Chapter Text
You didn't understand how this had all gone so wrong.
You'd done everything right!
A few years ago you had somehow woken up in the world of Fairly Oddparents and after a quick meltdown about losing everything you had quickly decided that you wanted to parent Dev Dimmadome - your favourite Fairly Oddparents character. A plan was made:
Step 1. Get a job
Step 2. Seduce Dale Dimmadome
Step 3. Officially become Dev's step-parent
Step 4. Profit!!
Step 1 went pretty well, you quickly found a job as a waiter in some small restaurant in Dimmadelphia and slowly worked your way up to higher paying jobs - eventually landing a job as an office worker working for Dimmadome Global.
Step 2 was a bit more difficult, requiring some sneaking into a high-end event held by the Dimmadomes and some sweet talking before you and Dale even exchanged your first sentences together. After that, it was a huge upward struggle to get Dale to pay attention to you instead of his business - although the huge amount of attention he received from you seemed to endear you to him. A few long, gruelling months later and you were dating, a few months more and you were moving in! However, try as you might to interact with Dev - he didn't seem to want anything to do with you. Maybe that would change once you became his step-parent?
Despite your initial hatred of him, you didn't mind Dale all that much anymore. He could be sweet at times, often returning home with gifts or just a quick kiss before he went to his office for the rest of the night. Life continued like that for a while, up until a few months ago when Dale had proposed and you two had gotten married. The whole event was advertisement-ridden, but you didn't care. It made him happy and you convinced him to make Dev the ring bearer instead of a drone (He agreed so quickly, he wasn't so bad - was he?). The honeymoon was... interesting. A holiday to some country you had never heard of but it had beautiful views and wonderful food. The next few months after you officially became a Dimmadome you spent trying to build a rapport between you and Dev. Cooking him breakfast, asking him if he needed help with homework, setting up family dinners, personally taking him to and from school - you'd tried everything! It wasn't like it hadn't worked at all. After realizing you were going to be here for the foreseeable future, Dev stopped completely rejecting you and after a few dozen attempts he even started talking to you regularly too! But it just wasn't what you'd imagined, what were you doing wrong?
That brings you to this morning.
Everything had seemed normal, you and Dev had breakfast as usual and you spent a few hours in your office looking through some documents for work (Dale had you quit your old job and become a sort of personal assistant to him, so there was no shortage of forms and papers you needed to deal with). Tarantula Tap Dancing Time Traveller's menu music could be heard all the way from Dev's favourite lounge and though you questioned why he was on the menu for so long (it had to have been at least 20 minutes already!), you chalked it up to him getting distracted and leaving the game on. You quickly skimmed through the latest form needing your attention, signed it and put it with the rest of the papers you had already gone through. The work was so boring you had already started wondering what you should get Dev and Dale for Christmas. Maybe you could get some custom-order Prime Meridian merch for-
Dev had just barged into your office with furrowed brows and mouth contorted into a snarl but worse than all of that was the pair of sunglasses that sat upon his face. He hadn't worn those around you in private in weeks! Your heart dropped when Dev waved a familiar flowered notebook in front of your face and started ranting about how you clearly never loved Dale and certainly never loved him.
"You only wanted to steal the Dimmadome fortune! Well, guess what! I'm not going to let you! You otherworldly MONSTER!" accused Dev.
"Dev, please! I can explain!" you desperately tried to interrupt Dev but he kept getting louder and wasn't hearing any of your words.
You hadn't meant for anyone to see that notebook, you kept it hidden in a very secret place in your bedroom. How on earth did he ever find it? Sure, if he had Peri he might've been able to wish for it but you’re pretty sure he doesn’t have the fairy. He does have a multitude of purple things in his room but you had chalked it up to some sort of obsession with purple coming from the mind-wipe in the season 1 finale, surely you would've seen or at least heard Peri if they had somehow reunited?
Wait.
What was that about otherworldly?
Suddenly, a cloud of smoke enveloped you and you find yourself sitting on a plastic chair in a pitch-dark room. The pressure on your right hand and the rattle that resounded when you shook it revealed you were chained to something. The darkness doesn’t last for long as a bright lamp is shined directly onto your face and you squint at the tall, buff man in front of you. He has a staff-wand-like thing so you assume this had to be Jorgen.
"Stupid, puny human!" shouted Jorgen, spewing spittle into your face. "We know you are from a different universe and I, Jorgen von Strangle, demand you tell us what your evil plan is! This lie-detecting device will tell us if you are lying! So. I. Would. Not. If I were you!"
After the light stopped hurting your eyes you could see a multitude of figures crowded in the room: Dev, Jorgen, Peri - was that Hazel and her fairies? Looking down, you see a dull little device sitting on a large, metal table in front of you with the words "lie detector!" scribbled on the front in bright green. Following the chain from your hand, you discover you’re cuffed to one of the table legs.
The other occupants of the room explain to you that they had a whole adventure a few days back where creatures from another universe were able to blend in with the rest of the world's population in an attempted takeover thus resulting in an Other Universe Technological-detector (OUT for short) being used to individually detect, locate and send every extra-dimensional creature back to their universe; Your extra-dimensional nature was discovered. However, after a brief investigation, you weren't found to have been replaced by any of the universe-travelling creatures. They wanted to know if you were the real you and if you were, what your end goal was with the plan that they had found in your notebook.
