Chapter Text
Several months had passed since the happy quartet had tied the knot... At least in the eyes of the law, Eddie Brock and Steven Grant were married. After the wedding, Anne Weying and Dan Lewis stayed in London for at least another week in a nice hotel they had booked for their stay at Eddie's wedding.
Since they got married, they decided to live together, which relieved the three human identities in the relationship in a monetary sense, although they still had to worry about the symbiote's hunger. It was an apartment big enough for Eddie's previous one and in a better neighborhood, as evidenced by the fact that they no longer heard the pipes creaking all the time. They had postponed their honeymoon for the sake of their finances and to save up to go further, but now they are far from thinking about that, as Marc and Steven suspect their spouses of strange behavior over the last month.
It had been two months since the wedding, and now they were in even bigger trouble. Eddie and his symbiote had not stopped behaving strangely. On the human's part, every time he heard them nearby or was talking on the phone, he would hide it, change the conversation, ignore the situation, but neither Steven nor Marc were fools; they knew something was wrong with their now husband. On the symbiote's part, every time they tried to talk to him about what was happening with Eddie, he would always evade the question or directly return to his host's body.
They didn't get any answers and only generated more questions...
That was until Eddie mentioned that morning, somewhat hurriedly, that he had to leave quickly. He just changed his sweater and ran out of there. They didn't give any further explanation about where they were going or why they were in such a rush; they just left.
Marc had so many doubts about what had been going on with his parents over the last month, but he preferred to ignore it because they trusted them. Steven felt anxious, but having Marc by his side made him feel accompanied, because he knew he wasn't the only one who felt bad, even though Marc didn't show it in the same way he did.
The hours passed and evening came, by which time he had worried enough that he didn't know what else to do. They took care of the housework, entertained themselves on their cell phones, tried not to call Eddie in case he was busy, made dinner, and none of that was enough to calm their anxiety about what was happening, because the evening passed very quickly and when they realized it, it was already nighttime.
Although they trusted them, they couldn't help having those intrusive thoughts telling them that their husbands were involved in an affair, and so every time they approached them while they were talking on the phone, they preferred to hang up. They tried not to think about it, but their attitude made them suspect that there was someone else... A thought that had originated with Marc.
It wasn't that Steven was an insecure person, but he was trying to keep Marc calm. He was aware that when he got angry, he could be quite dangerous, and he didn't think he had a solid reason to go to such extremes.
They had no choice but to call Eddie on his cell phone, but there was one detail: something was ringing inside the house, a barely audible buzzing, as if something were covering it but not enough to prevent him from detecting it. Without thinking, Steven began desperately searching through the clothes in Eddie's closet, pulling them out little by little. When his call was disconnected, he redialed the number, hearing the buzzing again, a little louder this time. With that, he began pulling out clothes by the handful until he found something flying out, realizing it was Eddie's cell phone. The phone continued to ring until it went dead again.
Marc couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was true, Eddie was hiding something from them, and they were sure it was someone else, because the last time they even managed to hear anything, it was a female voice, and then the call was hung up when she heard them nearby. Everything was clear and true. With other people's clothes scattered everywhere, he walked over to the mirror next to the double bed, seeing Marc's reflection in it as he looked at the cell phone. Everything clicked into place for them.
At that moment, they began to recap everything they had given up for them, everything they had changed in their lives for them. Rejecting Khonshu was a mistake that at the time they considered the best decision of their lives. They could even continue to believe that, but now they weren't thinking about that. because now they wanted the powers to be able to take revenge on them. They didn't care how strong they were as Venom; they wanted to be respected, but without Khonshu, they were just humans with dissociative identity disorder. They were nothing.
Without further ado, Steven let the overthinking overcome him.
— He lied to us… — said Steven Grant, his voice breaking.
— They'll pay for this. — Marc Spector was burning with hatred as he let his tears run down his face.
— Lo mataré. — said Jake Lockley as he wiped away the tears shed by Marc.
The human had gone through so many mood swings in such a short time, starting with the fact that Marc couldn't face his reality when he saw that Steven refused to physically face what was happening. Marc hid in the back of his mind, taking his counterpart with him and letting the third person in the body come out.
Now that Jake was in complete control of the body, he began to tidy up the clothes that had been scattered on the floor.
He saw no need to leave a mess in the house; he didn't want to arouse suspicion in case Eddie returned. Everything had to be discreet. — Ellos volverán… o tal vez no, par de imbéciles. — Jake only saw himself in the mirror's reflection, adjusting his trench coat and fixing his hair, sporting his characteristic mustache and ready to go.
— Come on, you can't waste your time like this. — He heard Khonshu speaking behind him, but he didn't pay any attention. — If you became my avatar, you'd find them faster and you could defeat them faster. —
— Que no, puta madre, ya te dije que no y puedo hacerlo yo solo. No soy como los otros idiotas. — Jake was sick of having to listen to the stupid bird every time it took control.
He didn't care how long it would take him to find them, human and symbiote. He knew how to kill them both separately, and he was even going to torture them at the same time to cause them not only physical pain, but emotional pain as well.
Jake never agreed with his alter egos getting married, especially to a weird guy who had a brain-eating alien in his ass, but he had no choice. It was still a secret to everyone else, and if he wanted to keep his peace of mind, he would have to stay that way for a while longer. The moment they got married, he no longer had time for himself, because sleeping with his blissful husband would make it look suspicious if Marc or Steven got up in the middle of the night full of energy, wearing different clothes, and going out on the street. That was definitely not an option, so sometimes he took advantage of when the others were away and asleep to take control and do his own work.
Now, even though he had managed to attach some importance to Eddie and Venom in his life, he had not the slightest love or affection for them, and with what had happened now, he would be even less likely to think of them with a shred of appreciation. Anyone would think that because he was Jake, he wouldn't feel anything for them, but it was quite the opposite. They were special in his life in an indirect way, and the fact that they had been betrayed gave him enough reason to kill them. He wouldn't do it if he hadn't taken it seriously.
— Siempre supe que eran idiotas, lo confirme cuando Marc se divorcio y Steven ayudó a confirmarlo cuando aceptaron casarse con esa bolsa de basura. — He cautiously left the apartment, not wanting anyone to see him leave and ask him questions.
— You can't blame them, they just felt so much... You know, that disgusting feeling that you humans feel so much. — Khonshu was waiting for him at the exit door.
Jake ignored him and continued on his way. — Te importa una mierda si somos sentimentales o no, déjame en paz. —
— Well, you're clearly the most sentimental one, look at yourself.— Now he was standing on top of a building, staring into the distance. — You're going to go find them, torture them, and kill them just because you're so sentimental about the other two. — Khonshu was mocking him, but Jake didn't care.
Now he had a mission, and that was to destroy those two no matter what.
He would have to prepare a mental strategy for when he found them. He couldn't just go and attack them now that he thought about it, much less if he wanted to torture them in every way possible. Mapping out routes was the easiest part. He did it all the time when he was in control. Trying to map out routes while pretending to be someone else could be difficult, considering he had no idea where to start.
