What seems like forever, when in reality, it's only 20 minutes due to the huge flight of stairs, the 4 teens finally entered the Agrabah palace; Aziz, Jamilah, and Emir's home. A few of the teens let out a sigh of relief when they stepped into the cool atmosphere in the palace.

Jay whistled as he wiped off beads of sweat from his forehead, then he leaned against the large column, bent over slightly to rest his hands on his knees because his legs starting to ache. "Whew, I dunno how you three do this but my legs hurt." He felt a slight sharp pain in his chest each time he inhaled and exhaled.

Aziz huffed softly as he too inhaled and exhaled. "Trust me, walking up these stairs, especially in the Agrabah heat is a pain in the bum. But at the same time, it's a neat little exercise."

Jay shook his shoulders. "Fair enough if you say so."

Shortly after the teens had cooled off and regenerated their energy to walk, the group was greeted by the palace guards, to which Jay was slightly terrified, but he remembered that he wasn't a thief anymore as the 4 of them went into the hallway of the enormous palace.

As the group walked further in the hallway of the grand palace, the teens stopped abruptly as their ears perked up on a sudden sound; like a pair of footsteps coming their way. The group waited momentarily for the person(or persons) to reveal themselves. The kids had a strong feeling (especially Jay)as to who it was, but they would have to wait, just to be sure.

Just then, the teens saw a pair of shadows emerge from the darkness of the hallway, revealing Sultan Aladdin and Sultana Jasmine. As the couple saw their children stood in front of them, they had a soft smile on their faces.

The moment the teens, specifically the Agrabah siblings saw their parents, they grinned as they were glad to see them after they hadn't seen them in two weeks. Jay on the other hand felt like his heart was jumping out of his chest when he saw his father's enemies. He then felt his palms getting sweaty again.

"Mom!" Jamilah cried happily as she dropped her bag to the floor ran towards her mum and enveloped her in a hug. Jasmine chuckled as she returned the gesture. Aladdin saw this and laughed lightly as he patted his daughter's hair.

Jamilah loved both her mom and dad very much but she was closer to her mother as she was the only girl in the family, minus Jordan, and she was more comfortable telling her mother things that she was skeptical to tell her brothers or her dad.

"Hello my darling," Jasmine greeted, her voice smooth like silk as she combed her daughter's hair with her fingers before Jamilah lifted her head from her mother's chest and gazed at her, but she still had her arms around her mum.

"How are you doing sweetie?" The Sultana asked.

"I'm doing great, Mom!" Jamilah beamed.

"That's good to hear, my sweet."

Aziz smiled softly at his little sister and mother bonding as he bent over and took up her bag before he went over to his parents. Emir followed suit shortly after.

By now, the Agrabah siblings had gathered around Aladdin and Jasmine, and they were bonding with their parents in an instant as they were asking their kids about school and such.

Meanwhile, Jay watched the happy family from a distance and took a step back into the shadows. He then bit his bottom lip and clenched his fist then placed it at his side.

As he watched them, Jay couldn't help but have a tinge of jealousy in his heart despite not showing it. All his life, he wanted his father to be proud of him, but every time Jay put in his all, Jafar continued to tell him that he was such a disappointment- to the point where he physically abused him. Maybe if his mother didn't die from childbirth, he'd most likely confide in her….

Or not.

Jay stared at the Agrabah family and wondered if they remembered that he was there. Doesn't matter, he was way too nervous to approach them.

What seemed like forever of the Royal family bonding according to Jay, when in truth it was less than 10 minutes, Jamilah broke away from Jasmine's embrace but she was still holding her hand, grinning.

"Excuse our manners, Mom but we have our visitor," Jamilah said. "Remember Jay, the new kid from the Isle? Well, he's here."

"Of course," Jasmine nodded. "Let us see him."

Jamilah turned her head looked in Jay's direction and called softly. "Jay? Don't be shy. Come, Mom and Dad want to see you," her brothers followed her gaze as well.

As soon as Jamilah called him, Jay froze in his spot, his legs trembled slightly. He then felt his heart raced rapidly and the top of his ears started to warm- he was nervous.

When they realized that Jay wasn't coming, Jasmine became mildly worried, although she had never seen the boy. Aladdin was slightly concerned also.

Jamilah bit her lip and sighed softly as she slipped out her hand from her mum's and slowly made her way over to the boy who was in the shadows although one could barely see him.

Anxiety took him over again.

