Adore // Oneshots

King Of The World (Joshler)

CATEGORY: Fluff
FEATURING: student!Josh and employee!Tyler
TRIGGER WARNING: ALCOHOL USE, DRUNKENNESS
PROMPT: Josh goes to IKEA with his drunk friends from college, and they start horsing around. Tyler, an employee, tells them to knock it off.
WORD COUNT: Approximately 1,170

"I'm king of the world!" Brendon crowed. He was standing on top of a dresser, even though the display explicitly said not to climb on them, lest they fall over and kill you.

Josh Dun was at IKEA with his friends Brendon, Pete, and Dallon. They all went to the same nearby college, and Brendon was Josh's roommate. Brendon apparently needed a new dresser, and had invited Pete, Dallon, and Josh along for company. Josh knew that Brendon had partly asked him to go because he needed a designated driver, and Josh didn't drink. Even though it was two o'clock on a Sunday afternoon, Brendon, his friend Pete, and his boyfriend Dallon were all very drunk.

Josh didn't really know what they were thinking. He often didn't. But, they were his friends, and he enjoyed their company. At least, while they were sober. While they were drunk, it was like taking care of three hyperactive, slurring children.

Brendon was still standing on tp of the black dresser, looking as proud as a king surveying his kingdom. Pete had finally crashed on top of a table, and Dallon got stuck trying to crawl through one of those cube bookcases.

They had been rowdy at best for the past hour, making loud, inappropriate jokes, messing around with the furniture and displays. But now they were attracting the attention of the other customers, a few who had stopped their shopping to look at the drunken youths with confused, annoyed, or disgusted looks on their faces.

"Brendon, get down," Josh hissed at his best friend, embarrassment making his face go red.

Brendon glanced down at Josh, a drunken smile on his face. "Why?"

"You're making a scene, they're gonna throw us out."

"They can't throw me out!" Brendon cried indignantly, crossing his arms and pouting. "I'm king of the world! And Dallon is the queen of the world." Brendon glanced around, spotting Pete asleep on the nearby table. "And Pete can be a Lord or a Lady or something." He looked down at Josh again, uncrossing his arms. "You can be the Duke. Duke Josh."

Josh rolled his eyes, still embarrassed. "Seriously, Brendon, come down!"

"NEVER!" Brendon shouted, rebelliously waving one fist in the air. His tone was loud enough to attract the attention of all the nearby customers, who all started at Brendon and Josh. A few parents rushed their children away and into the next area.

"Excuse me, can you please leave?" said a soft voice. Josh turned to see an employee with a frown on his face. He was wearing a pair of skinny jeans, dark floral vans, and a yellow IKEA employee shirt, with an ID badge around his neck. He had dark brown hair, shorter on the sides and fluffier on the top, and brown puppy dog eyes. Josh couldn't help but stare.

Brendon seemed not to hear the employee, so he spoke in a louder voice. "Excuse me, sir, can you please leave?"

"Still, Brendon ignored him. He leaped from the black dresser he stood on to a white one nearby, giggling. The employee sighed in an annoyed tone, not seeming to be phased by the other man's raucous behavior. He turned to Josh, who noticed that his name badge read Tyler. "Is he with you?"

Josh had to take a moment to register what the employee had said; he'd been staring at him the whole time. Frankly, in Josh's opinion, he was gorgeous. "Y-Yeah, sorry."

"Unless you want Andy and Joe from security to drag him out of here, I'd suggest you help me get him down." The employee walked over to the white dresser where Brendon now stood, perched almost precariously on the edge. "Excuse me, sir!"

Brendon finally looked down at Tyler. "Who are you? You're kind of hot," he said, giggling in a childish way. Though his gaze remained firm and annoyed, a blush crept over Tyler's cheeks.

"HEY!" a voice shouted from the direction of the cube bookcases.

"Sorry, Dally," Brendon said. He seemed to have forgotten that he had a boyfriend. He glanced back to Tyler. "Sorry, sugar, I've got a boyfriend."

"Good for you." Tyler crossed his arms. "Can you come down, please?"

"No." Brendon grinned drunkenly.

"Maybe if you do, your friend here," Tyler nodded to Josh, making the other boy's heart flutter, "might buy you an ice cream from the food court."

"ICE CREAM!" Brendon shouted, almost like a rally cry. He jumped off of the dresser to the ground below, grabbing Josh's arm and practically dragging him in the direction of the food court.

Josh yanked his arm out of his friend's grip, laughing. "Hold on, buddy, we have to get Dallon and Pete first."

Together, Tyler and Josh managed to get a swearing, angry Dallon free from the bookcase, and they were able to rouse Pete from his nap. Luckily, he was less drunk than the others, so they didn't have to carry him.

Eventually, the group had gotten to the exit, and Tyler had helped Josh get Brendon and Dallon into the car, which was insanely difficult because Josh had parked next to the shopping cart return, and Brendon kept trying to climb it. Josh had bought dollar vanilla ice cream cones for Brendon and Dallon, but note Pete, who was feeling sick to his stomach and had denied Josh's offer.

"Sorry about all the trouble they caused," Josh mumbled to Tyler, embarrassed about his friends' behavior. "And thanks for helping me get them out of there."

"Believe it or not, it's not the weirdest or worst thing that's ever happened here," Tyler said with a smirk.

"Come on, Josh!" Brendon shouted from the passenger seat of the car. "My forehead is craving Taco Bell!"

It was now or never. Josh took a deep breath. "Can I get your number?"

Tyler raised a brow, and stared at Josh for a moment. The other man was worried that Tyler was somehow offended, but then he spoke. "Sure, give me your phone."

With his hands only shaking slightly, Josh pulled his phone out of his pocket and put it into Tyler's hands. The employee typed in his number with thin, delicate fingers, and Josh noticed that his nails were painted soft white.

Once he had added himself as a contact, Tyler handed the phone back to Josh, and grinned at him. "Text me." Before Josh could come up with something witty to say in response, Tyler had hopped over the metal side of the shopping cart return, and was jogging in the direction of the store. Josh watched him go, until he disappeared behind the automatic doors.

As Josh got in the front seat and put the key in the ignition, Brendon gave him a smile, ice cream all over his face. "Somebody's got a crush," he teased.

"Shut up," Josh grumbled, backing out of the parking spot and driving out of the lot. But there was a bright red blush dusting his face.