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The first thing that threw a wrench in his plans was the Christmas tree. Or rather, the size of it.
Eddie had made an effort to wake up early that morning. He had been chasing a story for the past few weeks, investigating the disappearance of a lawyer with high connections, staying up the night to stake out locations or revise his piece. But for today, he was taking himself off the case. It was his first Christmas with Venom, and it had to be perfect.
Eddie had become rather good at shielding his thoughts from his symbiote, but at the mention of their name, Venom perked up. What is it, Eddie?
He was waiting for his water to boil. “You’ll see. I have a surprise for us.”
There was a pleasant rumble between his ribs in response. A small, intrigued hmmmm .
Eddie was going through his daily routine of making coffee when a flash of something white outside the window caught his eye. He set down his mug on the nearest surface, heart pounding in his chest, and pulled up the blinds. That white orb he saw was a snowflake. It was snowing.
The fear thumping through his blood instantly melted to disbelief, then a certain kind of joy. Since moving back to live in San Francisco, he had barely seen snow, lest on Christmas day. He remembered loving the snow as a kid, running out front with his tiny gloves to decorate their lawn with snow angels. It was one of his happiest, fondest memories of his childhood.
Venom had grown a head and twisted around his shoulder to take a better look. At the foreign sight, the slits of their eyes narrowed. They rifled through his memories, felt young Eddie cup a ball of snow in his hands for a snowman, take a snowflake on his tongue. With a tendril, Venom opened the window and attempted to do the same. Brandishing their long, alien tongue, Venom managed to score a dozen snowflakes before turning back to Eddie, showing off their catch.
Snow?
“Yeah, bud,” Eddie was already smiling. Today was going to be okay.
The hypermarket, when they got there, was mostly empty.
They strode past the few shoppers who were purchasing the last ingredients for tonight’s dinner, those stocking up on winter gear since the snow had just set in, and a surprising number of parents hoping to secure a last-minute gift for their children. Eddie navigated them through the aisle, Christmas tunes blasting on the speakers, before arriving on the one marked: Festive Decorations. They rounded the corner and looked down.
Rows and rows of Christmas trees greeted them, a lush green display arranged in a certain way that didn’t quite produce the effect the staff had wanted it to. Venom scrutinised them. Some models were strung up with decorations, others laid bare. Some were much taller than the others, some had branches more sparse, some just looked sad. Eddie picked up the nearest packaged one in an acceptable price range and headed for the next section.
Boxes of ornaments in different colour schemes were laid out for their choosing. Eddie let Venom decide on the colour.
Venom was thoughtful. Grey. Looks delicious. Like brain matter.
Eddie held back a laugh. After spending all this time with Venom, he should have known they would respond as such. Nevertheless, he added the box with a grey colour scheme into their trolley. “Not everything has to be edible, V.”
That earned him a few odd looks in the quiet hypermarket. Eddie swept a few more chocolate bars off the shelf and hurried to check out their purchases.
One of the many downsides to living in an apartment in the city is the low ceiling space. And the tiny, winding staircases. And the even tinier windows.
Eddie should have planned this.
They bid their first try on the stairs, but quickly realised they had a problem. The package that the tree came in was slim, but long, which made it difficult to turn corners, or to hold upright. Eddie supposed they could always use force, but the tree had cost a sum, though small, and he didn’t want to break it already.
They tried the window next. After ensuring that there was no one lurking in the alley, Eddie let Venom’s form engulf him. Venom was sticky, and easily scaled the wall up to their window, but the tree was not, and it was quite tricky to climb with one hand holding it. They made it up, pressed against the side of the window. They had the package hugged in one hand, the other holding onto the cracks in the wall when a bright idea occurred to them.
Extending one of their tendrils, Venom used it to lift the package and heft it lengthwise through the window. It disappeared. There was a loud thump. They waited.
Something that sounded like glass shattered.
Oops.
It was the coffee table that got absolutely wrecked, but Eddie figured that that was okay, since they got the Christmas tree in, and now they had a corner to prop it up.
After sweeping all of the debris into a trash bag and holding back tears when he realised how much the table cost, Eddie climbed back downstairs to dispose of it. Venom had shrunk back into just a head and was apologising profusely to Eddie. He gave them a boop on the forehead to let them know he forgave them. It’s alright, V, it’s the thought that counts. They rarely used the coffee table anyway.
With the floor now cleaned of any injury risks, they finally set to work on the tree.
Inspecting the box together, they discovered a slit held together by clear tape on the side. They didn’t have a penknife, so they improvised and used one of Venom’s claws to slice the box open. It unfolded nicely to reveal a moderately-sized tree, with an adequate balancing of branches and a stand that had to be manually attached. Unfortunately, the instructions that came with it were only in pictures, and stumped them both for the better part of an hour.
