June 2015

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FOP doesn't belong to me.

"What?"

Cosmo couldn't believe his ears. Everything had been going fine all day—they had granted Timmy's wish for the ability to talk to animals and had spent most of the day listening to a very hyper squirrel—and he had never gotten even a hint of a problem.

But now that he thought about it, Wanda had been a little quieter than usual today. Even when he joked with her, she never really responded. She seemed normal when they had said goodnight to Timmy, but now that they were alone in their secret home inside the fishbowl castle, Wanda's mood turned dark again.

"You heard me, Cosmo," she replied softly, watching him from the edge of her bed. Her hands fidgeted with the hem of her shirt absently, and the lamp on her nightstand cast her face into shadow.

But her eyes, they were bright and shiny and locked onto Cosmo's.

"N-no," he said with a shaky laugh. "I-I don't think I did. What did you say?"

"Why don't you love me anymore?" she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper. "And don't try to tell me that you do, because it's been quite obvious by your recent behavior that you DON'T."

Cosmo's mouth dropped open. She said it again. He hadn't misheard. She actually thought he stopped loving her. How could she think that? Wasn't she supposed to be the smart one?

"Wanda," he started, moving towards her with his arms outstretched. "Of course I love you! I always have and I always will!"

He tried to wrap his arms around her, but she, almost violently, pushed him away. He stumbled and fell to the floor, staring at her in complete shock. Her eyes were still locked onto his as she stood, and now they burned with anger.

"HOW DARE YOU!" she hissed, and the amount of venom contained within those three words made Cosmo cringe. "How DARE you say that to me! After everything you've done—all the insults you constantly hurl my way, all the snide remarks about our marriage, all the disgustingly obvious ogling you do when a pretty face or nice pair of legs crosses your line of sight—how DARE you claim to still love me?!"

Cosmo was terrified. He had never seen Wanda this angry—well, scratch that, he HAD seen her this angry before, just never at him. She trembled in her rage, and her hands clenched into such tights fists the knuckles turned white. Her hair hadn't become aflame yet, but Cosmo guessed it was probably because she was SO angry, she didn't want to waste a single stray thought to change it. Tears trickled steadily from her eyes and she wiped at them roughly, as if trying to make them stop through sheer force.

"Tell me when," she said through gritted teeth, leaning close to her cowering husband. "When did you stop loving me? Tell me."

"N-never," Cosmo whispered, tears slipping from his own eyes. He had never been so scared or so confused in his life. "I never stopped—"

His head rocked back on his neck, and an entire new universe of stars exploded before him as a hand connected with his cheek like a sledgehammer.

"LIAR!" Wanda hissed, baring her teeth at him. Her tears fell faster, and when she spoke next, her voice was shaky and uneven. "Do you think I'm stupid? Do you?"

Shocked, stunned, and in pain, Cosmo slowly shook his head. He stared at her, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, as a hand moved to his hurt cheek. The skin felt hot, and he placed his palm against the developing handprint.

He wasn't sure what he found more shocking—her belief that he didn't love her anymore, or the fact that she had hit him.

"Y-you hit me," he said dumbly, as if confirming it to himself. Wanda's face softened for a split second, and Cosmo recognized the look of concern he often saw when he hurt himself. Then she blinked and it was gone, replaced by a frown and wrinkled brow.

Hope bloomed in Cosmo's heart at the sight. It may not have been 'happy Wanda', but at least it wasn't 'tear your wings off and feed them to you Wanda'.

"Y-you deserved it," she said as she stood, turning away from him and crossing her arms. "For lying."

"I didn't lie!" Cosmo cried as he jumped to his feet. "Wanda, I don't think you're stupid, and I'm not lying when I say I never stopped loving you!" He quickly wrapped his arms around her and hugged her from behind, pinning her arms to her body in the process.

"Let go," she whispered as she struggled to free herself from his embrace. "Let go of me!"

