The sun rays were getting through the huge crystal-clear windows, and yet somehow, the room seemed rather cool compared to the summer day outside the Avengers tower. At the current moment, there were ninety-seven degrees fahrenheit in New York, and both Eddie and Venom were glad the building had air conditioning.
"So..." the reporter began to say, clearing his throat while his eyes focused on the small notepad clutched in his hands. He couldn't stop his index finger from pushing the pencil against the paper, going back and forth while leaving small grey dots all over the white texture. He was clearly nervous - although he didn't even know the reason behindit - and the clatter of the tip only fueled the unpleasant feeling. His pupils finally fixed and focused on the floor, quickly rising the attention to the known Samuel Thomas Wilson sitting in front of him.
"Falcon, huh?" he asked, a small chuckle escaping his dry lips as he licked them shortly after. "Yes," simply replied the other, this as a smile of circumstance danced on his charming face. For a human, the symbiont inside Eddie found his look rather appealing.
"And now you're like- what- Captain America's heir?" his question sounded scornful but he didn't intend it that way. Ok, maybe he didn't mean it as harsh as it looked to the new superhero leading the Avengers.
"I wouldn't put it like that," said Sam.
"O-of course," Eddie stumbled on his own tongue, "I mean, you're now the reference point of everybody working here." He managed to recover. Pussy, someone commented at the falter, uncaring of his own unkind words. Oh c'mon, Eddie quickly thought, having known for quite a long time by now that it was the best to not use his voice. Not when he talked to his mate anyway.
"Remind me why I accepted this interview-" Sam was soon cut off- "hey guys!" Peter's presence was preceded by a twang coming from the elevator. He worn a grin as he approached the two grown men, casual clothes being his outfit with a backpack as an accessory. Eddie would be lying if he said that the boy's intrusion didn't get his attention. For a brief moment, he was lost in the view of the teeneger as he walked closer to Sam. Venom was drawn by his appearance too, it seemed.
"What do you want?" the dark's man tone transpired nuisance, as he was clearly annoyed by the interruption.
"Sorry to bother," the young man sensed it on his skin; "Mr. Barnes asked me to tell you he needs your help," he tried to explain dryly, "he's in the gym," he added. His brown orbs moved from Sam and settled on Eddie's figure, his eyelids widening a bit at the sight of the handsome man. The latter tensed up when he noticed the boy's eyes on him. Cute, Venom declared, voice as smug as his entire personality was. Not now, the reporter pleaded as he couldn't focus on both Peter's unnerving gaze, and his partner's big dick energy.
"Wait- you're Eddie Brock, right?" the young fellow hero asked out of nowhere. There was a gleam enlightening his warm brown eyes as he realized that. "Yes?" the reporter confirmed hesitant, his throat closing a bit as he sensed the symbiont inside him threaten to envelope his body. Venom was eager to meet the tiny human in front of them.
"I'm like- a BIG fan!" Peter's voice faltered as he stated that. "I-I read your articles online," he added, stuttering sheepishly.
A smile soon found Eddie's lips as he thought the young one was cute, kinda like a puppy or his partner: the impolite alien. As far as he's been in the 'news' career, he yet had to meet someone who actively followed his work, and loved it to the point to call themselves a fan as well. He was kinda proud of his work, and couldn't therefore hide the smirk he - unconsciously - gifted to the boy.
"Oh, I guess you two have a lot of things to talk about," Sam interrupted the scene, his eyes rolling to the little show Peter was making up, as usual. He still remembered how their first encounter seemed more like two old friends meeting in a bar, chatting about their stressful day while drinking a glass of beer, instead of a fight. Falcon was sure he wouldn't get over it any time soon, as the thought to talk so casually while fighting felt ridiculous. "If you'll excuse me," Sam stood from his chair, "I have to deal with the Summer Pacifist in the gym."
In a matter of seconds, the new captain was gone, vanished behind the doors closing after him. Silence raised in the air as Peter stayed there paralized, now left alone with one of the people he almost idolized. Almost... of course. "So," Eddie decided to break the ice, "you're a hero too?" he asked curious. The younger one nodded eagerly before realizing his own mistake. He was supposed to keep his identity hidden after the incident with Mysterio. His eyes quickly diverted to look out of the window.
"It's nothing serious," said Peter, hoping to look like just an assisant and nothing more.
"Let me think..." Brock's right hand was brought to his chin as he eyed the teenager, trying to guess who he could possibly be. Then, there was the spark that activated his brain cells. Ithad to be him! "Oh... SPIDER BOY!" the man shouted without thinking twice, to which he received an equally loud reply. "IT'S SPIDER-MAN!" Peter rapidly covered his mouth, shutting his stupid brain up.
Even if there was excitement in Eddie's eyes, the young boy seemed to the edge to run away. His cheeks were red from embarrassment and shame, and yet he managed to stay still and not move a feet torward the elevator. He was strong, and not only physically. Or at least he hoped so.
