alibaba just didn't have that spark yet.

"Nah, not dating, just wanted to go out and get Italian food," Alibaba explained.

Morgiana nodded. "We just got back from some errands and were very hungry," she added. "Um, if you don't mind, is Aladdin with you?"

Scheherazade smiled. "Oh, he's grounded."

Alibaba snickered. "Honestly, serves him right." he joked. "Ma'am, we tried to warn him, trust me."

"I believe you did. But mixed with him trying to get into a strip club illegally and trying to kill himself with cookies, he needed a break from things. Of course, I'll still let him dance though."

A lightbulb seemed to go off in Alibaba's head, almost like he was reminded of something. "Oh, by the way, Judar, I've been working with Morgiana with the more expressive parts of the dance at home, so I think I'll actually be able to pull it off now!"

Judar stared at him. Was he really that dedicated? He must be. But that was a lot of time to spend on something that Judar felt like should be natural. He offered Alibaba a half-hearted smile. "That's great, I'm excited to see it."

They spent the rest of the meal together, talking and getting to know each other, etcetera. Morgiana and Scheherazade engaged in deep conversation that Judar and Alibaba just listened along to, not a clue what was going on.

At one point in the meal, Scheherazade insisted she switch seats with Alibaba so it would be easier to talk to Morgiana, but Judar had a creeping feeling that she was just trying to get the two of them closer. And it worked. 

This was different than at the pizza place. Judar wasn't quite as talkative, and Aladdin wasn't really there as a buffer. With Morgiana and Scheherazade talking to each other, it kind of felt like they were alone together, which was slightly nerve-wracking.

Alibaba didn't seem to care though. He relaxed his shoulders and let a soft smile cross his face. Judar covered his mouth with his hand, almost not caring that he was blatantly staring at him. He could hear noise around him but couldn't make out words, it was like he had tunnel vision.

Then he felt something graze across his hand resting on the booth chair. He looked down to see Alibaba's hand on top of his. Was in an unconscious mistake? Did he mean it? Judar swallowed thickly, eyes training back on his sister and Morgiana, shifting his hand to the other side so his fingers could slot together with Alibaba's, revelling in the way he was able to make the blonde blush ever so slightly.

Their food came and everyone dug in. By just the simple gesture of hand holding it seemed to have opened the gate, and Judar started being able to converse with Alibaba a lot more freely, conversation flowing nicely between the four of them.

Near the end of their meal, Scheherazade was contemplating getting dessert when Judar felt brave. He was a very touchy person, anyone who was close to him knew that, but he wouldn't just be clingy with anyone, after all, he hated strangers. He leaned back slightly, not taking his eyes off of Scheherazade when he moved Alibaba's hand from the seat to his thigh, guiding it to rest of his leg while he leaned forward and propped his head up in his palm. He heard Alibaba gulp and then remove his hand from Judar's leg to fold in his lap.

Immediately Judar was flooded with regret and guilt. Oh, fuck he probably pushed Alibaba to far with that, and things were going so well as well. It's not like he could get in a relationship with him anyway, but it was nice at least, but now he might not want to touch him at all anymore and they might fuck up at auditions and-

"Hey, Cher, can we go home? I think there was something in the food cause my stomach is killing me." Judar asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"Oh dear, yeah we can head out now. Waiter! Check please!"

Judar felt horrible for flaking like this but he just needed to get out of there before he made things worse. He wouldn't look Alibaba in the eye and just ran out as soon as possible. When he got in the car he held his legs up to his chest.

"Is everything okay?" Scheherazade asked, turning on the car. "You look a little upset."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

"Cher, I said I'm fine." 

"Judar."

"Don't use your mom voice on me!" Judar snapped.

Scheherazade gave him a look and Judar sighed. "I think I royally fucked things up..." he mumbled.

"Talk to me."

So he spilled, as they drove home Judar explained everything, and Scheherazade listened. When they got home she reached over and put a delicate hand on his shoulder. "Hey, everything is going to be okay. Whatever option you choose, I'm sure you wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt him or the bond you guys have."

"He probably thinks I'm some kind of disgusting perv now..." Judar grumbled.

"Judar," Scheherazade warned. "Don't think like that. Just do whatever you feel is right and things will work out just fine."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Chapter Text

"You got this?"

"Yes."

"Just making sure."

"For the love of God, start the music." 

The music started playing and Alibaba grabbed onto Judar's arms, hopping along to the beat before twirling around with him. They were going through the routine one more time today before auditions tomorrow. They shifted so their hands with linked together, locking eyes while going back and forth, then letting go and pressing up against each other. Alibaba's muscle memory kicked in and he mostly focused on getting his expressions right.

He grabbed onto Judar's waist, dipping him as he moved 180 degrees before hopping up again, circling around Alibaba, touch featherlight on his shoulders. The chorus hit and they separated, dancing in sync next to each other. Alibaba drew his face up into a smirk, and when he glanced over at Judar he saw the other had done this ten times better than he ever could, tongue poking out from the corner of his mouth when he held his hands out to alternate different poses, feet moving fast while his top half was still. Alibaba was mirroring these movements, trying his best to look like he had lost all shreds of sanity, but he was pretty sure he just looked stupid.

The succession started up and the two came together again. There was a lot of touching on Judar's part that Alibaba had pretty much become immune to. Judar offered him a soft smile near the end, almost throwing Alibaba off, but he recovered as Judar wrapped one arm around his neck and leaned back, Alibaba supporting him. They practically came nose-to-nose at the ending pose, waiting a few seconds for the song to end properly before standing back up.

"That was pretty good," Judar said with a smile, crossing his arms. "I think we're gonna ace auditions."

Alibaba smiled as well. "I really hope so. Dancing with you is a lot of fun."

It seemed any awkwardness had kind of fizzled out between them, even after the restaurant incident. Alibaba still had that in the back of his mind, but he really didn't want to bring it out. He felt really guilty though, he knew Judar was sexual by nature in general, so he shouldn't have been surprised things had escalated slightly from an innocent hand-hold that he initiated. But it had shocked him and got him confused, so he pulled away. He regretted it because Judar left directly afterwards. He was so stupid.

Luckily it seems Judar had probably forgotten about that incident and they were just dancing as normal. 

"How much more time do we have until we have to leave?" Judar asked.

Alibaba blinked, having spaced out for half a second. He looked over at the clock above the door. "Uh, fifteen minutes? Why?"

Judar chuckled, reaching forward, grabbing both fo Alibaba's hands, and spinning him around. Alibaba yelped and Judar started laughing. They nearly fell over but Judar caught Alibaba before they did. "You seem kinda depressed, and I used to spin Hakuryuu around like that whenever he wasn't feeling himself, Aladdin too," he said, righting Alibaba. "Yunan used to do that to me when I was little, whenever he was around at least. And it made me feel better no matter what!"

"What made you think I was upset?" Alibaba asked.

Judar shrugged. "You just seem to be spacing out a bit more than usual, that's all," he remarked. "Better now?"

Alibaba lolled his head to the side. "A little." he agreed.

Judar let out a breathy laugh. "Mind if I hug you?"

"Go ahead."

Alibaba was engulfed by Judar's arms around him suddenly. He hugged him back and gently swayed back and forth. "We're gonna win," Judar whispered.

"Don't jinx it," Alibaba replied.

"We will. No doubt about it."

"You really believe that?"

"Of course I do."

Alibaba hummed, looking up at the ceiling. Judar didn't let go of him right away, and when he did, his entire body drooped. "Right, so, um... I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yup, I'll see you then." Alibaba shot him finger guns as he walked backwards out the door.

Judar let out a small laugh. "Bye, Alibubu."

Alibaba closed the door and resisted the urge to just book it away. They actually did it, they figured out a way to get them both to regions, and it almost didn't feel real. Alibaba's fingers and toes were tingling, he felt lighter than he had in a million years.

Maybe they really did have a chance at winning. Or at least getting into regions.

This kind of excitement crept up on him, and he got so jittery he could barely sleep, and he woke up feeling buzzed. Even driving to the audition site he felt like he was going to explode from the inside out. He checked his phone once he parked to see a string of texts from Judar.

God👑: pspspspsps
God👑: alibubu
God👑: I'm fucking nervous
God👑: STOP IGNORING ME
God👑: srsly I feel like I'm gonna have a mental breakdown
God👑: but like in a good way??
God👑: omg my hands are shaking
God👑: ALADDIN JUST FUCKING GAVE ME SLEEPY TIME TEA
God👑: WTF AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THIS???
God👑: oh wait nevermind this tastes good
God👑: BUT NOW I HAVE TO PEE
God👑: ALIBUBU
God👑: A
God👑: L
God👑: I
God👑: B
God👑: U
God👑: B
God👑: U
PrinceAli: omfg
PrinceAli: dude calm tf down
PrinceAli: i am in the fucking parking lot
God👑: great :)
God👑: now get in here before I come out there and beat ur ass
PrinceAli: I would put an eye roll emoji but that's too much effort
God👑: fuk u

Alibaba closed his phone and walked into the building, almost overwhelmed by the amount of people, all paired up for the partner dance. Alibaba looked around for Judar and luckily he didn't have to look for very long. He found his favourite stripper-dancer leaning against the wall of the room where the auditions were being held. Juda looked over and made eye contact with Alibaba, smiling when he saw him. "There you are, I thought you bailed on me," he said. "Or another family member died."

"Haha." Alibaba faked laughed, standing next to Judar. "Did you pee?"

Judar gave him a look. "Yes, I peed," he replied in a mocking tone of voice. "I'm not sleepy though, my nerves are still practically jumping out of my skin."

"Mine too, glad you're not lying about it to look tough." Alibaba leaned his head against the wall.

"No reason to, especially around you," Judar replied. "I just know we're going to ace this."

Alibaba hummed, he only hoped that was true.

_________________________________________________________________________

Everything that happened after auditions was a haze and Alibaba walked through it in a kind of trance. He remembered finishing up and then leaving with Judar, and then immediately getting a call from Morgiana saying they got a table at the pizza place they liked and he snapped out of it, already dragging Judar out without even asking to other if he wanted to go.

Alibaba drove them there, and that was quite an awkward car drive. Both of them were tired and sweaty, and it had been raining outside when they got out, so both of them cooled off quickly and were nearly shivering by the time they arrived. Alibaba smiled at him after he parked. "Hey, I think we did good," he said.

Judar cast him a glance. "Well, of course, we did, all things considered at least." he let out a little laugh. "I just wanna turn off my brain right now and eat pizza."

"You and me both," Alibaba replied, opening the car door.

They walked in and found Morgiana and Aladdin, joined by Hakuryuu and Scheherazade this time. Judar almost died of embarrassment when he saw her but stayed regardless. Alibaba sat in between Aladdin and Morgiana and Judar slid in besides Hakuryuu. They already had the food ordered and in general, just had a good time. Hakuryuu ordered the garlic knots they had and Judar nearly stole all of them before getting his own. Alibaba couldn't remember the last time he had been part of a group like this, it was really nice actually.

Then Morgiana sprung the question. "Hey, how do you guys think you did at auditions?"

It went silent. Judar and Alibaba locked eyes. Alibaba shrugged. "I think we did good."

Judar scoffed. "Good? Babe, we were incredible!" he exclaimed. "You guys should've seen us! I'm pretty sure we made everyone that was watching fall in love with us," he added with a wink.

Alibaba tossed some of his discarded crust at him. "Shut up," he said teasingly. "I just hope it was enough to allow us to pass."

"Me and Hakuryuu have always been able to make it to regions, we just haven't ever won." Judar crossed his arms. "This year though, we will be taking that first-place prize home."

Alibaba smiled. "I certainly hope so."

Scheherazade side-eyed them, then narrowed her eyes. "Hakuryuu, are you seeing this?" she asked.

Hakuryuu nodded, taking a sip of his drink nonchalantly. "Yup, you're not the only one."

Morgiana placed her hand on the table. "Now taking bets on which one of them will catch on first."

Aladdin, Alibaba, and Judar all cocked their head in unison, all sharing the same thought process... what the fuck? Scheherazade let out a little laugh. "I forgot Aladdin, Yunan, and Judar all share a brain cell. Looks like Yunan is using it at the moment."

Aladdin's mouth dropped open in offense. Judar gasp, slapping a hand over his mouth. "Ohmigod... CHER! That was so fucking bitchy!" he smirked. "I'm so proud of you."

Scheherazade offered him a sweet smile. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Alibaba looked over at Morgiana for some kind of guidance but she just smiled and shook her head, placing a hand on Alibaba's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure you guys did great at auditions. In fact, I'm sure you did."

"Thanks... I'm still a little nervous though."

Judar groaned loudly. "Fuck being nervous! What's done is done we can't change what happened!"

Alibaba blinked, but then relaxed into a smile and nodded. "Yup, you're exactly right on that!"

The rest of the night was dedicated to partying and eating and drinking and talking and generally just having fun. Alibaba left feeling absolutely elated and even more confident about the results of the auditions than he was before, and for the first time in a long long time, he was able to rest easy... for about five seconds until his phone went off. He begrudgingly answered it, rubbing his eyes. "Hello?" he asked. "Who's-"

"Hey, um, Alibaba?" Morgiana's voice came through the speaker.

"Morgiana? It's like almost 1 am. You should be going to sleep."

"I know I know, but the results come out tomorrow, don't they?" Morgiana said. "I'm just a little nervous for me and Aladdin, not to mention you and Judar." she swallowed. "I um... I've never really been this nervous before. I guess it's because... I'm worried about you."

Alibaba raised an eyebrow, sitting up and leaning back against his headboard. "Worried about little old me? Morgiana, I'm flattered, but I'm perfectly fine, you know that."

"I know, but things are different this time around."

Alibaba smiled to himself, looking up at the ceiling. "Just because things are different doesn't mean bad. I'm sure everything will work out. In fact, I can almost guarantee it." he said. "Even if we don't go to regions, I think just as much good will come from that outcome. Because..."

He felt his face heat up as he said that, cheeks aflame and he realized what he was saying. "Because... we wouldn't have been friends with everyone like this. Judar, Scheherazade, Hakuryuu... we wouldn't be as close as we are now. A-And..."

What he was saying and what he meant were different things. Alibaba covered his mouth with his hand as he finally understood.

"Alibaba?" Morgiana asked.

Alibaba took some shaky breaths, just thinking about all of this had made him realize something, and the face that came to mind was none other than his dancing partner. "No... no no no no no no no..." he whispered to himself.

"Alibaba?! Is everything okay?!" Morgiana almost shouted.

"I-I gotta let you go Morgiana, we can talk in the morning!" Alibaba said, hanging up and throwing his phone to the other side of the bed, knees coming up to his chest and hands flying up to cover his blushing face.

"Fuck... no no no no no... I can't seriously be..."

He swallowed thickly. Images were popping into his mind. Judar dancing, Judar having fun, Judar smiling, Judar calling him at weird hours just to talk to him, Judar being bitchy and rude, fuck, Judar.

Alibaba whimpered as he finally came to the conclusion.

He had a crush on fucking Judar.

_________________________________________________________________________

Judar drummed his fingers on the wheel of the car while Aladdin stared out the window with a smile on his face, kicking his legs slightly out from the seat. He was clearly jittery from excitement. Today was the day they were going to find out who progressed to regions and who didn't. Aladdin was so pumped he could barely sleep last night, which meant Judar got little to no sleep as well. 