Instead, Cosmo tightened his grip, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I love you, Wanda," he whispered into her ear. His tears had started again, and he struggled against the sobs building within him. Her behavior was scaring him, and not in the normal 'Wanda's on the rampage' type of scaring. It wasn't just the anger – it was the fact that there seemed to be sadness mixed in. "Please believe me! I love you so much and I don't understand why you're so mad at me!"

This was apparently a very bad thing to say.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND?" she bellowed, roughly breaking free from his embrace. NOW her hair burst into flame, and it burned white hot. "STOP PRETENDING TO BE SO STUPID!"

Cosmo screamed and retreated to the corner, cringing and backing himself into it as far as physically possible.

"I'm not pretending!" he cried, cowering against the wall. "I-I really don't understand!"

His wife growled. "You call me a nag, dull, boring, fat, ugly, AND claim that I trapped you into this marriage, and you don't hesitate to say it as loudly and as often as you can," she said, her voice low and dangerous. "You insult me, you berate me, you degrade me, and all in front of our godchild. For crying out loud, you've even got HIM saying those things now! And this isn't even hitting on the fact that you lose all control of your tongue whenever a pretty face walks by. So THAT is why I'm angry, Cosmo. Your behavior towards me has been very, very, VERY hurtful lately, and I'm officially sick of it. So do you get it now? Do you?"

"But sweetie," Cosmo said, his voice shaky. "It was just a joke! I was just kidding!"

This was, apparently, also a very bad thing to say.

Right before Cosmo was forcibly ejected from the bedroom, he saw Wanda's face go blank. Her fiery hair went out with a soft 'Sffft!' and returned to it's usual pink color, but it hung limp and pale.

"Joking?" she asked as her mouth twitched into a half smile, her voice barely audible. "All those mean things . . . all those hurtful insults . . . and you were just . . . kidding?"

Cosmo nodded slowly, unsure what to think. She looked like she might have been smiling, but it wasn't right. She still looked sad.

"Oh, Cosmo . . . I wish I could make you understand," she whispered as she closed her eyes and lowered her head. Large tears began rolling down her cheeks, and she made no motion to wipe them away as she slowly moved to her bedside table to collect her wand.

She waved her arm once—in a wide, tired arc—and Cosmo was suddenly in the hallway outside the bedroom, staring at the closed door as he lay against the wall where he had landed on his head.

His head throbbed dully as he righted himself, and he rubbed it absently while he stared at the bedroom door.

"Wanda?" he called softly, wanting her to hear but hoping she didn't. Silence pounded in his ears as he continued to stare at the door. Perching himself on his hands and knees, Cosmo slowly, ever so slowly, crawled forward.

"Wanda?" he called again, although he doubted she would have heard him even if she were sitting right on the other side of the door. His voice had betrayed him and come out as nothing more than a high-pitched squeak. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Wanda?" More silence answered him as he stopped right in front of the door.

Swallowing hard and summoning any and all courage he had within him, Cosmo gently placed his hands against the door. Slowly, as if expecting the piece of wood to suddenly explode outward, the little green haired fairy leaned forward and pressed his ear against the barricade, closing his eyes in order to hear better. Once he had tuned out the sound of his own heartbeat, faint sobs floated through to him.

Cosmo frowned. Wanda was crying, and in a way he had never heard before—not even when she had discovered that she was unable to have children had she expressed such heart-wrenching sorrow and grief.

As she cried, an image suddenly popped into Cosmo's head—a lost little girl, one who had discovered she was completely alone in the world. That's what Wanda sounded like—someone who was all alone.

The green haired fairy pulled back and gave the door a questioning look. Wanda was crying because she thought she was alone? But that's ridiculous—Cosmo was with her. She couldn't be alone at the same time she was with him, could she?

