Five years later
Aladdin can't quite figure out how to knock.
The shields surrounding Sindria are massive, the biggest he's seen that he can remember, obviously crafted by someone who knows what he's doing. A little swell of pride and gratefulness rises up in Aladdin; he'd known Judal could be a good Magi, he'd known it from the moment they'd met, even if Judal had been pretty awful back then.
Outside the shields, everything for miles around has obviously been deserted for quite a while. The same beaten road is still there, but it takes Aladdin a while to find it under all the sand that's blown over, no longer kept clean by hundreds of feet sweeping it aside every day. That's how the roads in this part of the world work, he remembers; one good sandstorm is enough to knock them off the map.
Undaunted, he circles around to the other side, hovering over the ocean. This would have taxed him quite a bit a few years ago, after so long a flight, but now he's far more concerned with the fact that the shields do seem to go all the way around-and all the way up, he discovers, forming a dome.
Just a dome?
He dives, first underwater and then tunneling under land, only to ram his nose into the shield. Nope, it's a sphere.
He tries yelling as loud as he can, standing dripping on the shore, amplifying his voice with magic. The sand stirs and shivers, the air reverberating like the inside of a bell, but the shield doesn't budge.
I didn't want to do this, he thinks, worrying at his lip. But…
The faces of those he's left behind swim in front of his vision. I can always apologize later.
Apologetically, he sharpens his power into a razor-sharp drill, calling the fire to bore a tiny hole in the shield, wedging his power into the gap and widening.
The shield collapses, smacking him back several paces, knocking him tail over teakettle into the sand dunes, and he flips back onto his feet with a huff. "That wasn't necessary," he mutters, rattled enough that he doesn't throw his power out in front of him to check for a second shield.
That was a mistake, he thinks as it zaps him, half a second before he hits the ground and everything goes dark.
Judal feels less the poking and prodding (he's learned to tune it out, at this point, because god, if he didn't, he'd be screaming at fish all day) and more the eventual disintegration of the first shield entirely. The second one zapping something like a fly is just a bonus.
Briefly, he wonders who would bother, and starts getting a little paranoid. Someone from Kou? Maybe. But they don't send princes or princesses anymore, or even messengers. Everything is by word of mouth, passed to Sindria as quietly and subtly as possible, a thing that makes Ja'far bite his nails off on a daily basis when they find out yet another trade route has been shut off from their port.
It's probably some low-class idiot, at best.
The magic carpet unfurls, and Judal leaps onto it before it's entirely finished doing so, the flight a quick and easy one as he surveys the damage. Finding the spot where the second shield was poked is easy enough, and he scowls at it, slipping through it with a touch to find the culprit, because without a doubt, they'd be out like a candle's flame after jabbing at it.
The sight that greets him is definitely surprising.
"You!" Never mind that Aladdin is unconscious. He'll yell at him anyway. At least-it is Aladdin, right? He's definitely older if it is, Judal notes as he floats down, carpet hovering a few feet above him as Judal leans over, long braid tumbling over the side as he peers at him. "Hey," he mutters, and a little flick of magic pings the other Magi in the forehead. "Wake up, shorty. You didn't have to break my shields, now I have to fix them."
Another zap wakes Aladdin, and he squints up into the bright sunlight, blinking until the figure above him resolves into a person. When it does, he can't help but beam, scrambling to his feet no matter the lingering aftershocks of the shield's power. "Judal! I'm sorry, I would have asked, I yelled and yelled and poked but nothing happened, I don't mind putting it up again…"
He trails off, looking the older Magi up and down, smile not wavering a bit. If anything, it brightens. "You look great!"
He does. Draped in silky, slinky gauze and other fine fabrics, with his hair longer than ever and as well cared-for as Aladdin's ever seen it, his form filled out just enough that his ribs aren't showing anymore, and delicate bejeweled golden chains looping around his belly, threading through a ring fastened to his navel, Judal looks lovely. Even his face has changed, and not just the angle, now that he's taller by a good few inches. There's also, he notices with immense satisfaction, only white (and a bit of grey) rukh surrounding him, buoying him aloft in the air.
… 'Shorty' probably isn't a good nickname anymore, all things considered.
Far from it, actually. Aladdin really has grown-tall and lanky but well-muscled and handsome, with that same beaming smile and wide eyes and-
Ah. Actually, staring for too long is enough to make him flush, and so Judal huffs, turning his nose up as he straightens from his sprawl across the carpet. "I'll put it back up, it's fine. Just come on and get up here already, I don't like being outside of these things for too long."
A light touch of one foot to the sand is all it takes, and Aladdin settles comfortably next to Judal on the carpet. He wavers, wanting to hug the older man, but it's entirely too easy to imagine that Judal has changed as much as...well, as much as he has.
He settles for flopping out along the carpet, wriggling his toes over the edge. "I missed you."
"Mmn." The carpet spins round, and they're back within the safety of the shields in an instant, Aladdin passing through without being zapped into unconsciousness this time. "… It's been a long time," Judal mumbles. Don't look at him, don't look at him, it should be a damned crime to grow up and look that good. He takes a deep breath, his next exhale spinning out the layers of the shield Aladdin destroyed, thin, curving webbing before it solidifies into the sphere it was before. "There. It should recognize you, next time. We hadn't heard from you in so long, so I didn't really think about it…"
"Sorry. I thought about sending a messenger ahead, but…" Things had happened so fast, and there wasn't anyone to go, really. Ah, well, all that nastiness can wait until he talks to Sinbad. For now, Aladdin scoots over to lay his head on Judal's thigh, beaming up at him. "You look really good. Are you still happy you chose Sinbad as your king?" If he hadn't, what with the way things have gone, Aladdin rather doubts there would still be a Sindria standing.
Judal huffs. "Of course I'm still happy I chose him. I-" Looking down at him is a mistake. Judal feels heat rise to his face again, only amplified by the fact that this is the boy-nope, definitely not boy, definitely man now-that saved me from being a shell for the rest of my life.
