(no subject)

[soulfulsin]

Fandom: Fairly Oddparents
Canon or AU: AU of an AU

Fic: Dark Ocean

A/N: And I might’ve overcompensated for not writing for a while by doing all of this yesterday and today. ^^;

I need to try reading again.

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Big Daddy’s behavior prohibited him from confronting Asmodeus, at least right now. Fortunately for the Fairy World Council, there was no shortage of fairies willing to keep an eye on Asmodeus. Juandissimo signed up, especially after seeing how that harridan had treated his Wandita. Regardless of whether Wanda had married Cosmo, Juandissimo still loved and cared about her. Had he possessed even the slightest warning things were about to snowball, he would have brought her to Fairy World instead of letting the geas activate. However, he was not aggressive like Big Daddy to punish Cosmo for it.

At least, not physically aggressive. The Council might have let Cosmo off the hook, but Juandissimo had not. Juandissimo had not witnessed Asmodeus’s cruel acts firsthand, but he hadn’t needed to. The TVs replayed highlights, and those wretched screens were everywhere. Juandissimo had needed to poof away from the one in the lobby because he’d been furious. Watching his Wandita crawl around on her hands and knees and then be forced to stop to pleasure the Unseelie fairy men had filled him with inchoate rage. Juandissimo wanted Asmodeus dead, and he wasn’t the type to hate that passionately.

But Asmodeus deserved it. Wanda’s misery had been palpable in that recording, and then the blood painting her thighs as the generals forced themselves upon her in the most painful ways possible…Juandissimo squeezed his wand to prevent himself from jeopardizing his mission. He was here to collect information for Jorgen and the Council. He was not here to settle the score, not yet. Gods, he wanted to kill Asmodeus so badly that it took his breath away.

Juandissimo knew Asmodeus didn’t dare throw him out now that he knew the king’s secret. Asmodeus wouldn’t want that to slip into the wrong hands.

Juandissimo was waiting in the buffet line and trying to deafen himself to the snickering comments he heard around him. Few knew about the king’s impairment; most of the wisecracks involved Wanda and a handful of other fairy godmothers Asmodeus had collected. The dining area had TVs on, too; a couple of them showed local news, but the others showed Wanda on her back while two fairies pummeled her before setting upon her. Bile burned in Juandissimo’s throat. He had a better handle on his temper than Cosmo, who would have blasted the TV screens, but it was being sorely tested.

A vein throbbed in his forehead. He wrenched his gaze away from the TV, but it felt like it was seared into his brain.

Two of the fairies from the video were in front of him. Juandissimo’s wand sparked dangerously. He told himself that attacking them would blow his cover. While he knew that was true, he was perilously close to throttling them anyway.

“So, I had the bitch on her back, right?” one of the fairies said, looking up at the screen nearest to them. “I fucking kicked her in the stomach! Then, while she was choking, my friend here--”

He indicated his redheaded companion. “He shoved his dick in her mouth.”

Juandissimo’s temper frayed. No one had the right to touch her like that besides himself and Cosmo. The wand had gone from occasional sparks to setting a nearby table on fire. Juandissimo’s throat was tight with fury. He didn’t know if he could speak or if he just wanted to attack the bastards in front of him. He needed to escape to Fairy World before he revealed himself.

His escape window narrowed with the more details the bastards provided.

“While we’re doing that, Asmodeus is saying some shit about how she’s gotten so good at fucking other guys, the only thing she’ll be useful for is a lay, and that’s it. Said something about how her husband wouldn’t even want her for a handjob,” the redhead cackled. Juandissimo vanished from the line. It was the only way to keep from attacking them. He reappeared in the hallway near the nursery since it was unoccupied. Throwing fairy dust around was not the best way to keep a low profile, but it was the best way to prevent a magical brawl.

There were no TVs in this hallway, which meant Juandissimo could attempt to calm down. He’d only taken the assignment to verify that Asmodeus was blind, which he’d done. By now, he should return to Fairy World and deliver his report. He was choking back rage, however. Thinking about how those bastards had belittled and abused her was raising his blood pressure. Using his wand, he checked on Wanda to remind himself that she was okay now.

She, Cosmo, and Timmy were watching something on TV. By altering the angle of his viewing, he could see that they were watching an old home movie, something Timmy’s parents must have recorded. Timmy was crying and clinging to his godparents, who held him securely. Juandissimo smiled wistfully. Wanda would have been a good mother to his children; she was already a good godmother and mother to Poof.

At least watching that had reminded him there were others who loved and cared for her. Plus, while she was clearly worried about Timmy, she was nowhere near that compromised position he’d spotted her in through the TVs. She kissed Timmy’s head and rubbed his back. The twins even clustered around Timmy to offer support.

It was a sweet scene, one that permitted him to release his fury and return to Fairy World without wanting to hit anyone or anything.

He only wished the mental image of Wanda on her back while choking on someone wasn’t seared into his memory.

Fists balled, he returned to cool his heels in the Council’s antechamber. He told himself that no matter what, he wouldn’t mention the graphic details of Wanda’s attacks. Meanwhile, he could think of nothing else. He remembered the last time she’d allowed him to touch her so intimately; he’d been gentle with her, but he’d also been so focused on his own prowess that he couldn’t remember if he’d pleased her or not. Judging by how she cleaved to Cosmo, Juandissimo doubted it.

He told himself that attacking those Unseelie fairies would have accomplished nothing. Unfortunately, it was hard to argue for peace when his blood was boiling. Wanda’s choked cries also echoed in his mind. She was okay now. He knew she was all right. He’d verified it himself.

