Disclaimer: I do not own Magi
No. No, no, no, no, no! This was not happening. He was not standing in the living room with two kids hanging off each of his arms and he was not looking at four others standing in the room. One giving him a huge smile, another quiet and composed. One looking like he was about ready to cry and another glaring. And the guy he liked wasn't standing there with a small, tired smile on his face, saying, "Well, this is my home… and these are my kids."
No.
And how did this happen? How did he allow this to happen? It started a week ago, and now, he wasn't sure where it was going as of now.
Sinbad was a Sailor. He did a little bit of everything all the time, but after a few weeks at sea, he was home.
Stepping on to dry land for the first time in a while, he stumbled along a little, almost like he was drunk and bumped into someone. He was of smaller stature and staggered backwards, barely catching himself. "Hey, watch where you're going." The small man snapped. Sinbad rubbed the back of his head a little sheepishly.
"Sorry, I haven't been on shore for about a week. Getting used to being on solid ground again. My sea legs aren't exactly suited for land." Sinbad gave a small laugh.
Sinbad watched the man cross his arms and glare at Sinbad. "If this is your idea of an excuse…" he started, "then it's a horrible one." Sinbad wasn't exactly expecting that kind of blunt answer.
"Y-you really think so?" Sinbad asked. Why was this man even here? Could he have gotten lost? Most people ended up here either because they were lost or had business. Not because they wanted to 'sight see'.
"I do." he said. "Now excuse me, but I'm actually looking for a sailor. His name is Sinbad if you happen to know him. He's supposed to be interviewing me."
Ah, now he understood. This revelation amused him greatly. "Well, you're in luck. For I am Sinbad!" the man raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure?"
"Well what were you expecting, boy? Someone in a suit? I'm a sailor for crying out loud! I haven't worn a suit since I was seventeen for my birthday photos."
"That story really wasn't necessary." The man said.
"I'll tell you this, you're not exactly nailing your interview right now…" the man straightened up, but his demeanor didn't change. He was still as ridged and serious as he had been before.
"Of course. I've been very rude. My name is Ja'far." He said. "And it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Sinbad."
"Just call me Sinbad. And you sound like someone who'd do well in business. Why do you want to become a sailor?"
The man fidgeted a little, composure breaking for a moment, before his face turned neutral again. "I don't exactly have a college degree. I've never actually gone to college… at all."
"Alright… well then I guess business is out. But… a sailor?"
"I'm unemployed and money's short at the moment…" he thought he heard Ja'far mutter something like, "really short" but it could've been his imagination. "People don't like me very much." Ja'far said. "I've never hit it off with any of my interviewers."
"Well, there's always fast food, right?"
"I would rather not tell people I work in fast food for my main income."
"Well, sailing's a hard job." Sinbad's eyes wandered over the small man's physique. He was short, and his arms, while muscled, were still thin and fragile.
"I know."
"Well, what can you do."
"Anything you need." Ja'far said, his eyes hard-set.
"Alright… well, could you lift that crate over there." Sinbad pointed to a crate yards away from where they stood. "And bring it back to me in say, thirty seconds?"
"Is that what you're asking of me?"
"Time's ticking."
Sinbad watched as Ja'far ran away from him, towards the large crate. He was surprisingly fast, but Sinbad doubted whether he could even fit his arms around the big box.
And indeed, he watched as Ja'far struggled to fit his arms around the box, and it was too big to carry from under. He saw Ja'far struggle for a few minutes and Ja'far eventually decided to just push it over. It took him a long time, but eventually the box was in front of Sinbad's feet and Ja'far wiped his forehead, panting a bit.
"Well, that was… interesting." Sinbad said.
"Okay, I know it took a while, but I brought it here, right?"
"Yes, you did. That's more than I can say of most who I interview… it shows you have conviction, drive, but… I'm not sure that's enough."
Ja'far was silent. "Am I hired or not?"
"I'll consider you and get back to you—."
"No! Am I hired or not? You can tell me now, straight to my face, so I don't have to sit around and wait for your lazy self to get around to calling me, only to tell me, I'm not hired. So, you can tell me NOW so I can go ahead and get to my next interview." Ja'far tapped his foot, anger radiating from him. Sinbad assumed he wasn't the first interviewer to say he'd get back to the man, only to tell him they found someone else.
Ja'far had a horrible temper. He was moody, and rude, and he wasn't even remotely what Sinbad looked for in a sailor. And he would've turned him away without a second thought if he wasn't such a spitfire. Resilience burned in his green eyes. This was a man who knew pain and hardship and who fought all the same. And to be honest, Sinbad had no doubt that Ja'far could do the work, if given just a little extra time. And Sinbad always said, that getting the job done was what mattered most. "Alright then." Sinbad said. "You're hired."
"Good, at least your upfront." Ja'far said. "Now I can get to my next interview." He picked up his bag and got ready to leave as if he hadn't heard.
Sinbad frowned. "Um… I said you were hired."
Ja'far paused. "What?"
"I said you were hired, Ja'far."
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah. Stop asking questions before I change my mind." Sinbad joked.
"R-really? When do I start?"
"We set sail tomorrow!" Ja'far hesitated, frowning at Sinbad.
"You're too optimistic."
"Thank you." Sinbad wasn't sure how else to respond, although he doubted Ja'far meant it as a compliment. "But you don't have to be so moody about it." He added. Ja'far apparently didn't think this way and only rolled his eyes.
"I'm not being moody." Ja'far grumbled. Sinbad wasn't so sure about that, but he decided not to press.
"Yep, well this trip is gonna be about a week. Better tell the wife you're not going to be home for a little while."
"I don't have a wife." Ja'far said.
"Oh." Sinbad took that to mean he didn't live with anybody. He did look a little young to be married and settled down but… "How old are you, exactly?"
"Twenty-five." Ja'far answered curtly.
"That's a good age." Sinbad commented with a wistful sigh. "I remember my twenties as if they were yesterday."
"Oh? And how old are you?"
"Ah… thirty."
"And when did you turn thirty?"
"Last month." Ja'far rolled his eyes.
"Oh yes, you probably remember your twenties like it was yesterday because it pretty much was."
Sinbad laughed a little. He supposed Ja'far was right, and he still somehow managed to sound moody and sarcastic. "You're right." He admitted. "Still, I can already feel myself getting older." Ja'far rolled his eyes.
"You have no idea what it feels like to be old."
"And you do?" Sinbad asked.
Ja'far crossed his arms. "Well, no, not really, which is why I know you don't either." Sinbad sighed and shrugged.
"Am I permanently on your bad side, or are you like this with everyone?"
"No, just you." Ja'far said. "And every other employer on the face of the Earth."
"Oh?"
"They're all so two-faced." Ja'far glared at his feet.
"I'm gonna pretend you didn't include me in that group of people."
"You do that then." Ja'far said.
"… I thought you were going to add that I was different."
"I met you ten minutes ago; I have no idea what you're like."
"And yet you're already calling me two-faced? What's up with that?" Ja'far only glared at him.
"What time do I need to be here tomorrow?"
"Early in the morning, 6 AM."
"Alright."
Sinbad watched as Ja'far turned around and walked right off without even a goodbye. He was certainly rude, but Sinbad found himself more amused than anything else. Besides, he could tell the man was a hard worker. That was hard to find now-a-days. So, Sinbad would take whatever he could get.
Ja'far didn't arrive till 6:30 this morning. He was panting. Sinbad wondered if he'd ran all the way here or had taken public transport. "I'm sorry… late…" Ja'far said. That was the first time he'd heard anything remotely polite come out of Ja'far's mouth.
"Ah, it's alright. We don't leave till 7."
"B-but then why…" Ja'far frowned at him.
"I tell all the new recruits to be here by 6. Don't worry. So far, they've all been late. You're kind of the latest of the bunch so far though. What on Earth were you doing?"
"I was trying to get everything in order. I honestly hadn't expected to be hired yesterday."
"Well with you're attitude it's a miracle you're not begging for money in the streets."
"Oh yes, and you're so charming." Ja'far said sarcastically. Sinbad only chuckled and shrugged.
"The ladies seem to think so."
"What is it with men and women?" Ja'far wrinkled his nose with distaste.
"Don't swing that way?"
"As a matter of fact, I don't." Ja'far said. Sinbad paused.
"Wait, so you're gay?"
"Yes, do you have a problem with that?"
"N-no, it's just… most aren't so open about it."
"I don't see any reason to hide who I am." Ja'far said. "It is a waste of time and pointless in the end. The time spent creating webs of deceit would be better spent doing honest work."
"I have to say I agree with that. Why can't people just say what they mean?"
