...Yeah... This exists.
Arabian Nights Like Atlantica Days
Aladdin pays a special visit to Ariel, but he isn't there to see her. After years of indecision he's finally mustered up the courage to tell his special someone that he cares. But is he too late?
Ever since he was a kid, Aladdin has always been able to fall asleep wherever he laid his head. It was an essential skill to have growing up in the slums of Agrabah, and even after a year of palace life it's never left him. Somehow though, the palace carriages that Jasmine insists he ride around in are an exception. They're stuffy and cramped, and there is nowhere to lay your head.
As he sits there with his head propped painfully against his elbow (which is propped painfully against the glass) he catches a strong whiff of sea air and decides to open his eyes to take a look out the window. The sight of Ariel's castle glowing majestically in the light of the evening sun brings back a wealth of bittersweet memories. He hasn't been here since last year at the holiday party.
They were drifting apart even then.
With a sigh Aladdin sits himself up straight and stretches out his aching back, preparing himself for what he knows might be, at the very least, an unpleasant evening. About a month ago when he contacted Ariel to tell her what he wanted to do, she planned today out with surprising zeal. If Ariel thinks he has a chance, then he does.
Before Aladdin knows it they've made it to the front gates, and soon Grimbsy, Eric's valet, is greeting him and asking him if he can take his coat.
He's always liked Grimbsy, and even though he's really not feeling up to it he manages a weak smile. "It's all right. I'd rather keep it. I'm not used to the chilly weather here."
"Right, of course," the old man chuckles. "Well, come this way. Ariel's really been expecting you."
Ariel's foyer always takes Aladdin by surprise. As if the large fountain in the corner and the dramatic busts of fanciful sea creatures weren't enough already, it always seems like the resident couple has added something new to the room every time he comes to visit. It rivals his own entrance hall back in Agrabah, and Aladdin makes a mental note to ask Jasmine if she wants to get a chandelier installed as he eyes the bundle of jewels and crystals dangling above the grand staircase.
He doesn't have much time to admire it though. In a few moments Ariel shoots down the staircase and throws her arms around him, nearly knocking him to the floor.
"Um… Careful," Aladdin says, casting a quick glance at the amused-looking Grimbsy. "You'll make Eric…jealous."
Ariel snorts at this. "He knows you're a friend. And besides, we both know why you're here anyway." Her eyes take on a mischievous gleam as she takes him by the wrist and pulls him up the stairs.
"Is…Is he here?" Aladdin asks as she takes him through never-ending doors and hallways.
"Of course. But…" Her voice trails off and she slows down as they approach the end of the hall. "Well, he doesn't know that you'll be here."
"Wh…What?" Aladdin nearly has a heart attack. "You could have mentioned that earlier."
"Hey, trust me," Ariel says, clearly not worried at all. She points to the door at the end of the hall. "He's staying in there. Just go knock on the door, no matter what you hear inside."
Aladdin can only think of one thing to say in response to this. "Ariel, you're insane."
Surprisingly, this is not the oddest thing Ariel has ever asked him to do, but he knows that this is, no doubt, going to be even more awkward than he thought. Ariel has always had a touch with this kind of thing though, so he decides to put his faith in her abilities.
He slowly walks over to the door and gives Ariel an uncertain look over his shoulder. She flashes him a thumbs up before quickly scurrying away to give him some privacy.
With a sigh he listens for any noise behind the door to see what Ariel might have been talking about, but all he can make out is a quiet conversation between Flounder and a familiar voice that he can't quite place. Finally, after stalling for what has to be at least a minute, Aladdin sucks up all his pride and nocks.
The conversation on the other side of the door abruptly stops, and for a moment no one says anything.
Then, sounding hesitant, Flounder calls out, "Who is it?"
"It's…me." And Aladdin knows that he's on a path that he can't turn away from.
Flounder stays silent for so long that Aladdin wonders if he'll ever answer, but then in a voice he can hardly hear, Flounder says, "…Come in."
