Fated (A Chris Evans Series)

Happy Birthday, Baby

The morning of Chris' thirty-eighth birthday, Denise and Dodger woke before he did. The two snuck out of bed and quietly descended downstairs so Denise could start on breakfast as well as get Chris' presents in order. She wasn't lying when she said she got him things he'd like and use: baseball caps, plaid shirts, and socks. She did. But she also made him something with an indescribable amount of sentimental value: a montage of photos and videos of them throughout their relationship. She'd used Ed Sheeran's songs for the backing music- 'Thinking Out Loud', 'Photograph', 'Kiss Me', and 'Perfect'- because she could resonate their relationship with his songs. She smiled every time she listened to Ed Sheeran now, it was hard not to when he was going to be singing at their wedding. She was positive nothing she'd done or could've done for Chris on any of his birthdays was ever going to top what he did for her on her twentieth.

"Something smells good." Denise smiled when she heard Chris' voice. His soft footsteps followed closely behind him as he walked, he scratched Dodger's head as he passed him, then hugged Denise from behind as she finished serving up a feast: bacon, eggs, pancakes, hash browns, sausages- the works. "Morning, beautiful." He kissed her lips when she turned in his arms, humming, "mm mm. Happy birthday to me," he mumbled against her lips.

"Happy birthday, indeed." Her smile widened, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Do you want gifts before, or after breakfast?" She quizzed and he smirked. That was the only answer she needed. "Before it is then," she giggled. She pulled her arms away from his neck and took his hand, leading him over to the couch. "Close your eyes," she instructed as she tugged him along, beckoning Dodger along too. "Okay," she told him when they arrived in front of the couch, "now sit."

"Are you talking to me or Dodger?"

"Both." She giggled and pushed him back by the shoulders, laughing at the slight panic that washed over his face as he fell back. He huffed relief when he landed safely on the couch, chuckling when he heard her giggle again. She sat down on the coffee table in front of him, beside the gifts. "Okay." The gifts had been lined up according to their value, it started from the silly gag gifts and progressed to the sentimental ones. "You can open your eyes now." Denise said and Chris did as he was told, raising an eyebrow at the first gift she was holding out; the bone themed wrapping paper seemed like a peculiar choice. "Dodger picked it out," she informed him then stifled her laughter when Chris snickered.

"Thanks, bud," Chris looked over, nodding at his oblivious pal. "It's a fantastic wrapping paper, what a great choice," he praised him, trying not to smile when he heard Denise giggling. "What did you get me, pal?" He tore into the wrapping, laughing when a tube of tennis balls was revealed. He shook his head at Denise, a great big grin on his face. "I see he decided to go practical with his gift too, something we can share."

"Well, you know Dodger," she giggled. "He's a very 'sharing-is-caring' kinda dog." Chris chuckled and put the tube to the side, holding out his hand for his next gift. "This next one's from me." She bit back her smile as she passed him her gag gift. "I'm confident you'll love it, it's definitely something you'll use everyday."

"Perfect," he smiled as he opened the gift. His eyes narrowed slightly when he saw what appeared to be his NASA cap. "Uh..." He turned it to face her and quirked his right brow, "I already have one of these." She tried not to laugh as she nodded. It was unbeknownst to him that she'd actually just wrapped his old NASA cap to see if he'd notice. "Well, it's a favorite so I guess it's good to have an extra. Thanks, baby." He chuckled when he took a closer look, "you could've found a newer one to buy, this one looks like it's been worn out."

"That's 'cause it's second hand," she told him, trying her utmost best not to crack a smile. "It belonged to a very talented Bostonian actor, I'd even consider it a collectible." It was then that Chris realized what Denise had done, he burst into laughter- full body laughter. He leaned back against the couch and pressed one hand against his stomach while the other covered his mouth. "It was very hard to come by so I hope you appreciate it." She laughed along with him, patting his left knee with her right hand.

