Title: Meetings
Rating: PG
Characters: Piper, Dan, toddler!Chris
Pairing: mentions of Piper/Leo and Piper/Dan
Word count: 891
Spoilers: general
Warnings: none
Disclaimer: Charmed is not mine. Not even a little bit.
Summary: Piper runs into Dan 10 years later.
Notes: I found this fic when I was digging through my fanfic folder and although I don't really write for Charmed anymore I figured I'd post it. Also, I'm a Piper/Leo shipper. That being said I would like to make it known that this is not a Piper/Dan fic; it's more of a friendship fic than a romance one. Just two exes meeting again and chatting.
-~-
Piper's at the supermarket when she sees him. She hasn't laid eyes on him in at least ten years, hasn't even thought of him for the past eight. And here he is in the frozen food isle, picking up a half a dozen sausage pizzas, looking exactly like the man whom she had said goodbye to that cold spring day all those years ago.
She briefly considers backing out of the isle, leaving the store without all the items on her list, just to avoid the coming confrontation. But it's too late; he notices her and calls out her name, a small smile playing on his lips.
She quickly arranges her features into what she hopes is a welcoming smile, then checks to be sure that Chris is occupied with his toy cars in the kiddie seat before pushing her cart toward him.
"Dan, hi!"
He gives her a quick, slightly awkward, hug. "Piper! It's good to see you, how've you been?" She watches as his eyes stray to four-year-old Chris who is currently making loud crashing noises, banging the toy cars together over and over again.
"Good, I've been good. I thought you were in Portland?"
He nods slightly. "I am, just in town visiting a few old friends."
The conversation lags for a moment, awkward silence descending on the exes.
"So," Piper starts, fumbling around for something, anything, to say to fill the void. "Are you seeing anyone?" Then curses silently to herself. What kind of question is that to ask an ex-lover? Stupid, stupid, stupid…
"Uh, nope. Still single. How about you?" His eyes flicker to Chris again and she knows he's already guessed her answer.
"Yep," Piper holds up her left hand, displaying the gold metal twined around her ring finger. "I married Leo, actually."
She notices that his smile turns into a scowl at the mention of Leo's name. All those years ago Piper got the genie to take away his memories of her secret, the fact that she was a witch and Leo was a whitelighter, so that he could truly move on with his life without the weight of evil creatures roaming the earth to weigh him down.
So all he remembers of Leo is that he had the identity of a dead man. Not to mention that he stole Piper right from under Dan's nose. Hence the anger and general dislike of the man and anything really to do with him.
"This is Chris." She gestures to the brunette boy sitting between them, hoping to distract Dan from further mutinous thoughts of her husband.
Chris looks up through wide green eyes at the mention of his name, stopping the sound affects mid crash, and gives them one of his adorable little kid smiles that never failed to make her heart melt. She runs her fingers through her baby's hair, grinning down at his cute little face.
Dan smiles at him saying, "Hey Chris."
"Hi." Chris speaks in the tiny, shy voice that he uses around people he doesn't know. His eyes, framed with long gorgeous lashes, flutter slightly shut with embarrassment at talking to someone new.
Piper chuckles and attempts to smooth his hair back into place from when she mussed it a moment ago when she ran her fingers through the silky strands. "He's a bit shy," she tells Dan and this time her smile is real.
"He's adorable." Dan says and turns back to Piper. "Have you been married long?"
"Almost nine years now."
He takes a step closer to her and his face is serious. "Are you happy, Piper?"
"Yes," she whispers. "Very."
"Good." He nods and seems relieved, like the question had been weighing on his mind for some time. Maybe it had been.
Piper feels a swirl of affection for this man whose heart she broke to follow her own. "Listen, it's still early. Would you like to stop by the manor for some coffee?"
He looks a bit unsure and she adds, thinking a little added guilt might be just the thing to secure his acceptance to her invitation, "Phoebe would be upset she missed you and I'll never hear the end of it if you disappear before she can say hello."
He grins then. "As I recall she had a bit of a temper. I wouldn't want to be the cause of a family dispute."
"Great, I have a few more things to grab and then we can go." She says, pleased.
They walk through the store together and find the remaining items on her list, only stopping once when Chris pleaded for a chocolate bar as they passed the candy isle. Piper bought one for him and after a moment's consideration she got one for herself, too.
What? She was in a good mood. She hadn't realized it until the man in question reappeared in her life, but she still felt a little guilty about what she'd done to him. Piper resolved to make it up to him while he was in town. It was the least she could do for Dan. And he was nice to be around. She found herself thinking back on all of the good times they had with fond memories. Piper found herself hoping that maybe someday they could be friends.
Stranger things had happened, anyway. Especially to a Halliwell.