A Lifetime with a Demon | Frank Iero x Reader

⛧It is nice to meet you, again⛧

"Hey, this is mine!" Bert says and I turn to see him glaring at me while handing a change to a customer, but all I do is to glance at him in response, continuing to lean against the counter, sipping on 'his' coffee, unbothered. He rolls his eyes as soon as the customer walks away and approaches me to take the drink back – I pout. "Don't you give me that face!"

"You're so evil to me." I fake a cry, burying my face in his shoulder for a moment, making him chuckle.

"Go buy yourself one, enjoy it that I'm in a good mood today," he jokes and I pull away to see him handing me twenty dollars.

"No, man, c'mon!" I smile a bit as stepping away to grab my wallet and phone from my bag, which I left on the ground. "Don't worry, I've got money. You're already always giving me things from the store. You'll go bankrupt if you continue like this," I sigh as offering him a smile, moving to hop over the counter.

"You know Quinn will kill you if he sees you doing that."

"You do it too, don't be hypocrite." I glare at Bert as turning around after my feet meets the ground.

"But it doesn't matter if he kills me." Bert shrugs. "Anyways, take the money already and go be happy. Touch some grass before you come back." The money is practically shoved into my hand without giving me an opportunity to refuse it again.

I sigh. "I hate you."

"And that's why you need to touch some grass." There's a smile on his face when I turn around to glance at Bert a last time before I finally leave the store, shoving the money in my pocket.

My mood changes practically in the moment I step on the sidewalk or, at least, I finally let it show. Knowing he cares like this is nice and it's also Bert's love language along with many 'this reminded me of you' and 'I made you this playlist'. The café isn't so close to the store as it is to the college, though the distance isn't considerable enough to say it is tiring – it actually feels like a shorter walk than it should, with me mostly thinking about the small event the whole time.

After I buy my coffee, I thank the barista, sipping on the drink in my way to out of the café. I'm about leave the place when I hear my name being called and look around to see Gerard sitting in one of the booths by the window, waving at me, a grin over his face. Someone sits across from him, but they don't turn around.

Gerard watches me approaching him and scoots away to pat the newly free space next to him before I'm even close enough. I take the seat gladly, greeting the two. I can finally see the other person properly and it's the guy who was in the back of the photo Gerard sent me – he seems a bit hesitant, only nodding in response before his eyes drift downwards to the table once again while he continues to sip on his drink through the paper straw.

"I didn't even recognize you," I turn to Gerard with a grin, "not a firetruck anymore. You blend in."

"Kind of the intention," he breathes a chuckle awkwardly, pressing his lips together. "How wonderful to see you here, by the way! It's been a time!"

"It really has." I nod as placing my drink on the table, moving to slip the change and the receipt in my pocket. "I was actually..." The money falling makes me interrupt myself, cursing at the coins rolling away to out of my reach and to near the other guy's feet. "Hey, sorry," I catch his attention hesitantly, "but can you get these coins for me? Damn, the money isn't even mine, I need to return it to Bert..." I trail off with a sigh and thank him when he returns the coins to me, now making sure of being careful.

"Bert?" Gerard asks confused and, for a moment, I think I've said something wrong because even the guy across from us looks at me with a weird expression.