Frank Iero x Reader Oneshots

I am here | F.I. x Reader

Does Frank wonder if I still love him? He's always been the best thing that's ever happened to me, hence it hurts when he's squeezing my hand tight as if a wordless 'I am here', and hugging or kissing me for a little longer, giving me these adoring gazes that always hold more emotions than they dare showing.

It's exactly one of these gazes he's shooting at me right now, sitting across from me at one of the tables in the cafeteria. At times, it feels like he's looking at me the way you look at the last pages of a book, enjoying every single second of it and slowing down on purpose so you won't reach the nearby end so quickly even if it's inevitable. Like looking at something to take in all the details before it is gone.

"Okay, at least the food does taste as good as it smells and looks," Frank chuckles, glancing down at his half-eaten dish. "Not like that Wednesday." He scrunches his nose.

"Hell, yes!" I furrow my eyebrows, nodding at the same time I shudder at the thought of the gross food we couldn't eat much of; if I'm right, they were trying something new that failed poorly and no student liked it. The food today is good, on the other hand, but still feels too much. Raising the fork to my lips feels almost the same as getting down to start a series of push-ups.

"Y'know, this last assignment has been killing me," Frank sighs, dragging his food around lightly. "My hand was hurting when I put my notebook away yesterday, but I'm thankfully finishing it. I just need to write the conclusion and proofread. Did you finish it already?"

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I haven't even started that shit already because I just won't touch a pencil outside the studying rooms and I don't want him to look at me with those concerned eyes and frown. "Yeah," I choke out without thinking, but I look down because lying to Frank is so damn hard, "I had some extra time last week."

"Oh, yeah!" He nods, humming. "You didn't even come to watch us play last week. It makes sense."

Yeah, everything fits perfectly to hide how fucking unmotivated and numb I've been lately at the same proportion it hurts because I really love watching them play and they are always so excited when I go, asking me a thousand questions after the concert about how well they did until Frank becomes too jealous and clings to me, refusing to let anyone else approach.

I only nod in response, trying not to overthink too much. My eyes travel to the utensils in my hands and I stare at the knife for a moment until sighing.

For once, Frank doesn't come up with another comment – he does threaten to, tho. He only stares at me then goes back to eating in a silence that lasts for the rest of the meal.

The last of the day goes by quite peacefully, though I can sense this change in Frank's manners. Despite having fallen in this deplorable state, my abilities to read him so easily are still sharp and I know he found out. He knows it and suddenly, this feeling in my chest makes it harder to breathe and almost pushes the tears out of my eyes. I owe Frank an explanation and an apology, don't I? Of course I do. I hate myself.

Walking into my dorm at the end of the day is the most relieving thing in a while. I just get rid of my shoes and throw my bag aside before collapsing on the bed with a sigh, physically melting against the mattress; my jeans do make it a harder task.

My peace is interrupted by a knock on my door.

"Come in," I call and watch Frank come in. Who else would it be?

"Hey, hun," he says softly and closes the door behind him, locking it, and keeps the lights off. The mattress sinks beside me as he lies down facing me, eyes locked with mine. "What's wrong?"

As pathetic as it sounds, it's everything that takes me to fucking break down because the words were already there. They had roamed around my mind for a long time after noticing Frank knew and proceeded to get caught in my throat, where they're being shoved out of along with the air by this heavy feeling on my chest.

"I... I don't know," I sigh shakily. "Everything was good, it was okay, but then I'm wondering what the hell I'm doing here. You guys would be so much better off without me, but you still like me for some stupid reason and I don't have the heart to leave, though I don't hang out with you guys or do anything as much anymore because it feels like the hardest thing in the world, y'know? I didn't even start my damn assignment because it's so hard. And– Fuck, I don't even like my favorite food that much anymore, I don't like my favorite songs either, I don't–"

"You don't like me?"

"Of course I like you! I love you! Hell, I think you're what keeps me going," I breathe, looking away from him. "I was about to cross the edge that night you guys were playing, but I just can't bring myself to imagine the four of you in a funeral and... fuck, what if it maybe causes the band to fall apart? I would ruin everything worse than I'm doing right now."

"But you're not ruining anything at all," Frank says softly, scooting closer to wrap his arms around me. "(Y/n), I don't know if you need to hear this, but no one is mad at you, no one is annoyed at you, you're not a burden, you're not a useless worry and let alone useless. All of us love you, mainly me because you're the love of my life," he says and starts pressing kisses to my face between every few words, "best thing that ever happened to me, my reason to wake up, my reason to keep going!"

I can't help but to chuckle at all the kisses, hugging him back, and I have this warm feeling in my chest for the first time in a while even if it's really faint.

"And," Frank adds, now having a serious tone on, "things won't stay like this forever. Things change, and we have been with you through thick and thin, and we'll continue here. I'm sorry I didn't notice it before, baby, I really should've paid more attention."

"It's okay." I need to force a smile even if my feelings are genuine. "It already helps a lot. I was so afraid and I don't even know of what, fuck." I hug him tightly, burying my face in the crook of his neck. "I... Not gonna like, I'm not alright and probably won't be for a while, but thank you. I love you, a lot."

"And I love you." He presses a kiss to my head, running a hand up and down my back.

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