Chapter 5: Food and Clothes

Aladdin couldn't believe he'd said Abbi was a prostitute. The guess had not been a bad one. They hadn't been far from the pleasure district. She was wearing a rag paired with jewels, and there were plenty of mollies who acted like they were high-class ladies. It helped them get richer clients.

But normally, he'd know better than to say something like that to someone's face, and he had not even stopped there. He had actually criticized her clothes. Sure, she was wearing a towel, but insulting a girl's outfit wasn't the best way to make friends. That whole first conversation had been a series of dumb moves. Abu was going to tease him for years to come.

At least, Lady Luck was on Aladdin's side tonight. He was still alive. And he managed to get Abbi to go with him even after he had acted like an ass. She even seemed to believe they were friends now.

Over the course of their journey through the city, she had become less defensive and more…fun. Aladdin was finding that he liked her and was looking forward to showing her one of his favorite hideouts.

As they made their way up the stairs that led to the old room, he kept glancing at her. It wasn't an easy climb. There was lots of broken debris in the passage and steps that looked like they were safe but definitely weren't. There were also a few traps, he'd made himself. They went slow, but still. Aladdin wanted to make sure Abbi didn't fall and break her neck.

That's why he kept looking at her. No other reason.

When he opened the door to the hideout, he watched her reaction. He knew Abbi was a bit fussy. She had almost not eaten that near-perfect apple he'd given her because it had been on the ground for a few seconds. And yet there was no disgust on the girl's face now. Her eyes combed the small room in obvious curiosity.

"It's not much," he allowed. Abu and Aladdin had fixed up this place themselves years ago with second-hand, third-hand, and fourth-hand items. He and Abu had made a fire pit in the middle of the room and covered the rest of the floor in rugs, blankets, and comfy pillows. Aladdin had also insisted on decorating the walls and a bit of the ceiling with some of the more colorful blankets. It helped hide the fact that part of the back wall was missing.

Abbi looked over at Aladdin.

His mind went blank.

"I like it," she told him. Then she went over and gracefully sat on one of his favorite cushions.

Aladdin grinned. Of course, she liked it. Anyone with good taste would. Feeling pleased with himself, Aladdin said, "I haven't showed you the best part."

"There is more?" she asked eagerly.

He nodded. He was about to blow this girl's mind. "Come, look," he said, going over to the back wall.

He watched as she rose up again and walked over to him. Aladdin loved the way she moved. He'd never seen anyone make walking look so appealing. She was like a dancer.

Abbi stopped as she came up beside him. She looked at the thick blanket hanging on the wall and then him. "What exactly am I supposed to be looking at?"

Aladdin did not answer right away. He wanted to let the moment sink in.

Just before, she was about to ask again, he said, "This." Then he pulled the blanket back and revealed the city.

Aladdin smiled knowingly as he saw Abbi's eyes widen, but then to his horror, she began to cry.

Crap!

"I'm sorry." He dropped the blanket.

Abbi grabbed it and pulled it back again. "No, you do not need to apologize. This view is magnificent. All of Agrabah is lit up and I have never seen the palace from this angle before. This is beautiful. Thank you," she said as she wiped away her tears and gave him a true smile.

Aladdin felt that smile like a slap to the face. Was there such a thing as too beautiful? The street rat rubbed the back of his neck. "Aw well…it's not that great."

She shook her head. "It is," she insisted, "This has been one of the worst nights of my life, so this," she paused trying to find the right words. "It is like exiting Tartarus and entering Elysium."

"Sure," he said. That sentence made no sense, but Abbi was still smiling. Her face was more lit up than any of the buildings outside as she stared at the city, so he figured it must be another compliment. "I'm glad you like the view," he said. Gladder than he'd been about anything in a long time. He felt great! "You can enjoy it while I go get you the food and clothes I promised. I'll be back soon," really soon, "so sit tight with Abu."

Abbi nodded, still focused on the view like she was trying to memorize it. The sight of the city had turned her into a starstruck little kid. It was cute how innocent and sweet she was acting now.

