#escape masterlist

Loud and slow, she responded, “I said, you’d better fear me or I’ll pee in your lemonade.”

Playing along, Erik asked, “What?  You barf near me and I’ll be your First Mate?”

With a giggle, she gave him the win.  “Yep, that’s it!  That’s exactly what I said, dude.”

Erik laughed and chastised her lovingly for being a smartass.  They caught up for a few minutes about their jobs, their parents, and his wife, Linda.  Nicole reached her apartment complex and pulled into a spot, remaining in the car to continue the conversation. 

She could have stayed on the phone chatting forever.  God she missed him so much. With he and Linda living in Pennsylvania, and owning their own restaurant, it was rare that they had a chance to get away to New York for a visit.  Life being as hectic as it was, the New Yorker’s didn’t get out that way much either.  Nicole’s mom had often wondered if things would be different if Erik and Linda had decided to have children.  There would have been no keeping the grandkids away for long. 

“So, Nicole. Favorite little sister of mine --”

This was a well known line both of her brothers said.  Even as she rolled her eyes at the old joke she smiled and said, “Only little sister of yours, but go on.”

Erik’s tone changed from playful to incredulous as he stated loudly, “Why am I the last to find out that you not only have a boyfriend, but that said boyfriend is the guy from Snowpiercer?!!! Fuckin’ Snowpiercer! You know how much I love that film.”

“Well, I.. um, dammit I kept meaning to call.”  She trailed off, knowing she had no real excuse other than being too wrapped up in her own life.  Plus, Erik was the brother that would always force her to examine things and question them.  He didn’t like gray areas.  She hadn’t been ready for that kind of scrutiny from him when she was doing so much of her own already.  

He said nothing, waiting her out.  He knew how to make the weight of the guilt he was laying on feel thicker.  

Nicole fiddled with the leather on the steering wheel before leaving it to pick at the cuticle of her thumb.  A bit quieter than before, she explained, “I was just waiting to see if things were going to keep moving along with him or if it was a passing thing, y’know?”

With a touch of snark in his voice, he answered, “No, I don’t know because YOU NEVER TOLD ME that you even KNEW the guy.  In fact, no one did until tonight!  I had to hear from mom when she slipped up and said how happy she was that you were finally in a relationship.  I asked her who it was and she tells me he’s an actor you met when you won some contest.  I didn’t recognize the name so I Googled him and my jaw almost hit the ground.”

“I’m sorry, Erik.  It’s just been a total whirlwind around here. Ryan knew because he was there when we met at the contest and the rest of the family met him at Maddie’s birthday party.”

“I just can’t believe this didn’t warrant a call, sis.”  He sounded indignant and hurt.  It cut her heart like a knife to hear that tone of voice coming from him.  

She and her brother had always been very close. There was no excuse for her to not have filled him in earlier.  Again, there was a silence between them, but it was the kind that was filled with words left unsaid and the emotions to go along with them.  

Rather than berate her or make her feel worse, Erik changed his tone from disappointed brother to curious and engaged.  He could never stay mad at Nicole for very long. 

“So….. you guys serious?”

Not that he could see it, but she shrugged and said, “We might be.”  She sighed and then admitted, “It’s still new but I am reeeaaaally falling for him.”

Sounding more like a prosecutor than a brother, he asked, “He’s good to you?”

“Very.”

“Have you met his family?”

“Not yet.  I’m supposed to soon.”

“When do you think you can swing a trip here?  Maybe bring him along?  I can give him a display of my culinary and knife throwing skills.”

They both busted out laughing and she warned, “You will do no such thing, Erik!”

“Fine, no throwing.  Just sharpening while we have ourselves ‘the chat.’  You know the one.  ‘You hurt her, I hurt you’ and that sort of shit.”

“Erik,” she said slowly in a cautioning tone.

“Fine, just the knife skills.  I’ll let him see how sharp they are.  I’ll slice the garlic paper thin.”

“Mm hmm.  And, of course, you’d never do that while staring him down as you sharpen a cleaver or anything.”

“Noooo, not me,  Never.  I’d stare him down as I chop into a nice piece of sausage and chop the tip off.”

Nicole gripped the steering wheel and dropped her head down to it.  Banging her head against it gently, she groaned, “Oh Christ in Heaven.” 

From the other end of the call came a satisfied laugh.  Poor Chris.  He was lucky to have met Ryan first. 

Sitting back upright, Nicole said, “We’ll have to make sure your wife is in the room.”

