The “i’ve been falling in love with you since the first day we met.” Prompt screams musical juice to me, maybe something like a mutual confession?
call my bluff, call you “babe”
Pairing: Musical!Beetlejuice x Reader
Inspiration: Prompt #6 (i’ve been falling in love with you since the first day we met.”) from Prompt List #1 requested by @nak3d-snak3
Warnings: anxiety, cursing, reader and bj are both dumbasses, mutual pining, light fluff
Word Count: 2,175
Author’s Note: Thank you for the request! Apologies for the delay on this, I had about a thousand words written for a different concept but scrapped it and started from scratch. As always, check out my masterlist, about me page, prompt lists, or submit an ask!
“Oh my god, you are beyond obvious.”
“What are you even talking about, Lyds? Can’t a dead guy check himself out in the mirror every once in a while?”
The teen crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow.
“You can’t fool me, you know. I know you’re into the neighbor.” Beetlejuice scoffed at his reflection, picking worriedly at a particularly unruly patch of moss that was growing on his right temple. Lydia noticed his expression and narrowed her eyes. “And since when do you care about how you look?”
“Since always,” he deadpanned, “Haven’t you ever wondered why I wear this snazzy suit? Really makes ‘em go crazy.”
If there was one thing Beetlejuice was good at, it was using humor as a deflection tool. That, and scaring the shit out of breathers.
He didn’t scare you, though. He never did.
In fact, the first time you two met, the first time he tried to scare you, you laughed. In his face. In front of Lydia, who also burst out laughing as soon as you cracked a smile.
Even he could admit that your first encounter bruised his ego a bit, but as soon as you introduced yourself and he was able to sneak a few sideways glances, he knew he hadn’t met a breather quite like you before. Plus, it didn’t hurt that you were easy on the eyes.
It didn’t take long for the demon to fall, and fall hard. And that scared the shit out of him so much that he’d much rather pretend those feelings didn’t exist.
Sure, he was good a for laugh and a flirt whenever you made your way over to the house to visit, but he knew someone like you would never actually be with someone like him.
For fuck’s sake, he was a dead guy! A dead guy with an acknowledged sketchy past and impressive kill count. But you? You were kind, and funny without being mean, and you seemed to always know when Lydia was down and the exact remedy, which was usually whatever recipe you decided to test out that week.
And there you were, walking down the road with your plate of slightly burned snickerdoodles, ready for another night of “babysitting” Lydia. More accurately, you were giving peace of mind to Charles, who was out of town with Delia and still didn’t love the idea of his daughter alone in the house with a mischievous demon.
Plus, you didn’t mind. You had quickly bonded with Lydia, and even caught glimpses of your younger self in her from time to time. You even grew fond of Beetlejuice, much to your surprise.
He made you double over with laughter, demonstrated some of his powers while Lydia teased him about being a show off, and told you all about the Netherworld, never sparing an unsavory detail.
And before you knew it, your attraction to him hit you like a ton of bricks.
Sure, you had questionable taste in men before, but this was something else entirely. And yes, he flirted with you almost constantly, but you distinctly remember Lydia telling you that he was, quote “basically horny for everyone” so you tried to not ascribe any meaning to it.
Which only led to you keeping your feelings as close to your chest as you could.
Of course, this unresolved tension drove Lydia up the wall. It was clear to her that you two liked each other, but you were either both too stubborn or scared or outright oblivious to do anything about it.
As she stared at the demon, who was still fixated on making himself as presentable as possible, the doorbell rang. Beetlejuice’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, the tips of his hair growing a sickly yellow color.
“If I were you, Beej, I’d try to get that under control,” Lydia remarked, pointing to his hair, “You’re my best friend, but I actually like our neighbor, so don’t—”
“What, scare her off?” he scoffed, “Lyds, it didn’t work the first time, I doubt she’s gonna be put off by a little color changing. She doesn’t know what it means, anyways.” He said that last bit under his breath, folding his arms over the frayed lapels of his jacket. Though you picked up on when his usually bright green coif turned an angry red or melancholic purple, Beetlejuice hadn’t given you a full lesson in Stupid Demon Mood Ring Hair 101.
Lydia rolled her eyes and trampled down the stairs, greeting you with a smile. You said hello to Beetlejuice, who grunted a small “how goes it” before planting himself on the carpet in front of the TV. The plate of cookies you brought over was sitting on the coffee table, and you were reading a book while Lydia finished up a school art project in the kitchen.
You peered over the pages of the weathered novel to see Beetlejuice staring up at you, eyes as wide as saucers. You quirked an eyebrow at him, “Do you want to sit up here, Beej?”
As if coming out of a trance, he blinked a few times before chuckling nervously, “Only if you’re okay with me taking up some of your real estate, toots.”
“Yeah, of course,” you smirked, patting the spot right next to you, “I don’t mind.”
How you were playing it this cool, you had no idea. Sure, the two of you had exchanged a light touch here and there, but your heartbeat quickened as soon as he tested the waters by laying his head against your thigh.
You impulsively wondered how dirty his hair must’ve been, given the state of his suit. Would a demon who didn’t bother washing his clothing even think of shampooing? You shuddered slightly, but from the looks of it, his hair looked strangely well kept, albeit wild and almost having a mind of its own.
Absentmindedly, you started twirling your fingers through the strands, doing your best to act enthralled in the book you were clutching in your free hand. Much to your surprise, his hair was soft and fluffy.
Within seconds, you felt a small vibration coming from his throat. The motherfucker was purring. Actually purring. “Oh my god,” you squeal, unable to contain yourself, “you’re like a cat. That is adorable.”
Beetlejuice could’ve died a third time hearing you call him adorable. A light pink hue crept its way through his scalp.