Aladdin wished he could take Abu and get back here as fast as possible so that he could spend even more time with this cute girl. But Aladdin barely knew Abbi and she had a clever streak to her despite how clueless she seemed sometimes. So, instead of pushing his luck again tonight, Aladdin had decided it would be best to have Abu keep an eye on her, while he got dinner, just in case.

Speaking of Abu, Aladdin turned away from Abbi and headed over to the monkey who sat in his corner far away from Abbi.

When Abu noticed Aladdin's approach, the monkey crossed his arms and said grumpily. "Finally remembered me, eh?"

Aladdin had been ignoring the monkey's chattering ever since Abu had suggested they steal Abbi's headband and abandon her on the streets. Unlike Abu, Aladdin could not be that heartless to a girl as pretty as Abbi.

Not to say that Aladdin wasn't interested in acquiring Abbi's headband. He definitely was. The jewel in it was big and valuable-looking and Abbi had confirmed it was real. It was just that Aladdin was also interested in Abbi and he didn't see a problem with helping her and helping themselves.

"I'd never forget you, Abu," Aladdin said, trying to coax his friend into a better mood.

The monkey turned his head and shut his eyes tight to let Aladdin know he was still angry about being neglected.

"Come on Abu, don't be like that. I already said I was sorry." Aladdin had apologized when they had gone to steal apples to win over Abbi.

Abu did not move a muscle.

Aladdin leaned in closer and whispered, "And you know I'm really glad you showed up when you did. I'm only alive right now because of you. You really saved my skin tonight."

The usually vain monkey was not impressed by this praise. It was too little too late.

"Tell you what," Aladdin said, preparing to rely on his tried-and-true method of apology. "I'm about to get some food."

"More food for the girl," Abu huffed. The monkey hadn't known that the best apples they had stolen earlier tonight were for Abbi and not them. Abu hadn't been pleased when he found out.

"While I'm out," Aladdin continued patiently, "I'll get you a special treat for all your help tonight."

At the word treat, the monkey opened one of his eyes. "What kind?"

"The delicious kind," Aladdin replied easily, "but only if you watch over Abbi and play nice while I'm gone."

"Play nice," the monkey mocked.

"Abu," Aladdin said in warning.

"Fine," the monkey said, tossing up his hands. "I'll play nice for a treat, but it better be good."

"It will," Aladdin promised. "See you in a bit."

"Yeah. Yeah," Abu said, waving a hand at Aladdin in a dismissive gesture. "Just hurry back, traitor."

Aladdin didn't argue with the charge. He knew he had not been the best of friends tonight. It wasn't that Aladdin wasn't thankful for Abu's rescue or that he was neglecting Abu on purpose exactly.

Of course, Aladdin was thankful to Abu and normally, they'd do more to celebrate Abu's courage than a few apples and a treat, but today wasn't a normal day. It was Kassim's death day. And Abu wasn't just Aladdin's best friend and rescuer. He was also a reminder of a past Aladdin was trying to forget tonight. It made it very hard to look at the monkey today.

Meanwhile, Abbi was very easy to look at. She was the most beautiful girl Aladdin had ever seen. She was naïve and could be kind of prissy. And yet, she was also surprisingly smart, full of life, and a bit mysterious with a story to tell. Aladdin could not think of a better distraction.

Already, because of her, he was pleasantly preoccupied. Instead of moping, the street rat was stealing things for Abbi's sake. First, Aladdin stopped by one of his least favorite harems and raided their clothesline while no one was looking. The garment he stole wasn't exactly pretty. It was modest and a brownish color. He had been tempted to steal one of the sexier outfits, but he guessed that Abbi would appreciate this brown dress better. Besides the fabric was of excellent quality, soft, and light.

Then Aladdin went to the night market and napped several stuff buns, three sugared pastries, a few oranges, and a bag of expensive Egyptian dates for Abu. This haul was bigger than he usually liked, but Aladdin wasn't above recruiting help from young street urchins to distract the vendors from his thieving. For a few copper dinars and some loaves of bread, he had half of the bazaar up in chaos. Not even the usually super paranoid premium date merchant would notice the missing items until morning.