It makes something twist in his chest, that's for sure.
"… Why are you here, anyway? I thought you were with Fattybloba all this time." The carpet starts its descent, and Judal hesitantly slides a hand over to toy with the end of Aladdin's braid. "Are you going to stay for awhile?"
Aladdin's smile dims, some of that worry creeping back in. He can't help but think of Alibaba's face the last time he'd seen him, the anger, the sadness, the betrayal, and he turns his head, butting it against Judal's stomach. "Probably not. I came to ask Sinbad for some help. Alibaba's in a bad position." And even if he put himself there, I still have to help him.
At least Judal still smells better than anyone he's ever met.
"Depending on what it is, he's probably gonna laugh in your face," Judal warns, frowning a little. "The Kou Empire is making a lot of trouble for Sindria, so he's already got his hands full." The carpet stills a few feet from the ground in front of the palace, and Judal gives him a little shove. "Off already, I still don't have boobs, so don't rub your face on me."
Aladdin tumbles obligingly to the ground, landing lightly on the ball of one foot. Sindria is a bit quieter than he remembers, but at least the people he sees moving around seem happy, and healthy, and don't dart their eyes nervously from side to side while hurrying from doorway to doorway. "You're still really soft and you still smell good," he points out logically. "And…" He folds his hands behind his head, stretching out. "For now, I'll just be a guest, okay? I can talk about more serious things with Sinbad later."
Judal heaves a sigh, leaping from the carpet as well and letting it furl back up. "Fine, fine. I don't have anything to do today, anyway, so I guess I'll entertain you." In retrospect, that probably sounds sort of inappropriate. "Uh, I mean-are you hungry?" Ah. When actually standing, he definitely notices that Aladdin is taller than him now.
Aladdin lets out a laugh, even as his stomach growls. "Always," he admits. "I guess some things don't change, huh?"
He takes Judal's hand, tugging him down the corridors. "The kitchens are still this way, right?" Strange, the paintings on the walls had seemed so high up before.
"You don't have to lead me, I know where I'm going," Judal protests, though one weak attempt to tug his hand away doesn't really constitute an effort. He sighs, letting himself be dragged along, and at least it's hilarious to watch the kitchen staff's eyes widen in utter horror at the sight of two Magi appearing. "Look, they even remember you."
For the first time in Sindria's kitchens, Aladdin hesitates, holding back to look up-nope, down-at Judal. "There's...enough, right?" he asks uncertainly. "For all the people? How much can I eat?"
And this is why Sinbad's gonna laugh in your face.
Judal bites his tongue-he's gotten a bit better at that, at least, though not as good as most. "Just eat," he sighs, releasing Aladdin's hand to wave him away, further into the kitchens. "You're a Magi and a guest, they'd be mad if you didn't eat your fill."
Aladdin wants to ask again, just to make sure, but the aroma is too much, and it's been far too long since he's been able to eat the way he really needs to.
The next several minutes are something of a blur. He hardly tastes the food, and the way the rukh surges back into him is something of a shock, making him realize just how long he'd been operating without his full power.
In fact, it's a rather intense shock to his system, and he blinks sleepily up at Judal, fruit juice from a dozen varieties mangled on his face. "Can I...take a quick nap?" he mumbles, just before sinking to the floor.
Some things never change, apparently.
"You're a lot of work, you know that?" Judal mutters, bending over to haul Aladdin up and off of the floor. "Don't pass out here, geez. Come on, try and walk right, I don't wanna waste magoi making you float all the way to a guest room." He has to eat a lot, too, and lately, that's more an inconvenience than something anyone finds cute.
Aladdin blinks, taking a deep breath and mustering the energy to right himself. He doesn't wobble nearly as much as he used to, most of the food going to the reserves of energy he'd depleted so drastically in the last several months. "Sorry," he mumbles, blinking away the last of the impulse to sleep. "I'm fine, I can walk. And I already wasted your magoi by taking your shield down, too."
"Yep." No use trying to not sound annoyed about it. Judal sighs all the same, grabbing his arm and tugging him away from the kitchens, much to the staff's relief. "If you want a nap, you can just crash in my room for awhile. Sinbad probably won't be out of parliament for awhile, anyway…"
"You have a room?" Aladdin's eyes widen in concern. Sure, Judal had said that he's still glad to have picked Sinbad, but… "I thought you'd be in Sinbad's room. Or are you not sleeping in his bed anymore?" Surely, around Judal he can relax about what's appropriate and what's not. They've known each other for long enough.
"I have to have a place to put all my stuff, at least," Judal grumbles, looking more put out than anything. "And Sinbad doesn't want me clinging to him all the time. I mean, I sleep in his bed most nights, but… ugh, why do you care?" A swift yank on Aladdin's arm, and Judal pulls him along. "You're always too nosy-"
"Judal! There you are!"
"Oh, god," is the defeated exhale underneath the Magi-in-question's breath. And here he thought he would avoid this, what with how busy they've been as of late.
"How many times do I have to tell you?" The sharp, precise click of footsteps quickly follows. "A disturbance on your shields like that warrants immediate reporting to either myself, Drakon, or Sin! Also, turn around when I'm speaking to you! You can't just handle it yourself, we need to be aware of what is-" A pause, and Ja'far's blink of surprise is almost audible. "… Aladdin?"
At the sudden sharpness, no matter how it's mutated into a stunned curiosity, Aladdin winces. "Sorry," he says by way of introduction, shoulders drooping as he peers up-no, down-in chagrin.
But…
Ja'far still looks the same, as if he'd been put in some kind of a time-freezing capsule and just unearthed, exactly the same, and Aladdin can't help the way he bursts into a grin, grabbing the smaller man and picking him up in a fierce hug. "I'm sorry I broke the shield, I didn't mean to, but he put it back and I didn't let anyone else in and it's really good to see you!"
Ja'far squeaks when he's literally lifted from the ground, blinking rapidly until he's set back down, visibly stunned. "You've grown," he manages, amazed, and lifts a hand to sort of dazedly straighten his keffiyeh. "I barely recognized you. Don't worry about the shield, it's fine. It's been so long, Aladdin-are you well? You don't look like you've been eating enough."
