~Many Months Prior~

Balbadd steams in the summer.

It always has a tendency to steam year round, but in the summer, even Judal finds himself feeling as though he is swimming through the air. Especially near the coast, the heavy fog and humidity at night and early morning makes him far more inclined to lie about naked on a bed of muslin than anything else, with even a bowl of fruit nearby a chore to reach for.

All in all, Balbadd is good, though.

The stress of Sindrian things is nowhere to be found-even less than he would expect, considering Alibaba isn't here and trying to desperately win Sinbad's favor in one way or another. The governor appointed to this place wants nothing to do with him or Aladdin, and that suits Judal just fine when he wants to do nothing but sleep and eat and fuck in the aftermath of wars and other stressful things (like having what feels like eyes plastered on him at all times, staring at him and watching his every move).

He had tried to hide it from Aladdin at first-moot point, and of course, Judal had felt like an idiot afterwards. The little bits of black rukh peek out at the worst of times, not inclined to be controlled (just as he'd remembered), and Judal had reluctantly admitted they had been there for awhile, ever since that failed attempt with Baal.

It's just recently that the feeling of being watched has started, though, and Judal hasn't decided if he should say something yet or not.

Not, Judal decides for the day, sighing as he finally summons the strength to roll over and snag a peach. He's already ruined a great number of things. This day needn't be one of them.

Aladdin wakes late, like he does in Balbadd. There's no reason to rise early when everything is so nice here, and all the old women and advisors tell him he's doing enough just by being around. Aladdin likes the old women, even if their boobs have a lot more skin than the young women. They feed him a lot more, so that makes up for it.

Most importantly, Judal usually sleeps late, and that means Aladdin doesn't have to wake up cold, or leave Judal to be cold. He stretches out, feet hanging off the edge of the bed, and throws an arm around Judal's waist. He's awake, of course, and worrying like he always does lately. That stresses Aladdin out, but privately he thinks it's nothing a little time in the sun and away from Sindria won't cure. Sindria had been...stressful, last time. Everything had been stressful, back then, and only now are they really getting a chance to get away from it.

Instead of saying "good morning," Aladdin gives Judal's shoulder a soft bite from behind.

Judal muffles a noise into his peach, taking a solid bite from it before he chews, swallows and flops backward against Aladdin with a huff. "Morning," he offers around a yawn, twisting slightly to shove the peach against Aladdin's mouth to offer him a bite as well. "Imports don't taste as good as homegrown, I think. Make sure your not-king plants peach trees here, if you ever want me to visit this place again."

Aladdin bites, and chews happily, juice sliding down his face. "I'll tell him, once he's done with his plans for the slums," he promises seriously. Then he curls his arms around Judal's waist, rubbing the peach juice off on his neck, then licking that from Judal's skin. "I think I have some good ideas about making you come visit anyway. Joodly Joo tastes good."

"That nickname won't make me come visit," Judal complains, letting the half-eaten peach roll away as he snuggles back all the same, tilting his head back to lick a stripe underneath Aladdin's skin. Imports apparently taste better when on Aladdin, he thoughtfully muses, licking his lips. "It's Judal. Juuuudal."

"Juuuuuuuuudally Joo," Aladdin agrees, leaning over to lick peach juice off of Judal's lips. "Judal is Judal, but sometimes Judal seems like more of a Joodally thing." He rolls over, enough that he can bury his face in Judal's neck, nibbling. "Joodally things taste good."

"You're being duuuumb, I'm not Joodally." It's weird to even say his name like that, though it's harder to be annoyed when Aladdin's got his face in his neck and is nibbling on him like he really does taste delicious. Judal sighs, wriggling and rolling over to flop himself atop Aladdin instead, rather pleased with himself for getting Aladdin on his back. "J-u-d-a-l. Not Joodle. Or however it is that you say it," he half-heartedly grumps, snapping his teeth against Aladdin's chin. "I'll bite it out of you."

"Mmkay!" Aladdin agrees happily, wriggling under Judal's weight. He's always so warm, so nice-smelling, so pliant and strong and wiggly. He frowns, trying to reach up, and drags his fingernails lightly down the back of Judal's tanned back instead. "Hmm, I can't bite you so easy like this. And Joodly things taste so good. You'll have to make it up to me."

