"Hassan!" The prince turned to catch his sister before spinning around with her. "I haven't seen you for nearly ten days!" Jasmine then pouted. "The attendants told me you were sick but wouldn't let me see you."
"Well, we couldn't have you catch my cold, Jas, and Kava kept me company." She continued to pout before pressing her hand to Hassan's forehead after she was set down. "I'm fine," Hassan chuckled. "I promise. "
"Are you sure? You look a little tired."
Hassan hummed before twirling his sister. "Jas, I'm fine. Rather than focus on me, let's talk about you. How has my troublesome sister聽been? Has Rajah managed to snag someone else's underwear yet?"
Jasmine laughed as the pair made their way to the garden. "Rajah has been on his best behavior." She then folded her arms. "I'm hurt that you would think otherwise."
Hassan rolled his eyes. "Jasmine..." She looked at her brother to see him watching her from the corner of his eye. "What have you been up to?" The princess clasped her hands behind her back as she turned to face her brother. "Jas?"
"So, I've been talking to someone," she confessed. "He's kind of charming." Hassan raised an eyebrow.聽聽"He's also kind of funny," she added with as an afterthought, "but I'm so glad I ran into you since now you can join us for lunch and get to know him better."
"I rather not be a chaperone on my sister's date," Hassan muttered as she dragged him past the fountains. "Perhaps father would be better suited for such a task. You know he enjoys things like this."
"Father is much too busy with important matters." Hassan simply raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh, come on," she griped.聽"You know he would favor anyone if it meant me getting married."
"Jasmine, I don't want to sit in on your date."
She clasped her hands in front of her before batting her eyelashes. "Please?"
Relenting with a sigh, Hassan allowed Jasmine to drag him to the appointed rendezvous before the two were greeted by Prince Cairo. He presented the princess with a single rose before pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. His attention聽drifted to her brother then back towards her once more.
"I didn't know we would have a guest joining us for lunch." Sharp eyes then closed due to a gentle smile. "I heard you were sick. It's nice to see you up and healthy, Prince Hassan."
Hassan simply smiled when his attention fell on him once more. "Thank you for your concern. Hopefully you don't mind my presence during your date. My younger sister insisted after all."聽He then nudged her with his shoulder making her swat playfully at his arm. "I simply couldn't tell her no."
"Or she wouldn't let you," Cairo responded. Both princes laughed, much to Jasmine's annoyance, until the attendants brought out their food. "You seem very accommodating. We should definitely do lunch, just the two of us, Prince Hassan. It would be good to have some bonding time with my future brother-in-law."
"Future brother-in-law?" Jasmine parroted as she glanced at Cairo.
"Perhaps I'm being a bit pretentious, Princess Jasmine, but I do hope that we get along well enough for you to consider such a thing." He then looked towards Hassan to see him biting into an apple. "I hope you could take it into consideration as well."
The trio ate their food with intermittent conversation. Prince Cairo chatted with Jasmine, both sharing a laugh or two, while Hassan chimed in occasionally. His attention drifted in and out of their talk until the attendants came to take away the empty spread. His gaze then drifted towards the prince once more before smiling politely when Cairo looked his way.
"Please excuse me as I will be leaving first," Hassan said as he rose to his feet. "There are some matters I wish to attend to."
"Can't you stay a little longer?" Jasmine questioned as she rose to her feet.
Her brother offered her a smile. "I think I've impeded on your date for long enough. Try to enjoy your company, Jasmine." He then leaned forward to be at eye level as he whispered, "You have to make sure he's not like all the other overstuffed, arrogant shirts that have come by so far, right?"
"Right," she replied before receiving a gentle pat on the head. She then swatted at the hand playfully. "Cut it out, Hassan."
"Thank you for joining us," Cairo interjected as the prince turned to leave. "It was a pleasure."
Pausing for a moment, Hassan then turned to the man. "Prince Cairo, let's have dinner together."
He seemed a bit surprised by the suddenness. "Dinner? When?"
"Tonight," Hassan clarified as he started to walk away. He then glanced over his shoulder.聽"My room." He eyed the prince up and down before turning to walk away. "I don't want to sound pretentious but a聽dinner with just my future brother-in-law sounds like a聽splendid idea."