It says that the screws should go in this way, Eddie.
“But the legs facing up? How would that support the tree?”
It is what it says in the pictures!
Eddie regained control of his right hand and brought the instruction manual closer to him so that they could inspect it again. Everything was just as he remembered and Venom had described. Unless…
He spun the manual around.
There was a long silence.
Finally, Venom let out something equivalent to a snort. We’ve been holding it upside down, Eddie.
Eddie sighed, but there was a smile tugging on his lips. “Yes, V, I can see that.”
There was another problem with the tree. It was too tall.
It took their combined strength to pick it up, and when they propped it up against the side, the top of the tree folded against the ceiling and it nearly toppled over. By placing enough weights on the opposite portion of the stand, they managed to convince the tree to continue standing. Eddie backed away from it cautiously.
They waited for five seconds. Ten seconds. Twenty. Forty. A minute.
Eddie! I smell success!
Then, a small groan rumbled from behind the branches. The tree began to tilt.
Eddie cursed beneath his breath and dove for cover.
Nothing could be done. They left the tree lying on the floor. It was either that or slice the top half off, and Eddie didn’t quite have the heart to do that.
They were sprawled out on the floor, lounging parallel to the tree. Eddie held one of the chocolate bars they had bought that morning in his hand, wrapper half-torn. He plucked out the little squares and alternatively fed them to Venom and himself. It felt pathetic, but at least from this position, the tree still seemed to be standing.
“Sorry this Christmas isn’t great,” Eddie mumbled.
You’re right. Venom mused between mouthfuls. We broke a table. You’re feeding us chocolate. We’re lying on the floor. Christmas is fantastic!
Eddie’s heart warmed. “V, that wasn’t what I—”
But the chocolate had reminded him of something. He sat up.
“The brain matter!”
The box of grey ornaments was exactly where they left them, tucked in the corner on the countertop. Eddie retrieved them, and unpacked it gingerly. He fished out one of the ornaments, a small, grey heart, and handed it to Venom, who took it carefully with a tendril.
“Care to do the honours?"
Venom gave a mock bow (or at least what they could manage of it with their serpentine head) and lifted the tendril with the ornament to a branch. It took a bit of orientation and balance, but eventually, they were able to hook the silver string onto the thicket. Between the horizontal tree and Venom's awkward technique, the heart dangled precariously, but stayed on.
Eddie slipped another ornament to Venom. This time it was a grey snowflake, sparkling silver in the light. It went on the tree.
One ornament at a time, the tree began to fill. They fell into step with the process and the hours softened into a blur. Venom’s tendrils did most of the hanging, though sometimes Eddie would look over, and finding something off, would readjust their positioning. Venom didn’t mind. They liked it that Eddie was working with them, in sync, two minds in the building of something better. It was slow, but easy. Comfortable.
Too comfortable. When Venom realised, it was already too late. They tugged on one of their tendrils. It was wrapped up in one branch and tied into a knot with another. They tugged it again. Harder. It didn’t budge.
Eddie, they said. Eddie!
“Hmm?”
The tree is tangled with us!
“The tree is what?”
Tangled! Tangled! Eddieee!
Venom found Eddie on the couch a few hours later, smiling dumbly at his phone as he engaged in an online conversation with Anne. Curious, they drifted over to read the messages by his shoulder.
And then we set up the tree. Three guesses to what happened , Eddie wrote.
V got stuck in it? Anne replied teasingly.
Eddie had already typed a reply. Bingo.
Venom froze both of Eddie’s hands before he could hit send, which earned them a glare. “Let go, V.”
They glared back. Tell anyone what happened, and we will eat your delicious face.
The words came out harsher than they meant, loud in the peaceful silence of the apartment. Eddie blinked, and Venom worried that they might have ruined the moment, but then he must have realised, because he burst into laughter. “Okay, okay, fine. I’ll delete it. I’ll delete it.”
With an embarrassed harumph , Venom released their hold and watched closely as Eddie did as he promised. Their host turned to them, eyes twinkling. “You gotta admit though, that was kind of funny.”
Venom’s jaw fell. Before they could come up with a response, they were interrupted by a buzz from Eddie’s phone.
V’s not letting you reply, are they? Anne wrote. Aw, you guys are perfect for each other.
Another buzz.
Don’t worry, V, your secret’s safe with me.
The message ended with a cartoon image of a female human winking, who Venom assumed was to represent Anne.
Reading the messages, they felt something in them give way. Why did Anne have to be so damn likeable?
Fine, they grumbled. But only Anne can know.
Eddie grinned. V said they wouldn’t kill you , he typed. Send.
They won’t regret that , came the response. By the way, did you get the gift yet? Did you like it?
Eddie’s typing faltered. He stopped. Read the message once. Read it again. What gift?
