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"Remind me again why we didn't get a nanny?" I groaned as I flopped down on the bed beside Nikolai after finally getting our daughter to fall asleep. He looked as exhausted as I felt but saints he still looked amazing - shirtless, hair a fluffy mess, eyes bleary and soft. Like always, my heart swelled at the sight of him, looking how no one but me ever got to see.
"You wanted to be a hands-on parent." He grinned sleepily and wrapped an arm around me.
"Well I've changed my mind. I want to stay in this bed with you and never leave again." Nikolai's grin widened and he waggled his eyebrows suggestively at me. I couldn't help a small laugh as I swatted at his arm. "Not like that. ...Well...maybe when I've slept for a week or two."
"I can wait." I rolled my eyes and swatted at him again. He just pulled me closer.
"You're a menace."
"Maybe, but you still decided to marry me." I sighed contently and leaned my head on his chest, my hand coming to rest over his heart and trace idle patterns on his skin.
"That I did." His head turned slightly and I felt his lips soft against my forehead.
"I love you, (Y/N)," he mumbled against my skin. My own head tilted up and I reached up to guide his lips to mine.
"I love you too," I whispered against his lips before finally kissing him.
Our movements were lazy, exhaustion seeping in to the gentle touches and the slow glide of lips. Soft moments like this were rare lately, stolen in the early hours of the morning when we were woken by crying for the fifth time. Nikolai's arms and mouth were a familiar comfort, a soothing balm that helped me fall back to sleep and tonight was no exception.
He kissed me until the world around me started to fade away and my body relaxed more deeply in his embrace. Moments before I fell asleep his lips parted from mine, drifting up to press against my forehead again. I could feel the sleepy smile tugging at them and found my own mouth mirroring the action. That was how I slept. Soundly, a smile on my face, and the love of my life wrapped around me. It almost felt as if I could stay there forever. And if our daughter wasn't sure to wake us up in a few hours, I probably would. I barely even minded. I loved her and I loved Nikolai, more than anything in the world. And if I had to lose a little sleep for our family, that didn't seem like such a big price to pay at all.