Halloween with the Avengers
“Here you go, sweet cheeks,” Tony said with a wink and a smile as he handed you an envelope over your breakfast.
“What is this?” You asked once you’d finished chewing.
“Open it and find out,” he replied simply before turning and heading back out the door, humming a happy tune as he did so.
With a shrug, you tore open the envelope to find a party invitation inside. It was for an Avengers-only (What was that about? That was very unlike Tony), costumes-required Halloween party that was to be held at the training facility on the evening of October 31st.
You were in the middle of reading all of the costume rules (which clearly stated that wearing your superhero uniform did NOT count) when Natasha entered the kitchen holding her invitation in the air.
“Well, do you have any idea what this is about?” She asked.
“You mean why is Tony throwing a party here at the facility and not inviting anyone but us? No idea. He rushed out of here before I even got the thing open.”
“I’m not the only one who thinks it’s odd, right?”
“No, he’s probably up to something. At least that’s my guess.”
“You going to go? Well, it’s here, but you know what I mean.”
“Don’t know of any reason not to. It’ll be fun. As long as no one kills each other, that is.”
——————
“I’m not going,” was Clint’s answer to your question about what he was going to wear to the party.
“What do you mean you’re not going?” You asked.
“I mean I’m not going. I’ve got better things to do,” he replied, plopping down on the couch across from you.
“Like what?”
“Like not go to the party of the guy that put me in jail.”
“Clint, come on, you know he wasn’t responsible for that. Not really.”
“He’s got a point, y/n,” Bucky said. “He gave me an invitation too, and considering our history, it was awkward. I just said ‘thanks’ and decided I was definitely not going.”
“Guys,” You began, “I talked to him. He wants all of us to have a fresh start. Try to become a team and all that. The least you can do is show up and give it a go. Please?”
You gave them your best puppy dog eyes and Clint was the first one to cave.
“Fine, I’ll go,” he said with a sigh.
“Me too,” Bucky added.
“Good! So, do either of you have any ideas for your costume?”
“Are you talking about Tony’s party?” Steve asked as he entered the room.
“Yeah, I was asking them what they’re going to wear. What about you, Steve?”
“I don’t have a clue. Neither does Sam. I thought about some kind of soldier’s uniform, but that seems sort of predictable.”
“I could help you guys out, if you want?”
“Did I hear you say you were going to assist them with their party attire?” Thor asked from where he had just appeared in the doorway. Without giving you time to answer, he continued, “Would you mind helping me as well?”
“Of course not, Thor. I’d be happy to.”
“Too bad you decided not to go, Loki. Y/n is going to help me dress for the evening,” Thor said over his shoulder.
“Well, I never actually said I wasn’t going,” Loki said as he slid past his brother to give you a large smile. “I am putting myself into your very capable hands.”
Clint let out an annoyed groan from where he was lying on the couch.
“What about you, Hawk? Do you also require my assistance?”
“I appreciate the offer, baby, but I’ve already got something in mind.”
——————
You only had a few days to figure out six different costumes, including your own. Why did you ever offer to help any of them? This was going to be a disaster.
By the time the evening of October 29th rolled around, you still hadn’t come up with a single idea. You were lying in bed, trying to decide what to watch, when you suddenly had an epiphany. You hopped up and ran out of your room to find that Bucky, Sam, and Steve were thankfully still up.
“Ok, I have three questions for you guys. Steve, do you have a good suit?”
“Yeah.”
“Great! Do you and Bucky mind shaving?”
They looked at each and shrugged before saying “no.”
“Awesome! Sam, are your ears pierced by any chance?”
“No.”
“Okay, I’ll have to find clip-ons then. Thanks!”
Then you ran back to your bedroom as quickly as you had left it, leaving three confused men in your wake.
Smiling happily, you said to yourself, “Four down and only two to go.”
——————
On the night of the party, you spread each of their outfits out on their beds, complete with written instructions on how to perfect the look. Your own costume was relatively simple. The only difficulty was the hair, but you managed to get the overall effect close enough that it shouldn’t matter.
As you looked over yourself in the mirror, you were interrupted by a knock on your door. You opened it to find a clean-shaven Bucky standing there.
“Well, how do I look?” he asked.
“The hair is all wrong. Come here,” you said, pulling him over to your vanity and pushing him down on the seat.
“You told me to pull it up,” he said defensively.
You snatched the ball cap off his head and pulled the tie out of his hair, ruining his ponytail.
“I meant pull it up in a way that the cap would hide how long it is,” you said as you ran your fingers through his dark hair.
He sighed softly and leaned his head back until it was resting against your body.
“This is nice,” he whispered, smiling up at you.
Returning the smile, you replied, “I can’t fix your hair like this.”
