I was looking over some of my stories that were originally Deviantart exclusive, and took a read of this one... and I figured 'sure, why not have the people on Fanfiction see this'? So, yeah, this is a request from a friend to see a grown-up Doug and Connie dating together... and it's a multi-chaptered story, so be forewarned on that... but yeah, this is the same story on my Deviantart, and I've decided to post it here for some of my fans who don't follow my Deviantart account to see! Anyway, here we go with the first chapter! Please enjoy!
On the twenty-second of June, in the city of New York, a little deep into the afternoon, inside of a local coffee shop, a young short-haired man, around age twenty-nine, wearing a green hoodie and tan pants was sitting down as he was sipping on a latte, having just finished with his shift. At the current moment, Doug Funnie was waiting for the second person he agreed to meet with to arrive.
It had been years since Doug had graduated from Bluffington High and moved straight to college, before graduating and getting a good place to live in New York. It wasn't quite easy though, with his sister Judy, his friend Skeeter and his dog Porkchop tagging along for the ride, but for what it's worth, he made his life work. Right now, he had previously sold off one of his comic ideas to a comic company, who seemed rather interested in his idea. Doug couldn't help but smile at this aspect. It was hard enough to be a struggling artist, but it seems his work was finally paying off. And he couldn't wait to talk about it with his old friend.
Doug sighed as he looked over at his watch. Two minutes after three was shown, and the second hand seemed to be ticking slower than usual. The boy couldn't help but feel concerned as he pulled out his phone, hoping that he didn't miss a text message from her. After searching through his phone for a brief moment, he gave a small sigh as he put it down. So far, there didn't seem to by nobody coming in or anything... that is, until he heard the door open. His head jerked up fast and he saw her... the girl he was meeting up with... the same girl he knew and met since his days in Bluffington School. The one who, while he was friendly with her, as they grew older, he was beginning to now see a brand new side of her.
The green skinned heavy-set girl with purple hair, wearing a black tank top with a yellow rim around the collar, and large dark blue jeans came walking in the door as she went over to the counter, ordering what Doug knew was her usual coffee order... an iced coffee with whipped cream and double-shot expresso. As soon as she was done with her order, she looked around and immediately spotted Doug, who waved over to her. The woman gave a small smile as she approached the table and sat down.
"Sorry I'm late, Doug. Helping out with the Beets reunion concert took a lot out of me, but I think they're about ready to perform... and honestly, so am I." The girl gave a nervous chuckle.
Doug's eyes lit up as he looked over at the young lady. "So you did get the opening gig?"
"You know it! They said I can open up before the reunion band at the concert this Saturday!" The young woman beamed in excitement. "You know, it's always been my dream to sing and play guitar up on the stage, but I never thought I could achieve my dream."
Doug couldn't help but give a small smile. "You always were the type to be excited over fame, Connie."
The young woman, known as Connie Benge, couldn't help but give a slight giggle as she playfully pushed the boy a bit, causing Doug to spring up. The young man couldn't help but stare at the delightful young woman before his eyes. He couldn't help but wonder how he got into this situation in the first place.
Sure, back when Doug moved to Bluffington, he always had this crush on Patti Mayonnaise. In fact, he could think of no other girl than her, and yes, she was very nice enough. And true, he was aware of the other girls in his class, like Beebe Bluffington and Connie herself, but at the time, all his focus and schoolboy crush was directly on Patti. But maybe that was his fatal flaw, he put Patti too much on a pedestal, and true, he did know a lot about Patti the more they hung out and Patti did like Doug and found him rather sweet... even after his times in middle school and high school, they were hanging out together... but things had started to become a little different.
Doug had not realized it then, but it would seem that what he once thought of as a perfect future started to decline a bit the moment Patti decided to try some other new hobbies. While he had a feeling that schoolboy crushes wouldn't last forever, he figured that he and Patti would be a sole exception to the cause. But after college and even communicating with Patti one more time, he found out that, though there was still that schoolboy crush within him, it sort of began to dissipate when he was introduced to Patti's new boyfriend. Though disappointed, he did the polite thing and congratulated her on achieving a lot of her successes in life.
But still, deep down, he knew that seeing Patti with someone else had hurt. Sure, it wasn't like the other times when Doug had to protect the monster of Lucky Duck Lake, who he dubbed Herman Melville, but nevertheless, it still hurt. He wasn't even quite sure if he could recover... but then, as fate would have it, he suddenly ran into Connie Benge, who was coincidentally in the same city as him, looking to pick up at her music career. Doug still remembered that day when he heard the familiar sound of Connie singing a familiar tune to no one in particular. Of course, Connie was a bit surprised at first when she saw Doug, but after recognizing him, the two got on quite nicely as they were catching up with each other, wondering what each of them were up to.
It started a bit as a catch-up at first, but now they were seeing each other every day for the past month, catching up on their daily activities and what not. And the more Doug hung out and talked with Connie, the more he felt... comfortable around her, feeling fine. It was almost like he was hanging out with an old friend back in Bluffington... of course, Connie WAS an old friend from Bluffington, but either way, it felt good to talk with her. He always thought back to all the times she was there, from her heavy set look when he first met her, to her cute, skinny form after fat camp. Seeing Connie now, it looked like there was a mix of the two, as, while Connie had gained some weight back, she never lost that desire for music and she was considerably sweet to anybody who waved towards her.
