"I hate to break the news to you kid, but I don't think that's applause."
Red eyes glared at them from the darkness as it slowly emerged. It was a hideously huge creature, with leathery purple skin, sharp and yellow-stained teeth with spikes that ran up it's back and long, spindly neck.
"P-Phil…" Hercules stammered, taking several steps back as he kept his eyes on the creature, "What is that thing?
"Two words!"
The creature roared, sending several people running for the hills and screaming. Whatever the two words were, Hercules didn't really hear them… not when Phil was shoving a sword in his hands and running as far away as he could.
Off in the distance, someone seemed to cry out "LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!" as the creature stepped closer.
As he danced around the creature, avoiding the sharp teeth, Phil call out hints from the sidelines.
"That's it! Dance around it, dance around- watch the teeth, watch the teeth!"
…..
Watching as Hercules struggled against the horrific creature, Aladdin yelped and groaned as the hero was swallowed, his hand moving up to his own throat.
For a minute, everything was silent, until the creature seemed to notice the crowd, lunging forwards in an attempt to try and grab more people for lunch…. And then it stopped, seeming to frown in confusion, glancing down at its' neck, just as a sword sliced through it from within and the head went tumbling to the floor.
When Hercules stepped out, almost instantly falling to the ground, Aladdin couldn't help but cheer along with the rest of the crowd, not even noticing how Iago seemed to squawk in panic, only to be shushed by Jafar.
If he was paying attention to his Master, he would have noticed the sly smirk on the man's face.
The game wasn't over yet.
…..
Hercules felt like he was going to pass out as he forced his way out of the creature's clenched fist.
That… was a lot more difficult then what he thought he was going to be.
When he heard the clapping, quickly rising in volume and intensity as the crowd started to make their way towards him, he couldn't help but beam.
It was just like he always wanted.
Whooping and cheering, the crowd lifted Hercules onto their shoulder, carrying him out into the main streets. When he caught Phil's eyes, he waved weakly at him,
"Phil… you gotta admit, that was pretty heroic."
"You did it, kid! You won! You won by a landslide!"
As the crowd cheered and called out Hercules's name in glee, Aladdin found himself cheering along with them, clapping eagerly with a beaming smile on his face.
He didn't notice how the temperature seemed to rise slightly as Jafar's knuckles went white with the grip he had on his staff.
…..
From then on, it seemed as though Hercules could do no wrong.
His days were full of signing autographs or fighting monsters… Girls seemed to flock towards him, as did the money. From appearance fees and reward money, this was the first time in Hercules's life that he could honestly say that he had cash to burn.
The statue in the centre of the city was a nice touch, as were all the action figures they brought out, lining the shelves and marketplace stalls.
And the monsters just kept coming, and he beat down every single one of them without breaking a sweat.
Giant birds…. To man-eating fish creatures.
The multiple plays from the children were sweet, as were the branded sandals and the sugary drinks.
The months passed, and Hercules got used to being a hero. And now, he was having his handprint's immortalised on the pavement outside the main Temple.
Life was good.
….
Life was not good.
In a building not too far from the Temple, high above on a balcony, the heat seemed ten time worse as Jafar growled at the event he was watching.
"I cannot believe this…" he hissed, "… I've thrown everything I've got at him, and it doesn't even seem to- "
And then he heard the squeaking coming from Pain's feet.
Hercules shoes.
"What. Are. Those?!"
Pain visibly panicked, but tried to play it cool anyway, "Ummm… I think they look kind of dashing?"
Wrong answer.
"I've got twenty-four hours to get rid of this… bozo, before the entire scheme I've been setting up for eighteen years goes up in smoke…. AND YOU ARE WEARING HIS MERCHANDISE!"
He was seconds away from choking the minion… until he heard the slurping.
Panic was drinking a Hercules drink, growing pale as his Master's eyes landed on him. "Ummm…. Thirsty?"
Just before Jafar could really lose his temper, the door opened up to reveal Aladdin, who almost dropped the tray of food he was carrying when his Master's glare turned on him.
"Ummm…. It's time for some dinner." He tried to smile, wincing when Jafar's expression never changed, "I-I was wondering if I could have an afternoon off sometime?"
Silence.
"Or not…" Placing the tray on the table, Aladdin went over to join his Master on the balcony, not noticing how Iago seemed shaken (and a little burnt around the edge of the feathers). Instead, his attention was grabbed by the sight of Hercules down below.
"He's really helped the city, hasn't he?" Aladdin sighed, not noticing how Jafar's eyes instantly snapped to him, "I didn't even know half those creatures existed until he defeated them."
Jafar chuckled, sending a cold sensation up Aladdin's spine.
"Something will get the best of him."
"You really think so?"
"Everyone has a weakness, even the mighty Hercules. For Pandora, it was the box and for the Trojans, they bet on the wrong horse. All someone needs to do, is find what that weakness is."
There was a brief moment of silence, before Jafar glanced over at Aladdin. "The afternoon off hmmmm? Going to see anyone?"
