meet me at our spot | n.r x oc | ✓

7 - quantum entanglement

[natasha's pov]

I wake up laying in a lake. I wipe the water out of my face and sit up, looking around for Stefaniya and then remembering her sacrifice. I feel a part of me die inside with the loss of her, and yet there was this feeling of hope that Stefaniya might still be alive. I open my hand and the orange soul stone rests in the middle of my palm. My chin wobbles and I start sobbing.

"You did it, Stef."

I pull myself up to my feet and being the journey back to the ship, the pain of losing the love of my life weighing heavily on my shoulders.

- flashback -

Stefaniya and I are cuddling in our bed, our limbs entangled. My face is pressed to the crook of her neck, inhaling her sweet vanilla-cedarwood perfume.

"Hey, Nat?"

"Yeah?"

"I read an interesting article yesterday. Have you ever heard of quantum entanglement?"

I pull my head back to meet her eyes.

"I haven't, why?"

"It occurs when two particles become linked, and whatever happens to one immediately affects the other, regardless of how far apart they are. So even if you separate entangled particles by millions, even billions of miles, changing one of the particles will induce a change in the other."

"Okay..."

"It's like us. No matter how far apart we are, we're always connected on a deeper level. Like there's just an infinite string of yarn tying us together."

I smile.
"That's really sweet."

"Yeah. Ever since the Snap happened two years ago, I've been thinking a lot about life. So, just in case anything ever happens to us, I wanted to tell you about this. So if you ever feel lonely, just remember this conversation and know that I'm always with you. No matter what."

I admire the woman in front of me-- the woman who I was unprepared to invite into my life seven years ago, but so damn glad I did regardless. The woman who was raised to kill, and yet her heart remained pure and good through it all. The woman whose eyes have cried so many tears, but still continues to sparkle more every day and inspire me. The woman who loves so unconditionally and freely. I was raised to believe that love was for children... Love was worked for and earned. And when granted the honor of being in her very presence, she's stripped that belief from me.

I crash my lips onto hers. She tangles her fingers in my hair as I hold her face with both of my hands.

"I love you so much."

Stefaniya sweeps a hair out of my face.
"My love for you is unquantifiable, dear."

The world stops for just a second, Stefaniya and I grinning and lost in each other's green eyes. Right then, I realize that she's the person that I'm meant to spend the rest of my life with.

She pulls my head down and presses a soft kiss to my jaw. I hum in content, then pull away and look at her seriously.