"I cannot believe you talked me into this," Roman called from the bathroom. "You know I'm Thor. You know my favorite Chris is Chris Hemsworth. You know I'm still mad at Cap for Endgame."
"Pretend that never happened," Virgil answered. "Besides, I refuse to be anyone other than Bucky, so you gotta just suck it up and deal. And I put a shitload of effort into that costume of yours."
Roman let out a loud sigh. "It's an amazing costume, I'll give you that."
"Got Sophia to make the shield. You can snowboard on it."
"Awesome. Okay, I think I'm done---god, these pants are tight."
Virgil hid his grin. "Dunno why, I used the Winter Soldier version instead of the spandex Avengers one."
Long pause.
Roman came out of the bathroom, giving Virgil a bemused look. "Did you purposefully---"
"Hey, America's ass is a crucial part of Steve's physique," Virgil said, smirking. "You don't have the Dorito body, so I had to make do."
"Janus has been rubbing off on you."
"No, that's not because of Janus's influence." Virgil kissed Roman on the cheek. "You've got a great body, and as your boyfriend, I'd feel guilty if I didn't make your costume flatter it in the best way possible."
Roman laughed. "All right, I give in. You don't look too bad yourself."
Virgil's costume was actually pretty easy to design, though he'd left out the mouth covering. The only hard part was the metal arm, which Sophia had offered to do along with the shield. She'd made it so it covered his real arm, but still looked real enough to the actual thing that Virgil could get by.
By contrast, Roman's costume was a little tricker. Since Captain America got a new outfit literally every movie, Virgil had way too many options to choose from---not to mention, it was hard getting the measurements exactly right. And it was especially hard to keep it secret from him, though it got easier once Logan let him do the sewing in the robotics lab.
"This shield is actually pretty cool," Roman admitted, hefting the large, circular sheet of metal painted in red, white, and blue. "What's it made out of?"
"Just regular steel. Same with this thing." Virgil patted the covering on his left arm. "Could you do my makeup?"
Roman held up a palette. "Way ahead of you, Hot Topic. By the time I'm finished, you'll be in full assassin mode."
"Can't wait."
.............
Virgil wasn't as quite as blown away by the ballroom's setup as he was the year before---probably because he'd already seen it. Still, though, it was insanely cool.
"Ah, I missed this," Roman sighed. "The Halloween Dance is one of the highlights of the year."
"Too bad it's so early in the year," Virgil commented. "And it's also kind of bittersweet, since it's the last day before the Christmas craze starts."
"Could you attempt to be positive?"
Virgil pointed at his head. "Brainwashed. Seventy years of murder and torture. Separated from the love of my life. Can't be positive."
Roman gave him a light shove. "You're not actually Bucky, Virgil."
He feigned confusion. "Who the hell is Bucky?"
"You're impossible," Roman muttered.
"You still love me, though, right?" Virgil teased.
"I think that's a given."
Virgil gave him a quick kiss, then looked around. "Didn't Remus say he'd meet us at the door?"
Almost the second he said that, someone covered his eyes.
"Guess whooooooooo!" they sang.
"Remus, get off of him," Roman said.
Virgil sighed. "Hey, big guy."
Remus practically bounded into the ballroom, grinning full-force. "How do you like my costume?"
"That's an Oogie Boogie onesie," Roman told him.
"It still counts!"
"You look great," Virgil assured him. "Where's the hazard macaroni?"
"Jan-Jan is still getting ready," Remus said, taking off his hood and running a hand through his curls. "He wants to do the dramatic-entrance thing again."
Roman smirked. "You think he can compete with Captain America and the Winter Soldier?"
"Uhhhhh... yeah."
Virgil linked his hand with Roman's. "Try to tone down the competitive edge here for me, okay, Princey? Halloween's a night of fun."
"In more ways than one." Remus threw his arms over their shoulders. "C'mon, dorks, let's go meet the glasses gays."
The three of them walked over to the costume contest check-in, where Patton and Logan were talking. Patton's costume was fairly simple---a white dress, small white bird wings, and a little halo stick thing---but Logan, surprisingly, had gone all out. He was wearing the iconic white trenchcoat with blue circuit designs over a sheer white suit, as well as a blue tie decorated with white circuit designs, and he'd apparently taken the time to apply glowy circuit board makeup on his neck, face, and hands.
Logan noticed them and spread his hands. "Well?"
"My respect for you has never been higher," Virgil informed him.
"I'm glad it takes dressing up as a defective AI to earn your respect."
"I helped with the makeup!" Patton chimed in.
Roman nodded in approval. "You did an amazing job, I can tell."
"Is Janus not here yet?" Logan asked, frowning slightly. "I thought he'd have arrived by now."
"Bitch Cipher wanted to do a dramatic entrance," Roman said, putting on an incredibly fake British accent. "I think that's code for 'he's too scared of the competition.'"
"When Janus wants to do a dramatic entrance, he does the dramatic entrance," Patton reminded him.
"I know, but---"
"Yeah, that's the exact same thing you said about his Alastor costume last year," Virgil added. "And he got first place."
"Well, I have the upper hand now," Roman huffed, folding his arms. "I'm doing a couple costume, and I'm one of the most iconic superheroes ever."
"Good for you that I'm not doing the contest this year," Logan said, taking out his phone. "I'd most likely win."
Roman scoffed. "You would not, don't be---"
"No, he'd win," Virgil said. "No doubt about it."
"Agreed," Patton added.
Logan blushed slightly. "Thank---thank you, Star."
"Woah, woah, woah, you guys haven't even seen Jan-Jan's costume yet," Remus cut in. "He's gonna smoke all of you. Just you wait."
