#he's always the dude who's crushing on / makes the main questioning but gets third wheeled or heartbroken to jumpstart the actual couple

[scarefox]

Why is he always playing that kind of guy? 😅 

Edit: wait, is he trying to sell him a pyramid cheme 😂😂

[lazuli-bloom]

Roses and Styx

Chapter 3 – Kids' Games To Pass The Time

Beetlejuice x Reader

Word Count : 5,399

New day, new problems. Sure things aren't the worst they could be, but that new hire isn't making things all that easy at work.

Last Chapter | Archive | Next Chapter

--=--=--

An annoying, rhythmic buzz cut through silence. Light seeped its way in, chasing away the shadows of sleep. You groaned and rolled. It was too early to face the new day.

Compounding your groggy state was the fact you didn't sleep for shit last night. The chilly October night sucked the warmth from your room, and you had only a few blankets to shield yourself from it. And the chill didn't stop your mind racing most of the night. When sleep came to you, it brought restless dreams.

The first wasn't terrible, just strange. A weird bug followed you home wanting to be friends. The other dream, however... A vile pit formed in your stomach.

Your thoughts drifted to the dream. You couldn't move. Arms, legs, head, nothing. You couldn't budge an inch no matter how hard you fought. Something wanted you to stay still. And it wasn't as if your surroundings gave you any clues either. Darkness blanketed the room. No details, just a barren inky void. The only thing you found with you was a set of pinprick lights.

A voice spoke. It whispered beautiful words coated in honey. Your guts twisted. A warm touch held your face, and the voice asked you a question. Your words caught in your throat. The entity glared at you with icy eyes, and the sweet words soured to a nasty venom.

You clutched your chest as the memory of searing heat replayed. It sank blazing claws into your waist and arm, blistering and cooking the flesh.

You drew in shaky breaths and wiped away the leftover tears. It was just a dream. It was just a bad dream. You're safe.

You took in one more breath before getting up to start your day.

Normally you would go straight to the bathroom, but you wanted to check something. You stepped out into the main living space and found it empty. A DVD case sat on the coffee table, but the TV screen was dark. The couch laid devoid of any unexpected house guests. No sign anyone else was ever there. Your heart sank as you realized the encounter you remembered was just another dream cooked up by your tired brain. A frown pulled at your lips and you sighed. No time to mope. You needed to get ready for work.

You opened the bathroom door and peered inside. Rigel napped on the top of the toilet's water tank, surrounded by shredded toilet paper. At least it was less of a mess than yesterday. You clean up the ribbons and tossed them in the garbage under the sink. After you topped off his food and water, you hopped in the shower.

The water in your apartment only ever got up to lukewarm on a good day. And that was not a good day. Frigged rain pelted you, giving you goosebumps. Not wanting to linger, you got out and dressed a few minutes later.

You combed your fingers through your hair as you looted the kitchen. Damn cat, why'd it have to throw up on your hairbrush? You grumbled to yourself and pulled out the off-brand cereal to fix breakfast.

"What 'cha doing, babes?" A voice from nowhere spoke in your ear.

Your knees buckle and you collapse, taking the bag of cereal with you. You gripped at your chest to still your heart, and rolled to sit with your back to the cabinets. A man in a rotting striped suit floated in your kitchen, clutching his rounder stomach as he cackled.

"Oh sweets, that's great! I wasn't even trying!"

As the shock fades, your features scrunched up. You got to your feet and tossed the bag on the counter. With crossed arms you pivot to glare at the ghost, still laughing his ass off.

"Giving me a heart attack first thing in the morning," you said with a huff, "I came out here and you were gone. I thought I had dreamed the whole thing, you jerk."

"So you're saying you missed me?" He batted his eyes at you, setting your cheeks on fire. You would not dignify that with a response. Instead, you turned back to the counter and fixed your breakfast.

"Where did you go then?" you asked and riffled through the silverware drawer for a spoon.

"I was checking on your neighbors. Did you know the guys a few doors down have a shit-ton of electronics?"

"Yeah, and old lady Smith has a garden in her closet."

"Really? Which one is she in? I didn't find that."

"She's on the third floor, but don't bug her too much. She's nice. Plus she bakes amazing cookies for me whenever I help her."

You scarfed your breakfast, and double checked you had everything done. Rigel was in the bathroom with his things. You had your wallet and phone. After you finished the last bite, you set the bowl in the sink along with the one from last night.

You rinsed out the bowl and hummed to yourself before you glanced over your shoulder to the ghost. He grinned at you with a tilt of his head. You gave him a small smile, only to frown.

"I have to head to work."

That simple sentence wiped the grin from his face. His shoulders sank, and the color of his hair shifted. A dull purple seeped in and overtook the green. That couldn't be a good sign. "You're leaving me here?"

"Well, you could stay here, or..."

"Or?"

"If you can be out of the way and let me focus on my work when I need to, then you could tag along with me. It’d be nice having someone other than my boss to talk to during the downtime."

His grin stretched across his face again, and he spun up to you, batting his eyes. "Oh babes, you do care! Of course I'll go with you! Not my idea for a first date, but I'll take it."

You pressed your lips tight. Was this a mistake? Not like you can take back the offer, though. That would crush him. You let out a long sigh and rubbed at your temple.

"Not a date, dude."

"If you say so," he purred.

You shook your head and grabbed the keys before heading to the car. The ghost trailed you, with an ever present chill at your side. On the way to the car, he pointed out each of the apartments and spilled whatever secrets he found out. You had an inkling of some of your neighbors' crimes, but you weren't one to go tattling. It was best to let them deal with their lives and you deal with yours. So you ended up nodding along to what the ghost told you.

When you got to your car, you sat behind the wheel for a moment. Once your ghostly friend floated into the passenger seat, you took in a breath.

"Okay. A few things before we get there," You said as you fought to start the car, "If either my boss or a customer comes up and needs to talk to me, I would appreciate it if you hang back for a minute and let me handle them. Otherwise, I mostly just front-face merchandise and I can talk with you so long as I'm quiet. Also, I take my lunches in the cemetery, so I can talk a bit more freely there."

"Sounds good to me, toots."

You rolled your eyes and got the hunk of junk started. The car protested with clangs, but you drove off with a little more of a fight. On the scenic drive to work he asked you to turn on the radio, which got a dry laugh from you.

"What's so funny?"

"Radio's broke. Most things in this car are broken. Radio, heater, a/c. All of them are broken."

"Can't you get a new one? There's cars all over the place, just take one."

"Th-this isn't Grand Theft Auto,"

"It will be once you take a car!"

"Okay, technically true. I meant this isn't the game GTA, this is real life. And I would get arrested."

"Not if you had help from the ghost with the most!"

You rolled your eyes and turned onto the main road, heading for work. The rest of the drive, the "ghost with the most" filled the air with his own voice, singing a medley of songs. Some of them you recognized, others you suspected he made up on the spot.

You pulled into the employee parking and parked your car alongside the two much nicer ones there. As you collected your things, Beetlejuice pointed to the sleek mustang.

"That car looks fun! We should steal a car like that!"

"I'm pretty sure that's Brandon's car. I'm not stealing my coworker's car to take for a joyride."

"But it would be so cool!"

"Maybe later," you said, stepping out of your junker.

The bell chimed as you entered the store and caught your boss's attention. He came over to greet you and made sure you were doing better. You gave a small laugh and rubbed at the back of your neck.

"Yeah, I'm doing better." You glanced sidelong to the ghost wandering over to the front counter.

"Good. Now hopefully I can focus on training Brandon without as many interruptions. He keeps breaking away to chat with every customer that comes into the store. So I need you to handle the customers so he doesn't have an excuse."

"Got it. And if you need help with him, I can always smack some sense into him. The new order of mallets is in the back, right?"

Mr. Turner laughed and turned to go back to teaching Brandon. You smiled to yourself and meandered over to the counter. Your ghost pal sat on the countertop next to the computer.

"You never mentioned you get to hit people at your job, any openings?"

"Sorry, spot's filled. For now, anyway. But who knows, maybe we'll need a replacement soon."

"Save it for me. I would kill to get to hang around a pretty little breather like you all day and get paid for it. But doing that for free is nice too."

"You're a shameless flirt."

"How can a sexy beast like me not be with you around and able to see me?"

You shook your head and glanced at the computer. There was something you wanted to look up, you were sure of it. But what was it? You stepped closer and opened a new tab for the search. It sat blank for a moment as you retraced what the topic could have been.

"What are ya doing, babes?"

"I can't remember what I wanted to search for."

"One hundred great ways to skin a cat?"

You raised a brow and frowned at him. "I'm not hurting Rigel." A light flicked on in your head.

You typed in the cat's name and clicked on the page for the star. A picture of the Orion constellation to the side of the page showed off the stars. Most of them had fancy looking letters next to them, with a few having numbers attached. Rigel marked the lower right star, while the upper left was the only other star with a word.

"Beh-tell? Goose? Wait..." You jerked your head over to the ghost, who wore a Cheshire grin. "That's how you spell your name?"

"Yep. That's me. Behtellgoose."

You read the name once more. Betelgeuse. Such a strange spelling to sound like beetle-juice. Kind of cool though. You smiled and closed out of the tab when an unfamiliar voice called out to you.

"Good morning, Art. Great to see you doing better!"

"Heh, yeah. Feeling better." You forced a tight-lipped smile to prevent yourself from frowning. Brandon stayed still with his own fake smile plastered on his face. After a beat of him not saying anything, you asked, "Do you need something?"

"You forgot to go grab your apron. What if a customer came in? That would look very unprofessional. Here, I'll watch the counter and you can go grab your apron."

The corner of your mouth twitched, and you took in a deep breath. You stepped away and grabbed your stupid apron. As you threw it on, the bell chimed. You rushed back out, hoping to catch the customer before Brandon.

The counter stood unattended and you found Brandon down one aisle with a woman discussing products. You groaned and pinched the bridge of your nose.

"Isn't that what your boss wanted you to stop him from doing?"

"Yes, Beetle, it is."

You hissed out a sigh and shook your head. As you walked over to them, you prepared yourself to speak in your chipper customer service voice. Brandon insisted he could take care of the customer, only for Mr. Turner to order him to get back to training. Brandon grimaced and stepped away to let you take over.

Your smile was easier to keep on your face after that. You helped the customer find what she needed and rang up her items. She left with a wave and you went back to the computer.

"What the hell is that guy's deal?" Betelgeuse asked, gesturing with a thumb to Brandon.

"I don't know. I don't know if I really care." You leaned back onto your heels and let your mind wander. Whenever you were alone, stuck at the counter, you always pulled up simple web games on the computer to pass the time. But with Betelgeuse there, you couldn't ignore him to play games.

"What are ya thinking about, sweets? How hot it would be to make out right now?"