You quirked an eyebrow, “What does pink mean?”
“Hmm?” Beetlejuice pretended like he didn’t hear you.
“The pink. In your hair.” your mouth twitched upward, examining the demon’s startled expression, “I’ve never seen your hair change color like that before. Does it mean something, or…?”
He sat up immediately, making eye contact with Lydia, who just shot him a look from the kitchen table. A look that said ‘Figure out what you’re going to say, you big, stripey idiot!’.
“Oh, uh,” he muttered, “Well—”
“I’ll be right back,” Lydia blurted, “Gotta, um, get something from my room.” As she clomped up the stairs, she couldn’t help but relish in the fact that you had managed to render Beetlejuice nearly catatonic.
“Oh, okay!” you said cheerily, setting your book down entirely and throwing your legs onto the couch. You furrowed your brow for a moment, and then turned your eye towards the demon, who sported a nervous look, the pink in his hair replaced with his usual lime green with the smallest tinge of yellow.
“What’s wrong, toots?” he attempted to come off nonchalant, “I thought we were having a great time complimenting me.”
You let out a small laugh. “Oh nothing, I was just…thinking.” You decided not to press him on the shade of his coif; you mind was starting to wander, wander towards a time only a few short months prior.
Life was so different then. Before picked up everything, moved to a new town, and leased a small cottage that was right down the road from the house you now sat in. Before you met Lydia and her parents, Charles and Delia. Before Lydia let it slip that her house was haunted and you met Adam and Barbara.
Before Beetlejuice tried to scare you. Tried being the operative word. You were never afraid of him; in fact, you thought he was fascinating at first. But as you got to know him, you could see the sweetness under the rough exterior.
“I just…you’re not at all what I expected. When I first met you, I mean.”
He grinned widely, a giddy glint in his amber eyes, “Oh, babes, I think you’ll find I’m full of surprises.”
You couldn’t help but let out a light laugh, feeling at ease around him despite your heart squeezing in your chest. You knew Beetlejuice frequently traveled to and from the Netherworld, and you were sure he had someone on the other side.
Someone far better suited for him than you could ever be.
You tried to shake that nagging feeling from the back of your mind. Despite the fact that it wouldn’t work out between the two of you, a little harmless flirting never hurt anyone, right? Still, you weren’t great at masking your emotions, and you tried your best to turn your attention elsewhere.
“Uh, so, any ideas on entertaining Lydia? A movie is always a solid choice, or we could play a board game—”
“What’s up with you?” he asked, curious with a twinge of sadness in his voice, “I thought we were doing the whole flirting thing pretty well, what happened?”
Shit. When did he become so perceptive?
“Oh, I—”
“Was it something I said?” Beetlejuice felt a rush of anxiety, trying his best to fight off that familiar feeling of abandonment from rearing its ugly head.
You couldn’t take it anymore. If you didn’t say anything at that moment, your equally debilitating insecurity would never tell him the truth.
“No, Beej it’s not that,” you said finally, picking at your nailbeds, “I just…I like you, okay? Actually like you. Way more than I was expecting, as a matter of fact. And I know that we just flirt and it’s great and fun and you probably have like, a super-hot demon girlfriend you go visit in the Netherworld or something but…I like you, and I just had to get that off my chest, okay?”
The demon was, for once, speechless.
“Please say something,” you begged, hushing your voice, “At least before Lydia comes back downstairs.”
Beetlejuice couldn’t help but simper at your uneasy state, “First off, I’m flattered you think I have a super-hot demon girlfriend,” he joked, cutting the awkwardness in the air, “But I don’t. I don’t really, uh, do that shit in the Netherworld anymore. Not since I met you.”
“What?”
“Sugar, I’ve been falling in love with you since the first day we met. I thought it was you who wouldn’t want me on account of, well, this.” He gestured to his general form, smiling in a very self-deprecating way. “That’s what pink means, that I have the hots for ya.” He pointed back up at his hair, which was now almost completely changed to that same light pinkish color as before.
You shook your head incredulously, feeling like a complete idiot for not catching on sooner. You couldn’t help but let a dumbstruck grin spread across your face, not believing that your confession would actually be reciprocated.
“So, since we’re past the formalities,” he slid closer, putting his arm around you, “How’s about a little tonsil hockey before the kid comes back?”
“The kid can hear you by the way!” Lydia called from the top of the steps, “And no one says ‘tonsil hockey’ anymore, old man.” Your face grew flush, but Beetlejuice just stuck out his tongue as Lydia made her way back down the steps.
The younger girl stood in front of you and Beetlejuice, who had already staked his claim and pulled you as close to him as humanly possible. “Look, I don’t care what you do, just don’t do it in front of me, got it?”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” you replied, holding back a giggle.
“Scout’s honor,” Beetlejuice chimed in, crossing his non-beating heart. He did manage to lean over and whisper in your ear, “We’ll just have to go to your place, huh babes?”
“Hmm, we’ll see,” you said coyly, “If you actually let Lydia pick the movie this time.”
“Ugh.”
“And not make a ruckus.”
“Ughhhh.”
“And actually let me pay attention to what’s on the screen for once.”
“Well, that might be hard to do. A little birdie told me you’re super into me.”
“Oh, Jesus Christ would you two stop flirting and help me pick something!” Lydia sounded as though she was ready to vomit from all the incessant teasing.
“Okay you’re right, you’re right,” you said, snuggling into the demon’s side just a bit more, “She’s gonna hate us, isn’t she?”
“Oh yeah,” he said with a smirk, “too bad we’re just getting started.”
_____
Thanks for reading, and thanks again to @nak3d-snak3 for the request!
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