A little, grumbling noise escapes at the Joodly part-Aladdin doesn't listen, he's doing this on purpose, and people say he's the brat!-though Judal doesn't think about it for very long, not when Aladdin sets his nails to him and that makes him arch and sigh and wiggle more on top of him. "Yeah? Like how?" Judal grins, nudging his nose underneath Aladdin's chin, parting his lips to scrape his teeth down his throat before biting again and sucking. "Shouldn't have to make up anything if you keep calling me Joodly… Joodally… whatever, things."

Aladdin beams at him, bringing a leg up between Judal's thighs, relishing the heat and soft firmness of his skin. "Joodly things are nice. They lay on me and taste good and make my rukh feel all swirly." He starts to roll them over, but Judal is being heavy on purpose, so he gives up, grabbing at Judal's ass instead. "You should taste me like peaches," he suggests, eyes lidding. "I like tasting myself in your mouth."

Aladdin has nice hands. They're not particularly large like Sinbad's, but he has really long, elegant fingers that feel especially good when they're clawing down his back, or right now, kneading and grabbing and making him sigh out a hot breath against Aladdin's neck. "You taste really good," Judal agrees, pressing another, open-mouthed kiss to Aladdin's shoulder before he wriggles down, taking his time to enjoy the slide of bare flesh before he ends up nuzzling at the jut of Aladdin's hip, and down the inside of one thigh. "You sure swirly's the word?" he murmurs, tilting his head to press a wet, lingering kiss to the tip of Aladdin's cock. "Usually, your rukh just gets all pink."

"Joodly things make me feel all pink too," Aladdin says sagely, wriggling his legs apart to let Judal position himself between them. Ah, he looks good there, and even if his teeth are sharp, he's usually pretty good about only biting in good, fun places and ways. "Sometimes it's swirly when it's pink." He reaches out a hand, and Judal's rukh pulses against his own, mostly white, flecked with bits of black here and there. Aladdin catches one dark one, pinching it between his fingers, and blows on it until it lightens up a bit, the dark washing off like soot. It darkens again as soon as it leaves his fingers, but not all the way to black as it had been.

Judal bites back a few choice that's not going to do anything, quit it and variations of, all in favor of dragging his tongue hot and slick from the tip of Aladdin's cock down the underside of it, huffing out a soft breath as he does. It's funny the odder colors that rukh will change-pink, in this case, is sort of cute, and he can see the swirly (yes, swirly) gradients of it, turning pinker by the minute with every swipe and lap of his tongue. "You do taste good," Judal murmurs, pleased that this is a good reminder of such a thing, and a low, rumbling groan echoes in his throat as he sucks the head of Aladdin's cock into his mouth, slowly letting him slide further along his tongue.

Aladdin's hips roll slowly up, rocking shallowly into Judal's mouth, feeling the searing, pressing slick heat of Judal's tongue against his cock, a pleased little shiver raking through him. His hands slide into Judal's hair, a whispered word of magic unbinding it from the braid so he can properly touch and scratch and hold, nails prickling into his skull. "Joodly things are good like that," he murmurs, spreading his legs farther to wrap one lazily around Judal's waist. "What does it taste like?"

Judal releases Aladdin's cock with a slick, wet pop, breath hitching as he butts his head up briefly into the other Magi's hands. "You're really sweet," he mumbles, a little mystified by it no matter how many times he's had Aladdin's taste lingering on his tongue. There's a hint of that musky, masculine taste, but it's faint and barely noticeable, especially when everything is so sweet and Aladdin always smells so good. Judal sighs, eyes lidding as he gives the head another eager swipe of his tongue before his fingers splay over Aladdin's hips, loosely curling there as Judal works to take more of him into his mouth, an eager moan muffled in his throat.

