Away (Part One)
Being away from their children was always tough but they always got through it.
This, however, was the first time they’d be away from their children for more than just a few hours since the Life Foundation incident with Ms. Drake. It didn’t help at all that they were in San Francisco again either. They came here so Eddie could visit his mother’s grave for the first time in more than ten years. It was just going to be him and Venom but his sister Mary begged and begged for them to bring the children.
Now here they were in the fancy hotel lobby, Eddie and Venom having a very difficult time handing the kids off to Mary and her husband Scott. The little ones were supposed to go to their aunt’s for the night, he and Venom would visit his mother tomorrow morning and they’d all meet back up in the afternoon. It was very easy and straightforward.
But they were finding it to be anything but easy right now. Eddie trusted Mary and they both knew nothing bad would happen to their children with his sister- nothing that would be her fault of course. But bad things happened all the time and they would know, they were in the life saving business. The Life Foundation incident happened with no warning at all and when they least expected it, now it felt like they were always on their toes because of that. They still didn’t know who, if anyone, else his late father had revealed their secret to. They were always looking over their shoulder.
It was much easier to keep their children safe if they were with them.
“Eddie, it’s okay. You just say the word and we’ll bring them back here.” Mary reassured him.
“I just really want to spend some time with my nieces and my nephews.” She added in what he suspected was a soft guilt trip.
“I-I know. I know.” He nodded and reluctantly passed Sleeper over to her.
She gladly took the baby who was waving his little arms and legs around in every direction- apparently he wasn’t having a hard time with this at all.
“Venom.” Mary stated neutrally.
The kids had all hugged Eddie’s legs to say goodbye to their parents and Venom summoned their ink tendrils to hug them all back. Venom was still holding them all and had yet to let go even after several minutes.
Just as reluctantly as Eddie, they loosened their grasp and let their spawn go to their aunt.
“I am...struggling with this.” They admitted only to Eddie.
“Me too, V. Me too.” He replied silently.
“Sleeper eats every four hours.” Eddie blurted out to Mary just get them all to stay a second longer.
“I know he does.” She answers in a cutesy baby voice as she nuzzles into Sleeper.
“And the older kids have to go to bed by 10.”
“I know they do.” She affirms.
“And make sure Sleeper gets a bath before bed because it helps him fall asleep.”
“I know.” She nodded.
“And Lasher likes the crust cut off his sandwiches but Phage and Carnage don’t.”
“Got it.”
“And-”
“Eddie!” She stopped him, annoyed.
He shut up knowing his little trick stopped working and Mary started walking backwards and putting space between them as she prepared to leave with the kids. Scott laughed as Scream and Agony babbled on and on to him about something and grabbed his hands.
“Say bye-bye to Daddy, Sleeper.” Mary encouraged.
“Ba-ba!” Sleeper said happily as Mary waved his hand at them.
And then they were gone, Eddie and Venom left standing in the hotel lobby and fidgeting slightly. They decided as the sun started to go down to go criminal hunting to distract themselves from how much they missed their kids and how worried they both were. Devouring a few criminals tonight would decrease the number of possible people that could harm their children and that helped put their minds at a little bit of ease- not much though.
Coming upon a familiar old street they ducked into a familiar old convenience store.
“Hey Ms. Chen.” Eddie greeted the older woman behind the counter.
“Eddie?” Ms. Chen was surprised to see them.
“You still look like shit.” She said bluntly as he approached the counter.
“Thank you.” He nodded.
“Where is Venom?”
“Here.” Venom supplied, knowing they wouldn’t scare her.
“You two are still together.” Her smile was a small one but they could tell she was genuinely happy.
“Not just together, there are more of us now.”
She looked confused and vaguely concerned before Venom stole Eddie’s phone out of his pocket to start showing her pictures of all their little ones. Venom didn’t get the chance to show off their kids to new people very often but they loved doing it, even more so than Eddie. Before having children Eddie never would have pegged Venom for the excitable, proud father type but they definitely were. Always bragging about their spawn to anyone they could trust.
“They’re cute...too cute to be Eddie’s. Are you sure they’re his?” She commented as she flipped through the dozens and dozens of family pictures on his phone.
“Very.” Eddie could hear the pride in their voice.
“Down on the ground!!” They were all suddenly being screamed at by a man in a ski mask pointing a gun at them. He was holding whatever he was stealing under one arm and holding the gun with his other shaking hand. They seriously doubted he would actually hit either of them if he pulled the trigger because of how much he was shaking.
