The Evans Brothers [Part I] (Patreon)

It had been a long time since Scott had last had the opportunity to introduce a boyfriend to his big brother Chris, but he was excited for the opportunity to finally introduce one of the most important men in his life to the other. He was confident that Chris would like his new beau; Steve wasn’t the same controlling douchebag that his brother had chided him for dating in the past. No, Steve was the perfect gentleman and handsome to boot. Truthfully, Scott wasn’t sure he could ask for a more perfect guy! They’d endured a few jokes on social media about how similar they looked but that was a small price to pay for happiness together.

The pair were traveling to stay at Chris’ mini-mansion on the outskirts of Boston, a considerably chilly alternative compared to Steve’s native Los Angeles. It was to be a week-long stay and while Scott was thrilled to have the opportunity to spend so much time with his brother as they hadn’t seen each other since the holidays, there was a small part of him that was a little nervous. After all, seven days was a long time to spend trapped between his brother and his boyfriend on the off-chance that the two didn’t gel all too well. Chris was of course never openly hostile to any of Scott’s previous romantic partners, but there was an undeniable vibe produced whenever his big brother disapproved and it made for a frosty atmosphere. Mercifully though, Scott wasn’t the type to dwell on his anxieties: It’s all going to be fine. You’ve bagged yourself a real life Disney Prince this time, there’s no way Chris won’t love him!

Any lingering worries Scott might have felt were quickly dismissed once they had concluded their multi-state road trip and arrived at Chris’ gated abode back in New England. Within thirty minutes Steve’s natural charm had the older Evans brother laughing out loud and clutching at his chest, a good sign that he was enjoying someone’s company, as many a fan was always quick to point out. During dinner, Chris evan leaned in close to whisper in his brother’s ear: “You’re lucky I don’t swing that way or I might be tempted to steal him off you!” The comment made Scott both laugh and blush. Truthfully he was glad Chris was straight, because no guy in their right mind would ever choose Scott over him and the younger Evans really didn’t want to compete with his older brother for anything.

It wasn’t as if Scott was dismissive of his own achievements or appearance, but it was hard to live up to a genuine A-Lister who had spent the better part of a decade starring in a multi-billion dollar franchise as one of America’s favourite superheroes. There were of course moments where Scott was jealous of Chris’ success, but other moments where he was glad that he didn’t lead Chris’ life. The journalists could be pretty invasive towards Chris’ personal relationships and he was always on the move with new movie projects and endless interviews. From Scott’s perspective it seemed like quite the tiring life, and one he believed he’d be ill-suited to. For one, it would leave him with much less time to spend with Steve, and that wasn’t a trade-off he was willing to make.

By the time the three men had retired for the evening and Scott was curled up with Steve under the sheets, the younger Evans brother was feeling quite content. Of course, in such close proximity to his handsome boyfriend, content wasn’t the only thing he was feeling, but that was something they had ruled out in advance. Their guest room was separated from Chris’ own sleeping quarters by only a single wall, so the lovers had decided to forgo any sort of nighttime fun, lest Scott’s brother hear something he’d rather not. It wouldn’t be the first time such a thing had happened, thanks to one of Scott’s overeager exes, and Chris hadn’t been shy the next morning about letting Scott know how little he’d approved. That wasn’t a conversation Scott ever wanted to relive, even if Chris seemed to like Steve.

Those earlier considerations of how different Scott’s life was from his brother’s returned for an encore during his dreams that night. He found himself on the set of a Marvel movie, still very much himself judging by the face he’d spied reflected back at him on the shiny surface of the Captain America shield, but strangely everybody was calling him by his brother’s name. Even stranger, it didn’t feel odd for Scott to respond to “Chris”, even if he knew on a surface level that it wasn’t actually his name. Despite the bizarre nature of the dream, the younger Evans brother was more than happy to ride along with the mania; he was an actor in his own right, after all, and this was just another role.

As the dream proceeded Scott read through Chris’ lines perfectly and joked with the cast and crew like they were longtime friends. He’d even got to do some stunt work himself, something that had eluded him throughout his own career despite his interest in getting involved. More than one producer had remarked that he “didn’t look like the action type” so eventually Scott had stopped trying for those roles and let Chris have all the fun. As always though, dreams were the land of possibility and Scott was able to perform stunts to his heart’s content, albeit through what could easily be perceived as one of Chris’ memories.

