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Eddie rolled over onto his side, pulling his blanket up closer to his face. Then he woke up for two reasons: First, he hadn’t gone to sleep with a blanket over him, and second, it was… sticky. It was really, really sticky.
“The hell?” he muttered, forcing himself to open his eyes. He had fallen asleep on the couch again. Venom was definitely going to give him trouble about it; as much as Eddie loved him, the symbiote went a little over the top about Eddie’s occasional lack of self-care. It wasn’t like he never took care of himself—he ate semi-regular, semi-decent meals, took a shower pretty much every other day, only fell asleep on the couch a couple times a week… but if Venom was good for one thing, it was making sure that Eddie didn’t devolve into some constantly stinky, sweaty, sickly mess. And he appreciated that.
You fell asleep in the middle of the movie.
Eddie groaned. Venom had a little head poking out of the blanket he had made of himself, resting it on Eddie. “And you’re stretched out all over me because… why, exactly?”
Because you always seem more comfortable with a blanket.
Well, he wasn’t going to argue that. Sleeping under a blanket or two was pretty nice. “You could’ve just gone to the bedroom and gotten one for me, y’know.”
Why would I do that when I can take the blanket’s place? I want to be close to you, Eddie.
“You’re a dork.”
Am not.
“Are too.”
Am not.
“Are too.”
Am not!
“You really are . I can do this all day, man.” He sighed contentedly and snuggled back down where he was laying on the couch, not too worried about the stickiness of the thing on top of him now that he knew what it was. Venom rested his little head in the little crook between Eddie’s neck and shoulder. “You’re warm.”
If Eddie had to put a word to it, he’d say that the sound Venom made was like a purr.
Of course. Are you going to go back to sleep?
“Ah, I dunno. Maybe.”
I’ve seen your memories of dreams, but I cannot have any of my own. What are they like?
“Weird.”
How weird?
“Sometimes a part of you knows it’s a dream,” Eddie said, not protesting when his Venom-blanket sprouted a hand that wrapped around his own. “Sometimes you don’t. Most of the time you don’t realize how weird the situations and the screwed-up timeline are until you wake up and remember the dream.”
Why do humans have dreams?
“Pffff. You’re askin’ the wrong guy. I dunno about any of that stuff. I forget most of ‘em as soon as I wake up.”
Do you ever dream about me?
“Why don’t you look through my memories again and find out?”
It’s more fun to hear you tell me about things.
Dork.
“Uh, yeah, I mean, sometimes. I live with you twenty-four-seven. People dream about the people they spend a lot of time with.”
Good dreams?
“Usually.”
Usually?
Eddie shifted uncomfortably. “I mean… people have nightmares too, y’know. Bad dreams.”
You’ve had bad dreams about me?
Well… “Not… exactly.”
Venom didn’t respond, but the silence was easily interpreted as one large, ?
He knew for a fact that Venom could feel it, the awkwardness he was experiencing right then. “It’s more like… I’ve had bad dreams without you.”
That’s bad?
“I mean, it’s good that I don’t have nightmares about you, but, I just, I’ve had nightmares where you just weren’t there. At all. I’d try to talk to you and try to convince you to come out and you just weren’t there with me anymore. And that’s it. That’s the entire dream.”
That’s stupid.
“We really need to work on your bedside manner.”
It’s stupid because I’m never going to leave you. I’ll always be with you, Eddie. No matter what.
“I know. It just messed me up, y’know? When I—Ugh, when I almost lost you. You were seriously ready to die for me.” He pulled the Venom-blanket in just a little bit closer. “I dunno what I would’ve done if you had actually died. I was scared.” He sighed. “More scared than I was when Drake’s goons came after us and I didn’t know what the hell you were.”
You are mine. Nothing will take me away from you.
“Tell that to the human subconscious, buddy. That’s where they think dreams come from, last I heard. Might’ve changed the science by now.”
How can I do that?
“It was a joke. You can’t.”
Why not?
“It just doesn’t work that way.”
It should.
Eddie grinned. “Yeah, it should. But it doesn’t, so, guess we’re gonna be living with abandonment issues for a while.”
You have abandonment issues?
“Not as bad as I used to. Hell, I dunno if I should even call it that. I probably shouldn’t. I just… can’t really handle being alone.”
You will never be alone again.
“Why does that sound like a threat?”
It is not a threat. It is a promise.
“Somehow that sounds even worse.”
Venom took the liberty of wrapping himself around Eddie a little tighter. Not too tightly, of course; they had already figured out a long time ago what was comforting and what was smothering. Nobody knew Eddie better than Venom did.
Go back to sleep. I will be here when you wake up.
Eddie yawned, managed a little nod, and closed his eyes. “Mm. Sounds good.”
These days, it was impossible for Eddie to ever feel completely alone. Even so, there had been a few nights where he was just miserable, incapable of feeling any kind of comfort because he still wasn’t quite used to sleeping in a bed without Anne. Nights where his bed was just too empty to do him any good and the couch was too cold and cramped to do him any good. But he was adjusting, day by day, and it was far easier than it had ever been before. He drifted off completely enveloped in Venom’s warmth.
Sweet dreams, Eddie.