Really though, he wasn't too worried. Judar was confident in his and Alibaba's dancing abilities. He would be more surprised if they didn't make it to regions.

They arrived at the studio and parked, Aladdin practically jumping out of the car, and Judar had to nab him by the collar to stop him from running away from him. "Jesus, calm the fuck down, Aladdin."

Aladdin pouted. "But I'm just so excited to find out if I made it! I really hope I did!"

Judar rolled his eyes. "They probably disqualified you because you're nine years old." he snorted.

Aladdin started squirming in Judar, trying to hit him in order to let him go. "Not funny, Judar!"

Judar started laughing, shutting the car door and locking it. "I know, I'm joking, you know that."

Aladdin puffed out his cheeks and crossed his arms. "I do not look nine..." he mumbled.

Judar let him go in favour of stuffing his hands in his pockets. "You're right, more like five years old."

"Akhrs!" Aladdin shouted. "Ya Ibn el Sharmouta!"

That only made Judar laugh even harder. "You done shouting at me or are you ready to go in and find out if you made the cut or not?"

Aladdin immediately perked up and grabbed Judar by the wrist to drag him into the studio building, to which Ja'far was waiting behind the desk. He took one look at both of them, then looked back down. "Nope, not dealing with the bastard and the energy ball today," he said, not even making eye contact.

Judar slammed his hands on the desk. "Hey, freckle-face! Where can we find the regions listings?" he asked not-so-politely.

"Judar! Aladdin!" someone from the stairs called.

The siblings looked over to see Alibaba and Morgiana standing there. Alibaba smiled widely and ran forward to grab Judar's hands and start leading him upstairs, talking a mile a minute. "Okay, so they're not only posted here but also in every dance studio in the state! It's a big deal, at first I wasn't sure if any of us made it, and there's a lot of people here so we barely got a glance at it but-!"

They reached the end of the stairs at the top floor, and still, Alibaba dragged Judar on to where the piece of paper pinned to the wall with the results were. Alibaba let go of Judar and ran forward, pointing very theatrically at a specific spot on the paper.

Judar scanned the whole thing. He saw Morgiana's name at the top of the solo's list, Aladdin's was a little further down. Then there at the duo's page, he saw it.

Smack-dab in the middle of the paper were their names.

Alibaba Saluja and Judar Magi

They did it... they actually did it.

Judar let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. Why had he been nervous? He knew all along that they were going to succeed.

Alibaba smiled at him again, bright and beautiful. "We did it, Judar. We actually did it!"

Judar locked eyes with the blonde and was immediately hit with a shockwave of emotions. He felt happy and confused and his heart was beating tremendously fast. He swallowed and blinked rapidly. Then he tried to cover it up with a smirk.

"See, I told you so, Alibaba," he spoke, only hoping his voice didn't waver. "I said we were gonna get in."

Alibaba's smile only grew and he jumped forward to engulf Judar in a tight hug, the other being completely stunned by this. "I'm so glad..." Alibaba whispered, barely loud enough for Judar to hear, but he did.

Judar hesitantly put his arms around Alibaba and hugged him back, hoping Alibaba couldn't hear his rapidly pounding heart. Alibaba let go but kept his arms on Judar's shoulders, the other holding onto his forearms tentatively. Alibaba flashed him another magnificent smile, a closed-eyes one that made Judar want to melt on sight.

And just like that, the feeling that Judar had been suspecting was laying dormant inside him for a while now bubbled up to the surface.

Oh hell...

He was actually completely infatuated with Alibaba.

FUCK.

_____________________________________________________

"Aight, so what song are we using?" Judar asked, swiping through songs on his phone while Alibaba laid down on the floor, kicking his legs up in the air.

"I honestly don't really care, whatever would work with our styles."

Judar squinted at the phone. "That's the thing though, it's harder than you think. Personally, I would go for something fast-paced but sensual, and based on what I know about you, you're more likely to go for something more upbeat and bouncy."

Alibaba looked over at him. "Is that a bad thing?"

Judar shook his head. "It's not a bad thing, and the two could work together if given the right kind of music and dance sequence."

Alibaba nodded and propped himself up so he was sitting cross-legged. "Is Hakuryuu gonna help us again?"

"Most likely, yes."

"So then we really just need a song."

"Yes, and we have two months until regions."

"Got it..."

The two sat in silence for a bit. Alibaba plopped his face into his hands and looked up at Judar, inspecting every inch of him. It had only been two days since he realized his budding feelings for him, and it had kind of hit him like a freight train. But it also helped him to see his friend in a new light. It wasn't like originally he couldn't recognize that Judar was handsome, that much he knew from the first moment they meant. He was skinny with a flat stomach but could still hold himself enough to do some incredible dance moves. His hair looked way too soft for how long it was, and it made Alibaba was to run his fingers through it. And then there were his eyes, lined with that eyeliner that made Alibaba's stomach do a flip. His skin, lips, hands, voice, legs and thighs, everything.

It was really tempting Alibaba's ability to hold it together in front of someone he liked.

But he had no way to tell if Judar even liked guys, or if he even thought of Alibaba in that way. He probably didn't. He didn't seem like the kind of guy that would be into blondes.

"Hey, are you listening?" Judar shocked Alibaba out of his trance. "Do you want me to play a couple of songs and see if we can find one that works?"

Alibaba cocked his head. "Would that work?"

Judar shrugged. "Well, it'll give us a good assessment of our choices and we can see if something clicks."

Alibaba stood up. "Okay, I'm down with that."

Judar scanned the line of music again before just pressing shuffle. What came on was an upbeat song, starting off with some intense instrumental, specifically trumpets. Alibaba smiled and started bouncing along with the beat. Then the lyrics started and they... weren't in English. Alibaba furrowed his brow and looked over at Judar.

"This was a song me and Hakuryuu did two years ago, so we'll probably not use it this year. It's Wild Side by Ali if you were wondering." he looked up at him. "And it has Japenese, English, and French parts."

Alibaba nodded in understanding, then he heard the English lyrics, almost indecipherable with the guy's accent. He smiled and took off, moving his body along to the song. It was really jazzy, which made for a lot of sharp movements, and the piano in the background was a good beat to listen to. He probably took a few missteps but that didn't matter, at the moment, he was just having fun. 

Then the song ended and Alibaba halted, breathing just a bit uneven.

"What the fuck was that?" Judar asked out of nowhere.

Alibaba looked over at his dancing partner, who was staring at him with a mixture of confusion, awe, and irritation. Alibaba blinked. "Uh, dancing?" he replied.

"Have you heard the song before?"

"No."

"Then how...?" Judar trailed off.

Alibaba let out a little laugh. "I was honestly just having fun with it, Judar. It doesn't matter if I had heard the song before, I improvised." 

Judar narrowed his eyes, then bared his teeth when he looked down at his phone again. "That's... stupid. Improv doesn't get you anywhere."

"Well, it's still fun."

Another song came on, one that Alibaba recognized. Geronimo... it started with drums and Alibaba found himself smiling again, hopping along with the beat of the percussion. Judar gave him a look of 'don't you fucking dare' and Alibaba stuck his tongue out and winked at him before jumping off again and dancing again. Judar didn't stop him nor did he stop the music, just letting Alibaba dance.

Judar flinched though when Alibaba halted in his movements, cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "BOMBS AWAAAAY! BOMBS AWAY! BOMBS AWAAAAY!" in time with the song before dancing again.

"You fucker." Judar mumbled, but he smiled.

The song finished off and Alibaba was almost left breathless. Judar waved his phone towards him. "Third time's the charm?" he asked.

Alibaba smiled and nodded. "I could go one more round."

"That's what she said." Judar snickered as he pressed shuffle.

This time Alibaba did actually try to listen. It was a slower song this time, but the lyrics kicked off and it had a solid beat behind it. He threw his head back to look at the ceiling. This was the kind of song that Aladdin would love, the kind that could tell a story. He straightened and looked over at Judar, who was watching him intently. Alibaba smiled and reached out to him. "Just take my hand and come with me," he whispered

Judar blinked, looking confused, then Alibaba came over and grabbed his hands and started spinning him around. "We can do anything if we put our mind to it!" Alibaba started singing over the music.

"What are you doing?" Judar asked.

Alibaba only smiled. "Take your whole life and then you put a line through it."

He shifted so they were in a proper dancing position, one hand intertwined with Judar's while the other was on his waist, and his partner's hand was gripping his shoulder. "Our love is yours if you're willing to take it."

Judar hunched his shoulders and looked away. Alibaba took his hand off Judar's waist and tilted his face towards him. "Give me your heart 'cause I ain't gonna break it."

Was he really just giving in to whatever desires were building up inside him? Yes, but that's how he was. Overly close to those he was close to, and Judar was the one person that he wanted to be with right now, despite his doubts. "So come away! Starting today! Let's start a new life together in a different place!"

Alibaba changed positions again in favour of spinning Judar around, locking their fingers together. "We know that love is how all these ideas came to be!"

Judar spun himself back into Alibaba's arms and leaned against him. "So baby run away with me..." he finished.

Alibaba smiled widely. "I think we found our regionals song."

Judar flushed a dark shade of red and nodded, trying to cover it up with a smirk. "Yeah, I think so too."

Chapter Text

Actual_Sunshine renamed the group to EXCITING!!! NEWS!!!

PrinceAli: colour me confused
Eternal.G.Note: i got the notification and immediately i feel like something horrible happened
Actual_Sunshine: Is everyone here???
PrinceAli: uhhhhhh
PrinceAli: no i believe not
Actual_Sunshine: ugh srsly?
Actual_Sunshine: MORG
Actual_Sunshine: JUDAR
Actual_Sunshine: STOP WHATEVER UR DONG AND GET ON UR PHONES
Actual_Sunshine: THIS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT UR DOING
God👑: hehe dong
PrinceAli: well there's one of em
PrinceAli: also, what are you, 13???
God👑: do you forget ur place? I am older than you by a year
God👑: so stfu
Actual_Sunshine: aight now we just need Morg
PrinceAli: i dont think that's gonna happen, Aladdin
Actual_Sunshine: WHAT?! WHY?! :( 
PrinceAli: bc Morgiana is busy
PrinceAli: she got classes rn
PrinceAli: and she will be in said classes until about 90 mins from now
Actual_Sunshine: well shit
Eternal.G.Note: what does she study?
PrinceAli: last time I checked archaeology 
God👑: oooooooh boring
PrinceAli: did you even go to college?
God👑: I did
God👑: psychology major bitch
PrinceAli: and you call her boring?
God👑: indeed B)
Actual_Sunshine: guys shut up, i need to tell you all something but if Morg isnt here there's no point :( 
Eternal.G.Note: why not just tell us now and tell Morgiana later? 
Actual_Sunshine: bc that's not as fun :(((
PrinceAli: Judar do you know what it is???
Actual_Sunshine: don't you dare
God👑: sorry bitches
God👑: Aladdin's got blackmail on me that i never want to resurface ever
God👑: he would also kill me with an incredibly blunt object, probably the closest thing next to him, which currently is the umbrella stand
God👑: so my lips are zipped
PrinceAli: dammit
Eternal.G.Note: are we taking a raincheck or not?
Actual_Sunshine: yeah i guess so :(((((
PrinceAli: aight imma go take a nap if you don't mind
God👑: old man
PrinceAli: may i rephrase what you said earlier?
PrinceAli: ONE
PrinceAli: FUCKING
PrinceAli: YEAR
God👑: B)

Actual_Sunshine: Morg
Actual_Sunshine: Morg Morg Morg Morg Morg Morg Morg Morg Morg Morg
Actual_Sunshine: M O R G
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: jesus, Aladdin, I just got out of class
Actual_Sunshine: DONT CARE
Actual_Sunshine: EVERYONE ELSE GET UR BUTT IN HERE
God👑: present
Eternal.G.Note: also here
Actual_Sunshine: A L I B A B A
God👑: A L I B U B U
Eternal.G.Note: i feel as though these two are even more siblings now
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: tbh can't relate
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: only child
Eternal.G.Note: i got five
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: eXCUSE ME
God👑: how do you function with more than two/three????
Eternal.G.Note: you act as though they aren't mostly adults now
God👑: okay but like... how did you manage that when you were younger??
God👑: high school was a NIGHTMARE with Cher and Yunan up my ass, and Aladdin was just a fucking brat 24/7
Actual_Sunshine: RUDE
Eternal.G.Note: tbh I'm kinda distant from them anyways
PrinceAli: also can't relate
PrinceAli: i got two half-sibs but i haven't met them
God👑: HE LIVES
Actual_Sunshine: ALIBABA UR HERE
PrinceAli: sorry, not for long
Actual_Sunshine: WHAT WHY?!?!
PrinceAli: at the cremation place
ActualSunshine: ...
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: ...
Eternal.G.Note: ...
God👑: damn
God👑: I'm sorry man
PrinceAli: it's fine
PrinceAli: just waiting rn
PrinceAli: i kinda already did my crying for today
God👑: i will spare you my teasing for today
PrinceAli: glad to hear I'm being blessed on this cursed day for me
God👑: that's right, peasant 
Eternal.G.Note: omfg
Actual_Sunshine: when will you be available to talk, Alibaba?
PrinceAli: idk, prolly an hour-ish
Actual_Sunshine: UGH
God👑: s u f f e r   p e a s a n t B)
Actual_Sunshine:  s t f u

Actual_Sunshine: I FELL ASLEEP AND NOW IT'S TEN AM
Actual_Sunshine: GET UP AND GET ON THE CHAT
God👑: I'm like not even out of bed yet
Actual_Sunshine: shhhhHHHHH
Actual_Sunshine: WHERE TF IS EVERYONE
God👑: *grabs popcorn*
Actual_Sunshine: get out of bed lazy ass
God👑: i have a really great argument for you
God👑: N O
Actual_Sunshine: don't make me come up there
God👑: bet :p
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: Aladdin i was working out what do you want?
Actual_Sunshine: alright that's 1/3
Actual_Sunshine: now we just need Hakuryuu and Alibaba
God👑: Hakuryuu either gets up at noon or at 6 am
God👑: there is no in-between
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: that's... good to know
Actual_Sunshine: would his phone be off at this time?
God👑: who knows
Actual_Sunshine: dammit
Actual_Sunshine: and i was so excited to share this with you :( 
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: we could wait a little longer
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: do you need a lot of time to tell us whatever this is?
Actual_Sunshine: i need all of your attention for like ten minutes
God👑: we gotta hype this up
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: consider me curious
Eternal.G.Note: y'know this was a fantastic way to wake up Kouha
Eternal.G.Note: you guys sent like forty messages but I forgot my phone was in the living room and it kept buzzing until Kouha came out and threw a pillow at me
God👑: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
God👑: love that little guy, he's so much fun
Actual_Sunshine: tell Kouha hi for me, okay Hakuryuu?!
Eternal.G.Note: yea i gotchu
Actual_Sunshine: okay that's 2/3, now we just need Alibaba
God👑: how much you wanna bet he won't show up?
Eternal.G.Note: 20$
Actual_Sunshine: GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUYS :c
God👑: sorry bro :p