"Because they're pretentious idiots who don't know what's actually good for them."
"Who?"
"Humans."
"You do realize you're lumping yourself into the same category as the people you don't like then, right?"
"I am well aware, Mr. Sinbad." Ja'far said. "I too act much like those people I just described at times, and I bet you do too."
"I bet I do…" Sinbad muttered. He paused. "You know, you're an interesting man Ja'far."
"I know." Ja'far said flatly. "We should probably set sail soon, it's almost time to leave port."
"Yes, I know." Sinbad grumbled. He had been enjoying a little bit of solid land, and his legs had just gotten used to the fact the Earth didn't rock and now they were getting back on the boat. It was too bad really, that Sinbad loved the sea. If he didn't love being a sailor so much, he'd probably already be settled down with a wife and kids. "Hey, Ja'far, can you take that last crate there up? We can set sail after that."
"Sure." Ja'far said and picked up the box, arms trembling. Sinbad watched him carefully as he boarded the boat, ready to help should he need someone to stop the box from falling on top of him if his arms gave out.
Ja'far finally got on board and placed the crate carefully down on the floor. How curious. Most would just plop it down, but Ja'far was treating it as if it were something important, which it very well might be.
And, as the boat set sail, Sinbad knew that he was glad for his love of the sea. He didn't want to settle down with a wife or kids just yet. First, he wanted to go on a grand adventure.
Day 1
"So, what are we supposed to do exactly?" Ja'far asked.
"Well, we sail the boat. Maybe not literally, but we make sure it can sail and we carry cargo down to the lower deck and hoist the sails and swab the deck and—."
"Okay, okay, I get it. We do a lot." Ja'far said quickly, cutting Sinbad off midsentence. Sinbad paused and then sighed when Ja'far walked off to go inquire things of others. At least the guy wanted to learn, not like Sinbad could fault him for that, but he went about doing so in a very illogical way.
Sinbad smiled slightly as he heard Ja'far introduce himself to the other crewmates. "Good morning. My name is Ja'far. What's yours?" And he stuck out his hand. Almost like a Kindergartener would on their first day of school.
"Ah… my name's Hinahoho." Ja'far nodded, staring up at the big tall, very blue man.
"And mine's Drakon."
"Nice to meet you two. I look forward to working with you." The other two were silent and slowly nodded.
"We look forward to working with you too." Hinahoho said, smiling. He sounded a little hesitant but the reason for that was probably because even though Ja'far said he was looking forward to working with him his expression did not betray any of these feelings. He stared impassively at them and nodded. His voice wasn't robotic, just a bit flat.
It was funny listening in because Ja'far was so completely resigned, which was not exactly how he'd been when they'd first met. Sinbad had taken Ja'far as someone to be hot-tempered and a bit sarcastic and brutally honest, but maybe he was just feeling a bit shy with all the strangers on the boat.
Though Sinbad didn't know if 'shy' was the proper way to describe it, considering Ja'far wasn't avoiding anyone, and in fact, made an effort to talk to them. But he was very cautious too. Qualities, whether good or bad, that Sinbad didn't see often in anyone, no matter what age. It was an interesting thing to be working alongside someone like that.
The day passed quickly, and Sinbad's hands were tired and sore from the day's work, as were his arms and legs. Ja'far was sunburned his skin tainted pink, snow hair a contrast to such coloring. "Hey, you're looking a little pink there, Ja'far." Sinbad said good-humoredly. Though, he probably shouldn't have been surprised. Ja'far had been paler than a sheet compared to the rest of them. Sinbad, Drakon, and Hinahoho were all tanned from days of work in the hot sun, but Ja'far had been through no such thing before. He was probably incredibly tired. Ja'far glared at him through his bangs.
"Shut up Mr. Sinbad." Ja'far grumbled.
"Just call me Sinbad. It's weird for you to call me 'Mr. Sinbad' after you just told me to shut up."
"… Shut up."
Sinbad rolled his eyes. "Well, I did have some aloe I could've given you. But with how rude you're being, I'm not sure I want to give it to you." Ja'far remained silent. "But if you asked nicely, I suppose I could forgive all past transgressions and give you some."
"Excuse me? I haven't done anything to you." Ja'far said, his eyes narrowed.
"Actually, you've been rather rude this entire time."
"I have not!" Ja'far said. Sinbad laughed. Ja'far was funny when he got mad. His entire face went red, and if Sinbad hadn't known any better, he'd have said steam was coming out of the man's ears. "You must be thinking of some other Ja'far, but don't lump me in the same boat as him!"
"Feisty." Was all Sinbad said in response. This caused Ja'far to growl. "Aw, don't be like that Ja'far. Come on, I've just got to get the aloe from the sleeping quarters." He started walking in that direction and after a moment of contemplating Ja'far joined him.
"Tell me, are you always this rude?" Sinbad asked. "Or do I just bring out the worst in you?"
"Are you always this nosy?
"Well, I guess that answers my other question too." Sinbad chuckled. "You're too much."
"Am I?"
"You are." Sinbad said, though all his teasing was in good nature.
"Then I'll try to do better." Sinbad glanced at him.
"Oh, don't be like that. It was just a joke."
"I see…" Ja'far didn't really seem like he understood, but he didn't say anything further, so Sinbad didn't question him.
"We're here." He announced as they finally reached the room, they all shared and slept in the same room together. "Here." Sinbad grabbed a bottle placed on one of the beds and tossed it to him. Needless to say, Ja'far didn't catch it, but he did pick it up off the floor.
"Thank you."
"No problem." Sinbad said, watching Ja'far strip off his shirt and spread a few drops of the span of his upper body.
"Um… Mr. Sinbad—."
"Just Sinbad."
"Can you um…" Ja'far paused. Sinbad thought he knew what the man was about to ask, but he didn't help him, content with watching him squirm for a minute. "Get my back."
"Why yes, of course."
"Y-you don't have to use very much." Ja'far added.
"Nonsense, aloe's incredibly cheap." Sinbad said, and he wasn't lying. Aloe was cheap. Five dollars a bottle or so. He squirted some in his hand and started rubbing it over the pale boy's pinkish skin. Sinbad would be lying if he said he wasn't checking Ja'far out. The man looked fairly feminine, but he did have some definite muscles. Sinbad could feel a few knots in his back too as he rubbed, and he made sure to gently massage those for a minute or two before moving on. As he worked, Sinbad heard Ja'far let out a small groan and grinned slightly. "Feel good?"
"Mhm…" Ja'far muttered under his breath and groaned again.
When Sinbad had finished, he drew his hands back and asked, "When was the last time you went to a spa?" Ja'far only blinked blankly at him.
"Um… never?"
"Really? Never?" Sinbad asked. Ja'far shook his head.
"No." he said.
Sinbad was silent. "Don't stare at me like I'm an alien from another planet."
He finally looked away, "Right, sorry." He said. "But um… never?" Ja'far growled in frustration and glared at him.
"No! I have never ever gone to a spa! Is it really that surprising?"
"… Yes, actually."
Ja'far ignored him and laid down on his bed. "I'm going to sleep." He muttered. The quarters were silent for a while, until Drakon and Hinahoho came in to go to sleep too. There was a commotion for ten minutes, and then everything fell completely silent.
Day 2
"So, what's your favorite type of person?" Sinbad asked, as he mopped the deck.
"Hm?" Ja'far asked, frowning. "What do you mean?" he sounded confused.
"Ah well… you know. Like, who would you marry?"
"Oh… I don't know. I'm not looking for marriage."
"Yeah, but youth doesn't last forever." Sinbad reminded him.
"You're one to talk. I'm fairly sure you don't have a wife or kids."
"How do you figure?" Sinbad asked, slightly offended by this assumption.
"Your attitude." He answered vaguely.
"My attitude? What about it?"
"You behave in a manner with which is uncommon for a married man."
"And you behave like you're someone who's a billion years old with the sarcasm of a teenager and the anger issues of a toddler." Ja'far only glared at him.
"And you act like an idiot but when you're fifty-years-old you're going to be a man who goes to bars to wallow in his own misfortune."
"You mean like you do now?"
Ja'far was silent. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
"You're right." Ja'far said. "I do that… but not at the bar… and I don't drink. I just wallow."
Sinbad heard the unspoken, 'it's pathetic'. "What about you." Ja'far asked softly. "What's your type of person?"
"A hard worker. Strong and honest, someone who would never cheat, and someone who cares deeply about the people close to them." Sinbad answered.
"I see." Ja'far said.
"And you never answered. You just said you didn't want to be married. But what if you did decide you wanted to get married. What kind of person would you want to tie the knot with?"