You rolled your eyes and crossed your arms. "No, you flirt. I'm thinking of what we can do to pass the time. All I'm coming up with are twenty questions and I spy."

"I'm fine with that," he said as he flashed you a sharp grin. "Okay, I'll start. I spy with my rotten eye, something... metal."

"Well, that narrows it down."

The two of you spent the rest of the morning going, taking turns playing those silly kids' games. Betelgeuse huffed and whined whenever a customer, or worse, Brandon, pulled you away to help them. Any time you called him out on his grumbling, he denied it as the color in his hair shifted.

He caught you staring at his hair once or twice, which exacerbated the shifting colors. Each time that happened, Betelgeuse quickly picked up whichever game you two had been playing. You left the topic alone for the moment, but stashed it away to ask about later.

Halfway into a difficult game of twenty questions, Mr. Turner came up to the counter. You ignored Betelgeuse's smug punchable face and greeted your boss, hoping your frustration didn't bleed into your tone.

"Cass, I'm stepping out for a bit to pick up something. I should be back for you to take your lunch break. Keep an eye on the store and Brandon for me, while I'm gone, okay?"

"Got it. Burn down the place and leave no evidence. Can do."

He shook his head with a laugh. Mr. Turner said, "you turd," before he waved goodbye and left the shop.

"Ooh baby, I love you talking about crimes like that! Tell me how you'd light up the place."

You turned back to the ghost. He floated with his stomach parallel to the ground as he held his scruffy chin in his hands and swung his legs pointed upward. You laughed at the dork and smiled.

"Well, the kerosene is over there, and the rolls of rags are an aisle over. There's a blow torch with some of the other tools."

"Artemis!" You whipped your attention to the stick in the mud, frowning at you. You didn't even get the chance to speak. "That kind of talk is highly unprofessional! Going over ways to burn down the store, shame on you."

"I was joking dude, it's not—"

"Well, I don't find that funny. And you shouldn't address your elders as 'dude', it is very disrespectful."

"Alright, I'm sorry."

"Good. Now I need your help."

You gave a tight-lipped smile and nodded. Brandon motioned for you to follow him, and once he turned back, you brought two fingers to your temple and jerked your head away.

In the middle of a tedious and painful walkthrough of creating an order of paint, the bell rang. Brandon broke away the second it chimed and went straight to helping the customer. That was irritating enough, but after the regular said they didn't need any help, Brandon insisted on assisting them.

You took in a deep breath and let the man dig his own grave. If he doesn't value your help, then he's not getting it. You marched back to the counter and found Betelgeuse picking his teeth.

He licked a striped tongue over his sharp teeth then said, "What a douchebag."

"Tell me about it."

The customer came up to the counter a minute later, followed by Brandon. You greeted the regular and switched the computer over to its register display. Your new coworker nudged you aside and insisted on being the one to ring up the customer.

"Artemis, you should have stayed at the paint desk. I'll meet you back there in a minute, after I help this gentleman."

You wanted nothing more than to slap that man. Who the hell does he think he is? Calling you unprofessional and pulling stunts like that? You grit your teeth and forced a smile before excusing yourself to head back to the paint desk.

Betelgeuse floated after you and lounged on top of the desk. You spared him a glance, but stuck to pacing the small paint pit, waiting for that douche-canoe to get back there. The customer didn't even have a lot of things to buy, so it shouldn't take Brandon that long.

"That freaking jerk," you said under your breath, "I can't believe Mr. Turner hired a guy like that."

"Want me to kill him?"

"Tempting, but no. I'm just going to talk to my boss when he gets back." You checked your phone for the time. A quarter after one, which means only fifteen more minutes until your lunch break. "God, I hope he's here soon."

You tapped your nails against the metal top of the tint machine, the speed of which accelerated the longer you waited. What the hell was taking him so long? Did another customer show up? This was getting infuriating.

"You sure you don't want me to kill the guy?"

"No, Beetle, I don't want you to do that."

"Art, who are you talking to?"

You turned around to the voice. Brandon stood at the threshold of the paint pit with his hand on his hips and raised a brow at you. Your face burned as you laughed, attempting to cover up your embarrassment.

"Oh, just this annoying little beetle. It was crawling under the tint dispenser."

"Do you regularly talk to disgusting bugs?" he asked. You opened your mouth to speak, only for Brandon to keep talking. "It doesn't matter. You shouldn't act so childish. How old are you? Late teens?"

"No, Brandon, I'm closer to my thirties than my teens."

"And you're talking to bugs, where any customer can come up and see that behavior. You ought to grow up and act your age, Artemis."

The bell chimed again, and you shuffled to the side to get an unobstructed view of the front. Mr. Turner stepped in with a smile and a wave. You waved back and checked the clock on the computer. One twenty-seven, perfect. You pulled your apron's strings and took it off in a swift motion.

"Where do you think you're going, Artemis?"

"Lunch."

Brandon frowned, and you folded up your apron with a smile. He probably wanted to stop you from leaving, but that shit would not fly with the boss back. Betelgeuse hopped down from his spot on the counter and followed. You tossed your apron behind the front counter and greeted Mr. Turner. After a quick rundown of what had happened, you left for your break, with a quick stop to your car to grab your food.

On the walk to the cemetery, Betelgeuse mocked the stupid things Brandon said. He was dead on with his impression, too.

"Artemis, do you think I give a shit? I'm a giant douche with a stick up my ass! There's no fun allowed in the store."

You did your best to hold back your laughter, but that only caused you to snort. A laugh roared out next to you in Betelgeuse's voice. You covered your mouth with your free hand, but that couldn't stop your shoulders from bouncing. As the two of you crossed into the graveyard, you glanced sidelong at the ghost, who shot you a grin.

In the cemetery, devoid of any other visitors, you veered towards your usual spot, off in the corner and near the front gate. You sat on the stone bench, setting your lunch beside you. Betelgeuse, however, sat on a gravestone, with his feet propped up on the one next to it.

You opened up your small bag of chips and started snacking on them. Betelgeuse looked over from picking at his nails and raised a brow at you.

"That's all you're going to eat, babes?"

"I have a granola bar too."

You grabbed the other half of your lunch and showed him. He tilted his head with a frown, but said nothing. It grew quiet, save for your munching on the chips. Your mind wandered, and you zoned out, staring unfocused in a random direction. Betelgeuse moved, catching your eye, and you studied him.

He gnawed at his black nails with jagged yellow teeth. Stubble covered his round chin, matching the same green mixed in his hair. Has his stubble changed color like his hair has? And why did his hair change color to begin with?

You hummed to yourself after finishing the last of your chips.

"What's up, sweets?"

"I... was hoping to ask you something."

Betelgeuse tilted his head to the other side and raised a brow and pursed his lips. You gave a half smile and laughed. He looked like a curious puppy. How could this ghost-demon look so cute?

"What is it?"

"I've noticed that your hair isn't always green." 

As soon as the sentence left your mouth, the color of his hair shifted to a deep purple. You shrank back as your stomach twisted into knots. Even without knowing what the colors meant, the frown on his face and sudden dodging of eye contact weren't good signs. On no. You messed up, didn't you? Why couldn't you have just kept your mouth shut?

"I'm sorry. You don't have to say anything. Forget I ever mentioned it."

You dug your nails into your palms and turned your gaze to your knees. Betelgeuse produced a mix of a growl and a groan, and you peered up at him through your hair. His lips pulled into an almost smile as he kept sharp eyes pointed at his hands, where he raked his nails through the hair of one.

"I might as well tell you, you'd figure it out eventually. My hair changes color with my mood."

You dared to lift your head more. Your lips parted as your brain processed the new information.

"Like a chameleon?"

"Like what?"

He tilted his head and raised a brow as his nose wrinkled. You forced out a small laugh and smile as you wrung your wrists. "A chameleon, the little lizards that change color. It's to communicate their mood. Darker colors like black are when it's stressed, neutral tones are when it's calm, and vibrant greens, or reds can be excitement or aggression."

Betelgeuse lurched forward with a growl and ran his hands through his hair, shielding the deepening purple from view. Your stomach twisted into knots. This wasn't getting better. You parted your lips only to press them shut a second later. Why did you have to screw up and bring up his hair in the first place?

Your nails dug deeper into your palms. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

"If you're going to strip a guy naked like that, babes, you could at least buy me dinner first."

Your face wrinkled as you tilted your head at him. Betelgeuse still held himself curled and closed off, but he wore a weak crooked smile. Your lips twitched, and you huffed out a dry laugh.

"Alright, we can go through the drive thru to get a few things off the dollar menu."

"Ooh! I wanna try one of those green sludgy shake things from that Old MacDonald place."

"Sorry to break this to you, but they only sell those in March."

"What? That's lame!"

"Everything is pumpkin spice right now."

He pouted and crossed his arms with a huff. Despite the childish act, the purple in his hair faded back to a muted green. You chuckled to yourself as relief washed over you. With a soft smile, you grabbed the other half of your lunch and hummed before you opened it.

"Hey Beetle."

"Hmm?"

"I won't bring it up again if you don't want me to, but I wanted to say I think your chameleon hair is pretty cool. Like, is it magic? Or is it a demon thing? Or—sorry. I'm sorry. I'll shut up about it now. Sorry."

Your eyes darted to focus on your granola bar. You fumbled with tearing open the packaging for a second, only for the wrapper to give. The force sent your food tumbling to the ground. You stared at the broken bar and heaved out a sigh. Just wonderful.

Your pocket buzzed, veering your attention to it. You pulled out your phone and checked the caller id. Unknown number. Chills cascaded down as you stared at the phone.

"Something wrong, babes?"

"Nope. Everything's fine. Just some spam call."

You shoved it back into your pocket and let it ring. If the caller wanted anything, they can leave a voicemail. Besides, you needed to get back to work.

You picked up your trash and nodded your head to the gate. Betelgeuse hopped up and floated alongside you. After a few steps out of the cemetery, your phone rang again. Every fiber in you tensed up, but you left your phone in your pocket. The third time your phone rang, Betelgeuse spoke up again.

"Who the hell keeps calling you?"

You shrugged and laughed despite your dry throat. "Who knows? I have to get back to work though."

With a hurried pace, you made it back to the store in a few minutes. The bell swung, chiming away as you beeline for your apron behind the counter. Brandon stood at the register with a phone up to his ear.

"There you are, Art! I've been calling you and you never once answered!" Brandon frowned at you and slipped his phone into his pants pocket. "You're obligated to pick up if I or Mr. Turner ever need to call you."

"O-oh, that was you calling." A small breath escapes passed your lips and you relax, only to register what he said. "Wait, how did you even get my number? I've only ever given this number to Sam and Mr. Turner."

"Why does it matter how I got your number? The issue is; if work calls you, especially if you have a shift that day, you need to answer."

