Chris/Wyatt: Brothers Divided...Until They're Not
Title: Brothers Divided…Until They’re Not
Author:
dannyblue
E-Mail: dannyblue2@yahoo.com
Fandom: Charmed
Pairing: Chris Halliwell and Wyatt Halliwell
Spoilers: This manifesto contains spoilers for pretty much the entire series, especially late season 5 and beyond.
Warning: Here there be slash, incest, angst, sibling abuse, and all that other good stuff.
Notes: The pictures are courtesy of drewfullerfan.com, screencap-paradise.com, and charmed-pictures.com.
Introduction
As far as I know, the Chris/Wyatt pairing doesn’t have an official, cute little name-smoosh like most other pairings do. But, when I tried to come up with a name-smoosh, I got Cwyatt. Which actually fits them. They are brothers, after all. In polite society, if the two did get up to any naughtiness, they’d have to keep it pretty hush-hush, hiding their “activities” from friends and family, stealing kisses in the shadows...
See? It does fit!
But, for now, I’ll just keep calling them Chris/Wyatt.
In canon, the relationship between Chris Halliwell and Wyatt Halliwell is pretty complex. Largely because there are two totally different relationships in the one. All thanks to the confusing wonders of time travel.
A Brief History of Slash in the Charmed Fandom
Once upon a time, Charmed was a mostly slash-free fandom.
The show was filled with hunky guys. And I always thought that, as long as there were at least two attractive men on a show, lovers of slash would want to hook them up.
But somehow, despite the likes of Antonio Sabato Jr., Julian McMahon and Brian Krause (not to mention countless hunky male guest stars) running around in various states of undress, Charmed seemed mostly immune to the slash. Oh, there were a handful of Cole/Leo and Daryl/Leo fics to be found. But not nearly as many as you’d expect.
Oh, it’s not that there weren’t Charmed fans that loved the slash. But, for some reason, the thought of Cole/Leo didn’t make most of them think, “Man, that would be hot!” Instead, it made them think, “Ewwww!”
Why? Who knows? It’s one of the great mysteries of fandom. All that’s important is that, for years, Charmed was relatively slash-free.
Then, along came Chris and Wyatt. And, suddenly, the Charmed fandom wasn’t so slash-free anymore.
Introduction Two: Getting It Out of the Way
So, let’s just put it out there. Chris Halliwell and Wyatt Halliwell are brothers.
And I’ll let you feel however you want to feel about that.
A Very, Very Brief History of Charmed
The problem with doing a summary of Charmed as it relates to Chris/Wyatt is that Chris and Wyatt don’t actually appear on the show (in any form) until late in season five. So five years of stuff happens that has nothing to do with them, and we don’t really care about all that.
Or, if you do care, you can read a basic rundown of the show, from its beginnings, over at Wikipedia.
The basic premise of Charmed is that, after the death of their grandmother, three sisters (Prue Halliwell, Piper Halliwell and Phoebe Halliwell) learn they were the Charmed Ones, good and powerful witches destined to fight evil.
The evil fighting goes well for a few years. Then older sister Prue is killed, destroying the Power of Three. But, luckily, Piper and Phoebe learn they have another sister. Paige Matthews is the product of an affair their mother had with her Whitelighter (guardian angels who watch over good witches). Since the affair was all forbidden and what not, Paige was hidden away, and given up for adoption at birth. When her half-sisters find her 20-plus years later, the Power of Three is restored.
Our Story Really Begins
The story of Chris and Wyatt really begins with Leo and Piper.
Leo was the Charmed Ones’ Whitelighter. Now, Whitelighters aren’t supposed to get personally involved with their charges. But Leo and Piper fell in love. As you might imagine, Leo’s bosses, the Elders, didn’t approve. (We’re talking “the wrath of higher powers” type disapproval here.) But, eventually, Leo and Piper convinced the Elders they were meant to be together. The fact that Gideon, an Elder and Leo’s mentor, was on their side probably helped.
Not long after they married, Piper got pregnant. The family spent months trying to pick out the perfect name for Piper’s unborn daughter. Because, for centuries, Halliwell’s had always had girls. And Piper had never been much for rule-breaking.
Finally, the baby was born…And, whoops, turned out Piper's baby had some extra equipment. So, instead of giving said baby one of the bazillion girl names they’d argued over, they named him Wyatt Matthew Halliwell.
Not only was the baby not the girl everyone was expecting, they learned he was Twice Blessed (it’s a thing) and was going to grow up to be the most powerful magical being that had ever lived. And a powerful force for good, everyone assumed. Because, if a kid is born into a family of good witches, and his father is a guardian angel, why wouldn’t you assume that?
But you know what happens when you assume…
For a while, all sorts of evil creatures try to kill Wyatt. (After all, if he's going to be this uber-powerful force for good, the forces of evil should try to take him out when he’s still young and relatively weak, right?) Then an evil and powerful seer looks into the kid’s future and, for whatever reason, forbids any more baddies from trying to harm him. Which should have been a clue…
Christopher Perry Halliwell
Late in season 5, a visitor arrives from more than twenty years in the future. He tells the Halliwell’s his name is Chris Perry, and he’s come back to save Wyatt from something bad that’s going to happen to him in the next year or two.
