Charmed and Dangerous—part 3

Spoilers for "Charmed Centennial" with regard to Paige and her very special sneezes. Other than that, there's very little overlap with cannon. This section is definitely rated NC-17 

Piper sighed as she walked into the manor; it had been a very long day at the club going through all the books as tax season loomed ahead. She was enormously glad that Leo would be home soon, too, and that they had nothing more pressing to do that evening than relax together with a nice dinner and maybe a bubble bath. Before she had even taken off her coat, a nervously grinning Phoebe was upon her. With her hair in braids, and wearing her favorite old "UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs" sweatshirt, Piper couldn't help thinking how adorable her little sister was, still her baby, just like always.

"Hi Piper," Phoebe said in a slightly squeaky voice.

"Hi Pheebs," Piper said. When Phoebe said nothing, but continued to stare at her with a blank, deer-in-the-headlights expression, she added, "Was there something you wanted, honey?"

"Um, actually, yes." Phoebe grinned, the color rising in her cheeks. This did not go unnoticed by Piper. "I was just wondering if I could maybe borrow your car tonight. That is, if you and Leo aren't going anywhere."

"Sure Pheebs, no problem."

"Good, um, thanks." Piper smiled at her baby sister inscrutably. Phoebe looked back at her apprehensively.

"What?"

"Oh, Phoebe. Would you knock it off already? It is completely obvious to me, as someone who has known you your entire life, that you have met someone. Probably someone you want to go out with tonight in my car. Which, again, totally fine. What I don't understand is why you're being so damn elusive about it! Do you not think Prue and I want you to go out on dates and have a good time?" Piper was at a loss, and her irritation was beginning to show.

"Oh Piper…of course I know you want me to be happy. I'm sorry I'm acting like such a spazz…I'm just scared that you might not…approve…of my choice."

"Well honey, lord knows that we Halliwells have always had questionable taste in men…but honestly, you have to know that I would never judge you, Pheebs. Please believe that." And Phoebe did—how could she not, when she was looking into the earnest hazel eyes of her lifetime confidante?

"I believe you, Piper," Phoebe said. Then she drew a deep breath. "But actually…it's not my taste in MEN that's at issue this time." Piper's face was a mask of confusion for a moment.

"You mean…? OH!" Her eyes widened, and Phoebe nodded. "Oh Phoebe, did you really think I'd care if you wanted to date girls?" Piper giggled.

Phoebe was flabbergasted. "I dunno…I just thought…I mean I didn't think…aren't you just a little shocked?" She almost sounded hurt that she hadn't managed to scandalize her big sister.

"You're losing your edge, little sis. Not only am I not freaked out by this, but I'll let you in on a little secret." Phoebe raised her eyebrow, asking Piper to go on.

"I'm not exactly 'Miss Straight America' myself." Piper was still grinning impishly.

"What?" Phoebe shrieked. "Piper, you're married!"

"Well I didn't say I was joining any orgies, did I? But back in high school, there was this girl…do you remember Jenny?"

"Your friend from the tennis team?"

Piper raised her eyebrow significantly.

"Oh my god, Piper! She was your girlfriend? And you never told me?" Phoebe looked extremely hurt.

"Honey, you were only eleven…and I would hardly call her my girlfriend. We were just fuck buddies, really. What was I supposed to say to you?"

"Aaaagh!" Phoebe shrieked, covering her ears with both hands. "Piper, you and the F word do not go together. Are you trying to scar me for life?" Phoebe's bewilderment was almost comical, and they once it passed, the two sisters stood grinning at each other.

"So what's her name?" Piper asked.

"Paige," Phoebe said almost shyly.

"Huh, another P. Well she'll fit right in around here, I suppose." This got another shy grin from Phoebe. Piper closed the short distance between her younger sister and herself, and took her chin in her hand, tilting her face up to study her. "And she makes you happy?" she questioned gently.

Phoebe swallowed. "Piper, I think I…I think I'm a little bit in love with her." Piper hugged her little sister tight, and Phoebe melted into the reassuring arms of the one person whose approval mattered most. Of course, Phoebe loved both her sisters and cared what both of them thought of her; but it had always been to Piper she had run when Prue didn't understand her, to Piper she had always told everything, and known she would always be accepted. Piper never ceased to amaze her.

"Then I couldn't be happier for you, Phoebe."