PrinceAli: this is why i never put my phone on silent
God👑: ALIBUBU :D
God👑: oh fuck
PrinceAli: what?
God👑: aladdin may or may not be currently out with other friends
PrinceAli: oh rip
PrinceAli: tbh i didn't know he HAD other friends 
God👑: yeah
God👑: and it doesn't look like Haku and Morgiana are gonna join us :/
PrinceAli: sad day
God👑: si senorita

Actual_Sunshine: I'm gonna throw myself out the fucking window
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: pls don't

God👑: ALADDIN
God👑: ALADDIN ALADDIN ALADDIN ALADDIN ALADDIN
Actual_Sunshine: jesus fuck WHAT?
God👑: ROLE CALL!
God👑: JUDAR >:)
PrinceAli: Alibaba :D
Eternal.G.Note: Hakuryuu -.-
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: Morgiana :>
Actual_Sunshine: :0
God👑: NOW TELL THE PEOPLE
Actual_Sunshine: omg omg omg omg
Actual_Sunshine: FUCKING FINALLY
Actual_Sunshine: alright some of you might wanna sit down for this
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: wayyy ahead of you
Actual_Sunshine: *rubs hands together*
Actual_Sunshine: how many of you are familiar with how our family works?
Eternal.G.Note: you, the youngest brother, have three siblings, Judar, Yunan, and Scheherazade, correct?
God👑: *finger guns* righty-o
Actual_Sunshine: yeah, and Yunan travels a lot
Actual_Sunshine: but he's coming back today
PrinceAli: okay, but what does this have to do with us Aladdin?
Actual_Sunshine: because my nephew is coming back as well!
PrinceAli: ...
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: I'm sorry your W H A T?!
Eternal.G.Note: I-
God👑: yup, all of this is correct
PrinceAli: HOW DO YOU HAVE A NEPHEW???
PrinceAli: AND WHO'S IS IT??
God👑: It's Scheherazade's son
PrinceAli: how old is she?
Actual_Sunshine: turning 28 this year!
PrinceAli: and how old is the kid?
God👑: turning 14
PrinceAli: so ur telling me that your sister had a CHILD when she was fucking 14?!
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: that's... certainly unusual
God👑: it's really not that weird
Eternal.G.Note: it's a bit weird considering teenagers don't often get pregnant here in the USA, at least it's not very socially acceptable
God👑: we didn't really have a choice
God👑: also back in Saudi Arabia there were girls getting married and getting pregnant at 13
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: i guess our cultures are very different
PrinceAli: what do you mean 'didn't really have a choice'?
God👑: we're illegal immigrants
God👑: duh
Eternal.G.Note: excusemehowisthataduhmoment???
Actual_Sunshine: Scheherazade had a kid so we could stay in Chicago
God👑: we're citizens now but at the time we were a bunch of kids and a toddler with no parents and no way to provide for ourselves
Actual_Sunshine: i still couldn't imagine it going any other way tho ^w^
God👑: frankly i never want to go back
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: i feel like we're getting off-topic
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: Aladdin, why are you telling us this?
Actual_Sunshine: because Titus's birthday is coming up! And we wanna throw a surprise party for him! And you are all invited! :D
Eternal.G.Note: will there be alcohol?
God👑: have you met me?
God👑: there will be alcohol
Eternal.G.Note: then I'm down
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: I'll go if Alibaba goes
Actual_Sunshine: Alibaba?
PrinceAli: . . .
PrinceAli: actually, I'd really love to meet the rest of Aladdin and Judar's family
PrinceAli: i think it would be fun
Actual_Sunshine: YESYESYES
God👑: oh this is gonna be fun 

_____________________________________________________________

"Scheeeeeeeeeeeeeheeeeeeeeeeeraaaaaaaaaazaaaaaaaaadeeeeeeeeee!" Aladdin called from the stairs and practically jumped onto his sister. "Are Yunan and Titus gonna be here soon?"

Scheherazade smiled. "They'll be back soon. Your friends and Sphintus and Kouha should be here before them though, correct?"

Judar also came down the stairs. "Yeah, just got confirmation that Hakuryuu is leaving his house, and Morgiana left with Alibaba about ten minutes ago," he announced.

Scheherazade nodded then proceeded to go through everything in the kitchen and living room. "Do we have everything? All stocked up on food? Drinks?"

Judar laughed and patted Scheherazade on the head. "Don't worry, we're good. I'm sure Titus will appreciate it."

Scheherazade sighed. "I just... I haven't been able to give him a proper birthday before so..."

Aladdin grabbed his sister's hand in both of his and smiled. "He's gonna love it, Scheherazade!" he replied.

Scheherazade smiled back. Then she turned back to Judar. "You have his present in your room, right?"

"Yes, it's in there. I'll bring it out once everyone is here." Judar responded, crossing his arms.

At that moment the doorbell rang and Aladdin dashed up front and threw open the door to see Alibaba and Morgiana, standing there with three gifts each in their hands. "Afternoon, Aladdin!" Alibaba said with a smile.

Scheherazade gasped when Aladdin let them in. "You got all those for Titus?" she asked. "Even though you've never met him?"

Alibaba set his set of gifts down on the coffee table and Morgiana followed suit. "Well, to be perfectly honest my family isn't really that bad off, in fact, we've got more money than we know what to do with. My dad has been giving my half-siblings a monthly allowance of way too much, and recently all of our money and possessions went to me, so really this was no trouble."

"You fucking bastard." Judar slapped him hard on the back. "Who would've thought you'd be so soft?"

Alibaba laughed it off. "Good to see you too, Judar." he turned to Scheherazade. "So, who all will be coming?"

Scheherazade counted on her fingers. "Counting you two, Hakuryuu and Kouha, and then Titus's partner Sphintus, then adding our family... that makes about eight people," she replied.

"Is that small for a birthday party?" Morgiana asked. "I've never been to one."

Scheherazade offered her a small smile. "I think it's the perfect size."

The doorbell rang again and in came Hakuryuu with Kouha on his shoulders. "Hey hey, Aladdin! Good to see ya!" Kouha shouted, jumping down.

Hakuryuu brushed himself off. "We didn't realize we were going to the same place until the last moment. I honestly had no idea he even knew the Magi family."

"Well, granted we didn't know Kougyoku and Judar were friends until like a few weeks ago." Kouha patted him firmly on the shoulder. "Not important, LOOK WHAT WE HAVE!"

Kouha pulled something out of his coat and presented it to the world. It was a really nicely wrapped gift with a little golden bow around it. "Thought the kid might actually cry if he got some actual presents this year."

Aladdin latched onto Kouha in a huge hug, almost making the other drop the gift. Judar promptly caught it and put it on the coffee table next to the other gifts. "Alright, we're just missing Sphintus and Yunan... and of course the birthday boy himself," he said with a smile. 

It didn't take much longer for Sphintus to arrive, a small gift in his hand and his snake wrapped around his neck. Judar remembered watching the two interact before, Titus mentioning how fascinated he was with the golden animal, now whenever they were together Sphintus brought it with him. It was... kind of cute.

The entire party was waiting for about five minutes before the door unlocked. Scheherazade nodded to Aladdin who bounced on the balls of his feet waiting for his brother and nephew to appear. Footsteps sounded in the entryway and in walked in Titus. Aladdin immediately jumped on him and started hugging the life out of him. "Surprise! Happy birthday Titus!"

"A-Aladdin!" Titus shrieked, completely shocked at the scene before him. 

Yunan came in right behind him, suitcase in hand. He waved to everyone. "Hello. We're back."

It took a second of explaining, and Titus nearly had a heart attack, right before he started crying happy tears. Scheherazade came over and hugged him tightly. "I wanted you to have a proper birthday for once," she whispered to him.

Judar smiled, crossing his arms. 

"This was a really great idea." Alibaba leaned in and spoke softly in his ear.

"All Aladdin's, of course," Judar replied. "Hey, thanks for coming, and for getting the kid gifts. He really needs it."

"I've been meaning to ask, do you know who the father was?"

Judar was silent for a bit, before shrugging. "Some guy that Scheherazade knew and was dating. They were in the same English learning group for a while and just kind of bonded. After she got pregnant she just kinda... ghosted him. I guess she didn't really want to get him involved in any of this." he laughed to himself. "What's funny is that she had to deal with raising a kid, and dealing with us three at the same time. Couldn't have been easy."

He looked over at Alibaba. "She never got the chance to have a proper childhood. It's why Aladdin kinda age-regressed... because he never got that. I know I joke about him being a child and stuff but I don't think he even realizes that, mentally, he still is one."

Alibaba offered him a look, one of pity, but also empathy. "I'm... really sorry."

"Don't be, it's fine," Judar responded. "We're happy here, back in Saudi Arabia me, Cher, and Yunan can't even get married. That's more depressing."

Alibaba blinked, then shot him a confused look. "What do you mean-?"

"Judar! Can you get Titus's gift from your room?" Scheherazade called for him.

Titus looked up at her through his tears. "Mom, you didn't-"

"Shush, of course, I did."

Judar gave her a mock salute before running upstairs and coming back down with a box with holes in the side. He placed it in front of Titus who gave it a strange look before cautiously opening the lid. He gasped loudly and practically threw off the lid and reached inside. He pulled out a black and white spotted kitten, barely bigger than his hand. "OHMYGODYOUGOTMEACAT!" Titus yelled and hugged the tiny creature to his chest. "Thank you..."

Yunan laughed and reached down to take Titus's hat off. "You wanna know her name? It's Marga."

"Marga... that's adorable," Titus replied "Thank you all so much again. Truly."

Scheherazade kissed him on the forehead. "Happy birthday, Titus."

_____________________________________________________________ 

The party started at seven and went well into the night. Sphintus, Titus, and Aladdin all fell asleep on top of each other around nine. Once that happened Judar brought out the alcohol and the real party began. 

"You do not have a separate fridge for alcohol." Morgiana gaped.

Judar flashed her a smile. "Of course we do. I'm a bartender, what do you expect from me?"

Alibaba laughed. "Seriously? That's amazing!"

Scheherazade came over with two bottles of wine and handed them to Judar, who gladly took them and set them with the other drink mixes. Yunan drummed his hands on the table. "Hey, can you make that rainbow shot drink?" he asked.

Judar nodded. "Yeah, just gimme a sec..."

He grabbed some of the bottles and one of those shakers things while Alibaba leaned over to whisper to Yunan. "Rainbow shot drink?" he asked.

"You'll see," Yunan replied with a smile. 

It didn't take very long until Judar was setting up about a dozen shot glasses and started pouring the mixture into them. Alibaba watched in awe as the colour of the drink started changing as he went down the line, starting with red and morphing into orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. He and Morgiana were absolutely entranced by it. Judar smirked once he was done. "Go crazy, Yunan," he said, gesturing to the shots.

Yunan rubbed his hands together then started going down the line, downing each one of them in record speed. That absolutely blew Alibaba away. Yunan finished after about a minute and pulled back with a smile, cheeks already rosy from the alcohol consumption. "Tastes like skittleeeeeeeeeeees!" he whooped, falling over.

Scheherazade shook her head. "Why do you enable him?" she asked Judar as he started pouring a glass of wine for her.

He only shrugged. "Because he's my brother and it's fun to watch him drunk."

"Touche," Scheherazade replied, gingerly sipping on her wine.

Kouha came out from nowhere and jumped on Judar. "Hey... hey hey hey hey hey! Can you make me one of those ones that taste like bubblegum?!"

"Nope, not allowed to serve those underage," Judar replied, snickering.

"I am twenty???" Kouha tried to argue.

Hakuryuu came over and picked him off of Judar. "And you're the designated driver for me, so no drinking," he whispered into Judar's ear. "You got Dr Pepper and rum?"

Judar nodded, grabbing both of those drinks and mixing them expertly. Hakuryuu gave him a nod in thanks and took the drink. Judar stared intently at Alibaba, narrowing his eyes before grabbing more ingredients. "Hey, you allergic to honey? Or ginger?" he asked.

Alibaba shook his head. Judar smiled. "Perfect," he mumbled under his breath.

Soon enough he was sliding a golden drink towards Alibaba. "We call this one Ambrosia. I think you'd find it nice."

Alibaba tentatively took a sip, the taste of honey, ginger, and whiskey filling his mouth. It was really really good. He heard the whirring sound of the blender and realized that Judar was making a kind of alcoholic smoothie. He poured it out into a cup and added a sliced strawberry and orange to the side before sliding it in Morgiana's direction. She shook her head. "Sorry, I'm the DD tonight for Alibaba."

"Lame." Judar teased before taking the drink and a spoon, swirling it around before eating it from the cup.

Within the hour everyone who was allowed to drink was absolutely wasted. Scheherazade took the children upstairs so the adults would disturb them and when she came down she had to make sure Yunan didn't try to cook (and potentially burn down the house) in his state. Hakuryuu was crying, slipping in between consciousness and unconsciousness all the while Morgiana was basically holding him like a baby.

And then there was Alibaba, who had somehow managed to worm his way into Judar's lap, talking animatedly to Morgiana, all while almost spilling his drink all over himself. He was being kind of loud but Judar really didn't mind. What matters was he had a lap full of Alibaba.

"Ah... fucking... Judar?" Alibaba whined, flopping his head on his shoulder. "You're so good at dancing... and you..." he struggled with words. "You have a cute butt."

Judar laughed, obviously not sober enough to fully register the words. He patted Alibaba on the thighs. "Thanks, babe," he replied. "Hey... wanna go somewhere and dance with me?"

"Ooh yay." Alibaba giggled, hopping up and letting Judar lead him out front.

"Don't get run over by a car!" Scheherazade called, Yunan clinging to her and groaning.

Judar grabbed both of Alibaba's hands as they stumbled out onto the streets. It was dark, so only the light from the streetlamps illuminated them, but it was more than enough. Alibaba mumbled something under his breath, something along the lines of, "How are we gonna dance without music?"

Judar pulled him close, wrapping his arms around Alibaba's neck and bonking their foreheads together. "We can... we can dance." he let out.

"But no music?"

"Sing?"

"I... I'm not good at sing."

Judar shrugged and started swaying back and forth. Alibaba grabbed his hips in order to stabilize himself. Judar's hand came up to cup Alibaba's face as his lips grazed his cheek. Alibaba made a little whimpering sound. "J-Judar?" he asked. 

Alibaba gasped as Judar nipped at his jawline, fingers tangling into his hair. "Alibaba..." Judar sighed.

There was a giggling sound from next to him, and Judar ripped himself away to tell Alibaba off-

"You said my name correctly," Alibaba spoke.

Judar flushed even redder than he was already, but he didn't look away. He slipped his hands down Alibaba's arms and slowly moved the other's hands lower on his body until Alibaba was basically cupping his ass. The blonde blinked in confusion but then Judar's hands were on his face again and he was forced to make eye contact with his dancing partner.

"I wanna touch you. Dancing with you just isn't enough." Judar murmured, brushing his lips against Alibaba's, the other's eyes fluttering shut, waiting... expecting. "Alibaba..."