God, there's something intoxicating about the way Judal sucks cock. He doesn't do it like most of the ladies Aladdin has known, wanting to show off, always looking up through lashes and trying to see if Aladdin is turned on, if he's excited. Judal just does what he loves, licking and sucking and slurping as if he's hungry for it, and Aladdin can't even move, not with the way Judal's holding his hips down. That's fine; Judal's actions are so much better, more intoxicating than anything he'd feel by grabbing Judal's face and sliding in and out, and he slides back with a soft, pleased sigh. "No one is as good at this as Judal," he murmurs, forgetting to give him a silly nickname when Judal's being so good to him.

Hearing Aladdin's compliments always make his rukh flutter and twist happily, and it makes Judal all the more eager to taste everything he can, especially when Aladdin is shivering and his cock is leaking all over his tongue. His eyes flutter as he swallows him down further, his own cock throbbing between his legs when he finally takes Aladdin in to the root, nose nudging into his stomach. Judal knows (loves) that he looks like some harlot as he sucks and licks at Aladdin, cheeks hollowing as he pulls up with a hard suck, his hands dragging up to splay over Aladdin's ribs.

Aladdin's whole body goes shivery, his rukh fluttering and whirling around Judal when he's thoroughly engulfed. His hips twitch up, unable to help himself when Judal is so good at this, so determined and eager and talented with that tongue, dragging it over his cock with every little movement of his breath. His hands clench, too tight in Judal's hair, but it's difficult to remember limits when Judal is so good. "Is Judal going to drink it all?" he asks, breathlessly excited, eyes shining as he looks down at the man nestled between his legs.

An eager, wet moan is quick to follow, and Judal nods as much as he can, pulling back just enough to let Aladdin's cock slide along his tongue rather than simply be buried down his throat. Judal wants to taste him more than anything, especially with those hands grabbing so tight at his hair, with the way Aladdin shudders and bucks underneath him-all because of him.

Judal is really unfair. Aladdin whispers as much, eyes sliding shut before he snaps them open again, wanting to watch the way Judal moves his lips and tongue and everything, as entranced by the sight of it as he is of Judal's skills. His hands curl in Judal's hair, and then there's a sharp, eager gasp before the tension snaps, and Aladdin forgets all thoughts of watching when pleasure bursts in his head, coursing down his spine and out to his extremities, picking him up and shaking him like a tornado as he spills over Judal's tongue.

Judal isn't neat about it. He rarely is anyway, and with Aladdin, he sees no reason to be, when they both like it when it's messy and everywhere and that makes it more fun. Judal's groan is caught in his throat, a low, rumbly thing as he slurps and swallows, drawing back and releasing Aladdin's cock with a last, messy lap of his tongue before he squirms his way up, grabbing at Aladdin's hair to haul him up into a kiss that's just as messy, sticky from the come still lingering on his lips and tongue.

Aladdin's just as eager, rolling to the side to better twine his arms and legs with Judal's, every part of him overheated and oversensitive, tasting himself on Judal's tongue with slow, easy licks to his mouth. "Mm," he murmurs, stretching out, eyes half-lidded. "You're right. It is sweet." He laughs softly, licking up a spilled drop on Judal's chin. "Joodly things are messy."

"You like it," Judal sighs out, wriggling forward with a slow, hitching breath to let his cock rub lazily against Aladdin's stomach. He flops his arms forward, throwing them around Aladdin's back as he wriggles close, raking his nails slowly down the other Magi's spine. "Hurry up and get it up agaaaain, want you in me."

Aladdin laughs, still oversensitive and woogly from the force of his last orgasm. "C'mere," he murmurs, dipping his fingers into a jar of sesame oil they keep by the bed, trailing a slick finger down the small of Judal's back. "Let me play with you back here for a little while, I like the faces you make."

"Mmnn, that's fine, too." Judal rubs his face into the crook of Aladdin's neck, shivering and biting down as he arches his back just at the promise of those long fingers inside of him. "Like it when you slide 'em in really deep," he sighs, lurching up to catch the lobe of one ear and bite and suck on it. "Always feels really good."

