A/N—This story is for the Valentine's Day challenge from the Plot Adoption Forum. I had originally intended to do a new story, but what I wanted to do involved character death and since I know a lot of people refuse to read that (understandably), I decided to save that for another time and write this instead.

So here we have a one-shot from the "Magic" universe, which is a story I wrote and posted for most of last year. If you've read the story, this takes place about six months after the events of that (but obviously before the ten-year jump at the end). If you have not read "Magic," all you need to know for this to make sense is that James is the father of a five-year-old boy named Noah, and Kendall is James' husband. I think everything else is self-explanatory. I hope, anyway! :D

Also, thanks as always to my wonderful beta for the suggestions to make this better. And if you're reading this, thank you! If you haven't heard about the challenge and would like to know more about it, just message me or let me know in the review! There's still plenty of time to take part.

Kendall heard a high-pitched giggle from the bedroom and smiled; had the Tickle Monster come early tonight?

He shrugged out of his jacket and hung it in the closet by the front door. A warm, content feeling stole over him as he slid the now-covered hanger between James' cashmere coat and Noah's puffy green one. It was a simple thing, just three coats hanging in a closet, but it symbolized that this was his home and they were family.

He was tired, he was hungry, his feet hurt, he had a mountain of schoolwork still to get through before he could sleep, and he really had to pee. Still, when the giggle came again, he thought he'd never been happier.

As quietly as he could (because if Noah heard him, he'd run right out of bed and James would have to coax him back), Kendall used the restroom and washed his hands. He considered changing out of his shirt, which he'd spilled coffee on at work earlier, but decided against it because Noah would be asleep soon and he didn't want to miss even two minutes that he didn't have to.

"Is he coming soon?" Noah asked, Kendall's ears picking up the hopeful voice when he slipped out of the bathroom.

"Should be home any minute, baby. Now settle down and get ready for your bedtime story."

"Don't start until he gets here!"

"I won't, I promise." There was amusement in James' tone. Kendall wasn't even in the room but he could see the sparkle in the hazel eyes he'd fallen in love with. "Are you comfy?" James asked now. "Warm?"

"Yeah. Can you read the end of the one from last night? I fell to sleep. Did the witch eat them?!"

"Asleep," James corrected gently. "You fell asleep. And I can read the ending again, but are you sure you want to know? It might be scary."

Kendall peeked in just in time to catch Noah swallow hard. He was snuggled under a sheet and blanket in the bed Kendall had built with his own hands. Noah's head seemed to disappear into the fluffy pillow; he was terrified. "I'm not scared," he said anyway.

James raised an eyebrow, clearly seeing through the facade.

Kendall couldn't keep quiet anymore. "Don't worry, buddy, we'll keep you safe. No witch is gettin' in here."

Noah gasped, happiness taking over his features. In a more subtle way, James' face did the same thing. "You're home!" Noah called out.

"I promised I would be," Kendall smiled. He bent forward to slither his way up the twin bed until he was sharing the pillow with Noah. "Did I make it in time?"

"You know we can't start without you," James smirked. "Hey, babe."

Kendall greeted James with his eyes rather than words, which could never quite convey just how amazing it was to come home to this every night; James got the message.

"Daddy? Can I have some water?"

The request surprised them both; Noah wasn't one of those children who begged for a million things just to delay bedtime. "Sure," James replied, setting the book he'd been holding on Noah's desk. He rose from the chair and said, "Not too much, though. Not at bedtime."

"Kay."

James spun back in the doorway. "You feeling okay, kiddo?"

"Thirsty."

"All right." He silently commanded Kendall to make sure Noah was well, both through talk and the time-honored tradition of feeling a child's forehead. "I'll be back."

Maybe the kid had just eaten too much salty food with dinner. "So you're thirsty? Are you feeling—"

"I have a secret! I need help!"

The plea was whispered in such desperation that everything suddenly made sense. Noah had cleverly (for a five-year-old) gotten rid of his father. "A secret?" Kendall shifted up onto one elbow so that he could study Noah's face for clues. "What's going on? Talk to me."

"Shh! It's for Ballantine Day!"

"For..." Kendall frowned. "Do you mean Valentine's Day?" It made sense, they were only three days out from that.

"That's what I said! At school we're making presents for—"

His eyes widened when James stepped in carrying a plastic cup. "Here you go, baby. Sit up to drink it." Noah did, and James passed over the cup before sinking onto a corner of the bed. He questioned Kendall with a glance.

