the staff?! - lara raj x reader
synposis: lara raj found down bad for a staff
☆ミ fluff, crack, down bad lara
wc: 1.7k
"you have got to be kidding me." lara groans, her bodypack transmitter wasn't picking up her voice for the fourth time in the span of an hour. yoonchae, the ever so observant maknae, sees lara fumbling with her bodypack transmitter for what felt like the hundredth time during soundcheck for gnarly.
the girls sat down on the empty stage. manon and daniela were taking selfies, while yoonchae and megan were bickering about what they should have for dinner.
while the girls were occupied with what they were doing, sophia walks back with a staff. "lara, can you stand up for a sec?" sophia asks. before lara could move an inch, a voice intercepts, "no, it's fine. please stay seated, i'll be quick."
lara's eyes meets the staff's kind eyes, her breathing hitching as she does. "hi, i'll be fixing your bodypack transmitter." she says, offering lara a smile. she kneels down behind lara, the warmth of her body enveloping lara like a hug. lara can smell the perfume that you're wearing from the proximity, and it was making her heart beat faster no energy drink could ever surpass.
lara feels you fumbling with the transmitter, but your touch was gentle. the way you angle your fingers were deliberate, as if you were scared of making her uncomfortable if you accidentally touched her exposed skin because of what she's wearing. she was in a dazed that she didn't hear what you said.
"w-what?" her stuttered words echoing throughout the empty arena. oh she knows she's getting teased later with the amount of stares she's feeling on her.
you smiled, "i see your mic is working now."
oh god, kill her now.
"so..."
"don't start."
"..."
"manon, i swear to god if you don't shut your mouth i will kill you in your sleep." lara threatens, her piercing eyes finding manon's teasing ones. manon raises her hands, "what? i was simply going to ask what you wanted for dinner." she says, like fuck she is. "like hell you are. just get it out while they're not here." lara sighs in defeat. she knew this was a losing battle so why fight it?
"okay, first of, stuttering in the big 2025? the rizz is not rizzing, miss rising global popstar sensation. second, a staff? our manager would kick your ass when she hears this, i'm calling it."
"okay, calm down. our manager has no reason to kick my ass because i was simply..." lara pauses, trying to find the words that could possibly make her situation a little less sticky.
"simply what?" manon teases.
"tired! do you have any idea how many times i had to adjust my transmitter because it wasn't picking up my voice? more times than i should've." oh she was quick with it, "i was just relieved that she fixed it. the performance went smoothly and i couldn't have been more thankful."
manon raises her eyebrow, "sure, let's go with that. i think our manager just might let this one pass."
lara exhales a breath she was holding, "it's the truth!"
manon laughs, dusting off nonexistent dust off her pants as she stands from the couch and walking towards her room. "i would so stutter in front of a pretty girl too, lara raj!"
a week has passed after the 'staff x lara' incident as the girls call it.
they were in the dance practice room, on queue to film the dance practice for their new song gabriela. sophia and yoonchae were doing some warm-ups, while manon, megan, and daniela were goofing off. lara is sitting near the camera equipment having her touch up. she was on her phone scrolling on instagram when she smells the same perfume she smelled last week. the one that made her stutter in front of her members.
lara nearly whipped her head at the direction where the scent was coming from but she stopped herself. her eyes zeroing at her members. from where she is, they won't be able to see what she's up to thanks to the lights in front of them. a quick peek wouldn't hurt, right?
and as if the gods where on her favour today, her makeup artist made her face the left to work on her eyeliner and eyeshadow. her eyes immediately locking in to the person that's been occupying her mind for the past week. the person who's the reason of the endless teasing and the sudden nickname change in their group chat. from 'rising global popstar sensation' to 'miss stuttering mess' real quick.
y/n y/l/n.
lara will be damned if she says you're not her type. beautiful, caring, sweet gentle voice, great with your hands, maybe has no clue that she exists, and an alluring aura. what else could she need?
maybe the balls to ask you out? but she doesn't have balls! and lara will also be damned if she's the one who asks someone out. she's the lara raj for crying out loud. people will literally kill for her number, but you? you're not even aware that she's practically burning a hole in your head with how hard she's been staring at you, and you're here fiddling with the equipment like she's not a few feet away! oh, you are so her type.
