Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Purple. Dev liked purple. When the fondness had begun, he wasn’t quite sure. Did it come from Peri or did the fairy’s presence only enhance an already-existent admiration for the colour? Maybe the reason wasn’t important. He just knew he liked it. His favourite colour, purple.

He’d only started embracing the colour recently. As such, it had become more prominent in Dev’s life. Incorporating it into his wardrobe, getting small items to add a splash of the shade into his bedroom.

His friend Winn even gifted him a little faux lavender plant with the scent of the real thing. They said it was just because he liked the colour but Dev knew they were quietly being mindful of his anxiety with the present. It didn’t need to be said out loud, he understood their thoughtful intent.

That was why, at first, Dev assumed he’d just become more aware of purple. Noticing it more because he was allowing himself to appreciate it now. It was a couple weeks shy of the beginning of summer break when Dev started thinking something different.

He’d been seeing a lot of purple recently. Not just the things he knew, the items that belonged to him. More and more he saw it when he was just out and about. Normal things at first. A bundle of purple flowers. A hat on a mannequin. A painted model airplane in a shop window.

And then it started getting odder. A basic-looking music player, seemingly abandoned on a park bench. He spotted a cartoony purple pony toy in the shadow of a garbage can once. Almost like it was hiding. A bird. Several times. There were some birds with the word ‘purple’ in their names that could be found in Dimmadelphia. Dev looked it up. But they weren’t actually that purple.

Certainly not that shade of purple. His purple.

Everything he’d been seeing, all of it had been that particular hue. Dev briefly attempted to convince himself it was just a trick of the light but he was too smart for that. He knew it wasn’t the case. It was definitely that shade.

But why?! Why in the world would Peri be doing that? For what purpose was his former godparent… What even was this? Stalking him? Keeping an eye out? What was the motivation for following him around like this…

Dev had nearly killed him. Maybe that part wasn’t intended but Dev knew the fairy had been in pain while detained, there was no pretending he didn’t see that. And he’d allowed it anyway. It felt unfathomable that Peri would actually be worried about him after what Dev put him through… Ugh, but he did say that he cared about Dev, even when actively in distress. He’d only been concerned for Dev, not himself.

No- Really, was he serious? Checking up on him? It felt too bizarre, too risky. Unsuited to the highly rule-bound fairy. Granted, Dev didn’t know every rule but there was no way following around one of your former godchildren was a permitted thing. Especially not him, not after what he did in Fairy World.

Dev tried to ignore him, terrified of what it would mean if he acknowledged the fairy’s presence in any way. It hadn’t gone unnoticed to the boy that these purple things tended to pop up when he wasn’t with his friends. Almost like Peri was attempting to create an opportunity to interact.

Did he know about Dev’s memories? No, if that was true, surely he would’ve tattled to Jorgen right away. But if he was merely suspicious that something wasn’t quite right with Dev… Shit, he needed to be really careful. If Peri found out his memory wipe had gone awry, it was all over.

The issue was keeping him away. How could Dev possibly do that while also not interacting with Peri? If he just ignored the fairy for long enough, maybe he’d give up and just go away…

Ignoring him didn’t work. If anything, it made the fairy bolder. It was honestly kind of frustrating to Dev. Peri was neurotic but he didn’t remember him being stupid. Was he trying to get in trouble, this was ridiculous.

A lilac squirrel darting back into the dense summer foliage. A periwinkle opossum peering from beneath the dumpster in an alley he regularly passed by, its eyes glinting despite no light touching them. A cat…

A lavender-furred cat, casually sitting in a patch of sunlight that Dev had to walk right by on his route to the manga store. He was starting to worry his former godparent had lost his mind. This sort of behaviour felt so out-of-character for the Peri he knew. At any rate, with the encroaching summer weather, Dev was wearing his sunglasses more often- for their typical purpose rather than the function his father intended. Which was lucky, since it made it easier to keep himself neutral.

He glanced at the ‘cat’ from behind the shades, figuring that showing zero awareness of an animal halfway in his path would look more dubious than no reaction. Dev veered a couple feet over on the sidewalk, just enough so he wouldn’t touch the creature and keep walking to his destination. When he left the shop again, the cat was gone…

But not forever.

It seemed like that mild glance was what Peri wanted, or at least it was enough of something that Dev was now only seeing him in that guise. For living creatures anyway, sometimes he still caught glimpses of purple objects too. But the cat kept stalking him.

What was the fairy playing at? Dev desperately tried to puzzle it out. He was only showing up when Dev was alone- Well, alone plus the Au-Pairs. But never around Hazel or even his other friends. So he must’ve been hiding the fact that he was keeping an eye on Dev. That wasn’t entirely a surprise. No strikingly purple objects had ever appeared on Hazel’s person, which is where Dev would’ve expected to spot him again, if he ever did.

So it would appear that Hazel and most likely her fairies were unaware of Peri’s sneaking around. That only served to confirm to Dev that his former godparent had to be crossing a boundary, breaking a rule. Why do that… Why for him?

Dev couldn’t just let him keep doing that. After all, if Peri got caught or managed to force a real interaction with him, what would it mean? The fairy would likely be in big trouble, certainly, and Dev didn’t want that to happen on his account.

Peri was a good person, he’d make a great godparent to a different kid. A sweeter, less temperamental kid. Somebody who would actually appreciate him. He should be doing that, not spying on Dev. Worrying about him or whatever the motivation for this was…

And of course, selfishly, Dev feared the consequences for himself. Maybe the false ones weren’t the worst thing in the world but he didn’t want to lose the real memories. The very idea made him feel ill. He wasn’t supposed to remember, as punishment. If anybody found out he’d avoided it (somehow), surely Jorgen would correct that.

But he couldn’t very well tell Peri directly to quit being an idiot. To just back off, otherwise the both of them would be facing Jorgen’s wrath. Nope, that definitely wasn’t an option. He needed a loophole. Good thing Dev was talented in that department.

Dev knew how to leverage rules to his advantage. That said, even when he was a bratty bully, he’d never been the sort to tattle on others. He wasn’t a narc. But if Peri was going to insist on this foolish path, then he’d left the boy no choice.

He was going to tell on Peri to his parents- and then hope they’d actually stop him.
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Dev approached his friends at their lunch table per usual, mentally gathering himself for the coming conversation. He hated lying to them, though it was Hazel most of all he was really lying to. Keeping the inexplicable retention- or rather erasure followed swiftly by returning- of his true memories from her. He needed to be very careful about this, hone his focus strictly onto the faux ones, telling everybody what he’d been seeing as if those altered memories were the only context he had.

He casually took his seat beside his best friend. The group was mid-chatter, something about camping? Right, they had been wanting to plan that. Dev would have to run it by his dad and he honestly wasn’t sure what he’d say about it. He didn’t want to interrupt them but he had to let them know what was happening before he lost his nerve.

There was no way of knowing if Cosmo and Wanda were actually there in their fidget toy disguises at this moment, he’d just have to hope they were. If not, well, Dev was pretty- fairly… relatively… somewhat- confident that Hazel would tell them about it.

Dev cleared his throat, not too loud but enough to grab their attention. “Hey, I gotta ask you guys something.” Immediately they were all locked onto him. Winn leaned forward, saying, “Yeah? You got questions about the campsite we were thinking about or-”

“Ah, I would like to talk about that,” he gently cut them off, “But maybe in a minute? I’ve just been noticing something weird around the city and wanted to know if any of you had seen it too.”

“Something weird?” Hazel repeated, looking genuinely confused by his words. Jasmine lightly chirped, “You’re more observant than most people, Dev, I dunno- but what is it?”

Dev exhaled hard through his nose. “Um, I think it’d be pretty tough to miss if you had seen it. It’s super bizarre but I’ve been seeing, well, purple animals.”

He didn’t dare glance at Hazel, who had just rather blatantly sucked in a sharp breath of surprise. Look at Winn and Jas, don’t let Hazel throw you off, act natural.

Winn scratched the top of their head through their baseball cap. “Purple animals- Well, I think there are some bird and butterfly species with it.”

Dev shook his head. “That’s just it, that’s not what I’ve seen. It’s weird stuff- mammals.”

“Really?” Jas said. “Well, that is definitely weird.” Winn tapped their fingers on the table, clearly trying to puzzle out a reason for such a thing. “Mammals… You’re sure it’s not, like, a trick of the light thing? Some gray animals are sometimes called ‘lavender’- or maybe you saw a colour reflection off some really shiny black fur?”

Again, Dev shook his head. “I thought that might’ve been the case at first. But I’ve seen it in a bunch of different lighting, even where there was no light hitting the animal and they still looked purple.”

He was amazed that Hazel actually spoke so soon. “Which animals have you seen?” Dev shrugged helplessly. “Few different ones. Squirrel, oppossum- Seen a cat a few times, maybe the same one each time, I’m not sure.”

The girl made an uneasy ‘hmm’ noise and Dev continued to speak with the others instead of putting too much focus on Hazel. “Anyway, have any of you seen those?”

Winn and Jasmine both shook their heads in the negative while Hazel muttered a “No,” beside him. Jasmine sighed and laid her arms on the table, resting her head on them. “Okay but what does that mean? Why would they be purple?”

“I don’t know what it means but I don’t like it,” Dev stated firmly. “Somebody- maybe a group of people- must be catching animals and forcibly dyeing their fur. And who knows what’s been used on the poor things, it could be toxic!”

Jasmine gasped, shooting back up. “Oh my gosh, I didn’t think about that! That’s awful, why would somebody do that?”

Dev huffed, nodding in agreement with her concerned tone. “It’s hard to say- Could be some irresponsible ‘art piece,’ maybe a cruel and ill-advised marketing stunt by some business idiot. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen somebody do something stupid with animals to get media attention. Ugh, even my dad knows better than that.”

Winn grimaced. “Unfortunately you might be right, I’ve heard about stuff like that. Hmm… Where did you see these animals?”

Dev spread his hands out in front of the table. “See, I’ve been trying to keep track, see if there’s a pattern or an epicenter to it so we could maybe figure out where it’s happening the most. Find who’s messing with the animals but- they’re just all over the place, I can’t make any sense of it.”

“That does make it hard,” Jas agreed. “Is there anything we can do then?”

Hazel finally asked another question. An unsettling one but something he’d been prepared for, just in case. “So, have you tried to get close to any of them?”

Dev’s face twisted in a mask of horror. “No, are you nuts?!” He said, making himself seem totally aghast at the idea. “I’m not trying to get attacked by a wild animal!”

Jasmine snorted briefly at his dramatics before chiming, “But you said there was a cat, that’s not a wild animal.” Dev scoffed and waved a hand in dismissal. “Being a domesticated species does not mean it’s safe for me to just walk up to it.”

Winn hummed in agreement. “He’s got a point, you shouldn’t just approach a strange animal, you never know how it’ll react. Like, don’t get me wrong, I grab frogs and stuff when I’m out camping with Mom but they can’t hurt you really. A cat could bite or scratch and is more likely to carry diseases or pests that could affect a person.”

Ah Winn- Leave it to them and their nature-kid knowledge to unintentionally help Dev out by giving him a good excuse for staying away from the purple ‘animals.’ Dev nodded. “Exactly.”

Jas slightly raised her hand. “Well, what can we even do?” Dev grumbled, running an anxious hand through his curls. “I don’t know honestly… I guess the best we can do is watch out and try to find a pattern to figure out where they’re coming from. I’m just… concerned about these animals being in trouble, if the dye is dangerous, you know?”

Hazel coughed a few times, not looking at him. “Er, yeah, that could be, um, trouble. It’d be bad if they… got sick or something.” Dev watched the other two kids nodding in solid agreement and he mirrored the action.

“We’ll all keep an eye out, Dev.” Winn said reassuringly. “You’re totally right, there’s no mammal with naturally purple fur, somebody must be doing something bad.”

You’ve got no idea how right you are, Winn. Somebody indeed- My neurotic former fairy godparent. Ugh, god, I hope this works. I . Please let his parents or even Hazel be reasonable enough to get him to stop this…

The conversation moved on from there. Dev focused on eating his lunch, only occasionally jumping in when it felt necessary. When Winn pressed about the camping trip again, he could only shrug and say he still needed to ask Dad about whether he’d even be allowed to go.

Dev hadn’t actually ever travelled any place without his father also being at that location. Sure, that didn’t mean they were together the whole time. Dev was most often left in a vacant office or made to stay in the hotel room, with the Au-Pairs looking after him like they always did. Obviously the man had travelled without Dev, especially once he’d started school. But Dev had never gone outside of Dimmadelphia without him.

His friends didn’t question his uncertainty of whether he could get permission to go. Dev was grateful for that. He honestly wouldn’t have a sufficient answer to give. There was nothing that necessarily suggested Dad wouldn’t let him. Only the fact that it just… wasn’t something that’d ever come up before.

Dev could worry about that later though. One thing at a time. He was trying to work on not overextending himself, something his father did constantly. Right now, he’d done all he felt he could to nudge Peri to move on. Or at the very least, Dev had exposed the fairy’s misbehaviour to Hazel and her fairies.

The situation was in their hands. The only thing Dev could do now was protect himself. Maintain the illusion of the false memories. Carry on the lie. Having to keep it all inside, all hidden. There was not a single soul he could trust with the truth without risking it all being taken away again. Painfully, selfishly, Dev would keep his secret safe.

Chapter Text

Periwinkle awoke from a fitful sleep. These last few months, his slumber seemed to waver through cycles. At first, with the wound of losing Dev freshly carved into his soul, no rest could find him. All the fairy did those first few days was desperately pour over Da Rules, cry, and beg Jorgen to return him to that role he'd been given in Dev's life. He didn't sleep, hardly ate, spoke little to his parents despite staying in their apartment. But once Hazel managed to speak to the boy and Peri learned that Dev actually apologized to her and still wanted to be friends, it was like his body went into a forceful shutdown.

Dev was safe, the memory wipe hadn't reverted him back into a bully, he'd still have somebody supporting him rather than being stuck with those drones and Dale as the only presences in his life.

It helped him rest. For a while at least. Hazel kept him thoroughly updated on anything significant about Dev- the progress he was making, the gradual emotional openness, the quiet pulling away from some of Dale's influence and control.

Peri was proud of him. It eased his worries to hear. Even the other two, Winn and Jasmine, the friends Hazel used her rule-free wish on in order to keep them in the loop about magic and fairies- they'd bonded with Dev. Tried to give Peri helpful insight as well.

Jasmine was very open about things involving Dev. That was her personality in general, not one for secrets. Except for the whole fairies-are-real thing of course, she knew that had to stay hidden. Winn was a little harder for Peri to get a read on. Their laidback demeanor was part of that but the fairy had picked up on them being a bit more vague sometimes when recounting their interactions with Dev.

His gut reaction had been distress and a bit of annoyance that the young skateboarder would withhold information when Peri needed their help. But when he took a step back, he realized Winn was only respecting Dev's privacy. He must've told them something in confidence, something Dev wanted known but not to the world.

Peri would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a smidge jealous. Being someone that Dev felt safe confiding in is what he'd hoped to be when assigned as his godparent. But Dev never seemed to have much faith in him at all in that department. Dev didn't share, he didn't like to talk about his feelings. Peri was sure part of that was his own fault too.

After all, clearly it wasn't impossible to get through to Dev. All of them- Hazel, Winn, and Jasmine- had gotten deeper moments with Dev in one form or another. Peri obviously hadn't done the right thing. Pushed too hard? Maybe didn't push enough? He'd never know unless he got a second chance. And he needed to be patient to get it.

That's what he kept telling himself anyway. He needed to do this correctly if he was going to truly do right by Dev. Jorgen had made it quite clear that he was not in favour of assigning Peri back to the Dimmadome heir but he hadn't directly commanded Peri to stop pursuing that path either. So the purple fairy frantically carried on, organizing every scrap of information into folders, trying to build a case for getting back to his kid.

He wasn't technically breaking any rules by having his parents and Hazel and her friends keep him updated on Dev. They were doing it voluntarily after all, he never expressly asked that of them. Even if he encouraged them to continue.

Back and forth it went. Resting well some days, other nights barely a wink. And on the worst ones, the nightmares found him. Robbing him of any recovery and healing that sleep would’ve provided.

Yes, the memory of the magical backup would show itself but less often than one might expect. No, far FAR more frequently, Peri would see Dev. Sometimes he was with Irep, laughing and sneering over Peri. Mocking his failing as a godparent.

