I got a new camera, no more phone photos! It’s been forever since I’ve had a camera that wasn’t built into my phone so I’m trying to get a feel for everything again.
Idk if you guys just dont like him or cant see the vision or what but fuck it. We've got another Bert x reader fic bc he is the loml so enjoy or dont idc 🫶🏻 also this is a long one that'll be a two part-er >.<
You hated your job at the bar venue, the shittiest bands always played because your boss always wanted to give small bands a chance. You're the bar and venue manager so you do have quite a bit of responsibilities.
Tonight's band was called The Used? Weird, but whatever.
When you pull up to open the bar, you see a van and a few guys carrying instruments out. Oh god they looked grimey. Especially the one that was skinny as a rail and hair that looks like its dreaded but not on purpose.
You turn away and unlock the door to let them in through the garage door leading out to the outdoor stage.
"Out here guys, stage is this way. I'll be at the bar setting up if you need anything." You say to them and go back to the bar to set up.
After the bar is set up, you head outside to make sure the band is situated and ready to go for when you open.
You step out onto the patio and watch as they start their sound check. Listening to a few songs, they aren't as bad as you were expecting. Sure a lot of it was just noise, but the singer had an insane amount of energy. Even for just a sound check he was bouncing all over the stage.
"Oh hey!" He suddenly shouts upon seeing you. The band stops the music abruptly as he climbs down the stage.
"You're the manager, right? I was wondering if you could help us out." He says coming up to you.
"I'm Bert, uh, see we have tshirts. Would we be able to sell them here? Most places dont let us but I always ask." He finishes with a hopeful grin.
"Yeah of course, there's a table by the bar that you guys can set up." You say nodding as one of the other members brings a box over with handmade tshirts inside. "C'mon, I'll show you."
You lead Bert inside and show him the table and he is beaming. "Oh man that's awesome, thank you!" He sets the box down and lays out a few shirts.
You watch him set it up and one shirt catches your eye. "How much are you selling them for? Boss'll want a cut."
"Oh, um $5?" He says, sounding unsure.
"$5? No no, I can't let you sell it for that much. $10 at least. Here, I'll even be your first sale." You hand him $15 and take one of the shirts from the table.
He looks down at the money then back to you as you slip the too big shirt over your head, using your hair tie to tie it in the back.
"Seriously?" He questions softly, pulling his gaze away from you so he isnt caught staring.
You nod and go back behind the bar. "Yeah, you guys gotta make a profit y'know?"
Bert finishes setting up the shirts and thanks you again before heading back outside to finish sound check and getting ready for the show.
About an hour later you open the doors and a few of your regulars come in first. You set out a stack of the band's flyers on the end of the bar and start getting drinks poured.
Once everyone has their drinks, you get a round of beers together for the band on a tray and bring it outside to the back of the stage.
"Oh man are those for us?" The guitarist says to you as you walk up and you nod.
"Yep!" You smile as you set the tray down on a table. "You guys need anything from me?"
They shake their heads no and happily take the beers. "Thank you." Bert smiles and chugs about half of his beer.
You nod in response and turn to go back to the bar, noticing the bands drummer elbowing Bert and gesturing toward you.
"Oh, right um.." Bert starts awkwardly. "Could I uh, maybe get your number? ...Y'know, just in case you guys have anymore openings, f-for gigs or something?"
You give him a soft smile and nod. "Sure, but wouldn't you want the owner's number instead? He's the one that picks out the bands."
"Oh, um, ye-yeah, thats cool too." He mutters, suddenly very interested in his shoes as he looks down at them.
You laugh softly to yourself and pull out your order book, writing down the owner's number. Down at the bottom you write your number as well, just because you thought it was cute how nervous he was asking you.
"Here you go." You hand him the paper with a smile. "Have a good show guys, let me know if you need anything."
He looks down at the paper and grins when he sees your number. As you walk away you can hear the rest of the band 'oooh-ing' at Bert, teasing him for being nervous to ask for your number.
Despite his mangy appearance, something about him is quite endearing. You try not to think about it too much as you walk back to the bar to wait on customers.
