M is for Mama
"Come on love... You can do it." Eddie murmured as he held their youngest, Sleeper, to his chest. Their little one, who'd just woken up from one of his many daily naps, was only four months old, and if he'd been a regular human child the journalist wouldn't even try to get a coherent syllable out of him. But Sleeper wasn't a human child. He was half symbiote, like all of their children. All six of them.
Eddie never imagined himself as a family man, specially not after the breakup with Anne, the loss of his job and the wreck that had once been his life, hell, even when his Other first came into his life, crawling out of the lifeless body of his once friend at that sterile and cold lab deep in the entrails of the Life Foundation, he was still thinking that he'd die alone in his apartment and no one would notice until he was nothing but a disgusting, foul smelling, rotten mess.
Things changed, life wasn't as bleak anymore, and by some miracle he actually became a dad. Mom. Six times! Technically three times, one of which spawned quadruplets! No one in his close circle could even come close to understanding how or why he would want to put himself through the pain? Sacrifice? Of birthing 6 little hybrids, but were all very supportive and Eddie was grateful. the answer was very, very simple, too. He was in love. He was so in love with his Other that he decided to forego all sense and reason and give himself to Venom fully when they finally came back together after the whole Area 51-Knull incident. It was only fair, he'd been running from his true feelings, his "gay thoughts" if you will, for long enough anyway. It was time to bite the bullet. After all, Venom had confessed first and never got to hear his answer until after a long long time. And yeah, his Other fell first, but he fell harder.
And not long after their first offspring was born. If he had to be fair, Eddie was ready for everything except for birthing an exact replica pre-Cletus Kasady of Carnage. Now, he'd long strayed from the path of the church, religious trauma and all, but he could only consider the fact a miracle. A second chance to raise their first-born themselves instead of leaving him to inhabit a serial killer. And who'd have thought, when raised by loving parents in a healthy environment, little Carnage was a delight. Sure, he was still a rebellious and highly independent little guy, but his desire for patricide seemed to have died along with Kasady.
The quadruplets came next, Scream, Phage, Lasher and Agony. They were a bit of a surprise. At least 3 of them were. Eddie and his Other had been thinking of giving Carnage a little brother or sister so he'd have someone to play with and grow together while making lots of happy memories. At first the couple were having issues with concieving and so they tried any natural remedy and hack under the sun. Not even Venom was aware that their efforts had worked a little too well until after Eddie gave birth to 2 perfect little boys and 2 perfect little girls, all half symbiote of course. And Carnage had actually taken to all four of them really well. He was a born leader it seemed, and a fierce protector of his siblings, which was a relief for his parents who for a second feared there might be some sort of resentment or rivalry against them for suddenly taking his parents' entire time and energy.
Sleeper was the newest addition to the family. He hadn't really been planned at all but that doesn't mean he was a mistake, thank you very much. Neither Venom nor Eddie figured out he was pregnant until after the first trimester, halfway through the second, and only because Eddie began having strange cravings, much like he had the previous 2 times, and because he suddenly found himself battling extreme mood swings, which was unusual, even for pregnancy. They killed 2 birds with one stone the moment they figured out he was expecting: they found out he was pregnant but they also became acquainted with what Sleeper's abilities were.
Chemokinesis in one of his children was definitely not on Eddie's bingo card for the year, but he was elated.
He loved his children and having another addition to their already large family made him happy. Venom was excited too. He was a great dad, believe it or not, despite having told Eddie, many times, that his kind were not known for forging meaningful relationships with their spawn. Or any relationship at all. Pure symbiotes were spawned mature and ready to leave their progenitors the moment they first stretched their tiny little tendrils.
'Yeah, well, I'm human, and they're half human too, so we are forging meaningful relationships with them' is what Eddie often replied.
And now, as Sleeper was four months old, Eddie worried a little. He could only measure his milestones against his siblings' and while he knew all babies were different, all his others had at least tried to utter their first word by this age. Sleeper on the other hand, seemed to be perfectly content just babbling and gurgling away. "Come on honey... Mama... You can do it" Eddie begged the baby with no results other than a wide toothless grin and a small giggle.
"He'll say it when he's ready Eddie" the Other said as a couple thin tendrils poured out of his loving host to tickle the child's tummy. "Mama's being paranoid, yes he is." He cooed at their son, who squealed in glee.
Eddie rolled his eyes. "I'm not... Am I in the wrong for worrying? I mean, Lasher had already said his first word when he was four months" the journalist reminisced. For the record his first word was 'swish'. After he'd heard Eddie say he'd been swishing his little tendrils while waiting for lunch.
Venom grumbled, not particularly fond of comparing their children amongst themselves... Or others, really. He understood the uniqueness of their little hive better than Eddie sometimes. "Yeah but he's not Lasher, my love. Or Agony or Carnage. He's Sleeper. His own little self."
Eddie sighed, feeling guilty at comparing the tiny one with his siblings. "You're right love. I'm sorry honey..." He cooed at the baby and kissed his chubby little face. "You can talk whenever you're ready." He assured him as he played with his little feet, making the baby laugh uncontrollably.
"Mommy! Daddy! Carnage tore my drawing!" Agony's screaming from down the hallway brought the couple out of their sweet little baby bubble.
"Nuh uh! I didn't!" Carnage yelled too.
Eddie sighed. "Right, back to parenting the older ones" he chuckled as he handed Sleeper over to Venom.
Right before leaving the room with his Other and their child in tow, Sleeper frowned, deep in concentration and then...
"MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!" The baby began chanting happily.
Eddie froze in his tracks and looked at the baby with surprise for a couple seconds. "Oh my god... Oh my god! He said mama!" He squealed in excitement, hugging the baby and kissing all over his chubby little face before kissing his Other too, making the symbiote chuckle softly. "You said mama!"
The couple's excitement, though great, was short lived as their other little spawns required their attention, and of course, they had to rush out of the nursery before things escalated and someone ended up hurt or in timeout. But Eddie stopped worrying... They were doing a great job and Sleeper was, like his older siblings, just perfect.