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It's a random day in late August and there's a mini fireworks show downtown.
Yelena... Yelena loves fireworks. There's something about them that makes the little girl that still has a home in her heart ecstatic.
She'd always thought it was cool. Natasha had been in her teenage "I'm too cool for everything" phase when Yelena had first seen them, but she'd indulged her nonetheless.
Yelena can remember sneaking out through the back window, hitchhiking with one of Nat's friends, and watching from the back of the truck as the fireworks shone in the sky above them.
She hasn't given herself the pleasure of watching fireworks in a long, long time.
But... Well, Bob had offered for the whole Team to go, thinking it'd be a fun event to try, and they were trying to get more good press so.
They'd all agreed, some more reluctantly than others.
After dealing with a lot of quite frankly exhausting interactions with politicians, civilians, blah blah blah, they'd finally found a quiet area to watch the fireworks by themselves.
The team's all scattered, but Bob has stuck by Yelena's side the entire time, and Yelena has just returned from buying the two of them cotton candy and a bag of caramel popcorn.
"Do you have a preference of blue or pink?" Yelena asks, holding a stick of each.
Bob stares wide eyed. "Uhh... I'm okay with either."
Yelena hums, taking a piece of the blue for herself and popping it into her mouth. "We share both, then."
Bob smiles, grabbing a bit of the popcorn for himself. "Thanks, Yelena."
Yelena grins at Bob. "Anytime, Bob. Are you ready for the best show in your life?"
Bob nods and scooches just a bit closer to Yelena, as the two of them settle on their blanket and get ready for the show.
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The fireworks here are much bigger than the ones she watched as a kid, and she delights in seeing all the different types that shoot up into the sky.
She whoops and cheers, pointing out all of her favourite ones to Bob who ends up watching her reaction more than the show above.
Throughout the show, she ends up leaning half onto him, and he doesn't seem to mind, keeping a steady presence for her to lean on.
"Ooh look, Bob!" She points up towards the sky, guiding his gaze to where she wants it to go. "These are my favourite!"
He looks up towards where she points to see a burst of green sparkles formed into a circle, like a giant round flower. His eyes widen as a small smile forms. "Wow, that's gorgeous."
"Yeah, that's my favorite color," she smiles too. When she looks at him, her features seem so relaxed and her expression so jovial. She's having so much fun… more fun than Bob has ever seen her have.
"I like the blue ones," Bob's own smile widens, and the two of them giggle together like schoolchildren as they both turn back to the show above.
"Hey, Bob, thank you for this. This was a great idea. I'm so glad you're with us." Without even looking at her, Bob can hear the smile in her voice, even over the boom of the next white and red explosion.
"Me too. I'm so happy to be here." He answers, glancing back towards her without her noticing.
Bob feels a warmth inside then; it starts off very small, right near his heart, and it grows out until it covers his whole chest and moves down towards his stomach. It's a very comfortable, peaceful sort of warmth; rich and inviting. And the more he gazes at the girl next to him, the stronger it gets, like it's coming just from the sight of her.
And that's when he realizes that maybe, just maybe, it is.
Yelena's body is already against his; she's cozy where they sit on the blanket. Bob moves his hand, which had been in his lap, towards hers on the blanket, feeling the back of his hand graze hers.
She doesn't seem to notice, all too focused on the show in the sky, but when he goes to gently clasp his hand against hers, she squeezes back.
Bob feels a bit of a fluttering movement in his stomach and he can't tell if it's nerves or something brighter, but he holds onto her hand nonetheless.
Her skin is softer than he'd expect, though the underside of it has calluses that have been hardened over and over again over the years. He likes how the calluses feel, and he traces his fingers over them, doing his best to memorize them.
He knows his memory doesn't have the best track record, but this is something he hopes will stick.
Not just the calluses, but the entire memory. He holds this moment in the palm of his mind, gently, carefully, and does his best to replay it over and over again until he's sure it's ingrained there to the best of his ability.
He still has his bad days, but with Yelena, with the Team, everything feels a lot less hopeless. The Void inside of him feels much less all consuming. He feels like he can actually have a handle on it, that he can get through the dark days.
And it's moments like these, that make him realise that there are bright days. There are things to look forward to. There is still good in the world.
The fireworks in the sky are loud, messy, but they're also beautiful, with so many colours that lay over them and fight off the darkness as the sun sets below the horizon.
With each cheer or delighted noise Yelena makes, Bob feels the warmth in him grow and he finds himself whooping as well, pointing to certain ones that make his light shine brighter, and he feels utterly carefree.
The constant weight that looms over him is gone in this moment, and all that truly matters is that the sky is bright with colours, Yelena is happy and so is Bob.