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Venom could already tell it was going to be a bad night, or rather a bad morning.
The sun was just starting to rise, the pre-dawn grey battling with the sickly yellow from the street lights below, but Eddie, their Eddie, was lying in bed. He had been there for hours, trying to sleep but only managing to stare blankly at the glowing red alarm clock.
The previous afternoon, they had finally broken a big story about a human trafficking ring that had kept Eddie awake and working for seconds or possibly years- Venom wasn’t sure which; human timekeeping was still alien to them. All they knew was that by the end, Eddie had been running on mostly caffeine and the single nap he’d taken during the ride from one scene to another interview and was moving from his usual grumpiness into unbearable asshole territory.
Even Venom, who was not generally a fan of Eddie sleeping, recognized that Eddie needed sleep and hadn’t grumbled when Eddie crashed almost the moment they emailed the completed article to their editor. Secretly, they had been a bit relieved. They were looking forward to the quiet time for themselves, needing to digest a couple of henchmen they had managed to eat before the police turned up, and wanting a break from Eddie’s increasingly jangled feelings and thoughts.
Unfortunately, things hadn’t worked out for either of them.
Everything was the same as it usually was when Eddie slept, he was in the bed with his pillow over his head like he preferred, it had been dark when he lay down, and even their dick neighbor had been silent, Venom had made sure of that. Everything was perfect, but instead of drifting off to sleep, here Eddie was: wide awake, his mind caught in an endless cycle of dark thoughts and self recriminations.
It was something that had happened before during the time Venom had been with Eddie, one they credited to humans being very poorly evolved. It was a shame that such a perfect host was stuck with an imperfect body, despite everything Venom could do. Eddie had asked them not to do anything to directly alter or affect his brain, so they couldn’t just force him to sleep. Instead, they had done some research in the form of human ‘television’ and formulated a plan for the next sleepless night.
Now, they waited long enough to be sure Eddie wasn't going to be able to break free of his own thoughts enough to fall asleep, before pulling some of their substance from its usual resting place around Eddie’s heart. They oozed out of his chest, forming a small head a few inches from Eddie’s frowning face.
Eddie, they said, waiting until Eddie opened one bloodshot eye to glare at them. Tell me a bedtime story.
“A what?” Eddie demanded, his voice teetering on the border between anger and resignation.
A bedtime story. You know, a short story to relax me and teach me moral lessons.
“Oh, I know what a bedtime story is. The question is how do you?”
Internet, Venom answered laconically. They saw no reason to let Eddie know how many made-for-TV movies they watched late at night.
“And you decided that you need one right now?” Eddie grumbled. “I was trying to sleep.”
Diplomatically, Venom didn’t point out that what he had actually been doing was completely failing to sleep. Yes, I need one right now. I am bored.
“Well, I guess I’d better tell you a story then. God knows I don’t need you to take up eating out of boredom.”
Eating is good for boredom?
“Forget I mentioned it,” Eddie backtracked quickly. “What sort of story would you like?”
Venom was prepared for this question, hoping to use the opportunity to answer something they had been thinking about for a while. One about us, about how we met.
“Really? I’m pretty sure that isn’t really a good bedtime story.”
But you can make it one. You are good at making stories, Venom said, batting their eyes like they’d seen children in various shows and movies do to get their way. They could tell Eddie wasn’t taken in by the maneuver, but he was amused by it. That was actually better as far as Venom was concerned, the lightening of Eddie’s mood felt like the sun breaking through on a cloudy day.
“Well, how can I resist that?” Eddie asked, deadpan. “Let’s see. How about we start classically? Once upon a time, there was a brave knight named Eddie the Noble-”
More like Eddie the Loser, Venom interrupted.
“Did you want a story or not?”
Yes, Eddie. I will be quiet.
“No, you won’t. But I’m too used to it by now.”
When Venom had no retort for that, Eddie continued. “Okay, fine, so there was Eddie the Noble-” Eddie paused, clearly expecting another comment from Venom, but, true to their word, the symbiote kept quiet. “And he was very unappreciated in his home kingdom, so he moved to the magical kingdom of San Francisco.”
Magically cold and damp.
“Can’t argue with you there. But, for all that, it was a great land. It was there that he met a beautiful and powerful princess named Anne the Fierce. They fell in love and became engaged to be married, and everything was perfect. Or at least everything seemed perfect…” Eddie trailed off.
Why are you stopping? That is not the end of the story.
“I was just pausing for dramatic effect.”
Oh. Venom said, then paused for a second himself. Have we been dramatic enough now?
“I guess. So, Eddie and Anne were happy together and planning their wedding. Or they were until the noble knight became aware of a dark force spreading out across the land, stealing away the kingdom’s poor and the powerless. And that force was named Carlton Drake.”
Big surprise.
Eddie ignored him. “Drake was a great and powerful wizard, but in him there lived a great fear. A fear of death. And that fear poisoned his heart, making him do evil things in the name of good.
“Well, Sir Eddie couldn’t let that stand, he had to protect the kingdom’s people! So, ignoring his boss- er- his commanding officer’s orders, he boldly rode into the wizard’s castle and challenged him to a duel before the whole world, or at least the part of it that watched his show.”
So, Venom asked sweetly. In front of two whole people?