When Jamilah stopped in front of the aforementioned boy, she gently took his large, callous hands in her pillowy soft, and dainty hand. Jay merely flinched when he felt Jamilah's hand in his as he looked down at his new friend.

"Jay, don't be nervous," Jamilah told him reassuringly. "I understand where you're coming from but Mom and Dad are not those types of people. So just take a deep breath and come."

"Yeah, man! Just come!" Aziz exclaimed. "Mom and Dad don't bite." Hearing this, Emir chuckled softly in agreement with his older brother.

After hearing Jamilah and Aziz encouraging him, Jay sighed and took a deep breath. Since Jamilah held his hand, he felt more at ease.

"Ready?" Jamilah asked.

Jay nodded.

Jamilah grinned as she and Jay stepped out of the shadows and into the soft, dim light where the rest of the Agrabah royals saw them.

As soon as the two teens came into view, Jay gasped softly when he fixed his brown at the Sultan and Sultana.

When he saw them, Jay absentmindedly locked his eyes on Jasmine's as she was directly staring at him intently.

As the long-haired boy gazed at the Sultana, he couldn't help but be blown away by her beauty for a woman who was in her mid-30s, at least what he was guessing. He huffed slightly as now he knew where Jamilah got her looks from.

'Jasmine aged fine like wine,' Jay thought.

Jay noticed that the Sultana wore her signature teal-colored traditional Agrabah dress showing off her curves, with the loose sleeves draped daintily over her shoulders. In addition to her attire, Jasmine's teal headband was nestled on her head with the sapphire blue gem embedded in the middle of the headband. As for her hair, Jasmine's hair was done in an updo style instead of her usual large bubble braid.

Jay stared longingly at Jamilah's mother for a few moments before he finally glanced at Aladdin. Similarly to Jasmine, Jay saw that Aladdin wore his signature cream-colored royal Agrabah suit and had on his turban with a few locks of hair sticking out to the right side of Aladdin's chiseled face. Jay also saw Aladdin's muscles printed out on his attire. He could easily tell that the Sultan exercised daily to stay in shape and not have a potential dad bod.

While Aladdin and Jasmine had their gaze fixated on Jay, the Agrabah siblings, particularly Jamilah darted her brown eyes between her new friend and her parents as she pressed her lips in a firm line.

They'd been staring at each other for a couple of minutes now, and the atmosphere between Jay and the royal couple was starting to get awkward. Not to mention that the silence was deafening.

'Well, this is starting to get weird,' Jamilah thought. Jamilah was sure that her brothers had the same thought as well.

When Jasmine saw Jay for the first time, she couldn't help but study the boy's face thoroughly. Jasmine noticed that Jay had a similar eye shape to hers, his height was similar or the same as Aziz's and he had a strong physique like Aziz as well.

Jasmine stifled a hum and bit her bottom lip slightly. It was like Jasmine had seen this boy before but she couldn't quite make it out where and how. The Sultana tore her gaze for a split second from Jay to Aladdin and she could sense the same thoughts from him before focusing her attention on Jay.

As for Jay, he had a tiny lopsided smile plastered on his face as he was getting uncomfortable with the couple staring at him. So, he tightened his hold with Jamilah's and used his other hand to cover his mouth to let out a cough.

"Erm, I guess the staring contest is over," Jay let out a nervous chuckle, causing Aladdin and Jasmine to snap out and shake their heads.

"Hehe yeah," Aladdin chuckled lightly. "Excuse our manners. That's not very courteous of us. So you must be the famous Jay huh? Our kids told us a lot about you." He then proceeded to stretch out his hand, signaling Jay to shake it and Jay hesitantly shook it.

After shaking the Sultan's hand(if Jay was honest, Aladdin's handshake was very firm)Jay huffed as he gently slipped out his other hand from Jamilah's and folded his arms across his broad chest. "Yep, the one and only! I must say though, your kids are my biggest fans." He smiled proudly.

Jasmine laughed softly. "They're sure they are. They couldn't stop telling us about you, especially Jamilah."

Hearing this made Jamilah blush in embarrassment.

"Oh yeah?" Jay raised a brow and smirked at the princess before focusing his attention on the couple. "Well, she's my biggest fan."

Aziz watched his new friend and parents from the side as they were having a light conversation and he could tell that Jay was much more relaxed and confident than he was when he just entered the palace courtyard. That's the spirit!

"That's good to hear."

"And you're the famous Sultan Aladdin and Sultana Jasmine?" Jay asked. "Dad told me a lot of stories about you two."

"I'm sure they're pleasant," Jasmine mumbled sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

"Not surprised," Aladdin joined in with his lips curled.

