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When Eddie woke up, the first thing he saw was a little mini-Venom sitting at the open laptop on the coffee table. He smiled. “Whatcha doin’, Vee?” Venom looked over his shoulder for a moment.
Shopping.
Oh, that was dangerous. “What for?”
Christmas. The TV said there are lots of sales online today.
Eddie sat up a little further. Venom readjusted with him, keeping the screen hidden from his sight. This time, the little tether that connected Venom to Eddie reached out from underneath the long pajama pants he was wearing. There were a few holes in them, but they were comfortable and still held up, so what was he gonna do? Throw them away? Unlikely. “But… why? You don’t celebrate Christmas.”
Because I love you, and people get Christmas gifts for people they love.
His heart almost burst in his chest. It had been a little while since Venom had first started saying that he loved Eddie instead of just liking him, and, ugh, it still caught him off guard every single time. And it felt… good. It was really nice to hear. Honestly, after Anne, he had been pretty sure that he’d just be on his own for the rest of his life; nobody but her could put up with him and he couldn’t imagine himself with anyone else. Then Venom happened.
It was a bit weird, coming to terms with the fact that there was now an alien living inside his body and that alien was apparently in love with him and somehow he kinda loved that alien, too—not that he had said it yet. He didn’t know how to say it, what with the circumstances being what they were. And did he even really need to? Venom knew. He knew about everything Eddie felt. It was both a blessing and a curse.
“Vee. You don’t have to do that.”
I know. I want to.
“That’s adorable.”
Shut up. Don’t call me adorable.
“What should I call you, then?”
Not adorable. I am terrifying.
“Not to me. Not anymore.”
Venom made a sound reminiscent of a sigh.
Eddie. I don’t have my own money. Can I use some of yours?
“That depends on how much you want to spend. ”
Forty-three dollars and twenty-two cents excluding taxes and shipping.
“Factor in the taxes and shipping and then get back to me on it.”
Venom fell silent for a few moments, clicking through a few pages and absentmindedly flicking his tongue out to lick his own eye. It freaked Eddie out the first time he saw Venom do it, but since he didn’t have eyelids or eyelashes or anything, that was the only way he could keep them clean.
Shipping is free!
“Oh, yeah?”
The total is just under fiffy dollars.
Eddie would never spend that amount of money on himself. He wasn’t the kind of guy who liked to buy stuff for himself, so most of what he owned was a gift of some form or another. But this didn’t really count as him spending his money on himself. It was just the alien that inhabited his body spending his money on him. For Christmas. And Venom seemed really excited about it, so…
“Alright. We’ll just… eat a couple more bad guys than normal to offset the food budget.”
Venom made an excessively pleased noise.
I hope you like it.
Eddie’s phone chimed when an email confirming his order came in. He deleted it without opening it. He’d prefer to keep the receipt, but he wasn’t going to spoil Venom’s surprise like that.
“I’m sure I will.”
*
Eddie. The mailman just delivered the mail.
Eddie finished washing his face over the bathroom sink and patted it dry. “What’d we get?”
Envelopes. And a package on the doorstep.
“So, bills and a bomb, probably.”
Bills and the gift I got for you.
Oh, yeah. Eddie had forgotten about that. It had been a few days since Venom ordered that stuff—almost a couple weeks, he thinks—and it had slipped his mind since he’s been busy working the holiday rush. All sorts of bad things happen to people over the holidays, after all, and what kind of reporter would he be if he didn’t investigate them?
You aren’t allowed to open it yet.
“Why not?” he asked as he walked to the front door. He picked up the envelopes scattered on the floor, shoved through the little mail slot haphazardly.
Because it isn’t Christmas yet. And I haven’t wrapped it.
He opened the door and picked up the package. It was surprisingly light, but he wasn’t going to try to guess what it was. “We don’t have wrapping paper.”
I’ll figure something out.
Somehow, Eddie didn’t doubt that. “Just don’t make a mess of it, okay?”
I'll try.
*
To make up for their lack of wrapping paper and bows, while Eddie slept on Christmas Eve, Venom removed the smaller box from the shipping box, wrapped it in one of Eddie’s T-shirts, and tied a little tendril of himself around it like a ribbon. He waited anxiously for Eddie to wake up but didn’t wake him; Eddie didn’t take good enough care of himself as it was, so Venom wasn’t going to pull him out of a rare sleep. After his long work days, Eddie only showered if Venom took over and did it for him. But he couldn’t sleep for him, so he waited.
And waited.
And waited.
It was past noon when Eddie finally woke up to see a mini-Venom sitting on the bed next to him, staring at him with those unblinking eyes.
Good morning, Eddie. I missed you.
“I was just sleeping, Vee. I didn’t go anywhere.”
I know, but it’s lonely when I can’t talk to you.
Eddie groaned softly and sat up. “Jesus, what time is it?”
12:29 P.M.
“Ugh. I did leave you alone for a long time, didn’t I?”
It’s alright. I know you needed the sleep.
Eddie smiled. “Guess so. What do you want for breakfast?”
Not hungry. Too excited.
“For what?”
It’s Christmas, remember? You have to go open your present.
Eddie caught sight of a Venom tendril leading out of the room and towards the living room. He smiled softly. “Alright, alright. Just let me pee first.”
Humans are gross.
“I know. As much as it sucks, we can’t all live our lives without producing any waste.”
It is an unfortunate design flaw.
He nodded in agreement as he shuffled off to the bathroom. The mini-Venom retreated back into Eddie’s body while he did his business, only leaving the one tendril out. Venom re-emerged as they walked down the hall.
Eddie laughed when he saw the poorly wrapped package sitting next to the tree they had made out of some empty cardboard soda boxes and a lighter to serve as the star. “You… that’s so cute.”
Shut up.
“You shut up! It’s cute! I love it.”
You haven’t opened it yet.
“I love it anyway, idiot. Unless you wrapped up a decapitated head, I already love it no matter what it is.” He sat down in front of their little tree. “It… isn’t a head, right?”
Why would I buy a head? I could get you one for free any time.
“Just makin’ sure.”
Why? Is there a website where I can buy heads?
“God, I hope not.”
Venom nudged the present closer to Eddie.
Open it.
Eddie glanced at Venom with a raised eyebrow and a bit of a grin, tugging at the tendril that made up the little ribbon. Venom retracted it so Eddie could slide the box out of his shirt and set about opening it. Not that it was hard to open. It was one of those flimsy boxes people only ever pulled clothes out of at family Christmas parties.
He lifted the top half of the box to reveal a set of red and black plaid pajamas and matching slippers. Venom hummed happily as Eddie grabbed the shirt and sighed in absolute bliss.
“How do they make stuff this soft?”
I don’t know. But I noticed that you get cold at night and your pajamas have holes in them. I don’t want you to be cold. I wanted you to have some nice pajamas.
“I’m gonna live in these.”
You really like them?
“Of course I do, you idiot. This is perfect. Thank you.”
I love you.
Eddie smiled. “I love you, too.”
Venom dove in for a kiss. What a dork.