With a soft sigh, Cosmo flipped around and sat with his back against the door. He ran a shaky hand through his hair and tried to figure out just why Wanda was so unhappy and seemed so mad at him. She seemed really upset because of the things he had been saying recently, but Cosmo really didn't understand why. They were jokes, what was the big deal? Timmy laughed at them, so he thought they were funny. Why was Wanda so mad about a few playful insults? Wasn't it the same thing as when people called him stupid? Timmy even called him stupid sometimes, and he never got all bent out of shape about it, so what was Wanda's problem?

The more he thought about it, the more annoyed Cosmo became. Wanda was mad at him because of a few insults? Maybe she should have tried to live in HIS shoes for a while as a kid, and then she'd know what insults REALLY were! Everyone hated him, and the most common name hurled in his direction was "Stupid!" He never had any friends, and all the 'cool' kids he admired would be first in line to tease and mistreat him. No one gave him the time of day or thought he was funny or just plain liked having him around. No one cared about Cosmo, ever!

Oh.

Wait.

Cosmo's annoyance melted away as an image of a teenage Wanda came to mind. SHE had been nice to Cosmo, from the first time she had seen him. SHE had never laughed meanly at him or made fun of him or ignored him. SHE had always been kind, and patient, and accepting of his flaws. She had never insulted him.

Well.

Until recently.

With a frown, Cosmo searched his memories for a time when Wanda had called him 'Stupid'. Memory after memory surfaced, was examined, and rejected within seconds. Godchild assignments flittered past, almost too quickly to even register, but Cosmo knew. He knew that what he was looking for wouldn't be found until much, much more recently.

At last, the first memory of Wanda calling him 'stupid' for no real reason surfaced. He noted with a small amount of surprise that the godchild present was Timmy.

More memories surfaced, each presenting another insult from Wanda.

Stupid. Moron. Idiot.

Childhood memories bobbed to the surface, showing fairy children hurling these same insults at a young green haired boy. The pain from each word struck home, and the now adult Cosmo clamped his eyes tightly closed against the tears that loomed.

Suddenly new memories flashed, this time showing a different person throwing insults.

Nag. Ugly. Fat. Boring.

Accompanying the insults were images, all showing a green haired fairy openly drooling over other women—the Tooth Fairy, Man-die, Britney Britney—while his wife looked on disapprovingly. As if to contrast this, images of Juandissimo appeared, and not only clearly showed how upset Cosmo became, but also how unmoved Wanda was by her ex-boyfriend's advances.

She had never given Juandissimo a second glance, all because she loved Cosmo so very much.

The green haired fairy pressed his hands against his mouth to stifle a sudden cry. His eyes were wide and scared above his hands, and his heart pounded. He understood now. He was deeply hurting his wife, and had been for some time. She had finally snapped tonight, having endured too much. Amazingly, despite his painful childhood, it had never occurred to Cosmo before just how hurtful a few words or actions could be.

Tears leaked from his eyes in steady rivets, and he sobbed silently into his arm. The sudden realization of how his actions were hurting his wife had laid a heavy weight of guilt on his heart, and he cried in a vain effort to lessen it. He would not allow himself the privilege of crying out loud, because that ran the risk of possibly bringing Wanda out to comfort him. He did not want that because he felt he did not deserve it. For all the pain and heartache he had put her through, he would endure his own pain silently.

As his tears slowed, two thoughts warred inside his head. Part of him wanted to run to his wife, beg her forgiveness and do whatever he could to heal her heart. He would do anything—ANYTHING—she asked of him, if only it meant that she continued to love him and be with him always. He had been a fool, and in all honesty deserved to lose her, but he would pray she could find it in her wonderfully loving heart to forgive him and stay by his side.

But another part of him wanted to wait, to stay where he was until he had thought everything through. Sure, he might have understood what made her unhappy, but he still hadn't thought of WHY he had begun saying those things in the first place. Until that was discovered, how was he to know that after a few days or weeks or months he would start up with these 'jokes' again?