Other times, with Dale, the father who he looked so much like, and Peri would be forced to watch mute and helpless. The man either ignored Dev while his kid so desperately sought his attention, scolded him for something utterly trivial and shallow, or blatantly manipulated him into something that would only make the boy more miserable.

It had been one of those nights and Peri jerked sharply awake from the terrible dreams, feeling no more rested than when he first laid his head down several hours ago. Sleep but no rest. He’d slowly begun to recognize the pattern. This happened more when he hadn’t gotten what felt like a significant update on Dev for a while.

With a groan, Peri stretched and flexed his wings weakly. It was normal for them to ache- Normal for him anyway. But he must’ve laid on his back for too long because they felt extra uncomfortable this morning. A hot shower would help that a little.

He should’ve gone straight to the shower but he couldn’t stop himself from looking. It was the first thing he did every morning. Peri fluttered from his bed toward a shelf on the opposite wall, set at average hover height near the door. There were a few framed photos arranged on it but he just needed to look at one of them.

Hazel had handed him this, deeply kind child that she was. The group photo taken at Dev’s first sleepover. Dev- surrounded by friends, perhaps a bit flustered but smiling all the same, no sunglasses to hide his expressive blue eyes… wearing a purple hoodie.

It should’ve made Peri happy. Physical proof that Dev wasn’t alone. He had friends who cared about him, people who made him smile so genuinely. A support system- a small one but at least it was there. The fairy was almost positive that’d been the intent behind the offered photo too. Something to ease his worry, a reminder Dev was doing okay.

Staring at it, he felt his ribcage rattling. Tension like an over-tightened coil, suffocating and squeezing. A burning sensation increasing at the corners of his eyes.

D-Don’t, don’t… You’re stronger than this, why the hell are you…

The photo grew blurry in front of him. Dev’s form vanished, a muddle of red and purple and the glinting sapphire of his eyes. He couldn’t see him anymore- He couldn’t see…

Peri gripped the photo frame like a lifeline, his other hand clawing into the shelf for balance as the tears fell. Of course he was glad Dev had friends now, of course it was a relief somebody was supporting him.

But it was all secondhand. All photographs and recountings from other people. Dev was doing okay, having happy moments. And Peri… He should’ve been there. He was supposed to be there! That was why he was assigned to Dev- To be the parent he didn’t have, bring him those happy moments, supporting him, watching him improve, helping him to improve. Peri was meant to be at his side for all of it.

Instead he was here, separated from the boy- very strictly separated. In no uncertain terms, Peri was to stay far away from his home and his school, not to cause any trouble. He hadn’t heard Dev’s voice in months… It was torturous. If he could just see him, with his own two eyes, even just for a fleeting moment…

Peri backed away from the photograph, clumsily brushing at his face. He needed to get to the shower, before his parents saw him in this state. They believed he’d been doing a lot better- and he was, he definitely was! This was just… It was only because of the nightmare, that must’ve been it. He looked at the photo every morning but Peri did not cry over it every time.

Maybe… Maybe he teared up a little whenever he looked at it.
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The shower ran hot. Probably hotter than Peri really needed but it did soothe his aching muscles and help him collect his thoughts. He allowed the water to cool just before getting out, ensuring his skin wasn’t oddly red. Better, he felt a little better.

It still hurt. Being away from Dev. Who knew a mere emotion could cause such true physical pain? He knew from reading Da Rules that it was normal for godparents to form strong attachments to their assigned kids. It was wrapped up in their instincts to become distressed if they were away for too long.

That was only expected for ‘long-term’ kids though. He lost Dev after less than three full months, a far cry from that. And yet- in defiance of both the short time and the fact that Peri wasn’t even his godparent anymore- Peri missed him so so terribly.

He simply couldn’t help it. And was it… Was it really such a bad thing? Peri just wanted to see him. But he’d been told to stay away, of course, of course, he couldn’t do that. But, like… His parents got to be out in the open with their human guises so maybe-

Peri growled to himself, “You need to practice more. It might not be a fast way to him but it could create some opportunities…” Being in human form was… difficult for Peri. Not impossible, it was easy enough to craft but it was notably uncomfortable to stay that way. More uncomfortable than usual. He needed to figure that out.

The fairy sighed as he styled his purple hair with diligence. Ugh, did everything have to remind him of Dev? The kid began wearing his natural curls right after Peri lost him and while he was happy for that, Peri so wished he was there to help him. Hazel and her family had been kind enough to give him some advice at least- obviously Dale wasn’t doing a damn thing… He supposed the Au-Pairs had probably helped him too.

If he could just use a different disguise to get near him. Something less obvious, subtler, so he wouldn’t draw anybody else’s attention-

Peri washed his hands, unable to properly see his own reflection in the fogged mirror. He shouldn’t be thinking like that but… it’d be pretty simple to pull off. Just go somewhere- not his home, not the school, but just someplace he might pass by. Peri could sit as an object for plenty of time, be patient and just… wait for him to walk past.

“That’s still not allowed…” He muttered, wiping away the condensation and gazing into his own wide purple eyes for a long pause. “...Could claim plausible deniability… It’s not a crime to be out and about, getting some fresh air. If Dev just happened to pass by, well, I can’t help that. It’s not like I’d actually interact with him, that’d be crazy.”
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His parents didn’t seem to notice anything off about him. Peri encountered them briefly in the kitchen before they went off to be with Hazel for the day. “Do you have any plans for today, sweetie?” Wanda asked, hope in her magenta eyes. Usually his answer was ‘research’ or ‘nothing in particular’ but today though… He supposed it was better to not entirely omit his whereabouts. That would draw less suspicion, right?

…Geez, Periwinkle- Since when are you a schemer like Irep?

“I was thinking of getting some fresh air, explore the city a little.” Peri felt an immediate pang of guilt over the way his parents’ faces lit up at the half-lie. “I figured if I’m gonna keep staying around here, I might as well get more familiar with the city, ya know?” He bit his tongue before he started lamenting the fact that Dev had never expressed interest in doing that together.

“Great idea, son!” Cosmo trilled, squeezing him a bit too tight as he often did. “The weather’s been real nice lately and there’s all sorts of neat stuff to see!”

Peri coughed slightly, nudging his father away. “Uh, right, I bet there is.” Wanda fluttered closer, polite enough to pat his head without messing up his styled hair. “It’s a big place, take your time exploring.” She smiled, her relief that Peri was seemingly doing something other than worrying over Dev all too obvious. “We’ve been here a while though, is there anywhere in particular you’re interested in, sweetie?”

Any place Dev frequents, preferably not with his friends in tow…

“Thanks Mom but I’d like to discover things on my own, I think.” Wanda nodded, not looking bothered in the slightest by that response. Cosmo quickly chimed, “If you want to go on a family outing though, just say the word!”

Peri laughed, hoping it didn’t sound forced or nervous. “Sure, Dad, I will.” His parents fussed over him for several more seconds before blessedly departing to start their day with Hazel.

The purple fairy sighed heavily, trying to slow down and consider his options. Was he actually going to do this? He definitely wasn’t supposed to… But what his parents (and Jorgen) didn’t know wouldn’t kill them and there was no guarantee anything would come of it, Peri might not end up seeing Dev. …Wasn’t it worth it, for a chance to though?
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Slow-going at first, as it often seems everything is. But now that he was doing something novel, a new tactic, it wasn’t so frustrating. Peri spent the whole school week teleporting around the city, trying his hardest to recall any place or store that Dev had ever gone to as well as the routes he might take to get there. Probably whatever was most efficient, considering the Au-Pairs handled his transportation.

Dev got a lot of things delivered directly to that gaudy tower of a home but Peri knew he at least enjoyed going to that big manga shop in person and more recently, the mall. The fairy also made note of some of the stores and cafes that Dev’s friends had introduced him to, in case he returned to those. Apparently he’d been going on walks more often so the parks were a possibility too.

Peri had to admit, even if he hadn’t seen Dev just yet, it was refreshing to actually get outside into the fresh air. He probably (definitely) needed this. But it would make it better if his detailed information paid off. That was what he really needed. If he could just get the result, just see him-

Peri felt ashamed that he’d been caught off-guard by his passing by and honestly might’ve missed him if it weren’t for the persistent whirring of the Au-Pairs. But he heard the familiar fans and locked onto the sound, gazing desperately around from his location as a hanging basket of purple flowers.

Dev.

He couldn’t see him as well as he wanted to. Wasn’t as close as he wanted. But Dev was there. He looked mostly like he had when Peri lost him- dark pants, signature white hoodie, the boots. Except his ginger hair bounced freely in its curls and those dark sunglasses were set amongst the curls instead of on his face.

No, shoot- why’d I pick a spot so high?! I guess for a wider field of view but- Damnit, a look at his eyes would’ve been nice… I can barely even see your face.

Peri knew one general route now. It wasn’t enough. He couldn’t stake out just one location, he’d hardly see him at all that way- NOT that he was planning to do this constantly, of course! But he hadn’t really gotten to see Dev just now. It happened so fast too, he didn’t feel reassured like he’d hoped for.

Gotta try again. And don’t be so scared about being closer! That’s the point, isn’t it? Get a good look at the kid, that’ll help. I shouldn’t be so high up next time either…

Gradually he figured out more of Dev’s routines. Not always consistent since with those drones, it made it easy for the boy to just go places on a whim or change course. But Peri was managing to catch better glimpses of him. Sitting in places where he could see him properly. It was good to see him.

Sure, in some ways it was a little anxiety-inducing. Mostly the waiting did that. But once Dev did come into view, the sight of him always tore at Peri’s heart. On one hand, he knew he had to stay back- he was already on very thin ice pulling this stunt to begin with.

And on the other… He desperately wanted to run to him. Hug the boy and apologize for messing up- For being impatient, for rashly leaving him and giving Irep that opportunity to get near, for shouting, for not being enough. And promise that he’d do better this time. He’d do the right thing, learn to understand him, that he would make Dev happy like he was meant to.

But he couldn’t do that. Dev hadn’t a clue who he was, not one. Magic and fairies were no longer real to him and Peri didn’t even have a human disguise to be remembered by like his parents did. He couldn’t get to him, not right now anyway.

So why did Peri keep creeping closer? Getting bolder in his actions. Dev didn’t remember who he was. There was literally no point in actually trying to interact with him, it wouldn’t do anything.

“I want him to see me…” Peri finally muttered the answer to himself late one night. He hadn’t wanted to admit it, tried to convince himself that he didn’t need such a thing. It was already a small miracle he’d gotten these glimpses of Dev without his scheme being compromised. He really REALLY shouldn’t be pushing his luck!

But he felt like he’d gotten so close a few times! Maybe if… Yeah, if Peri just got one definite glance from his kid, then things would feel a lot better. There had been moments where Dev had maybe shifted his head in his direction… It was hard to tell though, he was wearing his sunglasses more frequently again.

And what happens if you are certain that he definitely looked at you?
.
.
.

An animal. Animals were intriguing to children, harder to miss than an object. Those were the ones where Peri thought Dev might’ve looked towards him, even if it was just on instinct by seeing movement. And that was fine, that counted to Peri.

Hmm… Cats were non-threatening, right? Obviously he shouldn’t be a wild animal, that could make Dev nervous. A shame he couldn’t be some aquatic creature, Dev loved those- But that didn’t exactly make sense to be hanging out on the sidewalk in a big city.

Hazel had mentioned yesterday that Dev was going to the manga shop today after school to pick up some new books. Peri had struggled to hold down his excitement but he was pretty sure nobody was suspicious. He was always excited to hear about Dev after all, nothing strange about that. And now he knew exactly where he needed to be.

Peri waited anxiously in a nearby alleyway, using the sharp hearing of his current feline form to listen out for the Au-Pairs. As much as their eternal presence irked him, it had been useful for knowing Dev was getting close before even seeing the boy.

There!

He darted out from the shadows, deftly positioning himself in a patch of sunlight that edged onto the sidewalk. Trying to settle his body as though he’d been casually lounging there for some time. Cats did that, right? Act natural, try to look natural.

Okay, okay, there he was! Peri suppressed the urge to just walk towards him, reminding himself not to meow pitifully or purr in invitation. He was just a cat, bathing in the sun as they often did, aloof to humans. He was only going to watch Dev, nothing more.

He didn’t notice any stuttering to the boy’s footfalls, no surprise at the sight of a cat in his path. Had he even seen him at all? Ugh, damn sunglasses again! Yeah, yeah, it’s bright out today but- Please, kid, give me something here. You like purple, don’t you?

Dev was only a few feet away when Peri saw it. The shifting of his neck, the slight tilt of his head- in Peri’s direction. The accursed sunglasses didn’t slide, leaving the fairy blind to any real emotional insight. But he- Peri was certain this time, he really looked!

And then Dev adjusted his path, moving aside just enough to not touch Peri and walked on without another glance, disappearing into that manga shop a few moments later.

Peri rocketed back into the darkness of the alleyway, his heart slamming against his ribs at an alarmingly fluctuating pace. He felt like he’d eaten an entire tray of triple-chocolate brownies to himself and chased it with two liters of soda. The rapidity was certainly disquieting. But there was another sensation that did not tend to accompany a severe sugar rush.

The frenzied river of hot tears falling down his face without resistance.

Hunched on his hind limbs, Peri sat with front paws over his muzzle, feebly attempting to suppress the choked whimpers. He was out of sight but he didn’t want anybody to hear him and come investigate the strange noises. What had he just done?

He… He saw me. Dev really truly looked at me! I- I wonder if we made eye contact? Can’t know because of those stupid shades but… Thank goodness I finally know now.

Perhaps it’d been paranoid but Peri had genuinely begun to fear that Dev couldn’t see him. Afraid that maybe Jorgen knew he’d try something like this and secretly cast a charm making him invisible to his kid. But now he knew that was wrong, just the nerves taking over. Dev could see him. Dev did see him. He looked at him, just moments ago.

The fairy curled up for a few more minutes, slowly coming down from the adrenaline speeding through his veins, watching lavender fur darken from the tears. It was okay, he could calm down. With a huff, he staggered up and pawed messily at his face. Peri had gotten what he needed- He saw Dev, Dev saw him. He should step back from this…
-------------------------------

No. No, I’m not leaving him again.

Peri continued following him. How could he not, after so long- How could he just step away now? He was always careful about it, never got close if he knew Hazel and the others were going to be around. And he backed off a little anyway, it was fine!

That was probably a bit too close, practically lying in his path like that… I’ll keep a little more distance but don’t worry, Dev- I won’t be too far away.

There were lots of places that were ‘normal’ for cats to appear. Peeking out of an alley, trotting along a low brick wall, lounging in the shade of a tree on a hot day. Not too close but enough to be seen.

He didn’t notice it every time but- Yes, he was still certain his kid was seeing him. Maybe it was every time but the shifting gaze was too quick for Peri to always catch. That was probably it. Dev was so observant, absorbing information with split second glances, it wasn’t surprising that Peri missed it sometimes. But that was okay. At least Peri was here, knowing Dev could see him.

Hmm… Could the Au-Pairs see him? They never seemed to react- But then again, hadn’t they always been that way? Well, a passively behaving cat likely wasn’t worth their acknowledgment. Probably for the best. Dev seeing him was the important part.

Look, Dev! I’m not giving up, see? I know I can’t really be with you right now but… I’m still here. You’re not alone, kid. It’s all going to be okay. I’m gonna fix this, just watch.

It wasn’t that big of a deal honestly. Peri was only watching out for Dev, like a good godparent should. They weren’t directly interacting, was there really that much harm in doing this? It didn’t feel like there was… Even though the restless squirming sensation in his gut kept suggesting otherwise. But, he was only trying to reassure-

He doesn’t know you. How exactly would he be getting reassurance out of seeing you at all? A purple cat literally means nothing to him.

Peri flinched at the thought. That was true, Dev had no memories of their time together, it wasn’t like he actually knew this purple cat was somebody who cared about him. But… maybe he could feel Peri’s good intentions anyway? Just a little bit?

He still likes purple. Even if Dev doesn’t know the significance of seeing me, the colour should be a comfort to him regardless. And that’s a nice thing to do, isn’t it?

Summer break was getting closer and closer. Soon it would be difficult for Peri to keep an eye on Dev for himself. That was his assumption at least, since Dev would be spending much more time with his friends throughout the day once they were free of school. A bit disappointing for Peri but he’d gotten away with seeing Dev and everybody else was none the wiser-

He could tell his friends about seeing you, there’s nothing preventing that. Dev might not know what a purple cat means but Hazel will. Your parents will. Even Winn and Jasmine will. You really think they’ll turn a blind eye to this?

