Author's Note: ok ok ive had this plot bunny for a long time fight me
I have no idea where this will go, will this be a multi-chaptered fic? idk? will it be a oneshot? idk!
who knows honestly
(I haven't proof-read this i apologise for the mistakes lmao)
Rated T for brief implications of sexual events and language
Disclaimer: fam,,,, im poor af i dont own magi pls dont sue me lmao
Alibaba has dreams.
But they're not normal dreams. They're not imaginary escapees, not hopeful wishes that came to life.
They're real.
Or at least, they feel like it. They're less dreams than they are memories.
Typically, they only show up when Alibaba falls asleep, where they come alive in vivid colouring, loud sounds, the smell of summer air and the uncomfortable yet familiar body, so different from his own.
But sometimes, they show up when he's awake too. They hit hard, make Alibaba's head ring and shake, makes him blind with a bright flash of light and it hurts, what with all the thoughts flooding into his head and—
But with a quick, forceful pinch to the space between his forehead, they disappear.
They've been there since his 3rd birthday, voices that he's never heard before, a place he's never seen, all new yet home, and that both intrigues and scares Alibaba.
Still, they're obviously his, he can feel the rough, dry texture of the ground, the scent of grass in the air, can hear languages he has never heard anywhere else but still understands.
The few times he sees himself in these memories, he's a girl instead of a boy, body soft and curvy with hips and breasts. The person's hair is long and silky with pinkish, almost red strands of hair flowing past his shoulders and to his hips.
But Alibaba can sometimes see the similarity, how both of their hair have two cowlicks sticking out, shaped like a horn.
They both have the same reddish-pink eyes, saturated and bright, eyes big and wide and lashes thick and long.
There's also the strange marking on his forehead, identical to that of the woman's and that he's also a little embarrassed of, hiding it under his messily parted bangs.
They're something he doesn't share with either of his parents, something distinct and uniquely his.
And he's never looked quite that masculine either, sometimes, when they were younger, Kassim would tease him and say how much he looked like a girl, with his chubby pink cheeks, baby face and big eyes, and how small he was comparatively to other boys his age.
(Alibaba can't say he's wrong, no matter how much that hurts his masculinity.)
There's also other things too, like a handsome young man, hair long and messy but soft to the touch, body built muscular and lean, with a baritone voice that makes his heart skip a beat every time he hears it in those memories.
(And the man's lips are also as soft as they look, and makes Alibaba's body shake and shiver—)
There is also the warm, loud boisterous laughter that feels so familial and sweet, makes Alibaba yearn for this home he doesn't know and couldn't know, this family so much kinder and closer than his own, and Alibaba takes comfort in it when he was still in the cold, cold palace.
But as he grows older, the worse they become. They turn darker and darker, till he starts to wake up in the middle of the night, where the moon is high and the night is cold and chilling and uncomforting, his voice sobs and cries, names he whispers of people he's never seen, but has seen.
He yearns for a home he cannot have, a lover that disappeared in a flash of golden light, a family in ruins—
His name was Sheba, and he was a magi from Alma Torran.
He is 12 when he wakes up from his sleep, eyes blank and body slack.
He pushes himself out of the big, cold bed and brushes away the curtains that hides it from the rest of the lavishly, yet empty decorated room and kicks himself of the duvet.
The night is still young but he can't sleep, not with these memories clouding his mind every time his eyes close and drifts off.
The cool air breezes past his warm skin once he pushes the windows open, and it's quiet, the lamp lights are dim and there is no bustling of people in the streets, and it feels like time has stopped.
But the feeling is broken when he hears the chirping of loud cicadas in the distance.
(There's also the fleeting sight of a small yellow, butterfly looking light that sings softly with its chirps, which Alibaba takes comfort in.)
It's late, but he's awake.
Alibaba yearns for a past life, one he cannot have.
He falls asleep again, but he leaves the window open this time.
Instead of fuzzy memories, he wakes up to a place he's never seen before.