Now, everyone assumes he means he’s there to save Wyatt from being killed by some evil baddie. But what Chris really means is that he’s there to save Wyatt from turning evil, and growing up to kill and terrorize millions of people. Only he knew the Halliwells wouldn’t take kindly to hearing that Piper’s sweet, angelic little boy would grow up to be an evil tyrant. So he lied.
He also doesn’t tell them that his name isn’t Chris Perry. It’s Chris Halliwell. He’s Wyatt’s younger, yet-to-be-conceived brother. His excuse for lying is that knowing too much about the future could royally screw things up. (You know, "Future consequences.") But the truth is that, in the future, most of his family is dead. If he told them he was family, they’d want to bond with him and junk. And he’d get all attached. And, then, he’d have to return to a future where some, if not all, of them might still be dead, and he’d have to go through the pain of losing them all over again. So, to avoid all the family bonding crap, he lied.
Yep, Chris is big on lies, and deception, and manipulation. And he’d the good brother!
Wyatt Matthew Halliwell
Everyone, including Chris, assumes that something gets to Wyatt when he’s young and turns him evil. It’s a spell, or a curse, or he’s possessed. Something. But, as it happens, Wyatt wasn’t turned evil. Not in the way everyone thought, at least.
You see, Gideon, the Elder who spoke on behalf of Piper and Leo getting married, had decided he’d made a huge mistake. Their union had resulted in a child so powerful that, if he ever decided to turn to the dark side, the forces of good would have no real hope of stopping him. So, in order to rectify his mistake, Gideon decides he has to kill Wyatt, “For the greater good.”
So Gideon abducts young Wyatt and takes him to the Underworld, where he can’t be detected by his magical family. And, there, he tries to kill the little boy.
But, while Wyatt doesn’t have his full power yet, he’s still powerful. Once he realizes Gideon, Daddy’s friend, is trying to hurt him, he manages to use his powers to get away. But he’s not powerful enough to get out of the Underworld and go home.
So little Wyatt spends weeks on the run in the Underworld, all alone, surrounded by demons (who all try to kill him), and being hunted by a trusted friend of the family. An Elder, no less, who is supposed to be the epitome of all things good and right.
And, all that time, he was probably wondering where the hell his family was, too young to understand they were no doubt trying as hard as they could to find him and simply couldn’t.
Eventually his family did find and rescue him. But, by then, the seeds had been planted. Wyatt grew up to believe there was really no difference between good and evil. Yeah, demons and warlocks attacked and tried to kill his mom and aunts every other day. But the Elders had put his family through hell, too, with all their rules and punishments, all in the name of “good.” And the one Elder his family seemed to like and trust had tried to kill him.
Wyatt concluded both sides would screw you over unless you had the power to stop them. So the only way to keep from getting screwed over was by being the biggest, the baddest, the most powerful…and the one who had all the control.
So Gideon was right about Wyatt being an unstoppable destructive force if he turned to the dark side. But, by trying to stop that from happening, Gideon was the one who ended up turning Wyatt to the dark side.
Oh, the bitter irony.
Brother Against Brother
In the future, magic is out in the open. Everyone knows about it. And everyone knows Wyatt is the most powerful magical being around, and you probably shouldn’t piss him off. No, you do what he wants, and hope he doesn’t get cranky one day and squash you like a bug.
Wyatt doesn’t think he’s evil, of course. As far as he’s concerned, it’s not about good or evil. It’s about power. Whoever has the most power should get to run things, right? Well he’s Most Power Guy. And if he has to do some things some would call “evil” to maintain order, so be it.
But, despite his tyrannical ways, Wyatt does have a softer side. He wants his little brother to join him. He even asks nicely. Or, at least, what passes as nicely for Wyatt.
Unfortunately, Chris insists on being stubborn about this whole thing. As far as he’s concerned, his brother is evil, and has gone against everything the Halliwell family ever stood for. And Chris can’t be a part of Wyatt’s evil regime. In fact, Chris feels it’s his duty to stop his brother.
So, what does Chris decide to do? Kill his brother? After all, it’s the logical solution.
But no, Chris decides to go the past and try to stop whatever happened to turn Wyatt evil in the first place. Not only will he stop all the death and destruction Wyatt has caused, he’ll have his “good” brother back.
Wyatt doesn’t like that idea. He likes things (including himself) just fine the way they are. So he sends someone to the past after Chris.
So who does he send? A group of his deadliest, most ferocious demons? A team of his most elite, most ruthless assasins?
No, he sends Chris’s fiancé.
Seriously.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Bianca is an assassin, and a witch/demon hybrid. She’s a pretty dangerous chick. She’s also madly in love with Chris, and Wyatt knows she will bring Chris back without hurting him...much. Something he probably can’t trust any other demon or warlock to do.
Don’t think too unkindly of Bianca. She only agreed to do what Wyatt wanted because he threatened to send someone who wouldn’t bother bringing anything back but Chris’s dead body.
Bianca succeeds in dragging Chris back to the future, after stripping him of his powers. (Wyatt covers all the bases.) And this is when Wyatt nicely asks Chris to join him. When Chris refuses, Wyatt asks not so nicely with some gentle, telekinetic choking.