“Believe me, Linda wouldn’t miss the chance to meet him.”  Changing his voice to a teasing, nasally sound, he added, “She thinks he’s so cuuuutte.”

“Well, she’s not wrong.  I’ll give her that.  All joking aside, though, I think you guys are really going to like him. He’s not what you’d expect. Chris is just like one of us.  No Hollywood bullshit.”

“I’ll take your word for it --  for now -- but I reserve the right to form my own opinion after I grill the son of a bitch.”

“Erik,” she warned again.

“Don’t you ‘Erik’ me, it’s my job as your big brother. I’m sure Ryan made a valiant effort, but he’s a pushover.”

“And you’re the big, bad, imposing, make the boyfriend shit his pants brother.”

“Damn straight. So…. when am I seeing you?”

“I don’t know.  And, if you mean with Chris, then I really don’t know.  His schedule is so hectic right now that I barely get to see him myself.”

Nicole regretted adding that last bit the second it came out of her mouth.  She could hear the sound of her brother trying to maintain his composure.  The jaw clenched, rapid nose inhalation was something he always did when he was calming himself down before saying the wrong thing.  

“You sure about this guy, Nikki? Is this how it’s going to be with him?  You always waitin’ for him to be ‘free’ to see you?”

“Erik, I know what it looks like, but it’s not like that.  Chris has a huge role to play in these last two Avengers movies and he’s filming a lot. But once they’re done, he’s done with his Marvel contract.  He’s got one more movie lined up to shoot overseas this year and then he’s taking time off.  If I’m still around by then I should see him more.”

“If?” he questioned.

She rolled her eyes, thinking back to her cheating ex, and said sardonically, “You know me, Erik, old trust issues die hard.”

“True.  Still, it’s smarter that way. If it’s any consolation the family had nothing but positive things to say about him and mom said that she hasn’t seen you this happy in a very, very long time.  That’s all we want for you, sis.”

Nicole smiled, dropping her head down shyly as she responded, “I am happy.  She’s definitely right about that.”

“I can hear the smile in your voice over the phone.  He just earned my tentative seal of approval.”

“I’ll take it.”

“Listen, kiddo, I’ve gotta get going, but don’t be a stranger.  It’s not all your fault that I didn’t know.  I need to call more, too.”

“You got it.  Love you, Erik. I’ll be in touch soon, too.  Give my best to Linda.”

“Will do.  Love you more, sis.”

Nicole grabbed her purse and got out of the car.  As she walked towards her apartment she sent up a quick prayer for Chris, if and when the day came that he had to face Erik in person.  

CHRIS EVANS @sfreeborn @patzammit @shaddixlife @humandasaster @awesomemonkeyfudge

Nicole stood up and looked at the dog thoughtfully,  then looked over at Chris and suggested, “I think it may be time to take him to the vet for a checkup.”

Chris let out a yawn and began to stretch and move the blankets off of him.  Dodger left her side and bounded away towards him, but took a detour at the last moment to go around to the far side of the bed for his stuffed lion.

Chris, who was quite scruffy looking from letting his hair and beard grow long for a role, started to get out of bed.  Nicole certainly didn’t mind the new look.  Not one bit.  As much as she loved the clean faced Steve Rogers when they’d first met, Chris with a beard and long hair had surpassed it as her new favorite kink.  

From the bed, Chris voiced his agreement,  “I’ll give them a call now, see if we can bring him in today.”  

With that, Chris planted his fists into the mattress and used them as leverage to swing his body forward. 

At the same time Dodger, who had taken a spot at the foot of the bed to play with his stuffed animal, dropped it and let out a series of small whines.  He began to scoot his way across the floor again.

From Nicole’s vantage point, the similarity in the way they were moving their bodies towards her, both sliding along on their bottoms, struck her silly button and she busted out in loud laughter.  Both Chris and Dodger stopped in their tracks and cocked their heads to the left, as if questioning what was so funny.  Dodger’s ear flipped up as Chris’s hair flopped over.  

It was the last straw. She took a few steps backwards until her back had reached the wall, which she then slid down as stronger waves of laughter took hold. 

Apparently, the saying was true. Like father, like son. 

They looked at him with wide eyes, then looked around at each other making funny faces as if he was going weird on them.

Carly broke the silence, asking, “‘So’ what, Chris? What’s on your mind?”  

“Cahmon, guys, you know what I’m talking about.  What do you all think of Nicole?”

His family remained silent for a moment, then Lisa let out a large sigh and said, “Well, it’s unanimous.”

