Chapter 7 – Agrabah

WARNING – DRUGGING – The after effects of date rape drugs are seen in scene 7. Nothing bad happens beyond the drugging, but I didn't want anyone to be caught off guard by that.

-:-:-

Lonnie and Aziz made arrangements for Lonnie to dominate Ben in Agrabah and then they returned to Imperial City in time for the Dragon Boat Festival.

"Long story short," Lonnie said as they walked the bustling sidewalks of Imperial City. "We eat dumplings and watch the boats race. It's not exactly a complicated holiday."

"What I'm hearing is there will be food," Aziz said, and they did indeed get food, Lonnie's family gladly providing them with a great repast as they informed them of the adventures of young Lonnie, who bore them with a complete lack of shame.

"She's always been a hellion," her great-grandmother informed them sagely. "She takes after me that way."

"It's an honor," Lonnie chirped, earning bright smiles all around while Aziz and Chad fumbled their way through chopstick usage.

They were not entirely successful, but only Aziz was bad enough to be given a fork out of pity.

"This way!" Lonnie cheered, dragging them out towards a bridge where they could have the best view of the races.

Ultimately, Doug ended up watching the others more than he did the boats.

It was an inevitable pull, as their wonder outstripped whatever paltry offerings simple boat racing could inspire, even if they were culturally significant. Yes, he could invest in the race, but he'd rather memorize the gleam of excitement in Aziz's eye when his chosen boat pushed ahead of the others, watch Ben bury his laugh in the crook of Aziz's shoulder. He'd rather take in Chad filming the spectacle, pausing to get footage of the group cheering, focusing on their joy like Doug was.

And then there was Lonnie, radiating pride for her people, the sun managing to catch her face at an angle that seemed to make her glow, and that was a dangerous thing too. Such brilliance should only be reserved for Chad, and yet on that bridge, Doug felt just as lost for Lonnie despite knowing her for less than half the time he'd spent with Chad.

It was times like this that he didn't fear Ben's crush on Chad. Perhaps the blond would be better off with the other prince. Perhaps if Doug had any kind of decency, he wouldn't try to hold on so tightly to Chad, when it was clear Doug couldn't be devoted to him the way he should be.

Perhaps he was too greedy to have a One.

The thought scared him.

-:-:-

"You okay?" Lonnie asked when they trailed off to search for a collection of food carts, determined to sate their appetites on the best smelling offerings before they made the walk back to Lonnie's house.

Doug's heart flittered in his chest, and for a moment, he hated, though it wasn't enough to combat the initial feeling. "I'm fine," Doug assured her, drifting back towards Chad on reflex. "And you?"

"Wonderful," Lonnie gushed, her smile wide.

From her other side, Aziz pouted. "You're only saying that because your boat won."

"Duh," Lonnie sang, prompting Ben to shift between them before they could break into another impromptu wrestling match.

"This is fun," Chad said, hooking his arm through Doug's so he could lean in close. "We should get some more of those dumplings."

"Yeah," Doug said, his voice sounding rough. "We should."

Anything to keep Chad happy.

-:-:-

There wasn't much time for intimacy after that, but the tradeoff was worth it to get to know Lonnie's family. Her grandmother spent an evening teaching them how to cook proper Imperial City food and her grandfather gave them a private performance with a traditional Imperial City instrument called a pipa – that looked like a pear-shaped guitar and sounded like a banjo.

Her parents spent a day running them through the same obstacle courses they used for teamwork exercises with the Wall Guard (since they were in a time of peace, the generals were mostly tasked with guarding the Great Wall from whatever threats lurked in the wild lands beyond, though to this date, there had been no issues). They came out of the affair muddy and laughing, and Ben, Lonnie, and Aziz were then run through sword forms while Chad made friends with a pair of foxes that had wandered into their training area.

They did archery and horseback riding with the generals as well, though Lonnie's parents countered these activities with a night out to see acrobats perform, or a picnic made with food the whole family had worked to create.

By the time they moved on to Agrabah, Doug's heart was overfull with happiness. He didn't know if he could stand to add any more, and once again he grew worried for the future. It seemed like something he couldn't help but do.

"Goodbye, my heart," General Mulan said to Lonnie before she left, her daughter's face cupped between her hands. "Please try not to give Sultana Jasmine too much trouble."