"Fine, okay. I'll save your number so I don't panic again when I'm called three times in a row."

"Oh please, three phone calls make you panic? Artemis, you're an adult. You should know better than to be worried about something as simple as a phone call."

You grit your teeth and smiled. This conversation wasn't going anywhere you wanted, and you didn't plan on sticking around. You threw on your apron and marched to a far corner of the store to get away from everyone. Well, save for the ghost haunting you.

"Wow, babes, that guy is a major piece of work."

"Piece of shit is more like it."

You grabbed at products on the shelf and pulled them forward, turning the labels when needed. If you looked busy, maybe Brandon would mind his own fucking business. You clenched your jaw and growled as you brought more things forward.

"I shouldn't be worried about phone calls? What the fuck does he know? He's never had to put up with the shit I have!"

"And what shit would that be, babes?"

You glanced up to the ghost laying on his stomach across the top of the aisle shelving. Betelgeuse tilted his head. Soft and earnest curiosity graced his features. The corner of your mouth twitched before you closed your eyes and let out a hiss.

"I don't want to get into it," you said, keeping your voice quiet, "but I've had someone call me over and over before. It wasn't fun."

You pulled the rest of the items forward within arm's reach before sidestepping to get more. Betelgeuse floated after you as you inched down the aisle. He picked the games back up, and you welcomed the distraction.

There were one or two rounds of I spy, several goes at twenty questions—which you're positive Betelgeuse cheated and switched his topic multiple times. Towards the end of your shift, well after Brandon left for the day, you two asked a few "would you rather" questions. While he asked a few risque questions at the start—bite or be bitten, top or bottom—his questions took a tamer turn, similar to the ones you asked.

"Okay babe, would you rather find a rat in the kitchen or a roach in your bed?"

"I mean... I guess I'd prefer seeing another rat in the kitchen over finding more roaches?"

"M-more?"

"Donna hires her incompetent nephew to do the pest control for the apartments." You swept the line of dirt into the pan and tossed it into the trash. "Actually, speaking of, I should double check the traps and make sure something isn't rotting somewhere in the apartment."

Betelgeuse watched you finish the last of the closing routine. You clicked the pan back around the neck of the broom and stuffed it into a corner behind the counter. The only thing left was Mr. Turner to finish locking up the cash and heading out. You leaned against the counter and rolled your head back to look at the ceiling.

A quiet stillness overtook the store. It lasted a few seconds before Betelgeuse spoke up again.

"Would you rather have a nicer place but the same landlady, or the same apartment with a nicer landlady—"

"Alright Cass, you ready to leave?"

You turned your attention from the unseen ghost to your boss. He smiled and gestured to the door. You returned a half smile before exiting. Mr. Turner locked up, and you waved goodbye. A minute later you sank into the car seat and rested your hands on the wheel.

"Well babes, this certainly seems familiar."

You glanced his way and rolled your eyes before getting the car started.

"Yep, it's been an entire day since a demon followed my home, like a lost puppy."

"I'm way cuter than any puppy. Plus, you can keep me in your apartment all you want and your shitty landlady can't do anything about it!"

"Nicer landlady, by the way," you said as the car sputtered to life.

"What?"

"I'd rather have a nicer landlady than a nicer place. Donna would just let a nicer place fall to ruin."

You pulled out of the parking lot and drove home. At the first red light, you tapped your finger on the wheel and hummed.

"Hey Beetle, would you rather stay in a comfortable and familiar place with people that don't believe half of what you say, or cut all contact with them and be alone if it meant freedom?"

Betelgeuse tilted his head from one side to the other, closing his eyes as he mulled over your question. As he thought, the light changed, and you continued on your way home. A sharp grin stretched across his face a moment later.

"Easy. I'd take my freedom."

Your lips twitched up. "Yeah... me too."

[jisungsmochi]

the froyo girl - zcl

chenle x frozen yogurt shop worker!reader <333 / lots of fluff and pining hehe / wingman!jisung (had to do it to ‘em) 

this should be fun!! read more for this series here

word count: 3.3k

summary: working at the frozen yogurt shop at the local mall was fun for the most part. except for when this particular group of boys enter the store almost every evening, and make a ruckus. for the most part, they don’t completely drive you crazy but the one boy with the loud laughter and the jet black hair with hints of dark blue, had you swooning.

//

“yeah so i told renjun that i didn’t want to study together on friday and he was kind of upset so- y/n? are you listening?” your friend, jiwon snapped her fingers in your face. you shook your head to rid of your dozed off state, looking at the girl in front of you. you were currently standing behind the counter at the frozen yogurt shop you worked at. it was a fairly small establishment, only a few tables set up inside and outside and usually two employees working a shift at a time. unfortunately, you were the only one called in for work, as your coworker was currently on vacation. you didn’t mind though, the shop never got too out of hand, after all, it was mainly a self-serve type of business.

you were speaking to jiwon who had started dating her coworker, renjun, from the diner. you knew all the gritty details of their mini rivalry, in which you always lectured her to be nicer to him.

“sorry, i just feel really drowsy today” you sigh, looking down at the variety of treats in front of you.

“are you feeling sick or something? you shouldn’t have forced yourself to work!” jiwon began to worry, ready to hop over the counter to take you home.

“no no, it’s not like that. i didn’t get much sleep last night because of those group of guys who always come in later in the evenings” you yawn, confirming the fact you were completely exhausted. you had allowed the group to stay in store after hours. you knew that you should have flashed some sort of authority onto them, but everytime you saw him, you got nervous.

“y/n! you can’t let them push you around like that, you have to stand your ground” jiwon tried to hype you up, only earning a small nod in return.

“i know i know, it’s just everytime i see h-“ you immediately stop yourself, knowing how she was going to react. jiwon smirked at you, wiggling her eyebrows. you held your face in your hands and groaned.

“you have a crush on that dude that laughs really loud! the one that sounds like a dolphin” she chuckles, causing you to blush in response. you had heard his friends chant his name a few times, chenle. you always found your eyes drifting towards him. how he dramatically swung his head back while laughing at something his friends said, how he always managed to overflow his cup with oreo crumbs, and especially how he always gave you a smile before he left. you knew it didn’t mean much, but you couldn’t help but feel warm inside everytime he did so.

chenle and his group started hanging at the shop around two months ago. you vividly remember the first time you interacted with him.

he walked in with his best friend, who you knew was jisung, the boy who worked at your local convenience store. you weren’t paying attention to them at first, your main task being fixing the oreo froyo machine. it had suddenly stopped working a few minutes before, and your coworker was currently on the phone with the manager about the situation. chenle stood behind you, instantly frowning at situation. you felt some figures near you, eyes widening at the boys who returned the look. you gave them a small smile,

“sorry guys, the machine is broken, we’ll have it back up and running soon. but you can try the red velvet flavour, it’s new and a personal favourite” you kindly explained, wiping your hands on your apron.

“oh okay, thankyou! goodluck with fixing the machine though” chenle smiles softly, moving to grab the red velvet flavour. you couldn’t help but overhear the conversation,

“but dude, oreo is your favourite flavour” jisung mutters,

“it can change” he shrugged, instantly making you feel giddy. it was simple things like that, which made you infatuated with the boy. what could you say? you were a sucker for him from day one.

chenle and his friends were once again, hanging inside the shop. your coworker bid you a farewell before reminding you to lock up. you nodded at her, wishing her a good night before wiping down the rest of the counter top. you could hear chenle’s laughter echo throughout the whole shop, it never failed to make you giggle to yourself. you didn’t notice, like every other time chenle was staring at you. he watched as you blew bits of your hair from your face. he watched as you huffed after finished wiping the counter top, and threw the wet towel into the bucket. he watched as you cheered to yourself for landing the shot, which made him smile even more. jisung noticed, nudging his friend’s shoulder,

“stop staring and go talk to her” he tried to encourage the dark haired boy.

“you know i can’t, s-she looks busy” chenle tried to excuse, now both boys’ eyes were directed at you. you were leaning against the counter, eyes fixed on your phone, waiting for the boys to finish up.

“she sure looks busy” jisung smirked, deciding it was time for him to meddle a bit. chenle watched as the younger boy waltzed up to you. his other friends were equally as shocked, but brushed it off, going back to their conversations. chenle tried to make out the words being exchanged between you and jisung,

“hey there” you look up, eyes meeting those of the tall boy.

“oh hi, may i help you?” you shove your phone in your pocket, giving your attention to him.

“are you busy after your shift ends?” he suddenly asks as your eyes widen. you weren’t sure what his intentions were, your eyes subconsciously flicking to chenle who was glaring at jisung.

“i-i’m sorry, are you asking me out?” you furrowed your eyebrows, trying to read the situation.

“only if you want me to” jisung chuckled. you stayed silent, eyes still flicking over to chenle. the dark haired boy was listening the entire time, hoping you’d reject his friend.

“i’m flattered but i-i uh like someone at the moment. it would be kinda weird to go out with someone else, right?” you nervously answered, not wanting to let down the boy in front of you.

“ahh i see, no hard feelings there, have a nice night, y/n” jisung smiles softly, walking back to his friends. you stood in place for a solid minute, what the hell just happened? why on earth did you confess to jisung that you liked someone? god, what if chenle heard it all?

when jisung sat back down, chenle slapped his arm harshly,

“what the hell was that?” chenle confronted his friend,

“relax, i just wanted to see if she had feelings for someone. it could be you, you know” jisung shrugs as he shoved another spoonful of froyo into his mouth.

“but what if it’s not me? and it’s like some cooler dude from her school” chenle sighs in defeat, accepting that he didn’t have a chance with you.

“god you really don’t see it, do you? she kept looking at you when i was talking to her. it must mean something. now grow some balls and talk to the girl, she’s not gonna bite!” jisung exclaims, waving his arms dramatically. chenle chuckles at his actions, jisung’s words floating at the back of his head.

maybe he needed that extra push.

it was your day off, yet you still found yourself at the mall, third-wheeling with jiwon and renjun. you trailed behind them, sipping on an overpriced smoothie. jiwon turned back at you, ushering you to stand in between her and renjun. you and renjun had gotten closer since he started dating jiwon, so it was common for both of them to give you advice on random things. they looked their arms with yours, as the three of you walked in unison.

“so y/n, jiwon told me you have a crush o-“ you cut off renjun with a cold glare, making him freeze.

“jiwon! why did you tell him?” you whines to your friend as she gave you pleading eyes.

“i’m sorry! i tell him everything, it just slipped up, i swear” jiwon sighed. you ended up shaking your head, accepting the whole situation.

“it’s okay, and yeah i do have a crush. his name is chenle. he and his friends come to the shop a lot. and weirdly enough, one of his friends kinda asked me out?” you explained to the couple as they listened intensively.

