Jax Novoa nervously rubbed his hands together as he took in the Alonsos' front door. He'd been standing on their doorstep for a good five minutes now, trying to work up the courage to knock. He'd anxiously stood on this doorstep numerous times before, but those had all been because he'd messed up in one way or another and was coming over to apologize to Emma. Emma, his girlfriend who loved him and was guaranteed to forgive him eventually.

Never before had Jax come here to apologize to her father.

The biggest problem with this scenario, aside from their carelessness that had led to Mr. Alonso catching them, was that Jax was not sorry for what they'd done. How could he be sorry for spending the night with the love of his life? He knew how it looked, though, and he wanted to explain the truth to Emma's father since, well, he already had one dad who hated him; he didn't need his future father-in-law to hate him, too.

Still, the wizard was well aware this would be no easy task. On many occasions had he witnessed how harsh Francisco was on Daniel Miller when he and Emma were dating (and now that they weren't…), and Daniel had never done anything even remotely sexual with his daughter. Considering what Francisco thought he'd walked in on the other morning, Jax would be thankful if he wasn't cast away the moment the man opened the door. But no matter his fears of what might happen, he had to do this. It wasn't just important to him; it was important to Emma. The glittery witch had scheduled a full day of Chosen One training with Andi, solely to assure Jax would catch Francisco alone. This needed to be taken care of sooner than later, and it had already been a few days. It felt much longer, though. Emma had insisted, until he smoothed things over with her dad, Jax not pop into her room anymore. He greatly missed giving her little visits during the night, but even he recognized this was a necessary precaution.

A few weeks ago, Emma and Jax had finally set her father down and told him about magic. He'd needed a moment to take everything in but overall he actually responded pretty well. Jax could tell the man felt stupid upon learning he'd been duped for so long, but he didn't yell at his daughter, much to his relief. And it wasn't like Emma didn't feel bad for lying; she definitely did. She'd just never had the courage to tell her father she was a witch. Until Jax encouraged her, that was.

"This is your dad we're talking about, Em," he'd said one evening as they sat on the beach, watching the sunset. "He loves you for you. He might need some time to get used to the idea of you being a witch, but he'll accept you. I know he will."

Emma had bitten her lip, looking down at her glittery red toenails. "I dunno…"

"Em." Jax had gently tilted her chin up with his index finger, a gesture that surprised her and thus resulted in some eye contact. "Come on, baby. You've been feeling guilty about this for a while now. You're not going to feel better unless you tell him. You know this is the right thing to do."

She'd looked away unsure for only a moment before conceding, "Alright, I'll do it. I'll tell him. But only if you're there with me," she'd insisted, intertwining her fingers with his.

"I wouldn't dream of not being there by your side." He'd caressed her cheek with the fingers of his free hand then placed a soft kiss on her lips. "I'll be there with you the entire time."

And he had been. The wizard had held the witch's hand for the two full hours it took her to tell her tale, a gesture which did wonders to calm her nerves.

Suddenly, a noise from across the street pulled the wizard out of his thoughts. He whirled around to find the Millers' front door opening. Sure enough, Daniel stepped outside in nothing but his swim trunks. He was headed for his bicycle, no doubt on his way to swim laps at the Iridium High pool.

That did it: Jax knocked. The last thing he needed was for Daniel to see him and think he'd been reduced to lurking outside Emma's house because her father didn't like him, either. Which, sure, at the moment he didn't, but that was what Jax was here to fix. Besides, liked or disliked, creeping outside his girlfriend's house was so not his style.

Instantly, Jax heard footsteps approaching the door. He scratched the back of his neck and braced himself. The next thing he knew, the door opened to reveal a less than pleased Francisco.

"Mr. Alonso," Jax blurted for fear if he didn't start talking right away he'd get the door slammed in his face, "I know I'm not your favorite person right now, but may I please come in?"

"Emma's not here," the man said evenly.

"I know."

"Of course you do…"

"I-I mean, I'm actually here to talk to you… if that's okay."

