"Hot Twister"
Copyright 2005 Penn O'Hara

 

 

PG

Usual disclaimers apply.

Author's note:  Charmed fans would shoot this down in flames as none of it could be considered following canon.  I've never seen the show: seen only Ariane's video clips [thank you so much Ariane for putting those up on your site!] and have very little idea of the Charmed characters, but that didn't stop my mind wandering after I saw Zankou's salute to the sisters at the end of the Charmageddon clip.  Please take this with a grain of salt.  I've done no research and belted it out in one sitting whereas I work on my Frank Donovan chapters for a week or more!  That being said, here's "Hot Twister"…

~*~*~*~*~

Piper Halliwell placed a gentle kiss on the forehead of her son, Wyatt, sleeping soundly in his bed, then walked to the cot nearby and leaned over to pluck Baby Chris' blanket into place.  "Good night, my charmed ones," she whispered.

She started to back out of her children's bedroom when a soft glow caught her eye.  Swinging to look behind her, Piper's brow knitted in confusion at the yellow ember smoldering in the corner of the room.  The glimmer throbbed, grew, then coalesced into the tall, lanky form of Zankou.

"What are you doing here?" Piper demanded.

Zankou smiled and dipped his dark head, then took two languid strides to bend down and touch the top of Wyatt's head gently.  "I have a favour to ask."

Piper stepped hurriedly forward, standing between her son and Zankou.  "Why should I grant you a favour? I owe you nothing."

Zankou arched a high eyebrow.  "Actually, you do." 

He straightened and swayed close to Piper, his smile wider still.  Looking down at her, his smile slipped into a pained twisting of his lips.  "I heard the 'warts and all' comment made by your sister,' he said, his voice tinged with hurt, "and I have to say, I take great exception to the descriptor.  I have been nothing but a gentleman in my dealings with you and your sisters.  I do not deserve it."

Piper's mouth parted.  She chose not to dispute the 'gentleman' part, focusing on the fact that he heard Phoebe's comment from across a busy street.  "How?  How did you hear–?"

"Simple," he said, inclining his head.  "I can lip-read."  His eyes locked onto her mouth.  "It's not all that difficult."

Piper's gaze was riveted to his own lips, feeling her heart break its rhythm.  Tossing her hair from her face, she severed the fascination.  "That still doesn't mean I owe you a favour."

Zankou spun around and headed toward the baby's cot.  "But you ladies do owe me an apology."  He swung his head in Piper's direction, then looked back at the child.  "I'll take the favour instead."

"You're wasting my time," Piper spat the words in an exasperated whisper, moving to guard her baby.

"The least you can do is hear me out," Zankou appealed, raising both brows in surprise. 

Piper sighed, pursing her lips.  "Very well, say what you have to say, then get out of here."

"Why don't we take this somewhere else?" he suggested.

Zankou threw up his hands and enshrouded Piper in a brilliant heat that flared and died, leaving her standing in the middle of the house's den.  There was no sign of her sisters; the muted lighting from the room's lamps giving the den a cozy ambience that encompassed only Zankou and herself.

"Spit it out, Zankou," Piper demanded, tilting her chin at him.

"So impatient, Piper," he said, his voice low and too sexy for her peace of mind.  "Thanks to our previous incursion with the Avatars, I'm fast running out of demons.  I need new blood…"  He flicked a brow at her, his pause laden with innuendo.  "…new recruits."

"What has that to do with me?"  Piper swallowed hard.  "I'm hardly a source of demons."

"You aren't."  He contemplated her from his superior height.  "But your children are."

"Leave my children out of this!"  Piper took a step closer, on the attack.

Zankou held up a hand, his lips softening into a placating bow.  "Don't panic.  It doesn't become you.  You are such a… fighter."  He nodded as if reinforcing his own opinion.  "Now, more than ever… now that Leo is gone.  You have no partner and your children have no father–"

"And I'm panting for you to fulfill that role!" Piper said, sarcastically.  "They really need you to be a daddy to them."

"Why, Piper," Zankou's black eyes glittered with interest, "are you offering–?"

"No!  You know very well I wasn't saying that."  She backed away, aghast he had misconstrued her words.  "What do you want with my children?"