The Agrabah siblings widened as they wouldn't want to know what Jafar had told Jay about their parents.

A couple of moments after Jay and the royal couple introduced themselves to each other, the group heard something, like a voice coming from behind Aladdin and Jasmine.

"It took you guys a while to come," the voice said.

"Who said that?" Emir asked, looking around and trying to pinpoint where that voice was coming from.

Everyone(except Jay) turned around and saw Jordan, Li'l Shang, and Lonnie stepping into the soft light. All three of the teens wore Agrabah-style attire.

"I did," Jordan responded.

Jay's eyes widened in surprise the moment he saw his schoolmates. He didn't expect them to be here while the Agrabah siblings remained calm.

Except Jamilah.

Jamilah had a light pink blush on her cheeks when she saw Shang wearing a similar outfit that her father wore when he was younger. The only difference was Shang was muscular. She hadn't seen Shang like this since they went to Triton's Bay over the summer.

"Jordan? Shang? And Leonie…?" Jay made a face when he guessed Lonnie's name.

Lonnie shook her head in amusement. "You're close, but it's Lonnie."

"Oh. So what are you guys doing here?" Jay asked. "Jordan, I thought you lived in a lamp?"

Jordan snorted as she planted her left hand on her hip. "FYI, I live here. This is my home. I only live in my lamp at school since magic is pretty much forbidden." The Djinn then rested her elbow on Shang's burly shoulder.

Jay blinked for a second and turned to the Li siblings. "What about you two?"

"Mom and Dad are on guard duty for the Emperor this week," Lonnie replied. "So they called Aunt Jasmine and Uncle Aladdin and told them that we should stay here for the weekend."

"Aunt Jasmine and Uncle Aladdin?"

"Yeah, that's what all of us AKs call the heroes. It's a form of respect and that we're like family to them. Even Aziz and his siblings called Mom and Dad Aunt Mulan and Uncle Shang," Shang explained.

"Oh," Jay said, nodding in understanding. "Well, I guess there's lots to learn here."

Jasmine chuckled softly. "Of course. Like how all of you kids are here, dinner's almost ready. Just 30 minutes left. In the meantime, just change into something fresh. And Jay?"

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"Jasmine is just fine," Jasmine smiled. "Tell us about your life on the Isle. I'm curious," she then went beside the boy and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. She hoped Jay was comfortable in telling her and Aladdin about his life on the Isle.

Upon hearing Jasmine's words, Jay felt his palms sweaty again as he shifted uncomfortably and bit his bottom lip. He was skeptical of telling Aladdin and Jasmine about his past on the Isle since he just met them, but he remembered what Mal had told him; Aladdin and Jasmine were good people and they were not going to judge or badmouth him because his father was Jafar.

After he had mentally debated on whether he should tell the royal couple his past, Jay sighed as he made up his mind. "Of course."

Jasmine smiled softly at the teen. She was slightly worried for a moment and pondered if she had gone a bit too deep in asking Jay such a question.

"Alright then, tell us about your life while we give you a tour of our home," Jasmine told Jay as she and Aladdin began to walk with Jay down the hallway.

As soon as Aladdin, Jasmine, and Jay left, Jordan, Shang, and Lonnie joined the Agrabah siblings. The teens' eyes were peering into the couple and Jay's backs.

"Y'know, this is the fastest I've ever seen Aunt Jasmine and Uncle Aladdin warmed up to Jay," Shang said, sounding stunned. "I honestly didn't expect it."

"I agree," Jordan nodded. "I dunno if I should be impressed or jelly."

"I'd say both," Emir replied as he slightly shook his shoulders.

"I second that," Aziz, Jamilah, and Lonnie chorused.

With that said, the teens stood there for a few seconds before they, particularly the Agrabah trio gathered their things and followed behind Aladdin and Jasmine down in the hallway.

….

"….so it's very hard for you on the Isle, huh?" Aladdin asked Jay as he, Jay, and Jasmine walked at a normal pace as they were on the way to show Jay his guest room.

Jay scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, it was very difficult."

Aladdin nodded in understanding as he could relate. Living on the streets as a street rat was not easy, especially when it was difficult to get a piece of bread.

"So do you kids get something proper to eat?" Jasmine questioned as she turned her head slightly to Jay. She was hoping that at least VKs got something good to eat despite living on a prison island.

As he heard that question coming from the Sultana's mouth, Jay stopped in his tracks abruptly. He was taken aback. Although if Jay was honest, he had a hunch that Jasmine would ask him that, but still.

