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It slips out almost without warning, one moment Eddie’s sniping about the sudden dearth of tater tots, and scrambling for a name softer than parasite, but still communicating that he is, in fact, pissed, and it just- comes out.
“You’re such a fucking pain, sweetheart.” He grumbles.
Eddie stops, replaying the last few words. It’s had the desired effect though, Venom closes his sharp little mouth with a click, and blinks confused eyes at Eddie.
Eddie meets his eyes, and looks away with a muttered “well, you are,” and thank god but Venom lets the matter die.
But Eddie does feel his eyes on him, even after Venom slips back under his skin, watching him from inside.
————————————————————————————————————————–
The next time is even more surprising, they’re home early and indulging in a bit of cooking. They’ve finally moved into a place with a decent kitchen, and it seems a shame not to make use of it.
“Eggs.” Venom informs him, pulling back from the fridge and opening his mouth to disgorge four slightly slimy eggs.
It’s a mark of just how normal this has become that Eddie doesn’t even blink at the slippery goo covering the eggs, picking them up and cracking them one at a time into the mixing bowl. “Thanks.” He smiles.
“We make a good team,” Venom loops around his shoulders, watching him beat the eggs.
“The terror of the underworld and the bakery section.” Eddie agrees. “Get me some milk please darling.”
Venom is stretched halfway back to the fridge before what he’s said hits them. Venom pulls back suddenly, making Eddie look up and- oh.
“Sorry.” He says quickly, then feels stupid. “I mean, not sorry but- I didn’t mean- not that I didn’t mean it but-” Eddie shuts his mouth before he makes things even worse.
Venom is quiet for a long moment, picking up the jug of milk in his tentacles and bringing it to the counter, then slipping back only just inside Eddie, so close to the surface Eddie’s skin is patterned in fading black and charcoal grey. He’s not upset, just- Eddie tries to reach for him inside his mind and wow, that’s a lot of feelings. He pulls back and gives Venom the space to sort himself out.
“Anyway,” he continues, trying to bring this evening back on the rails. “It’s half a pint of milk, then we add the sugar-”
It takes until they start melting the chocolate over a medium heat for Venom to poke his head back out and join in again, he doesn’t say anything about earlier, but the weight of it presses down on the fabric of their shared minds like a bowling ball.
————————————————————————————————————–
Frankly, Eddie blames Annie.
She’d always hated pet names. Eddie had tried a few, but she’d shot them down relentlessly until he’d given up. After so many years of being bereft, was it really that surprising he’d break out the ‘darlings’ and ‘sweethearts’ at the drop of a hat?
That’s his excuse, anyway. And he’s sticking to it.
“Sorry, babe-” Eddie breaks off, and sighs, again? Venom doesn’t seem to mind this time, licking sadly at the pool of blood their would be rapist had been lying in, before the man had come to his senses and run while Eddie and Venom had been digesting his friend. “Want to catch him?”
“No.” Venom says gloomily. “Too much of a head start, and he will be on a main road by now.”
“It’s okay,” Eddie gives him a hug, feels the lines of self blur again, Venom engulfing him, just a moment being one again- God that’s good- “We’ll get more later.”
“It’s already later.” Venom huffs, “Getting too early to hunt.” Then he brightens, “Still, he won’t do that again.”
“Not a chance. ” Eddie agrees, “Not with what you did to his balls, anyway.” Eddie would wince, but anyone who tries to drug people in bars, drag them outside and rape them totally deserves unanaesthetised castration. Thank fuck Venom could metabolise ryhopnol, Eddie hadn’t even noticed the guy before it was too late. “Thanks love.”
And oh for fuck’s sake, but that’s a new one. He opens his mouth to apologise-
“No.” Venom cuts him off before he can start. “It’s good, Eddie. We- I like it.”
It’s so rare Venom talking about himself in the singular that Eddie blinks. “I don’t want you to feel-”
“There is nothing we feel that isn’t good.” Venom says firmly, “my Eddie.”
And fuck but Eddie’s blushing at that one.
—————————————————————————————————————————–
EddieEddieEddie!
