My valentine

By Kimbre
Just a little short and hopefully sweet holiday story for you!

“Hey, Simba!” Kevin greeted his supervisor as Andrew came in the door of the beach house,
”Assignment all wrapped up with a happy ending?”

Andrew smiled a bit tiredly at his youngest charge as he nodded his head in relief,
”All finished, Wonder Boy, and I am so ready for a few days off to relax,” He flopped down on the couch across from his charge,
”So, what are your plans for the weekend?”

“Actually, Carla and I are headed out to the carnival tomorrow night,” He quipped excitedly.

“Ah, for Valentine’s Day?” The supervising angel replied with a playful wink.

Kevin looked confused for a moment before he replied slowly,
”No…for the food and maybe a ride or two. I can’t wait! Corn dogs and cotton candy, here I come!”

Unable to help but laugh at his charge and his insatiable appetite, Andrew chuckled as he glanced around the room, a puzzled look coming over his handsome face,
”Where’s my Angel Girl, Kev?”

“She went for a walk awhile ago,” Kevin replied, stretching as he swung his legs up over the side of the chair,
”She’s a little…out of sorts, it seems like. Not really grouchy, but not really herself either, you know?”

Andrew nodded his head. He did know as he had been feeling it himself lately. They had been busy the last few months, especially over the holidays and he knew Monica well. Whenever assignments kept them extraordinarily busy to where the two of them didn’t have time to connect at all, she seemed to get a little down, as if something were missing. Andrew often felt it too, when he didn’t have the time to spend with her, as their relationship was one of soul mates, and they seemed to be invigorated by spending time together as well as with the Father. Angel’s love for each other far exceeded human love as friendships ran deeper and more pure than any human could ever imagine and this is what he shared with his best friend. Of late, however, any conversation had been that of “business” with going from one assignment to the next and they were both feeling as if something was missing at the moment.

“So what are you gonna do this weekend, Simba?” Kevin’s voice brought him back to the present, as he looked up once more.

Shrugging his shoulders, Andrew leaned his head back and looked up at the ceiling,
"I'm not really sure...I was hoping to spend some quality time with my Angel Girl, and see what she wants to do. I guess Valentine's Day isn't really the kind of holiday angels celebrate...but I do want her to know just how much she means to me..."

"That's cool," Kevin nodded his head as he swung his feet back and forth,
"Is there gonna be any goodies involved?" He winked at his friend as Andrew rolled his green eyes,
"Just joking; Carla and I will have plenty to pig out on at the carnival."

As the two angels laughed, they heard the sound of the back door opening and Andrew turned around to see his tired best friend walking through. Her auburn hair was wind-blown and she looked like she had plenty on her mind at the moment,
"Hey, Mon'." He greeted her with a smile as he rose to his feet.

“You’re back,” Monica uttered softly, just before she was caught up in her best friend’s strong embrace. A small sigh escaped her as she rested her cheek against his shoulder, having missed the feeling of his strong arms around her; it was a feeling of safety, of love and as she wrapped her arms around his waist in return, she only knew she wasn’t in any hurry to leave.

“You look tired, Angel Girl, and as if you have all the problems of the world on you mind,” Andrew remarked quietly.

“I think I was just feeling a little lost,” She remarked sadly,
”But I’m feeling a little better now.”

Smiling and knowing his suspicions were correct, Andrew pulled away to look into her eyes,
”Have you heard? We have the weekend off.”

Her expression instantly softened at this news, though she hardly felt able to believe it,
”Really? The whole weekend? To do whatever we want?”

"That's right, Angel Girl," Andrew grinned at her and laughed out loud as he heard Kevin let out another cheer before running into the kitchen. Taking his best friend's hand, he led her over to the sofa and the two friends sat down, Andrew's hand still holding hers,
"We've got the entire weekend free, and it's almost Valentine's Day as well, you know?"

Nodding her head, Monica then lowered her brown eyes to the floor and a look of sadness appeared briefly in her eyes. This didn't go unnoticed by Andrew as he gave her hand a tender squeeze,
"What's on your mind, sweetie? As soon as I mentioned the holidays, you just turned all glum."

The little Irish angel sighed softly and shrugged her shoulders before smiling slightly at her best friend,
"I guess I'm just not all too thrilled whenever Valentine's Day rolls around, you know? I hear all these humans talking about their own valentines...and they're usually a loved one. It's times like this that I wish I was a human so that I could have a valentine of some sort, you know, Andrew?"

He smiled gently at her,
”I think it’s more of a human holiday, Angel Girl.”

