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Eddies blows on his hands, the wish to have gone out with gloves echoing through Venom. The symbiote could feel the rain dropping on the hood Eddie had pulled over his head, not a good enough protection against the sudden pouring water, and though they can’t do much for that, they still wrap around Eddie’s hands, covering them in black slick.
A sigh of relief escapes the man, a shiver running down his spine. “Thanks Ve,” he mutters against the cold, walking faster on the street to get back to the safety of their flat.
You are welcome. They purr softly on Eddie’s skin, covering the man’s chest like a close cloth, spreading their warmth.
A sound suddenly echoes in a side street, high pitched and sad, having Venom perking up. Eddie senses the change at the sudden stillness on him, stopping.
“What is it?”
Heard something. They can’t decipher what they heard, too foreign. Over there.
“Is it a bad guy?” Eddie asks, still walking in the alleyway, no fear in his tone.
There’s a rumble coursing through Venom, close to a laugh. No bad guy Eddie.
Eddies hums softly. “I trust you.” It rings true and sincere.
They make their way through the street, only finding junk and other abandoned things. The sound doesn’t come again, and it has Venom questioning if they really heard it.
Then it comes again, louder and so high Venom is tempted to fully retreat under the protection of Eddie’s skin.
But it’s Eddie’s turn to perk up at the noise, an urgency running through his mind, and he suddenly walks faster toward where they heard it.
I don’t like this Eddie. It’s grumbled, but it’s true; something doesn’t feel right in this.
Eddie huffs, unimpressed by the mystery of it all. “Don’t be an idiot,” he says, finding a pile of cardboard behind a trash container. The sound rings again, closer, making Venom shivers, prompting them to curl under Eddie’s chest, listening to his beating heart. Eddie rummages through the wet boxes, lifting some and throwing them to the side, before finding a taped one, deeply closed. “Son of a bitch,” Eddie mutters, something dark in his voice. “Of course I stopped carrying a knife. Ve?”
What’s in it?
“Nothing dangerous,” Eddie tells them, the promise clear in his thoughts.
Venom let it hang in the air, the scream coming again. I trust you. They wrap themselves around one of Eddie’s hands again, easily making claws at the tip of the fingers.
Eddie carefully scratches over the tape, opening the box carefully, prompting more screams to come out, the fear now clear in the noise. Venom gets curious, peeking out of Eddie’s shoulder, the head small next to the man’s, suddenly craving a better look at the creature.
Once Eddie is done, he goes head first with his human hand into the box, retrieving a small and trashing being, covered in orange fur and with pointy ears, small and harmless teeth and claws scratching at Eddie’s skin, driven by terror.
Eddie brings the little thing against his chest, opening his jacket and settling it under the cloth to warm it up. The thing is still screaming, but Venom is pretty sure they hear relief in it, somehow. They come closer with their head, softly examining it, curious, before poking it with their nose, finding it soft and tender.
What is it, Eddie?
“That, my dear friend,” Eddie answers all warmly, “that’s a kitten.”
What’s a kitten? The kitten meows a weak sound, echoing through Eddie’s chest and Venom’s entire being. Its eyes are closed, and it’s so very small.
“It’s a baby cat.” Eddie rubbed at the fur, trying to warm the kitten up, and walking back toward the main street, not heading to the flat anymore.
Venom goes back under his skin, settling on Eddie’s chest to feel the kitten against it, curious about this small creature. Mr. Belvedere is a cat.
“He is, yes.”
Babies aren’t supposed to be alone.
“No, they’re not,” Eddie confirms, that dark tone back. “Some dumb bitch left it there to die.” The anger coursing through Eddie’s blood is real and hot, warming Venom up. They know they shouldn’t find it delightful, that anger is a bad emotion for Eddie, screwing his brain up, but they can’t help themselves. It’s electric in a way they can’t really explain.
We are helping, Eddie. It’s a truth that he needs to hear, they know it.
Eddie sighs, anger reducing slightly, and even more as the kitten meows again. “Yeah, we are.”
They go to Mrs. Chen’s shop, and though Eddie says his greetings, Venom doesn’t move from their spot against the kitten. They even wrap gently around it, feeling it trembling, spreading their warmth. Eddie doesn’t say anything, but he feels the fondness through their bond, mixed with a little bit of pride.
Eddie buys special milk, and something that looks like a little pen for small animals - and also some chocolate, without being asked. When they go back outside, the rain has stopped, leaving the street dampened, but the air easier to breath.
The kitten stops trembling as they finally make it to the flat, welcomed by Sonny and Cher’s cackles. Eddie forgets to lock the door, and Venom does it as he heads to the small dinner table, placing the kitten on top of it. Sonny jumps on it to see what is going on, but Eddie shooes her away, focused on the small animal.
What do you need? They can feel the small stain of hopelessness in Eddie, quickly shut by his question.
“There’s a syringe in one the drawer,” he says, thinking. Gonna need a spoon too, I think.”
