Fated (A Chris Evans Series)

Not Your Ordinary Sunday

Ever since Denise started work and had less time with Jack and Dodger, her Sunday mornings were spent in bed with them while Chris prepared breakfast downstairs. Sometimes she'd help Chris, leaving Dodger to watch Jack, who would be comfortably secured in his rocker then placed in front of the television. Chris and Denise could still see them from where they were in the kitchen, of course. It would've been negligent of them otherwise. Sunday mornings were always Denise's favorite mornings, it was the one day she allowed herself to not think of work. Well, not think of work to the best of her abilities. She couldn't help herself if she suddenly thought of something that she needed to deal with. She tended to those sudden thoughts immediately because if she didn't, she would forget and then she would spend the whole day fixating on what she had forgotten. She would always get on Chris' nerves when she did that, bringing forth a meaningless argument that'd ruin her one day off.

Neither enjoyed arguing with the other, though their passive aggressive natures riled up plenty. The arguments never lasted long, they both agreed that three hours was the maximum time limit for any dispute. That was one hour put aside for the actual fight; one hour to take a step back, and grumble and pout; and one hour to sit and resolve, as well as think of prevention techniques for, whatever it was they'd been fighting about. So far, so good. They were still happily married and picturing growing old together. The three hour rule helped, but it was also the unconditional love they carried for each other. As bad as the disputes got, nothing could've been worst than life without the love of theirs. They'd both found coping mechanisms, something to remind them of said worst so they would take a step back from the edge.

For Chris, it was the moment he thought Denise had died in the plane crash. He thought he'd forgotten how to breathe when he heard her plane had crashed on that radio announcement. He was sure that was the end for him, that he'd never love or try to love for the rest of his time on earth. So no, as infuriating as Denise was sometimes, he swore he'd never do anything to lose her because he couldn't feel that level of hopelessness ever again. As for Denise, well- it wasn't hard to remind herself what kind of stupid she'd be if she lost the man of her dreams. Her entire life before she met him was torture, when she was just a fan whose existence he was unaware about. She had everything now: the perfect life, the perfect man. Yes, there were times when she'd see a more humane, less perfect, more everyday man version of Chris that drove her insane. But at the end of the day, it was still him and she didn't love that version of him any less. That was how one knew it was real, right? That was what marriage is, like Richard said "it's loving someone despite everything" and Chris and Denise had that together.

They also had a child together, one that was very capable of reminding his parents how much they loved each other. Jack may not have arrived at the right time, but he was always part of the plan. The two of them loved him so much that sometimes their hearts would ache watching him, and the they watched him a lot. Everything he did was so adorable. Every sound he made, his smile, the way his small hands would reach for their faces every time either of them picked him up. As much as Denise loved Sundays with her little family, it made things difficult for her to go back to work the next day. It was also difficult for Jack to let her go, crying whenever he and Chris bid her goodbye at the front door as she got into a cab.

It was because of those moments that Denise was glad Emilia was still looking for a director and not turning to her to direct. It'd been five days since Chris and Denise made their bet, but the offer was still yet to come up. They both agreed to leave it, letting things run its course. Chris wasn't allowed to hint anything at Emilia, and Denise couldn't decline the job just to win the bet, or decline the job without thinking it through. This was going to be another huge opportunity for her so it had to be taken into thorough consideration, no matter how scared or overwhelmed she was by the idea of directing her first film. Denise knew if Emilia did offer her the job, Chris would've been right about her accepting it without blinking an eye. But she also knew she'd be right about it being too much for her, she reminded herself of that so she wouldn't accept it without blinking an eye. Chris got his first directing job after years and years in the film industry which he'd admitted was overwhelming despite his experience. Denise could only imagine how overwhelming it'd be for her, a complete and total amateur.