Kent had no option but to call in sick. After nine years in the military and a perfect attendance, the sudden absence raised more than one eyebrow. The last thing he needed at the moment was to call more attention to himself, but it couldn't be helped because while Kent was perfectly healthy, his djinni had caught what she called "The Oops Flu."

"What exactly is an oops flu?" Kent had asked when she interrupted his morning routine by locking all the doors and shutting all the drapes in the house.

"The Oops Flu is what happens when a djinni catches a cold." Her worried face amused him. He hadn't known better then. He had been a fool then.

"Take some tylenol and get some rest, Venus. I'm going to be late." He put his coffee mug in the sink and headed for the door.

"No!" She said rushing in front of him to block his exit. "You can't go to work! You have to stay here and make sure nothing goes wrong!"

"What in the world are you talking about? You look fine to me. Just get some rest."

"You don't understand! The Oops Flu isn't like your mortal colds! It can be catas- catas- aachoo!" Venus sneezed sending a flurry of glitter shooting at the far wall of the living room.

Kent turned, following the shot of what he could only assume was magic, and saw his living room disappear. In its place was a rainforest. Everything was covered in trees, leaves, vines, and all of it was dripping with condensation. Toucans flew above him. Where his couch used to be was an orangutan. Kent jumped back when a snake slithered past his feet.

He turned back to his front door where Venus was standing with her face hidden in her hands.

"Venus." He spoke quietly.

"Oops?" she said.

Kent felt the vein that always started to throb whenever Venus performed magic without him making a wish start to form. "Where is my living room?"

"Well, technically-"

"Venus!"

"I told you! I have The Oops Flu!"

"Rainforests don't just appear when people have colds."

"Not when mortals get colds, maybe."

Kent pinched the bridge of his nose and hunched when a capuchin monkey jumped unto his back.

"Oh how cute!"

"Get it off of me!"

"Come here, little guy! Get away from the mean old man."

"What exactly does The Oops Flu entail?" Kent asked her once she set the small animal on a nearby branch.

She twiddled her fingers and mumbled something under her breath, looking anywhere but at him. Taking a deep breath and reminding himself that dealing with the djinni required a lot of patience, Kent placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face to look him in the eyes.

"A little louder, please."

Her eyes shone with remorse. It was not something he was used to coming from the troublemaking woman in front of him and it softened his gaze.

"When a djinni catches a cold their magic kind of goes a little berzerk. We can't really help it, all we can do is try to contain it to one place."

Kent nodded, understanding that she hadn't actually meant to bring a jungle into his home. Of course it didn't really help when a parrot defecated on his uniform.

"How long will the cold last?" He asked, taking off his jacket and hanging it on a branch.

"I'm sure it's just one of those 24 hour bugs. I'll be healthy as a doctor in no time!"

"That's not a saying."

"Well, it should be."

Kent loosened his tie and rolled up his sleeves. "Can you make it go away?"

"Don't you wanna keep Himeros?"

"Keep what?"

"Not what, who. Himeros. The cute wittle monkey eating the banana above you."

Kent looked up to spot the little capuchin snacking on a banana over his head and dropping pieces into his hair.

"No, I don't want to keep any of this." He shook the pieces out of his hair and shooed the monkey away. "Please bring back my living room."

"Okay, but you gotta wish it."

"I didn't wish for any of this in the first place!"

"I know that! But the magic was cast unwillingly and I can't undo what has been reluctantly granted without a formal solicitation due to incongruous precedents set forth by antiquated parties of The Magic People Association and therefore-"

"Enough, enough. Please. That was...nonsensical."

"The MPA doesn't like to make a whole lot of sense."

"Fine. Where would you like to go so you can feel more relaxed?"

"What do you mean? Wouldn't we stay here?"

"Is my house big enough for you to unleash all kinds of magical chaos?" Kent answered distractedly as he watched a suspiciously orange striped tree that seemed to be moving between the leaves. He began backing up slightly, noticing the orange stripes also had two pairs of eyes.

"You want to go somewhere else so that I can be more comfortable when I'm the one causing that vein in your forehead to throb again?"