Cosmo closed his eyes as he tried to think logically. It took him a few tries to get it right, having never actually done it before. But he finally realized that they had never said a mean word to each other—at least not with the frequency they had been lately—until they had been assigned to Timmy. Things had started out all right, but the longer they were with him, the more insults and hurtful comments were included with the memories.

Cosmo thought back and tried to remember the very first time anything mean was said—in jest or otherwise. He was only partially surprised to discover that HE had been the one to deliver that particular insult, and that it was directed at his wife.

But why? Why on earth would he be so intentionally hurtful to the one person who meant the most to him in the whole universe?

With a light groan, Cosmo began to rub his temples. A headache was forming from concentrating for so long, but he felt he was making real progress. Frowning, Cosmo brought the memory to the surface once more. He intended to replay the scene over and over until he discovered the answer.

Five minutes later, Cosmo began to cry again, this time out of frustration. He had played and replayed the image in his mind a hundred times, searching for something, anything, to give him some clue as to why he began treating his wife so horribly. But nothing would come.

He started it again, hoping that this would be the one replay that would make everything 'click'; they were in Timmy's room, Wanda says something, Timmy frowns, Cosmo says something, Wanda frowns (and looks hurt, he noted with a grimace), and Timmy laughs. End of scene. The same thing he had seen a hundred times before. Nothing that really stood out—

Cosmo's thought ended abruptly when he suddenly realized he was smiling. Slowly, dumbly, he brought his hand up to his face and tenderly touched his smiling lips with his fingers, as if to convince himself of its actual existence. Why on earth was he smiling at such an awful memory? Did he subconsciously LIKE to hurt his wife?

The smile dropped from his lips as this terrifying thought took root. Maybe he DID want to hurt Wanda. Maybe his insults and hurtful comments to her were driven by some subconscious need to make himself feel more in control. Maybe, deep down, he felt trapped by her dominant personality and wanted to assert himself—

Cosmo couldn't even finish the thought because he knew in his heart it wasn't true. He didn't want to hurt Wanda, consciously or otherwise. He didn't want to BE in control because he knew he wasn't smart enough. And he didn't feel trapped by her—on the contrary, he felt truly free to be himself simply because she was with him. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he knew that he would surely curl up and die if she ever left him. That didn't sound like someone who wanted to hurt the woman he loved, even subconsciously.

So what was he smiling about? He certainly wasn't happy with himself for saying such a mean thing, and he wasn't happy because he had made Wanda upset, so what did that leave? Sure, Timmy laughed at the insult, and it had made Cosmo feel good to know that he had made his godchild happy, but that . . . didn't . . . . .

Wait a minute.

Cosmo did a quick search of his memories for each instance of mean or hurtful behavior the couple had shown each other. Wanda had only begun hurting Cosmo well after he had starting hurting her, and there was always one other person present during each insult, hurtful comment or act of violence.

Timmy.

Each time Cosmo had said something mean or hurtful to Wanda, Timmy was there, and usually laughed. And each time Timmy laughed, Cosmo felt good. Cosmo felt closer to Timmy than most of their past godchildren, and he wanted to keep Timmy happy, so the mean actions towards his wife continued. And increased in frequency.

The meaner Cosmo was, the more Timmy laughed. Pavlov would have loved such a well conditioned response.

Timmy played with Cosmo, and went along with some of the more harebrained ideas that Cosmo suggested. He laughed at Cosmo's idiocy and became more of a buddy to the fairy than any of their past godchildren. Now that he actually thought about it, Cosmo realized that Timmy was actually the very first real friend he had ever had.

But Timmy was also only 10 years old, and at that age where every girl who wasn't Trixie Tang (ie, the 'accepted' and heavily encouraged vision of beauty) was nothing. In wanting Timmy's acceptance and friendship, Cosmo had adopted this idea without realizing it, and reacted the same way in Timmy's presence.

