Day 14: Charmed - Leo/Piper - Sugar
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adventdrabblesTitle: Sugar
Fandom: Charmed
Author: Apache Firecat
Characters: Leo/Piper, Prue, Phoebe
Rating: G/K
Summary: Piper breaks on Christmas.
Word Count: 1,117
Written For: Advent Drabbles Day 14: Awkward Family Photo Shoot
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.
"Every year!" Piper exclaimed hotly. "Every year!"
"I know." Phoebe bit a head off of a gingerbread man and then waved the remaining cookie at her sister. "At least the cookies didn't burn this time."
"And we can always do it again, Piper," Prue reminded her younger sister. She kept her tone gentle, knowing her sister had been going through far too much this year. She had been helping her clean up the mess from having to explode the Demons who had decided to jump them just as they'd been trying to take a family photograph while Phoebe checked on Piper's holiday baking goods and secretly spiked the eggnog. Piper had been in one of her ultra responsible mom moods lately, and they would all benefit from her lightening up. But Prue had seen Phoebe already hit the eggnog and move on to taking the cookies and cakes out of the oven.
"I know. I just..." Piper stood in the middle of the room, of crushed presents and the tilted Christmas tree. Her body shook. Her hands waved through the air, and her tears started.
Her eldest son blinked up at his mother. "Mama?" he asked and started crawling toward her. He started, but then stopped when his little brother started wailing. The baby turned his head from his mother to look toward his brother instead, obviously caught and distraught. Then his tiny but sharp voice lifted up into a cry too.
Prue almost sprinted across the room. There had been a few misadventures this year already with Piper accidently exploding things. It was much easier when she just froze them, but a few nights ago, at P3, she'd almost exploded a worker, her powers just barely hitting the glasses he'd been carrying instead. Trying to act like everything was okay and pull the holiday together and make it all merry for her family, both old and young, and her club and pretend like she wasn't missing her ex was really eating at her sister's nerves, and none of them could afford for Piper to go too awry. Besides, Prue loved her sister and hated to see her so distraught.
Phoebe swallowed her man whole and hurried toward her sisters. There, together, in the chaos of the destroyed living room, Prue threw her arms around Piper from in front of her, and Phoebe wrapped her arms as best she could around both her sisters from behind. "It's okay," Prue whispered.
Her sisters squeezed Piper hard as Phoebe added, "We're here."
"I'm just... I've been trying so hard to make everything perfect this year!" Piper cried above her sons' wails. "For them! For you two! For... For work! For everybody!"
"Everybody but you," Phoebe recognized, rubbing her arms. She kissed the side of her sister's head, a comforting gesture that their mother and grandmother had often done.
"But you're not alone, little sister," Prue told her, squeezing her harder.
"That was lame," Phoebe jested.
"Yeah, and this is lamer, but true. Christmas doesn't have to be perfect -- life doesn't have to be perfect -- to be charmed. We're charmed because we're together, and I'm not talking about the Power of Three here, sisters. I'm talking about us, just us. We're charmed, because we have each other."
"Charmed," Phoebe mused, "or blessed."
"Or both."
Piper sniffled and smiled through her tears. Wyatt's voice hit an especially sharp note, and she started to edge out of their embrace. "I have to -- " she started to say in way of apology.
"You have two very capable sisters," Prue reminded her. "You don't have to do nothing."
"Except maybe get a glass of that eggnog and go take you a bubble bath or a nap. Leave the rest of the cleanup to us."
Prue and Phoebe moved together to reach the boys before their mother could. They picked them up and hugged them, bouncing each until they quieted. Piper sniffled and wiped at her tears. She looked carefully at each of them in turn. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutly." Phoebe laid Chris back into his crib and walked back to the kitchen. She poured her sister a big glass of cold eggnog and carried it back to Piper. "Go take you a break. When you get back up, we'll have everything ready, and Prue can set the camera back up then. The Demons haven't destroyed anything. We're not going to let them."
Piper nodded and sipped her eggnog, missing the bite of rum and the wink Phoebe shot Prue. "Thank you," she said, taking another slow sip, "both." A few more tears traced, splashing into her nog. "I love you. I've got the best sisters."
"Maybe not the best," Phoebe admitted, hugging her again and stroking her back, "but definitely two who care very, very much about you. Now go take a break." She leaned up on her tiptoes again and once more kissed the top of Piper's dark and messy head. "Go," she urged, giving her a gentle push.
Piper went, but along the way, she thought of all the Demons had taken from her. She thought of her mother, and of her grandmother, and she thought of her husband, the father her boys were missing. The Powers That Be had been right: their jobs had eventually come between them, which was just as bad the Demons coming between them. She reached the room she'd once shared with the man she had always thought would be the love of her life, the man she still loved despite all the many reasons she knew she shouldn't, chief of which was the immense pain he had brought her and still did. Entering the room, she debated going for that bubble bath and spied something new on the bed that held so many memories, the bed she kept saying she was going to replace but had yet to bring herself to do so.
She walked over and picked up the rose and Christmas card. The card was as simple as Leo's had always been: Missing you. Merry Christmas. He had not said he loved her. But would he, she wondered, have taken the time to leave such a gift if he did not love her? Would he still been thinking of her if he did not love her? But then why, she questioned, sinking onto their mattress, would he have left this during one of the busiest times of the year if he did not still love her, did not still care for her? Why would he miss her otherwise? She cried herself to sleep, still holding the rose, and dreamt not of sugarplums but of White Lighters and the sugar she'd once shared with hers.
