Fated (A Chris Evans Series)

Thank You

Though the invitation card said 2:30PM, a lot of the guests arrived before. It felt more like a big get-together with family, friends, and co-workers than a birthday party for Jack. He was one, he couldn't really process what was happening. He just knew a lot of people were paying him a lot of attention and bringing him a lot of gifts.

Chris and Denise took turns carrying Jack for the first two hours of the party, circling the room. A lot of photos were taken of their very smiley, incredibly photogenic son. He was then passed on to his grandparents, aunties, and uncles so his parents could relax and catch a break before the cake. Some of these friends and co-workers were people neither had seen in a long while, so it was good to be able to catch up. Chris and Denise were requested to join the rest of the Marvel cast, who were having their food and drinks by the fire pit. They were going to join them for a while before they had to move on and talk to the rest of their guests. It had been a unanimous decision to hire a caterer for the party, there were simply too many heads to feed to do it themselves without exertion.

"Where's my number one fan?" Robert teased when he saw Chris and Denise walking over. Everyone laughed when Chris rolled his eyes with an involuntary smile "Just so you know, his present is an Iron Man suit he can wear for Halloween when he's a little older. I also got him the Iron Man teddy bear that Susan wouldn't let me get the first time around, but now that we know he's a fan..." Robert trailed off, smirking.

"You realize he's just a fan of the red, right?" Chris bit back playfully. "That's why he likes Winnie the Pooh, and Mickey Mouse, and Elmo. He likes the color red, it's the only reason he likes Iron Man so- you can calm down 'cause that boy is going to be Captain America when he's old enough to go trick-a-treating."

"And he tells me to calm down," Robert murmured under his breath smugly, earning laughs from everyone again. "God, I still can't believe I'm at your kid's birthday party," he smiled at Chris. "You've been talking about wanting kids for as long as I've known you, so this is pretty amazing." Chris smiled at him, then at Denise and kissed the side of her head. "What's even better is Sebastian Stan has a child of his own too," Robert turned to Sebastian and Luca, chuckling, "never thought I'd see the day."

"Neither," Anthony agreed. "Every time I ask, 'when you gonna have kids?' Nothing. Then one day," he held his hand up to his ear like a phone, "'yo, Mackie. Guess who's going to be a dad?' So suave, so chilled, I almost thought he was joking." More laughter filled the air. "But then I remembered I was talking to him, and not Chris. Chris," he turned to Chris, "I expected to cry as soon as he heard, like a whole celebration the second he heard."

"Oh, man," Chris laughed, sharing a glance with Denise. "I was- No, I was too stressed when I found out to cry. I was on the verge of crying, but it wasn't out of happiness. It was before the wedding and she just got that opportunity with Emilia and-" He shook his head, chuckling. "I was scared she was going to lose her mind, so no, I didn't celebrate until after she started celebrating."

"Yeah, Jack was too much of a surprise for us to have an appropriate reaction," Denise agreed. "But we're happy with how things turned out, he's an amazing kid." She turned towards the house and spotted Jack in her brother's arms. She smiled when she saw how happy he looked, as well as how great her brother was with him. She couldn't wait till he was a dad and she was an aunt. "Where's Alex?" She turned to Sebastian and Luca and asked when she realized their son wasn't with them either.

"Your mom took him after your brother took Jack," Luca told her.

"Of course," Denise chuckled. "I think it's time he and Erica set a date, don't you?"

"Definitely," Luca agreed with a nod. "So they can get started on having children of their own."

"Says the two ladies who asked for a long engagement," Chris quipped and the girls laughed.