They needed more time. Kendall nodded to indicate that Noah was fine, then said, "Hey, babe, would you mind heating up dinner for me now? I'm starving."

James stared back as if Kendall had lost his mind. "Now?"

The routine was that after Noah was asleep, James would heat up a plate of whatever mouthwatering meal he'd prepared earlier and saved for Kendall. Usually they sat at the table and caught up while Kendall savored dinner and James soothed himself with hot tea. Most nights that was followed by catching up of a more personal kind in the bedroom, and then they'd either both sleep or Kendall would spend a few hours with schoolwork while James researched new recipes (both for home and the coffeehouse) or read comic books. Sometimes he would sleep instead and Kendall loved that, just knowing James was safe and at peace nearby.

For Kendall to request dinner before they'd even made it through story time was definitely odd. "Please, babe? We were so busy I barely got to take a break tonight."

"At Black Forest? Since when do we get that busy at night?"

"I don't know, something was going on in the area. I didn't ask."

"So you didn't eat the sandwich I packed you?"

Kendall had, and enjoyed every crumb of it; James' sandwiches were more like full meals in themselves. "I gave it to Carlos," he lied. Now he'd have to remember to tell Carlos to cover the lie if it ever came up—and it would, because James would most likely yell at Carlos for allowing Kendall to work through his break.

James rolled his eyes and tsked. "I swear that place falls apart when I'm not there. Fine, I'll go heat up your chicken." He couldn't resist reaching forward to place his hand against Noah's forehead. "I don't even know what I'm feeling for here," he mumbled. "Kendall, what am I doing?"

"I checked him, he's fine," Kendall chuckled. "Dinner. Please."

"Okay, okay." The hand dropped away. "Baby, are you done with the water?"

"Yeah. Thank you, Daddy."

James plucked the empty cup from Noah's fingers and headed out. "I'll hurry."

"Take your time!" Kendall called out. Once the coast was clear, he shifted to face Noah again. "Okay, so you're making presents in class?"

"Yeah!" Noah whispered. "Everybody's making something for their mommy, and I don't have one, so—"

"You do," Kendall interrupted. "She's not here anymore, but you do have a mom. She's always gonna be that, baby."

Noah's gaze slid to the side as it always did when the subject of Shannon was brought up. They had a long way to go on that score, and therapy was helping but at a snail's pace. "Kay."

In the interest of time, Kendall let that drop. "What kind of present?"

"A pome. They're making pomes for Mommy and I don't know what to say! Can you help me?"

"You're writing a poem for Daddy?" Kendall grinned, his heart swelling as he imagined how adorable the actual giving of that to James would be. How much James would cry and pretend he wasn't, because Noah was still having a hard time accepting that when adults cried it could be for a good reason.

"Uh huh. I don't know how. Zavey talked about the zoo in his, and about cookies. I want mine to be really good! I want Daddy to like it!"

"Oh, trust me, baby, your daddy's gonna love it. Don't even worry about that. I'll help you."

"There's only two days before Ballantine Day!"

"We got this, buddy. And it's Valentine's. It's a V. Like...valley. And...vacuum? And..." What the hell else started with a V?

"Vacuum? Like in space?"

Of course, this kid would know the hard word. "Yes, just like that."

Noah looked doubtful. "Are you sure? Zavey says it's Ballantine."

"I promise, Noah. Lesson one in life is that people make mistakes sometimes. Zavey isn't perfect. Nobody is."

He tried it out a few times. "Valentine. Valentine." He looked up at Kendall. "Like that?"

"That's it, kiddo," Kendall smiled.

"Kay!"

"Tomorrow's a holiday for the courts, so I won't be going to Paul's office. After Daddy leaves for work we can figure it out, and then I'll take you to school, okay? You're gonna miss a little bit of class and we can't tell Daddy, but I'll make sure Mrs. Lattimore knows so you don't get in trouble."

"Kay! You're taking me to school?! Daddy didn't tell me!"

"Daddy doesn't know yet. I'll tell him when—"

All talk stopped when James walked in bearing a plate of what smelled like his delicious rosemary and thyme chicken. Kendall also spotted mashed red potatoes and broccoli that James somehow seasoned so that it never grossed Kendall out. His stomach growled loudly and his mouth watered. "Oh my god, babe. I love you."

"You'd better," James teased. He passed Kendall the plate and kissed his temple before handing over a bottle of water as well. "Noah, baby, lay back down. It's still bedtime."

"Kay."

Noah did as instructed while Kendall leaned back against the wall facing them both and dug in. While James was distracted finding his page in the book, Kendall snuck Noah a floret of broccoli.