He couldn't stop himself. He tilted Alibaba's head back and crashed their lips together, no more anticipation. Alibaba pulled Judar closer to him so their bodies were pressed against each other. Alibaba wasted next to no time in licking into Judar's mouth, making the other sigh and knit his brows up. He didn't care that he was drunk, didn't care about how he knew he was getting set up to have his heartbroken, didn't care about how Alibaba may not even remember this in the morning because at the moment it felt too good and he didn't want it to stop. 

But the world really didn't like him.

"Alibaba?"

Judar blinked his eyes open when he realized Alibaba's mouth was no longer on his. The blonde at had looked behind him at the doorway to the Magi's house where Morgiana was.

"C'mon, we gotta go back."

"Right, coming."

Judar didn't remember much else from the night he remembered Alibaba and Morgiana leaving, followed by Hakuryuu and Kouha. Sphintus ended up staying the night, him and Titus cuddling with the new kitten in Titus's bed. Scheherazade had to carry Yunan up to their shared room before coming down to where Judar was half-asleep on the couch. She sat down next to him and turned on the TV. "A Silent Voice?" she asked.

"The only movie I can fall asleep to." Judar agreed.

Scheherazade nodded and put it on. Eventually, Judar did end up falling asleep with his head on his sister's lap, but she didn't mind all that much. She finished the movie and turned the TV off, not bothering to wake Judar and instead falling asleep there with him. She knew he had a rough night, and she was going to make sure he wasn't hurting in the morning.

That's what she was here for afterall.

Chapter Text

Alibaba royally fucked up this time.

And the worst part is he barely remembered it.

All he remembered was going to the party, parts of the actual event, getting drunk, and then the next thing he knew he was somehow making out with Judar in the street. Morgiana had witnessed nearly the entire thing and described to him the whole thing in excruciating detail the next morning.

Alibaba slapped his face over his red face when she was finished. "Oh my fucking god... he's going to hate me..."

Morgiana shrugged, digging into her yoghurt cup with her spoon. She had spent the night at Alibaba's because she just didn't want to go home and the two were eating breakfast together (Alibaba nursing an absolutely awful hangover) before dance practice today. "It's not like you guys had drunk sex, I feel like that would be ten times worse."

Alibaba turned impossibly redder. "Yeah but like... you don't just grab your friend's ass and make out with them in the middle of the road!"

"But you did do that." Morgiana pointed out.

"Thanks... really appreciate the commentary..." Alibaba rolled his eyes and sighed, banging his aching head against the table to relieve even a little bit of the pain. "I swear if he's straight and I forced a dude-kiss on him..."

Morgiana snorted. "There is no way on God's green earth that he's straight."

"Hey! You can't just assume-"

"He literally said it right to your face and you were too dense to notice!"

Alibaba blinked. What? Was this another drunk memory that he couldn't recall? Morgiana was the one to roll her eyes this time. "Think about it, he told you he couldn't get married in his home country, and he used to live in Saudi Arabia, which has restrictions against what?"

"Uh... gay marriage?"

"Gay marriage. Henceforth Judar is gay or at least attracted to boys and I've already told you he was the one to initiate the kiss." Morgiana explained it like she was talking to a toddler, sucking on her spoon as she did so.

Alibaba shot her a look. "Okay but like... it still doesn't make any sense to me why?"

"Have you ever considered the possibility that he likes you?"

"What?"

"You like him right?"

Alibaba huffed, glaring at Morgiana, but his blushing face gave everything away. Yes, he liked Judar as more than a friend. He liked him a lot, was completely infatuated with him and fantasized about him. Not in that way you weirdos, like going on dates and kissing and stuff... he had only masturbated to him maybe once. But Morgiana didn't need to know that.

"Yeah... I like him..." Alibaba mumbled.

Morgiana nodded, crossing her legs and taking the spoon out of her mouth, twirling it between her fingers, giving Alibaba that dagger stare that he knew she didn't mean to give, she just had a bit of a resting bitch face like the rest of her huge family of red-heads. "Have you considered just... I dunno, talking to him?"

"Wonderful idea! If I want to ruin our friendship forever!" Alibaba slammed his hands on the table, the noise going straight to his head and making him wince. Morgiana sighed and got up to grab a bottle of Advil, tossing it over to Alibaba before coming back into the kitchen with a glass of water for him. "Thanks..." he mumbled.

"You're such a child."

Alibaba swallowed the Advil and gingerly sipped on the glass of water. "I know... but I seriously don't want to ruin whatever we have going, cause if that messes up our dancing then who knows what will happen at regions!"

"But if you don't talk to him you'll be awkward and stiff until regions," Morgiana argued.

Alibaba threw his head back and groaned. "Y'know, sometimes I really... really don't like you," he said.

Morgiana shrugged, standing up. "You still love me," she replied a little too bluntly. "Now you should probably get dressed and take a shower. We'll leave in thirty minutes."

Alibaba sighed but did as he was told. Luckily a shower plus the Advil was able to clear most of the headache and he felt a lot better once he got out and was in some actual clothes, but that might have been because of the Advil as well. Morgiana drove them to the dance studio and when they arrived, Alibaba was trying his best not to have a panic attack.

His feet felt heavy as he walked up the stairs, and he hesitated before entering the room...

Judar wasn't even there yet.

Alibaba was both relieved and could feel his heart sink. What if Judar was skipping out on their practice entirely because of what happened? What if he didn't even want to do the duo anymore? Even after they worked so hard for auditions? How could he? Was Alibaba overthinking this? Probably...

And then he heard his phone ding.

God👑: Hey sorry am late
God👑: will be there in five minutes tops

Alibaba breathed a sigh of relief and typed out a response.

PrinceAli: can I ask why ur late?
God👑: Titus has a doctor's app. literally right after we get out
God👑: we only have one car so we're doubling up
God👑: so Yunan, Titus, and Cher are gonna hang with us at the studio for a bit
PrinceAli: that makes sense
God👑: yea
God👑: oh speaking of which can you turn the lights down to like, half-light?
PrinceAli:?
God👑: Yunan's autistic and like extremely light-sensitive and kinda agoraphobic
God👑: like the kind where he hates open spaces
PrinceAli: is that why the lights were so dim at the party?
God👑: yeah, whenever he's home we gotta close the windows and turn down the lights
God👑: also the reason why the party was later in the night
PrinceAli: gotcha, I'll do that now
God👑: thanks babe

Alibaba closed his phone and walked over to the light switch, turning them down enough so they weren't blinding but they could still see. Only around a third of the lights were actually on.

He felt kind of stupid for mentioning the party, but Judar hadn't reacted badly to it, so maybe he didn't remember the event at all. Hopefully, that was the case...

Five minutes later and in walked in four people. The first one was Titus, pulling Yunan by the wrist, who was wearing sunglasses and a big green... was that a witches hat? Anyways, it covered his eyes but he took the sunglasses off once they arrived in the room. Scheherazade came in next, followed by Judar. Alibaba felt his heart skip a beat when he saw his dancing partner.

"Um, hi." Alibaba waved.

Yunan stared at him, blinking a few times, then looked to Judar and pointed at Alibaba. "Whomst."

Alibaba's mouth dropped open. "Uh, we met at the party? I'm Alibaba Saluja, remember?"

Yunan looked back at him, then scrunched up his nose. "I'm not good with faces," he explained.

Judar laughed and patted Yunan on the shoulder. "Hey, it's fine. Is this dark enough for you?" he asked.

"Yeah, should be fine..." Yunan trailed off.

Titus smiled and ran over to Alibaba. "Hey! I wanted to thank you properly for the gifts you got me for my birthday since I didn't get to at the party. So, thank you so much, Mister Alibaba!"

Alibaba blinked, then broke into a smile. "Ah, you're welcome. I'm really glad you enjoyed them."

There was a clapping noise as Judar approached him, grabbing Alibaba by the wrist and practically throwing him into the middle of the room so he had to spin to keep his balance. "We've got regions to prepare for, now get stretched or I'll rip your hamstrings out," Judar said with a smirk.

Alibaba laughed. "You got it," he replied, shooting Judar finger-guns.

This was good, this felt normal. This was just routine, and maybe part of it was the fact that Alibaba wasn't completely alone with Judar, because most of his family was here. Aladdin was probably upstairs working on his dancing, maybe with Morgiana, so he wasn't here, but with the way Titus watched them excitedly made Alibaba happy he was in the profession he was in. Dancing could really inspire people sometimes. Scheherazade had brought out a book and Yunan had gotten headphones from out of nowhere and had them on, the big clunky ones that were Bluetooth and blocked out all sound. Alibaba vaguely wondered if that was another part of Yunan being autistic.

"He's not listening to anything if you're wondering."

"Hm?" Alibaba replied.

Judar was laying propped up on his elbows as he was completely bent at the waist with his legs spread. Jesus, this guy was flexible. "Yunan's light and sound sensitive, so he's not listening to music, but the noise-cancelling headphones will help when we turn on the music."

"Oh..." Alibaba replied. "Is... uh, sorry if this is rude, but is him being autistic hard on you guys?"

Judar shrugged, sitting up straight again and bending his knees into the butterfly stretch. "Not really, he's an adult now anyways. It's not like we think of him as completely helpless. He can take care of himself."

Alibaba wasn't entirely sure what it meant for a person to be autistic, as he's never met anyone like that before. As for neurodivergent people, the only one Alibaba knew of that he knew was Aladdin. To be perfectly honest, Alibaba was curious and wanted to ask questions, but he felt like right now would be an inappropriate time.

After they were done stretching Judar connected his phone to the aux and walked back over. "Since Hakuryuu isn't joining us today we're gonna have to start by ourselves. Any ideas for what we should do?"

Alibaba chewed on his lip and crossed his arms. "Hmm, this is just a general idea, but if I take over the male part and you take over the female part, with each of us working as more supporting dancers to each part until we come together when they both sing."

"That could work, why me and the female part?"

"Cause that suits you better? Also, I dunno if you've noticed, but your waist and hips are very feminine."

"And what does that have to do with anything?" 

"You know what I mean. Your dancing is prettier than mine."

"What? No, it's not-"

"Is that flirting I hear?" Yunan asked out of the blue. Scheherazade choked back a laugh.

Judar scowled. "Bitch."

"Slut." Yunan retorted.

Scheherazade covered Titus's ears. "Yunan, children."

"Titus is fifteen, isn't he?"

"Fourteen."

"Same thing."

Alibaba covered his mouth to hide his laughter. This was an absolutely adorable family dynamic, and their every conversation had him enamoured. He didn't grow up with a family like this, but he could tell they all genuinely cared about each other. He only could wish he had that. 

Judar turned the music on and Titus gasped when he realized he actually knew the song. Alibaba smiled and reached out to Judar, taking his hand and spinning them around. This was just for fun, they weren't going to actually start the choreography until tomorrow when Hakuryuu was able to come. For now, they were just feeling the music.

Alibaba spun his dancing partner around and Judar fell backwards. Alibaba caught him and Judar smiled up at him. Alibaba winked at him before pushing him back up.

Everything felt so natural, so comfortable. Alibaba could almost completely forget about that unfortunate moment they shared last night. He could just melt while he freestyled with someone he loved.

Love?

Alibaba's train of thought got interrupted when there was a thunk over by the mirror. Alibaba looked over to see that Titus had fallen over from trying to copy his brother's movements. Judar laughed and walked over, picking him up and spinning him around, practically lifting his feet off the ground. Titus yelped but that quickly turned into laughter. When Judar finally let him go he brushed himself off. "Hey, I'm not that little anymore." he teased.

"You still had fun, you're never too old to get spun around by me, plus I know you enjoyed it," Judar replied with a tiny smirk.

Titus made a face. Alibaba smiled to himself.

Yeah, he loved him alright.

______________________________________________

There were not a lot of things that Judar found himself regretting in his lifetime. This may end up being one of them.

He swallowed hard as he walked through the sliding door of the hotel and felt the heavy wafts of chlorine hit his nose. There were several people in the lobby alone, parents with kids, couples holding hands, and various other kinds of people.

"Hey there! Can I help you with anything?!" one of the ladies behind a desk called over to Judar.

Judar looked over at her, clutching at his flannel jacket maybe a bit harder than intended to. "Uh, maybe? I'm here to see a friend but I don't know where he is."

"Oh, I can help with that! Is he a resident or a hotel guest?"

"Neither. He works here."

The receptionist raised an eyebrow. "Hm, who is it?"

"Alibaba Saluja..."

Someone from a different desk gasped. "Oh my God. Are you the kid he dances with?!" another lady pointed at him.

Judar hunched his shoulders. "Um, yes?"

The lady he had been originally talking to him smiled and started writing something. "Alibaba works over at the water park." she stood up and held out her hand. "I can give you a wristband to go in and talk to him."

Judar tentatively held his hand out for the lady to wrap one of those ridiculously hard to get off wristbands around his wrist. "Do I have to pay for this?"

The lady shook her head. "Our lifeguards don't allow anyone who's not wearing some kind of swimwear into the waterpark. If you didn't bring any then you don't have to worry about it. And if you're not using our facilities, then it's perfectly fine." she explained. "Alibaba should be working in the obstacle course area, not very far into the waterpark area."

"Okay, thank you."

Judar tried to avoid eye contact as he walked towards where all the signs pointed towards the waterpark, the smell of chlorine only growing stronger. After walking through a set of double doors he came to an area where a bunch of people were walking around. Most were in bathing suits and some appeared to be soaking wet. Judar walked through the crowd trying to find this 'obstacle course area' the receptionist had talked about.

It didn't take him long to spot a familiar head of blonde hair helping a small child wearing swimming trunks into a harness. Then he sent him off into a large area that looked like something in one of those jungle adventure movies.

Judar walked over to that area. Alibaba was watching the kids and teens crawling all over the obstacle course so he didn't realize when Judar snuck up on him.

"Hey."

Alibaba jumped a little out of his skin as he turned around. His eyes widened when he saw him. "Oh my God... you scared me..." he let out a quiet laugh. "Judar, what are you doing here?" 

"Aladdin told me where you worked," Judar replied.

"That doesn't answer my question."

Alibaba kept flicking his eyes over to the sides where the kids were, making sure all of them were being safe. There was a different worker over where Judar assumed was the finish line of the course also watching the kids intently. Judar opened his mouth to speak but then something caught his eye.

Snake bites. Alibaba had fucking snake bites.

Small silver balls resting right under his lips. When the fuck did he get those?!

It had completely thrown Judar off guard and now he was just staring like an idiot at Alibaba's mouth.

"Something wrong?"

That snapped Judar out of his trance and he tore his gaze back up to Alibaba's eyes. "When did you get your lip pierced?" he asked automatically.

Judar mentally slapped himself. Why should he ask about something stupid like that? It didn't matter, Alibaba was allowed to do what he liked, but that didn't take away from the fact that Judar found it a bit too attractive for his taste.

Alibaba reached up and gingerly touched the small bulbs. "Oh, yesterday after we got out of dance practice. I've been meaning to get it done for a while, but my dad never really wanted me to do it. He was a bit old fashioned, and thought I'd look like a punk with any more piercings." he laughed. "Even after I became an adult he still grated on me for that."

Judar swallowed hard. "Oh, okay... why didn't you tell me- us?"

"Uh, I did? I put pictures in the group chat."

Immediately Judar pulled out his phone. Did he seriously not get the notification? Sure enough, when he clicked on it there was a string of messages from yesterday after Alibaba had first gotten the piercings. Well, fuck...

