You wake up to an empty bed. You stare at the ceiling for a long moment before propping yourself up on an elbow to look at your daughter’s bassinet. It’s empty too, and a thick cord of lightning panic shoots through your chest for a split second before you relax. Wanda’s side of the bed is still warm and there’s soft sounds coming from the baby monitor on the side of the table. You and Wanda had been fiddling with it earlier and must not have turned it off; despite your daughter sleeping in your room with you, you had been setting up her room for when she’s older, including the high-tech baby monitor your dad had insisted on getting you.
You don’t hear your daughter screaming, which is a good thing. Ever since you and Wanda brought your little bundle of joy home neither of you have gotten much sleep, but neither of you had been happier about it.
Instead you hear singing through the baby monitor, the faint streams of humming and lyrics you can’t quite make out, and you instantly know where your missing wife and daughter are. You slip out of bed, shivering in the cool night air, and creep down the hall to where your daughter’s room will be once she’s old enough to sleep on her own.
As you reach the doorway, you spot Wanda rocking your daughter in the faint moonlight: you haven’t put up the curtains yet and the streetlights moon and the streetlights create a rectangle of warm light across the room. Your daughter fusses, one clenched fist escaping from her bundle of blankets and waving wildly around. Wanda hums softly to her, and your heart clenches until you’re so full of love that you feel like it’s going to blossom out of you. “You are my sunshine,” Wanda sings, more whisper than song, “My only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.”
Your daughter finally settles against Wanda with a small yawn, tucking her fist under her chin and staring up at her mom with wide, intelligent eyes. “Hey there baby girl,” Wanda murmurs, “You worked up quite the fuss there didn’t you?” daddy’s trying to sleep, so you’re going to hang out with me here for a while so we don’t disturb him, ok?”
You carefully lean against the doorway, silent as you can be so as not to disturb this moment, somehow falling more in love with your little family than ever before.
“I know you haven’t been here that long,” Wanda continues, “but I’ve been dreaming about you for forever. Long before we knew about you, like all the way back to when I didn’t dream that I’d be here. I felt like I had nothing left in this world, but then I met your papa.” Your daughter makes an adorable gurgle and reaches up towards Wanda’s face, making a grabby hand.Wanda chuckles and shifts her around until she can cradle her in one arm, allowing her other hand to be claimed by tiny fingers. “I love you so much more than you could ever know, baby girl. You and your dad are everything I always wanted but never thought I’d get, and I don’t care how many tantrums you throw or teenage rebellions stage, I’ll spend the rest of my life guarding your heart and loving you with all of mine.”
You can’t fight the urge to step forward, making your presence apparent to Wanda. She spins on her heel with wide eyes. “Uh, honey,” she stutters, “How- how long have you been standing there?”
You just shake your head, quickly crossing the room and wrapping your wife and daughter in a tight hug. “I love you so much,” you whisper, “You’re going to be the best mom ever.”
Wanda melts into your embrace, your daughter caught in the middle, “I love you too,” she murmurs.
Your daughter coos from in between you, and both of you smile down at your perfect little bundle of light.
“And I love you so much, too,” you say, leaning down to kiss the wispy hair on her forehead. She gurgles in contentment and promptly falls asleep.
Wanda looks up at you with sparkling eyes, and your heart swells, leaning down to kiss her again, and again, and again, and again until your daughter shifts against you with a sleepy murmur, her fingers now tangled in Wanda’s hair and your slim fingers, holding both of her parents close.
You can't tell if someone else is in the room or not, but you can feel a cold and eerie presence. In which direction you can't tell, as different pressure radiate everywhere -under the floorboards, by the one window, even behind you. You try to call out, but it's as if you're underwater. Your voice sounds warbled, fuzzed, distorted.
You feel something grip the back of your shoulder, and you're paralyzed with fear when a shadowy outline slowly circles around, revealing it to be-
"Y/N!"