"Okay, so Noah has requested a re-read of the finale of 'Hansel and Gretel'. Not the best time for you to be eating, Kendall, but that's on you. And don't think I didn't see you sneak him broccoli. No more food before bed."

"Yes, Daddy," Kendall smirked.

James winked at him before clearing his throat to do the witch voice. In seconds Noah was entranced, his anxiety over the "Ballantine pome" forgotten. No matter what was going on in that intriguing gingerbread house in the forest, he was safe and secure with his dads. Sleep came easily.

"How was your first PTA meeting?" Kendall wondered when they eventually made it to the bedroom.

"Forget about that," James hissed. He spun around to face Kendall, who had just walked through the doorway. "What's going on with him? Is he okay?"

"He's fine."

"He asked for a glass of water at bedtime! He's never done that before, he's not fine!"

"Babe—"

"Kendall, I don't know what I'm doing." James wrapped his arms around himself. "I know nothing about how to take care of a sick child. Where's my phone? I need Google."

"James." When that didn't do the trick, Kendall used force. He blocked James from leaving the room and gripped his upper arms. "Babe. Listen to me. He's not sick."

"Okay, but that could still mean something's wrong. Maybe it's my cooking? Am I using too much salt in—"

"James."

James sighed and looked down, defeated.

"He had to tell me something. That's why he got rid of you. That's why I got rid of you, too. He needed to talk to me without you around."

James' jaw slowly dropped. "Oh. So he's...not sick?"

"Not sick."

"Is something else wrong? What can't he talk to me about? Usually if it's just you, that means it's serious and—"

"Babe, no." It was almost funny, except that Kendall remembered the serious talks Noah used to have with him and those were never funny; they were full of fear and confusion. "It's a secret. I'm not allowed to tell you."

When James studied Kendall, he could see that the secret was something that Kendall found either amusing or...exciting? "A secret?"

"Yes. And don't ask me questions about it, because I can't tell you. It'll ruin the surprise."

James' lips trembled. "A surprise? Is it...for me?"

"It is," Kendall confirmed. He pulled James into his arms and kissed him lightly. "You're gonna love it."

"Oh my god, what is it?! Kendall, you can't keep this from me!"

"I promised Noah. You'll find out soon enough. He's really excited about it, and if you hear us whispering over the next few days, don't get suspicious."

James melted. His eyes swam with wetness and his mouth wouldn't stay still. "I love you guys. So much."

"We love you, too, Daddy," Kendall grinned. He hugged James hard against him, rocking their bodies gently. "Dinner was incredible, by the way. As always."

"I knew something was up when you wanted to eat during story time." He pushed away from Kendall. "Okay, let's catch up while I do my face. The PTA meeting was interesting, I had no idea that—"

"Nope." Kendall gently shoved James back against the bed so that he fell onto it.

James knew that look in Kendall's eyes. His breath seized up. "No?" he murmured.

"No. I have homework and you have...things...but right now it's just you and me."

James licked his lips, gaze already smothered in lust. Kendall straddled him on the bed and James whimpered. His whole body was trembling now, in need. "I love you," he said again, and Kendall kissed him softly. James' arms wound up around Kendall's neck to keep him from ending that, and soon both of them were lost in each other.

Later, long after the homework had been slogged through and a new type of brownie was discovered for James to take to the next PTA meeting, Kendall laid awake with James snoring lightly against his chest. Noah had opened up a can of worms that hadn't even occurred to Kendall because it had been so long since he'd had a boyfriend (husband, his mind whispered in glee, he's your husband now) before James.

What in the hell was he going to do for James on Valentine's Day?

The following morning Kendall didn't have any answers to that question, but he did know how to get them: go to the best friend.

So after working on a poem with Noah ("Zavey said it has to rhyme, Dad!") and dropping him off at school, Kendall placed a call to the man who knew James almost as well as he did. He used the weird bluetooth earpiece James had insisted on getting them both after reading it was the safest way to converse while driving. Occasionally service dropped, but for the most part it was an easy process and Kendall had to admit, it made him feel like a more responsible father.

After five rings Kendall feared Logan was in one of his endless meetings or brainstorming sessions, but just before voicemail would've picked up, Logan did. "Kendall?"

He sounded surprised. Kendall had called him off and on since meeting James, but usually it was to confirm plans and never this early in the morning. "Hey. I know you're busy. I need five minutes."

