Spoiler Alert: takes place after "The Battle of the Big Wand."

Like many viewers, I was very disappointed that Dev and Peri didn't get some kind of closure. So, like many fic writers, I gave them some.

Dirty Laundry

It's been two weeks since Irep and I took over Fairy World, and as promised, no humans besides me, Hazel, Jasmine, Winn, and Antony remember what happened. Hazel hasn't stopped being nice to me, though she isn't going to let me forget any time soon. Her friends and brother are…polite and I suspect that's for Hazel's benefit. Meanwhile, Cosmo and Wanda are as chipper as ever, though there is an underlying caution.

You would think I'd suffer some kind of punishment. After all, I teamed up with anti-fairies, shut down the Big Wand, and caused magical back-up in a whole bunch of fairies, including my own! Yet, here I am at my house and still with my memories and my fairy godparent.

Except…Peri hasn't been himself since that day. Not that I blame him. He almost died because of me. Maybe that's my punishment: being assigned the fairy godparent who has the most reasons to hate me. I deserve it. I can readily admit that.

But, Peri doesn't deserve to be stuck with a godson he hates. He tries to hide it, but anyone can see how it's affecting him. He keeps his hair and clothes impeccable, but he can't hide the bags under his eyes or the way he zones out unless I'm the one talking. I think he's lost weight, too; those suspenders seem to be more than a fashion choice these days. I overheard his parents talking about how worried they are and how they wish he'd talk to them, so I know it's as bad as it seems.

I'm killing my godparent again. And, it's worse because all I'm doing is existing.

Dad went to a business conference in Dimmsdale and will be gone for a few days, so it's just me, Peri, and the drones. My father's left me alone in the mansion for long periods of time before, but this is the loneliest I've ever felt when that happened.

I've been listlessly pacing the halls, but I halt when I see that the door to the laundry room is ajar. And, that someone with purple hair is inside.

I open the door just enough to get a better view. The solid gold dryer - matching the solid gold washer, of course - is open, and Peri is taking the freshly cleaned and dried clothes out and dumping them into an awaiting laundry basket. And, he's using his hands to get the job done. Why can't he just poof the clothes into the basket? Did he not use magic to wash them either?

Seconds after Peri closes the dryer, Jorgen von Strangle appears in a cloud of pink smoke. "Oh, perfect timing!" Jorgen says. With a wide grin, he taps the handle of his giant wand to the floor. The basket disappears and is replaced with a burlap sack that smells so horrible that I pinch my nose and fight off a gag. Peri reacts to the bag with what I imagined a thousand-yard stare would look like. "I just ran fifty miles. Through the Sahara Desert. During a heat wave! It was torture but worth it to see the look on your face!"

Jorgen laughs and poofs away. With that same expression, Peri robotically grabs the bag and floats upward to open the washer.

Is Peri…doing Jorgen's laundry? This keeps getting weirder.

Once the washer lid is closed and I can breathe again, I step into the room. "Uh, Peri?"

Peri spins around so fast he almost falls out of the air. "Dev! H-how long were you-" He shakes his head clear. "I'm sorry. I-I didn't realize how long I was gone. Do you have a wish for me?"

Peri being a nervous wreck is nothing new, but he doesn't usually freak out until after something bad happens.

…But, something bad did happen. Two weeks ago. I wonder if the mere sight of me is scaring him. The amount of sense that makes deepens the pit that's been ever-present in my stomach.

"Um, no. No wish." I rub the back of my neck and avoid eye contact. Maybe I should wish that I hadn't left my shades in my room. "I'm just wondering why you're doing Jorgen's laundry."

I risk a glance and see Peri rubbing his arm while his eyes dart to the left. "It's a long story."

He doesn't elaborate. Once upon a time, I would have wished for him to spill the beans. Now, I'm too afraid of overstepping.

"You're my very first godkid, and I care about you."

I can't screw this up again.

Wait, how long does it take for magical back-up to start? When's the last time I made a wish? This morning, right? Yeah. We were out of my favorite cereal, and I wished for a box. Crisis averted.

But, just in case… "D-do you, um, need me to make a wish?"

Peri's purple eyes soften. He even smiles, something he hasn't done much since that day. The sight makes me happier than I expected.

He floats closer to me, grabs his staff-like wand out of his pocket, and gives it a twirl. "No worries, kid. It's gonna take more than a little magical back-up to take me down!" I suppress a flinch, but I must do a poor job of it, because Peri flinches too. "Sorry! Probably shouldn't have brought that up."