"I didn't see them..." Judar trailed off.

"You're good." Alibaba laughed again, waving it off. "It's not really important anyway. Is there a specific reason why you're here? I didn't think you'd be staying at the hotel."

Judar put away his phone and shrugged. "It's cause I'm not. I wanted to talk to you."

Alibaba's gaze shifted over to where his coworker was helping a kid who had finished the jungle obstacle course get out of their harness. "Can it wait? I get off in about twenty minutes."

No, it really couldn't. Judar wasn't even sure if he should be bringing this up in the first place.

Because it was about the party... and their kiss.

Judar had kind of blown the whole thing off. Mostly because he didn't want things to be awkward between them, but they probably should discuss it sooner or later. After all, Judar had to convince himself he wasn't attracted to Alibaba. There was no way he could be, especially not now.

"Ugh, fine." Judar gave in. "You didn't tell me you worked in a fucking hotel."

Alibaba shot him a look. "Seriously, watch your language. There're kids here."

"I really don't give a damn."

"Yeah, well I don't wanna lose my job." Alibaba sighed. "Just tone it down for now? Please?"

Judar crossed his arms. "Fine. But I'm not doing this cause I care about your job."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Are you going to answer me? Since when have you been working in a hotel?"

Alibaba drummed his fingers on the little desk area/pedestal he was given to check people into the obstacle course. "Since before we even met. Been working here for around seven months now. Didn't I tell you I majored in hospitality?"

Judar tilted his head. "Uh, I don't think so?"

"Nah, I think I did. Your memory is terrible."

"Oh, shut up." 

Alibaba laughed again. "No, but seriously-"

"Hey, Alibaba? Is there-"

Judar spun around when he heard a familiar voice die out behind him. Morgiana was standing there, towel around her shoulders, a red bathing suit that crossed and hung around her neck practically clinging to her from how wet she was. She blinked when she saw Judar, then furrowed her brow. "When did you get here?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same question," Judar replied, snarky as ever.

Alibaba slapped his shoulder. "Don't be rude." he looked at Morgiana. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Huh? Oh, I was just wondering if we have to wear shoes to the foot court upstairs if it's connected to the waterpark." Morgiana responded, ignoring Judar completely.

Alibaba shook his head. "No, you don't have to be properly clothed for it either. Although I do recommend you dry yourself off first. How many of you are headed up there?"

"Just some of the little ones and their parents. I'll let them know, thanks."

"No problem."

Judar stepped between them. "Hold up, time out. What are you even doing here?" he asked, pointing at Morgiana.

Morgiana made a face. "If you have to know, the majority of my family are in Chicago for a week and have been staying here. They invited me to go to the waterpark with them so that's what I'm doing."

"Your family?"

"Yeah. The Fanalis family."

Fanalis? Where had Judar heard that name before? It was on the tip of his tongue... ugh, now it was going to drive him crazy.

There was a tiny cry from the obstacle course. Looks like one of the smaller kids got stuck. Alibaba sucked in a breath through his teeth. "I gotta take care of this. Morgiana, take Judar to meet your family. I'll talk to you guys once I go on break." he said, pulling on a harness and attaching to the course. "See ya."

Judar watched as Alibaba took off, climbing up the course with practice speed and agility, heading towards where the child was stuck. He was almost impressed. Almost.

Morgiana sighed and gestured for Judar to follow her. "Come on. Let's go."

"Um, sure."

Judar followed directly behind Morgiana and through another set of doors into the waterpark... which was absolutely huge. There were four different water slides, a lazy river, a big pool that shot out waves every so often, a bunch of other fun water rides. There was even a bar in the middle of it all connected to an 18+ hot tub.

"Oh wow...." Judar breathed. "Uh, so where's your family?"

Morgiana gestured out to the entire waterpark. "All of the redheaded ones."

Judar looked back and felt his jaw drop open. That was maybe half of the people in here, which was over a hundred to begin with, all with the same hair colour as Morgiana. "You're kidding, right?" he asked. "No way your family is that big."

Morgiana nodded. "Not kidding. Our family really is that big."

"Holy fuck..."

"Morgiana, there you are."

Judar looked over and felt all breath leave his lungs. A man walked over with a towel over his long red hair. He was tall, really tall, and incredibly attractive with muscles that made Judar want to drool. Morgiana smiled. "Hey there, Uncle Muu. So I found out that we are allowed to leave our shoes off at the food court, but we should at least dry off a bit first."

The man newly named Muu nodded and shrugged the towel off his head, then looked over at Judar. "And who's this young man?"

Morgiana looked over at Judar, almost like she forgot he was there. "Oh, right. Judar, this is my Uncle Muu Fanalis. Uncle Muu, this is the brother of a friend of mine, Judar Magi."

All of a sudden Judar remembered where he heard the name Fanalis and clamped his mouth shut.

FUCK.

Muu looked just as surprised. "Magi... wait, you wouldn't happen to be related to Sch-"

"UM! It was really nice to meet you but I think I'm gonna go now okay bye!" Judar talked a mile a minute and started walking backwards, trying to get as far away from this situation as possible. "Okay bye Morgiana I think I'm gonna talk to Alibaba some other time but I really need to go now BYE-"

He ran out, pushing past people as he practically sprinted out of the hotel and into the parking lot, and when he finally got into the car and slammed the door shut his breathing felt like he was drowning, oh God he was going to hyperventilate. 

His phone dinged.

ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: Judar what the hell?
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: I haven't known you for long but I know enough to know that was extremely out of character for you
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: Muu is in a state of shock and isn't talking to me so spill

Judar debated telling her everything. But he didn't want to get into all that trauma without permission first. So...

God👑: I cant
God👑: I'm sorry
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: why not??
God👑: because i have some kind of respect
God👑: I'll get permission to discuss it further with you laterr
God👑: for now just see if ur uncle will talk about it atall
God👑: we can meet tonight at 8pm at the Kou
God👑: it's where i work
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: should I be worried?
God👑: maybe
God👑: not the point
God👑: just trust me for now, okay?
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: ok
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: I don't trust you, but I feel like there's a bigger picture I'm not seeing
God👑: oh, you have no idea...

___________________________________________________________

Judar practically kicked the door down. "GUESS WHO I JUST FUCKING SAW?!"

Yunan poked his head out from the kitchen, holding a mug filled with... "Tea?" Yunan asked. "What happened?"

Titus and Aladdin nearly trampled down the stairs and peeked out from the corner. Judar slammed his hands on the counter in front of Scheherazade, who was in the process of taking her earrings off in order to make dinner. "Cher, you're gonna wanna hear this."

Scheherazade raised an eyebrow but gestured for him to go on. Judar took a deep breath. "Alright, so, storytime." he started. "I went to Alibaba's work because wanted to talk to him but didn't even get a fucking chance, not the point, ANYWAYS. Morgiana was there and so she took me into the waterpark to see her family which is fucking huge by the way and-"

"Talking too fast." Yunan pointed out.

Judar cleared his throat and calmed down. "Right, sorry. Basically, she introduced me to her Uncle and I didn't make the connection before but... Morgiana's last name is Fanalis." 

Scheherazade's eyes went wide, her face contorting into an expression of pure shock. Yunan took a sip of his tea and averted his eyes. Aladdin had slapped his hand over his mouth. Titus just looked confused.

"Oh... my God..." Aladdin was the first to speak. "OH MY GOD!"

"RIGHT?!" Judar replied, animatedly gesturing towards Aladdin. "MORGIANA'S UNCLE IS FUCKING MUU FANALIS."

It took a second for Scheherazade to properly process this, but when she did her hands came up and covered her mouth. "He's... here?" she asked, voice somehow even softer than before.

Judar nodded vigorously. "Yeah... he's here..."

Scheherazade swallowed hard. Titus came out from around the corner and stood next to his mom. "Mother? Who is Muu Fanalis?"

No response. Titus made a face. "Mother!"

Judar winced and Yunan clamped his hands over his ears and whimpering, sensing a fight. Aladdin once again hid behind the corner. Scheherazade let out a slow breath and looked up at Titus. "That's very simple, Titus. Muu Fanalis is your father."

"TITUS IS YOUR FUCKING COUSIN?!"

Morgiana shot Alibaba a look that told him to quiet down. Alibaba closed his mouth and cleared his throat. "Right, um, sorry..."

"It's fine."

The two were currently in the breakroom, just the two of them. Apparently, this entire situation got... a bit out of control and a little confusing, so the two were trying to make sense of it all. "Muu told me that Magi was the last name of a girl he used to know. Scheherazade, who is Judar and Aladdin's sister. Connected the dots and it's safe to assume he's the father of her child." Morgiana explained.

"That's... oh wow..." Alibaba flopped down on his chair.

Morgiana played with a piece of her wet hair. "Yes, it's certainly an interesting development, however, I feel as though I shouldn't really be surprised as I am. It makes sense, after all."

"Yes, but... to think that you've had connections to Aladdin's family like that for years... and didn't even know it... I think that would fuck me up pretty bad."

"Our family is large, I'm more surprised that Titus didn't inherit the red hair." 

Alibaba chewed on his lip, thinking hard. He supposed this wasn't really the most earth-shattering revelation ever, hell, it didn't even involve him. But... it just seemed a bit off to him, that this was something that they were all completely in the dark about. Aladdin must have realized, right? He had to have known that the man that fathered Titus's last name matched Morgiana's... did he just never realize they could be related? Aladdin wasn't all that smart, the kid struggled with basic math and literature, did he seriously not realize? Judar had an excuse, he didn't know Morgiana's last name until recently, but...

"And... what should we do about this?" Alibaba asked.

Morgiana shrugged. "I'll be speaking with Judar tonight about the matter."

Immediately, that shot a pang of jealously through Alibaba's chest. Morgiana was going to talk to Judar about a family member... alone.

"Uh, I should come with you?" he offered.

Morgiana shook her head. "No, this is a simple matter between our two families. If we need your help we will ask for it. But for the moment please stay out of it, alright, Alibaba?"

Alibaba grumbled about it, but he reluctantly did agree.

___________________________________________________________

Morgiana looked up at the golden lit sign, spelling out one word. Kou. Judar had texted her the proper address and told her around what times he would be here so she came at eight pm. Normally she wasn't a bar kind of person but this was important.

She stepped in and looked around. It was mostly empty, or at least the bar part was. The restaurant part was more full of people. There was a stage but no one was performing. Morgiana immediately spotted Judar who was talking to another employee and leaning against the counter. Morgiana walked over and sat down at the bar, unzipping her coat.

Judar looked over and saw her, smiling and coming over, leaning across the counter. "Heyo. Didn't think you'd actually come."

"And I didn't think I'd ever see you wear a full shirt." Morgiana snapped back. "You know why I'm here."

Judar nodded. "Yeah, but technically I'm still on the job, so can I at least get you anything to drink?"

Morgiana made a face, pinching the ends of her shirt. "Shirley Temple..." she mumbled.

Judar let out a short laugh but didn't comment on it, turning around and grabbing the ingredients off the shelf. "Not much of a drinker I'm assuming?"

Morgiana shook her head. "No, not really," she replied. "Did you get permission to talk about the situation?"

"Yeah. I dunno how much Muu told you, but I'll take a wild guess in saying you already know that Titus is his and Cher's child."

Morgiana watched Judar as he expertly poured the drink and mixed in the syrup, topping it off with two cherries. She nodded. "Yeah, that much I figured. But I... I just can't believe I never realized."

Judar pushed the drink in front of her. "Well, legally Titus's name is Titus Alexius Magi, so you couldn't have guessed from looks or name alone. He takes after Cher in a lot of aspects though."

Morgiana reached out and brought the glass close to her. "But still... it's weird to think that Titus is my cousin. It means that technically, I'm related to Aladdin and you."

Judar smirked. "Yup, family is weird and complicated sometimes. But it's more fun like that I think!" 

Morgiana rolled her eyes, stirring the drink with her straw before taking a sip. "Messy would be a better word for it," she muttered under her breath. "What should we do about it?"

"Do we even have to do anything?" Judar asked, raising an eyebrow. "Honestly, I don't think either of 'em are interested in getting back together."

"Yes but Muu wants to meet his son, and surely Titus wants to meet his father, right?"

There was a bit of a silence. Judar licked his lips and looked down, propping his elbows on the counter. "Titus has mixed feelings about the situation. And Scheherazade isn't particularly interested in any of this drama. I mean, it's hard to tell with her anyways, so I'd have to ask bluntly."

Morgiana drew back, carefully sipping on her straw and carefully considering the whole situation. She looked up.

"Can I offer a suggestion?"

Chapter Text

Titus fidgeted around in the seat in front of the bathroom.

"Hold still please."

Titus huffed. Aladdin swung his legs over the counter as he watched Scheherazade snip pieces of Titus's hair off, blonde locks scattering on the floor. Titus picked at the two braids that he purposely wanted to stay long.

He couldn't help that he was nervous.

Judar walked into the room, a peache in his mouth. "How are you not done yet?" he scoffed.

"Almost," Scheherazade assured him.

Titus closed his eyes and tried not to squirm around. Tonight was a really important night, hence the hair cut. Tonight he was actually going to meet his father, the other half of his genes, Muu Fanalis. And he was terrified. But... he was also so thrilled.

Judar bopped him on the head. "Don't pass out on us." he snickered. "Wouldn't want to send you to the ER before you even get a chance to see the guy."

Titus rubbed his head and shot his Uncle a glare. Ugh, it was still weird to refer to Judar as his Uncle, Aladdin too. But technically it wasn't incorrect to call them that, it just felt weird since they were younger than what your typical Uncle would be.

"And done!" Scheherazade announced.

Titus looked back in the mirror and smiled as Scheherazade took the towel out from around him and wiped off the back of his neck. He stood up and smiled at his reflection. "Okay... I think I'm mentally prepared for this."

Scheherazade smiled as well. "Titus, you still need to get dressed, and at least eat something. We'll get going here in ten minutes or so."

Titus nodded, grabbing Aladdin and running out of the room. Judar stood next to Scheherazade and combed his fingers through her hair. "Can I braid this?" he asked.

Scheherazade nodded. Judar gently twisted parts of her hair together into two loose braids, leaving a good chunk of it free, the final product being very pretty. Judar leaned down and smiled at her. "You excited?" he asked.

"To be honest, I'm terrified," she admitted.

"Well, that's normal, isn't it." Judar straightened and put his hands behind his head, looking up at the ceiling. "You feel guilty, but you shouldn't. He's gonna understand. And if he doesn't I'll take his ankles and use them as shot glasses."

"That sounds disgusting." Scheherazade laughed out loud. She stroked her hair and tilted her head in the mirror. "I think... I think I'm actually happy that I'll get the chance to talk to him again."

"If you two make another kid I'm kicking you out of the house." Judar joked.

Scheherazade laughed again. "I'm done making babies, that much I can promise you."

"MOM I'M READY TO GO!" Titus called from downstairs in the living room.

Judar gestured out of the bathroom. "We should head out."

Scheherazade nodded and walked down the stairs. Yunan was laying down on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. "Are you guys going somewhere?" he asked.

"We're going to go see Muu," Scheherazade explained as Titus ran to her side with a bright smile.

"Oh, okay. Have fun!" Yunan waved to them.