"Is everything okay? Something wrong with Noah? James? Carlos?" The last scared him most, as Carlos was the first man in years to open Logan's heart to dating again. Even though they lived together now, Logan wouldn't put it past Carlos to hide bad news from him.

"No, everyone's fine. I swear, Logan. Relax."

"Okay."

Kendall gave him a moment to do that, then launched into his reason for calling. "It's about Valentine's Day. I need help."

"Oh. Uh...sure, what can I...wait, if you're looking for a babysitter, I already have plans to take Carlos out. We can't do it that day. I'm sorry."

Shit. Kendall hadn't even considered that they might need a babysitter. He'd have to call either his mom or James' next, depending on what he and Logan came up with. "It's not that. I just...this is gonna sound dumb. I have no idea what to get James."

Logan was stumped into silence for a second. "Seriously?"

"Yeah! I mean, I've dated before and did the whole flowers and chocolate thing. Bought dinner for my guy. But James is different. He's my husband. I need to go all out, right?"

"Well...there are two ways to look at this. James has never had a boyfriend who treated him right. Before you he always just kind of...hooked up, you know?"

"Right." Kendall didn't like to think about that, about a time James was lost and emotionally shut down.

"So it's not like you have a lot to live up to. He's just going to be excited to have a Valentine."

"I guess." Kendall wanted to do more, though. "What's the other way to look at it?"

"The fact that it's James and he's high maintenance and needs to be constantly reassured of your devotion. Flowers and candy aren't gonna cut it."

"Exactly," Kendall sighed. "That's what I'm worried about. Tell me what to do."

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you're his best friend. You know him better than anyone."

"No, I've just known him longer than anyone else in his life. If that's what you're looking for, you could ask his mother. She's known him longest. Or hey, there's always Sherry."

"Ew, Logan, no. Come on, you know him."

"I do. But you know him best. That's why he married you."

Kendall hated it when Logan made sense. "You're not helping."

"You don't need my help. Your heart will tell you what James wants most for Valentine's Day."

"Oh? Is that your scientific solution to the problem? Trusting your heart?"

"It's the truth," Logan chuckled. "Sorry, buddy. You're on your own."

Kendall groaned. "And now I feel like a bad husband because I don't know. He's probably expecting some huge gesture and I'd give it to him if I knew what he needs."

"You're his husband, Kendall. You know what he needs better than anyone else."

"Again. Not helping."

"Sorry. Hey, I got a meeting to prepare for. See you later when I pick Carlos up from work?"

"Yeah, I'll be there," Kendall sighed. "James won't be, he gets off earlier to pick up Noah, but..." He trailed off, replaying Logan's words. It was like the clouds moving apart to shine sunlight on him.

Of course. Carlos. Carlos would help.

"See you then. Have a good day, Kendall."

"Yeah, you too. Thanks for nothing," he teased. "You just wait until you need help from me."

"I've already got the night planned out. I'm not worried about it. He'll love it."

Kendall had no doubt that Carlos would; he was easy. He was in awe of everything Logan did.

James, on the other hand...

It was fine. Kendall would put the whole thing out of his mind until he talked to Carlos.

"I love you, too, babe. Tell Noah I'll be home in time for a story tonight. Yeah. Yes, I remembered my lunch. Thank you for that, by the way. Okay. Love you. See you tonight. Bye."

Kendall moved aside to allow a couple to move past him on their way out of Black Forest Coffee. He was twenty minutes early for his shift but needed the extra time to beg Carlos for help. Maybe he could get Gina to let Carlos clock out early.

He looked around to see that business was slow. This would be a piece of cake.

"Hey, bro! You're early! Does that mean I can leave now?"

"Hey," Kendall grinned. "Not yet, I need you. Gina, can Carlos clock out early?"

She frowned at him from behind the counter. "And leave me alone? What if we get busy?"

"Gina, come on," Carlos started. "When are we ever busy this time of night?"

"If it gets crazy, I'll just clock in early. Please, Gina." When she still seemed resistant, Kendall added, "It's a Valentine emergency."

"Oh!" Her demeanor did a one-eighty and her eyes lit up with excitement. "For James? Is it about James?"

"Yes! I need Carlos' help for my plan to work smoothly."

"Say no more. If I can help, let me know."

"You're helping now just by letting Carlos go. Thanks! We'll be in the back."

Kendall shoved Carlos toward the breakroom. He stopped long enough to punch out, then disappeared through the door. Kendall followed.

"So what's your big plan?" Carlos hopped up onto the table.

"I don't have one," Kendall blurted. "That's my problem. I don't know what to do for him!"

