AN: Bam! Four in a day...
Cosmogony: (n.) A theory or story of the origin and development of the universe.
Nathan couldn't stop a small smirk when he heard the faint scuff of feet from behind him. "Are you stalking me, Parker?"
Audrey snorted as she came around to sit on the bench beside him. "Please, you wish," she said.
"Then how'd you find me?" Nathan asked curiously.
"I've learned that you Wuornos' are a fairly predictable people," Audrey pointed out drolly. "You always come here when you want to think."
"And you're here because...?" Nathan prompted, distantly wondering why he wasn't more bothered by the fact that she knew him so well already.
"I was bored," she said and shrugged. Nathan grinned at her nonchalant answer as she relaxed back into the bench, tilting her head back and staring up at the sky. They sat in quiet for a few minutes until she asked, "So, are you a Big Bang guy?"
"What?" Nathan asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"Big Bang Theory," Audrey explained. "You know, the formation of the universe thing. Do you believe in Big Bang or something else?"
"I don't know, I've never really thought about it much I guess," Nathan answered. "You?"
"I'm a Big Bang person," Audrey said. "It's the one that makes the most sense really, I think. At least that's the one all the evidence points to right now."
"Who would've thought you'd actually commit yourself to something logical just because of a little evidence," Nathan teased. Audrey elbowed his side but he only noticed because he saw her moving out of the corner of his eye. "No theories on aliens or supernatural phenomenons?"
Audrey rolled her eyes dramatically. "Just because Haven doesn't comply to the normal laws of the universe doesn't mean the rest of it doesn't," she said simply.
Nathan nodded thoughtfully and then turned his gaze up at the stars. It was a mostly clear night, only a few wisps of dark clouds obscuring the glittering heavens. He regarded them for a moment and then said, "I think there's more to it than just some explosion though. There's got to be some sort of higher power that caused it, that brought all of those particles together to start it all off, I mean."
"You think?" Audrey asked and she leaned her head sideways to glance at him. As she did a lock of her hair fell and brushed ever so slightly against his neck, and he had to withhold a shudder. "Like some sort of great power of Fate that puts things where they're supposed be?"
"Well not puts them there, exactly," Nathan corrected. "More like just nudges them in the right direction."
Audrey hummed and then nodded, looking skyward again. "That makes sense," she agreed idly. There was a long pause and then she said, "Do you think that applies to everything? Like not just the stars and planets, but the people too?"
"Sure," Nathan said.
"So we're here, doing this, because it's what we're supposed to be doing," Audrey continued and Nathan sensed the shift in her voice, from playful musing to a serious question. "Because this is where we're meant to be. Where I'm meant to be."
And the only answer he had to that was, "Yes."
"Okay," Audrey said and settled herself into the bench again. Nathan smiled at her simple acceptance of it and they lapsed into a comfortable quiet together, both staring up at the stars above them. They were so many, and so far away, but Nathan was positive that among that enormous galaxy, whether it was fate or not, he was exactly where he should be.