As he left the building, he remained firm, as Marc would have done. He didn't want to arouse suspicion and have someone ask him anything, whatever the neighbors did to them.
He had always imagined them as neighbors who pretended to be nice to everyone and then locked themselves in their apartment and spoke ill of everyone.
He didn't have time to think about that kind of thing. He had to concentrate on finding Eddie Brock.
— Are you going to refer to him as “Eddie” again? — The Egyptian deity continued to harass him in the middle of the street.
— Deja de molestar. — Jake began to walk faster as if that would help him escape from Khonshu.
Not even when they had to face Arthur had he tried so hard. Come to think of it, he hadn't done anything except save Marc and Steven a couple of times and then just show up and kill him, but at least now he could enjoy the thrill of hunting his prey.
— Who would have thought that infidelity would affect you so much? — Khonshu let out a huge laugh as he finished speaking.
Jake heard him, ignored him, and kept walking, although he seemed to have a point, since infidelity is a betrayal, and the reason he wanted to kill them was to betray them and, more specifically, to humiliate them.
They were already used to betrayal, it was part of their daily lives, always on a different scale, but this time was different, the humiliation of having been vulnerable to them, of being in constant danger and still taking advantage of that to use them.
Unacceptable.
And Jake would let them know.
Since leaving home, he can assure you that he is quite far from finding Edward Brock, as she has found no clues nearby that indicate where he might be. On the contrary, he didn't even have any clues before beginning her search.
He was relying solely on her instincts, because he would rather circle the entire United Kingdom 15 times than ask Khoshu for help. He would never submit to him or anyone else.
He has been to most of the tourist hotels in London and has seen nothing to suggest that the husband of his alter egos was there. He not only visited those areas, but also the surrounding areas, hidden places, and no matter how much he asked the women on the street corners, none of them paid him the slightest attention.
There were few of them, discreet enough not to be arrested, but even so, they preferred to make up any lie rather than allow Jake to exchange a word with them.
Little by little, he was getting closer to the tourist area, because if he wasn't there, then he was a bastard who didn't want to be found by anyone. But when he arrived, it seemed that word had already spread that a strange man was lurking around the place. His peculiar appearance caught the attention of everyone there, as he seemed dangerous from the way he walked to the way he looked, and it seemed that he was carrying weapons in his clothes because of the extra noise he made when walking.
There were so many reasons to distrust him, but the reality was simpler than that: women didn't approach him because of one small, almost unnoticeable detail.
— Check your stupid hands. — Khonshu told him, and although he couldn't see him, he heard him say it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Jake listened to him for once, and as soon as he checked, he realized why they weren't paying him any attention. There was a beautiful ring there. — Idiotas. — He snorted, then took it off and put it in the inside pocket of his trench coat. — Que acostumbrado está mi cuerpo a tenerlo que no lo había notado. —
The only reason the workers didn't approach him was because he was wearing a wedding ring, and the last thing they wanted was trouble. If they hadn't seen the ring, they could at least have feigned ignorance and said they didn't know he was married, but now they had no choice but to ignore Jake.
He didn't listen to the Egyptian deity again, continuing on his way, walking through other, slightly busier areas in case the human trash and the alien trash decided to go out with some high-class woman, or even if it wasn't just a woman but also a man. In either case, if he caught them in the act, it would be much more interesting and fun for him, shameful and weak, just how he wants to catch them.
For a moment, he thought he had found him, as a similar scent reached him. He searched for him among the crowd, unable to see him with the naked eye, so he trusted his sense of smell to follow him. There he was. He approached him until he touched his shoulder, and as soon as he turned around, it was Eddie... If he were more handsome, in Jake's own words.
Khonshu let out a laugh that echoed in the human's head. Realizing that he wasn't the one he was looking for, he apologized and quickly left.
He was about to give up after such embarrassment, almost hitting the guy just because of a misunderstanding. He even reconsidered the fact that it was infidelity. Maybe Steven and Marc were exaggerating because they were insecure, and he just believed them blindly. Maybe they were at home now, and Jake was far away. Maybe it was time to go home.
Now Jake found himself against the wall of a mysteriously clean alley. Now thinking about what else he would do since he had no sign of him, he was lost to him and had to go back before Marc took control again, and it would be worse if Steven was the one who woke up first, because he would panic and little by little they would connect the dots as they hadn't done before.
He paced around the small space of the dark alley, where there was no lighting and he could think as calmly as possible. In fact, he was already quite calm at this point.
He was thinking about going back and leaving everything alone, maybe it was all a misunderstanding and there was no infidelity involved. He was feeling completely stupid imagining how Marc would have to apologize to Edward Brock while giving some stupid explanation for everything that had happened over the past few months.
He had already resigned himself to that thought when a fleeting memory flashed through his mind: there was now a cell phone in the inside pocket of his coat. Without thinking twice, he set out to look for it, and there it was, a good phone that now read 11 p.m. It was definitely late, and if he didn't hurry, he would start to feel physically tired and have to give in to rest. He had it turned on, but he had to unlock it.
—Facil. — He said, and then set the date of his alter egos' wedding to that traitor. Once on the phone, he proceeded to check the messages, finding the unpleasant surprise that Eddie also had a password there, and he didn't know it. — Hijo de puta, de verdad no quiere ser descubierto. — He tried to think for a moment and went for the basics, Marc's date of birth. — Qué fácil es esto, al parecer es nuevo siendo infiel, raro para un buen mentiroso. —
— Stop wasting time. I can't believe that on this beautiful full moon night, you don't want to become my avatar. — Said Khonshu from the top of the wall that closed off the alley.
— Yo no puedo creer que nunca te puedas mantener callado, estúpido pajarraco. — Jake continued searching through the two most recent chats, but he didn't find much in Dr. Lewis's chat, just a few comments about not feeling well and some advice. However, it was among the messages from his dear friend Anne that he found everything he was looking for.
He went back to the beginning of the conversation, and everything he was looking for had happened just that month, right when she started acting strange.
“Expecting a baby.”
“Oh my God, Eddie, how long have you known? Do Marc and Steven know? You should tell them.”
“Just told me yesterday, and we're not ready to talk to them about it yet. We don't know how they'll react. It sounds like they'll be scared.”
“You have to talk to them.”
The conversation ended there. He kept scrolling down, ignoring things she considered irrelevant, and came to the conversation from that day.
“It's going to be born soon.”
“Did you talk to Steven and Marc?”
“No, we thought we had two months left. We thought we had time, but now we don't. We're going to the flowers. We chose that place a long time ago, so we have to go or we'll be late. I'll talk to them when we get home.”
“Good luck.”
Jake felt himself boiling with rage. He put his cell phone away and could only start shouting angrily and kicking trash cans, as if he were Edward Brock. Everything was as it seemed. There was a baby involved, and there was no denying it. Both the alien and the human who had it had lied to his face, before and after they got married. Everything that could have gone wrong had gone wrong, and now, after all the mixed feelings, all that was left was resignation... That was for the other two who remained submerged in the human unconscious, who didn't even know this information, but for Jake, it was time to return to his main mission: to annihilate Venom.