The three dots bounced on the screen, then disappeared. There was no response. Eddie turned to the space where Venom’s head drifted, but they were gone too, quickly sinking into his skin.
“V?” Eddie sounded confused, but their host was quick-thinking, and quickly figured it out. “Aw, come on. Did you ask Anne to get something for me?”
Venom had tucked themselves behind in the soft between his lungs, and could not hide the blush from their voice as they spoke. Maybe.
Eddie’s laugh was a deep, rumbling sound, and it felt really, really good.
“Packages for Mr. Brock,” came the gruff voice from outside the door.
“Uh, yes,” Eddie said, distracted by the telenovela they had put on the TV. “Just leave them outside. Thanks.”
When the footsteps receded, Eddie stood and moved toward the door. Venom’s neck extended to accommodate the extra distance as their face remained in place above the couch, eyes still fixed to the screen. Sue them, the story had been really engaging.
Eddie walked back and grabbed the remote, putting the show on pause. “Sorry, V, but it’s time for the gift exchange.”
We could have just done it over the— Wait. Did Eddie just say gift exchange?
“Sure, I did, buddy.”
Venom’s face leaped from the couch and pressed closer to Eddie’s. They grinned with all their teeth. Oh! Eddie bought a gift for us! We have a gift!
Eddie had set down two packages on the cushion between them. Both had rectangular shapes, but one was big and tough, the other one smaller and softer. Both were wrapped nicely. Both seemed like presents.
Hmm. Carefully, Venom picked up the smaller and softer one with a tendril, and handed it to Eddie. For Eddie, our perfect host.
Eddie, in turn, claimed the heavier one, and lifted it so that Venom could clasp it with their teeth. “For you, V.”
No sooner was the gift in their mouth that Venom began tearing the wrapper apart. The object made a soft, thudding noise as it was dropped onto the cushion. There was no dent, the shape did not change. So the gift was something hard. A huge slab of stone? As more of the wrapping was ripped off, the gift revealed to have…pages? It was some sort of book, enfolded with a hard cover. There was a feral excitement in them as they removed the last few pieces of packaging, and yes, yes! It was a hardcover book, with a beige white cover, a simplistic design of a crisscrossing spoon and fork, paired with wavy gold lettering that read: The Newlywed Table: A Cookbook to Start Your Life Together .
They read the title again. Something lodged in their throat as the true meaning of Eddie’s gift dawned on them.
They raised their head to look at Eddie, who looked as if he had the same stuck-in-the-throat feeling as well. He was holding up two black, nylon bracelets, each adorned with magnetic charms, and was staring at them with awe. They box that had produced them had a cover that read: Magnetic Couple Bracelet Set .
“Th-these are beautiful,” Eddie managed to say, trying one on on his right wrist. It fitted snugly. “And thoughtful. Thank you, V.”
Of course, Eddie. But— They held up the cookbook and waved it in the air —does this mean you hate my cooking?
Eddie froze for a few seconds, before panicking. “No, no, no, V, of course not—”
It was just a joke, Eddie. Haha. We got ya.
The colour returned to Eddie’s face. He looked significantly more relieved. “Y-Yeah.”
We were just teasing you. Venom laughed, then, after their host’s heart rate dropped back to normal, they said in a more earnest tone. We appreciate it, Eddie. We will treasure this gift.
They extended their presence beneath Eddie’s skin so it felt akin to a hug. Eddie smiled, leaning back against the couch. “You know, V, if you started to cook more appetisingly, you might just convince me to willingly eat brains.”
Hmm, Venom gave this thought a ponder, then said. Human brains?
“Still got a long way to go, buddy.”
They decided that that amused them.
Soaking in the comfortable silence, neither made a move to resume the TV. Instead, they listened as the city outside fell into a quiet hush, families and friends and lovers settling in for a warm night. Outside, the world spun, the lights dimmed, but none of it mattered. Only the happiness that settled in their hearts, the content that filled their bellies. Each other’s company.
Wordlessly, Eddie held out the second nylon bracelet.
A tendril curled around it and in a sudden motion, hurled it out the window.
Eddie snapped out of his reverie and rushed to look out the window where it had fallen, and noticed that the snow was still falling, covering the ground with a layer of rough white. The bracelet had disappeared.
“And what exactly did you do that for?”
Venom grinned mischievously and bumped their head against Eddie’s shoulder. We don’t need it, Eddie. We’re magnetic. We are the bracelet.
He sighed. “I hate you so much sometimes.”
We love you sometimes too, Eddie.
They resolved this by watching telenovelas late into the night and sleeping on the couch. Just when they were about to drift off, Venom said. Eddie.
“Hmm?”
Do you still hate us?
The slurred reply sounded like a smile. “Always, V, always.”