Yelena was satisfied right now, more than she had been in what felt like ages. She hugged Mika close, burying her face into his neck, her fingers gently combing through his hair as she snuggled against him in the steamy air.
This warmth, this closeness, it had always been her happy place, even before today. Whenever she was with her beloved Mika, all her worries, all her frustrations, melted away. That had always been the truth.
But today...today it felt different.
After everything he had done for her, every word, every kiss, every stubborn little act of devotion, her heart wasn't just calm.
It was bursting. It was overflowing with happiness. Especially after hearing him call her beautiful, not in vague platitudes, but with such raw, shameless detail.
A man, her boy, had looked her straight in the eye and told her she was one of the most beautiful women in the world. She wanted to scream it out, to shout it from rooftops.
To tell the world that Mika thought of her that way.
