"Alright, I think that's enough decorations for the outside... now to see how Amber's doing on the inside of the house." Charlotte murmured to herself as she put the finishing touches on the lights outside the home her and Amber had just bought together. It wasn't a huge place, just a small one bedroom home with a small yard in the back and front, but to them it was perfect.

Today, they had been decorating for the holidays and in preparation of their parents, and possibly Charlotte's siblings, coming over to see the house. Though, Charlotte still had yet to even tell her parents about the fact that her and Amber were dating. She just wasn't sure how they would react to knowing she was dating a girl and had been for a few years now. Amber had been trying to persuade Charlotte to tell them, but to no avail. However, Charlotte was hoping this visit from her family would help her find the courage to tell them.

Back to the moment at hand, upon entering the home, Charlotte was greeted by the sight of Amber trying to unravel the lights they had gotten to string up on the tree they had bought to put up in their home. It was a rather small one, but it still looked rather nice and did the job of freshening the air a little as it was a real tree.

As she saw her girlfriend trying to untangle the lights and failing, Charlotte let out a soft laugh. "Need some help, honey?" she asked, receiving a nod from Amber.

"Yeah. These lights just don't seem to want to untangle and my sausage fingers don't help without nearly breaking them." Amber responded with a slight sigh.

Letting out another soft laugh, Charlotte began the process of untangling the lights, getting them untangled in just a few minutes. "There we go." she spoke, placing a gentle kiss on Amber's cheek.

"What would I ever do without you?." Amber questioned, smiling at the kiss on the cheek and taking the lights from Charlotte, stringing them on the tree, placing a star on the top.

"I could ask you the same thing. Now, c'mon, let's finish decorating the inside of the house. I already got the lights outside strung up." Charlotte responded, beginning to rummage through the box of decorations they had bought with Amber soon joining in.

The two quickly got to work decorating, chatting, joking, flirting, and just having a fun time in general and enjoying each other's company as they did so. Soon enough, they had gotten to the subject of Charlotte telling her parents that they were dating.

"So... when are you going to tell them? You can't hide our relationship from them forever, you know."

Charlotte sighed. "I know... I'm planning to tell them during their visit here tomorrow, but... I'm nervous... I still don't know how they're going to react... I really don't want them to hate me..."

Amber let out a soft laugh. "Honey, I've met your parents and they don't seem like the type who would hate you just because you happen to be dating someone the same gender as you. But... just know that I'll be here to support you when you tell them, alright?" she responded, gently taking a hold of Charlotte's hand, placing a soft kiss on her cheek.

Charlotte smiled, letting out a soft chirp at the kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, sweetheart. And I suppose, if they do get angry with me, there isn't much they can do... I mean, we're already moved in together and this isn't their house."

Laughing softly, Amber nodded in agreement. "Exactly. See? There's nothing for you to worry about. If they hate you for dating me, then that's on them."

Charlotte nodded in response, but let out another soft sigh. "But still... they're my parents... it'd still hurt to know they hated me. I know that that's no reason for me to be hiding that fact we're dating from them, but I'm just... so nervous."

"I know you are, honey... but you'll never know how they'll react until you tell them." Amber responded, wrapping Charlotte in a soft, reassuring hug.

"Yeah... okay, well, I'm going to tell them once they get here. Let's just hope it goes well..." Charlotte responded, tightly returning the hug, a slight smile on her face. "Alright, well! No more moping around! How about we finish getting this house decorated? I think my parents should be here in about an hour." she spoke up after a few moments, a slight smile on her face.

Amber nodded in response. "Sounds good to me. And we've still gotta hang up the mistletoe, too."

"You bought mistletoe?"

"Of course! It's a tradition! I can hang it up. Why don't you get to work putting up the garland on the walls?" Amber suggested.

Letting out a soft laugh, Charlotte nodded in response, heading off to do as suggested, humming softly as she did so. After a little bit, the house was nicely decorated, with soft lights and beautiful holiday decorations being found throughout.

