Chapter Text
Eddie was terrified when he saw Dylan. Boy's arm was hurt and he had a black eye. And then he asked him to kill their father. Apparently there is always another bottom waiting for you to hit it. He felt he could do it or, more precisely, would do it, oh God, why was he lying? he wanted to do it, but somehow, maybe because of this emptiness inside him, he refused.
''But you are Venom, you kill bad guys!'' his brother cried. ''You need to help me. Please!''
''Sorry, kid'' Eddie responded. ''Venom no more. I never was Venom, we were Venom. Funny thing we use 'you' for both singular and plural.'' Eddie took a note aloud.
''What are you talking about? I saw you... saw you use this... it... thing.'' Dylan was confused how to exactly call what he saw.
''Not a thing! An intelligent alien lifeform! And... now it's dead.'' Eddie struggled to speak out those words. ''And it's my fault.'' he avoided looking into his brother's face.
''Well, it didn't look dead to me. It was so... rapid? Vivid?''
''But my symbiote doesn't have a mind on its own anymore.'' Eddie sighed sorrowfully.
''I thought you controlled it all the time, like, you know, some kind of superpower.''
''No! Why?'' Eddie almost felt offended by those words. ''We used to talk, share dreams and memories. But why I'm telling this to you, anyway?''
''Because you are my brother?''
'What a bizarre turn of events.' Eddie thought. 'Looks like I've never had sister, but I have brother I've never met before. Universe really hates me.' his wondering was stopped by his cough. It was blood, blood again. Maybe that's for better, maybe he should die in pain. Probably it's cancer again. 'Somebody please end this quick.'
''I've only met you once before, we don't know each other. Perhaps I'd better stay this way.'' Eddie added through coughs.
''You are sick! You need help!''
''Nah, I'll be fine.'' Eddie lied. ''I survived much worse things.'' this one might be true.
''You are coughing blood! This is not fine by any means.''
''Calm down, will you? I'm not sick, just tired, and to be honest in a mild shock. World wasn't too kind to me recently.''
''Is that why you returned to San Francisco? I saw how our dad treated you. He never talks about you. I... was kind of spying your conversation with dad.'' boy noted embarrassed. ''Heard you talk about Mary. Who was she? Our sister?''
''Yes, Mary was my sister. Or so I thought. Right now I'm not so sure of anything at all. Maybe I just imaginated her. My memories are shattered.''
''Well, dad never talked about her or you...''
''You've said that already.'' Eddie rolled his eyes.
''… or your mom. He has a lot of secrets. How she looked like?''
''My mother or Mary?''
''Mary. I found a picture of a young girl with shoulder-length blond hair and blue eyes. It was hidden in some box, dad probably didn't want anyone to find it.''
''It... could be Mary. That's how she looked like. But why would he lie to me about his daughter? Forget that question, that man would do anything to torture me.''
''Then why won't you help me? You want it as much as I do!'' Dylan tried to convince his brother.
''And then what?! What will happen when he's dead?''
''Um... I... don't... I? Ah''
''Just as I thought. You've got no freaking idea, no plan. Listen, I pity you, I'd like to help you, but what you want me to do is no helping. Do you want to spend the rest of your life thinking about how you killed your dad? Do you want to have your life ruined by that creature of our father?''
''Eddie, please! I can't go back there! We could move to New York, please, I don't want ot stay here, please.'' Dylan begged.
''Well, I've lost my flat in the Big Apple. You can't stay with me on the streets, either. Go back home, there are much worse things in this world than our dad, believe me.''
''Hm, 'kay'' boy sobbed turning his back on his brother. ''But I'll come and visit you again, I can't stand him anymore. Not alone.'' he said before he went away.
''Maybe fear of the loneliness is coded into our genes, our very existence.'' Eddie responded.
He was running out of money, he'll probably just spend this wonderful night near that astonishing trashcan with his other by his side as a dog. 'And to think we... I... was... were... once fearsome Spider-Man's enemy.' Eddie felt instant flood of bitterness, anger and regret. He had it all, he had family, they had their sweet baby (now somewhere travelling through the space), for a brief moment he felt like he could even befriend Flash – he knew that his... their other would be thrilled – but then of course that moron Flash had to die, like everything meaningful in Eddie's life. 'Screw it! ''Fuck it all and no regrets I hit the lights on these dark sets' '' he sang in his thoughts. ' ''I'm madly in anger with''... myself, the whole world.'
Eddie counted the little money he still had. It should suffice. He went to the drugstore, glad it was still opened. He remembered those pills he took to silence his other. He hated them then, he hated them now even more. Had he known how little time was left for them, he would have cherished every moment, every word his love spoke. But that was never going to come back, his happiness ended forever. How stupid, how dump he was, he is. Eddie bought the medicine he despised so much. Then he went to shop and bought some alcohol. He was quite surprised that nobody attacked him so far, knowing his luck it should be quite contrary.
When he got back to his dark alley, he looked around. No, this wasn't right place, he had to hide. He wouldn't like his might-be-brother to find him. How did that kid even find him in the first place? Did he walk alone that late in the not-so-safe places of the city often? Was any of this even real? This felt so unreal, his whole life was unreal. Bonding with alien? Falling in love with said alien? Being one of the most popular villains? What was even his life about? What had he forgotten?
Finally, when he found some better hidden space, he sat down. He pulled the bottle with pills.
''I'm sorry, my love. For everything. For silencing you, ignoring you, hating you and chasing when you bonded with Flash. I'm sorry for not loving you enough, not understanding you, my lack of trust, being selfish. I love you and I have failed you, failed more times I can even count. Can you hear me? Can you... will you... will you let me die? T-tto b-b-be with-th you a-ag-ain?'' Eddie cried like a baby when he spoke the final words.
He took a handful of medicines and gazed at them. Perhaps they will silence him forever.
' ''À tout le monde, à tous mes amis'', heh, I don't have friends anymore.' Eddie went on singing in his mind. ' ''If my heart was still alive I know it would surely break'', but I died with you.'
Then he swallowed them and drank the alcohol he had with him.
' ''Moving on is a simple thing'', well, not so simple.' he cried.
And then there was darkness.