When you get back inside, your other bartender is already out serving customers so you decide to work the outside bar instead. It'll be a busy night so you're happy to have the help.
A few customers sit at your bar and order drinks. You hear a bit of feedback from a microphone and look up as you pour a beer.
"Um, hi guys. We're The Used." Bert stands awkwardly in the center of the stage, holding a microphone covered in pink duct tape. You smile to yourself as you hand the beer to the customer and listen along.
"We just wanted to thank our hosts for having us, and uh we appreciate you all coming out to see us. Um this first song is called A Box Full Of Sharp Objects." Bert turns back to the rest of the band and counts them in and the song starts.
They play a few songs and the bar guests eat it up, cheering them on and a few fans singing along to the songs even.
After a couple of songs, Bert comes back onto the microphone. "Thank you guys, um we are just going to take a short break. We have tshirts inside if you guys want to support us we would appreciate it so much." He sets the microphone back in the stand and the band exits the stage.
You finish up a few more drinks and see Bert walking over to the bar.
"Oh hey! You guys are pretty good, need a drink?" You ask as he comes up and he nods.
"Thank you, yes please. Whatever beer you have on draft." He responds and you smile, a bit surprised, for a guy in a punk band he sure has some good manners.
You finish pouring his draft and slide it across the bar to him. He hands you a few crumpled up bills but you shake your head. "Bands drink for free."
"Well, a tip then?" He grins sheepishly and you slide over the tip jar, covering your eyes jokingly as he sticks the money inside.
"So um, what time is your shift over?" He asks as he takes a sip of his beer.
"We close at 2, I usually get out of here at 3 after I clean up." You reply wiping a few glasses out and stacking them behind you.
"Hm.." he hums softly, working up the courage to ask you out. "Well.. we normally are up pretty late, and we usually go out for breakfast afterwards.. if you maybe, I mean you can say no. I know we just met." He trails off nervously, losing his confidence and drinking more of his beer.
You smile and nod. "Breakfast sounds great."
He looks up from his beer, eyes lighting up with relief. "Yeah? Awesome, that's awesome."
He finishes the rest of his beer then. "Well, um I should uh, I should get back. Y'know, to uh the stage. Um th-thanks again! For um, uh, thanks."
You laugh lightly, watching him stutter and all but trip over his own two feet as he backs away to go back to the stage. You wave to him and he runs back to tell the rest of the band what happened.
The rest of their set is explosive, now that Bert has had a few drinks and successfully asked you out, his energy is completely different. He's running all around the stage, screaming into the microphone, he even had to stop himself from stage diving given the small crowd.
Around midnight they end their set and the bar quiets down, only leaving a few regulars, the band and a couple fans of the band left. You close down the outside bar and everyone heads inside.
You check the tshirt stand that they set up and count out the money, taking the small portion for the owner and giving Bert the rest.
"$350." You say as you hand him the cash. He looks down at it, eyes blown wide.
"Three.. holy shit." He mutters, counting the money like its the most he's ever seen at one time before.
"I told ya, sell your shirts for more. You guys are good, you'll definitely sell them easy." You smile and go back behind the bar.
Bert and the rest of the guys sit at one of the tables, signing autographs and meeting a few fans. You bring a few rounds of drinks over occasionally, Bert trying his best to flirt with you each time you come over.
You recognize the flirting, but he gets so nervous each time. It's cute though, how flustered he gets when you flirt back.
"Here's some more drinks guys." You say setting the tray down for them then lean down next to Bert's ear, whispering. "I made this one especially for you."
He immediately goes red, looking at you then to the drink. Its a bright pink mixed drink with a fruit spear and edible flower floating in it. Something super girly, just to mess with him.
The other guys all laugh and you let out a soft chuckle, watching his reaction. He straightens himself out as he takes the drink, feigning confidence. "Oh that looks good! Thank you." He says, lowering his voice an octave and puffing out his chest. He takes a drink of it and nods, holding back a cough. He wasnt expecting it to be so strong.
You smirk, taking the fruit spear and slowly biting the cherry off of it. Making sure to hold eye contact with him as you do. "Glad you like it." You say to him then walk away back to the bar. If he didn't have a massive crush on you before that, he definitely did now.