Inhaling deeply to steel himself, Hassan scrubbed a hand through his hair before fixing the small crown nestled amongst the dark locks. Staring at his reflection, he touched the side of his neck that was once adorned by hickeys. The urge to scratch at the places tested Hassan's willpower before he placed a gold choker around his neck.
Exhaling slowly at the knock on the door, Hassan made his way back over to the main entrance in time to see Prince Cairo entering. Watching him聽stride over to stand before him, Hassan had to tilt his head up a bit to properly look the man in the eye, mentally annoyed that聽he stood just tad taller than his self. He schooled himself enough so that his聽annoyance did not cross his face. Instead, a聽polite smile met an impish smirk as Hassan gestured towards the table that had been placed for the pair's dinner.
"I wasn't expecting you at lunch today," Cairo said as he took his seat on tufted divan,聽"but I was starting to wonder if you were hiding from me."
"I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have a meal with my sister's potential suitor."聽Hassan simply poured water into two golden cups before setting them onto the table. He only paused when he had his wrist seized. "Is something wrong?"
Cairo took in the cool expression before his gaze drifted towards the prince's attire. It was a lot less than what he had been wearing earlier at lunch. He ran his fingers over the golden cuff that adorned Hassan's wrist聽before noticing the matching choker. A knock at the door had interrupted his chance to make a comment as the prince removed his hand in favor of going to the door.聽
In the time that he was up, Cairo noted the golden stitching along the seams of Hassan's vest and the thin, golden chains that hung off the waist of his black harem pants. By the time he had realized he had been staring, Hassan was already placing the food onto the table and pouring a second cup filled with wine.
"Hass-"
"You've been staring since I got up to get the food, Prince Cairo." Dark eyes flitted towards the yellowish-green pair. "Is something wrong?"
"You look good in black," he replied before drinking his wine.聽
"I look better out of it too," Hassan commented offhandedly as he drank the water. He lowered his cup slowly as his guest sputtered. "Is something wrong?"
Cairo watched as the prince set a plate before him followed by the silverware. His eyes went back to the gold choker before panning down to see that the prince was聽not wearing a shirt and that another thin, gold chain was the only thing keeping his vest partially closed. Even after Hassan sat back down, Cairo took his time to meet his host's gaze.聽
"You're rather dressed up for dinner."
Hassan simply hummed as he lifted his fork. "I am entertaining my future brother-in-law after all. This should be a special occasion, right?" He then reached for his cup. "I even instructed the attendants not to disturb us聽so we can have this time to ourselves. No distractions would be best, correct?"
Cairo smirked as he held up his wine glass in a toasting manner. "That's rather gracious聽of you." He then watched as Hassan clinked their cups before watching the man eat. "If I may, you've been missing these past days, Prince Hassan, but now you invite me to dinner. I was starting to get the impression that you were afraid of me."
"Now why would I be afraid of you, Prince Cairo?"聽Hassan聽bit into the聽Shish Tawook before聽Cairo presented an olive. "What, is it not to your liking?"
He ate the olive before holding out another to his host. "No, I'm just curious."
Reaching out to take it, Hassan opted to lean forward and eat it out his hand at the last second. Sitting down as he swiped his tongue along his lip, Hassan resumed to eating from his聽plate while Cairo stared at his hand. The prince then looked at his guest when he didn't touch his food.
"Is something wrong?" Cairo's attention shifted to his host. "Prince Cai-?"
Being presented with another olive, Hassan leaned forward to open his mouth before Cairo swept his hand up and under his chin. He then tilted Hassan's head until the prince broke free to slowly bite into the olive that had been initially presented. He then sat back to swipe his thumb across his bottom lip before licking it clean and returning to the food on his plate.
Cairo followed suit, watching the prince and occasionally feeding him something from his plate in mild amusement. It was when Hassan licked some of the Mansaf's dried yogurt from his fingers did Cairo grab his chin to pull him forward. Leaning in himself, he watched Hassan for any immediate reaction before smirking when the man's face flushed slightly.聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽
"You're being rather timid, Prince Hassan."406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌2HuN13et9d
"Do you not like that?"406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌IjZObcmuZW
"I find it cute, Cairo replied聽"but what if I said no?"406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌p06QyQqoVb
Hassan's blush darkened as he pulled away from the other royal. He circled the table to seat himself in Cairo's lap and ran a finger down his chest. A flirty smile tilted the corners of his mouth as he tapped his finger against his guest's lips. Hassan then leaned forward until their noses almost touched.聽
"Is this better?"
