𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐩𝐭.𝟐

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The first thing that Natasha sees when waking up in the morning is your painting, hanging above the dresser. The tiny stars, the night sky, the ocean — all of it was painted by you, more than a year ago, in Paris.

It's also the first thing she puts into a bag and carries to the new apartment, where she carefully leans it against a wall in the living room. She takes a few steps back as she inspects it, trying to figure out where it would look the best.

It was your idea to move to New York, and you were the one who started the conversation about it. Natasha, having thought about exactly that for a whole while, suddenly had her doubts — you moving to New York meant leaving your life, your friends, your job and everything you built behind. It seemed like something so selfish she couldn't possibly make you do it, and even your constant reassurance that you want this too didn't really help.

But it also meant being together permanently, so it didn't take long for her to change her mind. After all, it was what she'd been dreaming and thinking about for what seemed like an eternity.

She found the apartment just a few weeks ago, when mindlessly scrolling through apartment listings online. This one instantly caught her eye, so she sent you the link — and you, to her surprise, immediately told her to book a viewing. That she did, and she fell in love with the space as soon as she entered it. Not only is it spacious, with huge windows and lots of natural light, but it's also newly renovated and not too far away from the compound.

You love it too. Natasha sent you about a hundred pictures of all of the rooms in different angles and from various viewpoints, and she even recorded a video touring the apartment. You, rewatching the video over and over again just to inspect the apartment and listen to her quiet voice describing everything in detail, quietly agreed with her — this is it.

Naturally, your girlfriend went and bought the apartment as soon as she could. And now, not that long after, she's standing in its living room, silently wondering whether the painting should go next to the doorway or across from the window.

Her phone's quiet buzzing makes her stop in her tracks, and a quick glance at its screen magically causes a smile to appear on her face. She picks up, her voice ever so soft when she says hello.

"Hey, love. I just needed to ask about that green card thing, because you said SHIELD would take care of it and that they need some documents and whatever. I can't find my birth certificate, so..."

Natasha listens as you keep babbling, her eyes filled with a hint of amusement. She knows this entire process is stressing you out, and when you're stressed, you tend to talk one's ear off. Anyone's ear — but hers is preferred.

"You can request a copy of it, honey", she says when you're done. "Just send it to Fury, you have his email."

"Okay, I'll do that. Thank you." You pause, finally able to take a deeper breath. "How's the apartment doing?"

"Great. I just fed it, now it's taking a nap."

"Idiot."

She laughs. "Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer."

You roll your eyes. "Now you're just being unnecessarily mean."

"Sorry." She goes outside to the balcony, seeing the early morning view of the city in front of her. Something inside her flutters when she remembers that soon she'll be sharing this view with you. "My flight's next Saturday. How far are you with packing up?"

"God, don't remind me. I've got, like, four full boxes and about seven empty ones so far. This is a disaster."

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. And the boxes you already sent?"

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