It was actually the result of one of those stunts that jolted Scott back into reality: a wire stunt sent him slamming into the wall and right back into the waking world. The high intensity of the dream had left him completely exhilarated and the broad expanse of his hairy chest rose and fell with each heavy breath. The sudden end to his slumber had caused such a distraction that it took him almost a full minute to realise that he was alone in the bed - where had Steve gone? Pushing himself up to a seated position only raised more questions though, as the rustic surroundings were not that of the guest room but rather the mini-mansion’s master bedroom. Chris’ room! Then, as if that hadn’t been enough of a shock to his system, Scott realised that his bare torso didn’t have any of the comfortable softness he was quite content with. Those soft curves had been replaced by the hard lines of muscle: two large slabs of meat making up the pectorals and that rippling field of muscles that were his abs. Holy Madonna, I have abs!

The Evans boys might have looked like overgrown frat boys but neither of them was dumb. Scott was able to put two and two together to make five; the clues led to an obvious - if impractical - conclusion. Bringing his hand to his face only confirmed Scott’s suspicions further: the nose and the lips weren’t right, and his cheeks were definitely thinner. In fact his whole skull was a little more square than the rounder shape of his own head. Definitely Chris. Of course, that realisation didn’t exactly help Scott come to a conclusion about how the hell it had actually happened. Was there some ‘higher power’ responsible for giving them a look at each other’s life? Was it some devil’s idea of a grand joke?

No, getting worked up about the impossible coming to fruition wasn’t going to do him any good. Scott wasn’t going to solve anything by remaining in Chris’ bed, and he wanted to confirm the suspicion that his older brother had woken up in his body… in the bed next to Steve. Oh, this is going to be a fun conversation, he thought to himself with a grimace. He’d wanted Chris to get to know Steve, of course he had, but never under these circumstances - talk about getting thrown in at the deep end! Scott trusted his brother but the thought of Chris being under the sheets with Steve, even in his body, caused a twisting in his gut.

Swinging his beefier legs out from under the sheets and letting his large feet hit the ground, Scott murmured a quiet prayer before standing up. He thanked the heavens that his older brother had worn a pair of boxers to bed because getting a first hand experience of Chris’ junk really hadn’t been part of Scott’s vacation plans. Rising unsteadily to his feet, the younger Evans brother took a moment to get used to the slightly different weight distribution before beginning to hunt around the room for some pants. He couldn’t so much as burst into the guest room mostly unclothed - if it had just been Chris in there, sure, but he didn’t want to risk scaring Steve off. This was already going to be difficult enough to explain!

Somewhat mercifully Scott didn’t even make it as far as invading the guest room to wake his brother, as the door opened right as he was reaching for the handle. Coming face to face with his own body from an external perspective was more than a little startling to say the least - a sudden chill had run down Scott’s spine as his brother had pressed a finger to his lips and closed the guest room door behind him. There was a clear panic in the other’s (his own, Scott reminded himself) eyes as their gazes met. Yeah, that’s definitely Chris in there. It was a small mercy, but Scott was glad it was only his brother he’d switched bodies with and not a complete stranger. At least he could trust Chris not to do anything horrifically stupid while temporarily (lord, he hoped it was temporary) wearing his flesh…

“I’m gonna go out on a limb here and suggest you’re as clueless about this as I am, right?” Chris asked with his younger brother’s voice, his voice an alarmed hiss. “But if you wished on a shooting star to be me or anything, now is the time to say something.”

Scott swatted at the other’s shoulder, although not being used to his new body’s strength prompted the attack to be harder than intended. “Of course I didn’t, you meathead,” he retorted sharply, although his irritation was short lived. The situation was simply too bewildering for him to feel anything other than lasting confusion. “There are at least one hundred people I’d wish to Freaky Friday with before you, no offense!”

Chris gasped in dramatic fashion. “Some taken, bro, some offense definitely taken!” It was the type of response Scott had expected from his brother; even in the most alarming of situations Chris would have something to say that would lighten the mood. If anything, it actually worked to calm Scott’s growing apprehension. “Okay, so neither of us wished for this… did you, I dunno, piss off a witch or something?”

Scott huffed and shook his - no, Chris’ - head in near despair. “Do you hear yourself when you speak?”

The older brother’s retort was quick and cutting: “No, I hear you and that’s the problem!”

“Fair point.” Then, something even more alarming floated to the front of Scott’s mind: “What the hell are we going to tell Steve?” The brothers held each other’s gaze for a moment, bathing in the ocean of awkwardness that their situation had presented them with. Just what were they going to tell Scott’s beau? He’d probably think they were playing a really dumb joke on him. If he hadn’t physically been a part of the unexpected exchange then Scott certainly would have! There was no easy out immediately presenting itself; the two brothers would need time to think of how to navigate the delicate (and likely very uncomfortable) conversations they would need to have.

Of course though, because things couldn’t ever go easily for the pair, the silence that had fallen between them was interrupted by a stirring coming from the guest room. Steve was awake and those conversations would be happening far sooner than either Evans brother wanted...

To Be Continued - let me know what you think or want to see happen between the switched brothers and poor clueless Steve!