No matter what her stupid sister or senile grandfather said, Lovina was not a sentimental person. Nope. Not at all. Not even a little bit. That being said, it absolutely didn't bother her one little bit that her parents did not want her to come home for the holidays this year. Why would it bother her? She'd known for years that her parents hated her. So what if this year they had decided to flat out tell her not to even bother coming home? She hadn't truly been welcome there since she was fifteen anyway. What did it matter? It didn't. It didn't matter at all.

Lovina took a deep breath, the letter she'd been reading at the kitchen counter crumpling in her hand as her throat tightened painfully. No. Not happening. She didn't care. She absolutely did not care and she would not allow them to have that kind of power over her. They weren't even worth it.

The letter found its home in the trash can as she turned form the counter, wiping furiously at her eyes to remove the small amount of water she had allowed to escape. Fine. If they were going to be here in the States for Christmas, she had a lot of work to do. They hadn't done any decorating at all yet. If she couldn't go home and have an authentic Italian Christmas with her family, she might as well brace herself for the best mother fucking American X-mas of all time! She had three weeks to make their one-bedroom apartment look ready for the season and you could be damned sure that when she was done, it would like something straight out of Whoville. The Jim Carry version, not the original Dr. Seuss. That's a very important distinction. She didn't need her parents to have a nice holiday. She didn't need them and their intolerance. She could have a wonderful time right here and she goddamn would. Just watch.

Isabel loved the snow. Especially this time of year. It just didn't feel like Christmas until it snowed. She couldn't help but smile as she watched the small flakes of ice begin their assent through the window as she stood in line at the grocery store. It was just so pretty! Just like Lovina. But Lovina was much prettier. Lovina was even prettier than these lilies she was waiting to buy for her. Oh! Maybe when she got home, she and Lovi would go for a walk through the snow and see if they could find some houses that were well decorated to look at! That would be so much fun! Lovi would probably pretend she didn't want to but would actually really enjoy it. Silly, Lovi….

"Miss?"

Isabel jumped. She been so lost in thought she hadn't noticed she'd reached the front of the line. Hurrying forward with a smile she paid for her purchase, thanking the cashier and hurrying out into the snow to complete her trek home. Today was just so good! Nothing in the world could spoil her mood right now. It was almost Christmas, the weather was turning absolutely lovely for the season and she was on her way home to see the most beautiful woman in the world. Everything was perfect!

Oh… Isabel must have been so lost in thought that she had headed to the wrong floor of their apartment building. She'd somehow ended up in front a door sporting a wreath and surrounded by blinking holiday lights. That was odd… she could have sworn this was her apartment… yes... 314, this was them. Lovina must have decided to decorate.

That was both exciting and odd. They hadn't been planning on being home during the holiday and Lovina had said it was pointless to decorate despite Isabel's whines to the contrary. What could have caused her to change her mind?

She pushed the door open and again had to double-check that she was in the right place. Isabel barely recognized her apartment beneath all the ribbons and garlands. You wouldn't find more red and green in a bag of seasonal M&Ms. There was no way this was where she lived.

"Oh you're home."

Lovina had appeared in the hallway, one of Isabel's red bandanas tied around her hair, an unopened box in her arms featuring a really intricate nativity scene on the front.

"Are those for me?"

Isabel looked down at the lilies she was still holding, frowning when she noticed the snow had wilted them slightly.

"Perfect," Lovi continued, emotionlessly. "They'll go great with the table cloth."

Isabel glanced to her right at the kitchen table. They had not had now owned that red table cloth with "Seasons Greetings" embroidered in gold around the edge this morning. What was going on?

"Did you… did you spend all day decorating, mi amor?" Isabel asked, setting the flowers on the counter and moving towards her to help with the box. Lovina took this as an opportunity to hand it to her completely and Isabel nearly dropped it before she managed to redouble her grip. Wow this was heavy….

"Yup. We waited way too long to get started. We only have a few more weeks left and fuck if this place isn't going to be festive."

Lovina wasn't looking at her, instead had turned to fiddle with a line of lights hung over their photo wall, but the emotionless tone of her voice made Isabel pull her lip between her teeth in concern. Cautiously, she set the nativity set down beside the door and made her way over to Lovina, wrapping her arms around her from behind and holding her close. Lovina did not protest but did not stop her insistent fiddling.

"You mean it's not festive enough yet? All we need is a couple of elves and it will look just like Santa's workshop in here."

"We still need to get a tree," Lovina stated, still in that emotionless voice. Isabel hugged her tighter.

"Isn't it a fire hazard to leave a pine tree in our living room while we're in Italy?"

Lovina froze in the middle of pulling the tack out of the wall to reposition this section of the lights before dropping her hands to her sides and shifting slightly in Isabel's arms.

"We're not going to Italy."

It was only because Isabel knew Lovina so well that she heard the sadness in her voice. The tremble was barely there, the strain hardly noticeable when she made that statement. But Isabel still heard it.

"Did something happen, mi vida?" Isabel asked, dropping her head to rest on Lovina's shoulder and nuzzling her face, hoping to start the process to making her feel better.

"Oh nothing significant," she said, still fighting so hard to keep her voice even. "My parents just wrote me and said they don't want me there this year. So, we'll just stay here and go to your place on Christmas day."

"They said that?" Isabel clarified. Lovina's parents had never exactly been supportive but she couldn't believe any parent would flat out refuse to allow their child to come home for the holidays. That was just so… awful.

"Yup. I got a letter this morning."

"Are you sure that's what they meant? I mean, how could anyone—"

"Isabel!"

