A/N- This is a very belated birthday present to my fabulous friend, Miss Emmagrace. I'm an idiot and kept forgetting to post it. Anyway, Emma (whom I call Other Emma, because she took my name) is the biggest Aladdin fan I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, and she wanted a story about Aladdin's birthday :) So here you go, my love! This occurs before Aladdin meets Jasmine. Enjoy, and again, happy birthday Emma!

"Always remember, Abu: You're not in trouble unless you get caught." Aladdin smirked and quickly brushed his dark, sweaty hair from his forehead as he ran. The little monkey followed close behind, holding his hat so it wouldn't fall away into the street. Aladdin, feeling cocky, tossed one of the apples he had just taken from the street vender up into the air. But he was moving too fast, the apple became impossible to catch and was now rolling through the street.

Abu stopped short, his furry face stricken with worry and greed. "Abu, we have more, it's fine. Abu- Hey!" Aladdin skidded to a halt and turned around, watching his little friend run back into the throng of venders and shoppers. "Abu, get back here!" Aladdin couldn't just leave him best friend, he would never think of it! The young man let out an annoyed huff and hid his apples behind an old woman's cart before weaving through the crowd after Abu.

He saw his little monkey reaching his short arm under a table to grasp at the apple that had rolled beneath. Aladdin knew that he could reach the apple himself, but the longer they stayed here the easier it would be for them to get caught. He grabbed Abu, who started to snap and snarl at him. "It's not worth it, Abu. I don't want to-"

"Get caught?" Aladdin gulped at the sound of a deep voice behind him. He felt a tight grip against the back of his vest, followed by the point of a sword grazing the small of his back. Abu's horror-struck eyes widened and his tiny mouth was hanging open. He had never seen Aladdin look so worried.

Aladdin started to squirm, and he realized that no one had hold of his arms just yet. I've only got one shot at this... With a deep breath, Aladdin jerked his arms out of the holes in his vest and ran for it, not caring who he pushed in his path to freedom. He ran in fear as fast as he could, his purple vest and the hidden apples forgotten.

"I can't believe this happened," Aladdin said angrily. He was pacing the floor of his humble rooftop; Abu thought his friend was going to run a ditch into the floor as he kicked up dust. "And on my birthday, no less."

Abu squeaked and cocked his head to the side, his tiny eyebrow raised in confusion. "Okay, okay, so I can't remember the exact day of my birthday. But I'm pretty sure it's today!" Aladdin shut his lips in a tight line. "Either way, it wasn't a good day."

Abu nodded. Not only had they almost been caught, but they were hungry and Aladdin's usually unexposed back was beginning to burn and blister from the sun's scalding hot rays. "Looks like I'll have to go out in the dark until I can find a new vest," Aladdin said sadly. He sighed and laid down by the window, his eyes fixed on the Sultan's palace far off into the distance. The towers gleamed in the setting sun like shiny gold coins, not that Aladdin had seen many of those in his day.

"Someday, Abu, we're gonna live there. I can feel it." Abu huffed and turned his back on Aladdin. The boy was terrible about getting his hopes up. Aladdin let out a sigh, one of longing, and tried to roll on his back before remembering that it was burned. He settled uncomfortably on his shoulder, still looking out the window as he fell asleep.

The next morning, Abu rose before the sun had even hit the skyline. He had a plan, but Aladdin wasn't to know of it. The monkey scampered off, out into the streets of Agrabah. Venders were already setting up shop, something Abu knew they would do very early. He ran up to the tailor's tent, peeking inside as the fat man hummed and set out new garments. Abu scurried onto the table behind him in search of a vest just like Aladdin's old one. There was a shimmery red one that caught the monkey's eye, but he knew Aladdin would prefer the one he had before they were caught.

Suddenly, the tailor turned around. "Hey!" He snarled and dove at Abu. The little monkey yelped and grabbed the first purple vest he could find, a soft one with gold trim. The man saw what he was doing and snatched at the fabric, but Abu snapped at his fingers as they came rushing towards him. With a yelp of pain, the large man fell back against another table. He was holding his throbbing finger as it turned a cruel shade of scarlet, stemming from the sharp teeth marks imprinted into it.

Abu ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, all the way back to the rooftop with the vest in his tiny hands. Smiling affectionately, he laid it down next to the sleepy boy. Little did he know that Aladdin had been awake for quite some time. Abu chattered at his friend before curling up in his own pillows; Aladdin wasn't positive, but he thought Abu had said, "Happy birthday."

A/N- Emmagrace, you better appreciate this. Do you know how hard it is to write dialogue with a monkey? lol happy birthday sweetie :)