"Though you may bother Lord Consort Aladdin all you like," General Shang offered, making Lonnie burst into helpless giggles before she dragged them into a tight hug.

"Love you," she hummed, and maybe it didn't make Doug feel homesick exactly, but he did miss his family rather pointedly in that moment.

At least, the family that had deigned to claim him.

"It's okay," Chad whispered, always seeming to know where Doug's thoughts strayed. "Just one more stop and then we're home."

"Yeah," Doug murmured, squeezing Chad's hand. "Just one more stop."

-:-:-

That stop, of course, was Agrabah, and fortunately it was so sufficiently distracting with its unique splendor that Doug couldn't spare much thought for homesickness when Aziz gave them a private tour of the palace.

"Now unfortunately, I am not an only child," Aziz sighed when he guided them through wide, sprawling hallways. "And my younger sister alternates between thinking I am the coolest human ever and never wanting to leave my side to thinking I'm a joke who wants nothing to do with me, with little indication as to when she will feel which way."

"Shut up, Aziz!" spilled from a nearby room – Doug belatedly realizing they must be in the royal quarters before Aziz laughed.

"Guess she doesn't like me today," Aziz cheered, waving them on. "Let's take advantage of that and get settled."

Like Ben, Aziz had his own royal suite, though unlike Ben, he didn't bother trying to set up any additional guestrooms.

"Okay, so I talked Genie into maybe doing me an itty-bitty favor," Aziz explained when he brought them to the doors outside his room. "I got him to enchant my bed bigger, supposedly for movie night purposes, but-"

"Hey, now we don't have to split up anymore!" Chad chirped, his enthusiasm enough to leave the rest of them smiling, and just like that, Aziz's shoulders relaxed.

"Yeah, essentially," Aziz said, ducking his head with a bashful look. "You should still store your stuff in the other rooms though. Just for appearances."

"Yeah, we get the drill, Aziz," Lonnie assured him. "Secret sexy times shall remain a secret."

"Not that I'm ashamed of them," Aziz pressed when he herded them into his room where, indeed, a bed large enough to accommodate all of them now stood. "But if your dad doesn't cut off my dick my mom definitely will, so…"

"Should we stop?" Chad asked, his brows furrowed together in concern.

The immediate rush of 'no!' from the others was enough to leave Chad blinking and flushed, but Doug supposed that explained their investment well enough.

"Why don't we just get settled, shall we?" Aziz asked, and they split up to do just that, Doug and Chad claiming a room together, as per usual.

"Aziz said I could say hello to Abu," Chad babbled as they put their stuff away. "And maybe pet him, if he was okay with that. Do you think he'd mind if I made him a vest? I could embroider it with gold – he said Abu likes to be a fancy monkey."

"I think he'd be honored by your consideration," Doug replied, savoring the bright smile it earned him. And that was enough for him, though for a second he worried, enough to make him voice this concern. "Chad, you're okay with all this, right? Our um- casual friend sex?"

Chad paused, blinking up at Doug with a confused look that settled into a flush. "I… yeah, I think," he settled on. "I mean – sex is nice, and our friends are nice, so combining the two things seems like sort of a no brainer."

Be that as it may…

"Just let me know if that changes," Doug asked. "Because it's okay if it does. It's also okay to say no if you're not up for it – it wouldn't make any of us like you less."

Chad chewed on his bottom lip. "But it's okay if I do like it, right?" he asked, looking at Doug hesitantly. "That um- wouldn't make you upset?"

Doug's heart caught in his chest at the prospect of ever hurting his One in such a way, of stifling his desires because of his own greed.

"No, Chad," he assured. "It wouldn't."

Immediately, Chad's shoulders slumped with relief. "Oh good. Could you let me know if that changes?"

At that, Doug couldn't help but smile. "Of course," he said, holding out his hand for Chad to take. "No secrets, remember?"

The blond brightened up with a wide grin. "No secrets," he echoed, clasping Doug's hand with an enthusiastic squeeze. "Now let's finish unpacking so we can try out that fancy Agraben food Aziz told us so much about."

-:-:-

Agraben food was, of course, substantially spicier than anything they were used to, and the only one who seemed to be able to weather it was Lonnie, who ate it with a look of satisfied happiness. The rest of them settled for glasses of milk, their eyes red and wet with irritated tears while Aziz tried and failed to swallow his giggles.

"I did warn you guys," he laughed, earning an unimpressed look from his mother.