When choking doesn't seem to work, Wyatt proceeds to telekinetically toss his little brother around the room. This is Wyatt’s version of "talking some sense into him."
When Chris tries to fight back, Wyatt asks in disbelief, "Have you lost your mind?" Like he can't imagine anyone would even think they could fight him. Well, not a Chris with no powers anyway.
Eventually, Wyatt has Chris telekinetically pinned to a wall, and is about to toss a painful-looking energy ball at him. That’s when Bianca (who can no longer stand watching Chris get the crap beat out of him) intervenes. And while she manages to set Chris free, she also pisses Wyatt off, and ends up getting impaled on the leg of a broken table for her troubles.
Chris gets his powers back a second too late to save Bianca. Enraged, he uses his own telekinetic powers to slam Wyatt into a wall, knocking him unconscious. Then, after saying farewell to a dying Bianca, he manages to jump into a time portal and head back to the past.
Now, Wyatt did threaten to send someone after Chris who wouldn’t bother bringing anything back but a body. But, well, he doesn’t, not even after Bianca’s mission fails. So I’m thinking he never really meant it. With Bianca gone, there was no one else he could trust not to kill Chris “accidentally.” And he couldn’t go himself. (That’s the thing about being an evil ruler. You can’t trust your evil minions not to try to take over the minute your back is turned.) So Chris is pretty much left free to run around in the past, meddling.
Now, I bet you’re wondering if Chris ever considered just killing Wyatt, either version (the baby probably would’ve been easiest) to prevent all the death and destruction?
Yeah, he did. In fact, he even says so to Wyatt himself.
Chris: “If I can't save you, I swear to God I'll stop you.”
And I think he meant it when he said it. I just don’t think that, when the time came, he would’ve been able to do it.
So, Chris ends up back in the past.
Eventually, they find out Gideon is going to try to kill Wyatt. Just as in the original timeline, the Elder manages to abduct the child and spirit him off to the Underworld. But the family knows the score this time, and it only takes them a few hours (instead of weeks) to find Wyatt. So, rather than being a prolonged, traumatizing event that twisted Wyatt’s psyche and set him on the path to evil, it was just another bad thing that happened when he was little (like the various demon attacks he’d witnessed) that he probably barely remembers.
Sadly, the old timeline’s version of Chris is killed by Gideon while trying to protect Wyatt. But, just a few hours later, baby Chris is born.
Non-Lethal Sibling Rivalry
So, original Chris helps save Wyatt from turning evil. And thus begins a new, different timeline.
Things don’t go smoothly for the brothers at first. For a while, little Wyatt is jealous of the new baby that's getting so much attention, and he gets into the habit of orbing (teleporting) his infant brother all over creation. But that doesn’t last long. After a while, the two young brothers get into the habit of protecting each other.
Wyatt has a protective shield, while Chris doesn’t. So, whenever there is danger (which happens a lot in the Halliwell family) Wyatt orbs to Chris and puts up his shield to protect them both.
And when Wyatt is kidnapped by baddies (it’s a common theme), one year-old Chris is able to sense his big brother from halfway across town and orb him away from danger.
So, the two brothers grow up thick as thieves. Chris is…well, a lot like the original timeline’s Chris, just maybe not so uptight. (A person can relax when they don’t have a powerful big brother trying to lure them to the dark side.)
And Wyatt is not evil. In fact, he’s the opposite of evil. Heck, he’s the guy you want to take home to mom. Believe me, she’d love him. He's so nice, and polite, and soft-spoken. And neat, which you can't say about a lot of the guys you see running around these days.
Unlike Chris, who tends to take things seriously and is a bit of a control freak, Wyatt is more easy-going and laid back.
Chris and Wyatt still have a bit of a rivalry going on, though, as we see during one of their visits from the future.
Chris: “One minute everything’s fine. We’re kicking demon ass, and…”
Wyatt: “Actually, I was kicking some demon ass…”
Chris: “Pffft!” (Complete with eyeroll and look of younger-sibling disgust.)
Oddly, despite being nearly two years younger, more slender, and shorter (he’s 6’1, while Wyatt’s about 6’4), Chris seems to be the more mature and in-charge of the brothers. While in the past, Wyatt lets slip who Phoebe is going to marry (something Chris would never do), and Chris procedes to smack and scold him for it.
It seems that, while Evil!Wyatt wanted to control everyone and everything, Good!Wyatt is fine with letting someone else be in charge. And smack him for being naughty.
In the final episode of Charmed, there’s a montage of future events. In a voiceover, Piper reveals that, eventually, she and her sisters let “the next generation” take over most of the evil-fighting chores. And we see Chris and Wyatt mixing up a potion together.
Why Wyatt/Chris?
The thing about Chris/Wyatt of the original timeline is that, despite being diametrically opposed, they obviously still care about each other.
Things would be so much easier for Chris if he’d just kill Wyatt, either version. Instead, he comes up with this elaborate, ridiculously complex scheme that has, at best, a 50/50 chance of working, to save Wyatt and, as a result, all the people Wyatt would’ve killed. There’s reason to believe Wyatt and Chris were close before Wyatt slipped off the tracks. (Some believe Piper’s death in the old timeline, which happened when Wyatt was 16, might be what finally did it.) And Chris wants that version of his brother back.
