Calm • {Chris Evans}

fourteen - let's never do that again

Another week went by before Lyra felt brave enough to speak to Chris again in person. She'd texted him as soon as she'd gotten back to Sebastian's place that day, telling him she was sorry and that she knew she'd overreacted but also did still need time to process and get her head on straight.

Chris had agreed to give her the space she needed, but they'd still been texting and he'd still been sending a bouquet of flowers to Sebastian's apartment every single day for her.

"You'd better make up with him soon, Ly. Fuckin' place is starting to look like a flower shop," Sebastian told her, laughing as he brought in yet another bouquet from outside the door.

"I'm gonna talk to him today, I think," she told him, and he gave her a suspicious look.

"Why don't you sound more excited?" he asked, and she shrugged.

"What if he won't have me back since I made him wait to even talk? What if I should've just stayed at the apartment that day and talked things out with him?" she asked, and Sebastian shrugged back at her.

"Honestly, I think you probably should've stayed and talked to him that day. It would've saved you both however much extra time and uncertainty. But at the same time, he knows you needed time to process and also he's completely in love with you. Of course he's going to take you back," Seb told her, smiling and nodding eagerly. She laughed at him, rolling her eyes.

"Here goes nothing, I guess," she told him, giving him a quick hug and then grabbing her keys to head out the door.

•••••

Lyra knocked on the door of the apartment she shared with Chris, still not totally sure whether or not she should.

It took him a few moments to answer, but when he did a giant smile spread across his face.

"Hi," he said quietly, looking her up and down in a way that would've made her ridiculously uncomfortable had he been anyone else.

"Hi, Chrissy," she said, using a nickname she knew he hated but sometimes she just couldn't resist using it.

She stepped inside, shutting the door behind herself and looking back up at him. She stepped toward him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He held her waist, pulling her close.

"Tell me the truth," she said quietly, taking in all of the angles of his face.

"She had my grandmother's ring, I wanted it back. I've been trying to get ahold of her about it for a long time but she wouldn't ever return my calls until she saw we got engaged because she wanted to stir things up. She's the one that insisted we meet somewhere public because she wanted us to be photographed. Absolutely nothing happened between us, but I got the ring. I didn't tell you because I didn't think it would turn out to be anything. I thought it would just be meeting up for a minute so she could give it to me. And as far as you and Seb, I know you're not anything more than best friends. I never thought for a second you were. I was stupid and drunk and I missed you," he explained to her, planting gentle kisses around her face as he did so.

She leaned into him, taking in the scent of him that she loved so much but had deprived herself of for almost a month.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, closing her eyes. He kissed her eyelids, making a disapproving noise in the back of his throat.

"For what?" he asked her, and she opened her eyes again, looking up at him.

"Overreacting," she said simply, and he shook his head.

"Don't be sorry. I should've told you exactly what was going on."

"I miss you."

"I missed you too. So fucking much. It was like one of my fucking appendages was missing or something, like I was walking around in a daze."

"Me too."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Chris. So much."

"Will you still marry me?"

"Of course I will."

He picked her up off the floor, twirling her. She giggled, holding tightly onto him. When he sat her back down again, he kissed her deeply, passionately. He took her hand, leading her to the bedroom. He sat her down on the bed and walked to his dresser, rifling around in the top drawer for something and then pulling out a small box. He stepped back over to her, a huge smile on his face as he popped the box open and showed her the most gorgeous antique ring she'd ever seen.

"My grandmother gave it to me before she passed. She told me to give it to the woman I loved one day, and that woman is you, Ly," he said, smiling as she held her hand up so that he could slip it onto her finger.

She jumped on him, playfully tackling him backwards onto the bed and making him laugh.

"Let's never do that again, okay?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Never," he promise as he kissed her again.