"Hot," Ben croaked, and Lonnie managed enough pity for him to get a few comforting pats on the shoulder.

After that, Doug, Chad, and Ben got only the mild version of Agraben fare, though the experience was entirely brightened when Abu deigned to spend the meal on Chad's shoulder, happily chittering with the blond while Chad offered him a deluge of compliments.

"Careful," Lord Consort Aladdin murmured. "You'll give him a big head."

"Aw, your head could never be big, Abu," Chad assured the monkey, making him puff up with pride.

Across the table, Aziz's younger sister Fairuza gave Chad a speculative look but said nothing. Apparently she had missed her brother something fierce and was only acting distant to make his absence hurt less. She would warm up to them in a couple of days, her father had assured them.

In the meantime, they would take advantage of that distance to break in Aziz's bathroom, which hosted a bathtub large enough to fit all of them.

"Why don't the two of you reward Aziz for being such a good host?" Lonnie offered, settling into Doug's lap with a grin, and Ben and Chad shared a look before pouncing on the prince, Aziz insisting it wasn't necessary until he was a writhing, moaning mess in their arms. "He left you a gift, Ben," Lonnie continued, and Aziz's voice took on a desperate pitch when they realized he was wearing a butt plug.

"You're a cruel woman, Lonnie," Aziz gasped before Ben slowly started working into his tight heat, the Agraben pressed against Chad's front, breathless as the two exchanged kisses.

"I think what you meant to say was 'thank you'," Lonnie chirped, guiding Doug's hand between her legs. "And you, sir, are most certainly welcome."

The shower was big enough for all of them as well, with enough nozzles and showerheads that they could get clean, not that Doug was allowed to focus on that because Lonnie was a woman on a mission.

"Don't think I forgot you," she murmured, gaze half-lidded and sultry before she pinned Doug against the wall, pumping a vicious hand between his legs. "Such a big boy."

"Oh, is this what we're doing?" Chad asked, always eager, and then he was helping her too, pressing kisses to Doug's needy lips before he inevitably fell apart.

"Light," Aziz huffed, slumped against Ben's back. "You're gonna need to get a bigger bed for your room next year, Ben."

"Maybe you can get Genie to enchant his bathroom bigger too," Lonnie added with a giggle, and just like every other time Doug thought of the future, his throat got all tight. "Hey, you should request Aziz as your roommate – stating like, a fear of losing your connection to your peers or something to get around the no-roommate thing. That way his roommate can't say shit if he's gone a lot."

"What about you?" Aziz asked, squinting at Lonnie.

She simply smirked. "Jane and I are tight. She won't say shit."

"And Doug and Chad are roommates with each other, so that's one problem solved," Aziz hummed. "What do you think, Ben?"

"I um- yeah, I like the sound of that," Ben said, his cheeks flushed, and Doug and Chad said nothing, not entirely sure what that conversation meant.

Well, he supposed more friendly sex was implied, but Doug wasn't sure they should be getting this comfortable with each other. It seemed dangerous.

Then again, perhaps they should enjoy it while they could, seeing as there was no way it could last forever.

-:-:-

Like their stay in Imperial City, their stay in Agrabah was designed to coincide with another kingdom-wide holiday – the Festival of Colors.

Doug lost the exact cultural implications behind the festival, but the end result had people swarming the streets of the capital to throw colored powders at each other, leaving the city and its citizens to look like a vision of living art in bright, vibrant colors. Aziz acquired clothes for them to wear for the occasion – light, breathable fabrics they wouldn't mind ruining, and with a blessing from his parents they hit the streets, throwing powder at each other and delighting in the colorful messes they created.

Doug's glasses protected his gaze well enough, though he was occasionally blinded. By the time he got cleaned up, however, it was always to see either Aziz in a headlock or Lonnie dumping powder on Ben's head or Chad cuddling in close, offering him a wide smile as he waited for Doug to regain his bearings, because Doug mattered. Doug was important enough to wait for.

"Best holiday ever," Lonnie giggled, and then she was dragging them deeper into the crowds, off towards their next adventure.

-:-:-

"Hey," Chad giggled sometime later, absolutely splattered in different shades of bright color that did nothing to lessen his beauty. If anyone could pull off being coated head-to-toe in shades of pink, yellow, and blue, it was Chad, and Doug looked forward to washing the colored powders out of his hair later. "This is fun."

