#scottxsteve

Stood in front of the mirror Steve tugged on the bright yellow gloves before smoothing his hands over the suit. It was all black except for the boots, gloves, belt, cape medallions, and inside of the cape which were all bright yellow. And there was a mask, of course, there was always a mask, but instead of a full head cowl he'd gone with a partial that left his hair free. The biggest difference between the designs was the deep V down the front of the suit that revealed his naked chest and stomach. Which...yeah, Steve wasn't sure exactly what he'd been thinking at the time he'd designed it, but there was a reason (several, actually) that 'Nomad' had only lasted less than a year before he was captain America again.

But, right, Halloween. Dress up. All that good stuff. Honestly, Steve was blaming Scott for this, because despite how ridiculous he looks Steve knows that Scott's going to get a kick out of it. His whole face will light up the way it does when he grins, and the corners of his eyes will crinkle adorably, and Steve will just....melt. He'll melt and fall in love with the man all over again like he did every time the man smiled at him. So, yeah, totally and completely Scott's fault.

Steve chuckled at the ridiculousness of his own thoughts, a hand lifting to run through his hair. Well, it was now or never. He could hear another door opening down the hall and he didn't want to keep Scott waiting. With one more look in the mirror to make sure his mask was on straight Steve turned and walked out of the room, cape billowing majestically behind him.

He knew Scott would be waiting for him in the living room, so that was where he went, curious to see what the other man had decided to dress up as this year. He discovered the answer to that question when he stepped into the living room and was confronted with the swish of a yellow and black cape as Scott turned to face him dressed up in the identical outfit that Steve was wearing.

There was a beat of silence and then both men burst out laughing. Steve laughed so hard he ended up bent over, hands on his knees in an attempt to brace himself. Thankfully, Scott was there, grasping Steve's shoulders and helping him upright even as the pair continued to chuckle about the fact that they really were That Couple.

Baby blue eyes looked his husband up and down, and Steve had to bite his lower lip to quell the chuckles. "I know this is where I'm supposed to say 'it looks better on you than it does on me', buuuut..." A peal of laughter escaped, the super-soldier grinning as he shook his head.

"Oh, gee, thanks, husband of mine. You really know how to make a guy feel special." The words were a chastisement, but there's laughter in them, Scott smacking Steve in the shoulder.

At the impact the laughter Steve had been holding back escaped in a bout of giggles and his hands at Scott's hips tugged the man in against him. The taller man leaned down, eyes bright as he grinned. "I try my best."

Steve's eyes flicked down to take in the way the costume hugged Scott's hips and shoulders which was, well, Steve would admit that maybe his design hadn't been totally flawed. But, then he got to the deep V and the cape and he was giggling again, his hands lifting to cradle Scott's neck, leather-covered thumbs trailing along Scott's bearded jawline. He was just leaning in to show his husband just how special Steve thought he was when Scott's murmur sounded in the breath of air shared between them.

"But, if you like this, just wait until you see what I'm wearing underneath it."

Steve will forever blame the ridiculous eyebrow waggle Scott made for why he dissolved into giggles just at that moment, but Scott was giggling right along with him, so Steve supposed that was alright. Not that it mattered all that much as their mouths effortlessly found one another's, the pairs' laughter quieted by the gentle movement of their lips.

Oh, the party had gone well enough; Cassie was adorable, and all her friends were in the normal range of pre-teen/early teenage rebellion. All of that, he could definitely handle. It's her dad that's the problem. Scott Lang was entirely too adorable and too attractive for his own good. Steve had thought he was a fellow party entertainer at first, because when Steve stepped out into the backyard the man was doing magic tricks and, oh. Magicians were Steve's weakness. He had such a thing for magic, it absolutely delighted him, and he was aware of just how ridiculous that was considering he was a full-grown thirty-two-year-old man, but he really didn't care. He was also a full-grown thirty-two-year-old man whose day job consisted of dressing up in a Captain America costume for kids (his night job, on the other hand, was stripping a different Captain America costume off for adults— but just stripping; he was an entertainer, not a prostitute), so being a nerdy geek who liked magic was par for the course, really.

The entire first hour of the gig Steve had to actively work to keep his focus on the kids and not get distracted trying to watch the man on the other side of the yard performing his magic tricks. It wasn't until a man (Mr. Paxton, Steve assumed from the way Mrs. Paxton greeted him) arrived with the cake and the kids all gathered inside to sing happy birthday to Cassie that Steve learned Mr. Magic Hands' name. The man introduced himself as Scott Lang, which made him Mrs. Paxton's ex-husband and Steve found himself thinking that must be super awkward, but it wasn't something he was going to outright ask.

Scott, of course, was needed to take part in the whole cake ritual, and Steve felt his heart melt a little in his chest watching the man. It was obvious he loved his daughter, and that she adored him. And, weirdly, Scott and Mr. and Mrs. Paxton all functioned like a single unit, no post-relationship awkwardness— or at least none that Steve could immediately see. It had him wondering what kind of special Scott was.

Steve didn't get to ponder that for too long, because after cake he was back to being the main attraction, all his focus on the kids. He'd been booked for the entirety of the afternoon, so it was nearly four hours before the kids were all heading home, including Cassie and the Paxtons as the party had been held at Scott's house. The sudden and complete silence after spending an entire afternoon with a bunch of rowdy teenagers was startling, Steve's ears ringing a little. Maybe it was the quiet pressing down on them like a weighted blanket, but Steve was loathe to break it, even to ask about being paid. Which, y'know, he was going to have to do eventually, one way or another.

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