It might have been a good thing Cosmo and Timmy had been trapped in Fairy World during her captivity. Juandissimo knew that if he was having so many problems subduing his rage, Cosmo wouldn’t have been able to do anything against it. He and Timmy would have been infuriated by Wanda’s mistreatment, as Juandissimo was, but unable to control their impulses to harm the culprits.

Unbeknownst to him, Juandissimo’s wand was sparking again. Someone else waiting cleared their throat to draw attention to his wand, and Juandissimo smiled sheepishly. Wanda was all right. She was no longer in any immediate danger. Juandissimo could release his anger because it was unconstructive. Besides, it wasn’t like Cosmo or Timmy had seen anything. If they had, the hotel probably would have caught on fire.

Not that that wasn’t a tempting option. While Juandissimo wasn’t one to think the worst of everyone, from what he’d glimpsed on those TVs, there weren’t many Unseelie fairies above reproach. Any of them touching Wanda so intimately deserved what they got.

Juandissimo tried to clear his mind. Cupid appeared beside him, which only briefly startled the Latino fairy. Cupid had odd insights into Juandissimo’s moods. They weren’t Bonded (Juandissimo doubted fallen Greek gods were capable of it), but they were fairly close. Cupid took one look at his face and scowled.

“It’s about Wanda, isn’t it?” Cupid said. The god of love knew Juandissimo’s hang-ups, and he also knew what the Council had told Juandissimo to do. Reluctantly, the younger fairy nodded and produced a video midair of what he’d witnessed in the hotel.

Cupid hissed. “Cosmo and Wanda are damn lucky that Asmodeus’s meddling didn’t destroy their Bond altogether. When the barrier went up, it blocked off their Bond, which meant nothing Wanda went through reached Cosmo in real-time. And nothing that happened to Wanda touched the Bond magic while she and Cosmo were disconnected.”

Juandissimo nodded, and Cupid squeezed his shoulder.

“I know that’s not comforting,” Cupid said apologetically. “It doesn’t erase what they did, either. She’s okay now.”

“Si,” Juandissimo said once he could trust himself to speak again. “She is with Cosmo and Timmy.”

Cupid nodded. “They’re safe in Fairy World.”

Juandissimo felt the unspoken “for now” attached to that statement. He squeezed his wand to disperse the image before it progressed to that redhead choking Wanda. If Cosmo had any sense, which Juandissimo doubted, but if he did, he would have done everything within his power to make Wanda forget her abuse. Juandissimo would have done the same. It wasn’t fair that Cosmo had her; Juandissimo maintained that he treated her better than that buffoon ever had. Now was not the time to press the issue. Any unwanted attention would probably send her poofing off somewhere far away and unreachable.

Cupid scowled, glancing at a tablet he’d taken out of his pocket. “Really? Another drachma? Man, this demigod is desperate. I’ll be back later.”

He kissed Juandissimo on the cheek and then vanished. Juandissimo smiled weakly. His heart ached for Wanda. If he knew that he could confront the Unseelie fairies and win, he might suggest a proposition to Cosmo to destroy the lot of them.

Juandissimo knew Wanda well enough to know that she was keeping secrets from Cosmo. He also knew that if Cosmo had more than an inkling of what Wanda was hiding, he’d go berserk. Juandissimo smiled humorlessly. He was almost there right now, and he wasn’t Bonded to Wanda.

Another quick glance at his wand told him Timmy was sobbing hysterically in his godparents’ arms. They rocked him back and forth and murmured soothing words. Juandissimo watched for a few seconds longer before banishing the image. In its own way, it was as miserable as what Juandissimo had seen before. The death of innocence.

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Wanda sat, reviewing the events that had led to Timmy’s parents’ deaths. Since Fairy World had recalled its godparents and godchildren to shelter behind their barrier, it had created a vast spell that mollified the children’s parents and explained their disappearance. How the parents reacted to the spell varied. Some parents behaved like their children were on a school trip and would return soon. Others, like Timmy’s parents, had taken it as an excuse to go on prolonged trips since they didn’t need to worry about Timmy.

Asmodeus, unable to snatch Timmy (or Cosmo) from Fairy World, had set his eyes upon Timmy’s parents. Even if Wanda had known of his nefarious plot, she could have done nothing to prevent it, not without communication with Fairy World and Cosmo. Instead, she swallowed a ball of guilt as she listened to her godson’s heartbreaking sobs. Asmodeus had fabricated a car accident that looked almost natural except for the telltale magical glows that enveloped the Turners’ car before it lost control.

She wasn’t sure Timmy had noticed. Cosmo had--he raised his eyebrows at her, and she glanced askance, unable to meet his gaze. Her heart was heavy. The convoluted chain of events that had led to Wanda’s capture technically started with Timmy’s wish to separate the feuding heirs. If he hadn’t done that, they wouldn’t have attracted unwanted attention, which wouldn’t have caused the domino effect.

Timmy turned in their arms and clung to Cosmo. There had been other little moments like this, where Timmy would turn to Cosmo as if he’d forgotten she was there too. She rubbed his back in circles; the twins shook their rattles. The living room was buried in Crimson Chin comic books that Timmy hadn’t noticed. With a humorless smile, Wanda sent those into Timmy’s room and shook her head at the twins. They hadn’t done anything wrong; Timmy was beyond noticing his environment or their current attempts.

“I know it hurts, sweetie,” Wanda murmured. “You’re safe with us.”

“Yeah,” Cosmo added. “Nothing ever goes wrong in Fairy World.”

It was Wanda’s turn to shoot him an upraised eyebrow. As in, “What kind of fallacies are you telling our godson?”