That's why he insulted Wanda, and hurled hurtful comments in her direction at every opportunity. That's why he ogled the Tooth Fairy, or Man-die, or teen pop sensation Britney Britney. That's why he had never seen the problem with his marriage, and how hurt Wanda actually was.

And that's why he felt like dirt right now. He had put his friendship with a ten year old ahead of his love for his wife.

Well, no more. Cosmo would have a talk with Timmy tomorrow about the treatment of the fairer gender, but right now, he needed to talk to his wife.

"Wanda?" he called softly, slowly getting to his feet. He pressed his hands gently against the door as he talked into it. "Wanda? Can you hear me?"

Silence answered him, and he thought he heard her move inside the room. She wasn't sobbing anymore, so at least that was something.

"Wanda? Honey?"

Silence.

"I . . ." Cosmo swallowed hard as tears began to flow again. "I understand now."

Silence for a moment.

"Do you?" Wanda asked quietly, her voice thick and uneven. Cosmo gasped silently—she sounded right on the other side of the door. And still so sad. "Do you really understand?"

Cosmo nodded, forgetting the fact that Wanda couldn't see it. "I did a lot of thinking," he said, resting his forehead against the wood. "And my head hurts to prove it." He uttered a soft laugh, hoping to hear her return it. When she didn't, he sobered and continued. "I've been . . . really, really mean to you. I've said some really mean things. I'm . . . I'm really sorry."

It sounded so pathetic to his own ears, and he wondered why Wanda would accept it if he himself didn't.

"Words can really hurt, Cosmo," she said in a teary voice. Cosmo cringed—she was crying again. "You've said some really horrible things to me."

"I know, I'm an awful husband for being so cruel to the one person I'm supposed to love forever," he said in a rush, barely registering what he was saying until he heard it coming out of his mouth. "But Wanda, I figured out why I was doing it! It's because of Timmy!"

"Timmy?" his wife asked after a long moment. "What does Timmy have to do with anything? He's starting to insult me too!"

"I know," Cosmo said with a grimace. "And that's all my fault. It's because he's 10."

"Cosmo," Wanda said with a heavy sigh. "You're not making any sense."

The green haired fairy grimaced again and shook his head. "I-I know," he said softly, his tears coming faster. He could feel great sobs building within him and he struggled hard to keep them at bay. "It-it's not coming out right. It all made sense in my head, but I can't say it right . . ."

Silence hung thick in the air as Cosmo struggled to regain his train of thought. His tears fell to the carpet as he stood with his head down, his arms locked and palms pressing hard against the door, as if to steady himself. Every few seconds he heard Wanda sniff behind the door, and the knowledge that she was still crying upset him even more.

"Open the door, Wanda," he whispered, sobbing silently. "Please let me in. I'm sorry I said all those things, I'm sorry I didn't see how much they hurt you. I . . . I was stupid, even stupider than usual. I love you so much Wanda, and it's killing me to know that I hurt you!"

"I . . ." came the soft reply. "I don't know if I should trust you."

Cosmo gasped and stared at the door. "Wanda . . ."

"My heart's been hurt so much lately," she continued, the tears evident in her soft voice. "If you hurt it again . . . I'm afraid it will break."

Now Cosmo released his sobs, openly, freely and loudly. The force of his sorrow buckled his knees, and he slumped to the floor, his cries echoing about the castle. Wanda, HIS Wanda was hurting, battling pain that he himself had delivered to her. His callous actions had all but crushed her spirit, her life, her happiness. And now it looked as though her heart was next.

And so he cried. He cried as he had never cried before—more tears than he had ever imagined possible flowing constantly down his cheeks. Wiping them away was useless, so he let them fall wherever they may, wetting his shirt, his lap, the carpeting. As he cried, he suddenly became aware that he was speaking, pleading with Wanda through broken, hitching sobs.

"I'm sorry, Wanda! Please, please believe me! I'll never say another mean thing to you again, I promise! Just don't leave me, I can't live without you! I LOVE YOU!"