He pushes himself up, still in his sleepwear, a yellow silk nightgown, but it doesn't provide much warmth, but it's not needed anyways, the room is heated well enough, not too hot, but not cold either.
The structure (on the inside at least) is large, with huge shelves arranged neatly with books, so many books and there are also strange, blob-like creatures silding around, some looking at him curiously.
But the biggest thing are the Rukhs, all of which are dancing around the wide space, each with their own unique song, yet sung so harmoniously together like a symphony and it's beautiful.
Then there is the sudden murmur of a familiar voice and—
"Sheba?" The low, yet soft voice, a voice she knows at the back of her head well and—
Alibaba turns around, and he's met with the sight of a large head, three eyes and surrounded by the same creatures, but still looks the same as him and—
"Ugo?" He croaks out, even without the glasses, Ugo still looks the same, with his familiar, kind eyes.
"Sheba!" He shouts, as tears stream down his face, eyes crinkling with warmth as he grins widely. "I knew it was you Sheba! I didn't know it was you for sure when I first felt your Rukh entering this world, but now that you're here, I'm just— I'm just so happy to see you Sheba."
Alibaba smiles too, and his chest fills with a warmth and this is the best he's ever felt for a long, long time.
"Are you heading to the neighbouring city too boy?" A woman asks Aladdin, face warm and smiling as holds a young girl close to her, and Aladdin nods.
"Oh my, traveling such a journey alone?" She coos, wrapping her arms around her child, which eyeing his flute with curiosity.
But Aladdin turns to the woman, face confused but smiling at the same time, and replies brightly with, "I'm not alone, I have Ugo with me!" He lifts up his flute, and the mother and her child's eyes follows it, blinking.
The mother's expression is crossed with confusion, but smiles anyway. Aladdin can tell she doesn't understand, the Rukh around her is circling around her, chirps unsynchronised.
But the loud sound of an apple falling down to the floor grabs both of their attention, and Aladdin's faced with an obese man, eyes small and nose big, with a ridiculous moustache and even more so hairdo.
His big body is lumpy and large, glistening with sweat as the sound of him eating red, juicy apples fills the now silent carriage.
His voice is muffled with his chewing, but Aladdin can make out what he's trying to say. "Stop moving so much kid! You're making dust move around, this place is cramped enough! Oi driver! You gonna do something about this?" He shouts across the room, chewed bits spitting out of his mouth as he talked.
The driver turns around, hair thick and long yet silky, tied up in a low ponytail, the rest of his hair falling around and framing his fair face. His eyes are of a bright red colour, but his hair is yellow and glistens in the sunlight, making it seem like there is a halo of golden light around him.
(Aladdin thinks he's a he, but he can't really tell. The Rukh around him are both male and female, but Aladdin doesn't ask yet, out of politeness.)
"Hm? Ah, my apologies sir, I'll make sure I bring you to your destination safe and sound!" He says, voice laid thick with force sweetness, and Aladdin can see how his hands tighten around the rope that holds the horses, and Aladdin can't imagine how difficult it must be for him to control his emotions, how with the Rukh around him chirping furiously and loudly.
Speaking of Rukh, the Rukh seems to adore this man. They follow Aladdin around, and they're something only he can see, as he discovered, but these Rukh follow the man around, more so than him, he feels.
But Aladdin can't help but feel his stomach start to growl with hunger, as he eyes the brightly coloured apples beside the fat man, and he creeps slowly towards him, if just to be able to taste them.
"Hey! Take your dirty paws off my apples!" He shouts the moment he catches sight of Aladdin, and the blue-haired boy freezes.
But the driver pauses at that, stands up and walks into the carriage, grabbing two barrels, one larger than the other.
He gives the bigger one to his customer, passing the smaller one to Aladdin and Aladdin eyes shine at the act. He crouches down to Aladdin's height with a graceful movement, and whispers into his ear, "Share this with the woman and the child too, okay? Be a good boy, alright?" The blond smiles kindly at Aladdin, voice barely above a whisper but warm and he feels like he's been wrapped around in the softest blankets in the world.