Then we have Evil!Wyatt, who seems to have no qualms about killing those who cross him. But, as he says to Chris himself:
Wyatt: “You know, if anyone else tried what you tried, I'd kill them on the spot. But you...”
Instead of sending someone to kill Chris and stop him from meddling in the past, Wyatt sends someone he knows won’t hurt Chris (more than necessary), has her drag him back to the future, then tries to persuade Chris-in his own special, Wyatt-ish way-to join him on the dark side.
With the Chris/Wyatt of the new timeline, it’s the closeness we see between them (both as they are growing up, and in their adult versions) that we find appealing. Plus they have that whole teasing banter thing going on that we all like so much.
Why I Like Chris/Wyatt
I like Chris and Wyatt stories of all kinds. Gen, A/U and, yes, slash. Any story with Wyatt and Chris in it that explores their relationship, whatever form that relationship takes, I’ll read.
Plus I like darkfic. And an Evil!Wyatt, who has no morals to speak of, who will do anything to not only get Chris back but to keep him, is just made for darkfic.
In Chris/Wyatt fic set in the new timeline, there’s plenty of room for angst. Chris or Good!Wyatt developing less than platonic feelings for his brother and best friend? We’re talking a one-way trip to Angst City right there.
I have been in fandom for a while, and have read a lot of slash pairings in a lot of different fandoms. But Chris/Wyatt is the first one I felt compelled to actually write fic for. (My Deep Breathing series, which you can find at Fanfic.Net, or in my LJ.)
Why You Would Like Chris/Wyatt
What’s most appealing about Chris/Wyatt is all of the possibilities.
You can read a dark, disturbing fic set in the original timeline.
You can read a sad, angsty fic set in the new timeline.
You can even read a humor fic in which Chris and/or Wyatt’s developing, oh-so-dirty-wrong feelings for his brother are played for laughs.
And, if the fact that Chris and Wyatt are brothers really bugs you, there are plenty of AU slash fics in which they aren’t related.
And, yes, there are MPregs. Lots and lots of MPregs. So, if you like Mpregs, you are in for a treat.
Fandom Guide
And, now, here’s the fun part, the Chris/Wyatt fics.
There’s a lot of Chris/Wyatt fic out there. And, while finding the gems can be difficult, it’s not impossible. Really. :D
Here are a few Cwyatt fic recs to get you started.
Original Timeline Fics
These stories take place in the original timeline. So Wyatt is evil, and not nice. There’s a lot of darkness here. I suggest you don’t read them all at once.
A Broken Crown by Child of Twilight. A WIP, but what’s there is so good.
House of Shame by Kaiyote
Caligula’s Blood by tigriswolf
Fallen Into Darkness by wild wolf free17. Part of a series of Charmed fics, of all kinds (gen, het, and slash) and pairings. This is story 3.
Mine by wild wolf free17. Story 11 in the series above.
Promises, Promises by Lily EvansPotterBlack
New Timeline Fics
These stories take place in the new timeline, where Wyatt is all sweet and nice. Or, at least, not homicidal.
The Deep Breathing Series by Dannyblue. Yep, this one’s by me. And, if you like angst, you'll like these stories. (If you don't want to read it at FF.Net, you can also read it at my LJ.)
Never Deny by Starry Wonders
Spells and Mishaps by Starry Wonders. Sadly incomplete, but one of the rare Chris/Wyatt humor fics.
Cupid’s Arrow by FatimaFaithFifi
The Light of the World by Sam-Tony
Sparring by Sam-Tony
SuperCharmed by Sokasato. An incomplete, mildly wacky crossover with Supernatural, which also includes hints of Dean/Sam.
Unrelated AU Fics
For those squeamish about the incesty aspects of Chris/Wyatt, here are some Alternate Universe fics in which they aren’t related.
When Our Eyes Meet by Proud-to-be-Insane. Chris has just moved to San Fransisco. Guess who he meets.
Harder to Breathe by C.W.Halliwell. In this AU, Wyatt is dating Bianca, who has a younger brother named Chris.
Boarding School Hell by lexi-charmed. Chris and Wyatt meet at boarding school.
Gen Fic Featuring Chris and Wyatt
And, what the heck, in the interest of variety, I'll add links to some gen fics starring Chris and Wyatt. They're still close, just in a platonic way.
Of All People by teal-lover (Old Timeline). Wyatt comes to the past to get Chris after all.
He Did It For Me by teal-lover (New Timeline). Good!Wyatt finds out about the other timeline.
The Nature of Memory by mangoaddict (Old Timeline). Not only Chris gets dragged back to the future this time.
A Loose End by Zeria (New Timeline). Um, the Chris from the original timeline met a girl and he, uh, left something behind in the past.
More Gen Fic Recs. For even more gen stories featuring Chris and Wyatt.
If anyone knows of any other good Chris/Wyatt slash fics, I’d love to add them to the list (and read them myself). Just add them to the comments below.