"Someone nice." Was all Ja'far said. Sinbad thought that was rather vague, but he didn't comment on it.
"Well, I guess I want someone nice too." Sinbad laughed. "But doesn't everyone?"
Ja'far nodded solemnly. "Yes." He said.
Day 3
"What is it with you and the sun? You guys have a very bad relationship." Ja'far slathered on sunscreen every morning and two to three times in the afternoon, but he always came to bed just as sunburnt as the night before. He must've been miserable, but he didn't complain. "Are you sure you don't want to work fast food?"
"Everyone knows fast food is where the teenagers and people who can't get any other job work."
"… Maybe some people like it."
"Doubtful." Ja'far said. "Even being a waiter or waitress is a better job than working fast food."
"Hm…" Sinbad couldn't come up with anything to refute this claim because he didn't have a very high opinion of fast food either. "Alright, I guess you're right, but don't go around insulting people who work fast food."
"I have better things to do with my life anyway." Ja'far stated, looking insulted Sinbad would even think of such a thing. Sinbad thought his expression was rather amusing.
"I'm sure you do; I'm just reminding you since you seem to be rather spiteful." Ja'far rolled his eyes.
"Shut up." He said and walked off to go work hard somewhere else. Sinbad wiped some sweat from his forehead and kept working.
…
Later that night, Sinbad was dozing off when he heard some shaky breaths in the bed next to him. Sinbad sat up, his feet brushing the cold, wooden floor. He reached over and placed a hand on the person's shoulder. Sinbad felt the body jolt and roll over, Ja'far's glazed green eyes meeting his. "What's wrong." Sinbad whispered softly.
"I miss them." Ja'far muttered.
"Who?"
"Them." He answered without providing any additional information. Sinbad could only presume he missed something back home. 'Them' was a very vague term anyway. Maybe it was a thing he missed.
"It's okay, you'll be home soon."
"I'm worried." Ja'far said.
"About what? Someone breaking into your house and taking your things." Ja'far's eyes widen in horror as if he hadn't even thought of that. "Don't worry, I'm sure they won't get stolen."
"God, that's a thing? They might get stolen!" he hissed; eyes shot with worry.
"I just said, I'm sure they won't." Sinbad said softly. Ja'far frowned, gazing up at him.
"You're sure?"
"Yes." Ja'far took a deep breath as if forcing himself to calm down.
"It will be alright." He muttered and then some other things, "they can take care of themselves; they'll be fine, nothing will happen to them." Things like these were whispered under the man's breath, and while this left Sinbad a bit confused, he didn't pry any further.
"Are you okay now?" Ja'far nodded slowly.
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry to have woken you."
"Ah, no, you didn't. I wasn't asleep yet." Sinbad said. He wouldn't have heard Ja'far at all, had he been asleep.
"I see." Was all Ja'far said in response. Sinbad gently smiled at Ja'far, though he doubted the other man could see him, and gave his shoulder a light squeeze before retreating back to his own bed.
"Goodnight." He whispered.
"Goodnight." Ja'far responded softly.
Day 4
Sinbad heard a small yelp behind him and turned around, only to have a body collide with his. It nearly knocked Sinbad off his feet, but he managed to steady himself and the smaller body that had crashed into him. "You okay?" he asked Ja'far, pulling away slightly.
"F-fine."
"Did your sunburn get worse again?"
"No…"
"Alright… but your face is all red."
"Oh, then I guess you're right. It must've gotten worse without me knowing." Ja'far said softly. Sinbad was a little doubtful of this, considering his earlier confusion, but again, he didn't press, though he had his own suspicions… "W-we're docking today, right?" Ja'far asked.
"Hm? Oh, yeah." Sinbad nodded. "We should arrive at port in about an hour."
"Okay." Ja'far said. The two of them were silent for a moment and then Sinbad asked if Ja'far was sure he was okay. "Yes, I'm perfectly fine." Ja'far responded. "I'll get more used to the conditions of working like this soon." Ja'far said.
"I know, just checking. You wouldn't be the first person to faint or something." Sinbad said.
"Really?"
"Yeah, it doesn't happen all the time, but I've seen it happen once or twice, especially with new recruits, but even old timers can feel faint every once in a while."
"Has it ever happened to you?"
"Once or twice."
"I see…"
"Yeah, so if the sky starts spinning please don't keep working. I don't need people passing out on me and giving me heart attacks."
"I will be sure to cease work if the sky spins."
"Thank you."
Ja'far didn't respond and turned back to his work. An hour later, they had docked and were now moving a bunch of heavy cargo off the ship and onto the shore. Sweat rolled down his back causing him to shiver at the uncomfortable feeling. He lifted crate after crate and they didn't move out until late that night, when Sinbad was sleeping. He'd always been tired after a long day of lifting and preparing, with few breaks in between. Now, in his bed the rock of the boat lulled him to sleep.
Day 5
"Hey, so what is the best thing that's ever happened to you?" Sinbad asked the next morning.
"Well that one's easy." And Sinbad blinked when he saw the sunburned man smile… fondly? Well whatever it was, it truly must be the best thing in the world if it made Ja'far smile like that.
"What is it?"
Ja'far shuffled his feet, almost as if embarrassed. "I'll tell you about it some other time."
"Why? Is it embarrassing?"
"Well… no, it's just not something I usually talk about because it tends to freak people out a little."
"Do you know why?"
"Yes."
"Well is it true?"
"No."
"Then what do you have to be worried about? Whatever people freak out about, isn't true, so then it shouldn't freak anyone out, right?"
"I'm afraid real life isn't that simple Mr. Sinbad—."
"—Just call me Sinbad…"
"—People don't just accept things because you say they're not true!"
"Well why not?"
"Because people like to make things complicated." Sinbad thought about this and he supposed it was true, though he'd never really thought too much on the subject before. "What about you? What's the best thing that's ever happened to you?"
Sinbad had to think for a little while, unlike Ja'far who'd known immediately. Sinbad wondered if the 'best thing' that ever happened to you was really the best thing, especially if you couldn't even think of it. "… Graduating high school."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, I really didn't think I was gonna make it number one. Number two, nothing significant like a marriage or kid has happened to me yet. I guess I'm thankful for my job… it's something I've always wanted to do since my father was one."
"Your following in your father's footsteps?"
"Yep, what about you? Are you trying to live up to someone or make them proud or something?"
"I suppose so." Ja'far said quietly and continued working. Sinbad took that to mean he was done talking, which happened rather abruptly sometimes, and he got back to work as well.
Day 6
"Oh my God, you spiked his drink." Sinbad said, crossing his arms with a disapproving look at Hinahoho.
"You know you wanted to. Besides, I don't think the guy's had fun in his life."
"I tried to stop him." Drakon insisted, but Sinbad doubted he'd tried too hard. Ja'far wobbled around a little more than usual from being a bit tipsy.
"You two are so dead tomorrow." Sinbad said. "Ja'far's gonna kill you."
"It will have been worth it."
"If you say so." Sinbad sighed and picked the very drunk Ja'far up and started walking to the room.
"Hey!" he cried indignantly. "Put me down you—!" a string of curses spewed from Ja'far's mouth. 'Cursing like a sailor already' Sinbad thought amusedly to himself as he ignored all the verbal abuse he was currently receiving.
"Now, now, you don't really think that." Sinbad said, setting Ja'far down on the sheets.
"I do!" he insisted vehemently. Sinbad very much doubted that but maybe… maybe it was, he could never be to sure when it came to the tiny spit fire.
Sinbad was just glad Ja'far was deep asleep within ten minutes because a few more minutes of yelling only curse words, Sinbad thought he was going to lose both his sanity and his hearing. Sinbad stood and pulled the sheets up and around the smaller male before standing back. From afar Ja'far was almost cute with his body curled into itself, cheeks flushed from either sunburn or intoxication, maybe both.
Finally, after a minute or two of admiring Ja'far's cuteness, and then remembering he was not supposed to be thinking this, went to bed.
Day 7
The next morning Ja'far stumbled out of the room, a hand to his head. "Ouch," he grumbled to himself. "Did I hit my head yesterday?" it was clear by the look of concentration on his face he didn't really know.
"Well, good morning Sleeping beauty." Sinbad said cheerfully.
"Shut up." Ja'far grumbled, once again. He seemed very fond of saying such things. "This is the last day at sea, right? We're going home." Sinbad didn't say anything. "Answer me!" he demanded.
"I thought you wanted me to shut up."
"Yes, shut up about that, but answer my questions."
"Ah, yes, do forgive me. And we are indeed docking today."