“Get down!” The man was very thrown off at the fact that none of them were moving.
He scrambled backwards and ran for the door, knocking over a rack of chips on his way out.
“Now I have to clean that up.” Ms. Chen said flatly.
“We got him.” Eddie told her, they could use some fun.
A little petty theft was nothing to kill the guy for but they were bored enough to scare a little sense into him. Venom overtook him and he could feel his other’s giddy excitement and they started to chase the robber. The perpetrator ran in a way that only panicky people who had never done anything illegal before always ran. He clearly didn’t have any sort of plan because he tired himself out and came to a panting halt, leaning against a wall and out of breath.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please don’t eat me!” The man cried and held his hands up in front of his face.
Venom’s grin grew wider, glad that they still had a reputation in San Francisco even after a few years away. They leaned in until they were hovering inches over his face. Venom’s sharp teeth are a lot scarier up close.
“Oh God, the Demon of San Francisco is gonna rip out my bones.” The man was sniveling and crying uncontrollably as they loomed over him.
“Okay V, finish your fun. What did he steal anyways?” Eddie asked, starting to feel bad for the guy.
Venom huffed, apparently not totally done terrifying this guy yet. But he was clearly very sorry and they politely ignored his now wet jeans. Venom reached out and took the stolen items still under the man’s arm and inspected them. It was baby formula and a pack of diapers.
“I’m sorry! I’ve never done anything like this before! Th-The gun isn’t even real.” He held the piece up to show them and it was obviously fake from this distance.
“My wife and I just had a baby and I lost my job right before she was born. My wife knows we don’t have very much money but she doesn’t know its this bad.” He admitted.
Eddie sighed and he could feel that Venom felt a little guilty for their earlier taunting.
“Having kids making ya a little soft, V?” Eddie asked cheekily.
“Of course not.”
“What’s her name? Your baby, I mean.” Eddie asked.
“Uh, Isabel. Her name is Isabel.” He answered, still terrified.
“Here,” Eddie fumbled for his wallet as Venom receded back into him, the man looking shocked that the infamous Demon of San Francisco was (at least partly) just a regular guy. “Take this and get what you need for Isabel. Maybe not at the place you just robbed though.” Eddie handed the man the cash from his wallet.
The man cried and thanked them and then cried some more. Back at the hotel Eddie just found that their little run in with the inexperienced dad who was willing to get eaten by Venom for his baby just made him think even more about how much he missed his own babies. Then as if by some work of fate his phone buzzed. Venom enthusiastically grabbed it and shoved it in his face to answer. It was his sister texting to request a video chat so he hurriedly set up his laptop on the bed.
“Hi Daddies!” Agony appeared on the laptop screen in a pixelated purple blur from being way too close.
“Hello princess.” Venom grinned at her blurry state until Mary pulled her back a little.
Behind the blur that was their eldest daughter were her siblings all gathered around Mary and smiling and giggling- apparently they were having a very fun time with their aunt. Even Sleeper had a big smile, though he was less wiggly than before.
“Papa! Mama!” Sleeper excitedly called for them and Eddie’s heart ached. His baby was right there but somewhere else entirely, too far to touch or hold.
“What’s he wearing?” Eddie asked his sister.
Sleeper was dressed in a very soft looking onesie- light blue complete with little white elephants covering the whole thing.
“Baby pajamas! Aren’t they adorable?” Mary answered him.
“Mary, Sleeps doesn’t need clothes. We would have sent him with them if he did.” He explained.
“I know he doesn’t need them but look how cute they are on him! I bought a bunch.” She cuddled the baby and he squealed happily in response.
“Aunt Mary bought us dresses too! And new toys!” Scream interjected.
Eddie just smiled, she was really spoiling them but he should have expected as much. They kept video chatting until excited little faces turned into sleepy little faces. The kids were getting more tired by the second but neither Eddie nor Venom could bring themselves to end the call. Finally, Mary had to end it because she knew if she didn’t Eddie and Venom would babble on all night just to keep their eyes on the little ones.
They reclined on the plush hotel bed and tried to relax, knowing full well that Eddie would be waking up every four hours like clockwork to feed Sleeper even if Sleeper wasn’t actually there.
“Miss them, Eddie.”
“So do I. Things are kind of boring without them.”
“Quiet.”
“Really quiet.”
They both just sighed in the silence of their mind numbingly boring hotel room.
It was going to be a long several hours until tomorrow afternoon.