He sounds more like himself, but the strain in his voice reveals how hard he's trying.

When I don't respond, he coughs into his fist. Sweat beads on his forehead. "Well, look at it this way. Every fairy has an 'I almost blew up story,' and I finally got mine… That's not the flex I want it to be, is it? You know what?" He grins too widely and magically replaces his wand with a bottle of detergent. "Maybe I should focus on the laundry. Jorgen's sweaty clothes aren't gonna clean themselves! Call me if you need anything! I-I promise to come this time…" His voice breaks on the last sentence, and I can't take it anymore.

I hold up my hand as he starts to turn around. "On second thought, I do have a wish."

Peri switches out the detergent for his wand. He clutches it with both hands so hard, his knuckles whiten. He flashes what I think is supposed to be an eager grin, but it looks more manic.

I swallow hard, but the lump in my throat remains. "I wish you didn't hate me." I also wish that my wish hadn't come out so weakly.

Peri makes a weird face, like he can't decide which expression to use. This is typically the part where he tells me that he can't do that because blah, blah, blah, rules. I never thought I'd see the day when I wanted him to.

"Uh, come again?" he says with what looks and sounds like genuine confusion.

I hate that I have to blink away tears. The one time I don't have my shades with me… "I know I deserve it, but I…" Don't like what it's doing to you. "I know that wish is probably against Da Rules, but grant it anyway! Just this once! Please!" I. Will. Not. Cry.

Peri still has that baffled expression. "I-I don't- Wait, you think I hate you?"

"Well, why wouldn't you?" I snap. "I teamed up with your stupid anti-fairy counterpart and took over Fairy World. I put everyone in danger. I-I…I almost killed you!" That does it. Sobs erupt from my throat. Tears pour down my cheeks. It's humiliating, but I can't stop. "I don't deserve a fairy godparent! I - hic - I'm the worst godkid ever!"

"Dev, wait!"

I don't wait. I sprint down the hall until I trip over my own feet and sob on the floor like the pathetic waste of space that my dad thinks I am. I'm starting to think that he's right.

Peri and I fight a lot; his strict rule-follower ways get on my nerves and limit the unlimited magic I'm supposed to have access to. But, he's the only adult who pays attention to me. And, no adult, not even my own father, has ever told me that they care about me before.

No amount of magic is worth losing one of the only two people who genuinely care about me. If only I'd realized that sooner.

I hear a telltale pop and sniff back any more tears. I hate crying but not as much as I hate crying in front of people.

Peri kneels in front of me and oozes fake concern. He's a good actor; I'll give him that. "Are you hurt?"

Pity. That's another thing I can't stand.

What little dignity I have left makes me slap his hand away when he offers it to me. "I'm fine!" I prove it by climbing to my feet…and almost collapsing again because my knee is killing me. My shoulder, too. I must have bashed them when I landed.

"Allow me," Peri says. He taps his wand to my forehead, and a small burst of magic makes me feel like I never fell. "Better?"

"Yeah, thanks," I mutter, thoroughly embarrassed. I gather myself and flail my hands at him. "Now, buzz off, Picasso!"

Peri shrinks back but stands up as well. "Dev, we need to talk about this."

I shove him and start walking so that I don't have to see that stupid fake concern anymore. "There's nothing to talk about, Platypus!"

I jump back when he appears in front of me with his hands on his hips and his eyes narrowed. "Yes, there is. Dev, I don't hate you!"

"Don't lie to me! After everything that happened, I know you don't really want to be my godparent anymore. You're not sleeping, you're not eating, you-you…" I press my lips together to stop them from quivering.

Realization slowly blooms on Peri's face, and his mouth drops open. "Oh my… Dev, I-I didn't-"

"Didn't want to keep being my godparent? Well, I don't blame you!" Keeping my tears inside is a struggle, but I refuse to cry again.

Peri grips his wand with both hands and quickly shakes his head. "No! No, that's not-"

"I know the Tooth Fairy offered you a spot in dental school, so-so take it! Go be a dentist! You'd be much happier that way!"

I shove him out the way again and march off to wherever as long as he's not there. As long as no one's there.

So that I can be alone. Again. Just like I'm used to.

Just like I've always been.

"I don't hate you, Dev," Peri says quietly. "I…I hate myself."

That stops me in my tracks.

Peri goes on. "None of this would have happened if I was a better godparent to you. I aced all my tests in the Fairy Academy, but book learning doesn't prepare you for everything. You taught me that. I was never there when you really needed me. I failed you." His voice breaks. "I'm so sorry."

