Written on the Concrete
The only good thing about the office currently was the fact it was out of the cold, everyone was wrapped up in jumpers and drinking either tea or coffee like their lives depended on it. For Eddie, it felt like his life did depend on it, he feels like he was never going to get used to British weather, it was practically freezing in comparison to the weather back in San Francisco and he was missing the warmer temperatures as it got even more bitter as the days went on. The office was tense, most people having deadlines coming up and it was rumoured their boss was on the warpath this morning, Eddie hated his job, it was more along the lines of hating the office he worked at more than the job itself, his problem wasn't with investigative journalism. No, his problem was with his boss, the man who doesn't hold back insults.
By the time he had gotten into the office, Eddie was too late to re-read through his article, he had asked Steven the night before to make sure it sounded right and read easily, with Venom's obsessive nagging about leaving the flat and being 'Lethal Weapon' he reached out for Steven honest opinion. He knew that his boss would get mad at him if he passed a deadline and pitched up late for work all on the same day, Eddie knew that maybe he wasn't the most ideal employee to avoid stress but he still handed over good quality work and honest articles that presented all the facts he researched with a balanced argument.
Nervously waiting on his boss getting back to him about his most recent article he had turned in, Eddie couldn't help up find himself reaching for his phone to try and pass the time. He heard Josh next to him talking about how he picked up someone from a pub last night, how she stole his wallet and he didn't see her for the rest of the evening and is now spending his morning cancelling his cards and reporting her. Eddie wrapped the jumper around him tighter as he scrolled through his phone and automatically texting Steven, who he had fallen for as soon as they'd had their first proper meal together.
Eddie (12:12):
i feel like me being late this morning and cutting it close to my deadline is going to give my boss a heart attack. then again, if he read my work history he should know what he got himself into.
Steven had made a comment on his lateness before in the past, saying that maybe if Eddie didn't sleep through his alarm as much as he did and started sleeping a lot more regularly he wouldn't be in a rush most mornings. Albeit the first time they met, Steven was as much of a human disaster as Eddie, his sleeping was so over the place Eddie was worried he wasn't getting any in general. There was something Steven wasn't telling him, because now he was living a more rounded off life, sleeping more and just looking a lot happier In general. It was like something had clicked for him, Eddie couldn't help but feel please for him.
With Venom's constantly chastising him for not taking Steven's advice every chance they got, because in his words: "If Steven was able to sort his shit out. We should take his advice," But in all fairness, Eddie was living a better life, it may not be the most ideal and greatest but it's getting this far along in a new job and not messing it all up is a first. He now had a relatively-stable life and was doing pretty alright for the first time since him and Anne, but it's a process, getting to the point he would like to be at would take time and effort. Which he had a decent amount of, and now with a support system that wasn't just a somewhat homicidal alien living inside him... literally.
Steven (12:14):
To be fair, mate, the real question is how many days haven't you been late this week? But your gaffer is also a git so...
Eddie smiled to his phone at the text, he could hear Steven's voice in the back of his head, "Just tell him, you idiot," Venom's voice echoed through his head, Eddie wanted to reacted but the sound of Josh yelling 'Twat!' into his phone to the insurance company pulled him back into reality. Eddie just sighed, sinking further into his chair smiling like an idiot. Venom was distracted by Josh's behaviour next to them, giving Eddie a chance to continue talking to Steven.
Eddie (12:15):
ok, ok, no need to expose me like that. but i still turn in my work and make up the hours
"Ooooo," a voice hauling him from his phone, it was Kayla, she worked opposite Eddie. She had walked up to Eddie with a mug two mugs of tea one for herself and one for him, "Who's got you smiling like that? Is it that cute bloke who lives across from you?" leaning against the edge of Eddie's desk, placing the mug down, he started to regret telling her things about his personal life. But on his first week he was dragged to the pub with the others and Kayla was the only one who didn't get worse the more the night went on.
"What if it isn't?" he retorted, turning off his phone and placing it face down on the desk, "Thanks, by the way," he nodded towards the mug Kayla placed down. Tea had grown on him quicker than he expected it to, Steven was the main cause of this new caffeine addiction.