"Thanks, Piper." Phoebe swallowed hard against the tears that were suddenly forming. "I love you."

"Love you too, squirt. Now you better go get ready, cause I don't think this outfit is what you'll be wearing for Paige now is it?" Phoebe grinned and bounded up the stairs, humming dreamily to herself. Piper sighed. Phoebe was definitely growing up…but she would always be her baby.

Two hours later, Phoebe was dressed and had a large picnic basket packed into her sister's car, along with two large fluffy blankets. The nerves that had left her so suddenly with Paige's kiss had redoubled, leaving her feeling very distracted indeed as she pulled up to Paige's dorm and rang the buzzer. When the door opened and Paige stood in front of her, however, she forgot all about her nervousness—she forgot about everything. Paige was so lovely, standing there in a simple pair of soft camel-colored cords and a light blue cardigan, a thin choker of rose quartz at her throat. Her makeup was light, accentuating her dark eyes, and like Phoebe she needed only a hint of cherry lip gloss on her luscious mouth.

"Hi," Paige said softly.

"Yeah," Phoebe agreed dazedly. Paige smirked at the openly smitten expression on Phoebe's face, which in turn helped Phoebe to break out of the momentary trance she had gone into. "Ready to go?" She asked, and Paige nodded. As she stepped over the threshold, she brought one hand out from behind her back. It held a single, ivory colored rose.

"For me?" Phoebe asked shyly, not understanding why the simple act was affecting her so. She had received plenty of flowers from boys before, large, expensive bouquets even. But somehow, coming from Paige it felt different.

"Mmm-hmm." Paige nodded, leaning in and giving Phoebe another whisper-soft kiss on the lips.

"What for?" Phoebe asked, still in a daze, as Paige pulled back from the kiss.

"Cause I like you," Paige murmured, her arms still wrapped around Phoebe's neck, their faces very close. "Cause you were brave enough to ask me out before I got up the guts to ask you…because you are so…" Paige kissed her. "Incredibly…" another kiss. "Beautiful." By now Phoebe felt sure that she could light up the entire city with the heat coming off her face, but she didn't care.

"You sure know what to say to a girl," Phoebe sighed. Taking Paige's hand in hers, she said, "Shall we?"

"Indeed we shall," Paige agreed, and together they walked to the car.

Twenty minutes later, they were leaving the city on highway 1, heading south. "You gonna tell me where we're going now?" Paige asked curiously. Her hand was playing in Phoebe's hair, which hung in soft curls around her shoulders.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out on your own, miss smartypants."

"Smartypants?" Paige said indignantly. "Who was the one who got asked to lead a discussion section last week after her A-plus paper on mythological demons and the archetypal psyche?" Phoebe grinned, taking her eyes off the road for a moment to look back at Paige, who was smiling at her in a way that could only be described as proud.

"I guess there's room in this car for more than one smartypants."

"Guess so," Paige agreed. Then she looked out at the open road ahead, as the urban sea of housing developments gave way to endless rolling hills on the left, and the beautiful, jagged cliffs of the pacific ocean on the right. The sun was getting low, and the sparkle off the water made the ocean look like a living thing itself, winking and shimmering at them. It made Paige smile.

"This is so beautiful," she sighed.

"Almost as beautiful as you," Phoebe said shyly.

"Oh, honey, you are so corny…and so sweet." She leaned over and gave Phoebe a quick kiss on the cheek.

After another twenty minutes had gone by, Phoebe finally pulled off the small two-lane highway into a dirt parking lot. The only thing Paige could see anywhere nearby was a taco stand, which she stared at quizzically.

"Pheebs…you didn't drive me all the way down to Bonny Doon to go to a taqueria, did you? Cause we've got plenty of those in San Francisco."

"No silly." Phoebe grinned, and hopped out of the car mysteriously. As Paige got out and came around to the other side of the car, Phoebe handed her the two blankets from the back, which Paige had not even noticed. "You get these, and I'll carry the picnic basket, okay?" Dazed and confused, Paige nodded. With an air of calm assurance, Phoebe crossed the road toward the ocean, Paige following wordlessly. It was clear that Phoebe was following a path she knew well, as they climbed down a narrow dirt path that took them down the embankment, over the railroad tracks, and up another embankment. Of course, by now, Paige knew there was only one possible destination: the ocean. They walked silently for a few minutes, neither feeling the need to speak. Finally, as if by magic, they topped the rocks they'd been hopping over and saw one of the most beautiful sights they had even seen. A secluded beach, quite deserted, sprawled out before them, the cliffs stretching out on either side blocking out the view of the rest of the world. No one driving on the highway would be able to see this beach, and Paige realized right away that this was a special place for Phoebe. Looking out at a glorious California sunset, the sun blood red and sinking halfway into the ocean, Paige's heart nearly stopped.

