Author's Notes:
This was absolutely 110% inspired by the 2019 Aladdin remake. I am fully aware of how cheesy this is but I don't care! This was fun and I liked it!
"Just go up there and tell him how you feel."
"You saw what happened," Gajeel growled, rolling his cloak in his hands as he paced the garden, his polished shoes scuffing dust to turn the ankles of his pants the ruddy color of sandy clay.
There was a time when he would never have dreamed he'd be in this place, walking to and fro the palm fronds and passing lattices of blooming summer flowers. Palace gardens, the picture of a paradise lost, and he strolled casually as if he really belonged there. If it hadn't been for Lily he'd still be running from guards in the streets, stealing bread for his next meal. With Lily, he'd never have to go back to petty theft again…
…but it was petty theft that had gotten him here, wasn't it?
It had been his last adventure, a trip to the docks to pilfer fresh fish that had come in that morning, when fate had guided his swift feet headlong into the blonde on the street. They'd collided with each other and tumbled, falling heavily into the sun-scorched dirt in a heap. The call had rung out, that sound he was so familiar with:
"Stop him! Thief! Thief!" and the blonde had him by the wrist. He had a strength in his grip that told Gajeel it would be a fight to get away but instead of dragging him to his would-be captors, the man dragged him to an alley.
"This way," he'd muttered, dashing around carts and through the crowd with the amount of grace that could only belong to a tiger in the jungle. It was there, with hand clasped around Gajeel's wrist, that he realized how soft his hands were. Just that detail made him realize this was no common man he was dealing with but with hood drawn and running through the streets Gajeel hadn't been able to see his face.
They'd rushed like mad through the streets before the noise of chase died enough that Gajeel took the lead, steering them to rooftops where they even further confused their pursuers as they seemingly vanished entirely. They'd fallen heavily, lungs screaming and sweat slipping down their necks and backs, laughing and wild from their escape. Gajeel had taken his hand, led him to his home, and shared with him his measly meal. Not once did the other remove his hood, although Gajeel had been able to see a scar running down his face. Fair hair and brilliant golden eyes… it all looked familiar though Gajeel knew he'd never met this man before.
They were kindred spirits, they'd soon learned, each yearning for freedom and hope. They'd known each other for mere hours but Gajeel felt some inherit connection to him, to hands that weren't calloused and dark from toiling in the sun day after day, and to eyes that must have put even the finest gold trinkets in the palace to shame. He'd just gotten the courage around to ask his name when madness had broken loose. The guards must have followed them because suddenly he was being forced to the ground and shackled. The blonde stood, raging and furious as he finally revealed himself.
"Release him immediately!" he spoke with authority and power and the guards shrank from him, "By order of the Prince."
"Prince Laxus… I… I'm sorry, but this man is a criminal."
"Criminal or not, I commanded you to release him!"
Gajeel was in awe. The prince? There? Standing in his shabby piece of shack that he called a home and demanding he be set free? His head was spinning and he couldn't help but feel terribly small to be in his presence. Prince Laxus reached down to him and raised him to his feet.
"But… but he's to be imprisoned…"
"And by who that it would usurp my authority?" the blonde growled, tilting his head harshly as he spoke. His glare was as vicious as a cobra's bite.
"The… the Sultan, my lord…"
He clenched his teeth and Gajeel still couldn't believe he was so angry on his behalf. Golden eyes turned to him again, gentler this time, but still full of muted ire. His voice rumbled like distant thunder.
"Do you trust me?" his touch was unbearably soft and his thumbs had pressed into his skin, sending the strangest, starlight sensation into his flesh.
"I-I…" he felt dumb and small. Like a child, he didn't know what to say, "…yes."
"Go with them for now… I'll be sure this gets figured out."
That was the last he'd seen of him. For days he'd waited in the prison cell until a man with purple eyes and a slanting, catlike smile beckoned him to the window. At first, he'd thought it could be the prince coming to set him free but it was quickly revealed to be quite a different opportunity. He'd been set free on the condition he travel deep into the desert and retrieve an item.
"A small trinket, really. A lamp."