"Good. I need to get home." Ja'far said.
"Why? Are you still afraid of that important thing of yours?"
"Of course, I am!"
"Yeah? Well you know what I think?" Ja'far gave him an unamused look as if to say, 'of course not'. "I think that you probably have some stray cat in there that you're taken care of but don't want to tell me because then I'll think you're nice."
"It's not that."
"Well it's either that or a dead body." Sinbad leaned close. "Is it a dead body?"
"Don't try and seduce me because you know I'm gay."
"I'd actually forgotten. Thank you for reminding me."
Ja'far rolled his eyes and pushed Sinbad away. "Well it's not a cat and it's not a dead body."
"Then what is it?"
"You'll just have to wait. And, you can't judge." He said.
"I won't." Sinbad said, but Ja'far gave him a doubtful look. "I won't!"
"Okay." Ja'far said slowly and turned his back, skin getting used to the harsh rays of the sun, still red, but he could see some tan now. Not much, but Sinbad didn't think he'd get burnt as easy now.
The day passed quickly, and soon the boat hit shore and they tied the boat to the dock before all getting off, legs a bit wobbly from being on the sea for a week.
"Now you see why I bumped into you." Sinbad said.
"No, I don't." Ja'far said, and Sinbad was impressed when he walked in a straight line down the pier.
"Hey, where are you going? Aren't you gonna show me where you live?"
"Why? So, you can stalk me?"
"Ouch, you don't have to be so spiteful." Sinbad said, grasping his heart. "If I wanted to stalk you, I wouldn't be asking where you lived, I'd follow you home!"
"You are following me home."
"Yeah and asking you where you live."
"Like a stalker."
Sinbad was silent for a moment or two and then he began to protest some more. Ja'far ignored him, but Sinbad noticed he didn't demand he stop following either. Sinbad took that to mean Ja'far was going to show him his home and eventually fell silent with all the arguments and accusations.
And they walked in utter silence, and though it was very silent, it wasn't uncomfortable exactly and both found they didn't mind. When they were walking through a neighborhood of small houses with what looked like two or three bedrooms in each, Sinbad knew they must be drawing close. "I would've thought you lived in an apartment."
"I did, but not anymore." Ja'far didn't offer why. Soon they had walked up to a small, yellow house and Sinbad heard yelling inside. So Ja'far did live with people, probably his roommates. Ja'far stuck his key in the lock and opened the door, narrowly avoiding a plate that crashed next to his head. "BOYS!"
Even Sinbad jumped, not hearing a voice like that since the last time his mother caught him sneaking extra cookies. The room of chaos instantly froze, and though the pillows were all over the floor, toys everywhere, plates, books, tablets, magazines, and more casually flung everywhere, five boys instantly came out and lined up in a horizontal line by the front door.
Ja'far's eyes ran over each of them and all was silent before he said. "Where's your brother?"
"What brother?" one boy asked, tall, tan, white hair.
"Judar." Ja'far said, narrowing his eyes.
"Oh, THAT brother. Um… in his room." Ja'far raised an eyebrow. "… I think."
"God, why." Ja'far sighed and turned to Sinbad. "This was why I didn't want you coming or anyone coming, but here's where I live." he turned back to the kids in the room. "You're dismissed." And the chaos instantly continued.
"One of them's missing, but he'll be DOWNSTAIRS SOON IF HE WANTS ANY PEACHES THIS MONTH!"
There was a groan to rival Ja'far's loud voice and another boy clunking down the stairs to join the chaos of the others. Ja'far sighed and turned to him with a small, tired smile. "Well, this is my home, and these are my kids."
Sinbad was silent for a long time before he said, "They're yours…"
"Yes. Let's see, that's Aladdin, he just turned five." He pointed to a very small boy, who was trying to stop an argument that had already broken out. "That's Sharrakan," Ja'far pointed towards one of the taller boys, one of the two arguing. "He's 16." Then he pointed to another boy who looked tall, but Sinbad couldn't tell because he was sitting, reading a book. "That's Masrur, he's 14. And that's Judar, he's 10." Ja'far pointed to the other boy in the argument. "That's Alibaba, he's 9." The blonde boy who was shouting 'Yeah' every time Sharrakan said something. "And this is Hakuryuu." Ja'far reached down and patted the head of a boy Sinbad hadn't even noticed before, who was clinging to the other man's leg, staring up at him shyly. "AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WHAT ARE YOU TWO ARGUING ABOUT!"
"Judar tried to use the stove by himself!"
"Oh yeah, well that's only because YOU went to the movies with your friends today while you were SUPPOSED to be watching us!"
"Judar, don't use the stove, ask Masrur for help next time. And Sharrakan, watch your brothers when I'm gone!"
"You were gone for a week! Some of us want to have a life!"
"I know…" Ja'far paused. "Masrur, why didn't you stop him?"
"Judar locked him in the closet!" Sharrakan said. "He had chairs and boxes piled up in front of it and everything!"
"Honestly, why didn't you call Sharrakan Alibaba? Or move the boxes so Masrur could escape."
"Me and Aladdin were upstairs, listening to music."
Ja'far turned to Hakuryuu who said, "The matches scared me."
"Matches, who said anything about matches!"
"Oh yeah, Judar didn't turn the knobs, he lit a freaking match and tried to set the stove on fire! You know, like they did in the 1900's!"
"How was I supposed to know the stove had knobs?"
"COMMON SENSE!" Sharrakan shouted.
"Hey, don't shout at me! I'm just a kid! You're the one that can drive!"
"You used a match!" Ja'far cried. "You know what, that's it. I can't deal with you right now. Sharrakan, you, Masrur and Alibaba go to your room. And Judar, Hakuryuu, Aladdin you go to yours. I will be up shortly." They all stood there. "GO!" and the boys all scurried up the stairs, grumbling, and Judar flipped the middle finger before they turned the corner and door slams were heard.
Then the house fell silent.
"I'm so sorry about them. They're good kids… mostly." Ja'far said. "They're just rambunctious." Sinbad could imagine. He'd never had any siblings, but he did know that he was always everywhere all the time when he was a boy.
"It's okay… so uh… you've got six kids."
"Yeah." Ja'far said.
"Um… so… how?"
"It's complicated, and a mess. I don't even want to think about it." Ja'far shook his head. "It's such a sad situation."
"Well… I'm listening." Sinbad was already this deep in, he might as well take the plunge.
"Okay, fine. So, um, they're not all related by blood, obviously. They do look very different after all. And I suppose none of them are really MINE exactly, but I am their legal guardian."
"Alright…"
"So, let's start with simple math. There's four families."
"Okay."
"And two families had two kids while two families had one kid. Each family only has one parent. Two families have fathers, two have mothers."
"Alright…"
"So, Alibaba and Sharrakan are related by blood and Judar and Hakuryuu are related by blood. Masrur and Aladdin were both only children. Aladdin and his mother married Alibaba and Sharrakan's father and Masrur's mother married Judar and Hakuryuu's father. Then both couples divorced and married the other couple."
"So then… Aladdin's mother married Judar and Hakuryuu's father and Masrur's mother married Alibaba and Sharrakan's father?"
"Yes. And then, there was the accident."
"Accident?"
Ja'far nodded solemnly. "I don't really like to talk about it. Only a few people have stuck around long enough to learn."
"Well then I guess I'm one of the few."
"It seems so. Anyway, I… I can't go into details but it… it was a hard day." Ja'far clenched his fists and took a deep breath. "Anyway, their parents were in an accident together, and all four of them died."
There was silence in the air for several minutes, as Sinbad wasn't sure how to respond. "In the will… I was put down as their guardian if they were to both die."
"What? For all the families?"
"Yes."
"Well, do you know why?"
"I was friends with them for a couple years."
"A couple years?"
"10 years." Ja'far said. "I guess they didn't really trust their relatives, which I honestly don't blame them. Somehow, rottenness runs in all the families. You know one summer, I sent Alibaba and Sharrakan to camp and they had a great summer. That summer I also sent Masrur to spend a few weeks with his grandparents and he barely talks at all anymore. I send Judar to his aunt and uncle, hoping he would have fun with his cousins, and he came back with this attitude that stuck around." Ja'far wrinkled his nose. "I'm glad I decided to keep Aladdin and Hakuryuu here with me. Did you know two children are much easier than six?"
"No, I didn't, but I kind of suspected." Sinbad said good-naturedly.
"The court asked me if I was willing to take them and I said yes…"
"You regret it?"
"Regret isn't the word I'd use. They're all very important to me, but… but sometimes I think about what my life would've been like without them, and I realized I would've had my dream job, dream house, dream marriage, everything. I wasn't exactly a dunce in high school."