“I bet they didn’t even miss me,” Timmy said once he’d stopped crying as much. “I bet they were glad I was gone.”

“I wouldn’t say that, hon,” she said. “They loved you, too.”

“Maybe not as much as us--” Cosmo started, and she smacked him over the head with a pillow.

“Not now, you idiot,” she snapped.

He seemed to have recovered from Big Daddy’s torture session, or else he’d blighted the memory from his mind like he had of attacking the Unseelie fairies. She wished her mind was that elastic. It felt like the trauma was bunching up and waiting for a trigger to dump on her.

“The Council said that I wished you guys away in another timeline,” Timmy said. He shook his head emphatically. “I would never. Cosmo’s right.”

He paused. “Cosmo’s right?”

“Go me!” Cosmo whooped. Wanda sighed, pinching her nose bridge.

“Cosmo’s right,” Timmy restarted. “You love more than my parents did.”

“I know your parents cared about you,” she said. “They just didn’t have the experience that we do. It’s hard being a parent.”

Timmy lifted his head and glared at her. “You don’t seriously believe that the only reason they were so selfish is because you’re immortal creatures, and they weren’t?”

Wanda felt wrong-footed. It was always odd to defend Timmy’s parents, especially when she and Cosmo had loathed them. She hated how they’d dumped Timmy on Vicky all the time and then found excuses not to be home during the day, too. If they cared about their son as much as they claimed, they would have at least tried to see him more than once a month.

“You’re trying to make me feel better by defending them,” Timmy snapped. “When you know you’re lying.”

He folded his arms across his chest. “You’d never defend Asmodeus.”

Hearing the name was enough to grind her teeth. “Asmodeus is reprehensible. Nothing he did is remotely defensible.”

“Then don’t defend my parents, either!” Timmy said.

Cosmo looked as confused as she felt.

“There isn’t exactly a line of evil that goes from your parents straight to Asmodeus,” Cosmo said. ((Is there?))

((No…))

“Pretty sure there are a lot of people in between,” Cosmo added. “Asmodeus is more like Stalin or Hitler than your parents.”

“If they were also sadistic rapists,” she muttered. “They could have been, for all we know.”

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Timmy huffed. “I’m saying that what my parents did was reprehensible, too. They left me alone with pure evil, and they didn’t listen to me when I told them what she’d done.”

“Sport, your parents meant much better than Asmodeus,” she said gently. “They might have been inadequate and incompetent parents, but they tried. They put their needs above yours, which is wrong, but they never actively hurt you. They neglected you.”

“That’s supposed to make me feel better?” Timmy said skeptically.

“It’s supposed to explain why there are a few steps between your parents and Asmodeus,” she said. Goosebumps had arisen on her arms, and she rubbed them. Cosmo shot her a concerned glance over Timmy’s shoulder.

“Also,” she said, wincing, “as little as I want to defend Vicky, she’s not on the same level as Asmodeus, either. She’s sadistic, malicious, and egotistical, among other things, but she hasn’t quite progressed to Asmodeus’s level. Yet.”

“Yet?” Cosmo repeated.

“You think it’s possible?” Timmy said.

“Yes,” she said quietly. “I do. Vicky already has the markings of a sociopath. She shows no remorse for her behavior; she experiments on animals and humans to see how they react to physical and psychological pain, and she manipulates people based on their weaknesses. The only real difference between her and Asmodeus, beyond time to hone their crafts, is that Vicky doesn’t like to get her hands dirty as much as he does.”

She shuddered uncontrollably.

Asmodeus tilted her face this way and that with his fingers clutching her chin. Wanda bore his scrutiny with clenched teeth. Her heart pounded between her ribs as she wondered what was next in his depraved bag of tricks. Every time he touched her, her skin crawled in revulsion.

“Cosmo,” he said.

“What?” she said, startled. Asmodeus seldom spoke of her husband, and when he did, it was almost never by name. She knew they loathed each other, which was only natural.

Rather than explaining, Asmodeus twisted one of her curls around his index finger. He followed it up with the customary sharp tug that made her hiss.

“You’re still in love with him,” Asmodeus observed.

“We’ve been married almost ten thousand years,” she reminded him. “We’re Bonded. Love doesn’t fade that fast.”

“You don’t know if he still loves you,” he said. She opened her mouth to protest. He overrode her. “He abandoned you to Fairy World without warning. He hasn’t tried to contact you since. You’re damaged goods, which apparently any idiot can see. Especially your idiot.”

She wanted to counter him, but nothing sprang to mind. The same worries had fluttered through her mind over the past few months.

“You may love him, but when the chance to rescue you came, he and Timmy left you behind,” Asmodeus said. “You’re wasting your time pining for him.”

“Cosmo wouldn’t leave me,” she argued, but it sounded weak to her ears. Asmodeus laughed. They were sitting side by side on her bed, and he ran his fingers along her chest and brushed them against her nipples. She felt tawdry and disgusting, a familiar feeling around him.

“And yet…” Asmodeus said, sneering. “You have no proof to the contrary. All the evidence points to your family ditching you. Fairy World certainly did.”

He grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her close to him to press his lips against hers in a harsh kiss. She bit his lower lip as hard as she could until his blood filled her mouth. Shocked, Asmodeus withdrew. She was stunned, too--not because she’d done it, since she’d fantasized about hurting him for months now. But that she’d been able to act of her own free will.

Asmodeus backhanded her; she dodged by the faintest of margins. Her heart pounded fit to break her chest. The geas was still there--she could feel its weight pressing on her chest--but it had twisted somehow.

“What the fuck is going on?” Asmodeus demanded.

Wanda spat out his blood. “I don’t know.”

