Author's Note: Well, what was supposed to be a one-shot is going to be a series, though its length remains to be determined. When I finished TOS, I had a feeling I wasn't finished with FOP and sure enough, here this is. Truthfully, I'd wanted to write something incorporating TOS ideas but not being part of the saga.
This is an AU of an AU- Sophie will appear in the next chapter, but she won't have Cosmo and Wanda as her godparents because, as you'll see, Elisa has them. She'll have the same powers here, though, and the same personality.
One last thing- this is a warning to anyone who might stumble upon this and not fully understand what's going on or whatever the case may be. This fic contains homosexual themes. You don't like it, don't read. That's the last time I'll say it without coming down on you hard for flaming me. And everything Elisa's father has said to her came out of my father's mouth.
Wishful Thinking
Chapter One: Elisa
"Look, I'm sure she's not as much of a terror as you describe," Wanda replied, wishing her sister would shut up for once. Another one of her experimental phases, this time godparenting, and since she received her assignment three days ago, she'd done nothing but complain. All hours of the night she'd awake to her twin asking about this or doubting that. It'd gotten to the point where Wanda was neglecting her own godchild thanks to her. At least, she reflected, her goddaughter was patient.
"But, Wanda," Blonda whined, sounding more childish than her goddaughter probably was, "this godparenting thing is obviously more your ballpark than mine. I mean, I can have kids-"
Wanda thought she might have burst a vein subduing her temper at her sister's callous reference to her infertility. True, the two spent half their time at odds, but the fact Blonda blew off something so crucial, something she continued to secretly view as an inadequacy and weakness, really pained her. Blonda didn't think it was important because it didn't matter to her. She'd never have kids, she'd probably never settle down long enough to try, and she inexpertly handled them. No one expected anything from her because she was the actress, Fairy World's 'best', and the 'beautiful one'. They were identical, but she always won in a contest, regardless. Normally, she could overlook all that when they were being friendly, but then there were times when she yearned to snap.
"I have to go," she replied through gritted teeth. "Try setting your kid aside and telling them that just because they can wish for something doesn't mean they should. All wishes have consequences and nothing lasts forever."
With that, ignoring her protests and claims she'd remember not a word, Wanda hung up. Massaging her temple, she pivoted in midair to see her thirteen year old goddaughter, Elisa, smiling affectionately. A soft blush covered her cheeks when their eyes met and Wanda blinked, but it vanished quickly. How long had she been standing there, she wondered. At least she'd heard her side and not her sister's cutting remarks. Thank goodness for small miracles.
"Are you okay, Wanda?" she murmured softly, blushing again. Silky strawberry blonde hair fell in waves, resplendent with braided pink dyed strands. Rose colored glasses framed her heart shaped face and crescent moons hung from her ears. Unfortunately, she stood shorter than most humans her age did and, thanks to this and her tendency to be a 'know it all', she received her fair share of teasing and bullying. This plus inattentive, often absent parents who rarely showed her affection, and she earned her godparents. Today she wore a golden blouse (like her godmother) and black pants. Her hair was swept up in a bun, too.
Taken aback by the similarity in their outfits, she temporarily forgot what bothered her. Lamentably, one glance at the phone floating beside her and it returned swiftly. What on earth possessed her sister to cruelly say such things? A flicker of pain crossed her face, a second too long because Elisa noticed it, and in an instant, the girl was at her side and hugging her tightly. Yet there was something odd about it, almost possessive. No, she was imagining it. Wasn't she?
"Don't worry. I won't let anyone hurt you," she murmured protectively. It was only later that she realized Cosmo had said the same thing when he defended her.
"It's time to wake up, sweetie," Wanda called, floating above her bed. Rubbing her eyes gingerly, wincing when Cosmo yanked open the curtains and let the sun blaze, Elisa smiled sleepily at her godmother. The smile vanished when she glanced at Cosmo, but he didn't notice, thankfully. Instead, he managed to be surprisingly chipper and alert, bouncing around the room (literally, he smacked into the lightning fixture).
Wanda winced when his head made contact and rushed to cradle him in her arms. He whimpered, burying his face into her chest and crying thanks to the bulb that exploded upon contact. Rubbing his back, she pecked him on the cheek affectionately and healed him. Despite the pain disappearing, he lingered in her embrace, pretending to be hurt still to prolong the touch. The pink haired fairy smiled serenely, but Elisa glared heatedly at him. Fortunately, by the time she glanced back, the glare had been replaced by a more sedate expression.