"Ummmm… I- "
"- None of my business of course!" Jafar waved his hand in dismissal, "Let me find a good day, and I'll see what I can do. Maybe we can also let your… pet out?"
As Aladdin bowed, stammering out his thanks, he completely missed Jafar's wicked smirk.
Hook. Line. Sinker.
….
Hercules couldn't have felt more depressed than he did at this moment.
Posing for some stuck-up painter, only a couple of days after the rejection of his Father.
What was the point of all this? What was the point of being a hero, if he couldn't be with his real family?
And Phil just kept droning on and on.
"Phil!" Hercules eventually snapped, "WHAT'S THE POINT!?"
"Kid! WHAT'S. THE. POINT?"
The artist was startled, making a mess of the canvas, before screaming in frustration and throwing the painting to the ground.
"THAT'S IT!"
And of course, when Phil tried to stop him, he got a facefull of paint for his troubles.
"What do you mean, what's the point? You want to be with your Dad, don't you?"
Wearily, Hercules removed the lion skin that he'd been forced to wear, throwing it to the ground and burying his face in his hand, "Yeah but… none of this seems to be helping. None of this is getting me anywhere."
"You can't give up now! I'm counting on you!"
"… I gave it all I've got."
Hercules sounded so defeated, so unlike himself.
"Listen to me kid…" Phil sighed, "… I've seen 'em all, and I'm telling ya.. and this is the honest to Zeus truth… you've got something I've never seen before."
"Really?"
"I can feel it right down in these stubby bowed legs of mine… there ain't nothing you can't do!"
Before Hercules could say anything else, the door to the apartment slammed open and a gaggle of screaming girls raced into the room, their hands roaming all over the hero as they squealed in delight.
"Phil!" Hercules gasped as they pinned him to the floor, "Help!"
"Okay, escape plan beta!"
"Gotcha!"
Within seconds the girls were gone, and Hercules was hidden… he vowed not to come out until the sun had set in the sky.
And then he heard the familiar voice.
"Hercules? Is that you?"
The curtain was moved to one side, and the concerned face of Aladdin appeared.
"Aladdin!" Sheepishly, he adjusted his outfit and stepped down, "Have… have they all gone?"
Aladdin chuckled slightly, "You should have met the girls back at home… they were worse. Not that I ever attracted their attention. They weren't the type to go for street rats."
Not knowing exactly what to say to that, Hercules shuffled from side to side, a flush appearing on his cheeks. "I-I missed you…" he stammered nervously, "… I haven't seen you since the whole building incident."
"My Master had a lot of work for me to do…" Aladdin shrugged, his shy smile still on his face as he glanced around the large room, "… is this what heroes do on their days off? Not that I can talk really… it's my day off and I'm here visiting a hero."
Pleased with the compliment of being called a hero, Hercules couldn't help but beam, "I-I'm no hero."
"Of course you are?! The whole town thinks you're the best thing ever!"
"Yeah, it's… it's pretty amazing sometimes. I don't think I've had a moments peace since this all started."
Aladdin was silent for a few seconds, before a sly smirk appeared on his face. "So… you'd say you needed a break? Do you think your… friend would be angry if we snuck out for the afternoon?"
"Ummmm… I don't think we could get out of here without being spotted."
"Trust me, I used to be a master at sneaking out…" Aladdin glanced around, almost looking like a small child with a new puzzle, "… we can slip out of the window, use the statue of you as cover, you lift up the back wall and then we'll be gone!"
"… Lead the way."
….
Hercules didn't think he'd ever been so happy in his life.
"Wow…" he chuckled, "… what a day! First that restaurant by the bay, and then that-that play, that Oedipus thing? Man, I thought I had issues!"
"Greek plays are bizarre…" Aladdin agreed, paying no attention to the two birds that were frolicking in the bird bath nearby, "…Mind you, for all I know, ours were just as weird."
"You've never- "
Aladdin cut him off, shaking his head and shrugging, "Never had the money… or social status."
Nodding in understanding, Hercules beamed at him, "Well, thank you for an amazing day then… I hope it was good for you."
"Yes of course! It was- "Suddenly, Aladdin's ankle twisted from underneath him, sending him falling down the stairs with a loud yelp, with Hercules thankfully catching him before he could break anything on the hard, stone steps.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah…" Aladdin winced as he glanced at his ankle, "… old injury from guards back home. My Master was the one who took me in after it happened, offered me a legitimate job."
As they settled on a stone bench near a fountain, Aladdin leaned over and nudged Hercules in the side, "So… do you ever have problems like that? Old injuries I mean?"
Hercules thought to himself for a few moments, before shaking his head, "No. No, I don't think so."
"No trick knee? Slipped discs?"
"No."
As Aladdin rolled his eyes, Hercules couldn't help but laugh, beaming as the other man leaned against him.
"You really are perfect then, huh?" Aladdin didn't sound frustrated at this, in fact, he sounded admiring.