Now there was nothing stopping him from going to kill them. By mercenary standards, they deserved it. All three of them were trying to make him look stupid, and of course, that included him in all this, because for a moment he remembered all the good things Edward had done for them, all those good times they had had and the good life they had led, but no, it had all been a stupid lie that he had also fallen for, and no one would change his mind now.
— You will finally be my avatar. — Said the deity with enthusiasm and excitement.
Jake turned to look at him in disbelief. — ¿Qué te hace creer que yo haré eso? Estoy enojado no pendejo, así que vete a la mierda que de esto me encargo yo solo. — Finally, when he turned back to look for him, he couldn't find him, so he adjusted his raincoat, put away his cell phone, and sighed. — Malditos hijos de perra, me las pagaran muy caro. —
The whole way back to his starting point was easy, thanks to tactics he had learned as a taxi driver. It would be difficult to try to return home calmly, so he didn't. With all the anger inside him, he set out to run as fast as he could, ignoring Khonshu, while memories that weren't his flashed through his mind, memories in which he was the protagonist, but they weren't his, something that was never his, but he still trusted them as much as the others had trusted him, others who weren't him, yet he still trusted them.
He regretted letting his guard down, but the damage was already done. Now all that was left was to heal it... in his own way.
Despite the time it took him to get home, he felt exactly the same as when he found those messages. The cool breeze that blew across his face did nothing to help catalyze the negative emotions in his system. Even when he reached the building where they lived, without any fear of being discovered, he entered confidently, walking heavily toward their apartment, without fear of finding him there. because enough time had passed and if they hadn't returned, then not only was he stupid for believing that he wouldn't cheat on them, but he was also stupid for believing that he would explain shit again.
As he slammed the door open, he realized that everything was just as he had left it before he left. There was not the slightest trace that they had returned, as all of Eddie's clothes and belongings were still there.
— Soy un idiota. —
— I already know that. — Khonshu said from the comfort of the dining room.
Jake ignored him completely and set about removing his mustache. He was losing control, and he knew it. Once he had taken off his cap, he lay down and closed his eyes for a moment.
— We'll meet again, Jake Lockley. —
That threat was the last thing the man heard before falling into a deep sleep.
— Eddie! — Marc screamed as if he were calling for help.
Help from someone who wasn't there.
He looked around and realized where he was supposed to be: his bed. A beautiful king-size bed in the middle of his large master bedroom, a room and bed that belonged to him and Eddie.
He began to remember everything.
He got up, disillusioned and disappointed by the whole situation. Remembering every moment he had lived through, every situation, broke him again. He had no doubt that he had fallen asleep after crying so much. He felt vulnerable and stupid.
He got up with difficulty and looked at himself in the full-length mirror. There was Steven, with a lost look and teary eyes.
— It's almost 1 a.m. — Said the reflection with great difficulty and little desire to talk.
— He's not coming back… — Marc said. — He's not coming back, is he? — Despite everything that had happened, he still hoped that he would come back. There was no reason not to come back. If she was just a lover, he had to come back. He had to come back to face her and take his things. There was no reason not to come back.
— If he's not coming back, at least we should know who he left with... I think we have a right to that... Even if that's all. — Steven sounded listless, unmotivated, he just wanted to go back to sleep.
Marc checked the pockets of his raincoat (which he didn't remember putting on) and after finding his ring, he took out his phone and turned it on, entering the passwords he already knew and giving himself the freedom to see what they were hiding, if they had done so before... but they trusted Eddie. As he began to check Eddie's messages, Marc couldn't take the guilt anymore and decided to hand control over to Steven, who sighed and set about looking at everything. He couldn't find anything interesting, just work stuff, messages from his friend, some uninteresting details about payments he had to make...
— Anne. — He said aloud as he entered the chat and went to the beginning of the conversation.
Paragraph after paragraph, it felt like receiving small pins in his heart at high speed, a painful discomfort that made his eyes shine with tears without being able to look away from the cell phone while he felt his stomach churning with nausea. They hadn't even eaten all day, they forgot because they were doing other things, and yet he felt that everything inside him was stirring.
It seemed like they were taking turns reading the same thing over and over again. They didn't pay attention to anything else; they didn't see it as important, because the only thing that filled their eyes with tears was having to reread it until they accepted that Eddie and the symbiote would have a child with someone else.
This news, news that was never given to either of them.
— They will have a baby. — Marc said in complete shock as he tried to process all the information he had read. It was like déjà vu, and once again he could feel anger consuming him. He felt strong enough to do nothing but try to kill Eddie and his symbiote in the worst possible ways, starting with the black mass that helped cover it up. He knew what he needed, and he had it in the kitchen, but he had to make sure Edward saw it from start to finish.
Now everything is connected. The questions about babies and future plans as a family with children made sense. He was preparing them for
He felt betrayed, enough that he couldn't bear the humiliation any longer, retreating back into himself and letting Steven deal with the hardest part.
— That's not true, Marc. — He said incredulously as he looked at himself in the mirror. Now they were sitting there and hadn't even noticed, they felt nothing. — He'll be back. He wouldn't be capable of doing something like this. Maybe this is a misunderstanding. We have to wait for him to arrive before we can draw any conclusions. — Even though he was looking at it and rereading it over and over again, he couldn't believe it.
—You're seeing it! There you have the explanation... — For Marc, that was it, there was nothing else he wanted to see. For the second time, he felt confident enough to believe someone else, and they betrayed him, even worse, mocking him to his face.
Marc stood there looking at himself inside and outside the reflection. He could see his own misery from two different perspectives, but it was the same thing: it was him being and feeling his worst.
They could spend hours arguing about who has the absolute truth on the matter in question: whether Eddie is good, whether Eddie deceived them, whether the symbiote was an accomplice. It didn't matter anymore, not when the baby, by that time, had already been born and was surely in the arms of HIS husbands and the other person who would be with him, looking like a conventional family and realizing that they could never have given that to the loves of their lives.
All that remained was resignation and waiting for Eddie to come back for his belongings, if he ever had the courage to set foot in their home again, the apartment they had taken so long to choose because they wanted as much space as possible for Venom so he could feel included.
Before falling asleep, his own tears, exhaustion, and swollen eyes were overcoming him.
— Hey, don't feel guilty… — Marc said to his reflection.
Steven didn't look at him; he sat looking away while hugging his legs. Marc also sat in front of the mirror, trying not to make eye contact.
— I don't feel guilty, I feel stupid. — They still didn't look at each other.
They were just reflecting on their own thoughts, as they always did. Perhaps they could come to believe that marriage was the worst thing they had ever done in their lives, although maybe they were just trying to fool themselves, because getting married had been the best thing they could have done. They had always known that. They never imagined that something like this would happen, but even so, they would go through it again a thousand times over.
They both turn
ed when they heard a noise coming from the living room.
The door opened.
Chapter Text
— But what are you saying?! — Eddie shouted in terror and amazement, unable to believe what he was hearing. It was impossible; this couldn't be happening... Not again.
