Title: Through the Looking Glass
Written for: Charmed Slash
Pairing: Gideon/Leo
Rating: PG-13
Gideon’s evil counterpart gave him a steely gaze through the mirror.
“Are you sure that you can put aside your past with Leo and carry out this plan? I know you agree that Wyatt is too powerful, but I also know you still have fond feelings for Leo.”
Good Gideon rolled his eyes. “Well, if I still have feelings for my Leo, then you must still have feelings for your Leo.”
“Yes, but the relationship between me and my Leo was completely different. It was based purely on lust. Given the nature of your world, I know that you have more emotions mucking up the situation.”
“Don’t worry, I will do whatever needs to be done to neutralize the power that shouldn’t have been allowed to exist. We’ll talk later.” Both Gideons reached up and drew closed the curtain that hid the mirror between their worlds.
The good Gideon contemplated the words his counterpart had spoken to him. He had tried through this entire ordeal to push aside his previous relationship with Leo and the lingering feelings he had on occasion for the young Elder. This time, though, he allowed his mind to wander back to their first meeting.
***
Gideon was running late to meet his new apprentice. He was still a little miffed at the other Elders for assigning him another charge, especially one that was a war hero. But he was the newest Elder and got stuck with all the lousy assignments. He had heard through the grapevine that this guy had a real tough time making the transition from Life to Death. Gideon was not looking forward to trying to train him in the ways of the White Lighters.
He arrived at the appointed place and saw an extremely good looking blonde man standing there waiting. He appeared to be very patient; he wasn’t tapping his foot or anxiously looking around.
Gideon walked up behind him silently and tapped him on the shoulder. The unexpected physical contact startled the young man and he inadvertently orbed out for a moment. When he orbed back, he turned and faced Gideon, unsure what to make of what had just happened.
“Are you Leo?” Gideon asked, trying desperately to hide the smile that was threatening to creep onto his face. This young man reminded him of himself when he was a new White Lighter about a century ago.
“Yes, you must be Gideon.” The young man’s smile was brilliant and made Gideon a little weak in the knees. “I was told that you would be training me.”
***
For the past three weeks, Gideon had been neglecting his duties as a novice Elder and focusing all his time on training Leo, his new protégé. Leo was definitely a natural White Lighter; he had overwhelming compassion and understanding for his charges, his fellow White Lighters, and the Elders.
As the days passed, Gideon found himself growing more attracted to Leo. They were spending the majority of their waking hours together and had developed a close bond. Gideon knew that it was natural for new White Lighters to develop close friendships with the Elder that trained them, but he often got vibes that there was a possibility of he and Leo sharing a closer relationship than that. He hoped he wasn’t deluding himself about that, at least. It was against the rules for Elders and White Lighters to have intimate relationships and his biggest concern was that Leo was too much of a goody two shoes to break the rules.
Gideon was lost in his reverie and did not hear Leo approach.
“Gideon, what are we doing today?”
He jumped and then turned to bestow a rare smile on Leo. “You’re learning the soundless White Lighter approach well.”
Leo blushed at the compliment. “I had a good teacher.”
Gideon felt his heart skip a beat. “We’re actually going to take a day off from lessons today. We’re going to go down there and spend the day as tourists in San Francisco. You need to learn to mingle again. Many times in your course of duty you will not be able to reveal yourself as a White Lighter to your charges and they cannot suspect you are anything but a reputable human.”
“That sounds like fun,” Leo said. “But I have to admit I’m a little nervous about going out among mortals again after all this time I’ve been spending with you and all the White Lighters.”
“There is nothing to be nervous about, Leo. You haven’t been gone from the human world very long. I’m sure you’ll be able to relate just fine.”
“Well, as long as you’re with me, I won’t need to be nervous.” Leo flashed that brilliant smile at Gideon again.
***
After several hours spent walking the streets of San Francisco, window shopping and browsing the art galleries, Leo was exhausted. He and Gideon found benches in Golden Gate Park to sit and rest on for a few minutes.
“I feel so out of shape,” Leo complained, rubbing his legs that were sore from walking. “I haven’t realized how little physical activity I get now that I can orb everywhere.”
Gideon chuckled. “I went through that when I first became a White Lighter too. It will pass in time.”
“Well, these pants feel a little tighter than I remember them fitting,” Leo said. “Those robes we wear Up There are so comfortable.”
“I think your pants look fine,” Gideon said, deciding to take a chance. “In fact, I think you look just as good as you did when you first joined us.”
Leo blushed at the compliment and didn’t speak. Gideon was afraid he may have overstepped his bounds and upset Leo, but he wasn’t sure how to rectify the situation. The two sat in awkward silence for a few long minutes, each trying to size up the other.
They both spoke at once.
“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
“So you think I look good?”
They both laughed to try to ease the nervous tension. Leo spoke first.
“You did not make me uncomfortable in the slightest. I was just a little taken aback by your comment. I… well… this is hard for me to say… but I have found you attractive since we first met… but… well… I wasn’t sure how to act on it… or if you’d even want me to act on it… and I know it would be against the rules…” he trailed off, surprised at himself for admitting so much. This was a very new experience for him. He had been married before joining the army and he loved his wife very much. It never occurred to him to be attracted to another man. But it was something that was very common among the troops and he had ended up having a brief relationship with one of the men in his unit, but ended it over feelings of guilt about his wife. He assumed it was a situational thing and that he wouldn’t normally be attracted to a man.
Gideon smiled, trying to ease Leo’s obvious nervousness. “Well, yes… it is technically against the rules, but it does happen frequently. As long as the Elder Ethics Committee doesn’t get wind of it, it’s okay. But I’ve found myself similarly attracted to you since we first met.”
The two shared a look that finally allowed the sexual tension between them show.
“So, where do we go from here?” Leo asked, still a little shy about the whole situation.
Gideon’s grin grew mischievous. “I think my place would be a good start.”
“Your place?”
“Yeah, it’s my little secret. I still have an apartment here from when I was a practicing White Lighter.”
***
And so it began, Gideon mused, recalling those first days, how tentative Leo had been. How much fun they had getting to know each other on an intimate level. The passion they shared. Gideon had never had such an enthusiastic lover. Their situation was idyllic; they went on ‘training trips’ and spent time together in some of the most romantic cities in the world.
Slowly their relationship changed. Leo became a strong White Lighter and Gideon got new charges to train. They had less and less time to sneak off and be together. Their meetings became fewer and further between.
And then the passion started to fade. They spent more time talking and reminiscing than they did enjoying the pleasure they had once found so readily in each other. By the time Leo found out that he was being assigned as the Charmed Ones White Lighter and would be required to spend most of his time on Earth, their relationship had settled into mostly friendship and guidance, with very occasional trysts for old times sake. When Leo got his new assignment, they knew that they would have to call it quits completely. If Leo were to somehow jeopardize the Charmed Ones while with Gideon, the other Elders would surely find out and punish them both.
Gideon was genuinely happy when Leo found love with Piper and had, in fact, petitioned the other Elders to allow the marriage. He saw that Leo had the same glow about him with Piper that he had when he and Gideon had started their relationship.
He knew now that it had been a mistake. The existence of their extremely powerful child in the magical world was a risk for both sides. Gideon felt bad for the pain he was going to inflict on his former lover by eliminating his son, but he knew it was something he had to do to keep the magical world in balance.
With a sigh, he reached up and opened the curtain covering his mirror to the other world. Timing was crucial if he and his evil counterpart were not going to be caught.
End