"We wanted him to look like an everyday professional man who has a family, so we tried really hard to make the clothes feel real and lived-in, not overtly tailored." — Defending Jacob’s costume designer Johanna Argan on making sure Chris Evans didn’t look like Captain America.
“If your first instinct, after making Tony Stark a woman, is to hook her up with Captain America, then they were probably already pretty gay to begin with.”
– Montreal Comic-Con panelist Sophie Delmas on queer superheroes
Park Chan-wook, Robert Downey Jr and Susan Downey. at the Los Angeles Premiere of DECISION TO LEAVE. - AND Those gorgeous red bots. ( October 06, 2022)
Summary:Â After a change of heart nearly ten years into her career as a pediatric intensive care unit nurse, Ellie Maxwell has moved back home and returned to her old job at the local bakery, where the regulars are the firefighters from down the street. When sparks begin to fly between Ellie and the guarded, closed-off Chris, will anything come of it?
Pairing: Firefighter!Chris Evans X OFC Elizabeth “Ellie” Maxwell
Word Count:Â 5,018
By: @k-evans-writes and @ourfinest-hour
Warnings: None.
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The sight of the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree seemed to almost taunt Chris as he laid on the couch with Dodger. It was the end of Christmas Day and he couldn’t have felt more sad if he tried. Yesterday was filled with so much joy, taking Hazel out to play in the snow before going over to his mother’s house where his entire family gathered to celebrate Christmas Eve together. Hazel’s eyes were twinkling the entire time, loving every moment and that same twinkle was in her eyes when she jumped on his bed early this morning shouting that Santa had come and left them presents.Â
He had such a huge smile on his face when they went downstairs and made a quick breakfast of waffles together before Ashlee came over, the two of them pushing away any differences they had to be able to both watch Hazel open her presents on Christmas morning. But when all the presents were opened and Hazel was getting buckled into Ashlee’s car so she could have her the rest of the day, that smile was long gone. He was able to distract himself by spending the rest of the day at his mother’s house, laughing with his family but by the time all the food was eaten, dishes washed, and evening had set, he couldn’t hold off the deep pain inside his chest at not being able to be with his daughter on the special day.Â
Not being able to hold off his feelings, he hugged his family before leaving to go home early, which is where he was now, laying on the couch as he absentmindedly watched football, drinking a beer and trying to keep his tears at bay. He was so lost in his sadness that he jumped from surprise when his phone started ringing and he went to turn it off, not wanting to speak to anyone but he quickly changed his tune when he saw the name on the screen.Â
“Hi honey, Merry Christmas!” Ellie’s voice carried cheerily through the phone, bringing a hint of a smile to his face.Â
“Hey, Elles,” he murmured, moving a hand to turn the game down a bit as he leaned his head back against the couch.Â
He could hear Ellie turn on her turn signal as she drove, Ellie telling him, “It started snowing like crazy so I’m headed home right now.”Â
“Be careful, the roads are slick,” he instantly told her, glancing out the wide windows to watch the snow fall outside. He made a note to text Ashlee later, just to make sure they made it home from her mother’s in the city okay.Â
“I will be,” Ellie promised him, and the turn signal turned off. “How was your Christmas, baby?”Â
He frowned, staring at Dodger’s brown fur before he said to her, “Fine, how was yours?”Â
“Oh it was so great. It’s a good thing I’m not wearing jeans because I ate so much food I swear the button would have popped off!” Ellie laughed, and Chris knew there must have been a wide grin on her face. “We just had so much fun, but I’m sorry you couldn’t join us for dessert tonight. My family missed seeing you.”Â
Chris sighed, his hand running through his messy hair. “Well I don’t think I would have been very good company,” he confessed quietly.
“Why do you say that?”Â
“I’m just… missing Hazel,” he admitted, his eyes moving over the living room. What gifts Hazel couldn’t take with her - or fit in her backpack - were still under his tree, her blanket was thrown on the couch next to Dodger, her stocking was still under the TV, a few of her beloved stuffed animals were lined up next to the fireplace, and everywhere he looked, there was more Hazel throughout the room, house, and his life. And he missed her so much today that it hurt.
“Oh honey, of course you are,” Ellie’s voice was dripping with sympathy. “Do you want me to come by?”Â
“No, I’m fine,” he tried to assure her, shaking his head even though she couldn’t see him. “Just being here with all her gifts under the tree from today is making me upset. Everything here is Hazel’s and I just hate that I can’t be with her.”Â
She was quiet for several moments, enough that Chris nearly checked to make sure the call didn’t drop. “Chris, I really think I should stop by,” she told him quietly, in an almost timid way.