— Don't raise your voice. — Said the symbiote, trying to calm its host. — I didn't know how to tell you, and I tried to give you signs, but it seems you were ignoring them. —
Eddie was still in shock. He didn't know how it had happened or why. He knew it was normal for Venom's race, but he didn't imagine it would be so soon, given that just a few years ago they had Carnage, and it had gone extremely wrong. Venom could hear all those thoughts as if he were saying them out loud.
Being alone at that precise moment, while Steven had gone out shopping and Eddie had stayed behind to work, had given the symbiote the courage to confess what had been happening to them over the last month. because during all that time he had been evading questions about what Venom was doing with his host's body, so he tried to take it as if he was working on it, but after the confession he didn't know if he was grateful that he had finally spoken to him or if he would have preferred to remain in doubt forever.
The nausea, the morning sickness, the massive cravings for chocolate and brains, everything was being explained by something so simple.
He thought about it for quite some time, getting up from his desk and starting to walk in circles. It was very difficult to process, especially because it was something that concerned both of them, something that they both had to face whether they liked it or not.
— Vee, this has to be announced ahead of time, not just out of the blue... We don't have time for anything now. — Eddie continued to pace anxiously, caring little about the deadline for his work.
Venom still followed him like a floating head. — It will arrive in three months, I think. I don't think it's very reasonable to wait until it's fully formed. —
Eddie stopped when he heard that. It meant they still had time to prepare. — When are we going to tell them? —
— I don't know. I don't want to scare them with that. — The symbiote returned inside the human's body. — The last time we talked about it was about Carnage, and that's definitely not a good first impression. —
He was right about that. It was difficult to simply ignore what had happened before, considering that they didn't even know if it would work out this time. They had no idea how they would keep the future symbiote alive if they couldn't just place it in an unknown host. They had to plan everything, and if they couldn't discuss it with Marc and Steven, they would have to talk to someone else.
A day had passed since then, and Eddie had tried to act normal with his partners so as not to arouse suspicion. They continued to tell the lie about being sick, but that Venom could fix it if they gave him more and more chocolate to maintain his strength against the bacteria that was attacking him. They didn't feel safe telling them the truth.
As he concentrated on the note he was editing, the name that appeared reminded him of something: he had someone he could talk to about the subject without being exposed.
— Anne. — Eddie said as he searched his laptop and opened his messages.
He opened the chat with his friend Anne and began to tell her everything he knew and everything his symbiotic partner had told him. He took the opportunity to call her on the phone. Marc had gone out to buy some meat; it was his turn to choose dinner, and he knew he wouldn't be long because he already had the list ready. The conversation was pleasant at first. Despite noticing Eddie's nerves, Anne tried to make normal conversation about how they were doing and what they were up to, but they couldn't avoid the topic that had started the conversation in the first place.
— We don't know what we'll do when the baby is born. — Eddie said, biting his nails as he spoke.
“Stop biting your nails.” Anne heard him chewing and knew he had a bad habit of biting his nails when he was anxious. “First, you have to stay calm, just like now, then you should... You know, talk to the people you're supposed to be married to, to stick together through thick and thin.”
— “Through thick and thin.” I know, it's just that we didn't know something this bad would happen. — Eddie leaned back on the desk.
— Do you consider it bad? —
— A little, I wasn't ready, that's all. — Sometimes he forgot how to speak in his mind, but at least they were getting better at it.
There was a sigh before Anne spoke again. “Try to bring up the subject, discreetly and slowly, but do something.”
Eddie was about to respond, but without warning he heard the front door opening. Marc was back. — I'll talk to you later, sorry. — And he hung up.
He heard the door open behind him and turned immediately, coming face to face with Steven. — Did I interrupt? I thought you were on the phone. —
— Oh no, nothing important, just checking the delivery date for my next job. — He smiled sincerely.
Not that Steven cared. — Great! Venom, could you help me with the shopping? —
And with that, Steven left the office, and some tendrils of the symbiote followed him out.
— Do you think it's that bad? —
— I don't know... — He sighed wearily. — It's a lot of things, but I'm not angry if that's what you think, at least not anymore, just let me... Think. —
— Eddie! Anne is calling you! — Steven shouted as he grabbed Eddie's cell phone.
I'm coming! His partner's reply could be heard from his office.
Steven saw nothing wrong with answering the call to let Anne know.
“Eddie, I have the perfect solution to your problem.”
— Oh, sorry Anne, it's Steven. Eddie will be back in a moment. —
“Oh! I'm so sorry.”
— No worries. —
A pair of black tendrils reached out to take the phone.
Steven continued getting ready in front of the mirror to go to work.
— What did you do? — Marc asked from the reflection.
— What are you talking about? —
— You should have let the conversation continue. Those two have been acting strange for a week. Maybe that's what she meant. —
Steven thought for a moment. — Well, maybe so, but it's their privacy. If there's something they want to tell us, they'll say it when they're ready. — He checked the time on the clock in the room. — Damn! I'm late. —
He grabbed his things and left quickly, forgetting to say goodbye to Eddie, but it didn't matter. He would fix it later. He couldn't fail at his job again just when he had finally gotten a raise.
— They're trying to find out something. — Said the symbiote as it formed outside its host.
— I know, I still don't know how we're going to tell them… — His voice showed concern about the situation.
— Maybe soon, we still have to find a good host… —
They continued with their work.
And the month passed. A whole month in which they said nothing and simply waited for time to pass, yet they didn't believe that Venom would be waiting for him with a surprise that morning.
They were standing in front of the bathroom mirror, Eddie trying not to faint, even though he knew that even if he wanted to, he wouldn't be able to because Venom was there to bring him back at any moment.
— You've got to be kidding me. — Eddie held on tight to the sink, as if that would help him keep his balance.
— I'm totally serious. The situation has moved up a bit, and we need to go... Far away, you know. This could be dangerous if we don't have a host yet. — The voice echoed inside the human's head. They couldn't speak out loud if they hadn't said anything yet.
— How are we going to leave? They're going to suspect something. —
— We won't be long, we know how to get there. — Tendrils began to form on Eddie's left hand, taking it in a sign of support.
The other sighed, reconsidering all the decisions he had made in his life that had led him to this point. — All right... But we'll have to come back quickly to explain all this shit because they're really going to be offended and it'll go very badly for us. —
— You don't have to worry so much, they'll understand better than anyone. — Venom now placed another simulation of a hand on the right shoulder of his symbiotic partner.
Eddie sighed again and looked intently into his eyes. — Come out. Come on. — After saying that, the symbiote began to form a head next to him. — We'll be fine, right? — He turned to get a better look at it and touched its face with his left hand. — We'll bring this creature into this world, make it a British citizen, and be back here before sunset, okay? —
There was a mental laugh between them, and they put their heads together. Venom circled the bracelet and gold ring on his beloved's hand and wrist, the symbol that reminded him that they were not only united with each other, they were united with others and for the rest of their lives, something he never thought possible after Anne. They were living both of their dreams, and now that they could form a strange family by bringing in a symbiotic creature, they were fulfilling Venom's dream, one he didn't know he had until he found out what was forming inside his host's body through his own symbiotic existence.
