Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Mist curled and twisted through the night, rendering the light coming in through the window a strange yellow from the street lights. A few drops of rain pattered against the glass. It was a perfect night to stay bundled up in a blanket on the couch, watching old movies. However, in this rather shitty apartment this was not going to happen.
Bored, Eddie.
“Come on, babe, can’t we stay in tonight? It’s fucking shitty out.”
Hungry, Eddie!
Eddie Brock sighed and scruffed his hand through his light brown hair, which was already standing up. “We ate a dude, like, four days ago.” He walked over to the drafty window, radiating cold, and peered out. “How about we order some Vietnamese and stay in tonight? We can go hunting tomorrow?”
Your liver is starting to look very tasty. Please, Eddie? Tomorrow we stay in.
Venom twined through Eddie’s chest, making his heart flutter. Eddie sighed. He hated it when Venom sulked in the back of his mind. It made everything feel sour.
“Fine. We can go out. But the next time the weather fucking sucks ass and you want to go out, we stay in instead. Got it?”
Venom hummed happily, spoiled as a cat full of cream. Eddie rubbed the centre of his chest, where he always imagined the bulk of Venom was curled, safe in the cage of bones. He smiled lopsidedly. The symbiote’s happiness was contagious, flowing through their bond. Venom had, in those early days, overstated what they knew about Eddie in an attempt to scare him into listening. The alien couldn’t read Eddie’s mind and vice-versa. They were just very good at guessing what Eddie was thinking based on his physiological responses. Emotions, instinct and other more basic urges flowed between them like water. The thoughts themselves were too fleeting, too complex for Venom to pick up on.
They lifted the sash of the window and leaned out backwards. Black ink flowed out from his skin, enveloped the human and pulled him the rest of the way out the window. By the time they were on the roof, the man was no longer there. Instead there was a seven and a half foot tall humanoid, gleaming black, laced with white veins. A thick pink tongue twisted out between nightmare rows of teeth, tasting the air. Venom grinned like a shark and leaped off the edge of the building.
Venom liked the rain. It was pleasantly humid and the pattering of raindrops hid any sounds they might make while on the hunt. While it would have been horribly cold and clammy, the breeze cutting to the bone on a human walking these streets, it did not bother Venom. They had hibernated in space on the surface of a comet rimed with ammonia snow, so this was nothing. They compensated for Eddie’s need to maintain a constant body temperature by increasing their already juiced-up metabolism. They would get much hungrier though.
Truly, this was a crappy night to try hunting since anyone with the sense god gave a squirrel would not be out. Venom liked it though; the city was especially pretty in the rain. The neon lights glowed with orange, red, blue and pink halos from the mist, the streetlights glittered in the puddles like portals to another world and buildings appeared and disappeared like secrets in the low cloud cover. If worst came to worst, they could go swimming in the Bay and catch fish. Of course, fish weren’t as good as human. Very little in the brain department. But they were plentiful and Venom could stuff themself. They were certain they could convince Eddie to go out hunting another night and if nothing else, there was chocolate. They prowled around the rooftops and alleys, slowly moving down towards the old warehouses by the docks.
Doesn’t seem to be anyone out tonight, babe.
“We haven’t looked long enough. Always some bad guys around, Eddie.”
Venom felt Eddie shift around inside him. Eddie usually let Venom ‘drive’ like this, letting the symbiote follow its instincts. Venom obliged this time, letting Eddie take control of their body. They peered around the misty night, hoping something would show itself.
It’s pretty quiet. We might need to go out in Oakland or somethin’ for a while. The criminals are getting too cautious here. Scared of big bad us.
He turned and pointed, Try closer to the docks. I don’t think we will see anyone for us to save, but there are generally low-lifes hanging around there.
Eddie relinquished control back to the symbiote. He liked being wrapped up in Venom’s inky mass. It felt very safe, like a full body weighted blanket. Even heights didn’t bother him as much, though whether that was because his other would never let him fall, or exposure therapy, he didn’t know. Venom loved heights and climbed tall buildings at every opportunity.
The symbiote hopped over the ledge of the brick building, extending a tentacle as they fell to swing out over the nearly abandoned streets. An easy twist of their powerful body helped propel them out. With a splash and thud they landed in a puddle at the far side of the street. Venom dropped to all fours and prowled in the shadows between two warehouses in Hunter’s Point. This particular area hadn’t been gentrified as much and was still grimy and gritty. There was lots of piles of lumber and crap from stalled construction projects. They heard a clatter a few minutes later and a soft curse. They peered between a reeking dumpster and the crumbling wall. A human, standing under a small overhang. He had dropped his phone. The human swung a grimy backpack to the ground, retrieved the phone and stood. He brushed the dirt off, angling it towards the distant street lights to check the screen.