"A lamp?" Gajeel had cocked a brow as he stared into the deep black hole of a cave in the side of a canyon. The drop was steep and startling. He had no idea how he'd manage to get back up again.
"Yes, a lamp. The rest of the treasure you find is yours to keep, just bring me the lamp."
Except he'd never made it back out of the cave. An avalanche had trapped him inside and he'd nearly been killed from the falling of rubble and treasures in heaping piles. He'd found the lamp, but at what cost? He'd be trapped until he died from starvation, or lack of oxygen, or dehydration. He'd been content to sit and await his demise when he noticed writing on the side of the lamp. It was dirty and he'd went to rub off the dust and that's when the djinn had appeared. With skin as black as the night sky and a pink slash across his face, he rose and presented Gajeel with an incredible power.
Three wishes to do with however he pleased.
And now he was here, dressed in fine clothes and calling himself a prince despite barely even knowing what a prince did, how they talked or acted or even walked.
"I tried not to. It was awful," Lily chuckled, the sound like something from a deep, murky sea.
Gajeel threw down his cape, realizing it was still attached to his shoulders, and rolled his eyes, "He probably can't even stand to look at me."
Lily rolled his eyes, his arms crossed and gaze steady, "Only one way to find out."
Without giving him another chance to object, the djinn snapped his fingers. The magic carpet was summoned and it nearly bowled him over, running into the backs of his knees so he wouldn't have a choice but to fall into it.
"Are you fuckin' nuts! Damn cat!"
"Djinn!"
He clutched at the edge of the thing as it glided up the side of the palace to the stone balcony. Massive curtains of some fine, nearly transparent fabric billowed silently in the gentle wind. As he rose he saw the figure he'd come to desire. A broad chest and muscular shoulders rolled as he wrapped a belt around his waist, encrusted with fine stones. He was setting a circlet on his forehead and rubbing oils into his hair and Gajeel found himself longing to know what it smelled like. The carpet rolled beneath him, helping him to find his footing so he'd wobble up to stand. As he stepped onto the railing of the balcony his stomach did a flip.
What was he to say? He felt awkward and silly. The Prince was stunning and eloquent and everything he couldn't possibly hope to be. How was he supposed to hold his attention? Capture his affection?
He swallowed hard and hopped down to the ground. He was just working himself up to calling out when a low growl caught his attention. He froze. Slowly, he turned his head to find himself gazing into two, massive, yellow eyes. An orange nose wrinkled, exposing teeth nearly as long as his fingers. The tiger was up on its feet, muscles coiled and ready to pounce on him.
"Niiice kitty," he edged back and the thing brought a large paw forward, claws extended.
"Raja," the deep voice struck Gajeel almost as much as the tiger's growl and he found himself frozen by a completely different emotion, "Down."
Gajeel tore his eyes over to see the Prince moving towards them. His steps were so languid he almost seemed to glide across the floor. He'd put on a long, open-front robe. Gajeel couldn't even begin to guess at what the brilliant indigo fabric was but it was embroidered with gold thread and embossed with crystals. The tinkling of golden bracelets got steadily louder and Gajeel held his breath as the blonde leaned down in front of him to place a hand in the tiger's fur, rubbing knuckles against its neck.
He spoke without even glancing at Gajeel and his voice held every bit of disdain that Gajeel had expected to be there, "You can't eat him. He'll ruin your stomach."
"Now's your chance," the voice was a quiet whisper and he glanced to see a shadow just in his peripheral vision, "Apologize."
The Prince straightened and the tiger purred at his feet. Harsh, cold eyes turned to him and he snarled, "What are you doing here?"
"I, uh..." he hesitated for just a moment before hastily pulling together his frazzled resolve.
"Your highness," Lily's whisper was annoyed and Gajeel floundered.
"Your highness, I wanted to apologize… to you… for earlier," he felt warm and the way the Prince was making no effort to hide the way he was looking down on him only made him feel even more foolish to be standing before him, "I thought to wow you with gold and fancy-"
"Fanciful."
