Chapter 8

It was cold. Actually freezing would be a more precise description as he made his way through the empty, snow cowered streets of San Francisco. The white substance crunched loudly beneath his feet as he continued to tread through the storm around him. Light flakes showered down from the sky slightly fluttered his dark lashes to free the small ice clusters. He was alone heartbroken and tired yet again. Worse of all he didn't have the slightest clue as to where he was going but the one thing he did know for certain was that he could never go back there, back to them.

His family, the people who were supposed to love him unconditionally had turned their backs on him and now found him repulsive and hated him for something he had no control over. Tears began to sting his eyes as images of his mother's comforting smile and the soothing voice of his father as he held him close and calmed him through his nightmares flooded his vision and sounded loudly in his ears. His aunts whom of which he loved dearly would more then likely never speak to him again. It they hadn't begged for his love and his forgiveness on some many different occasions then this betrayal wouldn't feel this so bad and his heart wouldn't ach this much. But in the end he had let them in and now he was paying the price for being so weak and pathetic.

Warm tears streamed down his face as he thought about all he had lost in his life. His parents, his brother, his friend, his lover all of them had been taken away from him in one form or another and after being given the gift of a family unit and new found hope it was roughly snatched away from him again. A twisted smile formed on his face and jaded laughed erupted from his mouth at the thought of how truly fucked up his life was. The boy shook his head and mumbled incoherently to himself obviously starting to lose touch with reality when he came to a stop in front of a house where a father and his two boys were playing in the snow.

Chris's tainted smile turned into one a more genuine one as his mind flashed back to one of the only happy memories from his childhood.

Flashback

A six year old Chris sat in front of the living room window looking out at the light snow flakes that were falling heavily from the sky as his older brother sat at his side also taking in the same seen. The winter wonderland was amazing and a sight that was rarely seen in their hometown so the two siblings made sure to take in every bit of the seen before them and couldn't wait to go out into the awaiting white fluff. The boys were so lost in thought that they were totally caught off guard by the man sneaking up behind them.

Leo Wyatt had been watching his two sons for quite sometime now and when he saw just how engrossed they were in the weather outside he couldn't resist. After all he didn't get to spend a lot of time with his boys but when he did he promised himself that he would make the most of it. So he quietly snuck outside and gathered two piles of snow and instantly shaped them into little round balls before scooping the frozen water up and walking back into the house and surprising the two. Walking up behind them ever so slowly the man held up the two round objects in his hands and threw them, hitting both boys right in the back of the head causing them to turn around with angry eyes to face the culprit.

"DAD!" yelled Wyatt as he watched his brother run around in circles trying to shake the cold from his body and release the ice from his shirt.

"What?" the man questioned with an innocent look on his face.

"You are so going to pay for this buster" threatened the darker haired boy as he his brother attacked the man. The two boys laughed playfully as they rushed over to their father, knocking the man down to the ground and began play fighting.

The boy's father then orbed the three of them outside where they began throwing snow at each other to wrapped up in the moment to try to form snow balls.

"You two are so going down"

"Nope Dad, you're the one who's going down! Get'em Wy!" the younger boy yelled as he motioned for his brother to help him attack their father once again and throw him to the ground.

"Hmm" the sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted their fun time. Standing before them in the door way was one very annoyed looking Piper Halliwell who instantly stormed over to the trio all of which were looking between each other all knowing exactly what the woman was capable of.

"Who's the hell is responsible for this?" she spoke sternly with her hands folded over her chest.

"I'm sorry Piper" Leo began as the tension between the two adults increased.

"I'm sorry too Mom" added Chris who was trying not to cry. His parents didn't fight much but when they did he hated it, especially if it had anything to do with him.

"And you should be Christopher, so should you Wyatt" the woman continued. Leo was about to say something in the boy's defense until Piper held up a hand to silence him and bent down next to the man and her two child who were still sitting in the snow.

For a moment she said nothing. Instead she just starred at them with a serious look on her face. But that glare instantly turned into a smile the second that she mashed two big hands full of snow into the unsuspecting faces of her boys and began to laugh hysterically.

"Ha that will teach you to gang up on your father. Now it's fair, two on two and I do believe it's the two of you who's going down" The second that the woman's words left her mouth the boy's jumped on both their parents as the four members of the Wyatt family spent an afternoon playing together in the snow.

End of Flashback

"Those were truly happier times weren't they Chris?" a voice called out to him, snatching him away from his thoughts and bringing him crashing back to his painful reality.

"What the hell do you want Wyatt? Haven't you ruined my life enough for one day?" the boy said before roughly removing himself from his brother's arms.