A particularly loud sob gripped him then, and he clamped his eyes shut and wrapped his arms around himself tightly. He had never in his entire life left so much sorrow within him, and he honestly worried that it would destroy him if allowed to manifest itself fully.

Cosmo was so focused on his struggle to restrain his powerful sorrow that he nearly screamed when he felt a gentle touch on his cheek. He threw his eyes open and stared dumbly at Wanda as she went to her knees before him, coming to rest with her bottom sitting on her ankles. Her soft hand cupped the cheek she had slapped, and Cosmo automatically leaned his head into her palm, relishing its warmth and comfortable softness.

"Cosmo . . ." she began in a soft whisper, tears still trickling down her wet cheeks. She could go no further, for that was when Cosmo launched himself forward with such force that they both tumbled backwards to the floor.

"I'm sorry!" he whispered harshly, his arms wrapped tightly around her, his tears wetting her shoulder. "I'm a mean, horrible, awful, STUPID person and I don't deserve your forgiveness! I'm so sorry for how I treated you!"

"Cosmo . . ." She was struggling to draw breath. Cosmo quickly released her and helped her to a more upright position, but kept a firm grip on her arms.

"I want you to hurt me," he told her quietly, looking directly into her eyes. She blinked, and gave him a confused look.

"What?"

"I want you to hurt me," he repeated, looking urgent. "Slap me, punch me, call me all the names you can think of, I don't care. I NEED you to hurt me!"

"Cosmo," she said, shaking her head slightly. She still looked confused. "I don't want to hurt you."

"But . . ." he said softly, giving her a slight shake. "But you HAVE to!" Her confused look intensified.

"Why?"

He released her arms and dropped his hands into his lap. Tears still streamed down his cheeks, and now his face was a mask of defeat.

"Because I hurt you," he said quietly, his lower lip quivering. "And I deserve it." Wanda's face softened as she reached forward to cup his cheek again.

"No one deserves to be hurt, sweetie," she said softly. Cosmo swallowed down the tears that threatened as he looked into her large pink eyes.

"Anyone who hurts you does. Even if it's me." He paused, and gently pushed her hand away. "Especially if it's me."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Cosmo sat staring at his hands, too disgusted with himself to cry. He could feel Wanda watching him, and wondered what she was thinking, and what her next move would be. Would she slap him again? Give him the silent treatment? Would she—could she—actually forgive him and work this out? Or would she just leave him, going back to the waiting arms of Juandissimo in order to keep herself from any future possibility of pain?

This last option seemed the most likely to Cosmo right now. Why would Wanda stay with someone who did nothing but insult her? She was far too smart to allow herself to remain in a situation that caused her so much pain, no matter how she felt—or used to feel—about the other person. Leaving was the only real option available to her, wasn't it? Forgiveness was completely out of the question, no matter how much Cosmo wished for it.

With a heavy sigh, Cosmo decided that if Wanda wanted to leave, he wouldn't try to stop her. He had ruined their relationship, thanks to his stupidity, and would try to make the breakup as easy on Wanda as possible. He owed her that much, at least.

He opened his mouth to tell her, but was interrupted when she spoke first.

"Do you really understand?" she asked quietly, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I mean, REALLY understand?" He looked at her for a few seconds before nodding slowly.

"I thought about it," he said softly, casting his eyes back to the hands in his lap. "I was saying those things because of Timmy. He likes me, and I wanted to . . . show off, I guess." Now that he said it out loud, he felt really, really stupid. "It's no excuse, I know, because I should have seen how those things were hurting you, but . . ." He shrugged. "I . . . I'm just not very smart, I guess." He risked a glance up after a few seconds of silence and saw his wife watching him, her face unreadable.