Asmodeus whistled, bringing a sprite before him. Wanda growled. She hated those things. They spied on her constantly; she was never completely alone. They could also turn invisible, which meant she had no privacy. She had to assume they reported all of her activities to Asmodeus.

“Summon my generals,” he ordered the sprite. “We need to show this Seelie bitch her place again, it seems.”

Wanda’s stomach clenched. She scrambled for her wand as if that would accomplish anything. Poofing to Fairy World and leaving the hotel was impossible. Asmodeus plucked the wand from her grasp, tossed it to the side with casual disdain, and ripped her dress off. Though it was petty, she was glad his lip was swollen.

“It looks like we need to remind her who’s in charge here,” Asmodeus snapped. “It’s sure as fuck not you.”

His gaze blazed into her. “I hope, if you ever reunite with Cosmo, that he hears you screaming, and he chooses to ignore it. Because you mean nothing to him.”

Wanda gasped. Another bucket of water must have upended over her head. The TV flickered off, confusing her. What baffled her further was that Timmy and Cosmo wore identical shocked looks. She had a sneaking suspicion Timmy had seen the flashback, too. Both moved toward her, and she poofed away. Her heart was racing.

“Asmodeus really wanted you to hate me, didn’t he?” Cosmo said quietly. “You know I would’ve tried to rescue you. You’re not damaged goods.”

Her chest constricted, and she was having difficulty breathing. Unlike last time, she didn’t poof to another place in Fairy World, nor did she squeeze her wand to calm down. Timmy approached her like one would a wounded animal.

“What happened after that?” Timmy said softly. He took her right hand and gently unwound her fingers from the wand to hold her hand. Her heart felt like it’d burst in her chest.

She shook her head.

“You saw what happened to my parents,” Timmy said. “You were there for me for that.”

She wanted to protest that this was completely different. Instead, she shook her head again and gestured for the wand. Reluctantly, he released her hand and gave it to her. She squeezed so she could breathe and loosen the knot in her chest enough to reply. Then she placed the wand back on the countertop between the kitchen and the living room where Timmy had put it.

“I was so battered and bruised, I could barely walk,” she said. “Do you remember the scene in the dining room?”

Cosmo and Timmy nodded.

“That was right after they’d finished with me,” she said. She drew a deep, shuddering breath. “I couldn’t sit without excruciating pain. They…deliberately tore things, and Asmodeus wouldn’t let me heal. It was a miracle I hadn’t passed out from blood loss.

“I got an infection, too,” she said. “That was the only reason Asmodeus healed me.”

Her lips twitched. “Heaven forbid he gets sick because of something he did to me.”

Cosmo poofed to her side and clutched her to his chest. She didn’t stop him, nor did she freeze in his arms. Instead, she relaxed against him and wrapped his arms around her stomach. Their heads turned, and they shared a brief kiss. He was shaking, too, with outrage.

“You’re trusting us a little more,” Timmy said. He squeezed her hand.

“I love you both,” she said. She could feel Cosmo’s heartbeat against her back, which was reassuring. It was less so when he nipped at her neck and then sucked on the bite.

“Cosmo!” she scolded. “Not in front of Timmy!”

Timmy stared. “Your neck is covered in hickeys.”

She smiled sheepishly. “I normally heal myself before you notice, but…I got distracted. Cosmo likes to bite.”

“Yep!” Cosmo said, nipping at her neck again. “She tastes good!”

“I’ll take your word on that,” Timmy said, nonplussed. He frowned. “The Council said they’d be monitoring us and wanted Wanda to help them defeat Asmodeus.”

She nodded. “What are you thinking, hon?”

“You know his weaknesses better than anyone,” Timmy said. “I mean, he wouldn’t have hid them from you because he probably thought you couldn’t tell anyone.’

She snorted. “Pretty much. He wasn’t supposed to be the king, you know. His twin brother was. He murdered him…or at least, claimed he did. They never found a body.”

“So he could still be alive to challenge Asmodeus for the crown?” Timmy said, growing excited. She frowned, cottoning onto his idea.

“He could,” she said. “And even if he’s not, it’s always been in the back of Asmodeus’s mind that his reign is insecure. With the damage I dealt him, it’s worse now. I know there are factions that thought his preoccupation with me detracted from his rule. Bringing his brother back, either as an illusion or in truth, would probably divide the court, which we could exploit.”

“What if his brother is worse than he is?” Cosmo said. He stopped biting her; he was rocking her now. “What if he tries to hurt you too?”

“The Council will intervene,” Wanda said. Her eyes flashed. “They owe me big time for hanging me out to dry for months.”

Cosmo kissed her cheek, and she smiled. He wanted to reaffirm his love for her, which was sweet, albeit distracting. Without Timmy’s presence, she wouldn’t have objected. Thinking about last night brought heat to her face.

“You’re giving each other bedroom eyes,” Timmy complained. “Should I go somewhere else for a while?”

“Yes,” Cosmo said.

“It can wait,” Wanda said, pushing Cosmo away. ((Later, hon. I promise.))

“Your idea has real merit,” she said to Timmy. “Since we know that wishes can break through their magical barriers, I think we need to talk with them now. Before things get any worse.”

“How much worse could they get?” Cosmo said. She raised her eyebrows.

“I’m serious,” Cosmo said.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But I’d rather not find out the hard way.”

Cosmo waggled his eyebrows at her, and she flushed deeper. Before she’d disentangled herself from him, he’d been hard, too. They were both getting a little too randy for their own good. The Bond was probably determined to make Cosmo make amends, and Cosmo’s guilt compounded it.