"Are you all right, Cosmo?" Elisa asked, but, unlike yesterday with Wanda, her tone was harder, callous. She didn't care if he was. It was a standard question and nothing more.
Cosmo sensed the insincerity and it gave him pause. Disentangling himself from Wanda, he stared at his goddaughter. She scoffed haughtily, flung aside the covers, and, snatching a pair of jeans, another yellow t-shirt, and socks, she went into the bathroom to change. Both fairies blinked, Cosmo unconsciously drawing closer to his wife. Silence descended, punctuated by the occasional noise downstairs. What on earth had just happened here?
((Wanda)), he started, using telepathy because he feared speaking aloud and being overheard, ((why did Elisa say it like that?))
((I'm sure it's because she just…)) But the rest of the sentence wouldn't flow. Try as she might, the little white lies that placated him couldn't be released via telepathy. Shaking her head sorrowfully, she hugged him tightly, praying her silence spoke volumes. It detailed nothing and, morose, the green haired fairy buried his face in her pink curls like he often did when someone or something upset him greatly.
((What if she hates me? What'd I do? I didn't mean to blind her when I opened the curtains! We've only been her godparents for a month and she hates me! What am I going to do?)) he cried, on the verge of panicking. She kissed his cheek, ran her fingers through his hair, and toyed lightly with his wings. Delightful shimmers coursed through his body thanks to the latter and he smiled weakly, rewarding her kiss with one of his own. They smiled coyly, staring into each other's eyes like a pair of lovestruck teens, until a resonating slam of the bathroom door interrupted them.
"Is this story going to need to up its rating?" Elisa snapped, fully dressed and folding her arms across her chest. Momentarily, longing flashed in her eyes, but she concealed it quickly. Casting the two a surreptitious look, she huffed and darted out the bedroom door. Turning themselves into oddly colored dogs, the pair followed her.
Elisa drummed her pencil casually, tuning out the lesson. She leaned back in her chair, glanced dazedly at the blackboard, full of math equations she already knew by heart, and sighed heavily. On paper, her other hand (she was ambidextrous) sketched her and Wanda, and then crossed it out, paranoid. Why was it whenever she was bored, she thought of her? In fact, she thought of her more often than anyone else, even her parents. She dreamed about being closer to her, closer than perhaps she ought to be, and shoving Cosmo out of the way.
It wasn't that she disliked her godfather, but he grew rather annoying. Plus he was always there, hovering by Wanda and sharing a moment with her. Take this morning, for instance- she knew they were married and everything, but there'd be an unexplained surge of displeasure at seeing them together. For a half second, she'd envisioned herself in Cosmo's place, but that made no sense. Why should she envy him? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Shouldn't she envy her? It was, as her father always said, the 'normal thing'. She wanted to be normal, didn't she?
Completely independent of mind, her hand doodled "I love you" in a caption above her drawing's head. All the color drained from her face. No, it couldn't be. Those odd feelings, the inexplicable jealousy and desire, couldn't mean that. It was impossible. Her father always said it wasn't natural for creatures to like their own gender and if all humanity did that, they'd die out. He added they were pathetic, miserable people and led horrible lives. Of course, to top it off, he snidely slipped in that they were the cause of AIDs and cringed whenever someone mentioned homosexuality.
"I'm not gay!" she sobbed, shoving her chair back and spurting out of the room. Chest heaving, she catapulted herself into the girls' bathroom, sat onto a toilet seat, and sobbed.
Heart heavy, utterly miserable, she recalled Wanda wasn't the first crush she'd had, but it was the largest. She'd been attracted to other girls before, but ignored it. A dull ache throbbed and, desperate, she scrambled her brain for any time she crushed on a boy. Yet as try as she might, she remembered vague infatuations, all passing. Boys had never interested her. Moaning, she buried her face in her arm and waited for her fairies to appear. Without fail, they anticipated her moods and showed up in the nick of time. Occasionally, she had to call them to her, but they trailed her oftentimes and knew when to jump in. Right now, she wasn't sure she wanted them.
A pink light shone, accompanied by the trademark green cover. Frowning, Wanda watched her goddaughter yank her hair dejectedly, and then slump against the wall. Tears streamed unchecked down her face, which she wiped blearily with her sleeve. Cosmo shifted to fairy form, but she jerked him back to his disguise. She understood his desire to comfort her, but intuition told her they ought to stay out of this and let her gather her bearings first. Besides, in their teenage years, fairies took a backseat to peers anyway, especially since their humans forgot they existed after their eighteenth birthday. It wouldn't do to be too attached…
"It's just a phase," she whispered, rocking back and forth. "I'm straight. I have to be. Everyone else is."