"Oh, Phoebe," she whispered. "It's…" She dropped the blankets in the sand, and wrapped both arms around Phoebe, spooning her from behind so they could watch it together. "It's beautiful." Phoebe didn't say anything, but reached behind her to tangle her fingers in Paige's hair, softly caressing the silky strands. They stood like that for a few minutes. Then Phoebe could feel Paige's tummy rumbling against her back.

"Hungry, baby?" She grinned, dropping her head back against Paige's shoulder to look at her.

"Actually, yeah," Paige admitted. "Whatcha got in that basket, anyway?" Phoebe grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. Laughing, they picked up their supplies and walked down onto the beach itself, Paige spreading one of the blankets and Phoebe unpacking the basket. Soon there were grapes and brie, a sourdough baguette, some baby carrots and hummus, and a bottle of sparkling apple cider all laid out in front of them, complete with a large bar of Ghiradelli chocolate for dessert.

"You really are a native San Franciscan, aren't you?" Paige asked, eyeing Phoebe's selections, particularly the chocolate.

"Born and raised," Phoebe agreed. "You grew up in Ortega, right?"

"Yeah, the glamorous life. When we all snuck out to be wild, rebellious teenagers, all we could really do was get drunk and screw on the golf course."

"Paige!" Phoebe squealed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I embarrass you, Princess?" Paige grinned impishly. "You can't fool me, Phoebe Halliwell. I've got your number. I know you were a troublemaker in high school. And as for the sex part, I'm sure they were lined up around the block for you." Phoebe rubbed the blush from her face as they helped themselves to their picnic dinner.

"Uhhh…can I plead the fifth on this one?" Paige cocked her eyebrow at the evasive Phoebe. "Oh, all right, all right. Of course I was a trouble maker. I had to keep Grams busy so she wouldn't have time to miss Prue and Piper when they were off at college, didn't I? And as far as the other part, I had plenty of offers. But I only dated three guys. And I had strong feelings for each of them." At least, she thought to herself, I used to think that those were strong feelings… Looking at Paige now, she knew she had only begun to understand the words, "strong feelings."

"And you're not weirded out about the whole, girl-girl thing?" Paige asked seriously. She was absolutely crazy about Phoebe, but she wasn't stupid, and dating straight girls never brought anything but trouble. Looking up at her, Phoebe knew that this was a serious question for Paige, and gave the beautiful girl sitting next to her her full attention.

"It did at first, I guess. But that was a while ago…" they grinned at each other over this admission. "Honestly, Paige, when I look at you, I'm not thinking of you as a woman, or comparing you to a man. I just…I just see you. And I'm completely and totally crazy about you, if you hadn't noticed." Paige gave Phoebe another one of her warm, glowing smiles, and leaned in to kiss her. It started out very gentle, lips and tongues gently exploring the precious new terrain. Then Phoebe began to nibble on Paige's bottom lip, eliciting a soft, sensual moan. The sound of Paige moaning for her, from her attentions, was like a bolt of desire straight to Phoebe's core. They began to kiss more passionately, the food forgotten, as Paige sucked Phoebe's tongue into her mouth and Phoebe's hands went under Paige's top, teasingly running her fingers over the soft skin of her stomach. The heat that exploded between them was primal, and soon they were both covered in a fine sheen of sweat. An ocean breeze blew over their damp skin, and Paige shivered. Not missing a beat, Phoebe reached over Paige and pulled the second blanket over them both, creating a warm and cozy nest which they burrowed into, lost in a world of only each other.

Uncountable hours later, as they lay entwined exchanging gentle touches, Phoebe dimly realized that Paige was shivering again. In their hedonistic frenzy they had kicked off the blanket that was covering them. Lazily, Phoebe sat up and pulled it back over them, making a warm and cozy nest.