Aladdin shivers at the drag of Judal's teeth, the familiar ache of wanting to go again already and not quite being there yet warring in his body. He arches down, finds the position difficult, and nudges Judal up a bit until he can comfortably slide two fingers into him, slick and easy with the oil. Judal is so hot inside, clenching and twitching around his fingers, and Aladdin makes a little approving noise in his throat. "Joodly things feel good inside," he murmurs, and licks Judal's shoulder absently. "Are you really hard?" Not like he can't feel it against his thighs, but ah, he likes hearing Judal say dirty things.

The first, slick slide of those fingers inside of him makes Judal mewl, the sound catching and breaking a little in his throat as his back arches sharply. "Ahh… really hard," he breathlessly answers, hips twitching forward to rub his cock against Aladdin, hard enough to be dripping now and leaving a slick, sticky mess as he grinds forward. His hands clutch up into Aladdin's hair, mussing and loosening his braid as he slowly rocks against Aladdin's hand. "K..keep that up, and I dunno if I can wait…"

"Sure you can." Aladdin's voice is easy, confident, and he lips a quick kiss against Judal's neck as he slides his fingers in and out. They don't really need to do this first, not with how good Judal is at taking his cock a few times every day, but Aladdin likes watching the faces Judal makes when he's writhing, and it's a lot more distracting when he's buried inside the other Magi.

Oh, well. Sacrifices are important.

Hard now, at least most of the way, Aladdin pulls out his fingers with a wet little noise, dipping his fingers back into the jar to coat his cock. He rolls, getting Judal on his back, knowing he'll say something if he wants it some other way. Long blue hairs trail down, brushing over Judal's chest, and Aladdin beams down at him. "You're going to be really good," he breathes, and pushes in, nice and fast to give Judal the shock he knows he loves.

Judal flops back, surrendering in an instant, and god, he's glad when he does.

Aladdin's cock always feels so good inside of him that it's almost painful, and Judal's eyes roll back, cock aching when Aladdin sinks inside him, slick and hot and fast and leaves his breath hiccuping in his chest as his legs splay wide and trembling. "I-ah… f-fuck," he inelegantly swears, huffing out a hot, ragged breath as he desperately reaches a hand down, curling his fingers tightly at the base of his own cock, squeezing hard to keep himself from just giving in and coming right then and there. A broken, needy whine leaves his throat all the same, and Judal bites his lip as he ruts down, skin flushed and eyes a little unfocused. "Please please please-"

Aladdin's eyes are bright, cheeks flushed when he buries his head in Judal's neck, inhaling deeply. Judal smells so good, spicy and dark and fruity, and Aladdin nibbles a bit as he slides out, laving the area with his tongue when a quick, solid thrust brings him back in far enough that he hears a slap. "I know you like being really full," he breathes in Judal's ear, urging Judal's legs farther apart still. "I like it when I make you so full you can't breathe."

Judal writhes, his back a tight, trembling arc when he sets his heels to the bed, just that little bit of leverage making it much, much easier to buck down and practically ride every long, hard thrust of Aladdin's cock inside of him. The stretch is what makes his vision go spotty, his hands claws as they drag down Aladdin's back, digging in and clinging, and every word from Aladdin's tongue makes heat twist tighter and hotter still in his belly. "Really… really love it," he mindlessly agrees, breath hitching and catching in his throat. He whines a little, trying to rub his cock up against the firm lines of Aladdin's body above him, but he can't think, isn't quite coordinate enough right then, and ah, god, just squirming around almost feels even better.

Aladdin arches up, not even letting Judal rub against him, focusing on every slick, hard drive of his cock into Judal's body. Only with Judal can he go so many times so fast-they'd done it three times before falling asleep in the first place-and he takes his time, shivering eagerly at the claws Judal makes down his back. "You don't need to," he murmurs, rocking his hips into Judal, going faster, smoother, deeper with each thrust. "I bet you can do it just because you like me in you so much, right?" He leaves a bruising kiss on Judal's jawline, inaccurately aimed but sharp and rough nonetheless.

Judal thinks he agrees out loud. That might have been a whine, though, or even just a breathless, huffing moan of assent, complete with a nod of his head that might have also been a shake and oh, god, Aladdin feels so good when he shoves in deep like that, everything slick and hot and making him turn to a shivery mess all the way down to his toes.