“Yep, we all hate her,” Scott quickly added.  Chris did a double take, expecting a punchline or something, but his brother looked and sounded quite serious.

Taken aback, Chris looked from one sibling to the next, trying to find the joke, the humor, in what his little brother just said.  Incredulously, he smacked the table top and exclaimed, “You’re kidding, right?  Come on, what do you guys really think of her?”

“What he said,” Carly confirmed, shrugging as she her hand waved towards Scott. “Sorry, but she’s a real bitch, Chris. Don’t let her fool you.”

Shanna chimed in, “Seriously, she has zero sense of humor.”

Suddenly, they were all putting in their two cents and Chris felt like he was watching a tennis match as the comments came at him from one side of the table to the other.  

“The personality of a wet mop,” Lisa confirmed.

Chris noticed his niece, Stella, looking as confused as he felt.  “I really like-”

Her mom, Carly, interrupted and said, “The vegetable cream cheese, right?  Here, have another bite,” quickly, feeding her a small bite.   Carly licked some of the soft cheese off of her finger and then added, “She’s as cold as this stuff.”

“Not to mention highly unattractive,” Scott sassed.

“Her aim is too good, she shot me in the ass!” Ethan whined, quickly corrected by Carly to watch his language before she added, “Really though, she’s terrible with kids.”

Now Chris was beginning to feel his blood boil.  He was hoping this was all a joke, but they were all keeping straight faces and seemed way to passionate for this to not be real.  Everything they were saying was the total opposite of how he felt.  How the fuck could that be?

“She’d be a horrible dog mom, too.”

He pointed to Scott, who’d made the last comment and warned him, “Don’t.  Just don’t.  She stayed up and took care of him when he got sick the other night.  She’s an amazing dog mom.”

“I just don’t know what you see in her,” Lisa said sadly.

Chris had had enough and put his hands up in the air to silence them all.  Probably a little louder than he should have, he said, “Seriously, guys? Please tell me you just pulling my leg right now, because if you’re not -”

Lisa, who was sitting to his right, placed a hand on his arm to relax her eldest son and told him with a laugh and a warm smile, “We loved her.  We ALL loved her.”

“You boys aren’t the only actors in the family, you know,” Shanna teased, proud that they had properly gotten a rise out of Chris.

He felt his blood pressure drop instantly, it almost made him dizzy.   The relief was palpable and he couldn’t help but smile.

Carly, fixing her daughter’s ponytail,  confessed, “Stella was asking when she’d see her again.  She’s completely enamored.”

“She’s a cool girl, and you’re good together.  I haven’t seen you this happy and in love in a really long time.  I’m happy for you, brother,” added Scott.  

Chris blew out a long breath and sighed.  “It was harder than I imagined. Every time we say goodbye its tough and it’s just going to get worse. But she’s worth it.”

Lisa looked at her son, contemplatively, and asked, “Think she’d ever move here, if things get serious?”

“I don’t know, Ma.  When the time comes we’ll have the talk about it.  I get the feeling it won’t be an easy sell.  But we’re not there yet.”

“How serious are you guys?  Did you say the ‘L’ word today?” his sister Carly asked with wide, hopeful eyes, nudging him with her foot under the table.  

“No. I chickened out.  There never seemed to be a right time, and she was leaving today.  I will soon though, probably the next time I see her.”  He smiled to himself and said, wistfully, “After spending these last couple of days with her and seeing how well she blended in with everyone, I know for sure that I love her.”

A resounding “Awww” sound came from everyone around the table.  

“You deserve all the happiness in the world, my baby,” Lisa said, standing up and stopping to give him a kiss on the forehead before she started to clean up the table.

Dodger came around and placed his head on Chris’s lap, giving him big, pleading eyes in the hopes of more food.

“Oh thank God!” he said, bringing a hand to his chest and letting out a light laugh.  “I mean, you’re a grown woman and all, but I was hoping that wasn’t why you were out so late with him.”

The way he said the “him” made you raise a brow. “What are you not saying? I hear that tone in your voice.”

“Nothing, it’s just, he’s a nice guy and all, but he’s an actor.  I don’t want you getting all swept up by his fame and shit. A guy like that isn’t used to hearing the word “no” and is probably used to getting whatever he wants out of women.”

“He’s not like that,” you said a little defensively.  

Your brother rolled his eyes and stated flatly, “He’s a man.  He has a penis.  He’s into you.  Trust me, he was thinking about it.”