Aladdin gives the door a tentative push, and is shocked to see who it is standing over Flounder's ornate fish bowl. He's the absolute last person Aladdin would ever want to see, and from the glare the demigod gives him Aladdin can tell the feeling is mutual.
With all the air and finesse of a prince of Agrabah, and managing to keep the resentment out of his voice, Aladdin says, "Hello, Hercules. Flounder." He notes the absolute disbelief in Flounder's eyes as he tips his head at him. "Am I interrupting anything?"
For a moment a terrible fury lights in Hercules' eyes, but the next it's gone.
"No," he says bitterly. "I was just about to leave."
He heaves a heavy sigh and casts another burning look at the fish tank, looking like a man who has left so much unsaid, and understands that he has absolutely no time left to say it.
"I guess this is goodbye," he whispers.
Hercules turns to leave with his head hung low, when Flounder suddenly says, "Have you ever thought about taking a trip to France?"
Even Aladdin gets an odd look on his face as Hercules turns back around and, incredibly confused, asks, "What in the world are you talking about?"
Flounder, looking just as mischievous as Ariel did a few minutes ago, says, "Well, I wasn't supposed to say anything, but let's just say there's a certain muscle-bound lumberjack who's had his eye on you for a while." And then he winks. "And you know what they say: 'No one's big like Gaston.'"
An obvious blush forms on Hercules' face to hear Flounder talk like that, and he stutters out, "Um… I guess I'll think about going to France, then. …Thanks."
With that Hercules shuffles towards the door, having a glowering contest with Hercules in the process. Just before going out of earshot, he hisses at Aladdin, "You'd better take care of him." And Aladdin thinks that even if he didn't want to, he would do everything he could to make Flounder happy just to avoid the demigod's wrath.
With Hercules gone, an awkward silence fills the room, in which Aladdin removes his silk robes and hangs them on the peg next to the door. With no other excuse not to, he turns to the fish bowl and opens his mouth to say something, but the fish beats him to it.
"I didn't think I would ever see you again." To Aladdin's relief Flounder doesn't sound angry or resentful, only incredibly amazed.
He rubs a hand on his neck and dips his head in apology. "I didn't think you would ever want to see me again."
Flounder gives a gentle smile, the one Aladdin missed for so long. "No. I've wanted to see you for a long time. I just never knew how. You know, with you being a prince and all..."
A shaddow passes over Flounder's eyes, and the Arabian decides that now would be a good time to tell Flounder what he came to say.
He swallows and, as gently as he can, he says, "I…I wanted to talk. It really took a lot of thinking for me to finally decide to come here. On the way over, I thought a lot about-"
"'Us'?" Flounder asks, a sarcastic gleam in his eyes. He shakes his head sadly. "I've heard this all before, Aladdin. And you always wind up running back to your princess." He spits the word princess like it's the plague.
"No," Aladdin whispers. "Not this time." His eyes cloud over for a moment as he remembers the moment he found his wife with his best friend. Then he looks at the fish with unwavering eyes and says, "I think I understand how you felt all those times I left you, and I'm so very sorry."
Flounder looks confused for a moment before comprehension dawns in his eyes. "She didn't-"
"Yes," Aladdin says coldly. "She did." He sighs. "But I'm glad she did. It made me realize how much I love you."
"Aladdin..."
"I'm serious, Flounder. I want to be with you. No more games. No more lies."
"B...but Aladdin, what about Agrabah? What kind of scandal would it be if everyone found out that their prince divorced their princess to go be with an Atlantic blue tang?"
Aladdin laughs a bit at this, and to Flounder's surprise he says, "Half the palace guards already know anyway. They'd skin anyone alive who spread rumors. Besides, Jasmine and I already have an agreement." He pulls up a chair and sits to better face the Atlantic blue tang. "We'll stay married, just to keep up appearances. But we're free to do what we want...in our spare time."
Flounder gives him a look, a cross between pity and skepticism. "Are you sure? I...I really thought you were in love with her."
