Work Text:
Fun house
Pairing: H2oVanoss
Words: 4300
Vanoss and Delirious had been friends for years now. And in all that time Delirious had never once showed Vanoss his face. They always played video games together and talked through skype but Delirious never turned on his camera. This didn’t bother Vanoss too much though. He understood that Delirious was a private person, and though he talked a lot he never gave up too much information about himself or his personal life. He was willing to give Delirious all the time he needed because Delirious was his best friend. And never meeting him in person wouldn’t change that.
Until it did.
Vanoss’s point of view:
It was going on 2:30 in the morning when my phone started ringing. I groaned and turned over in my bed, originally going to ignore it until my dazed brain realized what ring tone is playing, then I set to fumbling around until I found it on the bedside table.
I answer it and place the phone to my ear, “Jon?”
“Evan!” Jon yells into my ear.
I wince, “Are you okay?”
“Uh, uhm yeah?”
“Jon, what time is it there?”
“Oh, uh, it’s like 5ish. Why?”
“Why are you awake so early? Did you sleep?”
“Well, not yet, not really anyway. I couldn’t sleep so I edited some videos and then tried to sleep again but still couldn’t so I went out and then I was thinking and I finally decided to just call you and ask.”
“Ask me what?”
“Well I have been thinking a lot and I just, I don’t know, I mean, we’re friends, or I think we are, right? I just I thought that maybe well… considering how long we’ve know each other… that maybe… well we could… what I am trying to say is well…. Do you…. Well do you maybe… could you? Or want to even…. Maybe…”
I blink and sit up in my bed trying to focus on his nonsensical rambling. He was nervous for some reason. He had a habit of this. Calling me at odd times in the night because something random occurred to him or he couldn’t sleep. He had a bit of anxiety, especially when it came to people, it was one of the reasons he hadn’t done a face reveal. I only found out recently when I was up late editing a video and Jon skyped me while he was freaking out. I talked to him for hours and he admitted to me about his anxiety and how it affected him. It was one of our most genuine and raw conversations, and one of my favorites. I told Jon that night that I was always there for him and that he could always call me. He was hesitant at first and rarely did it but I kept reminding him and prodding him and slowly but surely he started calling more and more. Now it’s a weekly thing, but something tells me that he still holds back.
“Jon.” I say firmly making him shut up. “You are my best friend. We’ve known each other for years. If you are worried again about me getting upset because we haven’t met in person, then forget about it. You are my best friend and I would do just about anything for you, so don’t worry. Not knowing what you look like isn’t going to change that. Okay?”
“Come visit me.”
Everything was spinning.
He wants me to come visit him?
“W-What?” I respond dumbly.
“Come visit me.” He repeats.
“Like… in person…?”
“…Yeah…? I mean I figured since we’ve known each other so long and I actually trust you a lot and I just thought that I should try and show you that because I don’t feel like I do and I don’t fucking know. I just… I want to see you.”
“Jonathan….” I sigh, “I’d love to come and visit you. When?”
“As soon as you want. Just give me the dates and I can make it work.”
“I’ll find a plane this week then. I will look up flights scheduled in the morning and I’ll call you back to tell you the dates. If it works then I’ll book it.”
“Oh shit!”
“What?!” I ask worried
“I forgot, I’m so sorry! It’s probably not even three in the morning there! Fuck, I’m sorry, did I wake you up? I didn’t mean too! I just was thinking and then I wanted to ask before I lost my nerve and I didn’t think about the time and fuck-“
“Jon!” I yell laughing, “It’s okay. I don’t mind. I told you that before. You can call me anytime.”
He was quiet for a little while, “I know. Thanks, Evan.”
“Anytime, Jon…” I respond softly. My heart started beating so rapidly when he said my name.
“Well I will let you go back to bed, call me later, ‘ight?”
“Yeah, man. I will call you as soon as I check on flights.”
We bid our farewells and hang up the phones.
I sigh and lean back in my bed, placing my arms behind my head as I think.
Visit Delirious, huh?
I would finally get to see the face behind the mask.
No more mystery.
I shut my eyes as I try to go back to sleep.
I sigh, grinning.
I relax for a few moments before a thought hit me suddenly and sent my heart fluttering.
I was going to be in the same room with him.
I could look at his eyes when we talk.
I could to touch him.
I sit straight up rubbing my eyes.
I would be right next to him.
Him, the one whose voice brightens my day.
Him, whose laugh can put me in a good mood instantly.
Him, who would talk my ear off and listen to me do the same.
Him, who was my best friend.
Him, who I had fallen for so long ago.
Him, the one I loved more than the world itself.
This was either going to be a trip filled with disaster or trip to heaven.
I grab my laptop and pop it open, instantly being blinded, but getting over it so I could look through flights.