"Wait, you don't have a plan? Are you serious? It's like...a day away!"

"Two days, thank you. Two days."

"Today's almost over, so technically it's—"

"Carlos, please don't argue with me about this. Noah wrote this fantastic little poem this morning that's gonna reduce James to a pile of mush, and I have nothing. Nothing! Help me!"

"Okay, calm down, dude. James loves you, whatever you get him is gonna be—"

"No, that's not good enough. I need to like...wow him, you know? It's our first Valentine's Day together. Our first one as husbands, and I want it to be special."

"I think it's already special enough because it's your first."

Kendall rolled his eyes and turned away. "Oh my god, you're as bad as your boyfriend. He wasn't any help, either."

Carlos' eyes bugged out. "You asked Logan? Hold on, you went to him first? I thought I was your best friend!"

"He's James' best friend! I thought he'd know James best."

"Dude, nobody knows James better than you."

Kendall reeled as if he'd been slapped. It was the same thing Logan had said. "Oh my god. I'm so screwed. I don't know my husband."

"Kendall, seriously, calm down," Carlos laughed. "Dude. Sit."

Kendall was pacing now.

"Kendall. Sit your ass down. We're gonna talk this through and then you're gonna go 'I can't believe it was so obvious.'"

"I am never going to say that." Kendall did sink into a chair, though. "What are you doing for Logan?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Kendall blinked in confusion. "You're doing nothing?"

"I'm doing what he said to do. He's got something planned and made me promise to just let him do it. No interfering. That's what I'm doing. Letting him spoil me."

"Jesus, you two are so..."

"Yep. We are." Carlos smiled brightly. "We're the best. But you and James have a different vibe."

"Clearly."

"So. Valentine's Day is about love, right? I mean, isn't that the whole point of it? Celebrating love?"

"I guess." Kendall was getting sulky now. "But I can't just say 'I love you' and leave it at that. I do that every day."

"If you want to treat him, you have to know what he loves. Just think about that, Kendall. Don't make it all crazy and try to do a bunch of big stuff. It's that simple. What does James love most?"

Kendall closed his eyes. With James, the question was never what. It was who. "Noah."

"And you. I'd say you're right up there next to Noah in his heart."

He couldn't argue that. "You're right." Eyes open now, he met Carlos' gaze. "So how do I use that?"

"You give him what he loves most. Give him Noah. And you. For Valentine's Day. That's really all he wants."

It was. Kendall had known that about James from the first week they'd officially met. Letting out a breath, Kendall said, "I can't believe it was so obvious."

Carlos cracked up. "See? Told you you'd say that! Now go figure out how you're gonna give him the gift of you for Valentine's Day."

"That's easy. I've already got it planned in my head. The perfect day."

"Awesome!"

"The hard part will be convincing Annie that James and I both need the day off."

"Oh. Dude." Carlos' face fell. "You're not kidding, because I'm already not gonna be here."

"You're never here on Friday anyway."

"Yeah, but she asked me if I could because Gina took the night off. I had to say no."

"Damn," Kendall muttered. His plan wasn't going to work if one of them had to be here.

He poked his head out of the breakroom door and yelled, "Hey, Gina!"

She looked over from the register.

"Just how badly do you want to help with my Valentine's Day emergency?"

"Shit!"

Kendall thought he heard the word float to him from the general area of the hallway, but wasn't sure.

"Shit shit shit!"

Now he was sure. He chuckled and set down the plate he'd carried over to the table.

"Noah! Baby, wake up, we're late, we have to go!"

No doubt James was throwing on a pair of jeans and spastically searching for a clean shirt. Kendall let it go on for another twenty seconds before stepping into the bedroom, where James was shoving his right foot into a sneaker. His hair was adorably mussed from sleep. "Good morning, beautiful."

"Yah!" James' ass literally jumped off the bed. The left sneaker fell from his hands. "What the fuck?! What are you doing here? It's after eight, you're supposed to be—"

"Here." Kendall dropped to his knees to take James' hands. "You're taking the day off from work. Noah is taking the day off from school. I'm taking the day off from both those things. Happy Valentine's Day, babe." He kissed James sweetly.

James licked his lips. His heart was racing. "Did you turn off my alarm?"

"Totally."

"And Noah...?"

"Is still sound asleep. But we're gonna go get him up, because I made breakfast and it's ready."

"You made breakfast?"

"I did. I still remember how to cook, you know. Just not...at your level." Kendall squeezed James' hands once before standing and turning away. "The jeans are fine, but you'll need a long-sleeved shirt. And probably a hoodie to wear over that."

