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After getting Dev taken out of his care by Jorgen, Peri wasn't content with just moving on as a godparent. Dev was his very first godkid, and he wanted to do things right and make amends for the strain on their old relationship.
Unfortunately, this task would prove to be difficult. For one, he had to learn how to disguise himself as a normal human adult. Second, he needed to find some kind of way to get close and connect with Dev again. He brainstormed ideas with his parents, maybe he could apply for a human job as a teachers assistant? Or maybe a secretary for Dale's company?
Peri shot those ideas down pretty quickly, being a teachers assistant meant having to actually know what he's talking about, and being Dale's secretary just sounded like a headache waiting to happen. He tried thinking of anything, but there was one idea Hazel suggested that Peri was on board with.
A babysitter! He could pose as a family friend of Hazel's family and ask Dale if he could babysit Dev while he's away. Wanda and Cosmo initially weren't sure about this, as Dale and Dev's memories both got wiped after Fairy World was saved, but Peri nonetheless wanted to at least try.
For Dev.
Now, the third issue.. how to walk. Peri would never outwardly admit it, but not only did he never learn to walk (who needs to when you have wings) but doing anything on his feet was difficult in general. He couldn't stand for too long without his legs beginning to ache without support. He tried using his cane as support, but the orb at the top of it only made trying to use it worse.
Hazel, again, suggested changing his cane into something like a mobility support cane. She showed him a bunch of pictures of canes for support, and when he picked one it was only a matter of testing it. Slowly, Peri tried taking his first proper steps with Hazel and with his cane.
Surprisingly to him, it worked! With the cane supporting most of his weight, it made walking around a whole heck of a lot easier. Now, an outfit change was in order. Cosmo and Wanda has human disguises of their own, so they were more knowledgeable in this field.
They looked through their closets and drawers to find something suitable for Peri. They ran through lots of options, a turtleneck with a jacket, an open sweater with a plain t-shirt, they even considered just giving him a plain purple hoodie with some sweatpants and sending him off.
After at least 30 minutes of this, Peri saw something that caught his eye. A simple purple sweater vest. Paired up with a white long sleeved shirt underneath, and he was good to go. Cosmo, Wanda and Hazel sent him off with a good feeling in their bodies about this.
Peri, on the other hand, was incredibly anxious the entire walk to the mansion. He kept thinking about all the things that could go wrong, and knowing Dale? It was very likely he wouldn't give him even a second to hear him out. He scowled as he remembered all the times Dale cut off Dev when he was trying to talk with him.
After mulling over his own overthinking (almost backing out entirely before swallowing his fears for Dev's sake), he finally pressed the doorbell to the mansion. He waited for an agonizing 10 seconds before the door finally opened.
Only, it wasn't Dale there to greet him. It was Dev, wearing those same iconic sunglasses.
‘Ah. Right. He must be.. away.’ Peri thought to himself. The 10-year-old looked up at Peri with a raised eyebrow.
“Who the heck are you?” He asked. Peri could feel his throat go dry, his legs and arms began to shake out of nervousness as he cracked an awkward smile and tried to speak.
“HE-llo,” He cursed at the voice crack he had mentally, “Ahem- Uhm. Hello, I.. Is your father home?” He gripped onto his cane tighter as Dev frowned.
“No. He's.. away.” The boy responded. Peri could feel the somberness in his voice and he couldn’t help but frown. He quickly looked away to try and hide this.
“Well.. uh, I have.. something I need to speak with him about! Very.. important, yes.” Peri looked back down at Dev, who looked back with the same raised eyebrow expression he had.
“What's so important that you need to talk to him about.” He questioned, crossing his arms. For a 10 year old, he sure did know how to properly interrogate someone. Or maybe Peri was just had at keeping secrets. Could be one or the other, maybe both.
He cleared his through again and tried to think of something on the spot. “Iiii.. am- a family friend! Yes- not of your dads! Of.. Hazel's?”
Dev scoffed in response. “Yeah right. Did she send you here to talk to me? Tough luck!” He reached to close the door before Peri waved his free hand frantically.
“Oh no no no! No- she.. talks about you a lot. How… your father is never home, or available for you..” He attempted to explain himself. Dev scoffed again, but decided to hear Peri out. The latter sighed in relief.
“I was here to.. hopefully apply and become a babysitter? Something of the sort.. From the way Hazel speaks about you, it sounds like you'd benefit from having someone at home available in case of anything.” The fairy replied. He smiled softly at the child who seemed to be deep in thought.
He knew Hazel, the two had been friends at some point. He didn't entirely remember why the two had a falling out.. something to do with his dad, or something. The fact she still cares about him, that was something he couldn't wrap his head around. At the same time, he couldn't deny that having someone at the mansion always available to talk to sounded nice.
Dev sighed and walked back into the mansion, gesturing for Peri to follow. Peri quickly muttered a small ‘yes!’ under his breath as he followed Dev inside the mansion. They went up to Dev's room.
