Metanoia | Chris Evans

0.7

"To your right a bit," Charlie instructs, standing back a bit to review the positioning. "Yes, there." She clasps her hands in excitement as he attaches the last part of the garland to the wall with the sticky pads it came with, proud of their teamwork to get it evenly strung up. She smiles, hugging Chris' forearm as he moves back to join her, looking over their handiwork. "So?"

He nods, smiling. "It looks really good."

She squeezes his arm before moving away to pick up the packaging from the lights and place the tree ornaments aside for now. "You'll be pleased to know that we've got only one thing left to do now, but that can wait until after lunch."

He gives her an incredulous look. "What else could possibly need doing?"

"The tree, of course."

He swivels his gaze to the aforementioned plant. "Right, I knew that." He nods to himself before smiling innocently at her. "What did you say you wanted for lunch?"

She raises a teasing eyebrow at the unsubtle subject change before shrugging, "We could go out? Save you making anything and give you a break from all this."

He considers it before nodding, motioning for her to go ahead of him. She sits on the stairs to put her shoes back on while he does the same and shrugs on his own coat. Dodger and Aslan sit nearby, watching their owners, the former's tail wagging excitedly. Chris and Charlie exchange a look before he grabs the dogs' leads from their hook and passes Aslan's to her, leaving the Retriever's service dog harness on the hook.

"I know a place that will still let us in, even with these two." Chris is quick to offer reassurance when he sees the sceptical look creeping onto his best friend's face once they've stepped out of the house and started walking.

"I trust you." She remarks, nudging his arm with her shoulder, knowing that he can tell that she isn't lying.

-

Charlie smiles as Dodger places his head on her thigh, stroking the dog's head before motioning for him to join his canine counterpart lying on the floor. She lifts her gaze when the chair across from her scrapes against the floor as it is pulled out, taking her drink from Chris' hand.

"Thank you."

He nods, "They said they'd bring the food over once it's ready." He informs her.

"That's nice of them," She sips her drink before wrapping her hands around the cup as she looks around, the dogs lying by their feet with their leashes tied loosely to their owner's seats. "How'd you find this place?"

"Took Dodger out for a walk - I needed a breath of fresh air and time to think - and ended up getting caught in a rain shower. I ducked into the doorway of the closest place for shelter, which turned out to be this place, and they told me to come in and to bring him in with me."

Charlie shakes her head. It's just like Chris to stumble into something like this after getting himself into a bit of a situation.

They fall into easy conversation after that, catching each other up on anything that comes to mind that they haven't already shared with the other, the conversation only slowing slightly while they eat before picking up again.

By the time they've finished their food and drinks, the dogs being given treats by one of the staff who noticed how well behaved the pair are, both Charlie and Chris are in an uplifted mood and beginning to talk about where each of the ornaments Chris has amassed over the years will go on the tree alongside the ones Charlie brought him on the way to his.

-

Chris smiles fondly as he looks down at Charlie, seeing her watching the gently flickering lights on the tree through bleary eyes as she resists the pull of sleep. He rubs her arm tenderly, feeling her settle more against his side as she grows more tired, the fight draining out of her at the gentle gesture. He continues the soft gesture against her arm, tipping his head back against the couch cushion, as his thoughts drift over their afternoon together.

Upon returning from the cafe, they let the dogs loose again and put their shoes and coats away, before heading into the living room and looking over the available tree ornaments. They talked about some of the ideas they had come up with on the walk back before settling on something that they both liked. With a plan in mind, they set to work. Chris remembers finding himself smiling when he heard Christmas songs playing lowly through his speakers, knowing that Charlie was the culprit as she loves to work with background noise - a new development since her time serving in the military. Although it probably took them a while, filled with pauses to mess around or reminisce when one or the other finds an old ornament that they recognise from the past, it feels like it's over all too quickly; although, Chris can't help but admit that it always seems to feel like that with them.

With the tree decorated, the final touches added with a little help from Chris lifting Charlie so she could reach high enough to put the star on the top before placing her carefully back on her feet, the pair turned their attention to the next thing - what they would be having for dinner. Charlie ended up making Chris a recipe she'd been working on recently, which he turned out to enjoy, much to her delight, before they did the washing up and settled on the sofa together; at first, they watched a movie, but eventually, they both lose interest after a while and turn it off in favour of taking in their handiwork now that it is complete. They started out with a small distance between them but slowly came together as the evening wore on, her smaller body curled against his side with a blanket over their laps and their feet just poking about the bottom, covered by the matching socks that Charlie had insisted they should wear to get into the spirit.

His attention is brought back to the present as he feels her move against his side, her head resting comfortably against his chest as her hand fists in his shirt over his stomach. He makes a soft, fond noise at the display, his free hand coming to meet hers on his stomach, resting on her wrist and rubbing against the soft skin underneath her long-sleeve top as he ducks his head to nuzzle at the top of her head, feeling content and relaxed.

Spotting movement out of the corner of his eye, he lifts his head to see Aslan sitting up and watching them from his place on the floor by the chair Dodger has taken over. Chris sends the dog a soft look, admiring the dog's loyalty and caring nature towards Charlie.

"It's okay, buddy, I've got her. You can get some rest." He murmurs, knowing that Aslan won't understand him. However, he notes with fond surprise that the dog seems to acknowledge his statement with a soft noise before lying back down and closing his eyes.

Tipping his head back again, Chris smiles at the fact that that actually worked before picking up his phone from the couch cushion next to him, turning down the brightness, and looking for something to pass the time for a little. He knows that sleeping for long periods of time without nightmares has been an issue recently for the woman by his side, so he's content to let her get all the sleep she can while he's there to help chase away the nightmares.