A Lifetime with a Demon | Frank Iero x Reader

⛧What we do in the shadows⛧

"Your soul smells different."

It's the first thing Bert tells me when I sit across from him and Jepha at the local café. I don't even take a sip from my drink yet, blinking a couple of times as I look at them, both idiots with the same stupid look on their face. I roll my eyes, finally sitting down properly and proceeding to open the straw for my drink.

"Well, good afternoon to you too, Robert Edward McCracken!" I rolled my eyes. That weird ass comment of his.

The café is full today like it usually is during the winter days since everyone is always seeking out a warm drink and the café always widens the menu during the season. The heaters are on and, with the soft talk outside, there's a pleasing atmosphere inside the café. Bert and Jepha thankfully managed to be able to get a booth.

Jeph checks his phone. "Good evening, actually."

"Fuck off," I sigh, sticking the straw past the drink's lid, and take a sip of it. Pleasingly warm. "Anyways, how are you guys doing? It's been a while."

Bert nods, still smiling. "Indeed. Right, we are sort of organizing a gathering. A barbecue or whatever, if you'd like to come over this weekend." He plays lightly with the straw of his drink, spinning it around, while Jepha is on his phone.

"Oh, sounds good, I'll just—" I pause at the moment Jepha turns his phone towards me, making me laugh at a picture of Bert and Quinn passed out on the street while, in the trashcan on the back, a couple of eyes peeked from the half open lid and I scoffed recognizing Dan. "...What? What's the context?"

Bert furrows his eyebrows and takes Jepha's wrist to hold the phone to himself. "For fuck's sake, Jepharee!" Jepha just breaks into chuckles, and I can't help but do the same despite how Bert scoffs, rolling his eyes. "Whatever, what were you saying, (y/n)?"

"Ah, right!" I nod. "I am going to check with the others if there's any problem if I go. Not that they own me or something, but..."

After all, it'd just been a few days since I've been allowed to leave home alone. Turns out turning into a creature like this and being connected to the darkness grants me a great consciousness that I was not really ready for. It's not easy being conscious of others' existence. Noticing everything all at the same time around me. It takes a while to get used to it until it's just something else in the back of your mind until you really need it.

It is also too noisy. Too many things going on. I can feel things going on all around me, which sometimes makes me want to interfere out of reflex, sometimes. It has me going out of control at times and causing a mess, which required me quite a while in the mansion during most of the winter break.

"Does it have to do with how your soul smells different?" Jepha glances up from his phone, probably already saying whatever Bert was going to say since he just nods, and points at Jeph.

I blink. My soul smells different. What kind of stuff is that? How can angels even smell souls? The most I can do is feel the vibration of someone's soul—which sometimes allows me to identify people just through it, like I do with Frank. It's so easy to sense whenever he is near, but also shamefully easy slipping into his soul when we're cuddling or sometimes slipping into his dreams when we're asleep. It's an... interesting experience, to say the least.

"You can smell souls...?" I scoff.

Bert looks to the side for a moment, then shrugs. "Actually not, but saying it smells different is better than saying it tastes different, right?"

I need to look away from them to stop the chuckle from coming out, shaking my head a little. "What kind of mentally ill are you?" I end up chuckling once they do, soon sighing as I calm down and take a sip from my drink. "But yeah, kind of has to do with it." I lean back against the backrest of the booth. I take a deep breath, trying to feel the vibrations of their souls—it's different from the four's, but I'm not sure if theirs vibrate similarly due to them being demons or the fact they're always together.