A few days after graduation, Denise packed up everything she owned into boxes. The day had finally arrived, it was time for her to move out of her shared apartment and move in with her fiancé. Chris had been waiting a long time for it to happen, he'd been ridiculously patient and accommodating but everyone knew he'd enough of living between places. Denise was excited too, it was going to be nice to start the next chapter of her adult life. Her apartment was great but living there made her feel like she was still a university student, a kid who wasn't ready to get married and settle down. Though she wasn't ready for that just yet, she felt that in order to make progress she needed to step away from that part of herself. It was going to take time, that she knew. She was just grateful she had someone as supportive as Chris, who always gently encouraged rather than pressured.
It was because of Chris' supportive nature that allowed the continuation of their long engagement. She still felt guilty but she felt a little better knowing there was a compromise. Before he had no timeline, now he knew if she couldn't find even the slightest success by the end of the year they'd end their long engagement. Denise wasn't naïve, she knew the journey was going to be on a long and winding road with a lot of sharp turns and roadblocks. She wasn't yet sure if it was a journey she was ready for, in fact- all she could think of was how terrified she was of it. But like Chris would always tell her when she disclosed her fears, "you have to throw yourself into doing what scares you." And because she trusted him, she was going to dive right into that pool of fear by meeting with the producers Chris had set her up with.
When she first heard Chris had gone out of his way to get her meetings with producers throughout what was left of May, she thought she'd faint. Statistically speaking, she was sure 99.9% of the meetings she was going to attend weren't going to have positive outcomes. She was actually preparing herself to be rejected the second she stepped through the door; a scenario she didn't think was unrealistic. She knew what it looked like having Chris do what he did, even if she didn't ask- she was going to suffer the same negative repercussions she would've if she did. Hollywood was great at assumptions and they were going to assume she believed she was entitled for a meeting because she was Chris Evans' fiancée.
That wasn't how she wanted to start out, she'd wanted to be professionally as far away from his name as possible. The initial plan had been to look for an internship and start from the bottom up, but she couldn't turn him down after seeing how excited he was. The meetings were a graduation gift, an act a faith that went above and beyond. She appreciated it greatly; his belief that she'd do great things. She just hoped he wouldn't be too disappointed when she came home with rejections because it was going to happen. She wasn't being pessimistic, that was reality. It was going to be a lot of hard work and she was more than happy to work for success. She wanted to take the path less taken, she wanted to let Father Time to do his thing. Chris did all that which was why he was where he was today, she would've been proud to do the same.
However, it didn't matter what she would've been proud to do because she was being pressured to use Chris as an advantage. It wasn't him doing the pressuring, as always he only gently encouraged. The pressure came from her not wanting to hurt his feelings, and surprisingly, both moms. They understood the reasons why Denise didn't want to but they were getting antsy about when their children were going to tie the knot. If using Chris as an advantage pushed that wedding up then they were going to make sure she used him as an advantage. They didn't understand why they were dragging it out, they'd actually pushed for a wedding after Chris finished his Marvel contract. They argued that "Denise can still study and pursue a career while being married." But Chris knew the real reason Denise wanted to wait so he defended her decision even though he did agree with the moms.
While it was partially because Denise was worried people wouldn't take her seriously if they only saw her as his wife, she was also worried about being married. It wasn't a huge concern of Chris, he knew it wasn't about him; the girl loved him dearly. He knew it was the concept of marriage that scared her. She wanted the life she wrote about, they both knew that, but they didn't know if she was ready for it. Was she ready to be a wife, to be a mother? It was scary and she was scared, he could tell and he didn't blame her because she was only twenty-one. At twenty-one, he was doing something far from being a husband and father. Denise wanted to get married and have kids, but she didn't know if she could handle it while trying to find her place in the world; she preferred to have found her place before she took on all that.
It was sensible and Chris was okay with that, with waiting a little longer. It was something he'd told her repeatedly, and again with more emphasis after reading what she'd written him in the notebook. How could he not? The words she'd written from cover to cover assured him that the love they carried for each other wasn't going to change with time. As eager as he was, he wasn't going to force her to put the cart before the horse. If she wasn't ready, she wasn't ready; a successful marriage was never the result of a rushed one. He loved her more than the idea of getting married and having children, so as long as she wanted to wait- he'd happily wait. After all, Chris was with Denise as Steve was with Bucky, "till the end of the line."