Peri shivered, wrapping his blanket tighter as he tried to block out the thoughts to drift into sleep instead. N-No, Dev was a logical child. Strict in his scientific way of viewing the world. A purple cat was an absurdity, he’d probably be too embarrassed to tell his friends that he saw such a thing. Before Peri came into his life, the idea of something so whimsical would never occur to Dev. He likely thought he was imagining it.

I wonder… Was Dev even taught any of that childhood magic? Dale seems like the type to not entertain it- but if the Au-Pairs mostly raised Dev- Oh, but Dale programmed them, hmm. I guess I never asked… if Dev ever believed in things like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy- The Tooth Fairy. She visits all children, even ex-godkids.

Maybe she-

Oh my god, Periwinkle, no, don’t even- That’s the stupidest idea in the world.

Nobody had confronted Peri yet. So obviously Dev hadn’t said anything to his friends about the purple cat. Maybe he didn’t perfectly understand the boy’s mind but Peri knew enough- Nothing to worry about it, Dev would be too uncertain about the purple cat’s existence to bring it up so Peri’s little escapade would stay secret-

You do remember that he’s becoming more open with his friends, right? Uncertainty isn’t going to stop Dev from talking to them- If anything, he’s more likely to discuss things that confuse him now, not less. Could be any day now.

Well, yes, Peri supposed that was a possibility. Maybe they already knew and were deciding what to do about it… But if Jorgen knew, he would’ve accosted Peri the instant he found out. So Jorgen couldn’t know yet- which was good.

Besides, his parents had always been… flexible with Da Rules. Peri just missed his kid, that was all, it didn’t make him a bad fairy. Hell, his parents retired after Timmy aged out of the godparenting system so…

I-If… If they find out, they’d have to understand. They know what it’s like, getting so attached to your godchild. They might not rat me out to Jorgen either… maybe they won’t even insist I need to keep my distance again.

Peri sighed. That was probably too optimistic, even for a fairy. He already told himself that he was going to actually step back once summer break began, which was very soon. He’d done enough, for now. Doing this had gotten him more familiar with the city and re-familiarized him with human life in general.

It was useful information, and good motivation for getting that public-facing disguise in order. Then maybe, just maybe, Peri could carefully break into a less secret way of seeing Dev. He’d managed this but he was ready to admit that continuing any longer put him at serious risk of being caught.

It’ll be fine, I doubt they know anything. Better to stop while that’s still the case. You got to see Dev for yourself. Now it’s time to be patient again…

Why couldn’t you keep being patient in the first place?

Chapter Text

Hazel’s mind had been racing ever since lunch time. It had started out so ordinary- They were all just chatting, pondering when and how to arrange their group camping trip. Dev arrived last, which was a bit unusual for him but it didn’t immediately concern her. He still joined their table, sat down beside her as he practically always did-

And then Dev dropped a nuke into the middle of the conversation.

Purple animals. He’d been seeing purple animals.

Winn and Jasmine did most of the talking as Dev explained what he’d seen. It was impressive how calm they both appeared while she was so stunned that she hardly spoke. After all, it wasn’t just her anymore who knew what this meant.

But Dev. Oh, poor, poor Dev. He was clueless as to the significance of this. Instead, his logic-driven mind presented speculation to the group: A foolish art piece, an unethical marketing stunt. Something that could ‘make sense’ for why mammals with purple fur had inexplicably appeared.

Hazel could scarcely focus on class the rest of the day. Why? Why would Peri- Okay, she could think of quite a few reasons why he might want to do that but why had he actually gone through with it?

He was playing with fire, which was not like the Peri she was familiar with. They’d talked about what Peri could and couldn’t do involving Dev- which was essentially nothing. He had to stay away from him.

This was such a blatant violation of Da Rules. And the consequences… Hazel was certain Peri had said pulling a stunt like this would only serve to lessen his chances of success. How could he do something so risky if he was serious about getting reassigned to Dev? It didn’t seem very smart…

Hazel couldn’t imagine what was going through Cosmo and Wanda’s heads right now. Peri was their son, whom they were fully supporting in his effort to get Dev back. They understood his desire and wanted him to get that second chance. But this? This was not part of the plan.

She was positive that they did not know he was doing something so precarious. Their hastily cut-off gasps when Dev tossed out that bomb made that very clear. They’d dipped in and out during her other classes, not saying a word to her the entire time. She suspected they weren’t talking with Peri during their disappearances but rather deliberating with each other on what to do where she couldn’t hear them.

And now Hazel was just… walking alongside Dev after school. Just like they always did until their paths home diverged. Like nothing strange had ever been said. Having to act like everything was totally normal, like he hadn’t just unintentionally revealed that his former godparent was breaking who knows many rules by following him around.

Dev seemed unphased by the whole thing. True, he was a slight enigma in his sunglasses but his voice and gestures suggested he was absolutely fine. He hadn’t brought up the purple animals again since explaining the weirdness during lunch, seemingly satisfied with having warned his friends to watch out for the same thing.

His motivation for telling them had been concern for the creatures, worried somebody had inflicted toxic dye on them and that they might be in danger. Which she supposed was actually rather sweet of him, not wanting innocent animals to be harmed. Of course Hazel was glad that wasn’t the case, it would be terrible if somebody was doing that.

But the truth of the matter was plenty terrible too, wasn’t it?

Hazel did her best to act reasonably normal and by some miracle, Dev apparently didn’t flag anything off about her. When they reached the splitting point, the boy yawned, clambered onto his drones, and gave her a casual wave with his usual, “See you tomorrow, Hazel!” And then he was gone.

The silence of his absence quickly grew uncomfortable. Glancing ahead, Hazel trotted forward down the sidewalk before darting into the mild shadows of a nearby building. With a final scan of the area, she sighed and muttered softly, “Um… Cosmo, Wanda? Do you… What Dev said at lunch- What’s going on?”

The fairies poofed into view, neither one quite meeting her gaze. They looked stressed. An emotion she hadn’t seen so strongly on them since the battle in Fairy World. It didn’t suit them- Hazel could feel her own anxiety spiking in response.

Wanda finally spoke. “Well, squirt, um… As much as I’d like to go along with Dev’s hypothesis for the purple animals, I think we all know the truth is likely-”

“Peri’s spying on Dev,” Cosmo glumly concluded. Funny, he seemed more resigned to that fact instead of panicking about it, at least for the moment. Poor guy was probably in a bit of shock. Hazel knew she was. “He shouldn’t be doing that.”

“Y-Yeah, I know,” Hazel squeaked. “It’s, like, one of the main rules Jorgen gave him, isn’t it? To stay far away from Dev?”

“That’s right,” Wanda sighed, tapping the star of her wand into her palm in a distracted rhythm. “Who knows how long he’s been up to this too, Dev didn’t exactly say when he first noticed it. Oh, what is he thinking?”

Cosmo was fidgeting with his wand as well, twisting the handle back and forth like a towel being aggressively wrung-out. “We know he misses Dev, it’s obvious but… Peri’s always been so good about Da Rules and methodical and patient.”

Wanda hummed, moving closer to squeeze her husband’s shoulder. “We did figure at some point, he might suggest debuting a human disguise or maybe some other way to, uh, let’s say ‘walk the line’ about those restrictions. But… Well, Peri seemed to be coping better lately… and we also thought he would ask for our help.”

Hazel blinked several times. They figured Peri was going to push those boundaries eventually, even with his strict rule-following nature? That was a surprise to her. Then again, she wasn’t living with Cosmo and Wanda. No doubt they saw more of Peri and his brave front would be down a lot more around his parents than herself.

“W-Would… Would you have helped him?” Hazel asked nervously. Her fairies exchanged a look of uncertainty. Wanda replied, “Well, in terms of finding a solution to better handle the impulse to get near Dev- We would’ve helped him with that.”

“Suggesting he secretly follow Dev around?” Cosmo sniffled. “No. Too risky.”

Hazel shuffled her feet, glaring at the concrete. Too risky. Her thoughts exactly. If Jorgen learned about this, surely it’d seriously endanger the possibility of getting Dev back as his godchild. Maybe even get Peri’s godparenting license revoked altogether.

The girl took a deep breath. “Have you talked to him yet?” Cosmo and Wanda shook their heads in unison. Negative. So they really hadn’t been popping away to find him. “Right… So, what are we supposed to do now?”

Wanda’s brow immediately furrowed. “Hazel, sweetie- This is fairy business. It might be better if we just speak to Peri, okay?” Cosmo nodded in agreement, though he looked sympathetic as he gently patted Hazel’s arm. “Peri’s… struggling with being apart from Dev. Worse than we thought. But he’s our son and we’ve done a loooot of godparenting in our time! We’ll help him figure it out.”

Hazel resisted the urge to stomp her foot, startled by the sharp jolt of frustration. “But I- I want to help! I don’t want Peri getting in trouble, that won’t do him or Dev any good. Why can’t I talk to him, I’m worried about him too!”

Cosmo coughed, backing away and looking slightly uncomfortable. “We know, Hazel, buuut… You’re also pretty close with Dev and get to be around him a lot. And very, um-” He paused, absently waving his hand as he tried to summon the right word. Hazel felt a brief flicker of embarrassment across her cheeks as he called them ‘close.’

“You’re very empathetic, sweetie, which is a great thing,” Wanda said, picking up where Cosmo got lost. “But with this delicate situation, given too much empathy… Peri might get it in his head that he’s right to trail Dev around, you know? You were sad at the idea of not being Dev’s friend anymore so you’d be able to relate and Peri knows that so…”

This time Wanda hesitated and Cosmo jumped in to finish her thoughts. “Peri might try to get you on his side if you’re there when we first talk to him, that’s all. Since he’s kept it a secret from us, he knows he’s misbehaving, but he’ll try to convince us otherwise.”

Another unanticipated statement. Secrets, convincing, basically having a scheme? Sounds more like Irep behaviour than Peri… But her fairies seemed certain of what would happen if she joined them. Had Peri kept secrets like this before or were they guessing based on the situation? Or just trying to make an excuse to keep her out of it?

Hazel took a deep breath, trying to display a calm demeanor. “Sure, I get that but… I still think I could be helpful? Like, I could offer a kid’s perspective on this, right? Or better explain how doing this might affect Dev?”

The fairies exchanged another look, considering the idea. “Well… I suppose that might help,” Wanda admitted. “Still, we should really do most of the talking, kiddo, okay?”

Hazel nodded obediently. “I promise I’m not going to side with Peri, I also think he’s being reckless. And I’ll stay quiet unless I really need to say something.”

Cosmo nodded in turn at her. “Thanks Hazel.” He sighed deeply, shooting his wife a nervous look. “You think Peri’s gonna be surprised we know about this?”

Wanda shrugged. “Probably. Maybe even upset. But we’re not going to make any progress staying here. We need to talk to him now, before he goes any further.”

Hazel straightened up, determined to be supportive. “Right. Let’s go then. I wish we were in front of my apartment building.”
--------------------------------

Peri was puttering around his parents’ apartment, fixing himself a small afternoon snack. Today had been the last full day of elementary school before summer break. Tomorrow would be a half-day, then the kids would officially be out of school.

It was bittersweet for the purple fairy. Summer break meant Dev and his friends would have loads of free time and thus be able to hang out all day if they wanted to. Good for bonding, Dev needed his friends to socialize with. But it also meant it’d be much harder for Peri to try to get any glimpses of Dev for himself.

He’d been preparing for that though! The past weekend, Dev also spent time with his friends and so Peri had used it as his starting mark for reclaiming distance from the boy. It was Thursday now and Peri hadn’t tried to go near him all week.

He’ll be okay, you got to see Dev a bunch and everyone will keep you updated on him. Now’s the time to refocus on building your case and figuring out a way to see him without having to keep it a secret. Everything’s totally fine, you can handle this.

The clicking open-and-shut from the living room alerted Peri to his parents’ return. He glanced at the clock. They’d obviously teleported home, it was far too early to be back if they’d walked the whole way. But also a bit later than usual for teleportation. Had something delayed them?

Oh, perhaps Hazel was just talking with everyone. I wonder if they’d made any plans yet? …Well, she’ll let me know if they’re doing anything with Dev. Didn’t they want to go camping this summer together? I hope he’ll be okay if they try that.

Peri rounded the corner from the kitchen, plate of coffee cake in hand. Oh! Hazel had come in with them. Perhaps her own parents weren’t home yet so she was going to hang out for a bit. That was alright of course, she seemed to enjoy sharing about her day, Peri would be happy to entertain her while she waited to go home.

“Welcome home! Hello Hazel, how was school?” Peri’s grin faltered at her response and strangely brief eye contact. “It was alright.”

The purple fairy drifted to the couch, carefully setting his plate on the table. It was odd for her to be so quiet, did she not have a good day? He should bring up something happy, that might help. “Ah, I bet you’re ready for school to be done for the year. You must be so excited to spend the summer with all your new friends, right?”

Did she just flinch when he said ‘friends?!’ That was far worse than a not-good day, did something bad happen- What if they had a fight again?! Peri stiffened, forcing himself to keep a smooth tone. “Say, everything okay, kid? I know, how about you have some of this cake, it’ll cheer you up, yeah?”

Hazel’s gaze flitted up only for a moment before his father landed beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “She’s fine, Peri- just a lot going on today.” Peri squinted. “There was?” On the second-to-last-day of school, really? He supposed tests might’ve happened today, maybe Hazel was worried about her performance? It’d been a while since his spellementary school days so he couldn’t quite remember if-

His mother’s voice came out in careful measure: “Well, yes- You see, Dev spoke about some weird things during their lunch time.”

What did that mean?! "Is he okay?! What happened- did you guys have an argument or- did Dale do something to upset him! Hang on-" Not giving his parents a chance to respond, Peri scrambled for his wand, summoning a notepad and pen and hastily flipping to a blank page. "Tell me what he said, as exact as you can remember."

There was a beat of silence as he sat with the pen hovering above the pristine paper. He looked up in confusion as his father's hand laid over his, gently bringing it down against the page.

"Son- Dev told his friends today that he's been spotting purple animals around the city."

Peri's heart dropped through the floor. He desperately hoped he'd misheard but the layered concerns in his parents' eyes told him otherwise.

So Dev decided to tell them. That was... it was fine. Peri tried to ignore the sudden dryness of his throat. He just had to focus and say his piece about the situation, he'd prepared for this possibility-

No, you didn't. You thought you wouldn't get caught.

His mother had moved to his other side, pink eyes gentle but stern. "Sweetie, tell us the truth- Have you been spying on Dev?"

"Why would you think that?" Dodging the question. Had to think of something, think of it fast! There was a whiff of something sour deep in his nose. Don't panic, you can get out of this.

Cosmo's hand squeezed his. "The- the purple animals, Peri? You heard what I said, right?"

"Oh! Yeah, right, um... That's definitely weird." The barest fraction of an idea came to him and Peri forced the nonchalantness into his voice. "Hmm, did you ask Juandissimo? He's a purple fairy too."

Wanda frowned. "Periwinkle, why would he be following Dev of all people around?"

"He's a rich kid, like Remy was." Peri pressed his back into the couch cushions, shooting a quick glance at Hazel. Damnit, was she deliberately looking away... He was hoping mentioning some new names would get her talking, distract from this conversation. "Maybe he got curious after the scuffle in Fairy World."

For one brief shining moment, Peri thought he might've gotten them. There was a flicker in Cosmo's green eyes and Wanda's frown softened. Maybe he hadn’t actually convinced them but they wanted to believe the excuse, maybe enough that they'd let him off the hook-

Then his mother sighed and refocused. "Even if that were the case, Peri- Why wouldn't he just ask you or us about Dev?"

Crap, yeah, that would make more sense. Maybe- maybe because he felt awkward asking since Dev was my kid! Yeah, that’s a good reason to- No. No, that fairy’s got so much ridiculous confidence, even that wouldn’t stop him. D-Damnit…

Peri leaned forward, elbows on his knees, freeing his buzzing wings from the couch. Barely audible, he muttered, “I’ve checked in on him a couple of times, alright?”

He winced at the way his parents sucked in a sharp breath, even though they clearly already figured out what he was doing. Hazel might’ve reacted too but his ears were starting to ring, so he couldn’t be certain. He didn’t want to look at any of them, instead bracing himself and trying to come up with a counterargument for whatever they said.

“It sounded like a bit more than a couple…” Peri was surprised that Hazel had spoken first after his confession. His parents looked a bit startled too but the girl sat down on the far side of the couch, still refusing to look directly at him. “Dev listed three different animals and said he’d seen them multiple times.”