“what?! you got asked out on a date?!” jiwon’s jaw dropped as the three of you ended up in the food court, now seated at a table.

“not really, i could tell he wasn’t being serious. jisung is a joker kind of guy” you shrugged, thoughts leading back to that moment.

“what did you say to him?” renjun questioned as you snapped back to reality.

“uh well i just told him i liked someone else” you shyly let out, causing the couple to smile at eachother before landing their eyes on you.

“i see what’s going on here, it’s a classic wingman move” renjun begins, capturing your attention. “jisung must have asked you out, as a way to figure out if you were taken or single. and since you don’t believe he was interested in you, who’s to say he wasn’t asking on behalf of someone else?” renjun smirks at you, causing you to reanalyse everything that went down that night.

“i mean, that kind of makes sense? boys will always be confusing” jiwon chimes in, rolling her eyes at renjun.

“so you think that, maybe he asked on behalf of chenle?” you whispered his name, too shy to say it aloud. renjun nodded, giving you a pat on the back.

“well what should i do then?” you question, eager for more advice.

“i think it’s best you wait it out. he may think that the person you like, isn’t him. in that case, you should probably try and make conversation with him, it’s a good start” renjun continues to encourage you, jiwon now giving him heart eyes. you smiled softly at how infatuated they were with eachother. you were surprised at how clever renjun was with his advice, so you all ended up planning how you would inevitably talk to chenle.

it was a thursday night, the one day of the week where the mall was open until the late hours of the night. jiwon and renjun visited you, going over your initial plan to speak with chenle.

“what time do they usually come in?” renjun asks, taking a scoop of frozen yogurt into his mouth.

“around 9? they end up staying until closing time anyway” you confirm, wiping down the edges of the counter.

“so what’s the plan?” jiwon asks you, making sure you memorised everything.

“when he comes to pay for his frozen yogurt, i will start a conversation with him, and then eventually get his number” you nod along with your words, not noticing how the couple was looking at you with concern.

“okay but can you actually talk to him?” renjun teased, causing you to snap your head to face him.

“yes i can! i’m very good at talking to people, it’s part of my job duh” you roll your eyes playfully at the boy.

“i’m just making sure okay! we should start heading home though, we have a movie date planned” renjun pulled jiwon to his side, running his hand softly against her arm. you smiled at how adorable they were,

“have fun you two, but not too much fun” you gave them a stern glare as they walked out of the store, hand in hand.

the clock struck 9, and as if on cue, the group of boys entered the store. you noticed that there was someone missing, only counting four heads instead of the usual five. your eyes met jisung’s as he gave you a small wave, in which you returned. you frowned when you didn’t see his other half standing with him. chenle didn’t come with them today. your heart sunk, your plans all going to waste. you sighed to yourself before serving the rest of the boys. jisung approached you slowly, noticing that you looked rather down today.

“hey, are you okay?” the tall boy asked, full of concern. you nodded softly, unsure of how to respond,

“y-yeah i’m good, your total is $4.80” you tried to crack a smile. jisung couldn’t help but give you a solemn look. before you took his money, you decided to question him,

“i hope this doesn’t sound weird but where is your friend? the one with the loud laugh” you smiled at the last part, taking the money from jisung.

you didn’t see it at first, but jisung’s face lit up at the mention of his best friend.

“oh you mean chenle? he’s studying for this huge exam tomorrow, and decided to ditch us” jisung smirked at you, slowly connecting the dots.

“a-ah okay, that’s too bad then” you shrugged, handing him his change.

“yeah it is too bad” jisung walked away from the counter, immediately grabbing his phone,

big head 1: CHENLE, GET UR ASS TO THE MALL RIGHT NOW

big head 2: JISUNG, SHUT UP IM TRYING TO STUDY

big head 1: Y/N ASKED ME WHERE YOU WERE, DUDE SHES INTO YOU

big head 2: don’t prank me bro, i’m not in the mood

big head 1: i’m not lying, i promise! she really did ask for you, she seemed kinda down actually

big head 2: wait what?! dude chemistry can wait! i’m on my way

chenle dropped everything on his desk. he grabbed a random denim jacket from the end of his bed and rushed out of his house. he hopped into his car, speeding off to the mall. you observed the group of boys while waiting for your shift to end. your eyes were glued to the seat that was reserved for chenle. you sighed to yourself, knowing that it wasn’t going to work out anyway. you had pretty much lost all confidence in talking to chenle, accepting the fact that maybe you just had your hopes set too high. you wanted to text jiwon about everything but you also didn’t want to interrupt her date with renjun. so you started cleaning the machines, prepping them for the next day. you heard the chatter of the boys slowly die down, knowing they were ready to leave soon. you heard the shuffling of chairs, followed by a chorus of ‘thank you’s as you turned and gave the boys a small wave, your eyes once again landing on jisung who had a smug look on his face as he left. you shook your head at the thought, before starting to pack up the chairs. you were just about ready to switch off the lights and close up when a puffed out chenle startled you. he pushed open the door of the shop, causing you to jump back in surprise. you let out a small yelp, followed by nervous laughter.

“u-uh may i help you?” you managed to let out, watching as chenle caught his breath. you pulled out a chair for him to sit on, furrowing your eyebrows at the sight in front of you.

“d-do you have any water?” he managed to huff out, as you rushed to the small freezer of beverages, handing him a water bottle.

chenle chugged down a solid half of the water before looking over at you. you were now seated across from him, your hands in your lap, waiting for him to start a conversation.

“i uh, i’m sorry for barging in, especially when you’re about to close” he starts, you shake your head before saying

“it’s alright, i don’t mind” chenle smiles at your words, heart beating faster than normal.

“i just wanted to uh, see if you wanted to-“ he stops himself, trying to gain more courage to finish,

“what is it, chenle?” you gave him a reassuring smile as he copied your expression.

“you know my name?” he gasped in awe as you let out a small giggle.

“of course i do, with the amount of times you have paid with your card, it’s hard not to glance at your name” you smile as he buries his head in his hands, too shy to face you.

“and also, your group of friends aren’t the quietest bunch, so i took notice of you” you widened your eyes at your words, shocked that you would blurt something out like that. chenle found it adorable, softly blushing at how you admitted you noticed him.

“i’m sorry about that” he sighs before continuing, “i think you’re really pretty and i wanted to ask you to hang out, just the two of us” he avoided your eyes, keeping them fixed on your hands placed in your lap. you were stunned by his words. the boy you had been silently admiring for weeks had just asked you out on a date. you didn’t know how to respond, causing chenle to look up at your shocked expression. he cracked a small smile, which calmed your nerves,

“i would really like that” you nodded eagerly as chenle took your hands in his.

“i was hoping you’d say that” he mumbled, as the two of you talked for the next hour. as it was getting late, you locked up the shop and accepted chenle’s offer to drop you off at home. it was so easy to talk to chenle, you facepalmed yourself for not doing it sooner. he was so witty and charming, he always had something interesting to say, you never got bored.

“don’t you have an exam to study for?” you questioned the dark haired boy as he pulled up to your house.

“eh it’s no big deal, i had more important things to tend to” you blushed at his words, instantly feeling yourself fall for him.

“i’ll see you soon, chenle” you smiled widely at him before getting out of the car. he waited for you to enter your house before leaving your driveway. as soon as he got home, he called jisung to update him on everything.

“you actually got the girl” jisung gasped,

“i guess i did” chenle spoke, still in shock. jisung chuckled from the other end,

“not without my help though” chenle rolled his eyes at his best friend,

“thank you man, i owe you one”

“like owe me a meal? or like a new phone?” jisung teased,

“neither now go to bed” chenle hung up, tapping through his contacts, eventually reaching yours. he smiled softly, typing a quick message,

“goodnight y/n! have sweet dreams, let’s talk soon!”

you completely gushed when you received the message, rolling over in your bed in glee. it was an indescribable feeling. you were overwhelmed with happiness. after weeks of pining over chenle, it was unknown to you that he felt the exact same. you had renjun and jiwon to thank, as well as jisung. the fact of the matter is, you lucked out on one of the sweetest most fun loving guys in the world, and you couldn’t be happier.

[hobiwonder]

What are friends for? | (m)

Pairing: Jungkook x reader x Taehyung

Genre: Crack.Smut. friends to lovers(?), pop essentially liubwnijlwkbc

Warnings: Smut. Ass eating, licking, fingering. Just a whole lot of oral (f receiving), masturbation. Mild dirty talk bc it could’ve been worse.

Words: 4k+

Summary: Taekook are your chaotic best friends and ask if they can try eating ass with you.

a/n: lmao yes i had a dream about this??? go figure. I just wrote this in a few hours so it’s probs not as good as my other smut but ofc, a light wank is never bad once in a while. let me know what u think!!

(eirbuirbnuir they’re so hot omfg)

“What the fuck did you guys want?” You’re almost gritting out between clenched teeth as you slam the door shut. Your chest is heaving, lungs trying to clasp in air as fast as they can because of the sprint you did to Taehyung and Jungkook’s apartment after their text that read “SOS” “EMERGENCY” from Jungkook and Taehyung respectively. You’d been stupid enough to set up this way of emergent communication when you’d all have met early in primary school. And now after more than a decade – old habits die hard. They’d sent you a text and even when your gut had told you so – you just knew– that it was for something stupid again. One time both of these imprudent fools had texted you the same words when they’d blown up their microwave by putting in tin of spaghetti in it. So to save themselves from starvation they’d texted you at around midnight. And slave to your habits you were – one text and here you were after taking a U-turn on your way back from a bad date and in a badmood.

God, how did boys even survive?

So here you were, standing in the kitchen while the two dumbasses you called – unfortunately – best friends stood in the kitchen arguing over something you didn’t care for probably, looking entirely not in an emergency. You probably were just needed to give opinions or fix something in their apartment.

“Fuck you bro! You said you were going to ask her!”

“Uh,” Tae looks horrified like he had just heard the most absurd thing – always so fucking dramatic – “I thought YOU were going to? What? Too pussy now?” His smirk earns him a face full of a couch cushion as Jungkook flings the cushion as hard as he can on to Taehyung’s face – aiming right on target as always.

“At least I know what a pussy looks like you dickhead.”

“What the fuck?” Taehyung is yelling in defence and you can’t believe your poor ears have to witness this exchange. “I’ve not only seen but actually ate it too you butthole!”

Jungkook snort, “Very mature.”

“Shut up!” It’s not your turn to scream and finally the two oblivious boys are looking over at you. You swear the look of surprise on their face seems like they’ve just noticed you. They might as well had been robbed and wouldn’t know past their own ridiculous arguments over who’s had the most sexual exploits. Stupid boys.

Ugh you hated them.