Immediately with the motherhenning. Judal's eyes roll skyward. "I fed him already, before you ask…"
"Well, we need to make sure it's a more regular thing," Ja'far frets, frowning up at him. "Is everything all right? We weren't expecting you."
Judal casually attempts to calculate mental measurements upon seeing Aladdin and Ja'far next to one another, coming to the amusing conclusion that Aladdin is almost certainly taller than Sinbad.
Aladdin's smile dims a bit, faltering at the questioning. It's been so long since he's seen Ja'far, long enough that it sort of feels like it happened to another person, or in another life. He remembers vividly how safe he'd always felt, snuggled up against Ja'far's side learning to read, being fed until his stomach groaned, or taking a nap. It's probably what he's missed most about Sindria, that comfort. "I ate plenty," he assures Ja'far, straightening his robes in a vague apology for his exuberance. "Judal said it was okay?" he ends on a slight question. If anyone knows the true state of how much food is okay to lose, it's Ja'far.
"Of course it's okay," Ja'far reassures him, reaching up to give the younger man a pat on the arm. "None of our guests, especially you, will go hungry. Now then-I'll have to see to it that a room be prepared for you, how long will you be staying?"
"I was just gonna let him stay in mine-"
Ja'far snorts. "Nonsense, he needs his own. Well, Aladdin?"
It's been a long time since Aladdin has felt so welcomed, so at ease, and it almost makes him uncomfortable. With every second, it's hard not to think about those left behind, the conditions they're in, whether he'd be doing more good there after all, and how there are hungry people when he's being offered his choice of two fine beds at a Palace.
He swallows, trying to stay cheerful. It's been a long time since he's seen his friends, after all. "I don't mind where I sleep. Um, maybe I'd better stay in my own, though, because I used a lot of magoi to get here fast. I'll probably...sleep for a while. Sorry."
Sindria has its own Magi, he reminds himself. They aren't going to need him to perform miracles every hour, and nothing is going to fall apart if he sleeps a little more.
"You can sleep as long as you want," Ja'far reassures him, and with that, he simply takes Aladdin's arm and steers him away. "And once you wake, I'll call a servant to have your bath drawn, and you can simply relax until dinner-or whenever it is you wake up." Magi do tend to sleep quite a bit, even under the best of circumstances, Ja'far has noticed… and Aladdin doesn't look as though he has had the best circumstances as of late. "Judal, there's a foreign princess arriving this evening that requires your abilities-"
Judal can't suppress a groan. This was supposed to be an easy day. "But I don't want-"
"I expect you to be charming."
"Fixing a broodmare's uterus doesn't require charm-"
"No, but signing treaties does. You should go prepare now." Ja'far gives Aladdin's arm a little tug. "Come along, Aladdin. You and Judal can catch up later."
Aladdin feels a little flutter from the rukh. I know, he thinks, pleased with himself. Even if they're not the best of friends, he can see the easy way Ja'far talks to Judal, the fact that neither of them look anywhere close to grabbing for weapons even if they're annoyed. There's no real tension in the air, and that in itself is such a rarity that he falls into bed with the finality of a rock, barely able to mumble his thanks before the world goes dark.
It's a long, long time before he stirs, the aches in his body letting him know that he slept deep enough that he didn't change position once, facedown in his clothes just like when he'd flopped. He stretches slowly, blinking in the dim sunlight. Morning, or night? He wonders. Which day?
If he's wasted too long, who knows what could have already happened?
I'd know if he was dead, he tells himself. I'd know.
He climbs out of bed, cracking the door to the hallway, peering down it. Ah, he's lost. Time to wander until he finds something familiar.
"Oh, you're up. Good timing."
It's Judal, scarcely a few paces from Aladdin's door, and carrying a rather generously full basket of fruit. "I was gonna leave this for you, when you finally woke up," he explains, brushing past the other Magi to simply let himself into the bedroom. "I checked on you a few times before… you know, to make sure you weren't dead. You slept a looooong time. Freckles started getting snippy."
The fruit is so ripe Aladdin can smell it, and his mouth waters. When's the last time he'd seen a real peach? He makes sure to eat it slowly, savoring every tangy sweet bite, licking all the juice off his lips. "I didn't mean to make him worried. How long did I sleep?"
"Hmm… about a day and a half?" Judal drops himself down onto the edge of the bed with a sigh, crossing his legs. "You must've really needed it. You didn't move an inch the whole time."
"I was really tired from the flight," Aladdin admits, folding himself onto the bed next to Judal, just a bit closer than most people would, and pulling out a ripe plum. "I flew the whole way from Balbadd."
"That was dumb," Judal bluntly says, eyeing the plum himself for a moment before looking away with a shake of his head. "At least your rukh looks better now. Before it looked like drugged pigeons or something."
"I felt like a drugged pigeon." Aladdin reaches into the basket, pulling out the juiciest peach and offering it. "I didn't really want to spend the extra time walking, though. You like these a lot, right?"
It takes effort, telling his stomach not to rumble. "You eat it, I already ate lunch." Judal's head tilts slightly. "What was the hurry? I mean, we all know Balbadd's been in bad shape lately, but still…"
Aladdin rarely, if ever, has to be told twice to eat something. The peach disappears, along with a handful of dates. "I need Sinbad."
"Why?" is the wary inquiry to follow.
Aladdin swallows, and hesitates. Then again, who is he afraid Judal will tell? He has to be loyal to Sinbad, right? And he wants Sinbad to find out, it's the whole reason he's here. "Alibaba wants him to help Balbadd," he says slowly, obviously having an issue with the words. "But...I want to ask him another favor." He takes a deep breath, then admits, "I want him to talk Alibaba into taking over the country. It needs him, not Sinbad."
"Told you you should've picked a different king." Oops. He probably should've bitten that one back, it's not exactly helpful. Still, though, it's the truth. "Sinbad doesn't have time to babysit your king and teach him how to rule a country. We've got enough going on here."