— There's no time left, is there? — Eddie asked as he felt his body begin to feel a little heavy.
— Soon the creature will try to come out, and for that I'll have to separate myself from you a little. —
He nodded at her reflection in the mirror and let the symbiote return to her body. He left the bathroom and texted her best friend Anne about what was happening, quickly going to her bedroom and rummaging through her closet for another sweater he could wear, something more practical for what they were about to do. He grabbed her keys and said goodbye to her partners from afar, without even noticing who they were.
— We'll be back in the afternoon!— The human said before leaving the house.
To tell the truth, it wasn't that early; it was almost noon, or at least that's what they thought based on the position of the sun as they walked down the street. It was somewhat empty for a weekday, and there weren't many people on the bus, so they could talk quietly without being interrupted.
— How are you feeling? — Eddie asked quietly.
— The same as always. — He said, wrapping a tendril around the human's ring finger.
— Vee, is there something else you haven't told me? This seems planned. — The suspicion remained with him, and it wasn't necessarily because of mistrust; there was something about their union that felt different.
He listened to the symbiote hum for a few seconds until he finally got an answer. — I thought I could hold it off for another two months, which would have given us the perfect amount of time to plan everything, but I couldn't do it. Its formation cycle was about to end. —
Eddie just resigned himself to sighing. — Okay, I don't think it will take that long, we'll figure it out... Or not, but as long as we can keep this away from the government, we'll be fine. —
Of course, all this terrified him. He was about to be a father, and he wanted to do it right this time and make it even better than a “Lethal Protector.” He wanted to give the symbiotes a better image and be able to live a life without persecution again. He wanted to do things right, but there would always be the traumatic factors that had haunted him all his life, which was why he had avoided the subject of fatherhood with Anne in the first place. Now he would have to help raise (however briefly) a symbiote that, with a single misstep, could change everything for the worse.
They would not make that mistake again.
— That won't happen. —
— I know, I trust us, I trust Steven, and I trust Marc just as they trust us, so there's nothing we can do until after all this is over. — Eddie started looking for his cell phone. — Shit… —
He had forgotten it.
They now had no way to contact Anne if they needed help. They couldn't do anything. The place they were going to was a strangely abandoned but very beautiful field of flowers. Only there could they be for something so personal and unsafe.
It wasn't just any field; it was where their story with their current spouses began. Of course, it wasn't perfect; many truths came to light, but after that day, that place became their comfort zone. because that was also where they got engaged and spent the night before their wedding. It was one of their best adventures, and now they will welcome their first (desired) child there. Even if the others weren't there, they would have to face it that way; it was for the greater good.
It looked like they were hugging, at least that's what it looked like under the zipped-up sweater. No one would see the tendrils delicately covering almost her entire body, feeling every millimeter of her being embraced from her skin to her red blood cells, her brain releasing chemicals that only showed adrenaline and happiness.
That's how they would be for the rest of the journey, the last stop on the bus at a time when there was no turning back.
— Maybe we'll arrive a little later, I don't think they'll be angry if we arrive just a little later than expected. —
— They're going to be angry, very angry. —
That voice in his mind always reminded him of the reality they would always have to face.
But at least they said it long before they stood at the altar; they would be there for each other through thick and thin.
And now more than ever, they couldn't abandon each other.
It could feel almost like the blink of an eye, but hours passed as they talked along the way. So much time had gone by that the sun had moved significantly, the heat felt different, and luckily for them, they had just arrived at their destination.
Now they only had to walk a few miles and they would reach the place they had chosen for this situation. Apparently, it was the only thing they could plan in the first few days after sharing the news. To tell the truth, if it were a human baby, it would be much more difficult to deal with this situation because it is harder to find a safe place to give birth. However, in their case, they only needed a place away from government dangers and a place without people.
Everything seemed perfect until Eddie had to face the harsh reality of walking. Getting lost in a large desert in the United States while trying to escape the law and aliens who wanted to kill them seemed not to be enough to face the three-hour walk across the countryside.
It would definitely be better and faster if they went by motorcycle, and if only the motorcycle wasn't in the shop, so he had no choice but to face this as God would have him understand.
— Eddie. — Venom pulled his head out from Eddie's chest so they could look each other in the eye.
— What's up, honey? — Eddie stopped to catch his breath.
— I can help you now. There's no one here who can hurt us. We're far away from society, and I don't sense any strange vibrations. —
Eddie saw an exit door in his walking hell. The symbiote noticed it immediately and covered Eddie's entire body, except for the gold bracelet, because when it transformed, it became Venom's ring. It fit perfectly, and although it could also cover him, it didn't want to. There was no need to do that when it was proudly married to the three loves of its life.
Soon they could return to their happy thoughts.
They began to walk slowly, calmly, little by little he began to jog until his calm steps became long strides as he began to run. There was nothing to stop them, they could even run on all fours and nothing happened. Only Eddie's laughter inside the symbiote could be heard louder and louder. They were going so fast that they could barely slow down, but they didn't need to. They were in open country, they could jump wherever they wanted, and no one could say anything to them because no one would believe what they were seeing.
— Do you like it? — Venom asked with a huge smile and stuck out his tongue. They were still going at high speed, but he managed to make himself understood.
— Of course I do! — Eddie sounded excited. The dopamine and serotonin were palpable and alive, and the adrenaline rush of feeling his own body running at that speed was incredible.
They could keep running for hours and hours, but it wasn't the right time, it wasn't the right day to do it. They could do it another time, on a day when they weren't about to have an alien baby. It wasn't that they were thinking negatively, it was just difficult to focus on their own happiness when everyone could be affected. Staying strong in the face of whatever came next was their way of dealing with the situation, even though they didn't even know how to do it.
As far as he knew, Venom had been through this situation a million times. He was older than Earth itself (or at least that's what he remembered from their first year together). He had gone through this cycle several times, but this was the first time it had happened outside of Klyntar, and it was the first time they wouldn't abandon the little symbiote, so this was definitely a historic event among Venom's race.
Little by little, the field went from looking completely green to turning white in small spots. Those same spots were mixed with pink spots, and so on, finding more bright colors. They had reached their destination.
Although only a couple of hours had passed, they didn't feel it. They tried to focus on their goal, distracting their minds from the passage of time, and they succeeded. They relived some memories of when they took Marc and Steven, the different places they had been, and now they would go a little further to mark a new area with a more vivid experience.
— We're here. — Said the symbiote as he slowly slowed down and stood up on his two legs, allowing Eddie to get out and observe the landscape for himself, feeling the wind caressing his skin.
— It took less time than I thought. — Eddie began to stroll more calmly through the countryside. — Look at me, I don't know how I ended up here... I'm married to an undocumented immigrant and two people who share the same body... The undocumented immigrant is from another world, one of the two people has committed heinous crimes, and between them, they were puppets of an Egyptian god... And I'm about to have a baby with at least triple nationality: American, British, and Klyntar. — He counted on his fingers and, to add drama, raised his arms to the sky. — My God, what's missing from the list? —
Venom helped him lower his arms, and the other turned to look at him. — You escaped from the government and the police even before you met me. You've accomplished quite a lot with me and without me. —
Eddie smiled sidelong and looked at the symbiote beside him. — All right, all right... We should start looking for a place to stay for all this. —
They left the path that ran perfectly through the middle of the field, dividing the flowers, this time stepping where there was more grass. It was comfortable to walk around the place. They weren't even afraid of being bitten by insects. Nothing mattered at that moment except themselves.
