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Tony didn’t actually know what he was doing there.
Winning a bet, that’s what.
It was nearing midterms, so Tony really should have been studying, but winning a bet was more important than earning a few extra points on his exams anyways, so he decided to screw it and win the bet if it was the last thing he did.
Which was why he was now looking up at the massive haunted house above him, complete with fog and ghosts and howling wolves. The whole shabang, really. The house was larger than he expected, and really in the middle of nowhere with a big corn maze all around it that Tony knew he would get lost in, and only a few other cars in the parking lot. One looked suspiciously like the ghost buster's car, if he was being honest.
Which really didn’t explain why Tony was there now.
Rhodey laughed next to him. “Oh, I knew you couldn’t do it,” he snickered. “Just hand the money over now, Tones. We won’t have to tell anyone how you embarrassed yourself when you come out of the building crying.”
Right, because Rhodey thought that Tony was going to shit his pants. Which was why Tony was there in the first place, proving Rhodey wrong. He didn’t care much for the bet money, he mostly wanted to hold it over his friend’s head because he knew Rhodey wouldn’t go into the haunted house, no matter how much someone offered him.
In fact, Tony would have bet Rhodey that he couldn’t make it through the haunted house without shitting his pants, but Rhodey beat him to the punch.
“Oh shut up,” Tony murmured, taking one more final glance at the ginormous building in front of him. “I’m going in.”
“Then coming right back out,” Rhodey teased. And really, didn’t Rhodey also have midterms to study for? Last time Tony checked, he wasn’t a certified genius.
He walked with determination towards the front door, where a board looking teenager was selling tickets to the entrance. “One ticket, please,” he requested, already regretting it. Look, Tony didn’t do well with jump scares, okay?
“Have fun!” Rhodey called as Tony walked through the entrance. Like an ass. Rhodey was an ass.
Tony loved him anyway.
Inside, the lighting was dim, dark, not very happy or encouraging. Tony didn’t know what he would want to be seeing anyway. Maybe it would just be better for all parties involved if he kept his eyes closed and just walked forward until he made it out of there.
That plan didn’t work too well, considering the fact that the house was not all one straight line, and even closing his eyes couldn’t save Tony from the dooming feeling passing over him as he inched his way through the first room.
Floating pumpkins weren’t supposed to be too scary, right?
Wrong wrong wrong wrong. Floating pumpkins were terrifying and Tony was going to die. Why had he gone in there alone again?
After rushing through the pumpkin room, Tony had to fight his way through the most authentic fake forest he had ever been in, complete with giant spiders and slithering snakes and branches that tried to hold on to him and not let go. If he had stopped moving he would have been stuck there, left to rot as one with the trees.
Did Tony sign a contract before entering? He couldn’t remember now. All he knew was that haunted houses definitely should not be legal and he was not enjoying himself.
He screamed loudly when a life sized bat lunched forward at him, causing Tony to jump at least a foot in the air. Oh no he did not like that.
After the bat jump scare, he couldn’t stop shaking.
It only got worse when the zombie jumped out at him, causing Tony’s whole body to tremble.
By the time the clowns got to him, he was nearly having a full blown panic attack.
Why was this a good idea, again?
His whole body shaking, Tony let himself slide against the wall until he was sitting on the floor in the corner, trying to calm himself down as he watched other people walk through the haunted house. It was almost reassuring to hear their shrieks and screams, like a sign that Tony wasn’t alone in his discomfort. He wasn’t the only one who screamed at a life sized bat, and that gave him some confidence.
Confidence to keep going through the haunted house, all his hopes banking on the end to the house coming soon.
He didn’t actually know how large the house was, only that he hadn’t been through nearly enough rooms to be done any time soon. Welp, no turning back now.
A small shriek left his mouth as an axe murderer lunched towards him out of nowhere, and Tony tripped and fell backwards.
Right I got the arms of a very attractive stranger.
It was hard to make out his features at first due to the lighting, but Tony could make out blond hair and golden eyes underneath the man’s vampire costume if he looked carefully. “It’s okay, Darlin’, I got you,” a warm voice said in his ear, the man’s voice like honey. “Are you okay?”
Was he? Was he? He was more than okay now, looking at this gorgeous stranger in front of him. Tony had never been better, actually, falling into the hands of what might as well have been a god.
Maybe it was time Tony stop mentally cursing out Rhodey for bringing him there and start thanking him instead.
He nodded slowly. “Yes, peachy. Thank you for catching me, I just couldn’t help falling for you.”
Tony counted it as a win when the man only smiled more atTony’s blatant flirting. Maybe this was a good turn around after all.
“Are you going through the house alone? We could go through it together?”
Yes. Yes he wanted that. Thank you, Rhodey, thank you very much. There definitely weren’t any hot blonds that Tony could have found while studying, now were there?
“Only if I could get a name for you, Gorgeous,” he smiled. The man dressed as a vampire smiled charmingly at him.
“I’m Jasper,” he told Tony, putting out a hand to shake. “And I would be honored to protect you as we go through this haunted house together.”
Okay, so he was a keeper. Tony noted that down mentally. Jasper. Blond, gorgeous, strong Jasper with the comforting arms and honey voice.
Tony really lucked out on that one. He would have to go back and thank the actor playing that axe murderer later when he got a chance. For now, though, he would simply enjoy his time together in the haunted house with this attractive stranger.
Tony mentally laughed to himself. Enjoy his time in the haunted house? Definitely not something he had been anticipating when he first walked in.
The rest of the house was actually a lot of fun after that, and Tony would admit that Jasper was kind of amazing. He was witty and sarcastic, but also sweet and protective, too. He seemed to know exactly what was coming and would shield Tony from it as best as he could.
The first time Tony accidentally grabbed his hand, he let go immediately. He really hasn’t meant to, the dead lady with the knife had just caught him off guard, and Jasper was right there, just emulating comfort, and how could he not?
It had been an accident, really.
The second time, Jasper didn’t let him let go.
Instead he wrapped his fingers around Tony’s own and squeezed them lightly in a very comforting motion, as if to say ‘it’s okay, I’m here.’ They continued to hold hands after that, and Tony was fortunate that the house was dark because otherwise his blush would have definitely given him away.
Oh yeah, Tony definitely had to thank Rhodey and the axe murderer both.