Doug wasn't surprised by the deduction, but he was surprised by the way Chad seemed to slump against him, stumbling over his feet as though exhausted. His head sort of listed to the side, and while it was obvious he was trying to maintain some kind of eye contact with Doug, he wasn't really succeeding. Even the arms wrapped around Doug's shoulders seemed to be of barely any help.

"Chad?" Doug asked, placing steadying hands against the blond's hips on reflex. "Are you okay?"

"I'm great," Chad slurred, words clumsy and eyes seeming dazed. "Better than great. The best."

"Are you high?" Doug asked, the pieces slamming together to lead to an irrefutable conclusion.

Chad considered this with a wobbly tilt of his head, his brows pulled together in thought. "Am I high? I don't know, I've never been high before."

No, this wasn't- he wasn't high, but he was definitely drugged. Someone had tried to attack Chad and got the dosage wrong, or maybe this was a warning, or maybe he had accidentally indulged in something he shouldn't have while Doug was distracted, but the end point was that Chad was definitely not in full control of his faculties, leaving him vulnerable in a way Doug's protective nature couldn't stand.

"Hey, guys!" Lonnie cheered, throwing her own arm around Doug's shoulders and leaning in like this was a new game. "Is this awesome or what?"

"So awesome," Chad gushed, letting his head thunk down against Doug's shoulder, even if he kept his gaze on Lonnie. "The best-"

"Chad got drugged," Doug murmured, wrapping an arm around Chad's waist before shifting the blond against his side, letting Doug support most of his weight. "I'm taking him back to the palace."

"What, for real?" Lonnie asked, more in surprise than disbelief as she looked Chad over. "Shit."

"I've got lunch worked out for us!" Aziz declared as he dragged a multi-colored Ben into their huddle. "They're used to all the festival powders-"

"Chad got drugged," Lonnie was helpful enough to explain so Doug wouldn't have to. "Doug wants to get him back to the palace."

Aziz blinked, a moment of shock, and then he was nodding. "Of course. Let's just- this way."

The other three – arguably some of the most important young people in all of Auradon – acted as a buffer between Doug and the rest of the crowd, forming a path for him to take until they were safely at the palace gates. The guards didn't hesitate to let them in, and Aziz took them straight to the royal doctor. By that point, Doug was carrying Chad, the blond seeming mostly out of it and too small in his arms.

"Hey, sweetheart," he slurred, head rolling against Doug's shoulder. "F-Feeling shy? I know what will- I know what will help."

"Is that what they said to you?" Doug asked when he set Chad on the examination table. "Chad-"

"I didn't want it," he mumbled. "But he pushed it in my mouth and then- some other guy hit him and I- I didn't want to be there anymore, so-"

"We need to let the doctor work," Aziz said, his expression grave when his hand settled onto Doug's shoulder. It took all three of them to get Doug out of the room, though Ben did most of the work, until Doug was pacing up a storm in the private waiting room, the other three settled in nearby chairs, not seeming nearly as joyous as they'd been just a few hours ago.

"What happened?" Sultana Jasmine asked when she strolled into the room not half an hour later. "Razoul said you returned to the palace early, that Chadwick was injured."

"He was drugged, mama," Aziz murmured, leaning into the hand she pressed against his shoulder. "Some asshole forced something in his mouth-"

"You were supposed to be with him," Doug cut in, his voice sounding strange to his own ears, everything feeling distant and weird. "That's- the only reason I wasn't with him was because you said you would watch him."

"I was!" Aziz insisted. "I just ducked into the restaurant to see if they had a table available, Chad's not a child-"

"No, he's just in a foreign country," Doug spat. "A prince in a high traffic festival where literally everyone is disguised! You know how nervous he gets-"

"He said it was fine-"

"He was lying!" Doug snarled. "Because he doesn't want you to think he's weak when exhibiting some damn caution would have been entirely justified."

"Calm down," Lonnie snapped, moving to stand between the two of them. "Doug, we know you're upset, we're all upset-"

"You don't-" Doug cut himself off, exhaling hard through clenched teeth. "It's not the same, it will never be the same. You've known him a year."

"And what, you've known him three?" Aziz pressed. "So you're the Chad-wizard now?"

"Aziz, calm yourself," Sultana Jasmine ordered, making her son turn away with a scowl. Doug's satisfaction was short lived, because in the next moment, the sultana was addressing him. "Douglass, you must calm yourself as well – you can't help Chadwick in this condition."