It's hard not to let that discourage him, but Aladdin is used to discouragement, and disappointment. It hasn't stopped him so far, and it's not about to now. "But if Balbadd were able to stand on its own against the Kou Empire, that would help Sindria, wouldn't it?" Until Sinbad says no-until he keeps saying no-there's still a chance.
"Maybe a little but Balbadd's so messed up right now that we'd just be sending stuff to them rather than finding any real use from an open trade route there…" Judal sighs, flopping backwards onto the bed. "I dunno, I don't think Sinbad's going to like it. You can ask him, but I'm just warning you. Geez, what kind of king candidate wants another king in charge, anyway…"
"I don't want stuff." Aladdin hops up, walking over to lean out the window, staring down at the bustling city outside the palace walls. "Alibaba could take over Balbadd. It's his, and the people know it. They-most of them-enough of them-want him to be king. He's just being stubborn, and it's...going really bad. If he just stood up, I think all the people would do it with him."
"Useless," Judal sighs out, rolling onto his belly to prop his chin in his hands. "I feel bad for you, but I honestly don't understand why someone would be stubborn about becoming king."
Aladdin's thought a lot about this, and he leans out the window a minute, feeling the fresh sea breeze with a sigh of contentment. He flops backwards, wriggling around until he's close to Judal, and asks, "If Sinbad's father were a king, do you think he'd have been excited about being one too?"
"Hmm… maybe? But he still would have been stupid first, you know. Traveling around, getting into trouble, stuff like that." Judal frowns at Aladdin as he rolls onto his side to better face him.. "What's that got to do with anything? I don't think it's a matter of how you were raised. If he gives a damn about his country, he'll step up."
Of all the things Aladdin has heard people say about Alibaba, that is the one that he hates the most. "He cares. He-he let them lock him up, and they say awful things about him, and throw things sometimes, and chased him through the streets, and-he could be a king but he thinks it's wrong, he doesn't think he deserves it, and…" He swallows hard, burying his face in Judal's chest as he blinks rapidly. "He cares a lot," he mumbles.
"… Then he's an idiot," Judal says, and it's with a sigh that he drops a hand atop Aladdin's head, tugging gently on his hair. "At some point, he's gotta realize that isn't working. Someone has to take responsibility."
"He's a little slow," Aladdin allows, butting his head into Judal's hand. It seems a lot smaller now than it had when he was younger. "I'm just worried that by the time he figures out that he can't just...force people to want to live without a king, it'll be too late."
He looks up, eyes a little red from the tears he hadn't shed. "I care about him a lot. I just want him to make the right choices."
Ah, dammit.
He probably looked a dozen times worse than this years ago, and this is still pretty pathetic. It has a lot to do with it just being not okay to see Aladdin cry for some reason. "I can… maybe try and talk to Sinbad, if he says 'no' when you ask him," Judal uncertainly says. Ugh. He's not sure that's a good idea, but he's never been the best at coming up with them, so…
The hope blooms sudden and intense on Aladdin's face, such a relief that at least someone else is going to try. "Thank you," he yelps, and kisses Judal on the cheek before grabbing him in a big hug. "It's okay if it doesn't work, but thank you!"
"Don't slobber on me, what are you, a dog-" Judal huffs, pushing at Aladdin's chest with a pointed little squirm. "I just said I'd try, don't get so excited yet!"
Aladdin laughs, squirming around to pin Judal down to the bed, giving him another pointed kiss, this time on the lips. He can feel the rukh swelling around him now, as if it too is sighing in relief. "I'm still really happy that you're going to try."
"You get excited over dumb things," Judal mumbles, huffing as he sinks back into the bed, unable to keep the little rise of color to his cheeks. "I'm his Magi, not his advisor, so…"
And isn't that just the truth. Aladdin flops down onto Judal's chest, nuzzling in to make himself comfortable. "Alibaba doesn't listen to me that well either. I mean, sometimes he's right, and he has an idea he just hasn't told me about yet, but…"
"Kings are dumb sometimes," Judal sighs, his eyes lidding as he drapes an arm over Aladdin's back. Even if Aladdin is heavier, this is still nicer than when he was a kid. Much more warm, much more solid. His head tips up to butt against one shoulder before doing he same into his neck, sucking in a slow, attempting-to-be-steady breath. "They're all like that."
"Annoying," Aladdin agrees. He hadn't really understood, back then. Now, he smiles down at Judal, feeling the rukh thrum in time with his pulse. "Hey, you've gotten really really good, huh? Your rukh is so happy, and that shield was amazing!"
He threads a hand into Judal's hair, the way he'd always liked. "I'm really glad I could help you."
"… Yeah." Ah, don't do that, that feels good. "Me, too. Though nowadays I'm kind of a bargaining chip. I could only use healing magic for so long that it's sort of…" He grimaces. "What everyone knows me for. 'Come to Sindria, our Magi will heal your sickly first born prince… now sign this treaty'-bleh."
Aladdin laughs, scratching gently behind Judal's ear, then nuzzling his nose against the older Magi's. It feels so good to just roll around with someone again, none of the sad desperation of back home. "I heard about that, even in Balbadd. Everyone's talking about the White Oracle." He pauses, grinning. "A lot of them call you the White Queen."
"Ugh, gross," Judal bemoans, shoving at Aladdin in protest and biting at his shoulder. "Really, really gross! I miss being allowed to freeze Freckles to wall and stuff, that was a lot more fun! Now I have to put up with him shoving the newest books on medicine underneath my nose, I haaate it!"
Aladdin can't help but laugh, then suck in a hiss at the scrape of Judal's teeth. His smile changes a little, eyes sparkling. "I forgot how much you liked to bite."
"Yeah, well, telling me the bad names people come up with for me is a good way to get bitten," Judal huffs, pouting outright now.
"It's a good name," Aladdin assures him, and leans down to bite Judal's neck softly. "They say it because you're always around Sinbad, and you're really pretty. And you stay longer than any of his girls."