He let out a playful huff and sat up straight so you could finish styling his hair. When you were satisfied, you put the cap back on his head and nodded your approval. He stood up and you studied him from head to toe. From the blue cap all the way down to the black and white Converse, he looked perfect.
“You look great,” you said.
“Just great? I was hoping for drop dead gorgeous,” he said, earning a laugh from you.
“That compliment is reserved for me,” Steve interjected from where he now leaned against your bedroom door.
His assessment wasn’t far off. He wore a dark suit and blue tie that was a spot on match for his eyes. He made for a truly stunning sight.
As you stared at him, you actually found yourself at a loss for words. Luckily, you were saved by Sam coming into view. Honestly, if you hadn’t been so distracted by Steve, you probably would have heard his pounds of gold chains jingling long before he reached your room.
Steve’s eyebrows shot up when he saw him, and Bucky snorted before breaking down into laughter.
“Shut up,” Sam growled.
Walking towards him, you placed your hands on his arms and said, “I think for tonight, ‘Shut up, fool’ would be the more appropriate response.”
“I hate you,” he muttered.
“No, you don’t,” you said, reaching up and thumping his large feather earring with one finger.
Pulling a cigar out of your breast pocket, you put it between your teeth and said with a grin, “I love it when a plan comes together.”
—————
“Oh my god, you came as the A-Team,” Clint said when he saw the four of you. Directing his next comment to you, he added, “And I didn’t think I could be any crazier about you.”
“Oh, shut up, Clint,” you said with a laugh while giving him a hug. “Or do I have to call you Indiana Jones tonight? That costume is spot on. You even have the whip.”
“I was hoping you’d notice that part,” he said in a low voice that made your cheeks feel hot.
Before you could think of a response, Natasha and Bruce walked over to join you.
“Hey, your costumes turned out great!” Bruce said. “Can you guess who we are?”
You stared blankly at the pair of them. Bruce was wearing a suit and Natasha had on a 90’s era pantsuit, neither of which gave you any idea who they were dressed as. You noticed Bruce’s hopeful expression and quickly turned to look at Natasha, hoping she’d give you some kind of hint. She silently mouthed something that you didn’t catch, then crossed her two index fingers over each other to form an “X”.
“Mulder and Scully, of course!” You blurted out as if it was completely obvious.
“Yeah! See, I told you people would get it, Natasha. She thought it looked too ordinary.”
“Not at all,” you lied.
“Oh, excuse me,” Bruce said. “I’ll be right back.”
After he was out of hearing range, Natasha said, “You didn’t have a clue, did you?”
“Not in the slightest.”
“Good evening, ladies,” Tony said as he slid up next to you with a pipe hanging out of his mouth.
“Sherlock Holmes?” You asked.
“Mmhm, What do you think?” he asked, holding his arms out and doing a little spin.
Glancing over his shoulder, you said, “I think I see two of you.”
He turned quickly towards the entrance and swore under his breath when he saw Stephen Strange wearing the exact same outfit.
“What the hell?!” Tony called out.
Even from that distance, you saw Stephen’s face drop as his features took on a disappointed and annoyed expression.
“Seriously?” Stephen asked once he had joined you. “We look ridiculous. People are going to think we matched on purpose.”
“Uh, they’re definitely not going to think that about me. You maybe, but not me,” Tony said. “And, by the way, that’s the worst attempt at a British accent I’ve ever heard.”
“So, What did you pick out for Thor and Loki?” Natasha asked, changing the subject.
“They were actually really tough to come up with good ideas for, so if you say their costumes suck it won’t hurt my feelings. Well, you can see for yourself. There they are.”
Thor was still sporting a large grin in spite of the fact that you made him wear his eyepatch to go along with his pirate costume. Beside him, Loki seemed to be having a hard time adjusting to his fake vampire fangs. He kept pushing them back up like a child with an oversized retainer. Thor waved to you above his head before the two of them crossed the room to join you.
“Don’t you two...I’m sorry, you three...look handsome tonight,” you said, petting the fake parrot that sat on Thor’s shoulder.
“It is all thanks to you, y/n. You did a truly excellent job!” Thor said. He reached over, took your hand in his, and gave it a playful kiss which made you giggle.
After shooting his brother an angry glare, Loki grabbed your other hand and said, “Yes, you did wonderfully. Thank you, darling.”
He pulled the hand he was holding up to his mouth, but before his lips made contact with your skin, his fangs fell out enough to bump you. He sighed in annoyance, pushed them back in, then planted a soft kiss on your hand that lasted much longer than his brother’s had.
You tried not to show your embarrassment at their attention and muttered a quiet, “You’re welcome.”
“So, What am I supposed to be exactly?” Loki asked you.
“A vampire. You bite people on the neck and drink their blood. And by people I mean young, attractive women usually.”
“Oh, really?” he asked with a heightened level of interest to his voice as he eyed your neck with a fanged smile.