Aladdin felt good as he left the marketplace. He was alive and for a while at least, he didn't feel guilty about that fact. He returned to the hideout ready to share his bounty with Abbi and Abu but the two of them didn't even notice him enter. They were busy talking with each other beside the now lit bonfire.

Abbi was asking the monkey, "So, you really used to work in the circus?"

Abu nodded.

"That is amazing!" she cried out. "What sort of stuff did you do? Were you-"

"Hey!" Aladdin said a bit sharply. "I'm back."

Abbi turned and said brightly, "Welcome home."

Aladdin's annoyance evaporated faster than dew on a desert afternoon. He grinned at her and said, "I brought food and clothes as promised." Then he held out the brown dress and waited for her reaction.

"A real dress!" she exclaimed. Abbi hopped up and ran over to him to get a closer look. Aladdin expected her to tear the dress right out of his hands, but before she touched it, she paused and asked, "May I?"

"Yeah. Sure," Aladdin said.

Even with his permission, Abbi did not snatch the dress away. She instead took a corner of the garment between her fingers and gently rubbed the fabric, like it was something precious and delicate. "This is lovely," she informed him as she continued to examine the dress. "The color is so rich and the thread count has to be close to 200."

Aladdin was confused. The dress was just some sort of reddish-brown. And thread count? What did that mean? Was she actually trying to guess how many threads were in the dress? Why was she wasting her time doing that?

But then, Aladdin forgot what he was thinking because Abbi had stopped inspecting the dress. Her eyes were on him as she said, "Thank you, Aladdin. I really appreciate this." She smiled at him with her whole being and it was even more dazzling than before because this time, there was no city to compete with. It was just her and him.

Aladdin suddenly felt as important as the sultan and twice as lucky. The sultan wished he had a cute girl like Abbi around. He would be jealous if he knew how close Aladdin was to heaven. Anyone would be. Aladdin knew he would've savored this moment for hours, maybe even days, if it was possible.

However, Aladdin didn't even get a minute before Abu ruined the mood by coming over and pulling on his pant leg. Aladdin tried to ignore him, but then the monkey asked loudly, "Where's my treat?"

"In a minute Abu! Jeez!" Aladdin snapped at him.

Abbi's smile disappeared and was replaced with confusion.

Well, fuck.

Suddenly fed up with all of existence, Aladdin said, "Here." He pressed the dress into Abbi's hands before he pointed to a corner of the room where there was a shaded alcove partially covered by a hanging blanket and said, "You can change over there."

"Alright," Abbi said cautiously. "I will return momentarily." Then she followed his instructions and went to go change into the dress.

Meanwhile, Aladdin headed over to the fire and glared at the flames.

"Can I have my treat now?" Abu asked, tentatively. He could sense Aladdin's bad mood.

"Here." Aladdin tossed the bag of dates to Abu.

The monkey had to scramble to grab the bag before it landed on the floor. "Hey! Watch it!" Abu screeched.

Aladdin continued to glare at the fire, but he did manage to say, "Sorry." He knew he was acting dumb. It had just been a smile. Who cared? This wasn't the first time a pretty girl had smiled at Aladdin for stealing something for them, but Abbi was…

Aladdin glanced over at the covered alcove where Abbi was undressing and his mouth fell open. Because of the fire, Aladdin could clearly see Abbi's shadow through the blanket. For a while, Aladdin had no idea where he was. His world began and ended with that shadow. Nothing mattered except the fact that it was untying the ribbons holding that silly towel together one by one.

"You're being creepy," Abu whispered in a chiding tone.

"Shut up, Abu. Nobody asked you," Aladdin hissed, but his anger did not hide his blush.

Abu shrugged and went back to his dates, deciding that they were more interesting than trying to correct Aladdin's moral character.

Abu was trying to correct his character. Aladdin knew that had to be wrong. He was supposed to be the nice one. Nice guys didn't stare at girls while they changed. Aladdin was a nice guy so why was he still staring at Abbi who currently had no towel and was just beginning to slip on her dress.

It had to be because Abbi was so beautiful. Aladdin had never seen anyone as perfect-looking as she was. It was too much to ask for him to resist this chance and besides, it wasn't like he was actually watching her be naked. She was fully covered by the blanket. All he was seeing was her shadow. So, that was alright, wasn't it?