"-fanciful things from faraway places. It was, um, foolish of me to think that such a thing… a thing-"
"-as precious as your affection-"
"…a thing as, as precious as your affection could be… bought…"
The Prince studied him for a moment and to Gajeel's surprise a grin tugged at the corner of his lip. He glanced down to Raja for a moment and the thing let out a deep keening moan in response. Eyes traveled slowly back up to Gajeel's.
"What did you say your name was? Kuro…?"
"Kurogane…"
"And you're from, where again? East?"
"Far east," he muttered nervously, "a place very, very different from here…"
"Right," the prince stepped closer, using every bit of the two inches he had on him to make him feel as small as possible. Gajeel took a step back and found himself backing into the rail of the balcony. Soft hands were on either side of him, trapping him there beneath the massive chest Gajeel had only been able to admire from afar. His frazzled mind became more and more disjointed. He could smell the pungent, earthy tones of myrrh and it nearly had him dizzy, "Listen, I've had a lot of people after my hand, enough that I can spot a fraud when I see one. Whoever you are, Kurogane, you're certainly not royalty."
"Is that what you think?" he tried to sound sly but he felt like it just died in his throat.
"What is it of my father's that you're after, my lord?" the prince purred, a noise that made the air between them hum as if filled with electricity, "Fortune? Power?"
He could hear the Djinn's mocking laugh ringing in his ears, "Think quick, Gajeel. You're losing your chance."
"Nothing..." he forced out, "I'm after nothing of the Sultan's."
"Nothing?" the prince leaned even closer. Gajeel knew he should be intimidated but his heart was hammering faster with elation instead of fear. He knew now that the robes the prince wore were made from the finest of silks because they were brushing against his hands where he held them motionless before him. He was nearly touching him, "Then why go to so much trouble to travel from the Far East? Wasn't the journey treacherous?"
"Absolutely," Gajeel breathed, somehow finding courage hiding behind the thunder in his chest, "but I've found that the best treasures are often found after… such things…"
"Treasures, hmm?" his face was close and Gajeel could have reeled from his breath alone. Their knees brushed each other, "I thought you said you weren't after anything, Kurogane?"
"Nothing of your father's," he corrected slyly, a keen grin dragging itself across his face, "Your heart, Prince Laxus, could never be equated to something as trivial as a sultan's trinket."
The fire in the Prince's countenance suddenly seemed abated and Gajeel was honestly shocked. A wry smile worked its way across his fair features, tugging his scar slightly with it.
"Well, Allah be praised, I think you somehow did it..." Lily's voice was mischievous and he desperately tried to ignore it.
"My heart?"
"I said I was here to court you, your highness," Gajeel straightened slightly and placed a hand atop the prince's, barely containing his excitement, "Did you not believe me?"
"You think I'm some fair princess in need of courting?" his smile faded slightly as he spoke.
Gajeel felt light, his words treacherous, "Of course you don't need courting, but I'd be eager to if you'd have me."
The prince's gaze slowly began to turn stony again and he withdrew from him slowly. Gajeel felt like all of the heat of the desert must have moved away with the blonde because he was suddenly cold without his nearness. He could hear the light chinking of gold bands as he moved.
"Well, I hate to dash your hopes but you missed your chance," he crossed his arms and studied Gajeel's dark face, "In the short time since your blunder in the throne room, my Father has already asked me to meet a princess who's visiting from the south."
Gajeel's heart fell, "Is… is that so…"
"So it is."
"I see…" he sat back on the rail, "…you have to meet her?"
"I'm afraid so," he shrugged.
"Couldn't… couldn't you just send her away?"
The Prince laughed and it was a beautiful sound, even more beautiful than Gajeel had remembered it to be, "You must be from quite the strange place, Kurogane. Here, we abide by our family and my family is my father… and my father says I have to be a good suiter."
"Ah… I suppose it can't be helped, then," Gajeel rocked back onto the railing and slipped a foot over the edge. The Prince furrowed his brow at him, "I guess… I'll take my leave, then."
He slipped from the ledge and dropped to the magic carpet. A worried call caught his attention and he glanced up, finding himself staring up at the Prince's astonished face. He looked down to the carpet and back up to the prince.
"What… what is that? A flying rug?"