As sweet and selfless as that offer was, she couldn't take him up on it. The reality was that Chris was thirty-eight and wasn't getting any younger. In the Hollywood Industry, especially for someone starting out, there was absolutely no certainty. Even with Chris' help, it was going to take years- decades even, for her to find success and gain recognition. Chris was a great example of that statement. He was remarkable at what he did, he had great films like 'Puncture', 'Snow Piercer', 'Gifted', 'Before We Go', and 'Red Sea Diving Resort' under his belt. Yet somehow, he was drowning under Captain America's limelight.
Nothing ever went according to plan in an industry as unpredictable as Hollywood, no one expected certainty or stability from their jobs. Director, actor, producer- things changed in a blink of an eye. It was only fair that she promised him until the end of the year, it was June now so she had six months. If December rolled around and she was still struggling to find even the slightest success, she was to momentarily put her career on the back burner so they could start planning their wedding for the September of 2020. It had been discussed and agreed that a Fall wedding was going to be beautiful.
Chris entered Denise's cleared out room to find her sitting on her naked mattress with her black cat plush cradled in her arms. He chuckled. The cat was a gift from him, he'd bought it for her as a joke because he enjoyed reminding her how she was basically a cat in human form. Chris watched her with a cocked head. She was looking around the room, lost deep within her thoughts. All her personal items had been boxed and hauled into the U-Haul he'd rented, whereas all the furniture she'd acquired over her time in the apartment remained in the apartment. Chris knew Denise was having a little trouble leaving the apartment she'd called home for two and a half years, just like Sebastian knew Luca would too whenever they decided to start on the next chapter of their lives. The apartment was filled with memories even the men weren't ready to let go of but it was time, time for all of them to move on.
"Hey," Chris knocked on the door and Denise looked up. He smiled at her and she smiled back, hugging her black cat plush to her chest. "Other than you," he chuckled as he walked over, "this is the only kind of cat I like." He poked the cat and she giggled, "inanimate."
"You're an idiot," she chuckled. He sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her as she leaned her head against him. "I don't want to go," she admitted with a whisper and he sighed, kissing her hair. "It sounds ridiculous because I haven't lived here for that long, but it feels like the end of an era."
"Well, it's kind of an end of an era," he shrugged. "You lived here as a college student, leaving this place is like saying goodbye to that part of yourself." She nodded in agreement, pouting. "I know how hard it is, it's always hard saying goodbye to a place you've called home."
"I was the one who found this apartment, did you know that?" She quizzed rhetorically and he nodded, recollecting the stories she'd told him. "Luca was too preoccupied with her studies so I went apartment hunting. I found it mid-October and had to live by myself until December when Luca's lease ended with the college dormitory. I liked the quiet but I was genuinely terrified about ninety percent of the time," she told him with a chuckle. "I was flinching at every sound I heard in the middle of the night, it was awful."
"My poor baby," he cooed and she giggled, leaning into him as he squeezed her. "If I could go back in time, I'd go back to take care of you during those lonely months, shield and all." He joked and she smiled, kissing him on the cheek. "Don't worry, that's never going to be a problem ever again. It's you and me against the world now, kid."
"And me!" They both jumped when they heard Luca's voice, looking around the vicinity for her. As it turned out, Chris had been sitting on his walkie-talkie earlier and Luca had heard it all. He pulled it out from his back pocket and laughed as Luca continued, "don't you think for a second you're stealing my better half, Evans. We were an old married couple long before you came along."
Chris hunched over, laughing as he took his arm off Denise. He held down on the button, responding with a sarcastic "I'm terribly sorry, Luca. Unfortunately you're not the one who put a ring on her finger, the girl's mine now." His hand grasped Denise's tightly and she laughed. "Like Beyoncé said, if you like it then you gotta put a ring on it." They couldn't hear it but they were sure Luca was laughing her head off. "Is Sebastian there? I'm also talking to him when I say that," he added teasingly before releasing the button. He waited for a response.
"Stop," Denise chuckled, playfully swatting his arm. "It was funny the first time, now it's just getting old." Chris didn't think so. He snorted then laughed silently, holding the walkie-talkie against his ear. "And you promised, no more engagement jokes. Just leave him alone, he'll do it when he's-"
"Fuck you, Evans," Sebastian's voice came through, interjecting. Chris and Denise burst out laughing as Sebastian continued, "think I can't get a few cheap shots in, huh?" They could anticipate what he would say next from that comment. "What are you aiming for, the World Record for 'Longest Engagement'?" Denise scoffed with a involuntary smile while Chris tried to stop laughing. "I'll propose when you get married. Out of respect, of course. I couldn't possibly overtake my senior with the whole marriage and kids thing."