Aladdin jumped on Judar, clearly just as excited as Titus. "Can we go now, please?"

"Yes yes, get in the car you two," Scheherazade replied.

Aladdin cheered and grabbed Titus's hand and dragged him to the garage.

Ten minutes later they arrived at the place. Titus got out of the car first and looked around. "A park?" he asked.

Scheherazade got out after him, opening the door for Aladdin and Judar to load out as well. "Yes, Morgiana and Muu should be waiting for us at the gazebo," she explained, pointing to the field next to the playground with winding paths where many people were walking, some with dogs. There was a big white gazebo a little ways away. Titus took a deep breath, the nerves finally catching up to him. Aladdin patted him hard on the shoulder.

"Don't worry! If this Muu guy is anything like Morgiana he'll be super duper nice!"

Titus offered him a smile. "I certainly hope so."

"This was a bad idea..."

Muu paced back and forth as Morgiana leaned against one of the gazebo supports, replying to the confirmation text from Judar that the Magi family had arrived. "Relax. It's not like Titus hates you or anything. It wasn't your fault you've never met." she tried to comfort him.

"That's not..." Muu sighed, running his hands through his hair. "I'm not a nervous person, you know I'm not a nervous person. I'm just..."

"Nervous?"

"Yeah..."

Morgiana shook her head. "I swear I have to be the voice of reason for everyone in this goddamn town."

"Morg!"

Morgiana looked over and smiled, seeing Aladdin run towards the gazebo with Titus in tow. Muu froze, looking over at his son and Scheherazade. The Magi family (minus Yunan because he couldn't be outside without having a mental breakdown) came up to the gazebo. Aladdin walked over to Morgiana and gave her a hug. He was the first one to come up to Muu and held out his hand. "Hi, there! My name's Aladdin and I'm Scheherazade's brother! Well, her other brother... no make that her other, other brother!"

Muu swallowed hard and took the boy's tiny hand in his own big one, lightly shaking it. "Um, nice to meet you. I'm Muu..."

He looked over Aladdin's shoulder at Titus, who was glued to Scheherazade's side. Muu bit his lip and waved to him. "Hello." he started.

Titus tensed up, looking away from him. "Hi..." he replied, voice soft.

Morgiana looked back and forth between the two, then looked over at Judar, who only shrugged. Muu cleared his throat and forced a smile. "You're Titus, right? It's very nice to meet you finally."

Titus made eye contact with Muu, unfreezing just a bit. "Yeah..." he spoke. "Um, you're a lot different than I thought you'd be."

"Oh, what were you expecting?"

"I dunno... but now that I think about it I'm not really surprised, you do look like someone my mom would like."

Both Muu and Scheherazade immediately got flustered. Judar and Aladdin started laughing out loud and Morgiana was holding back giggles. Muu let out an awkward laugh and scratched the back of his neck. "Thanks, I guess?"

Scheherazade looked up at Muu, a bit sheepish, but still smiling. "It's really good to see you, Muu," she spoke.

"Yes. It's certainly been a while, Cher."

There was a bit of an awkward silence, then Titus stepped away from his mother's side, walking up to Muu, looking him up and down, then suddenly hugged him tightly. Muu let out a small gasp of surprise as Titus buried his face into his chest.

"I-I'm... I'm glad I got to meet you..." Titus said, voice muffled, but it was clear he was on the verge of tears.

Muu was shocked at first, but then he smiled and hugged Titus back. "I'm also glad... I'm finally getting the chance to see you." he gestured for Scheherazade to join in as well. The small woman wiped away a tear and nearly ran forward. Muu was able to encase them both in a big huge, lifting them up off the ground as one happy family.

"Aw, now that's sweet." Aladdin cooed.

"He's damn lucky that Titus isn't a child anymore. At least if he plans to stay in his life." Judar replied, crossing his arms.

Morgiana shrugged. "It all depends. Muu had no idea he had a son until yesterday, but knowing him he'd definitely want to stay with him. So that means he might be moving to Chicago soon."

"I really hope he does! Scheherazade and Titus look so happy!" Aladdin commented, his smile brighter and bigger than ever. "And I want them all to be happy. In fact, I want all of the people I'm close to to be happy!"

He patted Judar on the arm. "That means you and Morg and Alibaba and Yunan and Sphintus and Hakuryuu and everyone!"

Judar nodded once. "Thanks, but I'm already happy enough like this."

"Are you?" Morgiana asked. "Are you really satisfied with how things are?"

Judar glared at her. "Shut up."

Morgiana smiled, looking back at Muu, Scheherazade, and Titus, who were done hugging and now just talking, doing some catching up probably. "I know you're not because there's something you still haven't gotten the chance to do."

"Well, duh. People jump from goal to goal once they've completed their last one. And when they can't climb any higher they die."

"Natural selection!" Aladdin added to that.

Morgiana shook her head. "That's not what I meant." she looked Judar right in the eyes. "What I mean is there is something you want, and so you can't be happy quite yet."

"To win regions?" Judar offered, even though he knew exactly what Morgiana was talking about and dreaded what she was about to say.

The girl shook her head.

"I know you want Alibaba. I've known for a while."

_____________________________________________________________________

Actual_Sunshine has renamed the group chat to PIZZAAAAAA PARTY

God👑: omg what now?
Actual_Sunshine: I have an idea! :)
PrinceAli: What's your idea?
XxImmaSnekxX: you should be-
DracoMalfoyButHot: -I'm not gonna be Mercy
PrinceAli: WTF-
Actual_Sunshine: I forgot to tell you I added Sphintus and Titus to the chat
Actual_Sunshine: I hope that's okay :)
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: no it's fine
God👑: nope I am NOT dealing with these children today
God👑: HAKURYUU SAVE ME
XxImmaSnekxX: HEY
Eternal.G.Note: Nope, cause Aladdin asked me to add Kouha as well -_-||
pretty_little_psycho: hehehehehe
God👑: omfg
PrinceAli: HATE THIS
PrinceAli: TOO MANY PEOPLE
DracoMalfoyButHot: ruDE-
God👑: Hakuryuu add Kougyoku as well I can not and will not deal with this today
Eternal.G.Note: are you on your man period or something?
God👑: OHMYFUCKINGGOD
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: nah he's just whiny all the time
God👑: o f f e n d e d
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: g o o d
Actual_Sunshine: can we please get back on subject?
PrinceAli: what subject? Pizza?
Actual_Sunshine: yes, actually :)
DracoMalfoyButHot: I've never had pizza
XxImmaSnekxX: hOW?!
XxImmaSnekxX: I'm divorcing you
God👑: OOF
PrinceAli: RIP
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: this is a whole-ass soap opera
pretty_little_psycho: *sips tea*
DracoMalfoyButHot: D:
DracoMalfoyButHot: I'm sorry T~T
Actual_Sunshine: that's actually part of why I wanna get together for this
Actual_Sunshine: cause Titus has never had pizza and regions is a month away
Actual_Sunshine: but also I just miss you guys ;p;
PrinceAli: aw
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: aw
Eternal.G.Note: aw
God👑: blegh
pretty_little_psycho: XD
Actual_Sunshine: no but seriously!
Actual_Sunshine: We can all go to the Pizza place we like and celebrate
Actual_Sunshine: doesn't that sound fun?
pretty_little_psycho: I mean I'm down
pretty_little_psycho: Hakuryuu I stole mother dearest's credit card
pretty_little_psycho: henceforth I will be paying for the entire meal
God👑: FUCK YEAH FREE FOOD
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: I'm not sure if you've noticed but there are ACTUAL children on here now
XxImmaSnekxX: *deep breath*
DracoMalfoyButHot: *rubs hands together*
Actual_Sunshine: oh no...
XxImmaSnekxX: FUCK
DracoMalfoyButHot: SHIT
XxImmaSnekxX: PUSSY
DracoMalfoyButHot: ASS
XxImmaSnekxX: MOTHERFUCKER
DracoMalfoyButHot: DAMN
XxImmaSnekxX: BITCH
DracoMalfoyButHot: WHORE
XxImmaSnekxX: SLUT
DracoMalfoyButHot: DICK
XxImmaSnekxX: CUNT
Eternal.G.Note: oKAY TIME TO STOP-
pretty_little_psycho: aw I wanted to join in :(
PrinceAli: I am??? shocked???
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: the mere fact that they probably had that planned out and practised for a moment like this
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: i am appalled
Actual_Sunshine: oh thank god they're done
God👑: that was amazing
Eternal.G.Note: I lost a few brain cells from that
Eternal.G.Note: that shortened my lifespan
XxImmaSnekxX: :)
Actual_Sunshine: okay but yes or no on the pizza thing?
XxImmaSnekxX: I'm down if it's free and if I can make my butthurt of a boyfriend try it
DracoMalfoyButHot: fine...
Actual_Sunshine: sweet.
Actual_Sunshine: Alibaba? Morg? Hakuryuu?
Actual_Sunshine: Judar you don't get a choice in this you're coming
God👑: fair enough
God👑: but do you really expect me to say no to free food? ESPECIALLY if we're using the psycho milf's card
PrinceAli: I can totally come, sounds like fun :)
ErzaScarlet'sSecretLoveChild: I would like to come as well
Actual_Sunshine: YAYYYY
Actual_Sunshine: I am excite :-)
pretty_little_psycho: what time?
Actual_Sunshine: was thinking around five-ish?
pretty_little_psycho: that works
PrinceAli: :)
Eternal.G.Note: Did you just call my mother a milf?

_____________________________________________________________________

Not all of them arrived at once. Judar, Aladdin, and Titus were the first ones there, then came Hakuryuu and Kouha. Morgiana and Alibaba came together, and Sphintus arrived "fashionably late".

To be perfectly honest, it really wasn't anything super special, a bit awkward at first, but at the same time, it was nice to just be around a comfortable group of people like this. Titus tried pizza and was absolutely fascinated by it. Sphintus applauded him at every bite. Kouha made it his personal mission to annoy Hakuryuu while also conversing with Aladdin as much as possible. Morgiana was practically inhaling a meat-lovers pizza and Alibaba was making rounds just talking with everyone and eating. Judar was crammed into the corner, making random comments at some points but mostly eating pizza and garlic knots.

"Oh, that reminds me, regions are a little more than a month away, right?" Kouha asked Hakuryuu, who nodded. "Uh, you should be fully healed by then, right?"

Hakuryuu shook his head. "No, not completely. Still another two weeks after regions in the cast and then I'll be good to go."

"It's really upsetting that you broke your leg, Hakuryuu." Aladdin pouted. "I'm sure you were looking forward to it too, right?"

Hakuryuu shrugged. "Yes, a bit. But I've been having fun choreographing with Judar and Alibaba, so I think it evens out. There's always next year, right?"

"Hell yeah!" Judar exclaimed. "We'll bring home the gold for you, Haku!"

"I'll drink to that!" Alibaba replied.

At some point, the younger ones started getting tired and the food ran slim, so they all collectively decided it was time to go. Kouha paid with his mother's stolen credit card and they all started leaving the building. Morgiana was planning to walk and Sphintus was getting picked up by an older brother. Hakuryuu and Kouha rode together.

Aladdin gestured for Judar to get into the car but right before he could take a step someone grabbed his wrist. He looked behind him to see Alibaba reaching out for him. "Hey, I'll drive you home. I need to talk to you."

Judar felt his heart drop. He swallowed and nodded. "Sure thing." he tossed the keys to Aladdin. "I'll be home a bit later, drive Titus home and tell him not to stay up past ten!" he called.

Aladdin gave him a thumbs up and the two loaded into the car.

The car ride with Alibaba was completely silent for the most part. Neither wanted to bring anything up, even though they both knew they needed to. Judar stared out the window at the trees and buildings as they sped by. Eventually, they came to a more forested area, pulling off the road to a vacant parking spot in front of cliffs. Alibaba put the car in park and leaned back. Judar looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. Alibaba ran his fingers through his hair. "Hey, um, are we gonna talk about what happened?" he asked, not daring to make eye contact with Judar.

Judar relaxed his shoulders a bit. "Uh, we don't have to, but it sounds like you kinda want to."

"I do, cause it's been driving me crazy," Alibaba admitted, banging his head against the steering wheel.

The sun had gone down at the point, stars could be seen dotting the sky, the lights from the city keeping most of them hidden. Judar tilted his head to look at Alibaba better. "We kissed," he said bluntly. "We made out in the middle of the street and it's awkward and weird but it doesn't have to mean anything if you don't want it to-"

"That's just the problem though!" Alibaba nearly shouted. "I'm... I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what it all means. I don't know if I want it to mean something or not."

"Aren't you worried it'll mess everything up?"

"Of course I am! But that doesn't stop me from... feeling things." Alibaba sighed, looking Judar dead in the eyes. "I'm just gonna say it, I like you a lot. Like, genuinely."

Judar opened his mouth just slightly, then closed it, turning away. "You're... seriously?"

"Dead serious."

Judar dropped his head down, let out a half-laugh. "This is all so fucking stupid. I hate it here..."

Silence. Judar looked up again, sucking in a breath. "Why are you so confused? Just fucking tell me what you want," he asked, once again looking Alibaba in the eyes.

Alibaba didn't know how to respond to that at first. He clenched his fists against his legs, biting his lip. "I... I want you."

A pause. The tension was thick enough that you'd need a chainsaw to cut through it. Alibaba looked up to what he thought would be disdain of disgust... but instead felt his head hit the back of the window plain as Judar basically jumped over to seats, grabbing the back of Alibaba's head and pressingly their lips together harshly. Alibaba blinked, then closed his eyes and kissed him back. Judar winced and pulled away briefly. "I don't like how much you talk, had to shut you up..." he mumbled.

Alibaba let out a little laugh. "We're... completely sober now, right? This isn't a dumb drunk decision?"

Judar shook his head. "No, I want you too. I have for a while. I'm just surprised you got the guts to confess first."

"Then what does that make us?"

"I really don't care right now, all I want is your mouth on mine and your hands on my body, so chop-chop, blondie!"

That did make Alibaba laugh, but Judar shut him up by kissing him again, cradling his face in his hands. Alibaba tentatively reached down to hold onto Judar's waist, rubbing his thumbs over his exposed skin, feeling the shivers underneath his touch. Judar sighed into Alibaba's mouth and he took that as permission to press his tongue into Judar's mouth, only releasing a soft moan from the other. Judar nipped at Alibaba's bottom lip before tracing his tongue with his own, wanting to bite.

"We should move to the back of the car..." Alibaba suggested. "It'll be more comfortable, I can put down the seats."

Judar was too lust-driven to care but he agreed. They clamoured to the back and Alibaba put the seats down. Immediately when he was done Judar jumped on him, slotting himself between his legs and kissing him again, tongues immediately clashing. Judar gave in to his earlier desire and bit at Alibaba's lips, right where those delectable-looking piercings were. Alibaba groaned and Judar laughed. "C'mon now, Alibaba. I know you can do better than that."

"What... are you...?" Alibaba tried to form words.

"Are we gonna fuck or nah?"

That seemed to snap Alibaba out of his daze. "Huh?" he asked. "You mean... here?"

"Yes, here," Judar replied. "I thought that was where this was going."

"Um... well kinda..."

