Shame
“Do you mind?”
Eddie jumped a little, the woman’s shrill voice grated on his brain like nails down a chalkboard. They didn’t get much rest last night. Sleeper was up all night so they were too- most of their life was dictated by their infant son these days.
“I’m sorry?” He asked, he didn’t really catch the first part of what she said...If she said anything.
The woman talking to him was on the other end of the park bench he was sitting on, she definitely wasn’t there when he sat down so she must have just shown up while he was zoned out.
“I said, do you mind? That is obscene.”
He wasn’t really sure what she was so mad about, the only time he usually could be considered obscene was when his other was devouring someone or when he was...sleepwalking, as Venom so affectionately called it. But they weren’t doing any maiming of any sort right now. It was a nice day and they were at the park and he was feeding Sleeper. That’s all-
Oh.
He was feeding Sleeper.
“Do that in private.” She huffed at him again before angrily getting up and leaving to sit on another bench.
She wasn’t the first person and she definitely wouldn’t be the last to give him shit for taking care of his baby in public, he was just glad it didn’t bother him like it once did.
Carnage was still impossibly tiny- only a week or two old- when it first happened.
They had officially run out of food in the apartment so a trip to the grocery store was becoming pressingly necessary. But at Venom’s strong insistence (read: whining) they decided to get something to eat for themselves on the way. It was pouring rain so they found a restaurant that was between their place and the grocery store to duck in to. They already didn’t get off to a great start with the staff since Venom ordered half the menu which only doubled their workload. Their waiter was already visibly displeased with having a customer who had them running back and forth so much between two appetizers, two milkshakes, three full entrees and what was shaping up to be three different desserts.
Carnage, who had been spending the little trip going between drifting in and out of sleep and observing the big wide world with equally big wide eyes, suddenly wasn’t happy doing either of those things and started to fuss and whine and squirm in their carseat. Neither Eddie nor Venom knew why Anne insisted on buying a carseat when they didn’t have a car but they understood it after she demonstrated to them that it snaps in and out of the accompanying stroller. As always, she was right and the carseat/stroller had become a lifesaver, especially for outings like this.
“What’s wrong, buddy?” Eddie asked peeking inside the carseat.
Poor little Carnage responded by whimpering and waving their fists around clumsily- they didn’t have much coordination yet so he couldn’t tell if they were trying to reach for something or just expressing frustration.
“We are eating. They are probably hungry too.”
Venom was probably right, the kid had an appetite just as insatiable as their father’s and wasn't shy about it, Carnage ate every three hours and got very vocal if that schedule wasn’t kept. Eddie scooped their fussy little baby out of the carseat and cradled them close, the contact already calming them down. A stray bunch of tentacles slithered across the vinyl seat to where the diaper bag sat next to them and pulled the zipper open.
“Bad news.”
He looked over to where Venom was holding the bag open, the three bottles inside had all lost their caps and spilled all over the place- soaking the interior with milk and leaving them bottleless. As they both frantically searched the bag for one possible bottle left unscathed Carnage started to cry.
“Itsokayitsokayitsokay.” Eddie rattled off, patting them and trying to soothe them while trying to fix the problem at the same time.
He sighed heavily, he was just going to have to feed Carnage here. He’d never fed their little one anywhere other than home before. He almost didn’t want to. He knew it was weird enough that he carried Carnage and had the stretch marks to prove it. He didn’t even know he was gonna have to nurse the kid until after they arrived. Apparently Venom didn’t consider that important enough to mention ahead of time. In fact, Venom was incredibly laid back about all of this stuff.
“Most of the species on this planet feed their young this way. It is not unusual.”
“Yeah? Then why don’t you do it.”
“I am not equipped. My species never has to feed their own offspring. Spawn are mature from birth and can care for themselves. Our darling little Carnage’s current state of helplessness comes from you...No offense.”
Eddie just grumbled a nondescript response as he slipped his arm out of his T-shirt sleeve and settled Carnage in the crook of his arm.
That’s all it took- Carnage latched on and was content as could be now.
Well, until they were startled by the sharp sound of the plate being rather carelessly dropped on the table by their waiter. The man looked annoyed, even more so than he did before.
“Can’t you do that in the restroom?” He asked curtly.
“What?”
“That.” He repeated, gesturing to Carnage who was looking a little annoyed again.
Eddie stared dumbly until he figured out what the waiter meant and then he was so embarrassed he couldn’t even speak as his face flushed red and warm. He suddenly felt like everyone was looking at him and that he was doing something he really wasn’t supposed to be doing and then Carnage started to cry again because he’d pulled them away from his chest. All the sudden it felt like everything was too much and he bolted to the bathroom.
“Eddie what is wrong?”
“Nothing.” He said shortly.
“I do not understand, why was that man angry about Carnage?”
The very small bathroom was filthy: grime and streaks covered the mirror and sharpie and carved graffiti covered the walls, the light flickered while the floor was mysteriously wet and slippery. Eddie closed the toilet seat so he could sit down. When he did, he saw that the lock on the door was broken so he had to brace his foot against the door to make sure it stayed closed.
“It’s just...a lot of people think that you shouldn’t feed your baby in public...like that..”
“I still do not understand. Do not all humans feed their offspring this way? Carnage can not feed themselves, they are too small.”
“Yeah, most women feed their babies like that. But a lot of people don’t want to see it.”
“That is stupid.”
Carnage fussed and kicked in his arms again, unhappy with their dads' attention being divided.
“That man can not stop us from taking care of our child, Eddie. No one can.”
Eddie sighed, his heart was still racing and his face still felt hot.
"Carnage must eat. They rely on us for everything, Eddie. Is Carnage not more important than what others think?"
He could feel himself come down a little. Venom was right, Carnage was more important than anything else and his little one needed him.
"And I don't mean to 'beat a dead horse' as your kind would say, but the Eddie I fell in love with doesn't care what anyone thinks of him. Especially not when he is doing what is right."
The two of them looked down at Carnage, whose appetite wasn't at all curbed by the disgusting bathroom they were in judging by how fast they latched back on. They did rely on them for everything. He decided that Venom was right and no one was going to stop him from taking care of their baby. Ever.
“Mama!”
Eddie was pulled from his reminiscing by Sleeper demanding his attention. Apparently he was done eating and that woman from earlier was long gone. He could feel Venom grin as they wiped a drop of stray milk from the corner of Sleeper’s mouth. Eddie smiled too and brought Sleeper up under his chin for adequate snuggles.