wish upon a [wish]

Rating: T
Pairing: Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb

Summary:"Hermann's a djinn bound to give three wishes to anyone who releases him from his prison; Newton is...well, dallyingon using them."


"Wow this is a really nice lamp, dude," are the first words Hermann hears in over a hundred years. He's not that old, as far as djinn go, but he's been getting a bit antsy having been trapped in the confined space of the lamp for so long.

He even does the full nine yards; smoke and lightning and sound-effects—or at least he tries to. Instead, he finds himself in human form standing in front of his summoner, who looks highly unimpressed. "Really?" he complains, "I spend half my life looking for a genuine magic lamp and I can't even get a puff of smoke? Lazy."

"Djinn lamp," Hermann corrects. "And I'd like to see you try and be intimidating when you haven't eaten since 1902."

The man laughs. "Ooh, sassy, I like it, dude. M'name's Newt, by the way."

Hermann raises a brow. "Newt? And I thought the Norse were bad…anyway, what're your three wishes?"

Newt blinks. "Uh, actually, I don't know."

Hermann sighs. "What do you mean you don't know?" he demands. "No endless treasures, no convoluted plots of revenge, nothing?" Newt shakes his head, and Hermann groans. "Of all of the humans to be bound to," he gripes, "of course I get one who doesn't have a single wish in the world."

"We could always go eat something," Newt suggests, and Hermann brightens.

"Is that a wish?" he asks hopefully, and Newt frowns at him.

"What—no, dude, I'm asking if you want to have lunch," he says, shaking his head. "You mentioned you hadn't eaten since 1902, which, uh, does not sound fun."

Hermann frowns. "No," he agrees, cautiously, "it really isn't."

Newt brightens. "Okay!" he exclaims, clapping his hands together, "let's go eat something, dude!"

The food is…very different from what Hermann's used to. He doesn't actually need to eat, technically, given that he's actually a minor spirit, but he does enjoy it, the same way he enjoys reliving the sensation of sleeping; both are things that he clings to, markers of his first life as a mortal.

Newt watches him with wide-eyed fascination as he eats. "Dude," he says, "you know you don't eat a hamburger with a knife and fork, yeah? Or—wait, were hamburgers a thing in 1902?"

Hermann delicately spears another piece. "No—but I have eaten something similar before; I believe it was called a…" he furrows a brow, trying to recall, and says, "ah, yes. Rundstük."

Newt hums. "Right."

"So," Hermann says, "are you going to make a wish?"

"Nah," Newt shrugs. "I gotta think about it for a bit longer."

Hermann sighs. "Fine. But I would like to get this over as quickly as possible. Being free is a luxury I haven't had in a hundred years."

Newt says nothing, but there's an odd look on his face.

Three weeks later, and Newt still hasn't used any of his wishes. Hermann, bound by the curse, has been forced to remain within a three-mile radius of the man. Newton, in a moment of compassion, offered to allow him to stay with him.

Though the other's indecision is a bit annoying, Hermann discovers that he's quite interesting, so it's not horrible.

"Alright," Newt announces, "I've got it."

"Finally," Hermann mutters. "It took you long enough."

Newt ignores him, clears his throat. "My wish is for you to be free of the curse, and that no one ever be able to force you to grant them wishes."

There's a popping feeling in Hermann's chest, and he gapes at the other. "You—you—" he stammers, speechless. Finally, he says, desperately, "Why? Why not use your wishes?"

Newt shrugs. "I…I wasn't actually really interested in the whole thing," he admits. "I, um. I was trying to discover a genuine magical being, but, um, beyond that…" He shrugs. "And I figured, hey, you seem cool, might as well use the power for something good. You can go now—you're free, like you wanted."

Hermann stares at him. "What—?"

"Go on, you can finally be free of me," Newt says, gesturing to the door. "You're not obligated to stay any more."

Without thinking, Hermann blurts, "But what if I want to stay?"

Newt blinks, stunned. "I—you—what?"

"What. If. I. Want. To. Stay?" Hermann repeats. "I've…grown to enjoy your company, Newton," he says, staring intently at a spot on the wall.

Newt draws in a sharp breath. "…okay," he says, weakly. "Yeah. Um. Yeah, that's—that's great!" He shoots Hermann a toothy grin. "Yeah!"

Unable to stop himself, Hermann smiles back.