“Okay, whatever is going on between you guys…” Timmy rolled his eyes. “I wish we were in the Council chambers!”

Cosmo and Wanda raised their wands. Her heart pounded for a different reason when they arrived. On a projection screen, Juandissimo was showing the Council what the hotel TVs had been running. The blood drained from her face; Cosmo’s playfulness vanished. He held her again, this time so tightly it felt like she’d need the jaws of life to extract him.

Cosmo thumbed her cheek; he looked distraught. Thankfully, he wasn’t facing the screen. His focus was on her exclusively.

((I love you, baby,)) he said.

((I love you too, hon,)) she said. Hearing her past self screaming unnerved her; she remembered that scene too well.

“I wish the screen was off!” Timmy snapped. Cosmo and Wanda exchanged relieved sighs. As one, the Council and Juandissimo turned to look at the intruders. Juandissimo’s expression was equal parts longing and compassion. He poofed in front of her, probably to comfort her, and Cosmo growled.

“Not on your life, pal,” Cosmo snapped.

“Just the fairy we needed to see,” the Council member said and rolled his eyes at Cosmo and Juandissimo. “Let’s get to business.”

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As Wanda described her plan, Juandissimo watched her carefully and suppressed his jealousy. Besides, it was more difficult to be jealous of Cosmo when he seemed to be one of the few things holding Wanda together. She’d never been this brittle before, and it scared him. Asmodeus might not have destroyed her completely, but he’d come damn close.

Thinking about the monster with his hands on her filled him with rage. All he needed to do was close his eyes to see Asmodeus and his generals brutalizing his love. If he could only get closer to Wanda to reassure her, he would, but Cosmo was practically hissing and shooting him with venomous looks. He’d gone from taking Wanda for advantage on occasion to overprotection. Then again, he was trying to compensate for abandoning her.

Juandissimo also believed Cosmo and Timmy had left her when she’d needed them most. Why Wanda had forgiven them was beyond his ken. If anything, she should have booted them. Cosmo’s hands ran up and down the swell of her stomach, and Juandissimo’s fury, which had been stoked throughout by those comments, that video, and seeing Cosmo holding her, broke. Knowing that she was pregnant by Asmodeus again was the final straw.

“There is something you’re not telling us, Wanda Cosma,” the Council member said. They, too, cast a pointed glance at her abdomen. Wanda paled and shook her head frantically.

“Nope, nothing,” she lied. Though the man’s head was concealed by his hood, Juandissimo could hear his eyebrows rise.

“We have enough trouble without you concealing vital information,” the Council member continued testily.

“Then perhaps you should not have permitted Cosmo and Timmy to let her rot in the hotel for six months,” Juandissimo snapped. Shocked, the room’s occupants turned as one to face him. "I know Cosmo has been exonerated, but he still failed to act. A five-minute warning is still a warning. You did not see what I saw at the hotel.”

“I saw her memories!” Cosmo snapped, thrusting Wanda aside and bristling at Juandissimo. “I know what happened to her.”

“You didn’t hear them bragging about it,” Juandissimo retorted. Wanda flinched, looking nauseated. The twin infants frowned behind her. Timmy had paled, too.

“That’s what Ansel said,” Timmy said quietly. “He said they were bragging about hurting her. He wouldn’t tell me anything else.”

“You and Timmy could have prevented this,” Juandissimo snapped, "if you had cared about someone other than yourself.”

“Oh, yeah, Mister Constantly Checks the Mirror?” Cosmo rejoined.

“I have an image to maintain,” Juandissimo said. “And if I had married Wandita instead of you, she would have been safe. And she would not be embarazada!”

“A bra?” Cosmo said, baffled. Juandissimo facepalmed.

“He means ‘pregnant,’ you idiot,” Wanda said quietly. “I actually paid attention in Spanish.”

“It helped that you were dating the best student,” Juandissimo said, flashing her a winsome smile. Wanda glowered.

“Is this true?” the Councilman said, wresting the conversation back. “Are you pregnant?”

“Yes,” she said, hanging her head.

“This would not have happened if Cosmo had cared about her instead of himself and Timmy,” Juandissimo fired back.

“We didn’t know the curse would be active so soon,” Timmy protested. He glared at Juandissimo. “No one asked for your opinion.”

“You should not have forgiven them so easily,” Juandissimo said, ignoring Timmy. “Or at all.”

“Listen, pal, she knows we tried to grab her back; she told me that I wasn’t strong enough to beat Asmodeus on my own,” Cosmo said, furious. He floated nose to nose with Juandissimo and poked him in the chest. “What Wanda wants is none of your business. She didn’t marry you; she married me.”

“And you permitted her to spend six months in el infierno,” Juandissimo said. “Such gracious repayment.”

“Enough!” the Councilman snapped. “Do I have to separate you two?”

“Probably,” Timmy said. He glanced at Wanda; Juandissimo didn’t dare take his eyes off Cosmo. Like Big Daddy, Juandissimo was tempted to tear Cosmo a new one for neglecting Wanda. His fists balled.

“If I were you, I would rethink forgiving them,” Juandissimo said. “They do not deserve it.”

The Councilman sent Cosmo to one side of the room and Juandissimo to the other. The two glared, growling. Juandissimo chanced a look at Wanda. Normally, she would have pronounced herself disgusted with both of them and proceeded with her plan. She hadn’t. Pale and trembling, she twisted her wand in her hands.

“Look what you did!” Cosmo snapped.

“If you are going to act like children, then we are going to treat you like children!” the Councilman said. A tense silence overhung the room. Wanda’s gaze had a glazed look, much as it had in that recording. Guilt fought rage. He had accidentally triggered her while trying to prove his point.