And I couldn’t wait.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was only a few days later that Vanoss found himself on a plane heading to North Carolina to see Delirious.
When Vanoss stepped off the plane Delirious was waiting for him in the terminal, and all Vanoss managed to do was grin before Del bear hugged him.
They laughed together and immediately fell into their usual banter and jokes.
It was comfortable.
It felt normal.
Like they always did this.
Being together in person changed nothing between them.
Until it did.
Vanoss’s P.O.V
It had been a few days into my trip to Delirious’s house and everything was going great.
We hung out, go pizza, played games together on the couch which allowed us to elbow each other when cheating and teasing, we went to the beach, and swam, and just walked around as Delirious showed me all his favorite places, and we sat on the porch late at night just talking.
I was supposed to leave tomorrow.
I was disappointed, and I think Delirious was too.
I wanted more.
I wanted to know everything about him.
So when he asked me if I wanted to go to his favorite place of all, how could I say no?
And that’s how we ended up at an old amusement park a little way out of town.
It wasn’t anything fancy, none of the rides were new.
There were a few small coasters, big wooden roller coaster, bumper cars, a carousel, a water ride, swings, a Ferris wheel and a lot of odd little games and rides.
It was like a big carnival.
We wonder around for hours, jumping on rides, getting food, playing games, and just having a great time.
“Oh! Let’s go into the fun house!!” Delirious laughs glancing at me.
I can’t help but smile as I tease him, “The fun house? You mean those stupid little houses like at a carnival?”
“Oh it’s so much better than the carnival ones nowadays. It is a mix of old and new!”
I laugh, “Yeah okay. Let’s do it!”
I laugh as he run towards the fun house and jumps the fence since there is no one in line. The ride operator gives him an amused look and he grins sheepishly at him. I move around the fence and grab him up in my arms, sliding my arms around his waist and lift him up. Jon starts yelling as he laughs I carry him over to the entrance and set him down at the stairs.
I look up at the fun house and note that it is significantly bigger than any carnival one. I looked to be about four or so stories and was pretty wide.
I look back in front of me and see Jon has already made it up the moving stairs and onto the black platform.
He twists at me and gives me a smirk. Something in his eyes flashes and I know immediately it was a challenge.
He turns and bolts off through the doors.
‘Come get me.’
I grin and bound up the stairs, careful not to lose my balance and I run in through the doors.
Only to realize, with a little horror, that it was a maze.
It looked like carnival tarp and had many different circus/carnival paintings along the cloth and I started off in a random direction following around this way and that way.
After a while of running around aimlessly, I realize that this is getting nowhere and the Delirious is probably way ahead of me. So I needed to think. The rest of the fun house was in the middle so I needed to make my way to the middle. So I do just that. Finally, I see Delirious standing down at the end of one of the ways. He grins at me again and runs around the corner.
The fucking bastard was waiting for me just to tease me.
I bolt off after him and enter a square that had several doors.
I see one slightly open and smirk and pull it open only to see a picture of a train and hear a loud blaring noise.
I yell in surprise and I hear Delirious start cackling.
“Wrong door, Evan!~” he sings.
I yank open another door and he jumps in surprise, “Oh shit!” He runs off.
“Get back here!” I yell as I give chase.
The walls were black and the hallway was dark. I couldn’t see ahead of me at all aside from Jon.
“Never!” he yells laughing maniacally.
“Jon!”
“You have to catch me first!” He yells and I almost had him.
He was fast, I’d give him that.
I reach forward to grab him but he suddenly switches directions and suddenly the floor moves under me making me jolt but it keeps moving forward and dumps me into a ball pit...
I huff as I push the balls away as I surface.
All I hear is Jon laughing hysterically.
“Having fun playing with your balls?” He asks cockily from across the ball pit.
I throw some of the balls at him.
“Ow! Ow! Hey! Stop throwing your balls at me!” He cackles.
I laughs and whip some more at him until I reach the edge and climb out.
He was still standing by the door, just a few steps in front of me. Which should have warned me but I wasn’t paying attention.
So the floor once more takes me by surprise when I step forward and it moves and sends me back into the ball pit.
Jon starts laughing again.
“Have fun with your balls bitch!”
“JON!” I yell and whip another ball at him as he goes through the door.
I climb back over the edge, watching the ground this time to avoid switches.
I pull open the door and enter through it and immediately stop.
Aside from the platform I was standing on, and a few other planks and boards, the entire room was ropes and nets.
What the hell?
It was a maze of nets and ropes…
I look around and see Jon beside the exit up top waving at me.
“Ass!”
He laughs, “Need a hint?”
“No!” My eyes follow the exit and back track until I see the start.
Then I jump into the nets and crawl through a tunnel and up a rope ladder making it easy to the second floor.
I cross the rope bridge and crawl up a bunch of ropes and onto a swinging rope course. I step onto a plank and it moves taking me with it. I step onto the next plank and continue.