“No, don’t. I’m sorry Ellie, I shouldn’t have said all that,” he rushed to apologize and reassure her. “I’m okay, I really am. I don’t want to be a downer on Christmas.”Â
“You’re allowed to have feelings you know?”Â
“Yeah… I guess I’m just kind of ready for today to be over,” he admitted before he sighed and glanced back outside at the snow. “Will you text me when you get home so I know you got there safe?”Â
“Of course. Goodnight Chris,” she told him, listening as he returned the farewell before she hung up the Bluetooth call.
But as Ellie kept driving along those snowy roads, she couldn’t help but keep thinking about what Chris had said. Her heart broke as she thought of him sitting at home alone with nothing but sadness around him. She knew that he told her not to come over, but Ellie thought it had been just about long enough that Chris had to look out for himself and decided to ignore what he said, showing up on his doorstep in the snow and telling him the moment that he opened that front door that, “You’re coming with me. Grab your coat and Dodger and come get in the car.”Â
His face was still frozen in shock, so much so that it took him several long moments until he responded, “...Can I pack a bag? Or is that not allowed?”Â
“I guess so,” Ellie laughed, shrugging a bit as Dodger circled her feet happily.
Silently, Chris shut the door behind her while he then turned to go up the stairs to his bedroom to throw some clothes in a bag as well as the couple other things he’d need. His brain still felt foggy from all the sadness as he walked back downstairs to find where Ellie was sitting on the floor scratching Dodger. She pushed herself off the floor, Chris watching the way she rested a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow as she looked at him quizzically.Â
“Don’t I even get a kiss?”Â
And in that moment, Chris felt all of his defenses he was so used to just completely drop. The weight seemed to fall off his shoulders while he dropped his bag to the floor, stalking over and holding Ellie against his chest as tight as possible while he kissed her so deep that both of them were seeing stars. She always could pull him out of whatever anxious thoughts were going through his brain and bring him back to reality… back to her. Never had he felt as loved as he did with her and the way she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck once their lips parted and hugged him so warmly made him feel like he was going to melt into a puddle right then and there.Â
“You’re coming home with me tonight,” Ellie told him decisively, her hand scratching through the short hair on the back of his head. “I even have some cookie dough mixed up in the fridge so we can pop some fresh cookies in the oven and just relax.”Â
She felt his shoulders slump in relief, practically melting into her as he whispered, “God, Elles. You’re the best.”
After they put some food and a toy for Dodger in Chris’ bag, they headed into the snowy evening and drove the short distance to Ellie’s yellow house. Dodger settled in quickly on the fluffy rug in front of the fireplace - which Chris got a fire going in while Ellie turned the oven on - and then after both changed into some soft sweatpants, the pair settled in for a night of relaxing on the couch, listening to the crackle of the fire and smelling the cookies in the oven.Â
“Okay before you get too comfortable, I have a little Christmas present for you,” Ellie told him, getting up and crouching in front of the Christmas tree, holding up a bulky wrapped gift for him. Â
“Elles, that doesn’t look like a little present,” he nearly admonished, shaking his head with wide eyes.Â
“Well maybe not little in the physical sense but it’s nothing grandiose or anything, it’s just… well just open it!”Â
He shook his head, carefully tearing the wrapping paper, revealing a beautifully woven, white and gray blanket. “Baby…” he whispered, eyes moving over the handiwork. He had seen Ellie’s knitting supplies every time he’d visited her here in the past month, but while he was surprised at how intricately she’d been able to do the blanket, he should’ve never been surprised. Ellie was Ellie, and she never did things half-assed. “Did you make this?”Â
“Yeah I knitted it and it’s one of those jumbo blankets so that there’s enough room for you and Hazel to snuggle under it,” Ellie explained, her thumb running back and forth along his knee over his sweatpants. “So see, it’s nothing grandiose in terms of value but it’s big in physical size.”Â
“This has more value to me than anything you could have ever bought,” Chris murmured, his eyes still dancing over the blanket, able to imagine Hazel wrapped up in it and giggling like mad. “Thank you honey. I don’t even know what to say. This is just… so sweet.”Â
She swallowed away the lump in her throat as she looked at how…. Relaxed he was now. Chris was obviously struggling without Hazel, and while he threw himself into his work as a way to cope with that, it was clear that that coping mechanism wasn’t sustainable - for any of them. “I’m so glad you like it,” she whispered, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek.Â
He put the blanket over their laps, the knitted material a welcome weight on their laps. “If we’re doing presents now then you should reach into my bag because I have one for you in there,” he sighed playfully, leaning forwards and digging in his bag for Ellie’s gift.Â
While it was considerably smaller than her own gift, she knew he was nothing if not sentimental, detail-oriented, and a perfectionist - and she almost couldn’t restrain herself from tearing into the perfectly wrapped present, only to reveal what the small box held beneath the tight corners. “You seriously are the best gift wrapper ever. I don’t even want to rip into this!”Â
“Just do it, rip it,” Chris laughed, shaking his head as he leaned his side against the fluffy couch cushion.