"Please don't do this Chris, just come home with me and all your problems will disappear I assure you"

Chris turned to the older man and was about to tell where to go when a hand was held up in front of his face, stopping him before he had a chance to start.

"There's no need to argue Chris I know what you're going to say. You're going to bring up the same non-sense you've been spewing since you left for times long forgotten before" the man snicker slightly before continuing "You think for some reason unknown to me that I need to be save. That it was some great evil that was to blame for who I am today, well sorry to disappoint you little brother but you're wrong. Life made me this way. Opening my mind up to all that was going on around me helped me to see the world for what it truly was"

"Oh please don't give me that shit Wyatt!" the younger of the two yelled out causing his brother to look at him with anger plastered over his feature before returning to his usual emotionless state as he struggled to remain calm. "No one who simply chose power over good OR evil would do the things you have done. Only someone sick, twist, evil and diabolical would do the shit that you've done. Having you aunts tortured, killing you brother's fiancée and let's not forget the acts of incest and rape that you like to call love. Well news flash big brother that's not love it's evil, it's satanic it's fucking immoral and down right disgusting"

Chris panted heavily after laying into the elder man and waited for a response. Every second that passed felt like an eternity as he held stared into his brother's eyes trying to catch a glimpse of emotion hoping he can predict what his brother was going to do next so could prepare himself.

"You just don't get it, do you Chris?" the man spoke in a soft low tone that amazed his younger sibling.

"What Wyatt, what is it that I'm not getting?" he questioned boldly as he folded his arms across his chest and waited for his brother to continue.

"How much I love and how much it's killing me to see you look at me the way you do, to know that you hate me. My God don't you get it? Don't you know that all I've done has been for you? So that you'll be safe?"

"You weren't worried about what I wanted when you killed Mom right in front of me"

Wyatt inhaled sharply and clenched his fist annoyed by the fact that his brother had an obsession with the past. "I did that because she was a threat Christopher. If she had continued to raise you in that lifestyle, that facade know and good vs. evil then she would have eventually gotten herself killed and she would have taken you down with her and I couldn't allow that"

"So you killed her to save me ok, yeah that makes sense" he replied in his usual sarcastic tone.

"YES IT DOES!" the man shouted allowing his anger to get the best of him before proceeding with caution. "I know you don't understand and that wasn't the answer that you were seeking but it's the truth. You know, you say I don't love you but everything I've done has been for your own good. But yet you love them so easily and you give yourself to Mom, the Aunts and Dad so freely and look what they do the second you do something they don't approve of? They shut you out. Dad, your own father struck you and yet you want to stay here so they can berate you some more instead of going with me, the person who has loved and cared for you since day one? The one person who would lay their life down for you!"

"They were just shocked that's all"

"Bullshit Christopher they hate you for it. They think you're disgusting and sick and if they loved you, truly loved you like I love you then they wouldn't have turned on you the way they did. They would still love and except you, but they don't. Ha, you say I'm the one that's delusional but look who's living in a fantasy world now Chris. News flash darling they hate you. Always have and always will and the sooner you come to terms with that, the better off you'll be"

Chris heard the words his brother spoke and as much as he wanted to, he couldn't say anything to contradict what his brother was saying. All he could do is stand there and look at the man who he loved yet hated and who had spoke the truth no matter how hard it was to digest. He then felt a strong pair of arms wrap around him as warm streams of water slid down his face. Part of him was fighting like hell and telling the boy that this was just one of his brother's tricks. That he was just trying to find his weakness so he would come to him willingly. Then there was another part of him that was so tired of being hurt and betrayed by his so called loved ones. Then there was yet another part of him that knew that Wyatt was right. His family could take or leave him at any moment and the reason that they pretended to care this long was because they pitied him. That they felt sorry for the way they had treated him before they knew of his true identity and for what his brother had done to me. Maybe it was just a way of relieving themselves of their own guilt.

"I'm sorry I had to be so rough on you my love. I just need you to see what's real and what's not. I love you and they don't. They have already forgotten about you dear brother but I didn't. I never could. You're too precious to me" he spoke softly again as he gently turned the younger man around and wiped the tears from his eyes.

Chris held his brothers gaze for a long while before he felt the man cup his face and draw his lips into his before. He had to admit it felt pretty good in comparison to the coldness that surrounded them in the heavy snow at the moment. The younger boy leaned into the kiss allowing his tongue to part his brother's lips as the two kissed each other passionately before the older one spoke again.

"Come on Chris. Let's go home"

And this time instead of receiving cries of protest the young boy response. "Yes, let's"