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The mission was long, bloody and tiring. What Valentina had first thought was a simple recon mission turned into an ambush.
A chaotic shootout. One they barely made it out of.
But like usual they managed.
Yelena had blisters on her feet and her blonde hair was caked in in soot by a nearby bomb. She was sure the others were hurt too. John especially as he complains about his nearly broken shield and his sprained wrist.
He was such a crybaby. Yelena thought as she sat down in the quinjet. She opened her phone to no new messages.
That’s weird.
Bob would send her check in messages from the time when she was away. But no messages were odd.
“You up” She types. There’s a pause- then a message bubble with three gray dots.
“Yeah”
“You took way too long to answer.”
“Sorry, how's the mission?”
She lets out a heavy breath before typing, “It’s over, a couple bumps and bruises but we’re alive.”
There’s another pause. Nothing.
“Bob.”
“Sorry, busy with something, when will you be back”?
Yelena bites her lip, then looks at her watch, “Probably in two hours.”
“Okay.” is the response she gets.
“You ok”?
“I’m fine, he says back quickly then another message under neath,
“I miss you.”
She felt something tug at her heart.
“I’ve only been gone a day, you dork.”
“That’s too long.”
Her boyfriend was so needy sometimes if it was anyone else she would find it annoying.
“I’ll be back soon.” She sent a smiley face for good measure.
She smiles when she gets a dancing elmo gif in response. She turns her phone off and sits back against the seat. Yelena doesn’t even realize she falls asleep until wakes up to a crash of lightning. Yelena sees the familiar NYC skyline, the flickering lights of billboards and the tiny colonies of people on the sidewalk. She watched as the rain splatter on the window, turning the world into a dull haze.
Home Sweet Home.
They finally landed on the top of the Watchtower. Yelena rolls her shoulders and cracks her neck. However the ache in her bones remains. She longs for a hot shower, the softness of Bob’s sweater against her cheek. She wonders if he’s still awake. It was after one am, she imagined him sitting in one of the lounge chairs drinking tea.
“Everybody off, debrief in the morning.” Yelena hears Bucky say. His voice is low and gravelly. Yelena can feel the sleep in his voice, knowing that he probably stayed awake the entire journey back. Her phone buzzed,
“You’re back.” Bob says,
Yelena smiles at the message, “You stalker, you’re supposed to be sleeping.”
He barely sleeps as it is.
“The tower shakes when you land, and I wanted to wait for you, come to the kitchen.”
“Now?”.
“Lena…”
“Alright omw.” She heads to the kitchen.
She expects a steaming hot cup of cocoa. A warm hug and soft kisses to her hairline. The thought makes her smile. Their relationship is fresh, barely three months old. However it feels like something has shifted. She’s spent her whole life trained, controlled and dimmed down. She thought The Red Room had stolen her heart and shredded it. Bob had found it and started putting the pieces back together.
When Yelena finally walks into the kitchen. It’s dark, minus the heavy boom of thunder and flashes of lightness. Yelena blinks, before her eyes adjust to the golden flame of tall yellow candles. Bob, in his faded graphic t-shirt and sweatpants, is standing in the middle of the kitchen with a cake. The young woman takes a step forward taking a closer look. The cake is a round but a decent size, a rich vanilla color. The cake is warm and inviting but something catches her eyes.
“Lillies.” Yelena asks.
“Um, I did some googling and your name means light, lilies mean joy”. Bob just shrugs, his eyes darting to the left,
“You bring a lot of light and joy to me so…” Yelena laughs at his nervousness.
“This is stupid.”
Yelena shakes her head, he was so hard on himself.
“No, No, she leans over and kisses his cheek, “It’s sweet.”
“You didn’t have to do this for me.”
“You mentioned your birthday was in May.”
Yelena stares at him, her eyes widening.
“I mentioned that once.”
“I remembered.” Bob says it's the easiest thing in the world. Yelena briefly remembered flower cupcakes and sparkly party hats when she turned four. Her mother’s voice singing happy birthday in her ear. Then she was sent to the Red Room.
Celebrating her birthday felt like a silly fairytale now. She didn’t even know the actual day. Her files were lost a long time ago.
“You didn’t have to do this.” She says again.
“I know but I wanted to.”
Yelena takes another glance at the cake, she sees the little decorative flowers near the candles melting. She can’t let a perfectly good wish go to waste.
Yelena leans down and blows out the candles. Once she stands up, Bob reaches over and turns on the lights. He dims them, setting a small intimate feel. Bob gives her a small clap of applause as Yelena curtsey.
She reaches over, but stops, almost taking a step back. Bob grabs her wrist,
“What.” He asks, she can feel his thumb gently rubbing her skin.
“I wanna hug you but I stink.”
