The moon in the trees was so bright that it turned everything blue. The clouds that dusted the sky glowed with it. The woods around Eddie were thick, but he could very easily see the path to escape it. The image before him was tinged with...nostalgia? Why did he feel like he’d walked these woods before? There were men before him, one bald and pointing a gun at his face. Now that was familiar. The man said something threatening, the words far away but the tone and intent clear, and Eddie barked back a joke, or some snappy jab.
Eddie was on his knees, lifting his arms in his only defense against the men before him. His eyes took in the gun nervously, but then he saw a familiar, smooth flash of black behind them. Black tendrils snatched the man from his place in the pines, and he disappeared, a loud crunch reverberating against the surrounding trees. The man fell to the ground with a thud, head clean off. There wasn’t enough time for blood to spurt from his neck.
Eddie felt a smile come onto his face, although in his blurred mind he wasn’t sure why, and the man before him with a gun was snatched up too, to his delight. The gun clattered to the ground. Eddie felt his knees ache from being on them for so long, the jagged roots of trees digging into them. Eddie felt his glance move upwards to see what had taken the men, or more precisely, their heads, away.
Venom; the moon dipped behind their head, almost creating a halo, which was ironic since they had just killed two men before Eddie’s eyes. The thought filled Eddie with a strange heat, which Eddie quickly chalked up to fear. Venom’s figure was different, but that must’ve been because they weren’t bonded with Eddie at the moment.
“Hi, Eddie,” Venom all but purred, their tongue peeking out from their toothy smile. Venom slid their arms under Eddie’s, and Eddie let out a strangled, surprised sound as he felt his legs leave the ground. In the back of his mind, Eddie imagined his own head rolling onto the forest floor next with a clean snap of jaws, but Venom instead pulled him in for a kiss. Venom’s tongue slid into his mouth, a lot gentler than Eddie would’ve imagined the action to be. Eddie felt his body go limp, as all of his blood and function remained at his mouth alone.
Eddie imagined Venom’s (almost comically) long tongue to be anything but soft, but it melded into him easily. Eddie felt a noise escape him, something like a moan or a gasp, and he felt heat flush to him in a bout of self-awareness. Venom was doing this easily, their inky irises closed. Eddie felt two warm, liquid masses come about his shoulders, which he weakly figured were Venom’s arms, his mind foggy, both from a lack of air intake and whatever was going on. Eddie’s half-lidded eyes fell to Venom, and their inky curtain seemed to be falling away almost...
Eddie jolted awake, his head nearly smacking against his headboard with the force he lifted his head with. His lungs sucked in cool air, and his eyes saw that he was not in the woods, but in his apartment. Even if it was a shit hole, he felt a wave of relief flash over him to see the chipped paint and decrepit brick walls. It took him a few more gasps and a tighter grip on his sheets to grasp that he had just had a dream. If that was the right way to term it. He let out a groan and wiped his sweaty face, registering that his body, and every part of him, was very awake at the moment.
“C’mon, dude, really?” Eddie grumbled, propping himself up on his elbows, kicking the sheets off of his feet to give his body some of the cold air that lingered in his room. Eddie was very grateful for the fluctuating nature of his heating system at that moment. Eddie moved gingerly, realizing he had a very noticeable erection.
“Really, what?” Venom asked, their voice rumbling with...something. Eddie squinted in the dark. Did they sound...cheeky?
“I’ve been having that same dream for weeks now, I know it’s not just my brain replaying it over and over again.” Eddie said pointedly, wishing Venom would manifest so he could make a face at them.
“How do you know?” Venom asked again, their tone cool and airy. Eddie sputtered.
“What do you mean, how do I know? It isn’t me who wants this dream jolting me awake each night!” Eddie replied, his voice coming out in a higher pitch than expected.
“I haven’t been messing with your dreams, Eddie. That’s too much work.” Venom replied, sounding a little too convincing for Eddie.
“So...what, you’re saying that my subconscious has been putting that image in my head for the past few weeks?” Eddie asked, incredulous, not believing that this was the conversation he was having on a Friday night.
“What image?” Venom asked, and Eddie felt a huff escape him; they were definitely fucking with him now.
