Chapter Text
"How long do you think it's been...?" KO stares up at the ceiling, struggling to keep track of how many tiles he's counted. ...Or, how many times he's counted them, rather. They blur together into an indistinguishable blob of color as his vision shifts in and out of focus, and he brings his hand up to rub his eyes.
"Heck if I know, Scrub," TKO hisses, voice hoarse as it tears through his throat. He drops the arm and rolls onto his side, ignoring the aching pleas of hunger coming from the body's stomach. KO whines and moves to clutch it, and TKO's control wavers as the former pushes the latter back into the mind.
"Gee, thanks," he scoffs, half-sarcastically, "are you gonna join me in here or what?" His voice echos, and KO winces silently at the reaction as he hugs his knees. "Sorry," he mutters.
"Meh. The box is boring, anyway. I'll be here whenever you decide you're gonna stop moping," he snorts, tone harsh, but lacking malice.
KO nods, and his response is incoherent as he closes his eyes. He breathes in and out, shakily, and slowly, and his attempt to join TKO in his house falters as he dozes off, instead.
"Annnnndddd—" Peri appears spontaneously with a magical poof!, their arms outstretched with a warm welcome. A grin stretches across his face as he lets out a wholesome, "no need to worry kid, I— uh—" he freezes, and his smile falters.
Their gaze darts around the room, and his expression shifts into one of confusion the longer he stares. They drop their arms and flick through a book that poofs into their hands. He brings it comedically close to his face and squints. "Aaaaammmmmm... I in the right place?"
He goes back and forth between the pages, before slamming it shut. It disappears in a sparkly cloud of dust. "Well! Can't argue with that!" A hint of uncertainty looms over him as he whips around to face KO, who's currently face-down on the floor. A more strained smile crosses his face at the sight, and the worry of something happening to his Second Ever Godkid before he even gets the chance to greet him starts to creep into his mind. "Ehhhaahaha," he laughs, pulling at the collar of his shirt.
There's a solid few seconds of silence, before he magics in his copy of Da Rules and skims through, eyes glued to the pages.
"Mhhh..." KO shifts and groans, and this immediately grabs Peri's attention. They sigh in relief and throw the book to the side, before straightening their posture and giving him a smile. "Hey, kid!"
"Wh... mmm...?" He lifts his face up off the floor, eyes squinted at the purple blob in front of him. Peri takes this as a sign to fly closer, and they hold their hand out to him as they do. KO doesn't notice right away, and he grunts and attempts to push himself up to his knees.
"Feeling miserable?"
"What...?" KO blinks a few times and rubs his eyes as they adjust to the light. Peri's blurry, blobbed figure slowly forms into shape, and an overwhelming sense of confusion and tension surges through his body; he freezes like a deer in headlights.
"My name's Peri! As in Periwinkle! Haha!" He drops his previously offered hand in exchange for draping his arm over his shoulder. KO doesn't protest, nor push him away, despite his growing tension. "He/They pronouns, please!"
"Hh...???"
"I'm your new Fairy Godparent! I'm really gonna KO your mind." He stays put for a moment, before letting him go and floating back to give him some room to move and process.
KO stares, quietly. He slumps against the wall as he does, breathing in and out, slowly, as he tries to process what the heck is going on. Peri's smile remains, though it wavers once a few purple sparks fly from his wrists and run up his arms.
" ...What."
"You know," Peri says, waving his wand around, "your Fairy Godparent!"
"Oh."
There's an even longer period of silence, and Peri whistles to themself as they awkwardly glance around the room.
"So! You, uh, wanna wish for anything?"
KO sinks to the floor. Billions of what's, why's, how's, and huh's buzz through his head; TKO responds internally, though it goes unnoticed as it blends in with the rest of his thoughts. Peri moves a few feet towards the other side of the box, tugging at the collar of their shirt nervously.
Finally, KO responds with a weak, "food...?"
Peri gasps and immediately perks up, smile returning as he raises his wand. "One food coming right up!" A plate appears in a magical cloud of dust. KO flinches back in surprise, a low growl seeping through his throat; the sparks from earlier return as he pushes himself back up.
"Just in time to beat the "No Breakfast Wishes After 10:30" Rule," he says, teleporting in Da Rules as he leans against his wand like a cane, "though I'm noooootttt quite sure if that applies to food." He squints at the page, before muttering to himself, "is breakfast just the food? There's no way they'd make a rule JUST about food, right? Right?”