Kayla rolled her eyes, Eddie took notice of her makeup, it was always something new and colourful. She had red lipstick on, with bold eyeliner, her curly hair left alone today instead of tied back, "I'd call you a liar, Stevie is the only one who makes you smile like that," taking a sip from her mug, she had clearly woke up today and chosen to be a annoying, "So what did you get up to on the weekend?" she asked.
Eddie thought about his weekend, it was just filled with work and hanging out with Steven, "Just worked on my article, asked Steven to proofread it, he said that it was really good, we just ended up watching some TV after that. He made some, what's it you guys called it, cottage pie. But it was vegan and if I'm being honest, didn't hate it,"
Kayla clicked her fingers and pointed at Eddie's face, "That smile, that bloody smile," she laughed at Eddie's disgruntled noise, he pouted into the mug sipping at the tea to hid his face. Kayla laughed heartily, "You've been here for what? Six months, and you have been fawning over him for how much of those six months? Majority of it," their boss came out of his office, Kayla clocked him and quickly pulled himself from the desk and awkwardly made her way over to her own.
"She has a point," Venom added to the conversation.
"You have no leg to stand on," Eddie thought.
Eddie (12:17):
please, i need a reminder that there is life outside of the office...
Steven (12:17):
It's only lunch?!?!
Eddie (12:17):
what are you doing?
"Brock!" his boss called out as he walked up to Eddie's desk, he couldn't get a read on how his boss was about to react to his piece. His boss looked mad, maybe he was about to get mad a Eddie for being late again.
"Oh shit," Eddie's head shot up from his phone, he could feel it buzz in his hands as he shuts it off and pushes it away from him on the desk.
"Oh shit," Venom said at the same time, they had, on multiple occasions, threatened to kill Eddie's boss for yelling at him and Kayla, who they had taken a quick liking too as well, for their 'poor effort' work.
"Your piece wasn't half bad, made sense and was actually decent," he said, "Keep it up," Eddie was shocked by this praise, it wasn't often he would tell someone their work was good. Normally he would say nothing about it, he would either email someone the changes he would like made or yell at them in front of everyone in the office, this first happened to Eddie two months into working there. Turning to his computer to start a new piece, he quickly glanced at Kayla who held up her thumbs and smiled brightly, Eddie couldn't help but smile back.
Kayla was ranting about her most recent conversation with her Mum as they both made their way out of the office and down the street, planning on stopping by the India restaurant so Eddie could pick up some tea for both himself and Steven. The sun was setting by the time they had stepping out of the office block, the fresh air was painfully and he gained a laugh from Kayla when he wrapped himself up in his arms. Venom grumbled something at the back of his mind, they offered to warm them both up but Eddie declined, despite Venom's protests.
"What?" Kayla chuckled, "Not used to cold weather?" she snarked.
"No, I'm lived in San Francisco," he responded shortly.
"Thought New York was cold too," she said, shoving her hands in her pockets.
Eddie tensed up at the mention of being back at in New York, it had been years since he left there and never looked back, but it still hurt to think about it all the same, "Haven't been there in years, got used to San Francisco," Kayla dropped the topic from there, she knew that parts of Eddie's life were touchy topics, it was just harder to point what not to mention when he wouldn't talk about most of his life before moving to England.
Eventually, Kayla had turned off to walk down the street leading to her complex, they said their goodbyes and Eddie was left with Venom nagging him about not fighting crime, "We are Lethal Protector. Staying in out apartment all day long is not fair. Why can't we bite heads off bad guys?"
"Buddy, c'mon, we've been in London for a few months, on top of dealing with Dickhead Dave," Venom swore at the mention of his boss, "and the Moon-Guy..."
"Where is he now?" Venom half yelled.
"Volume, buddy, please," Eddie whined, he placed his key in the door of his apartment complex, "We are here to have a fresh start, maybe we should get our shit sorted before we go full on, y'know," he stepped into the lift leading up to his floor. Food in hand, Eddie made his way down to Steven's flat. Knocking on the door, he was greeted by a half dazed Steven, his hair tousled and his glasses on.
