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He woke up to the sensation of Alibaba playing with the tips of his hair. Even without looking, he could tell that the blonde was smiling mischievously to himself, thinking he was getting away with it.
“Your smile looks so foolish.”
“Eh?”
He opened his eyes and gave Alibaba a cat’s half-lidded smirk. Alibaba frowned, pouted and flicked the hair back at its owner’s face. In retaliation, Hakuryuu yanked on that tuft of hair on Alibaba’s head that stayed up no matter what they tried.
“Ow! Hey, you know what that led to yesterday night,” the blonde swatted his arm away, laughing.
Hakuryuu leaned forward to silence him with a kiss, smiling into it.
“Hey Haku…” Alibaba said when they pulled apart.
“If you call me that, you’re basically calling my sister too.”
Alibaba raised a quizzical eyebrow. “So, what am I supposed to call you?”
He shrugged under the sheets, “Ryuu.”
“‘Ryuu’” Alibaba tested it out, lips twisting thoughtfully, “Hmm…hmmmmmm.”
“What?”
“Pfhhahaha, nah, I can’t! You’re just too serious already!”
Hakuryuu punched him in the stomach. “Haku is my patronymic. It isn’t actually my part of the name.”
“Aw, does it really matter?” Alibaba massaged the spot where he’d been hit, then settled his head back on his folded arms, “I think of you as ‘Haku’.”
Hakuryuu paused, curious. “Why?”
“I don’t know, you remind me of white and silver. Or platinum.” he smiled unabashedly back at him.
Hakuryuu felt himself blush. The way Alibaba said these things so easily and made other small gestures so openly and honestly never failed to make him feel unsteady, like he was flying on Aladdin’s carpet and his stomach was clenching tight. It embarrassed him, but at the same time it warmed him inside, too.
“Well…you remind me of gold.”
Now it was Alibaba’s turn to turn red, running a hand through his hair self-consciously.
“Has no one ever told you that?” Hakuryuu was genuinely surprised. He’d thought someone would have made the comparison a long time ago - Aladdin, Morgiana or someone.
“Uh, well maybe one person. They made a smart-aleck comment about selling my hair, haha.”
“Ah, I see. They’d have been rich, for sure.”
“Stop teasing!”
Hakuryuu scooted over so they were side by side again. “…What were you going to say earlier?”
“Ah. Oh, I…” The blush returned to Alibaba’s cheeks.
Hakuryuu smiled patiently.
“I just want you to know,” Leaning in so that their foreheads touched, Alibaba laced their fingers together, “I will always be here for you.”
Hearing these words, peace settled into Hakuryuu’s heart, as if it had never been otherwise.
When others said “always”, it was merely a promise. When Alibaba said “always”, it was the truth.
“I know. Thank you.”