As if indignant to the Prince's words, the carpet surged upwards and Gajeel had to drop down to avoid running into him. He gripped the edges of the rug and forced it to settle beneath him and float gently up. When he stopped he was eye-level with the prince once again.
"It's a magic carpet," Gajeel smirked, adoring the obvious wonderment painted on the prince's face, "I take it you've never see one before?"
He reached out a hand and glided it through the fibers, ensuring with his touch that what was before him was true and real and not some magician's trick, "I thought these things only existed in fairytales…"
"And Far East places?" Gajeel hummed, laying out on the carpet and resting his cheek against his knuckles.
The prince met the mischief in his red eyes, "And Far East places."
Gajeel pulled himself up to his knees and gazed down at him, eyes wild and fervent, "Would you like to go for a ride?"
Gold orbs widened, "A ride? On that?"
"Of course," Gajeel replied simply and Prince Laxus opened his mouth, eager and excited.
"I…" the words died on his lips before he could say them, "I can't. I have… an obligation."
"Do you always abide by your father's rules, princess?" Gajeel's smile faltered.
Laxus stared up at him and there was longing there. He scoffed, a sound as bitter as it was regretful, "Don't call me princess."
Gajeel gazed at him gently. He reached down his hand, "Do you trust me?"
The prince started at his words and something dangerous, something like recognition, colored his features, "What did you say?"
"Do you... Do you trust me?" he breathed and for a moment the prince was completely still. Golden eyes darted to the tiger at his feet, great eyes watching him expectantly. The thing let out a deep groan and laid down on the ground, crossing its paws before turning its head to watch the doorway. The prince finally turned his eyes back to Gajeel.
"Yes,"
Gajeel's body thrilled at the soft hand that held firmly to his. He could hear the djinn laughing but it wasn't a spiteful noise, he seemed genuinely pleased. The prince settled onto his knees behind him, testing his weight on the carpet, and Gajeel's heart leapt into his throat. The carpet rushed up into the sky, inclining at a steep angle as it rushed to the top of the palace, and two strong arms twisted around his waist in a frantic search for purchase. Gajeel wasn't afraid, though, he'd become used to flying, and it wasn't until they'd levelled out in the bright night sky high above the city that he chanced a look back at the prince. In nothing but the pallid light of the moon, he could have been made of silver. His eyes were pressed tightly shut and gently Gajeel's hands brushed the arms around him.
"Prince Laxus, open your eyes," he grinned.
"Why?" he hissed, his teeth clenched.
"So, I can show you the world."
The prince let out a terse breath and slowly eased his eyes open, blinking once, before they were blown wide with blatant awe at the shimmering splendor of the world below them. The city streets stretched like the brilliant, sleeping veins of a massive creature, the palace its heart. Lights of the street glimmered up at them like fallen stars trapped in the sand and slowly golden eyes travelled up before resting on Gajeel. The raven's breath was stolen by the adoration on the prince's face.
"My prince..." he whispered, "...I'll take you anywhere you'd like to go."
"Anywhere?" the was a depth to that word Laxus could hardly grasp. Anywhere. He couldn't even fathom it. This had to be a trick. The man who he hardly knew, had only met twice, was staring at him with vibrant ruby eyes hauntingly familiar and offering him something he never thought he'd truly have, even if he one day became the sultan. Freedom. His heart missed its rhythm in his chest, "You can't possibly..."
Kurogane laughed, the sound impossibly warm, dulcet and charming, and familiar, and he reached out a hand rough from working in fields or handling animals or living in the street and he placed it gently on his own, "Princess... when did you last let your heart decide?"
"Don't call me..."
"Since we've opened your eyes," he murmured, "let's show them some wonders."
The carpet moved, shifting from its glide in the sky to soar towards the ground. It tilted with the wind, over to one side, dipping under a bridge, a magic ride Laxus could never have dreamed possible. They rocketed through the streets and out towards the desert, moving south, and in Laxus's mind he knew exactly where they could possibly go. It was a meager few minutes, and there in the distance he could spot the pointed tops along the Nile, beckoning them in the darkness like magnificent lamps and they the moths. The Great Pyramids, and the Sphynx, things he'd only read of and could never hoped to have seen with his own eyes.