Aladdin and Jasmine saw that Jay was frozen in his spot. They frowned.

"Jay?" Jasmine called, slightly concerned. "Is there something wrong with my question?"

It took a couple of minutes for Jay to snap out of his shock and respond. At this point, he thought that Jasmine was messing with him.

"I-n-no…" Jay stammered as he tried his best to form a coherent sentence. He then shook his head. "N-no, we don't eat any good food on the Isle. Just literal garbage and moldy food that you royals dumped on us," Jay sounded as if he was snapping at Aladdin and Jasmine as his eyes narrowed at them.

It was Aladdin and Jasmine's turn to be taken aback by Jay's sudden change of behavior with Jasmine blinking at him. "W-waa…hmm so you're saying that we as royals intentionally dump trash on you kids because your parents are our enemies?"

Jay nodded. "We thought you guys wanted to see us suffer."

Aladdin had a small chuckle and shook his head. He found Jay's explanation incredulous.

"Jay," Aladdin began. "Look, my wife and I as well as our close friends in all of Auradon would never, like never dump garbage on the Isle, especially when literal children are living there."

Jay looked at the Sultan skeptically. He was unsure of whether he should believe him.

"Ok then, then why didn't you guys do something about it?" Jay asked, challenging the couple as he folded his arms.

Aladdin and Jasmine became tensed by the long-haired boy's question. They didn't know what to say for a couple of minutes as Jasmine felt a guilty pang in her chest for asking Jay this delicate question.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, the Sultan spoke.

"Jay…" Aladdin tilted his head slightly to the left and sighed. He knew this was going to be hard to explain.

While Jay and the couple were having a small conversation about the lack of food on the Isle, the group was a few distances away from them and heard everything. They too were in disbelief.

"Is Jay accusing Mom and Dad of dumping garbage on the Isle?" Emir asked, his brown eyes widened. "Because they don't do that."

"Yeah, it seems like it," Shang replied. "Call me crazy, but I think Jay doesn't know."

"Duh," Jordan said, sounding obvious. "I mean, why would Aunt Jasmine and Uncle Aladdin dump garbage on the Isle? Unless they're doing it behind our backs and that still wouldn't make sense."

"True," Jamilah nodded in agreement. "That would make Mom and Dad hypocrites as it goes against their moral character. But I still don't believe Mom and Dad or our Aunts and Uncles would do something this awful."

"Honestly, this kinda reminds me of the time when I saw the VKs in the kitchen, and they told me that their parents didn't love them at all," Lonnie sighed sadly as she recalled the memory. "I was depressed the whole night at that time."

The teens, especially Shang stared at Lonnie sadly.

"I stand with Mom and Dad," Aziz said, his voice was firm and confident. "Neither they nor any of the royals of Auradon would ever do something so cruel and heinous…except for one person," he turned to the others staring at them and they met his gaze. It didn't take the teens long to realize it was who.

"Beast." They chorused.

….

It was dinner time as Aladdin and Jasmine sat around the grand dining table with their children, nieces and nephew, and their guest Jay, who was happily devouring his dinner. Even Jasmine's father, the former Sultan Hamed, and Aladdin's father, Cassim were there as well. Not to mention Genie was there too after sharing everyone's dinner.

The atmosphere in the dining room was relatively serene compared to the tense atmosphere in the hallway with Jay nearly snapping at the royal couple and accusing them of intentionally dumping garbage on the Isle. Thankfully, Aladdin was able to convince Jay that it was neither he nor Jasmine or any of the royals had dumped garbage on the Isle. He explained to the boy that it was most likely Beast was the one who did this, and Aladdin wasn't too sure if Belle and Fairy Godmother were involved. However, he would be disappointed if they do as it goes against their character.

The dining room was rather quiet apart from the soft clatter of silverware against the dishes and there were light conversations amongst the family members from time to time.

Jasmine had her eyes on Jay longingly as she watched him biting into his baked chicken drumstick while simultaneously biting off his biscuit. Jasmine could tell that Jay was hungry, and it kind of reminded her of how Rajah ate his food.

The Sultana still had her eyes on the long-haired boy devouring his dinner. If she was honest, while it looked endearing to see Jay like this, especially after she heard the horrors of VKs eating actual rubbish earlier, Jasmine didn't want the young boy to choke on his food, to which at this rate he was going. Even the other family members are watching him with concern and disgust(that was from Jordan).

So, Jasmine gently set her fork and butter knife on each side of the tray and cleared her throat. "Jay?" She called his name softly.