"Fuck off, Sebastian," Chris chuckled into the walkie-talkie. "I'm turning this shit off before you open a can of worms I don't have a container for." Denise knew what her fiancé meant, but she still laughed because it was an odd addition to an old expression. "Honestly," he commented as he turned the device off.
"You started it," she reminded him.
"I know," Chris grinned and slipped his hand into hers. "I guess that means he's proposing next October then," he pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. Denise smiled at the thought of marrying her soul mate, then felt her stomach flutter at the thought of getting married. It was excitement, not fear. It had to be excitement, she was excited to marry him. "Are you okay?" He asked when he saw the angst contorted in her facials.
"Are you nervous?"
"About what?" He raised a brow.
"Getting married," she swallowed. "'Cause I am, and I'm worried that I am." Chris chuckled, gently squeezing her hand. "'Cause I shouldn't be because I love you, so-" She felt her heart beating rapidly against her chest at the thought of walking down an aisle. "Why am I so nervous?" She pulled her hand out of his and pressed it against her chest, right over where her heart was.
"Because you're turning twenty-two in two months," he answered. "Getting married is a huge step, Denise. You're incredibly young, it's only normal for you to be nervous about it." She let out a shaky breath, nodding in acknowledgment. "But I'm turning thirty-eight tomorrow." His hand wrapped around her wrist and he pulled her hand away from her chest and pressed it against his instead. "I am not young and I am calm enough for the both of us. Whatever it is that's worrying you, or causing you angst- we'll work it out together. You just have to be honest with me, whatever you're feeling- you have to talk to me. I won't know unless you talk to me, you have to talk to me," he asserted. He was afraid they would repeat history if she didn't. They were too close to the finish line, they couldn't fall now.
"I will," she nodded. "Believe me," she gave his chest a gentle pat. "I've learnt my lesson, I won't let anything get in the way of our relationship ever again." She assured him and he smiled, patting her hand. "And it's not like my doubts are with you. I know I want to marry you, it's just- it's scary."
"I know," he nodded. "It's okay to be scared, it's a big change. But hey, we can do it. We're going to do more than do it, we're going to knock it out of the damn park." He smiled at her, drawing a smile from her. "And you're going to do the same at your meeting with New Line Cinema on Friday, and every meeting after." Her smile wavered but only for a brief moment, its strength return with Chris' positivity and encouragement. "You got this, we got this. Power couple, right?" He held up his hand to high-five her.
"Power couple," she agreed with a chuckle, giving him a high-five. He smiled and locked his fingers with hers mid high-five, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. "Okay," she giggled as she untangled her fingers from his. "Let's finish moving," she rose to her feet, beckoning him to his. "We've taken up enough of Seb and Luca's day."
"It's fine," Chris waved his hand nonchalantly, getting to his feet. He wrapped an arm around her and steered her out of her bedroom and towards the front door, "they said them being my salves for the day was my birthday present, so obviously I gotta milk it. I'm thinking they can make us dinner tonight, or buy us dinner. Dealer's choice," he shrugged and she laughed. "Speaking of birthday presents, I don't want you getting me anything because the notebook was more than enough. I feel like I'm too old for-"
"Presents? Well," she teased with a smirk, "I better go get a refund from Victoria's-"
"You didn't let me finish," he growled playfully into her hair when he kissed the top of her head. "I was going to say, 'I feel like I'm too old for superficial presents. Just give me a six pack and my girl in lace, and I'll be a very happy man.'" He grinned and she laughed. "So don't get a refund, I'd love to know what Victoria's secret is."
"Don't worry, you'll get your six pack and this girl in lace." She winked and he chuckled. "But unfortunately for you, old man, you're getting your superficial presents too. By now you should know I'm a 'plan-in-advance' kinda girl and your presents have already been bought," she poked his side and he shook his head with a smile. "I like giving gifts, you know that. I'm practically Santa Claus. And what are you worried about? It's not like I can afford anything extravagant considering I'm a recent graduate who only works part-time as a waitress. I just got you things I know you'll like and use, like a cute baseball cap."
"See, you've got nothing to worry about." She looked up at him with a raised brow. "Perfect wifey material right here," he teased and squeezed her against him; she laughed and looped an arm around his waist. "Absolutely perfect," he whispered as he planted a kiss on the top of her head.