“Neither of you are mature you numbnuts.” Their eyes are scanning you from top to bottom – no shame like always. Taking in your short little red dress and the heels you’d bought especially to go to this stupid orchestra with your boring ass trust fund date. God, rich people had so much money and yet they spent it like that? Who takes someone on a first date to the Opera? You had sat there just listening to the singer while your date had been so immersed you might as well had come alone. The dress had shown your figure perfectly and highlighted the areas of your body that needed to stand out, perfectly. Your legs looked amazing because of the heels and longer than they were. You’d looked good. Even you could say it. But of course. Why would the night continue off like that? It had to be ruined by a boy and then ruined further by more boys. In conclusion to this essay: boys were the problem!

Ugh, you needed to get laid.

“So what’s the emergency? Why did I have to drive here? Hm?” You sounded like an interrogating mother and they looked as confused as the children of said mother would probably look.

“You look mad.”

“And hot.” Jungkook adds and you just want to slap him. But you can’t help the tiny flutter in your belly at his blatant staring. Though Taehyung just glares at the younger boy to be quiet when they see that you look more mad than usual. Yes, they pissed you off often.

“Because I am.” You continue to glare at them both, heels clicking as you walk forward, dumping your clutch on the kitchen counter and letting your hair out from the tight bun it was in. “So? The fuck you two want now?”

“Uhh, Taehyung was about to ask you.”

“Wait dude, what the fuck? You ask!”

“We agreed that you’d-” Your hands go up in your hair t fluff it out before clutching it tight to give a frustrated pull before you slam your hands on the kitchen counter, aking them both look at you again.

“Just get to it. Hyungwon was one of the most boring dates ever and whatever you two have to ask cant be worse than that.”

“Uh..w-what if it is?” Jungkook gives a little shrug, nonchalantly and your eyebrows furrow. The two of them rarely ever hesitated in making requests from you. How bad was this going to be?

“Then no.” You pick up your clutch, ready to leave when both of their hands grab each of your arms, rushing forward to stop you from leaving.

“Wait! You may even like it!”

“Yeah y/n maybe it’ll turn your night right around.” Jungkook’s eyebrows are going up and down suggestively and now you’re a little nervous and the butterflies are coming back. What was happening?

“J-Just spit it out then.” Your hands go up in the air in exasperation that they were both beating around the bush so much.

Taehyung looks at Jungkook and Jungkook returns his unsure gaze and they both seem to be having a secret conversation between themselves. Amazing how boys could communicate with any words suddenly.

“Speak!” You shout again when their telepathic communication continues. They really did share one braincell huh?

“We were wondering if you’d let us eat your ass.”

“Yeah okay.” You’re shrugging in agreement like you always did – until your brain finally registers what they’ve said. “ Wait, what?!”

They’re both looking around anywhere but at you like the ceiling is so interesting. Your face is going hot and flushing to the point that even your vision seems a bit rosy. What the fuck went through their mind to come up with this idea? You weren’t blind. You had seen your chubby little friends grow up to be chiselled and toned and tall and broad young men. You saw the countless girls they brought home and how people did double takes whenever the three of you went clubbing. But of course, that didn’t mean you had a problem with it. Sure… at some point or another you’d had a crush on them both but you were over it when they pooped literally with the door open in your house.

You all were too close for you to mess it up. Plus, you couldn’t choose between the two. You loved both of these stupid handsome boys too much to make one of them the third wheel. That’s if they even liked you. But why else would they ask this of you?

“Well you see, Jungkook here,” Taehyung’s glare shuts up Jungkook’s protest before he continues to explain, “Said he wanted to try it before he did it with any girl. And frankly, I’ve had a few girls want me to do that to them so I wanted to try it beforehand as well.” He’s shrugging casually again as if this was no big deal.

“So… let me get this straight,” your eyebrows are furrowing again but this time in annoyance once again, “You want me to be the experimental lamb before you two shitheads go off ass licking?”

They just nod. Yup. They nod like you were the one oblivious here.

“I’m going to kill you both one day. Just wait.” You’re nodding as you back up, pointing at them both before you left.

“Y/n!”

“Bro wait!” Jungkook is calling you bro like he didn’t just ask if he could eat your ass.

They’ve now sandwiched you between them both, Jungkook at your back while Taehyung blocks your access to the main door.

“Just hear us out y/n.”

“Uhhhh no thanks you twinks. I need to sleep!”

“You may like it!” You ponder for a few seconds and you know that if you tell them that you already know you like it then they will trap you here until they’ve done what they asked you here to do.

“I know I will.” Damn your loose mouth because you’ve already mumbled it out loud. And while Taehyung is looking at you confused and asking you to repeat what you said – Jungkook has shrieked in your ear that you wince and cover it.

“Hyung! She’s already tried it. Damn girl!” Ugh he was so immature. Stupid boy. Your best friend made you question your standards when it came to friends. He was lucky he was so cute and you knew that he wasn’t all just looks and muscles.

“Y/n,” Taehyung is gasping in mock shock as his hands slide down your hands to your waist, so casually rubbing at it while he leans his head down to try and catch your gaze as you nervously looks around – trying your hardest to look angry and not embarrassed for your slip up.

“You naughty girl.” He’s smiling his greasy smile and you’re done trying. You are annoyed now.

“Ugh let me go you noodles. I’m not going to be your experiment.”

“But you like it! It’s a win-win!”

“So you think you’ll like it?” You’re leaning back to look at the other, more muscly male who’s back hugging you, his breath warming the crevice in your neck.

“I think so. I love eating pussy so why not just a little further down?” He’s saying it all like he’s having a conversation about cereal and you can’t help but blush like crazy. You knew your best friends didn’t have a filter but wow. Having them this close to you, their hands on you at once was a bit… much. Or maybe you were just expecting to get laid tonight but definitely not by these two dorks.

“Very good point Jungkook. Logical thinking. I like that.”

“Why thank you good sir.” You roll your eyes as they complement each other like they weren’t fighting like 13 year olds just a few minutes ago.

“Ugh shut up. Both of you.” You sigh. Knowing that if you were dragged out here after that terrible abomination of a date – you get to be a drama queen too – might as well get something out of it, right?

“Where are we doing this?”

“Wait really?”

“Fuck yeah. I knew she’d say yes.” Jungkook says at the same time Taehyung is surprised. That little shit always thought too highly of himself. But you probably would say yes to most things they asked of you. You loved them too much. Plus they would probably die without you.

“We love you y/n! love you noona.” Jungkook is cooing in your ear, squeezing the life out of you as he tries show his appreciation by acting like the baby he is because he knows it gets to you. Meanwhile, Taehying is hugging you now as well, kissing your cheeks in little pecks, making your face – and now your body too – feel way too hot.

“S-stop. Both of you.” You try to fight off their kisses and cuddles as they walk you to the couch. “Stop acting cute when you two are literally about to be up my ass.”

“Whatever. You love it.” You just roll your eyes while Taehyung only sends you an air kiss that you pretend to gag at.

“Okay so just turn around,” Taehyung is turning you around to face the couch and it goes silent for a few 10 seconds. All that can be heard now is the three of you breathing and you realise that- - wow – this really is happening. Maybe that glass of wine was making these decisions for you. You’ll probably regret this later but right now you were high on endorphins.

“I am turned around Tae. What now?” You speak up when it’s been approximately a minute and he still hasn’t said anything else.

“Bend her over hyung,” You hear Jungkook’s throaty voice from somewhere behind Taehyung and you can hear the intake of breath from Taehyung who is directly behind you, hands on your waist. And then he slides his hands to the middle of your lower back, pushing you slightly forward until you’re bending over, resting your hands on the backrest of the couch. “Put your knees on the couch as well babe.”

Your breathing is picking up again. And even though this isn’t the first time Taehyung has referred to you with the endearment, the situation that you three are currently in is entirely different from all those previous one. But of course – you do as he says and place your knees on the couch so you can lean forward more comfortably while your derriere sticks out to the two men behind you who are definitely getting an eye full of your ass.  

A warm, large, palm is going up from the tops of your thighs to the top of your ass until they run down the same path again – kneading your ass. And of course, your mouth can’t keep quite as a tiny moan slips out at the comfortable – enjoyable sensation of your ass being essentially massaged loosens the knots in your muscles there.

“She likes it.” Jungkook whisper’s this time while taehyung stays quiet and then another hand joins, feeling your buttock on the opposite side and you can tell that this is Jungkook’s hand because it’s slightly more rushed just like how impatient Jungkook is. But overall, still incredibly relaxing. These two idiots knew what they were doing. So far at least. The massaging continues, sometimes one hand slips a little too in to the slit between your asscheeks through the dress, kneading the dimples in your back.

“We’re going to lift your dress now, noona.” You just moan a reply, head resting on your hands that are crossed in front of you on the couch. Taehyung hasn’t said a word while he silently has just caressed and felt.

You feel the cool air between your legs – and your thoroughly ruined underwear but you were past the point of caring. The dress is being slid over your back until it rests just above your waist – completely baring your underwear clad hips to their eyes while simultaneously both of them are cursing under their breath.

“You’re soaked.” It’s the first time Taehyung’s deep voice has reverberated through the room and it makes a shiver go down your spine with the way he says the words. Like he’s accusing you of a heinous crime. Then his hand is back on your ass, the cool feeling of his rings clad fingers making you flinch just slightly as his hands get even more bold.

“D-Duh. You’re playing w-with my ass.” You’re trying to sound nonchalant, like it doesn’t affect you as much as their hands actually are. You’re so horny now that you want to shout at them to hurry up already.

“Noona, you’re so gorgeous.” Jungkook’s amazed voice only puts your body at ease, knowing that they liked what they saw. It was a nice boost to your quickly diminishing confidence.

“Fuck!” The whimper is ripped from you when Taehyung had dragged the band of your underwear back and let it snap against your ass and pussy with a harsh tug. But of course it only makes you wetter.

“Look kookie, she’s dripping even more. She loves it. You love this don’t you y/n?”

You don’t respond, only bite your lip as you throw your head in your hands again – too mortified to say anything. But when Taehyung’s palm is striking against your buttock, you’re yelping and jerking forwards in to the couch, hands finding purchase on the back of the couch now.

“I asked you a question Y/n.” You had an idea of how rough Taehyung good be but never could confirm the rumours. Until now.

“Y-Yes.”

“Good. We want you to like it.” And just like that, he’s pulling away the ruined string of your thongs aside, exposing the tight ring of muscles that they both wanted to see in the first place.

“Fuck…. Look at that hyung.” Jungkook sounds like he’s leaning over now because you can feel a breath closer to your skin and it makes your breathing fasten even more.

“She’s clenching.” They’re talking to each other like you aren’t even there and it makes your skin even more feverish. Fuck why was this so hot?

“Her pussy is clenching too.” Jungkook so graciously points out and you can feel his hand on your ass sliding down. And just before it reaches its destination, he asks. “Can I touch your pussy noona?”