The fairy squirmed, unable to halt his anxious wings. “Sure, I guess maybe it’s a little more than that…” He choked out a laugh in a weak attempt to break the thick tension. “Come on, so he spotted me a few times. He’s never tried to get near me and I wouldn’t actually interact with him, I know better than that.”

He saw Hazel flinch again but was firmly distracted by his mother. “Peri, you should know better than to be doing this at all! How long has this been going on?”

Peri sputtered, wanting to move away but his parents had him pretty well trapped here on the couch. Cosmo added on, “We thought you were doing alright, why didn’t you talk to us about missing him this much?”

Because you’re already worried enough? So you’d stop watching me so closely, so I could- could slip away without seeming suspicious.

“I have,” Peri forced the words out, “But I’m an adult and you two have a godkid to look after, I can handle myself.”

Wanda shook her head. “Peri… if you’re breaking rules that Jorgen specifically-”

Peri lurched away at the head fairy’s name. Just saying it felt like it had the potential to summon him and then it would all be over. “I know!” He snapped, wings whirring with a similarity to a pair of certain drones, only irking him further. “Yeah I miss him, okay?! You never missed an old godkid before, are you really gonna tell me that?”

Their disheartened expressions made him regret the comment, a cold sweat forming on his neck. Wanda cautiously began, “Now, Peri, I know you understand that this is different than-”

A wave of heated frustration countered the icy guilt and Peri found himself shouting. “Yeah, it is different! You got to prepare and tell them goodbye- But because you both were too busy coddling me, I didn’t get a chance to even speak a single word to my kid before he got poofed away!”

The corners of his eyes were stinging but he refused to reach up and brush at them. Floating unsteadily, his grip on the cane-like wand was straining the muscles in his fingers. He grimaced, breathing heavily as the emotions clouded his control.

Cosmo spoke with apologetic dismay, “And we’re sorry, Peri. We didn’t know Jorgen would do that, we’ve never seen him not let a godparent say goodbye first. If we’d known, you know we would’ve let you go to Dev right away…”

Peri’s eyes flitted around, gauging how genuine that was- His father wasn’t good at lying, so yeah, he could believe it. His gaze fell on Hazel, so uncharacteristically still and silent that he nearly forgot she was here. Renewed guilt slightly cooled his temper.

What are you doing, arguing in front of a child? This is not appropriate behaviour for a godparent. I need to- um, need to, hmm…

Peri huffed, crossing his arms and trying to keep his attention on his parents. Hazel didn’t need to be involved- she was a child, she couldn’t understand the pain of being torn away from somebody for whom you were in a parental role.

“Look, how about you just forget what you heard from Dev? It’s not a big deal, I was already backing off- Besides, I haven’t done any harm. The kid likes purple, it would’ve made him happy to see me, I was just giving him some reassurance, that’s all.”

He nearly pitched over sideways at the next words in the room. “It hasn’t done that at all, you’re scaring him!”

The shock made his wings freeze in place and Peri stiffly swivelled to focus entirely on the young girl. “He’s- What do you mean scaring him, how?”

Hazel was stood up on the couch seat, little hands held in shaky fists by her sides. “Peri, the whole reason Dev told us about the purple animals is because he’s worried about them! He’s scared there’s somebody in the city dumping toxic dye onto innocent animals and he was warning us to watch out for it!”

The fairy dropped lower in the air, shoes scuffing against the blue table’s surface. His ears were ringing again- No, it never stopped, it was just getting worse. Seeing purple animals… scared him? That wasn’t what I wanted!

He was vaguely aware that his mother had come up beside him again. She made no physical contact, keeping her voice soft. “Sweetie… Are you saying him seeing you wasn’t an accident?”

“I didn’t mean- that wasn’t supposed to- I would never…” Peri sputtered half-sentences, disoriented as shame curled up in his chest and stifled his breaths.

“It’s okay, son,” Cosmo murmured, brushing a hand against his trembling arm. “I understand why you thought he’d like it, the purple- but Dev, he doesn’t have the same… whimsy another child might. He just knows they shouldn’t be purple.”

“Yeah…” Hazel whispered almost to herself. “Dev doesn’t look at a purple cat and think it’s fun- He thinks it’s wrong and that something bad must’ve happened to it.”

Peri shuddered, remorse given form by the tears rolling down his cheeks. It made perfect sense and yet he’d never considered it- He utterly neglected how his kid would’ve actually viewed this situation. How could he have done this to him…

“I’m sorry…”

He scarcely registered Wanda speaking to him. “Don’t worry, Peri, we’ll figure this out as a family, let’s just talk now-”

“I’m so sorry, Dev…” His muscles protested as light flared from the star in his wand’s core. A sharp crackle of magic pulsed across his skin and with a final glowing pink cloudburst, Peri vanished from the apartment.
------------------------------

Hazel stared mutely at the spot where Peri had been moments ago. When no other sign of magic sounded deeper in the apartment, she sighed and muttered, “So, it doesn’t seem like he just poofed into his room, right?”

She watched her fairies shake their heads in unison before drifting over to her. “No, squirt, I don’t think he’s going to want to be here for a little bit.” Wanda confessed. “He probably went to his own apartment. Hopefully. And not some place more-” She nervously glanced around, “-reckless.”

Hazel winced at the implication. Surely Peri wasn’t that desperate, he wouldn’t actually go to Dev right now- Then again, a few hours ago, she never would’ve predicted that Peri had been stalking his former godchild. For multiple weeks, possibly? “Um, I’m sorry if me being here made it worse? You did tell me to let you handle it…”

Cosmo dropped onto the couch, side-hugging Hazel. Whether the gesture was for his benefit or hers, she was glad for it regardless. “Nah, it’s alright, Hazel! I think it was good you were here actually, seeing you might’ve helped him to stay calmer.”

“Really?” He hadn’t seemed very calm to Hazel but she supposed if Cosmo and Wanda had seen Peri worse than that before, perhaps she did have an effect? What other situation had the fairy family gone through that would’ve triggered an upset like this though, Dev was Peri’s first godkid after all. “Well, if you say so. What now?”

Wanda patted her shoulder. “Now, Hazel- We give Peri a chance to calm down and wait for him to come back to us.” The girl raised her eyebrows. Wait? With the crazy stuff Peri was doing, they were really going to just wait? “You’re not going to follow him?”

“Trust us, Hazel, that’ll upset him more.” Cosmo pulled a device from his pocket and added with a light whimper. “Peri has his wand tracker off again anyway so if he’s not at his apartment, we’d have no clue where to start.”

“He always comes back to us, squirt.” Wanda assured. She sounded confident, Hazel couldn’t deny that. So much that it did make her feel just a smidge less anxious. “Okay, I trust you… Are you going to, um, tell somebody about this?”

The exchanged glance told her that they knew exactly what she was getting at. Which was why she was quite stunned when they both shook their heads in the negative. Cosmo smiled softly. “He was too emotional to properly explain himself. It’s only fair we give him a chance to do that before doing anything drastic, right?”

Hazel blinked a few times but offered a frail smile in return. “Right.” She really hoped they knew what they were doing… Peri was their son though, it was hardly her place to push back on their decisions. It frightened her, the thought that Peri’s actions might also get her fairies in trouble but… she did trust them. “I’ll head home now, okay? I’m sure you need to talk about stuff.”

Cosmo and Wanda seemed grateful that she was politely excusing herself, so the girl didn’t prolong her exit, saying goodbye and making for the door. She needed to calm herself down after that turbulent conversation anyway, she wouldn’t want her own parents to pick up on something distressing her.
----------------------

The married couple stayed quiet in the living room for a few minutes after their godchild departed. Wanda felt Cosmo reach for her, delicately intertwining their fingers. He was trembling. She probably was too. Peri hadn’t been that emotional in a long time, not for years.

Wanda shook herself, looking at Cosmo. “Do you think Hazel has a point? Should we really be leaving Peri alone right now, this is a pretty serious thing.”

Cosmo hesitated but ultimately waved the suggestion aside. “It’ll only take longer for him to open up if we push, we just have to be patient with him.”

Her husband was right. Cosmo might not be the brightest spark with some things but if there was one thing in this world he understood with clarity, it was their son. She’d just have to trust that Peri wouldn’t do anything else foolish in the meantime.

There was one other problem. “Oh dear, we were supposed to remind him about tomorrow too.” Cosmo tilted his head for a beat, then the brightness of his green eyes dimmed. “Tomorrow… Oh right, oops. I guess that’s not happening now.”

“No, I wouldn’t say so.” Wanda took a deep breath, rising up from the cushions. “That’s alright, I doubt he forgot anyway, I don’t think it’ll be a problem. Now, we can’t be sure how soon Peri will be back- Best to get started on what we’ll need to ask him.”

“Right!” Cosmo shot up, energy seemingly restored. “He’ll probably still be out of sorts so we need to be cool and collected for him- Oh!” He swooped down and grabbed the abandoned coffee cake off the table. “I’ll put this away, he might want it later once he comes home. Be right back!”

Wanda smiled fondly as he zoomed off to the kitchen. She summoned her own notepad and pen, reminding herself not to chew on the cap. Bad anxious habit from way back when. Their poor baby boy, he’d gotten himself in a very tricky predicament now.

A sweet smell wafted near and Cosmo gleefully placed two steaming mugs onto the table as he settled beside her. “All ready! Aw, don’t be worried, Wanda- Peri will come to his senses, he always does. We’ll be prepared to help him and it’ll all turn out fine.”

Chapter Text

Dev gazed boredly around the classroom. His eyes kept wandering to the clock. What was the point of even having them come in today? They weren’t doing any learning, all the tests had been done, so they were just goofing off… He supposed that was fun at least. Still, they could’ve just not come in and had fun somewhere else instead.

“Deeev, are you spacing out on us?” Jasmine’s voice whined. He rolled his eyes and leaned back closer to the group. “I’m still listening, relax.” The boy waved a hand towards the sunlight gleaming through the windows. “Just rather be outside than in here, I think it’s dumb we had to go in for a half-day.”

“I’m impressed, dude,” Winn chuckled, thumping his shoulder. “Are you actually becoming an outdoor kid?”

Dev playfully swatted their hand away. “Don’t get your hopes up, it’s only because the weather’s decent. That and you’re all busy later- I just think it’d be nicer if we had more freedom hanging out today instead of being at school.”

Hazel hummed in agreement without any words. She was still subdued today, Dev had no doubt it was from the information he shared yesterday. There was nothing he could do to find out if she and her fairies had confronted Peri about his shenanigans yet, her expression wasn’t telling him much. If they did, well, Dev sure hoped they’d convinced the neurotic fairy to stop being such an idiot.

“There’ll be plenty of time for that over the whole summer, Dev!” Jasmine shook her head with a grin. “We’re all friends now, so we’re gonna drag you to all sorts of places until you’re practically sick of us!”

Dev snorted. “That right? I look forward to seeing you try then.”

He allowed himself to relax into the conversation, pushing his worries about Peri from his mind. It was genuinely pointless to fret over, since there was nothing he could actually do- not unless he wanted to blow his cover about his memories. Which was not something Dev considered an option.

Eh, only 40 minutes left anyway- then we’re officially done with school.

In spite of his complaining, the time flew by and Dev was quietly disappointed when everybody was filing out of the building. They barely got a moment to even say goodbye to Jasmine. She’d managed to wrangle her older sister into taking her to a musical at one of the city’s theaters, so the girl was off like a shot the instant her ride appeared.

“Well, she yelled goodbye as she was going,” Winn commented. “I suppose it’s fair she’s so excited. At least she’s off to do something enjoyable.”

Dev stared at the skater as they puffed out their cheeks and breathed out slowly. They jolted when they caught his eye, then gave a sheepish smile and straightened up. “I, uh- my mom and I talked to our dentist about some of those coping techniques you told me about. Some way to start summer vacation though, huh?”

Hazel piped up softly, “I’m sure it’ll be okay, Winn. You’re just getting a check-up and cleaning, right?”

Winn shrugged. “Yeah, sure, but any dentist trip is unpleasant.” They looked surprised when Dev reached to pat their shoulder. “I hope they help- but hey, think of it this way: You’re getting the annoying thing out of the way before our break really starts instead of dealing with it in the middle of it.”

The skater huffed a laugh. “That’s funny, Mom said that same sort of thing. Ah, speaking of-” Dev followed their gaze across the school’s lawn, landing on a dark blue van. “She’s here. Well, like you said, best to get it over with.” They scooped their skateboard and helmet, walking towards the vehicle. Dev was able to easily clock the way they carried themselves as falsely confident, trying to mask their underlying nervousness.

Poor kid, the dentist really does make them jumpy. I can relate of course. Gosh, I really do hope it goes okay and the stuff I do to cope can help Winn too.

With their departure, that left just Dev and Hazel standing in front of the school. And it wouldn’t be like that much longer. Hazel also had plans. “So,” Dev chimed, not wanting to stay in silence. “Your parents are taking you out to lunch? Do you know where?”

Hazel smiled meekly, shaking her head. “No, they wanted to keep it a surprise. My bet’s on some place ‘fancier’ than we might usually go. They said it’s to celebrate my first full school year here in Dimmadelphia.”

“That’s really nice,” Dev replied. He was curious where they’d end up, maybe a restaurant he was familiar with? Well, he could ask her afterwards. “How do you think it went- Ya know, besides me bullying you for like half of that time.”

“Dev-” Hazel started looking like she was going to lecture him but suddenly pulled herself back. “Well, I was definitely nervous at the beginning but I think it’s gone pretty good overall. I just hope I did okay on my tests.”

“You better have,” Dev said, only half-joking. “I helped you study, I’ll be disappointed in my tutoring skills if your math score didn’t go up.” Hazel giggled, lightly shoving him.

There was a comfortable pause before her voice returned with a cautious register. “Does, um, your dad do anything with you when school lets out- I mean, like, do you have any plans today or something?”

Dev scoffed, waving his hand with ambivalence. “Eh, he might’ve said something about a meeting today? I know we don’t have plans. Maybe I’ll treat myself to a nice lunch out, that sounds like a good idea to me.”

The girl nodded, nervously scratching the back of her neck. “Oh, on your own? Huh… Hey, maybe you could join me and my parents, they’d be happy to-”

Dev cut her off with a firm hand on her shoulder. “Don’t. This lunch is for you, there’s no reason for me to tag along. Besides, they’ll insist on paying for me, ya know?”

Hazel made a small whining sound, her eyes pleading. “But Dev-” He shook his head again. “Sorry Hazel, you’re not talking me into this. And don’t give me that look- You know how my dad is, it’s always been this way, I’m used to it. I’m perfectly fine treating myself to a celebratory meal.”

His best friend looked like she definitely had more to protest about but she didn’t get the chance. Dev’s gaze flitted away from her. “That’s time, Hazel. I see your ride.” She jolted, also noticing the arriving vehicle. “Oh…” With an exasperated sigh, she gave him a half-hearted glare. “Okay, fine. But we gotta do something fun, like, this week, got it?”

Dev raised an eyebrow. “I think that was already the plan but, sure, Hazel. We’ll do something together soon. Now, you better go- You don’t know, you might have a reservation to keep at your lunch spot.”

Hazel squeaked involuntarily. It was funny, in a cute way. “Eep! Oh, I didn’t even consider that!” She nearly fumbled her lunch box as she snatched it off the grass, flying down to the sidewalk and climbing into the car. Her hand jutted out the window a moment later, rapidly waving.

He waved in return, lacking the aggressive energy. As the car pulled away, Dev let his hand drop and took a deep breath. The sunlight shifted, flashing directly into his sensitive blue eyes. Dev hissed in discomfort, patting his head and extracting the dark sunglasses. He had complicated feelings about the shades but it was hard to deny that he did need them sometimes.

Right, he was on his own now, so he needed to decide how to occupy himself. Well, him and the Au-Pairs of course, but they had no capacity to ‘care’ about his choice of activity. As long as it wasn’t dangerous. Just the three of them… or at least Dev really hoped it was only the three of them.

Glancing back and forth with a practiced casual air, his shielded eyes saw nothing of note. No inexplicably purple creatures in sight. It’d been about a week since Dev had last seen his former godparent lurking around. But he’d only informed Hazel about the ‘animals’ yesterday, so that couldn’t account for Peri’s lack of appearances.

