Explaining Boundaries to a Demon is Hard | 👻 A Beetlelands story 👻

Sometimes Even Ghosts Need Boundaries

"Whatcha mean I can't cuddle up with you today!" Beetlejuice whined, his hair a very clear shade of purplish bluish gray. "You're usually content with letting me!"

Often times, Adam and Barbara were. And they often didn't mind. But, lately Beetlejuice had been taking that particular arrangement a bit too far. And by far, he'd already gotten to the point were he desperately wanted orgies and sex and all that smut he'd said was included in other stories. Adam and Barbara didn't quite understand what that was supposed to even mean. But it was an explanation that Beetlejuice seemed content on.

It was the boundaries part, that Beetlejuice didn't seem to even understand. And Adam and Barbara had to bring it up with him at some point in their relationship.

They felt bad for not bringing it up sooner than they'd hoped.

Barbara sighed, moving off to the side. But she didn't give enough room for Beetlejuice to sit in between her and Adam.

"Beetlejuice, bug, can we talk?"

"Bout what?" the demon spurted out excitedly, his hair color shifting back to a light shade of pink. He teleported to sit in between the Maitlands, causing them to shift a little bit away from him. "Orgies? Smut? I can never have enough smut!"

"No. Boundaries."

"That seems boring," Beetlejuice supplied. "Let's cuddle."

Adam and Barbara tried to say otherwise, but, by then, Beetlejuice had already settled down in the middle of the Maitlands' bed. And the fact that he had been waiting for the Maitlands to join him was made apparent when they didn't; in the implication of a loud groan.

"Come on! I didn't agree to a relationship with you guys just for you to not cuddle!"

Barbara moved closer to Beetlejuice, but kept her distance altogether. "We know that, but sometimes it's necessary for us to respect each other's boundaries."

Beetlejuice made a fake gagging noise. "Boundaries? The hell are those?"

"Earlier, you said that boundaries seemed boring and that you wanted to cuddle."

"Yeah, yeah! Whatever!" Beetlejuice stretched out his arms, pulling Adam and Barbara a little closer to him. "Cuddle time now. Let's talk about whatever the hell you guys decided to bring up with me never!"

As Beetlejuice wrapped multiple arms around them, Adam couldn't help but to whisper to Barbara, "you know... explaining to Beetlejuice how boundaries work is hard."

Barbara chuckled quietly, and added, "agreed. Wanna go talk to Delia about it later?"

They chose a time when Beetlejuice wasn't around to approach Delia. But of course, they had to choose a time when the living woman had to be in the middle of an online only yoga class that she'd been taking recently. Time moved differently for the dead than it did for the living after all, and so Adam and Barbara only had to wait a few minutes at the least before Delia was done.

Delia was putting things away and preparing to leave when the Maitlands floated in.

"Delia?" Barbara asked, her tone that of the utmost concern. "Can we talk?"

"Sure? What about? What's going on?"

"Well...." Barbara snapped her fingers, summoning a plush chair. She and Adam sat on the black and white striped couch, whereas Delia took the plush chair. "Let's just say Beetlejuice doesn't know what boundaries are..."

"Did you talk to him about them?"

Barbara spared a brief glance at Adam, before turning her attention back to Delia. "Well... yes. We tried to at least. But all he wanted to do was cuddle up with us and do orgies and whatever."

"So... typical Beetlejuice stuff?" Delia asked. Barbara nodded.

"Could you help? With trying to explain things to Beetlejuice?"

"Without him thinking Barbara and I don't want to be in a relationship with him anymore?"

Behind them, they heard the sounds of Beetlejuice tearing up. When had he teleported into the room? "Did I hear you correctly, sexy? You and Babs don't like me?"

Adam and Barbara whipped around, gazing towards him with concern.

"Wha— what? No! I... what I meant was—" Adam didn't get to finish.

Beetlejuice's sniffing and sniffling had intensified, mixing in with mumbles and grunts. The purple of his hair had become darker and more apparent. He held a hand out, his fingers at the ready to teleport him away.

"Forget it!" Beetlejuice said, far from his dramatic, showman-like tone. "I know when I'm not wanted."

Adam and Barbara held their hands out at the same time, the concern more apparent in both their expressions.

"Beetlejuice, no!" they called out, at the same time. "Wait!"

But it was too late. By then, Beetlejuice had already snapped his fingers and teleported away to who knew where. Leaving the Maitlands and Delia all just standing there and staring at an empty spot. One which was previously occupied by Beetlejuice.

All that was really left of him were remnants of the purple and green tinged smoke that had formed from his teleporting away.

'Crap,' Adam and Barbara both thought at the exact same time.