Every New Beginning... (Chris Evans AU)

.49.

Third Person POV

"Please?" Chris practically pouts his perfect pink lips at Opal like a little boy asking for an extra piece of birthday cake.

"Oh, you're being serious?" Opal questions Chris.

The couple sit in the middle of the Atlanta airport waiting for her flight to be called for boarding.

"Of course I'm being serious. At what point in this relationship do you think I've not been serious?" Chris retorts.

"Well, you like to joke around and be sarcastic. I just assumed this was another of those moments." She takes a sip of her coffee, buying herself more time from actually answering the original question.

Chris shifts in his chair, facing her full on now. No longer needing to wear the sling he just keeps his bicep wrapped. "I am very serious about this. Come to Boston for Christmas and meet my parents."

"Isn't it kind of a little early for that?"

"Considering I've never asked a girl to go with me to visit them...I don't exactly know how to answer that question. But, I'm gonna go with no."

"Hold the phone." His response surprises her. "You've never taken a girl home?"

"Nope," he says simply, popping the P. "I mean, not since I moved out of their house, or the state for that matter."

"So, what you're saying is that if I go with you, your mom is probably going to start wedding planning because her precious baby boy hasn't brought a girl home since high school?"

Chris starts to laugh but knows that there is a strong possibility his mom may very well behave that way. He cocks his head to the side, crinkles his nose a bit and squints his eyes. He exhales a breath with a wide smile.

"I'll tell her not to bring anything like that up. How about it?"

Opal looks down at her hands that clutch her to-go cup of coffee. "I really don't know."

  "What's stopping you, Ope?"

  She continues to stare at her hands, afraid that if she looks into her boyfriend's eyes she'll start to cry again. She's managed to not shed a tear during the last two days of her stay, she'd hate to start now. "It's Pops," she says quietly. "This could be my last Christmas with him."

  Chris rests his hand on her knee. "I'm sorry. I didn't even think about that." He moves closer to her, placing a gentle kiss over her temple. He pulls back, a new expression on his face. "How about New Years?"

  "What?"

  "I'm not cleared to go back to work until mid January. Let's spend New Years together."

  Opal thinks on this compromise for a moment. "You could come to Jax." 

  "I was kind of hoping you'd still come and meet my parents though," he tells her, still not wanting to give up the chance to show her off to his family.

  "So are you going to be here for New Years or there? You've got my brain all over the place, babe," she complains.  Opal leans over to him, taking his face into her hands. "I need you to focus," she says, directly to him. 

  He takes this moment to steal a quick kiss, sending Opal into a fit of laughter. "Come on! Focus, Christopher. New Years is less than two weeks away. If you want me to spend it with you, then you've gotta tell me where I'm going."

  "Okay, okay," he mutters. "Can't blame me can you? I mean, you've been here over a week and all that's left is maybe an hour. I missed out on a couple of days. I've gotta steal every kiss I can get."

  Opal raises a brow. "You don't have to steal them ya know." She leans in closer. "All you have to do is ask." 

  He watches her expression, she's looking longingly at him, even batting her lashes a bit in jest. "Good to know," he says in response, not giving her what she wants. Opal sticks her tongue out at him as she realizes he's teasing her. 

  She reaches into her purse, pulling out her phone. Opening up the calendar that shows not only her personal activities but also Magnolia's. "There's a group that's rented the whole Inn for New Years Eve and Day. But, it's a church group so I don't think I have anything to worry about with drunk people tearing anything up. Just tell me where I'm going, and I'll be there."

  Chris can't help but smile wide at the thought of seeing his girl again in less than two weeks. "Get your cute butt to Boston before New Years Eve, and I'll take care of the rest. Just do a one-way ticket though."

  "How am I gonna get home?" 

  "Woman. I just told you I will take care of everything else. Just get to Boston before New Years Eve. Got it?"

  "I see we're back to the demanding side of Officer Evans," Opal jests as she stands up, hearing the call for her flight back to Jacksonville.

  Chris joins her, tossing his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him before kissing her on the top of the head. "You know you love it." 

  "About as much as you love me calling you officer." She winks at him before picking up her carry on. 

  "That's an awful lot then." He stops her, making her face him. He flips the baseball cap he's wearing backwards. He runs both hands over her brown hair before stopping, resting his thumbs on each side of her face, gently brushing them across her cheekbones. With a dip of his head he tenderly kisses Opal, desiring it to last forever but knowing it can only be for a mere moment. "I love you, Opal," he whispers against her lips before placing one more peck upon her perfect lips. 

  Opal looks back at him, breathless not by the kiss, but by the way he says those words. They're as beautiful as a symphony. As sweet as nectar. As needed as air to breathe. She sighs in contentment, knowing she's in love as well, just unwilling to admit it. Instead of being sentimental out of fear of crying, she decides to be playful with him taking his cap off of his head. Chris looks back at her, quirking his brow. She drops it back on his head, facing forward again. "I'm gonna need you to not wear the hat backwards when you're around me."

  Chris holds Opal by the waist now as she leans back from him. "And why is that?"

  "Makes me a bit weak in the knees and question some of my life decisions, Evans."

  He bursts out laughing at her admittance. "Well, we can't have that now can we?"  She shakes her head with her own smirk across her lips. 

 "Come back to me soon, Opal," he says quietly before placing a kiss on her forehead. 

This time when she looks up she can no longer hold back the tears  "Soon," she says as her lower lip trembles. She buries her head further into his chest, relishing in the warmth of his embrace for another moment. It's short lived as they're now calling final boarding. "I have to go."

  Chris walks with Opal as far as he can, squeezing her hand the whole way. With one more kiss they begin to part, holding onto each other's hand as long as possible until the distance becomes too much. 

  As Opal stands in line to board she looks over her shoulder to see Chris beginning to take a couple of steps back before turning his cap backwards again, tossing a wink in her direction before holding up his right hand with the 'I love you' symbol.  

  Opal takes a deep breath, chews on her bottom lip for just a moment before holding the same symbol up to him as well.  She's met with Chris holding both of his own hands over his heart, a smile a mile wide across his face.