I wasn’t quite sure if this was for kids or not, at this point.
It was pretty complicated if that was the case.
I finally make it to the exit and yank open the door.
Only to find yet another maze.
I huff.
It was black screen and I wonder around through it for a while, not seeing Jon, or any doors.
I did manage to find the actual exit but it led outside when there was obvious more to the fun house.
I turn back and keep searching.
Finally finding to damn ass doors in the very center of the maze.
One door was cracked open.
I wasn’t falling for it this time. I pull open the fully shut door only to hear a loud shriek and see an owl jumping out of my fucking skin.
Delirious’s maniacal laughter sounds and he taunts me, “Wrong door still, Mr. Owl.”
I look up and see him on a platform above me. I growl and pool growl and pool open the other door only to hear a clown start laughing.
I growl from frustration, “How the hell did you get up there?”
“You missed the door.” He says simply.
I huff and twist around and storm off to search again.
It was a while of searching and constantly running into dead ends and looping around and around before I come to a door.
I open it and it’s completely black. But I see a sign that says exit.
I run through the room blindly and step on triggers.
The floor moves jerking me this and that way.
I push myself through the rest of it, stumbling along the way and push open the door only to find myself right back in the maze.
I groan loudly as I step into the open center.
Just to piss me off more I once again see Jon in the room above me. Except he’s jumping up and down on a bounce house without his shoes on.
“Evan!” he giggles, “Evan! Evan!”
“What?!”
“You should come try it!”
“Go fuck yourself!”
He laughs and falls onto his back bouncing.
I can’t help but smile at his antics.
“Come ooonnnn, Evan!~ It’s so fun!”
“Tell me how to get up there and I’ll join you.”
“Nahhhh, you gotta find it!”
“Damn, Jon.” I shake my head and walk back into the maze.
“I’ll give you a hint! We are currently at the front of the building and it loops counter clockwise.” Jon calls after me.
I pause thinking.
So then I need to go left.
I start making my way left and eventually come to a door.
I open it, waiting for a crazy sound but it actually reveals a room.
I walk into a crooked room...
The floor is crooked and I start sliding down it...
The door shuts behind me and I hit a wall.
I turn and see a door I walk through it but it’s still crooked...
I slide down the floor and the room gets smaller... at the end is a key hole... I have to get on all fours and crawl through the key hole and into a tunnel....
It’s a tunnel maze... goddamn.... what even is this?
I try different ways through the tunnels until finally I get the right path....
I crawl out of the tunnel and into a jail...
I look around...
I see no door...
I do however see a set of stairs... I walk over to them...
I start up them and they start moving down....
I end up back at the bottom...
I sigh from exasperation....
I least I was getting in a good work out today.
I bolt and run up the down moving stairs and make it to the top....
I see a bridge and walk across it. It swings side to side and I stumble along tripping and make it to the other side.
I walk into another door and a black room full of green lasers...
Seriously!? Agh... this is a hard fun house.....
When I finally make it through that I enter another room....
I see Jon looking at me from the other side of the room.
I look at the floor to see if I notice anything but I don’t so I step into the room and I walk smack into something.
Jon starts laughing and I glare at him.
Jon sticks out his tongue at me before disappearing through the next door.
I reach my hands out and touch the thing in front of me.
Crap!
A glass house!
“You have got to be freaking kidding me.” I huff.
I hold out my hands and touch the see through walls and manage to maneuver around them rather quickly....
I enter another room and see a set of stairs. Jon was part of the way down them, carefully inching down them.
“Jon!” I grin and step onto the stairs.
“Wait!” He yelps but it was too late, the steps change into a slide and I fall on my ass as I slide down, Jon managed to stay up right only to get knocked over by me, he falls into my lap as we slide down and then tumble off the bottom, me landing on top of him.
He was bright red and I was over him.
Suddenly he flips me over so he was on top then leans down to kiss me. His lips touch mine and I swear my heart stopped only to start racing. His lips were chapped and tasted like cotton candy but it was so nice. Better than I ever imagined but before I could truly savor it, he was off me and running away again.
“Jon, wait!” I call after him worried he’d take things the wrong way.
I get up and chase after him only to yank open the next door.
I enter a mirror maze... It’s dark with colored strobe lights all over...
Fuck!
I walk putting my hands out and try to find my way around....
I keep finding dead ends but suddenly I see Delirious. He’s in multiple mirrors and he looks confused and nervous.
Watching carefully lets me determine which the real one is and I approach him.
He whips around to face me.
“You have this entire place memorized, don’t you?” I grin as I approach him even farther.
He looks nervous as he laughs, “Yeah…. I used to come in here all the time when I was young. It hasn’t changed much. Except the Mirror maze…. They rearrange it every week… I still like coming in here to get lost…” He was backing away from me but it occurs to me that he honestly doesn’t know the correct way out when he bumps into a mirror and jumps slightly.