“Do you need a minute?” the Councilman said softly to Wanda. She balled her fists and, taking a large gulp of air, straightened her spine. Her eyes blazed.

“Cosmo and Timmy may not have realized in time, but the Council had ample opportunity to rectify their mistake and didn’t,” Wanda snapped. “The only reason I was stuck el infierno--that means ‘hell’--is because you didn’t think I was worth starting a Court war.”

The silence returned, heavy and oppressive. Wanda looked angry enough to spit tacks. Juandissimo remembered her rages; it would be unwise to provoke her further. Only an idiot would stoke the fire.

“Jorgen had to go behind your backs to rescue me,” Wanda said. “You have the audacity to complain about my condition when you could have prevented that, too?”

“Silence,” the Councilman snapped. “Arguing gets us nowhere.”

“I’m not arguing,” she said. “I’m stating facts. You were lucky that the twins are so emotionally attached to me despite not meeting me earlier. Asmodeus will have compensated for that this time. You realize that, don’t you? Or were you going to keep burying your heads in the sand?”

“You will be quiet, Wanda Fairywinkle Cosma, or we will banish you from this court and proceed without you,” the Councilman said. “Yes, we would cut off our nose to spite our face. Your disrespect is uncalled for and intolerable. You will remain silent unless called upon.”

Like a child in class.

Wanda flushed angrily but nodded.

“Your plan is a sound one,” the Councilman admitted after a long pause. “As Asmodeus’s known former associate, you would also have influence with his twin brother, should he still live.”

She nodded; her jaw was clenched. Cosmo brushed against her arm, probably to reassure her, but she threw him off. In that kind of mood, it was unwise to touch her. She was wearing those sleeve gloves again. Juandissimo’s heart clenched. He’d heard enough around the hotel to know why.

If only there were a way to kill Cosmo and leave Wanda alone. Juandissimo was certain he and Big Daddy were on the same page. Cosmo hadn’t deserved Wanda then, and he had proven that now, too.

“Are you sure you can handle returning to the Unseelie Court?” the Councilman said. Juandissimo wondered the same thing, but he wasn’t about to gainsay her aloud.

“As long as there’s no geas on me, I should be fine,” Wanda said through clenched teeth. “With my wand and backup, as well as not needing to stay with them…”

“It’s way too soon to do that to her,” Timmy objected.

“I did not say we were going to push her out into the field again this instant,” the Councilman said. “We need to ascertain whether Asmodeus’s twin is still alive first. That will take time. She also needs to attend therapy.”

“For something you caused,” Timmy grumbled.

“Thin ice, Turner,” the Councilman reminded him.

Sullen, Timmy folded his arms across his chest and glared at the floor. Cosmo put his hands on his godson’s shoulders to reassure him, which drove Juandissimo’s blood pressure back up.

A five-minute lapse in judgment was no excuse, not when it came to a grievous error.

“We shall consider your testimony and begin our search,” the Councilman said. "You are dismissed.”

They reappeared in front of the Council courthouse. It was pouring, with thunder booming in the background. Cosmo and Juandissimo glared daggers at each other.

“You know I think Cosmo is a fool,” Juandissimo said to Wanda. "I had hoped for thousands of years that you would change your mind. You should reconsider whether you want to remain with a man who puts himself and your godson above your well-being.”

Juandissimo vanished without another word. He reappeared in a bar downtown, where Cupid was wiping down tables.

“Didn’t go too well, did it?” Cupid asked. Juandissimo shook his head in disgust.

“You do know that they’re Bonded? So they’re true loves?” Cupid reminded him.

“Abandoning her to El Diablo is not true love,” Juandissimo snapped. "It is indefensible.”

He balled his fists. “Big Daddy was right. Cosmo and Timmy do not deserve to be forgiven. They do not love her.”

Juandissimo floated over a bar stool and conjured a Spanish beer, which he drained in a minute. Cupid poofed another one and studied him closely.

“What?” Juandissimo said testily.

“You know, if those two split up, she’s not going to run back into your arms,” Cupid said.

Juandissimo scoffed. “I would have died for her. Cosmo does not have the cojones to do what is right. I hope he regrets it to his dying day.”

Cupid knew enough to leave Juandissimo alone for now. Instead, kissing him on the cheek and affectionately tousling his ponytail, the former Greek god turned fairy vanished to tidy up another bar section. The bar was Greek-themed, and occasionally, other gods showed up. They found Fairy World quaint and amusing.

Or they had before the wall.

Juandissimo knew he’d have to get shitfaced to forget what he’d seen, heard, and sensed. Until he stopped wanting to choke the life out of Cosmo. His fingers flexed. They were not true loves. They could not be because no one who truly loved her would have given her up without a fight.

----------------------------

Timmy and Cosmo were furious and guilty. Cosmo was incensed that Juandissimo had called him out publicly but was also battling guilt because he knew Juandissimo was right. Wanda had no reason to forgive them. She’d vanished into their bedroom after the dismissal, and Cosmo didn’t pursue her. Her emotions were calamitous enough without his input.

Maybe they didn’t deserve forgiveness, but that wasn’t Juandissimo’s call to make. It was Wanda’s.

Steeling himself since he’d left her alone for a half hour, Cosmo poofed into their bedroom. Wanda was leafing through a photo album from happier times. He hadn’t realized how thin she’d grown aside from her breasts and stomach. Her face was almost skeletal, and it scared him. The remorse throbbed like a stab wound. Wanda had suffered because he and Timmy had faltered at the wrong moment.

“Hey, hon,” she said with a wan smile. “I’m okay now. I think.”