Zankou's mouth turned down in disappointment, but then he closed the gap again, his hands held out slightly in supplication.  "Simply… they can tap into an unlimited supply of demons for my cause, and while doing so, can rid you of a few headaches as well."

"I don't understand–"

"Your son wakes you at night?  With nightmares?"

"Yes–"  Piper felt uneasy, unsure where he was going with this, and wishing he would leave.

"He sees demons under his bed, does he not?"

"All children do but I still don't see–"

Zankou moved closer and the temperature in the room increased by several degrees.  A sweat broke out on Piper's upper lip and she licked her lips nervously.

"Instead of telling him that these demons are to be mistrusted and destroyed, get him to open communication channels with them… tell them there is a more interesting place to be, other than under a little boy's bed."  Zankou's smile was wide as he swept his arms out with a theatrical flourish.  A warm breeze fanned over Piper and her brow beaded with moisture.

"With you," she ventured.

He inclined his head.  "With me."

Piper pushed past him for the open window, shaking her head emphatically.  "If you think I want my child communicating with a demon–"  She shivered, her body cooling in the fresh breeze that teased the curtains apart.

"You are, aren't you?" Zankou asked.  Piper sensed him pivoting on his heel, keeping her reeled in by his warm interest.  "Right now?"

"That's different."  She turned, not trusting her back to him.

His brow furrowed.  "How?"

"I'm an adult."

"How adult?"

"I beg your pardon?" she asked, damning the uncertainty in her voice.

"How adult are you?"  Zankou took several strides toward her and touched her lightly on the shoulder.   The night breeze disappeared and Piper's skin prickled with an awareness of him, a delicious shiver spearing down her spine.  "Adult enough to accept this demon into your circle?"

"What do you mean?"  Her breathing was uneven and short, and, despite knowing she should keep him at a distance, she found she couldn't move.

"Join forces, of course."  His soft laugh feathered her brow, warm and moist.  "What did you think I meant?"

Piper looked into his eyes and a fresh jolt thudded to her toes at the molten message in his gaze. 

"I d… don't need you in my circle."  Was that her voice?  Breathy and… afraid now?  She never feared a demon, least of all, him.

"You're not adult enough to be with a demon if that's what you choose?"  Zankou's eyes were puzzled.  Disappointed.

Piper's jaw tightened.  How dare he insinuate she was a lesser witch.  "If I choose to be, of course I am!"

"With a demon?"  He pulled in his chin, looking unconvinced.

"Of course!"

"I don't believe you."

"What?"

"I don't believe," he said, slowly, increasing the deep timbre in his voice as if knowing its effect on her, "that if you chose to be with me, you would be adult enough to defy your sisters and do it."   

He looked down his nose at her again, his haughty bearing raising Piper's hackles and making her feel reckless.

"Of course I would!  I'm not a child!"  Piper forced herself to turn from him, jerkily moving away so that the sofa was between them.

"Of course you would… what?"

Piper put her hands on her hips.  "If I chose to be with you, then to hell with what anyone thinks."

"Do you?"

"Do I what?"  He was throwing her right-field all the time, making her unsure of what they were talking about.

"Choose to be with me?"  Making an indolent swing around the sofa, his hands came up to lightly clasp her upper arms.

Piper's breath caught in her throat and she felt her brow crease into a deep frown.   Her thoughts reeled, desperately trying to grasp what he was saying.  "Is that what we're talking about?"

"Isn't it?"

"Don't be ridiculous!"

"Not even for the challenge of it?"  His hold tightened, drawing her toward him till they stood toe to toe.

"Definitely not!"  She knew she should pull away, but licks of heat drew her closer to him.  She felt tempted to press herself against him just to see what it would feel like.

"You disappoint me," he said with regret and let her go, stepping back and wheeling away.

Bereft at his withdrawal, Piper's skin rapidly cooled into tight goosebumps.

"About my need to replenish my stock of fellow-demons…" Zankou said, contemplating the lamp on the small table near the sofa.  He smoothed a long finger down its base.  "You won't help me?"

Piper shook her head.  "I won't have my children involved."

"Then involve yourself."  He whirled toward her again, his long strides bringing him up short in front of her.