Judar narrowed his eyes. "Do you not want to?"

Alibaba considered it for a second. "No... I definitely do."

"Then fucking take more initiative! Damn..."

Alibaba made a face. He used one hand and grabbed Judar's hair, bringing him down to kiss him roughly again, his other hand going down and grabbing his ass, pressing their hips together. Judar giggled then moaned into Alibaba's mouth. "Yup, there we go."

Alibaba's breathing got heavy, arching his back up off the seats to roll his hips with Judar's. He gasped, tilting his head back in order to catch his breath. Judar attacked his neck with sloppy kisses, marking up as much as he could. Alibaba bit his lip hard. "H-Hey... I've got l-lube and stuff in the glove box..."

Judar chuckled against his skin. "Not your first rodeo?" he asked.

"Not exactly." Alibaba huffed. "Haven't done it in my car before though... just have it in there in case of emergencies..."

"Like a hot guy wanting to take it up his ass, or maybe you'd prefer to get it from behind?" Judar lapped at the forming bruises on Alibaba's neck. "Personally I'd prefer you to be inside me." 

Alibaba swallowed hard. "I... um... okay..."

Judar got up and reached into the glovebox, coming back with lube and condoms and sitting back down, straddling Alibaba. He tossed him the bottle and held the condom between his teeth as he started taking off his pants. "I take it you've done this with a guy before?"

"Um... no actually. I've dated guys but... never had sex with them."

"Well, shit." Judar sighed, exasperated. "It's not the same, like, at all. So you still know what you're doing?"

"Kinda. Gotta finger up inside first, right?"

Judar nodded, pulling his pants down. Alibaba could resist, he looked down and felt his breath catch in his throat. Judar was hard and it gave Alibaba a sense of pride that he was the one to make him like that. He felt his own dick straining in his pants. Judar grabbed Alibaba's belt loops and started unbuttoning his jeans, pulling them down enough to expose him. Alibaba looked away, a bit embarrassed. He shouldn't be, after all, he and Judar were pretty much in the same state like this.

"You're adorable." Judar hummed, turning Alibaba's face towards him again, smiling. "Nah, that's not the right word for it... you're hot."

Alibaba blinked, turning red. Judar's grin only widened. "I can read you like a book, y'know. Praise kink, right?" he asked, scootching forward a bit and making their cocks brush together. Alibaba whined and nodded. "Figured. I can work with that..."

Judar grabbed Alibaba by the shoulders and pulled him backward, their positions flipping, then brought him further up so Alibaba was sitting on his chest. Judar looked up at Alibaba with a purely erotic expression that was so much different than his usual smirk or scowl that he nearly startled Alibaba. He heard a squit from behind him.

"I'm gonna do the fingering myself, cause I already know you'd be bad at it," Judar remarked, bringing one hand up and holding down on of Alibaba's thighs. "In the meantime, I'll take care of you with my mouth."

What?

Alibaba found out exactly when Judar let his tongue hang out of his mouth, uttering the words, "I want you to face-fuck me, Alibaba."

What right did he have to refuse?

Alibaba scooted forward a bit and Judar carefully took his dick into his wet mouth. Alibaba winced initially, he hadn't gotten a blowjob before now and wasn't sure what exactly to expect from this. He bit his lip hard as the stimulation began. Judar closed his eyes and took his time taking more and more of Alibaba into his mouth, swallowing around him a few times and dragging his tongue on the underside of his cock. Alibaba couldn't stop watching. It was fascinating in and of itself, but he could barely concentrate on how hot Judar looked while his dick was being shoved into that wet cavern of a mouth. 

Judar pinched his thigh and Alibaba threw his head back and moaned out loud, legs shaking as he chased the feeling of being inside Judar's mouth, hips rolling up and down to meet Judar's movements. Judar groaned around Alibaba's dick, creating vibrations that made Alibaba cry out in pleasure, precome beading out of the tip and sliding down Judar's throat. He gagged a little but didn't stop.

This carried on for another couple of minutes until Judar patted Alibaba's thigh, telling him to stop. Alibaba pulled out and Judar took a gasp of air, rubbing his neck. "Oh my God... it's been a hot second..." he spoke, voice a bit hoarse from the rough treatment of his throat. "I haven't taken anything that big in a while."

Alibaba looked down sheepishly. He was still embarrassingly hard, just a little more sticky and gross now. Judar shifted so he could sit up a bit and Alibaba noticed his hand was in between his legs, which was removed shortly after he realized it. So he really was fingering himself during that period of time, it's also probably why they had to stop before Alibaba came in Judar's mouth.

"Missionary, face-to-seat, or riding?"

"Hm?"

"Position, Alibaba. And safewords."

"Oh, um, I really don't care." he cleared his throat. "And, um, I'll probably just tell you to stop if I need you to."

Judar made a face then lifted his legs and basically exposing his entire lower half to Alibaba. "Alibaba... I need you to fuck me properly okay? I want you to make me scream."

That went straight to Alibaba's dick. He swallowed the excess saliva pooling in his mouth while he fumbled open one of the condom packages. Eventually, he got it open and slipped it on, noticing how Judar watching him intently. Finally, finally, Alibaba put his hands on either side of Judar's thighs to spread his legs better, slotting himself between them and lining himself up. He took one more look at Judar. "Are you sure this is okay? You really want to do this right?"

Judar groaned and lolled his head back. "Alibaba, I get that consent is probably important to you, but if you don't get inside me right now- OH!"

Alibaba had enough of wherever that was going as he started pushing in, startling Judar. He tried to find something to grab around him but with no luck. Alibaba grabbed his wrists and pinned them above his head, attaching to his neck while he shoved himself further in.

"Don't think I didn't catch that. You named a very specific kink based on a few clues. I'm only assuming that's because you're the kind of guy that'll try everything once, and I just gotta find out which buttons to push to get you begging to come." Alibaba whispered, his other hand's grip on Judar's hips during bruising. "Are you a masochist by chance? Would you like it if I bit you?"

Just to prove a point Alibaba softly nommed at Judar's throat. Judar flexed his fingers, hips jerking upwards. "Maybe... didn't think you'd be the type to get off on inflicting pain."

Alibaba hesitated, pulling back a bit and looking Judar in the eyes. "Not particularly. However..." he kissed him once on the lips. Judar winced and shuddered violently at even the slightest movements from Alibaba. "I think we can find a middle ground."

He pulled the end of Judar's cropped shirt and held it to its owner's mouth. "Hold please," he asked.

Judar tentatively bit the hem of the shirt, riding it up to expose his full chest. Alibaba pulled back and practically drank the whole sight in. "You're so... fuck... you're way too sexy for me," he mumbled, leaning down and pressing sloppy kisses to Judar's chest, making the other whine, biting his shirt harder and straining against Alibaba pinning his arms above his head, trying his damnedest to get some sort of stimulation going down there.

"I'll let your arms go if you praise me," Alibaba spoke, looking up at him with a smirk.

Judar glared at him then spat out his shirt. "I would if you were actually doing something to me, asshole."

Alibaba tightened his grip on Judar's wrists and shoved him much too hard, making Judar cry out, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. "Either teasing or more pain for responses like that." he raised an eyebrow. "But you'd probably like both of those. Kinky bastard."

Judar bit his lip hard, squeezing his eyes shut to try not to cry. He hasn't had sex where he's actually shed tears, so it's actually quite impressive that Alibaba was pushing him to such a state. Yeah, it was totally hot and Judar knew that any mention of him being uncomfortable would mean Alibaba would immediately stop, but he wasn't uncomfortable at all right now. The degrading was interesting to play around with.

He cracked one eye open, meeting that dark honey-golden gaze that was ready to fucking claim. He swallowed and gasped a bit for air before speaking.

"A-Alibaba... you feel really good inside me." he whimpered. "You're doing such a good job servicing me, baby."

Alibaba's face basically inflamed, as if they weren't in the most intimate position two people could be in.

As promised, Alibaba released Judar's hands and he immediately clung to Alibaba, nearly ripping his shirt off before the blonde shrugged it off himself, then Judar wasted no time running blunt nails down his back, surely leaving marks.

Good. He deserves it.

"Alibaba! S-So good! Please! M-More please..." he choked off at that last part.

Alibaba finally set a decent pace, thrusting in and out of Judar and making the both of them let out some positively disgraceful sounds, but Alibaba's moans were like music to Judar's ears, and the same was true the other way around.

All of a sudden Alibaba thrust in roughly again. Tears spilt past Judar's eyes unexpectedly, dragging his makeup down with it. He nearly felt his eye's roll back into his head with that one, feeling incredibly close to coming.

"I'm... I'm gonna... Alibaba I'm..." he stammered, struggling with words.

"Good. Come for me."

Judar let out a mix between a squeak, a sob, and a moan as he released between them. The stimulation didn't stop for another few minutes and Judar just found himself crying more at the overstimulation of it all(not that he wasn't loving it). Eventually, the thrusts got more desperate and then they became shallow, slowing to a stop before Alibaba pulled out for good, collapsing next to him.

"This is gonna be a bitch and a half to clean out."

Judar smiled, turning around as much as his sore body would allow in order to peck Alibaba once on the lips.

"But you loved it."

Alibaba siled in return, leaning in for another kiss.

"Yeah, I did."

Chapter Text

Alibaba woke up feeling incredibly uncomfortable and incredibly hot.

Then he realized there was a mouthful of black hair in his face and a warm body trapped between his arms. He vaguely registered his phone alarm in the pocket of his discarded clothes going off.

Memories from last night blinded Alibaba as he woke up fully.

Oh damn...

He shifted to fish through his pants and try to find and turn off the buzzing device but he was almost immediately yanked back. "Cold..." Judar complained.

Alibaba sighed and poked Judar in the side."Hey, you gotta wake up. It's almost eight."

"Too early..." Judar mumbled, not even opening his eyes.

"We have to be at the studio at ten. We both need a shower and a change of clothes."

"No. No studio, just snuggles." Judar buried his face into Alibaba's shoulder. "Unless... you wanna go again."

Alibaba felt his face flush red. He shoved Judar as hard as he could and sat up. "I'm not... seriously?!" he almost shouted. "Dude, we gotta go! Your siblings are probably worried about where you are and Hakuryuu is gonna be waiting for us cause we're supposed to be working more on the choreography today and..." more memories flashed by. "Oh... fuck, shit can you even stand?"

Judar sat up as well and practically draped himself on Alibaba, slinging one arm around his shoulders and nuzzling into his neck. "Don't give yourself so much credit, I can probably dance just fine, I'm just a little sore, that's all," he replied. "You were a bit too gentle with me, next time you should be a bit rougher if you can handle it. It really turns me on when I can barely stand after a good fucking."

He started drawing circles on the inside of Alibaba's thigh with his free hand. "We don't even have to go all the way again, there's plenty of dirty things we can do without all of that."

Alibaba blushed harder, but he reached down and laced his fingers with Judar's to prevent him from doing anything else. "We can do whatever we like after dance practice, okay?" he promised. "And we can do it in a more appropriate location, other than the back of my car."

Judar slowly let his lips upturn in a smirk before leaning in to peck Alibaba on the lips once. "And this is why I love you."

Five minutes and a change back into the clothes they had practically ripped off of each other the previous night and they were once again on the road. The plan was to go to Alibaba's house since it was closer to change + shower, Alibaba would lend Judar some clothes and then they would directly go to the studio with Hakuryuu then go to Judar's house so he could let Scheherazade know where's he's been then back to Alibaba's house and probably fool around for a couple of hours.

After a quick drive, they finally pulled into Judar's driveway and he got out. "I'll be right, back, don't leave without me, sweetheart." Judar teased as he closed the door, winking at Alibaba.

"Wouldn't dream of it, butterfly."

Judar flushed at the nickname but covered it up by blowing a small kiss to him. He unlocked the door to his house, feeling elated, but when he opened the door he immediately got yelled at by Scheherazade.

"Where on earth were you last night?! Aladdin told me Alibaba was going to take you home because he wanted to talk to you but when you didn't show up I got so worried!"

Yunan peeked in from the kitchen, Titus right behind him. Judar sighed, reaching up and rubbing his neck absentmindedly. "Cher, I'm an adult, I don't need you to take care of me."

Scheherazade narrowed her eyes at him. Aladdin ran down the stairs and stared at Judar, blinking and then pointing at him. "Judar's got hickies!"

Yunan doubled over laughing while Judar turned bright red. Scheherazade stared at his neck in almost horror, hands covering her mouth. Titus came over to get a good look. "When did you get those?" he asked.

"Alibaba probably gave them to him," Aladdin remarked, snickering. "Judar that's dirty."

"I'm about the throttle you." Judar scowled, pushing past everyone to go upstairs. "I don't have time for this. I'm not coming home tonight after practice, I'm going over to Alibaba's house."

"That's suspicious." Yunan finally stopped laughing. "I think you need to have motion in your legs to compete, so don't let Alibaba completely destroy your asshole."

"FUCK OFF!"

"YUNAN!" Scheherazade slapped her hands over Titus and Aladdin's ears. "AND JUDAR! Language, please!"

Judar still flipped his older brother off before going up the stairs, grabbing his duffle bag and changing in a spare pair of clothes. He could shower later, no point in doing it now if he was just going to sweat during practice. He ran downstairs when he was ready, avoiding the rest of his family members and jumping into Alibaba's car. "Let's get out of here before Scheherazade decides to ground me."

Alibaba laughed as he pulled out of the driveway. "Was she mad?"

"Furious. Big sister and mother instincts, y'know?" Judar chuckled. "I don't think she was as bothered at the hickies though..."

Alibaba winced a bit, then let out an awkward laugh. "Haha... yeah sorry about that..."

"Don't be. They're hot." Judar reached up and touched his own neck. "It's like a little warning for anyone that wants to try and flirt with me. Might as well tag me with 'Belongs to Alibaba Saluja'."

They stopped at a light. Alibaba reached over and gently touched the small bruises. "Yeah... I guess they are."

Judar smiled and reached over to touch a particularly large one near Alibaba's jaw. "You got some pretty nasty ones too," he replied. "You're mine, and I'm yours. A fair trade, I think."

Alibaba smiled softly, a comfortable shade of pink settling on his cheeks. "I like that idea. You're mine."

The light turned green and they had to keep moving, but Alibaba favoured holding Judar's hand instead. Judar hummed, leaning against the seat. "I'm yours."

They ended up stumbling into the dance studio ten minutes late. Hakuryuu was sitting on the floor, no longer lugging around the crutches, now having a simple black boot that was the finishing stage in his healing process.

"Where the hell were you two?" he asked, standing up with a bit of a struggle.

Judar flashed him a bright smile. "Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to, Ryuu!" he replied, pointing to his neck.

Hakuryuu blinked for a second, taking a minute to register what Judar meant, then his eyes widened and he slapped his friend on the shoulder. "You suck so much ass." he scoffed.

Judar shot at him with finger guns. Alibaba only shook his head with a smile and set down his duffle bag, quickly changing his shoes as Judar simply kicked his off. "We're almost done, right?" Judar asked next. "Like, regions is less than a month away, so I'd hope we have this thing almost finished."

Hakuryuu coughed and nodded. "Yes, we just need to finish up this last part. Our original goal is telling a story, so we want you two to be touching as much as possible. Alibaba, I'm thinking a lot of spins and maybe a couple of lifts if you're comfortable with that."

