Leila woke in the morning to the sound of chirping birds. Slowly, she opened her eyes and squinted. Shards of sunlight were filtering in from her bedroom curtain and onto her face. Leila lifted an arm up and covered her eyes, trying to will herself to wake up. Beside her, another body stirred.

Leila stiffened, then glanced down beside her. Mia was curled at her side, her hand clasped onto the fabric of Leila's pajama shirt. She was sleeping so peacefully, Leila almost didn't want to wake her.

Is this real? Leila thought. It was still hard to believe. Only the day before, she'd convinced herself she'd be moving to Connecticut and leaving Mia behind. 

Leila yawned, slowly remembering the events of the night prior. She and Mia had talked for a while, kissing in the moments of silence. When it came time for bed, Mia hadn't wanted to leave Leila's side, and they'd ended up sleeping in Leila's bed together.

Leila turned her body slowly and glanced at Mia's sleeping face. For so long she had dreamt of waking up beside Mia. She couldn't believe it was now her reality. Slowly, Leila reached out to tuck a strand of blonde hair behind Mia's ear. She smiled and leaned down to kiss Mia's cheek.

Mia made a mumble and stirred. Her hazel eyes opened slowly, and her gaze immediately fell on Leila.

"Good morning," Leila whispered.

Mia groaned and moved closer to Leila, wrapping her arms around her body. "Don't move. It's freezing," Mia said.

"I can go turn the heater up," Leila suggested.

"No. Stay here," Mia murmured, burying her head into Leila's side.

Leila sighed and laid back down in bed. She held Mia close to her body, savoring her warmth, and planted gentle kisses into Mia's hair. She remembered the day Mia had asked her to cut her hair. Leila had thought of the way Mia's hair felt between her fingers for days. Now, she stroked Mia's hair endlessly and breathed in scents of lemon as she kissed the soft threads of hair.

"Did you fall back asleep?" Leila asked when Mia reverted back to silence.

Mia grumbled in response.

"You really aren't a morning person," Leila realized. She stroked a hand along Mia's back, listening to her breathe deeply. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Fuji will be demanding food at some point," she said. The cat was already awake at the end of her bed, staring at her. Leila knew it was only a matter of minutes before he began to walk all over their bodies and loudly ask for his breakfast.

Mia hugged Leila tighter. "You nearly left me yesterday, may I remind you. I'm not letting you go."

"But what about when I need to use the bathroom?" Leila asked.

"Okay. I guess that's the one occasion," Mia answered.

Leila chuckled. "You're not working today, are you?" she asked.

"No," Mia said. "Neither are you?"

"No. I took today off since I was supposed to be flying back to Maine. Let's spend the day together," Leila suggested.

A smile spread across Mia's face. Leila had never seen Mia smile as much as she had in the last twenty-four hours. From this point forward, Leila vowed to try to protect that smile as best she could.

"Are you hungry?" Leila asked. "I could make us breakfast."

"Let me help," Mia offered.

"Okay," Leila agreed. "But first, you need to let go of me."

Mia pouted and, once again, held Leila closer to her. Leila suddenly felt four paws on top of her body and glanced up to see Fuji walking toward her. He let out a meow and hit his paw against Leila's shoulder.

"Alright, alright," Leila said. She reluctantly pulled Mia's arms away from her and sat up. Mia once again began to pout.

"You love the cat more than me," Mia lamented.

"I'm protecting you from getting swatted in the face," Leila argued. "You'll get up, won't you? Didn't you say you'd help me with breakfast?"

Mia nodded and slowly sat up as well. Leila quickly made her bed in the seconds that followed. Before she could open her bedroom door, however, Mia wrapped her arms around her and embraced her. Leila smiled and held her close. As they pulled away, Leila leaned down and kissed Mia.

"Good morning," Leila said.

"Good morning," Mia replied. "I want to wake up like this every day from now on."

Leila smiled and glanced at the bed beside them. "We'll have to move your things into here at some point, won't we? I mean, unless you want to keep your room."

"I don't think I can ever sleep in that bed again. Last night was some of the best sleep I've ever gotten since moving back here," Mia told her. "I'm sure we can rearrange some things, and you can have your office back."

"I'm not sure how much I'll need an office," Leila admitted. "Why don't we convert that room into an art space for you?"

"Are you sure?" Mia asked. "This isn't my apartment to begin with—"

Leila cut her off with a kiss. "I'm sure. We can discuss the details later. For now, I think if I don't feed Fuji soon he really will murder me," she said, staring at the cat in the corner. He was glaring daggers at the both of them.

Leila reluctantly let go of Mia and stepped out into the kitchen. Once Fuji was chowing down his breakfast, Leila began pulling out ingredients for her and Mia to share.

"How about pancakes?" Leila asked. "Do you want to cook the bacon while I make the batter?"

"Sure," Mia agreed

As they stood side-by-side at the stove, Leila knew she had made the right choice. She had never doubted herself to begin with, but now she was absolutely certain. Cooking with Mia, exchanging smiles, and sharing the occasional kiss -- it was all Leila had dreamed of the past few months. As the smell of crackling bacon filled the air and the birds chirped outside, Leila felt inexplicably happy.

As they sat at the kitchen table, Leila happily exchanged conversation with Mia. For the most part, their conversation remained the same as it had been, but every once in a while, Mia's face would redden with a blush, or Leila would look away in embarrassment.

I can't believe I have a girlfriend now, she would think every few moments. And I can't believe that it's Mia.

"Hey, do you think we can visit my mother's grave today?" Mia asked. "I'd like to drop off some flowers."

