The Hacker and The Heroes

Settling

     They stood like that for what felt like an eternity and a moment all at once. His arms enclosed her, and for the first time in her, life Nadia felt like she was truly home. Nadia hadn't had that growing up. She had a house with two parents who put food on the table, but a home? No. She merely had a dwelling that protected her from the elements.
In every way, it fit society's standard of what a home should be. Every year they would send out Christmas cards in which the three of them posed in front of the mantle and pasted on broad grins. However, on closer inspection, the grin was held in place by a loose, shoddy glue that fell away at the slightest disturbance. Their eyes had nothing in their depths. No warmth and no gleam. But, as Nadia looked into Tony's eyes, she saw all of that and more.
At this moment, they existed in perfection. Two souls that were meant for one another were finally weaving together.

The Billionaire was the first to break the silence- "So, how long have you known?"
They parted from the embrace, and Nadia turned towards the iron staircase. As she began to descend the stairs into the living room, Nadia began to answer his question. "Not long. The day you sent me home with the samples I ran the first of the tests. Since I have never run my own DNA, I had no way of knowing what the results would be."
    Tony nodded and settled down onto the cold leather couch opposite her before gathering his thoughts. "Why did you hesitate to come to me? Were you ever going to?"
    Nadia's breath stuttered, and she looked to the side. "I was also worried you would accuse me of manipulating the results. To answer your second question- I am not sure. Logically, I know I couldn't have avoided it forever, and I was coming to terms with it, so it is safe to assume that yes, at some point, I would have come to you. I was scared, Tony."
    Tony looks at his beautiful soulmate and feels an immense desire to just grab her and kiss her senseless. He could tell she wasn't ready for that, though, so he held himself back. His mind wandered back to the warmth he felt when they had hugged earlier, and he took a moment to capture that memory in his mind before speaking again.
    "I understand, Darling. I wish you would have felt comfortable coming to me, but I understand why you didn't. My relationship with the media hasn't colored me in a.... great light. Plus, soulmates normally meet in person, which leads to a completely different reaction set. I am just so glad that we are here together now."
    There is a brief pause. Above them, dust particles floated lazily in the light streaming in from the city outside. While airborne, they rarely ever touched, but two particles collided between Nadia and Tony and began to a horrific swirl down to the apartment floor. They seemed hopeless- these two particles. They were used to their independence, you see? Together they hadn't hit an equilibrium, but then a third dust particle interrupted their descent. They crashed and moved horizontally to the floor. Speeding as if not sure whether to continue their journey downwards or to reach for the heavens. It didn't make much sense according to physics, but to this very day, I would swear to you that those three dust particles didn't weigh one another down, but instead, they rose.
    Reality came rapidly back into view as if seen through a pair of refocusing eyes. Nadia and Tony still sat in silence. Both terrified of breaking it. Then Tony, as if remembering who he was, brazenly asked, "So, Doll, how about you and I cut past this awkwardness. You, me, and a date. Tomorrow night. I'll pick you up at six."
And before Nadia even got a chance to respond, he was out the door.

-end scene-
A/N:
Guess what, you guys. Another Hurricane just hit us. I am singing the 2020 song from TikTok in my head at the moment. What a ride- am I right?
I am not IN LOVE with the scene above, but they discussed some logistics that I felt were crucial to their relationship. It felt kind of forced to me, but I hope that y'all can see why and the direction I am steering it. Now that they have come to terms with everything and the truth has been revealed, the book is about to have more "cutesy" moments and I am so so excited! Bruce has been pushed back a chapter more, so now it will be three (maybe four, but I am really feeling three) chapters until he gets here. I am screaming!! 😍
Once again I want to thank everyone for their support. Our power was out for a number of days and when I came back and saw the votes.... I think I might of cried a little bit. The amount of encouragement I get from y'all is more than I could have ever hoped for. Thank you ❤️