"How long have you been doing this?" Eddie asked, stepping into Steven's flat, pointing to his desk covered in books and scribbled notes. Eddie placed the food on the kitchen counter, Steven looked a little guilty but Eddie just found it cute. Going into autopilot, Eddie started pulling out plates and cutlery while Steven pour some drinks for the two of them. Eddie's heart melted at the domesticity of it all, it had been years since he felt like this, the last person obviously being Anne and everyone knows how that one ended.
Eddie cleared up the plates once they had finished their meal, they settled in silence easily, Steven sinking into the sofa enjoying the moment of nothingness. Eddie couldn't help but look over at Steven, he was half asleep by this point, they both were. Gladly dying in this moment without a second thought, Eddie felt the internal slap from Venom at his thoughts. He still hadn't learnt not to make those comments in passing, never really meaning anything of them, he winced from the pain.
"You'll never guess what happened today," Eddie mumbled as the next episode was just about to play.
Shifting around so he could see Eddie better, Steven looked at him with curiosity, "What happened?"
"Dave made a comment about my article, it wasn't anything bad, he was actually praising me for my work," Eddie sounded so excited by this, there was a massive part of him that missed getting recognition for his work that wasn't from a friend. He trusted Steven to give his opinion, even when he wouldn't blatantly say it, there was a way he would react when he wanted to say something but couldn't find it in himself to do it.
Steven smiled, it was sleepy but bright, genuinely proud of Eddie for his work, "I told you," he said, "I told you it was really good,"
It was now Eddie's turn to hid his blush, "Yeah, I know, it's just... different," he mumbled.
"How so?" Steven faked offence.
"You're my..." Eddie swallowed before speaking again, "Friend," the look that flashed across Steven's face mirrored the hurt he felt in his chest at his own words, "so you're obviously going to be biased,"
"You know I'll always tell you what I think," Steven reassured, Eddie knew this, but there was something deep down in the back of his mind that would repeat that Steven didn't really mean it. Eddie nodded and muttered a 'yeah' as he moved around on the sofa to look back at the TV, he was unsure if Steven really meant what he said about any of his most recent pieces, "Eddie," Steven's voice broke through his thoughts, "your writing is good, you have a skill," Eddie felt the blush creep up his neck, Steven sat up fully and shifted around so he could seen Eddie fully. He felt very watched under Steven's gaze, "Of course they are good. I'd even say better than good, I think they are bloody brilliant," he leant closer to Eddie, before he could say anything more, Eddie spoke up.
"OK, OK," Eddie surrendered, "I believe you," he laughed a little.
"I don't think you do," Steven protested, "I will sit here and say everything good about your writing,"
"You really don't need to do that," Eddie said, shaking his head, giggling like he wasn't completely this far gone for him.
"I will, I will if I have to," Steven threatened, he was laughing.
The two's conversation died down after this, Eddie didn't miss that warm feeling in his chest, it was far from missable when an alien living in the same body as Eddie does that has a tendency to point out the most embarrassing things. Eddie woke up to some late night re-run playing, Steven was out for the rest of the night and at the sight of him so content made Eddie's heart warm. Eddie switched off the TV, cleared up the glasses they had used that evening and put away any rubbish left over from the evening, once he was happy, Eddie couldn't leave Steven on the sofa to wake up with a sore neck. He carried Steven over to his bed on the other side of the flat, placing him gently on the bed.
"Stay with him," Venom voiced, he sounded as drowsy as Eddie felt, he knew it would be time to call it a day when even Venom would feel tired.
"Not this time buddy," Eddie replied, he felt something at the bottom of his heart. Eddie had someone in his life that didn't want to run away screaming, Steven was one of his best friends and he wasn't going to mess things up this time, not again when this was his fresh start.
Making his way out of Steven's flat, opening in the door to his empty flat, whenever he would spend time with Steven the last thing he would be looking for would be walking into his lonely flat. It was slowly feeling like home to him now, he had a small pile of books from Steven on his desk, post-it notes of to-do lists and a shopping list that he keeps adding to. Next to the post-its was the small collection of photos he stuck to his wall, a polaroid from before him and Anne became official, it was at a friends party where they were, at the time, still friends. Some of them were old, the newest being of him and Steven two months ago. Eddie sat on the edge of his bed, pulling out his phone and scrolling through his contacts.