stuffed with fluff, a charmed fanfic

CHARMED

"Stuffed with Fluff"

by shel

disclaimer: the charmed ones, cole, and leo, and the rest of the cast of characters we've come to know and love, belong to spelling television, inc. and possible other copyright holders. i intended no true infringement on their copyrights; i only wanted to borrow these marvelous characters for a short time in my own scenarios and hopefully return them no worse for wear; the only things i've gained from this story are the satisfaction and pleasure of having written it and in knowing that others may have enjoyed it too…

rating: pg-13

summary: cole discovers one of phoebe's childhood treasures…

timeline: between season 4's, 'we're off to see the wizard' and 'long live the queen'…

archive: please don't without expressed permission…

notes: please let me know if you enjoyed my tale and why and, if not, why not…and, please, don't bother wasting your time or mine by sending any flames…

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Cole had missed dinner with Phoebe again and she was probably pissed as hell. "Phoebe?" he called out when he flamed into the living room. But the room was dark and he entered the bedroom only to find it empty too. Given her mood swings, another missed dinner might be enough to send her back to her sisters, if only to spite him. "Damn," he muttered. It had only been three days since Phoebe had renounced her life as a Charmed One and he knew she was still vulnerable to their pull. But, just as he was about to flame out, he realized the shower was running and he sighed in relief.

He loosened his tie and pulled it off, tossing it to the bed. As he unbuttoned the top buttons of his dress shirt, he noticed some cardboard boxes piled in the corner. Phoebe must have already started unpacking her remaining things from the manor. And that, unfortunately, meant she was bound to be exhausted in addition to being pissed. He glanced at the dresser, waved his right hand, and created a crystal vase filled with beautiful multi-colored long stemmed roses. And, alongside the vase appeared a box filled with her favorite truffles. Satisfied, he took off his shirt and opened the closet door to dump it into the dry cleaning bag. At the bottom of the closet, he spotted another box.

He knelt next to it and found a bunch of stuffed animals including one very worn yellow bear wearing a faded red shirt. He picked it up and stared at it for a moment before he carried it back to the bed and sat down. From the corner of his eye, he could see the giant teddy bear he'd bought for Phoebe the other day. So why would she hold onto such ratty toys? He shook his head, bothered by the fact that she was clinging to the past.

"You!"

Cole turned to find his wife standing in the doorway, wrapped in a towel, with a furious look on her face. Setting the bear on the bed, he carefully approached her and, with a smile, greeted, "Hi, honey, I'm home."

"Don't give me that!" she snapped as she slapped away his hands in order to avoid him pulling her into his arms. "You missed dinner again and didn't even have the decency to call! Give me one good reason why I don't turn you into a pile of ashes right now."

"Because I'm the father of your child and you love me," he suggested. She folded her arms in annoyance but didn't step out of reach and he took that as a positive sign. So he leaned in closer to kiss her but, to his surprise, was shoved back. "Phoebe?"

She strode to the bed and picked up the bear. "What're you doing with Pooh? What, you just decided it was okay to go through my private keepsakes?"

"Since when do we have private keepsakes?" he countered, wondering how he would get through this mood swing. And she hadn't even noticed the flowers or chocolate. "Look," he requested, pointing to them. "I know the roses don't hold a candle to you but --"

"You think a couple of flowers're gonna make me melt into your arms," she shouted, "think again, pal! You're one of the most inconsiderate, invasive, no--"

"It's late, Phoebe," he interrupted, now annoyed himself. "All I did was put my shirt in the dry cleaning bag, just like you've demanded, and --"

Outraged, she sputtered, "Deman-- I didn't demand! I asked for a little consideration. I've had to make a big adjustment moving here with you and now becoming Queen with all the additional responsibilities, not to mention being pregnant with your son so forgive me if I asked for one tiny little thing like putting all the dry cleaning into one bag which I didn't think would be too much for you so --"

Cole silenced her rant with a kiss. Risky on his part but it was the only plan he had at the moment.

"I love you," Phoebe dreamily replied when he released her. Catching her breath, she ran her fingers up his chest and slid her arms around his neck to lean in close for another kiss. This time, when she broke away, she lightly slapped his chest and warned, "But I'm still furious with you! I know you're trying to establish yourself and that you've got a lot of work ahead of you but you're the Source and you can't tell me anyone would've stopped you from calling your wife to let her know you'd be late."

