You stood over the sink, your hands red from the heat of the water as you rinse the never ending mound of plates. It had been one more thing for you to fight with him over. You couldn’t help but peek through the window blinds and watch him exercising in the backyard, throwing heavy punches into the punching bag.

 

It was another thing you’d fought about. The placement of a stupid punching bag. All the rooms in the house and he wanted it outside. Outside where it would get ruined by the rain. It gave him clarity, he had said. Being outside made him feel at peace. You had rolled your eyes then. Much like you had done today with the dishes.

 

Chris had been spending a lot more time away. Whether it was for movies, appearances, or constant trips down to Australia. You couldn’t really say anything about that. Work was work. Kept a roof over your heads and he loved his family. That didn’t stop it from causing a rift between you.

 

With his constant travels and the amount of growing female attention he’d been getting, thoughts of him cheating often crossed your mind. You couldn’t help it. You’d watched his interviews. Seen the blog posts of groupies fawning over him. You knew it came with the territory, but the insecurity drove you crazy.

 

You’d try to make the best of his days off but it always seemed to end with some sort of fight. For the first time in a long time, you saw this leading to a split after the 8 long years you’d devoted to him.

 

You’d met the first year of college. Even then he was handsome: long blonde hair, piercing blue eyes. You’d been partnered together in your Chem class. Neither of you knowing what you were doing but it ended up being your favorite class simply because he was in it.

 

The fond memories brought a small smile to your face.

 

After graduation, he’d decided to move to the states and pursue acting, asked you to take the plunge with him into uncertainty. Without hesitation, you’d left it all behind. Friends. Family. Home.

 

The two of you struggled at first. You having to pull the weight with two jobs while he worked part time and attended every audition possible. Financially, this had been the best move, but looking at the status of your relationship now, you wondered – at what cost?

 

Chris was always humble. Never let the fame get to his head, but the constant media attention he’d been getting since his role as Thor was pulling him further and further away.

 

The back door opened and slammed closed behind you. Quickly, you shuffled to turn off the water and grab a towel, pretending to dry your hands while patting you tear stained cheeks before turning to face him. Lately, you had little to no control over your emotions, crying had become your favorite past time but you couldn’t, no, wouldn’t let him see.

 

Even after all these years, the sight of him still took your breath away. After a workout his muscles were swollen, he stood shirtless in your kitchen. His sweat tracing down the outlines of his chest and down his abs.

 

You wanted badly to forget all of this and have him take you upstairs but you’d always been the stubborn one.

 

Instead, you leaned you back against the counter. Folding your arms across your chest. Your eyes met his but only momentarily before guilt ate away at you. You had to make this work. You had loved this man for so many years. To many – to just call it quits now. Not now.

 

Chris let out a heavy sigh, brushing sweat out of his hair before walking up to you. His 6’3 figure towering nearly a foot over you.

 

“I’m sorry about the dishes, babe.”

 

He said slowly. His large hand rubbing back through your hair, brushing it away from your eyes.

 

“It’s not about the dishes.” You whisper.

 

He looked confused for a moment. As brilliant as he was, he never thought deeper into anything. You wiped off the counter, jumping up to sit on it so you two could be eye to eye.

 

“Then what’s it about?”

 

“Chris.” You take in a big breath.

 

You didn’t know why you were nervous. This should’ve been a happy moment in your life, especially after being with him for so long. You were happy. There was no doubt about it, but with the growing distance between you two, you felt uneasy.

 

“I’m pregnant.”

 

It took Chris a moment to grasp what you’d just said and you felt the impulse to vomit but then his lips curved into a smile. That familiar smile you’d grown to love. A smile that brought back millions of memories all at once and this would be added onto them. It reached his eyes, lighting them up brighter than you’d ever seen. It whisked away every fear, every insecurity that you’ve ever had, because the way he looked at you at this very minute showed you that you were the most precious thing in his life.

 

“Baby.” She stepped closer, wrapping his arms tightly around your torso. “This is amazing news! When did you find out?”

 

The sweaty body should’ve grossed you out but you embraced him, holding him tightly against you.

 

“This morning. I was late. I took a test and …”

 

His lips met yours before you could finish and you gladly accepted. His rough hands holding your cheeks, brushing the soft skin of your face softly with his thumb as he pulled away and you started to cry again. You couldn’t control it this time. Couldn’t hold back the tears.

 

“Hey, hey! What’s wrong?”

 

“I’m scared!” You blurted out, pushing him away slightly so you could wipe your tears with your sleeve. “This is what we’ve wanted for so long but with everything going on I’m scared! I’m scared of losing you! I’m scared of having to raise this baby practically on my own because you’re never here anymore! I’m scared!”

 

The tears came harder when you saw the pained expression on his face. He was hurt by your words but you had to let it out. The thought of this leading to another fight occurred to you but Chris just stepped closer, standing in between your legs, one hand on your cheek, resting the other over your stomach.

 

“You’re the love of my life. Everything I do, everything I have, everything I am is for you and now for our baby. Never in a million years would I walk away from this. Never in a million years would you have to go through this alone.”

 

You looked up at him, tears still rolling down you cheeks but this time it was because of his words instead of your thoughts. You placed a hand on his cheek, kissing him softly with a small smile.

 

“I love you.” He smiled back. “Both of you.”