They’ll love you, kiddo. They alrea

They’ll love you, kiddo. They already do,” Lauren reassured Presley once they were standing on the front porch. Although Lauren’s parents had seen Presley over Facetime, the smaller girl was always considerably shy. This would be her first time meeting them in person. The small child just nodded, staying hidden behind Camila’s legs and peering out when Lauren rang the doorbell.

Moments later, the door was pulled open, revealing a surprised Maggie. She looked at Lauren and Camila excitedly, before craning her neck to glance behind them, as if she were looking for something. “Where is she?”

Lauren and Camila exchanged glances, realizing who Maggie was talking about. Clearing her throat, Lauren met Maggie’s eyes and nodded towards the tiny girl peering out from behind Camila’s legs.

“Oh!” Maggie laughed, pushing past Lauren and then kneeling down on the front porch so her height matched the tiny girl’s. “You’re Presley, right? I’m Maggie,” she nodded quickly, an excited smile on her face. “I’m your aunt. But you don’t have to call me that because I’m only 9, and ‘Aunt Maggie’ makes me sound super old. You saw me on Facetime, remember? I-,”

“Margaret Jauregui!” her mother’s voice appeared behind them. “Don’t overwhelm the poor thing,” Clara laughed, now standing in the doorway. Lauren’s father soon appeared behind her.

“Sorry,” Maggie laughed shyly, giving Presley a small smile before taking a few steps back. Presley just held onto Camila’s legs, studying the family in front of her.

“Hey, mom,” Lauren laughed, accepting her mother’s hug and moving in to hug her dad. “It’s been a while.”

“Too long,” Clara joked, pulling Camila into a hug. “Did you do something different with your hair?” she addressed her daughter-in-law, making Camila laugh softly.

“Washed it,” the brown eyed girl shrugged. She watched as Clara’s attention turned to the tiny girl holding tightly to her legs. When Presley realized the woman was looking at her, she quickly moved to hide further behind her mother.

“Hey,” Lauren quickly moved to squat down next to Presley. “You don’t have to be shy, goofball. This is my mom,” she gave her a small smile and motioned for her mother to kneel down next to them. “Can you say hi?”

Presley glanced between Lauren and Camila, and then back to Clara, who gave her a welcoming smile. The tiny brown eyed girl nodded, taking a small step out from behind Camila and gently holding out her fist. “Hi,” she said shyly, keeping her tiny fist extended between them. “You’ve gotta’ bump it.”

Clara paused before shooting Camila a knowing look, making the girl laugh as if she’d been caught.

“Hi, Presley,” Lauren’s mother laughed softly and gently tapped the smaller girl’s fist. There were a few moments of hesitation, but eventually Presley couldn’t resist. She pulled her fist back, making an exploding noise with her mouth and causing everyone around them to laugh.

“Do you like cookies?” Clara asked, winking at Lauren before turning back to Presley. Once the smaller girl nodded shyly, the woman smiled. “I’m helping all the cousins bake cookies in the kitchen. Would you like to come help us? I sure would appreciate an extra set of hands.”

Presley couldn’t hide her excitement. She looked to both Lauren and Camila quickly, hoping for some sort of approval. Lauren simply laughed and nudged her shoulder.

“Go ahead, bug. Me and mama are gonna go put our stuff away and then we’ll be right down, okay?” Lauren gave the girl a reassuring smile.

“Do you have sprinkles?” Presley asked, turning back to Clara and tilting her head to the side slightly.

“I think we do,” Clara laughed and stood up, extending her hand. “Want to go check?”

“Duh,” Presley giggled, abandoning her hiding place from behind Camila’s legs and taking Clara’s hand, allowing the woman to lead her down the hallway and into the kitchen.

Lauren and Camila immediately exchanged knowing glances. “Dinah.”

-

“Merry Christmas Eve Eve,” Camila giggled as she emerged from the bathroom, clad in one of Lauren’s band t-shirts. She wrung out her wet hair, yawning and glancing at the clock before collapsing on the bed beside her wife.

It was nearly eleven o'clock that same day. The rest of their night had consisted of squeezing around the dinner table with the members of Lauren’s family and getting caught up on what had been going on in everyone’s lives. Chris was looking at colleges, Taylor was helping organize her school’s dance, and Maggie had gushed about a new boy in her class.

Her parents had asked Camila about the event at the school earlier that year, and the girl had been able to talk about it without breaking down. Lauren kept their fingers laced together the entire time, though. Even Presley had stood up in her chair and sung Christmas carols to prove to everyone that she was the most excited for Christmas.

And now, they had put Presley to bed in Maggie’s room and gotten unpacked in Lauren’s old bedroom, where they’d be staying for the week to cele