Fated (A Chris Evans Series)

Mr. and Mrs. Evans

Chris and Denise stood facing each other under the floral arch; Dodger sitting in-between their legs, looking up at them. Hands in hands, with their bridesmaids and groomsmen standing on their respective sides, and their guests watching with tear filled eyes and overjoyed grins- they all waited eagerly for their officiant to start. Their officiant, Mr. Robert Downey Jr. because their wedding wasn't already perfect enough.

Neither Chris nor Denise had expected Robert to be the officiant. In fact, there hadn't even been a discussion had. Robert had been invited as a guest, but decided he would show up with a certificate proving he was an ordained minister capable of a officiating a legal marriage. Both Chris and Denise had been busy preparing for their ceremony, so Robert spoke with Tina instead knowing she was too big a fan to say 'no'. He said, and Tina quoted back to Denise in the bridal suite, "the second I found out they were engaged, I got ordained and starting working on the script for the ceremony. You have to let me do this, there is no one who wants them married more than me." After hearing that, Denise couldn't decline his offer. Even without that card pulled, she would've never said no to The Godfather of Marvel. He was Robert Downey Jr. and nobody in their right mind would've said no to him.

"You kids ready?" Robert asked.

"Mm hm," Chris and Denise nodded.

Neither Chris nor Denise could stop smiling as they gently squeezed each others' hands. They felt as though they'd waited their entire lives for this moment. Cliché or not, that was exactly what it felt like. It felt like they'd returned home after years and years of wandering in the wilderness. She was safe and secure, loved and wanted; she was home. With Chris, she'd found a home.

"When I first heard the story of how Chris and Denise met," Robert began, smiling at the couple. "My initial instinct was to laugh at the fact that Chris Evans spent his free time reading fan fiction about himself." Denise laughed along with the crowd, whereas Chris involuntarily smiled. "And I did, we all spent quite a lot time making fun of him on set. Every time he pulled out his phone, a comment would be made." Denise tried not to laugh as she pouted mockingly at Chris, who was chuckling with a shake of his head; the complaints he made were still seared into her memory. "But after reading Denise's work, I understood. I got why he wanted to immerse himself in her material, why he wanted to find the girl behind the stories, and why he fell in-love with her."

Denise turned away from Chris to look at Robert. She smiled and earned a smile in return. This was the first she'd heard about Robert reading her series. She didn't know if she should've been flattered or embarrassed considering the things she wrote. It was simply evidence of her full-blown fawning over Chris, his good friend and co-star. She had nothing to be embarrassed about, of course, and she was about to find out why.

"Her writing didn't only hold an incredible amount of talent, there was something pure and magical about the way she wrote. She created worlds with words, provided a safe haven for those who needed an escape, and depicted a love so strong that it touched everyone who read it. Myself included," he told Denise and she felt her eyes well with tears. Chris noticed and quickly squeezed her hands gently, smiling so she'd smile. "Chris fell for Denise before he even knew her name, he fell for the soul embodied in her words and the heart she wrote with. And that is the point of this story, that these two have always been destined to be together. They may have been born into this world at different times and in a different place, but every passing day- they were slowly making their way towards each other. These two amazing souls brought us all here today where we will stand witness as they bind themselves together forever in holy matrimony."

Robert's words melted the hearts of all; every single word that left his lips were true. Those who knew the couple, those who'd read her work- they knew the truth. There was a reason Denise collected such a loyal group of readers that were now here at her wedding. Perhaps it was destiny, as Robert said. Those who read Denise's series agreed, they had all seen a possible future for her and Chris. She may have wrote in second person, leaving her readers in the shoes of the protagonist. But repeating what Robert said, Denise's soul was embodied in her words and she wrote with her heart. As relatable as her character was, there had always been a face behind the nameless second person protagonist.