“Son of a fuck.” The screen must have gotten a few more cracks. It still lit up though. The human male spent a moment texting, shoulders hunched against the stray raindrops that found their way under the overhang. “Where the hell is he?” he muttered, looking around. He pulled the cuffs of his slightly tattered red hoody down over his fingers, fidgeting in the cold.
Probably a small time drug dealer. Not someone we should necessarily kill, babe. Eddie told Venom. We don’t know his situation. We can scare him real good though. Maybe encourage him to find a better job.
The alien hummed reluctant agreement and they carefully started scaling the building. Venom was powerful and could run up the side of a building almost as easily as the street, but it was noisy and they tended to leave massive property damage in their wake. Eddie convinced them to creep along instead. There were other opportunities to smash in with a roar, letting their prey’s brain marinate in fear hormones and adrenaline. Once they reached the roof they ventured out over the overhang, which only creaked a little in response to Venom’s massive weight.
The drug dealer below them remained oblivious. Venom gripped the edge of the overhang and flipped over, landing heavily before the human, who yelped and jolted back. The symbiote stood slowly and turned, treating the man to a split faced grin, tongue lolling.
Fuckin’ show off. Eddie muttered sarcastically.
There is such a thing as style, Eddie. Venom replied silently, Not that you would know about it. The symbiote smiled even wider, the top of their head somehow remaining attached. “What are you doing out so late, morsel?” Venom purred.
“Oh fuck, oh jesus.” he squealed as he flattened himself against the wall, shoulder blades attempting to dig into the corrugated metal wall behind him. “Please man fuck don’t kill me!” His throat worked frantically. He seemed paralyzed.
“All we did was ask you a simple question. Didn’t say anything about killing you.” Venom leaned closer, tongue extending to the terrified man.
“I’m sorry sorry sorry… Just let me live, I’ve heard about you! The Demon of San Francisco!” he babbled.
Venom was pleased. Fear laced the air between them like fine cologne. “We will not kill you. We know why you are here.”
“What?”
“We will simply suggest that it would be a fine idea if you found a more legal line of work. Can’t be a very good living selling on the streets like this.” They prodded a claw at the human’s shapeless holey sweatshirt. Then they stepped back and gestured formally, like a waiter showing someone to their seats.
“You won’t kill me?” the drug dealer asked.
“No. Go home. Before we get hungrier.” Venom sighed, crouching on their haunches.
“’Kay… Okay okay…” The human slid along the wall, dragging his filthy backpack up over his shoulder. Venom kept their blank white eyes on its progress. They started backing away, rummaging in their hoodie pocket. He brought out a small device.
Venom narrowed their eyes and rumbled, “No pictures please or we will eat your phone and the hand it is-” Light flashed and Venom screamed, leaping backwards. The dark flesh of their shoulder, chest and upper arm had a grayish, acid pocked look to it. Not a phone.
The human raised their hand again and fired once more from the small, rectangular device. Another beam of yellow-white light fired. Venom rolled to the side, wound already knitting closed, tendrils flowing across it. The beam missed, turning a small pile of lumber into disintegrating gray cinders.
“That hurt!” they roared and leaped. They bowled over the human, another shot grazing their side before they closed a fist around the thin bones of their forearm. Bone crunched and he spasmodically dropped the weapon. Venom hissed, drool splattering the man’s grimacing face.
Let me talk to him V! Eddie’s reporter senses were tingling.
Venom obliged and pulled back their material so Eddie’s face was showing, sitting in a nest of tendrils.
The human whimpered, tears oozing from his eyes.
“Where the fuck did you get that?” Eddie snarled, voice modulated, both his and the symbiote’s tones twisted together. “That weapon is not from here.”
“Oh fuck fuck fuck fuck… My arm…!”
“Answer the question!” Eddie barked. Okay maybe he wasn’t being his normal wheedling reporter self, but that weapon hurt! When they were together, so few things hurt them. It put him on edge. He took a few deep breaths through his nose, trying to calm down a little.
“I’m just a small-time guy! J-just selling some of the little weapons! Oh fuck!” he panted, “I don’t know nothin’ about where they get them!”
Eddie and Venom tightened their grip on the crushed forearm. The human wailed, drumming their heels on the muddy pavement.
“Tell us who gives them to you!” they snarled.
“Please don’t kill me!” Another squeeze. “Fuck! Okay okay, it’s s-some guy named Joe Malizia, he’s muscling in on the west coast. Said it got too hot out east with the Avengers and shit running around. So his boys are carvin’ out a spot here, selling weird alien weapons. Shiiiit… My fuckin’ arm…” He gulped back his gorge, “They just text me when there is a new batch of shit goin’ out. They only sell the big shit personally, but they have us guys selling small weapons to get people interested. Please let me go? I told you everythin’ I know!”
“Why would you try to shoot us, you idiot? We were letting you go. We can’t now.”