You jolt awake, sitting upright, the room darker than ever. It takes a while for your eyes to adjust to your new environment, and even when they're starting to make out the outlines of the things in the room, you still feel a sense of panic. You take shaky breaths, attempting to calm yourself sown. When you realize that the grip on your shoulder is still there, you look to the side, greeted by a more-than-worried Wanda.
You sigh, rubbing your temples. "I'm so sorry. I..I don't even know-"
"Oh honey, you have nothing to be sorry for. Had a bad dream?" Wanda guesses softly, her eyes brimming with sympathy and you nod.
"Oh Y/N, I'm so sorry. I hate them so much."
Wanda can see that you're apprehensive about going back to sleep, at the risk of having another nightmare. "Come here, I'll help you."
"How?"
The sweet redhead goes quiet for a moment as she ponders and, after a moment of silence, she gently lays you back down and begins massaging your scalp.
"I'll sing for you," she whispers against your forehead, pressing a soft kiss to it before murmuring out a nostalgic Sokovian lullaby.
Wanda isn't one to show off, so not many people know that she can sing, but one of the many privileges of having her as your girlfriend is that you get to hear it anytime.
Her singing means so much to you. It puts you at ease and erases your mind of all the bad, whenever your'e feeling tired, sad or stressed. It's comforting, beautiful like no other, and in no time, your nightmare is forgotten.
You smile, relief washing over you as you close your eyes and clasp Wanda's hand in yours. "I love you, Wan," you mutter sleepily.
You can half feel her press a tender kiss to your collarbone, curling up in the frame of your larger body. As you're drifting to sleep, you hear, "I love you more, Y/N. Sweet dreams."
You take a deep breath, attempting to calm your nerves as you straighten your bowtie in your dressing room mirror. You adjust your cuff links and take one more breath, but before you can psych yourself out any more, your best man pokes his head through the door.
“It’s time?” You choke out nervously.
Eric nods with a reassuring smile. “It’s time man.”
He pats you on the back and you both make your way to the platform where Lizzie’s brother is ready to officiate the wedding. After the guests are all situated, the sound of the warm trumpet line of It’s Been a Long, Long Time drifts to your ears. You turn your face and set your eyes on the entrance of the aisle, where your soon-to-be wife will shortly appear.
When Lizzie appears, you feel like all the air has been sucked out of your body. She’s wearing a dainty flower adorned dress that appears to float around her, accentuating her body in all the right places. Her hair is flowing down around her shoulders, almost glowing in the sunlight. She looks like a goddess. She’s carrying a bouquet of wildflowers that she insisted on picking herself, and you don’t think you could be anymore in love with this woman.
She makes it to the end, her father kissing her on the cheek and moving to the side, leaving you two to take everything in. Neither of you can stop grinning, and you’re pretty sure you’re both tearing up.
Before you know it, you’ve said your vows and you’re slipping the rings on each other.
“You may now kiss the bride.”
You lean down to capture your wife’s -Wife! How crazy is that!- lips in yours, your hand slipping down to her waist to keep you steady. You weren’t about to give the audience a free show, so you separated from Lizzie and leant your forehead on hers, but kiss lasted long enough for the audience to start hooting. Chuckling, you whisper to her, “I love you.”
“I love you too, Y/N.”
----
After the most epic reception, you and Lizzie are grinning ear to ear as you make your way to your awaiting car, a 1957 Chevy Bel Air Convertible. You’re taking a staycation honeymoon in a rented cabin in the woods a few hours from where you are in NY right now.
You hold Lizzie’s door open, then jog around to the driver’s side and hop in, before checking that all your luggage is in the car and starting it up.
When you get on the highway, you crank up the radio and look over at Lizzie with a smirk on your face. Soon, the two of you are singing at the top of your lungs, wind blowing through your hair, and you couldn’t be any happier.
You sing and sing until you can’t anymore, bursting into laughter. Eventually, you turn on a slow radio station and settle down for the rest of the journey, basking in the fact that your wife is right here with you.