With a shrug of his shoulders, Aladdin says, "I did, too." He shakes his head. "But it's better this way. She'll be much happier with Carpet. He gives her what she wants."
Flounder decides that he doesn't want to know exactly what it is that she wants from Carpet.
Aladdin gets closer to the fishtank and speaks in the soothing voice he used back when it was just them and no princess. "Flounder, I love you so much I don't even think I can put it into words. The thought of you is what helped me get through all those lonely nights when Abu was out drinking with Iago. You're what kept me sane all those times the Sultan tried to get me to go out clubbing with him. Without you, I'm nothing." The Arabian hangs his head here in anguish, and Flounder knows that everything he says is true. "I know I'm probably too late." He smiles sadly. "I've heard the stories. You and Hercules really have someth-"
"No. When you saw him walk out the door just now, that was the end." Flounder's voice is so firm here that Aladdin looks up in surprise. "I'll admit what we had was good. He's a nice guy. But he doesn't come anywhere close to us." He swims closer to the glass and puts his fin up to the barrier. "You've made a lot of mistakes in the past Aladdin, some I used to think were unforgiveable." Aladdin places his hand against the tank over Flounder's fin. "You were young. We both were. But we've both learned our lessons."
The Atlantic blue tang swims up to the surface of his tank and the Arabian stands to meet his eyes.
"I love you, Aladdin," Flounder says, and Aladdin's soul nearly melts to hear the words he's longed to hear again for so long. "I never stopped loving you." Then he reaches his fins out to Aladdin with the most beautiful smile Aladdin has ever known. "Let's start over. From the beginning."
Aladdin stares at Flounder dumbfounded for a moment, and suddenly he's dipping his arms into the tank, not caring that it'll ruin the fine cloth of his sleeves. He scoops Flounder up and touches their noses together.
"I'll never leave you again," he whispers. "I promise."
Then they kiss like they've never kissed before, Flounder cupping Aladdin's face with his fins and Aladdin stroking his dorsal fins. It's a pact, a symbol of their boundless love for one another. They each know they'll be together forever.
Behind them in the hallway, Ariel passes by Flounder's room and "accidentally" spies their act of love through the crack in the doorway. After a moment she turns away and presses herself against the wall, pumping a triumphant fist into the air. She knew it was a good idea to convince Flounder to break up with Hercules on the same day she planned for Aladdin to visit.
Fifteen Years Later...
After defeating the evil sea witch Morgana and explaining their mer-heritage to Melody, Ariel no longer felt it was necessary to stay isolated from her ocean family. Every couple weeks king Triton comes to visit and takes her back to Atlantica, and sometimes they even take Melody and Eric with them, to Melody's delight and sometimes to Eric's discomfort (He's been married to Triton's daughter for almost two decades now, but that still doesn't make socializing with the in-laws any less awkward. Or Triton's physique less intimidating).
On this particular day Ariel made the trip alone. She's come to visit Flounder and catch on the latest ocean gossip like usual.
"Ariel!" he shouts when he sees her unmistakable crab red hair. "You made it!"
"Of course. I wouldn't miss this for the world," she laughs. Then she looks around playfully."Where are the little guys? I haven't seen them in a while."
"They're playing over by the gulch. Come on." Flounder waves his fin for her to follow. "They'll be glad to see you."
Apparently that was an understatement. The moment Flounder's guppies spot her they rush into her arms shouting "Ariel! Ariel! Ariel!" And she kisses them each in turn.
After they're done asking the million questions they have about the surface world, they ask her to join them in their game of reef ball, and she tells them she'll be over in a couple of minutes.
As they run off to go play, she leans in close to Flounder and says, "They really do have his eyes."
"I know," Flounder says quietly.
In the distance they see a merman with deep purple fins and long, wild black hair, slowly approaching the children and calling out happily.
"They're the most beautiful eyes in the world."
The End
I hope you enjoyed this and managed to get a few laughs. I know I did writing it! Until next time! Don't forget to review!