Thought I'd give you guys a little Halloween one-shot. There'll still be a main fic update on Friday, rest assured :)
Alex hated being made to stay late at work. As an intern, she didn't even get paid any overtime for it, it was just expected of her. Slumped in her seat on the subway, her aching feet throbbing in her boots, she pulled her phone out of her back, and was about to type a message to James, when she received one from him.
[text] Hey, baby doll, I was thinking about take out for dinner. Chinese or pizza?
[text] Also, Harry's come round.
Alex smiled as she read the text. She hadn't seen her best friend for over a week, the two of them had been too busy with work - Alex with her work at The Daily Bugle, Harry with keeping his cafe, The Coffee Bean, up and running. She quickly tapped back a message suggesting that they got Chinese food for dinner (she'd had a slice of pizza for lunch), and looked up just in time to see the train pull in to Fifty Seventh Street station. Slipping her phone back into her bag, she got off the train, and exited the station, heading for her apartment.
"Hey, guys," Alex smiled as she walked into the living room and dropped her bag on the floor, pulling off her boots.
Harry and James were sat on the couch, a laptop balanced on Harry's knees. James was clearly trying not to laugh, and Harry had a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"... What?" Alex asked, a puzzled frown crossing her features. "What is it?"
Neither of them said anything, James just beckoned Alex over to the couch. She stood behind them and looked down at the laptop screen. And she instantly felt her cheeks flushing pink as she recognised what was playing on the screen.
What Harry was showing James was a recording of an eleven year old Alex during one of her dance shows. She was dressed in a top and skirt patterned to reflect the American flag, and was performing a dance to 'The Star-Spangled Man with a Plan'. James had started laughing again (although, it was definitely fond giggling rather than laughing at Alex). He was finding the fact that his girlfriend had danced what he and the other invaders had dubbed 'The Captain America Song', when he was Captain America now, to be very funny.
Of course, Harry had no idea that James was Captain America, he just found the video really cute, and thought that James would like it.
"Oh my God, where did you find this?" Alex cried, covering her face with her hands as she found it hard not to laugh at herself.
"It's on YouTube," Harry chuckled. "One of the parents at the show must have recorded it and put it online. We're holding a Captain America night in the coffee shop next week, and I found it when looking for footage."
Alex playfully pushed Harry's shoulder. "I can't believe you're showing this to my boyfriend!"
"Come on, I'm pretty much your brother, it's my job to embarrass you to your boyfriend," Harry replied with a grin.
James reached behind him and took Alex's hand, grinning at her. "Baby girl, I think it's adorable."
Half joking, half serious, Alex reached forward and shut the laptop. "I think that's enough of eleven year old me," she said with a sweet, innocent smile. I was promised Chinese food."
A few days later, Alex was lounging in the Avengers' Compound, waiting for James to come back from a mission. Steve was in the room with her, and they were just chatting about, well, not very much at all. It was still a little strange for Alex to be talking with Steve, given that, only a few weeks ago, he'd been dead. It was getting quite difficult to keep track of who was alive and who was dead, seeing how so many people seemed to have difficulty staying dead.
"I still can't believe that you danced to that song as a kid," Steve laughed, Alex having just told him about what Harry had showed James. "I thought people had forgotten about that."
"Well, if they had, my dance teacher certainly hadn't," Alex replied, her cheeks going slightly pink again. "It was so fucking embarrassing."
A cheeky smile came onto Steve's face. "Well, I might be able to help you with a kind of revenge," he smirked. At Alex's puzzled look, he continued, "Have you ever seen a picture of James from the forties?"
Alex thought for a moment, and then shook her head. "No, I haven't. Oh my god, how have I never seen a picture of him when he was younger?"
"Well, give me a minute, and you can."
Steve stood up, leaving Alex alone for a few moments while he grabbed a laptop. When he came back, it only took a quick google search to find a picture of Steve and James in the 1940s, Steve in his original Captain America uniform, and James, at about seventeen years old, dressed in a blue jacket, little blue shorts, bright red tights, and a black eye mask.
"He wore that for five years," Steve said, the chuckle still in his voice as he saw a grin spread over Alex's face.
"Oh. My. God," Alex grinned, beginning to giggle as she spoke. "Why have I never seen this before, this is great!"
"See, you're not the only one who looked a little foolish as a kid. Although, in all fairness, he never seemed to mind his uniform then. I know he regrets it now," Steve replied, matching Alex's grin.
Just as he finished speaking, James walked into the room, pulling down the hood of his Cap costume. He looked at the smiles on Alex and Steve's faces. "... What?"
Steve was about to hold up the laptop, but Alex held her hand out to stop him. She met James' gaze, smiled, and simply said, "Red tights."
There was a momentary pause while James worked out what she meant. And then his eyes widened slightly. "Oh no..."
Alex giggled fondly, standing up and walking over to James, and putting her arms around his waist. "I think you look cute in them," she smiled, pecking his lips. "Very few people could pull off shorts and tights the way that you can."
James was clearly trying not to laugh. He returned the little kiss, and then began to walk towards the door. "Well, I'm going to go and chance into some normal clothes, which will not be tights," he smirked, giving Steve a little wave as he left the living room.
Alex went back to sit on the couch, still giggling a little. "I bet I could convince him to wear that again," she said, more thinking out loud than anything.
Steve looked up. "No, you couldn't!" he laughed.
"Sure I could," Alex smiled, putting on a jovial, simpering voice. "I bet that my James would do anything for me." She couldn't stop herself from laughing as she finished the sentence.
Steve was laughing as well. "How much do you bet? Because I'm willing to take that."
Alex thought. "... Ten dollars. Hey, you guys are having a Halloween party, right? I bet you ten dollars that I can convince James to wear his old costume to the party."
Smirking confidently, Steve held his hand out to Alex. "Okay, you're on."
Two weeks later, on the thirty first of October, Alex was waiting for James in their bedroom. A few days before, they'd had a conversation about what costume they were going to wear, and had decided to go as a Disney couple. Alex had been tasked with getting their costumes that day but, of course, she had not got them Disney costumes. She heard the front door open, and called, "James? I'm in the bedroom."
James walked into the bedroom, a curious look on his face. "Hey, baby doll, did you get the cos... What are you wearing?"
Alex was sat on the bed, dressed in a tight blue top with white stars on it, and a red and white striped short skirt, with a little matching hat pinned into her hair. It was obvious that she was dressed in a skimpier version of the costume that she'd danced in as a child. "I had a better idea for our costumes," she said with a cheeky grin.
"... Well, now I'm really worried as to what you've got for me," James said, his expression caught between a frown and a smile.
Alex didn't say anything, she just grinned at James again, and then reached into the bag at her feet. She pulled out a pair of men's red tights, and some little blue shorts.
"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no," James said, starting to laugh as he shook his head. "No way, you are not getting me into those tights."
"Oh, come on, James," Alex pouted, standing up and walking closer to him. "You'll look so cute in these. And we match. And it'll be funny for everyone, including us."
"But they're tights..." James protested, a little whine coming into his voice.
Alex thought for a moment, trying to come up with the best way to convince James to wear the tights, and therefore win the bet. And then she had an idea.
"James, baby..." There was now a more silky tone to Alex's voice. "Did you ever get laid wearing those tights?"
There was a very long pause. "No..."
"Do you want to change that?"
There was another pause. And then James pressed a deep kiss to Alex's lips, before grabbing the tights, and beginning to struggle into them.
Ten dollars, and sex. Happy Halloween to us, Alex thought, watching James struggle into his costume.