Though, one decoration in particular had caught Charlotte's eye. It wasn't a very large one, just a small glass bell, but the memories of it were what gave Charlotte pause. "Huh... honestly forgot I had this packed away with the decorations..." Charlotte mused as she picked up the bell, a soft smile on her face, fond memories cropping up of decorating with her family for the holiday.

"Oh, hey, that's the bell I found at the bottom of the decorations box... I'm surprised it hadn't broken..." Amber suddenly spoke up, causing Charlotte to nearly drop the bell as she almost jumped out of her skin.

"Oh, sorry, honey. Didn't mean to scare you." Amber spoke with a slightly guilty smile. "So, um... how did we get this bell? I don't remember buying it."

"Oh, um... it was a gift from my parents when I moved out along with that photo of my family that I have... they wanted me to have a little piece of home with me when I decorated for the holidays." Charlotte responded, setting the bell back in its place with a wistful smile.

Amber nodded in understanding. "Well, it's nice that we both have a little bit of home with us for the decorations. That star was actually something my mom gave me."

"I was wondering where that came from. It's beautiful." Charlotte responded, her eyes wandering over to said star. Though, they were soon interrupted by a knock at the door.

"That's probably my parents. I'll go get it." Charlotte spoke, heading over to the door and opening it, to be greeted by the sight of her mother.

"Mom! Glad you could make it!" Charlotte spoke, wrapping Phoenixheart in a tight hug, which Phoenixheart returned. Though, soon Charlotte frowned slightly as she didn't see her father. "Where's dad? Could he not make it?"

"Oh, he'll be here in a little while, maybe. He's just at our hotel resting for a bit. The trip took a lot out of him." Phoenixheart responded with a smile. Charlotte nodded in response to what Phoenixheart had said.

"Ah, alright. Well, um, come on in. There's, um, someone I want you to meet." Charlotte responded a bit nervously, letting her mother in.

Upon entering, Phoenixheart had caught sight of Amber, who had just finished putting the finishing touches on the decorations they had put up. "Oh, Amber! Good to see you again! What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Mrs. Hiro! Good to see you too!" Amber greeted, with Charlotte speaking up soon after.

"U-um, mom... Amber and I live together and..." Charlotte took a deep breath, taking a hold of Amber's hand. "W-we're... we're dating... have been for a few years..."

A slightly surprised look overtook Phoenixheart's face, though that was soon replaced by a bright grin. "Well, you're father owes me twenty dollars."

"Did you two seriously bet on if Amber and I were dating?"

"Oh, don't act so surprised. We did that with Lily and Serena, too. We know that look when you're head over heels for someone." Phoenixheart responded with a soft laugh.

"So... you're okay with this? Charlotte asked a bit nervously.

"Of course we are. What? You think we'd disown you for falling in love? Honey, we'd never do that. We love you for who you are." Phoenixheart replied, wrapping Charlotte in a gentle hug. Charlotte tightly returned it, tears starting to run down her face.

After a few moments, Charlotte pulled away from the hug, wiping her tears away. "Thanks, mom... really."

"No problem, honey." Phoenixheart responded, kissing Charlotte's forehead. "Now, I think you have someone waiting under the mistletoe for you..." she spoke in a teasing tone, looking towards Amber, who was standing under the mistletoe that she had put up earlier.

Letting out a soft laugh, Charlotte went and joined her girlfriend. "Well, what's a cutie like you doing under the mistletoe?" she asked in a teasing tone.

"Maybe I'm waiting for my adorable girlfriend to join me so I can get a kiss." Amber retorted, just as teasingly. Phoenixheart watched the two, letting out a soft laugh the their teasing.

"Hmmmm.... I don't know... a kiss under the mistletoe seems kind of cliché... but I guess I can give in to a cliché just this once..." Charlotte responded, placing a brief kiss on Amber's lips, which Amber gladly returned, before pulling away. "Though... I think I can also do one better..." she continued, receiving a curious look from both Amber and Phoenixheart.

A bit nervously, Charlotte revealed a small and simple, yet beautiful amethyst ring. "So, um, I know it's not your usual diamond ring, but I know you really like amethysts and figured you'd like this ring better... anyways, um... I was going to save this for later, but I thought now would be a good time to ask... will you marry me?"

"Yes, of course!"