DIVE [1; CHRIS EVANS]

EPILOGUE

His heart pounded in his chest. The rhythm was steady, but almost seemed to be loud enough for him to hear it in his own ears.

He closed his eyes and took in a breath.

A hand sought out his, slender fingers slotting seamlessly between Chris's own. Her hold was confident, firm enough to ground him, but still gentle; kind; loving.

He gave himself another long moment, blowing air back out between slightly-parted lips. The actor allowed his eyes to flicker around his surroundings to begin with; senses flooded to an almost overwhelming capacity, and then they settled onto her.

Minnie was wearing a warm smile, filled with an affection - and her own fair share of nerves - meant only to be seen by him. He returned the expression, his knee bouncing quickly, shoe tapping unevenly against the floor of the car every now and again, partially due to his own nerves and partially to do with a slowly building sense of anticipation.

This wasn't a new sensation to him; the build up to a premiere was always a lot to deal with. The day always seemed too far away to worry about, until it was suddenly on top of you. The hidden pressure of the event hit you all at once, as the sounds from the venue quickly filtered through to you as though to remind you of what was to come.

Minnie wasn't there to tame his nerves, to set all of his worries aside. It didn't work like that; she wasn't a cure to his struggles, and never would be. Anxieties would never disappear so easily, they both knew as much.

What did help, however, was that she understood a little of what he was experiencing, especially in the wake of something so huge as what they were about to quite literally step into for the first time as a couple. When the words they needed to describe their expectations for how the premiere would impact upon them had faded out, they still seemed to be able to appreciate and comprehend how the other was.

The simplicity of that shared understanding had filled them both with a settling sort of comfort; the heavy sense of expectation to be entirely fine, to breeze through the night as though it was nothing, had been lifted significantly.

They were in the same boat, equally as nervous as one another - despite how deceptively calm and composed Minnie appeared to be. She had been feeling that same mix of panic and excitement as he had, and yet here they both were, together, ready to see the commitment through.

So, when Chris felt the soft brush of lips against his cheek and she took a deep breath of her own to ask, "Ready?" He nodded. There was a slight shift in how he felt; still anxious, still unsure, but ready to step out with her by his side.

He responded with an verbalised agreement shortly afterwards, and she squeezed his hand again once more.

Together, they stepped out. And much like most other things they encountered together, they managed well - not without hitches and bumps - but still with the steady sense of reassurance that they'd come out of the other side of it strong.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: thank you so much for reading, writing this has gone by so quickly! I'm hope you've enjoyed reading it, and that the ending did Minnie and Chris justice! Please, let me know what you thought?