“Okay, okay, oh my god what is it?” Ellie asked, her brows furrowing as she looked at the single card - one that almost resembled a debit card.Â
“It’s a membership to that bookstore that’s down on the corner that you like,” Chris explained quietly, his eyebrows raised. “The lady said that the membership includes renting books, the book clubs they host and then you get uh, I think one or two books a month for free.”Â
Her jaw dropped, Ellie almost dumbfounded before she told him, “Christopher Evans, this is the most thoughtful present.”Â
Chris sat there while Ellie brought her hands on his bearded cheeks, leaning in to press her lips to his over and over again until they were interrupted by the oven beeping. She gave him one more long kiss before climbing off the couch and heading into the kitchen with Dodger getting up to trot right behind her. Chris grabbed the scraps of wrapping paper, balling them up and putting it next to the coffee table before he leaned back into the couch, relaxing as he pulled his brand new blanket over his lap, feeling warm from the inside out.Â
He just listened to the crackle of the fire for a long moment before Ellie came back, climbing onto the couch cushion to sit right next to him. She had a napkin with a fresh cookie in each hand, balancing them carefully while he tucked her back underneath the blanket before she handed him the warm cookie. They sat quietly while eating their treat but once Ellie was finished and wrapping her arms around his middle as she curled up to him, he felt that warm smile cross his face.Â
It was funny to him that less than an hour ago he was ready to cry alone on his couch but now he was here, sitting in front of a roaring fire feeling nothing but contentment inside of him, and it was thanks to that girl who was humming in the kitchen, who knitted him that blanket, in this house, and worked down in the bakery. It made him realize that all of his happiness in life couldn’t be wrapped up in Hazel only… and it didn’t have to be. Although he missed Hazel like crazy, right now he felt happy. He felt completely and utterly happy being here with Ellie. He had been so wrapped up in Hazel all of these years that he had never opened his heart to anyone else, but now that he did, it may have terrified him but also felt so good and he knew without a doubt that this was so right.Â
“Merry Christmas, baby,” she told him as she sat back down on the couch and handed him a plate with some cookies, chocolate smeared on her cheek.Â
“Ellie…” Chris trailed off, pausing as he hesitated, then decided to push through that last damn wall. “I love you.”Â
Her face nearly fell, but her eyes were full of hope as she asked him quietly, “...You do?”Â
“I do Ellie. I love you so much,” he confessed, giving her a tight and slightly watery smile as his eyes searched her own.Â
“I’m so glad to hear you say that,” she said with a shaky voice, leaning forward to kiss him quickly, pulling away just as suddenly. “I love you too Chris. I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you. I know it sounds a little crazy because we haven’t been together very long but I know it’s true.”Â
He nodded, a lump forming in his throat. He’d been feeling something for nearly three weeks now, knowing how different it felt - this felt - from any previous relationship. While he and Ashlee were never truly in love, they’d tried to force the concept in hopes of having a stable home for Hazel. But he never felt this way, never woke up thinking of someone else but Hazel, never cared for them in this way except as a father, or craved their touch nearly all hours of the day. He’d also never known what it felt like to be loved in this way - not as a son, brother, or father. He never saw the little smiles before he caught Ellie staring at him a few times, never knew what it felt like to have someone crave his touch in a way that verged on addicting. And he loved it. “I feel it Ellie. I know that you mean it,” he assured her with a grin.Â
“In this season of my life there hasn’t been much of anything I’ve been sure of, but I’m sure about you,” she assured him back with a watery look, and Chris couldn’t help himself but lean forward and press several kisses to the center of her forehead, his eyelashes brushing against his cheeks as he held her.Â