The End
Fandom: Charmed
Author: Apache Firecat
Characters: Leo/Piper, Prue, Phoebe
Rating: G/K
Summary: Piper breaks on Christmas.
Word Count: 1,117
Written For: Advent Drabbles Day 14: Awkward Family Photo Shoot
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.
"Every year!" Piper exclaimed hotly. "Every year!"
"I know." Phoebe bit a head off of a gingerbread man and then waved the remaining cookie at her sister. "At least the cookies didn't burn this time."
"And we can always do it again, Piper," Prue reminded her younger sister. She kept her tone gentle, knowing her sister had been going through far too much this year. She had been helping her clean up the mess from having to explode the Demons who had decided to jump them just as they'd been trying to take a family photograph while Phoebe checked on Piper's holiday baking goods and secretly spiked the eggnog. Piper had been in one of her ultra responsible mom moods lately, and they would all benefit from her lightening up. But Prue had seen Phoebe already hit the eggnog and move on to taking the cookies and cakes out of the oven.
"I know. I just..." Piper stood in the middle of the room, of crushed presents and the tilted Christmas tree. Her body shook. Her hands waved through the air, and her tears started.
Her eldest son blinked up at his mother. "Mama?" he asked and started crawling toward her. He started, but then stopped when his little brother started wailing. The baby turned his head from his mother to look toward his brother instead, obviously caught and distraught. Then his tiny but sharp voice lifted up into a cry too.
Prue almost sprinted across the room. There had been a few misadventures this year already with Piper accidently exploding things. It was much easier when she just froze them, but a few nights ago, at P3, she'd almost exploded a worker, her powers just barely hitting the glasses he'd been carrying instead. Trying to act like everything was okay and pull the holiday together and make it all merry for her family, both old and young, and her club and pretend like she wasn't missing her ex was really eating at her sister's nerves, and none of them could afford for Piper to go too awry. Besides, Prue loved her sister and hated to see her so distraught.
Phoebe swallowed her man whole and hurried toward her sisters. There, together, in the chaos of the destroyed living room, Prue threw her arms around Piper from in front of her, and Phoebe wrapped her arms as best she could around both her sisters from behind. "It's okay," Prue whispered.
Her sisters squeezed Piper hard as Phoebe added, "We're here."
"I'm just... I've been trying so hard to make everything perfect this year!" Piper cried above her sons' wails. "For them! For you two! For... For work! For everybody!"
"Everybody but you," Phoebe recognized, rubbing her arms. She kissed the side of her sister's head, a comforting gesture that their mother and grandmother had often done.
"But you're not alone, little sister," Prue told her, squeezing her harder.
"That was lame," Phoebe jested.
"Yeah, and this is lamer, but true. Christmas doesn't have to be perfect -- life doesn't have to be perfect -- to be charmed. We're charmed because we're together, and I'm not talking about the Power of Three here, sisters. I'm talking about us, just us. We're charmed, because we have each other."
"Charmed," Phoebe mused, "or blessed."
"Or both."
Piper sniffled and smiled through her tears. Wyatt's voice hit an especially sharp note, and she started to edge out of their embrace. "I have to -- " she started to say in way of apology.
"You have two very capable sisters," Prue reminded her. "You don't have to do nothing."
"Except maybe get a glass of that eggnog and go take you a bubble bath or a nap. Leave the rest of the cleanup to us."
Prue and Phoebe moved together to reach the boys before their mother could. They picked them up and hugged them, bouncing each until they quieted. Piper sniffled and wiped at her tears. She looked carefully at each of them in turn. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutly." Phoebe laid Chris back into his crib and walked back to the kitchen. She poured her sister a big glass of cold eggnog and carried it back to Piper. "Go take you a break. When you get back up, we'll have everything ready, and Prue can set the camera back up then. The Demons haven't destroyed anything. We're not going to let them."
Piper nodded and sipped her eggnog, missing the bite of rum and the wink Phoebe shot Prue. "Thank you," she said, taking another slow sip, "both." A few more tears traced, splashing into her nog. "I love you. I've got the best sisters."
"Maybe not the best," Phoebe admitted, hugging her again and stroking her back, "but definitely two who care very, very much about you. Now go take a break." She leaned up on her tiptoes again and once more kissed the top of Piper's dark and messy head. "Go," she urged, giving her a gentle push.
Piper went, but along the way, she thought of all the Demons had taken from her. She thought of her mother, and of her grandmother, and she thought of her husband, the father her boys were missing. The Powers That Be had been right: their jobs had eventually come between them, which was just as bad the Demons coming between them. She reached the room she'd once shared with the man she had always thought would be the love of her life, the man she still loved despite all the many reasons she knew she shouldn't, chief of which was the immense pain he had brought her and still did. Entering the room, she debated going for that bubble bath and spied something new on the bed that held so many memories, the bed she kept saying she was going to replace but had yet to bring herself to do so.
She walked over and picked up the rose and Christmas card. The card was as simple as Leo's had always been: Missing you. Merry Christmas. He had not said he loved her. But would he, she wondered, have taken the time to leave such a gift if he did not love her? Would he still been thinking of her if he did not love her? But then why, she questioned, sinking onto their mattress, would he have left this during one of the busiest times of the year if he did not still love her, did not still care for her? Why would he miss her otherwise? She cried herself to sleep, still holding the rose, and dreamt not of sugarplums but of White Lighters and the sugar she'd once shared with hers.
The End