Hercules shook his head, gently letting Aladdin lie down on the bench as he went to skip a stone across the water of the fountain, "I'm not perfect."
The ensuing crash as the stones smashed the arms off of the statue that stood in the middle of the fountain.
Aladdin, of course, found this hilarious, cackling as Hercules groaned and flushed bright red. Seeing that the hero really was embarrassed by what he'd done, he limped over and nudged him in the side. "It looks better like that… really, it does!"
As they turned to one another, it was hard to ignore the tension between them. Up above, a shooting star flew through the sky, breaking the spell between them as they pulled away from one another.
"You know…"
Up above them, a shooting star flew through the sky, breaking the spell between them as they pulled away from one another.
"You know…" Hercules cleared his throat, "… when I was a kid, I would have given anything to be like everyone else."
"You wanted to be petty and dishonest?" The words fell out of Aladdin's mouth before he could stop them, prompting him to slap his hands over it in shock, just as Hercules turned to him in confusion.
"Not everybody is like that."
Aladdin sadly shook his head, "I was a street rat Hercules… most people are like that, from the poor to the rich. Most poor people will con money out of hard-working men, the market-place owners don't hesitate to beat anyone lingering too long at their stalls without buying anything and the rich… well, most of them would wish anyone living on the streets, a nasty death.
Hercules frowned at this, watching as Aladdin pulled away from him and turned his face to one side, as though trying to hide his expression. "You're not like that" he eventually whispered.
"I was a street rat… I stole."
"To survive!" Hercules gently turned Aladdin away, placing a finger under the shorter man's chin in order to encourage Aladdin to look him in the eye, "I don't care about that. All I know is that you are the most amazing person I've ever met."
Aladdin knew he was flushing slightly at this, backing away slightly, only to flinch when he backed into a small statue… of Cupid.
He just got stabbed by a Cupid's arrow.
"Aladdin…" Hercules continued, "… when I'm with you, I don't feel so alone."
"Sometimes it's better to be alone." Once again, the words came out, without him even meaning to speak them.
"…. What do you mean?"
Aladdin shrugged, "Nobody can hurt you." His mind flashed to his Mother's final days, how she begged the hallucination of his Father to come home, to come back to them.
Hercules was silent for a few moments, before he slowly reached out and gently took Aladdin's hands. "Aladdin… I would never, ever hurt you."
"And I would never hurt you, or at least I would try not to, so we need to stop this… before…" Hercules's face was getting closer and that same tension that was between them, was building up once again.
Seconds before their lips connected, there was a bright light as Phil's voice echoed throughout the garden. "Break it up! Break it up! Party's over!"
Pegasus landed in front of them, a lantern on his head that lit up the pair.
"We've been looking all over this town for you!"
Aladdin winced, pulling himself away from Hercules, "Don't be mad!" he yelled, trying to be heard over the sound of Pegasus's wings, before he blew out the candle, "It was just one afternoon!"
"You're already in my bad books!" Phil sneered at Aladdin, before storming over to Hercules and grabbing his hand, dragging him back to Pegasus, "And you! You're coming with me and getting the work out of your life!"
"Alright! Alright!" Hercules gently pulled away, before turning back to Aladdin, "Sorry about him…" he whispered, reaching up and grabbing the nearest branch of a blossoming tree, not seeming to care that he was almost pulling the tree completely on to it's side as he picked a flower and handed it to Aladdin, "… He'll get over it. I hope."
When Aladdin took the flower from him, Hercules seized his opportunity, leaning over and kissing the other man on the cheek.
"Move it Hercules! Come on! Come on! Come on! Move it!"
As Hercules clambered onto Pegasus's back, a dopy grin on his face, he kept his eyes on Aladdin, numbly waving at him as Pegasus darted forwards and started to fly away.
"Hercules!" Phil ducked to avoid a branch, "Hercules, keep your eyes on the front you- UGH!"
Too preoccupied with making sure Hercules was paying attention, he failed to pay attention himself.
Low-hanging branch… just like he predicted.
"That's it….Next time… I driveeeeeeee."
…..
Aladdin felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest.
Why was he doing this? Why was he feeling this way?
He knew what happened to men who had feelings for other men… he'd seen it before.
Yes, they were more liberal about it in Greece, but those feelings were still hard to deal with.
He quickly turned his thoughts away from the memories of his old home, and the guards who would have been all too happy to see what had just happened then. Slowly, he started walking through the gardens.
This was too cliché… falling for the man who'd saved him.
Hercules wouldn't be allowed to stay with him, Aladdin reasoned to himself, He'd be encouraged to marry the perfect woman and produce lots of little heroes that could say Greece with their hands tied behind their backs.
There was no point getting attached.
The thought didn't stop him from smiling when he saw the statue of Hercules they'd set up in the centre of the gardens.
Hercules was the one who kissed him… maybe he'd ignore everyone else and choose Aladdin over some strange woman.
"Alright…" he whispered to himself, the flower still in his hands, "…. Maybe I love him… just a little bit."
"Well… isn't that interesting?"