Marvel Women One Shots

Nighttime Dances - Yelena Belova

Warnings: none, just loads of Yelena fluff

It was finally the end of the day and I couldn't wait to get home and go to bed. It had been a chaotic workday at the restaurant with crazy customers and several hours of overtime. I was supposed to be home four hours ago, but I had been asked to stay longer since the server who was supposed to replace me was running late. Four hours late. They had showed up eventually and now I was finally able to go home.

It was late at night, nearing midnight, when I finally arrived at the apartment. Me and my wife Yelena had moved here about two years ago, both happy and excited to start our next chapter in life.

I knew that Yelena would have put Astrid, our nine month old daughter, to bed a few hours ago. However, I didn't know if Yelena would still be up. She usually stayed up to wait for me to come home, but there were times where she would fall asleep. I always found it cute, whether she was awake to greet me or when I was greeted by her tiny snores.

As I walked into the apartment, the lights were already off and set for the night. Hanging up my coat and placing my keys into the key dish by the door, I quietly made my way through the apartment, not wanting to make any noise to prevent waking up Astrid and maybe Yelena. But as I got further into the apartment, I was met with something unusual.

There was music playing. Soft music, quietly echoing through the apartment. There weren't any words, it was just instrumental. It sounded like a trumpet and some kind of string instrument. It was simple, yet beautiful and soft, the perfect thing to listen to when wanting to relax or wind down.

I followed the music through the halls of our apartment, finding the source coming from the nursery. The door was open, and I stood in the doorway, watching the heartwarming sight before me.

Yelena was standing in the middle of the room, cradling our daughter in her arms as the soft music played in the background. A small lamp was on, casting a warm glow as she was slightly swaying from side to side, slowly rocking Astrid back and forth to try and lull her to sleep.

The whole moment seemed too good to be true, like it was a scene from a movie. It was a small moment, one that neither Yelena nor Astrid would probably remember, but it was something I would treasure for the rest of my life. This scene, this moment, was something that I had never dreamed of getting, but I was grateful for having it. A family had always seemed impossible for us to have, given how chaotic both Yelena and my childhoods were.

I couldn't help but pull out my phone and take a photo of the moment. I stared at it briefly, a goofy smile growing on my face. It captured the whole scene perfectly, with Yelena smiling slightly while looking at Astrid, who was half asleep in the blonde's arms.

When I looked back up and pocketed my phone, I was met with Yelena's eyes. She was matching my toothy grin, seemingly savoring the same moment I was. Still swaying from side to side, she faced me and gave me a soft look. I took the hint and came forward, taking in a more detailed mental picture of the scene before me.

Astrid's head was nuzzled into the crook of Yelena's neck, clutching onto the collar of her shirt and seemingly half asleep. I could tell she was somewhere between dreamland and consciousness. This must be why Yelena was doing all this. Astrid was stubborn, even when it came to falling asleep.

I closed the gap between Yelena and me, placing a gentle kiss on her lips as I snaked my hands around her waist, so that only Astrid was between us. I matched her rhythm, joining them both in a slow dance that made my whole body go warm.

That's when Yelena started singing a Russian lullaby, quietly, softly, still slowly dancing to try and lull Astrid to sleep. I always loved it when Yelena would sing. She never liked doing it in front of people and usually saved it for moments like these. Her voice was beautiful, the perfect mixture of raspy and angelic.

After about a minute of this, Astrid finally gave into her exhaustion. Her grip on Yelena's shirt loosened as she fell asleep. Yelena noticed and slowly moved over to the crib at the side of the room and set Astrid down, tucking her in. I switched off the music and the lamp, then waited for her at the doorway. I smiled at her as we left the nursery and went to our bedroom.

Yelena crawled into bed while I changed into pajamas, then switched off the lights and joined her in bed. She snuggled into my side and I wrapped my arms around her body, pulling her in tighter.

"That was adorable." I mumbled to her, placing a kiss on top of her head.

"She wouldn't go to sleep. It was the best I could do." she replied, returning the kiss, this time placing one on my neck.

"Thank you, for all that you do. You're such an amazing mom. And an amazing wife." I looked down at her, making out a few features of her face in the dark.

"You are an amazing mom and wife too, ya know?" she slipped a hand under my shirt and began rubbing my back, tracing patterns on my skin.

I smiled, content, happy, and at peace with my life, with my wife, with my daughter. It was little moments like tonight that really made me grateful for the family I had.