"It's a whole new world," Kurogane purred before him, glancing back at him over his shoulder.
Laxus didn't attempt to hide his wonder, "A new fantastic point of view."
"There's no one here who can tell you no, or where to go, or say you're only dreaming."
His heart missed a beat again. This man spoke like... he knew. When he spoke, he gazed at Laxus like all he wanted to do was give him exactly what he'd ever wished for. A spoiled prince he was to live in a palace of priceless items and fine jewels and lavish accoutrements and yet still be unsatisfied. But truly, he'd trade it all away just to live a comfortable life free to do as he pleased, to travel, to find love, to live and not be just another one of those fine things to be set on a shelf and left to gather dust. What kind of life was that? He was pampered and his grandfather made him to porcelain, but if he shattered at least he could say he didn't rot. And maybe this unknown prince, Prince Kurogane, maybe he did know what it was like. Being young royalty, shouldn't that be expected? But he had the carpet, he had this freedom. He could travel to Agraba and seek out Laxus's hand. And he didn't speak with the same fervent tone as someone who understood how deeply felt his own capture in the palace because he experienced it too. His eyes didn't shudder like a flame captured behind decorative glass. Kurogane's ruby eyes shimmered with mischief. Laxus knew those eyes.
"A whole new world," he whispered and the carpet beneath them rolled, pitching them back into the endless diamond sky. It was an incredible and indescribable feeling to soar and tumble through clouds and the Milky Way. They soared down and Laxus found himself burying his face into Kurogane's neck, feeling the way his pulse skittered but it was impossible to tell why.
"Don't you dare close your eyes," his voice was a thrilled gasp and Laxus looked up at him, his breath stolen from their closeness, "Hold your breath, it gets better."
They surged forward and streaked across the night sky. Laxus was sure they'd become themselves shooting stars. He could see the haze of light in the distance, white stone and marble buildings all things he'd never seen before. He could hardly believe how far they'd come and the night felt like it hadn't moved. In his soul he felt the distance untangling something in him, something that made everything else in his life seem so trivial and small. He never wanted to go back to the palace, couldn't go back. He wanted to experience this forever, to chase the horizons until daybreak never came, and with the man pressed to his chest. Long black hair tangling in the wind and smelling like sand and the fish market and freshly pilfered meals. He tightened his hold on Kurogane's waist, felt himself relax into his back. Fingers intertwined into his. Not the fingers of a prince. The fingers of a man he'd met in the market, a street thief.
Laxus rested his chin on his shoulder, gazed up at the sun baked face and studded ears. Ruby eyes turned down to him, warm and full of contentment and disbelief. Laxus sighed against his neck and watched the rose creep across where his breath touched.
The brazen prince was suddenly sheepish, blush coloring his cheeks, and looking at him like he didn't deserve the man wrapping himself around him, "A thrilling chase, isn't it?"
That's who you are, he felt the stern control he always had over himself uncoil like a poised snake finally free of threat. A sigh of relief, a breath of peace, my street thief. Gajeel Redfox.
Laxus smiled into the white cape, "A wonderous one."
All too soon, the palace was back in their sights. The sun was peeking above the tallest houses and dousing all of his kingdom in the fiery shades of dawn. Gajeel helped him down onto the balcony, calloused hands holding him as if he were the most delicate of desert flowers. Looking at him now, the prince felt himself more than a little foolish for not realizing who he was. Gajeel didn't walk like a prince, his back wasn't rigid from practice and he didn't carry his head high. As he stood there before him, easily flustered, barely maintaining his composure, he couldn't even seem to figure out what to do with his hands. Laxus stepped up to him and Gajeel stuttered something in surprise that was lost as the blond held each of his hands in his own. He looked down at him, into those glittering red eyes. How could I have forgotten your beautiful eyes?
"Tonight was magical," he rumbled and immediately saw red tinging the raven's cheeks.
"Yeah... magical," he stammered, and it was clear he wasn't talking about the night.
Laxus took a step closer, daring to drop his voice even lower, "You know... if you're going to pretend to be a prince, you need to at least learn what to do with your hands."