“Oh, bullshit, I know you saw what I was dreaming. Or are you going to tell me that symbiotes can’t do that?” Eddie challenged, and he was met, infuriatingly, with nothing. Venom was goading him on to say it aloud.
“When we, no, when you kissed me in the woods that night. That keeps coming up for me when I sleep.” Eddie elaborated, wanting to shove his head under his sink instead of continuing this conversation.
“I think it was more than just me kissing you there, Eddie. I didn’t feel any resistance from you.” Venom responded, their tone indistinguishable, almost accusatory.
Eddie opened his mouth to rebut, but he felt like a balloon with all of its air pushed out. He couldn’t protest that, exactly. He could’ve easily pushed Venom off that night, insisting that they could transfer through their hands like they always did. It’s not like Venom and Eddie kissed each time they reconnected. Venom can see his thoughts, anyway, so they would know he was lying. Eddie’s not great at lying either, his throat gets tight and his words come out choppily, as if he were driving along a bumpy road. Eddie’s confidence hitched.
“Well, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it,” Eddie said, scratching his cheek. An image of the memory flashed back to him. “At that moment.” He quickly added.
“Hmm.” Venom said back, considering.
Again, silence. Silence that Venom was urging Eddie to fill. Eddie felt his already tense body twist at the tension of this conversation. It occurred to Eddie that they never really talked about that kiss. He’d mentioned it to Anne, but perhaps getting accustomed to living together in a better, safer, more incognito way was distraction enough that they didn’t discuss it. Or maybe, they had both been avoiding it. The topic had been budding at the back of his throat ever since Eddie started having these dreams, or more like flashbacks, honestly. Eddie didn’t even know how to tackle whatever he was feeling, or whatever his mind was doing. So he just avoided it. Not expertly, either, since these dreams weren’t just of Venom’s own accord.
“Anne said that it was your idea for the kiss. Why? You could’ve just joined back with me by going through my arm.” Venom’s answer came out slowly, but easier than their other replies had been.
“I saw that those guys were going to hurt you, and I had barely made it in time, so...I guess I was just relieved that you were okay. If I had known it would make you uncomfortable, I would not have done it.” Venom replied, their voice low, the most serious it had sounded since Eddie met them.
Eddie felt a twinge in his chest at that. It wasn’t Venom that made him so bothered by this, maybe it was his own feelings. They were unexpected. Well, Eddie supposed everything about this situation was unexpected, but the fact that he enjoyed it was the most unexpected part. Eddie felt like making a comment on the lack of swears Venom was using, but now was not the time for a joke.
“I know you still love Anne, and I did not want to get in the way.”
Eddie blanked; he still loved Anne, and he always would, but not in the same way as he did before. Eddie had kept in touch with her, as much as their schedules permitted, and it made him happy to see Anne so happy with Dan. Sure, there was still an ache there when she’d smile the same way she did with him, but it had lessened as more time passed. And he had started to appreciate Dan for that. Maybe it wasn’t just his feelings he was holding onto, but the past life he had at that point in time as well. When he had a steadier career, a bigger house, more stability. It was the most stable his life had ever been.
“I do still care about her, and I think I always will, but...I think I just wasn’t ready to accept that part of my life is over.” Eddie admitted softly, the words lifting out of him like a pulled root.
Eddie felt a cool yet warm sensation spread throughout his head, something he felt when Venom was searching through their memories. They normally did it when they wanted to understand something, or were confused.
“It’s like, a different kind of love now, I guess.” Eddie added, hoping the specificity would help the symbiote grasp his complicated feelings. “Do you get what I mean?”
Venom let out a noise, one that Eddie had learned meant they were considering something.
“I think I get it. There are so many different types of love for humans. It’s confusing.” Venom responded, humor dripping into their voice. Venom was from a different planet after all, human customs were bound to be jarring.
Eddie chuckled a bit at that. “Yeah, it’s confusing for me, too.”
There was a lull, both of them thinking, and the heat Eddie had been feeling spread to a...specific spot between his legs, and now there was another elephant in the room to acknowledge.
Eddie cleared his throat, feeling like he was walking on a tightrope to get his words out.
“What is it?” Venom asked, cautiously; they might not understand fully how human emotions differed, but they could tell when Eddie was holding back about something.