A syringe? Venom does as they’re asked, rummaging quickly through the drawers, finding said object.
“Used to run a rescue, a long time ago. Still have some things around.” The fact that he doesn’t have the place nor the money to do it again is left unsaid.
Venom sees memory despite themselves, sheltered animals, dogs and cats and birds and rats, and many others, dumped or sick or mistreated, and they retreat from them, stop spying into Eddie’s past.
They get out of Eddie’s body, keeping their head small, plopping onto Eddie’s to be able to look at the kitten just as clearly as him. They watch as Eddie takes some milk with the spoon, offering it to the small being for it to eat, but except getting it all over it furr, it doesn’t drink much. Eddie sighs, tries again by holding the kitten steadily, and when it fails again, takes the syringe and forces the kitten’s mouth open to feed it. Venom can both hear and feel it purring through Eddie’s hand, happy to receive food. It even starts to knead on Eddie’s hand, small claws digging into the flesh without making any damage. Venom’s first instinct is to hiss at the creature, unhappy about the slight pain they feel on Eddie’s skin, but Eddie sighs fondly and brings a hand above Venom’s head, patting them gently.
“All cats do that,” he reveals, leaving his hand on him for a moment before retrieving it. Venom instantly misses the contact. “That’s how kittens drink milk.”
It hurts. Not really, he was more surprised than hurt. Still.
Eddie chuckles, head rising just slightly as if trying to look at him. “It did not, you big baby.” Venom slides forward, settling far on his forehead, meeting his eyes and seeing the fond smile on his face.
You’re the baby.
“Pff, whatever you say,” Eddie laughs, focusing back on the kitten, who finished the syringe. Eddie feels another one, and the kitten drinks just as happily from it. “You’re quite hungry, are you?” Eddie mutters softly, petting the small thing’s head. “What am I gonna do with you?”
I can eat it.
“What, no!”
I was joking, Eddie.
Eddie grumbles, pressing a hand over his face. “I hate you.”
I love you too. Venom purrs on top of Eddie’s head, eyes almost closing under the affection leaking through their bond.
Eddies sighs, and focus on the kitten again. “It’s gonna be a lot of work to take care of it.” He bends forward, pushing the kitten’s tail to look at something Venom is slightly confused about. “Her.”
Venom huffs. Why does everything need a gender?
“I don’t think she was alone that long,” Eddie thinks out loud, stroking the orange fur absentmindedly while she finishes the syringe. “Otherwise she would--” He stops, but the word still echoes in his mind, loud and clear. “She seems close to two weeks, but I’m not sure.”
How are we going to help?
“Gotta feed her regularly,” Eddie asserts, pushing the syringe away. He takes the small thing back against him, holding her gently. “Every three, four hours.” Eddie groans, head falling back, pictures of restless nights flashing in his mind. “M’not gonna sleep a lot.”
You sleep. I feed.
Eddie blinks. “You don’t know how to do it. And don’t go over my memories again,” he adds in a warning tone.
You can show me. I learn fast. You sleep and I feed.
There's a pause settling over them, only broken by the kitten’s purr and muffled meows, and the chickens’ soft cackles.
“Okay.” It pleases Venom a lot more than they thought it would, and Eddie feels it, a smirk growing on his lips. “You’re already soft on her, are you?”
I’m NOT soft!
“Right,” he says in a chuckle, and Venom sinks back under his skin with a grumble. “You know it’s cute when you do that?”
Shut up!
“Can eat your head off but can’t take compliments,” Eddie mutters with something a bit too fond even for Venom. They squirm inside of him, unable to decide if they just want to escape their shared body or if they want to settle over his brain and experience it all over again. “It’s not bad to be a big softy. ”
Leaving would be preferable. I’m gonna kill you.
“You’re not.” Venoms hates that he’s right. “I’m too comfortable.” Eddie really was.
The kitten suddenly jerks in Eddie’s hand, suddenly wanting to move and go forward. Eddie places her at the crook of his arm, allowing her to move around on him.
“She needs a name,” he whispers, their little fight forgotten.
Beast. She did bite Eddie when they found her. Or tried to.
Eddie rolls his eyes, knowing how bad Venom is at naming things. He looks over the little cat, watching her trying to climb his chest, her orange fur bright under the light above them.
“Rumpleteazer.”
Venom has to get out of him and look him right in the eyes. What?
“Her name,” Eddie explains, raising an eyebrow while smirking. “Rumpleteazer.” He looks back down at her. “It’s from a musical.”
Venom doesn’t understand how musicals work, and they really hate them.
Rum is shorter. They’re not gonna accept this fate that easily.
Eddie only huffs, giving him a side eye. “If you say so.” So that’s a lost battle.
Venom looks at the cat instead of Eddie’s insufferable face, and gets closer again, making their head smaller. They poke her, making her jump toward, both scared and as if about to fight, but her claws don’t hurt them in the slightest. They press against her again, and she’s less surprised this time, accepting the strange affection.
Okay, maybe they’re soft on her.