That makes Bob laugh, he pulls her close again, they are chest to chest. He gently places her hand on his hip.
“We can just shower together, "Bob whispers.
“Any excuse to touch me.” She teases and Bob snorts.
Silently Yelena feels Bob’s hand on her back. She leans up, her hand brushing curls from his eyes. She smiles, she sees the beautiful sapphire in his eyes that makes her melt in her boots.
“Don’t act like this is one sided.” He leans down, his eyes glancing at her lips before resting on her eyes.
She rolls her eyes, a soft chuckle in her throat.
“Never said it was.”
Her hand travels to the back of his neck. Her eyes fall on his lips again, his mouth slightly open seeing the soft pink of his tongue.
His softness, his warmth.
She notices the little freckles he has on his cheek. She thinks about the ones that’s on his back. Late at night, she loves tracing them making little shapes and letters.
“Is this too much?” Bob’s voice breaks into her thoughts. She blinks thinking she heard him wrong.
“What.” She asks, meeting his gaze again.
“I know I sprung this on you right after a mission, you’re tired and I made-
“No.” She says, Bob abruptly stops. Yelena continues,
“It’s not too much, she presses her forehead against his. He tightens his grip around her waist.
“You’re never too much for me Bob.”
“Never?” She sees his eyes widen, she’s amazed at how he still has doubts that she wants him around.
They sleep in the same bed, share clothes, and attend the flea market almost every weekend.
“Never.” Bob smiles, his small crooked smile that can set the whole world on fire. He lifts her chin and presses his lips against hers. They fall in a familiar rhythm, their bodies pressed together, gentle tugs on each other’s hair. Happy sighs that could turn into moans if Yelena isn’t careful.
Screw careful!
Yelena moves the fabric of Bob’s sweater away. He shivers feeling her fingertips on his back. Not from her being cold, but from wanting.
It’s crazy how much she wants him. She gasps as Bob picks her up and places her on the counter. Her fingers are now raising on the back of neck. His lips are soft, moving from her lips to her neck.
“Bob, what kind of cake is it?”
“Guess.” Is all he says before placing a kiss on her jaw.
“Hmm, strawberry filling”.
He shakes his head.
“Hmm, Lemon.” He kisses her forehead. She wrinkles her nose.
“Nope.”
“Chocolate.” Bob smiles, pecking his lips, “And?”
“And.” Yelena leans back,
“You’re full of surprises.” Her fingers combed through the curls on the back of his neck.
“I’m going to say vanilla because of that cupcake we had last week.”
He smiles, bumping their noses together again.
“You got me.” He says as she tucks some curls around his ear. His hair was a little shorter now, she loves running her hair through them.
“There.” She whispers, “I get to see your pretty face.”
She giggles at the way his cheeks turn slightly pink.
“You’re beautiful too.”
She presses her forehead against his, he brushes their noses together again. His hands rested on her hips. His grip is firm but she still feels his thumb caressing the outline of her suit. He’s soft. Regardless of what he’s been through he remains soft. He’d take a piece of himself to make sure someone is okay. She wants to tell she loves him. That the butterflies have been fluttering the moment she saw him after the battle of New York. But instead she says nothing. Hoping these silences fill the void. It’s peaceful here, a piece of the universe carved out for them.
“We should-we should try the cake now, " Bob says after a few minutes.
“Okay.” Yelena replies back.
Neither of them move.
Yelena feels Bob’s hand on her face, fingers caressing the faint scar on her cheek she got from a mission last month. His lips are soft against it, however Yelena wants more. They kiss again but she scoots closer, her arms wrapped around his neck as they kiss. He hums into the kisses, sliding her forward, wrapping her legs around his waist. As always her hands tug on his curls, causing him to gasp like he’s been touched for the very first time. He melts into the gesture, cupping her cheek, a desire to steal her breath over and over again.
So he does.
It feels like hours when he pulls away, their lungs are burning, lips bruised. Bob brushes Yelena’s hair back, seeing her lips curl into a smile. Her greenish brown eyes are bright.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” Yelena rolls her eyes at his cheesiness but pecks his lips in thanks.
“Cake now.” She asks.
Bob grins, barely able to hold back his excitement.
“Yes please.”
They removed themselves from the counter and grabbed a plate. They both took huge chucks.
“Oh my god, Bob.”
Yelena cries out, as she praises the gods she has that her boyfriend is an amazing cook.
“Really.” Bob takes a bite too. She’s right, it's amazing. Yelena reaches over and squeezes his hand. Bob squeezes back.
The mission was messy, the whole world could literally blow up tomorrow. But in this moment though she was happy, safe and laughing with her favorite person.
A person who proved time and time again that she can be loved and loved deeply.
Definitely a birthday to remember