"Almost." Pushing Hassan onto his back, Cairo stared down at the prince then at the golden closure keeping his vest together. His host seemed to get the hint as deft fingers undid the clasp prior to reaching up towards Cairo. The other prince then grabbed his hands to pin over his head. "Better."406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌TovKwS4UAk
Glancing at his hands momentarily, Hassan trembled as Cairo towered over him. He almost forgot to breathe as his heart stuttered. He was met with a leering smile soon after before the man leaned towards him.
HIs blood froze.
"Your Highness, I must say, this determination is admirable, but it will do you no good in your current state..."
Hassan slowly leaned upwards before smirking. "Why don't you be a bit more useful and kiss me already?"
"Cheeky," he replied. "Come get it if you want one so-"406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌IVVptxOnSe
A kiss cut halted words though the tongue requesting access is what truly threw Cairo off. Obliging to the silent request, he pulled away a few moments after to see Hassan's flushed face. He then wiped away the bit of saliva at the corner of the prince's mouth before giving him another kiss.
Knocking at the main entrance almost went overlooked until Hassan turned his head.聽
"Yes?"
"Your Highness, we have come to collect your dishes."
Cairo stopped kissing along his neck. "I thought you said that you dismissed the attendants."
"Forgive me for not clarifying that that was for only thirty minutes." Hassan glanced at Cairo then at towards the door. "Give me a moment," he called before his聽attention was then on his guest. "It will be troublesome if they come in and see us in this position."
"You should have thought of that before giving us only聽thirty聽minutes, you tease."
"I had to tease to see if you were interested in finishing what you started." Cairo's gaze was now on the man below him. "They're going to come in if I don't greet them," Hassan reminded. "Your chances with Jasmine will be cut if they see us like this. Now, let me g-."
"We're not finished," Cairo replied after kissing the prince and releasing him.
Wiping the bit of saliva from the corner of his mouth, Hassan straightened his clothes just as the door opened. He gestured towards the empty plates and leftover聽foodstuffs before stepping aside to let the attendants do their job. All the while, he watched Cairo to see him watching him almost hungrily before following the servants to the door to bid them a good night. A hand wasted no time in pushing the door closed while another pinned Hassan to the door. 406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌qAGi8ep0JV
Dark eyes stared into the others before knocking the hand aside. "It's late."
"I said we're not finished," Cairo replied as his other hand found its way to the golden choker. "You've been tempting me all night from the way you're dressed up to right before we were interrupted."
Hooking his arms around the royal's neck, Hassan pulled him down close enough to have their noses brush against one another. "We can聽finish聽another time."
"No."
"Indulge me this time and -" He gave his guest a passionate kiss before biting his lip playfully. "- I will make it worth the wait. I promise."
"Fine."
Hassan then reached behind himself for the handle. "My birthday is next week." His other hand trailed down Cairo's chest.聽"Why not postpone this until after the festivities. We can have a celebration of our own afterwards. How's that sound?"
"No interruptions."
Hassan nodded as he opened the door. "No interruptions but now you must go."
Smiling as he bid the man a farewell, Hassan slowly closed the door before resting his forehead against it as it locked in place. Recalling the hungry gaze the prince had had made his skin crawl. Removing the choker that suddenly felt restrictive, Hassan threw it aside before catching a vision of Cairo staring down at him.
The memory of it managed to drop the man to his knees as a tremor wracked his body. It reminded him of what that man had done almost two weeks ago. A wave of nausea twisted his stomach before he threw up his dinner. Hurrying across the room聽for a towel, he paused at the mirror to see his shaky form.聽
His clothes were still a bit disheveled.406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌26WcxhlNFe
His face was red. 406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌EEdOdSOxVm
The urge to suddenly break his mirror had him holding down his hands as he dropped down to the floor. He willed himself to stop shaking though it was a losing battle as nausea set in once more. Wiping聽away the remainder of the vomit, Hassan scratched at his neck before repeatedly hitting his hands on the rug.
