Chapter 3
"Oh Jerome, why do you have to be so brave?"
"I do it just for you, Sophia,"
"But why? What makes me so important to you? You're a sea captain and I'm--"
"Hush, just let me love you,"
"It took them two hours and twenty three minutes of flirting for them to just kiss?! Outrageous!"
If Eddie was asked to name the place where he felt the most serene, he would definitely evoke the place he was in right now: laying across the couch with Venom, watching an old romance movie that was so bad it was brilliant. Everything from the script to the film angles would be awful, it would be a little chilly outside, and quickly approaching midnight. The best part, however, was that the symbiote would always become so latched on to the film that if anything went wrong, he would become instantly enraged.
"Why did the ship have the crash then?! Why didn't he steer it away!? Imbecile! I could eat him!"
Drama was definitely Venoms favourite genre by far, which was fine by Eddie. He had to admit that seeing the alien so intrigued by something so inferior was... Quite adorable. It was like watching a cat play with a laser point on the wall.
"You know it's just a movie, right? It's all for dramatic effect," he yawned.
"I'm aware, but do they have to be this pathetic?"
Eddie smiled, checking the time on his phone. 12:16am, a bit later than he had expected.
"Hey, V, I'm getting pretty tired now... And my headache is starting to come back--"
"Fifteen minutes. We can wait,"
Oh well, at least he wasn't shivering and coughing anymore, he thought.
Come to think of it, Eddie realised that the couch was probably more comfortable than his bed anyway. He wasn't overheated like he was last night, but he was warm. Because of Venom, Eddie always felt more hot than cold (much like today, only it was unbalanced at times). It was a weird reminder that he was still a human being and not half E.T. .
The archetypal couple in the film kissed again, this time for much longer. Eddie sensed a heatwave of passion strike his chest. He had strayed away from romance movies for months after his breakup with Anne, and planned to keep it that way... That is until a couple of hours ago when Venom talked him into watching one. It was quite ironic. Intially, the symbiote refused to pay attention to humans giving each other affection, but Eddie supposed the whole thing had grown on him overtime.
As his eyes became fixated on the onscreen couple, Eddie became aware of a tendril curling around his torso, reaching up to softly cup his face. He bit down on his tongue and jerked his head away from the TV.
"You like this," Venom whispered, teasing.
Eddie didn't say anything. What was the point anyway? It wasn't like he could hide his thoughts. And besides, it did feel nice...
Venom raised his head via another tendril, smiling wide with his habitual wickedness.
"Eddie. Eddieee, look at me."
He leaned down very close to his host's face, borderline touching him.
"Don't try to hide what you're feeling, I can see it."
Eddie finally made eye contact with him, a faint crimson blush creeping across his face. He could swear he was being pushed deeper into the couch.
"Oh yeah? And what I have been feeling?" He challenged, a little nervous.
"Am I really obliged to say?"
"Yeah... Yeah, you tell me,"
"I'll tell you how you feel... You like what I do, Eddie. You like how I caress you..."
As if to emphasize this, the tendril cupping Eddie's face began to caress him softly, he groaned and closed his eyes, unsure whether to feel embarassed or content.
"You long for affection, like so many others. That's nothing to be ashamed of..."
"Woah, I've never heard you try to validate my feelings... Are you feeling well?" Eddie laughed. Venom moved the tendril over his mouth to silence him.
"As long as you are.... Does this feel nice?"
He expanded his treacly looking form over Eddie's own, wrapping him in what seemed like his own version of a blanket. Eddie gave in and sighed contentedly, having been unable to hold it in anymore.
"Yeah, its warm..."
"Then I suppose you wouldn't mind this,"
Eddie's heart jumped with anticipation at these words. For heaven's sake, what was he going to do now? Would it be like that kiss in the forest?
Venom extended another two tendrils, which held a tenacious grip on Eddies shoulders as the buzz of the film's ending began to fade away in the background. Eddie's breath hitched in his throat as Venom leaned in even closer, planting a small, loving kiss on his lips and nuzzling closely, much like he did the previous night. Eddie leaned into the kiss, finding strength in his arm so he could reach the symbiote, feeling him purr contentedly under his hand as they held each other close.
It is typically said that a million thoughts run through a person's mind when someone holds them close, but for Eddie, there were only two things on his mind. One, he was starting to feel like crap again, and two, he had realised something he hadn't realised before.
"Venom, I --"
"I know," the symbiote interrupted. "I've known that since I saved your ass from Carlton Drake."
How Venom knew what this felt like? Eddie didn't know, and he didn't question it either. It was much too late to be thinking about that sort of stuff anyways. He began to drift off peacefully, Venoms form still wrapped around him. A previously foreign joy was running through his system over and over again, and he hoped that that feeling would stay forever... But it was only a matter of time before Venom would speak up again.
"Eddie, we need to go to Chen's,"
"Ugghh, why?"
"I saw in the fridge... We're running low on tater tots,".