“Down, Boy,” Tony said. “Or I’ll have Mulder and Scully here drive a wooden stake through your heart.”
“Uh, Tony?” Bruce said as he rejoined the group almost on cue. “If this is a party, where’s the food and everything?”
“I’ll explain that once everybody is here.”
“Hey, guys!” Scott yelled as he jogged over from the entrance. Everyone stared at the red, white, and blue clad man who was carrying a painted cardboard shield.
“Oh, so I’m the only one who thought it’d be cool to dress up as one of my teammates, huh?” he asked as he looked over the other costumes in the group. Pointing to Tony and Stephen, he added, “You two match. That’s...cute.”
——————
After the rest of the team had dragged in, Tony gathered everyone around and said, “Okay, since this is Halloween, I’ve got some activities planned before the actual party begins. First, the entire facility, except for this room and the living areas, has been turned into a haunted house. Don’t go crazy and assault any of the actors. I don’t want a lawsuit. The goal is to make your way to the main exit on the backside of the building. There, I’ve had a giant, enclosed outdoor maze constructed. It’s completely dark inside, no cell phones or flashlights are allowed, and each of us enters alone. I didn’t design the actual path so I don’t know the way, either. Once you make it out...if you make it out, that is....you’ll find the party waiting for you on the other side. So, let’s get started.”
Although not as cool as being one yourself would have been, having a billionaire as a friend was pretty awesome. The haunted house was absolutely spectacular. The special effects and attention to detail were amazing. And even though it wasn’t that scary (you were an Avenger after all), it was still a lot of fun. There was only one part in the whole thing that made you jump. It was when a man in full body paint came crawling out on all fours from around the corner. He startled you, and he would have gotten an instinctual kick in the face if not for someone wrapping their arms around you from behind.
“Remember what I said about a lawsuit, honey,” Tony whispered in your ear.
“Of course. Sorry, Tony,” you said with a nervous chuckle, still jumpy from the scare.
It wasn’t until you had all reached the entrance to the maze that an uneasiness settled over the group. Looking into the dark, quiet tunnel seemed to have a sobering effect on everybody.
“Tony?” Clint began. “This is just a maze, right? You didn’t set any rats or snakes or anything loose in there?”
“Just a maze, Barton. Who’s going in first?”
His question was met with several moments of silence.
“I’ll go,” Peter said at last.
“Way to go, kid. You’re making all of us look bad.”
Every few minutes, another Avenger would enter the maze until it was your turn. You wandered through the darkness with your hands outstretched, feeling along the walls as you went. The first thing you noticed was how eerily quiet it was. You should have been able to hear someone else walking around, right?
“Tony?” You called out.
No answer.
“Steve?”
Nothing.
“Anybody?”
Still more silence.
You kept moving, running into one dead end after another. After awhile, you began to lose track of time and started getting fed up with the whole thing. You were tempted to sink down to the ground and wait for someone else to come along, but how long might that take?
As you contemplated your options, you ran into something hard. But unlike the metal walls that surrounded you, this one apologized for getting in your way.
“Steve?”
“Y/n?”
“Oh my god, I’m so glad I found you! I was so sick of wandering around this place by myself. Do you have any idea where we are?”
“No, I was headed that way,” he said, pointing in the dark even though you couldn’t see him, “but I ran into a dead end.”
“Here,” You said, reaching down and feeling until you found his hand, “I’m going to hold onto you so that neither one of us gets lost. It’ll be so much nicer than being alone.”
“Yes, it will be.” If it hadn’t been so dark, you would have noticed the sweet smile and warm blush on his handsome face.
You pulled him along behind you through the many twists and turns. Having Steve around for company boosted your confidence, and you were walking at a much faster pace than you had been previously, which turned out to be a bad decision. In your rush, you ran nose first into something very solid.
“Son of a bitch!” You cried out, rubbing your nose while your eyes welled up with tears.
“Are you alright?” a concerned Steve asked.
“Yeah, I ran into the wall.”
“Sorry, doll, but that wasn’t the wall. It was me,” Bucky said.
You reached out and rested your hand on what had to be Bucky’s metal arm.
“It’s alright, Buck.”
“How are we going to get out of here?” He asked. “I’m about ready to punch my way through the walls.”
“Bucky, we don’t know how many walls there are,” Steve said calmly. “Not to mention we don’t know what direction to go in. We might just get in deeper.”
“So we keep tearing up the place until we get out.”
“This is supposed to be fun. We aren’t punching our way out,” you said. “Now, let’s go.”
You grabbed Bucky’s arm and let Steve lead the way, with you in the middle, and Bucky taking up the rear. After a few minutes, you stopped dead in your tracks, let go of both of them, and said, “Shhh! Listen!”
