Promptober!

Natasha is gone, again. She and her dance partner James are in Germany for the World’s Championships, which is a big deal for them. If they win, they would become the most wanted dancers of the world, every company would ask them to be a part of their shows, offer them insane pay checks, they would basically be famous.

Carol is thrilled by the possibility, Natasha is an amazing dancer, the best in her opinion, and she deserves to be known worldwide for her talent. But this would also mean that Natasha would be away often, dancing in every country on the planet, while Carol would remain in New York, sketching for the company she works at.

Some times, she selfishly hopes that Natasha and James wouldn’t win, that they would lose in the final. This scenario still gives them visibility, but it’s not the same as winning, they wouldn’t be too occupied.

For now, the couple is doing great, they are qualified for the quarter final and very confident about their chances to get into the semi final.

Natasha often calls Carol after her day of training, when it’s still the middle of the afternoon for the blonde. She is still at work most of the time, but today she is working from home, sympathy of her boss giving her the space she needs to be efficient.

The second Carol’s phone rings, she drops her pencil and answer the call, "Hey baby!" she says, the biggest smile on her face as she sees her girlfriend on the screen, "how you guys doing?"

"A little nervous to be honest, the quarter final is tomorrow and we’ve been training since 9 am.”

Just thinking of dancing for more than two hours is tiring for Carol, so she can’t imagine how exhausted they must be after an entire day, "Is James around?" she asks yawning and then the guy appears on the screen, "I am but I’m leaving. Natasha isn’t the only one who has to call their lover."

Carol chuckles, remembering a detail from the previous day, "He told me yesterday that he was very close from taking all his days off to join you."

"And you?" Natasha wonders, "I’d love to have you there too."

Carol sighed, she wishes she could be with Natasha, to support her during the competition, help her feeling better after a long day of training, but she is needed at work and can’t leave.

"You know I want to be with you," she eventually replies, the corner of her lips down, "I know," mumbles Natasha.

A long silence follows, Carol and Natasha just stare at each other through the screen until James speaks up, "Don’t spend the night on the phone, I need her at her best for tomorrow," he warns, Carol lightly chuckling before yawning again.

"You okay?" asks Natasha, suddenly concerned by her girlfriend repetitive expression of exhaustion.

"Yeah, I just… I have troubles sleeping lately," Carol tells as she rubs her sore eyes, the sleepiness and the light for her tablet not helping.

"Baby, you look like you haven’t slept in days."

"I’m fine," Carol assured, "I always feel sleepy around that time of the day but then it goes away."

"Well if you're sleepy then go take a nap."

"I can’t," Carol instantly replies, way too aggressively for Natasha not to be more concerned.

"What do you mean you cant’? Why?" the redhead asks, the worry in her voice making Carol’s heart ache.

"Because of you," Carol cries as her fist hit her drawing table. Closing her eyes, Carol rubs her temple and gets her thoughts in order, "I tried to take a nap yesterday and I couldn't because I felt cold, and alone."

"Carol I-"

"Save it," she shouts before tidying the mess she just did on her desk.

Glancing at her phone, she can tell that Natasha feels guilty, because she knows how much she means to Carol. She knows that the blonde feels like a part of her is away, like the best part of her life has been ripped out of her and now she is bleeding out. It’s not fair of Carol to blame Natasha for pursuing her dreams, she knows it but she also can’t help it, she loves Natasha and misses her every second of every day.

"Baby… I wish I could be there, you know," Natasha eventually says, trying to hold her tears by pursing her lips.

Carol looks up at the screen, "I wish you were there too," she whispers as a single tear rolls down her cheek.

"If we make it the final, I should be back in two weeks. Do you think we can survive that?"

Carol snorted, she would wait an eternity for Natasha if she had to, "Yeah, I think I can manage."

"Great," Natasha says softly as she stands up, "I have to go get dinner, I’ll call you again later, yeah?"

"Okay."

"Alright, I love you Carol."

Carol lets out a sharp breath, wishing the redhead was in front of her to say those words, "I love you too."