He grabbed her hand to keep her from turning away and quickly brought it to his lips for a tender kiss. "It won't happen again," he apologized.

She accepted his kiss and apology but still turned back to the bathroom. "Yeah, right…" she muttered as she dropped the towel and reached for her nightgown that was hanging on the hook behind the door.

Cole took off his suit pants, reached for his sweats, and promised, "I'll hold the next set of meetings right here in the penthouse."

"You're just lucky that baby and I love you so much," she warned as she slipped the silk outfit over her head. She smoothed it out, letting her hand caress the barely noticeable baby bump, and smiled.

When she came back into the room, she found Cole sitting on the bed holding her Pooh and she told him, "Pooh was one of the last presents my dad gave me before he left us."

"Pooh?"

Phoebe gave him a funny look and grabbed back her bear, "Come on, Cole, you're over a hundred years old and spent most of it among humans. You've never heard of Winnie the Pooh?"

"It's pretty worn," he commented with a nod to the bear. "Why keep it?"

She gasped in horror and hugged the bear as if to protect it from him. "Because."

"What kind of answer is that?" The instant the words left his lips, he knew he'd blown it. Phoebe's lower lip was already quivering and he quickly hugged her in apology. "I'll buy you a new one."

"It wouldn't be the same," she sniffled as she stepped out of his embrace. She turned away, looked at her bear and explained, "Pooh got me through so much growing up. When I couldn't talk to Prue or Piper, Pooh was there. I could tell him all my secrets and know he'd always love me no matter what. I guess there were times he was my best friend."

Wanting her to put more distance with her past, Cole stood and gently took the bear from her hand and set it on her nightstand. Reaching for her hand, he requested, "Let me be your Pooh. You can trust me, Phoebe. I will never judge you and I will always be there for you. And I will always, always, love you."

Phoebe let him tug her close. She stood on tiptoe to kiss him but then stopped short of letting him pull her down to the bed. "Come on, I'll heat up some dinner for you."

"Later," he suggested as he tried to steal another kiss.

"I spent two hours preparing a sumptuous meal for you, Milord, and you," she smiled sweetly before she suddenly shoved him back hard, causing him to stumble onto the bed, "are damn well gonna eat it!"

Cole rolled his eyes and sighed when she spun on her heel and stalked to the door. If any of the demons saw this, he'd… With a burst of inspiration, Cole began humming as he sat up.

"What?" Phoebe gasped and spun back to face him.

"Something wrong?" he asked with feigned innocence.

"That tune," she accused, "how d'you know that tune?"

"This?" he questioned as he hummed a little more. He shrugged and stood, "Just something I must've heard once somewhere, why?"

"Because it's Pooh's song," she exclaimed before she broke into a smile. "You sneak, you knew about Pooh Bear all along." When he had the nerve to shrug again and smile that smile of his, she tackled him to the bed and rained kisses all over his face.

Pleased with himself for having once again survived the hormonal Queen's wrath, he let Phoebe remain on top and have her way with him, enjoying the sensations her body provided pressed close to his while she kissed her way down his chest.

Mid-kiss, Phoebe murmured, "You're not off the hook yet, pal."

With a grin, Cole playfully flipped her onto her back. While his hands roamed her body, he whispered naughtily in her ear, "Let me be your Pooh and I'll show you just how stuffed with fluff I am."

Not to be outdone, Phoebe rolled with him once more so that she could straddle him. As she bent her head and nipped at his lips, she warned him, "You're just lucky I find you as adorable as Pooh."

"Only as adorable?" he pouted while his hands slid up from their positions on her waist.

"Irresistibly adorable," she teased before claiming his lips with hers.

And simultaneously both began humming the tune to Winnie the Pooh, sending both into a fit of giggles quite unbecoming of the Source and his Queen. But not for Cole and Phoebe who were, for but a moment, simply a husband and wife enjoying the freedom of their love.

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And the guards, hand-picked by the Source himself, remained at their posts outside the Source's bedroom, silently standing watch. And, under suitable fear for the loss of their heads, completely ignored whatever laughter they heard coming from behind the bedroom walls that evening.

the end