Francisco kept his lips pursed, examining his daughter's boyfriend from head to toe. Jax had thought better than to ride his dirt bike over or wear his leather jacket. While those were things Francisco had liked about him in the past, the wizard had a feeling they wouldn't be best sellers today. So he'd opted for a crisp burgandy dress shirt and a pair of dress pants.

"May I come in?" Jax asked again.

At last, a sardonic smile appeared on the man's lips. "Well it's not like me saying no will stop you, will it?"

Jax knew what he was alluding to: tele-transportation. No one had explicitly told him Jax regularly used that little trick to sneak into Emma's bedroom, but apparently Mr. Alonso had put two and two together. This is definitely where Emma gets her smarts from.

When the rebel wizard didn't budge, the man sighed, stepped aside, and swept his hand toward the inside of the house.

"Thank you, sir." Jax nodded politely and made his way to the kitchen. An odd longing filled his chest at the familiarity. This place had become his second home. It had only been a few days and he was already going crazy not seeing his Em here regularly, cuddling on their couch, having tickle fights on the carpet, "distracting" her from their homework…

That settled it: this conversation needed to end well. Even if Mr. Alonso screamed and shouted and called him some bad names, by the time all was said and done, Jax needed to be back in the man's good graces. That was final.

Mr. Alonso closed the front door then made his way to the kitchen table. "You said you wanted to talk…" He pulled out the chair across from Jax, sat down, and folded his hands in his lap. "So talk."

Jax cleared his throat and sat up straighter in his chair, resisting the reflex to rest his elbows on the table. "I wanted to apologize for the other morning. I know what you think happened, but it wasn't what it looked like. Emma and I just fell asleep. I swear."

"You swear?" The way the man said it sounded more like a challenge than a question.

"I do."

"So you didn't have sex with my daughter?"

"No, sir. Like I said, we fell asleep."

"I don't just mean the other night, Jax. I mean ever."

At first the wizard stared. Then he managed to blink. Then... well, no, that was all he was managing to do.

Francisco's expression remained stoic. "Have you ever had sex with my daughter?"

It would be so easy to lie. All he had to say was two simple letters, N-O, and all would be good between him and his girlfriend's father. But somehow it felt wrong to be dishonest about this. Maybe it was because he could tell Francisco wouldn't believe him, anyway, or maybe it was because he didn't want to act like he was ashamed of something he was by no means ashamed of. All he knew was he couldn't lie.

As it turned out, he couldn't say anything at all.

His silence spoke volumes. Mr. Alonso breathed in sharply, tapping his fingers against the tabletop. "I see. So, let me make sure I understand. You're apologizing for me walking into Emma's bedroom one morning to find you beside her and falsely assuming you'd slept with her the night before."

"Correct."

"You're not apologizing for the times you've actually slept with her and I never found out."

Jax swallowed the lump in his throat. He was all too aware he was about to get his ass kicked, but every fiber of his being knew what he had to say next. He slowly leaned forward, allowing his forearms to rest on the table. "Mr. Alonso…" His voice was careful yet confident. "I am in love with your daughter."

"I know that," Francisco said quietly, simply.

"I'm truly sorry for making you angry, but… I can't apologize for…" He braced himself for a punch to the face and plowed ahead: "The times we've shared together were not mistakes. I can't pretend I think they were… even if it means you're never going to allow me in this house again."

For a long moment, Francisco did nothing but stare at the boy with a completely unreadable expression on his face. He didn't look furious or even mad, necessarily. He looked… damn, Jax really couldn't tell what emotion his expression translated into.

At long last, the man spoke. "Why like this?"

Jax blinked, both confused and relieved at these seemingly safe first words. "I'm not sure I understand the question."

"Why would you come here and try to fix things by talking to me? Why not just…" He made some odd hand motions, trying to indicate casting a spell. "Why not just make me forget?"

The wizard's eyebrows shot up. "That's a great question." Quickly realizing that wasn't the wisest way to react, he added, "I mean… When Emma and I told you about magic, that was it. That was the end of the lies. Honestly, it didn't even occur to me to wipe your memory." Though that certainly would have been simpler than this…

Mr. Alonso winced and delicately placed a hand to his cranium. "Wipe my memory? Does that hurt?"