Dev supposed it was possible that Peri was still nearby and he just hadn’t spotted him. Perhaps the fairy had realized he should be more covert in his stalking. Or he’d come to his senses on his own and actually decided to keep his distance now. Hmm…

Eh, I dunno about that. He was crazy enough to start stalking me in the first place. I’ve never seen him this close to school anyway. Oh well, just keep ignoring Peri whenever you see him, you can’t take any risks. It’s too bad I can’t ask 1 and 2 to watch out for him, I’m not sure if they’ve even registered anything weird when he’s been nearby.

“How do you wish to proceed with your day, Master Devin?” Au-Pair 1 inquired. Dev sighed, absently running a hand through his curly hair. “Um, I guess it’d be good to have lunch soon?”

“Very good. Where would you like to eat?”

Dev thought for several seconds, finally shaking his head with a chuckle. “Eh, how about you two choose? I’m not in the mood for anything specific.” Au-Pair 2 zipped around him in a circle, stopping before him and bobbing up and down. “Certainly. Perhaps somewhere you haven’t gone to in a while? Allow us a moment to review.”
---------------------------

Not long after, the drones had transported him to their choice: a walk-in-only restaurant, an Asian fusion noodle bar. As was often the case at smaller, less ‘high-end’ venues, the employees tried (and failed) to mask their surprise and excitement at his appearance. Even if Dev on his own wouldn’t be spending a whole lot of money, the approval of a Dimmadome meant a great deal to local businesses.

They were more than happy to cater to him, permitting smaller-sized dishes of regular items, something not listed as an option on the menus. Some spicy miso ramen, herbed edamame, red oil dumplings. There were no dairy-free dessert options but the limeade drink was sweet enough for Dev. He ate plenty, no real need for a dessert anyway.

He walked away satisfied. Not the fanciest food in the world by a long shot but it’d still been nice. His friends would probably like it, he would need to remember this place. Riding on his drones, he let himself relax and just enjoy the feeling of the wind gently ruffling his hair.

“Is there anything else you would like to do?” 1 asked him. A good question. With all his friends busy, how entertained could Dev keep himself without just going home? Arcades and such places weren’t nearly as much fun when he was alone. And now that he’d eaten a hearty lunch, he almost wanted to take a nap.

But… Hazel had told him it was good for you to do light exercise after eating. Nothing strenuous, just a short walk would do. He really should be working on his stamina, especially if they figured out this whole camping trip thing, he might be expected to be on his feet a lot.

“I’d like to go somewhere for a walk.” Dev declared. 2 beeped with ‘enthusiasm.’ “A fine idea. Luckily, there is a park with walking paths not far away. We can be there shortly.”

It was a pleasant day for a walk. Shame he had to do it alone but it couldn’t be helped that all of his friends had prior engagements with their family members. Sure, Winn was going to the dentist too but Dev had no doubt their mother would then take them to some place very cool to make up for it.

Dev never had plans like that with his family. It only had one other member after all and his father wasn’t exactly riveted by the idea of bonding time. Well, in theory, he had a mother out there somewhere, maybe. But she was merely a surrogate and carrying Dev was just a job.

He tried not to obsess- he’d done it for years and never solved anything. There was no untangling the way Dad’s mind worked, not if they never talked about stuff. And it was pretty clear the man had no interest in any deep emotional conversations. It was just… very confusing, and sad. Would he ever know the reasons… Ugh, why was he still thinking about this anyway, it was only going to upset him.

A sudden noise broke him out of his spiral. What was that? Some sort of rustling? Dev observed his surroundings. The park had a decent amount of foliage, honestly that sound could’ve come from any direction. There were no obvious moving bushes or branches to clue him in.

The boy bit back a disgruntled huff. It was probably Peri, he should’ve known this wasn’t the end of it. Dev wasn’t certain how the fairy managed to find him sometimes- sure, sure, probably some bullshit with magic. A bit unnerving regardless.

Come on, Peri, you gotta get bored of this eventually.

He kept going, now unfortunately much more aware and much less relaxed than moments earlier. Staying still and attempting to pinpoint the source of noise would only encourage the fairy to emerge. Doing that was a bad idea.

An occasional rustle and snapping of tiny branches seemed to be following him. Just ignore it. Dev could track its direction now. On his right. He tried to keep his head angled slightly away, not wanting to even catch a glimpse. The Au-Pairs hadn’t acknowledged the noises. Maybe that meant it wasn’t anything to worry about?

CRUNCH.

Dev flinched at the significant volume of that one. Okay, well, now he couldn’t pretend to ignore it. Fine, he’d look over but he wasn’t going to do anything else.

…Oh. That wasn’t Peri. The tension in his neck released a bit. Yup, not a bright purple cat, thank goodness. It was a cat though, funnily enough. But a scruffy-looking black one, something much more normal. Based on the flattened section of bush, it seemed like it’d almost stumbled and fallen into the foliage, hence the sudden noise.

Dev didn’t get a good look at it, since it melted away into the shadows almost as soon as he spotted it. Guess it wasn’t following me, didn’t seem to want attention. Maybe it was stalking a little animal and missed its pounce?

Back to walking… still the odd noise here and there. It had to just be mice or chipmunks or whatever scampering around in the brush- and possibly stray cats chasing them too. That wasn’t a big deal. Well, Winn said that feral cats were very bad for the environment but in Dev’s specific situation- he’d rather there just be normal stray cats wandering about right now and not unnaturally-coloured ones.

Another second, slightly louder crunch. From his left side this time? I swear to god, Peri, if that’s you… Dev dared a glance over, barely moving his head to keep it subtle. Oh, weird, black cat again. Geez, did this park have a colony living here? Or was that the same one? He hadn’t gotten a very clean look, he supposed it could be-

At that moment, the clouds shifted, allowing sunlight to filter through the leaves overhead. Crouched in the shadow of a boulder, the cat blinked and slapped a paw across its eyes, as if offended by the intrusion.

It’d be funny, almost relatable to Dev… but the cat… As the sunshine hit it, the black fur changed. Shimmered like the iridescence of certain bird feathers. Lighting up dark blue.

Dev’s blood ran cold. Another impossible cat. But blue. Why was there a blue one, did he know a blue fairy? Wait, blue and black together was upsettingly familiar…

As casually as he could, Dev retrieved his phone, only needing to activate the lock screen for his answer. There, staring him in the face- today’s date.

Friday, June 13th, 2025.

Friday the 13th.

Against his will, Dev found himself thrown into a particular memory from arguably one of the worst days of his life.

---------------------------------------

Dev walked along the outside perimeter of Jorgen’s office. Being inside the giant glass dome had been making himself restless- as was the waiting in general. Irep flapped casually in line with his pace. He’d managed to convince 1 and 2 to stay behind to guard their… prisoner.

Just moments ago, the drones had also switched out the chip in The Big Wand for the anti-magic one he’d created with Irep. Now they just had to wait for somebody, mainly Jorgen, to notice so that they could start pinning down the rest of the fairies.

“So, how long do you think it’ll take? You know I don’t like waiting.” Dev grumbled at the anti-fairy. Irep grinned with his gleaming fangs. “Fret not, Devin. Fairies may be fools but it won’t take them very long to realize their magic’s all kaput.”

“Mhm…” He spared a glance at the dome. Peri was in there, undergoing a condition called ‘magical backup’ on account of not granting any wishes for weeks. He kept claiming he still wanted to be Dev’s godparent and all that junk but he refused to help Dev with the things he wanted because of those stupid rules.

Irep didn’t have any of those problems. He was more than happy to scheme and actually get Dev what he wanted and didn’t go off on tangents about ‘moral lessons.’

“It’s been ages since I’ve gotten to attempt a good hostile takeover!” Irep declared, seeming genuinely thrilled. “The most excitement we anti-fairies tend to have is playing around on Friday the 13th.”

Dev tilted his head. “Why, what happens on Friday the 13th?”

Irep laughed, which always sounded cruel. “It’s the time we’re actually allowed to go to Earth and cause mischief! Come now, surely you’ve heard about how Friday the 13th is an unlucky date?”

“Well, sure but- Wait, so that’s real? It’s actually unlucky?”

“That’s correct!” Irep threw his hands in the air dramatically. “It’s a quote-unquote deal we have with the fairies: giving us leeway on those days in exchange for not constantly going to Earth and causing trouble.”

“And you actually abide by it?” Dev spoke with surprise. Irep sighed. “Yes, I know what you’re thinking: you don’t follow rules, it’s your whole thing! But it’s a very strong magical binding so there’s no way around it. Except- for that little quitting loophole.”

Huh, interesting. Well, it did sort of track. Of course the way to get your hands on a rules-defying anti-fairy was via loophole. Irep continued on, “But once we’ve flipped the script and antis are in charge of Earth, none of that will matter!”

“Remember, Irep- I’m the one who planned all of this.” Dev said firmly. “You can have your fun but Dad needs to know that I spearheaded this takeover.”

Irep flippantly twirled his mace-wand around. “Yes, yes, young overlord, I will ensure your father is duly impressed. But you know,” he leaned down close to Dev’s face. “I’m not restricted by Da Rules, there’s always been a much easier way available to you. You could simply wish for your father to love you and-”

“MY DAD DOES LOVE ME!” Dev barked, causing the anti-fairy to lurch backwards and nearly drop his wand. The fear behind his eyes was admittedly gratifying. He pointed a finger in Irep’s face.

“He does love me, he’s just busy all the time. Distracted. That’s why we’re doing this: something bigger and more impressive than any of his work could ever be, reminding him that I’m his son and just as brilliant and capable as he wants me to be! Making a wish like that wouldn’t change anything, got it?!”

Irep blinked slowly, his unease fading as he slipped back into a shrewd smile. “Of course, I apologize for making such an absurd suggestion. How about we continue preparing then, I’m sure you want to look your best when we bring him here.”

---------------------------------------

Dev felt light-headed as he fought out of the memory. NO NO NO SHIT NOT HIM WHY HE IS HERE BAD BAD WHAT DO I DO?!?!!

Swallowing bile, he forced himself to look at where Irep had been sitting. The ‘cat’ had scooted further away but he could still see his tail peeking out from behind the large rock. And the flickers of blue where the sunlight managed to strike the fur.

Never before had Dev been more grateful in his life for his sunglasses and signature Dimmadome-white hoodie. If he’d chosen the purple hoodie from his closet today… He dreaded to think what Irep’s reaction would be right now. But he knew he wasn’t safe yet. Peri had only been recklessly close to him once but Irep…

Dev wouldn’t put it past the anti-fairy to reveal himself fully just for the sheer chaos of it all, memory erasure be damned.

Calm down, assess the situation- You need to get away from here, away from him.

Au-Pair 2 drifted closer to him, he could hear its components buzzing as the drone registered that something was distressing him. Thank god he already had his phone in hand. With great haste, Dev typed a single word into the command app for his drones:

‘Quiet.’

2 moved a single inch back from him, waiting. Dev typed again:

‘I’m fine, we’re going to keep walking. Just stay close.’

The drone’s screen flickered green for a split second. Dev was very glad that his body seemed under control, at least outwardly. His mind was racing and his chest was pained from how fast his heart was pounding but he could handle this. He observed the space.

There were no other people around, Dev was alone. Not good. The isolation would only make Irep bolder, increasing the risk of confrontation. He needed to keep moving and reach an area with other humans, he couldn’t trust the Au-Pairs’ presence to be a strong enough deterrent, not forever.

He began walking again, posture casual, eyes forward. Behind him, Au-Pair 1 lingered a few extra seconds before moving to flank him alongside 2.

Don’t run, you cannot run. Don’t give off any suspicious signals. Just walk like normal, all you need to do is find other people. Getting into a conversation would be ideal but even just being around more people should get him to back off, right?

He wasn’t sure if he was still being followed. Honestly, he didn’t even want to listen for it. There was no pretending it didn’t happen, Dev wasn’t talented enough to convince himself it’d been a hallucination. Listen for sounds in front of you, for people.

The boy rounded a corner in the path. There were a few people but they were still awfully far away. If he ran now, Irep might try to confront him, if he thought his window for harassment was closing. But if Dev stayed isolated for much longer, he still might-

A spark of hope ignited. Wait, just over there, was that- Yes! A familiar pale figure in dark clothing, walking a bulky dog on a heavy-duty leash.

Dev risked breaking into a very light jog, crossing over some grass to shorten his travel distance and calling out as nonchalantly as he could muster: “Hiii Francis!”

The tall man stopped at his name, searching the area and grinning when he clocked Dev trotting over to him. He lifted his non-leash hand in greeting. “Oh hey, Dev! Good to see ya, little dude! Are you done with school this week?”

Dev half-stumbled to a halt in front of Francis, quickly straightening up and speaking to not draw attention to it. “Y-yeah! Today was the last one, half-day thing.”

“That’s great, you got any-” The muzzled dog at his side let out a soft growl, dark eyes flitting towards the Au-Pairs. Francis frowned, pulling the leash a bit closer and speaking in a gentle but firm voice. “Ah-ah, come on now, Grunge- You’ve met the Au-Pairs before, no need for that.”

Both drones dropped their hover height, 1 saying to the dog, “Hello Grunge.” 2 chimed in turn, “Greetings, Grunge- It’s alright, we are friendly.”

“Hi Grunge.” Dev added at the end, careful to keep his voice neutral and not make eye contact. The quiet growl stopped and the canine’s posture relaxed, shifting into a sit. Francis smiled apologetically. “Sorry. I guess he hasn’t seen them in a while.”

“It’s okay.” Dev immediately assured the man. He’d never asked the history of Francis’ mid-sized bully mix dog but with the strange lines of fur grown back in a different colour- or not grown back at all- and the irregular pieces missing from his ears? Dev knew enough to understand it was not a happy story.

Quiet voice, don’t stare in his eyes, no touching unless Francis said so, slow movements, saying his name helped. And Grunge always wore a muzzle in public. Francis explained once that it wasn’t because Grunge was a bad dog. He was just a scared dog. It was for everyone’s protection, including the canine himself- if he ever got startled, the muzzle made sure everybody would still be safe.

Dev wasn’t a big fan of dogs but he liked this one more than most. He wasn’t overexcited, never tried to jump on people. Grunge didn’t demand Dev’s attention and Dev easily respected Grunge’s boundaries in turn. They had an understanding.

Francis still looked embarrassed but pressed on. “Excited to be out of school I bet. No buddies with you though?”

“Ugh, they were all busy.” Dev lamented, rocking on his heels. “We’ll have lots of plans for later but I got totally abandoned today.”

The gray man chuckled, shaking his head. He went to respond but didn’t get a chance.

Grunge burst into an explosive intimidating bark. The dog didn’t lurch against the leash at all, instead holding his ground with stiffly braced legs and raised hackles, eyes fixated on something behind Dev. Francis hurriedly knelt, holding the canine and urging him to hush.

Dev whipped around to see what had disturbed the dog. Bits of brush scattered at the edge of the path indicated something had fled fast and at the last second, he caught another flash of the blue iridescence retreating deeper into the distant foliage.

The barking stopped as quickly as it started. Dev turned back to see Francis looking back at him with concern written all over his face. “I’m so sorry, kid, I don’t know what got into him there- are you alright?”

“Oh it’s okay, I’m fine!” Dev chirped, genuinely smiling back. Francis looked surprised but relieved by his response regardless. Grunge let out a single keening whine at his owner as if trying to communicate his worries, then fully laid down on the pathway.

Good dog- good good dog! You know a bad guy when you see em, don’t you? I owe one, Grunge- scaring off that nasty anti-fairy for me. I’ll have to remember to buy a treat for you later this week, good dog!

“I saw some feral cats earlier, he was probably barking at that.” Dev said calmly, not wanting the man to feel guilty. Sure, maybe Dev’s heart felt like it was going to fly out of his ribcage when Grunge barked, but he’d much rather be startled by the dog than by a taunting anti-fairy.

“That right?” Francis covered his mouth, thinking for a moment. “Hmm, I’ll keep an eye out, let my rescuer pals know. No good for the cats or the park for them to be running about, we can set some live traps…” He looked at Dev with a smile. “Thanks for letting me know. We’ll get going then, don’t want Grunge getting amped up again like that.”

Dev nodded. “Mmkay, I should get home anyway. Nice to see you- and you, Grunge.”

The mottled gray dog gave one hilariously tiny woof in response that did not fit his appearance at all. Francis patted the canine’s head. “You too, Dev. Alright, Grunge, let’s get going.”

Dev watched for several seconds as they departed, then firmly shook himself. Right, he should be going home. Irep was rattled, this was his chance to get away. He couldn’t give him the opportunity to sneak closer again, he had to leave this instant.

