AN: I think the description says it all. Just a short and fluffy family moment.
The song is Dutch; it's called 'Nu dat jij er bent' by Trijntje Oosterhuis, and I love it. I thought about it when I wrote about Elyssah's birth and I had to wiggle it in somewhere.
Fiyero was on his way to his father's study when he heard the singing.
His wife didn't sing very often – the only times he'd ever heard her singing, she had been singing to their baby daughter, both before and after she'd been born. Despite that fact, however, he recognised her voice instantly, and it made him smile. She always sounded so calm and carefree when she sang. As if it allowed her to forget about everything for a moment, and he knew she could use that.
Or perhaps, he thought as he reached the nursery, where the singing was coming from, it's not the singing that makes her so happy. Perhaps it's the person she's singing for.
Elphaba, dressed in a long, ivory-coloured gown that reminded Fiyero a bit of her wedding dress, was singing softly as she moved around the room, tidying everything up, closing the curtains and lighting a few lamps. She turned towards the cot and smiled upon seeing their baby daughter lying in it.
"Ik wist niet dat ik na één blik zoveel van je houden zou," she sang, lifting Elyssah from the cot and nestling the tiny girl in her arms, looking down at her. "Maar ik weet nu al niet eens meer hoe ik leefde zonder jou…"
Fiyero faintly recognised the song, though he couldn't name it. He also recognised the language – Munchkin. He thought he'd heard her singing it before – some kind of lullaby, perhaps. He gave up on trying to figure out the words almost immediately – it didn't matter what she sang; he was captivated by her voice in itself, and by the love and warmth in it.
She softly stroked Elyssah's cheek, then leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "Voor zoveel wezenlijke dingen, leek ik blind tot dit moment…" She started dancing, slowly at First, holding her daughter close to her. "En die zijn ineens zo zichtbaar nu dat jij er bent…"
Elyssah made a soft, gurgling sound, and Elphaba smiled down at her again, gently rocking her back and forth. "I love you, baby girl," she whispered. "I won't let anything happen to you, and neither will your Daddy. I promise. You're safe now…"
She started singing again, spinning in circles and moving around the room in a dance that was just for them, just for her and her daughter.
"Wanneer je in mijn armen ligt," she sang. "En zo tevreden naar me lacht, lijk ik alles te vergeten dat daarbuiten op mij wacht…"
He recognised the song now, specifically this part – she'd sang this to Elyssah before. When she'd caught him listening, she'd taught him the words of this final verse and told him what they meant.
He remembered. When you're in my arms and smile at me so contently, I seem to forget everything waiting for me out there in the world… She'd told him with a shy smile that she'd remembered the song and found it fitting, and he could only agree.
He watched with a soft smile on his face as his wife whirled around the room with their baby girl in her arms, her skirts swirling around her legs, her voice soft but clear in the otherwise quiet castle. He felt as if his heart might burst with joy in that moment, and as he looked at them, his family; everything he loved in this world… he knew that neither of them had ever looked more beautiful to him than they did right there, right now.
"Alle strijd en alle tranen," Elphaba whispered, slowly stopping her dancing and looking down at Elyssah again, "alle stille pijn verdwijnt…"
Fiyero translated in his head – all the battling and all the tears, all the silent pain disappears.
Elphaba brought her daughter up to face her, smiled, and rubbed her nose against Elyssah's. She opened her mouth, and Fiyero sang the final line with her.
"…en de wereld lijkt voor eventjes perfect te zijn."
Elphaba had looked up at him upon hearing his voice, and now she smiled at him, moving Elyssah to lie in her arms once more. "Hey."
"Hey," he said, moving into the room. He smiled at his baby girl and stroked her soft ebony hair for a moment, then put his arms around his wife from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. "She's beautiful," he said. "You're beautiful. And I love you. Both of you. So much."
She gently lay her daughter in the cot, tucking her in, before leaning back against her husband. They watched the tiny girl together for a few long moments.
"Sing for me," Fiyero said.
She looked up at him for a moment, then closed her eyes, resting her head back against his shoulder, and started singing the song again. He took her hand in his, moving his other hand to her waist, and pulled her in for another dance. A dance, this time not for mother and daughter, but for husband and wife. Elphaba and Fiyero. Green girl and Vinkun prince. Hero and sorceress. Fae and Yero. A dance just for them, allowing them to forget about the rest of the world.
When the song came to an end, he gently pulled her to a halt as well, pulling her closer and resting his forehead against hers. "I love you," he whispered.
She smiled and closed her eyes, then whispered the final line of the song for the second time.
"…en de wereld lijkt voor eventjes perfect te zijn."
And the world appears to be perfect for a moment.
And it was perfect. In every possible way, it was perfect, and he found himself wishing that he could live in this moment forever. Just him, the love of his life, and their beautiful baby girl.
"I love you too," she whispered, cupping his cheek with one hand, still smiling. "Yero my hero."
He kissed her. Perhaps this moment wouldn't last forever. Perhaps it wouldn't always be perfect. But it was perfect now, and that was all he needed.
The translation (roughly) of the first part (the one Fiyero doesn't translate to himself) is this:
I didn't know that would love you this much after just one look
But now I can't even remember what my life was like without you
It seemed that I was blind for so many vital things up until this moment
And they're suddenly all visible now that you're here.
I played around with the lyrics a little bit - the final line is actually the final line of the first verse of the song, not the final one, but I thought it was a beautiful line to end it with.