I grin and capture him.
“Finally!~ I win.”
Jon starts laughing. “You wouldn’t have won if I didn’t let you keep up!”
“Mmmm, probably not… but I did win…. So…. I want my prize.”
“Prize?” He asks confused.
I push him up against the mirror slightly, gently, and move forward. Giving him time to move if he wants, he doesn’t. I gently press my lips against his. I move closer to him and deepen the kiss.
“Sorry, I was dying to do that.” I sigh.
He smirks, “That’s okay, you are a good kisser.... that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you really win though.” He escapes and I yelp laughing and call after him as, he runs down a mirror hall and out the exit, with me in full pursuit.
I run out of the door and into a rolling tunnel.
I fall as it spins causing Jon to trip over me and fall as well “Ow!” he yelps and I crack up and crawl over him and try to get to the exit.
He grabs me and pulls me back...
We end up rolling around and fighting trying to get to the exit while laughing our asses off.
Eventually we fall out of the tunnel and onto the ground I sit up and toss my hands in the air.
“I win!” I grin.
He tackles me back to the ground, “Never!”
I start laughing harder and simply reach up and pull him down to kiss me again.
He sighs contently and kisses back.
When I pull away, I grin at him, “That place was way cooler than I expected.”
“Of course it is! It is my favorite place after all.”
“Just might be my favorite now too.” I grin as he blushes laughing.
I hoist him up off me and we both stand up.
I had to admit, I was a little shocked that we weren’t getting any looks from people. None that were rude anyway.
Jon suddenly grabs my hand and starts tugging me. “It’s almost time!”
“Huh?”
“Just wait!”
He tugs me along until he stops and orders come cotton candy before charging along again with me in tow.
Finally, we make it to the apparent destination, the Ferris wheel.
Jon practically bounces over to the operator and talks to her before we actually get onto the ride.
We settle into the seat together, my arm immediately going over his shoulders as he leans into me.
He grins and attempts to shove the cotton candy in my face.
I let out a miffed cry as it takes over my view and pokes my nose, until I just take a bite out of it causing Jon to start laughing.
He pulls a piece off as I struggle to actually get the entire part I bit off down.
He just laughs harder.
I pull off another piece and stick it to his nose and start laughing as he goes cross eyed and tries to lick it off.
The cart comes to a stop at the top and suddenly I pause. “Whoa.”
“I know. Beautiful, ain’t it?”
“Yeah.”
Jon lived out on a little point causing water to be both to the East and West.
And currently, just past the trees, you could see the shoreline, and beyond that you could see the sun setting over the water and the rest of the land.
Everything was brilliant in color, pinks, purples, oranges, blues, reds… It was spectacular.
I look back at Jon, pulling him closer and chastely kissing him.
He pulls me back towards him when I move away and kisses me again.
“I love you, Evan.” He sighs.
“I love you too, Jonathan…. I have for a long, long time…”
We were silent as the sun set, plummeting behind the horizon, leaving it dark.
The rides lights start catching my attention more, Jon grins, “Stay with me a while longer?”
I nod. “I’ll reschedule my flight. There is no way I am leaving before I take you on a proper date.”
He starts laughing, the lights catching his eyes making them sparkle more.
I smile, “It feels like we’ve been doing this forever.”
He grins at me, “It does, doesn’t it?”
I nod. “I like it.”
“Me too… I was worried… that things wouldn’t be the same between us after we met in person… I should have known better.”
“I was too. And yeah, things are different now,” His eyes light up and I see worry cross his face, I kiss his forehead, “But only for the better. Without a screen between us we are only closer, and that is something I can get behind.” I kiss him again.
“Yeah, and you’re something I could get behind.” He says with a wink as I pull away.
I groan and he starts laughing.
“Little bitch.” I say and grab him around the waist pulling him close and nip at his ear causing him to yelp and cackle more.
I roll my eyes.
“I looovee you!~” He says in a sing song pout and I laugh at that.
“You are a dork.”
“I know I am but what are you!” He yells as he sticks out his tongue. I start howling with laughter, and only laugh harder when the look of realization crosses his face and he starts laughing too.
It was normal.
It was perfect.
And I wanted it forever.
“You know; I could see myself living here.” I hum.
His eyes widen and he stares at me, “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
He grabs me in a hug and kisses me catching me off guard.
I kiss him back holding him close until laughter startles us both.
We look over, blushing as we see the giggling ride operator.
I slide out of the seat and help Jon out, tossing an arm over his shoulder, tucking him close to my side as we head to go home.
Yup, this was normal.
“I love you, Evan.”
This was perfect.
“I love you too, Jon.”
This was something I would never want to live without.
He snuggles into me and I smile, kissing his head.
And I would never have to.