He sort of gives up after that.

He comes hard, his attempts for breaths heavy, hiccuping gasps as he spills. Aladdin is right, of course-he always is. Judal doesn't need another touch to his cock to come this hard, especially not when Aladdin is in him, spreading him wide, stuffing him so full that he can't breathe, and he's left a whimpering, trembling mess as he sags down into the bed, still clinging to Aladdin's back.

This time, Aladdin doesn't so much shatter as he does slide easily into a ripple of pleasure, like swimming through cold water only to find a spot warmed by the sun. It shivers through him, fast enough that he doesn't even remember to pull out so Judal can be nice and messy the way he loves, spilling inside him with a happy, contented little moan.

He's slow to pull out, and rubs his face against Judal's neck, reaching a finger down to circle the sore, dripping hole. "Mmm, you still feel really nice here," he murmurs, settling himself happily on top of the other Magi. "You achy? Or just floppy and good?"

"Gooood," is the groan to follow, even as Judal twitches and lurches up a bit from that teasing touch, oversensitive and still trembling even now. He gives Aladdin a solid squeeze, his head lolling back with a long sigh. "You're good. Really good. I keeps."

"Good. I like being...keeped." Aladdin forgets about grammar, burrowing into Judal's shoulder and stretching out. "I don't really care that it's afternoon. I just want to sleep and eat with you today. Alibaba's busy anyway."

"Mmnn… is it already afternoon?" Judal sleepily attempts, lifting his head briefly to look out through the window and at the sun absolutely pouring in. "Guess it is. Then let's just sleep," he agrees, worming himself closer to throw a leg over Aladdin's hip.

In theory, it's a good plan.

What isn't good, though, is waking up drenched in a cold sweat, his heart pounding, his vision blurring and wet. The worst part is not being able to pinpoint why for a moment, not until he looks dazedly out through the still-open window, the night sky pouring into their room now with the glitter of stars the only thing to light it-

Al-Sarmen's dismissal of him, not even angry, simply uncaring-Kouen's turned back, the way he ushered all of his siblings and cousins away-the look of scorn on every face he stumbled upon when he fled Kou, the way he knew for certain there was no one, absolutely no one that would help him unless-

Remembering that now, of all times?

Judal shudders, sinking down into the bed, his face turning to bury itself into a pillow. He doesn't want to see the dark flutter of his rukh that swells up stronger still when he's stressed, and now, with a dream (nightmare) like that, there's no helping it. It shouldn't be black again, not after all of this, I didn't do anything.

The look on Ja'far's face when he showed up within Sindria, the way his heart thudded in his chest all the way up to his throat when he saw Sinbad again, and even after everything else, Sinbad told Ja'far to stop, to not kill him, and let him stay-

Ah.

Aladdin knows this mood.

It's been a long time since Judal has been this upset, not with him around. It's hard not to make a distressed little noise; Judal is worse when he's stressed too, so the best thing to do is just be the warm and solid friend he can talk to, he thinks.

Gently, Aladdin wraps his arms around Judal, stroking a soothing hand down his arm to try and calm the rukh if nothing else. "I have nightmares sometimes, too," he says softly.

Judal starts, jolting out of his thoughts (memories, more like) abruptly as he suddenly remembers Aladdin is there. That's the only reassuring thing that he can focus on in times like these, though it's a fleeting thing, especially when his mind wraps back around to Aladdin wasn't always there, he wasn't there before when they just brushed me aside.

He slowly lists to the side, butting his head into Aladdin's shoulder with a shuddering breath. But never about no one wanting you is on the tip of his tongue, barely bitten back.

Aladdin curls them both into his body, sheltering with his arms, his back, his hair, his breath. "It's fine to be scared of being lonely," he murmurs, arms closing tightly around Judal. "Just so you remember that I'm here and I want you to be here with me forever, okay?"

A wet laugh follows that. "Does your Solomon thingy let you creepily read minds or something?" he mumbles, curling up into the tiniest ball that he can. "Or are you just better at reading rukh than I am?" It's probably both. Maybe he's a good magician, but Judal doubts he's ever been good at being a Magi. Aladdin's sort of the opposite.