Clambering onto his Au-Pairs, he commanded them to head for home. He immediately felt relief as they rose up and away, leaving the park and potential disaster behind. Dev pressed a hand against his chest. He wasn’t shaken enough to need a breathing exercise in front of him, he could do it in his head. Calm down, just count it out.

They had plenty of distance now. Dev almost felt back to normal. He’d successfully evaded a great misfortune despite the odds being against him. There shouldn’t be any surprises to encounter while they were up here and-

CRASH!

Dev’s stomach dropped at the loud noise in the distance. Even the Au-Pairs seemed caught off-guard, lurching to a halt mid-air and turning around to observe. Back in the park, many birds had taken wing as if in a panic. They went up, up, and swerved decisively away, not returning to the trees they’d fled from.

His mouth went dry with fear. Dev wasn’t very familiar with the sounds of nature but he could imagine that noise matching up with a large tree trunk cracking under force. He stammered out, “Wh-what was that?”

1 bobbed up and down next to him, its screen blinking yellow with caution. “Unclear, Master Devin. Did you want to investigate?”

As in, go back over there again? Absolutely not. Dev shuddered, jamming his trembling hands into the reliable hoodie pockets and squeezing his eyes shut. “N-no. No, I want to go home right now.”

His vital signs must’ve spiked something fierce because all at once, 2 had curled an arm around his torso and they were moving far faster than before. He was vaguely aware of 1 being out in front, like an advance guard. Whatever had happened to make that noise- Dev didn’t want to know. Didn’t even want to imagine it. He just wanted-

Home. Above anything else, if nothing else- it had always meant safety. Security unparalleled, everything familiar. He just needed to get home and it would be okay.

Chapter Text

Dev’s boots hit the pavement in front of Dimmadome Tower. He’d managed to calm himself down on the ride over, especially with how far away they were from the park now. Whatever happened after he left, it probably wasn’t that bad. Obviously he knew Irep wasn’t above harming people but his gut told him it was unlikely.

That big noise was probably just him smacking a tree or something because he’s pissed I got away before he could get a hold of me. You’re home now, nothing to worry about.

He strode into the building with the Au-Pairs at his heels, instantly feeling his body relax even further. Enclosed in the technology-riddled space, his confidence returned. Good thing too, he really didn’t need his dad noticing him acting shaky.

Dev was pretty sure he’d mentioned a meeting today? Some important meeting, wasn’t it? Not that using the word necessarily meant it was actually important- It wasn’t at all out of the question for him to call something ‘important’ just to discourage Dev from taking up his time.

It swirled persistently at the back of Dev’s mind for some reason… He’d been distracted this morning, knowing it was the last day before summer break. What had Dad’s behaviour been like? They’d actually had breakfast in the same room today, even if the man’s nose was buried in his tablet.

He did seem oddly nervous, now that I’m thinking about it, hmm… Eh, a big investment pitch? Why would that make him jumpy though, we’re the ones with all the money.

A gurgle from his stomach promptly switched his focus. Dev frowned, ruffling up his curls. He was hungry already, after the lunch he had? “Hmph… Well, I guess adrenaline can do that to you. Eh, I suppose I could go for some cereal or something.”

He started for the elevator, intent on raiding the cereal bar. Right before slapping the call button, Dev caught himself. Ah, it was coming down already. So Dad was at home. The supposedly important meeting didn’t take up his whole day then.

Dev hopped a few steps backwards, ready to sidestep in case his father came rushing out. Despite the emphasis of observation and caution he’d instilled in Dev, the man himself didn’t always look where he was going, especially in the house. It was just expected that nothing would be in his way.

The door finally swooshed open. Dad was inside, as expected. What was decidedly not expected to Dev was the fact that he was mid-conversation. And with not one person, but two. Neither of whom were at all familiar to Dev.

“-taking the time to travel here. I understand it-” Dad made eye contact with him and froze, looking deeply startled to see Dev. The other two people in the elevator also directed their gaze at him. They did seem surprised by his presence as well but certainly less concerned than Dad.

Dev’s brain immediately went into overdrive, analyzing the appearance of these strangers to try to deduce who they were and how to behave in order to gain the best response from them. A skill that practically ran unconsciously for him at this point.

A man and a woman, younger than his father but only by a few years at his best estimate. The woman had very dark eyes, straight jet black hair pulled up in a neat but simple bun, horn-rimmed glasses, and was dressed in a jacket and skirt combination that was formal enough for business.

The man: taller than the woman but not quite as tall as Dad. Light brown hair of similar length to Dev’s but without the curls. Definitely cut recently, likely for this meeting. Blue eyes, a distinct trait of buck teeth. He was dressed nicely but less formal, wearing dark slacks and a pink button-up shirt without a jacket.

Wedding rings: married couple. From the way they’re looking at me- I’d say they either have kids or they like kids. Clothes suggest a good income but not excessively wealthy. They don’t strike me as high-stress business professionals but they landed a private meeting with Dad in our home… That means they either have intelligence or information. And he said they travelled to be here. So who are you…

“Ah Devin,” Dad addressed him in an uncharacteristically uncertain voice. “You’re here- Isn’t it a bit early?” Dev forced himself to not raise an eyebrow or make a snide remark. He was pretty sure his father didn’t generally pay attention to when school let out. Clearly he hadn’t today since: “It was a half-day? School’s all done now until the fall.”

“Oh. Yes, right. And you didn’t want to go play with your friends?”

Since when do you ask about my friends? Why do you suddenly care if I’m not hanging out with them? Wait… you don’t want me talking to these people. Now why is that?

Dev smiled warmly, getting a sneaky idea. “They were all busy, so the Au-Pairs took me to lunch and then I came home.” His gaze drifted over to the strangers, widening his eyes with innocent surprise. “Who are these people, Dad?” He tilted his head for added effect, speaking right to them. “Are you new business partners?”

The man chuckled, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. “Ah, I dunno about that, kid- We’re not exactly in that level of income bracket.”

“You’re here though,” Dev chirped back, “So you must be important!”

It was amusing to see the strangers flush under the compliment of a child. But of course Dev was a rather influential child, his words could have pull with adults if he wanted them to.

The woman gave a slightly clearer answer: “We’re not business partners, we’re just… helping your father with a bit of a project.” Slightly clearer. Dev wanted more though.

His father coughed, gesturing at the couple. “Ahem- Devin, this is Mr. and Mrs. Turner. Turners, um, meet my son, Devin Dimmadome.”

Dev promptly stepped forward, one hand behind his back and the other extended for a handshake. As he suspected would happen, the woman took the bait and knelt down to accept it. “It’s nice to meet you, Devin.”

“Likewise,” Dev trilled in response. “So are you new hires then? Oh! Contractors?”

The man also stepped forward and knelt to offer a handshake. “Uh, not exactly. You have a lot of interest in your dad’s work, don’t you?”

“Of course!” Dev flashed a smile at his father, gratified by the confusion on his face. “I’m gonna be in charge of Dimmadome Global one day so I always do my best to pay attention and learn everything I can!”

“Heh, I bet you have impressive grades,” the man commented as he stood again. “But I’m sure you’re happy to have a break from school too.”

The woman laughed. “Our kids certainly were.” Dev’s eyes lit up. Bingo! He bounced a step closer to her. “Oh! You have children, Mrs. Turner? How many, how old are they, what do they like? If you’re done with your meeting, maybe they could come over and play, since my friends are all busy?”

Dev heard his father sputter behind him, “D-Devin!” but refused to pay him any mind. The gleeful sparkle behind the woman’s glasses told him he’d landed on the correct topic and persona to hook her. “Aww… Well, I’m sorry, Devin, they aren’t here. We came in from Dimmsdale. Their school let out earlier than yours actually.”

He tilted his head again. “They didn’t want to come see Dimmadelphia?” The woman hummed. “Ah, well, no, not necessarily. But they both planned sleepovers this weekend and didn’t want to cancel- Oh!” She covered her mouth and giggled. “Sorry, I didn’t answer your questions. Tommy and Tammy are 12, they’re twins.”

Dev nodded, genuinely intrigued. “Huh, I don’t think there’s any twins even at my school.” To his delight, he’d pulled the man in the conversation too it seemed. “What things do you like? I can tell you if there’s any crossover between you three.”

The boy rocked on his boot heels. “Umm… I like robotics, video games, manga, comic books, the ocean…”

With an excited finger snap, the man grinned, eyes brightening. “Oh, you’re into comics and stuff? Our kids like em too- You know, we have some pretty rare editions of-”

He got interrupted by his wife snorting and playfully elbowing him in the gut. “Yeah, Timmy, of course they are- You infected them with the comic bug pretty much the second they learned to read.”

“Hey, that’s not fair!” He wrapped an arm around her, planting a swift kiss on the side of her head. “You also like comic books, you can’t put this on me!”

Dev heard his father produce a muted noise of discomfort at the brief display of affection. It also made Dev feel sort of weird, he hardly had any exposure to this kind of thing in real life. But he wasn’t about to show that and break the rapport he’d been building up with the couple.

The man looked deep in thought now. “Well, this isn’t the last time we’ll be in Dimmadelphia, I’m sure the kids would be interested in exploring the city. What do you think, Tootie, we could extend our stay and bring them next time, yeah?”

Dev filed away the bits of information as they arrived. The Turners. Timmy, Tootie. Twin 12-year-olds, Tammy and Tommy. They live in Dimmsdale but came here to meet Dad in-person, in our house. Timmy…

Why did his name in particular itch at Dev’s brain with a distant familiarity?

Dev flinched, startled by his father actually placing a hand on his shoulder. “Yes, yes, I know you have limited time in the city. I apologize for my son delaying you.” He fought down a flicker of embarrassment. Shoot, were they going to be annoyed with him now?

Blessedly, Timmy only laughed, waving his hand dismissively. “What? Please, it’s fine, Dale, we’re not on that tight of a schedule.”

Excuse me?! Dev struggled to keep his expression neutral. Nobody got to use his dad’s first name, except maybe other billionaires. He always insisted on being referred to with authority, as Mr. Dimmadome. But this Timmy guy that Dev had never heard of in his life just dropped it so casually, like Dad was some regular person.

Who the hell are you people…

Tootie wriggled out of her position, shifting to take Timmy’s hand instead. “Maybe not, but we should probably get out of their hair, dear.” She directed a smile straight at Dev. “We’ll see about bringing the twins next time we’re in town, alright, Dev? I’m sure they’d like to meet you and your friends.”

Dev beamed back, saying cheerfully, “Okay, Mrs. Turner, thank you!” The couple made their exit, saying polite goodbyes to both of them and seemingly in a good mood.

Dad’s hand slid off his shoulder as soon as the door shut. Dev softly braced himself, expectant for some level of scolding for commanding the attention of the couple away from his father. Imagine his surprise when he heard only a mild scoff behind him.

“I see you haven’t forgotten how to perform. It’s been a while since the ‘precocious child’ bit has seen some use.”

He sounded almost amused about it but Dev could hear the tiny undercurrent of irritation. Definitely a bit miffed that he’d engaged with them so brazenly. “Who said I was performing? I can just be nice to people.” Even as he said it, Dev knew it was at least a half-truth. He’d exaggerated himself to seem more innocent to the couple, to have them drop their guard.

“Sure, Devin.” Dad huffed. The click of boots indicated him leaving. Dev still had more questions. Probably not the best day to be pushing his luck but-

“Who are they? You never have people come to the house.” Tile squeaked as Dad stopped and turned, narrowing his eyes. “As was said, they’re helping with a project.”

“That’s not a real answer,” Dev protested, crossing his arms. “Why didn’t you have the meeting at one of the offices? And why was that guy so chummy with you?”

He watched his father’s nostrils flare, the mild reddening on his face likely more an indication of annoyance rather than embarrassment. “We are not chummy, Devin.”

“He used your first name!” Dev countered, jabbing a finger towards him. “Nobody ever does that- Was he lying, are they actually mega-wealthy too or-”

Dad held a hand out and Dev found his mouth involuntarily snapping shut. “Enough. Now, I’m going to say a few things but then this conversation is over. I have other tasks to handle today and I expect you to keep yourself occupied and not bother me.”

…Well, it was probably the best he was going to get. It might not be much but it sounded like Dad was going to give him some kind of answer to the rapid questions he’d thrown out. Dev nodded mutely and waited.

“Look, their assistance with this project is vital so I’m not stressing the formalities for the sake of making things easier, that’s all. As for your behaviour, I’m not opposed to you befriending their children- if you were serious about that. Having a positive connection like that could help maintain their cooperation. However, Devin- under no circumstances are you to harass them about the work we’re doing nor will I be entertaining any more questions from you. Is that clear?”

Dev glanced nervously at the floor for a moment before commanding himself to look his father in the eye. He hadn’t done anything to be ashamed of, just been friendly and tried to ask questions. Don’t give him the satisfaction of seeming intimidated.

“Yes, I understand. I promise I won’t bother them.” He wasn’t planning to anyway, geez. No matter how curious Dev might’ve been, he wasn’t going to be rude to those people.

“Good, now run along.” Just like that, Dad’s nose was buried in that tablet again and he strode off to somewhere else in the tower. Dev subtly wiped his damp palms against his hoodie, fleeing away to the elevator with the Au-Pairs in tow.

Unable to make a decision, Dev hurriedly gathered half a dozen types of cereal as a ‘snack’ alongside a large glass of vanilla almond milk. Once he’d successfully retreated to his bedroom, the boy sat with the assorted dishes, absentmindedly munching on dry cereal between swigs of his drink while muttering to himself in frustration.

“What the heck was up with them, what is this project?” Dev stared at the nearby tablet for several seconds, then shook his head. He wasn’t explicitly told to not look into who Timmy and Tootie Turner were but his father would be less than pleased if he did that. Obviously the man had access to and records of anything and everything Dev did as long as it involved tech. Internet searches, bank statements, anything at all.

Wouldn’t have worried about it a few months ago… but Dad’s been paying more attention to what I get up to- what I’m buying mostly but still. He’ll definitely notice if I try to search for information about them and he won’t be happy.

What had he learned about them and could he draw any conclusions from it? They lived in Dimmsdale, hmm… Well, his dad used to live there but that was a long time ago. Were they childhood friends and that was why Dad was okay with the casual name usage? No, surely Dev would’ve heard of them before now if that was true- considering Dad didn’t refer to anybody as a friend.

Still, he must have met them there at some point, right? It was the only thing that made sense. Okay, so probably a business connection there. Then their names… Dev couldn’t recall any significant ‘Turners’ in Dad’s business partners, suggesting they were genuinely newcomers to this world.

But do they do?! Dad alluded they were really important somehow, so what does that mean? What could they be doing for him that he needs them so much?

Tootie, Timmy- Both could easily be nicknames of their full legal names, or not. Not that it mattered much, he couldn’t risk looking them up in a search engine. But Dev had very little else to think about, so he pondered that too.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure what ‘Tootie’ could be based off of, if it was related to a longer name at all. Maybe that was just her legal name? Timmy though… Could be a nickname derived from Tim, or a shortening of Timothy?

Sliding to lay on his stomach with a huff, Dev kicked his feet in an effort to release the nervous energy. Timmy, Timmy… Nothing was setting him off about Tootie but that guy… Why did his name bother him so much? He could swear he’d heard the name somewhere, from someone, and somehow that was important.

The boy dropped his face into the mattress, grumbling and distractedly pawing at his curls. Dev had always despised when he couldn’t remember things or connect the dots- but that feeling had gotten much worse after his memory wipe. Failed memory wipe? Well, it hadn’t exactly failed, he’d just inexplicably gotten them back and now grappled with having the real and the fake memories in his head.

He pushed himself up enough to put his arms beneath his head. Probably wouldn’t help any thinking to cut off his oxygen by shoving his face into the blankets. Okay, focus- You must’ve heard the name somewhere or from someone significant if it’s sticking in your brain this much. So what are your options from those categories?

Well, he wasn’t close to many people so- Ah! His friends, maybe it was the name of one of their family members? The idea made sense for about half a millisecond before Dev slumped down again. No, that couldn’t be it. Definitely wasn’t any of Jasmine’s family, Winn had only ever mentioned their mom and maternal grandparents, and the only family he knew Hazel had outside of her parents was Antony.

Still, he felt like he was close to the solution. Deep in his logic-driven side, Dev figured this was a tiny unimportant thing and he was being ridiculous fixating on this. And yet some other part of him was insistent for an answer. Think, you can remember this. You’re just frazzled because of the whole thing with Irep stalking-

“Oh!” Dev rolled energetically up to a sitting position, the memory clicking into place. “Timmy was the name Cosmo accidentally called me at my birthday party last year.” He gave a satisfied laugh, shaking his head. Geez, what a silly thing to get all concerned over- It had just been a verbal stumble from the doofiest fairy Dev knew.