"Ha, you probably had a 4.0 grade average, knowing you. Probably never had a B your whole life."
"Except that one time in Kindergarten." Ja'far said, a small, amused smile on his face. Sinbad couldn't help but laugh at that. Ja'far bit his lip and turned to gaze at the wall in front of him. "And you don't think that… think it's strange? Some people say it's just a bit too convenient."
"What like you wanted six kids in your twenties. It's something no one who with sanity would wish for."
"You're right, but some say that I'd planned for the kids to get murdered too or something."
"If you wanted them dead, they'd be dead." Sinbad said. "It's just rumors, and people wanting to stir up more drama than necessary." Ja'far nodded.
"Exactly… it's not like, like I was driving the car or anything."
"Right…" Sinbad stared at Ja'far's face. "But you blame yourself, anyway, don't you?"
"Maybe a little. It's hard not to. If I had been with them, maybe I could've done something."
"If you had been with them, those kids up there would've had to go live with their relatives."
"I guess I wouldn't wish that on anyone." Ja'far said with a small smile. "Even the children don't like them. They beg me not to let them come and visit. I try to make up excuses, but if we were busy EVERYTIME they wanted to visit they'd get suspicious. Especially when they start asking if next week is okay or the week after that or the week after that…"
"That makes it tough." Sinbad said with a wince. Persistent people who couldn't take a hint were the worst.
"It does. Especially since no matter how many counters I scrub or how many toys the kids pick up, they always come over and point out every little imperfection. But subtly."
They sounded frivolous and backhanded. Something Sinbad had learned over the week that Ja'far was not. He was sarcastic but nothing was subtle, and each insult was bare and plain. And he most definitely wasn't frivolous, if the work he was doing was anything to go by. "You know… I'd almost found enough money to go to college." Ja'far said. "But then I had to drop everything for them. I used some of the saved-up money from their parents to pay for this house and a bit for their things. But for a while, they were my full-time job. Babysitters ran screaming out of the house—."
"Wait, seriously?"
"When Judar came in from the backyard holding a bucket of beetles, yes."
"I thought he turned sour after visiting his relatives over the summer." Sinbad said.
"Oh, he developed the attitude and a taste for the dangerous, but he was always the spawn of Satan. Little devil always had a blatant disrespect for authority."
"He seems like the type. What about the other kids? Are they behaved?"
"In comparison, they're angels, but they all have their own little quirks. The reason I was late that first day? Well I was rushing around trying to get them all in order and when I told them goodbye, Hakuryuu burst out crying and clung to me. It took me thirty minutes to pry him off. Then I walked out, and a bucket of mud fell on me and so I had to take another shower and then Sharrakan was whining about how he didn't want to spend his weekend babysitting and… yeah."
"You said you had to get everything in order, but never would I have imagined 'in order' would be so hard."
"It is. It's not easy being a guardian to any child, much less six. It's hard to raise them how they need to be raised when all of them are so different in personality." Ja'far sighed.
Sinbad could probably guess the personality of each child just from the earlier meeting. Sharrakan seemed to be fairly upbeat and disliked responsibility (he reminded Sinbad of himself). Masrur was quiet and probably liked to read, and yet he was so well-built Sinbad didn't doubt he worked out a lot too. But probably in stoic silence. Alibaba seemed to be the follower type, looking up to his big brother and agreeing with him on almost everything. Judar was obviously the problem child who was spiteful and didn't like doing what he was told. Hakuryuu seemed clingy with the way he grabbed onto Ja'far all the time and Sinbad didn't want to think about how the child's parent's death probably instigated such a thing. And Aladdin seemed like he was helpful as a five-year-old could be, trying to work things out and calm down his bickering brothers. "Do you think they're separated? Like, you know…"
"Do I think they dislike each other? Yes, I do, but I think it's normal. I've never had siblings, but I fought with my cat all the time."
"With your cat…"
"Yeah, I honestly thought she was out to get me for the longest time, before I realized she was just a cat."
"Nah, cats are evil." Sinbad said.
"I take it you're a dog person."
"I like dogs, and cats are cute, but I wouldn't want either as a pet, or a pet at all." Sinbad said. "Too much unnecessary work. They just sleep all day."
"So do babies." Ja'far reminded.
"Yeah, but babies grow up and make something of themselves. Pets don't, not really."
"That's true I suppose." Ja'far said. "You know… I can't remember the last time I talked so much with one person. You're not something I see every day."
"Neither are you. And I don't mean because you have six kids under your roof."
"Oh? Then why?"
"You're honest, and you're not afraid of hard work."
"I would hardly call myself honest. I mean, I hid the fact that I have these children living with me just because I was afraid you wouldn't want to…" Ja'far trailed off.
"Oh, wouldn't want to what?" Sinbad smirked.
"Wouldn't want to be together anymore. What is this, a high school drama?"
"I don't know, is this the scene where we kiss after we've finally opened up?"
"Not so fast, lover boy. I've told you my insecurities, but you haven't said a word about yours."
"You really want to know?" Sinbad asked. Ja'far paused and then nodded.
"I don't see why I wouldn't I want to know your insecurities after confessing to mine."
"Alright, well I won't bore you with all of them, there's quite a lot."
Sinbad wondered if Ja'far's lazy expression was supposed to have this affect on him, or if this was just natural Ja'far. "Right now, I'm afraid if I kiss you, you won't kiss back."
Ja'far hesitated for a moment. "I didn't know you were gay."
"Neither did I. And I don't think I'm gay, women look beautiful, and I've never been attracted to another man until now."
"What, then are you going to say some cheesy pick up line like, 'I'm only gay for you'?"
"If you wanted." Sinbad said.
"Shut up and kiss me." Ja'far ordered and Sinbad obeyed both orders, like usual. It was light, and Sinbad was a bit embarrassed. Ja'far was not someone he would've expected himself to like, but he supposed life was full of surprises.
They pulled away soon after, simply completing the motion. It was a bit mechanical, not like a usual first kiss, but Ja'far was a very orderly person so it wasn't like he'd expected the kiss to be sloppy. Maybe a bit inexperienced, and it was but, not sloppy. "Have you ever kissed someone before?"
Ja'far shook his head.
"Oh… well usually it doesn't go like that."
"Then could you show me how it goes?" a small smile slid over his face.
"Sure thing." Sinbad WAS about to show him, but they were interrupted by a large crash upstairs and then,
"Ja'far told you not to play with knives!"
Ja'far let out a sigh. Sinbad would've thought he'd be more panicked as the sentence left a lot to the imagination, but he just looked a bit tired. "I guess you can show me some other time. I have to go up before someone dies."
"I understand." Sinbad said, smiling good-humoredly. "Our next trip is two days from now, if you're still interested in the job."
"I… I do like that I have a job, but I don't like that I have to be away from the kids for so long… maybe I will have to work fast food after all, it's better in the long run." Ja'far said.
"I understand that too. I wouldn't want to leave for so long either."
"But thanks Sinbad, for the job. You were very understanding. And I DO want to see you again."
"I want to see you too." Sinbad said as he walked to the front door.
"STOP!" someone screamed from upstairs.
"I'll see you later." Ja'far muttered.
"Bye."
And the door slowly closed after.
Ja'far sighed and turned towards the stairs. Anyone else would've seen a staircase with 12 steps leading upstairs, but Ja'far saw it as the gateway to hell. He reluctantly climbed the steps up and opened the door to the first bedroom, where Aladdin, Judar, and Hakuryuu were. Judar holding his knife triumphantly and Aladdin telling him to put it down, while Hakuryuu was hiding under the blankets. "Judar, put that thing down, you're going to hurt someone."
"Ooo, I'm so scared." He said sarcastically, tossing the knife in the air and hissing when it cut his finger.
"Ja'far told you not to throw it." Aladdin reminded him.
"Shut up you little brat." Judar grumbled, promptly sucking his finger of all the blood.
"You idiot." Ja'far hissed. "You could've easily cut off your finger just now. What then? In fact, I would say it served you right to be handicapped for your stupidity."
"Whatever." Judar grumbled. "Could you just get your 'I hate you' speech over with and go."
"I've never said that I hated you or any of your siblings."
"You think it." Judar said.
"No, I don't. I've come up here to lecture you about kitchen safety."
"God that's even worse." Judar groaned and flopped back on the bunk bed.
"Don't give me that." Ja'far said. "Now sit up and listen."
"No."
"Now." Ja'far used his stern voice. There was a solid minute of hesitation before Judar slowly sat up and all three siblings faced him. "Alright, now first of all Judar, if you don't cut the attitude, I'm going to transfer Aladdin out of here and Sharrakan is going to move in. So, clean up your act, I don't want to tell you again."
