Calm • {Chris Evans}

four - shut up, i'm just happy for you

"Kiss him," Sebastian's voice cut through Lyra's thoughts as she drove him to the airport and she double-took, shooting him a sideways glance. He'd booked his flight back to New York the same day as Chris' got in so that she'd only have to deal with the painful L.A. traffic that surrounded the airport once and they'd been discussing what was going to happen between her and Chris now that they knew they both liked each other.

Sebastian had always said he thought they'd be cute together and was taking full credit for them admitting it to each other somehow.

"What the fuck are you talking about, Seb?" she asked, and he smirked.

"You know you both want to, so just do it. As soon as you see him, do that movie moment thing where you run up to him and kiss him. He'll love it. I'd love it if a girl did it to me," he told her, and she smirked right back at him, considering it.

"There's bound to be cameras at every angle, though. I don't know if either of us are really ready for it to be that public when we haven't even gone on a date yet," she said, and he scoffed.

"You haven't gone on a date but you've basically been in love since the night of the Winter Soldier premiere. You two look at each other with visible hearts in your eyes and besides, how many nights have you spent cuddling on the couch watching movies and fully acting like a couple?" he questioned, and she thought he probably had a point.

In reality, she and Chris had spent plenty of nights cuddling on one of their couches watching movies and talking about anything and everything. After the night of the premiere, they'd kind of realized that they had calming effects on one another and when they were both home in New York they took full advantage of spending as much time together as possible. He'd even stayed over at her place multiple times. He'd been a perfect gentleman and slept on the couch, of course, but it still counted for something.

"Kiss him," Sebastian repeated, chanting it a few times. When he quieted down, he looked at Lyra seriously, studying her. She could feel his eyes on her and knew he was trying to figure out what she was thinking.

"I think I really like him, Seb. Like, more than I've liked anyone maybe ever," she said, giving in to his stare like he'd known she eventually would.

"I know," he said quietly, putting a hand on her arm and squeezing gently. "I can see it. I've never seen you look at any of the other jackasses you've dated the way you look at him, and he looks at you the same exact way, Ly. I've known him for a long time, too, and I've seen him go through his fair share of girlfriends but the way you two look at each other, it's... something else," he said quietly, sounding sincere.

"Alright, dad. Don't cry," she said, making both of them laugh.

"Shut up, I'm just happy for you. I just want everything to be spectacular for you, Ly, because you deserve it and I've always tried to convince you of that but I feel like you've only been believing me lately and it's mostly Chris' fault," he said, and she thought about it. He was right. She'd been happier in the roughly year and a half since she'd met Chris than she ever remembered being. "So, Lyra, fucking kiss him. He won't be mad, he won't be upset, he'll kiss you back and yeah honestly it'll probably be a press frenzy but, hey, you'd have to announce it at some point anyway so why not do it in a fucking adorable way?"

•••••

An hour later, she'd said goodbye to Sebastian, hugging him tightly and promising to call every day over the next month that they were about to spend apart. She checked the flight times and made her way to the baggage claim where Chris would be coming out.

She signed a couple of autographs as she waited; the airport was mostly empty because it was pretty early in the morning, but she happily chatted to the few fans that did spot her and tried her best to stay away from the paparazzis that were already gathering to await Chris' arrival.

A little while later, her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out to see a text from Chris.

Evans ✨:
Just landed. On my way down! 💚

Somehow, for some reason, that single heart emoji was enough to convince her to listen to Sebastian. She mentally prepared herself, convincing herself she'd be okay if he pushed her off of him and was embarrassed by it (even though it would probably break her heart in all reality), and waited for him, a bubble of excitement and anxiety rising in her chest.

Finally, she saw him. He moved toward her slowly, stopping occasionally to sign things for fans or say hello. As he got closer, she took in the sight of his tight red t-shirt and backwards baseball cap and had to physically stop herself from salivating. He was just so gorgeous that sometimes she couldn't quite handle it.

He made his way through the fans, spotting her. He smiled at her, warm and inviting. She got up off the bench she'd been sitting on and stepping towards him. She couldn't quite bring herself to the level of cheesiness of running like Sebastian had wanted her to, but it didn't matter.

Once he caught sight of her he closed the gap between them quickly and easily, wrapping his muscular arms around her and picking her up off the ground. He spun her around in a circle. She giggled quietly, looking up into his bright eyes as he placed her back on the ground.

He smiled again and she took a deep breath, standing on her tiptoes and leaning in, pressing her lips to his. He seemed surprised for just a split second and then his arms were back around her waist, holding her close to him as he kissed her back.

Camera flashes went off around them, but in that moment they were the only two people in the world. He was an even better kisser than she'd imagined him to be and the idea of it made her feel lightheaded.

He pulled away a few moments later, pressing his forehead against hers.

"I'm so fucking glad you did that," he said quietly, a slight blush rising in his cheeks.

"Me too," she whispered, raising a hand up to caress the stubble on his chin. He leaned into her touch, laughing quietly.