The sun was low in the sky, and dusk would soon fall.
— Hey, Vee. — Eddie was confused and tired. His body's energy was draining with every step he took. To lighten his load, he took off his sweater and threw it down beside him, where he ended up sitting down when he realized he couldn't walk any further. — Is this normal? —
The symbiote remained silent and began to gather on Eddie's chest. — Yes, now is when we need to take in as much energy as possible to release the symbiote. —
Eddie gradually felt the black mass on him forming into a small ball that was growing quite slowly, but the bad thing was that it was genuinely draining his energy at a rapid rate and he felt sleep overcoming him, but he couldn't let himself be overcome by it. He was strong; THEY are strong.
Despite not wanting to, he couldn't help but start complaining aloud, as he began to have adrenaline rushes that kept him as conscious as possible.
His body tensed with each tug the symbiote gave, as if it were anchored deep within him, seizing every cell of his being to keep from separating. Although Venom was still helping with Eddie’s pain, he couldn’t help him entirely if he himself was suffering; the pain signals enveloped them, with the symbiote bearing the brunt of it while Eddie could have sworn his ribs were breaking and felt his back contracting. The pain was sharp and stabbing, especially during the most intense contractions. It was a pain that came and went, a constant ache that waxed and waned in intensity depending on what the symbiote was doing.
— Oh shit… I feel like… I’m going to throw up. — I could barely speak coherently.
And although it seemed eternal, the little black ball was gradually beginning to take on a more individual shape; it was perfect.
Little by little, he felt himself breaking free, but the more force he exerted, the more he felt his muscles and bones tearing apart. He gripped the ground tightly, tearing up the grass; he needed to hold on to anything he could to stay sane. His vision was blurring, shifting between yellow and gray; he felt sweat all over his body, and the ringing in his ears was so loud it drowned out the fact that he was standing before a breathtaking sunset.
Or at least that was the last thing he could see before falling unconscious, succumbing to the pain and, without meaning to, leaving his partner alone.
Chapter Text
The little creature decided to go out on its own. It was the only thing complicating the situation; apparently, it was so attached to being together at all times that having to come out bothered it.
The moment it came out, it just stood still, twitching and sprouting small tendrils that moved in every direction, surrounded by Venom to prevent it from escaping.
And now, with the little energy the black symbiote had left, it finally managed to return to Eddie.
— Damn! — was the first thing he managed to shout as he regained consciousness, looking around and noticing that the sky had darkened somewhat, there were still orange hues and his faithful love was by his side, but they were no longer alone.
The symbiote fully returned to Eddie’s body to recover, but as it did, it left a small ball of black goo on him.
— That’s it, Eddie… We did it. — The voice in his head sounded defeated.
The human couldn’t help but feel moved; the tiny creature slowly moving on him was his son, as perfect as he’d ever imagined. Who cared whether he was human or not? He was his little piece of the galaxy… Or even better. — You just gave me the whole universe… — He held it in his hands. — In my hands… It’s my whole life. — He stroked him gently, feeling like he might hurt him, and took the utmost care when touching him.
He picked up his sweater and wrapped it around him; to anyone else it might have seemed embarrassing or even disturbing, but he was only protecting his son from the cold. He wanted to give him the best possible care, since in a laboratory he would be kept in terrible conditions, and he wanted to show him all the good things in life from the very first moment of his existence.
— All that isn’t necessary. — That’s what his other self was heard to say.
— Oh, of course not, but for me it is; I’ll soon find a comfortable container for him, while we continue searching for a good host. — Eddie couldn’t stop looking at his creature, no matter how beautiful the nite was, nothing mattered when he held it in his hands. — It’s time to go. —
Even tho they barely had the strength to stand, they had to leave; they still had a home where they had to give explanations, and there was no way they’d stay in that place, it wasn’t a fit area to leave their son. At home, they’d have a better place to rest.
It might seem stupid, but Eddie walked for miles until the pain returned, but it didn’t matter, Venom still had to recover and the little creature still needed to feed, so he kept going as best he could. His other would sometimes help him by walking for him; they were a team, but the human’s insistence forced the symbiote to keep resting.
Sooner than they expected (it really only took hours), they reached the city. Now they just had to keep walking, since the bus wasn’t running at that hour. Luckily, not many people passed thru certain areas, so the symbiote could disguise itself as boots and keep walking comfortably. The boots weren’t at all out of place when people saw Eddie cradling what looked like just his sweater in his arms. He was extremely happy; he got stares all the time, no matter what he did or who he was with, so he wouldn’t be bothered at all if they called him “crazy” for carrying his sweater. He knew he was carrying the most important thing in his life.
Screw people. They could always give him weird looks.
He just wanted to get home. The closer he got to the area where he lived, the more he tried to hide his little son. Even tho no one saw them, he couldn’t risk being questioned. He could barely bring himself to trust people he’d never see again, but he couldn’t do it with those he saw every day. Raising suspicions or triggering a legal notice could alert the authorities in the United States, leading to an investigation, then to being sent to laboratories for a long time, and then they’d start linking it to other events, and after that…
— Eddie, you won’t let us rest… Our baby can’t rest either if you transmit so much worry thru our bond. — Venom’s voice was enough to calm him.
He started walking again after standing still and staring into nothing as he sank into his own mind; he always had his anchor to reality to help calm his thoughts.
— Wait, did you just say it affects him too? — Eddie kept walking.
— Yes, we’re bound by a bond that transcends human normalcy. We usually break the bond as soon as they’re born, but this time we won’t; we’ll do it right. —
They both shared their peace of mind as best they could; exhaustion still overwhelmed them. The euphoria of the moment was fading for Eddie, and he was beginning to feel the physical toll of everything. He knew it would still hurt because his other half hadn’t yet recovered enough to help him heal.
They finally arrived at where they lived.
Time to rest.
They entered the apartment and began to walk carefully, believing that Steven and Marc were already asleep.
He carefully opened the door to the master bedroom, and what he saw surprised him quite a bit.
His partner was sitting in front of the mirror and turned to look at him just as he heard the door open. Eddie was completely confused by Marc’s haggard appearance; they’d only been gone for a few hours, it was impossible that anything bad had happened to them, and he was well aware that Marc could defend himself with a fork.
— Marc? What happened? — Eddie left the baby with Venom, while the latter extended thick tentacles to carry him into the living room.
Marc didn’t respond and went back to looking at his reflection.
Noticing this, the other man approached him and sat down beside him, still keeping some distance. The atmosphere was tense; neither of them was going to speak—Marc because he didn’t even want to look at him, and Eddie because he didn’t even know where to begin.
But at least they had Steven.