I don't turn around. I don't want to look him in the eye and find out whether or not he's telling the truth.

Because something real deep down is telling me that he is, and I don't know how to react.

"Dev, do you remember what happened after…after you and Irep were defeated?"

I open my mouth, but no words come out. I remember Fairy World returning to normal and then…suddenly being in my house. I wrack my brain. The Big Wand turned back on. Peri and Cosmo were no longer bloated from magical back-up. Jorgen erased the memory of the event from everyone on Earth. And…huh.

Why can't I remember what happened between then and when I got home?

Peri answers my silent question. "You had your memory erased."

Those five words shock my system enough that I finally turn around. Peri is fidgeting with his wand, and he's close enough that I can see that his eyes are filled with tears…that are shimmery? Well, fairies do barf glowy rainbow goop. I guess glittery tears aren't out of the question.

"Your memory of magic was erased," Peri says. "I was to be reassigned to a new godkid."

My knee-jerk reaction is to call him a liar. But, how else do I explain the gap in my memory?

There's also the fact that I received no punishment…or so I thought.

My stomach is in knots. "What changed?" Do I even want to know?

Peri takes in a long breath then lets it out as he glances at the ceiling. "I went to Jorgen and begged him to give you another chance. Because I know you're a good kid, Dev. I kept bothering Jorgen until he agreed just to shut me up."

When I can speak again, I say, "You…you did that…for me?"

"Of course." He sheepishly scratches his head with the handle of his wand. "That's why I'm washing Jorgen's clothes. He said he'd restore your memories and let me keep being your godparent, but in return, I have to do his laundry. Without using magic. For the next six months. It would have been longer, but I'm friends with his wife, and she wasn't having it," he adds with a chuckle.

It feels like the floor's been pulled out from under me. "You're serious? You're really doing this for me? But…"

But, I always yell at you.

But, I betrayed all of fairykind.

But, I almost killed a whole bunch of fairies…including you.

"But, nothing." Peri takes me by the shoulders and meets my watery gaze with an intensity I've never seen from him before. "You made a mistake, Dev. A really big mistake, yes. But, a mistake was all it was. And, you regret it, which means that you learned from it. We've both made mistakes." His expression wavers, and he wraps his arms around me. (When's the last time someone hugged me? My own father doesn't even do that.) A few tears slip down my cheeks, and I feel myself returning the hug. "I want to be a better godparent to you. If you'll let me."

I sniffle and nod, unable to speak while stamping down the sobs that want to escape. We stand there and hold each other until I find my voice. "I have another wish."

Peri sniffs and pulls away. He wipes at the glittery streaks on his face before raising his wand, which is already glowing in preparation. "Ready when you are."

"I wish you'd eat something." That hug was the first time I really touched a fairy, but I'm pretty sure they aren't supposed to feel that bony.

Peri grimaces. "Sorry. Haven't had much of an appetite lately." A puff of magic replaces his wand with a sandwich. "I think we both needed this talk."

I think so, too.

Peri holds up his sandwich. "You want one? It's about lunchtime, anyway."

As if to emphasize that, my stomach rumbles. "What's on it?"

"Rump roast, lettuce and spicy mustard on whole grain."

I hold out my hand. "I wish for one with regular mustard."

Wished and received.

Peri floats beside me as I walk down the hall and we eat our lunches in companionable silence. And, it is companionable. Peri doesn't seem like a personal assistant awaiting orders. He seems like…like a friend. If only I'd felt that way sooner. Maybe none of this would have happened.

"Hey, Peri. Can I make wishes that alter time?"

Peri swallows so hard that he coughs and beats his fist at his chest. He clears his throat. "Well, time-based wishes have to be cleared by Father Time. But, if we're talking about altering the past…no?" He finishes with a nervous grin, expecting me to yell at him.

Not gonna lie; I want to yell. I want to go back and stop myself from joining forces with Irep. I want to go back and change the way I treated Peri.

But, if that's not an option…I guess the best I can do is be nicer now.

"Good to know," I say with a small smile.

Peri stares at me like I've grown a second head then returns my look with no shortage of relief. And…is that…is that what pride looks like? I don't think that kind of look has ever been directed at me before.

I take a big bite so that Peri doesn't see my expression.

"Dev," Peri says suddenly. "Thanks for giving me another chance."

Tears sting my eyes again. "Thanks for giving me one."