“I know,” She replied with a soft sigh,
”And I guess I shouldn’t feel left out about it. I mean, humans pick one day out of the year to specially tell someone how much they mean to them and I get that much more than once a year, but then on the other hand, it’s kind of a neat idea to have one day to really do something special,” She let out a small laugh,
”I’m sorry. I’m tired and just being silly, I guess.” Looking up at him, she met her eyes with his,
”So what do you want to do this weekend? As long as I get to spend it with you, it doesn’t matter to me…I’ve really missed you, Andy…”

An idea already beginning to form in his head, he drew her into his arms,
”I’ve missed you too. It’s hard when we get so busy we don’t have any time like this at all.”

"I wish we had these kinds of times more often," Monica replied with a tiny smile as she wrapped her arms around his waist again,
"But considering you are my supervisor, that's good enough."

Blushing slightly at her words, he gave his friend a gentle squeeze as he leaned his chin on the top of her head,
"We're gonna have a great weekend, sweetie. I'm going to make sure of it."

"Kev, there's gonna be plenty to eat at the carnival!" Carla laughed and shook her head the next evening as she watched her friend fill a basket full of food,
"Do we really need all of this stuff? We're just gonna be gone for the evening, you know?"

"But there's stuff in here that carnivals DON'T have, Car!" The younger angel winked at her as he placed a chocolate pie in the basket before sticking his head back in the fridge,
"And Simba's done quite a good job at shopping, so I need to take advantage of all these goodies..."

"I got some of those goodies because you put on a puppy dog look that matches mine!" Andrew's voice sounded from the doorway and Carla laughed at the look on her friend's face,
"So I had no choice, really."

“Well, he is carrying this basket around all night,” Carla stated firmly, looking at the youngest angel,
”What do you plan on doing with this stuff while we ride the rides?”

“We’ll put it back in the car after we eat it all, before we ride the rides,” Kevin decided as he threw a box of Twinkies in the basket.

“Kevin, I am not eating all this sugar and then riding roller coasters,” She replied, already feeling a little queasy at just the thought of it.

“You’re the smart one,” Andrew grinned, giving her head a pat.
“No, I think you’re the smart one,” Carla added with a grin,
”You’re staying home tonight.”

"You know that I would never go to a carnival alone with Wonder Boy here," Andrew said with a shake of his head before he winked at his youngest charge, who stuck his tongue out at him in return,
"I consider this place the safest of them all...besides, roller coasters and me do not get along." His face turned serious for a brief moment and he cringed.

"Simba actually threw up on one, Car! I don't think we told you that, did we?" Kevin grinned as he ignored the glare his supervisor was giving him,
"I dragged him to a carnival many years ago on a day off, and since Cupcake wouldn't go on the roller coaster with me, I forced him to. Well, I think I was the one that regretted it...because not only did he throw up, but he threw up on ME!"

"Kevin!" Andrew yelled as his face turned beet red at the reminder.

"Okay, Kev, you don't want Andrew to get sick on the kitchen floor now, do you? Because if he does, YOU'RE the one cleaning up the mess," Carla folded her arms across her chest as she looked sternly at the youngest angel, although a teasing look was showing plainly in her green eyes.

“Nope,” Kevin grinned slyly as he grabbed the picnic basket,
”And I think that’s our queue to leave, Carla. Have fun tonight, Simba, whatever you have up your sleeve. Where did you hide Cupcake anyway?”

Chuckling, Andrew shooed them both towards the door,
”She’s with Philip for a bit until I’m ready for her. Now get out of here and have a good time. Carla, don’t feel that you have to keep up with him in eating as no one can.”

She giggled as she nodded her head knowingly,
”I know..he’s an angelic vacuum cleaner. He just sucks up whatever gets in his way as long as it is edible.”

“Hey now,” Kevin replied teasingly,
”I resemble that remark!”

"That's why I said it," Carla winked at him and laughed as she felt Andrew lightly shoving them out the door,
"Okay, okay, we're going, Andrew!"

"Have fun, you two!" The oldest angel called after them before shutting the door behind him and rolling his green eyes to the ceiling. As he turned around, he noticed that Philip had entered the kitchen, an eyebrow raised slightly as he had overheard the last of the conversation between the three angels.

"An angelic vacuum cleaner? Now that's something I'd love to see..." The newest angel chuckled with a shake of his head. Finally turning serious, Philip looked at his friend and continued,
"Your Angel Girl's getting a bit antsy. I can only keep her busy long enough before she suspects something's up..."

