willow

"Sweetheart, hand me the tape, would ya?"

Looking up from where you're wrapping a box, you pause to find the item in question and pass it to Dana. "Here you go."

"Thank you," she smiles.

The two of you work in relative quiet for the next several minutes, the woman singing along to her Christmas playlist occasionally and you chuckling when she inevitably gets the words wrong.

"Y'know…the girls really like having you around during the holidays."

A slight pout immediately forms on your lips as you glance over at her. "Really?"

Dana nods wistfully, a soft laugh leaving her at the same time. "Yeah. I had 'em on the phone the other night when I was here by myself and they just kept goin' on and on about how excited they were to have you over for the…Twi…Twilight?" she looks at you questioningly.

When you nod in confirmation, she continues. "Yeah, their Twilight marathons they do. I still can't remember the names of those damn movies and I took 'em to see all of 'em!"

You laugh at her explanation and hand her another box you finished wrapping. "My nieces wouldn't let me forget if I tried."

That being the last of the gifts, Dana slides it under the tree and turns to wrap her arms around your neck in relief. "I don't think they expected someone our age to like 'em just as much as they do. They told me not to tell ya but it was too sweet not to."

"Hmm, we can keep that between us then, how 'bout that?" you whisper before sliding your hands over her waist and pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

The next morning, the four of you are headed to pick a tree from the lot they go to every year. This is the first time you've gone with them to get it; the first year you were dating Dana, they went without you and you took no offense since you understood it was a family tradition of theirs.

Now that they've warmed up to you completely, the girls invited you to everything and you couldn't be happier. It doesn't take them long to decide on a tree, and before you know it, you're back at Dana's house decorating it with ornaments they've all collected over the years.

"Oh my god, honey, look at this."

The woman walks over to you and raises a tree shaped piece of wood in your direction. Taking hold of it and inspecting it further, you see that it's a school picture of her oldest, and judging by the year at the bottom, she couldn't have been older than six.

"No way, you were so cute!" Looking at the girl in question, she strolls over with the same confused expression Dana makes and looks at the ornament in your hand.

"Damn, that's from…first grade? I lost my first tooth like, a week before that," she laughs.

Dana then calls you over to her spot on the couch as she starts showing you other homemade decorations the girls have given her over the years, all of them recounting the stories behind each one. You laugh and ask lots of questions as they do, missing the way the woman gazes at the three of you with a soft smile and eyes full of love.

When you're done with that, it's finally time for the movie marathon the girls have been waiting for. With them giggling on one couch and you and Dana cuddled up on the other, the title card rolls onto the screen of the TV and all of you—minus Dana—immediately launch into conversation about what's going to happen.

Halfway through the second movie, the woman next to you is nodding off and you wrap an arm around her shoulder to give her a more comfortable position to lay in. She snuggles closer and her warm breath fans over your skin as she whispers, "Thank you."

You look down and ask in the same hushed tone to not disturb the girls. "For what?"

Feeling her shrug slightly, she responds quietly. "For…for wrappin' gifts, helpin' pick the tree and decoratin' it, for this," she gestures to the room. "I know it's not easy bein' with someone with kids, but you always show up for us, and I appreciate it."

"Dana…" you hook a gentle finger under her chin to force eye contact. "I would do anything for the three of you. I mean that."

Her eyes shine with affection and crinkle when she smiles wide. In lieu of an answer, she brings her lips to yours for a slow kiss that you happily respond to, sighing into her mouth with a grin of your own.

When she pulls away moments later, her face hovers close to yours as you brush a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Merry Christmas, baby."

She nods with a quiet hum before leaning in again. "Merry Christmas."