Red eyes widened and Laxus chuckled, staying whatever excuse was fighting its way to his lips by running his palm up his jawline, gently tilting his face up to his own, "It is you, isn't it? Gajeel?"
"I... my prince..."
"Did you think I wouldn't figure it out?" Laxus sighed against his lips, feeling how desperately he was fighting to remain still. He chuckled, "Did you think me a simple fool?"
"Of-of course not...!"
"I can't stand liars, Gajeel... tell me now..." he drew back slightly, not enough so that the man beneath him could properly catch his breath, but just so he could see those eyes, "What is it that you want?"
"I don't want anything," he whispered.
"Not money? Not power? A place at the palace?" Laxus's heart squeezed painfully at the silence that followed. In the morning light, red eyes blazed like wildfire up at him. Gajeel had a look on his face that was almost as stricken as a man who'd just been told he was about to die. He interlocked their fingers.
"No... no, none of that. I just..." he sounded earnest, desperate, pleading, "I just... you're a prince and I just... I just wanted to be with you."
Laxus's throat felt tight, "Because I'm a prince?"
"No...! That's not what I meant!"
"They why did you lie to me? Why didn't you tell me who you were?"
"Because...! You're a prince, Laxus and I'm... I'm nothing," the last of his words seemed to fall from his mouth in a heap at Laxus's feet. He was clutching his hands and there was a slight tremble there, and edge of despair to his voice, "I'm sorry for lying to you. Please, believe me, I just... you're beautiful and intelligent and... incredible and I'm... I'm just... I'm sorry... this was stupid."
He slowly withdrew his hands and took a step back, clenching his jaw he averted his gaze to the floor, "This was stupid."
Laxus balled his hands into fists and he forced himself to remain still, unmoving, and stoic. Gajeel retreated back from him slowly, all the while refusing to look at him, and then quite suddenly he turned and made for the balcony, stepping easily up to the hand-carved banister where the magic carpet waited, the fabric snapping slightly in the wind. As he stepped up to it, he paused for just a moment. His eyes snapped back and forth as if he were thinking deeply before he glanced back where Laxus stood. He took a deep, steadying breath.
"I'm in love with you... I've been in love with you, from the moment I met you. I just... I just wanted you to know that."
"Gajeel... wait..." Laxus reached out for him and he paused, a terrified look flashing across his face that can only exist alongside frail hope. The man was an open book and Laxus realized he couldn't bear yet to see the end of this story. He found himself rushing to the balcony and pulling him back down. There was a breath of an instant where they both stood as two tuning forks struck against each other, vibrating with sound and energy and helplessness as a pale face drew near to suntanned. Laxus trapped him against the marble, as if letting him a hope of escape would mean he'd steal himself away even though they both knew the raven was going nowhere. But still, his hands wound their way into the folds of his shirt and he pulled him close, breathing him in like the vivid morning now chasing away the magenta night.
He kissed him. He kissed him and he felt like he was flying on the magic carpet again, soaring into the starry sky and free from the weight of royalty and duty and his father. He kissed him and he was tumbling like a falling star, grasping Gajeel like he was the angel that could save him from the hard desert ground. Gajeel's hands found themselves shaking and ecstatic into his hair, stroking the sides of his face, caressing his cheeks. The man wasn't as wise as he was, his tongue a tangle that needed to be delicately sorted and guided, but the street thief was a wickedly fast learner. Adapt and survive, he knew how to live, didn't he? He adapted to every possessive curve of the prince above him, to the ever-persistent roll of his hips, and he was content to be rocked there against him until the sun sank back into the west except that they both needed to breathe. Laxus broke the kiss and Gajeel was heartbroken at its ending.
"You love me?" Laxus asked, voice shattered, pupils dilated, hands still holding Gajeel tightly.
Red eyes danced, "Yes... yes..."
"Then... we need to teach you how to be a prince."
"You... you'll help me?"
Laxus smirked, "Only if you promise you won't lie to me again."
"Of course..." he leaned up and planted a chaste kiss on the blonde's lips, "Yes, of course."
"Mm... good," Laxus whispered, leaning back into him, "Good."