We had been able to get quite a bit accomplished before Scott had even arrived. We left one of the extra bedrooms that he would call his for when he got here. Since he was buying the bedding and some odds and ends for the room, we just made sure the dresser and bed with bedside tables were ready for him. Y/K/N had brought some things over and we had taken him with us when we went shopping on the days he was not working.
Chris wanted to buy himself some more clothes to keep here so of course that meant he wanted to do the same for my son and I. He never wanted to worry that we had forgotten to bring something when we went back and forth or have to take time to buy it when we got there. Y/K/N was definitely not used to just buying things without worrying about the price tag. I always shopped for sales when he was growing up and I've found shopping with Chris can be different. He was definitely frugal with his money, but with some of the things he was buying for our new home, he didn't seem to worry too much since we would only have to do this once.
Chris made sure we had winter coats and boots, along with anything else we needed. The weather wasn't too much different when it came to seasons, the winters weren't as bad here though. Of course we didn't have anything but a mall or the main department stores. When we were at the mall on a day Y/K/N was at work, I tried to just be my normal self and shop for things I normally would. I had told Chris I appreciated everything he bought, but I was buying everything on this day.
I had him disguised pretty well. We thinned his beard a little since he grew it like it was his job, no effort necessary, it grew fast. We dressed him in things that he wasn't usually seen in. This meant no Red Sox or Patriots fan gear. I told him it would be funny if he wore a Captain America shirt and he just gave me a look. Laughing, I tried to lighten the situation, placing my hands in the air, palms facing him defensively. "Okay, okay fine. No Cap shirt. But you have to admit, nobody would expect you to be wearing it. How about an Iron Man or one of my Bucky shirts that Sebby gave me?"
This time he put his hands on his hips and gave me the same look. Laughing, I turned to speak while I grabbed a Disney shirt we bought while we were there to throw at him. Before I could get it out of my hands and in the air, I myself was in the air. Chris closed the distance and wrapped me up in his arms and lifted me from behind. Leaning his cheek against mine, he spoke rather seductively.
"I can put something in you that has to do with Captain America instead of on you and I'm not talking about tee shirts."
Of course, this kind of talk made us later going out shopping than we had planned.
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At first, Chris was a little guarded at the mall. Eventually he calmed down the longer he went unrecognized. When he wore shirts that had longer sleeves and weren't as tight, he wasn't as easily detected. I bought some Yankee candles and we went to Bath and Body Works.
We hadn't been holding hands but Chris occasionally would put an arm around my shoulder or waist when we talked or were looking at things. We'd casually wrap a few fingers together if we were in a store deciding on buying something.
I wasn't normally one who shopped in Victoria's Secret but as we walked by, Chris veered off toward the door after grabbing my hand. Looking up at him, I found a sly smirk as he whispered. "Oh, we're definitely going in here, and I am paying for whatever you want along with whatever I may want."
I decided to play coy. "Chris, are you going to start wearing women's lingerie?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. I have never gotten that bathing suit Scott had you try on out of my head, so I want to pick some stuff out for you and that's what I'm saying is for me."
"I smiled and reached up to kiss his cheek before responding. "Anything for my Butterbean."
The boy went overboard. I let him pick everything out and some of the things made me wonder what the point of wearing it was because it basically looked like ribbon that was in the shape of a triangle. After shopping in there we headed back to the car because we couldn't carry anymore. Chris was carrying so many bags that it actually made me giggle.
I had printed some of my favorite pictures of us so I could frame them for the house. Chris had added some of his family and I did too, plus I was lucky enough to have pictures of Scott and I and then some of the three of us. I also printed some of my family to put in the Massachusetts home when we went back. I hadn't even made it to the house in California yet since we had decided to live together with both of our schedules and it being so far away. I would get those pictures done later.
This meant I needed to buy picture frames so we made sure that was marked off the list. We found a few throw blankets for the sofas and some odds and ends like pillows for the sofas. We had stocked the house up pretty well by the time Scott was set to arrive. That would only leave my storage unit with things I had kept after the divorce. Most of that included family things or anything I saved from my son's childhood. I had left room for the baby pictures and things like that when I was setting the newly printed pictures up on the walls.
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Our house:
Front porch:
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We had given Scott the code to the gate at the end of the driveway so he could just come in when he got there. This way we didn't have to make sure we were there since we didn't know his exact time of arrival but we were there anyway, sitting on the porch. Once Scott parked, Dodger jumped out and headed for Chris, then he ran to me. He seemed like he didn't know which way to go after being cooped up in the car so long.
On his way to show Scott around, I caught Chris giving me the softest look while I was showing Dodger his bed and new lion stuffed animal. After he twirled around and laid on his back twitching every way on the bed while scratching his back, Dodger scooped up the lion in his mouth and went in the direction Chris had gone. I jumped up and followed right behind him because I wanted to see what Scott thought of everything.