The tiny little spider~ Venom sang in Eddie's mind, longing to get out of his mate and tightly hug the smaller human. After all that happened with Iron man's death and Quentin Beck, the hero soon began to play an important role in the Avengers squad. He was young and strong, followed by the fellow teenegers and seen as an icon among them. The symbiont bonded to Eddie grew fond of him, as his nature seemed to awake from a deep slumber each time he saw the spider in action. His black and squishy being ached to meet him as violent throbs heated it. His mate wasn't a tactile person, but the alien wished he was so that they could touch the superhero. There was no explanation to let a human understand why Venom dreamed to touch Peter, to pet him or squeeze him into his brawny arms. He simply craved to do so; and somehow, the connection he shared with Eddie, let the man get it as well. The feeling they felt was no dissimilar from the need to cherish a dog.
The two males stared at each other for what seemed an eternity, and yet only seconds passed before something snapped inside Eddie's mind. "You know," he began to say, a smile playing on his lips. "I'd like to interview you, too," he proposed without a second thought. A shy light brightened the mood in Peter's eyes as he frantically nodded, eager to get something so special as an interview by his personal 'hero'.
"Y-yeah, I would like th-that!" The excitement was palpable in the boy's young voice.
"Cool, have a seat." Eddie pointed to the empty chair where Sam previously sat.
The superhero lowered his back onto the comfortable seat, while he folded his hands in his own lap. The nervousness grew incredibly fast within his body as he waited, looking at the reporter while he shoved back a piece of paper to get a new blank page. "So," he mumbled, his orbs darting upward as he looked at Peter.
"The first thing, of course, is to ask about your powers," he asked nonchalantly, "what do you exactly do?"
"I-I'm strong," the teeneger said nervously.
"Yeah, beside that."
"Well, I'm sticky- and I sense the danger, like, I get this feeling wh-when there’s a dangerous situation!"
For a brief moment there was the silence filling the space in between the two, as Eddie carefully wrote Peter's words on his notepad. "What else?" he questioned while still using the pencil. The young one stared confused, not knowing whether he should've mentioned his web-shooters.
"I guess I swing through the buildings," he added awkwardly.
"Obviously."
Eddie lifted his eyes from the piece of paper, having his unfocused pupils on Peter before getting his attention back to him. We wanna hold him. Tight. A deep voice in his mind lamented. "Let's talk of how you became a superhero," he said quickly, trying to distract himself from the fact that Venom urged to get out. The reporter didn't even know why his partner yearned to meet Spider-man, but even if he knew, he wouldn't let Peter discover the alien's existence.
From all of a sudden, Peter began to fidget with his fingers. His eyes were low on the floor and he looked troubled by a thought. Look, Venom spoke up as he let his human notice the boy's behavior. If it wasn't for the symbiont, Eddie wouldn't have probably noticed it at all.
"Huh..."
"I see. What about I ask you something else?" he asked friendly, empathy showing in his voice.
"Hmm... yeah."
The brown haired man thought about it for a few seconds before coming up with another topic. "Tell me what happened with Quentin Back," he demanded, his pencil ready to mark every word on the notepad. The boy's shoulders dropped as he leaned into his seat. It looked like Eddie went for the right choice.
"At first, he came to the Shield; claiming to be a superhero from another dimension," Peter relaxed as he said that, explaining calmly the origin of the villain. "He said his name was Mysterio," he added, "after the blip, we thought it was plausible- you know?" His tone changed in a matter of seconds after the little slip it previously had.
"Obviously. Who would question someone with those powers," Eddie noted, his eyes focused on the paper as he wrote.
"Actually, he used holograms to pretend he could fly and such." Peter was fast to add.
"Right. And so, what happened next?"
"He... he manipulated me into giving him E.D.I.T.H, a-and I thought it was the right thing to do." The boy's voice faltered as his gaze lost somewhere over the pavement. His eyes began to sting as he tried to not let the emotions play him. Peter didn't want to cry in front of Eddie, not there and not ever. Although the grown adult seemed to notice something was wrong, he decided against saying anything.
"I believed Mr. Stark wanted me to decide who was worth to have the glasses," Peter hesitated for a moment, his bottom lip quivering as he tried to formulate the next phrase.
"But I failed him..." he admitted bitterly.
For several seconds that seemed like an eternity to the young one, there was not a single sound coming from either of them. Peter felt his heart exploding in his chest, pumping the blood so fast that he was afraid he'd run out of it. A single tear streamed out of the corner of his eye, as it fell over his lap due to the gravity. And then, two strong and - very - wide arms wrapped around his lean figure. He quickly looked up, with great difficulty as the chest pressing against him was preventing him from moving, and saw a pair of completely white eyes boring into his brown ones.
"It's okay little spider, you will not fail us~" said the creature with his deep and scaring voice.
In any other situation, Peter would've been scared to find something- someone so big in front of him. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to care and seek an explanation, as all he wanted was to enjoy the warm hug that the symbiont was giving him.