Chapter Text
Sometimes, Dev wished he could freeze time.
Well, it wasn't like he hadn't done that before. As Hazel was always quick to remind him, his refusal to listen to her warnings had gotten them into a bunch of trouble. It was only because of her that they had been able to sway Father Time into being lenient. It wasn't the first time not listening to Hazel had backfired on him, and it wouldn't be the last.
But that was different. Father Time had always intended to unfreeze time. Time, as he had described it, was like a river. It could slow down or change course, but it could never truly stop.
And so, despite Dev's efforts, time marched forward. Him and Hazel got older. They went through elementary school and middle school together, not currently sophomores in high school.
They lived pretty good lives, at least Dev thought so. He didn't have his father's attention or affection, but he had Peri's. Peri, who would give him whatever he wanted even when he was being a brat. Peri, who indulged him even on his worst days. Peri, who never shunned him or got mad at him even if he deserved it. Peri, who he knew loved him the way his father should have.
He had Hazel, who always had a smile to offer him. Hazel, who had no problem telling him off but still laughed at his antics. Hazel, who joined him for every adventure no matter how dangerous or reckless. Hazel, his best friend in the world.
And for those years, everything was perfect. The latest toys or gadgets meant nothing to him as long as he had Peri and Hazel. His father meant nothing to him as long as he had Peri and Hazel.
But even with a fairy godparent, nothing could last forever.
He caught Peri flipping through the dumb (and frankly inconsistent) rule book. Which wasn't strange in and of itself; Peri was such a nervous wreck and having a godparent like Dev certainly didn't help. But what caught his attention was how concentrated he looked. And it wasn't as if Dev had gotten into any trouble- as of this moment- so what was the problem?
"Peri," he groaned, rolling his eyes. "If I wanted to hang around a bookworm, I would have called Hazel."
Peri started- he could be really jumpy- and his gaze finally zeroed in on Dev. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "Sorry, Sport, you startled me." He raised his wand, the orb glowing at his behest. "What do you need, kid? The most exclusive jacket that only you'll have because it doesn't exist yet? A ride in a space shuttle?" he wiggled his eyebrows. "The next unreleased Prime Meridian novel to give to Hazel?"
Dev, ignoring his burning cheeks, scoffed. "No, dunce," he replied. "I want to know what's making that stupid rule book more interesting than your godkid."
His fairy godfather, for all that he tried to be suave, was a bad liar. He instantly hid Da Rules behind his back, visibly sweating. "It's not!" he said quickly. "I was just, er, going over what to do if your godkid... accidentally pisses off half of Mars?"
Dev rolled his eyes. "Please, we did that like two years ago. There's no way you forgot." Seeing that Peri wasn't going to budge, he crossed his arms. "I wish I could see the page you were looking at."
"Dang it!" Peri grumbled as he raised his wand, having no choice but to grant the wish.
Da Rules appeared in front of his face, flipped to the page Peri was reading. Adjusting his glasses so he could see better, Dev scanned the page. "Blah blah blah rules, blah blah blah boring shit, blah blah-" Dev stopped talking, his eyes catching one sentence that stood out from the rest. Once a godkid becomes an adult or exhibits adultlike behavior, they will lose their fairy/fairies and forget all about them.
Dev blinked once. Twice. He looked up at Peri's guilty face. He opened his mouth, but there was a lump in his throat that he couldn't get the words around.
Lose Peri? Forget about him?
"I know it's a lot to take in," Peri rambled nervously. "And trust me, it's not easy for me either. My parents' last godkid was practically my big brother. I know it hurts. But it's how things have always been. We're supposed to make you happy kids so that you'll grow up to be happy adults. When it happens, you won't even know-"
Dev heard his godfather, but the sound of his voice was muffled. Like he was underwater. Or maybe like a bucket of ice had been dumped on his head. That was what this new information felt like.
But it wasn't like he hadn't known that Peri would have to leave eventually. He knew fairies had to be reassigned. He knew godkids eventually grew up and didn't need fairy godparents anymore. But... But-
"This isn't fair," spat Dev, finally finding his voice. The flurry of emotions had overtaken him, his ears burning. With rage or despair, he didn't know. "I haven't broken any of these dumb rules. So why do I-?"
Peri looked vaguely panicked. "It's not like that!" he said quickly. "Kiddo, you didn't do anything wrong. That's just how things are!"
"Then it's bullshit!" seethed Dev. His fists clenched and unclenched, unsure of what to do with themselves. "Forget you ever existed? When you've been the best part of the last five years? You and-" His mouth snapped shut.
Hazel. Did she know? Was she going to be as blindsided by this as he was? Or had she known all along and he was the only idiot left unaware?
Would all her memories with her go away too?
Face hot and eyes welling with stubborn tears, Dev turned on his heel and walked out of his room. He ignored Peri's pleads to come back and let him explain, he didn't want to hear it. Nothing he said or did would make this better. How could it? How was he supposed to cope with the only adult who ever gave a shit about him packing up and leaving him behind? Leaving him alone with all his best memories gone for good?
That was fucked up. Jorgen was fucked up. Fairy World was fucked up.
Dev found himself at the fountain, as he often did when he was upset. It was special to him; it was the place he had really begun to open up to Hazel. To have a real friend.
He almost wished Hazel was here. But with how he was right now, they would probably argue. He didn't want to argue with her. He didn't want to argue at all, he was just so-
"Wow, you sure look miserable."
Dev jumped, head whipping around to see that someone had perched themselves next to him. It was a man. He was tall, maybe a little younger than his father. He was dressed casually enough, sloppy even (if Hazel were here she would scold Dev for judging someone's outfit that way, but what was he supposed to think? He had always had new, top-of-the-line clothes).
What stuck out the most were his large buck teeth, protruding from his upper lip.
Dev wasn't in the mood to play nice with a stranger. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded. He could almost feel Hazel's reprimanding elbow digging in his side.
The man shrugged. "A stranger," he answered honestly. He gave an amused smirk, like he had just told the world's funniest joke. "Have your parents ever told you not to talk to strangers?"
"My dad did," answered Dev. Well, Peri had. Dale encouraged talking to strangers since strangers could become customers if handled correctly. Peri had advised him not to listen to his father when it came to personal safety.
Well, it wasn't like he was being given damn a choice now. Peri was leaving. Who was going to guide him? Teach him? Love him?
The man grinned a little at that. "Good advice," he said, almost fondly. Dev's creep senses were blaring, which mostly happened when Hazel was trying to befriend one random person or another. Hazel was ridiculously smart, just not when it came to common sense. "Peri always was a smart kid."
Dev didn't immediately catch on. He was about to tell this guy to get lost, when his mind latched onto exactly what had left the guy's mouth. Peri. As in, his fairy godfather. As in, holy shit this guy knew who his fairy godfather was which wasn't supposed to happen-
A highly amused chuckle escaped the man, which agitated Dev more. He hated being made fun of. "Relax kid," he soothed. "Big bad Jorgen isn't going to show up and take Peri away. I made sure of that."
He scrambled to put some distance between himself and the weirdo who knew where more than he should have. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded again.
The man beamed, buck teeth gleaming. "Timmy," he introduced. "Timmy Turner."