Aladdin squeezes Judal, just tighter than is probably comfortable. "I don't think either, really. I just don't know anything else there is to be afraid of. Any time I've been scared, it's of being lonely." And I wished you were there, even before I knew who you are.

Judal doesn't so much as let out a grumble of protest at being squeezed. "It's less the lonely part that bugs me," he quietly, eventually admits, "and more the whole… process of getting to that point. People leaving or kicking me out, stuff like that… that's a lot worse."

"People can be really cold," Aladdin agrees, burying his face in the back of Judal's neck. "And then there are some people you can't get rid of even if you try. And then there are Joodly people."

"What's a Joodly people, then?" Judal mumbles, twisting around to flop a leg over Aladdin possessively. "I dunno if being Joodly is good or not."

"It's a really good thing," Aladdin assures him, burrowing harder as if to make up for everyone who ever hasn't. "It means you have a sweet taste and clingy hands and you're great at magic and you'd taste good baked into a pie and I'm a little hungry."

"I don't wanna get baked into a pie, though." The silliness of it does make him relax a bit all the same, and Judal wriggles to reach over Aladdin and grab another peach from the bedside, stuffing it against Aladdin's mouth. "Joodly pie would be gross, I think…"

"Needs berries," Aladdin decides, taking a bite and chewing slowly. "Joodleberry pie sounds delicious."

Judal stares at him, eyes lidded. "You're a weirdo."

"Really?" Aladdin, unfazed, takes another bite. "You told me I was sweet earlier. That's the same thing as wanting to eat you in a pie, right?"

"Umm, no, that's just a little weird," Judal tells him without blinking, idly leaning in to take a bite from the other side of the peach. "Don't eat me. Not really."

"Okay. Keep feeding me peaches, then," Aladdin agrees cheerfully. "Plus with you all curly and cute, I can eat you over and over again." In demonstration, he takes a slow bite to Judal's neck.

"That's distracting-'m trying to be upset about things," Judal bemoans, slumping forward and deliberately grinding the half-eaten peach into Aladdin's forehead. "L-look, I wanted to talk to you about thiiings and you're bitey-"

Aladdin stops biting, flicking out his tongue to lick up some of the peach juice. "What kind of things?" You don't usually like talking. But be that as it may, or that Judal's never in his life asked Aladdin what's bothering him, Aladdin straightens up, wipes the peach off his head mostly, and blinks. "Is it your nightmare?"

"Not… exactly that," Judal mumbles, reaching up to pluck a piece of peach out of Aladdin's bangs. "Though it is kinda weird that those came up after so long. I haven't thought about losing my rukh for years, but… anyway, have you felt at all like… someone's been watching us?"

"Watching?" Aladdin blinks slowly, then unfocuses his eyes, looking at Judal. "Did you ever feel like that before? Is it magic? Maybe I can see it if I use Solomon's Wisdom, do you think?" Maybe Judal's paranoid. Maybe not. Either way, he deserves to be taken seriously.

"… Ever since the whole thing with Baal," Judal admits with a grimace, curling up a bit. "I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want you to worry about it, but it's been getting worse and with all these dreams, too… I dunno if it's magic, but it's creepy."

Aladdin flops down, looking up from Judal's lap seriously. "Who could do it?" he asks, a little puzzled. "You know a lot more about magic than I do. Who has the kind of power you'd need to watch someone really far away?"

"Other Magi… basically. But I doubt Scheherazade wants to look at me any more than I want to look at her, after the last time we showed up in Laem, and no one ever hears from Yunan…" Judal groans, flopping back and pulling a pillow over his face. "I hate it, it's like someone is always following me, waiting for me to mess up!"

Aladdin relaxes his eyes, going into that odd state Judal had taught him, looking at Judal's magoi and rukh instead of his physical form. There is something, he thinks-some kind of thread, a pale translucent thing, moving independently of his rukh, leading out the window. "Mmm," he says, letting his vision snap back and scratching his head. "We should probably make him cut it out."

