Work Text:
The young woman took one headphone from its case and put it in her ear before stepping out of the car. Turning it on low volume she made her way up the path toward the church. She had to finish up the approval for the new Sunday school desks and figure out where Jeremy had put the spare keys.
It was only 8 pm so she wasn't too concerned about her 7 am wake-up call tomorrow. She just wanted to be home before 10 to watch the next episode of Lucifer before going to bed. Laughing to herself about the slight irony as she unlocked the church's side door and letting herself in. She is sure to lock it behind her before going to her office.
By 9:30 the paperwork was completed. Filing it away she thought about where the keys may have gotten of to. A strange unease came over her as she thought about the door. She had locked it right? Yes, of course, she had... Maybe she will spare a second look before looking for the keys.
Sure enough, the door was locked, just as she had left it. Beginning to look for the keys a small noise begins to draw her attention. It sounded like tiny paws scuffling around on a paper bag, one that occasionally was torn from. A mouse, surely, trying to make a nest from an old bible in the sanctuary.
She goes to save the book and check from further damage. Fitting an exterminator into the budget would be annoying but not impossible.
She finds the offended bible laid out in the middle of the aisle between the pews. Oh of course it had been eaten up! Who leaves a book, any book, on the floor!?
She goes to collect it. When she bends to grab it she notices the page it's been turned to.
"The Book of Revelations," She mutters to herself picking it up. "That's pretty funny since this is your end." She closes the book as she straightens up. Her back pressing into something-no. Someone behind her.
Whipping around and backing up she's confronted with a smiling red-haired man, about 6' tall. He chuckles at her reaction,
"Who are you?!" She doesn't mean to shout, but then again who the hell breaks into a church?!
"Oh miss, there's no need to be afraid. We're just hungry." He states; it wasn't ment to calm her down that much is clear. He steps closer backing her toward the church's front doors, she allows this, they're always unlocked from the inside. She can probably make it to the neighbors.
As she presses her back to the old wooden doors he presses up close to her. Oh god, what the hell is he planning? She doesn't give that thought any attention, whatever it is it won't happen. Her hand grazes the church doors handle, pressing the thumb latch slowly to avoid any noise she yanks it, only to find it barred. She only has a moment to look and sees a broom and a candle holder jammed into the handles.
Grabbing her hand the man slams it to the door above her head, she tries to claw his arm and free herself. He ignores this and leans closer,
"Now, now, it's awfully rude to run from your guests isn't it?"
"Guest? You're not welcome-"
"Guests." He corrects, her heart sinks even further. There was another, somewhere, she just couldn't see them.
"Allow us to answer your earlier question." He purrs out smooth as can be, if he weren't so goddamn unsettling he may even be considered charming. "I am Cletus. Cletus Kassidy." She tries to struggle more, fear pulsating through her. His free hand grabs her hip pinning her further. This crazy psycho killer was no stranger to her. His face was plastered on every news station. She would be his first victim after he and that wack-job reporter, Eddie Brock broke out of prison together.
"Let me guess, you're friend is that wannabe vigilanté?" She risks the guess, trying to judge just how hopeless her situation truly is. Kassidy laughs, he laughs at her! If she weren't so terrified she'd smack him.
"No~ Brock and I aren't friends. His escape merely aided my own." The man smiles fondly, the only normal emotion this guy has shown. "Though I really should thank him. He helped fill the empty void inside me that night we escaped."
"Ew." She nearly wretches at what that could imply. Kassidy's face contorts into one of anger,
"Not like that you little!" He calms himself and sneers, "His other introduced me to my beloved. Though neither of them know that yet." That fond, almost loving smile was back. She really doubted he knew what love was.
"So...where is this partner?"
"Right here of course," He touches his chest over his heart the smile growing wider yet not unsettling. That sounded like a badly written romcom- Her eyes widen in horror as blood-red tentacles sprout from that place wrapping around their host.
She screams, oh god does she scream...and they let her.
They make her.
When they have finished the center aisle and altar of the chapel are trailed with blood. Cletus straightens up his blood-soaked suit, sure he had stolen it from a businessman, finders keepers, right? They had been planning this evening for ages.
Now, where was it? He looked over what remained of the headless, skinless corpse of the woman they had shown true hell to.
"Baby have you seen-" Red holds up the womans dismembered hand in its little tendrils. "Perfect."
He takes it and plucks her wedding ring off of it. Pulling her husbands from his suit pocket he holds them together. Red bumps its head to his and lets out a gravely purr. Red tendrils cover their left hand and Cletus takes a separate one into his right.
"Ready?"
"Ready. We still think this is silly though."
"Mama didn't raise me to be a shit partner...fact mama didn't raise me at all but you know what I mean." Red rumbles a little laugh through their link and nuzzles him.
"Let's do your stupid human thing."
"Right," Cletus clears his throat.
"We are here today to be bound in holy matrimony. If anyone should disagree with this union I will gut them. Stay silent."
Red purrs at the undirected threat, Cletus can't help the smirk he gets, Red really was a doll.
"I, Cletus Cortland Kasady, take you, to be my eternally bonded partner. To kill and to maim for, for better or for worse, in heaven or in hell, to love and cherish from this day until the bitter end. I do."
He expected Red to just parrot the lines back to him, nothing special, imagen his surprise when Red said something else.
"We were hollowed out inside, empty... just like you. We were both sick because we were incomplete, but not anymore. We healed each other... made each other whole. Neither one of us can survive without the other. Forget symbiote, forget host. There is only Carnage."
The familiar words warmed the parts of him that only Red could, they were his own words but they ment so much more here.
"I do" Red added. Cletus laughs and slipped the rings onto their bound left hand.
"You better, baby," he has more to say but Red drags him into a very tongue-y kiss.
Excitement thrums through the symbiote, this is the thing they wanted all night. The special kiss. The one that would make them bonded in the human world.
They had strange rules but the symbiote did not care, Cletus said they were just words. How silly to think that and yet follow these ones. Whatever, the joy Red received from their bond was enough reason for them to disregard all other reasons. His host was happy and in love, it filled Red through their bond and fueled them.
They wanted nothing more than to make Cletus feel good; killing was incredible, fucking was even better, but whatever this moment was, it was the best.