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The costume had felt stupid when he first put it on. It had felt even more stupid as he'd walked through the dorms. Now that he was sitting in the car, outside Tony's Halloween party, he was halfway convinced that the costume was a practical joke and Tony had never expected him to actually wear it.
"You could run me back to my dorm?" he suggested half-heartedly, but Happy grinned and shook his head.
"I like my job."
Okay, Roy thought. He could brazen this out.
Or he could just keep the cowl on all night and at least nobody would know who he was.
It wasn't even that he was opposed to skin-tight leather, he thought, as he headed up the driveway, shield slung over his back. Just... did it have to be so blue?
The first - and only - person he recognised inside the house was Pepper, rocking the Jessica Rabbit look. "Hi," he said.
She stared at him for a moment, eyes narrowed as she worked out who he was. "Oh, god, Roy?" she asked incredulously. "I'm going to kill him; I told him it wouldn't be funny. I can't believe he-"
"It's not that bad," Roy tried to reassure her, but she wasn't listening.
"We always have spare costumes," Pepper said, "so I'm sure we can find something that fits."
And, of course, now that he was offered an out, Roy didn't want it. "I kind of like it," he said. "It's colourful."
Pepper rested a hand on his forearm, just above the red glove. "Look, I know you think you owe him-"
"I owe you," Roy said. "He told me who approved the first scholarship. But I like the costume. I'm sticking with it."
"I'm still going to kill him," Pepper said, and sighed. "He's out by the pool. You can't miss him."
And Pepper was right, as always, because- "I can't believe you came to a costume party as yourself," Roy said.
Tony's grin was incandescent as he spread his arms and said, "I'm my own favourite superhero!" He leaned in and said, as though it were a shameful confession, "It's just a costume." He aimed one of the repulsors at Roy, and, before Roy could even think about ducking out of the way, it lit up faintly and made a pathetic warbling sound.
"I kind of guessed it was a costume," Roy said. "You'd have to be crazy to wear the real armour to a party," and then winced as he realised what he'd said.
Tony's grin faded a little as he said, "Yeah, you're right." But then he perked up as he said, "Come with me, there's someone you've got to meet."
And the armour might just be a costume but there was enough real engineering in it for Tony's grip on his wrist to be unbreakable - even if Roy had actually wanted to break it. He let himself be towed over to where a blond man in vintage Army uniform was talking to Charlie Chaplin and Elizabeth Swann.
"Steve!" Tony called, and the Army man looked in their direction - and froze, eyes wide.
But by the time Roy and Tony had pushed through the crowds, he'd relaxed enough to greet them with a smile, even if his gaze did keep flickering back to Roy. Roy would have liked to think it was due to his sheer hotness but figured it was more likely the bright colours of the costume and Tony's hand on his ass.
"Roy's going to be interning with me," Tony was saying, and Roy tried to look responsible, which was difficult with little wings on the sides of his head.
While Tony was talking to Charlie and Elizabeth, Roy said, "Have you known Tony long?"
"Only a few weeks," Steve said, perfectly pleasant but still looking at Roy as though he might explode at any second. After a moment, Steve said, "Your uniform..."
Roy grinned ruefully and looked down at his red boots. "Yeah," he said, "it's a bit much, isn't it? It's the last time I let Tony arrange my costume."
Steve's smile had a hint of wistfulness about it. "It is vivid."
"Beats me how the guy managed to fight at all, never mind do it without the Nazis seeing him from twenty miles away." Roy shrugged. "Still, he was some kind of super soldier, wasn't he?"
"Something like that," Steve said. "From what I've heard, that is."
"Super soldier serum," Tony said, abandoning Charlie and Elizabeth. "My father worked on the project. I did have some of his notes and photos before S.H.I.E.L.D. demanded them back."
"I'd like to see them," Steve said.
"Speak to Nick Fury," Tony said. "I can't see him saying no. Not to you." There was something discomfortingly sincere about his voice, but it was gone when he turned back to Roy. "Anyway, come on, Cap. You need to meet Rhodey."
For a moment, it looked as though Steve was going to follow them, but Elizabeth's hand on his arm kept him where he was.
"He seemed nice," Roy said.
"You have no idea." Tony glanced back, and he sounded almost worshipful as he said, "The man's a legend."
Evidently, Roy thought, a legend in a field where the public would never even hear of his existence.