**Have a new oneshot, you lovely angel humans. Absolutely not loosely based on a true story, I swear. 

CW: Idk, they go to a spooky scary haunt park, because it may be January but Spooky Season never stops when you're neurodiverse. BRIEF mention of panic, BRIEF mention of fire in an overthinking scenario. No jumpscares, I can't execute those in writing. Enjoy!**

The night had come.

Tremaine was shiv'ring with antici......pation. 

     He still hadn't shaken off the shadows from his three-night stint as a haunt actor. As if he wasn't already riddled with enough trauma, he'd willingly waited in the shadows all night to spook the odd passing tractor full of guests, for hours and hours, until it got cold and he got hungry and it felt like he was being swallowed up by his worst nightmares all over again. Tremaine didn't take kindly to being sucked back into the lonely nights he'd spent waiting for his mom to come back home, so he quit the job rather unceremoniously after his second dreaded weekend. 

    That's when he remembered that one of his friends had gotten tickets for the following weekend, just to go see him. And Tremaine had quit before that weekend could even happen. 

    And that friend was Roshan Ahmadi. He'd ducked out on Roshan freaking Ahmadi. 

    And then he'd had to text him about it, which was admittedly even more frightening than whatever awaited him in the shadows of Spooky World. 

    Their solution was the scariest of them all, however: Tremaine Blackbourne was going to go with Roshan Ahmadi, as a guest, to the haunt park from which he had just quit. With Roshan Ahmadi.

     Had he mentioned, yet, that he'd been crushing on this very same Roshan Ahmadi for the past year? 

     He had fallen so deeply in love with Roshan exactly a year prior, and hadn't resurfaced since. Roshan was aware of this, but things had never been...awkward between them. They had sworn not to make it so. They had continued on as friends, because if Roshan's family knew that their son was going out with...someone of Tremaine's background, they never would've spoken to him again. And Tremaine cared about Roshan too much to let that happen.

    So, here he was, in Roshan's car, listening to The Last Five Years, bouncing his knee nervously, watching the way the streetlights reflected off of Roshan's glasses. It was warm inside the car, but they were parked soon enough and so began the trek through the cold October air. That gave Tremaine plenty more time to overthink what could possibly happen, whether Tremaine began to panic while they were going through the attraction where he had worked, or Roshan didn't enjoy it at all and never talked to Tremaine again, or an attraction burst into flames while they were inside it-

"'Maine?"

    Tremaine jolted back, the night air stinging his cheeks.

"You coming?"

     It was as if the cold had frozen his legs in place. But with a nod of his head, he rubbed his gloved hands together and caught up with him. "Sorry. Lost in my head," he murmured. 

    "You sure you wanna do this?" Roshan asked, giving Tremaine that look: the one of genuine concern, the one that would make Tremaine's icy heart melt in any other situation. 

    He nodded. "I'll be fine. I'm with you. You'll keep me safe, right?"

     That earned a smile from Roshan. Deep conversation averted. "Of course I will," he said with a mock-heroic grin, nudging Tremaine with his elbow. 

     First up was the haunt where Tremaine had worked: the hayride.

     It was surprisingly fine with Roshan by his side. Tremaine knew every single turn and prop by memory, and he just sat back and watched as Roshan startled and giggled at each scare. Tremaine zoned in on the rumble of the tractor, the hum of which he'd grown accustomed to, as every single cue of the hayride's route passed them by. He began to smile as he watched the way Roshan's eyes were twinkling. This wasn't so bad after all. 

     Next came a haunt called The Colony, which they had to walk through instead of riding through on a tractor. Tremaine stayed close to Roshan as they waited in line; it seemed that Roshan was the source of all of Tremaine's comfort at this given moment. Even as he stared down at the sawdust beneath his boots, Tremaine could practically retrace the paths he had carved with his footprints over the past month, the path stemming from this spot, the path which disappeared far into the forest and led to the shortcuts throughout the nearby hayride. He trembled at the memory of racing through those shortcuts one night, utterly lost and exhausted, as he wanted nothing more than to get out and escape the setting sun. 

    "You okay?"

      Tremaine had unknowingly gripped Roshan's arm to steady himself. 

     "Hm? I'm fine. Just nervous," he lied with a grin, moving his hand away. "I've never been in this one before." He nodded toward the oncoming haunt. Not an entire lie. Tremaine didn't exactly know what to expect, and that always freaked him out a bit. 

      "I haven't either," Roshan shrugged. "We can experience it together."

      Together.

       In they went, into the shadows, creepy music and all. Tremaine took a steadying breath nd let himself absorb the environment. He was safe here, with Roshan by his side. He didn't have to be alone. Not here. 

      What if he just...

      It was a whisper in the dark, barely audible. Tremaine wasn't even sure if it was his own voice that had said it. 

      "Can I hold your hand?"

      "...okay."

      Their hands found each other. Tremaine was safe, he was sure of it. He had Roshan with him, he had Roshan holding his hand. Nothing could possibly scare him now. 

     Their hands didn't separate until they emerged from The Colony. Tremaine reluctantly moved his hand away, not realizing how tightly he been holding it, a bright red blush flooding his cheeks. They continued through the park, but all Tremaine could focus on was the lingering warmth of Roshan's hand in his own.

     Eventually, Roshan dropped Tremaine off at his house. Tremaine's mind was still reeling. 

     Half an hour later, right around when Roshan would've been getting home, Tremaine got three texts from Roshan. 

     R: So...

     R: When you held my hand today

     R: Honestly...I kinda liked it.... :)

     Tremaine died in that moment. He had to pinch himself over and over to be certain that he wasn't dreaming. What was he going to say? Was Roshan flirting with him? Or was he just being friendly? 

     R: Also, are you free next weekend?

     Tremaine would find out whether that was flirting or not, apparently. 

     They found themselves at Roshan's house, watching Halloween movies and making cookies. Tremaine's heart was racing, and he was this close to absolutely losing his mind due to nerves. 

     But then again, wasn't that his constant state of mind?

    But the night was rather enjoyable. One of Roshan's many dogs came over to sit in Tremaine's lap, the cookies weren't terrible considering the bakers' experience, and their choices of Halloween movies were immaculate. It was only until the credits rolled on The Nightmare Before Christmas that Tremaine remembered what he'd been freaking out so much about. 

     As they started the Addams Family, Tremaine looked at Roshan, doing a once-over of his face. He had learned his features by heart. Of course he had, he was in love.

      "Roshan?"

      "Hm?" Roshan turned his head to look at Tremaine. 

      "Can...can I hold your hand?" 

     There was nothing but silent eye contact and, for a moment, a string of apologies was ready and waiting to roll off of Tremaine's tongue, as he had practiced many times before. 

     Then, Roshan smiled. And a thousand butterflies exploded in Tremaine's heart. 

     But what Tremaine wasn't expecting was for Roshan to grip the collar of Tremaine's shirt and pull him close, only long enough to press their lips together, so softly, for a painfully brief moment. their noses brushed as Roshan pulled away and met Tremaine's eyes, which were wide with shock. Roshan flinched. "S-sorry, I wasn't sure if-"

     Tremaine snapped out of it and kissed him back, grinning. "What the hell are you sorry for?"

     "I just wasn't sure if you still liked me that way..." Roshan murmured shyly. "I..." He took a steadying breath. "I like you. I like you that way," he admitted, locking eyes with him in their closeness. 

      Tremaine chuckled. "Then kiss me again," he whispered. 

      And Roshan did. And those two had a very happy Halloween.