She swayed toward him, her upper lip moist as her heart hammered against her chest.  "Step away!"

"Why?  You're not up to it?"

"It?"

"Being seen with me?"  His hands came up to her face, cupping her cheeks gently.  Her skin flamed under the contact and her eyes closed.  She had no resistance to pull away, incredibly finding herself pressing against him.  Her body ignited and burned, quivering from the heat of the contact.

"Am I being seen with you?" she breathed, her voice sounding raw and strained.  She opened her eyes, but his face was so close she could only see his lips stretched into a smile that showed perfect teeth.

He lowered his head and her eyes closed again.  "Turn around," he whispered into her ear, and the shudder that ran through her body nearly buckled her knees.

Piper turned around slowly, not understanding the command, but obeying anyway.  She saw her sisters standing in the doorway to the hall, their eyes and mouths opened in shock.

Piper dragged herself out of Zankou's arms, and backed up into him.  She felt his hands descend on her shoulders, but she was more concerned with the outrage on her sisters' faces.  "Th…This isn't what it looks like!"  Piper stammered, his heat hammering into her back.

"Really?" said Phoebe.  "Then, what is it?"

"He wants my children!"  The words burst out of her mouth before Piper realized how they would sound.  She bit her lip in frustration.

"He wants to have your children?" asked Paige, shaking her head.  "Piper, even for you, that's way off–"

"No!  Oh, shit!" gasped Piper.  She spun back to Zankou and came up hard against his chest, enabling him to pull her more firmly into his embrace.  "You explain it to them," Piper gritted, pushing against him, but unable to break the band of his arms. 

"Of course, my dear."  He kissed her gently on the forehead and a hot flush rose under her skin as her knees started to give.  She was suddenly glad he was holding onto her, saving her from the ignominy of falling at his feet. 

Zankou looked over her head, that sexy smile still curving his lips.  Piper fixated on the bearded line of his jaw, willing her body to stand on its own two feet. 

"I was just telling Piper how much I want to be in her bed bringing out the demon in her," Zankou said, smoothly.  "We were just about to–"

"No!" shrieked Piper, bracing her hands against his chest and pushing hard.  "Don’t listen to him!  That's not it at all!" 

Zankou released her, feigning deep hurt, and Piper had to grab the sofa for support.

"Your exact words were," he said, his voice mirroring his confusion, "'They really need you to be a daddy to them.'"

"Piper!"  Phoebe's voice was puzzled and damning.

Piper shook her head vigorously, sending what she hoped was a killing look at Zankou.  "You know very well, I didn't mean–"

"And before…" he insisted.

"Before… what before?" Phoebe demanded, snapping her gaze from Zankou to Piper. 

"Piper, did you not say you were panting for me?"  Zankou's voice was as bland as his face.

"Wha–?"  Piper felt her eyes strain with shock.  "I didn't… mean… I was–"

"Teasing me?" he tutted.  "Piper!  How cruel–"

"Stop it!" she said, turning back to her sisters in desperation.  "I wasn't–"

"You didn't mean it when you said…" Zankou bent down so that his beard scraped softly against her ear,  sending more heated shivers down her spine. "…to hell with what everyone thought if you chose to be with me?"

"I didn't say–"

"Yes.  You did."  He gently turned her back to him, his hands resting lightly on her hips and Piper's belly quivered in response.

"This is ridiculous!  He's twisting my words–"  Her retort was more breath than voice.

Zankou's smile seemed reserved for only her, its message a promise of more to come.  "As ridiculous as the demons under your bed and in your heart?"

"There's no demons in my heart!"

Zankou ran a hand down the length of her hair, its laden heat drawing her head back, exposing her throat to his gaze.  "Not even… one demon?"

Piper couldn't answer.  She was mesmerized by his lips.  Her own parted slightly, her tongue moistening them tentatively.

"I…"

Where was her denial now?

~*~

What is Zankou's game this time?  Will he be able to catch Piper on her back foot again after she regroups and prepares herself?

Stay tuned for more Zankou shorties.

Penn.

p.s.  Please feel free to let me know of any glaring inconsistencies with the characters and the series.  I really don't know this program at all.