As they ramble to themself about the specifics of breakfast, KO glances down at the plate in front of him. Two eggs, fried to perfection, and three slices of sizzling bacon, arranged into a smiley face. His stomach aches and groans in desperation as the smell hits him, and the steam rising up gives him warmth that he hasn't felt in... cob knows how long.
"What the heck." TKO's voice is groggy as it bounces off the walls of his mind. This snaps KO out of his thoughts, and he responds verbally with a hushed, "what...?"
"Are you seriously going to eat that?"
"I'm hungry..." KO shifts and glances at Peri, before looking back down at the food in front of him. The latter, who continues flicking through Da Rules, glances back at him with a shaky smile; it's genuine, however. TKO scoffs, "and? You're REALLY going to trust a guy that just showed up out of nowhere?"
"We've done it before," KO mutters, picking up a slice of bacon with his hands. TKO pushes for just enough control to roll his eyes and drop the bacon back onto the plate, before slinking back into the mind. "Whatever," he huffs, "it's your fault if we get sick."
KO opens his mouth to speak again, but his mind trails off as he looks back up at Peri, who, despite having a book up to their face, is staring at him. The moment eye contact is made, however, they avert their eyes and teleport it away with a poof.
"Um—"
"Don't forget the fork and knife!" Peri summons the silverware in, before pausing, and then immediately replacing them with their much more kid-friendly, plastic versions. "Burning your hands on a nice, hot breakfast is a pretttttyyyyy dangerous thing to do," he says with a chuckle, attempting to ease up lingering tension. This catches KO off-guard, and he goes back to staring at the still-steaming food; it takes a minute before, finally, he gives in and takes a bite.
"Ooooorrrrrr... not! Using your hands is fine, too!" A few questions pop into the fairy's mind as he observes KO, who, after finishing a slice of bacon, quite literally inhales the rest in one single breath. The previously-awkward smile becomes more genuine, and he raises his wand, ready to give him more. That is, until, KO shoves the entire plate into his mouth.
"WHOA, WHOA, HOLD ON—!" The plate disappears, and so do the unused utensils; "leettttttt's NOT do that," they say, voice cracking, "do you wanna wish for something else, instead? More food? Some water? Eehhhh?" They hold their wand out to him, and the way he stares back makes it seem like they just committed some sort of crime. "I can get rid of those jars in the corner for you! You know, the ones that smeeeeelllll... a lot like olives." A cringe forms, and he shudders, muttering an almost-silent, "eugh…"
"Gee, kid, is that all you had in here?!" He whiffs them away in one single wand movement. KO's attention snaps to where the jars once stood, and a sense of relief washes over him once he realizes that they're gone. Peri facepalms and runs his hand down his face, baffled. "Who leaves a kid alone in a room full of OLIVES?!? That HAS to be illegal!"
KO cringes, as well, and mutters something under his breath before replying with a hissed, "I wish it was. I hate olives. They're so icky and gross and... euuugGGGHHHH!!!” Sparks run up and down his arms as he sinks to the floor, and Peri wastes no time in raising his wand, fingers and body tingling as he breathes out a chuckled, “I hear you, KO!” The wand glows and hums, and he waves it around until it lets out a quiet ting! And then! Suddddeeennnnnnllllllyyyyyy…
…
Nothing happens…? A comedic record-scratch sound tears its way through the silence, buuuuutttt… that's it. Oooooorrrrr, that's what it seems like, at least. All that spontaneous dramatic buildup for… what? A funny sound erupting from out of nowhere? KO pushes himself up and looks at him, confused, before asking, “what….?”
“I just granted your wish!”
“...Huh?”
“Check it out, kiddo,” they say, poofing up a document with “THE LAW!!!" plastered at the top in comic sans; a smudged stamp that reads “POINT APPROVED!” sits next to it. KO darts his gaze up and down the page, and Peri continues, “riiiigghtttttttttt down there! All the way at the bottom. Nice and fresh!” There's a pause, and the only response is a hushed, “oh…” as he spots it; it is, in fact, nice and fresh, and the ink is still wet. It reads: “It is against The Law to leave any child of six to eleven years of age in a room, alone, with olives.”
The Laws disappear in a puff of sparkly smoke, and a million thoughts spring up and burst through KO’s mind at lightspeed. He stumbles over his words, and it takes a minute, but he manages to ask, “how did you do that…?” Peri stops for a moment, thinking, before responding, “maggggiiiiiiiiiiiiiiccccc…?”
