We're visiting your parents for the Fourth of July long weekend, but this time I'll be meeting most of your extended family. I'm a nervous wreck, babe. We've been engaged for a couple of months and of course I've met your parents, when they've come to the city or when we've come up a couple times to visit. But you have a really big, really traditional family and I'm still nervous about how I fit in with them. You are so good at calming me down, reminding me how much your parents love me and how everyone who meets me loves me but I'm always a little on edge.

We're outside and everyone is finishing their meals. You're locked in conversation with your cousin and aunt, sprinkling a few English words into the Spanish jumble flying out of your mouth and it's a sight to behold. Baby, you're so sexy when you speak Spanish.

So sexy.

I want to jump you right here.

A tug on my shirt pulls me out of my trance and I find your cousin's young kids smiling back at me with expectant faces. They ask me to play soccer with them and I hop up, always willing to make a fool out of myself with the younger crowd. You squeeze my hand before I go and give me a smile as you turn back to your aunt with more of that rapid fire Spanish.

I need time to cool off, babe.

So I play soccer with the kids and run around the yard. They put me in front of the tiny goal they have set up as a handful of them run around in front of me. I let most of the goals through, high fiving the kids who scored, and pretending like I was really trying. It's fun and I lose myself in the unbridled excitement of youth.

I look up after a dive to my left to let a ball through to the net and find you staring at me. You smile so big it takes my breath away and I stay on the ground for a few seconds longer. I know you're happy that I'm fitting in with your family. My nerves around them are slowly melting away with this stay- most of them are supportive of you and happy you found someone to love, who loves you back. I stand up and shoot you another glance. You're still looking at me and I send a sly wink your way, watching you blush from here. Your cousin laughs at you and slaps your shoulder and everyone sitting at the table with you teases you mercilessly.

It warms my soul.

You find me a little while later, lying across a lounge chair in the shade, farther back from the house. Everyone else is either inside escaping the heat for the cool relief of the air conditioning, or back up on the deck playing cards. I hear footsteps approach from behind and your soft giggle, "They tuckered you out, huh?"

"How do they have so much energy? All the time?"

You laugh again, "I have no idea."

You bend over and kiss the top of my head as you hand me one of your dad's famous blue whale cocktails. I take a sip and set it on the ground next to me.

"Scooch over, B."

I slide over and watch as you climb on the chair and nuzzle into me on your side. The air is starting to cool a bit around us, the humidity fading away as the sun sets. You kiss my neck and hum into me as your breath slides across my collarbone. Your hand lands on my stomach, the warmth of you grounding me, and I feel you smile into my neck.

"My family really likes you."

"They do?!"

"Mmmhmm."

"I really like them, too. When I can understand what they're saying."

Your body shakes with laughter on top of me, lighting me up from inside, "I know, the Spanish gets a little crazy sometimes."

"It's hot."

You pull away from my neck and raise an eyebrow at me, "What?"

"You speaking in Spanish like that, all rapid fire and in conversation, it's hot. Really hot."

"Babe, that's not the first time you've heard me speak Spanish."

"I know, and every time I think the same thing- 'damn, it's really hot when Santana speaks Spanish like that'."

You giggle and lean down to kiss me lightly, "You're silly."

"The silliest."

I pull you down and you settle in against me and splay your fingers out across my stomach. "I know you get nervous about being around a lot of my cousins and aunts and uncles, but everyone really likes you, Britt. They see how happy you make me."

I don't know how to respond to that, I feel fuzzy inside with relief and happiness and can't find the words to describe it so I squeeze your shoulders, acknowledging your statement.

"I really liked watching you play with the kids like that. You're really good with them."

Your voice is quiet, shy, hesitant, a whisper. Like you feel silly admitting it. It warms me all over.

"They're fun kids. Even if they cheat and totally don't understand the rules to soccer."

You laugh again and it fills my heart with sunshine. I love making you laugh, it's one of my favorite things to do. Your laughter is such a wonderful sound, it fills me up and makes me glow, and I love it so much.

I want to make you laugh for the rest of my life.