His voice sounds so innocent, so incongruous with his actions but what were you going to say when he spoke to you like that? Say no?

“Yeah baby. G-Go ahead.” You look behind you for the first time and finally see the way the two are positioned and it makes your blood run even hotter that you’re surprised it hasn’t burnt your skin to a crisp from the inside out. Taehyung stood directly behind you and your mind momentarily slips to another reason he may be in that position but you push that thought away when you see Jungkook on his knees, hands on your ass like it was the 8thwonder of the world, kneading and rolling it while one hand finally slipped further down to your aching pussy. His fingers are parting your sticky lips and the labia surrounding your engorged clit as he massages the wetness in even further – making obscene sounds bounce off the living room walls.

“Fuck, she’s so wet.” Taehyung hums in agreement while his own large fingers slip in between with Jungkook’s to gather your arousal as lubricant because he’s bringing them back up once he’s thoroughly coated them in it. Your moaning, whimpering and letting out small cries as Jungkook continues to massage your pussy while Taehyung is circling the tight ring of muscles with your slick arousal as well. It’s a sticky mess and you can very well hear it.

“You go first hyung. I’m hungry for this.” Your head is whipping back quickly at Jungkook’s stammering but it’s too late – he’s already dipped his head down and clasped your clit firmly in his mouth as he gently sucks.

“oh god.” A dry sob leaving your lips as the tears steadily well up in your eyes from the sheer intensity of the sensations. Especially when Taehyung is also kneeling and has now started to tongue your ass while Jungkook has a feast further down. The scene unfolding in front of you is so hot that you’re almost cumming on the spot because by god – getting head from two boys? Heaven. You know you’re absolutely ruined now. Your best friends have spoiled you.

“Ah,” A high pitched moan that would put porn stars to shame – leaves you when Taehyung stiffens the muscle of his tongue and probes your asshole with it. Repeatedly trying to jam his tongue inside you further and further in with each thrust. Jungkook is only helping the knot building up in your belly to tighten rapidly.

“Tae!” You’re crying out loud when he has grasped both of your ass cheeks, spreading them apart obscenely before flattening his tongue against the tight ring and licking and flicking at it rapidly. You knew you loved having your partners go down on you there but of course – it wasn’t exactly the most common of occurrences.

“Can I put a finger inside your ass y/n? Can I? Please?” He’s almost pleading between licks – mouth wet from his own saliva and your arousal that he keeps sampling to smear on your rear. You just vigorously nod your head and he’s placing a kiss on your cheek – oddly sweet – before he’s sliding down to your pussy where Jungkook’s face is still shoved, licking and sucking lightly – not hard enough to make you cum just yet but enough to torture you.

With one thrust, Taehyung’s finger is deep inside your pussy, thoroughly coated in your arousal while you can only whimper and hold on to the couch as he withdraws his thick, long finger to bring it up to your ass and circle the tight opening there.

“It’ll burn for a second baby.” You don’t have time to reply because he’s already pushing it in, your thoroughly wet ass sucking his finger right in.

“Fuck fuck fuck. Tae h my god. J-Jungkook.” You don’t know who’s making you suffer more. Jungkook with his mouth making out with your pussy or Taehyung’s finger that’s slowly pushing in until he’s in until it’s nestled in deep while his fat tongue licks around the intrusion. But one thing is for sure – you’re going to cum.

“I-I’m so c-close, oh god.” Tears have finally escaped your eyes as you push your ass against Taehyung’s face while Jungkook is almost laying on the floor, messily sucking at each of your pussy lips before taking in your blood swollen clit in his mouth to suck it raw. Taehyung’s finger has now started a nice pace but just when you’re about ti cum he’s withdrawn the finger and replaced your gaping entrance with the stiffened muscle of hif tongue. And then you’re coming. All over Jungkook’s face and the pleasure is so intense that your vision has gown bleary and you’re almost sure you died for a second.

“Fuck hyung, s-she squirted.” You’re too out of your mind to notice anything other than trying to steady your breathing. But you do finally glance back to see Jungkook’s wet shirt around the chest area and the shine on his lips and chin.

“You’re so hot noona oh my god.” He’s placing kisses all over your ass and you haven’t even had time to recover before they’ve already switched positions. Jungkook has wasted no time in spready apart your cheeks wide and shoving his tongue in right there in contrast to Taehyung’s more paced approach but you were too sensitive and were going to flinch either way. But when You hear Taehyung’s zipper go down – your temperature is rising again. Jungkook has now discarded his shirt as has Taehyung. Both of them were naked from the waist up while you were exposed from the waist down. Not fully but Jungkook is quickly taking off your absolutely ruined underwear and discarding it on to the building pile of clothes.

“Be gentle kook. I-I’m sensi- Fuck!”

Of course he’s doing before listening. His tongue is flat on your asshole, continuously licking up and down, faster than Taehyung and this alone is going to be enough to make you cum this time because you’re so worked up already. But of course, Taehyung can’t help but join in again as you feel his hand on your flinching pussy, rubbing your wet entrance and rubbing the nectar around your thighs, thoroughly coating you in your own mess. But you weren’t too mad about it. You liked their messiness for once.

“I love your ass noona. Isn’t it great Tae? Fuck we should’ve done this sooner.” His words are muffled as he talks between sucks and licks. Of course he would talk while he eats. Messy. Your internal laughter is dying down when Taehyung is shoving his ring covered middle finger inside your trembling pussy once again – but this time, he doesn’t pull out. He pushes it back in despite your withering form from the continuous assault on your sensitive skin.

“T-Tae-Ah- p-please. I can’t, n-no more. Oh fuck.” You’re crying and letting out small sobs, back aching from being bent over like this for so long but the pleasure is so much and so addicting it’s like you’ve been kept away from your drug when you’d never even taken it in the first place. Jungkook licks down to your perineum before coming back up to your clenching hole and fucking it with his tongue, setting an unremitting pace while Taehyung is fucking your clenching cunt with his bony fingers. And this continues over and over. You and Jungkook mostly moaning while Taehyung is grunting and growling out obscenities once in a while, jacking off his hardened length with his free hand while the other ruts in to you.

All it takes is one look behind you and seeing Taehyung’s girthy length – red, veiny and the head fattened with blood – leaking profusely while his wrist is snapping inside your pussy as well as Jungkook’s black mop of hair as his face is almost shoved entirely up your ass. That’s it. You’re gone with a shout.

“I-I’m cuming!”

“Come for us y/n. Fuck yeah. All over Jungkook’s tongue and my fingers.” Taehyung is growling, snapping his fingers inside your walls so fast and the accompanying shove of Jungkook’s tongue inside your ass is enough to have you leaking like a faucet – making the most obscene symphony of noises – better than that damn orchestra – sound the walls of the living room as you cum once again. Much less in duration but just as intense.

Taehyung’s hand has left your pussy and opted for grasp and tug at his shaft in rapid movements until he’s heaving and growling out his orgasm – cumming all over your ass.

“F-Fuck, c-can I cum over your ass too noona? P-please? Oh fuck.” Only when Jungkook has stood up that you realise he’d been just as painfully hard and had at some point started to palm himself through his jeans. And now that he slides his fist over again and again – slightly longer than Taehyung but not as thick – you can see how he’s leaking the pearly white liquid as well. And of course. You’d let him do anything to you right now.

“Go ahead baby. Cum on noona’s ass.”

“F-Fuck yeah. Oh fuck. I love you noona.” Your heart is fluttering and you’re not given a chance to dwell on his declaration further because you feel the spurts of his own orgasm dirtying up your ass, sliding between your cheeks and wetting your skin. And you honestly loved it all.

Fuck you loved them both.

You’re all breathing hard. It’s been at least a minute when you feel Taehyung’s hand rubbing in both his and Jungkook’s cum in to your ass, massaging it in your skin that you’re finally coming to your senses and realising how sore your back will be. Fucking hell. You’re about to straighten up but Taehyung is already wrapping his sticky hands around your waist and turning you around to lay you across his and Jungkook’s lap. Your eyes are closing and your body is giving in to its tired state. You’ll worry about the regrets and explanations tomorrow. Right now, you just wanted to snuggle both of your annoying friends who just made you cum twice. And they haven’t even fucked you.

Yet.

“Love you y/n.” That’s the last thing you hear before you’re dozing off.

a/n: let me know what u thought :)) i’m still working on baby baby so this is in case i dont post it early. 

[lycorogue]

Latest Story: Acting Weird

You can find the story on AO3, on FFN, or on DA. 

I have been in a writing slump for the better part of a month, but I had promised myself I'd have a new piece of fiction completed each month. We’ll ignore that it’s after midnight my time. I had the story written and edited by 11pm... it just kept me a while to format and publish on the above sites.

Now, while trying to figure out what to write about, one of my friends suggested some Ladrien fanfiction, because there isn't nearly enough Ladrien in the world. Another one of my friends suggested Lukanette, since that ship is my jam right now. In the end, I decided to go with my old stand-by: mess with poor Adrien's head.

You can either go to any of the above sites to read my newest story, or you could read it below. It’s a fairly direct sequel to my birthday gift to @thetauruspixie: I Was Thinking Of You. 

~ Acting Weird ~

Summary: Everyone has been acting weird all week, and when Adrien finds out why, he starts acting weird too. It can't all be about Marinette's new beau, could it?

Rating: General Audiences

Word Count: 2605

Status: Completed one-shot

People had been acting weird around Adrien all week, and he couldn't quite pinpoint why. Even when it was practically spelled out for him, he still didn't comprehend why he was being treated differently.

"Oh, sorry, dude. I can't tonight." Nino rubbed the back of his head, bumping his hat and pushing it over his eyes a touch. He gave Adrien an apologetic smile as he shrugged. "Alya and the girls had this whole group date thing figured out since last Saturday. We're hitting up some rom-com the girls picked out, and then an arcade to play some skee-ball. I'd invite you along, but it's sort of this couples-only sort of thing."

Adrien's heart sank. So many of his classmates were paired up, and he was still running solo. If only he could win Ladybug over. If only they could know who each other was. Maybe then he could finally be with his lady, and they could join in with Nino, Alya, and everyone else. Then again, it might be weird for Adrien to explain where he met his mystery lady.

"Hey! What about that Kagami girl?" Nino snapped as the thought came to him. Instantly his posture changed to upright and hopeful. "I'm sure if you two wanted to come, everyone would love for you to join us."

"Thanks, but Kagami and I aren't really a couple, and I don't want her thinking I want us to be."

"What are you talking about? I thought Marinette said you were majorly crushing on Kagami. Even went on an ice skating date, and to a royal wedding, and the Ladybug movie premiere together."