----
By the time you get to the cabin the sun is setting, reflecting on the still water of the lake. Lizzie is asleep in the passenger seat next to you, her head leaning on your shoulder. When you had realized that she had fallen asleep, you lowered the top of the car and turned the radio down, trying your best not to wake her.
You park at the end of the long, tree lined driveway, looking over to see if Lizzie has woken up. She’s still asleep, so you slip out of the car carefully and walk around to her door. You pick her up, bridal style -how fitting- and skilfully unlock the front door and carry her up the small set of stairs to the bedroom. You slip her into the covers and press a gentle kiss on her forehead, before heading downstairs to get your bags out of the car.
----
The next morning, you wake up to soft sunlight beaming across your body, the scent of wildflowers and spring air floating in through the open window. You blink a couple of times, stretching your legs as look down at Lizzie, her fist clenching the front of your singlet, her head buried in your muscular chest. You smile at her sleeping form, the way her face is completely relaxed her sun-bleached hair is a mess on the white pillows, haloing her in a ring of brilliant gold. She looks just as beautiful as always.
You turn very carefully, making sure not to disturb her, falling in love with the curl of her arm and the softness of her bicep and she adjusts to your movement, arm coming to splay across your back in order to keep you to her chest. You smile to yourself, overjoyed in her sleepy acceptance of your love, and curl tighter into her. Your hand comes up to twist into a strand of hair, turning it to let catch the light as you inhale the sweet scent of her perfume.
“Morning,” she mumbles, her nimble fingers coming up to wind into your messy hair, brushing past the light stubble starting to appear along your jawline. In response, you lean down and press a tender kiss to her hairline, caressing her jaw with your thumb.
“We’re married,” she whispers, grinning as you do the same.
“We are,” you hum. You want to pinch yourself. You almost can’t believe you’re married to the most amazing woman in the universe, that you get to wake up next to her for the rest of your life. She leans up and presses a kiss upon you lips and curls into you. Breakfast can wait, it’s nothing compared to morning cuddles.
----
It was a lovely day out, warm but with a slight breeze that cools your skin as you walk. You suggested to lizzie that you go on a morning hike. Sunlight peeks through the tall trees, reflecting off the greenery and the lake, filling you with a sense of awe as you get to appreciate mother nature up close and personal.
On the other side of the cabin from the lake, there are fields filled with flowers, everything so happy and colourful. Surrounding all of this are beautiful mountains, their peaks reflected in the crystal clear water.
You make your way down the path behind the cabin to start your hike, backpack full of snacks and a thermos of hot chocolate in hand. You tell Lizzie a joke you remember from high school, her green eyes shining bright with amusement as she looks at you with a suppressed smile. You continue to walk through the woods, following the beaten down trail.
An hour or so later, you reach the lookout at the top of the hike, the sun beaming down and your shirt long forgotten. A stream runs next to you, framed by beautiful flowers and tall, transcending trees whose branches curl outwards and are covered in luscious green leaves. The sun’s rays filter down through the leaves and make the running water look as if it’s sparkling, rippling with every rock it passes by. You take your PB&Js out of the bag and pour you each a cup of hot chocolate, savouring the sweetness of it.
After you both finish, Lizzie slides over and leans her head on your exposed shoulder and you lift your hand to brush the wild strands of hair out of her face.
“So...” you start, “race down?” “In your dreams, Y?N,” Lizzie replies, chuckling. You fake sad at her and flash your puppy dog eyes, but this just makes you both laugh even more.
“How ‘bout this instead?” She asks, and you’re taken by surprise when she brings you into a full-on kiss, which slowly becomes more gentle until you eventually pull apart.
You grin. “Actually, I think I like that better anyway.” Lizzie laughs, but you cut her off with another kiss, more tender this time.
When you seperate, her eyes are sparkling. She rests her head on your chest an whispers, “And they lived happily ever after...”
My face, thanks to this stupid eyeliner, looks just like it did when I left the house this morning. When, like an idiot, I still believed that the worst of this nightmare was over.