“Like… a witch?”
“Eeehhhhh, no,” they say, looking to the side with an unreadable expression, before flying down to his height and placing a hand on his back. “You see, KO,” they continue, their wand leaving a sparkly rainbow trail behind as they gesture it in the air, “there's a BIIIIIIIIGGGGGG fairy wand up in Fairy World that powers aaalllllllll of our wands. Every single one of them! It's what helps me grant your wishes!”
“Fairy World…?”
They don't elaborate and drop their arm, simply giving him a, “yep!” in response, before crossing their legs and just slightly hovering above the floor, “so! What are you gonna wish for next? I can get you anything! Aaaassssssss… long as it follows Da Rules.” KO shifts and wraps his arms around himself, thinking, before peeking up at them with a wet-cat expression. Unsure, he mutters a meek, “I wish I had a blanket…”
“You got it!” They wave their wand, and, just like that, a blanket manifests around KO’s shoulders. He gasps at the sudden warmth and wastes no time in wrapping it snugly around himself; it's the softest thing he's ever felt in his life. Or, at least, that's what it feels like after not having anything except his hair for the past… cob knows how long. “It's so warm,” he whispers, “and fluffy…”
Peri hums and uncrosses his legs, responding, “you can always wish for more too, you know. It's, uh—” a sudden gust of cold air knocks him to the ground, and he shivers, “—pretty cold in here.” He curls his legs up to his chest and hugs them, and he looks around the room with a wince as he asks, “is there a thermostat anywhere?”
“No…”
“You're joking. Right?”
KO shakes his head and pulls part of the blanket over his face. “No,” he repeats, “it's just a box…”
Peri laughs, bewildered, “there's no way. In a room THIS small?!” They stand, continuing, “kid, you stay right here. I'm gonna go find one ASAP.”
“Wait—! Mr. Fairy Man, Sir—!” KO reaches out to stop him, but he's already gone. He stares at where he once stood, an uneasy pit forming in his stomach. “Oh no,” he whines, “he left…” A sob forms in the back of his throat, and he sinks deeper into the comfort of the blanket as purple sparks bounce from his wrists.
“Wow,” TKO says. KO immediately jolts up at the sound of his voice, not expecting him to come back so soon. “He really just ditched you, huh,” he snorts, half-sarcastically, “welp. That sucks.”
“He went to find a temperature thingy,” KO whispers, burying his face into his knees.
“Yeah. So what? He's probably friends with the jerk that sent us here,” TKO hisses, “he's not gonna come back.”
KO cringes, lifting his head up just enough to respond, “I don't think he knows any fairies…”
“You BELIEVE him!?” TKO's voice booms through his mind as he scoffs; there's frustration, but it isn't targeted at KO, “you're joking. Scrub. There's no WAY you hecking TRUST this guy. He just LEFT us here.”
“He probably doesn't know we’re in—”
“SPACE!?!” Peri reappears in a magical cloud of dust, and a rush of panic surges through KO's being as he watches him collapse to his knees with wide eyes. “Why didn't anyone TELL me that I was gonna be in space???” He wheezes, “I swear the communication department REALLY needs to work on what they share with us.”
KO makes an indistinct noise of panic and scoots over to them, stumbling over his words as he asks, “are you okay???” Peri looks up at him, breathing shakily, before he responds with a tense, “I'm good, kid! Jusssstttttt… surprised, is all.” They push themself off the ground and bring a hand to their head, letting their wand float freely next to them. “I wasn't expecting you to actually be in space. I just thought you were in a room in a big building or something.”
TKO, after a moment of silence, responds, “that would've been a lot better than THIS place.” KO nods at his statement, before responding to Peri with a simple, “no…” The fairy runs their hand down their face and sighs, “well. This wasn't on my Fairy Godkid Checklist.” There's a pause, before they continue, “buuuuuuttttt, we’ll work it out! That's my job, after all!” They raise their wand, “what’s next? Do you want to get a bigger room, or—”
“I wish we weren't stuck in space.” TKO's voice tears through the body's throat, and both him and Peri fall still. “Ah, yeah,” he says, “that works too!” The box shifts and picks up speed as the wish is granted, and TKO leaves the front faster than he showed up; “I don't know why you didn't just ask for that first,” he says, voice echoing. KO whispers, “I didn't know if I could…”
“Of course you didn't,” he groans. KO slumps against the wall, glancing over at Peri. “Well,” TKO continues, “I did it for you. Better hope it actually hecking works.”