— I don’t even know where to start. — The dark-haired guy finally spoke. Maybe they didn’t have the words, but they had even more ways to communicate what was happening. Steven proceeded to take Eddie’s cell phone, which Eddie immediately recognized as his, and began searching for what he needed. Once he found the chat and the exact moment of the conversation, he showed it to his husband. — Why? — was all he could say, her voice choked.
Eddie didn’t understand what was happening; it was the conversation he’d had with Anne a month ago… Apparently, fatigue was affecting his concentration. It took him a few seconds to realize what was wrong. Generally speaking, everything was wrong.
The conversation lent itself to implying that they would become parents, but under different circumstances.
— Oh, Steven, it’s really not what it looks like… —
— You don’t have to say it… — He interrupted him abruptly. — We knew you wanted to have kids, a family, but you couldn’t do that with us. You even decided what you were going to tell us, but you didn’t even have time for that. How long has this been going on? Who was it with? We’ve only been married for a few months, and you were already expecting a child? —
Eddie was willing to answer all the questions, but his attitude wasn’t worrying—not now, anyway; that could further affect what he’d say. — Steven, Marc, this really isn’t what it looks like. I know we haven’t told you the situation the way we should have, and that was mostly my fault, but there’s really a lot more to it. —
It was the first time Eddie had spoken so nonchalantly and free of anxiety; usually he’d get worked up when Venom wouldn’t leave him alone, and at times like these he’d be quite nervous, but this time it was the complete opposite. He was calm, serene, and completely at ease talking openly about the situation.
— We don’t want any lies; we’re willing to do anything, but no more humiliation. — At that moment, Eddie was indeed slightly confused, since he had been talking to Steven but his way of speaking was closer to Marc’s; in either case, both were hurt and he had to fix it.
He took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully, with no tension or worry. — Well, I think I should start with the most important thing: yes, we have a child now, but it’s not what you think. Eddie leaned his head back against the bed, taking advantage of the fact that they were sitting in front of it for added comfort. — This child is Venom’s, and I’m truly sorry for the confusion because I understand the messages weren’t clear; we even said there was still time left, but that wasn’t the case, in fact… He gave a small smile. — Vee lied to me; he said there were still months to go, but the truth is he was just postponing the date as long as he could until he couldn’t anymore. —
And there it was, the obvious and bizarre answer that this whole stupid situation clearly had to have. — And why did they leave? Why didn’t you tell us anything? It wasn’t fair to us at all! — Steven stood up, annoyed. — We’ve never hidden anything important from you! Why should you do it?! — He felt hysterical; he didn’t want to calm down.
Eddie also got up, feeling increasingly tired and not wanting to stand. — We’re really sorry, Steven, we truly are. We apologize to both of you, it’s just that… It was a lot of things. We were afraid we’d scare them; not to brag at a time like this, but Venom explained to me that this symbiote is one of the most powerful in the universe. I couldn’t just say that, especially after they found out what happened to the last one—which, by the way, is why we left… — He lazily wiped his hands. — We were in the flower field, remember? Great place—there was no one there, no risk that her first host would be a murderer, a psychopath, or any other sicko out there… —
— Did they consider us a threat? — Marc was present; the change in his posture was noticeable as he became defensive.
— Of course not! — That seemed to have distracted Eddie from his moment of peace. — Of course not… But we don’t know what kind of host he could occupy; not all of them are compatible, and that could end both his life and the host’s—that would be terrible. Thru their bond, he could sense the others’ worry, so he calmed down again. At least as much as he could.
— Okay, you can explain all that, but what about lying to us for an entire month about being sick when all along it was just the two of you having a secret child? — Marc rubbed his left temple with two fingers. Of course we would have been scared, but we always end up understanding when you explain it; we trust you because we got married for a reason. In my other marriage, I hid a lot of things, so I didn’t want to repeat those mistakes, but I guess you didn’t care. — Marc turned his back to Eddie, trying to keep him from looking him in the eyes.
— Shit, this isn’t working… — Despite trying to control what he felt, he couldn’t anymore; he was about to ruin what had barely begun. He didn’t want to run away this time, he’d done it with Anne and ruined everything, but now he couldn’t do it with them.
A black head formed on Eddie’s shoulder, its huge, white eyes opening and remaining at a considerable distance.
— We understand your anger about the situation; you’ve never hidden anything from us, and yet instead of leaving, you chose to wait for us so we could give you an explanation. We deeply appreciate this gesture. —
Marc turned just a little to look at the symbiote. — Well… If you were cheating on us, at least we wanted to know who it was with, but now that we know the deception was between you two, it’s… It’s hard to know if they’ll keep hiding things this important forever. — Marc crossed his arms. — At least… They should have given us the chance to voice our opinion before all this happened. — Now he was looking at his reflection.
— We didn’t have time anymore; we would have liked you to be there too… It was difficult, and if we hadn’t been alone it would have been safer, but we made the bad decision to keep it to ourselves. —
— Why would it be difficult? You were there to heal him at any moment. — Marc still seemed indifferent to the situation.
— We used up all the energy we had left, forgot to bring extra protein, we could have all died… But it didn’t happen, and now we have something beautiful. —
Steven turned around completely to see them. — Eddie? Were you really going to die? —
— I didn’t know that either, I just felt like I’d fainted, but I didn’t think I was on the brink of death. — He said with a slight yawn.
Steven looked at both of them; there was something in their behavior that was distracting him from the main topic. — Why are you acting so disinterested? They’re very calm, as if they don’t care about anything we’re talking about. — They’re very calm, as if they don’t care about anything we’re talking about.
Eddie seemed to still be struggling to stay on his feet. — We’re not disinterested. —
— The spawn is capable of feeling what we feel thru the bond; that could stun, corrupt, damage, or confuse its newly formed system. — Venom’s voice sounded quite deep when he spoke in a calm tone.
Steven was able to keep digging into the matter, but he didn’t seem as upset as before; he was just tired and irritated, his eyes still felt very red, and the apartment’s light was wearing him down. Everything he’d felt hadn’t vanished, but it had been resolved. It all turned out to be a huge misunderstanding caused by the human and his symbiote, he could blame them for that, but…
— Where is he? — He felt both of them look at him in confusion. — The baby, where is he? —
Venom returned to Eddie’s body, and from his back the tentacles that had reached into the room reappeared, now carrying a tempered-glass container that they definitely weren’t going to question where it came from, much less why it looked so specifically designed for the little symbiote.
Steven was perplexed to see it; it didn’t look at all like Venom when it didn’t have a host, it was quite different, just a little ball with tiny, motionless tentacles.
— He’s asleep. —
— He’s asleep. — He said, repeating what his partner had told him.
The tentacles brought the container closer to Steven, who merely leaned back. — I can’t touch it, right? —
— Not directly, but if you want to see it up close, you can take the container. —
— He doesn’t say no directly, but if you want to get a closer look, you can take the container. — Said Eddie as he sat back down; he was still sore from all the walking.
Steven also sat down, accepting the invitation to hold the container and observe the tiny symbiote inside, quite delicately and with the fear of dropping it.
