She cautiously entered the room taking great care to keep the sound of her footsteps at a minimum. She felt silly for being nervous, like a child afraid of being caught doing something bad, but she was in a foreign place without a friendly face in sight. She made her way to the kitchenette and stood in front of the Nutrition Replicator. A strange giggle escaped her mouth. Everything about Terra was like a surreal dream, or an episode of Star Trek.
Her stomach growled. When was the last time she ate? She eyed the Replicator again, recalling the delicious truffle it had produced earlier. She wondered what else it could replicate.
With an ounce of hesitation she placed her hand on the designated corner of the glass and ceremoniously closed her eyes. A burrito with chicken. No, carnitas. Cilantro-lime rice, beans, extra cheese. Sour cream and guacamole. When her eyes opened again they fell immediately on a plate with the most generously sized burrito she had ever seen with wisps of steam curling up into the room. She picked up the plate with two hands and carefully carried it to a nearby table, placed it down and took a seat.
She inhaled deeply. It certainly smelled real. She picked it up and bit generously from one end, closing her eyes as her mouth absorbed the taste. Artificial or not, it tasted like the real deal and reminded her so much of home.
Home. The word made little sense to her anymore. How was she meant to reconcile with having lived her life in one world, only to be told that she was from another? It was easier to accept the knowledge that another universe existed, but to also come from it? And then there was the other thing. Eva told her that the Thanatos family was the first ruling monarchy of Terra. She saw for herself her name on the genealogical chart next to others; a mother, aunts, and a sister. If they were part of the ruling monarchy, then didn’t that mean she was part of it as well? What did that make her, then? Some sort of princess?
A laugh erupted from her gut and her hand whipped to her mouth to keep the food from spitting out. She swallowed and tilted her head back, the laughter roaring out of her loudly and shaking her abdomen. Zoe Thanatos, princess of an alternate universe named Terra. She laughed, full-bellied and louder than necessary with tears streaming from her face for what seemed like five whole minutes, her food discarded on the table.
The muscles in her abdomen were aching by the time the laughter began to subside. Even her mouth was sore. As she calmed she felt the peculiar sensation that she was being watched. She glanced to the left and found a pair of green eyes ardently observing her from the doorway to his personal residence. The laughter subsided and left a trace smile that grew half an inch at the sight of him. She had to part her mouth to take in a breath of air, hoping it would abate the increasing rate of her heart in her chest.
I should have kissed you. The memory of their last moments together came to mind as she looked at Evan, who was even more handsome than she remembered. In the short amount of time she knew him she had more than once shared her physical space with him; in her living room, at the restaurant overlooking the Channel Islands, and again in her backyard. She never wanted to be kissed so much in her life.
“Evan,” she breathed. Her heart was still beating fast, pumping enough blood through her body to heat her from beneath the skin. She stood, the back of her knees pushing the chair away hastily, and walked towards him, her heartbeat pounding in her ears as he approached her, each of them closing the gap. Her arms circled around him as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. His arms circled around her torso, holding her body close to his. She had to stand on her toes to reach his height. He smelled so clean and warm, like soap and fresh laundry. Her body relaxed. Being in his arms felt like the only non-artificial thing in Terra.
Her breath expelled in slow drafts against him and when she opened her eyes she saw his skin was prickled with goose bumps. Her lips were close enough to touch his skin, but she resisted the urge to do so. She stepped back from his embrace and let her arms fall to her sides as her feet brought her back to her own height.
“Your laughter is the most beautiful sound,” he whispered softly.
The air between them felt electrified, a charge that not even a simulated atmosphere could deny. The way he looked at her, like he thought he’d never see her again... No one had ever looked at her like that before, so filled with relief and longing. His hands were on her shoulders, still holding her close to him in their shared space.
“I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I was hoping I’d see you,” she whispered back.
Evan bowed his head, resting his forehead tenderly against hers. He, too, was attempting to normalize his breathing, his chest rising and falling in front of her.