Jax bit back a grin at the man's inexperience with magic. "No, sir, it doesn't."

After a shudder and some under the breath muttering about "that has got to be bad for the brain waves," the man seemed to recover. "Right. Back to the topic at hand…" He scrutinized the wizard once more, seemingly trying to maintain a tough exterior, but in the end he gave up and sighed. "How many times have you used magic to sneak into Emma's room?"

Jax was sure his face went red at this. "A few."

He could have been hallucinating, but the wizard could have sworn he saw the hint of a smirk on Mr. Alonso's face. "End of the lies, Jax?"

"Okay, more than a few… But, sir, I assure you, I would never hurt Emma. I would never push her to do anything she didn't want to do—"

He was cut off when his girlfriend's dad breathed an even heavier sigh than before. "I know you wouldn't, Jax. That's not what this is about."

"It's not?"

"No. You're not going to understand this until you have kids of your own, but there is not a father in this world who wants to think of his little girl having sex."

Jax nodded slowly, trying not to blush again. "Understandable."

"No matter how much he likes the guy." He cracked a smile when he said this, which certainly came as a surprise.

"Y-You… You still like me?"

"I do. You're a good kid. Not to mention anyone with eyes can see how much you care about my daughter." He sort of smiled then added, "You actually remind me a lot of myself when I was young. What Maria and I had was special. I see a lot of that in what you and Emma have."

"Thank you, sir," Jax said sincerely. From what Emma had told him about her parents' relationship, that sounded like a huge compliment.

"Do you… see a future with her?" the man asked almost timidly.

Jax didn't miss a beat. "It's all I see, Mr. Alonso."

He inhaled sharply once again, only this time it resulted in a smile. "Well, then, you better start calling me Francisco. Outside of school, of course."

The wizard's perfect grin lit up his face. "Really? Well alright then, Francisco!"

"So tell me." Emma's father leaned back in his chair in a way that reminded Jax so much of himself it was uncanny. "In this future you see with my daughter, do you see kids?"

"Yes." Jax was surprised both that he was being asked such questions by his girlfriend's father and that the answers flowed out of him so honestly. "I mean, eventually, if she—"

"That!" Mr. Alonso dropped his chair back onto all fours and pointed at the boy. "That is exactly right: eventually. Not now. Not while you're both still in high school."

"Oh, well of course not—"

"Which means what?"

"Uh…"

"Use protection." A flash of concern crossed the man's face. "Please tell me you have been."

"Oh, yes! Yes, we definitely have!" Jax was in awe of this day. Mr. Alo—er, Francisco—wasn't even going to try to stop them from having sex? He just wanted them to be careful?

Apparently, the man was reading his mind. "I was your age once; I know you two will do what you want no matter what I say. Honestly, I'm just relieved it's you and not Mr. Miller."

Jax was at a loss for words, so he said the only thing he could think of: "Believe me: me, too!"

Francisco couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head. "Emma's very lucky to have you, you know."

"Trust me, Francisco, I'm the one who's lucky to have her."

"You appreciate her. Good. Keep that up, otherwise I'll have to kick your ass."

"As you should!"

The two shared a laugh and for the first time all day Jax felt himself relax. With the tension gone, he felt free to slip some of his charm back into the conversation. "So does this mean I can come over again without worrying you'll chase me out with your blowtorch?" he asked innocently.

The resulting grin on his girlfriend's dad's face told him the charm was a nice touch. It was the primary trait that had made Francisco like him in the first place, after all. "Of course. Honestly, I've never seen my little girl as happy as she is when you're around. Thank you for that."

"Well she's the best thing that's ever happened to me, Francisco," the wizard said honestly, a smile still lingering on his face. "I want to be the best thing that's ever happened to her."

A/N: I'd like to say I think parts of this story, such as Jemma telling Francisco about magic, were unconsciously inspired by shadowhunter167's multichap See You Again. It's a WONDERFUL story, filled with lots of Jemma and terrific characterization. I highly recommend you guys check it out and drop her some reviews. :)