"Hmmm," Paige sighed, "you are so incredible, baby." She leaned forward and gave Phoebe a soft, loving kiss.

"You were pretty incredible yourself," Phoebe murmured back, tracing delicate patterns over Paige's face in the moonlight.

"Really?" Paige asked, a note of cockiness in her voice.

"Oh Goddess, yes." Phoebe sighed again. She couldn't seem to stop.

"Goddess, huh?" Paige inquired, and Phoebe winced internally at the small slip. She was still a witch after all, and that wasn't something she was ready to drop on Paige, not so soon.

"You are my goddess," she whispered, and it was perfectly true. They kissed again, not ready to escalate things again quite yet. They were both enjoying the afterglow too much to rush it, exchanging tender touches and looking up at the stars.

"I could stay here all night," Paige murmured absently.

"Hmmm, that would be nice," Phoebe agreed. "Unfortunately, the tide is going to come in eventually…I think we'd better get out of here before that."

"But I'm not done with you yet," Paige pouted, sticking out her bottom lip. Phoebe leaned forward and nipped it between her teeth, sucking the delicious pout into her mouth.

"Come home with me," she breathed.

"Yes."

Many hours later, Phoebe awoke warm, sated, and held in her bed. Shafts of morning sunlight were peeking through her curtains, but she wasn't ready to move just yet. The feel of Paige pressed up against her back, her arm wrapped snugly around Phoebe's stomach, was too good. Eyes closed, Phoebe simply basked in the sensation, coupled with Paige's steady, even breathing against the back of her neck. How had she ever gotten through life without this woman? Without the feelings they got from each other? It seemed somehow impossible that before yesterday, she'd had no idea how good it was possible to feel. She was basking like a cat in a ray of sunshine when Paige's breath hitched behind her.

"Achoo!" Paige sneezed hard, her body jerking against Phoebe's back. It gave Phoebe the oddest sensation of warmth, and a faint, feathery tickle all along her back, and she giggled and squirmed.

"Bless you," she murmured as she rolled over, smoothing Paige's hair back to kiss her forehead. She frowned slightly. "Are you catching a cold, baby? You feel a little warm." She pressed her lips back against Paige's forehead, remembering how Paige had shivered in the chilly ocean air the night before.

Paige pulled herself stiffly out of Phoebe's arms, a tense expression on her face. "Uh, yeah, I think I am…I better go." She practically jumped out of bed, reaching for her clothes as Phoebe grabbed her arm.

"Whoa there nelly! What's with the duck-and-cover?" Paige swallowed hard, trying desperately to ignore the confused look on Phoebe's face.

"I, I just don't want to give you my germs, that's all."

Phoebe laughed. "Paige, honey, we just spent the whole night sharing our germs. If I was gonna catch your cold, I would have already. You don't have to worry about me." She smiled warmly at her lover, touched but confused.

"Still," Paige stammered, "Better safe than sorry, right? And I've got this major photo project due on Monday, I should really get back…"

"Paige!" Phoebe exclaimed indignantly. "It's not even eight am! What is wrong?" As they looked at each other, Paige could tell that Phoebe was getting the wrong idea, that she thought she was running out on her. It broke Paige's heart, but she knew she didn't have a choice.

"Is it…" Phoebe began hesitantly. "Is it me?"

"Oh Phoebe…" Paige's eyes brimmed with tears before she blinked them away. "It's not you baby, please believe me, it's not you. I just have to…" Paige's voice trailed off as her breath caught again. She backed away from Phoebe, rubbing her nose furiously, obviously trying not to sneeze. Phoebe, for her part, was utterly bewildered by Paige's strange behavior.

"Ah…ahh…ACHOO!" Paige sneezed again, harder than before.

"Bless—" Phoebe started to say, but before she could finish, something happened that Phoebe was totally unprepared for. Paige dissolved into a haze of tiny, bluish white lights, and orbed out. "You…" she finished to the empty room. She hadn't even had time to be properly shocked yet when Paige orbed back in, hands hovering over her mouth, eyes squeezed firmly shut. Phoebe was utterly speechless. After a moment that seemed like an hour to both of them, Paige reluctantly opened her eyes.

"Uh…" she stammered. "Any chance that you didn't see that?"

"Oh, I saw it," Phoebe confirmed. "I've just never seen a white lighter sneeze before." Paige's jaw dropped.

"What?"

TBC….