Chris came at him again, but this time it was easier to block him. Wyatt recognized the signs of fatigue in the younger man, even if Chris himself didn't, and decided to call an end to their practice. It wouldn't do for Chris to make a mistake and for Wyatt to inadvertently hurt his brother with the sword. He could heal Chris, had in fact done it in the past, but their father was always aware of whenever anyone in their family was hurt even a little, and the last time it happened he got one of the longest lectures of his life from his mother. Wyatt dropped his sword and swiped at the sweat on his brow. "Good practice, Chris, but we gotta quit. I have a date with Kelly tonight and I need to shower before I pick her up."
Chris opened his mouth to argue, but decided against it. There would be no point considering Wyatt would never consider breaking a date with the blond cheerleader for anything short of a life or death situation involving someone in the family. "Okay. I promised Mom I would watch the twins anyway so that she and Dad could have that night alone that got interrupted last week when the Osmonds attacked."
Wyatt snorted both because family plans being interrupted was nothing new and because he never knew what nickname Chris would come up with next for just about anything. The Osmonds was a pretty a good one for the singing brother and sister demons that had the misfortune of crossing paths with the twins. Their singing was definitely not a little country or rock n' roll, and was usually used to stun prey so the demons could make their kill. However, it had only served to annoy the girls, and it definitely ticked off Leo and Piper who were about the worst parents to deal with. Wyatt personally thought the demons got off easy compared to the girls who had had to endure one of the longest parental lectures to date, which was impressive considering their history. For being only twelve, the two girls were racking up quite a record for causing mayhem, though walking in a part of town known for demon activity after having been dropped off by their parents at the mall was a bit reckless even for them.
Wyatt pulled on his white t-shirt. "What did Mom have to give you to make you agree to that?" Neither one of them readily agreed to keeping an eye on the twelve-year olds without some kind of incentive.
Chris grinned. "Mom's going to replenish the potions I spilled the other day instead of making me do it."
Wyatt let out a whistle. "Good one." Chris had tried making his turn doing the dishes go faster by using his telekinesis and had instead crashed a dish into the wrong shelf, breaking around a dozen bottles of potions that would have taken him days to restock, especially if he had to make them to Mom's standards. "That'll teach you to use your powers for personal gain."
"No, it'll teach me to work on my aim," Chris shot back, "and don't talk to me about personal gain, Wyatt. I know you orb to meet Kelly when you're going to be late and I know she should have fallen the other day at the basketball game when that one girl missed her foot."
Wyatt shrugged, unconcerned. "It's not personal gain to make sure an innocent doesn't fall and break her neck. As for the orbing, I don't think the Elders are going to say anything. Not after I killed that demon in Canada awhile back." He sheathed Excalibur, the sword he had gotten so many years ago, but only within the last few years been allowed by his parents to use, and hung it back on the wall. "Have fun with the twins," he shot over his shoulder as he headed for the shower.
Chris sheathed his own sword, a decent one his parents had gotten him for his last birthday, though obviously nowhere near the craftsmanship of Excalibur. He wiped his forehead with a towel, looking around the basement which had long ago been remodeled into two rooms, one a practice room, another a bedroom for both Chris and Wyatt and wondered if he would ever be called on by the Elders to help out with demonic problems like Wyatt occasionally was. He snorted. Yeah, sure, when pigs flew.
"They are to do their homework and eat dinner, but nothing else. No TV, no phone, no computer, no anything."
"Yes, Mom." Chris tried not to sound impatient. Sometimes his mother could be just a little exasperating.
"Let's go hon, we're going to miss our reservation." Leo gently tried to steer his wife towards the door before she could think of something else to instruct their younger son about. "Chris can handle the twins for one night."
"It's not his handling that worries me. It's their penchant for getting into trouble that does." Chris heard the end of her statement before he closed the front door behind them and couldn't disagree with her assessment. The twins did seem to find new and interesting ways to give their parents gray hair every week, which was an accomplishment since their parents were both battle-tested many times over, and their father was technically dead.
Chris walked into the kitchen to find the twins working on what looked to be math and inwardly sighed. Would his parents ever see him as more than a baby-sitter? Surely he was worth something more than that. Someday, somehow he would prove himself.
"If you're going to be melancholy, could you at least go upstairs? I can't study if you give me a headache." Chris repressed the urge the stoop to the girls level and stick out his tongue. Why Patty had to inherit some empathic abilities, whether from her witch or whitelighter side nobody was sure, was a constant source of wonder to Chris. It had to be one of the most annoying powers for a younger sister to have. He picked up his book bag off the floor and headed for his desk in the basement. He figured if they tried anything too bad he would be able to hear it.
The girls smiled at each other after he left the room. Chris was so easy to manipulate sometimes.