"and we're done." her make-up artists says, breaking her out of her trance. lara blinks, begrudgingly peeling her eyes aware from you.
the dance practice went smoothly. they did a few more takes just in case and after they were done, the girls have the rest of the day off.
"guys, can we please have sushi? i want to try out the new sushi place that opened last week. the reviews said they have really good california maki rolls." megan pleas to the group. the girls gave each other a look to see if they were down, "oh, come on! please, guys." megan whines, "lara! if you agree i'll help you get y/n's number."
lara's eyes almost popped out of her head when she heard megan's deal, "sure!" she coughs, "i mean, i have been eyeing that place for a while now. we should go." she says, her voice a lot more calmer compared to her first statement.
megan cartoonishly pumps her fists in the air in celebration.
"sophia, help me!" megan shouts from their her shared room lara, followed up with a loud bang. "sophia, please!"
sophia, always used to such chaos, lazily gets up from the couch, "what, megan?" she shouts. "lara is trying to kill me!"
sophia rolls her eyes, opening the lara and megan's door. "okay, that's enough. yoonchae is asleep and you two are so loud– lara put that vase down!"
megan dashes towards sophia and hides behind her back. "what the hell is happening to you two?" sophia asks.
"that bitch lied to me!" lara snarls, still holding the vase menacingly.
"no, i did not! i said i'll help! i never said i have her number. our manager said you should ask her instead!" megan protests.
"exactly! you said you'll help me, not let me fend for myself!" lara argues, putting the vase back to megan's side of the room.
sophia rubs her temples, feeling her age drastically increasing from being the peacemaker of the group. "alright, everyone calm down. lara, we'll be shooting from seven am to 5 pm tomorrow. why don't you take that time and ask y/n for her number?" she offers.
lara sighs, "fine. this isn't over, skiendiel."
megan audibly gulps, "can i sleep in your room tonight, fia?"
a sighs breaks out from sophia's lips, "go get your pillow."
tomorrow comes around and lara is all dolled up per usual. the studio was filled with staff and directors preparing for the shoot. the six chairs in the center had their names in it.
the girls sat on their respective seats. lara's eyes were trying to find where y/n could be. there were so many staff behind the camera that it made her dizzy from all the movement; so much so that she didn't realize that y/n was behind them, removing the paper that had their names on the chair.
"excuse me, lara. i need to take this off."
lara's eyes widened at the voice, she craned her head so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash. "yes!" was all she said, leaning forward so y/n can take the paper off. that earned a cackle from the girls, making lara nearly fall off her seat from embarrassment.
--
after the shoot, lara nearly dashed out of the building. she made a fool of herself in front of you twice! oh lord, she doesn't have any face to show anymore. she was walking so fast she bumped into someone, sending her butt on the floor.
"shit! i am so sorry, lara." y/n scrambles to her feet, offering you a hand.
"n-no, i wasn't looking where i was going. i am so sorry, y/n." lara replies quick, grabbing your hand to leverage herself.
the mess from the collision were everywhere. the papers y/n was holding was drenched in lara's water. lara's eyes widened at the sight. "oh my god! i ruined your... your..." truth be told, lara had zero clue what she ruined. it could be contracts, it could be scripts, hell, it could be the lyrics to their new EP for all she knew.
y/n's chuckle broke her out of her panicking inner monolog, "it's fine. those are just timetables your manager needed a copy of. i have the file with me."
lara sighs, thankful that it wasn't important. "still, i wasn't looking where i was going and look what happened. what can i do to make up for all these." she motions at the puddle of papers.
"you could give me your number."
lara's eyes widened, "my what?"
"your number." y/n repeats. "i-i mean, only if it's okay! i didn't mean to make it sound like you have no choice and you should give me your number even if you don't want to–" and you're a loser too? oh you are so her type. lara grabs your hand, stopping you from rambling.
"do you like matcha?"
an: chat, i lowkey zoned out whilst writing this. also, is it obvious that lara's 'yes!' is stuck in my head?