Sounds like something better suited for Ja'far, except the pretty part, Judal wants to say, but the scrape and press of Aladdin's own teeth is distracting, pleasantly so, and he shivers, his head tipping back before he can help himself. "They could have picked a better name," he mumbles all the same, sliding a hand up to the back of Aladdin's neck. "I'm still not a girl, you know."
"Hmm...it's been a long time since I checked," Aladdin teases, and buries his face in Judal's chest, hand coming up to thumb over a nipple. "Nope, still not a girl."
"Idiot," is the grumble to follow, never mind how his breath hitches at that errant slide of a thumb. "You…" Judal swallows, and god, he has to laugh at himself, just a little, for being so riled up already. "You really grew up, you know. Sinbad was mad when I told him you were taller than him."
Aladdin blinks. "Why would he be mad about that? It's not like you told him he has grey hairs or anything. Besides, you grew up too. You're a lot prettier. And I can tell your rukh got really strong."
"Because he knows I like tall guys." Judal has to grin at that. "It made him pout. And hey, I was pretty and strong before."
"Yeah, but you're more pretty and strong now." Aladdin sits up, straddling Judal as he pushes his hair back. "And you're not so skinny. You're fun to touch even if you're not a lady. I mean, more. You were before, too."
Judal's eyes roll, even as he reaches out, absently splaying his hands over the lines of Aladdin's sides, thumbs brushing his hips. "Still pretty enough to touch even though I'm not a girl," he deduces, eyebrows raising. "I'm amazed you don't have a steady girl by now. Don't women come far and wide to woo you yet? That's kind of a thing, when you're a Magi."
"But I like all girls," Aladdin points out, practically. "And when you go with a girl more than like, three times? She starts getting upset when you go with someone else." He sighs, shaking his head, leaning forward and propping himself up on Judal's chest. "I don't understand girls. Plus, sometimes they think I'm going to do big magic for them, or they lie about if they have husbands. Everything was easier when I was a kid."
It's impossible not to snicker, no matter how he tries to hide it into the top of Aladdin's hair. "So just sleep with guys. It's easier. Plus, then you don't have bastards running around, and rumor has it that Magi children are kinda predisposed to being stupidly powerful." Looking at you, Scheherazade.
Aladdin flops down onto Judal's chest. "Guys don't have boobs, though," he says, defeated. "It's like a man can't win."
"You're just nitpicky," Judal chides, patting the back of his head.
Aladdin arches an eyebrow, something he's gotten a lot better at over the last several years. "You're picky too, though. I mean, if you like men I guess Sinbad's probably the best one, but…"
"Well, it took awhile to get him," Judal protests. "And now that I have him, there's not really many others that are any good… ah, you don't get it, though; you don't like men like Sinbad."
"Not really," Aladdin agrees. "And I like Alibaba a lot, but he's my friend and my king and I don't love him like you love Sinbad. I'd much rather do it with men like you."
That word still makes him blush, just a little. "… I'm amazed you haven't done it with him at least once, though."
"I did," Aladdin says cheerfully. "I mean, I didn't put it in or anything, but we rolled around for a while. He was really drunk. And the day after he got really embarrassed and kept telling me how much he liked girls."
Okay, that's actually hilarious. "What an idiot," Judal sighs out, laughing as his hands slide down Aladdin's sides, and he squirms a little underneath him, arching his back. "I don't need to be drunk for that. It's not even as fun if you are."
Aladdin's smile widens, and he wriggles his hips, moving around until they're pressed flush against each other, and he can feel the warm throb of Judal's cock against his. "I think so too. Besides, you taste as good as wine." He bends down, tugging on Judal's earlobe with his teeth, sucking it into his mouth. "Ooh, you got new jewelry. Anywhere else?"
Judal shudders, eyes fluttering at just that one little suck, and he twists, squirming to better press his thighs to Aladdin's hips. "Ahh… bellybutton, too," he murmurs on a sigh. "It catches on stuff sometimes… kind of annoying. I had my nipples done, but Sinbad wouldn't leave me alone. Never thought I'd want a break, but geez…"
Curious, Aladdin wriggles his way down, brushing aside silks and gauze to bare Judal's abdomen, finger gently flicking the piercing. "It's really pretty," he murmurs, running his thumb over a delicate chain. "I saw a dancer girl in Heliohapt with this done. Everyone went crazy."
He walks his fingers up, rubbing over one of Judal's nipples. "Do you still have the holes? In case you wanted to put them back in?"
"Y-yeah…" Somehow, it's kind of nice having someone different-and yet still familiar-touch him. It's been a long while, after all, and with the way the rukh flutters so giddily, it's hard not to enjoy it. Judal flops back with a whoosh of air leaving his lungs, stretching out like a cat. "But I dunno if I will. They're almost more sensitive like this, and that's more fun…"
Aladdin grins, crawling up to mouth one through the fluttery fabric, softly biting it through the cloth. Not all men like this, he's found, even the ones who like it when he plays with them, but this one does. "It's really happy we're here together," he murmurs, dragging a thigh up between Judal's, pressing down hard. "Feel it dancing?"
Judal groans and lurches up, a hand fisting into Aladdin's hair as he wriggles up against him with an eager sigh escaping through his nose. "Mm… mmhm. Kinda hard not to," he breathes, shuddering as his hips insistently roll up, sliding his hard cock against the firm press of Aladdin's thigh.
This is a lot more fun now that he's bigger. He's certainly not having to crawl around as much to reach everything. He reaches a hand underneath, grabbing Judal's ass and hefting him up, remembering how much Judal had liked being grabbed and bitten and bossed around. "You feel the same," he murmurs, voice low. "I bet I feel different. Touch me."