“You forgave me because you know I never meant to abandon you,” Cosmo said. She closed the book and frowned.

“Juandissimo would’ve gotten distracted by his stupid ego before thinking of me, too,” she scoffed. “Don’t kid yourself. He can afford to play the part of an offended ex-lover because it suits him. I doubt he would have prevented it either.”

“But he was right,” Cosmo said. He drifted down toward the bed beside her. She shook her head and kissed him.

“I chose you, not him,” she said. “I’m ‘the one that got away.’ It has nothing to do with any real feelings he has for me. It’s more to assuage his massive ego.”

“That’s the only thing that’s massive about him, right?” Cosmo said, and she snorted.

“Don’t worry about that,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You’re all I want in that department.”

Cosmo brushed her hair back from her face. Though they kissed again, he sensed sadness in her.

“What’s wrong? What did I do now?” he said.

“It’s not you,” she said. Glancing around, she ensured that Timmy was with the twins. “I don’t want this child, and I didn’t want the twins. I’m grateful they’re emotionally bonded to me, but Asmodeus will not make that mistake again. I’m afraid of the dark magic he used this time.”

“You don’t know when you got pregnant, and he used that spell?” Cosmo said. “Shouldn’t you know?”

“Sweetie,” Wanda said, and the smile faded. “If he hadn’t cast another spell ensuring only he could impregnate me, I wouldn’t know whose it was. That’s how often it happened.”

She looked away. “I told you that I lost track. I had to. If I remembered every single assault, I would have lost my mind. I very nearly did.”

Her eyes filled with tears, and Cosmo thumbed away the ones that trailed down her cheeks. They kissed again, but she pulled away quickly.

“I’m sorry,” he said, feeling like apologies were inadequate to smooth over the mess he and Timmy had made.

“I know you are,” she said. She glanced at the photo album and opened it to their wedding photos. Though Wanda was thinner then than she’d been a few months ago, she was also healthier and happier than she was now. She’d lost the sparkle in her eyes.

“I’m sorry too,” she said. She closed the book and then shut her eyes. Curling into a ball, she rested on the bed, and Cosmo joined her to cuddle her in his arms.

“Maybe Juandissimo’s right,” he ventured. “Maybe I don’t deserve you.”

She smiled and snuggled up against him. Then, turning around in his arms, her eyes open again, she cupped his face in her palm. Her expression was tender and affectionate.

“I’m not going to change my mind based on what someone I dumped says,” she said. “He doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. You do. I love you and Timmy. You know that. That’s what matters, not Juandissimo’s opinion.”

Cosmo held her and thought of everything they’d endured together. It wasn’t right that she’d suffered so much, and he didn’t know the full extent. He didn’t know if she was shielding him or herself.

“Did they really brag about what they did?” he asked, and she grimaced.

“Unfortunately,” she said, wrapping her arms around him. "It wasn’t exactly the best place on Earth, hon.”

They kissed, and he slipped his hands underneath her shirt. She smiled into the kiss but pulled away. When she did, he whined.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I need to check on Timmy and the twins.”

When she reappeared in the living room, he did too. Timmy was staring at the TV but processing nothing. She frowned.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” she asked, and he lifted his head.

“I miss my friends,” he admitted. "I’ve been gone for so long that they probably think I moved.”

“You did move,” Cosmo said. “Above their heads!”

Timmy rolled his eyes. Wanda sat beside him on the couch.

“I’m afraid we can’t do anything about your friends right now,” she said sympathetically. “Other than Chloe, none of them are here.”

“I know,” he said, tossing his phone from hand to hand. "I just wish I could feel normal again.”

“What’s normal?” Cosmo said.

“What do you need from us right now?” Wanda said, ignoring Cosmo. “What can we do to help?”

“You’re okay, right?” Timmy said.

“Define ‘okay,’” Cosmo said.

“Cosmo,” Timmy growled.

“What? What did I say?” Cosmo said, baffled.

“Ignore him for now,” she said, rolling her eyes. She held Timmy’s hands. “What do you think would make you happy? You know our limitations.”

Timmy paused, mulling it over. He grabbed her in a fierce hug, and she hugged him back. Like with Wanda earlier, Cosmo sensed Timmy’s aura of misery.

“There’s no way I can talk to them, right?” he asked. “Nothing in or out of Fairy World.”

She frowned. “If Juandissimo, Jorgen, and Binky can travel between Earth and Fairy World, there’s some sanctioned magical transfer. Video chats are a lot less demanding than moving around. We can try.”

Cosmo huffed, still pissy over Juandissimo.

“I wish I could have a video chat with my friends on Earth!” Timmy said. Cosmo and Wanda held up their wands, and a laptop appeared on Timmy’s lap.

“There you go, sport,” she said, ruffling his hair affectionately. “I’m guessing this is all primed up to speak with your friends. I’m sorry you can’t be with them in person, but this is the next best thing.

“We’ll make it back to Dimmsdale.”

“Or die trying!” Cosmo added, and she groaned.

“Don’t put ideas in his head.”

“Who said anything about ideas?” Cosmo said. “My mind’s empty, as usual.”

Shaking his head, Timmy opened the laptop. Discord popped up, and she and Cosmo took that as their cue to leave. Following her lead, Cosmo joined her in the nursery. Lily and Matilda were wide awake and reaching for her.

She held out her arms, and they flew into them.

“I wish I knew if they modified the geas and how,” she said, stroking their heads.

“Ask?” Cosmo said, and she gave him a blank look.

“Cosmo, they’re infants,” she said, nonplussed. “I doubt they know how they did it either.”

“You never know!” he said.