Judar didn't say anything. "Hakuryuu please help the other children convince Sharrakan to stay home next time, you know he can't say no to you and Alibaba."
"Okay." The other boy said timidly.
"And Aladdin, I appreciate all the help. Keep it up."
"Right, because Aladdin can do no wrong." Judar said sarcastically.
"I'm not saying that, I'm only saying that he's NOT doing wrong, unlike you." Ja'far said plainly. "And if you don't shape up, I'm sending you to boarding school."
Obviously, that wasn't the thing to say because Judar stomped out of the bedroom and out of the house, despite Ja'far's protests. When he heard the front door, slam shut he sighed. "Do you know why he acts like this?"
Both young boys innocently shook their heads. "Masrur knows stuff like that." Aladdin said. "You should ask him. He knows everything."
"He does?"
"Yeah, he does. Just like you." Ja'far smiled at them and hugged both tightly. "I love you so much." He said. Perhaps without them, he could've gone to school, but he couldn't have been happier than he was right now. "I'm going to go talk to the others now."
"Can we play after?" Aladdin asked.
Ja'far hesitated. "Okay, but just for a little bit. I have to find another job."
"Mr. Sinbad fired you?" Hakuryuu asked, concerned.
"No, I quit." Ja'far said. "I didn't like being away from you and your brothers for so long. It seems I had a right to be worried."
"Sharrakan is good." Aladdin said.
"I know he is. But he's a junior, going on senior. He's going to be seventeen soon enough, and he deserves to have some form of childhood while he still can, before he leaves. Hopefully for college." Ja'far was going to make sure the kids had the best future possible. He had a lot of years ahead, with Aladdin only being five, but he would do his best.
"I'll be back soon." Ja'far assured the two before slowly closing their bedroom door and walking down the hall to the opposite end of the house where Sharrakan, Alibaba, and Masrur all slept. Ja'far opened the door and peeked in. Sharrakan was on his bed, headphones on, Masrur was still reading his book and Alibaba was playing Legos on the floor. He stepped in the room and all the kids' heads turned toward him.
"Hi Ja'far!"
"What're you doing?"
"I'm playing Legos! Sharrakan wouldn't let me listen to his music… he says he wants some time to himself." Alibaba pouted sadly at his Legos.
"Yes, well, teenagers usually want some time to themselves."
"Yeah… Masrur won't play with me either."
"You know, Aladdin and Hakuryuu wanted to play, why don't you go with play with them."
Alibaba hesitated. "Okay!" he finally said, hopping up from the floor and running with his Legos to his siblings' room.
"Be careful!" but he was pretty much ignored. Ja'far shook his head, smiling fondly, and walked over to Sharrakan, taking off his headphones. He heard heavy metal on the other end. "Uh… you like that type of music?"
"No. A friend said to try it out though, so I got on the internet and boom. Found it. It's not really my thing though." Ja'far heard lots of curses in the song, and he knew why Sharrakan wouldn't let Alibaba listen to it. He was glad his son was so responsible, though Alibaba probably already knew all the words from Sharrakan and Judar saying it all the time. "So, did you tell Judar off about his superiority complex?"
"Sort of…" Ja'far said.
"I assume that was what the slam was about."
"Yeah… I don't know what to do about him."
"You know on the internet; it says that lots of kids act out because that's the only way they feel they can get attention."
Ja'far furrowed his eyebrows, "Where are you going with this?"
"Well, you see, I'm not accusing you or anything, but in a household with six kids, Judar and Alibaba being the middle. Judar's a little older though, so he doesn't need as much attention and is, according to the statistics, probably the most neglected child."
"That's ridiculous. You can take your statistics and burn them."
"They're on the web…"
"Well then delete them." Ja'far said.
"That's not how the internet works…"
"I know but… never mind." Ja'far said. "It's not true. I pay plenty of attention to Judar."
"Yeah, because he's acting out."
Ja'far was silent. That was true. Usually when he was speaking with Judar, it was to yell at him about something stupid he did. "Yes, but he's always acting out and I can't find time to talk to him when he's NOT on my last nerve."
Sharrakan shrugged. "Maybe just have a heart to heart or something." Ja'far wrinkled his nose. "I know that's not how you do things, but some children need more guidance than others."
"Obviously." Ja'far grumbled. "Masrur's practically raised himself, and you wanted to do things with me, but I could leave you at home without worrying about you burning the house down." Ja'far said.
"Yeah, I know."
"And Alibaba's so sweet and Hakuryuu is very clingy, I'll admit he needs a lot of attention, but he's not a brat when he doesn't get it."
"You don't call crying about it being a brat?"
"No, I don't. He's only seven for heaven's sake."
Sharrakan shrugged. "And Aladdin's so helpful. I don't know where I went wrong with Judar."
"Well… Ja'far." Sharrakan said. "You know, Hakuryuu and Judar came from the same household, and they're the ones that need the most attention. Maybe it has something to do with the way they were brought up or something. Hakuryuu was only 3 so he might not have been impacted as much, but he's always clung to you like Velcro. I don't know, I'm not a psychologist or anything."
"I know." Ja'far said, but what Sharrakan said did make some semblance of sense. What Sharrakan didn't understand was that he DID try to talk it out with Judar. So many times, but the brat was just so hard to talk to. He twisted everything around and was always increasingly rude and nasty. Ja'far never had been able to handle people like that very well, and it didn't sit well with him that someone like that was living in his house. He loved Judar, but he also knew he didn't want to live with him for another eight years. "You're a very smart boy, Sharrakan. Make something good of yourself."
"Hey, my parents raised me right, and you did a pretty good job too after a little while."
Ja'far remembered the first few months. The chaos then, made this seem like a cakewalk. Ja'far had seriously thought he was going to die of exhaustion. Thankfully, that hadn't happened. "If I hadn't had you and Masrur I would've died." Ja'far said. Taking care of Aladdin had been hell. Especially since he was used to his mother's milk, and Ja'far had to give him formula. That hadn't gone over too well at first, but thankfully Aladdin had adjusted. "Aladdin and Hakuryuu hated me for the first few weeks." Ja'far said laughing a little. "They wouldn't stop crying."
"Yeah, Aladdin was okay with you holding him for a little bit, but then it was like he wanted to go back to his mom." Sharrakan's eyes turned sad. "It was hard when we lost them. The worst thing in my life but… even though it was hard losing someone I loved, I couldn't imagine not living those first twelve years with them. I couldn't have imagined never getting to know my parents. Even though Alibaba was a whole five years old when they died, he doesn't remember them much. He doesn't remember our dad, and he definitely doesn't remember our mom."
"I understand it was hard—."
"Yeah, I know." Sharrakan said. "Thank you, for taking us in. I know you were young, you still are, but when I think about it, you took us in, and you were only… about three to four years older than me. I couldn't imagine that." Sharrakan said. "There's so many things I want to do before I even THINK about kids."
"It was a hard decision for me, but if I hadn't done it you would've lived with your relatives." Sharrakan shuttered. "I think I can help Judar, he gets good grades mostly, he just has a sour attitude."
"If he lived with his aunt and uncle, I guarantee he would've been a murderer."
Ja'far didn't doubt it, honestly. "I remember meeting them, since all our families were sort of friends. It was a little awkward, or, I felt awkward anyway, but that's not what I'm here to talk about. They were HORRIBLE! I liked Judar's dad, but his sister was the spawn of the devil, and their children were all crude and horrible. I can't tell you how many times I had to stop the little terrors from picking on Judar. And if Hakuryuu had been older, they would've done the same to him."
Judar and Hakuryuu's aunt and uncle only visited once every few years but Ja'far understood what Sharrakan was talking about. He watched those devils like a hawk whenever they came over, barely engaging in conversation, just to make sure they didn't break or steal anything. They made Judar look like a saint. "Thank you for helping me whenever they come over. It's so hard to watch them."
Both males heard the flip of a page and glanced towards Masrur, a little surprise shown on their faces. They'd pretty much forgotten he was there. "Oh… um, how are you doing Masrur?"
He got a thumbs up in response. Ja'far was about to shake his head and tell the quiet boy to say something when he heard the slam of a door and a shout. "Ja'far, Judar fell again!"
Sharrakan and Ja'far both go up and went downstairs. Ja'far was oblivious to some things but he doubted you got a black eye from falling. "What did you do?" he asked.
"Nothing."
"WHAT DID YOU DO!"
Judar refused to answer and stared at the ground, clenching his hands into fists. "None of your freaking business!"