We sit like that for a few moments in comfortable silence, watching the sky grow darker and listening to the sounds around us. It's nice, familiar, wonderful. You nudge me with your nose and draw me out of my quiet reverie with you, "We should get going soon, the fireworks start in a bit and we need to get to our spot."

"Mmmm, but this feels so nice."

"Come on, baby!" you pounce up and stick your hand out for me, "I've got a blanket in the car for us to spread out on the grass, and if you play your cards right I might just let you make it to first base under the fireworks."

That gets me up out of my chair fast, and you squeal and jerk away from me, giggling. You run up to the deck and disappear inside the house before I even have a chance to grab my drink. I follow you inside, smiling at your aunts and uncles as they play cards, all giving me that knowing look. They all meet my smile with their own and I feel a flood of acceptance I didn't know I needed.

I find you inside talking to your mom, pulling a long sleeved shirt on over your tank top. It's still warm outside, but the bugs will be out in full force. I can't help but let my eyes land on your strong shoulders as you sling the shirt over your head. Your mom asks you a question in Spanish and you respond in English, telling her we'll be back later but not to wait up. She smiles as she sees me approach and holds out my shirt for me.

We say our goodbyes and walk down the steps to the driveway. Two of your younger cousins are sitting on the lawn chatting and they call over to us asking where we're going. You tell them that we're going to watch the fireworks, and they hop up and ask if they can come, too. You glance over to me to see if it's ok, and I give the tiniest nod. You tell them to get both their asses in the car or we're leaving them behind, and turn around to give me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Guess first base will have to wait for later." you whisper in my ear and your voice holds a hint of promise. I stand and watch you climb into the car, admiring my favorite assets before swiftly joining you.

Baby, you are so cute when you're with your younger cousins. They're both starting college in the fall and nervous about what to find when they get there. You offer advice and answer their questions without making them feel stupid or dumb, or increasing their anxiety. I love this side of you. It's so much like the you that I get to myself. The more I see it with other people, the more I realize how much I love you.

They start to talk about boys, one has a long term boyfriend and the other just broke up with hers after graduation. They start chattering to themselves in the back, occasionally asking us to turn the music up or change the station, and I can see you smile as you observe them through the rearview mirror.

Reaching over, I grab your free hand and squeeze it, and you squeeze back.

We drive to your favorite look out point for the fireworks. You're excited, I can tell. The girls hop out of the back and run up the hill ahead of us. You stay seated in the car, looking over to find me smiling back at you.

"What?"

"Nothing." I give you a small peck on the lips, "You're cute."

And your eyes light up in that special way that they do when I tell you how cute you are, how silly you are, how adorable you are and it makes my butterflies go crazy.

We finally trudge up the hill and find the girls; they've claimed a prime spot for firework viewing and already spread the blankets out. They're chattering away, but look up when we approach.

"Brittany, sit next to us! San always hogs your attention."

"A- Don't lie, I've barely seen her at all this whole time and B- she's my fiancé, so whatever." Your voice is tinged with that playful spite you have and we all laugh at you.

I sit next to them and we talk a little bit. You're on my left side, sitting as close to me as possible, and it's the most skin to skin contact we've had in days outside of cuddling in bed while we sleep. You stay quiet but I can feel the contented waves rolling off of you and I know you're happy that everyone has accepted me into the Lopez family. You like to tease and playfully bite back, but really everyone loves how happy you are.

The fireworks start up and the families and couples around us all quiet and lie back. You swing your arm through mine and pull me back so we're lying on the blanket, the cool grass beneath us. Both of your hands squeeze my arm and you scoot close to me, your breath whispering across my skin.

The girls stay quietly oohing and ahhing and chatting next to us, but you and I, you and I stay in our own little bubble, reveling in the quiet moments we have to be a couple, to be together. Your family is great but they're a lot and we don't really get to be us while we're here. Everyone is always so excited to see you that you're pulled in a million directions.

But here, now….baby, it's just you and me and the stars and the fireworks.

A/N: A little holiday fun for you all on this Fourth weekend! Enjoy the holidays if you're in the States (or Happy Belated Canada Day to all my Northern readers).