Sick
Eddie woke up and he could feel it, the pressure in his head, the tickle in his throat, his skin clammy, he was sick. He felt sluggish and he had a headache and he was quickly losing the ability to breathe out of his nose. Realizing he was up Venom reached a tendril up to his forehead.
“You're very warm.” They remarked.
“I'm okay.” He was immediately betrayed by a coughing fit.
“Lay back down.”
“Gotta make breakfast.”
“I will make breakfast. You will sit at the table and consume orange juice.”
They leaned over the railing of the crib in their room and Sleeper, already awake, lit up when he saw them.
“Hey Sleeps.” Eddie greeted the baby groggily.
Reaching down his arms were stopped halfway by his other.
“You are too tired, you will probably drop him.” His other said picking the baby up themselves.
It was a short journey from the bedroom upstairs to the kitchen but Eddie still had trouble keeping his eyes all the way open. The kids must have heard them shuffling around because they sleepily came down one at a time. Venom made quick work of the six bowls of cereal and one bottle for Sleeper that was breakfast. They put a large glass of orange juice in front of their husband.
“Drink it.”
Eddie complied and sipped at the acidic beverage, closing his eyes for several moments because it was simply too much work to keep them open at the moment. Carnage narrowed their eyes from across the table, the other kids more focused on their cereal than their parents.
“Whats wrong?” Their oldest was always very perceptive.
“Your father has a cold.” Venom answered.
“But it's warm outside.” Lasher entered the conversation.
“That's not what that means. Your father is sick.”
“Is he dying?!” Phage asked with a look of utter terror on his face.
“Daddy don't die!” Scream jumped up from her chair dramatically.
The other children suddenly looked terrified too.
“I'll be fine.” Eddie said and they all waited for their other parent's answer.
“He won't die. He just needs to rest.” Venom assured them.
They all looked very confused, being symbiotically immune to human illnesses the concept of being sick was entirely foreign. Venom picked up Sleeper and brought the three of them to the couch, all the kids following. Eddie curled up and shivered, rubbing his hands up and down his arms. The children hovered with concern, still not totally convinced that their father hadn't been struck with a life threatening disease that would take him at any second. Even though he was shivering Venom could feel how hot Eddie was. Eddie had been sick before in their time together but it really seemed to be taking it out of him this time.
Eddie felt hazy and a little delirious, he didn't even remember moving from the kitchen to the living room. Glancing to the side he could see their kids watching him with mild terror. He closed his eyes and heard Scream gasp slightly, then he heard his other tell her that he was still fine. Phage climbed onto the couch and spread his amorphous symbiote form over Eddie's stomach, trying his very best to be a good blanket. The other kids enthusiastically copied their brother- even Carnage who usually would rather die than be seen being affectionate with anyone in the family. Soon enough Eddie was covered in a patchwork of different colored symbiotic goo. They weren't exactly big enough to cover him as effectively as an actual blanket would have been but he couldn't care less about that. There had never been so many people (or aliens) in his life who so readily and eagerly wanted to take care of him before. Venom's arms reached out of his back and wrapped themselves around the group securely as Eddie started to doze off. Being sick sucked and he knew he would feel better in the morning but maybe it wasn't all bad if this is what happened when he caught a cold.