Different is an understatement. Aladdin's so broad now, but not like how Sinbad is at all. He's far lankier, long and lean where Sinbad is heavier built, but ahh, this is nice, too, because there's nothing but tightly wound sinew in every inch of him. Judal's all too eager to drag his fingers along the other man's shoulders, down his arms, gripping as he wriggles and writhes to get his legs around those lean hips, and his hands splay over Aladdin's chest, grabbing at clothing in order to pull him down as he arches up to snap his teeth playfully against Aladdin's throat. "I never would've thought you'd grow up to look like this," he breathes. "The rukh must reeeeally like you."
"It does." That's hardly bragging, not when it flutters and sings whenever he moves, and has since Aladdin can remember. Now, it's tiny whirlwinds all around them, eager and laughing along with him, his breath hitching when Judal bites and writhes under his hips. It's probably been a long time since the White Queen got to play way from the Golden King, Aladdin muses. Well, then, he'll just have to make this extra-fun.
He braces his knees on the bed, and eases the waistband of Judal's pants down, slipping his hand in to wrap around Judal's cock. He almost mentions, tongue-in-cheek, that it feels smaller than the last time, but Judal would hiss and huff, and it's more fun to curl his fingers around it and stroke anyway. "You're so hard here already. It makes you smell even better."
"Always talking about how I smell," Judal groans, laughing as he flops his head back with a heavy exhale, his hips rocking up against Aladdin's hand as he grips at his shoulders. "Do I need to spray a shirt with my perfume, and let you have it when you leave?" He wiggles, sliding a hand down Aladdin's belly, breath hitching as his palm slides between his legs. Ah. Proportionate, too, apparently. That's nice.
"Mmm, that would be nice," Aladdin agrees easily. He swipes his thumb over the head, circling it slowly before sliding his hand back down, eyes lidding as Judal's hand cups him. "Or I could just take these clothes when we're done. Everyone smells better after sex."
Judal's mind sort of hiccups. "Whatever you want," he breathes, his fingers all too eager to get past that barrier of cloth, wriggling down to slide over the hard line of Aladdin's cock. He feels far too good in his hand-long and thick and so, so hard. "Come up here," he murmurs, fingers wrapping around to gently squeeze before sliding away, and wriggling himself back up to the pile of pillows at the bed's headboard. "I wanna taste you this time."
Aladdin's eyes glitter, and he pauses just long enough to wriggle out of his pants, tossing them to the side as he scrambles up, planting a knee on either side of Judal's shoulders. His legs are long enough that it's not much of a stretch, whereas before he'd probably have had to kneel on Judal's chest. "I've thought about this before," he admits. "I thought you'd like it. And the girls say I taste really good." He wraps a hand around his cock, guiding it to nudge at Judal's lips.
A low, throaty rumble escapes Judal's lips as they part, his tongue flicking out to slide eagerly over the tip of Aladdin's cock. His eyes flutter, hands lifting to grab at the other man's hips, and he tips his head forward enough to suck the head of his cock into his mouth, shivering as he laps at it, releasing it with a ragged little breath. "They're right. You're right," he exhales, eyes dark as he glances up through his lashes, lips wrapping around him again.
Judal looks even better like this than Aladdin had imagined, all those times he'd thought about what it would have been like if he'd gotten to do this, that time in Sindria so many years ago. His mouth is soft and wet and as hot as any Aladdin's ever felt, and this at least is the same with girls. "You're better than most of the girls," he admits, hands threading through Judal's hair. "And you look really pretty with your lips stretched out like that."
Judal huffs through his nose, and ah, he can't help but take that as a challenge. Aladdin is more than big enough to make his jaw ache as he bobs his head, swallowing him down until the head of his cock bumps the back of his throat, and Judal lets himself gag, just a little, all to let Aladdin feel the squeeze and spasm of his throat as he swallows hard. His eyes tear, his fingers biting into Aladdin's hips as he tugs, breath escaping hot and fast through his nose, and he quickly finds himself nuzzling into the short hairs at the base of the man's cock, lips stretched wide around him and throat bobbing hard with each messy slurp and suck.
Aladdin's hips jerk forward. Ah, he'd forgotten how good this feels, when it's someone who's really good, and Judal is really good. "You took it all," Aladdin breathes, hands clenching a little involuntarily in Judal's hair, throat bobbing as he tries not to choke the other Magi by thrusting forward too fast. "No one's done that in years."
If anyone could, he supposes it's Judal, with his lovely dark-lashed eyes, mouth hungry and needy around him. "Tongue," Aladdin says through gritted teeth, eyes fluttering shut as he ruts forward in needy little circles, dragging the head of his cock over Judal's tongue. "R-really good, just a little more-"
So help him, he likes being praised like that, being told what to do while his mouth is so full, and so Judal is all too eager to comply, lapping at him with each sloppy slide of his mouth, his tongue dragging hot and wet over the tip of his cock when he lets it slide nearly from his mouth. A few times, he does let it slip out, still wet and sticky and rubbing over him, and he mouths it with swollen, bruised lips, a long, shaky exhale leaving his nose as he lets it drag over his cheek. "Make good use of me, then, will you?" It's less a suggestion, more a plead when his fingers grab at the base of Aladdin's cock and guide it back to his lips. "Fuck my mouth," he begs, tongue sliding against him as he swallows Aladdin again.
Ah, so it's like that.
Aladdin has been lucky enough to have his cock in a lot of mouths over the years, and this, this needy, urgent pleading, this is something he understands. The first time, he'd been hesitant, nervous about causing any pain, and the girl had looked at him, confused. Where's the problem if I'm having fun? She'd asked, and he'd never found a reason to question that.
Aladdin had liked her.
"You're very good at this, right?" he asks, hands tightening in Judal's hair, dragging him down harder. He rolls his hips forward, breath coming fast and hard as he thrusts in, sliding the head down Judal's throat. "It's too much, but you want it anyway, right? I bet you'd like it if I held you still and pulled you down all the way." Judal's nose bumps his belly by the time he does, the little gagging, choking motions feeling unbelievably good around him, even as he watches Judal's face to make sure this is what he wants.
Oh, god.
