The first time Anne saw what they looked like when the symbiote covered her body was on a warm afternoon, as they swung through town with no destination on mind. She saw their reflection on the window of a building, and a wave of disgust from her hit the symbiote so suddenly they almost lost their balance. They recovered before Anne could get hurt, and soon they came down in the nearest alley, the symbiote retreating, leaving only the mass they needed to pose as her civilian clothes.
None of them said anything about it, the symbiote making sure not to project any feelings as they thought about it. They knew most humans were creeped out by the teeth and tongue and blank eyes, but they had thought Anne had been long past it. Things had been so good between them in the months they have been together. They didn’t think they could handle another rejection.
Not after having experienced the way Anne had welcomed them.
Once at home, Anne stood in front of her full body mirror, and silently called the symbiote, the same way she did when they prepared for a fight. The symbiote hesitated, but it was hard not to give Anne what she wanted. All they ever wanted was to give her what she wanted.
Anne studied the reflection of their form, but to the symbiote’s surprise, she wasn’t focusing on the face. It was the chest, torso, and legs that were bothering her. The symbiote sent her a vague question. Anne replied with a torrent of thoughts.
She thought of men, faceless men looking at her body, thinking disgusting thoughts, wanting to touch, to hurt. Stories, confessed in scared whispers, between sobs. Voices repeating variations of “she asked for it” and “shouldn’t have dressed like that”.
The symbiote clung to her bare skin and their touch was welcome, but she had never thought of what it looked like from the outside. Despite the thick layer of black mass, looking at herself she felt naked, exposed.
Something could be done about it. The symbiote shifted, making the layer thicker, trying to replicate how real fabric looked around Anne, the subtle changes that changed all for her. They didn’t bother with all the details they did when mimicking civilian clothes, like color and seams and all that, but they tried to look less like “body paint”, as Anne put it in her mind. The shape of her breasts wasn’t fully on display anymore, as the symbiote covered them in what was shaped like a sports bra, blending perfectly with the rest of the “suit”. Small bits of mass made other details of her body less visible.
Anne hummed appreciatively. Like a bodysuit, not vacuum sealed, her mind compared. Her silhouette was now much more like clothed Anne than like nude Anne.
“I like it.” She said.
We won’t let anyone lay a finger on you. The symbiote added, because no matter what they looked like, they wouldn’t let anyone hurt Anne.
“I know,” Anne said, her tone found. She liked when they used “we” like that, she liked that perfect balance of feeling protected and capable of protecting herself, cared for and capable of caring for herself.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust them, or that she didn’t trust her own ability to protect herself. This was about a much older, deeper hurt that she carried. The symbiote had glimpsed bits of it whenever they saved an innocent woman or girl, in that worry that just felt different.
They couldn’t say they fully understood it yet, but they wanted to. They wanted to heal everything that hurt Anne.
They took in their form again, making a few adjustments. Thicker arms and legs, mimicking human muscles. It didn’t much affect their combined physical strength but it looked nice.
“I really like this,” Anne said. “Maybe I should start working out.”
Gathering their courage, the symbiote pushed Anne’s attention towards their face. Was it good? Was there anything she wanted to change?
“It’s perfect,” Anne said. “It’s my favorite part, actually.”
For a millisecond, the symbiote almost lost control of their form. Anne had said it with such affection, such sincerity. They couldn’t believe how lucky they were to have found someone like her.
“I am the lucky one.”