"Uh, Venus-"

"That is so sweet. You know, I think we've come such a long way since we first met. I know that I-"

Kent wasn't listening. He was too busy noticing that the orange stripes also had very large teeth to pay attention to her ramblings. Unfortunately Venus was too distracted by the progression of their relationship to notice the imminent danger.

"I think we should make that wish now." He racked his brain for a location to wish them to. Somewhere remote where she could have ample space to sneeze all the magic she wanted. Kansas was where he was stationed before Los Angeles. It was mostly corn fields, not even enough farms for there to be any kind of population for miles. It was perfect.

"In three thousand years no one ha-as e-e-ever ahh-" The orange stripes- which Kent was sure was a bengal tiger now- charged from behind the trees at the end of his living room. It took two giant leaps towards them and Kent tried to get the words out of his mouth as quickly as possible.

"I wish we were in Moscow, Kansas!"

Unfortunately, that was the same moment that Venus sneezed.

"-Choo!"

Magic shot out from her mouth and the couple disappeared in a flurry of sparkle and glitter.

Kent landed on his rear half a foot deep in snow. He took a look around and saw clear blue skies, white all around him, and not much else.

"Oops." Kent heard from a djinni shaped hole in the snow next to him. Venus popped up with rosy cheeks and wide eyes.

"Where are we?" Kent asked.

"Moscow," she said, as if she were saying 'duh, your wish.'

"I said Moscow, Kansas. This is Moscow, Russia."

"It's not the same thing?" He knew she knew it wasn't. He also knew she hadn't meant to mess up. Kent had learned to recognize the evil glint in her eye when she was trying to drive him insane. She was completely void of that look and instead seemed a little pitiful instead. Her small nose was even tinged a little red.

"What is all this stuff anyway?" She said marveling at all the white surrounding her.

"What? The snow? It's winter and we're in Russia. Everything's covered in snow."

"This is snow? It's so cold!"

"You've been around five thousand years and you've never seen snow? How is that possible?"

"When you take away the three thousand years for being asleep in a bottle and then spend most of the time outside said bottle in the desert, it starts to make sense."

Kent's heart clenched again at the thought of her being locked away for so long. How had she not gone insane? Well, maybe she was a little crazy, but nowhere near the levels of insanity she had all the right to be at. But she was out now and he was going to make damn sure of her freedom for as long as he possibly could.

"Well, then. Venus, I wish for both of us to have cold weather attire."

Venus looked a little surprised at his suddenly determined attitude but acquiesced. She crossed her arms and bopped her head. Instantly, they were both adorning fleece insulated pants and thick wool sweaters. Kent wore a black, puffy, insulated coat while Venus fashioned a fur lined parka. Each had mittens and beanies on their heads - Venus's with a little puff on the end of course.

"Perfect." Kent said. "How about a cottage with a fireplace so we can warm up?"

"What if I conjure up a volcano instead?" Venus worried.

"Then I'll wish it away."

"But what if the dragon gets us before we can make the wish?"

"Dragons aren't real." The look Venus gave him made Kent doubt his entire existence for the millionth time since meeting her. "Okay, okay. Let's keep it simple then. I wish for an igloo."

Venus swallowed heavily, and shakily crossed her arms. She bopped her head slower than he'd ever seen her do before, in obvious concentration. Once the red smoke dissipated, Kent saw she had succeeded and they were inside an igloo.

"See? You did great!"

Venus smiled… and then sneezed. Magic shot out of her nose and smoke billowed around Kent's hand.

"Oops."

As the red smoke dissipated, a spatula was revealed in his grip. They both stared at it for a few seconds before the weirdest thing happened. A noise bubbled out of Kent's throat. His shoulders began to shake. And before he knew it, Kent was laughing. When was the last time he laughed this hard? It felt wonderful. It wasn't long before Venus joined him.

The rest of the night was spent mostly in the igloo, keeping each other warm and laughing at whatever Venus sneezed. There was a point where she transported them to the top of The Statue of Liberty, but Kent liked the change and they stayed there until Venus felt well enough to get rid of the jungle in his house.

She told him later that week that she was happy to have been found by a master like him.