The scream’s barely words, falls on his brain like hammer blows. Edie groans and tries to curl up, but he can’t move and even that abortive twitch sends flurries of white-hot pain through him like a rain of tiny needles. “Wha-” he chokes, on pain, and the blood filing his mouth.
hurt hurt hurt Eddie not move stay stay heal please stay
Stay? Eddie wasn’t planning to go anywhere- but then, maybe he is. It’s like the world is slipping away under him, little by little, and he’s going to be tipped off it, into some- gaping mouth in the darkness.
no no stay please breathe breathe Eddie lungs and heart and oh Eddie liver
“Don- eat-” Eddie gives up. Closes his eyes. Everything feels so heavy, like the only thing still keeping him on the tilting plane of the world is the hanging drag of his own body. Their body. Really, Venom can eat it at this point, it’s not like Eddie’s going to need it-
Eddie!
-where he’s going.
No no please stay Eddie don’t go stay with us please love you love you Eddie-
He can’t drag the thoughts together to answer, but digs his fingers into the bloody tarmac, struggles one breath, then another.
yes yes please yes Eddie another another well done so good Eddie
God, it hurts so much. That car. The rapist from the bar behind the wheel and the punch of hundreds of pounds of steel against his chest and the world flailing in a bloody kaleidoscope and the pain the pain-
Please Eddie please love you love you so much breathe please breathe more
Anything for you, Eddie thinks dimly, drags in a breath through ruined lungs, feels the bones of his ribs twitch and pop back into place. Chokes as Venom fills his mouth and throat, reaching into his lungs to soak up the blood. So sorry darling- didn’t know- should have said-
Shhh, you did, you did Eddie. We know. Love you. Always love you.
The next breath comes easier, the next one easier still. Eddie blinks and opens his eyes to the ravaged mess of the crash. The car torn open down the middle, the driver split into so many component parts Eddie’s not sure what he’s looking at. Love?
Needed fuel. Venom sounds exhausted. Spare parts. So much broken. Eddie feels him shudder. Nearly went away, Eddie-
“Yeah, but I didn’t, sweetheart.” Eddie sits up, his body feels raw and- new. “You saved me, love, you saved me.”
Nearly left. Venom wraps a warm coil around Eddie’s shoulders, Eddie grabs him and wraps them around himself. Fuck he’s cold. His clothes are pretty much history between the tyre-and-tarmac damage and the blood. Can’t go. Please Eddie. Not alone, not without us. Love you.
Eddie closes his eyes and buries his face in Venom’s coils. “Love you so much, darling. Not going anywhere without you.”
It slips out almost without warning, one moment Eddie’s sniping about the sudden dearth of tater tots, and scrambling for a name softer than parasite, but still communicating that he is, in fact, pissed, and it just- comes out.
“You’re such a fucking pain, sweetheart.” He grumbles.
Eddie stops, replaying the last few words. It’s had the desired effect though, Venom closes his sharp little mouth with a click, and blinks confused eyes at Eddie.
Eddie meets his eyes, and looks away with a muttered “well, you are,” and thank god but Venom lets the matter die.
But Eddie does feel his eyes on him, even after Venom slips back under his skin, watching him from inside.
————————————————————————————————————————–
The next time is even more surprising, they’re home early and indulging in a bit of cooking. They’ve finally moved into a place with a decent kitchen, and it seems a shame not to make use of it.
“Eggs.” Venom informs him, pulling back from the fridge and opening his mouth to disgorge four slightly slimy eggs.
It’s a mark of just how normal this has become that Eddie doesn’t even blink at the slippery goo covering the eggs, picking them up and cracking them one at a time into the mixing bowl. “Thanks.” He smiles.
“We make a good team,” Venom loops around his shoulders, watching him beat the eggs.
“The terror of the underworld and the bakery section.” Eddie agrees. “Get me some milk please darling.”
Venom is stretched halfway back to the fridge before what he’s said hits them. Venom pulls back suddenly, making Eddie look up and- oh.
“Sorry.” He says quickly, then feels stupid. “I mean, not sorry but- I didn’t mean- not that I didn’t mean it but-” Eddie shuts his mouth before he makes things even worse.
Venom is quiet for a long moment, picking up the jug of milk in his tentacles and bringing it to the counter, then slipping back only just inside Eddie, so close to the surface Eddie’s skin is patterned in fading black and charcoal grey. He’s not upset, just- Eddie tries to reach for him inside his mind and wow, that’s a lot of feelings. He pulls back and gives Venom the space to sort himself out.
“Anyway,” he continues, trying to bring this evening back on the rails. “It’s half a pint of milk, then we add the sugar-”
It takes until they start melting the chocolate over a medium heat for Venom to poke his head back out and join in again, he doesn’t say anything about earlier, but the weight of it presses down on the fabric of their shared minds like a bowling ball.