"You can actually see something? I can't see anything, everything's all cloudy because of all the black and white rukh missing and-" He's starting to sound a bit frantic. "What if it is Yunan? What if he hates me because I… well, I don't know what I did so wrong that he's gotta fucking stalk me."

Aladdin leans forward, pressing a long kiss to Judal's lips. Kisses always make him feel better. "But you're not crazy. That's good news, right?"

Judal opens his mouth, then shuts it again, looking back at Aladdin rather like a confused kitten would. "What if I still am and that's why he's watching me?"

Aladdin's head tilts almost entirely to the side before he responds. "Then….you probably wouldn't be asking that question," he points out. "If you were crazy, you'd think you were perfectly sane, I bet. Besides, crazy people don't make good pies."

"… Aladdin, I really don't think eating people sounds good."

Aladdin's hands are comforting, stroking Judal's hair, his shoulders, his hands. "It's just because I like you so much I want to be as close to you as possible all the time," he explains pragmatically. "It's not like I want to cut you up. I just want to….you know. I just want you a lot."

"And people say I'm weird," Judal mumbles, though not unkindly as he rolls his way closer again, curling himself into a ball. "It's good," he quietly adds, "hearing you say that. I want you a lot, too. But I don't wanna make you into a pie."

"That's okay." Aladdin kisses Judal's shoulder. "I'm inside you a lot anyway."

"Not enough, debatably." Judal thinks, hooking his chin over Aladdin's shoulder. "Would you beat Yunan up for me, if it's him? I mean, I don't think that's a good idea, but the thought is good."

"Sure," Aladdin chirps, butting his head against Judal's gently. "No one messes with my Joodly Joo without having a long discussion with me first."

"Ehh?" Judal sticks his tongue out. "The phrasing of that is bad. No discussions, phrase it like… 'No one messes with my Judal when I'm around', something like that."

"Oh?" Aladdin ponders that for a minute. "But what if he's got a good reason? Like he thinks someone's gonna try and hurt you and he wants to make sure you're okay? That's why you should always have a long discussion first. Also it doesn't matter if I'm around or not, I'll always show up if you want me here."

"… I don't think he cares if anyone hurts me," Judal admits, frowning. "It feels too creepy. What if he doesn't like me? I guess I might get annoyed if someone tried to mess around with the djinn that I raised, but…"

"At least he's not trying to kill you or anything," Aladdin says, trying to stay on the bright side. "Maybe it's his way of saying hi? Like a challenge or something. Maybe we're supposed to go find him and he'll stop?"

"But I really don't want to go and find him-don't you know how creepy and weird he is? Also, he's really, really, reeeaaalllly old."

"Then ignore it." Aladdin flops onto Judal, blue eyes wide and unblinking as he slowly licks the tip of Judal's nose. "If he tries anything I'll go have a big discussion fight with him."

"I'll… try," Judal allows, trying not to look too stressed out by the idea of continuing to put up with it, let alone ignore it. "It just feels really weird and I don't like it."

"I can be preeeeetty distracting to Joodly things," Aladdin says solemnly, wriggling on top of Judal. "And if you're ever feeling lonely or nightmarey, just wake me up, okay? We can go flying or something until you feel better."

"I do like flying with you." Judal flops his arms around Aladdin's back, heaving a sigh. "… Sorry," he eventually says, seemingly out of the blue. "I know it always seems like I'm the one with problems and stuff. Maybe I'm just a problem. I don't want to be, but I've been thinking that's the case more often lately. You always handle everything so much better, and everyone likes you, and you're smart and… why do you want to bake me into a pie again? Your pie would be a whole lot better."

Aladdin regards him for a moment, then rolls over again, all the way, until they're clear on the other side of the bed. "But I want my Joodleberry pie," he points out, nudging his nose against Judal's neck. "If I say you're fun and sweet and cool and smart, that's what I think. And that's the kind of pie I want to eat, so it's fine."

"… But what if Joodleberry pie makes you feel gross and bad and makes you gross and bad, too? I don't want to do that, but sometimes I'm pretty sure that's all I'm good at." Judal frowns up at him. "Maybe that's why my rukh is turning black. Maybe it's supposed to be like that or something."