Although, he couldn't help but wonder why he and Connie had never dated before. Not that it didn't happen, he did remember a time when Doug was invited by Connie to be his partner for the Bumpkin Day Hoe-Down dance, but still wanting Patti to be his date, he had to make up some lie about a fictitious cousin. Still, despite this, he still considered Connie a good friend. Now? Well, whenever he talked, his heart was starting to beat fast around her, her smile made him melt the same way Patti's smile used to... he quickly realized (though thanks to Judy's convincing) that he had fallen in love with Connie Benge. As much as he tried to deny his feelings in his head, it turned out to be quite true in his heart.
Thankfully for Doug, he was more of a heart sort of person, but the big question for him was... would he be ready to make a big leap after being on the rebound? Well, it had been a month...
"Doug? DOUG!"
Doug quickly snapped out of his thoughts as he shook his head and stared at Connie, who was about ready to snap her fingers. "H-huh?"
Connie rolled her eyes, and giggled with a smile on her face. "You know what I miss when being with you, Doug? Your tendencies to be in your own little fantasy world."
"F-fantasy world?" Doug stuttered a bit, before blushing.
"Come on, Doug, you think we don't notice you stopping and having that glazed look at your eye each time we glance towards you?" Connie giggled. "I don't know about you, but I think the way you do it is kinda cute."
"Really?" Doug said in surprise.
"Yeah..." Connie giggled. "Anyway, I was about to ask, how did your day go?"
"Oh, super!" Doug said with a smile. "I actually managed to sell one of my comic ideas today!"
Connie gave a loud gasp and smiled. "Well, that's great, Doug! You must feel proud of yourself! Quailman?"
Doug shook his head. "No, another comic idea I was doodling at the time. I don't know if I'm up to selling off Quailman just yet..."
"Well, that's a shame. From the drawings you gave me, the Quailman idea looked to be a big hit." Connie said.
"Maybe, but you know how tough the superhero comic industry is. What with all the new companies going on and about, I think the last thing people need is another superhero comic idea. Maybe someday, I'll test it out, but not now."
"I guess I can respect that." Connie said. "So, how's Judy, Porkchop and Skeeter?"
"They're all doing good, actually. Skeeter's been a great roommate, Judy is, as usual, overdramtic, but it helps get her appearances in Broadway, and Porkchop... he's still the same pooch I know and love." Doug said with a grin. "I'm still amazed he lasted as long as he has."
"Well, whatever pep you fed that dog, keep feeding him that." Connie giggled. "From what I've seen of him, he's really been doing a great job!"
Doug laughed a bit, before pausing in confusion. "What do you mean, he's been doing a great job? You saw him?"
"Recently, actually. He seemed to be dancing a jig and earning money from passer-bys." Connie giggled. "I swear, if I didn't recognize him as your dog, I'd have said he was a talented stray."
Doug chuckled nervously. "Yeah, that's Porkchop for you. Always trying his best to help out with the bills."
Connie raised an eyebrow. Doug noticed Connie's concern as he waved it off. "Nothing to be concerned over, of course, but yeah, things seem to be going great for all of us."
The heavy set green skinned girl gave a small smile. "Well, I'm glad to see we're all doing great. Anyway, Doug, I should probably-"
"Hey, Connie, are you going to be busy after Saturday's concert?"
Connie turned towards Doug, looking rather surprised. "Am I going to be what?"
"Busy? After the Beets Reunion concert?" Doug asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"Well... I don't know. Come to think of it, I don't have much plans for after the concert. Why?" Connie asked.
"Well... if it's not too much trouble, I was thinking... maybe you and I could... that is, uh, uh, what I mean..." Doug stammered, trying to find the right words. Connie could only watch the boy in confusion, but the more she watched him stammer, the more a sudden realization was starting to shine towards her eyes.
"Why, Doug Funnie, if I didn't know any better, I was beginning to think you're trying to ask me out on a date. Are you?" Connie smirked.
"Well, er, I, uh..." Doug stammered, before shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Yes, Connie. After the concert, would you like to go out with me on a date? I wasn't thinking of doing much, just a nice little picnic lunch in Central Park..."
Connie's eyes lit up in excitement as she felt her heart thumping. She kept her cool as she gave a smile. "Of course, Doug. I'd love to go out with you."
"You would?" Doug said in surprise, before shaking his head and smiling. "I mean, that's great. Thank you!"
"But you have to come watch me at the concert. I guarantee you, my song is going to wow more than just the crowd." Connie giggled.
Doug blinked in surprise. "You want me to come to the Beats Reunion concert?"
"Of course, silly. Why do you think I told you about the free tickets?" Connie smirked.
Doug blinked twice in confusion, before Connie giggled. "Oh, right! I forgot to tell you! The Beats agreed to let me do the opening number AND take a friend on the front row seats for the concert. I figured since we've been talking, and I know you were a big fan of the Beats back when they were together..."
"A-are you kidding? I would love to come!" Doug smiled. "Not just for the Beats, but to see you! And to hear your marvelous singing!"
Connie giggled as she gave a giggle. "I guess it's a date, then!"
"Iced coffee order for number 434." The barista called from her stand.
Connie gave a nod as she got up. "I'll be right back."
Doug smiled as he watched Connie walk towards the counter. He couldn't help but be fixated towards her body, blushing a bit. Still, it was unbelievable. Doug had asked out Connie and she said yes! He knew he'd have to tell his friend and sister about this development!
And with that, the first chapter is done! How did you guys like it? Next time, we'll be seeing Doug getting some advice from Judy and Skeeter, to see how to win over Connie! Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, everyone!