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Our Living Room:
We had tried to keep with the theme of the farmhouse. One thing we changed was that we opened up the kitchen to the Living Room a little more. This was part of what Chris loved in both of the other houses.
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Our Dining Room:
We hadn't done too much with the dining room yet.
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Downstairs bathroom:
The downstairs bathroom was kind of basic for now.
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Den:
Chris had set up the Den for football games and Mario Kart tournaments.
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Scott's room:
Scott's room, which would also be used for other guests when he wasn't staying there, was the first one we got to.
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Y/K/N's room:
We let Y/K/N choose which room he wanted. For some reason he chose a smaller one and had chosen a simple style for his room. He said less space meant less mess.
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Extra bedroom:
Another extra room was done and the Mickey bathroom was across from those bedrooms.
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Our bedroom:
Chris and I had set our room up with neutral colors.
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Our master bathroom:
He had designed the master bathroom with a few surprises for me like the larger bathtub. I figured the large shower and the tub that had room for two probably were designed with other things in mind.
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Chris had packed clothes to keep here and a few other things like shoes, books and anything he didn't always want to have to pack when going back and forth. We also bought duplicates of things like underwear or socks so we didn't have to pack to switch houses. After helping Scott bring in a few things he wanted to keep here along with the boxes we had packed for him to bring we had to go out to the grocery store.
Of course we would run into people here and there and I knew that. Unfortunately on this trip, it was one of the people I didn't care to run into at all.
She saw Scott first and started talking to him. Chris and I were down the aisle a little bit but we couldn't escape. As soon as I heard Scott talking I turned around to see who he could have found that he knew. The person's back was facing me along with Scott's face. His expression made me giggle until I saw why he had the disgusted look on his face.
It was my exes new wife. She had met Scott when I signed my divorce papers but as soon as she looked at the direction Scott was looking for help from, she zeroed in on Chris. She knew now that Chris was indeed my boyfriend and had been for a while. I just hoped she was alone.
She sidestepped Scott as soon as we made eye contact and she spotted Chris. I only had time to mutter one word, 'shit', before she was in front of me. Chris looked down at me as I looked up before we heard her.
"Fancy running into you here Y/N."
"You know we have a house here Liz."
"That doesn't mean I would expect to run into you at the store. I figured someone with the status of Chris Evans would order all the things he needs and someone would deliver them." She was staring at Chris, clearly star struck, and it made me giggle a little under my breath. She noticed and continued her thought. "I'm sorry, I don't mean that in an ugly way, I just wouldn't want people always coming up to me when I was out and asking for pictures and autographs and whatnot. I'm sure it gets tiresome."
Looking up at Chris, I smiled as he put his arm around me, catching on to who this woman was as soon as I called her by her name. Scott had made his way to us, although he was pretending to look at things on the shelves around us while his eyes kept glancing at Liz.
I answered her stupid comment for Chris. "Well Liz, actually, you're the first person to come up to him like this. We've been shopping here and there all week and nobody has recognized him. If they did, they didn't call it out."
I didn't even attempt to introduce them, I didn't feel the need. It didn't stop her though. "I'm Liz, Y/K/N's step mom." She stretched her arm out, still staring at Chris with a huge smile. She was definitely a fan, Scott and I witnessed that when I was here signing my divorce papers.
I felt his arm squeeze me tighter as he spoke. "Ohhh, okay. I know exactly who you are." I heard Scott snort as he had come around to stand beside my side opposite of Chris. This was ridiculous, none of us wanted to sit here and fake a conversation with this lady so I put it to rest.
"Okay, well, we're in a hurry. We have delivery people coming soon. We had to order a bunch of new furniture for this house since we'll still be living in Massachusetts as well as here and not moving that stuff down here. Plus we have to get the t.v. set up before their team plays Y/K/N's tonight. You know how boys like their football, so enjoy your shopping."
Liz looked at me with a look I couldn't place. She almost looked like she wanted to be my friend, but hopefully she knew that would only happen when hell froze over. She tried to keep up the conversation, probably so she could oddly stare at Chris longer. "Well, I guess I'll see you around here and there or at some family functions since we kind of share a step-son. I guess for you it's in a 'boyfriend of his mom' kind of way, but I know how that goes, he's easy to love."
Chris nodded and leaned down and kissed the top of my head as I watched her eyes follow the entire movement before he spoke. "He's a good kid and I've enjoyed getting closer to him." I had narrowed my eyes at her when she called my child her step-son and Chris noticed. Reaching down with the arm that had been previously wrapped around me, he intertwined our fingers and we turned to finish our shopping as Scott took over pushing the cart.