Every New Beginning... (Chris Evans AU)

.94.

  By the time I get back to the carriage house Chris is passed out on the couch, snoring lightly. I stand directly in front of the couch, my hands on my hips.

  "Tease," I mutter quietly with a smile on my face as I gather some bed clothes from my small suitcase and move to the bathroom.

  I can only imagine how exhausted he is at this point in the day. I'm assuming he drove, but maybe he flew and grabbed an Uber here. Either way, I refuse to wake him up, no matter how much I want to. I decide to settle for just the comfort it gives me to have him close, knowing when I wake up in a few hours he'll still be here.

  After a quick, and quiet, shower I finish my nightly routine. Once back in the main room I see he's shifted position from his back to his left side, facing the edge of the couch. His snoring has ceased which means I need to move quickly to fall asleep before he starts back up again. 

  I tuck myself into the twin bed with a smile plastered on my face, feeling like everything is right in my world.

~~~~~

Chris POV

  'Damn it,' I think to myself as I open my eyes. I can't believe I let myself fall asleep while waiting on Opal. I rise up on the couch, resting on my elbows to notice she's sound asleep in the bed, her body covered by the yellow comforter.  

  I pull my cell out of the pocket of my jeans, shocked that I fell asleep with it there as well. It lights up, telling me it's 5 AM. I've already lost hours with her. I try not to dwell on that as I sit up further, pushing my legs off the side of the couch to where I'm sitting up completely. 

  Time to put the birthday plan into motion. I shuffle quietly into the small make shift kitchen, opening the cabinets directly under the sink. I pull out the two dozen red and white roses from their hiding place. I pull the petals off before carefully showering Opal where she sleeps. They fall upon the comforter, resting in her hair, against her neck, brushing ever so lightly against her skin.  Using what is left of them I decorate the small kitchen table that will soon house another part of the surprise. 

  As silent as possible I pick up Opal's phone to check what time her alarm is set for. It looks like she has multiple set but the first will go off at 7 AM. I change the ringtone to the alarm, trying to keep my chuckle to myself before slipping her keys off the top of her purse. I unlock the door, open it, spin the bottom lock and close it behind me softly.

  It takes me close to an hour to run all the errands I need to, adding in what I hope will be a pleasant surprise for Opal by filling up her gas tank for her. There's not a whole lot of options on locations that are open at 5:30 AM, but I make it work. 

  Carefully, I turn the key in the lock, holding my breath, hopeful that she's still asleep. The door creaks as I push it open, glancing quickly over to the bed, thankful to still see a very peaceful Opal. In fact, the closer I get, I see she hasn't budged since I scattered the petals. 

  I work quickly to complete my plan. Once finished I see that it is just two minutes before Opal's alarm is set to go off. I could lay back down, and wait for her to come to me, but I really want to see her expression when she wakes up so I decide to lean against the door frame of the bathroom, her body facing towards me. And as I watch the clock change to seven, her alarm goes off. 

  "Good mornin, beautiful. How was your night? Mine was wonderful with you by my side. And when I open my eyes and see your sweet face, it's a good mornin' beautiful day."

  I watch as she stirs. Her brows furrow in confusion, knowing that's not what her alarm sounds like. Her eyes blink open slowly, landing on me immediately. The sweetest smile begins to tug on her lips as I take a few steps towards her. She stays right where she is, still unknowing of the bed of roses she's sleeping under. "Hi," she whispers.

  "Hi," I reply, crouching down in front of her. "Happy Birthday, beautiful." Gingerly I brush her hair out of her eyes, careful to not disturb the surprise. 

  "So it wasn't a dream," she mutters behind her smile. I shake my head from side to side slowly. Opal lifts her arm out from under her covers, reaching up to touch my cheek. That's when she notices a couple of petals slip off the comforter and onto the sheets. "What?" she sits up a little, looking all around her. "Chris," her voice soft like a light breeze through the trees on an early spring morning. 

  "I wanted you to have something special to wake up to," I admit as I stand and climb on top of the bed with her. It's a tight fit considering I'm not a small guy and this is just a twin bed. 

  "Having you here is enough of a surprise."  She shifts slightly to her back, leaving me even less room on the bed. "Seriously. I'm still in complete shock and awe."

  "Good." I lean in to kiss her forehead. "Gotta keep you on your toes." 

  "You certainly accomplish that, babe."

  "What time do you have to be back inside?" I ask, hopeful to steal a few more minutes alone with her. 

  "Actually I think I've got some time I can spare. What do you have in mind, Sergeant?" Her smirk with that statement could very well be the death to me. Instead of voicing several inappropriate things I ask her to reset the alarm on her phone.

  I take it back out of her hands and lay it on the nightstand. "Now, roll over." I motion for her to roll onto her other side. She looks back at me confused. "Just do it, woman."

  Opal rolls her eyes but finally turns over, I scoot off the edge of the bed bringing my chest closer to her back, wrapping my arms around her waist. I realize Opal must have her eyes closed because she hasn't mentioned what rests on the shelf across from the bed. I wait patiently for her to notice it, but yet she still says  nothing. I lean my head over her just a bit to see that it looks like she's falling back asleep. Which I can't say I don't have daydreams about this type of moment. Cradling the love of my life while we sleep, dreaming of our future together. But our time is fleeting at the moment. 

  I do give her a few moments, gently caressing her arm with my fingertips before resting my hand on her hip. Now, at the perfect position, I knead my fingers into her side tickling her awake. 

  "No! Stop!" she whines out, squirming against me. 

  "I'll stop when you open your eyes, love," I assure her. 

  "They're open!" she cries out, turning her head to give me proof of her statement. My fingers stop their attack.

  "Now, look."" I point to a shelf on the wall. She lifts up, resting on her elbow to see it more clearly. On the shelf is a painting of us from New Years Eve, outside the Broadway theatre. Off to the side are the words "My favorite place in the world is next to you."

  Opal sits up further, rising from the bed entirely to get a better look. "It's incredible," her fingers gloss over the hand painted image. "How did you do this?"

  Sitting on the edge of the bed, I reach out my hand, taking her hand into my own. "I did some research and found someone who could take a photo image and paint it onto canvas." She turns back to me, moving to stand between my legs. 

  "I love it," she says bringing her lips to meet mine. "And I love you," she whispers against my mouth. 

  I find myself humming against her lips, bringing my hand up to cradle her face, keeping her in this place for just a few more moments. But, all good things come to an end as her next alarm goes off. "Time to make the coffee," she says as she steps away from me. 

  "Already done."

  As she turns towards the small kitchenette she sees the table set with her favorite items from Cafe Shay, along with a tumbler of coffee, ready and waiting. "You've thought of everything."

  "I tried at least."

  She takes a seat, lifting the coffee to her lips. "How did you manage all of this? You should've been sleeping." 

  "I'll sleep when I'm dead." I give her a wink. "I'm not about to let the celebration go to waste, no matter how little time we have."