The harshness of her tone made it clear that Lovina no longer wanted to discuss it. Roughly, she pushed away from Isabel, glowering at her bare feet. Anyone else probably would have missed the tears she was trying to hold back.

"I don't know how anyone could but they did, okay? We're staying here for Christmas and there's nothing I can do about so I'm just gonna make it… I'm just gonna…."

Isabel didn't like this. Isabel didn't like this at all. Lovina looked so lost and confused as she stared at the carpet as if hoping it would tell her what to do. Beneath the concern and confusion, Isabel felt a small pulse of anger beginning in her heart. Why would anyone not want Lovina around? How could someone intentionally make her so upset? That just wasn't right!

"Dammit!" Lovina said suddenly before turning on her heel and darting toward their bedroom, slamming the door behind her hard enough to cause one of their pictures to fall off the wall

Lovina was not going to cry. Lovina was absolutely not going to cry over this. It wasn't a big deal. It didn't matter at all.

She was currently lying on their bed, the tomato shaped pillow Isabel had gotten her for her birthday clutched to her chest as she reminded herself how much she didn't care, how much she didn't want to go home. She had no desire to see the parents that hadn't really wanted her since she had been a teenager. She didn't care that they were officially cutting her out of her lives. Sure, it would be sad not to see her sister but she would just have to get together with her another time. It really wasn't a big deal.

And that was not a tear making its way down her face. It wasn't.

The sound of the door opening was not as unwelcome as she would have expected, but that wasn't enough to make her roll over to face the intruder. She continued to stare at the far wall of their bedroom as Isabel climbed onto the bed behind her, wrapping her arms around her again and holding her close.

"I found that letter."

Lovina's heart sank at the prospect of further discussion of her parents but she didn't have the energy to tell her to shut up.

"They didn't say you couldn't go home, Lovi. They said I couldn't go."

"It's the same thing," Lovina said through clenched teeth. "Whether they like it or not, you're part of my family. We're a package deal," Lovina sighed, as Isabel held her tighter, planting a soft kiss on her cheek. "I was going to announce our engagement and invite them to our wedding while we were out there but I guess that's a waste of time."

Isabel hummed in thought slightly, nuzzling her hair affectionately.

"You never know. They might not realize how serious we are and don't want to meet me because they think we'll be over in a couple of months like all your other girlfriends."

"The problem is they don't believe a girl can really like other girls," Lovina stated bitterly. "When I came out, I was too young to know for sure and now I'm just being stubborn. They still think I'm gonna meet a guy that will make me change my mind."

Isabel was silent for a moment, probably at a loss for what to say to comfort her. Finally she sighed, finding Lovina's hand and lacing their fingers together.

"I… I really won't be upset if you go home without me, Lovi. I know you're putting on a brave face but you don't have to pick my family over yours."

"Haven't you been listening, idiot? You are my family. I'm not spending another holiday without you."

"But—"

"It's not up for negation," Lovina said shortly.

Isabel sighed again but knew arguing would be pointless.

"Well… maybe they'll be willing to have us both over next year if you miss this one. I'm sure they won't be happy not having you home."

"They'll just see at as me being stubborn… me still refusing to be a proper lady like they always wanted me to be."

Isabel could tell she was crying. Lovina didn't have to see her face to know she was well aware, despite her attempts to hide it. Isabel's grip on her tightened and she left another kiss on her cheek before they fell into silence for several minutes, Lovina no longer bothering to keep her sobs in. What was the point? No matter what she said, Isabel knew the truth. She didn't want to care but she did. She had always cared.

"Lovi… I'm so sorry," Isabel sighed sadly when the silence became too much. "I… I hope you won't be mad at me for saying this but your parents are being ridiculous. Anyone who's lucky enough to have you in their life should be doing everything they can to keep you there."

Lovina felt her face heat up but all she said was, "you're so stupid."

"It's true!" Isabel insisted. "It just… it really bothers me. I've never understood why they want so badly to change you. Why can't they see how perfect you are?"

"That's what I want to know. I'm a mother fucking gem."

"You really are," Isabel agreed. Another moment of silence passed in which they simply lay there, listening to one another's breathing before Isabel lifted her head slightly to look at Lovina, brushing her hair away from her tear streaked face.

"Well," she said with a weak smile, "at least we can still have nice Christmas together, si? My brother's finally coming home from Portugal and he'll probably have some fun stories. And I'm pretty sure my mamá will cry when we tell her we're getting married and Papá will probably embarrass me by saying I took too long to 'seal the deal' because he's wanted you as a daughter since the moment he met."

"You're just saying that."

"No, I'm serious," Isabel said with a laugh. "At this point, I think he loves you more than me. He's been begging me to marry you."

Lovina couldn't help but laugh softly at her words.

"Your family is ridiculous."

Isabel nodded, smiling serenely at her with her hand still in her hair.

"They're you're family too, mi amor."

Lovina stared at her, the kind green eyes that she always got lost in consuming her. It hurt. She couldn't deny that it hurt to be told she wasn't welcome. As much as she tried to deny it, she wanted her parents' acceptance. She wanted them to meet the only person in the world that could make her feel better in the midst of their bullshit. She wanted them to love her as much is Lovina did. But that wasn't going to happen, at least not this year. That knowledge was painful.

But it wasn't as though she didn't have anyone else.

"I know," Lovina said with a roll of her eyes. "And Christmas is going to be great."

Isabel smiled at her, leaning down to leave a soft kiss on her lips before lying back down beside her and resuming their spoon position.

"It will be great. We'll be together and surrounded by people who love us."

"That's what it's about," Lovina conceded.

"That's what it's about."

A/N: Wrote this one for a friend last Christmas. There isn't enough lesbian Spamano love in the world. Thanks for reading!