"STOP! THIEF!"

Cassim skidded to a holt just before he could go over the side of the building, keeping a tight hold of the bread he'd… liberated not a few moments before.

"I'll have your hands for a trophy!" The Head Guard snarled as him and his fellow guards climbed onto the roof behind him.

"All this for a loaf of bread." Cassim sighed wearily, glancing back at the guards, before focusing on the washing line down below, stepping off the edge and grabbing the rope, sliding along it and collecting a couple of dresses as he went, before he flipped down to the ground.

"YOU WON' T GET AWAY THAT EASY!"

Wrapping himself up in the fabrics, Cassim shook his head in exasperation. "Easy?! You think that was easy?!"

"FIND HIM! FIND HIM!"

Hearing chuckling to the side of him, he smirked and casually made his way over to a small group of women who had watched the entire thing in amusement. As old friends of his wife, he had relied on them a lot in the early months after his death.

"Good morning ladies." He greeted politely, hoping that the fabrics wrapped all around his body hid his true identity enough, "And how are we on this fine morning."

"Aren't you getting into trouble a little late today Cassim?" Talia chuckled, wagging her finger at him, "Old age catching up?"

"Madam, I am in the prime of my life… besides, you're only in trouble if you get caught."

Suddenly, a large hand came out of nowhere, yanking him away from the women and towards the Head Guard. "GOTCHA!"

"I'm in trouble."

The Head Guard smirked, "And this time- "

He was cut off when a small figure suddenly jumped down on top of him and shoved his turban down over his eyes.

"That's my boy!" Cassim beamed at his son, Aladdin, catching the eight-year-old in his arms as the Head Guard desperately tried to pull the turban away from his eyes, "Perfect timing!"

Aladdin was too busy laughing to answer, clinging onto his father as the older man made a run for it… only to run into another guard.

"Aladdin! Distraction!"

The guard clearly wasn't one of the intelligent ones (and there weren't many of those either), as he only stood there in confusion as Aladdin pulled funny faces at him, with Cassim removing his waist-sash, allowing his pants to fall down and giving them another chance to escape.

Swiftly, they raced up some barrels onto a wooden platform, Cassim lifting Aladdin into his arms again as he leapt down and swung into a nearby building.

His favourite building.

"Hi Cassim!" cooed three gorgeous women, who all rushed over, clearly thrilled to see him, with several cooing over little Aladdin.

"Ladies." Gently kissing each and every one of them on the hand, Cassim then turned his attention to the owner, who was glaring at him.

"I'm not hiding you from the guards again!" she snarled, batting at him with her broom, "Go on out!"

"Madam, you wound me!" Cassim couldn't help but smirk though, heading out the opposite window, sending one last wink over to the women, before disappearing out of sight.

He never visited the building on a 'business' level, still mourning after his wife, but he did contribute money to them, in order to help them eat.

"Aladdin, get away from the jewels!" Cassim scolded his son, dodging the doorway where a particular admirer of his lived, "Come on!"

When he had to stop and pull his son away from a sword swallower, knowing exactly what the eight-year-old had planned, Cassim lifted the boy into his arms and clung to him tightly. With the guards still on his tail, he used every method at his disposal to get away, until him and Aladdin were cornered in one room.

Well, almost cornered.

"Hang on tight kiddo…" he whispered as Aladdin climbed onto his back and wrapped his arms around his neck, watching as his Father grabbed an old rug and leapt out of the window, the guards following on behind.

Whilst him and Cassim floated gently down to the ground, the guards fell directly into a wheelbarrow full of manure, the sheer amount of it reaching up to their necks as they struggled to get free.

Now that they were home and free, Cassim touched down in a nearby side street, breaking the bread in half as they rested against the wall.

"And now, we eat." He handed Aladdin his half of the bread and prepared to eat…. Only to stop at the sight of two street kids hanging around the rubbish piles, clearly scavenging for scraps.

Aladdin could have been just like them had he not come back mere days before his wife died. Glancing between his son and the two children, Cassim sighed wearily, pushing himself to his feet and moving to crouch in front of them, "Here… he whispered to them, holding out his half of the bread, "… It's alright, you can have it."

Slowly, the girl reached out and took the bread, breaking off chunks for her brother as Cassim made his way back over to his son, smiling when the boy held out half of his own bread to his Father.

"No Aladdin…" he gently pushed the hand back, "… you need all the food you can get. It'll make you big and strong, like me!"

Reassured that his Father didn't want any, Aladdin continued to eat happily, before running off to play with the children.

Things could have been so much different in this city… if it weren't for the heavy taxes and lavish lifestyle of the royal family.

As Cassim tried to remember a time when the city of Agrabah last prospered, the sound of trumpets and people cheering suddenly reached them, causing the children (and Cassim) to perk up in interest.

Believing that his son would probably be alright, Cassim headed out to the main street, gently pushing past the crowd in order to see what was going on.

Dressed in an extravagant purple outfit, embedded with jewels and gold and riding a white horse (which was almost as extravagant looking), was yet another prince.

That poor princess.

"On his way to the palace I suppose."

"Another suitor for the princess." Confirmed a couple members of the crowd.

Before Cassim could try and get a better view, he felt someone knock against his leg, as the small boy raced out into the street, Aladdin and the girl following on behind him, trying to stop him.

"ALADDIN!"

The horse managed to come to a stop, but the Prince was less than pleased, pulling a whip out of his belt. "Get out of my way you filthy brats!"

Just before the whip could strike his son across the face, Cassim raced out, pushing the children behind him and using his arm to block the impact, thankful that it wasn't very hard. Yanking the whip out of the Prince's hand, he smirked. "Hmm, if I were as rich as you, I'd buy myself some manners."

As the whip was thrown back into his face, the Prince spluttered and fumbled in shock, turning a brilliant shade of red, before kicking out at Cassim. "I'll teach you some manners!"

Cassim managed to keep his balance, but Aladdin, who was standing right behind him, was jostled and fell backwards into a large puddle of mud.

"Aladdin!" Bending down to make sure his son was alright, Cassim growled, glaring at the back of the Prince and his horse, "Look at that son! It's not everyday you see a horse with two rear ends!"

The Prince stopped, and twisted back around, sneering at the sight of Cassim kneeling in the mud by his son, "You are worthless street rats. You were born streets rats, you will die streets rats, and only your fleas will mourn you!"

Cassim charged at him, slamming his fist against the palace gate doors as they closed behind the Prince. The crowd dispersed as Aladdin raced over to his Father, wrapping his arms around his Dad's legs.

"Don't worry son…" Cassim muttered, "… we're not worthless. And we don't have fleas."

Aladdin just stared up at his, face covered in mud, large brown eyes filling with tears, causing Cassim to sigh wearily. "Come on son…" he whispered, taking Aladdin's hand, "… let's go home."

He didn't believe they were riff-raff… street rats. People only needed to look a little closer, and then they'd see a poor father trying to take care of his son in the best way that he could.

There was so much more to them.

Reaching the large-ish alcove that they called home, Cassim gently scrubbed Aladdin down, shoving his dirty clothes into a bucket of water nearby, before tucking the child into his bed.

"Sleep well son…" he murmured soothingly, "… don't worry. All this will change one day. Someday, we'll live in a palace, and you'll have everything you could ever want. You'll see."