His eyes roll into the back of his head, the words going straight to his cock as much as the relentless tug of Aladdin's hands, the hard shove of his cock when he's pulled down onto it. Aladdin gets it, and god, that's nice. Judal can't breathe, and his vision blurs, no matter the frantic, fast desperate little inhales through his nose, and something like a whimper is lost in his throat, muffled by the long, thick press of Aladdin's cock as he chokes around it. Yes, yes, yes, all of that, whatever you say.
Aladdin likes being right. He especially likes being right when it's about what someone else likes, and whether they're going to enjoy something he does. He can tell that Judal is enjoying this, probably more than he had enjoyed having Aladdin stroke his cock, and Aladdin gives him what he wants, thrusting in hard, deliberate, short strokes, all the way in.
He'd like to make it last, especially now that he's figured out what Judal likes so much, but that mouth is way too good, the little noises too nice, and Aladdin bites down on his lip, pulling back. "I bet you like swallowing too," he pants, grinding the head of his cock against Judal's lips and tongue, out and in, out and in, teasing the head around his lips. "Try to swallow it all, you'll like the taste."
He doesn't know why the girls always like words like that, but seeing them squirming and aroused is its own reward, so he's learned them quite well. His head falls back as he comes hard, painting Judal's lips at first, his cock bumping forward to finish on his tongue. It's been a long time, and there's a lot of it, yet somehow Aladdin doubts Judal will mind.
Judal pants hard, swallowing desperate as Aladdin spills over his tongue, and he lifts a shaky hand beneath his own chin to let what he misses drip into his palm. His eyes flutter helplessly as he licks at his lips, at his own fingers as he lifts them up to suck them clean, and he sags back with a groan, shivering with each slick finger that he licks clean, the taste heavy on his tongue and god, his own cock is even harder because of it.
It begs the question, really, of why he never let Aladdin do this before.
Aladdin's hands turn gentle, petting Judal's hair, his forehead, wiping the sweat from his brow and soothing. "You were really, really good," he says, swinging his leg over to kneel next to Judal instead of astride him. "It's like you love cocks the way I love boobs."
Judal contemplates biting him, but that's way too much effort right now. "I don't go around shoving my face into them, though," he grumbles, flopping into the pillows with a shaky little sigh. "I discriminate."
Aladdin sighs, hand trailing down Judal's chest and abdomen. "I don't much anymore either. It's different when you're grown up. Also the heights are all different. Basically now I ask first like any man." Probably more often than any man, but they obviously don't know what they're missing. "Do you want me to suck yours?"
"Mnn… you are really tall now, that would make it difficult," Judal sighs, stretching underneath Aladdin's hands, with a slow shiver. "I'd rather you fuck me," he admits, and he reaches over to paw a hand down Aladdin's chest. The thought of that cock inside of him-ahh, yes, that's nice. "How long would it take to get you to that point again, hmm?"
"Not long," Aladdin promises, reaching over to run his hands over Judal's chest again. Even if he's not a girl, it's still a really nice chest, and he rubs his thumbs over the nipples. "Faster if you squirm around and make pretty noises."
Oh, he can do that. In spades, when Aladdin plays with his nipples like that, leaving his breath to hiccup and his hands to reach for his shoulders and drag him close. "Good," Judal murmurs, back arching with a high, breathy sound. "I'm sure you hear all the time… about how you've got a really nice cock."
Aladdin grins, pinching, tugging a bit as he leans down to brush his lips over Judal's. "Sometimes," he admits. "But I still like to hear it, especially if that means the gi-the person is having fun." He nuzzles down, asking in a lower, breathier tone, "Do you like my cock, Judal?"
Judal can't help but squeak a bit, and his swollen lips part with a rumbling, purring groan, teeth gently nipping into Aladdin's lower lip. "I do. A lot." He forgets they aren't in his room, or Sinbad's, anywhere that oils and aloe are kept on the bedside tables at all times, and he huffs in frustration when he swings a hand out and there's nothing within easy reach. Annoying. "Want it inside me," he eagerly murmurs all the same. "When you first showed up again, like this… it was hard not to already think about it."
Aladdin laughs, kissing Judal again-even if he hasn't eaten recently, there's some faint lingering hint of peaches there, mostly masked by the swell of exotic spices and himself, left over, and Aladdin sort of enjoys kissing that off of him. "I want to put it inside you," he murmurs, easing Judal's legs apart. "Thought about it a lot, whenever someone talked about you. Hey, do you have that slippery stuff we used last time?"
"This is why i wanted you to stay in my room," Judal grumbles, sighing as he twists around, fumbling into one of the table's drawers instead. Ahh, a little bottle of oil best used for hands is better than nothing, and he flops himself back down, pouring it into his own palm before he reaches down to wrap it around Aladdin's cock. "The oils I have in my room," he breathes, thumb sliding slick and dripping over the head of Aladdin's cock, "smell like my perfume. So when they get everywhere, just like this… it's really nice."
Aladdin's eyes lid, hips moving in slow, easy circles against Judal's hand. "You should have brought them in the fruit basket. Now that would be a welcoming gift."
He grabs Judal's legs, kneeling between them as he spreads them wide. "Do you want to be like this, so I can see your pretty face?" he asks, eyes tracing down to the flushed cock between Judal's legs and the cleft of his ass beneath. "Or on your stomach, so I can take you really deep?"
Why does he have to list options like that? "No wonder you have hundreds of girlfriends," Judal groans, and it's with a heave of effort that he starts to twist and turn himself over. "I want every inch of you in me."
Aladdin grabs Judal's hips, yanking them back so he can grind against him as he leans over, breath hot against his ear. "I have hundreds of girlfriends," he breathes, "because I make them feel really, really good. Spread your legs so I can get inside you, your hole is really tight even with the oil."
"Fuck," is the breathy curse Judal manages underneath his breath, and he nearly scrambles to obey, setting his knees as far apart as he can, no matter how his thighs quiver and twitch with each slide and grind of Aladdin's cock against him. He huffs into the sheets, burying his face down into them with a whine. "Just… just put it in, you're not gonna hurt me."