You stopped to process the situation and realized you were in a whole lot of trouble.
You didn't understand how this had all gone so wrong.
You'd done everything right!
At this point, they already know about you being from another world, so you may as well come out with the truth. It's not like Dev's opinion of you could possibly get any worse at this point.
You stare directly into Dev's sunglasses as you start your explanation.
"You're right, I'm from another universe." You state.
You then spend what feels like the next few hours recounting the story of your sudden arrival in this universe. You explain the existence of the Fairly Oddparents Cartoon and its sequels. Finally, you explain that Dev is your favourite character.
"I've always loved Dale! It's always been my dream to be a family with Dev and him!" you exclaim.
A loud beeping noise emanates from the lie detector on the table and you suddenly feel everyone in the room glaring at you.
Okay, you forgot about the lie detector - maybe you didn't always love Dale.
"I love Dale now!" you try again.
Another beep resounded throughout the room. The looks are worse this time and you're very confused - did you really not love Dale at all?
"W- well I’ve wanted Dev to be my son since the day I first knew about him!" you desperately declare.
The lie detector thankfully remained silent.
"It's true... I only intended on dating and marrying Dale Dimmadome so I could have Dev as my son." you dejectedly state, staring at the fluffy white slippers that adorned your feet.
You hear a clack above you and look up just in time to see Dev put his sunglasses away, his blue eyes staring at you with cold fury.
"Am I just some character to you? Am I even a real person to you?" He accused.
You hurriedly assure him that you don't just see him as a character anymore, “You’re my son, Dev, we’ve been through so much together – nothing will ever change that. Please! You have to believe me!” You plead.
It seems to help a little bit, as his face relaxes ever so slightly but his shoulders don't seem to lose their tension. Before you can say anything more to your son, you're bombarded with several questions - several people speaking one after another until you lose track of it all and get confused.
"Wait! Wait! One question at a time, please!" you plead desperately.
One by one they ask you a few questions. They were mostly about what your old world was like: your culture, your old life, your family, your friends. Soon enough though, they had run out of questions and an awkward silence filled the room.
"Do you miss it?" whispered Dev.
Before you could even begin to answer he was already yelling, "Of course you do! You probably hate it here, probably hate me! I'm just a reminder of everything you lost right? I wish to return-" You quickly covered his mouth before he could speak another word.
"Wait!" You yell. "Before you send me away!"
You see tears run tracks down his face and onto your hand - the teardrops a strange and uncomfortable sensation on your skin. You slowly, gently brush the tears off his face with your free hand and then look directly into the eyes of your precious son, the reason you wake up every morning and it breaks your heart to see the anguish in his eyes.
"Devvy darling, I do miss my old world - I do." You quietly begin, quickly shushing him when he makes an attempt to interrupt.
You awkwardly move the chair away from the table and turn to crouch down to be face-to-face with him, "But Devvy, no matter how much I miss my old world - I know I'd miss you so much more if I left. Did you know you're the only reason I wake up so early? Waking up every morning and seeing your smile is the most wonderful thing on planet Earth - of both universes!"
"When you go on shopping trips with me even though you'd rather be somewhere else - I see the most considerate, loving boy in the world." You continue, "When you spend hours making gifts for Hazel or sometimes even for me - I see the most caring, compassionate child I could've ever hoped for."
You feel your eyes tearing up and suddenly you’re finding it hard to speak. You move your hand to cup his face and take a deep breath.
With a shaky voice, you whisper, "You're precious to me, do you know that? I don't even know what I'd do if I had to wake up every day and know I'd never see my little sunshine again."
"I love you, Dev Dimmadome,” you firmly state. "I'll leave if you want me to but I don't want you to think for even a second that I don't love you with all my heart."
You shut your eyes tightly and violently rub your arm across your face to get rid of your tears. You don’t want Dev's last memory of you to be one of you crying after all.
Suddenly you feel a small mass collide with your chest and you feel your balance start to go off-kilter. You yelp and quickly grab onto the table to stop yourself from toppling over. Looking down, you see Dev's slicked-back hair tucked into your chest and you feel small hands bunching up your shirt's material in tiny fists. You tuck your face into his soft locks and shut your eyes right, moving your arms as best you can to reciprocate the hug.
A tear slips out as you mumble into his hair, "Please don't send me back."
"Are you sure you don't want to go back?" Dev asked so quietly you almost didn't hear it.
"I'm certain."
Somehow you two manage to hold each other even tighter than before - although you take care not to injure Dev. You don't know how long you and Dev were hugging for but eventually, Jorgen decides it’s about time you had your memory erased seeing as you aren't going back home and don't seem to be any danger to the universe. Dev has to be forcefully yanked away from you as Jorgen prepares the memory-erasing spell.
You look back at your son and smile. Even if you won’t remember this, you’re hopeful that he will gain some comfort from the conversation even after your mind is wiped.
You were ready.