Limerence • Auli'i Cravalho (gxg)

feels like home

You look at the clock, feeling both excited and anxious as the hands on the clock ticked by. You were waiting for Auli'i to get home from work so the two of you could watch her new movie together. 'All Together Now' has been out since midnight and you were so eager to watch it, but you wanted to wait for her so the both of you could enjoy it together. It was a pretty big moment. You go to the kitchen island to grab the snacks that you'd just bought and laid them on the coffee table. Then you were thinking whether to make dinner or order takeout when your phone buzzed, signalling that you'd gotten a text.

It was from Auli'i.

'Got us dinner from our favourite restaurant! Be home in thirty mins😽.'

Smiling as you type your reply, your excitement begins to grow. It had been a long day and you couldn't wait to spend a nice, quiet evening with your girlfriend. Especially since you've had a pretty rough day at work. Suddenly remembering you had to submit a file, you quickly found your laptop to double check if that was done. You knew you'd never leave work before submitting what was due that day, but you just wanted to be sure. To spare yourself from another round of unnecessary stress. See, a couple weeks ago, you'd written an article that was due for publishing the next day and at the last moment, you realised that someone had deleted the file so what got published was a blank space where your article was supposed to be. Albeit due to your own carelessness that you didn't back up the file, your colleague still shouldn't have accessed the drive and got rid of it. Anyone working there could access it- so you have no clue who the culprit was. You'd gone out to get your lunch after editing the article and making sure you'd saved it. However when you came back to the office, your file was nowhere to be found on your laptop.

You got up to stretch, then went ahead to make yourself a cup of coffee. Because you sure as hell weren't going to fall asleep catching the premiere of your girlfriend's first- well, first live-action movie. Last week, she had a red-carpet premiere event, but you were out of town on a business trip to meet with a major client so you had to miss that. You were bummed without a doubt and made sure to make yourself available today. Leaving your cup on the kitchen island, you turned back around to make Auli'i her favourite tea knowing that she'd be home in a few minutes now.

~~ • ~~

Hearing a familiar jingle of keys, you almost squealed. The front door opens, Auli'i walks in. "Hi." You headed to her side and gave her a hug. She smooches you on the cheek, a big smile on her face, "Hello, my love."

"Do you wanna talk about your day?" She asks, putting down the paper bags.

Reminded of those snide comments you heard about you at work today, your smile fades. She squints, tilting your chin up, "Rough day?"

You nod, "I don't wanna talk about that right now. Let's focus on the good thing now, okay?"

"Of course, baby." She cups your cheek, caressing it gently with her thumb, "Give me a minute. I'll go get changed then we'll eat and watch the movie, yeah?"

You tell her, "Okay." Then sat down on the couch while you hear footsteps departing the living room. Soon, she returns, dressed in a tank top and sweatpants. "Alright, you ready?"

"Yup." You nod firmly as she wraps her arm around your waist and went into the Netflix app on the TV.

You've been waiting to see the whole film, especially after having gotten the opportunity to see her film some scenes.

Before you knew it, you've gotten to the scene where she sings 'Feels Like Home'. You knew she was going to sing in this, but you hadn't heard the song in full.

Instantly, you were mesmerised. Her voice was calming you down...you close your eyes and just let yourself take in the moment.

You feel a squeeze on your shoulder, then her snuggling closer against you.

'Take me, I'm ready. Go slow but go steady.
To a place where we can call our own.
I wanna know what feels like home
Take me, I'm ready. Go slow but go steady
To a place that we can call our own
I wanna know what feels like home
To you'

She whispers, "I love you so much, my sweet girl."

~~ • ~~

Unedited. Published: Tuesday, 27 December 2022