Voice breaking, she murmured, "I can't be gay."
Even though she'd sworn not to interfere, this sounded as good a cue as any. Swooping down, Wanda changed into her fairy form after ensuring no one entered (the unpopular girls' bathroom was rather empty, thankfully) and hugged her. Cosmo, clueless, smiled brightly. What was wrong with being gay? Gay was happy, wasn't it? In his simplistic view of the world, he couldn't comprehend why anyone could be crying over being 'gay'.
"Aw, sweetie, it's all right," Wanda whispered, stroking her locks tenderly. "Even if you are, we're not going to think any less of you. It's no shame to be gay. You're a person, not an anomaly, and you deserve as much happiness as anyone else."
It seems she too had heard her father's accusations.
"I don't get it," Cosmo said, floating upside down. "What's wrong with being gay?"
((Homosexual, Cos. As in, she likes other girls,)) she explained patiently, rolling her eyes.
((So do I. Does that make me homo-homosexual?)) he replied, oblivious.
((I'll explain this to you later…)) she said, shaking her head. Taking the time to elucidate it now focused her attention on him instead of the proper focal point, Elisa. Quite a few of her godchildren eventually realized their sexual preferences, sometimes to their horror, and the first reaction was always denial. How could they become that? What was wrong with them? Wanda empathized and placated them as best she could, by being supportive, caring, and understanding. Memories of them might be erased, but their lessons and concern remained. And, in the end, wasn't that all that mattered?
Ignoring her godfather, Elisa stared blankly at the floor and whispered, "I wish I wasn't."
Silence reigned, impregnable and agonizingly weighty. Neither fairy bothered to hold up their wands- they knew better. Within moments of discovering their orientation, godchildren tried to change it. They believed incorrectly magic could change them permanently, but it was against Da Rules to change genetics unless it stood to teach the child an important lesson and was quickly reversed. Since fairies themselves couldn't choose their preferences, it was mandated humans shouldn't be allowed to either. You were who you were, and your preferences shouldn't determine the type of person you were. It was just a facet, not the whole picture.
"Well?" Elisa demanded, seeing them shake their heads. "What's wrong?"
"It's against Da Rules…" Wanda answered, trailing off and anticipating the outburst. Cosmo steeled himself, hiding behind his wife and, terrified, clutching her. The last gay godchild flung a book at his head and tried to bury him under a bookcase in the library when he told them the bad news. He wasn't taking any chances.
"So I can't wish away my crush on you…" she whispered, hugging her knees to her chest. Cosmo fell out of midair in shock; he landed harshly against the floor, but was too astonished by her confession to cry out. Wanda, stunned too, released her and surveyed the immediate area like the walls had ears. Miraculously, no one entered the bathroom and saw Cosmo on the tiles.
"I beg your pardon?" Wanda murmured, hardly believing her ears. Blood rushed to Elisa's face, but, acting on impulse, she demonstrated her affection the only way that came to mind. Cradling the pink fairy in her arms, she kissed her on the lips.
There was another delayed reaction in which both fairies processed what had just happened. Cosmo, no longer lying, sprung up and held his glowing wand, shooting out warning sparks. His green eyes were narrowed to slits; how dareshe kiss his Wanda. Jealousy boiled and he lunged, ready to smite her or whatever spilled out of his wand. A sink exploded in his anger.
Wanda shoved Elisa gently away and motioned to fix the sink when Cosmo leapt on the teenager and snarled. Unable to stop himself, he shifted into a lion and roared in her face. Snapping his jaws precariously, he brought his rather sharp teeth to her throat. No thoughts passed through his mind; pure fury reigned supreme. It multiplied in their bond, to the point where Wanda shook, frightened. Thinking quickly, she shifted into a lioness and nipped him on the leg.
Cosmo spun, whacking his head on the paper dispenser. Using this to her advantage, she shrunk into her fairy form, bound him to a harmless guise, and pivoted in midair to contemplate her godchild, who was cowering in the corner. Regardless of the fact Cosmo could currently threaten an envelope in his form as a stamp and nothing else, she remained petrified. The door swung open and, wishing she could offer her advice or tell her he had just gone overboard and wasn't anyone to fear, Wanda, holding Cosmo in her palm, poofed out.