It had to be because Aladdin's eyes refused to look away. He watched Abbi until she came out from behind the blanket fully clothed and self-assured. As she took in Aladdin's flushed cheeks, she glanced between him and the thin blanket and her expression faltered.

Uh-Oh.

Aladdin tried to play it off. "You look really nice in that dress, Abbi." Though in his mind, Aladdin couldn't help but think that she would look even better without it. Just her, those earrings, and her headband, that would be a picture. It was an image that did nothing to help Aladdin's flushed face.

"Thank you," Abbi said, still sounding cautious.

Before she could ask him what else he had seen, Aladdin said quickly, "Now that you're clothed, are you ready for a meal fit for a sultan?" He held up the bags of oranges, pastries, and meat buns that were still in his hands.

"I am!" Abu cried despite his full-looking belly. He had already eaten half of his dates.

"So am I!" Abbi added. Her eyes sparkled.

And just like that, Abbi seemed to forget her suspicions. After she nearly danced over to the fire in excitement, they began to have dinner. Soon, they were eating meat buns and Abbi was telling Aladdin about how clever Abu was.

"He started the fire all by himself," she said.

Abu puffed up his chest.

"Oh, yeah," Aladdin said rubbing Abu's head harder than was necessary. "He's a crafty one."

"Hey!" Abu protested, "Stop it." He tried to push Aladdin's hand away.

"Stop what?" Aladdin said, rubbing Abu's head harder.

Abbi giggled. "You two remind me of Rajah and me."

"Rajah?" Aladdin asked. His hand released Abu. He had bigger problems. "Who's Rajah?"

"Oh. Rajah is my pet tiger," she said, before taking another bite of her bun.

Abu and Aladdin exchanged a look and Abbi seemed to realize what she had said.

She tried to explain. "What I mean is Rajah is the princess's pet tiger. I am just…a…servant at the palace, her…royal tiger keeper."

"Uh-huh," Aladdin said. That sounded like the biggest lie ever. "Never heard of that position before."

"Yes," Abbi said, "it is more of an…unofficial position. It was given to me because Rajah and I get along so well. Most people do not realize how intelligent he is. I think he might be the smartest tiger in the world."

"So, you're serious?" Aladdin asked. She sounded a bit more confident, but did she really expect him to believe that she hung out with a tiger? "Are you sure he's not just a really big cat? I once had a friend who thought he saw a panther, but it just turned out to be a large housecat."

Abu scoffed, "Stupid boy," but Abbi smiled, amused.

Aladdin struggled to keep hold of his wits as she said, "Rajah is a big cat technically, but I am certain he is not a housecat. He is a real tiger with white and black fur."

"White?" Abu said, voicing Aladdin's own growing confusion.

"Abbi, tigers have orange and black fur, not white," Aladdin said with authority. He might be freaking out over a girl, but even he knew what color a tiger was supposed to be. He had seen enough of them at circuses over the years.

"Rajah is not like other tigers," she informed him. "He is special, very special." Her voice had gone soft and her expression as she stared at the fire was nostalgic and a bit sad. "It is a long story."

"A fake story," Abu muttered just as Aladdin said, "That's right!" with a burst of energy.

The other two looked at him, startled.

Aladdin didn't care. Abbi had just reminded him. He said, "Speaking of long stories, don't cha think it's time you explained how a girl like you ended up outside of the palace, in the seedy part of town with only a towel and some jewelry."

Abbi bit her lip and Aladdin thought he was going to have to wheedle the story out of her, but then Abbi sighed and said, "Alright. A deal is a deal."

Abbi adjusted her seat and took a deep breath. Then she said, "I suppose it all started with this fellow; I shall call him Arak. Nine days ago, he came to my father to ask for my hand in marriage…"

A/N: I did not mean for this story to turn out so angsty or seeded. It just sort of happened. Just like how this chapter somehow doubled in length. Them's the breaks I guess. Anyway, I hope you are enjoying this.

Please follow, favorite, or review. I'd love to have more people give this fic a look and improving its stats would really help that happen. It would also make my day.

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