“Would you...I mean, I wouldn’t mind...doing that again.” Eddie managed, feeling embarrassed.
Venom, taking pity on him, finally got the hint. The moon barely peeked through Eddie’s cheap, thin blinds, casting only a thin line of light into the room. Eddie sat up slightly as Venom manifested in front of him, their head floating, considering. Making sure this was something Eddie actually wanted.
Eddie felt small, not because of their size difference, but because of how strong his feelings felt. They’d only been bonded for three to four months, but there wasn’t a day that had gone by that he hadn’t thought of their kiss.
Venom hesitated. Eddie fixed them with a nod, smiling a little, and Venom was on him in a second. Venom’s tongue swiped into his mouth again, like it did in the woods, but with more urgency. Eddie’s mouth fell open, their tongue covering his. Eddie moved his arms, wanting to hold onto something to steady himself, Venom picking up the hint by manifesting more of himself, giving him shoulders to cling onto.
Eddie gasped a little, pressing his nose just above Venom’s lip as they moved to his neck. Venom let out a low noise, something Eddie recognized as pleasure. It wasn’t like the sound Venom let out before attacking, that sound was something more vicious. This sound was almost like a purr. To say that Eddie enjoyed it was an understatement.
Venom went back to his mouth again, Eddie gulping in air before letting them continue.
“I may have pulled up that memory every so often,” Venom muttered, a black tendril curling behind Eddie’s ear in a caress.
Eddie’s eyes fell open, and he took in the symbiote before him. It took an extreme amount of effort to steady himself enough to pull away from their mouth.
“Let’s just say something, next time.” Eddie managed weakly, saying it to both of them. The anticipation had built so much for Eddie over the past few weeks that now he felt like he was going to burst.
“Agreed,” Venom agreed, sounding pleased, letting Eddie be the one to take them back in.
Eddie liked how Venom’s skin felt in his fingers, how it felt cool, melting and dribbling almost between them. It was comforting. Venom made it a bit more solid around his shoulder and back area, Eddie wrapping his arms around there. Venom curled a tendril beneath Eddie’s back, lowering them downward so they could have more access. Eddie felt his neck hit the back of his pillow. Eddie felt his legs spread.
Venom spent some time admiring Eddie’s tattoos, which they had commented on before as something they liked about him. Now, Eddie felt their cool touch tracing over each inky mark on his skin, a shiver curling up his spine and raising his hairs.
Venom continued at Eddie’s mouth, kissing his lips raw, and then they did something that made Eddie’s leg jerk. Eddie felt one tendril, then two, then three, peek under his thin T-shirt. One stroked at his ribs, playfully, while the other two fiddled about in his lower abdomen area. As the tendrils went lower, Eddie let out a gasp, and even though he knew no one would be awake at this hour to hear, he felt self-conscious.
Venom, probably feeling an inkling of Eddie’s embarrassment, paused.
“Is this oka- ”
“It’s not you, don’t worry,” Eddie assured, his voice faltering. Eddie felt desperation clawing at him. He didn’t realize how long he’d wanted this, how much he’d thought about it. He normally didn’t realize a lot of things until it looked him square in the eye. Either Venom was looking through him to see what he wanted, or they both just had a really good rhythm going.
“Okay,” Venom rumbled, continuing.
It was enduring how Venom checked on him constantly, never wanting to push the envelope too far. He’d do it when Eddie was stressed at work, or after they argued. Venom used to do it when they’d rifle through Eddie’s memories, but they had reached the point where they didn’t need to ask anymore. Venom wasn’t the best at apologizing, and neither was Eddie, so the little ways that they checked on him meant a lot.
Eddie wished there was something he could do for Venom, considering they were way too good at this, but his mind was completely unable to process anything resembling a decision. Venom’s tendrils slowly inched further and further down his shirt, eventually tugging at the loose waistband of his sweatpants. Eddie was grateful he wasn’t wearing anything with buttons. Eddie’s brain was pure static when he felt a tendril tightly grip his ass.
Venom’s separated tendrils became one, and firmly slid Eddie’s pants off, the coolness of the room spreading across Eddie’s thighs. Eddie distantly heard his pants fall off the side of the bed. Venom hovered now, considering Eddie’s boxers. They were feeling incredibly tight, but Venom ignored that, thinking about something else. Eddie’s crackling mind whirred for a moment, thinking something might be amiss. He glanced down to see a collection of Spongebob faces looking up at him.