Doug wanted to snarl, wanted to scream because Chad shouldn't even be in this condition. He should be home in Erebor, tending to his gardens or brushing the ponies. He should be helping Doug's amad bake tea cakes and embroidering jackets and making flower crowns in the grassy hills of Dale. They should be having picnics and reading books. He should be treasured, safe.

Instead they were in a fucking chaotic street festival where someone had successfully drugged Chad, and maybe he wanted to kidnap the prince and maybe he did it for laughs and maybe he wanted to assault Chad and none of them would have known, because the person Doug had entrusted Chad to had left him.

People abandoned Chad all the time, Doug refused to enable it. He knew he wasn't being reasonable, he knew he wasn't thinking straight, but he was panicked and angry and close to tears, apparently, and the leaders of Agrabah wouldn't even be able to tell Chad's dad about this because he couldn't give one shit about his son.

Or worse, they would get through to him and then Chad would be locked up all over again.

Doug was saved from having to respond by the doctor slipping into the waiting room, capturing their joint attention with ruthless efficiency.

"A few hours and he will be fine," the doctor assured them. "I'm running a tox-screen now, but the symptoms are similar to a strand of date rape drugs often used in the marketplace."

Date rape. Date rape.

The words were ugly, clamoring louder and louder in Doug's brain until he thought his skull might explode.

"I gave him an IV, and he's sleeping now," the doctor continued. "He'll have a slight headache when he wakes up."

"Can we see him?" Ben asked, breaking his silence for the first time since they'd entered the waiting room.

"You can," the doctor allowed with a nod of his head. "Though perhaps you'd like to get cleaned up first."

"You can take turns," Sultana Jasmine said, and it wasn't a request.

"I'll shower first," Aziz muttered before stalking off. Doug didn't pay him any mind, ignoring the tendrils of guilt that hovered at the edge of his peripherals in favor of focusing on Chad. Chad was the only thing that mattered, Chad needed him.

He focused on that, and not the growing pain in his chest, because Doug had- it hadn't been a thought really, to trust the others. He'd just given it, hadn't thought twice about it, and then he'd been betrayed.

It hurt in ways he couldn't describe, but he knew one thing for sure.

When it was his time to shower, he detoured to track Sultana Jasmine down, who was looking over some papers in her private office.

"We're forever grateful for your hospitality, Sultana Jasmine," Doug murmured, offering a respectful bow. "But I would like to take Chad home to Erebor as soon as he feels up to it."

The Sultana paused, showing no outward response to this news. "Are you sure?" she said. "You can sleep on it-"

"I don't need to, your majesty," Doug said, knowing it was rude to interrupt, but feeling too hurt not to. "I need to take him where I know he's safe."

Doug couldn't protect Chad from the world, he could only do so much, but while it was in his power to try, he most certainly would.

It was all that mattered.

"Very well," she said after a short pause. "I'll reach out to your parents immediately."

"Thank you," Doug said, retreating from her office as silently as he'd come. His father might be a dwarf, but he'd taught Doug the benefits of stealth, how to tread where you would be least watched.

Doug did that now, knowing he could bear no more eyes on him. He needed to go home.

It had been a foolish trip.

-:-:-

Chad woke up sometime later, well after dinner had passed. The four of them had been sitting in silence, Doug and Lonnie working together to clean the worst of the powdered dyes off of Chad's skin. They didn't change his clothes, Doug couldn't allow that, not when Chad was so vulnerable, not when- he didn't deserve that, was all. He would be confused enough as it was.

Doug was painfully aware of the moment the blond began to stir, alert and leaning close in an instant when Chad's lashes fluttered open. He could see the blond slowly regaining his bearings, a small grin pulling at his lips when he realized it was Doug next to him, something that grew when he saw the others, though it was a short-lived happiness when he noticed how worried they were.

"Hey, guys," Chad murmured, struggling to sit up.

Aziz adjusted the bed accordingly, making Chad startle when he realized he was in the infirmary.

"Did something happen?" Chad asked, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Did I not drink enough water? My head hurts."

Doug distracted himself by fetching Chad's water cup, pressing the straw against his lips and feeling a swell of relief go through him when Chad obligingly took a few sips.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Aziz asked, his voice gentle.