When she went to place them back in their cribs, they whined and flew into her arms again. She raised her eyebrows.

“This could be a problem.”

“C’mon, go to sleep,” Cosmo whined. As one, the twins turned and blew him a raspberry. They then clung to their mother and gave him smug looks.

“Maybe I have been spending too much time away from them,” she said. “I need to face the truth. They’re not going anywhere, and they need love too.”

“I want love,” Cosmo said, pouting. She rolled her eyes.

“They see me as their only parent,” she pointed out. “I’m not sure how they see you and Timmy, but it’s not the same.”

Settling on the rocking chair, she set it into motion. The twins snuggled against her chest, and he tried not to be jealous.

“I don’t know how they know who I am,” she admitted. “As soon as they were born, one of Asmodeus’s cronies stole them away.”

Her expression was pained. “I didn’t want to have them, but I didn’t want to lose them, either. They were probably the only beings within that hotel who wanted me around for me, not for what they could do to me.”

Cosmo elongated the rocking chair so he could sit beside her.

“I want you for who you are,” Cosmo said.

“You weren’t in the hotel, hon,” she pointed out, her shoulders slumping. "I’m sure if you were, Asmodeus would have separated us.”

Cosmo kissed her on the lips; she needed a lot more reassurance than she had before. He wondered when he’d stop feeling guilty about it.

Cosmo wrapped an arm around her to pull her closer; she rested her head on his shoulder.

The twins settled down in Wanda’s arms and yawned, eyelids fluttering. She smiled fondly.

“I suppose I can stay for a while,” she said. She discarded the sleeve gloves, and Cosmo sighed in relief. He liked her better without them, and it felt more normal.

“Other than you two almost blowing up Fairy World, what else did I miss?” she asked.

“Nothing much,” Cosmo said. “Fairy World was boring without you.”

“With you two running around unsupervised?” she said skeptically. “Why do I doubt it?”

“It’s true,” he protested, and she snorted, unconvinced. He didn’t want to discuss himself and the time here. It wasn’t that interesting, despite what she thought to the contrary.

“Why do you still trust me?” he said.

“You know the answer to that, hon,” she said. “I love you. I will always love you. I know you wouldn’t have left me behind without a choice. The Council’s message must have appeared right after I returned to the hotel, and I demanded you two leave.”

He nodded, leaned forward, and kissed her. There were tears in her eyes, which alarmed him.

“What’s the matter?” he said. “Did I do something wrong?”

Shaking her head, she kissed him back. His heart pounded; he wanted to make out with her, but the babies made it awkward. She snorted.

“It can wait,” she scolded lightly. “I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you. We still have eternity together.”

“I wanna erase Asmodeus from your mind,” he said. “However I can.”

“I know,” she said. Glancing down, she saw that the babies had fallen asleep. Gently, trying not to disturb them, she placed them back in their cribs and then transported Cosmo and herself to their bedroom.

Once there, she pressed him into the bed and kissed him passionately. He grinned, responding with gusto, and stroked her wings. He tried to avoid touching them outside of the bedroom because he knew how she responded. She swiped his lip with her tongue, and he deepened the kiss.

((I love you, baby,)) he said, and she smiled.

((I love you too,)) she reassured him. She pulled back, prompting another whine.

“What’s wrong?” he said.

“Oh, nothing,” she said. There was a mischievous glint in her eyes. Using her wand, she undressed him and then wrapped her mouth around his length. Caught off guard, he moaned as she gave him a blow job. He should have told her that her pleasure was more important than everything else, but his mind had gone blank. Moreover, he didn’t want her to stop. The way she teased him was making his head spin in a good way, especially when she licked off the pre-cum. He throbbed with need, but before she could continue, he pulled her back up and undressed her, too. She tilted her head quizzically.

“What is it, hon?” she said and then moaned when he slid inside of her. Oral was good, yes, but he wanted to make love to her until Asmodeus was completely driven out of her mind. They resumed making out as she clung to him.

He nipped her neck and sucked on the bite as he thrust in and out. She was wet for him, and when she clamped down on him, it was his turn to moan.

She laughed, startling him. “We’re turning into nymphos.”

“We are not,” he whined, although it was hard to speak, let alone argue, in this position.

“Uh-huh,” she said. She grinned and then gasped as he hit a sweet spot. Her laughter turned into loud moans as she pressed herself against him so he could fill her. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the feeling of them together. He felt her satisfaction in their mental link, and he grinned.

At least he was good at this, and it was driving everyone and everything else out again. Plus, he loved the feeling of her surrounding him. She nipped at his neck and sucked on it too, which made him groan. She was bringing him dangerously close to climax, especially as she continued to suck and flick her tongue at the bite. Her ministrations heightened his pleasure, too, and he came inside of her.

She slid off and lay beside him. Her skin was slick with sweat and coated in his fairy dust, which prompted a grin.

Without thinking, he reached for her mind and then startled, frowning. She’d pulled away mentally; her thoughts had gone elsewhere immediately.

“Okay, now I know I did something wrong,” he protested.

She shook her head but didn’t answer. His worry increased.

“What did I do?”

“I don’t know how to explain it,” she said. “It’s nothing you did, specifically.”

“Then what is it?” he pressed.

Another head shake. Closing her eyes, she lapsed into silence, which only made him fret more. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and a small, painful smile crossed her lips. His alarm grew.

“What?”

“I don’t think I could bear it if we were separated again,” she admitted.

“We’re not going to be,” he said confidently. Then, when she didn’t agree, he added, “Right?”

“I hope not,” she said. She turned her back to him, and shudders wracked her. He spooned her. When she spoke again, her tone was distant.

“I certainly hope not.”