Ashes [tag Naveen]

Aladdin intertwined his fingers with Naveen's as they walked downstairs and through the studio. He was nervous. He didn't do well at the grave sight. But, Naveen needed to know. Al was sure he wouldn't be able to verbally tell him without breaking down.

When they got to the car, he could see Naveen was struggling with confusion. He gave him a small smile and his hand a small squeeze. Inside of the car, he reached over and took Naveen's hand once more. He gave a slightly forced smile as Naveen tried to lighten the mood, but eventually just turned his eyes out to the window, not really watching what was going by. Once the graveyard was in sight, his stomach tightened a bit.

After parking, he took in a shaky breath and looked over at Naveen. "Just... follow me," He said gently, then slid out of the car. He slid his hands into his pockets and walked along the path to the part of the graveyard no one went to. There were weeds and the tombstones were obviously the cheapest. And yet, the grave Aladdin stopped near was spotless. There were no weeds and the tombstone was shiny in the moonlight. He knelt down on the ground and swallowed the lump in his throat. His hand was shaking as he reached over to the stone and traced his thumb against the simple letting that was engraved on the stone. No special words were on the stone. Only a simple name.

The entire ride, there was complete silence in the car, and the tension was as thick as it could be. Naveen drove along the way to the graveyard one-handed-lightly rubbing the back of Aladdin's hand with his thumb as he held it between them. Every so often, Naveen would chance a glance over at the other male-just to make sure he was alright-before turning his gaze back to the road ahead of him.

They arrived at the graveyard after about 20 minutes, and once Naveen put the car into park and turned it off, they sat there in silence for just a few seconds before Aladdin started to move. He watched as Aladdin exited the car-his gaze curious, with just a bit of concern mixed-before he undid his seat belt and followed after the boy. He absolutely hated being in graveyards and hospitals and, just, around death. He loved life....Thinking about people dying just made him too sad.

Naveen slid his hands into his pockets-just as Aladdin did-as he uncomfortably looked around the graveyard, stopping when he got to where Aladdin had knelt to the ground. He stood right behind Aladdin-his shoulders hunched over-and he watched curiously as Aladdin ran his fingers over the lettering on the tombstone;his eyes widening and his jaw dropping when he realized who's grave this was. He then gently dropped to his knees beside Aladdin and brought one arm up to wrap around Aladdin's shoulder, while he leaned on his other hand on his leg. "I am....So sorry Al. I know how much you....I know how much he meant to you," he said softly, back tracking a couple times to phrase it right. He lightly rubbed Aladdin's shoulder, as he kept his eyes on the stone in front of them. He wanted to be there for Al, more than anything, but he also wanted to give the other boy the space he needed.

Aladdin glanced to his side towards Naveen as the boy sat beside him and put his arm around him. He found comfort in Naveen's embrace. No matter the circumstances. He leaned on his side and took in a shaky breath. "When... Right before we came to this world... there was a fire. We'd just gotten a house and... everything was great... But, I left something cooking... And I woke up in the middle of the night choking on smoke," He whispered. "Then... the spell hit, and I woke up in the hospital and... they said the boy with me..." He trailed off and looked away.

"I got burned so badly... You saw. I wouldn't let them heal me completely, because If I did, I wouldn't have been able to go to the funeral.... I was the only one there, but..." he shook his head and bit down on his bottom lip. "I feel... selfish. He didn't deserve to die like that... I don't know if he woke up when I did. I just... I hope he died in his sleep. That's all. That he didn't feel the pain," He chewed his lip. "I know you hate him... But, he wasn't a bad guy... He just did some bad things in his life that he had finally owned up to, only to be put here," He scowled at the ground and then closed his eyes, sighing heavily.

"I wanted to... show you... So you know. I can't... describe the pain I'm in. Mostly because... after I tried to kill myself, my brain locks away the emotions... I can't express pain as I used to could with crying. I want to cry... I do. I just... I can't," He shook his head. "I did cry, though. For days... They wanted to lock me up with the crazy people," He laughed slightly, leaning onto Naveen's side fully.