Raising an eyebrow back, Andrew followed his fellow angel back into the kitchen,
"What have you two been doing while I got things ready?"

"Have you two ever played Scrabble before?" Seeing Andrew chuckle and nod his head with a smile, Philip continued,
"I've been keeping her busy with 3 games, and she's getting tired of it. Then, I tried Charades, and that isn't going over well...so, are you about done with your idea yet?"

“Ten more minutes should do it, Philip.” Andrew replied with a grin as he busied himself as he talked,
”So tell me, has the word ‘angely’ come up at all in your Scrabble game?”

Raising an eyebrow, Philip chuckled,
”So you have played with her before. My personal favorite of the day however was ‘cherubeous’.”

Andrew laughed as he shook his head,
”Did you tell her to use it in a sentence?”

“Yes and its amazing-she can!” Philip joined in on his friend’s laughter as he looked around the kitchen at the elegant meal Andrew had prepared for he and his best friend. Moving to touch the petals on the dozen white roses that were sitting on the counter in a vase, he smiled,
”She’s going to be very touched, Andrew, that you would do this for her.”

"I'd do anything for that angel in there, Philip," Andrew replied softly as he took a red and white card out from behind a vase and put it on the counter next to the roses,
"She wasn't feeling really chatty yesterday after our assignment, and she wanted so much to have a valentine like other humans do. She even mentioned that she occasionally wished that she was human just so that she could celebrate this particular holiday."

A smile spread across Philip's face and he nodded his head,
"You're a really great friend to her, Andrew. I think she's going to love you even more after tonight...if that's even possible." He winked at his friend as he saw a deep blush rise to his handsome face, and he raised a hand to clamp it on his shoulder,
"Should I go get her now?"

Stepping back to survey the living room, Andrew tilted his head to the side before looking over at his friend and nodding,
"I think everything's set up...the stereo's in place, the roses and the card..." He counted off in his fingers quickly before he turned back around and nodded once again with a broad smile,
"I think I'm ready for her."

With a grin and a nod, Philip left the room and headed down the hall, returning a moment later, walking behind Monica with his hands on her shoulders, to steer her down the hall.

“Philip, what is going on?” Monica asked with a soft sigh. She was feeling more than a little confused, even bordering on slightly hurt as she had hoped to spend the whole day with her best friend. Not that she didn’t enjoy Philip’s company, as she did; she just hadn’t much been in the mood for Scrabble and Charades.

Stopping just short of the living room, Philip smiled as he turned her to face him,
”I think this is the part when I tell you to have a wonderful evening,” He said with a wink, as he lightly kissed her cheek. A moment later, he was gone.

The Irish angel’s face a mask of confusion, she hesitantly stepped into the living room, drawing in a sharp breath as she did so. There was soft music playing and the table was elegantly set for dinner for two. Not seeing anyone around, she slowly walked over to the vase of beautiful white roses and picked up the card that rested against the vase. Her fingers lightly touched the rose buds for a moment, before she opened the card and smiled, even as a tear escaped her eye.
“So will you?”

At the sound of his voice, Monica looked up to see her best friend looking dashingly handsome in a black tuxedo, a gentle smile on his handsome face as he watched her with shining green eyes,
”Andrew…” She uttered tearfully.

“You didn’t answer the question, Angel Girl,” He replied with a wink,
”Are you going to be my valentine or not?”

Another tear escaped the Irish angel's eye as she looked down at the beautiful card once again and she held it close to her heart as she looked back up at her best friend. Choking on a sob, Monica nodded her head as a smile spread across her face,
"Yes...I will."

A broad smile spread across the older angel's face as he walked over to the stereo and turned the volume up a notch. The tears now flowing down her cheeks, Monica listened as a beautiful song started up, and Andrew made his way over to her, his hand outstretched,
"Then may I have this dance, Valentine?"

Accepting his offered hand, Monica nodded her head, unable to find her voice, as she was worried that she would start crying if she spoke. Her heart filled with love for her dearest friend, the Irish angel wrapped her arm around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. As the twosome swayed to the music, Monica closed her eyes as she took in the lyrics.

If there were no words
No way to speak
I would still hear you
If there were no tears
No way to feel inside
I'd still feel for you

And even if the sun refuse to shine
Even if romance ran out of rhyme
You would still have my heart
Until the end of time
You're all I need
My love, my valentine

All of my life
I have been waiting for
All you give to me
You've opened my eyes
And showed me how to love unselfishly
I've dreamed of this a thousand times before

In my dreams I couldn’t love you more
I will give you my heart
Until the end of time
You're all I need
My love, my valentine
La da da
Da da da da

And even if the sun refuse to shine
Even if romance ran out of rhyme
You would still have my heart
Until the end of time
Cuz all i need
Is you, my valentine
You're all I need
My love, my valentine

As the song slowly faded, the two angels continued to sway together as they had so many times before, unwilling to let go of the moment. It was minutes later, when Monica spoke up softly,
”So, you think this is what it feels like to have valentine?”

