*****

"Papa!" Xavy cried, hurling himself into his father's arms when he entered the apartment.

His father chuckled and hugged him tightly. "How was your day?" he asked, nodding at Amy in the hallway before closing the door. "Did they like your Valentines?"

Smiling, Xavy said, "Uh-huh. But you know how you and Daddy said they would be everyone's favorite?"

"Yeah," Angelus answered, sitting down on the sofa with his small son in his lap. "Were they?"

"Nope!" Xavy shook his head vigorously to emphasize this fact. "Sophie brought magic ones. See?" he said, pulling open a white paper bag decorated with pink and red hearts and pulling out a large card. He handed it to his father and said, "It changes colors!"

Angelus stared at the card for a few seconds and sure enough it changed colors, the red hearts turning purple before his eyes. Smiling, he shook his head. "That's amazing," he admitted. "No wonder everyone liked them."

"The picture changes, too," Xavy explained and, as if on cue, the hearts suddenly turned into butterflies which flew across the paper. "Isn't it cool?"

Nodding, Angelus handed the card back to his son. He put on his best puzzled expression and said, "I wonder where she got them, though. I haven't seen any magical Valentines in the stores lately. Have you?"

Xavy giggled and shook his head. "She said her mommy made them," he said in between giggles. "You're silly, Papa."

"Is that so?" Angelus asked. "How could she make magical Valentines?"

"Jenny Giles says Sophie's mommy is a witch," Xavy answered in a whisper after checking over his shoulder to make sure that Amy couldn't hear him. "She said her daddy knows all about them and said so one night when he was really thirsty."

"Really thirsty? Why did Jenny think he was really thirsty?"

"She said he kept pouring stuff out of a bottle into a glass and drinking it really fast. It sounded like he was really thirsty to me. She said it must have helped 'cause he started laughing a lot."

"Ah, I see. So Jenny's dad told her that Amy is a witch?"

"Yup! And Jenny told me on the playground after I promised to marry her."

"You're getting married?" Angelus asked seriously, choking back the laugh that threatened to escape.

Xavy nodded. "But not until we're ten, so you don't have to worry for four whole years."

"Well, that's comforting. Your daddy and I would be sad if you left home before you were ten."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Xavy agreed. "Besides, I figured I should be able to take care of myself before I had a wife."

"That's very wise of you, Xavy. But are you sure you'll be able to do that when you're ten?"

"Oh yeah. Daddy was only nine when you guys got together so I should be fine by the time I'm ten."

"All right then," Angelus said with a grin. "I guess you've got it all figured out. Do you love this Jenny girl? You can't get married if you don't love her."

"Love?!" Xavy exclaimed, a shocked expression on his small face. "Ewww! No! Girls are gross, Papa! But I wanted to know the secret and she would only tell me if I promised to marry her. She'll probably forget by the time we're supposed to get married. Sophie's daddy says that girls forget stuff a lot, but only when her mommy isn't there. One time Dr. Madison heard him and she looked at him all mean like she does at Sophie when she's in trouble."

"Okay. But what if she doesn't forget? Some girls remember everything."

A look of horror crossed Xavy's face. "I don't know. I didn't think about that."

"Well, I'll make you a deal so you won't have to marry a girl you don't love, okay?" Angelus whispered, bringing his face close to his son's. When Xavy nodded seriously, he said, "If she remembers, I'll make sure her parents don't let her marry you. There are laws about this sort of thing that she'll have to obey. I doubt Jenny wants to go to jail."

Eyes wide, Xavy sighed in relief. "Okay," he whispered back. "Hey, Papa," he added after a moment's pause. "Where's Daddy?"

"He's still asleep. Why?"

"Did you get him a Valentine's present?"

Angelus nodded.

"Is it jewelry?" Xavy asked. "Jenny says that her mommy always gets mad if her daddy doesn't get her jewelry. Does Daddy get mad if you don't get him jewelry?"

"I don't think he gets mad," Angelus answered. "So we should be okay."

"Sophie made me a bracelet for Valentine's Day. See?" Xavy said, showing his father his wrist. "Kent Hope said that Sophie has a crush on me and then started making fun of us. So I hit him. Oh yeah," he added, rummaging in his backpack for a moment. Pulling out a piece of paper, he handed it to Angelus. "I got in trouble 'cause I hit him. You're s'posed to sign that and I have to sit on the bench tomorrow or something."

Angelus read the note from Xavy's teacher quickly, then sighed. "Xavy, we've talked about hitting. We *don't* hit people. Even if we think they deserve it. Remember?"

