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Here they were, in Dev's unnecessarily enormous bathroom. "This is stupid," Dev announced for approximately the thousandth time, sitting on the edge of a cushioned stool like it might bite him. "I can wash my own hair."
"Uh-huh," Peri replied, examining the mess of product buildup that had turned Dev's usually vibrant red hair into a dull, sticky disaster. "Is that why it looks like you dumped an entire bottle of gel in it and left it there for a week?"
Dev's reflection in the mirror scowled. "It need to stay in place!"
"It need to breathe, kid." Peri turned on the water, testing the temperature. "Come on, lean back. The sooner we start, the sooner it's over."
Dev muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "this is humiliating," but complied, though not without making it clear through his body language that this was the greatest inconvenience anyone had ever suffered in the history of the universe.
As Peri began working the shampoo through Dev's hair, he noticed something odd. Under all that product, Dev's supposedly straight hair was starting to... curl?
"Hey, I didn't know your hair were curly!" Peri said, genuinely delighted by this discovery. He'd always thought Dev's hair seemed unnaturally flat.
Dev tensed immediately. "No, they're not."
"Kid, I'm literally watching them curl right now."
"That's just... temporary. From the water."
"Dev? How often do you straighten your hair?"
"Every morning," Dev answered promptly, then seemed to realize his mistake. "I mean- sometimes- when it needs-"
"Your hair is naturally curly, aren't they?"
"Don't remind me," Dev muttered, tension creeping into his shoulders.
"Why do you always gel it straight?"
"It's because it makes us look poor."
Peri's hands froze. "Excuse me... what?"
"Look, curly hair is unprofessional," Dev said, as if reciting from some twisted business manual. "Dad says presentation is everything in business. If your hair isn't perfectly controlled, people think you can't afford proper hair products, which means they think you can't afford anything, which means they won't want to do business with you, which means you'll end up living in a cardboard box!"
The words came out in a rush, clearly rehearsed, clearly repeated, clearly learned, and Peri had to remind himself that breaking every single one of Dale's fingers would definitely violate several of Da Rules. He took a deep breath, carefully keeping his voice level. "Doesn't Hazel have curly hair too?"
Dev's reaction was immediate. His cheeks flushed pink, and he started stammering. "It's- it's different for her! She actually looks nice in them!" The moment the words left his mouth, his face turned from pink to bright red, and he slumped down in the chair, mortified.
Peri bit back a smile, storing that particular reaction away for later. Right now, there were more important things to address. He resumed rinsing Dev's hair, letting the comfortable motion fill the awkward silence.
"You know," he said finally, "I think your curls are pretty cool."
"You're just saying that because you have to be nice to me. It's in your contract or whatever."
"Hey, I might be magical, but I'm not a liar." Peri grabbed a soft shirt (he learned they were better than towels for curly hair) and started gently drying Dev's hair. "And between you and me? The whole 'curly hair equals poor' thing? That's wrong."
"But Dad-"
"Has some... interesting ideas about image," Peri interrupted, choosing his words carefully, even if he wanted nothing more than to go on a long rant about how ridiculous the whole concept was. "Not all of them are right."
Dev was quiet for a long moment, and Peri worried he'd pushed too far. When the boy finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper. "Dad says a lot of things."
"Yeah," Peri sighed, "he sure does."
He finished drying Dev's hair, "So, you wanna keep gelling it flat?"
"I... I have no choice."
"That's not what I asked."
"...no."
"There you go! See, was that so hard?"
"Dad won't let me..."
"Well, he's out on a business trip, isn't he? So, what's he gonna do?"
"Oh!" Dev's eyes widened, and the beginnings of a smile formed on his face. "You're right!" But then, his expression fell again. "I still shouldn't- it's not worth the risk!"
Peri's heart broke a little at how quickly Dev's excitement had turned to fear. He set down the t-shirt and moved to face Dev directly. "Listen, kid. Your dad's going to be gone for two whole weeks. That's plenty of time for a little experiment, right? If you don't like how your natural hair looks, we can always go back to the gel. No harm done."
Dev seemed to consider that. "Do... do you really think it would look good?"
"Of course, I do," Peri answered instantly. "In fact, I think it'd look better."
Dev ducked his head, but not before Peri caught the small, genuine smile on his face. "Okay," he said quietly. "We can try it. But just for a little while!"
"Just for a little while," Peri agreed, already planning ways to help Dev keep his natural curls even after Dale returned. Maybe some strategic magic to make the curls appear straight whenever Dale was around...
He watched as Dev examined his reflection in the mirror, tentatively touching one of his curls. The boy's expression was a mix of fascination and uncertainty, like he was seeing himself for the first time.
"They're kind of... bouncy," Dev observed, poking at another curl and watching it spring back into place.
"They sure are. And you know what else?" Peri grinned. "I bet Hazel would think they look nice too."
"PERI!" Dev's face went red again, and he threw his godparent the damp t-shirt. "That's- you can't just- I don't even-"
Peri laughed, dancing out of range. "Okay, okay! Just a prediction."
Dev rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.
Standing there in the overly fancy bathroom, with his hair finally free to be itself, he looked more like the child he was supposed to be than Peri had ever seen him.