It was fascinating; he brought him closer to the mirror, and together with Marc they began to inspect how he looked, whether he showed any movement, but no, on the contrary, he was sound asleep, which was odd because he’d seen Venom jump before Eddie if he heard an unexpected sound. This time, tho, he didn’t; he felt like he could hear him, but for anything in the world he wouldn’t wake up, which softened their hearts with tenderness.
— Well, I didn’t think a baby symbiote would be so… Cute. — Said Marc thru the reflection.
— I know. — They were both admiring the little baby. — Hey, Eddie, what’s his name…? —
When he turned around, he found Eddie sound asleep; not even the apartment light had managed to keep him awake any longer. He’ll have to answer your questions another time. They still hadn’t escaped the argument they couldn’t finish, but now it was time to help their husbands get into bed.
They gently set the container aside and then lifted Eddie, who felt even lighter than when he’d left, so they settled him down, dressed him in comfortable clothes, and turned off all the lights in the apartment.
Marc was the only one still awake, so he headed to the living room, taking the container with him. He felt it would be prudent to sleep on the couch this time and place the container on the coffee table, so he could keep it by his side in case anything happened. — You’re a sleepyhead. — he said with grace. — I should get some sleep too. —
After that, she simply let her eyes finally rest after crying so much and getting so worked up over something they could resolve in the morning.
— Okay, let me see if I’ve got this right. — Marc sat down on the couch where he had slept, set down his coffee cup, and picked up the container.
— Go ahead, I’m listening. — said Eddie as he sat down next to Marc.
— Did you have this baby… in the most human way possible, feeling muscle pain everyplace and still getting only minimal relief from Venom as your body began to collapse from running out of energy… And yet you still don’t consider this child to be yours too? — No matter how hard he tried to hide it, Marc had grown fond of the symbiote, since it wouldn’t let go of the container on his legs. The glow it gave off with just a bit of light illuminating the apartment was wonderful, and he was eager enough to listen to Eddie if it meant he could observe the little creature’s restless behavior.
— Well, if you put it that way, it sounds more dramatic. — And he took a sip of his coffee.
— Marc. — It took both of them by surprise since Venom hadn’t come out. — Eddie has something else to tell you. —
Eddie was still wondering what it was until he remembered it was part of his plan if things had gone better. — Well, you see, despite everything we’ve been thru, you’re still here with us; you haven’t said anything about splitting them up, and that wasn’t part of the original speech, we should have delivered it a long time ago, so this time I’ve added a sincere apology that we both offer you. —
— Apology accepted. — Steven kept staring at the container without paying much attention.
— Ah, okay, that was easier than I thought. — Eddie hadn’t noticed the change from Marc to Steven, but they still answered him. He set his mug down on the table and got more serious about the situation. — Steven, Marc. —
Thanks to his tone of voice, he managed to capture the dark-haired man’s attention. — Is there anything else? — I hadn’t really finished forgiving him, but I was thinking about doing it more seriously.
Eddie sighed heavily and spoke. — I don’t know how to ask this, but would you like to help us take care of him? Venom already explained that a symbiote baby’s maturation will take a bit longer, maybe a few extra months, so… You’re completely within your rights to decline the invitation if you want… —
— Eddie. — It was Marc speaking again. — Steven is so excited about the proposal that he completely forgot he was mad at you… We gladly accept this; to be honest, accepting this paternity is probably the most extreme thing I’ve ever done… —
Eddie took his hand and looked him in the eyes. — Sharing this experience with you has been the best thing in my life… I love you so much. —
Marc sighed and was able to look his partner directly in the eyes to show his seriousness. — Look, Eddie… We’ll be honest with you, this is something we both think. We still feel hurt by what you did: hiding something so important and leaving everything up in the air, so that later, because of your own inconsistencies, we thot there was infidelity involved. It felt humiliating to believe that you didn’t care about us and that marriage was just something unimportant… We can’t just trust you again as if nothing happened, we can’t forget it as if it were nothing, but… We’re also aware of how difficult it was for you, and that’s why we’ve decided to stay with you, hoping you’ll change that terrible attitude. We won’t tolerate anything like that happening again. —
The other one fell silent for a moment, seeming to talk to himself at times, little whispers tossed into the air that, if they didn’t know there was a symbiote in Eddie’s body, they would have had him committed to a psychiatric hospital already, and he himself would have gone along with it, just to be done with this whole situation.
— We completely agree with the way you think… But we’ll improve; we’re doing our best for you and for him. — They both looked at the container and saw the little creature clinging to the side wall, where it seemed to be looking at Marc.
They both began to laugh as the human and the symbiote felt their bond stronger than ever. With all that excitement and the feeling of love coursing thru the bond, which indirectly included the other two entities as well, the little symbiote stirred slightly, reacting to the most human emotions it was receiving.
— By the way, what’s his name? — Marc still hadn’t taken his eyes off the fork, looking at it with a smile he rarely showed.
— Symbiotes choose their own name when they have enough awareness; we still don’t know theirs because it hasn’t even learned to communicate yet. —
Venom took the container and opened it to give the symbiote all the nutrients he’d absorbed after gorging on chocolate and raw red meat as soon as they woke up, a perfect way to keep the most powerful symbiote ever seen strong and healthy.
They were very happy; it no longer mattered what had happened the day before or in the early hours of the morning, not when their little creation was being fed and they had the privilege of watching.
It was strange to know they were going to parent an alien, not really an alien, either, since it was born directly from a symbiote and its host together. Neither sought to harm the other, and that was unique about them, condemned by both human and Klyntar society. On top of all that, they were adding a human with a disorder so stigmatized that many even believe it’s fake, spreading lies and prejudice about it. Although it was still a secret from everyone else, it wasn’t the disorder itself that was the issue; it was Marc Spector’s criminal record. And so, their new family was formed.
A man with dissociative identity disorder, who only knew two personalities of himself: Steven Grant, a museum worker, and Marc Spector, a former mercenary and Navy deserter wanted by the governments of several countries.
Eddie Brock, a reporter who hosted a symbiote-type alien.
And the son who was the product of the symbiote.
Where we knew there were four, now one has been added.
Jake stood in front of the container, carefully observing the slight movements the symbiote seemed to make while asleep. — So much drama over this little thing. — Tanto drama por esta cosita. —
— You were really going to kill them. — Khonshu was also watching him from afar.
— Ya no importa, ahora tenemos una criaturita más por la cual preocuparnos, aunque solo vaya a durar unos meses, creo que Marc y Steven serán inmensamente felices. — Jake smiled slightly, still frowning.
— You shouldn’t get attached to something that isn’t yours. —
— Te importa una mierda lo que yo haga con mis sentimientos humanos. —
And he was right. Khonshu cared very little about what they were doing with their personal lives, but he could definitely use it to his advantage.
As the deity departed, Jake could only sit there on the couch, studying the creature. He was so curious to touch it, but he didn’t even know much about symbiotes; he wasn’t sure if it would harm him or if he could hurt the alien.
Jake just stared at the container until he fell asleep; the little symbiote’s drowsiness was contagious, and he definitely wasn’t complaining, he didn’t mind seeing things from afar, and everything would be fine later.
But now they have a baby to take care of.