————————————————————————————————————–
Frankly, Eddie blames Annie.
She’d always hated pet names. Eddie had tried a few, but she’d shot them down relentlessly until he’d given up. After so many years of being bereft, was it really that surprising he’d break out the ‘darlings’ and ‘sweethearts’ at the drop of a hat?
That’s his excuse, anyway. And he’s sticking to it.
“Sorry, babe-” Eddie breaks off, and sighs, again? Venom doesn’t seem to mind this time, licking sadly at the pool of blood their would be rapist had been lying in, before the man had come to his senses and run while Eddie and Venom had been digesting his friend. “Want to catch him?”
“No.” Venom says gloomily. “Too much of a head start, and he will be on a main road by now.”
“It’s okay,” Eddie gives him a hug, feels the lines of self blur again, Venom engulfing him, just a moment being one again- God that’s good- “We’ll get more later.”
“It’s already later.” Venom huffs, “Getting too early to hunt.” Then he brightens, “Still, he won’t do that again.”
“Not a chance. ” Eddie agrees, “Not with what you did to his balls, anyway.” Eddie would wince, but anyone who tries to drug people in bars, drag them outside and rape them totally deserves unanaesthetised castration. Thank fuck Venom could metabolise ryhopnol, Eddie hadn’t even noticed the guy before it was too late. “Thanks love.”
And oh for fuck’s sake, but that’s a new one. He opens his mouth to apologise-
“No.” Venom cuts him off before he can start. “It’s good, Eddie. We- I like it.”
It’s so rare Venom talking about himself in the singular that Eddie blinks. “I don’t want you to feel-”
“There is nothing we feel that isn’t good.” Venom says firmly, “my Eddie.”
And fuck but Eddie’s blushing at that one.
—————————————————————————————————————————–
EddieEddieEddie!
The scream’s barely words, falls on his brain like hammer blows. Edie groans and tries to curl up, but he can’t move and even that abortive twitch sends flurries of white-hot pain through him like a rain of tiny needles. “Wha-” he chokes, on pain, and the blood filing his mouth.
hurt hurt hurt Eddie not move stay stay heal please stay
Stay? Eddie wasn’t planning to go anywhere- but then, maybe he is. It’s like the world is slipping away under him, little by little, and he’s going to be tipped off it, into some- gaping mouth in the darkness.
no no stay please breathe breathe Eddie lungs and heart and oh Eddie liver
“Don- eat-” Eddie gives up. Closes his eyes. Everything feels so heavy, like the only thing still keeping him on the tilting plane of the world is the hanging drag of his own body. Their body. Really, Venom can eat it at this point, it’s not like Eddie’s going to need it-
Eddie!
-where he’s going.
No no please stay Eddie don’t go stay with us please love you love you Eddie-
He can’t drag the thoughts together to answer, but digs his fingers into the bloody tarmac, struggles one breath, then another.
yes yes please yes Eddie another another well done so good Eddie
God, it hurts so much. That car. The rapist from the bar behind the wheel and the punch of hundreds of pounds of steel against his chest and the world flailing in a bloody kaleidoscope and the pain the pain-
Please Eddie please love you love you so much breathe please breathe more
Anything for you, Eddie thinks dimly, drags in a breath through ruined lungs, feels the bones of his ribs twitch and pop back into place. Chokes as Venom fills his mouth and throat, reaching into his lungs to soak up the blood. So sorry darling- didn’t know- should have said-
Shhh, you did, you did Eddie. We know. Love you. Always love you.
The next breath comes easier, the next one easier still. Eddie blinks and opens his eyes to the ravaged mess of the crash. The car torn open down the middle, the driver split into so many component parts Eddie’s not sure what he’s looking at. Love?
Needed fuel. Venom sounds exhausted. Spare parts. So much broken. Eddie feels him shudder. Nearly went away, Eddie-
“Yeah, but I didn’t, sweetheart.” Eddie sits up, his body feels raw and- new. “You saved me, love, you saved me.”
Nearly left. Venom wraps a warm coil around Eddie’s shoulders, Eddie grabs him and wraps them around himself. Fuck he’s cold. His clothes are pretty much history between the tyre-and-tarmac damage and the blood. Can’t go. Please Eddie. Not alone, not without us. Love you.
Eddie closes his eyes and buries his face in Venom’s coils. “Love you so much, darling. Not going anywhere without you.”