Venom paused. “What am I looking at.” Venom asked, his confusion making it sound more like a statement.
Eddie, who was on the edge of what felt like everything, somehow managed to huff out a laugh at the symbiote’s confusion.
“It’s a cartoon,” Eddie elaborated, his words barely strung together. “A kid’s show.” Eddie would’ve elaborated on how the show was more suited to adults because of its humor, but it was a wonder he was still breathing at this point.
“Can we watch it?” Venom asked, whatever sultry look they had been donning a moment earlier now looking eager and expectant.
“After…” Eddie began to gesture at the two of them, not wanting to use the word “sex” out loud despite being a grown adult.
Venom nodded, letting out something like a laugh, a warm feeling spreading through Eddie. It felt like affection; when their feelings blended together, Eddie could distinguish what feeling was his and which was theirs. He couldn’t tell where the feeling stemmed from at this moment, maybe it was from both of them.
Venom pulled off Eddie’s boxers, carefully placing them at the edge of the bed like it was a sacred treasure. Before Eddie could think about the hilarity of that, Venom was back on him. Venom tentatively poked and prodded at Eddie until they found a sweet spot, the smooth tendrils wrapped around his dick, sliding up and down in their own version of a stroke. The coolness and fluidity of Venom’s skin was not lost on him, Eddie feeling every sensation as his breath caught in his throat. He felt like he could only last like this for a few seconds. Eddie shivered.
Venom, sensing that Eddie wasn’t going to last long, returned to his lips, smothering a moan rising in his throat. Eddie couldn’t even imagine how they might look, a black hunk of fluid mass on him. Venom continued to stroke, and they brought their mouth right up to Eddie’s ear, Eddie’s spine jerking upwards at the voice.
“Is this okay, Eddie?” Venom asked, Eddie nearly cursing under his breath at how considerate Venom was being in this moment.
“It’s more than okay,” Eddie let out shakily, already feeling his climax approaching. His legs seized up, and Venom let out another sound resembling a purr. Eddie knew that they both shared everything, but he couldn’t imagine how Venom was getting pleasure from this. Eddie hadn’t done jack shit.
Just before Eddie was about to feel the release, Venom paused and fixed him with a serious stare.
“Eddie, you don’t have to worry about pleasing me.” Venom stated, and before Eddie could manage a protest, Venom finally let him release with a few final strokes. Eddie shuddered, his body trembling against the mattress, finally stilling and calming after a few moments.
“Being with you is all I need.” Venom clarified, and Eddie, after regaining his breath, brought Venom to him in an embrace.
Breath and function returning to him, Eddie sank back into his pillow and glanced at the bathroom door across from his bed lazily. He felt like he could fall into a week-long sleep after this, but he knew it would be better to shower now than in the morning, what with all the interviews and work he had to catch up on.
Eddie could sense Venom’s distaste bubbling in the back of his mind, Venom hating the boredom and stillness of the shower. Venom’s tendrils gently tugged up the covers, holding him there, but Eddie grinned and pulled away from Venom’s appendages.
“I need to shower,” Eddie said with a laugh, stumbling over to the bathroom, not even daring to look at his digital clock.
Venom relented, grumbling when Eddie disregarded the 4-in-1 body wash that Venom had snuck into their grocery bag earlier that week.
“I am not using that,” Eddie said, grabbing for his normal shampoo and conditioner.
“It says it’s a body wash, conditioner, shampoo, and face wash.” Venom insisted.
“Yeah, that’s the problem. Why would I want to use something on my face and then use it to wash my body?”
“I don’t know, humans do weird shit like that all the time.” Venom offered after a pause.
Eddie had to agree.
Venom let out a barking laugh as Spongebob ran outside frantically to throw out the trash.
“That’s how you do it, Eddie.” Venom teased, pleased as Eddie let out a noise of annoyance.
“The trash outside of our place is paranormal at best, and you know it.”
Eddie felt a smile come to his face, and they watched TV until he felt his eyes close.
He fell asleep with the blanket still on the floor. When he woke, the blanket was tucked neatly around him.