It was the only thing he could think of to keep him from screaming.
"I'm going to need you to swallow your emotions and harden your resolve in order for this to work."406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌RVXvkFbMVG
'You can do it...'聽Hassan clenched his hands into fist until his nails bit into his palms. 'You can do it...'聽He was on his feet with a shaky exhale.聽'You can do it...'just get some air.'聽406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌utJ1epmIsC
Making his way out to the terrace, he leaned onto the railing before resting his forehead on it. He could still hear his heart pounding in his ears and the feeling of suffocation was almost smothering even in the fresh air. He sank down to his knees as he squeezed his eyes shut still mentally muttering that he could do it.406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌rrkAJYSlyr
"Prince Hassan?" His eyes snapped open as he lifted his head to see Aladdin peering down at him from over the railing. "Um, are you alright?"
"Obviously not," Genie buzzed in his ear. "He looks troubled. Ask him what's wrong?"
"Why are you out on the balcony?" Hassan opened his mouth though it snapped shut. "Prince Hassan?"
"Why are you outside my room?"聽 he questioned. "You're not lost聽again,聽are you?" He then pointed towards the other balcony across the garden. "Jasmine's room is over there."
The newcomer laughed nervously as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "Actually...um-"
"You're not here to wow me again, are you? You don't need to worry about trying to impress me anymore," Hassan said. "I definitely support you trying to win my sister's favor. I hope you do."
Genie buzzed around his friend's ear. "Al, ask him what's wrong."
"Are you alright?" he asked. "I heard you were sick for a while but then found out you had lunch with Jasmine and Cairo today."
"I'm fine."
"That's a relief."
"Al..."
"Genie, beat it!" Aladdin hissed quietly as he fanned his hands. "I got this." His attention then fell upon the prince staring at the tiled floor. "Um, you look nice at this hour." He then rubbed at the back of his neck again. "Not that you never not look nice!聽Um... what was the occasion?"406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌ubad1lMnTL
"I was at a dinner."
聽"Oh, well, black is a nice color on you."
"You look good in black."406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌Fgg1aBJNKm
Hassan shuddered before flinching when he saw a shadow. 406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌4cVnwit0jE
He saw Aladdin crouched down next to him.聽聽"You seemed troubled. Would you like to go for a ride with me and Carpet?" he asked as he offered聽a hand. His hand retreated quickly when he noted the small tremor. "Um, or we could just sit here and... talk?"
"I'm going to need you to swallow your emotions and harden your resolve in order for this to work."406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌EKU42KTBic
"I appreciate your concern, Prince Ali," Hassan replied with a weak smile, "but I think I'm just tired so I should head back inside for some rest." 406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌v0eJKplPbp
He declined the offered help to get him to his feet before making his way to his room.聽406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌0iH5TfFLMl
"Prince Hassan?" Said person turned to see Aladdin stepping back over the balcony. "You can talk to me." Aladdin then looked elsewhere. "I mean whenever you need someone to just listen to any of your problems." He then held up his hands. "Not saying that you have problems or anything... but not saying that don't! Just know that I will listen... if you want. I'm not trying to be in your business if you don't want to tell me though!"
Hassan stared at him before snorting quietly. "Have a good night, my handsome prince."406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌flkq2bDK6a
Aladdin's face heated up at the laugh. "Have a good night, Prince Hassan."
Stopping at the curtain, Hassan looked over his shoulder. "Prince Ali?"
His head shot up to see the prince staring at him. "Y-yes?"
"If no one's one told you yet, my birthday is next week."
"Yes, I've heard."
"If you could be so kind as to indulge a selfish request of mine; I would like to see you there."
He blushed as he received a gentle smile.聽"I-I wouldn't miss it!" 406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌R1AhOZ5qg8
Bidding the man a final goodbye, Hassan pulled the curtain closed behind him. His attention was then on the mirror as he brought a hand up to his neck. Tossing a throw over the mirror so he didn't have to see his reflection, he retrieved a towel to clean the mess by the main entrance before settling in for the night.
'You can do this... just relax.'聽406Please respect copyright.锛帮讥锛肌锛肌qvc21iatgV