Aladdin stares at him, then reaches out and flicks a finger sternly against his forehead. "Stop it. I'm not a little kid, I know what kind of pie I want to eat, and it's the kind that makes me feel good every time." He scowls, folding his arms. "Would I spend this much time with a bad pie? I'm better at eating than that!"

Judal blinks hard, brow furrowing a little in confusion as he attempts to follow between pies and rukh and stuff about him and are they really talking about pie or people now he just doesn't know. "O…okay. Yeah, I guess you are better at eating than that. I think."

"Yeah. Good." Aladdin kisses the spot where he'd flicked, still looking stern. "I don't stay where I'm not happy. You know that. So if I say you make me happy and I'm still here, you know it's not a lie."

Aladdin does have a point about that. "… I liked when we ran away together before," Judal admits, lidding his eyes as he looks up at Aladdin. "I wish that would work this time, but I think I'd still feel weird in other places, too." His fingers slide up, catching handfuls of Aladdin's hair to gently pull. "Your nightmares don't happen very often, do they?"

"Every night," Aladdin admits, butting his head against Judal's hand. "But I got used to them a long time ago, so it doesn't really bother me much anymore."

How could he even miss that? Judal can't help but suddenly feel like the worst … lover? Friend? Both? and also Magi? in existence. Ugh, he's not good at normal people things. Aladdin is, for all of the oddness about him. That bothers him. "… But your rukh doesn't change at all, and you never wake up all… weird," he tries, for lack of a better word. "What are they about? I mean, if you want to tell me."

Aladdin stretches out, rubbing his face against Judal's shoulder, eyes closed in quiet contemplation. "It's the Solid Room," he says at last, and speaking the words makes him quiver, just a bit. "Except this time, Ugo doesn't get me out. He just goes back to being stone like everything else, like all the books I don't know how to read and the walls and floor and ceiling all the same color. It's cold, and even if I'm warm I know the second I stop moving, the cold is going to find me." He turns, burying his face in Judal's chest. "I think someone put me there to keep me safe, but I don't know who, and in the dreams I don't even think about that. All I know is I'm alone, and I'm always going to be alone."

"… not ever gonna let that happen."

Judal makes use of his long legs and wraps himself around Aladdin firmly, grasping at his hair and burying his face into the top of his head. "Even if something happened and you somehow got locked back up in there, you know I'd just blow it up and get you out again, right? I'm keeping you, so you're not allowed to be alone. You'll get sick of me and everything."

Aladdin makes a pleased little noise. "Good. If everything is Joodly, I don't have to worry." Maybe it will help Judal to be needed, too. It helps Aladdin, sometimes. "Let's just get really sick of each other, it'll be really nice."

"I want everyone to be really sick of seeing us together, too, like 'can those two even breathe without the other one around?' That kinda sick. The answer is no, by the way. Not so good at breathing," Judal mumbles, butting his face into Aladdin's hair.

"Me too. We should start breathing out of each others' mouths," Aladdin suggests. "Maybe that's what everyone will think we're doing when we kiss a lot in public. Joodly air tastes better anyway."

"I think right now they just think we're being weird Magi things. Which is also true," Judal absently notes. "We're pretty weird. Also, your name doesn't convert to weird nicknames very well, that's not fair."

"It could, if you try hard and believe in yourself!" Aladdin insists. "You could eat some Alalaberry pie, probably. Not as delicious as Joodleberry, sorry. You're out of luck."

"Ala..la…alawhatthefuckberry pie is hard to say, why would I want to eat that?" Judal complains.

"Maybe it tastes better than it sounds! Or...Dindinberry," Aladdin suggests. "Or...I don't know, you're easy. You're my Joodly JooJoo."

"Dindinberry sounds kinda creepy…" Judal huffs, grabbing and squeezing at him more tightly. "Whatever, I'll just be Joodle or something, and you're Aladdin as usual. I like it better that way, anyway."

"Good." Aladdin squirms a little, getting comfortable, then settles down. "I like everything like it is right now, too."