"That's fucking gold," he choked on his laughter, wiping the tears that had formed in the corner of his eyes. "Tell you what, the next time- try and see if you can score me Chris Evans' favorite sunglasses. I think I could really use it to go with this hat," he joked and she giggled. "I should've guessed, Donovan said you loved rewrapping things around the house to give as gifts when you were a kid." He smiled at his hat then at her. "Now I don't have to imagine how much fun Christmases and birthdays were around your house, I can actually experience it."

"First hand too," she teased with a wink. "What can I say? I'm skilled when it comes to giving gifts, it's like I just knew they were going to need it." Chris buried his face in his hands as he continued to laugh uncontrollably. "I know," she grinned when he lowered his hands, "I'm adorable."

"Yes you are," he grabbed her by the wrist and gently tugged, pulling her off the table and onto his lap. She did as he orchestrated, gathering the gifts she'd actually bought in her hand to give to him as she sat down in his lap. "You really didn't need to buy me these things, Denise." He told her as he began to unwrap. "I don't need things when I've got you, you're everything."

"I know," she kissed his cheek. He smiled, pulling out the blue, and green plaid shirts she'd bought him. "But I figured it wouldn't hurt adding a few items to your wardrobe." She said and he hummed in agreement. He chuckled when he pulled out a pair of black Mickey Mouse socks, then grinned at the Patriots cap she'd bought him that had been personalized with 'Evans' embroidered on the back in white. "I'm no Ilaria, but I think I've got enough style to buy you a few items of clothing."

"I'm sorry, what?" He put the items aside and tightened his arms around her waist. "You think you've got enough style? Baby, you have more than enough style. You've got an incredible sense of fashion. Ilaria said she might just quit when we get married, said there was no way she could dress me as well as my wife could."

"We both know that's not true, but I appreciate the vote of confidence." She pressed another kiss on his cheek before she reached forward to grab her iPad. "Here," she passed him the iPad. The montage was pulled up and ready to play. "Your last gift for the day. Well," she leaned in and whispered, "excluding the bedroom stuff" in his ear.

He laughed softly through his nose and she adorably scrunched her nose at him. "Okay, what's this?" He asked then answered his own question when he saw the title of the montage: 'Our Love Story' "God, Denise." He playfully groaned. "Are you trying to give me cavities? Do you want my dad to scold me?" He joked and she giggled and rested her head lazily against his. "Is a tissue box going to be necessary to watch this?"

"For a crybaby like you, yes." She teased and he laughed. "Don't worry about tissues, what's a fiancée for if you can't use her shoulder to cry on." He smiled and kissed her cheek, reaching for the play button. "I love you, Chris," she whispered, "even more so than the day we met."

"Me too, sweetheart."

Chris hit the play button. Ed's voice floated from the iPad speakers, 'Thinking Out Loud' played as the first photograph they ever took together slid onto the screen. They both smiled in reminiscent. "You know something, Chris? I always thought that was going to be the first and last photo we took together," Denise admitted.

"Not me," he shook his head as his arm tightened around her. She raised a brow at him, her curiosity seen in her smile. "Baby," he chuckled bemusedly, "do you really think I was going to let you get away from me?" He held her close to him as they continued to stroll down memory lane. "I knew you were something special. Whether or not we ended up here, I would've still wanted to have some sort of relationship with you."

"Did you really think we wouldn't have ended up here?"

"No, I knew," he chuckled. "You wore your heart on your sleeve."

"Yes I did," she giggled. "But I wouldn't have had it any other way."

It was nice to relive all their best moments, to see all the old photos they'd taken throughout their time together as well as rewatch all the old videos they'd filmed of each other. Denise had always felt something more for Chris, and though Chris had felt something more for her too- it took a while for him to realize what. The photos and videos were like a timeline, they could tell when they fell in-love, when the friendly smiles turned into longing gazes. It was basically a documentary of their relationship, their love- he could've watched that video on a loop for the rest of his life.

"I wouldn't have had it any other way either," he agreed, sighing with absolute satisfaction.