James' brain was still trying to catch up. "Do I need to call work?"

"Nope. I took care of it all last night." He looked back over his shoulder to share, "We are going on a family adventure."

The expression on James' face was everything he'd been aiming for and more. He'd nailed this. "Does...is this what you guys were being sneaky about? Does Noah know about this?"

"No. You'll get that later today. That's all his doing. This one is mine."

When James was able to speak again, it came out as a whisper. "I love you."

Kendall smiled. "I know."

"What about this one?" Noah ran out from his room holding a black sweater.

Kendall gave it a glance. "That's your nice one. Today we need one that we don't mind getting dirty. How about the blue sweatshirt Grandma Jen got you for Christmas? It's already starting to fall apart since you wear it so much."

"Kay!"

Like a rocket, Noah shot out of the living room. Kendall turned back to James and the bag they were packing for the trip. "Oh, we need blankets."

"Blankets?" James echoed. His forehead creased. "Babe, how long are we staying out? How far are we going?"

"Not too far, but I wanted to be there late enough so that Noah could check out the stars. Logan said it's a great place for that."

James nodded slowly. "So you called Logan about this."

"Yeah, once I figured out what I wanted to do today."

"Which is...what exactly?"

"A surprise." Kendall pecked a kiss to James' mouth.

"This one?!"

They both peeked at Noah. "That's the one," Kendall agreed. "Now go get your shoes on. We'll grab your jacket."

"Kay!"

He was gone again, too excited to slow down.

"He doesn't even know where we're going," James pointed out with a chuckle. "And he's that excited."

"Aren't you?"

"Yes." This time the kiss came from James. "But..."

"But what? Please don't tell me you want to stay home."

"No, it's not that. I mean...not exactly."

Kendall's heart sank. "Is it because you don't know where we're going? Fine, it's nothing major, just a national park. There's one about ninety minutes from us and I know you don't like to keep Noah out too late but it's Friday so he can sleep in tomorrow. I thought we'd have a picnic, take him on a hike, hang out at the lake. Maybe drive into town for dinner and then head back for stargazing. I know it isn't glamorous, but—"

"Kendall, no, it's nothing like that. He's going to shit himself in excitement when you tell him we get to stargaze at a place Uncle Logan likes to go."

"Okay. Good." Kendall felt a little better. "And you're okay with it? It's nothing fancy, I just didn't know—"

"Are you kidding me? You planned a family adventure. An entire day with my two favorite people. There is nothing I want more."

Kendall saw in James' eyes that it was true and smiled. "Okay. So then what's the problem?"

"Well, I..." He bit his lip, not meeting Kendall's gaze.

"You what?"

"I planned something for you. For today. For...tonight."

Kendall was stunned. How had it never occurred to him that James would do something for him? "What did you plan?"

"It's supposed to be a surprise."

"Oh. Well...is it something we can do another night, or does it have to be today?"

"I guess we can do it some other night," James sighed. "I was really looking forward to it, though. And we don't have to go anywhere for it, so..."

Kendall's heart lurched when he realized what James must have planned, because it was exactly what Kendall would've wanted had he thought about it. "You're cooking something special. And then making love to me all night."

"All night," James admitted. "I bought some things I thought we might have fun with. Pete's picking up him for the weekend so—"

"Actually, he's not. I called him and promised you would drive Noah over in the morning for their weekend with him. He understood when I told him why. Even Sherry wasn't too mad about it."

"Oh."

"Babe, I'm sorry, I just wanted to spend as much time with you both today as possible. Can we do your special dinner tomorrow night? I'll be off at ten in the morning, so we can start it early. Just the two of us for the entire weekend. With good food and..." Kendall trailed one finger down James' arm, starting at the shoulder and slowly traveling toward his hand. "Amazing sex."

James shivered violently.

"Kay, I'm ready!" Noah suddenly yelled. He tore into the living room with shoes firmly tied and his eyes glowing with anticipation. "Let's go!"

"Besides," Kendall said, "do you really want to cut that short any earlier than we have to?"

"No way," James laughed. He swung Noah up into his arms and spun in a circle. "So you're ready for a family adventure, baby?"

"Yeah! Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," James whispered. "But you're gonna love it."

Love was definitely the key word for today. As James suddenly did a fake-drop of Noah to get him in position for an airplane spin, Kendall thought his heart might burst from the overflow of love running through him.

Thank you, Carlos.

He couldn't believe it had been so obvious.