"Hell sure did freeze over, the day you walked into my store with a lady on your arm!" a voice rang out from behind the counter. It belonged to an older woman, sitting alone in the empty shop watching some content on her phone to pass the time.

"? I know you're not talking to me. I'll have you know in my day my rizz walked in the room before I did" Snak replied to the clerk, breaking off to his right toward the refrigerated area. "Two peach teas," he called out to his earpiece to let his phone send his request to the vending machine.

"Who even says rizz these days? Get with the times, no one knows about content from before the Meme Wars anymore" the clerk replied, getting up to ring out their purchase.

I got that reference, Lucy softly laughed to herself at that relic.

"Please, Mrs. Lee, like you don't still let some of the old classics slip. For all I know this shop of yours is covered in frogs"

Lucy was shook for real. She was lucky to be able to order food at a restaurant without tripping over her words, but this was an entire comedy routine playing before her eyes. The woman behind the counter had this inviting familiarity to her banter, as if it was part of the experience of stopping in to grab something. Getting out of the way of Snak's cane as he came clicking back, Lucy began to pace up and down the aisles, killing time.

"Just the two drinks? That'll be three-fifty. By the way Mr. Snak, is that your daughter there with you? She's so cute in that little costume! Is it some kind of uniform?" Mrs Lee proclaimed, taking her sweet time to finish up

"You know damn well I don't have a-- wait. What is she wearing?" Snak asked, with a touch of dread starting to reveal itself.

"If I didn't know you better I'd assume you fooled around with french maids."With one remark, all color drained from Snak's face as he gathered the drinks and made his way to the door. "We're leaving, kid!", he exclaimed. Great, he thought, the ONE time I go out of my way to be nice I find some kind of sex pest. Reminds me of her, actually..
Counter to his hopes of salvaging any dignity from this interaction, Lucy had been absentmindedly skimming over the candy aisle, squatting down to get a better look at some imported goods she had never seen before. Contemplating new flavors and being hungry enough to die, her tail swished side to side as she thought to come back here sometime to try some when Snak called out. Springing up from the ground and spinning to the door, her tail smacked the bottom of a shelf and sent its entire stock to the floor.

"OH SHI-" barely preserving her femininity, she managed to tuck her tail away. Thankfully the shop was empty other than the clerk, who betrayed Lucy's expectations by laughing as she came around the counter. "I-I'm so sorry! I'll get this clea-" Lucy started in a panic.
"BWAHAHA and here I always thought the blind guy would trash my shop one day." Glancing in his direction, Snak was frozen. Kneeling down beside Lucy who in a frenzy was picking up from the floor, Mrs. Lee put a hand on Lucy's shoulder. She had been paler than a ghost when she came in, but now her face was flush and she seemed to be on the verge of tears. "It's alright, I can get this from here." she whispered "Ah, don't you "but" me! Listen, I haven't seen that old tomcat look so lively in years, and I think you have something to do with that. If you feel bad about this, repay that kindness in his direction, alright?" throwing a wink at Lucy. "Now go on, don't get your dress messed up over somethin' like this"

"Wipe that look off your face, Mr. Snak, it was just an old stand that got knocked over, ain't nothin' broke you gotta pay for! Go on and enjoy your little date, your secret's safe with me!"
The wave of relief that came with that response gave way to indignation as Snak threw open the door and stepped outside without a word, letting it close behind him. Lucy scooted to the door, and before she could step out, advice rang in her ears.
"Honey, if you get him good he clams up just like that!" Mrs. Lee's last words were dripping with pleasure at winning that little exchange. Stepping back out into the sun, she saw a statuesque form presenting a bottled drink in silence.
"Thank you. I can pay you back for mine if you want. What did you get, anyway?" Lucy asked, moving to trade the bottle he offered for the parasol she was still carrying.

"No, I insist. A classic for a hot day, some cold sweet peach tea. It's a damn shame that shopkeep drives off customers like that, place could actually be successful if they did something about it."Taking the glass bottle, it was wonderfully cold to the touch. Unsealing the cap and wasting no time bringing it to her lips, Lucy sipped awa-

"By the way, no judgment here but I have to ask, are you some kind of streetwalker?", said Snak, swinging for the fences. She nearly choked on it. It was wonderfully refreshing but that appreciation was lost in her indignation.

"What the hell NO!? I'm a virgin!" she spat without thinking.

"Somehow that's TMI in the opposite direction. What's with the maid getup in this heat? I'm almost glad she thought you were my daughter, I'd never hear the end of it." Finding the trash can by the door, he threw out the bag he was given for the drinks and went to open his own.

"Like I'm going to take that from some butler-looking old timer! You're a jacket away from a three piece suit and you have to be just as hot! If anything you should be glad that we almost match! And whats with that lace parasol? It clashes with your image you know?" It was his turn to take a drink. Unlike Lucy his movement was slow and methodical, as he weighed how to reply. Putting the cap back on the bottle, he answered.

"Oh, this? It's just a memento from a long time ago. It certainly does clash with my cane, it took me ages to get used to juggling them around. The best part is I can't really use it in the rain without it getting ruined, but still I carry it with me every day."

Finishing her own tea and tilting her head, she replied,"That's a lot of complaining I just heard, but why do you put up with it?"

"See, I once came to know this girl back in the day. Thanks to her, I met a whole new circle of friends and we'd waste away the hours on our inside jokes and adventures. Underneath how crass it all was, we all knew how much spending that time together mattered to her, and she went out of her way to show that she cared. More than anything, she brought us all together, when we otherwise wouldn't have paid any mind had we met in other ways." His delivery was an octave lower, and deliberate, like he was reliving the moment. "But no matter how good things are, nothing stays the same forever. One day, it came to light that our little star was going away. We all got something to remember each other by, as tasteless as it may appear to someone who wasn't there. Must have been about 30 years ago now. The parasol itself doesn't matter, but what she said when she gave it to me does."
Lucy understood perfectly well the kind of fun a good circle of friends could get into, and in fact the parasocial relationship that develops when feelings get involved was exactly what drove her up the wall today. But Lucy, being a modern demon, always worked that way to meet her quotas. Only the older demon lords and nobility still interacted face to face, and when you throw in feelings in that scenario it can only lead to one thing.

"Ooooh, there's a love story here that you're leaving out! I gotta hear it, you blew it, didn't you?"

"Shut it virgin," he smirked, "What are you, 14? You're still years away before you get to swap love stories with anyone."

"I'll have you know I'm 18, thank you." Lucy did her best to use all of her elegance on that line, to little effect.

"Will you also have me know you're still sitting at the kid's table at Thanksgiving? Yeah, that's what I thought. If you must know, I got my happily ever after." Snak was ready to go with that one.

"X, cap, I don't believe you, pix or didn't happen, hit her up rn"

"Right, but I have nothing to prove to you. Come on then, there are still a ways to go before you get your food." Changing the subject and sauntering off to his right, the rhythmic clicking of his cane announced their journey would resume. When his mask slipped in that moment, Lucy saw a frail old man who, much like herself today, could not spend his time with the person he wanted to the most. Taking to her feet and checking her bag, she followed after him, reevaluating the days events in her mind.