"I'm sorry, Wanda," he whispered, dropping his eyes back to his hands. "I'm really, really, really sorry. I feel awful for hurting you in the first place, and even worse for ignoring how bad it was." He paused, wiping his nose with his sleeve. "I know you can't forgive me, and I don't deserve to be forgiven anyway, so I won't ask. I've treated you so badly. I . . ." Cosmo dropped his head even lower, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "I deserve to lose you."

Tears began to well up in Cosmo's eyes again, and he quickly covered his face with his hands in an effort to keep them back. He was sick of crying, sick of feeling sad and sorry for himself. Everything that had happened had only happened because of him. What right did he have to feel sorry for himself over this? HE had pushed his own wife away, and if Wanda did leave him, the only one he had to blame was himself.

Cosmo was so busy berating himself that he didn't realize Wanda had been prying his hands apart until he was staring at his lap. Then he felt a gentle finger beneath his chin, making him look up and into his wife's face. Amazingly, a small smile curled Wanda's lips, and she gently cupped his face with her hands.

"You're not going to lose me, Cosmo," she said softly as she tenderly wiped at his wet cheeks with her thumbs. "Our vows said 'For Better or for Worse'. This just happens to be one of the 'worse' parts, that's all."

Cosmo stared at her, more than a little confused.

"But Wanda, I—" he began, but stopped short when Wanda placed a finger on his lips.

"You've apologized," she said, looking into his teary eyes. "And you really do understand. You wouldn't be this upset if you didn't."

"I'm sorry," he whispered again once Wanda had removed her finger. "I don't know what else to say, or what I can do to make it up to you, but I'm really sorry, Wanda. I really do love you with all my heart, all my soul, and every fiber of my being. If I couldn't love you . . . I would die."

Wanda gasped as she stared into his eyes, and tears began to trickle from hers. Cosmo wondered if he had said something wrong again, until she leaned forward to pull him into a tight embrace.

"Oh Cosmo," she whispered as her tears wet his neck. "You're a wonderful, wonderful man, and I love you so much!" She pulled back, looking him in the eyes and caressing his cheek with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry I slapped you earlier, sweetie. Does it still hurt?" He offered her a small smile.

"A little," he said, turning his head to face the cheek to her. "Maybe if you kiss it it will feel better." She smiled and laid a gentle kiss on the cheek branded with her handprint.

"Better?" she asked softly.

Cosmo smiled and nodded. "Yeah, but you'd better kiss the other cheek so it doesn't get jealous," he said, turning his head the other way. She smiled and did as he asked, placing another gentle kiss on his right cheek.

"How's that?" she asked as she pulled back, a small smile still on her lips. Cosmo nodded, a blush forming high on his cheekbones.

"Really nice," he said, wiping his nose with a sleeve again. "But I think you missed something." Wanda offered him a questioning glance.

"What?"

"This," he said and moved forward so quickly, Wanda didn't have time to react.

Cosmo gently but firmly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her toward him, bringing their lips together perfectly. He snaked his arms beneath hers, and curled them around her, gently brushing his fingertips against her wings and causing them to twitch slightly. Her body shuddered within his arms, and he held her tightly, relishing her closeness and warmth.

"I love you so much, Wanda," he whispered once their kiss had ended. He still held her tightly in his arms and rested his head against her shoulder. "I promise I'll never be mean to you again. At least, I'll try. I'll try really, really hard."

"I love you too, Cosmo," she whispered in reply, gently caressing his lower back. "More than you could ever imagine."

Cosmo wasn't sure how long they sat that way, sitting in each other's arms, but he wasn't exactly going to complain. He felt as though he had come dangerously close to losing the single most important thing in the world to him that night, and made a silent vow to never let it get that close again. Timmy was his godchild, and Cosmo cared for him, but above all else, Wanda was most important. If making Timmy mad at him meant Wanda would stay, well, that was a sacrifice Cosmo was more than willing to make.

When sleep came for the two little fairies in the magic castle at the bottom of Timmy Turner's goldfish bowl, they went happily enough, still snuggled tightly in the arms of the one they loved.