It started with a cough.

It always started with a cough.

A stupid, wet, heart-stopping cough.

Kassim glanced at Omar, studying him for several moments. Was it just him or did the kid seem paler than usual?

It's just you. It's got to be just you.

Omar coughed once more, rubbed at his throat, then continued on with his day as if nothing was wrong in the slightest.

Because nothing's wrong.

You're just paranoid.

And he gladly would've accepted that label if it meant Omar could just be okay.

Passing it off as a one-time thing or a consequence of the dusty streets were both explanations that died with Omar's immune system. A day or two later, the kid was complaining of a headache.

And the cough was getting worse.

The three of them were waiting in an alley for Aladdin, munching on the loaf of bread Kassim swiped, when Babkak finally felt his forehead.

Omar had turned down the bread, claiming he wasn't hungry, and Babkak had taken one long look at him before cupping a hand to his skin.

Kassim worked overtime to keep his heart from jumping to conclusions—to keep it at a nice, easy pace.

A difficult feat when Babkak wouldn't stop frowning like that.

"Well?" he asked, unable to stand the suspense any longer.

Babkak sighed. "He's definitely got a fever. Just a small one, though."

For now.

Holding back a shiver, Kassim tried not to think of another kid with a small fever…

"Really, guys," Omar said, his tired tone far from convincing, "I'm fine."

"Headache, cough, fever?" Kassim ticked the symptoms off on his fingers. "I'm no doctor, but that doesn't sound fine to me."

Before Omar had a chance to make a comeback, however, Aladdin came dashing around the corner at full speed. And he didn't look like he had any plans of slowing down.

"Run!" was his only command, one that needed no further explanation. Al had gotten caught in the act and now the guards were on his tail.

Kassim's feet had already started kicking into gear out of instinct the moment he saw Aladdin, and now Omar and Babkak followed closely behind.

At some point during their impromptu sprint, Kassim noticed Omar's labored breathing; heard him coughing; glancing back, saw him beginning to fall behind.

In one swift motion, he locked his hand around the kid's, feeling the clammy sweat of Omar's palm.

They were going to be fine. Omar was going to be fine. He just needed some rest, some time out of the blazing sun so he could get better.

"Kassim, I… I can't keep up!"

"Don't worry, I've got you…"

Forcing the memory away, Kassim fought for a fresh breath as they all slowed down, confident they had lost their pursuers.

Fine. Leaning against the nearest building, Kassim closed his eyes for a moment and sucked in a gulp of air. We're fine, it's fi—

"Catch him!" Babkak's warning rang out and Kassim opened his eyes just in time to watch a very pale Omar's knees buckle.

By some split-second miracle, Kassim caught him before he hit the ground, easing him down gently.

His heart abandoned its quest to remain calm entirely and Kassim felt all the blood rush to his chest, suffocating him as he checked Omar's vitals.

Steady pulse so far, but Kassim could practically feel it weakening with every few beats.

"Is he all right?" Al asked. "What happened?"

"Damn kid was coming down with something," Kassim bit out, "and kept trying to convince us he was fine."

Aladdin hummed, face now clouded with worry as he glanced at Kassim. "Sounds like something you'd do."

This earned him a nice, hard glare.

Like clockwork, Babkak intervened before an argument could spark to life. "Let's just get him home. Cool him down, get him some water. I'm sure he'll be all right."

And yet, Babkak sounded like he believed those words as much as Kassim did—not in the slightest.

Feeling Omar head for himself, Kassim was surprised by the amount of heat radiating off his skin.

"Kassim… I don't feel so good…"

He grit his teeth against the oncoming memory and scooped Omar into his arms, keeping a tight grip against his shoulders and under his knees.

He's gonna be all right. If he said it enough, maybe he could convince himself...

Babkak says he'll be fine, so he'll be fine.

That's what you said about—

Kassim slammed a mental wall against the memory, forcing his mind to clear—to focus solely on putting one foot in front of the other.

To keep the name out of his brain.

They were nearly home when Omar began to stir at last.

His first words were cut off by a cough. "What happened?"

"You're gonna be fine," Al soothed and Kassim rolled his eyes.

"That doesn't answer his question." Then, he glanced down at Omar's half-lidded expression. "You got overheated after running and passed out. Do you want to know why?" Kassim didn't give Omar time to respond. "Because you're sick, but didn't want to admit it."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. How're you feeling now?"

Omar tried for a sheepish grin that didn't come off very well as another coughing fit took hold of him.

"Just hang on," Kassim said, ascending the steps to their hideout and wishing he could take two at a time without the risk of dropping Omar. "We'll get you some water, okay?"

Though still fighting a cough, Omar nodded.

To Kassim, it seemed they couldn't get him there fast enough, but once he had Omar lying down with a makeshift pillow propping up his head, breathing came a little easier.

Al was there with the water before Kassim could even stand up, knees rooted to the floor beside Omar.

After mumbling his thanks, Omar's eyes fluttered closed and he drifted off to a fevered sleep.

Kassim cursed himself for always taking it for granted that they would open again.

They all did the best they could to keep the kid cool amidst the growing fever and the sweltering Agrabah heat, and though Kassim kept fighting to convince himself Omar would be all right, hours quickly turned into days.

Days of restless slumber for Omar.

Days of unbridled anxiety for the rest of them.

Days of Kassim wracking his brain numb for some sort of solution.

Because Omar didn't seem to be getting better…

At some point, Aladdin ventured out and tried to steal some medicine. His first attempt failed and his second produced a medicine that didn't work.

Why didn't it work?

Kassim heaved a shaky sigh as he sat beside Omar's still frame, the others having gone out to try to get some food.

"Just hang on. We're gonna get you some water, okay?"