"Um." Chad considered this. "You went into the restaurant?" He looked to Doug. "Did I have an allergic reaction?"

"You were drugged by someone on the street," Doug explained, his voice tense. "You got back to me before anything happened, though. We got you back to the palace after that, and then you passed out."

"Oh." It took a moment for Chad to process this. "Why would someone do that?"

"Because they're a piece of shit," Doug muttered, likely surprising Chad with the force of his statement. He sighed, forcing himself to remain calm. "It's okay, you're safe now, and the doctor said there wouldn't be any lasting side effects."

"But I ruined the festival," Chad muttered, looking genuinely pained by this. "We were having such a good time and I ruined it."

"No, Chad," Lonnie cut in, her tone firm. "You're the victim here. The only one to blame is the guy who attacked you."

She seemed to aim this last part at Doug, though it mostly fell on deaf ears, Doug too relieved by Chad's coherence to process anything else.

"The doctor said we could move you to Aziz's suite when you were ready," Doug said, his voice sounding tight. "Are you up for a little soup?"

"Have you guys eaten?" Chad asked, always thinking of others.

"No," Ben said, because despite Sultana Jasmine's insistence, none of them had been hungry.

"I'll eat if you guys do," Chad sniffed, and that was that.

They made it through a mostly silent dinner in Aziz's dining room before Doug dragged Chad back to their room, pulling him into the shower so he could help the blond get properly clean.

"I just feel so bad," Chad murmured when Doug helped him out of his clothes. "You guys spent all that time worrying about me-"

"It's not your fault," Doug interrupted, keeping his voice low, soothing. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"But I didn't- a smart person probably would have realized something was wrong before I did."

"Chad," Doug kept his tone firm because he could only repeat this so many times before he lost his control. "You're in a foreign kingdom at a chaotic festival. It's understandable for you to miss certain social cues. This isn't anything you've ever experienced before, and also, you're not dumb."

Chad considered this for a moment, then flopped against Doug in a comforting hold, hugging him close despite the fact that they were both naked, waiting outside the shower. "I'm still sorry for worrying you."

"It's okay," Doug assured him, hugging the blond close.

"Just- now I feel uneasy," Chad admitted. "Do you think we could take a day off from the festival tomorrow? Maybe you and I could just hang out in the library while they have fun."

"We're not going to the festival tomorrow," Doug said, his voice tight.

Chad paused just as they slid into the shower, the water running muddled as the last of the dye on his body was washed away. "We're not?" he asked. "Do they not wanna go because I messed up?"

"You didn't mess up, Chad, you were attacked," Doug said. "And they- I don't know what they're going to do, but we're going home, to Erebor."

"Oh." Chad blinked. "Um. Okay, so they're coming over early?"

Doug hadn't thought of that, hadn't before he was shaking his head. "No, it's- I'm cutting this um- thing short," he said. "It's- my constitution can't take it."

Chad startled, unused to Doug admitting any sort of weakness, such was the stubbornness of dwarves. "Are you okay?"

"No," Doug admitted. "No, this is- it's too stressful, I just- I want-" He sighed, dragging Chad forward and burying his nose in the crook of the blond's shoulder. "I just want some time with you," he said, feeling shaky. "I want to keep you safe."

Distantly, he knew that nowhere was entirely safe, but at least in Erebor they were closer to it.

"Oh." Chad paused, then seemed to melt against him. "Okay, Doug. Whatever you need."

"I'm sorry," Doug said, startled to find tears building in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Chad. I'm sorry, I can't-"

"It's okay, Doug," Chad said, nuzzling the musician's hair. "It will be okay. You're allowed to hurt just as much as I am."

"You got hurt," Doug gasped. "And I wasn't even there."

But he would be, going forward. He would keep his One safe.

"But I found you," Chad hummed. "I'll always find you, Doug."

And that was what mattered. Because Ben and Lonnie had been there too, but Chad had found Doug. Even drugged out of his mind, he found Doug, because Doug would always be his place of safety.

And now Doug was going to make good on that.

-:-:-

Endnotes:

Dun, dun, DUN! Check it out, the closest thing this story has to a cliffhanger. Had to have one ;) Wanna guess how the others are going to respond to Doug's choices? Probably not well.

Story notes:

Aziz's younger sister is Fairuza, a character I made up for use in my other stories. Thought I'd give her a brief shout out here.

Until next time