And, remember, there are a lot of good gen stories out there with Chris and Wyatt, too, so check ‘em out. They give you even more of the Halliwell Brothers to love. :D
Author:
dannyblue
E-Mail: dannyblue2@yahoo.com
Fandom: Charmed
Pairing: Chris Halliwell and Wyatt Halliwell
Spoilers: This manifesto contains spoilers for pretty much the entire series, especially late season 5 and beyond.
Warning: Here there be slash, incest, angst, sibling abuse, and all that other good stuff.
Notes: The pictures are courtesy of drewfullerfan.com, screencap-paradise.com, and charmed-pictures.com.
Introduction
As far as I know, the Chris/Wyatt pairing doesn’t have an official, cute little name-smoosh like most other pairings do. But, when I tried to come up with a name-smoosh, I got Cwyatt. Which actually fits them. They are brothers, after all. In polite society, if the two did get up to any naughtiness, they’d have to keep it pretty hush-hush, hiding their “activities” from friends and family, stealing kisses in the shadows...
See? It does fit!
But, for now, I’ll just keep calling them Chris/Wyatt.
In canon, the relationship between Chris Halliwell and Wyatt Halliwell is pretty complex. Largely because there are two totally different relationships in the one. All thanks to the confusing wonders of time travel.
A Brief History of Slash in the Charmed Fandom
Once upon a time, Charmed was a mostly slash-free fandom.
The show was filled with hunky guys. And I always thought that, as long as there were at least two attractive men on a show, lovers of slash would want to hook them up.
But somehow, despite the likes of Antonio Sabato Jr., Julian McMahon and Brian Krause (not to mention countless hunky male guest stars) running around in various states of undress, Charmed seemed mostly immune to the slash. Oh, there were a handful of Cole/Leo and Daryl/Leo fics to be found. But not nearly as many as you’d expect.
Oh, it’s not that there weren’t Charmed fans that loved the slash. But, for some reason, the thought of Cole/Leo didn’t make most of them think, “Man, that would be hot!” Instead, it made them think, “Ewwww!”
Why? Who knows? It’s one of the great mysteries of fandom. All that’s important is that, for years, Charmed was relatively slash-free.
Then, along came Chris and Wyatt. And, suddenly, the Charmed fandom wasn’t so slash-free anymore.
Introduction Two: Getting It Out of the Way
So, let’s just put it out there. Chris Halliwell and Wyatt Halliwell are brothers.
And I’ll let you feel however you want to feel about that.
A Very, Very Brief History of Charmed
The problem with doing a summary of Charmed as it relates to Chris/Wyatt is that Chris and Wyatt don’t actually appear on the show (in any form) until late in season five. So five years of stuff happens that has nothing to do with them, and we don’t really care about all that.
Or, if you do care, you can read a basic rundown of the show, from its beginnings, over at Wikipedia.
The basic premise of Charmed is that, after the death of their grandmother, three sisters (Prue Halliwell, Piper Halliwell and Phoebe Halliwell) learn they were the Charmed Ones, good and powerful witches destined to fight evil.
The evil fighting goes well for a few years. Then older sister Prue is killed, destroying the Power of Three. But, luckily, Piper and Phoebe learn they have another sister. Paige Matthews is the product of an affair their mother had with her Whitelighter (guardian angels who watch over good witches). Since the affair was all forbidden and what not, Paige was hidden away, and given up for adoption at birth. When her half-sisters find her 20-plus years later, the Power of Three is restored.
Our Story Really Begins
The story of Chris and Wyatt really begins with Leo and Piper.
Leo was the Charmed Ones’ Whitelighter. Now, Whitelighters aren’t supposed to get personally involved with their charges. But Leo and Piper fell in love. As you might imagine, Leo’s bosses, the Elders, didn’t approve. (We’re talking “the wrath of higher powers” type disapproval here.) But, eventually, Leo and Piper convinced the Elders they were meant to be together. The fact that Gideon, an Elder and Leo’s mentor, was on their side probably helped.
Not long after they married, Piper got pregnant. The family spent months trying to pick out the perfect name for Piper’s unborn daughter. Because, for centuries, Halliwell’s had always had girls. And Piper had never been much for rule-breaking.
Finally, the baby was born…And, whoops, turned out Piper's baby had some extra equipment. So, instead of giving said baby one of the bazillion girl names they’d argued over, they named him Wyatt Matthew Halliwell.
Not only was the baby not the girl everyone was expecting, they learned he was Twice Blessed (it’s a thing) and was going to grow up to be the most powerful magical being that had ever lived. And a powerful force for good, everyone assumed. Because, if a kid is born into a family of good witches, and his father is a guardian angel, why wouldn’t you assume that?
But you know what happens when you assume…
For a while, all sorts of evil creatures try to kill Wyatt. (After all, if he's going to be this uber-powerful force for good, the forces of evil should try to take him out when he’s still young and relatively weak, right?) Then an evil and powerful seer looks into the kid’s future and, for whatever reason, forbids any more baddies from trying to harm him. Which should have been a clue…
Christopher Perry Halliwell
Late in season 5, a visitor arrives from more than twenty years in the future. He tells the Halliwell’s his name is Chris Perry, and he’s come back to save Wyatt from something bad that’s going to happen to him in the next year or two.
