The doorbell at the Hansen residence always reminded the married pair of the festive season, due to its melody. Sure, the sound was fading now, but it never failed to put a smile on Dinah's face.
The sound alone reminded Dinah of her favourite holiday, and favourite season, but more particularly, the first Christmas that she was able to spend, calling Normani Mrs. Hansen, and holding her first child in her arms.
Even if it was over a decade ago, Dinah remembered it as if it was yesterday.
Christmas was always special to the Tongan. She spent the day singing, eating and having fun with her family, but her first Christmas with Normani was different. It was different because then she had a family to call her own.
Normani on the other hand, hated the bell. She hasn't hated it from the beginning though, it just became something that grew annoyingly on her whenever someone rang the bell. She always preferred knocking, but standing on the other side of the door this time, and seeing the smile that the bell never failed to put on her wife's face, made her forget about all the dislike she had towards the bell.
She watched as Dinah held onto her overnight bag tightly, swaying on her feet in excitement. She was happy to be home, no doubt about that. That, coupled with the happiness that the stupid bell was able to put on Dinah's face, made Normani smile as well as she inched her hands towards Dinah's, linking their fingers together.
Dinah wasn't expecting the sudden contact, but smiled even wider at Normani, nonetheless.
On the other side of the door, curls swung left and right as the toddler's heads spun around excitedly. Their auntie Ally had told them that their parents would be coming home, and they refused to sleep until they knew that Normani and Dinah were safely home.
Kehlani shot up out of her sleeping position on the couch as she heard feet stomping, and when she opened her eyes, she was met with one pair of stubby little legs struggling to get up, and another pair running across the room towards the door.
She chuckled to herself as she picked Safayah, who was struggling to get out of her comfortable seated position, up easily, and then glided across the room towards the door, gently moving Moana out of the way.
She carefully put Safayah down next to her twin as she unlocked the door, swinging it open to find her best friends staring at each other like love sick fools.
"God, you guys are like teenagers." Kehlani grumbles in disgust as she sets her eyes on the two, who have yet to notice that she's there. "Come on, you guys had the whole week to stare at each other, and now you're doing it on the doorstep?"
Normani and Dinah didn't even hear Kehlani speak as they continued to stare into each others eyes. Dinah broke the contact, however, when she trailed her eyes down towards Normani's lips. She then looked back up into her eyes and then back down at her lips, repeating the process, trying to figure out which between the two held her attention more. It wasn't until an ear piercing scream sounded that Dinah finally drew her attention away from Normani, deciding that she was unable to make a decision because she loved every bit of Normani, every piece.
"Mawmy!" Moana yells, and Dinah's smile grows even wider, if possible.
A week away with Normani was heaven, but the rest of her year with Normani and their children...
Dinah drops her bag, letting go of Normani's hand as well as she takes the toddler into her arms, engulfing her in a big hug. Not seeing her children for the week has taken a toll on her, but she wasn't about to admit that. She would rather express her emotions through the tight hug, never wanting to let go.