As he heard his name, Jay stopped midway from his food and stared at the older woman across from him. "Yes, Ma'am?" He muffled as his mouth was stuffed with food, even some fragments of baked chicken fell from out of his mouth.

Jordan saw this and scrunched her nose in disgust. "Gross," she muttered under her breath before she took another bite of her biscuit.

Meanwhile, Lonnie doesn't know what washed over but she has the sudden urge to get up from her seat and help Jay eat his food properly and her brother noticed.

Jasmine huffed softly and motioned her hands in a way to tell Jay to calm down and Jay nodded quickly.

The older woman had a small smile on her face as she leaned back in her chair. She then resumed her dinner while constantly glancing at Jay.

Aladdin turned and looked up and down at his wife as he noticed her glancing at Jay every few seconds. He thought that Jasmine had been oddly protective ever since Jay came here, and if he was honest, it was sweet of her to look out for Jay but strange to say the least.

With that said Aladdin averted his eyes away from his wife and continued to eat his dinner.

…

After dinner….

Jay and Jamilah were in the hallway having a small conversation while everyone else was somewhere in the palace.

"The dinner was great!" Jay complimented as he rubbed his tummy. "Hmm, just perfect!"

Jamilah chuckled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. After all, Genie is the best cook here."

"I hope Jordan is like that," Jay said and Jamilah scoffed.

"Oh, isn't Jordan like that?" Jay asked as he tilted his head slightly.

Jamilah shook her head. "Nah."

Jay snorted. "Oh. Well anyways, um sorry for misjudging your parents. I had no idea that they didn't dump garbage on the Isle."

Jamilah gave Jay a sad but reassuring smile. "It's okay, Jay. You nor your friends didn't know and neither did us Aks either. We thought you guys had something good to eat."

Jay breathed. "Well, I'm glad that your parents aren't involved. They seemed like really cool folks."

Jamilah smiled as she was glad that Jay was slowly warming up to her parents. "They are. You just need to calm down and talk to them." She then gently and playfully punched Jay's abs. He chuckled.

"What's that for?"

"Oh nothing," the Agrabah princess replied calmly. "I just wanna mess with you a little."

Jay arched a brow at her but didn't say anything for a moment until he spoke, "Well, I'll be heading to my guest room to relax and then explore this huge place."

Jamilah smiled softly. "Of course, be my guest, lol."

Upon hearing that, Jay smirked at his friend. "Alright then, catch you later."

"Later."

Jay gave the aforementioned girl another smirk before he left her and Jamilah sighed as she watched Jay from a distance.

Just then, Jordan suddenly appeared beside Jamilah. "Well…?"

Jamilah flinched and turned to see her cousin grinning at her. It looks as if Jordan has a devilish grin on her face.

"Huh?" Jamilah was dazed.

"Well, apart from Aunt Jasmine having a staring contest with Jay and him eating like a rabid hog, the big question is…do you have a crush on Jay? Or better yet, do you like him?"

Jamilah was taken aback by her cousin's question as she made a face. "No! I don't have a crush on him or like him romantically. What makes you think that?"

"I mean, the two of you are close at school almost every day, and Jay almost protected you from Chad the other day…" Jordan shrugged.

"He's a cool guy," Jamilah replied simply. "I'm starting to like him like a 3rd brother. Unlike you, you love to cling to others like Shang for example. Like, you can't stop locking arms with the guy today and you were very close to him at dinner, despite Shang being very awkward with girls clinging onto him like that," she had a menacing smirk plastered on her face. Jamilah knew very well she got her cousin.

Hearing this, Jordan's face turned tomato red as she felt the tips of her ears begin to heat up. "I-I…." She stuttered. "Shang has nice muscles, okay!"

"You said that with most guys, even you cling onto your editor, Gordon."

Gordon was Grumpy's son and Jordan's editor.

The genie girl gasped. 'How did Jamie know ?!' She thought.

And Jamilah grinned.

Jordan then glared at her cousin, her face was still red.

"Y'know what? I'm going to my room," Jordan said, embarrassment was evident in her voice as she stormed past Jamilah and headed to her room.

Jamilah laughed as soon as Jordan left her and went to her room. Jamilah's favorite pastime was to embarrass Jordan when she came with the craziest stories and gossip and in turn, expose her for crushing on good-looking guys like Shang or Gordon.

With that said, Jamilah shook her in amusement before going to her room to freshen up.

AN: I'm alive just so many things are happening and kept on procrastinating. But anyways, lemme know what you think?