Virgil raised an eyebrow. "I mean, I'm not disagreeing with you, but what exactly---"
The opening notes of "You'll Be Back" started to play from the speakers. Logan casually pocketed his phone.
"You saaaaaay / The price of my love's not a price that you're willing to pay / You cryyyyy / In your tea which you hurl in the sea when you see me go by," someone crooned into a mic---someone with a very familiar voice. "Why so sad? / Remember, we made an arrangement when you went away / Now you're making me mad / Remember, despite our estrangement / I'm your maaaaaaaan..."
Janus stepped into the ballroom, decked out in a Broadway-worthy King George cosplay---and with the smuggest grin on his face.
"Oh, come on!" Roman shouted.
"You'll be back / Soon you'll see / You'll remember you belong to me," Janus sang. "You'll be back / Time will tell / You'll remember that I served you well / Oceans rise / Empires fall / We have seen each other through it all / And when push comes to shove / I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love..."
Logan pulled his phone back out and pressed something.
"Hey, I wanted to do the 'da-da-da-da-das!'" Janus called, still holding the mic.
"I think you've made your point," Logan answered.
Janus rolled his eyes as people started applauding. "Yes, yes, fine."
"That is not fair," Roman hissed.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Janus said, sauntering over. "Did you really decide to dress up as America's golden boy? This makes this contest all the more entertaining."
"My idea, actually," Virgil said, raising his hand. "He wanted to do a couple costume."
Janus laughed. "Aw, that's so cute. Mildly pathetic, but cute."
"I'm not trying to win. I just agreed because Roman let me pick."
"Mm-hmm, sure." Janus poked Roman in the chest with his scepter. "High stakes here, Captain. It's not just you verses me---it's America verses England. And a lot depends on who comes up on top."
"Oh, yeah?" Roman said, drawing himself up to his full height. "What's at stake here?"
Janus twirled his scepter. "I win, you have to do a rendition of 'God Save The Queen' at top volume. You win, I'll sing 'America the Beautiful.'"
Roman grinned. "I'll take that action!"
"All right, great, you guys have your competition on," Virgil said, patting them both on the shoulder. "Let's get checked in."
...............
To the surprise of almost no one, Janus ended up taking first place again, and Roman and Virgil wound up with second. Roman absolutely refused to sing, though, so Janus just settled with drinking all of the punch out of his first-place trophy in order to rub his victory in his face.
"Look, you wouldn't have won if you hadn't done that entrance," Roman argued. "Don't flatter yourself on this one."
Janus took another sip.
"I did have a lot of fun with helping him orchestrate that entrance," Logan commented. "It didn't take much to rig the speakers, but still."
Roman glared at him. "Traitor."
"In no reality would you have beat Janus. Besides, I was assisting a friend."
"But I'm your best friend! You should value me more!"
Logan shrugged. "Janus is my boyfriend's best friend. I can prioritize him if I want to."
Remus gave Janus a kiss on the cheek. "Congrats on first place, mi serpiente."
"Thank you, darling," Janus said, kissing him back.
Patton let out a little gasp. "Oh my gosh! Did you guys see Remy and Emile's costumes?"
"No, what are they?" Roman asked, looking around curiously.
Virgil twisted around in his seat and spotted Remy leaning against the wall---in a full-on Catra cosplay. Emile was chatting with the judges, and his back was turned, but the jacket was pure Adora.
"Nice," he said, nodding in approval. "Good to know they've got good taste."
"They did the couple costume better than you and Roman," Janus said.
Roman rolled his eyes. "Look, our couple costume landed us second place."
"I think that may have been due to Virgil's sewing skills."
Virgil gave Janus a fist-bump. "Thanks, dude."
Remy walked over to them and tapped Janus on the shoulder. "Hey, Kapoor, mind if I use your microphone?"
"What for?"
"None of your business. Gimme."
Janus raised an eyebrow. "That depends. Are you still with the Horde?"
Remy picked up the microphone from the table. "You know what, I don't need your permission. I'm the teacher here."
"Nice Catra costume, Remy!" Patton called as he walked away.
Remus sat forward, looking curious. "What'd you think he's gonna do?"
"I dunno, but I want to see this," Virgil muttered.
Remy turned on the microphone and held it up to his mouth. "Emmy?"
The ballroom went quiet as Emile turned around, looking slightly confused.
"So... I'm going to make this simple," Remy continued, taking something out from his pocket. "You're amazing, and perfect, and the best guy I've ever met. And we've been dating for a while, so..." He got down on one knee, holding the something up---a little diamond ring. "Husband?"
Emile let out a little happy gasp. "For real?"
Remy nodded. "For real. And, uh, please take the ring, because I'm a teacher and a millennial and you refuse to give me a raise even though we're dating, and it cost me, like, half my sala---"
Emile took the ring and grabbed Remy by the shirt collar, pulling him in for a kiss. The ballroom burst into cheers.
"Did you record it?!" Patton shrieked, shaking Janus. "Did you record it?!"
"I did," Logan said quietly, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You can relax."
Janus grabbed Remus's arm. "Pinch me, please. I think I might be dreaming."
"You're not, trust me," Remus told him, grinning.
"I can't believe that happened!" Roman whisper-squealed. "They're getting married, Virgil! They're getting married!"
"I know, Princey, I know," Virgil said, smiling. "And that was adorable."
"Beyond adorable! It was rom-com worthy!"
Virgil shrugged. "Yeah, proposing to someone on Halloween's romantic in my book."
A/N: Remile?
REMILE
Also, Overly Sarcastic Productions just did a video on Hades and Persephone, and it is amazeballs. Seriously. Check it out.