"But, Papa," Xavy protested, "he was making fun of Sophie. She's my only friend even if she is a poopyhead sometimes."

"And we don't call people poopyheads," Angelus reprimanded. "Xavy, I'm glad you stick up for your friends. That's very admirable. But you still shouldn't hit people. Okay?"

"Yes, Papa," Xavy answered softly, nodding. "I understand. But he really deserved it. I won't hit anyone anymore, though."

"Okay, sounds good," Angelus said, rising and setting his son back down on the couch. "I'm gonna go wake your Daddy up now. And guess what," Angelus said, kneeling beside the couch. "Aunt Dru and Uncle Ethan are going to take you to their house tonight. You and Sophie get to have a slumber party over there. I hear they've got all kinds of junk food and stuff for you."

Xavy smiled broadly and hugged him tightly. "That sounds fun!" he exclaimed. Then, dropping his voice to a whisper, he said, "This is just so you can be alone with Daddy, huh? Jenny says parents like to be alone on Valentine's Day."

"Jenny talks a lot, doesn't she?" Angelus asked with a smile.

Rolling his eyes, Xavy nodded. "*All* the time."

"Well, yeah, it's so your daddy and I can be alone for a while. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind," Xavy said happily. "Uncle Ethan always lets us do whatever we want. It's fun. Aunt Dru talks on the phone a lot but sometimes she plays games with us. She's really good at Memory."

Angelus chuckled. "I'll bet she is. She cheats, you know. She can tell what the cards are."

"I know," Xavy said in a conspiratorial voice. "But sometimes she helps me so I can beat Sophie."

Angelus laughed again then turned when he heard Xander enter the room from the bedroom.

"What's all this noise?" his lover asked, pulling a t-shirt on. "Are you being funny again, Xavy?" He shot Xavy a pretend scowl and his son giggled.

"I don't mean to be funny, Daddy," Xavy said, shaking his head. "Papa just starts laughing anyway."

"I see. Well," Xander answered, "I think that's enough of that. Why don't you go in the kitchen and start in on the candy in that bag? I bet you've been dying to do that since you got it."

With a happy grin, Xavy left the couch and skipped over to Xander. Giving him a quick hug, he passed him and went into the kitchen, holding his bag of Valentines tightly.

"Thank you," Angelus murmured in Xander's ear as he came up to stand behind his lover. Slipping his arms around Xander's waist, he pulled the younger man back against him.

"For what?" Xander asked, smiling as Angelus nibbled on his shoulder.

"For letting me be the one to hear all that stuff today. He usually tells you about his day."

"That's only because I'm usually awake when he gets home. When you're up, he tells you. He loves you, you know, and he likes talking to you."

"I know. But anyway... Thank you."

"You're welcome," Xander answered softly, turning in his lover's embrace to wrap his arms around him. "I love you," he murmured as he rested his cheek against his lover's shoulder. "I still can't believe all of this is real. Half the time I expect to wake up and realize I'm still alone."

Angelus closed his eyes and tightened his hold on his lover. "It's real," he promised. "I love you, too. Happy Valentine's Day."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Deadboy."

They stood there holding each other for several minutes, until a small voice shouted, "I thought I was going to Aunt Dru and Uncle Ethan's so you could do that alone! Can't you wait?"

Pulling apart, the two men laughed and walked over to their son. Xander scooped him up and placed a kiss on the tip of his nose. "Yeah, we can wait," he said. "Happy Valentine's Day, Xavy. How'd it go?"

Xavy proceeded to go through the day's events in detail once again. When he reached the part about marrying Jenny Giles, Xander shook his head. "Did I say nine? I meant ninety. You've got a ways to go before you can get married, buddy." Xavy naturally didn't believe a word of it and continued on as though he hadn't been interrupted.

"So, it wasn't too bad," he concluded after explaining again that Kent Hope really *did* deserve to be hit. "I got a cool bracelet and a bunch of candy and except for Sophie's everyone liked my Valentines the best. It's not as good as Christmas or my birthday but I guess Valentine's Day is all right. I think it's more fun for grown-ups, though," Xavy said decisively.

"Yeah, I think we'd both agree with that," Xander said with a sly smile as he leaned over to kiss Angelus, causing Xavy to blush.

"You're both so gross," he said with a shake of his head. "I thought you said you could wait till I'm gone." His parents made no response so finally he wandered back to the kitchen and his bag full of candy.

The End