“Hey! My show was very popular.”
So is the Bachelor.
“Ouch! Low blow, buddy. My show was popular enough to get me the interview after all. Or, rather, to get Sir Eddie into the evil wizard Drake’s castle to challenge him with a, um, spell he’d unwisely borrowed from Anne. But that time, Sir Eddie was unprepared for the wizard’s cunning magic, and Drake was able to curse him. The curse took away his job, his knighthood, and even his smart princess, leaving Eddie alone and with nothing. But he was not defeated!”
No, he was pretty defeated.
Eddie spoke louder over the correction, “And he kept fighting-”
More like moping and drinking.
“-FIGHTING. Until he was finally able to break back into the wizard’s castle.”
Break in? That doctor all but drug you into the lab, didn’t she.
“Not in this story,” Eddie said. “And while he was there he uncovered, um, a suit of magical talking armor locked away deep in Drake’s dungeon.”
‘Uncovered?’ More like stumbled across. You were just wandering around aimlessly and would have walked right by us.
“I’ll have you know, Sir Eddie was very purposely gathering evidence against the evil wizard. That’s what he was doing when he found where the magical armor had been locked away for being an annoying smartass.”
Annoying?!
“Yeah! It kept people up at night and called them losers and stranded them at the top of very tall trees.”
Well, the suit would not do those things if Eddie was not a loser.
“Or if the suit wasn’t a para-”
Don’t say it, Venom growled.
Innocently, Eddie asked, “What? I can’t say it was apparently a shithead?”
Takes one to know one.
“I can’t really argue with that,” Eddie said through a half-stifled yawn. “But anyhow, the magical armor helped Eddie escape the evil Drake’s castle. Working together, they then defeated Drake and his magical armor: Riot and saved the whole world.”
So much more than that happened. You are leaving out all the good parts!
“Vee, it’s late. I really need to sleep. Besides, you were there. You know what happened.”
Not all of it.
“Oh?”
I do not know what happened while we were apart, after Drake’s men took you.
“Don’t you? It mean it’s all right there in my head. Not that it was really all that exciting.”
Your memories are all foggy with pain and sadness. You thought you were dying. You thought that I ate all your organs.
“And I wasn’t exactly wrong in thinking that, was I?”
I was fixing it. I did that damage before I knew better.
“Better than to eat people from the inside out? I’d have thought that’d be an easy thing to figure out, given your six hundred million years of alien wisdom.”
No. It was before I knew better than to eat your organs specifically. Before I knew you were the perfect host, and that I was going to keep you.
“That‘s sorta sweet. Or it is for me not so much for the rest of your hosts.”
They were not you. Do you forgive me for hurting you?
“Of course, love,” Eddie agreed, his voice soft and sleepy. “I forgave you a long time ago.”
Venom couldn’t help the surge of relief they felt, and knew Eddie would have felt it too. It made it easier to steel themself for the question that was really on their mind. They might not get another chance to ask it, particularly one while Eddie might be too tired to remember. ...and you don’t think I am ugly?
“What? No! Never, love. Why would you even ask?”
That was another part of you memories, Venom said just above a whisper. When you first saw Riot, you thought he was the ugliest thing you had ever seen.
“And he was.”
We look the same. He was just grey.
Eddie was quick to reassure them. “Oh, no, love. I mean, yeah, objectively I guess you look a bit similar, but Riot was clearly ugly on the inside.”
Because Drake was his host?
“No. Well, maybe. It’s more that I could tell instantly he was bad news. Even at your worst, threatening and eating bad guys, you are… playful about it. Does that make sense?” Eddie shrugged. “It’s hard to explain, I guess, but Riot was a monster who’d eat and destroy anything without a thought. He and Drake were well suited to one another that way. You’re just enthusiastic and cute. Like a puppy: All paws and claws but without any malicious intent.”
I am not sure I like being called a puppy.
“Well, do you like being called cute and adorable?”
Venom bumped his head against Eddie’s face. Only by you, Eddie. Everyone else should be terrified of me.
“Oh, I’m sure they are.”
Then, yes. I like being adorable and am glad you don’t think I am ugly.
“I’m sorry you were worried about it. You could’ve just asked, you didn’t need to demand a whole story to find out.”
I liked the story. I would like you to finish it- Venom started, only to be interrupted by a huge yawn from his host. -another time. Now we should go to sleep.
Eddie yawned again before saying, “That sounds like the most sensible thing you have ever said, darling. Not that there are that many sensible statements to choose from.”
Mean. But I will forgive you because you are tired.
“See, and that is why you’re the best thing to ever happen to me.”
Venom preened at that, though what he said was, Go to sleep, Eddie. You are delirious.
“And you are delicious,“ Eddie shot back, but he was already lying back down.
Love you, loser.
“Love you too,” Eddie muttered, his voice muffled by the pillow he’d pulled back over his head.
Venom spread out, covering Eddie from shoulder to waist, heavy and a bit warm the way he liked. Eddie also liked the way Venom vibrated slightly when he was particularly content, something the symbiote certainly was right now, as he felt his Eddie finally drifting off into the sleep his fragile human body needed.
Good night, Eddie, Venom said softly against Eddie’s ear, even though they knew Eddie was already asleep.