DIVE [1; CHRIS EVANS]

LIII.

53. REAL LIFE

Minnie smiled at the warmth of Chris wrapped around her. One of his arms rested as a comfortable weight on her hip, the other being used to prop up his head a little so that he could glance at her over her shoulder.

He pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder with a satisfied sigh before resting down properly on the pillow. Her hand joined Chris's, slotting her fingers lazily through his. She couldn't remember ever having felt this close to a person, and yet, there were still certain things he was yet to know about her. One in particular was at the forefront of her mind.

That wasn't to say she'd avoided letting him in in the slightest; she was purposefully making an effort to let him get to know her better, she just never seemed to find the right time to slip fragments of information his way quite as easily as he seemed to do to her. She loved him, had told him so much, but it felt strange to talk to freely about herself; to blur that line entirely between her professional and personal life.

She knew so many of the little things about him; that his red sweater with the hole in the hem was his favourite; that he made sure to call his mom at least once every other day to check in on how things were at home; that he took his coffee with one sugar, and preferred to run in the evening when it was slightly cooler and he felt more awake. Seemingly insignificant things that came together to make up who he was.

It felt nice to feel like she was really growing to know him.

With a soft exhale, Minnie turned around to face Chris. He adjusted the way that he was lying as she shifted, ensuring that he still had some contact with her; that was another thing she'd come to realise about Chris; he liked to show affection and intimacy in small ways; the brush of a quick  kiss on his way past; a gentle hand on her shoulder; fingers circling her wrist; an arm around her waist; always maintaining contact somehow. As if just to prove that he was there.

"You know," Her eyes darted up to his and her lips curled into a smile, "Minnie isn't my real name." She was going the start the new year as she meant to continue, letting their relationship continue to grow.

"It isn't?" Chris asked as his eyebrows furrowed slightly; curiosity playing on his features. "I thought you were just messing with the guys when you said that."

"Not quite." She shrugged, "Officially, I'm Jasmine."

His eyes skimmed across her features, and then he nodded once or twice. "I see it." His expression softened, "It's nice. Suits you."

"I like it." She admitted, "Miss it sometimes, too."

"How so?" Chris asked genuinely, brushing a fallen piece of hair behind Minnie's ear in a quick motion.

"I suppose it's as simple as the fact that Jasmine isn't famous, and never has been. I love being Minnie, and living that life, but I've always kept it separate purposefully, so that some part of me feels hidden, away from it all." She shuffled down into the covers a little more, averting her gaze as a blush tinted her cheeks with a rosy glow.

"I get that," Chris responded after a moment, mirroring her position to be more comfortable, ensuring eye contact once more, "Would you find it weird, for me to call Jasmine?"

She hummed, processing the thought. "I don't think so, as long as it still stays private, you know?" She admitted, "It might be nice, a way to separate how we have to be when we're working, and how we are when we're just us."

"I'd like that," Chris agreed after a settled moment of quiet, leaning across to kiss Jasmine.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: was probs meant to include this chapter earlier on but I rlly like the sentiment behind it, and it sorta still slots in nicely here; it sorta took that confession of loving one another for Minnie to be totally ready to erase that division between work life and personal life where her and Chris are concerned, u know ?? it's just a name, I get that, but it's a big step for her