The driver stands up again, bowing to the man as he apologises profusely, the man grunting and complaining, as Aladdin shares his apples with the small family next to him.
Aladdin feels so at ease with this stranger, and he doesn't even have a inkling as to why.
Hours later and the sun is setting, they're almost to their destination when the cart suddenly jerks and they're toppling over, and a large plant looms under them and Aladdin jumps at the sight.
He hears the mother voice screaming fearfully, "What is that?!" and the driver's voice quick in response, "A Desert Hyacinth! It's a meat eating plant indigenous to these desert plains, and if you fall into the hole, you'll be eaten alive!" He shouts back as he jumps off the cart, Aladdin and the woman along with her child in tow.
Aladdin watches as the other carts around them scramble to get out, voices panicked and laced with fear.
And then the large man forcefully pushes through the crowd, rushing towards his wine and knocking the lady's daughter into the sand pit, and Aladdin hears the scream of her mother, "No!"
And then there's a rush of movement and the driver's jumping into the dune, carrying a barrel of wine and throws it into the monster's mouth, and the plant goes limp, and there's a splash and the girl's in the blond's arms.
"Throw in the wine! When alcohol gets into its system it returns underground! We're gonna use this chance to get of here!" He shouts, swimming through the fluid of the plant and runs up the ridges with quick steps, and as he passes the young child to her mother, the plant grabs ahold of him and pulls.
"No!" "Alibaba!" The people in the crowd shouts, and Aladdin grabs his turban and pulls, and it unwraps into a carpet, and sweeps up the wine, and Aladdin is grinning at the blond, who's staring at Aladdin at first with wide eyes, then a smile.
As if on cue, Aladdin throws the barrels of wine into the creature's mouth and the stems fall from the driver's (Alibaba's? That's his name right?) body and he climbs upwards and to the higher ground, and falls onto his back, where the other people crowd over him in worry.
But he just smiles at them, eyes crinkling and Aladdin hears the Rukh singing.
"Thank you so much for saving my child!" The woman bows repeatedly, her child clutch closely to her as Alibaba simply smiles back and shakes his head. "No, no it's fine! No need to thank me, madam." He bows back, and the woman cries, tears streaming down her face in a fury of different emotions.
Aladdin smiles at the sight, but frowns at his flute as he continuously blows into it, but nothing comes out. It catches Alibaba's attention and he turns towards Aladdin, and taps on his shoulder, and points to his flute.
Aladdin understands the gesture and passes it to the blond, who gently takes it with another smile, and shakes it softly, and sand comes out from the flute, before passing it back to Aladdin.
Aladdin thinks curiously about how the driver handled his flute, as if it was something precious, which it is, but he's never seen someone touch it so carefully before, or with such warmth.
"What the hell kid! How dare you fucking throw my wine in there! Do you know how much that cost? Fuck! You should've died, I can't believe how much fucking money I lost-" And Alibaba's hand slams into the fat man's cheek and the man falls to the ground, as the crowd watches the man with disdain.
"What the hell! Oi kid! What the fu-" And then, the man pauses and freezes. Then shakes. The crowd turns around in confusion as they look in the direction of the man. They freeze. Aladdin wonders if blowing the flute was a good idea. He hopes he didn't scare them.
But then, Alibaba just turns around and grins.
"Oh! Ugo!" He says, and Ugo waves at the blond, and Aladdin is the one now confused, because he never knew Ugo knew Alibaba.
"Ugo? You know Alibaba-kun?" Aladdin asks, as he looks at the two individuals, and Alibaba chuckles in reply. "Yeah, I do. Old friends, you could say."
Aladdin doesn't really understand what Alibaba means, but the Rukh around Ugo is happy, so Aladdin is happy too—
And then Alibaba crouches down and brushes the Rukh resting on his shoulder and Aladdin stiffens, and stares at Alibaba with wide, big eyes.
"You can see them too Mister?" He asks, surprised, he thought he was the only one.
Alibaba just smiles.
"Yeah."