Alibaba nodded, having finished getting his shoes on. "Yeah, that's fine. I assume I'll be doing the lifting, considering Judar can't even hold my body weight." he teased, looking Judar directly in the eyes as he said it.

Judar rolled his eyes. "Okay, first of all, rude-"

"-Second of all, yes." Hakuryuu finished his sentence. "You'll be the one doing the lifting. I've got most of the choreography down, I was able to draw up some rough ideas while you guys were on your way here. I just need to fine-tune them and run them by you two. Shouldn't take me very long, so if you would, just practice different kinds of lifts until then."

He looked between the two of them. "Sound good?"

Judar and Alibaba nodded in unison. Hakuryuu sighed, sitting down on the floor again and pulling out a notepad and pen. "Get to it then, we only have ninety minutes in here."

Apparently sleeping together had relieved a bunch of tension between them, because Alibaba was able to hold Judar in his arms without much of a problem. He wasn't the strongest person in the world, not like Morgiana, who could benchpress both him and Aladdin's entire bodyweight combined, but he was strong enough to lift Judar.

"You weigh absolutely nothing," he commented, hands right under Judar's ribs as he held him a few inches off the ground.

Judar scrunched up his nose a bit. Cute. "Mm, don't say that."

Alibaba let him down. "I didn't say it was a bad thing," he replied. "Just makes you easier to manhandle."

Judar hummed, wrapping his arms loosely around Alibaba's neck. "Dirty mind, Ababwa," he smirked. "But seriously, don't say shit like that to me."

Alibaba tilted his head. "I'm sorry."

Hakuryuu looked up at them, then groaned. "Hey! Stop flirting before I break you two up!" he precariously stood up. "I'm done."

With the choreography pretty much completed they could get to work on the actual dancing bit. They've been doing different bits on and off, but today they'd finally get to go through it all together. 

"Does that look okay?" Hakuryuu asked.

Alibaba nodded, then looked at Judar, who shrugged. "Looks fine. We can work on transitions and shit as we go. Let's run through it."

Hakuryuu started the music and they got into position. As expected, the first run-through wasn't perfect. In fact, it was messy, flawed, and full of holes. But that's okay. That's what first drafts were for. They ran through it again, making sure to correct previous mistakes and make minuscule changes here and there. From there it was just repetition. They were at it the entire ninety minutes and once the time finally ran out, both were absolutely breathless, not to mention physically and mentally exhausted.

"That was really good." Hakuryuu smiled.

"Oh shut up." Judar snapped at him, laying on the floor on his back. "You weren't the one dancing out there."

Alibaba leaned against the mirror, his bangs sticking to his forehead from sweat, catching the last few drops from his water bottle. He took a deep breath. "He's not wrong," he said. "I think this is really shaping up to be a regions-ready dance."

Judar sat up, letting out a dramatic sigh. "If you say so." he smiled.

Alibaba did end up taking Judar back to his house, much to the other's protest. But he did leave him with a promise.

"Meet me at the waterpark I work at, 10 pm, okay? I'll let the receptionists know you're coming." Alibaba winked before he let him off.

"Why? What do you have planned?" Judar asked.

"The park closes at 9," Alibaba remarked, then left.

So Judar was left to lay and wait until he could go to this mystery date with Alibaba. He vaguely wondered if he should bring a swimsuit and decided that, yeah, if they were going to the waterpark he probably should. But maybe they were going somewhere else and the waterpark was just the meeting place. Either way, Judar hadn't gone swimming in for-fucking-ever for good reason.

God👑: okay assist pls
pretty_little_psycho: just wear a damn suit under ur clothes just in case
God👑: i would but ✨acne✨
pretty_little_psycho: has he not seen u with ur shirt off?
God👑: not my back
pretty_little_psycho: omfg
God👑: rude
pretty_little_psycho: he's not gonna fuccing care
pretty_little_psycho: he might be the kinda guy who into that
God👑: ew
pretty_little_psycho: you are SO picky damn
God👑: no but i really like him
pretty_little_psycho: why dont u jus swim naked?
pretty_little_psycho: its after hours right?
God👑: ... holy shit he wants to skinny dip
pretty_little_psycho: YUH PROBABLY
God👑: KOUHA IM NOT READY FOR THAT
pretty_little_psycho: WELL EITHER YOU NEED TO GET READY OR CANCEL THE DATE
God👑: fuck off
pretty_little_psycho: love ya too, bitch <3
pretty_little_psycho: whatre ya gonna do then?

What was he gonna do?

That was the question, wasn't it?

Judar rolled over in his bed. Fuck. He really wanted to get in Alibaba's pants, but fuck everything if he has to take off his shirt. His new boyfriend absolutely cannot see his back-ne. At least not yet.

Maybe Kouha was right and Alibaba was into that. But that would be really gross and Judar still was debating if that was a pro or con to him. Or maybe he just wouldn't care? Alibaba said he's dated guys before and they had to be so much grosser than Judar was, right?

He sighed and typed a response on his phone.

God👑: I'm still gonna go
God👑: he can see me completely naked
pretty_little_psycho: damn
pretty_little_psycho: u really like him huh?
God👑: i do

Judar fidgeted almost the whole way there. He wore a soft baggy hoodie with black swim trunks underneath just in case. If he chickened out there was also a black t-shirt under the hoodie. Layers... just in case.

The receptionists smiled at him as he walked in.

"Hey there, honey." one of the older looking ones greeted him, her dark hair in ombre pink box braids. "Alibaba's waiting for you in the waterpark. The door's unlocked, but just until you get in, okay?"

"Thank you." Judar smiled at her. "I appreciate it."

He walked towards the direction of the water park and pushed open the glass door. It clicked behind him.

The entire park was almost dark, save for the windows letting in the sunset. The water slides were off and everything seemed relatively quiet.

"There you are!"

Judar looked up at the bar area in the middle to see Alibaba sitting there. He was fully clothed which made Judar feel kind of stupid but he smiled and made his way up there regardless.

"Fancy seeing you here," he commented, sitting next to Alibaba. "What'd you wanna bring me here for?"

Alibaba smiled, taking one of Judar's hands into his own. "Well, as an employee we have different hours for certain parts of the hotel. One of those is the hot tub in the waterpark." he started drawing meaningless shapes on the back of Judar's hand. "We have a kind of tradition among us employees to bring our partners here and because I haven't brought anyone here, like, ever, I had a free pass for the night."

Judar felt his face heat up with every word.

"Ah... hot tub? Like the 18+ pool?"

Alibaba nodded, then got off his seat, dragging Judar with him. Within a minute they arrived at a huge bubbling tub of water with colour changing lights in the ground and a place to swim up to the bar.

Judar swallowed hard.

"So... I was kinda thinking..." Alibaba started. He was blushing, eyes occasionally flicking away like he wanted to avoid eye contact. "If you wanted to... go in here together. The pools get cleaned in the morning before guests come in so we can basically do whatever we want in them."

Whatever we want held a lot of possibilities. 

Well, Judar had already committed to coming here, so why the hell not.

"Yeah, sure." he leaned in close. "I don't blame you for wanting to see me naked." he looked Alibaba up and down. "But you're going to have to work for it, blondie."

Alibaba flushed harder. "I can get in first and adjust some settings, you come in when you're ready, okay?"

Judar nodded. Alibaba moved away and pulled off his shirt. Judar knew he was staring, and didn't really feel like he had to stop. Alibaba folded all his clothes and put them on one of the bar chairs before stepping in. He left his choker on, kinky. He probably just forgot about it.

But now was the moment of truth. Judar took a deep breath through his nose and moved to the side, taking his hoodie off first and putting it on the chair next to Alibaba's. He bit his lip and repeated to himself just to get it over with and took off his shirt as well. He didn't have as much trouble getting his trunks off.

"I feel like you were expecting something like this to happen," Alibaba remarked.

Judar turned around to see Alibaba leaned against the side of the tub, elbows propped up on the edge, looking at him with just so much love that Judar couldn't believe he was actually doing this.

Regardless, Judar smiled, walking over and sitting on the edge, right next to his boyfriend. "Yeah, kinda," he replied.

Alibaba moved so he was in front of Judar, then placed his hands on his knees and gently spread his legs, moving his hands up his thighs, not breaking eye contact once. Judar's breath hitched when Alibaba started kissing the inside of Judar's thighs as he did this, moving up. He skimmed his dick completely and kissed up his abdomen, stomach, chest, then kissed each one of the hickies he had left the previous night. Judar bit his lip each time, resisting moans. Finally, Alibaba fanned his breath across his lips. Judar looked down, feeling the urge to bite Alibaba's piercings creep up again. Alibaba's hands were at his hips now, and they were slotted together almost perfectly.

"You're beautiful." Alibaba smiled. "I can't believe you're mine."

Judar wanted to explode. Alibaba was so perfect, he couldn't believe him. He was such a dorky but in such a precious way that made Judar want to completely surrender his body to him and just let him fuck him into next week.

He settled for sinking his fingers into Alibaba's hair and kissing him breathless.

It very quickly turned heated, swallowing up each other's moans and sucking on each other's tongues. Alibaba hoisted Judar up and off the edge and into the hot tub. The heat was almost too much for Judar as it surrounded him up to his ribs. Alibaba pressed him against the wall of the pool and started grinding against him, the immediate stimulation paired with the heat making Judar go absolutely crazy.

"Alibaba... Alibaba Alibaba Alibaba..." he repeated into Alibaba's mouth. "Fuck... Fuck me, please. Right here. I n-need you."

Alibaba started kissing at his jawline, and at first, Judar thought he didn't hear him until he felt fingers poking at his entrance. "Fuck, I already did that!" he yelled into the emptiness of the waterpark. "Just p-put it in, please..."

"Aw, I wanted to watch you come undone on my fingers," Alibaba whispered against his skin. "Another time then?"

That was a promise and it turned Judar on so much.

"Yes! Yes, another time! Now get your cock inside me or I'm gonna combust!"

Luckily, because Judar was meticulous when he fingered himself, Alibaba hiked Judar's legs over his hips and pushed in with almost zero resistance. Judar threw his head back and let go, practically screaming out into the park. Alibaba nearly bit down on his shoulder. "Fuck, I've wanted to touch you all day and now you go and do this." he breathed. "You... you... ah, Judar."

It was strange at first when Alibaba started moving, the water coming in and out along with Alibaba's cock, but it filled him up just that little bit extra and had Judar's eyes rolling into the back of his eyes.

"I don't wanna... I don't wanna leave your body." Alibaba looked at him, blissed out and spouting nonsense. "You said you didn't want to be able to walk tomorrow, is that really how rough you want it?"

Judar nodded vigorously. "Please... please just go faster, harder... give it to me until I can't speak."

"That's a tall order." Alibaba chuckled, finding Judar's mouth again and kissing him messily. When he pulled back several trails of spit connected them. "Let's see if you can keep up with it."

Alibaba shifted a bit and then really got down to it. Judar practically fell forward, clinging to Alibaba as he was mercilessly fucked into. Every thrust he could feel in his spine, sending tsunamis of pleasure through every nerve in his body. He was pretty vocal about it too, although now it was just choked-off moans and gibberish. He pressed his forehead against Alibaba's despite rigorous bouncing, eyes closed and panting against Alibaba's mouth.

"You wanna come?" Alibaba asked.

Judar nodded. "Please... p-please..."

"It's nice to hear your pretty mouth beg." Alibaba smiled. "Maybe I can put it to work. We have until 3 am, butterfly. There's so many dirty things we can do in five hours."

Judar was going to chew a hole through his lip. He shuddered almost violently and came in the hot tub. Alibaba very much didn't stop though. Judar was completely at his mercy. He was crying now, luckily he was smart enough to wear waterproof mascara and eyeliner. Alibaba licked at the tear trail and then pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. "Don't cry, darling. I just want to make you feel good."

"So good... 's already so good." Judar giggled, a little delirious from his post-orgasm haze. He let out a broken moan as Alibaba's relentless pace didn't stop. He clenched around him, trying to keep him there but it only increased the friction and had Judar hard again in seconds. Alibaba re-adjusted his hands so he could worm one in between then and slowly stroke Judar's cock.

"Good?"

"Don't stop."

Five hours really was a long time. Judar lost track of how many times he came, or how many times he had to deny himself orgasm. He hadn't done anything even remotely like this before, so just going and going and going was both exhilarating and exhausting. He finished Alibaba off with his mouth and tongue, and learned what it felt like to have Alibaba's tongue inside of him. He was bent over the edge at least twice, rode Alibaba into the steps leading into the tub even more than that. Letting Alibaba see his acne-covered back was now the least of his worries, this marathon sex was leaving him just trying not to pass out.

"Fucked out?" Alibaba asked, running his fingers through his wet hair.

He looked like a fucking Greek god above Judar like this. Or maybe Judar was hallucinating. Judar smiled. "You've got a lot of stamina," he remarked. "You look like you could keep me up another week."

Alibaba shrugged. "We've got fifteen minutes until we should head out of here. I was just wondering if you wanted to continue this in a bedroom setting or go home and sleep?"

Oh my god. Judar was going to die. He laughed, lolling his head back. "Remind me to drink like ten expresso shots next time we fuck, okay?" he tried to lift himself off. "I, for one, need my beauty sleep. And I don't think I can walk by myself, so either you carry me out or I pass out in the tub."

"Fair enough."

And so, Alibaba helped dress him in his long-forgotten hoodie, then dressed himself. Alibaba then picked up Judar princess-style as the other held onto his neck and leaned against him.

"Alright, let's get home."

Judar was half-asleep in the car, not really watching the road, head lolled to the side as he watched Alibaba drive him home. Not his home, Alibaba's house. They didn't have practice today so the plan was to sleep and cuddle and maybe fuck again. Truthfully Judar never wanted to leave Alibaba's side.

"Don't fall asleep on me." Alibaba smiled, eyes flicked over to him. "I still wanna give you goodnight kisses when we get back. And aftercare. You're probably hurting."

Judar laughed out loud. "How can someone who's such a beast in bed be this kind and caring?" he asked, not really seeking an answer. "I love you."

Alibaba flushed a bright red at the words. "I love you too," he replied.

Judar hummed, closing his eyes just for a moment, just a moment, just five minutes of slumber until they got back and he'd take a bath, wash off his makeup, and cuddle with the man he loved more than anything.

The car jerked.

A horn blared and Judar's eyes shot open as the airbag hit him.

The car fell to the side.

Judar yelled and was slammed again the car door then back.

He heard Alibaba scream.

Outside, people were yelling. Judar felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest. Faintly, he could hear sirens on the way.

He looked over at Alibaba.

His leg was bleeding through his pants.

"Alibaba?"

He was crying, he looked like he was in so much pain. A flash of panic shot through Judar.

"ALIBABA!"

"I bith twough my thongue." Alibaba coughed out.

Holy shit... holy fuck... no no no no-

Judar unbuckled and half-fell on Alibaba, avoiding his leg. He held his head in his hands, feeling the tears well up. "Shit... fuck... are you okay?"

Alibaba paused. More tears started spilling from his cheeks as he shook his head.

"No... no, I'm noth... I fink I bwoke my leg."