"Nah, I- uh..." He couldn't very well tell Nino that he actually liked someone else without answering a dozen questions about who it was. If he caved and admitted it was Ladybug he'd have a hundred more to answer. "I thought I had feelings for Kagami, and she really is a great girl, but I just don't think of her the same way she thinks of me. I don't want to lead her on."

"Fair enough. Sorry, dude, I would have really liked for you to have come with. We'll have to hit up the movies and arcade ourselves. Bro-night."

"Bro-night." Adrien plastered on a fake smile, and held up his fist for Nino to bump.

"Hey, boys!" Alya called out to Nino and Adrien, waving them down from the top of the school's main entrance.

"Hey, babe." Nino held out his hand for Alya to take as she descended the stairs to them. Marinette followed a few steps behind.

"Hey, Marinette." Adrien smiled. She had always been a great friend to him. She had offered to go with him on his date with Kagami so he wouldn't feel so nervous. Maybe she'd go with him that night, as friends, so that they wouldn't be left out, simply because they were single.

"Hey, Adrien." She smiled back, and Adrien had the same weird sensation he had all week. There was something different about her. Yet it felt familiar somehow. "Do you have any plans this weekend, or is your father keeping you home again?"

It kept Adrien a second to register the question. He was focused on Marinette's stance; her speech patterns; her smile. Something was off, but not necessarily in a bad way.

"Well, I was trying to see if Nino wanted to come over to check out my latest fighter game, but he and Alya have this date night thing."

Alya and Nino turned to each other with uneasy looks on their faces. The same looks people had around Adrien all week. Marinette kept eye contact with Adrien, but her smile also faded slightly. He again wondered what it was he was missing.

"You like fighter games too, right, Marinette?" he continued, trying to be undeterred by the strange heaviness that instantly filled the air around them.

"Y-yes. I do." She started shifting her weight back and forth.

Instantly, Marinette seemed so much more recognizable to Adrien. That was what had been off. She hadn't stuttered or misspoke around him all week. She hadn't tripped, aside from a few stumbles she quickly recovered from. She had an aura of confidence radiating from her. It was very Ladybug-like, and it suited her well.

But now she was back to her old self: awkward and stammering around him; all confidence evaporated. While the abrupt change was a bit alarming, Adrien had gotten used to this version of Marinette. He was comfortable around her.

"Well, while these guys are out enjoying Paris, did you want to come over to play? Or maybe they'll let us invade, even if we're just going as friends?"

"Uh, A-Adrien?" Marinette rubbed her arm and played with the strap of her purse. Her eyes darted to Alya in a silent plea for help that could easily be heard, even without words.

"Ya see," Alya's voice cracked as she turned from Marinette to Adrien, "Marinette, well, she's kinda coming with us tonight."

Adrien blinked a few times and took a step backwards down the stairs. He wasn't expecting Marinette to be joining them on a couples night. He didn't even know she was dating anyone.

"You are?"

"Y-yeah. I'm- Well, Luka and I-" Marinette began to blush, and she couldn't keep eye contact with Adrien.

Luka. Of course it was Luka. Adrien should have already known that. To avoid being the third wheel on Adrien and Kagami's date, Marinette had asked Luka to join her at the ice rink. They had looked so comfortable together as they skated. Marinette was even perfectly trusting of Luka as he did some lifts and spins with her in his arms.

They had looked like a couple already. Adrien couldn't figure out why the news of Marinette and Luka dating somehow surprised him.

"Oh." Adrien cleared his throat and tried again. "Sorry, I didn't realize you two made it official after that ice skating double date. Congratulations."

Marinette blushed and dug the toes of her right foot into the step. Nino gawked as he whipped his head between Adrien and Marinette.

"Thank you, but we, uh-" Marinette shook her head, but refused to look at Adrien. "Luka and I- We didn't- we weren't dating after we skated together."

"So, after the two weeks you spent making Kitty Section's costumes then? Either way, I'm happy for you."

"Actually, we didn't start dating until this past Saturday." Marinette sounded sheepish, almost embarrassed to admit when she started dating Luka. "Wait a minute!" She perked up, bouncing on her toes a second as she whipped her body to face Alya and Nino. "Have we really looked like a couple this whole time?"

Both Nino and Alya laughed, nodded, and muttered a list of other reasons why it was 'so obvious' that Marinette and Luka liked each other.

Adrien didn't chime in. Instead he rested against the cement banister lining the large entrance steps to his school. He glanced down to the street, and was relieved to see his bodyguard pulling up to the sidewalk; a free space finally opening up.

"That's my ride. I gotta go." Adrien focused on making his voice as even and cheerful as possible. "Have fun on your group date tonight. I'll have to catch you all later."

"Did you want me to cancel so you're not alone?" Marinette took a step towards him, but Adrien put his hand up to stop her.

"Girl, are you kidding?" Alya barked. "The whole reason we're going out tonight is to celebrate you and Luka. You can't bail!"

Adrien gulped, and prayed no one saw his Adam's Apple bob. Taking another step towards the sidewalk, he shooed Marinette back up to their friends. "No, no. You go. Have fun. Enjoy spending time with your new boyfriend. Congratulations, again. Luka's a great guy. You two look good together."

"Oh. Uh, th-thank you, Adrien." Marinette froze on the steps. Behind her, Nino wrapped his arm around Alya's shoulders, and pulled her into his side so he could whisper in her ear. She responded with a shrug and a soft shake of her head.

There it was again. People acting weird around Adrien. Without another word, Adrien turned and jogged the rest of the way to the waiting town car. Despite being healthy, and his endurance at its peak outside of his superhero costume, Adrien's heart was racing as he rode home. His skin was clammy, and a chill ran down his arms.

"I think I'm getting a cold," Adrien informed Nathalie as she greeted him at the door of his father's mansion. "I'm going to go rest up before it becomes anything serious."

"Alright, Adrien. Let me know if you need anything."

"I will, thank you." Adrien then jogged up the stairs, and dashed into his bedroom. His heart wasn't beating quite as fast that time, and his skin didn't feel clammy. He still had a slight chill in his arms, and he still felt ill, but it wasn't as bad as when he had left his friends.

"You okay?" Plagg drifted out from behind Adrien's cover shirt. He didn't wait for an answer before phasing through the cupboard Adrien kept the Camembert in. A second later the door unlatched, and Plagg floated out with a wheel of cheese balancing on his bulbous head.

"I don't know." Adrien sat on the foot of his bed and stared at his hands. They were shaking slightly. Not enough to really be noticeable, but enough that he could feel them quake.

"Tough break about that date night thing. I could have gone for some popcorn." Plagg rested his snack on Adrien's desk, and then quickly chomped into it.

Adrien clenched his fists closed, hoping to stop the small tremors. His heart picked up pace a couple of beats as Plagg commented on the date night. Adrien wondered what was wrong with him, but figured talking about his friends could be the distraction he needed from his symptoms as he tried to drift off to sleep. He'd talk to Nathalie if he was still shaking after he awoke for dinner.

He kicked his shoes off and scooted back on his bed.

"Yeah. If only I could have gone with Ladybug."

Plagg cocked an eyebrow. "Yup. Quite the shame." He then took another bite of Camembert.

"I know, I know. You're not a fan of listening to me pine after Ladybug, and she doesn't like me pressing to know her identity. Still, it would have been nice to go on a date with her, especially with all of my friends. Although, I don't know how I would have kept a straight face knowing Alya was hanging out with Ladybug all night without realizing it."

Plagg snorted.

"Exactly." Adrien lied down. He stared at the ceiling for a couple of seconds before rolling onto his side and curling into a ball. "I don't know how welcome I'd be tonight anyway, even if I did have a date."

"That Nino kid seemed to want you there, and Marinette as well."

"Yeah, but they were also acting weird. Everyone has been so weird lately."

It had started on Monday. Mylène had greeted Marinette with a playful punch in the arm, and Ivan followed up by scooping her into a hug. He then told Mylène "called it," which granted him a placating pat on his back before the two squeezed hands and parted ways to take their seats. Alya's greeting for Marinette was fairly similar, with an elbowing of Marinette's arm, and a quick side-hug. At the back of the room, Rose and Juleka kept watching Marinette and whispering back and forth. Adrien felt concerned for Marinette at first, afraid that Lila had started something up again, but his friend seemed to be happy about all the attention, so Adrien left it be.

After morning roll-call though, everyone started acting weird around Adrien. Nino and Alya whispered around him. Marinette was more withdrawn from him than usual, as if she had felt guilty about something. Mylène kept checking in that he was alright. Alix kept laughing at how 'slow' Adrien was. He had just assumed she was trying to egg him into racing her like Kim had, but it came out of nowhere, and she never once actually tried to challenge him.

Tuesday things got weirder. Marinette never seemed so happy, practically floating throughout school. It was the first day Adrien saw her so consistently confident, and the first time the two of them held any sort of lengthy conversation without Marinette tripping – either physically or over her own tongue. Lila had pulled back from Adrien a bit, barely talking to him all week, but constantly studying him, as if she were appraising him. Chloé, on the other hand, was more clingy than usual. She kept telling him how perfect he was, and that any woman who would want any man other than him must be insane.

The whole week, people were treating him with kid gloves, like a major secret they all shared could break him. Just remembering how odd everyone had been acting gave Adrien another chill, so he tucked himself into bed, pulling the sheets tight around him.

Actually, we didn't start dating until this past Saturday. Marinette's voice popped into Adrien's head. His skin started feeling clammy again.

"Was that the big secret? Was that why everyone was acting differently around me all of a sudden?"

"Huh?" Plagg finished his cheese, and floated over to Adrien's bed.

"Marinette starting to date Luka. The first people to act weird were either members of Luka's band Kitty Section, or Marinette's closest friends like Alya and Alix. Alya even said today that the big group date thing was to celebrate Marinette and Luka finally dating. That has to be what everyone was talking about all week, right?" Adrien couldn't stop shivering, despite how tightly he wrapped the sheets around himself.

"Why act weird around me, though? Why didn't anyone want to tell me? Even today, Marinette didn't seem like she wanted to tell me. I know she likes Luka a lot-" Adrien ignored his heart beating hard enough that he could feel it. "She looked so happy all week, and it was probably because she's finally with the guy she likes. Why wouldn't she be more excited about telling me about it? If I could actually be with Ladybug I know I wouldn't want to shut up about it."

"I dunno." Plagg drifted to the pillow on the other side of Adrien's head, snuggling himself into the down. His voice was sleepy and disinterested. "Maybe they were worried about how you'd react."

"I'm Marinette's friend. I'm Luka's friend. Why wouldn't I be happy for them?"

"'Cuz they think you like Marinette?" Plagg yawned.

Adrien's eyes shot open wide. He couldn't believe that was the reason. There was no way! How could anyone think Adrien had a crush on Marinette? Just that afternoon Nino thought Adrien liked Kagami. Clearly Marinette was just a friend. A friend he would have been happy for, as long as she was in a good place. And she was with Luka. They were good together. Luka was a great guy. He'd treat Marinette well, like she deserved.