Venom oozed over Eddie’s face.“Thank you, morsel.” Then their jaws split open impossibly wide and snapped over the man’s face, cutting off a last scream. The alien thrummed happily; they got brains after all! Then, because there was no rush, Venom treated themselves to select organs, plucked plush and warm and dripping from their cage of protecting bone. They were delectable. They smacked their jaws contentedly.
Eddie hadn’t liked eating people in the beginning; it was awful and he had loudly protested at first, doing anything to avoid it, until Venom’s complaints drove them out to hunt.
But.
Here was something he would never speak aloud to another human. Not even Anne. Humans tasted fucking delicious. He hungered for the crunch of bone, the spurt of hot blood and sweet ooze of brain when they closed their jaws around someones head just as much as the alien did. He loved tumbling back through the window at home, belly heavy with meat and blood. Feeling full and satisfied, a luscious heaviness settling around their limbs as they digested their meal.
Eating living prey was the closest thing to being aroused that symbiotes could experience on their own. They did not have culture. They reproduced asexually. The only time they tolerated each others presence was if it would get them food. They were a species driven to consume. So, hunting and then eating was the most enjoyable, pleasurable feeling in the world to them. This desire had bled through their bond just as Eddie’s own sexual desires and pleasures bled through to Venom.
Once Venom ate as much as they wanted to, they turned from being hunched over the hollowed out corpse, licking a last swipe of blood off their chin, and opened the backpack. Inside was a jumble of strange devices. Gleaming silver, matte black and a discomfiting oily greenish looking one.
What kind of moron just chucks a bunch of alien weapons in a fucking backpack?
They pawed through carefully. They looked like some smaller guns and maybe even grenades?! Venom lifted one up, bringing it before their opalescent eyes, which narrowed suspiciously.
“This is Chitauri. Have seen this design before, but some of these others have been modified with Earth technology.” The symbiote picked up a small greenish sphere. “This is Kree. Don’t think they know how dangerous these are, Eddie. Could take out half a block with this one.”
Well, what do we do with these? We can’t leave them here.
“Take them with us? Be safe in our apartment.”
Eddie sighed, Babe, I don’t think that’s a great idea. Our apartment has shit locks. The last thing I want is someone breaking in looking for something they can hock for crack and finding superpowered alien weapons.
“We will hide them well then. If anyone breaks in, we will eat their brains!”
That’s your answer to every problem.
“Works well, doesn’t it? If we eat our problems then we are full and have no more problems.”
Eddie wasn’t a fan of the idea, but leaving the bag of weapons here was worse. They rolled the corpse into the water. Eddie made sure to grab the phone from their meal’s shredded pocket. It turned out to need a password, but evidence was evidence. He turned it off. Then they slung the bag over one shoulder, Venom sinking back into his skin, and started the long walk back to their shitty apartment. It was getting very early out.
Eddie had always been a night owl, which had sucked when he had to film his show early in the morning, but he had managed. Anne had helped keep him on some kind of human schedule, waking him up in the morning with a cup of coffee and a kiss or a gentle thump from a pillow when she was feeling playful. Six months unemployed had shot that to shit. Now, bonded to Venom, his routine was possibly worse than it had ever been. They would go out patrolling a couple nights a week, never getting back home before two. Then Eddie would have a story coming due and he’d stay awake, fueled by coffee and the need to keep banging out words, until he finished it and then crash for twelve hours. Perhaps later on he would have to get out there and walk the streets, searching for leads, conducting interviews for a new story and he would have to start getting up with normal humans again. He would swear he was going to have a set bed time and get up with his alarm and then three days in, exhausted, Venom would carefully turn the alarm off so Eddie could sleep in. Venom did not like it when Eddie was sleep deprived. His brain filled up with bad tasting chemicals and he got irrational. Well. More irrational. Eddie wasn’t always blessed with the most solid logic. That was why he had been driven out of New York and why he had lost Anne. That was why Eddie had been in more fights than he had fingers and why, before the symbiote came along, one of his knees had clicked and ached when it was cold. He tried so hard though. That selflessness had been one of the things that had attracted Venom.
They walked all the way back to the apartment. The drizzle had stopped and the mist left only ragged shreds around the tops of the high rises that the damp, ocean-scented wind dragged away. The sky was a pinkish, pearly grey. Eddie thought best when he was moving and his head was humming with thoughts. Venom let Eddie be silent. They didn’t want to interrupt when he was clearly shaping something up in his head. Venom liked it when Eddie was like this, electricity crackling in his brain. Eddie was good at this. Besides, the symbiote was well-fed and happy to stay twined around Eddie’s innards.
Back in their home, they emptied out the bottom of Eddie’s closet, tucking the backpack filled with ordnance into the bottom and then heaping shit on top. Perfectly camouflaged. Yep. Just looked like an ordinary closet filled with stray clothes and shoes. It totally didn’t have enough weaponry to level half the Castro. Riiiight.