"Yes, it is my freaking business!"
"No, it's not!" Judar said and Ja'far was appalled when Judar punched him. It wasn't hard and barely hit his chin, but it was the implication of such an action that made Ja'far furious.
"Okay," Ja'far said quietly. "You apologize right now."
"No!"
God help him.
Ja'far bit his tongue, the pain keeping his anger from boiling over. "Okay, upstairs." He grabbed Judar's wrist, his grip iron as Judar tried to yank his hand away. Ja'far stomped up the stairs and dragged him in one of the bedrooms, hauling Judar in front of him. "You want to tell me what all this crap is about?"
"No."
"You sit down. I'm going to make you write lines after this."
"What are you, my homeroom teacher?"
"I suggest you shut up and not make things any worse for yourself." Finally wising up, Judar fell deathly silent and waited for what Ja'far had to say. "Okay, so why are you all beat up."
"Nothing important. Some guy took a swing at me. It's fine."
"It is NOT fine. You are a minor, and you are going to take me to this 'guy', and I am going to call the police."
"You're reading too much into this. It's fine." Judar said again.
"No, it isn't! It's not alright for someone to hit you and it's not alright for you to hit me either. And I am STILL waiting for that apology."
"I thought you were going to beat me up."
"And make the pain last for a week? Oh no, I am going to follow the law, and I am going to make you hurt for months. I obviously haven't been strict enough, and I am going to ground you until you freaking graduate, do you hear me boy?"
"Yes…"
"Good, now I want my apology."
Judar was silent for a little while before he finally said, "I'm sorry." And he looked sorry too.
Ja'far's face softened a little and he finally let up a little. "Alright, come on, let's get some ice for that eye, and you can tell me all about it." Ja'far said softly. Judar slowly came over to him and Ja'far led him down the stairs where everyone was waiting.
"Are you okay?"
"Does it hurt?"
"Is anything broken?" even Masrur had finally come downstairs when hearing the commotion.
"Yes, no, no." Judar answered in order.
"Nothing except your pride, right little bro." Sharrakan said, clapping him hard on the back.
"Right…" and they all came together, like family did, all arguments from earlier that morning long forgotten, brought together by this small moment. Little did they know something much worse was on the way.
Months passed, and everything seemed okay, as Ja'far found a job (it was fast food) and he started dating Sinbad a month back. They were together often, and Sinbad came over a lot to help with the kids. Ja'far really appreciated it. "Sharrakan, I trust you to watch them for about half an hour while me and Sinbad go to the store."
"Why can't I go?" Sharrakan complained.
"I haven't been out of this house in two days and I would like to get out a little bit and just walk. Besides, it's only a few pick-up items, we'll be back very soon and then you can go back to doing what you do." Ja'far said.
"Okay." Sharrakan said reluctantly and watched the door close, sealing his fate.
"Alright, kiddies, so what do you want to do first?" he asked.
They ignored him as Alibaba, Aladdin, and Hakuryuu were too busy playing together and Masrur was reading, Judar hovering over his shoulder, pretending he didn't want to play with his three younger siblings.
"Okay… I guess I'll just… yeah." Sharrakan slowly wandered off and as soon as he was gone Judar slinked off the chair and came over to the other three.
"Hey, you want to do something fun."
"Yeah!" Alibaba said.
"I guess." Aladdin was a little more reluctant, and Hakuryuu stared at his brother, knowing silently that this would not end well.
"I don't know…" Hakuryuu said quietly.
"Great!" Judar said, ignoring his little brother's response. "We're going to light the that candle." He pointed to the one on the dining room table, just visible in the living room.
"What? No, we shouldn't do that, Ja'far might get mad." Alibaba said anxiously. "He said we're not supposed to touch the matches."
"Whatever, Ja'far's a prude who never does anything fun."
"I don't want to do this, I'm telling Masrur." Hakuryuu said, starting to go over to the quiet boy who was completely absorbed in his book and likely was oblivious to everything else in the world.
"Don't you dare!" Judar hissed. "If you do that, I'm going to kill you!"
Hakuryuu's bottom lip trembled. "Hey, don't be mean to him Judar." Alibaba said, the second eldest of the group and likely the only one who even had a shot of taking down Judar between the three of them. "You shouldn't say things you don't mean."
"Who said I didn't mean it?"
"Uh… you didn't mean it because he's your little brother."
Judar looked at Hakuryuu who still looked like he was about to cry and said, "Fine, I wouldn't kill him, but I'm sure as hell not gonna let him tattle!"
Hakuryuu slowly started backing away from his brothers, to go tell Masrur that they were trying to break the rules. "You little brat, get over here." Judar hissed and pointed. Hakuryuu had always felt inclined to listen to his elder brothers, and even Aladdin, when they told him to do something. So, he slowly came over to where they were, Judar smirking at his success in making his brother obey.
"I-I don't want to do this Judar." Hakuryuu mumbled sadly.
"Don't be such a baby." Judar said. "it'll be fine." Hakuryuu still wasn't inclined to believe him. Judar went to the kitchen and grabbed the box of matches on top of the fridge by dragging a chair over and standing on his tippy toes to reach. "I got it!" Judar said, picking up the box.
"We shouldn't play with fire." Aladdin said.
"Ugh, you're always so responsible. Lighten up and have some fun, nothing will happen." Judar said and struck the match. He failed the first time, and then did it again. This time the match lit, and they all stared with wonder at the fire Judar held in his fingers. He lit the candle and blew out the match. "There see. Nothing happened, but the suspense was the fun bit." They all let out a breath when the room didn't catch fire because of their stupidity and went to go walk out of the room. However, Hakuryuu bumped the candle on his way out and the whole thing tipped off the table and splattered on the ground. The fire was out but nothing else had happened, that was a relief. Aladdin picked up the candle and put it back on the table. Judar tried to get them all to light it again, but they refused, and it was no fun doing it on his own, so he followed his siblings out of the kitchen. They all started playing together, and for once in a blue moon they all actually got along together. It wasn't until much later that they smelled smoke. "Do you smell that?" Judar asked.
"Uh, yeah." Alibaba said. The two older children glanced at each other and then slowly walked into the kitchen where they found the drapes had caught fire and it spread to the wooden table and was going quicker with every passing second. The four could only stare, one thought in their minds, 'Ja'far is going to kill us'.
"S-Sharrakan and Masrur will know what to do, right?" Hakuryuu asked.
"I… I don't know." Alibaba said, his heart beating quicker as he watched fire spread, finding more flammable things in the house, and eating them up.
"T-the fire extinguisher." Judar said. "We could get it but… it's in the kitchen." He said.
"We should call 911!" Aladdin
"Y-yeah." The children slowly looked away from the fire and ran to Masrur in the living room, who was still wonderfully oblivious. "Masrur!" Hakuryuu cried pathetically. Masrur looked up with a questioning look on his face. "The kitchen's on fire!" he cried.
"… What?" the first word he'd spoken this week.
"The kitchen. Fire." Judar said slowly, as if talking to an idiot.
"Judar, what did you do?"
"Hakuryuu knocked it over!" Judar accused, pointing his finger at his little brother who burst into to tears. Firstly, because it was true, and secondly because he was scared. Masrur stood calmly, a solid rock in their time of need.
"Come." He said, picking Hakuryuu up and carrying him upstairs, the three other boys scrambling behind him. "First we will call the fire department. And then, we shall get Sharrakan and get out of the house, do you understand?"
They all nodded and Hakuryuu just buried his face in Masrur's shoulder, regretting all of this. They all heard Masrur talking on the phone, saying that there was a fire and their address.
"Evacuate the house in a calm fashion and make sure everyone is out. The fire department will arrive shortly."
"Yes sir, thank you sir." Masrur said and hung up the phone shortly after. Then, all five of them went to Sharrakan's room, quickly, but not running.
"Sharrakan, Sharrakan, there's a fire!" Aladdin exclaimed as soon as he burst through the door. "We have to get out!" he cried.
"A what?" Sharrakan asked dumbly, much like Masrur had.
"Mhm, yeah a fire! It's terrible! We have to leave!" Alibaba cried.
"Come on, Sharrakan." Masrur said calmly. Sharrakan nodded and they all hurried out of the room. What they hadn't noticed, was that the fire had slowly crept up the stairs and was now right upon them.
"What're we going to do now?" Hakuryuu whimpered, and Aladdin clutched Masrur's hand tightly as he could.
"We'll have to go through the window." Sharrakan said.
"But we're so high up." Hakuryuu said, tears still streaming down his face.
