Okay! This took me a while! And I'm still not exactly happy with the title, but it stays until I come up with a better one.

The Way of Wanda, pt 2

Wanda appeared on the doorstep of an old friend. She hesitantley knocked on the door, not knowing what to expect. It had been so very long since she'd last seen him. No one answered the door, so Wanda knocked a bit harder, and when still no one answered, Wanda rang the doorbell, and immediatley regretted it. She shouldn't wake someone up this late at night, it was simply not nice...

Before Wanda could really think about it, a man about her age answered the door. He had brown hair that was graying around his pointed ears and a few lines in his face, but his magenta eyes were youthful and sparkling. He was alert, so obviously he had been awake.

"Uh... Hi, Teeg?" The man leaned forward with a raised eyebrow.

"Wait..." he said. "Wanda? Wanda Fairywinkle? Seriously?" Wanda simply nodded, and the man, Teeg, threw his arms around her. "I thought I'd never see you again! We hardly ever talk anymore! Tell me, how's your love life going?" Teeg winked and nudged her with his elbow.

"Well, to be honest with you, Teeg..." Wanda rubbed her arm uncomfortably.

"What? Did he hurt you? Do I need to take him out for you? Why I oughta..." Wanda laughed.

"Teeg, last time I checked, you snap in half when the wind blows too hard."

"Yeah, well, the last time you checked, it was--the last time you checked!" Just then, a strong breeze rushed past them and knocked Teeg to the ground.

"That proves nothing!" Teeg exclaimed, undefeatedly pointing a finger in the air.

"Oh Teeg," Wanda smiled and shook her head. "One of the things I both love and hate about you is that you never seem to change."

----

"So, basically, that's what happened, or rather, has been happening." Wanda finished explaining her sudden appearance to Teeg and set her coffee mug, which actually contained hot chocolate, down. Teeg nodded thoughtfully and comprehensively.

"Well, as you know, boys are dopes," Teeg started, but was interrupted by Wanda laughing.

"I'm sorry, I just never thought I'd hear that from you," she snickered. Teeg scowled and continued.

"Boys are dopes. The way you've described Cosmo as acting, it sounds as if he hasn't changed at all since you first met him, when you were twelve and he was four. In my humble opinion, it seems as if you always saw him as a child, as your child, and he saw you as more of a mother figure. Mar dhea, I guess now he sees you as more of a sister."

"Man, are we one screwed-up family or what?"

"Anyways, Wanda, personally I think you married a guy who is too far away in age. When you were in college, he was still in elementary school. I think that you wanted someone to take care of, which doesn't surprise me, you always did love taking care of people, even me."

Wanda thought about his words, turned them over in her mind and really considered if that was why she had married Cosmo. She thought that maybe it was part of it, but not the whole reason. And it still didn't explain why he was hurting her now, or why she was so hurt.

"Thank you, Teeg. I don't agree entirely, but I guess that is part of it."

"Do you want to talk about it some more?"

"No, I'm pretty tired. Would you mind if I stayed for a while, like, until I figure this out?"

"Sure, go ahead. The guestroom is downstairs, to the left, at the end of the hall. I promise not to seduce you in your sleep."

"If you promise not to do that, I promise not to stab you to death while you're in the shower."

"Nope, you already used that one. Come up with something else."

"Aw, I was hoping you forgot."

"No. I never forget!"

"Yeah, whatever you say, Teeg. Are you going to bed, too?"

"Naw, I'm going to go tape my head to the TV. See ya in the morning."

"You do that, Teeg. Good night."