Every New Beginning... (Chris Evans AU)

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  Spencer lets out a loud laugh before noticing me still sitting. "Oh!" He turns back around, ushering the young woman over towards me. I stand up for the introduction. "Chris, this is my sister, Tinsley. Tinsley this is Chris. He's the one I ran that sting with back in December."

  "Ah! The famous Chris Evans." She gives me a wide smile, making her green eyes twinkle. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She holds out her hand out in front of her. I take it, giving her a firm but yet gentle handshake. 

  "Nice to meet you, Tinsley." She gives me an almost unnoticeable look up and down, while playfully biting her lip. 

  I'd be lying if I said my heart didn't speed up a bit at the attention.

  "Is, um, are the steaks done yet?" Laura asks or rather almost stutters out, still standing in her spot by the door. Spencer pops the grill open once more. He makes a small incision to check the tint of pink. 

  Tinsley leans over his shoulder. I notice him roll his eyes before speaking. "I pulled yours off to the edge. I know you prefer your cow to still be mooing," he jokes. She playfully nudges him with her hip. "Beer is in the cooler by the way."

  "I'll get the salads and potatoes. We'll eat out here, I suppose?" Laura asks, her hands now wrung together in front of her. She almost looks panicked. 

  My eyes narrow, watching her. "You need any help with that?" I ask.

  She waves me off before going back in, but I notice her looking back at the three of us for just a moment. 

  I move from in front of the chair I was occupying in the shade, and pull it out for Tinsley to take as I take the one that sits with more of the sun shining over it. "Such a gentleman," she teases. "How'd you get to be friends with this guy, Spence?"

  "Ha, ha," he mumbles as he carries the steaks over to the table. I notice Laura coming back to the glass door, her hands full. I jump up and pull it open for her, taking the salad bowl from her hand. 

  With the patio table filled with a spread of food and drinks we begin to eat. Small conversations of trying to get to know each other going around each of us. 

  "So where have you been that you've not seen each other in so long?" I ask the siblings. 

  Tinsley is in the midst of chewing a bite of her bloody steak so she holds one finger up, asking me to wait, while giggling behind her other hand. "I'm a photo journalist. I've been working with National Geographic on a couple of documentaries. I've had very little downtime and would've spent all of it just traveling to try and get back to the states."

  "How long you here this time?" Spencer asks.

  "A bit," she answers before taking a pull from her second beer. "I'm gonna stay with mom and dad before I head to Beijing."

  "Beijing? Impressive," I mutter between bites of salad. 

  Tinsley shrugs her shoulders, a mile wide smile on her lips. "What can I say? I'm good at what I do." 

  I return her smile, but as I go back to my meal I notice Laura looking at Spencer suspiciously. Spencer hasn't really been looking back at her too much either. 

  "Evans here is pretty good at his too. He's moving up in ranks just as quickly as humanly possible it seems like." He points his fork at me. "What's next? Captain?"

  I chuckle at the admiration. "Not anytime soon."

  "Don't be modest," Tinsley says somewhat quietly, placing her hand on my forearm. "If you're good at what you do, you should exude confidence in it." She runs a hand through her tight curls, turning towards me a bit more. "And I get the feeling you are not a 'fake it til you make it' kind of guy, Sergeant."

  I feel my lip twitching in the corner, and maybe even a heat creeping up my neck.

  I'm startled when I hear Laura's fork drop to her plate, a loud clanking sound echoing off of the dish. "Spencer," she says assertively, "a word." She goes quickly into the house.

  Now, that look I've seen before. In fact I was on the receiving end of it at the hospital after Opal was admitted. It's not a fun side to be on, and by the look Spencer tosses to me and his sister, he knows it's not going to be a pleasant word. 

Laura POV

  It's not that I don't like Spencer's sister. 

  It's the fact that she reminds me of myself. 

  And she's acting towards Chris the same way I did that first night at Decker's.

  That's my concern.

  I pace the kitchen, waiting for Spencer. When I hear the door slide shut I whip around, shooting daggers at my husband. "What the hell are you doing, Spencer?"

  He takes a few more steps into the kitchen, resting his hands flat against the counter. "I'm having dinner with my wife, sister and friend," he answers, looking out the back window towards the patio.

  I walk closer to him, make myself eye level with him. "Now look me in the eye and answer that question again.

  He takes a shaky breath, dropping his head to his chest. "I'm having dinner with my wife, my sister and my friend," he pauses, picking his head up to look me in the eye, "and keeping a promise to Opal."

  My eyes grow wide, but not near as wide as eyes of the man who now joins us in the kitchen. 

  "What promise to Opal?" Chris asks.