“Dad doesn't come back for another 30 minutes. He usually comes into my room when he comes back and talks about business.. so, you should be fine staying there until he comes back.” Dev explained as the elevator brought them up to his room. Dev was quick to open the door to his room and sit back down in his bed, taking notice of Peri and how slow he was in comparison.
He then took notice of the cane and blinked. For a brief minute, a flicker of recognition was in his eyes. The color of this stranger's hair, the style, and the cane.. it felt familiar, and he didn't know why.
He thinks he doesn't want to know why.
Peri sits down on the bed and breathes a sigh of relief at finally being able to give his legs a break. Dev speaks again.
“What's with the cane? Can you like, not walk?” He asked, suddenly realizing how insensitive he sounded and beginning to scramble to find the right words. “Not that it's bad!! Well if you can't walk that is bad but- not bad in the annoying way! I'm not saying that!-”
He was cut off by the sound of Peri chuckling. He laughed nervously too. Was he laughing at him or with him? Peri looked at Dev and sighed.
“The cane helps me get around. Standing up or walking around without any support strains my legs. Think of it as just extra help to make my life more manageable, yeah?” He said, smiling as he did. Dev thought to himself. ‘Extra help to make my life more manageable..’
“.. okay.” He replied, laying back down on his bed as the stranger hummed to himself.
-
After what seemed like the longest 30 minutes of both their lives, Dale finally returned home. He entered Dev's room, and was immediately taken aback by the sudden appearance of a complete stranger in their mansion.
Before Dev could say anything, Peri stood up quickly (which he immediately regretted as he winced in pain).
“Hello! I’ve been meaning to talk with you.” Peri smiled, hoping to appear friendly enough so that Dale would give him at least 5 minutes to talk.
“.. who are you.” Dale asked.
Fuck.
He could just use his fairy name, right? His parents did the same, so it would be fine… right?
“Uhh.. Peri. Peri Cosma.” He felt bad not using both his last names, but he knew it was better to use the more “human” of the two last names so as not to draw suspicion to himself. Fairywinkle was kind of weird anyways.
“I'm here to uh.. eugh- talk business.” As the words fell out of Peri’s mouth, he could feel himself get nauseous at the mere sound of Dale's insufferable laugh. ‘I hate this guy so much.’
“Y'know what. I'll humor you. Step outside, let's talk.” Dale spoke, looking back at his son for only a brief second before taking Peri out the door. The latter looked behind him, and smiled at Dev to try and convince him he'd do everything he can to get this job.
As the two stepped out of Dev's room, the child couldn't help but press his ear close to the door in an attempt to eavesdrop on the conversation.
-
“So, what business are we talking about?” Dale asked, clearly interested in seeing if this would make him any decent money. Peri did his best to retain his smile, but it was getting harder when the mere presence of Dale Dimmadome made his blood boil.
“Well, I was thinking maybe I could be a sort of babysitter for your son? Maybe a housekeeper too? Your son is a smart boy, and-”
“What on earth would we need a babysitter for? He can take care of himself with those flying drones of his!”
“.. a 10 year old is not responsible enough to take care of himself all day while his father is away at work everyday, sir.” Peri grits through his teeth. He grips onto his cane tighter as he tries to recompose himself before he says something that could ruin his chances at becoming Dev's babysitter.
Dale laughs, a laugh that Peri would describe as wicked, evil and cruel.
“He's doing just fine! But hey, if having you around means he'll stop trying to interrupt me whenever I'm working at home, then what the heck! You've got the job!” Dale gives a particularly hard pat on Peri's back as his smile twitches.
“Don't touch me, sir.” He blurts out.
“Yeesh, tough crowd. Just know you won't be getting paid for this job. Think of it as an unpaid internship! Now if you'll excuse me.” Dale laughs as he makes his way to the elevator.
“You start tomorrow at 6 AM. You need to bring Devin to school.” He says before the elevator whisks him away to.. probably his super secret evil lair. Maybe. Peri sighs, leaning against the wall as he shivers.
He needed to take a long shower and rinse these clothes about twenty times after the pat on the back Dale gave him. Peri would've teleported himself back to his parents house to tell them he got the job, but before he could he noticed a small clump of orange hair sticking out of Dev's room.
He smiled. “You can come out, he's gone.”
Dev slowly walked out of his room and looked up at Peri. The two were locked into a stalemate for a bit, both staring at each other but neither moving.
Dev whispered a quiet ‘thank you’ before running back to his room and locking himself in. Peri sighed as he thought back to the times Dev would cry to him about his father and how neglectful he had been.
He leaned against the wall, and with a wave of his cane he teleported back to his parents apartment and laid down on the couch. He sighed in relief as his legs finally were able to rest.
Maybe a quick nap wouldn't hurt either.
Peri yawned as he slowly turned over on the couch, and fell asleep, completely unaware of the fact it was 3:00 PM in the afternoon.
Ah well.