Andrew smiled as he rested his chin on the top of her head,
”I’m hoping I’m somewhere close, sweetheart.”

Fresh tears filling her dark eyes, she continued in a whisper,
”Then I find it all a little sad….at least if humans wait to this day of the year to let someone know they love them. With you and the Father, I know it each and every day because you both tell me in a hundred different ways and that just makes a day like today extra special. I love you so much, Andrew and not just because you did this for me, but because of all the little things you do for me every day.”

"The same goes for me too, sweet girl," Andrew whispered into her hair as the two continued to sway back and forth,
"You do many little things for each and every day as well, even if it's just a teasing glance or a look; just being with you is special, Angel Girl, and you are special."

"So are you, Andy," Monica whispered back, a teary smile appearing on her lips,
"You're the best supervisor and friend an angel could ever ask for, and I'm going to find some way, some day, to repay you for all you've done for me..."

Shaking his head in reply, Andrew pulled back slightly as he looked into her his friend's dark eyes,
"You don't have to do that, little one. Just as long as you let me continue to hold you, that's enough." He smiled again as he felt her lean back into his arms and before he could say anything more, Monica spoke up as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders again.

"Have I mentioned before how fabulous you look in a tux, though?" She lifted her head enough to wink at him as a deep blush rose to his handsome face.

An embarrassed smile twitching on his lips, he sighed softly,
”You can be such a brat at times…”

“Hey, I’m being serious,” Monica quipped back at him,
”Though I do enjoy seeing you blush.” Glancing up at him, she giggled as she saw his face redden a little more.

Though embarrassed, he had missed the sound of her laughter over the last few weeks and a smile graced his face at the sound,
”It’s almost strange, Angel Girl, how we can work side by side almost every day and still miss each other when we’re busy.”

“I know,” She replied softly, feeling completely content in his arms for the first time in weeks,
”I’ve been so lonely for a night like this, Andrew…it just felt like something was off.”

Nodding his head in understanding, Andrew remarked,
”I can usually tell when you get a little moody. We should probably work on taking the time, even if it is only a few minutes, to connect with each other when things get hectic,” He grinned playfully,
”Maybe we need some kind of code for when one of us needs that.”

Giggling, Monica lifted her head from his shoulder and looked into his compassionate green eyes,
"That wouldn't hurt, to tell you the truth. I could just call you 'Mr. Green Eyes', and you would know immediately that I need time alone with my favorite angel."

Rolling his eyes to the ceiling, Andrew groaned loudly as his face turned beet red once more,
"Monica...must you keep doing that, Angel Girl?"

Still chuckling, the Irish angel nodded her head as she took his hand and led him over to the couch and the two took a seat side by side,
"It's my new hobby, you know?"

"I guess so, Cupcake," Andrew winked at her as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her to him before planting tiny kisses on the top of her head,
"What other kind of hobbies do you have up your sleeve?"

She appeared thoughtful for a moment as she considered his question,
”I suppose other than spending time with you, none. But that hobby is my favorite one anyway…it’s good for my soul, I think.” She smiled as she heard him chuckle.

“I think I can agree with that one, Angel Girl,” He replied softly.

Falling silent for a moment, her eyes wandered over to the candles that were flickering on the table, watching the soft glow and feeling the safety and peace of being here with him as her heart filled with so much love for him, it ached,
”Thank you for all of this,” She whispered tearfully, looking up into his eyes,
”And thank you for being my valentine all year round, Andrew.”

"Your more then welcome, little Angel Girl," Andrew kissed the top of her head one last time as he felt her snuggle close to him on the couch,
"And thank you for agreeing to be my valentine." He winked at her and smiled brightly as she giggled.

"I wouldn't have any other, my dear friend," The Irish angel closed her eyes as she rested her head on his shoulder,
"You're the perfect valentine for this little angel."

Chuckling again, Andrew rested his cheek against her head and turning his eyes away from the candles on the end table in front of them, the angel watched as a pure white dove perched itself on the windowsill right outside and cooing, it took off into the robins blue sky, leaving the two friends and angels alone on the living room couch, enjoying the feeling of just being together.

The End