reasons to go, reasons to stay ➸ camren

chapter thirty nine ➸ i'd give you the moon

"Pssssst. Lauren."

Lauren groaned and covered her face with the pillow.

"Santa c-came."

Lauren couldn't help but giggle when she realized why Camila was up this early. She turned over and pushed the pillow off of her face, being greeted by Camila. Ironically, Camila was dressed in her Christmas pajamas, with pink and red penguins. She smiled cheekily at Lauren before yawning.

"Someone's excited," Lauren smiled softly. She loved waking up next to Camila. It never got old. The days she woke up alone were carved in her memory, so each morning her eyes fluttered open to meet Camila's golden brown eyes, she was constantly reminded how lucky she was.

"I'm excited to s-see Rowan's face when s-sh-she sees w-what Santa brought her, that's all," Camila laughed. She sat up and stretched out her arms. The light poured in the window and shone through her hair, making her glow in the dimly lit room.

"I'm just excited to spend Christmas with you guys," Lauren lifted her head from the bed and ran her hands through her hair, which was ruffled from sleep. Camila looked over at her girlfriend and giggled. She loved Lauren's raspy morning voice.

"Wanna k-kn-know the real r-r-reason I woke up s-so early?" Camila said softly. She crossed her legs and motioned for Lauren to sit up. Slowly, Lauren did so, and Camila laced their fingers together.

"Sure," Lauren laughed.

"I knew it'd be t-t-the only alone time we'd g-get today," Camila smirked. She leaned in slowly and lingered in front of Lauren's face for a moment. "And I f-figured I'd use it wisely."

"Oh really?" Lauren giggled. She raised a playful eyebrow and pressed their lips together. Any last bit of grogginess from the night before disappeared the second their lips touched, and Camila slid her tongue across Lauren's lip. Lauren opened her mouth slightly and their tongues danced together. Camila let out a soft moan, and Lauren almost didn't hear the loud footsteps running down the hallway.

Luckily, she did, and she quickly pulled away. Camila started to pout, but jumped when the bedroom door burst open and seconds later, their daughter flew onto the bed.

"Santa came!" she squealed, signing and talking at the same time. Lauren and Camila exchanged glances and both giggled.

'Come on!' Rowan signed. She grabbed a hold of both of their sleeves and tried to tug them off the bed. Both of them pretended to fall back asleep and Rowan giggled. She shook Lauren's shoulders, who finally got up from the bed and tossed Rowan into the air, spinning her around and kissing the laughing child on the forehead.

'Should we go see what Santa brought you?' Camila signed. She stood up, shuffling over and wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's waist. Rowan nodded furiously and wiggled out of Lauren's arms. Both girls laughed as she skipped off into the living room.

Soon Rowan was tearing into her first present. Camila passed Lauren the mug of coffee they'd been sharing and Lauren leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. Lauren had figured out how to turn on the fireplace in their living room just for this occasion, and it surely made it feel even more like Christmas.

'Space?' Rowan signed. With a confused expression on her face, she walked over to her mothers and held up the box for them to see. Camila studied it and smiled softly.

'Want me to turn it on for you?' Camila signed, taking the box into her lap and starting to open it after Rowan nodded. She slid the batteries into the device and stood up, motioning for the girls to follow her.

She led them into Rowan's bedroom and plugged the toy into the wall.

"L-lights," Camila pointed to the wall and Lauren flicked the lights off. Seconds later, Camila turned the machine on and stars burst out of the circular toy, dotting the ceiling and the walls and making Rowan's entire room look like the night sky.