“Trust me, women think about it to.” You delighted in the grossed out face he made, not wanting to think about his baby sister knowing about sex.  You would be a virgin in his eyes, even after you had babies of your own.  “Chris was a gentleman.  Respectful.  He’s surprisingly normal for an ‘actor’.”  

The mood shifted and Ryan was no longer your parent, but reverted back to being your brother.  Your friend.

He gave you loving smile and asked, “Did you have a good time tonight?”

There was no stopping the blush that took over your face and chest.  

“It was amazing.  Truly one of the most memorable nights of my life,” you said, practically swooning.

Ryan chuckled at you, smiling to match your own. “What did you guys do?”

“Well, first, he took me to the to Prudential Center and we watched the sun set from the observatory level at the top of the building. Then we went to an Italian restaurant for delicious steak and dancing.”

Sounding surprised and impressed, he asked, “Dancing?”

“Yes! Can you believe it? They had an outdoor patio for it.  It was so romantic,” you told him wistfully.

“Dinner must have been hours ago, though.  Where did you go after?”

“To a park along the water.”

He sat up straight and turned his upper body towards you.  An air of protectiveness surrounded him once again.  “You’ve been at a park for all this time? At night?”

“Yes, Ry, it was fine-”

“Not the safest idea though.  This is Boston, you could’ve been mugged! Or worse yet, he could’ve-”

You cut him off there.  His hand was flying all around as he got himself worked up, and you placed your own on top of his, lowering them to the sofa as you interrupted his tirade.  “I’m ok, it was perfectly safe.  He wouldn’t let anything happen to me and he wouldn’t do anything wrong to me.  There were lights, he’s strong and knows how to defend us.  And, most importantly, I know how to defend myself now, thanks to you and dad. I’m okay, Ryan.”

“Balls, throat, eyes and knees,” he confirmed with a nod.

“Yes, I know how to reach and debilitate a man from all of those spots.  But you know if my gut was telling me to be worried then I never would have gone out with him. Period.  Let alone to a secluded spot like that.”

“I know.  I trust you, I trust you instincts.  It’s everyone else with you that I don’t trust.”

You let out a light laugh and ran a hand through your hair, then rested your elbow on the back of the sofa.  Pinching the bridge of your nose, you sighed, “And you’re the easy brother.”

“Damn straight.  If Erik was on this trip you could kiss a date with Captain Perfection out the window.”

Now you played into it, giving a dramatic sigh and clutching your heart.  “He really is Captain Perfection, isn’t he?”

Ryan teased you with a disgusted moan, then paused and cocked his head to the side as if thinking.  He pursed his lips together for a moment, then nodded his head and said, “Yeah, I guess he kinda is.”  He shrugged and added pensively, “I’d do him.”

“RYAN!!” you exclaimed with a laugh, looking around to make sure you hadn’t woken the children.  You both dropped back onto the sofa in quiet hysterics.  

Your big brother held out his arm and you took the invitation, tucking into his side and resting your head on his shoulder.  He kissed the top of your head and squeezed your shoulder.  

“I love you, kiddo.  You know it’s my job to be a dick about things sometimes.”

“I love you, too.  You know it’s my job to give you reasons to be one.”

You sat together in silence for a minute or so, then he asked, “You really like this guy, huh?

“I do. He’s different from anyone else I’ve ever met.  And it’s got nothing to do with who he is, it’s just a feeling I get when I’m around him.  The chemistry is unreal.”  Your heart was racing as you thought about Chris.  It was one of those nights in life that you wish never had to end.

“Think you’ll see him again?”

In a shy voice you admitted, “He wants to get together before we leave to say goodbye to everyone.”  You couldn’t stop the happiness from spreading across your face at the thought of seeing him again in just a few hours.  

“And after?”

“I think I will,” you said, feeling confident in that statement.  Something told you that this was far from over.

“Just be careful, I’d hate to see you get let down.  If he breaks your heart, it’s not going to be easy to break his face.”

“Because he’s far away, or because he’s famous?” you asked.

“Nah, because he’s so damn pretty,” he joked, setting you off into a fit of giggles again.

“It’s getting late.  We have a long ride tomorrow with plenty of time to get the real story out of you.”

“Hey!” you said, turning on him incredulously.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” he said, throwing his palms up and laughing.

You stood up and he followed suit, giving you a quick hug and saying goodnight.  He held you at arms length for a moment and his eyes grew wide as he looked at you.

“Wait a second! Is that a hickey?”