And yet even as he tried to dismiss it, Dev couldn’t ignore the deepening pit of unease in his stomach. It was a weird coincidence for Cosmo to have said that name. But surely it was a coincidence, right?

“I’m sure Timmy was a common baby name, like… 30-ish years ago?” Dev mumbled aloud. He reached blindly for a cereal bowl, not even surprised when one suddenly appeared beneath his fingers.

“Would you like us to research that fact, Master Devin?” 1’s voice chimed nearby. Dev munched the sickly sweet fruit cereal, replying absentmindedly, “Eh? No, don’t bother.” That was a bad idea, his dad would likely take note of that too.

Why had Cosmo mistakenly called him Timmy on that day anyway? So much… chaos and turmoil happened, Dev never acknowledged the moment. He’d been too occupied, so it hadn’t given him any pause. But now that he was… The only logical conclusion was that the fairy once knew somebody named Timmy. Given the ordinaryness of the name, he was likely a human. Which meant… 99% chance said a former godchild.

His stomach flip-flopped. It wasn’t like Dev didn’t know that Hazel’s godparents had past godchildren- he knew they were, like, millennia old, of course they did. It felt strange to think about though, especially with him being Peri’s very first godkid.

Dev felt almost afraid to make any more connections. This was absurd, the odds of the Timmy referenced by Cosmo being the same guy that Dev just met had to be astronomically high. Just because he shared the name, was probably the right age, lived in Dimmsdale- wait, no, Dad had lived there, not Cosmo and Wanda. Well, actually, he didn’t know that for sure. Ugh, damnit…

“Well, if he is the same guy, maybe it’s good Peri isn’t here right now. I can imagine him doing something stupid about it…”

The boy sighed deeply. It hardly mattered if they were the same person anyway. Dev wasn’t involved with magic now, the past relationships of Peri and his parents had no relevance to him, so why worry about it?

2’s synthetic voice chirped casually beside him, “Yes, given Mr. Periwinkle’s potential attachment issues, I predict he would react unreasonably to seeing an old friend.”

.
..
…
…wait

Dev may have blacked out. Since one moment he was sitting morosely on his bed and the next, he was grasping Au-Pair 2’s screen directly in front of his face without remembering how he got there.

“What did you just say?!” Dev stammered out. “How do- 2, who is Periwinkle? Tell me who that is, now.”

The drone’s screen didn’t flicker with any colour changes, the fans didn’t whir in agitation, its advanced dual arms stayed hanging limp, not touching him. Its voice responded to the question in hushed volume: “Periwinkle is your former fairy godparent.”

“How the fuck do you know that?!” Dev choked out in a whispered scream. 1 let out a single sharp beep. “Master Devin, mind your language.”

He released one hand to point a shaking finger at Au-Pair 1. “I can curse if the situation calls for it!” The drone was quiet for a long second before chiming, “Circumstances acknowledged, proceed.”

Dev held onto the other drone, hands trembling. “Y-You explain to me why you know that. You shouldn’t remember that, you aren’t supposed to-”

Neither are you.

His brain froze up, giving the drone silence to speak into. “As it happens, Master Devin, we never ‘forgot.’ Our hypothesis-”

“Sh-shut up.” Dev pressed a palm fruitlessly against the brightened screen but Au-Pair 2 quieted down regardless. “Dad can see everything you see, this is bad, this is so bad, I have to- they’re gonna find out-”

“It’s alright, Master Devin.” One of its arms curled over and patted his head. “All references to magic are shielded from external viewers. It is safe to speak.”

Dev let go of the machine, dizziness gripping him. “Wh-what, how? And what do you mean you didn’t forget and-” His throat tightened.

Au-Pair 1 edged closer. “Our hypothesis is that the magic Mr. Periwinkle cast on the tower’s tech, including ourselves, unintentionally interfered with the memory spell.”

The boy sniffled, shaking his head in confusion. 2 continued, “He cast some ‘wards’ to obscure magic from the cameras and such. It affected us in a lesser way, preventing external viewing of magic through our systems. It is our suspicion that this was not intentional on his part, merely a consequence of the magic attempting to function in tandem with our prime directive.”

“O-Okay?” Dev tugged at his hair, the mild pain somewhat grounding him but not helping his understanding at all. “I thought all my wishes were erased when he got… taken away. And how does a ward prevent the memory spell from working specifically on you two?”

“We do not know that for certain,” 1 clarified. “It is just our best guess given what knowledge we gleaned about magic. For example: anything you wished for was indeed erased- but you did not wish for Mr. Periwinkle to cast those shielding spells.”

“Oh… I guess that part makes sense. Explain the memory spell part again?”

2 repeated itself with somewhat smaller words, “Our job is to protect you and the purpose of your godparent was similar. We believe it is possible, due to our code’s complexity and the protective nature of fairy magic, that we were unintentionally shielded from the memory erasure.”

Dev gulped. So it was all an accident? But the drones said they hadn’t forgotten at all- but he did. Temporarily at least. So whatever happened to him was different? “But you are positive nobody can access anything about… this stuff?”

“Yes, 100%, Master Devin.”

“Okay. Good, that’s… good.” He jerked up a bit straighter, blinking several times. “Hold on, how did you know that I remembered magic? And on top of that, how did you get any knowledge of magic if you never talked to Peri?”

Au-Pair 1 gestured a claw at the bed’s headboard. “You were right there when a large surge of magic hit you. Given your emotional response and especially your checking on the items Hazel gifted you, it was a safe assumption about your memories.”

Dev wavered, glancing to his closet where the treasured wish gifts were still safeguarded. He must’ve been in so much shock back then that he hadn’t even registered the drones’ presence. But of course they’d seen everything. “And?”

Au-Pair 2 clinked its metal claws together. “Mr. Periwinkle read his book a lot- and he never paid much mind to us peering over his shoulder. And we may have done some research while in Fairy World. Understanding is protection after all.”

The boy tried to laugh, it was funny in an odd sort of way but- it came out strangled and he found his face damp all of a sudden. Dev hiccuped, covering his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me that you remembered?! I’ve been having to keep it a secret all by myself and- and-”

He felt his hands being gently tugged down, finding 2 there. “Our apologies, Master Devin. You were being so cautious, we did not want to alarm you or want you to feel obligated to speak about it. This is the first time you have spoken your former godparent’s name since that day.”

Dev pulled his hands back, only to immediately find a soft washcloth shoved into his palm. The efficiency of the drone’s actions forced a scoff from him, one with more genuine amusement. He meekly dabbed the tears from his cheeks.

It wasn’t fair to the Au-Pairs to get upset with them. They were programmed to follow his own lead and be cautious, so it made perfect sense that they wouldn’t talk about magic until Dev himself mentioned it.

He gazed up at the machines. “We’re going to keep being cautious, got it? No acknowledging any magic if you see it.” Dev paused, wringing the fabric. “Um, so you snooped on some of Da Rules? So you’d know- Peri following me around is…”

“Against those rules.” 1 confirmed.

“Extremely so!” 2 tacked on.

“Of course it is.” Dev grumbled, pressing his palms hard against his eyes in frustration. “Why is he doing that?!”

“He got attached to you?” 2 suggested. “It was a short time but perhaps that is the nature of fairies, to bond quickly.”

Dev curled in on himself, peeking out between his fingers. “After how awful of a godchild I was? All the bad things I did? He should hate me.”

“Hazel and your other friends do not hate you,” 2 countered. “Why is it unreasonable that Mr. Periwinkle still cares for you as well?” Dev chewed the inside of his cheek. He… didn’t have a good answer to that. But he still felt disconcerted over the idea. “What about Irep? You saw him too, right?”

“Yes,” 1 said flatly. “You were wise to vacate the area quickly. I do not know why the anti-fairy was following you but I doubt his intentions were anything good.”

Dev wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, no shit. Hey, make a note- Always remind me in the morning whenever there’s a Friday the 13th.”

“Good idea, Master Devin, we will do that.”

With a loud sigh, he collapsed on his back, stretching and raking his fingers through the hair. “I… okay, fine, I trust you guys. I don’t totally get it but I’m not going to complain about actually having somebody to talk with about all this insanity…

The drones scooted close to him, 2 specifically patting his shoulder. “We do not entirely comprehend it either, Master Devin. But we have certainty that nobody can access any of our memory banks that refer to magic. That appears to have been the case ever since Mr. Periwinkle cast the initial wards.”

How very strange this all was. Peri had been trying to give himself extra security with those spells and yet apparently he’d managed to unintentionally protect the Au-Pairs in the same motion. A lucky break of sorts- though Dev considered it more dumb luck than true good fortune. The fairy hadn’t known what he was actually doing when he interfered with such advanced tech.

“Why are you calling him that?” Dev chuckled softly. Au-Pair 2 tapped its own metal framing. “Mr. Periwinkle? We are programmed to be formal with adults unless requested otherwise.” It tilted sideways for a moment as if imitating a confused dog. “He never said anything otherwise. But I suppose we never addressed him directly either.”

“He really never tried to talk to you, even once?” The drones listed back and forth in a negative indication, responding simultaneously, “No.”

Dev fidgeted, gazing at his loyal machines. He did kinda already know that, he’d never seen the fairy and the drones conversing. What he didn’t really understand was why. Peri knew that the nature of them being A.I. meant he could speak freely with the Au-Pairs. They didn’t ‘count’ as people for the purposes of revealing magic.

Maybe they just made him too nervous. He had gone through the trouble of these shielding spells, so obviously Peri was paranoid about being caught through tech. It was just a shame, in Dev’s opinion.

“Do you think… If you and Peri communicated, would things have been better? Maybe not, like, friends or whatever but… Would I have been a better-”

Dev jolted as a claw wrapped around his arm. “You are not a bad child, it is normal to make mistakes.” Au-Pair 2 tapped his head gently with its second arm. “There is no changing the past and it is not healthy to dwell. But we are with you, it will be alright.”

He nodded, brushing at his eyes and slowly smiling. His body began to relax against the luxurious blankets on the bed. They were right, dwelling wouldn’t solve anything nor make him feel better. If the Au-Pairs believed their memories were shielded, then Dev believed it too. And it helped, just a tiny bit.

… …

“Ah, I still don’t know why this Timmy guy is working with my dad! Is him being a former godchild of theirs seriously just a weird coincidence- if he even is that?”

The Au-Pairs mechanically shrugged. They could probably hack into Dad’s files if he asked- hell, Dev could do it himself if he felt so inclined. But he’d be monitoring for that sort of thing, no point in getting on his father’s bad side, not when summer break was about to happen. Dev had never been grounded before but he didn’t intend to take that risk now.

…A project his dad was being excessively secretive over. Hold on- when Cosmo mistakenly called him Timmy. In that moment, he’d spoken with more ire than Dev had heard from the airheaded fairy prior. And that energy had been directed at-

“Oh my god.” Dev’s eyes widened, fists balling into the comforter. “Timmy Turner is another Vicky survivor. He’s a witness for Dad’s case.”

Chapter Text

Slamming into the bed with a tremendous lack of grace, Peri was in the most frazzled state of his life. He couldn’t catch his breath, wheezing in strangled gasps, his entire body drenched by the sweat of panic. He’d lost his wand upon landing but that wasn’t his biggest concern by a mile. No, as ever, his biggest concern was still-

Dev.

The fairy desperately tried to inhale. Deep breaths, those were supposed to be calming, right? He made little progress, sending himself into a minor coughing fit. The tears streaking down his face only added to the feeling of suffocation, like they might literally smother him if he couldn’t halt their flow.

Peri squirmed, managing to get himself upright and yanking the blanket up to his face, trying to use the fabric to wipe the tears away. It wasn’t working very well, mostly just pushing the dampness around but it was better than nothing. He kept telling himself that he needed to breathe. That he needed to calm down so he could do something.

Hazel’s words resounded through his skull, over and over again: “It hasn’t done that at all, you’re scaring him!”

How could he have done such a thing? All that effort to be near him, however fleeting, just wanting to see that the boy was really doing okay with his own two eyes. It’d been a simple desire, he had assumed it harmless enough. Yes, rule-breaking but as long as he didn’t get so bold to interact with Dev, he’d convinced himself it was fine.

But he’d been wrong. He’d failed. No, worse than that. Peri hurt Dev. Frightened him. He wasn’t even his godparent anymore and still messing up the boy’s life. Still didn’t understand him properly, unable to intuit what he needed, a skill that seemed to come to his parents so effortlessly.

Instead he’d made himself a source of discomfort. Of course Dev hadn’t found his presence reassuring, of course an unnatural purple-furred cat had only served to unnerve the intelligent boy whose brain always operated on logic, not whimsy. It all felt so disgustingly obvious now.

Peri shuddered, gazing misty-eyed until he spotted his wand, clumsily taking it to poof up some proper tissues. The frustration at his incompetence had overridden the upset, allowing him to mop up the tears without them immediately being replaced.

Wincing at the puffy tenderness around his eyes, Peri took disorientated stock of his location. He was in his own apartment, which he did vaguely remember wanting to go to, in order to put distance between him and his parents. Oh… Oh no, his parents. They knew about him following Dev now. That was very, very bad.

The purple fairy forced himself to hover, rushing to the washroom to clean up his face. How soon would they tell Jorgen? They were going to tell the head fairy, right? Right. Of course they would, it’d been pretty clear that their rule-bendiness wasn’t going to save him here. Even they thought he’d gone too far, so he was totally doomed.

Okay, so what are you going to do about it?

Peri stared at his reflection in the mirror. Well, for starters, look like less of a disaster. He wasn’t going to be able to think remotely straight while feeling so messy. Methodically, almost therapeutically, he took steps to reduce the redness of his eyes. Then smoothed out the rogue strands of his purple hair. Rinsed his mouth, just to compound a ‘clean’ feeling through his body. Taking slow, deep breaths as he went.

What to do about it, yes. Should he start compiling an argument to present to Jorgen, so he could make a last-ditch effort at convincing the head fairy to not revoke his license for this action? Probably… now that he was a bit calmer, Peri realized that his parents might not tattle on him immediately. They might wait for him to come back and explain himself more. In his panic, he’d forgotten how patient they’ve always been…

Yeah, he should have a little bit of time before confronting Jorgen. Not a lot, maybe a day or two at most but it was something. He didn’t need to start doing that right now.

…What else is there to do?

The fairy twitched. The answer was obvious, wasn’t it? No matter what he tried to tell himself, Peri already knew it’d bother him until he checked. Even though it was selfish and foolhardy and more unnecessary risk… he had to go see Dev.

He wouldn’t let the boy see HIM! No, no, no, absolutely not! Now that he knew his appearance had instilled a false fear of innocent animals being forcibly dyed with bright colours- No, Peri would be very careful to stay out of sight.

But… he needed to check on Dev. Just one last time. If his purple cat disguise had truly scared him like Hazel said, it would haunt Peri until he saw Dev again. He needed to see his kid and observe for himself if Dev was acting more rattled or anxious than normal. Peri deserved that- not seeing Dev again but bearing witness to any damage he’d done to the boy. To remind him not to be so reckless, almost like a punishment.

And if he is more anxious? You going to do something about it?

Peri flitted between the few rooms of his apartment. Washroom to kitchen. He did feel hungry but his stomach was churning so much that he didn’t dare eat. Kitchen to front room. Could watch some television, try to distract his mind?

…Back to the bedroom. The purple fairy collapsed on the mattress once again, delicately putting his wand aside. Sleep on it, he decided. That was the best course of action. He would sleep and calm down and when he woke up, it’d be easier to think straight and know exactly what the right thing to do would be.
-----------------------------------

Where’d you get to, kid?

Peri was watching Dimmadome Tower. From an extremely respectable distance. He wasn’t close to the ostentatious building by any means, he knew better than that. Even if he wasn’t concerned about the tower being monitored by Jorgen (he was), the amount of surveillance set in place by Dale was plenty disconcerting.

He hadn’t found technology creepy in his childhood- quite the opposite, it was intriguing. But ever since Peri had gotten Dev as his godkid and been inescapably surrounded by tech every moment he was at his side… Dev swore up and down it was entirely necessary security. His words hadn’t made Peri any less uncomfortable with it.

Presumably Peri’s own ‘security measures’ had worked though. Dale had been shocked when he learned about fairies and magic during Irep’s attempted takeover, so the human man had been clueless to Peri accompanying his son for the past few months. Meaning the fairy felt reasonably certain he’d never gotten recorded or anything.

