Chapter Text
The elevator door opened to reveal the grim sight of Dale Dimmadone, seething mad, he was walking in circles.
Muttering something to himself.
When the doors opened, he glared at Dev.
“What the fuck is going on with you!?”
Dev squeezed into himself a little more. Peri rolled his eyes, he didn’t like the way Dale spoke to his child, the yelling and the cursing was no way to speak to one’s thirteen year old son.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” when Dev spoke his words toppled off one another in a quick stream. Trying to take up the least amount of space with his speech.
“You’ve been hanging out with these weeeeird kids, again. Joining this ‘environmentally safe’ movement, which asks for my business to lower its garbage stuff and pay its workers more!”“Well, yea, I mean it’s better for the planet-”
“I don't care about the planet! I care about my fucking MONEY!” Dale slapped Dev with the back of his hand.
Dev could smell the alcohol on his fathers breath. It never used to bother him, millionaires drank, his father would say. There was always a maid or robot to clean up any mess his father would leave in his drunken stupor. He usually never remembered Dev’s existence to do anything to him while drunk.
Most hit’s were handed out in full soberness. Dev never feared for his life when those happened. They were punishments and he never enjoyed them, but his father was in control when they happened. And he couldn’t be bothered to do anything more than one slap across the face before telling him off and sending him to his room.
Now was nothing like that. Dev curled into himself from the blow and touched his hand to his cheek. His headphones fell off his neck and clattered on the floor a few feet away. Neither Dimmadale noticed when it mysteriously disappeared, Dale was grabbing his sweater's hoodie and yanking him to his feet.
“Do you think you can just go and ruin everything I’ve worked for?”
“N-no!” Dev sputtered. His father threw him onto the elevator, the sound of his head hitting the metal wall rang inside his skull. Everything was happening too fast, if he could just have a second to collect himself before another hit was launched he might be able to calm his father down, or get out of here, or wish for something.
Wait, wish! Where was Peri?
His father fist landed smack in the middle of his face. Dev crumbled into himself on the floor, weeping now. His nose was definitely broken, he felt the thick red liquid drip down his face, making it hard to breath. “Please stop, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry father. Please stop. I’ll be better!”
Between his sobbing, and begging, and his father's ragged breath, Dev almost didn’t hear the sound of glass shattering on the floor.
A rush of wind pulled on him but did not move him. Out from behind the elevator flouted Peri carrying his wand, rather a shattered version of it, from the broken case deep blue liquid seeped out, it has pieces of gold sparkling under the fluorescent lights.
“Step away from my kid!” Peri, hissed.
Dale looked at him, not sure what he was seeing through his drunken eyesight. “What the fuck are you?”
“I’m his fairy godparent, and you,” He curled his lips at the sight of Dale. “Are nothing.”
With a wave of his hand, Dale started to shake. He grabbed his hand, screaming in rage. “Wha?? Fucking fairy!?”
His screams echod in the empty hall. Dale fell to his knees and in horror, Dev watched his fathers back turn furry and rip through his shirt, his face contorted into shapes a human body shoulnd’t. His feet and hands twisted and turned and hardened into hoofs.
Dev’s father took on the form of a pig, it was white with orange spots. It was fat, its stomach drooping to the floor, it had small beady eyes.
Most importantly it turned around and ran away to some room on the huge second floor.
“Dev,” Peri cried, floating down to his Godchild who was a small bundle on the floor, with blood leaking out from his face. “Dev, are you okay? Is anything broken? Let me see what I can fix. Oh gosh your bleeding Dev!”
“Help . . . me.” Dev croaked, putting out a hand for Peri to take. With some maneuvering, Dev got into a sitting position, his back resting on the very wall he was thrown onto. “You . . . You didn’t leave?”
Peri’s eyes filled with tears, a horror filled look on his face but he quickly changed it to a calming smile. “Of course not, Dev. I'd never leave you. I was waiting for you to wish yourself away and then I realized . . . you weren’t going to be able to and so I- I took matters into my own hands I guess.”
Dev turned to the broken wand. He felt more tears forming in his eyes, and spilling out. He was thankful that he was already crying from the assault so Peri wouldn’t know it was from all the other emotions seeing the broken wand caused. “You broke it. So you could protect me.” Dev stated simply to himself because it didn’t seem real.
“Of course, I would do it again, a million times over. I’m sorry I couldn't . . . I’m sorry it took me so long. I’m going to make sure that piece of trash never touches you again.”
Dev let out a laugh which came out more of a grunt from how much things hurt. “There’s nothing you can do about that. He’s my father, he was my father today and he’ll be my father tomorrow. Once you return him back to human and wipe his memory he’ll still . . . he’ll still be the same way. He’s not going to change.”
“This . . . this has happened before?” Peri felt bad just asking. He should have known this already, he’s been this kid's Godparent for three years already.
Dev shrugged. ‘Never-never like this. But yea a few times he’s hit me befor if I really screw up, but it’s just a slap or a spank! It’s never been like this. Peri, I was so scared. I thought I was going to die. I thought he might actually kill me.”
He whispered the last part. Afraid to admit the feeling even to himself. This was his father he was talking about, he wasn’t caring but deep down he loved him, right?
“Oh, kid, no one deserves to be hit, no matter how bad. Especially you, you’re too wonderful. You deserve so much better. Let me help you.”
Dev nodded, and gently pressed his face into Peri’s shoulder. Weeping bitter tears into his button down shirt. He’d apologize for it later, and offer to buy him a new one, or ten new ones. It didn’t matter.
Peri’s fingers traced over his cheek and he felt the ache in them subside. Then over his nose and everything stopped hurting. The blood disappeared in the blink of an eye, and he was back to normal once again.
“Can I get you anything? Food? water? “ Peri asked nervously. He was rambling, he only knew how to help when something was obvious. Once it came to helping the things one couldn’t see, and had no definitive answer he was at a disadvantage.
“I’m just tired. I want to go to sleep. I wi-want this to have never happened.” Dev stopped himself from making the wish. He was honestly a little afraid of what Peri’s magic could do now that it was unrestrained.
Peri didn't speak but helped him to his, and with a snap, Dev landed on his bed. Every bone in his body ached and he was grateful to lay his head on the pillow while Peri tucked him in.
“Please,” Dev began to beg, half delirious with exhaustion. “Please, don’t stop caring about me. Even if it makes me selfish. I wish that you’ll never stop caring about me.”
Peri let out a sigh, his stupid pity sigh. “You’ll never need to wish for that. I could never stop caring about you. And I’ll be here. Untill you dont need me anymore.”
Dev was too far off into sleep to respond.
I’ll always need you, he thought.