“I just feel so undeserving of it, Elles,” he breathed, pausing to smile as he felt her lips against his neck. “But I love you so much. It’s been so hard for me to open up but I know that I love you.”Â
“I know you mean it, honey.”Â
He nodded, burying his face in the wavy mess of her blonde hair. “The past few years I’ve basically just gone from being with Hazel to going to work and then repeating that every week. I just feel like you’ve opened up so much more to me,” he began slowly, confessing the things he’d barely begun to process himself in the recent days, nevertheless told anyone else. “You’ve shown me that a relationship and love can be… so good.”Â
“It should be good,” Ellie told him in a sad voice, her hands tightening on his shoulders before they slipped through the neck of his shirt to rest on his bare skin. “There’s always hard times and arguments, but it should be a good thing and I’m sorry it wasn’t always something that was good in your life.”Â
He nodded, kissing her head as he whispered, “But it is now, and that’s what matters.”Â
“I love you Chris.”Â
“I love you too,” He honestly spoke before adding, “And I couldn’t be happier to be right here with you tonight.”Â
The fire kept roaring while Chris effortlessly scooted Ellie onto his lap, her arms wrapping around his shoulders while he hooked his own around her waist. Their lips met over and over again until Chris slowly laid back on the couch, Ellie following him down until they were laying on the couch cushions, arms around each other completely content as they started to fall asleep on the snowy Christmas evening.Â
“I’m kind of nervous,” Ellie whispered, looking out the window as Chris carefully drove on the plowed roads. It was mid-morning on the day after Christmas, and they were off to a slow start - like many - but had finally gotten moving once Ellie had decided Chris was beginning to mope too much. While he certainly was allowed to miss Hazel - more than allowed, in fact - Ellie had begun to see Chris opening himself up to living his life even without the curly-haired girl by his side, and he’d acknowledged it the previous night to her. Â
Chris glanced over to her with a slight frown, a single eyebrow raised before he quickly turned his eyes back to the road. “About what? Meeting my mom?”Â
“Yeah,” she confessed with a shake of her head, moving her hands to smooth out her sweater nervously. “I mean, I know you guys are close and I want her to like me.”
“Elles, everyone likes you. Don’t worry,” Chris murmured back, trying to reassure her a bit. He reached a hand over to hold her own, squeezing it before he lowered them to rest on her thigh.Â
But she couldn’t help but worry. Ellie knew she was a little bit of a perfectionist… okay maybe more than just a little bit, but she had already been nervous about the thought of meeting Lisa. She had heard so much about her from Chris, knowing that he was extremely close to her and with as much as Ellie loved Chris, she didn’t want to screw this up. It would have been terrifying enough already but this had sprung up at the last minute when Lisa called less than an hour ago to invite Chris to lunch, and subsequently Ellie when she found out they were together, the spur of the moment plans only made Ellie’s nerves on edge.Â
When they pulled up to the restaurant, she felt her insides churning, biting her bottom lip incessantly as Chris took her hand, leading her inside to the small table near the windows where the blonde haired woman sat waiting. Ellie stood politely while Chris dropped her hand to wrap his arms around his short mother, squeezing her tightly before setting her sights on Ellie who she hugged with just as much warmth as she did her own son.Â
“Ellie, I’m so happy to finally get to meet you,” Lisa told the younger woman excitedly, pulling back from Ellie to look between her son and his girlfriend. “Chris has told me so much about you already.”Â
Ellie shot Chris an obviously suspicious look as they sat down, saying, “Hopefully only the good things.”Â
His eyebrows shot up indignantly, almost offended at the implication of her words. “What bad is there to say?” Chris asked through laughter before a smirk spread across his lips. “Well I guess maybe that you’re absolute shit at ice skating.”Â
“Chris!” Ellie laughed, feeling her cheeks blush but smiled when Lisa gave her a wink.
“What? It’s true,” he insisted.
