Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of its characters except the ones I make up. I do not seek to make profit out of this story.
Leo's Birthday
"Should we put forty-five candles on the cake or hundred and two?" the only person in the family capable of asking such a question was Wyatt Halliwell. Henry Jr. rolled his eyes while Chris only glared at his big brother. If a picture is worth a thousand words, Chris's glare was worth at least a million.
"Alright, alright. Don't get mad at me kitten. We'll stick to forty-five," Wyatt said ruffling Chris's brown locks. Chris narrowed his eyes in response and Wyatt quickly pulled back his hand as if he had touched boiling water.
"Sometimes I'm glad peanut doesn't have the power to kill someone with a glare," Wyatt muttered to Junior as he watched Chris put finishing touches on the cake for his father's birthday.
"Hundred and two candles, Wy? Seriously? Why don't you just punch him in the stomach? That might be less painful," Chris admonished is big brother.
"Somehow I doubt that seeing forty-five candles blazing on the cake is going to make his day either," Henry Jr. observed. Their conversation was cut short as they heard footsteps approaching the kitchen. They were planning a surprise party for Leo and couldn't afford to let him find out. The sisters had gifted Leo tickets to the baseball game and the boys knew he couldn't be back so soon. But letting Phoebe find out about their plans was equivalent to broadcasting it over the national television so they couldn't afford to let her know about their plans either. Wyatt quickly orbed the finished cake to the attic and assumed the most innocent expression he could muster. Fortunately for them it was only Paige. She scrutinized her son and two nephews. She was sure they were up to something but seeing as Chris was with them she decided that whatever it was couldn't be thoughtless or irresponsible. So she decided to let it slide, at least for now.
"Alright, I have to wrap dad's gift. I'm going to the mall to pickup some wrapping paper. I assume you orbed the cake to some secure location and I sincerely hope that it wasn't the top of the golden gate bridge," Chris said to his brother as soon as Paige left the room. Wyatt took offence at the statement and glared at his little brother.
"How stupid do you think I am?" Wyatt asked incredulously. Although the top of the bridge was the first place he had thought of, his more reasonable side kicked in and he had sent the cake to the attic instead. Of course he wasn't going to admit to that.
"Do you honestly want me to answer that question?" Chris asked his big brother knowing very well it was a rhetorical question. He quickly orbed out avoiding an egg thrown at him by Wyatt. Unfortunately the egg landed on an already cake-covered Piper Halliwell.
"Ah oh…" was all Wyatt could say. When he orbed the cake to the attic, he didn't count on his mother being there. The cake had landed right on top of her head.
"Who is responsible for this?" Piper asked in a voice only a mother could muster. Wyatt could feel his mother's glare fixed on him and the guilt on his face told her unequivocally that he was the one responsible. Wyatt glanced at his little cousin for some support.
"Sorry Wy. You're on your own in this one," Junior mouthed to his big cousin silently as he slowly moved away from his aunt Piper as discretely as possible.
"Mom, I…" Wyatt began making his case but a raised index finger from Piper caused him to swallow the rest of his words.
"To your room; now", Piper ordered.
"Yes ma'am", Wyatt said, as he was about to orb. Fortunately he thought better and went to his room like a normal person. His mother had seen enough orbing from him for the day.
In his room, Wyatt was pacing, worried about the punishment his mother was sure to dole out. After that his equally short-tempered little brother was going to kill him for destroying the cake.
"Junior, I need your help. Please?" Wyatt called his cousin. Henry Jr. orbed into Wyatt's room.
"I told you Wy. You're on your own in this one. There isn't much I can do for you. Besides both your mom and Chris scare me a little," Henry Jr. said to his big cousin.
"Mom is already mad at me. There isn't much we can do about it. But Chrissie doesn't know yet. Just keep him busy till I fix this," Wyatt said in almost pleading voice.
"Alright, alright. Stop begging. I'll tell him that I need help with Biology homework or something. But I don't think I can buy you more than an hour. So whatever it is you're planning, do it fast," Henry Jr. said before orbing out. Just then Piper entered the room.
"Mom…" Wyatt began again. But Piper cut him off midsentence.
"How many times have I told you 'no unnecessary orbing'?" Piper asked. Wyatt didn't answer of course instead he just lowered his head in shame.
"Now, as your punishment, you are going to rake the leaves in the backyard, then weed and mow the lawn," Piper handed out the sentence.
"Now?" Wyatt asked incredulously.
"It doesn't look like you are doing anything worthwhile at the moment so yes, now", Piper said.
It took Wyatt about two hours to finish the job his mom had assigned him. He was out in the open so he couldn't possibly use magic to finish it quickly. Besides, if his mom even suspected unwarranted use of magic, he would have been in deeper trouble. At last, he was almost done and he could sense his baby brother back at the manor. Henry Jr. had done a good job at distracting Chris. Unfortunately Wyatt never got a chance to fix the situation he was in. To make things worse, he could sense that his father had returned from the game as well. He dragged himself towards the kitchen, mentally prepared to face the music.
"Thank you boys! You went through all this trouble for me?" He heard his father say as he released Chris from a bear hug and approached his eldest son. Wyatt glanced at the table and saw another cake, just like the one he had destroyed, sitting on the countertop. Of course it was his mom's doing.
The surprise party Chris and Wyatt had planned went on without a hitch. Wyatt was just glad that it worked out as well as it did. His mom and Henry Jr. were good at keeping secrets so with some luck, Chris would never find out. Just as this thought crossed his mind, he felt his brother's right arm around his shoulder.
"You do realize that you will be doing all my chores for next two weeks, don't you?" Chris asked his brother with a wicked smile on his face. Wyatt swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Why would I do that?" He asked trying his best to sound innocent. Chris rolled his eyes.
"For destroying my cake", Chris answered. Wyatt's jaw hit the floor.
"How did you…?" He managed to say.
"Know it wasn't mine?" Chris completed his question. Wyatt simply nodded.
"I had used cocoa butter in my recipe. Mom didn't," Chris answered smugly. He had spent so many hours in the kitchen helping his mom that he could uniquely identify all the ingredients his mom used in her recipes.
"How did you…?" Wyatt asked again but was cut off by Chris midsentence.
"Know mom made it?" Chris asked. Wyatt nodded again.
"Who else in this family besides me has the skill to bake such an exquisite cake in such a short time?" Chris asked, the smug smile firmly in place.
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