Now, everyone assumes he means he’s there to save Wyatt from being killed by some evil baddie. But what Chris really means is that he’s there to save Wyatt from turning evil, and growing up to kill and terrorize millions of people. Only he knew the Halliwells wouldn’t take kindly to hearing that Piper’s sweet, angelic little boy would grow up to be an evil tyrant. So he lied.
He also doesn’t tell them that his name isn’t Chris Perry. It’s Chris Halliwell. He’s Wyatt’s younger, yet-to-be-conceived brother. His excuse for lying is that knowing too much about the future could royally screw things up. (You know, "Future consequences.") But the truth is that, in the future, most of his family is dead. If he told them he was family, they’d want to bond with him and junk. And he’d get all attached. And, then, he’d have to return to a future where some, if not all, of them might still be dead, and he’d have to go through the pain of losing them all over again. So, to avoid all the family bonding crap, he lied.
Yep, Chris is big on lies, and deception, and manipulation. And he’d the good brother!
Wyatt Matthew Halliwell
Everyone, including Chris, assumes that something gets to Wyatt when he’s young and turns him evil. It’s a spell, or a curse, or he’s possessed. Something. But, as it happens, Wyatt wasn’t turned evil. Not in the way everyone thought, at least.
You see, Gideon, the Elder who spoke on behalf of Piper and Leo getting married, had decided he’d made a huge mistake. Their union had resulted in a child so powerful that, if he ever decided to turn to the dark side, the forces of good would have no real hope of stopping him. So, in order to rectify his mistake, Gideon decides he has to kill Wyatt, “For the greater good.”
So Gideon abducts young Wyatt and takes him to the Underworld, where he can’t be detected by his magical family. And, there, he tries to kill the little boy.
But, while Wyatt doesn’t have his full power yet, he’s still powerful. Once he realizes Gideon, Daddy’s friend, is trying to hurt him, he manages to use his powers to get away. But he’s not powerful enough to get out of the Underworld and go home.
So little Wyatt spends weeks on the run in the Underworld, all alone, surrounded by demons (who all try to kill him), and being hunted by a trusted friend of the family. An Elder, no less, who is supposed to be the epitome of all things good and right.
And, all that time, he was probably wondering where the hell his family was, too young to understand they were no doubt trying as hard as they could to find him and simply couldn’t.
Eventually his family did find and rescue him. But, by then, the seeds had been planted. Wyatt grew up to believe there was really no difference between good and evil. Yeah, demons and warlocks attacked and tried to kill his mom and aunts every other day. But the Elders had put his family through hell, too, with all their rules and punishments, all in the name of “good.” And the one Elder his family seemed to like and trust had tried to kill him.
Wyatt concluded both sides would screw you over unless you had the power to stop them. So the only way to keep from getting screwed over was by being the biggest, the baddest, the most powerful…and the one who had all the control.
So Gideon was right about Wyatt being an unstoppable destructive force if he turned to the dark side. But, by trying to stop that from happening, Gideon was the one who ended up turning Wyatt to the dark side.
Oh, the bitter irony.
Brother Against Brother
In the future, magic is out in the open. Everyone knows about it. And everyone knows Wyatt is the most powerful magical being around, and you probably shouldn’t piss him off. No, you do what he wants, and hope he doesn’t get cranky one day and squash you like a bug.
Wyatt doesn’t think he’s evil, of course. As far as he’s concerned, it’s not about good or evil. It’s about power. Whoever has the most power should get to run things, right? Well he’s Most Power Guy. And if he has to do some things some would call “evil” to maintain order, so be it.
But, despite his tyrannical ways, Wyatt does have a softer side. He wants his little brother to join him. He even asks nicely. Or, at least, what passes as nicely for Wyatt.
Unfortunately, Chris insists on being stubborn about this whole thing. As far as he’s concerned, his brother is evil, and has gone against everything the Halliwell family ever stood for. And Chris can’t be a part of Wyatt’s evil regime. In fact, Chris feels it’s his duty to stop his brother.
So, what does Chris decide to do? Kill his brother? After all, it’s the logical solution.
But no, Chris decides to go the past and try to stop whatever happened to turn Wyatt evil in the first place. Not only will he stop all the death and destruction Wyatt has caused, he’ll have his “good” brother back.
Wyatt doesn’t like that idea. He likes things (including himself) just fine the way they are. So he sends someone to the past after Chris.
So who does he send? A group of his deadliest, most ferocious demons? A team of his most elite, most ruthless assasins?
No, he sends Chris’s fiancé.
Seriously.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Bianca is an assassin, and a witch/demon hybrid. She’s a pretty dangerous chick. She’s also madly in love with Chris, and Wyatt knows she will bring Chris back without hurting him...much. Something he probably can’t trust any other demon or warlock to do.
Don’t think too unkindly of Bianca. She only agreed to do what Wyatt wanted because he threatened to send someone who wouldn’t bother bringing anything back but Chris’s dead body.
Bianca succeeds in dragging Chris back to the future, after stripping him of his powers. (Wyatt covers all the bases.) And this is when Wyatt nicely asks Chris to join him. When Chris refuses, Wyatt asks not so nicely with some gentle, telekinetic choking.