Somewhere in the distance, you heard the faint sound of bickering. As it drew closer, you recognized Thor’s deep voice. If anyone could pierce the soundproof nature of this place of course it would be him.
“Thor!” You yelled as loudly as possible.
“Y/n!!” he bellowed in reply.
Once your group met up with him, you asked, “Who’s with you?”
“It’s just me and my brother, darling,” Loki purred beside your ear. You jumped in response, surprised at how silently he could move in the darkness.
“Well, our little group is growing” Steve said. “Of course, that doesn’t seem to be helping us get out any faster.”
“I still say we punch our way out,” Bucky muttered.
“That’s not a bad idea!” Thor said.
“Yes, it is. We already threw out that suggestion.”
Before Bucky could respond, a high-pitched, girlish scream pierced the air.
“Wanda?! Is that you?”
“Uh...no that was me,” You heard Scott say from a few yards away. “Something brushed against my leg.”
He walked forward with his hands out until he felt something with his right palm.
“That’s my face, Lang,” Loki hissed.
“Sorry, man.”
“Ok,” You began, “I vote that we all stick together and keep moving. We have to be close to the exit by now. We should all hold onto each other so no one gets separated from the group.”
Your statement was met with a few moments of silence before Bucky said, “I’m not holding hands with anyone unless it’s you.”
“I second that.”
“Definitely.”
You sighed and rolled your eyes while the rest of the guys murmured in agreement.
“Fine, do whatever makes you happy.”
You grabbed onto Loki and Scott, who led the way, and once again started walking. Not more than ten minutes later, you were outside and felt the chilly fall breeze hit you in the face. You were pleasantly surprised to find a big campfire surrounded by tables of food and a full bar.
“You guys finally made it. Took long enough.”
You looked to find Clint perched on top of a picnic table working on a candy apple.
“We can’t be the last ones?” you asked as you glanced around, not seeing anyone else.
“Nah, it was just me before you guys showed up.”
“How long we were in there?”
“It took me about ten minutes. You were in there...about forty five,” he said, squinting at his watch.
“Only forty five minutes? I thought it was at least an hour and a half.”
“It felt like an eternity,” Scott said.
As you looked around, you noticed that your little group was one person short.
“Shit! Where is Bucky?”
“I thought he was behind me,” Steve said.
All of a sudden, the loud sound of metal hitting metal rang through the air. About eight feet down from the exit, the wall of the maze warped outward. On the third hit, his fist broke through. Everyone stared as he ripped the metal until there was a hole large enough for him to climb through.
Amazed by what you had just witnessed, you simply shook your head and climbed up beside Clint who passed you a candy apple. The rest of the team eventually found their way out in groups of two and three. After that, there was plenty of drinking and laughter. You witnessed civilized conversations between people who normally wouldn’t even take the time to tell each other to go to hell.
As you sat next to the fire watching your friends, Tony came up beside you and handed you another drink.
“You can go ahead and say it,” he said.
You responded by giving him a questioning look.
“You’re a genius, Tony. You’re absolutely brilliant, Tony. You’re the sexiest man I’ve ever met and I need you, Tony.”
You cut your eyes at him before breaking out into laughter.
“Okay, maybe I’m stretching it,” he said with a chuckle. “But, you’ve got to admit, this thing seems like a success.”
“You did good,” you said. With a soft smile, you added, “And you are brilliant, Tony.”
Wrapping an arm around your shoulder, he said, “This feels like a toast-worthy kind of moment. To new beginnings? Nah, that sounds pretty cheesy.”
Looking out over your team, you clinked your plastic cup against his and said, “To the Avengers.”
“To the Avengers.”
————Epilogue————
“Okay, even with the fire, it’s getting pretty cold out here. I vote we go to the screening room and watch some scary movies,” Tony announced to the group.
While the other Avengers murmured in agreement, you studied the group with furrowed brows and a frown and asked, “Hey, where’s the kid?”
“What?” Tony asked.
“Where’s Peter? Has anyone seen him lately?”
No one spoke up.
“Is he still in the maze?” You asked.
“That’s been like three hours now,” Clint spoke up.
“Tony, are there emergency exits or lights installed that we don’t know about?” Steve asked.
“Uhh...no.”
When his response was met with a disapproving glare, he continued defensively, “How was I supposed to know someone would get stuck in there?”
“Ugh, I guess there’s nothing else to do but go in and find him,” you said, rubbing your hand across your face. “I take back what I said earlier, Tony. This party really stinks.”
“I can’t be blamed for this!” he cried out as he followed you into the maze.
****Elsewhere****
“Wait, where is everybody?” Peter said out loud. “Am I—how did I get back to the entrance?”
With an exasperated sigh, he headed back inside the facility, grabbed the giant bowl of Halloween candy out of the kitchen, and set himself up in the screening room.
“I guess there’s nothing else to do but have my own party. Happy Halloween, Peter.”