"Sure. Let's stop by the florist shop before we go. We can get her some poinsettias," Leila suggested.

In Leila's car, they sang old Christmas carols, and at the florist's shop, they picked out the most vibrant bouquet of red poinsettias that they could find. They arrived to the cemetery in good spirits, and as they walked down the line of graves, they tightly clung onto each other's hands.

Mia slowly stopped at her mother's grave and wiped away the fresh layer of snow that had settled onto the marble headstone. She scraped some more snow away to make a spot for the poinsettias, and Leila carefully set the bouquet down.

"Hey, Mom," Mia said, looking at the gravestone.

Leila was about to speak up, having never heard Mia address her deceased mother before, but Mia's gaze was so focused deeply on her mother's gravesite that Leila kept quiet. Instead, she held onto Mia's hand and stood listening, as Mia continued to speak.

"I can't believe it's almost Christmas. You would've loved to see all the lights. I can't really set up any lights on a gravestone, so I hope the poinsettias are a good substitute," Mia said. She briefly glanced at Leila and then squeezed her hand. "Mom," she said, touching the gravestone with her fingertips, "I'm happy. For so long I came here and shared my sorrows, but...but I'm happy now. Leila and I...we're together now, and I couldn't be happier. For so many months I doubted if I made the right decision returning to Maine, but now I know it was the right choice. Because it...it brought me to you," Mia said, turning to stare at Leila as she uttered that last word.

Leila felt tears welling up in her eyes. She'd cried several times in the last twenty-four hours, all from happiness thankfully. Her heart warmed as Mia stared at her. Mia reached her hand up and touched Leila's cheek. Slowly, Leila leaned forward to kiss her. As they broke away, Mia smiled at her.

"I'm happy to be here with you, too," Leila said. "Those were beautiful sentiments, Mia. Though I'm not sure your mom would approve of the PDA."

"I'm sure she doesn't mind," Mia said. She stood on her tiptoes to kiss Leila's cheek, then reached for Leila's hand as her heels touched the ground again.

"We'll be back for Christmas," Leila told the headstone.

"You wouldn't mind?" Mia asked.

"Of course not," Leila said. "You deserve to see your family too on Christmas."

"Thank you, Lei," Mia said. She'd begun re-using the nickname the day before. Though Leila's family members had been using the name for years, it felt more special coming out of Mia's mouth. Her heart skipped a beat every time Mia said it.

Leila felt her phone buzz against her pocket. She pulled it out, realizing suddenly that it was a phone call from her mother.

Shit! Leila thought. She'd been so focused on Mia the day before that she'd ignored nearly all other texts from her friends and family members asking her how the interview had gone. Slowly, Leila held the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?" she said.

"Leila! I thought you were dead! You weren't responding to my texts!" her mother exclaimed on the other line.

"Sorry! It slipped my mind. I've been busy," Leila said, exchanging glances with Mia.

"Will you be home by the evening?"

"Yes, I'm...I'm already back in Maine, actually," Leila said.

"I thought your flight wasn't supposed to return until this afternoon."

"I came back early," Leila answered.

"Well, why don't you come for dinner and let us know how the interview went? And if Mia's around, she's always welcome," her mother said.

"O-Okay," Leila said. "Listen, Mom. I need to talk to you all at dinner, okay?" 

"Nothing I should be concerned about, I hope?"

"No. I don't think so. But I'd rather tell the family together."

"Okay. I'll see you tonight then."

"Okay. See you tonight," Leila said. She let the phone drop from her ear and slipped it back into her pocket. Slowly, she turned toward Mia. "I hope you don't mind an impromptu visit to my parents' house for dinner? I'll have to tell them about everything that happened, and I think I'll need someone there to back me up."

"Of course I'll come," Mia said. "They won't be upset with you, you know. You could always tell them that you didn't get the job."

"No. I'd rather be honest," Leila said. "And...and I'll have to tell them about us, too. Although," she said, memories suddenly flooding her brain, "I think my mom has been trying to get us together for the last few months."

"Then it won't be an issue," Mia said. "I've got your back, Leila. Whatever happens, we're in this together now."

"I love you," Leila said.

"I love you, too," Mia responded.

"I'll have to tell my friends about us too, you know. They might get obnoxious. They knew I liked you before I even knew I liked you," Leila admitted.

Mia giggled. "Well, I'll have to tell my friends as well. Alana's going to be pissed I found a girlfriend before her."

Leila started laughing suddenly.

"What?" Mia asked.

"Sorry, this is just so weird. I can't believe how much happened in the last day, but I'm so happy it happened," Leila said.

"Me too," Mia replied, squeezing her hand. With their hands laced together, they began walking back to the parking lot.

"So, what should we do the rest of the day?" Mia asked.

"I'd like to get some more Christmas decorations for our apartment. Do you want to join me?" Leila asked.

"Of course," Mia responded. She released Leila's hand as they returned to Leila's car. Leila opened the driver's side door, about to get in, when she noticed Mia had remained standing.

"Hey, Lei? Look up. It's snowing," Mia said.

Leila glanced up, noticing a flurry of snowflakes begin to descend from the sky. The air around them was quiet, and Leila breathed in deeply, admiring the scene of tranquility displayed before her.

Turning toward Mia, Leila wrapped her arms around Mia's waist and pulled her toward her. Mia shut her eyes and eagerly lifted her lips up to Leila's. Leila had lost track of how many times they had kissed in the last twenty-four hours, but this kiss was one of her favorites. As they held each other close, kissing in the parking lot, the snow fell quietly around them, and suddenly, everything seemed to be at peace.