When choking doesn't seem to work, Wyatt proceeds to telekinetically toss his little brother around the room. This is Wyatt’s version of "talking some sense into him."
When Chris tries to fight back, Wyatt asks in disbelief, "Have you lost your mind?" Like he can't imagine anyone would even think they could fight him. Well, not a Chris with no powers anyway.
Eventually, Wyatt has Chris telekinetically pinned to a wall, and is about to toss a painful-looking energy ball at him. That’s when Bianca (who can no longer stand watching Chris get the crap beat out of him) intervenes. And while she manages to set Chris free, she also pisses Wyatt off, and ends up getting impaled on the leg of a broken table for her troubles.
Chris gets his powers back a second too late to save Bianca. Enraged, he uses his own telekinetic powers to slam Wyatt into a wall, knocking him unconscious. Then, after saying farewell to a dying Bianca, he manages to jump into a time portal and head back to the past.
Now, Wyatt did threaten to send someone after Chris who wouldn’t bother bringing anything back but a body. But, well, he doesn’t, not even after Bianca’s mission fails. So I’m thinking he never really meant it. With Bianca gone, there was no one else he could trust not to kill Chris “accidentally.” And he couldn’t go himself. (That’s the thing about being an evil ruler. You can’t trust your evil minions not to try to take over the minute your back is turned.) So Chris is pretty much left free to run around in the past, meddling.
Now, I bet you’re wondering if Chris ever considered just killing Wyatt, either version (the baby probably would’ve been easiest) to prevent all the death and destruction?
Yeah, he did. In fact, he even says so to Wyatt himself.
Chris: “If I can't save you, I swear to God I'll stop you.”
And I think he meant it when he said it. I just don’t think that, when the time came, he would’ve been able to do it.
So, Chris ends up back in the past.
Eventually, they find out Gideon is going to try to kill Wyatt. Just as in the original timeline, the Elder manages to abduct the child and spirit him off to the Underworld. But the family knows the score this time, and it only takes them a few hours (instead of weeks) to find Wyatt. So, rather than being a prolonged, traumatizing event that twisted Wyatt’s psyche and set him on the path to evil, it was just another bad thing that happened when he was little (like the various demon attacks he’d witnessed) that he probably barely remembers.
Sadly, the old timeline’s version of Chris is killed by Gideon while trying to protect Wyatt. But, just a few hours later, baby Chris is born.
Non-Lethal Sibling Rivalry
So, original Chris helps save Wyatt from turning evil. And thus begins a new, different timeline.
Things don’t go smoothly for the brothers at first. For a while, little Wyatt is jealous of the new baby that's getting so much attention, and he gets into the habit of orbing (teleporting) his infant brother all over creation. But that doesn’t last long. After a while, the two young brothers get into the habit of protecting each other.
Wyatt has a protective shield, while Chris doesn’t. So, whenever there is danger (which happens a lot in the Halliwell family) Wyatt orbs to Chris and puts up his shield to protect them both.
And when Wyatt is kidnapped by baddies (it’s a common theme), one year-old Chris is able to sense his big brother from halfway across town and orb him away from danger.
So, the two brothers grow up thick as thieves. Chris is…well, a lot like the original timeline’s Chris, just maybe not so uptight. (A person can relax when they don’t have a powerful big brother trying to lure them to the dark side.)
And Wyatt is not evil. In fact, he’s the opposite of evil. Heck, he’s the guy you want to take home to mom. Believe me, she’d love him. He's so nice, and polite, and soft-spoken. And neat, which you can't say about a lot of the guys you see running around these days.
Unlike Chris, who tends to take things seriously and is a bit of a control freak, Wyatt is more easy-going and laid back.
Chris and Wyatt still have a bit of a rivalry going on, though, as we see during one of their visits from the future.
Chris: “One minute everything’s fine. We’re kicking demon ass, and…”
Wyatt: “Actually, I was kicking some demon ass…”
Chris: “Pffft!” (Complete with eyeroll and look of younger-sibling disgust.)
Oddly, despite being nearly two years younger, more slender, and shorter (he’s 6’1, while Wyatt’s about 6’4), Chris seems to be the more mature and in-charge of the brothers. While in the past, Wyatt lets slip who Phoebe is going to marry (something Chris would never do), and Chris procedes to smack and scold him for it.
It seems that, while Evil!Wyatt wanted to control everyone and everything, Good!Wyatt is fine with letting someone else be in charge. And smack him for being naughty.
In the final episode of Charmed, there’s a montage of future events. In a voiceover, Piper reveals that, eventually, she and her sisters let “the next generation” take over most of the evil-fighting chores. And we see Chris and Wyatt mixing up a potion together.
Why Wyatt/Chris?
The thing about Chris/Wyatt of the original timeline is that, despite being diametrically opposed, they obviously still care about each other.
Things would be so much easier for Chris if he’d just kill Wyatt, either version. Instead, he comes up with this elaborate, ridiculously complex scheme that has, at best, a 50/50 chance of working, to save Wyatt and, as a result, all the people Wyatt would’ve killed. There’s reason to believe Wyatt and Chris were close before Wyatt slipped off the tracks. (Some believe Piper’s death in the old timeline, which happened when Wyatt was 16, might be what finally did it.) And Chris wants that version of his brother back.