Around 1:45am, you call for last call. Your regulars pay their tabs and head out. The band still staying behind. You go over to their table to see if they want anything else before you close up.
"Alright guys, last call. Can I get you anything else before I start cleaning up?" You ask them and they all shake their heads no, thanking you again for allowing them to play there and for the free drinks.
You go back to the bar to begin cleaning then. Bert follows behind you. "Um, can, can we help with anything?" He asks shyly watching you stack a few chairs.
"Sure, if you want to you can stack some chairs while I go lock up the back." You smile, grateful for the help.
Bert begins stacking the chairs like you asked after you go to the back and the other guys come up to fuck with him.
"Ooh she's got you bad, huh?" Jeph laughs and elbows Bert's side.
Bert shakes his head. "Just wanted to help out, she's been giving us free drinks all night and they let us play here."
"Uh huh, sure Bert. Whatever you say man, you've been flirting with her all night, even got her number and she's going to breakfast with us later." Jeph raises his eyebrow. "But fine, you're just being nice." He grins then helps stack the chairs.
"Well are you going to explain where you went when we took that break from signing autographs? Seemed like a long time for just a cigarette." Dan chimes in, eyeing Bert with a knowing smile.
Jeph makes obnoxious kissing noises from behind a stack of chairs that Bert kicks to him to shut him up. "Just a cigarette, nothing else." He mutters as he finishes with the chairs, hiding a growing smile as he remembers his smoke break.
☆☆☆☆
"Oh hey, fancy seeing you out here." You say as you step outside to smoke.
Bert looks up and grins when he sees you. "Hi." He flicks his lighter and holds it out for you, lighting your cigarette.
"So, did you like the show?" He asks hopeful to make conversation and not let things get awkward.
"I did, you guys were great." You take a drag of your cigarette and stand next to him, leaning on the wall of the bar.
He watches the smoke curl around you feeling a lump in his throat before speaking again. "Thanks, I'm glad."
The silence after is peaceful instead of awkward, and you catch Bert looking at you every so often while you smoke. You smirk to him when you catch him. "What, do I got something in my hair?" You joke and he goes red.
"S-sorry, I'm not usually this nervous." He mutters softly and your expression melts at his sweet confession.
"It's okay, it's sweet that you're nervous. But you dont have to be nervous around me. Promise I dont bite... too hard at least." You joke lightly, trying to lighten his nerves.
He lets out a soft laugh and smiles, facing you now as he leans against the cool brick wall. "Y'know, you're just so pretty, I.." he trails off. "Sorry."
You smile and lean in, kissing his cheek lightly. "Thank you Bert, you're so sweet." You lean back slightly, still just inches from his face.
"Can I, can I kiss you?" He asks quietly, bracing himself for rejection.
You laugh softly and nod, closing the distance between you two and kissing his lips gently.
His whole body freezes for a moment, completely lost to you. Once he regains his mind again, he kisses you back, slow at first.
His cigarette forgotten, he drops it along with yours and rests his hands on your hips. You wrap your arms around his neck and pull away just for a second. "Wow.." you say softly, looking at him, his eyes still closed and a dorky smile plastered on his face.
☆☆☆☆
You come back out then, smiling as you see the chairs all stacked and the floor swept. "Aw thank you guys! You even swept the floor for me."
Bert grins proudly and nods. "It was no problem, we're happy to help."
"Well, I just have to close out the register then I'll be finished." You say going over to the register, the band collects their things and starts to put everything back into the van as you close the register down and count your tips. It was a pretty good night for tips, after giving half to your other bartender you made around $1200.
They finish putting everything back in the van and Bert comes back inside to say goodbye, the rest of the guys wait in the van, tired and ready to sleep.
"Well, we got everything packed away. Um, you still want to go to breakfast later?" He asks hopeful that you didn't change your mind.
You nod and smile to him as you grab your keys. "Yeah definitely, around 10, right? The diner on 5th?" You confirm and he nods.
"Thats the one, um, well then I'll see you later then." He smiles nervously.
You nod again and lean up to gently press a kiss to his cheek. "See you then Bert."