Lisa groaned good-naturedly, shaking her head at her son’s antics. “Oh just ignore him. I heard from Scott and my daughter Carly that you make the absolute best pastries in town,” she told Ellie with a large smile, turning to face her fully. “Scott and Chris both told me that you make the best shortbread cookies so I’m going to have to stop in one day because they’re my favorite.”Â
“I remember Chris mentioned that you liked them so I brought a few that I made yesterday,” Ellie confessed as she bit her lip, nodding her head towards her purse, which held a Ziploc bag filled with shortbread cookies - along with a few other cookies - for Lisa from the Maxwell family’s Christmas.Â
“I have to have a bite of it now,” Lisa laughed, smiling wider when Ellie reached in and handed her a cookie. She practically melted as the sugary treat hit her taste buds, telling them, “Honey, Chris isn’t going to be able to keep himself fit with these kinds of treats around!”Â
“I took Hazel to the bakery and Ellie let her frost a cookie in the kitchen so that’s pretty much Hazel’s favorite place now,” Chris told her with a grin as he leaned back in his chair, smiling as the waitress dropped some water off for them.Â
“Just like her dad,” Lisa smiled, and the group paused to put in other drink orders and glance at the menu.Â
As they looked over their options - Ellie deciding on a brie grilled cheese and tomato soup for herself - she mentioned, “I didn’t know that Carly came into the bakery but I did get to meet Scott a little while back when he came in with Chris.”Â
“Oh I’m so sorry for you. Those two are trouble together!” Lisa laughed, shaking her head.Â
“Well I think I was able to appease them with lemon squares and cookies,” Ellie smiled, squeezing Chris’ hand from under the table.Â
“Hazel is really partial to Ellie’s cupcakes. She gave us some for the snow day and then when we were at dad’s house for our Christmas with him, he had some cupcakes and Hazel just said she didn’t want them because they didn’t taste like the ones that Ellie makes,” Lisa said casually, Chris nodding along with a small grin - the one he normally had when he had when someone spoke about Hazel.Â
Hearing the statement caught Ellie a little by surprise, not realizing that his parents weren’t together anymore. As she thought about it farther, she recognized that Chris had mentioned seeing his mom and dad but never together, and the thought made her recognize how divorce had been such a big part of Chris’ life from his parents then to him. Some of the walls that he had up started making even a little more sense and made Ellie that much more thankful Chris was starting to work through some of them.Â
But as they settled into conversation once their lunch was delivered to their table, Ellie was quick to recognize why Chris was so close to Lisa. She was so warm and enjoyable, someone that was so easy to talk to. Ellie loved not only getting to know her, but seeing how relaxed Chris was around her, all of his walls instantly gone while his loud laughter and slaps to his chest were coming out in full force. He had been wiping the tears from the edge of his eyes from how hard he had been laughing when he decided to excuse himself to the bathroom, leaving the two blonde haired women at the table alone for the first time.Â
“Ellie, I didn’t get a chance to tell you that your sweater is so pretty,” Lisa told her quietly with that warm, happy look in her eyes - and she swore for a second she was looking at both Chris and Hazel.Â
“Oh thank you,” Ellie replied, glancing down self-consciously. “I can never wear sweaters at work because of it shedding and the flour that just wants to stick to it, but I just love sweaters so much.”Â
Lisa laughed, shaking her head as she admitted, “You and Chris really are meant to be together because I swear he lives in sweaters in the winter.”Â
“Well if you think we’re meant to be together, that’s a pretty big compliment because he sure is incredible,” Ellie confessed, meaning every word. Nearly every day since meeting Chris nearly two months ago, she had been struck by the way he carried himself, cared for others, and put them first. And after meeting Lisa, she knew it was in part because of the woman sitting across from her.Â
The woman gave her a slightly surprised and emotional smile, quietly saying, “After getting to spend time with you today, I think you’re pretty incredible too Ellie.”Â
“Thank you Lisa,” Ellie whispered sheepishly, surprised by the compliment.
“No, Ellie I mean that,” Lisa insisted, face serious. “I know Chris has told you a little about his relationship with Ashlee and I don’t think it’s a secret that things between them weren’t great. And so for me, getting to see how kind you are to him and the way you look at him means more to me than you know.”
She felt emotional at the praise, swallowing away the lump in her throat. “Well I don’t know how incredible I am, but I love your son a lot,” Ellie laughed quietly once she felt she had a hold on herself, a slight smile on her face.Â
“I know you do, and I know that Chris does too,” Lisa assured her, patting her hand against Ellie’s just as they saw Chris making his way back towards the table. He settled back into his chair with a small smile at Ellie, jumping back into the conversation with them when Lisa changed the subject to the bathroom renovation she was planning for her home. And as Chris’ hand blindly found her own under the table as they listened to his mother talk, she felt butterflies as she thought about their future, their lives together, in the coming new year.
A/N: We love these two so so so much. We loved writing this chapter and although some plans changed, we are so proud of it and looking forward to your feedback!
Tony and Steve are parents! Peggy Maria Stark-Rogers came into the world on August 26 at 7:34 pm after Steve was in labor for 18 hours. A press release from SI and The Avengers ask for their privacy
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