Then we have Evil!Wyatt, who seems to have no qualms about killing those who cross him. But, as he says to Chris himself:
Wyatt: “You know, if anyone else tried what you tried, I'd kill them on the spot. But you...”
Instead of sending someone to kill Chris and stop him from meddling in the past, Wyatt sends someone he knows won’t hurt Chris (more than necessary), has her drag him back to the future, then tries to persuade Chris-in his own special, Wyatt-ish way-to join him on the dark side.
With the Chris/Wyatt of the new timeline, it’s the closeness we see between them (both as they are growing up, and in their adult versions) that we find appealing. Plus they have that whole teasing banter thing going on that we all like so much.
Why I Like Chris/Wyatt
I like Chris and Wyatt stories of all kinds. Gen, A/U and, yes, slash. Any story with Wyatt and Chris in it that explores their relationship, whatever form that relationship takes, I’ll read.
Plus I like darkfic. And an Evil!Wyatt, who has no morals to speak of, who will do anything to not only get Chris back but to keep him, is just made for darkfic.
In Chris/Wyatt fic set in the new timeline, there’s plenty of room for angst. Chris or Good!Wyatt developing less than platonic feelings for his brother and best friend? We’re talking a one-way trip to Angst City right there.
I have been in fandom for a while, and have read a lot of slash pairings in a lot of different fandoms. But Chris/Wyatt is the first one I felt compelled to actually write fic for. (My Deep Breathing series, which you can find at Fanfic.Net, or in my LJ.)
Why You Would Like Chris/Wyatt
What’s most appealing about Chris/Wyatt is all of the possibilities.
You can read a dark, disturbing fic set in the original timeline.
You can read a sad, angsty fic set in the new timeline.
You can even read a humor fic in which Chris and/or Wyatt’s developing, oh-so-dirty-wrong feelings for his brother are played for laughs.
And, if the fact that Chris and Wyatt are brothers really bugs you, there are plenty of AU slash fics in which they aren’t related.
And, yes, there are MPregs. Lots and lots of MPregs. So, if you like Mpregs, you are in for a treat.
Fandom Guide
And, now, here’s the fun part, the Chris/Wyatt fics.
There’s a lot of Chris/Wyatt fic out there. And, while finding the gems can be difficult, it’s not impossible. Really. :D
Here are a few Cwyatt fic recs to get you started.
Original Timeline Fics
These stories take place in the original timeline. So Wyatt is evil, and not nice. There’s a lot of darkness here. I suggest you don’t read them all at once.
A Broken Crown by Child of Twilight. A WIP, but what’s there is so good.
House of Shame by Kaiyote
Caligula’s Blood by tigriswolf
Fallen Into Darkness by wild wolf free17. Part of a series of Charmed fics, of all kinds (gen, het, and slash) and pairings. This is story 3.
Mine by wild wolf free17. Story 11 in the series above.
Promises, Promises by Lily EvansPotterBlack
New Timeline Fics
These stories take place in the new timeline, where Wyatt is all sweet and nice. Or, at least, not homicidal.
The Deep Breathing Series by Dannyblue. Yep, this one’s by me. And, if you like angst, you'll like these stories. (If you don't want to read it at FF.Net, you can also read it at my LJ.)
Never Deny by Starry Wonders
Spells and Mishaps by Starry Wonders. Sadly incomplete, but one of the rare Chris/Wyatt humor fics.
Cupid’s Arrow by FatimaFaithFifi
The Light of the World by Sam-Tony
Sparring by Sam-Tony
SuperCharmed by Sokasato. An incomplete, mildly wacky crossover with Supernatural, which also includes hints of Dean/Sam.
Unrelated AU Fics
For those squeamish about the incesty aspects of Chris/Wyatt, here are some Alternate Universe fics in which they aren’t related.
When Our Eyes Meet by Proud-to-be-Insane. Chris has just moved to San Fransisco. Guess who he meets.
Harder to Breathe by C.W.Halliwell. In this AU, Wyatt is dating Bianca, who has a younger brother named Chris.
Boarding School Hell by lexi-charmed. Chris and Wyatt meet at boarding school.
Gen Fic Featuring Chris and Wyatt
And, what the heck, in the interest of variety, I'll add links to some gen fics starring Chris and Wyatt. They're still close, just in a platonic way.
Of All People by teal-lover (Old Timeline). Wyatt comes to the past to get Chris after all.
He Did It For Me by teal-lover (New Timeline). Good!Wyatt finds out about the other timeline.
The Nature of Memory by mangoaddict (Old Timeline). Not only Chris gets dragged back to the future this time.
A Loose End by Zeria (New Timeline). Um, the Chris from the original timeline met a girl and he, uh, left something behind in the past.
More Gen Fic Recs. For even more gen stories featuring Chris and Wyatt.
If anyone knows of any other good Chris/Wyatt slash fics, I’d love to add them to the list (and read them myself). Just add them to the comments below.
And, remember, there are a lot of good gen stories out there with Chris and Wyatt, too, so check ‘em out. They give you even more of the Halliwell Brothers to love. :D