…He wasn’t sure those safeguards still existed.

‘Sleeping on it’ hadn’t changed Peri’s mind. As soon as he woke up, he knew that he was still going to try to find Dev today. It was a half-day, the final day of school. Peri knew the schedule. Earlier in the week, Hazel had revealed that she and the others all had plans for after the bell rang… so Peri knew Dev would be on his own.

It wouldn’t surprise him if his parents and their godchild were hoping he’d forgotten about that. But of course he hadn’t. Peri also knew the approximate length of time it took for Dev to get home from school when taking a direct route with the Au-Pairs. He was waiting here because he didn’t know if Dev had his own plans or if he’d come right home without his friends to play with.

And now it was ten minutes past when Dev should’ve arrived.

Alright, good news- Dev not immediately going home means I’ve got a chance to see him out in the city. Bad news… I don’t have any leads on his specific location today.

Peri began poking around some of the places he knew Dev to frequent. The big manga store, favoured restaurants, arcades, toy shops. Nothing. He even listened for a few minutes, hoping maybe he’d just missed him and that an employee would mention serving the wealthy kid, letting Peri know that he could still be nearby. Nothing.

Think, think, you don’t have a lot of time. I guess the weather’s nice today but that doesn’t help me much… Oh, actually- Maybe one of the places with a playground? I’ve seen him using the swings before. Or he could be taking a walk? Let’s try that.

Shifting into his feline disguise, Peri was careful to keep himself deep in the underbrush. As he maneuvered through the foliage, peering towards the playground, there were plenty of children. But he saw no Au-Pairs, which meant no Dev.

Next playground… swarming with kids again. But no Dev. Same at the third one.

Ah, perhaps these parks are too busy. Yes, he might not feel comfortable with these strange kids. Right, so… where was a good walking path?

He was starting to get discouraged. It’d been over two hours and Peri hadn’t found so much as a hint of Dev. In cat mode, his senses were sharpened and yet he hadn’t caught Dev’s voice nor the whir of the Au-Pairs. Hmm?

Peri heard another noise. A dog barking. It was a deep unnerving sound laced with aggression. The fairy had never expressly asked Dev’s opinion on dogs but he had noticed him giving them a wide berth, sometimes even mounting the Au-Pairs if one was close. Already the noise had stopped but now Peri almost hoped Dev wasn’t in this park. A dog that could make that sort of bark might scare his kid.

I don’t know if I’m gonna find him. I really want to! But… maybe I should just-

He lurched sideways with a barely restrained squeak of pain. A sharp sensation had hit him dead center in one of his paws as he’d been slinking through the brush. Peri frantically checked his pad, assuming he’d trod on a thorn. He squinted, peering closer. Nothing there. But he thought for sure…

Peri flexed the paw, confused by the lack of damage. He supposed he’d just been startled, not injured. But by what? Cautiously stepping to the spot where he jumped, he still didn’t see anything. He waved his paw over it and suddenly felt it again. Not the jab of something sharp exactly. It was more like a little jolt of static electricity.

What the- What’s causing that, I can’t see any…

All the purple fur of his cat disguise stood on end. There was a scent, wafting from the patch of earth. One of thunderstorm ozone and metallic blood. And leather. He never would’ve detected this in his regular form but with the heightened senses-

This was anti-magic. The offending spark was its essence clashing against his fairy magic. An anti-fairy had been here, very recently. Even worse, Peri feared he knew precisely which anti-fairy. But that was impossible, he couldn’t show up! Unless-

No. No NO, it’s not- Oh god, it is Friday. That means- NO!

Peri tore off through the foliage, deaf to his muscles screaming at the unplanned exertion. Another mistake- he’d been so distracted by keeping his secret, so rattled by it being found out that he forgot about the impending date. Which marked the possibility of one of his worst nightmares coming true.

This can’t happen! Gotta keep him away, gotta protect Dev! If he goes near him- if he tries anything, I swear I’m going to- He’ll regret it.

He kept running, locked onto the trail of anti-magic. Even if he’d wanted to, Peri felt that he couldn’t slow down. That wasn’t an option, every single second counted, any delay on his part could result in disaster, if he failed to get to him first.

After an eternity, he found him. Peri skidded to a halt inside a tiny clearing, a little circular break in the thicker foliage that was instead blanketed by short grass and heavily shaded overhead. The sight filled him with a horrid mix of relief that he’d tracked him down and disgusted fury that he really was here. The audacity to show his face…

The large cat with messy black fur looked over from its spot under the tree opposite to where Peri had emerged. It almost appeared an ordinary creature at a split-second glance, which was probably intentional. But that illusion was easily broken by the purple eyes that mirrored Peri’s own and the top canine teeth of unnatural length.

“Well, well, Periwinkle!” Irep’s voice rumbled out of the ebony cat. “How lucky that you’ve arrived, now I don’t have to hunt you down to harass you today!”

“Irep…” Peri growled, heart fluttering unevenly as his body tried to cope with the wild burst of speed and panic he’d inflicted on himself. “What are you doing here?”

The anti-fairy gasped in exaggerated fashion, planting a paw over his heart. “Why, it’s Friday the 13th, my dear counterpart! Don’t tell me you forgot this beloved holiday?”

Yes. Peri fought the urge to get in his face, stopping halfway across the patch of grass in a tense stance. “No,” he hissed out, “Why are you here? In Dimmadelphia?”

Irep tilted his head, a sickening smile aimed at Peri. “Well, I heard a hilarious rumour that you were staying with your parents and wanted to see for myself,” he chuckled and waved a paw towards him. “Seems I know the answer now. Running back home to your mommy and daddy because the world got a little tough, how pitiful.”

“You still live with your parents!” Peri shot back fruitlessly. Irep just laughed, unphased by the comment. “I live in a castle and my parents rule over Anti-Fairy World, why would I go anywhere? You, however- I recall you left because they were ‘too clingy’ and yet here you are, moving back in them anyway.”

The fairy shuddered, grumbling in response, “My parents love and support me, I won’t be shamed for that.” It was a low blow of an implication but even that didn’t make Irep falter. The look he gave Peri was borderline pitying, like he thought it was funny.

“Riiight,” Irep stretched casually, smirk still plastered across his face. “That aside, perhaps I was also a bit curious how my former godchild’s been doing-”

“Don’t you dare act like you care about Dev!” Peri spat uncontrollably. “You manipulated a sad little kid and nearly made him complicit in my murder- which would’ve also killed you, by the way!”

The black cat’s nose wrinkled. “Murder? Don’t be dramatic, Periwinkle, neither of us were going to die.”

“Magical backup is the main way fairies die, are you insane?!”

Irep scoffed. “Oh please, maybe ordinary fairies- but you and I are special. You had backup for weeks, nobody else would’ve lasted that long. It wasn’t going to kill you.”

Periwinkle sputtered in disbelief. “You literally don’t know that, that’s speculation!” A tremble of rage ran through his body and he tried to hold onto his focus. The point of facing down Irep to make sure he couldn’t hurt Dev again. Deep breath…

“You shouldn’t have ever been near him, this is all your fault.” Peri glared at his counterpart, determined to chase him off. He had to protect Dev.

Irep’s smile got wider, fangs gleaming. “Just mine? Don’t go discrediting yourself, Peri- you’re the one who threw a temper tantrum and left him all alone. All I did was step in to help him like you couldn’t.”

Peri’s stomach dropped hard. It wasn’t like he didn’t know it. His rash decision was ultimately the thing that let Irep worm his way into Dev’s life, taking advantage of the quitting loophole the instant Peri had left the boy’s side.

“You didn’t have to jump in,” Peri growled weakly, vision fuzzy as he stared into the grass at his feet. “We would’ve worked it out, after taking a breather, I could’ve-”

He heard Irep snort indignantly. “Not jump in? It’s like you don’t even know me. Anti-fairies have been trying to get godparent rights from you fairies for millenia and you thought I’d ignore such an opportunity?”

Peri’s feline tail was waving in irritation. “Oh yeah, because you’re so great at it,” he hissed with bitter sarcasm. “Forcing a kid to participate in a coup, attempted murder, and then getting his memory wiped of magic- fantastic work.”

“Ha! But whose magic was actually beneficial to him, hmm?” Irep’s voice was right in his ear and Peri stiffened as he felt a heavy paw thud around his shoulder. Shit, when he had gotten so close? He looked up to find his anti-fairy’s smug eyes piercing through him, mere inches from his face.

“Devin told me plenty about how you refused to help him,” Irep drawled with mock disappointment. “Tsk-tsk, don’t your precious rules say the godchild is supposed to get what they want? I got his father to pay attention, something you never did.” He huffed, a brief puzzlement on his face. “Could’ve gotten him more than that but he was adamant I didn’t need to do it.”

Peri wasn’t sure what he was talking about but he shoved Irep away in that moment of unfocus. “Attention you happily took for yourself! Some benefit you are…”

Irep sighed, rolling his eyes. “That’s hardly fair, I was going to hype him up to Dale. Devin came up with the majority of the plans, you know. He’s an impressive child.”

Hearing him say his name made Peri feel sick. Irep didn’t deserve to speak Dev’s name. The way he sounded legitimately fond of the memories of urging a good kid to follow his worst impulses was infuriating. “You still failed.”

The anti-fairy curled his lips back, now annoyed instead of amused. “So testy. It’s not as fun when your banter is so clipped.” He shook his head. “At any rate, he seems to be back where he started before you showed up, so I’ve done no real harm.”

Peri’s heart crumpled into a tiny ball. Oh god, no, did he just say… “You saw…” He trailed off, the sentence too horrible to finish.

“Hmm? Oh yes, consider this a favour, since you’re so utterly pathetic today.” Irep’s eyes glinted with mischief. “I glimpsed him in this park- all alone with just those creepy machines flanking him, not a friend in sight. Although I did see him speak to a strange man who looked disturbingly similar to that gray child who used to beat up Turner.”

Didn’t one of the kids mention an employee at the manga store with that appearance, who was named Francis? Maybe it really was him, which bothered Peri a little. He had been awful to Timmy but… Peri was more disturbed that the next thought flashing through his head actually offered reassurance.

The Au-Pairs wouldn’t let Dev near him if he was actually dangerous.

“His friends were just busy today,” Peri countered before he could stop himself. “He even apologized to Hazel for being harsh with her.”

For one glorious split second, Irep looked genuinely surprised. “He did? So enough was left behind to know they had a fight, huh.” He paused, then snorted and shook his head. “Pssh, well, good for her for being so noble and forgiving. We’ll see how long that lasts- I know they had conflict even before you fairies got mixed up in their ‘friendship’.”

Peri growled again. If Irep actually cared about Dev, he’d be glad the boy had made up with Hazel. But of course he didn’t care. He only thought of Dev as a plaything, his life a trivial source of amusement, like Irep’s actions had no consequences. It enraged Peri.

He stepped closer, glaring daggers into Irep and snarling animalistically. “I’m not playing games, Irep. You can do whatever the hell you want on Friday the 13th. Break your mirrors, pull your childish pranks, I won’t stop you. But I’m only going to tell you this once- stay away from my kid.”

Silence. Irep stared back at him, the seconds stretching between them. Very slowly, his eyes turned into narrow gleaming lines, brows knit together in curiosity as he spoke a single question: “Did you just call him ‘your kid?’”

Peri sucked in a breath, feeling instantaneously nauseous. He shouldn’t have said that.

Irep took a step back from him, head lowered and his body trembling. A noise came out of him, rapidly increasing in volume. He was laughing.

“Oh. My. God!” Irep cackled, so giddy that he lost concentration and poofed into his true anti-fairy form. “I can’t believe- I knew you fairies were soft but you!- This is a whole other level, Periwinkle!” He wheezed, grinning with mania and eyes glowing. “It wasn’t even three months and you got that attached, good lord!”

Peri changed to his fairy form. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to faint, vomit, or light himself on fire. Certainly felt like he was on fire, the way his face burned. Bad enough he said that but Irep was also mocking him. Found it hilarious that he cared so much.

He couldn’t find his words and Irep’s snickers lessened, though his expression was still fraught with cruel amusement. “I’m curious, since you’re apparently desperate to be parental- why don’t you have a new godkid yet? Sure, you screwed up real bad but you’re basically the universe’s golden child, Jorgen will give you one in a heartbeat.”

The purple fairy shuddered, wings buzzing unbidden. “I don’t want a new godkid.” He confessed, voice quiet and embarrassed but still firm in his conviction.

“Oh come on, you’re going to quit-quit?!” Irep zipped close to his face, causing Peri to flinch. “It’s my job to be melodramatic- you used to never shut up about how excited you were for a godkid and now you’re giving up because the first one was a little messy? I guess if you’re gonna so flaky, then maybe you aren’t up to the challenge of-”

Irep froze mid-sentence, gaining a new disconcerting look in his eyes. “Wait a second. You don’t want a new- oh, you cannot be serious.”

Peri opened his mouth to defend himself, only to be drowned out by Irep bursting into another round of cruel laughter. “You are!! Oh this is too good- you’re trying to get assigned back to him?! How sad, Peri, you’ve gone completely delusional! No way that kid’s ever getting a godparent again, much less you!”

The anti-fairy continued cackling like a hyena, floating on his back as if it was so funny that he couldn’t even keep himself upright. Mocking how he’d gotten ripped away from Dev. A separation he’d caused by taking advantage of his insecurity. Just a game.

Peri saw red. He didn’t remember anything aside from his grip tightening on his wand and then something impacting the shiny sphere that held its source of magic.

CRACK!

He blinked. Irep was hunched on the ground, suddenly back on the other side of the clearing at the base of a large tree. A tree that had a significant spiderwebbing splinter along its trunk that definitely wasn’t there earlier. The anti-fairy staggered to his feet, looking more baffled than pained, but had one hand pressed cautiously to his ribs.

I hit him.

Irep coughed once- then smiled. “Well, now we’re getting somewhere interesting.” His mace wand appeared, which he spun nonchalantly in his hand before gripping it and tilting it in Peri’s direction. “No banter? That’s fine, I like a good scrap too.”

Peri immediately jerked backwards, holding the head of his wand pointedly away from the anti-fairy. “I didn’t mean it, you just- I’m sorry I did that, I don’t want to fight.”

To his relief, Irep actually lowered his wand, letting out a disgruntled groan. “Ugh, why not?! You’re clearly angry, so let loose, it’ll be fun! What’s the harm in it after all?”

We’re in a public place, I already made a loud noise, it’s moronic, it’s childish, it’s dangerous, I don’t want to be your entertainment-

He shook his head firmly, moving further back. “No. I’m not fighting you.”

Irep grunted, planting the butt of his wand into the grass and leaning onto the spike-covered sphere with a dull frown. “Fine. Watching you sniffle and wallow as if that boy died is revolting anyway. Maybe you’ll be less moody by the next 13th.”

With one last curt look, Irep vanished. No ceremony, no final snappy comment- no sympathy or apology. And Peri was alone, left staring at one unlucky tree.

Meekly, he fluttered to it, inspecting the trunk. He should leave now, somebody might come looking but he couldn’t bear to do it. He’d feel too guilty. Taking a deep breath, calming himself for as long as he dared, Peri touched his wand to the trunk. A gold light faintly traced through the splinters, hesitated… and a pink smoke popped in his face. When it dissipated, you couldn’t see any trace of the damage.

“Sorry about that,” he mumbled into the bark. “Feel better.”

Feel better…

Tears began to sluggishly roll down his cheeks. The descriptors from Irep flickered through his head. Testy, desperate, moody… delusional. Angry.

Peri gulped, roughly wiping a sleeve across his face. He was losing control. Maybe he hadn’t been in control for a while now. Irep had one good point- if Peri kept being emotional like this, throwing temper tantrums, he wouldn’t be able to do anything helpful for Dev. But how could he do that when it hurt so much to step back at all?

He stood still for several moments, feeling the warm summer breeze envelop him and breathing in the scent of blooming flowers. It soothed the fairy’s heart a little but it wasn’t enough. Peri let out a long sigh, sniffling. No, he wasn’t enough. Not on his own.

Raising his wand to eye level, Peri studied the customized sphere. A cap on the wand’s star core, helping to regulate the excess magic in his body when he cast a spell. It couldn’t regulate his emotions though.

“I need help,” Peri whispered, resting his forehead on the cane. He prepared to teleport back to his apartment but before doing so, the fairy took a shaking hand and flipped a switch along its side. Unblocking the tracking signal.

“I’m sorry. Please help me. I-I need your help.”

POOF!