Aladdin grins, and he rubs the head of his cock up and down the cleft, gliding over the tight little hole. "Yeah, but you like it when I talk and tease you, right? When I say that I'm going to put it in so deep you're going to have trouble breathing, but I know that someone greedy like you is going to want the whole thing anyway, right?"
There's something to be said about being teased, because god, it's a rare day that he and Sinbad can even get a few words of it in before they're fucking. Now, it just makes his cock harder-makes him pant and writhe like a cat in heat as he wriggles back, pressing his cheek to the sheets as he tries to look over his shoulder while he pleads. "That's… not fair though," Judal pants out, eyes fluttering as the head of Aladdin's cock catches against his hole, and god, he knows already how big it is, how hard it was to wrap his lips around it, so the thought of it stuffing him full like this… "I can't… can't wait anymore, I'm so hard, please-"
Aladdin's breath hitches, and his hips jut forward involuntarily, cock throbbing as he does. "I'm glad I already came in your mouth," he says frankly, really enjoying himself now that he knows how much Judal likes this. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to wait. You know, my memory isn't as good as it used to be-I forget what kind of noises you make." He tugs on an earring with his teeth again, murmuring, "Will you scream when I fuck you? Or cry? Or just kind of wiggle around and ask me for more?"
"Alaaddin-" It's a wail now, high and desperate, and Judal thinks he probably is crying now, with how his breath hiccups and catches so much. It hurts, being this hard, being so close to being fucked and just not having Aladdin's cock in him yet, and god, he's going to come all over himself even before Aladdin puts it in him. "Please please please I'll do whatever you want just put it in please-"
That's probably enough, Aladdin decides. Judal has been very well-behaved, and his moans and pleas are making him so hard his head pounds. "You don't have to do anything," he breathes, and uses one hand to guide his cock in, the other to pull back on Judal's hips. "All you have to do is take it. Oh-that's perfect," he gasps, looking down as the thick blunt head disappears into Judal's body.
Judal groans, the sound low and breathless and relieved, and his hips twitch back, following Aladdin's pull all too eagerly. "God," he huffs into the sheets, biting them as his nails flex in, and he wriggles his way backward, mouth falling open at the slick, wide stretch of it, that aching fullness that he craves. "J-just like that, fuck me-"
"You like it just like that, right?" Aladdin asks, eyes too bright, hands grabbing too tightly, dragging Judal back hard, the lunge of his body forward shoving him down to the bed. "You like it when I make you feel really, really full, right?"
He drives forward, tangling a hand in Judal's hair and pulling back, biting down his neck. "You want to tell me how much you like it, don't you? You want me to grab you and hold you down and make you scream?"
Judal is so tight, squeezing around him like a vice, almost too tight to feel good, but Aladdin can't help but love that extra edge to it.
Judal sobs rather than screams, though, never mind how it breaks into ragged, breathless little keens with each hard thrust that shoves his face into the sheets before having it hauled up again. The yank to his hair brings tears to his eyes, and he pants out a sharp breath, his hands clawing into the bed as if that will somehow help, just as his legs spread as wide as they can-it never helps.
"Please-" Ah, he can't breathe. Can't breathe, can't think from how deep Aladdin is inside of him, stretching him wide and making him moan and writhe back onto his cock. "You feel so good inside me, I can't-I just-"
Judal is so pretty, and Aladdin can tell he's just on the edge of pleasure and pain, just on the verge of this being some of the best sex he's ever had and not really fun anymore. He slides a hand down, curling it around Judal's cock as he slams in, body tingling with every thrust, little urgent grunts coming from him as he moves faster and faster. "You must need to finish so bad," he mutters, hips pounding a rough staccato rhythm. "Come on, be messy all over me."
Judal is pretty sure that he passes out.
At some point, at least. He knows he's a sobbing mess when he comes, spilling over Aladdin's hand barely after he touches it, twitching and squirming and collapsing like some worthless, boneless thing. He can't help it, when he's wound so tight and then suddenly not, and he sniffs and huffs and moans into the sheets, rubbing his face down into them until his vision blurs and he really doesn't think of anything for a few moments, only to drift back in to Aladdin still inside of him, still so hard, and god, does he ache.
Aladdin tries to be gentle when he comes. He can't help the way he clutches at Judal, dragging him close as he cries out softly, burying his face in Judal's hair when he finally lets go. Judal feels good in his arms, all wriggly and keening, and Aladdin holds him still, arms tense until they finally both stop trembling.
Very carefully, he eases himself out, turning Judal onto his side to cuddle up behind him. "You're really good at that, too," he says quietly, once he has his voice back.
Judal flops back against him, his breathing ragged still, and ah, his body feels like mush. "So are you," he hoarsely manages, butting his head up underneath Aladdin's chin. "I haven't had sex that good in ... awhile. Ah, don't tell Sinbad that."
Aladdin tightens his arms, pressing a kiss to Judal's head, then another because it's fun. If there's one thing he knows he's world class at, it's cuddling. "I don't mind. I'm glad you had fun."
"Understatement." Ahh, he's not moving ever. Judal snuggles back against him, shutting his eyes. "I can call a servant in a bit, if you want a bath. Probably should, before you talk to Sinbad… otherwise you're gonna reek of me."
Aladdin nuzzles against Judal's hair. "In a bit," he agrees, with something not unlike a yawn. He laughs quietly, self-deprecatingly. "I thought I was all caught up on sleep, but I guess you wore me out again. You're really fun to do that with."
"So nap again. Catch up on sleep while you can, at least." If Balbadd's as awful as you say, then a few hours isn't going to change much of anything.
Aladdin considers protesting, but Judal is really nice to cuddle with, and he is tired. Besides, even if Sinbad says no, if he can catch up on sleep and food while he's here and go back with his reserves all caught up, well, that's worth the trip, right?
Sure.
Aladdin tucks his head down, letting his eyes slide shut. "Mmkay. I hope...while I'm here...we can do that again…" he murmurs, dropping off to sleep.