Adrien couldn't understand why anyone would think he'd be heartbroken to find out that Marinette was dating someone. It wasn't like he wanted to date her. It was silly that his friends seemed to think he did.

Totally insane.

She was a friend.

Just a friend.

He didn't have a crush on her.

Did he?

Well, Adrien, do you!? Huh!? :3 Why do I enjoy doing this to my poor son? 

As wonderful and fluffy as my conclusion to I Was Thinking Of You was, I wondered how Adrien would react to Marinette giving up on him, even if he didn't quite realize that was what was going on. The girls - Alya, Juleka, Rose, Mylene, and Alix - all knew about Marinette's love for Adrien, and, based on their pow-wow in Frozer, they seemed to believe Adrien liked Marinette back, at least at some level. So I thought they would be the main ones trying to "protect" Adrien from the news of Marinette and Luka finally getting together. By extension, while I don't think Ivan ever found out about Marinette's crush, I do suspect Mylene did let him know about the chaos surrounding Marinette's unrequited love, so I'm sure Ivan is happy Mari doesn't have to deal with that mess anymore.

I am a strong believer that Lila doesn't truly have romantic feelings for Adrien. She just finds him attractive, and wants to date him for the status symbol of it: something everyone would envy her for; something to make people jealous with. After finding out that Marinette, someone almost obsessively in love with Adrien, was dating someone else, and was incredibly happy about it, probably messed a bit with Lila's head as well. She probably wondered if Adrien wasn't as much of the "most eligible bachelor" as she thought. Maybe he isn't worth pursuing after all, which is why she spent the week studying him.

Chloe, on the other hand, got super defensive when she discovered Marinette's relationship. She may have been one of the last people to discover Marinette's crush, but after doing so, Chloe was just as shocked as Lila to find out that Marinette had moved on and was happy with someone other than Adrien. Clearly Marinette Dupain-Cheng was insane, and Chloe was going to make sure Adrien knew he was still worthy of love.

And Plagg, poor, sweet, exhausted Plagg. It killed him to not just burst out with "YOU COULD HAVE GONE ON A DATE WITH LADYBUG IF YOU HAD EVER ACTUALLY ASKED MARINETTE OUT, YOU DING-DONG!"

Anyway, thank you so much for reading. It means so much to me that you'd spend some of your time with my stories.

Please remember, you can also read this story on AO3, on FFN, or on DA.

[niennavalier]

Okay I wasn’t planning on doing a DS9 rant post but here it is, under the cut in case I get annoying about DS9 and romance and Julian in particular

Okay, so I swear, the writers went into the show with this idea that Julian Bashir was gonna be this fresh-out-of-med-school brilliant, attractive doctor with charm to spare and something like this ladies’ man kinda attitude. Maybe (hopefully) not that sleazy, but still. And then it didn’t really work in season 1 in regards to Jadzia, so they dropped that storyline (thank fuck).

But then it’s so weird when I think they’re trying to kinda keep it alive through the show, except it literally never really works quite right? Even though the DS9 writers are legitimately good with writing the other romances on the show?? Kira and Odo? Absolutely adorable, I would die for them. Jadzia and Worf? Who would’ve that that’d work? Not me! But I’d die for them too!

(Yes, all of these characters have other romantic interests at times, some good - like Lenara Kahn - and others less so - Bareil is really boring and Lwaxana Troi DID NOT need to be there - but they also get these fantastic long-term stories)

Meanwhile, for my favorite doctor? I might be missing some but here’s what I could think of whilst typing: Melora was...sorta forgettable (I forgot about the episode until I was just scrolling through all of them). Technically fine but...forgettable. Leeta...honestly I never understood this pairing. I legitimately don’t remember ever seeing them get together on screen; best I recall, they were just together one day and we were supposed to just accept it. Which...whatever, I’m not a fan, and this pairing did nothing for either of them. Serena, I actually liked; they were cute together in that one episode, but at the same time I’m torn because I truly believe the writers made the right choice in that she had to experience the world for herself. For all the cuteness, I much prefer her discovering her own self-worth and think that’s better for her as her own character.

And then. There’s Dax. The first couple seasons? Awkward as fuck. No thanks. But then him and Jadzia become like, best science buddies! And he painfully third-wheels for her date with Lenara in Rejoined! And it’s like “wow now that’s true friendship right there”. And I loved that relationship so much! We watched Julian grow up a lot since the pilot, and honestly, him becoming best friends with Jadzia matched that change really well. Going from this kinda juvenile crush and strange persistence to a much more mature friendship. I mean, there’s one episode (which I can’t place at the moment) where there’s some crisis on the station and they’re hiding somewhere, she’s hurt, and they’re both freezing. And he’s holding her, and she makes some comment on how past-him would’ve used this as an opportunity to try and spark something between them. But present-him isn’t like that anymore, and watching as the audience, there truly isn’t weird romantic tension between them. It’s intimacy and familiarity and comfort without the weight of romance. And it’s perfect.

But then all of a sudden, the back half of season 6 starts happening, and apparently he’s always loved her? And it’s like...where did this come from?? You were doing so well, writers, what happened?? It just...suddenly brought back all the awkwardness of season 1, except at least this time, he’s not acting on it. So instead it’s just weirdly angsty and 100% out of left field. (Also Quark loves her, which is random but less concerning to me cause at least it wasn’t reviving an abandoned plot point, like with Julian) (The Quark point isn’t relevant, but I just felt like saying it)

And that whole thing just put the biggest pit in my stomach, cause I knew about Ezri joining them in season 7 and I was just like “nooo pleeeease don’t get him together with Ezri”

Apparently I just live to be disappointed.

Full disclosure, I actually haven’t fully watched the scene where they get together, but my roommate did end up coming upon a scene of them together in bed, and I’m not that stupid. Bonus: I’m about 6 away from the end, and that in itself is kinda concerning, because now I’m double concerned that it’s gonna be rushed even worse than I thought it would. Because, as of now, she has had barely any contact with Julian, outside of just being part of the senior staff (aka being a main character). I can honestly only actively remember them having one conversation, which just existed for her to say that if Worf hadn’t shown up, then Jadzia would’ve chosen Julian. Which...okay...what now? Worf didn’t show up until season 5, wtf is this about? If Jadzia was actually in love with Julian, she would’ve done something about it. Jadzia Dax is NOT passive about what she wants, and it’s what makes her such a joy to watch. She’s even willing to act against her own culture out of her love for Lenara, despite hesitation because yeah, that’s a lot of risk. She’s willing to leave her friends to be with the dude she met in that weird world that blipped between universes. She acts with her heart and without fear, even in situations where there are barriers stopping her from doing what she wants. There was never such a barrier with her and Julian, so yeah, no, if she’d wanted him - truly wanted him - she would’ve gone for it.

The scene only exists for them to try and justify putting him together with Ezri, and it SUCKS on every conceivable level.

(Also yes, I know they have some other, normal conversations, but they’re never particularly interesting or impactful, so I don’t remember them, and that probably says something in and of itself)

For one, their lack of conversation and just...general shared screentime is so small that I can’t buy the idea that the two of them actually know each other that well. Even if they did bond off-screen, thus far, the show itself never actually gives any evidence of that while they ARE on screen. They have the same level of chemistry that Julian and Kira should have (although, strangely, the characters have much better chemistry than their screentime would seem to indicate but...well they were married IRL so...yeah). Friendly colleagues, but that’s really it. And yet, he’s gonna fall in love with her?

I don’t think so.

He’s in love with Jadzia (apparently. but that’s a different complaint, seen above). He’s in love with a past life of the Dax symbiont. That past life just happens to be contained now within Ezri, and it’s the only conceivable reason I have for why he’s interested in her at all. Realistically, had Ezri Tegan never become Ezri Dax, I doubt Julian would’ve had the same thoughts about her. Granted, people can meet by circumstance and fall in love - I’m not shitting on that idea - and I’m not implying that Julian is a dick by any means, but the show itself doesn’t give us any reason that he would fall for her. Like...what traits of Ezri does Julian find himself attracted to, aside from the fact she was once Jadzia? I don’t think the show ever actually gives any answer to that question. She may carry some shades of Jadzia’s habits and idiosyncrasies and such, because that’s how joined Trill work, but she’s also very much still Ezri. And, for the sake of her character, that should be really important? So, frankly, it’s actually just...really insulting to Ezri? That she’s not loved for who she is, but who the Dax host was. And that’s honestly just awful.

And I actually just thought of this while writing this post and complaining about that one conversation, but it also sucks for Julian a bit, too? Like, the way Ezri phrases that one line - “If Worf hadn’t come along, it would’ve been you” - it feels to me like he was very much the second choice. And...would that not feel awful to be told that? Basically that you were someone else’s back-up plan. I mean, I can’t speak from experience, but I can’t imagine that feels good. And plus, now he knows that Jadzia apparently had those feelings for him, which Ezri now carries with her. Which...wouldn’t something about that just feel wrong? These aren’t Ezri’s feelings exactly; she’s just stuck with them. And Julian is fundamentally a good person who has some idea of how the Trill work; wouldn’t this be a little like he’s...not quite using her, but allowing her to act on feelings that aren’t actually, truly hers? So the situation ends up being that she might not really love him, not as Ezri, and that would really suck for both of them.

Granted, that’s not to say she couldn’t decide that on her own; she totally could, but the show hasn’t laid the groundwork for that. And it’s also not to discredit feelings that linger from past hosts. Jadzia and Lenara are drawn to each other because of Torias and Neilani, but they also do legitimately fall in love with the people they are now and bond over their shared interests in their present forms. Honestly, the show even makes this distinction? When Ezri and Worf are stuck together, they definitely sleep together, but the show makes it fairly clear that it’s pent up tension from the two of them not talking, combined with the fact he and Jadzia were newly married. I’m pretty sure they decide it’s not really something to pursue; it was just what happened out of old instincts, not out of actual love between the two people actually involved.

Mostly, I take issue because of the first sentence of that last paragraph. The show just never sets it up. If it showed her and Julian having chemistry, I’d have far fewer complaints about this. (For fuck’s sake, I think she had a deeper conversation with JORAN. THE MURDERER. Than she really did with Julian. Now that’s a problem)

Long story short: they really shouldn’t have kept trying to shoe-horn romance in for Julian. All of his stories work better without, particularly in the long-term. The chemistry is just...never there with his long-term potential partners the writers throw at him. He really does have the best chemistry with Miles and Garak. That’s all fantastic.

(Which is to also say: I get that it was the 90s but I really wish we could’ve gotten our disaster bi doctor and his lizard spy boyfriend. Just saying)