Building a headcanon on this headcanon...
One night they're really invested in the book and getting close to the ending, so Bob keeps reading to her during a late night dinner and afterward, when she's curled up on the couch.
Yelena's eyelids start to get heavy. "You know, I think this trick of yours is actually working."
Bob glances up from the page, marking the chapter with his thumb. "You're falling asleep?"
Yelena's voice is thick and raspy. "Yeah, I should go to bed, but I still want to hear the rest of the story."
Bob swallows. "I could, um...I could read the rest to you in bed. I-if you want."
Yelena blinks. She does want that. More than anything right now. "Yeah. Come on."
They shuffle into Yelena's bedroom, where she turns on a soft lamp and flops onto her mattress, burrowing into her duvet and arranging a fluffy pillow under her head. She lies on her side facing Bob, who shimmies up next to the headboard and clears his throat before resuming his place.
His voice is low and lulling, the most soothing sound Yelena has ever heard. She closes her eyes, letting its cadence and vibration wash over her.
It isn't long until she's peacefully dreaming. Bob notices her breath deepen, her body go soft, but he doesn't stop reading until the last page. He pauses, reveling in her beauty for just a moment before clicking off the lamp and making to get up.
The shifting sheets make Yelena stir.
"Bob," her voice emerges in the dark, and it's a small voice, vulnerable, almost a plea.
Bob stiffens, his heart skipping. "Yelena?"
"Stay," she says. "Please."
In the darkness, she can't see his lips curl into a smile. She only feels him sink back into the mattress, hears his exhale as though he was holding his breath.
"Of course," he says at last. "Of course I'll stay, Yelena."
It's Yelena who silently closes the distance between them, placing her hand on his chest.
But it's Bob who takes her hand in his. Threads his fingers with hers. Lies awake a little longer, wondering how the hell he got so lucky.
"I'll always stay," he whispers.