"I know you're scared buddy, but we just have to do this. You'll be okay, we'll catch you." Sharrakan said. They all crowded into Sharrakan's room and looked at each other, knowing what needed to be done.
"I'm so glad we got to spend time together like this." Ja'far said, smiling at Sinbad who smiled back.
"Yeah, me too. I really like all the kids, but it's nice just to be alone together too."
Ja'far nodded with a sigh of relief. "Thank God Sharrakan and Masrur are old enough to watch them now. I don't know what I'd do without them. They're all such good kids."
"Even Judar?"
"Yes, even Judar." Ja'far admitted. "He's a bit rough, but he loves his siblings. Especially Hakuryuu."
"Really? But it always seems like he goes out of his way to be mean to him."
"Perhaps, but YOU'VE never seen the way they cuddle at night." Ja'far said, his smile turning into a smirk. "I'll have to show you pictures of the kids sometime."
"Oh yes, I would love that." Sinbad said and glanced ahead of them. He was about to turn back to Ja'far when he saw something that concerned him quite a bit. "Um… Ja'far?" Sinbad asked. The other man glanced at him. "Is that smoke? Coming from the direction of… your house."
Ja'far frowned and glanced ahead of him, his eyes widening as he did so. Immediately the groceries were dropped in favor of sprinting towards the smoke. Sinbad hurried after him. They heard sirens in the distance, but the fire truck wouldn't arrive for another few minutes or so.
The neighbors were all crowded around the house when they arrived, and Ja'far and Sinbad pushed through them to get to the front where Sharrakan, Masrur, and Judar were all out of the house, crowded around the window. Ja'far watched in horror as Alibaba climbed up on the windowsill and jumped, letting a sigh of relief when Sharrakan and Masrur caught him. "Oh my God, what happened?" Ja'far asked, coming up.
"It was me…" Judar whispered. "I accidentally knocked over the candle."
"It's okay honey, I know it was just an accident, but I never should've left you all alone." Ja'far said and sighed, watching (and nearly having a heart attack) when Aladdin jumped down. He was caught too, and it was only Hakuryuu left in the house.
"I'm scared." Hakuryuu whimpered, feeling the heat on his back, but scared of heights all the same.
"Come on, you can do it sweetheart." Ja'far said. "Just jump, we'll catch you, I promise!"
"Yeah!" Everyone chorused. Hakuryuu closed his eyes, shaking from fear, and coughing from all the smoke. It hurt, and he wanted to jump but at the same time he didn't. He was just so scared. So scared, everything was so real, so pressing.
"Oi, what're you still doin' up there!" Hakuryuu slowly opened his eyes and gazed down at Sinbad. "Are ya gonna join me at sea er not?"
"Captain Chivalry…" Hakuryuu whispered. It was indeed his favorite TV show, and he and Sinbad had been watching it together for a little while, the man for some reason taking an interest. Hakuryuu had kind of thought he just tolerated it, but that was a direct quote from the series.
"I don't know if I can…" It wasn't exactly a quote, but Hakuryuu really wasn't sure if he could. If the ground was the sea, then he wasn't sure he wanted to go.
"Sure, ya can, just take the leap!"
Hakuryuu hesitated. "Join me at sea. If yer not here, we'll really miss ya. Really miss you, Hakuryuu." He added.
Hakuryuu didn't want people to be sad, he didn't want that at all. And he knew they would be sad, if he didn't jump, and so he climbed up on the windowsill and jumped, closing his eyes, screaming all the way down. But he was caught in the strong arms of his family, with the fire department arriving shortly thereafter. "Oh my God, Hakuryuu, you scared me so horribly!" Ja'far cried, hugging him tightly.
"Ja'far… I'm the one who knocked over the candle." Ja'far frowned.
"But Judar said he did it."
"Well he lied. It was me. I didn't mean to, it was just an accident, but… but I was stupid and clumsy and it's all my fault!"
"It's no one's fault." Ja'far said softly. "I'm not going to blame anyone. I'm just glad you're all alright."
"Even me?" Judar asked.
"Of course, you." Ja'far said.
"But… I've been so difficult. I go out of my way not to do what I'm told, and I try to do the opposite of everything you tell me to do. Not to mention I'm rude."
"And why is that?" Judar shrugged. "I don't know either. So, there's no reason you need to be."
"Uh, speaking of faults, I haven't exactly been the best babysitter." Sharrakan said guiltily. "If I had been down there, none of that would've ever happened."
"Yes, but I was down there. Had I not been so oblivious, I could've prevented this event as well." Masrur said.
"And if I had just not listened to Judar and told Masrur, this wouldn't have happened." Hakuryuu added.
"If I hadn't gone along with it and said no, it wouldn't have happened." Alibaba said.
"Me too. I never should've let him get the matches out. I should've gone to Masrur too." Aladdin said.
"Shh, let's just forget all of that right now." Ja'far said. "I don't want to talk about it. Let's just be happy none of you were hurt." He paused. "Speaking of which, none of you are hurt, right?"
They all shook their heads and Ja'far sighed in relief. "Thank goodness." He said. Then, Ja'far turned to Sinbad. "And thank you, for saving Hakuryuu with whatever you did."
"He quoted Captain Chivalry!" Hakuryuu said excitedly. Ja'far smiled at him and turned back to Sinbad.
"Well thank you then, for quoting Captain Chivalry."
"You're very welcome." Sinbad said and gave Ja'far a gentle kiss. All six boys wrinkled their nose, finding kissing in general just horribly disgusting. "And if you need anything, just ask." Sinbad said.
"Thank you, but I think everything will be okay." Ja'far said.
"Just making sure you know I'm here."
"I'm glad you're here."
"So am I."
"Oh my God, stop." Sharrakan said. "This is PDA, get a room!"
Ja'far laughed a little, which was obviously a bit of a rare occasion from the shocked looks on the boys' faces. "Maybe later." He said. "For now, we need to get all of this…" he emphasized everything, "taken care of."
"Okay." The kids all said in unison.
"Okay… don't worry, we'll get through this together, just like always."
"Yeah… together." Sharrakan said.
"Plus, Sinbad." Hakuryuu chimed in.
"Yes, plus Sinbad." Ja'far conceded, smiling at the said man, who smiled back. Things had gotten off to a bit of a rocky start but now they were all a family, and like families do, they would get through all of this just fine. And they would do it together.
A/N Okay, so it's a bit of a cheesy ending but it was really late last night and I have been working on this ONESHOT for weeks! So, I wanted to finally push through and get all that I wanted to write down on paper. Ugh, this was so long but I really had a lot of fun writing it. I hope you guys enjoyed it too because it did take a lot of work, and I decided to do some research on what happened when both a child's parents died. It's probably still not completely accurate, but I tried my best. Also, the job Sinbad and Ja'far do probably isn't accurate either. I am not a Sailor, and I don't know anyone who's a Sailor, so all the info on here is from my own head AND from online. I wrote this in bits and pieces too, so if something didn't make sense or I contradicted myself, tell me and I'll fix it write away. I tried to get everything as I was reading through, and I think I got a lot of the simple spelling/grammar mistakes, but I really hope I didn't miss a gigantic plot hole or something... anyway, thank you for reading, I've decided that since I've finished all my ongoing stories (mostly, The Devil and Me might have an epilogue) and since I finished that, the only ongoing fics I have are Operation: Catch a Dragneel and Dragneel Brothers, and those are ones that I work on and update when I'm bored. So all those stories on my profile? Yep, those are my new projects. I've decided to do all the oneshots first and get them posted on here, and then I will move on to the multi-chapters. But be warned, after I finish my oneshots I might not update anything for a little while, because I will be trying to get... maybe five chapters of the first multi-chapter fic I down on paper before I post a chapter. This way, even if I miss a couple of weeks of writing, I will still have a chapter to post at the end of the week. This is what I did for My Darkness, Your Light, Our Humanity AND Glass Shards, and for some reason I didn't do it with The Devil and Me (maybe I was just so excited that I didn't think about it). But anyway, so that's kind of what the schedule looks like. The next oneshot I update (today or tomorrow) will be Eclipse and then hopefully I can get Definition out this week too. I think I'm going to abandon the Tsundere Lyon one, because the inspiration I had for that one was based on a dream I had, and now it's been weeks since I had that dream, and so the motivation to write it has gone out the window (I'm sorry if anyone wanted to read that one). But anyway so, Eclipse and then Definition and as a reminder Eclipse is my poem I'm going to write and Definition is the BNHA one I'm going to write. Both should be out this week (because they probably won't be over 3,000 words. Not like this one.) anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story, reviews and feedback are really motivating for me to write so those are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, I'll see you soon, Bye!