As Aladdin started to lean into him, Naveen hesitantly lifted his free hand a few times-wanting to fully embrace the boy, but not wanting to push him to far. He kept his face lowered-and tilted slightly towards Aladdin-as he listened to the boy's story-his forehead creased deeply and a deep frown on his face. He nodded sadly when Aladdin mentioned the injuries he had seen-his stomach turning at the thought-and at the mention of his feelings about Jim, he looked up sheepishly over at Aladdin quickly before staring down at the ground again, as he balled his hand and gently dug the fist into his leg.

Naveen really hated himself for it, but as he listened to Aladdin, all he could think about was how angry Jim had made him, and how jealous, and just how much he disliked the boy. He felt horrible for feeling these things when Aladdin was here, upset, because Jim had died, but they wouldn't leave. Naveen only turned his hesitant gaze back up to Aladdin when the boy eventually finished-unsure about what to do or say. So he simply-finally-wrapped his other arm around the other male, placed a soft kiss on the boy's head, and then rested his own head lightly atop the other male's. "I am so sorry you had to go through that," he said sincerely, his voice quiet, as he softly rubbed Aladdin's arms and shoulders.

Aladdin leaned into Naveen's embrace and sighed softly, closing his eyes. He knew Naveen was uncomfortable because he didn't care for Jim at all. "I just want you to know... So that you wouldn't wonder," He explained softly before looking up at Naveen. "I love you, Naveen... I do. I don't know how good of a lover I am right now because I can't really feel my chest anymore, but... I know I love you. I know I always have. I was just caught up in a fairytale," He shook his head and looked down for a moment before back towards Naveen.

"I want nothing more than to see you smile... and to make you happy. I know that... With my past gone, I can make you my future. If you'll let me," He whispered, his voice shaking a bit out of nerves. He leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on Naveen's lips. "You're worth so much more than me, though... I don't want you wasting your time waiting for me to heal -- again," He mumbled.

Naveen stared down confusingly at Aladdin as the boy began speaking, but his gaze gradually softened and a small tender smile pulled up on his lips as he listened to the other male. He kept his warm eyes on Aladdin's face, as he lightly grazed his fingers over Aladdin's arm-his own arms tight around Aladdin. His eyes saddened as Aladdin shook his head, and he brushed his fingers through the boy's hair comfortingly. He then shone down his brightest smile, in compliance with Aladdin's wish, and he leaned in to meet Aladdin's lips-the kiss light, but loving-his eyes closing just as their lips met, and his smile growing through the kiss.

Naveen's eyes were intense with warmth as he leaned back and listened to the rest of what Aladdin had to say, and when the boy finished, Naveen slowly brought his hand up to take hold of Aladdin's neck. He caressed the other boy's cheek as he gazed lovingly at his face for a few seconds before he pulled him into another kiss, this one deeper, and more affectionate. The second kiss lasted for several seconds longer than the first before Naveen pulled back, and he looked down sweetly at Aladdin-softly caressing the other male's cheek with his thumb. "I am not going anywhere. I am here for you," he assured Aladdin firmly, bringing his head down to meet Aladdin's eyeline. "You have my heart. There's nothing I can do," he joked lightly with playful smirk.

Aladdin leaned into the kiss and smiled a bit, glad to be there in his arms, despite where they were. He had always loved being in his arms. He sighed and smiled a bit, hearing what Naveen had to say. "I love you," He whispered softly before kissing him again gently. "Come on... Let's go back to your place... And we can keep kissing," He smiled a bit playfully then, though his eyes were still a bit sad.

Naveen's smile grew even broader as Aladdin leaned in for yet another kiss, after speaking those three words he was so relieved and thrilled to hear. He was almost laughing from happiness as they leaned away from each other a bit again. "I like that plan," he agreed seductively, his voice husky. Naveen then swiftly pushed himself off his knees to stand up, gently pulling Aladdin up with him-his arms still wrapped around the other male. He then slowly uncoiled himself from Aladdin, a flirtatious smirk on his lips, before he playfully-and over exaggeratedly- bowed in front of the other boy. "Shall we?" he asked cheerily as he extended his hand for Aladdin, and looked up through his lashes-his face light and his eyes shimmering.

Aladdin looked up at Naveen when they stood and grinned. He chuckled softly at the boy and rolled his eyes playfully as he saw him bow. He took Naveen's hand and kissed it playfully. "We shall," He nodded. Once they started walking, he looked back at the gravestone and gave a small smile before blowing a light kiss towards it. He then put his attention back on Naveen and interlaced their fingers.