Those had been his last words to Omar. Shut up. Those weren't the last words. They can't be the last words…

He couldn't even remember what he'd last said to Tavi, it was so long ago.

Try harder.

Kassim squeezed his eyes shut, wondering if you could actually physically hurt your brain by thinking too hard. By remembering too hard.

Try harder and you might remember.

And still, though he sat there for what felt like hours, he couldn't recall what he'd said.

He hoped to whatever heaven was up there that it hadn't been something stupid.

Those last days with... with him were a giant blur Kassim couldn't for the life of him bring into focus—and he cursed himself three times over for slipping up and thinking about the name.

But now that the flood gates were open, he couldn't stop.

Beloved.

He could still hear echoes of his mother explaining what the name meant. How could he remember being introduced to his baby brother and yet completely forget the last thing he ever said to the kid?

That's because you're an awful, horrible human being.

Well… He couldn't argue with that. If Aladdin was the angel, that would probably make him the devil. Sounds about right.

Sucking in a breath, he glanced down at his ailing brother. Even from inches away, he could feel the fever that was holding Omar captive.

He'd done a lot of unspeakable things in his life, but sitting back for a second time and watching his little brother die was not going to be counted as one of them.

"Don't go where I can't follow..." Kassim could barely recognize his own voice, it trembled so as he slipped his hand into Omar's and held on tight. "Don't you dare."

The worst part of it was not knowing exactly what kind of sickness Omar had meant none of them knew how to fix it. As Kassim sat there, the kid's limp hand in his, however, he resolved to fix it.

"Whatever it takes," he whispered. "I promise you, I'm going to fix this."

Babkak came home a few minutes later, immediately checking on Omar upon his return.

"How is he?"

"The same."

Lips pursed, Babkak shook his head. "Let's just keep trying to get his fever down."

"How?" Babkak shot him a look, but Kassim couldn't stop the words from flying out of his mouth. "You know, this is exactly why I was against him joining the gang from the start."

Babkak lifted a brow. "What? Because you were afraid he'd get sick? I hate to break it to you, but everyone comes down with something every now and then."

"No, because three is a magic number, remember? And none of us have ever gotten this sick this fast in all our time together. Just him."

"Come on, Kassim, I get it. We're all worried about Omar, but you're being unreasonable. It's not like it's his fault."

"No, but it will be our fault if we can't fix it! If he dies—"

"He's not going to die," Babkak snapped. "Quit jumping to conclusions!"

"—If he dies," Kassim went on, voice a low hiss, "it'll be on us and I can't do that again! I can't… I can't watch anyone else die like that, especially not him."

Babkak's eyes softened and he looked like he wanted to say something else, but Kassim didn't give him the option.

Jerking to his feet, he muttered, "I'll be back later."

"When?"

"Later."

The streets of Agrabah were still bustling with end of day activities and merchant sales, even though the sun had already begun its journey downward.

He'd have to make this quick…

There was a lot to do in such little time, so Kassim booked it for the docks. If he remembered correctly, that's where he would find them. He was nothing if not resourceful and the information he'd unearthed a few weeks ago was about to come in handy at last.

It was a little hole in the wall by the sea, very nondescript and, quite honestly, shady-looking, but who was Kassim to complain?

A burly man greeted him with a suspicious frown before he could make it even three feet past the door.

"Can I help you?"

Kassim crossed his arms, mirroring the man's stance, and got right to it, all to aware of the rapidly setting sun. "So as not to waste either of our time, I'll cut to the point. You don't know me, but I know you-or of you—and I need a small loan. Someone told me this was a good place to get one—no questions asked."

The man seemed to consider him for a moment. "Who?"

A shrug. "I asked around, the details don't really matter."

"How much?"

Kassim named a price.

The man furrowed his brows.

Come on…

"I don't know you. What assurance can you give me that the loan will be paid back in full?"

"Like you said, you don't know me, so my word doesn't mean anything to you, but I will tell you this: I would stake my life on this loan. And I don't mean that figuratively."

Though it took another long, agonizing few moments of studying him, the man finally gave a slow nod.

"Sure, I can loan you what you need, but if you go back on this agreement, trust me when I say there is no place in this city you can hide where I won't find you."

Kassim tried not to think too long about the implications of that statement and nodded. "Got it."

Swearing at the nearly set sun made him feel better than he cared to admit as he dashed back through the streets some time later.

It had to still be open. Please, let it be open…

With a sigh of relief, he skidded to a stop in front of the apothecary and took a moment to collect himself; to catch his breath.

The man at the counter welcomed him with a smile, and for the first time in days, Kassim felt an inkling of hope.

"Hey, what do you have for a fever?"

The cough still lingered, but Omar's eyes had opened days ago and Kassim couldn't remember ever feeling more relieved in his life.

"I don't get it," Al had said when Omar's fever had broken. "How did you steal the right medicine when I couldn't?"

Kassim had shrugged. "Just lucky, I guess."

He'd left it at that. It was far easier to let them believe he'd stolen it rather than go into the details of the debt that now weighed heavily on his mind.

The sun dipped over the horizon and Kassim spared a glance at Omar.

The kid was okay now, and that's all that mattered.

Kassim had plenty of time to figure everything else out. Eventually.

As a cool breeze ruffled his hair, Kassim leaned back and let himself steal a moment to relax. The roof was quiet, with Aladdin gazing at the stars, Babkak dozing in a corner, and Omar…

… Omar looking alive and well as he munched on an apple.

For one precious night, everything was fine. Everyone was all right. Everyone was healthy.

And that was enough for Kassim.

He didn't ask for much in life, just that they would all get to stay together.

That he would stop having to be the one who gets left behind.