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“Hey, Vee?” Eddie asked as he flopped on the bed of his hotel room. The cream coloured sheets were coarse beneath him, par for the course with the cheapest hotel in the area, but it was still irritating. Venom’s tendrils curled protectively over his exposed skin, shielding him from the unpleasant fabric.
A romantic comedy played on the television in front of him. It wasn’t something he’d usually watch, but it was Venom’s turn to choose. Quite frankly, it baffles him that Venom watches that crap. “It explains more about your kind than the news,” they had told him, and Eddie supposed they were right. As an entity new to humanity, this certainly shows them human civilization’s idea of entertainment. However, he did not think this was the healthiest way to introduce them to the concept of romance.
“Yes, Eddie?”
“Are you... are you actually called a symbiote? Or is that a name Drake came up with?”
“Drake did come up with that name for us,” they stated.
“Do you want me to call you something else?”
“Symbiote is acceptable; it accurately describes what we are.”
“You sure?” he asked. “If there’s a proper name for your species I’ll gladly use it. I don’t want you to be defined by that psychopath.” A shudder ran down his spine at the memory of Drake.
They fell uncharacteristically silent. Eddie tried tapping into their bond to get a glimpse of their feelings, but he couldn’t. Venom had completely blocked him out.
“Vee, you okay?” he asked tentatively.
“Symbiote is fine.” They stated coldly, shutting down the conversation.
Eddie left it at that for now.
************************
Several days had passed since Eddie’s attempt at a conversation about their home world and species. He ruminated on it, a sense of unease growing in his chest. Why did they shut him out? Why hadn’t they told him about themselves?
A late-night television binge led to a new discovery in their relationship. Venom had developed an obsession with nature documentaries, more specifically those about aquatic life. Earth’s diverse array of wildlife seemed to fascinate the symbiote endlessly.
Eddie’s attention shifted back to the show at the word symbiosis . His head shot up, his eyes intently focused on the documentary playing in front of him.
“The snapping shrimp and goby fish live in harmony, making them a mutualistic symbiosis.
While symbiotic relationships are often mutually beneficial, they come in different varieties. There’s mutualism, where it is beneficial for both parties—“
Eddie looked at Venom, a small smile on his face.
“—there’s commensalism, where one benefits and one neither benefits nor is harmed, and there’s parasitism, where one party benefits at the other’s expense.”
Venom bristled at that, their form rippling agitatedly. They let out a small hiss, their eyes narrowing at the screen.
Eddie gently placed a hand on what could be considered their neck, running his hand along their surface the way one would a startled dog.
Their eyes narrowed contently as they leaned into his touch. Eddie smiled and continued to scratch the back of their head. A low purr rumbled from them as they continued to watch the documentary.
“Even more remarkably, the average symbiotic relationship between shrimp and goby fish will last a lifetime. They begin bonding as juveniles and remain partnered as adults, spending their days foraging together and sharing a burrow. It is still unclear why these two species have developed such a high level of co-dependency, but the symbiosis works well for both organisms.”
Venom’s head tilted to the side. They’re just like us, Eddie.
Eddie nodded, a faint smile on his face. He thought it was a bit silly that the symbiote was comparing them to some random aquatic life forms, but it was undeniably cute.
The documentary continued on, the narrator babbling on about all sorts of other marine life. Eddie’s focus began to wane, but the symbiote’s was unbreaking. Their eyes were fixed to the screen, the near constant movement of their form going still.
“Your planet has such a diverse array of fauna,” they said, a sense of awe in their voice. “ It is vastly different from Klyntar.”
“Klyntar, huh. ‘S that where you’re from?”
“Yes,” they replied. “It is dark, cold. It cannot sustain life, it does not have the nutrients required. That is why we travel elsewhere. We need a source of food and hosts.”
Eddie let out a huff. “Sounds rough.”
Venom nodded in affirmation.
“Would ya like me to call you a— Klyntar? Klyntarian?— instead of a symbiote?”
Venom paused. “We do not care. We are not… connected to our species,” they said defensively.
There was a story there, hidden beneath Venom’s forced nonchalance.
Eddie‘s eyebrows furrowed. “Do you wanna talk about it?”
“It is… very painful. We are not sure if we are prepared for that conversation.”
He brought his hand up to the top of their head, petting them soothingly. “I totally get that, sweetheart. Don’t feel like you have to tell me anything until you’re ready.” He pressed a kiss to their forehead. “Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here to listen.”
“Thank you, Eddie. We will talk when we are ready.”
“Anytime, Vee. Anytime.” He brought his hand up to the tendrils that made up their “neck” and caressed them. “Don’t feel pressured to tell me before you are ready. Take as much time as you need.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes, just taking in the other’s presence.
Venom’s eyes closed contently as Eddie continued petting them. They let out a gentle purr and they nuzzled gently into his hand.
Eddie smiled. “It’s cute when you purr, sweetheart.”
“We do not purr!” they exclaimed. “We are a fierce apex predator, Eddie. We do not purr.”
“Mhm, sure you don’t.”
Eddie continued to scratch the side of their head and they purred.
“See that noise you made? That was totally a purr.”
They opened their mouth to say something, but then shut it.
“Oh, so you agree with me?”
Venom didn’t say anything. They just growled and playfully butted their head against his.
“Love you, Eddie.”
“Love you too, sweetheart.” He smiled and Venom purred growled, all the tension from their previous conversation disappeared.
************
Eddie stood on the small balcony of their hotel room. It wasn’t much, it was cramped and had just enough room to stand, but it allowed him to get a breath of fresh air after a stressful day. His hands rested on the cold metal railing in front of him, using it to take some pressure off of his legs.
“Eddie?” Venom said, their form materialising in front of him.
“Yeah? What’s up, Vee?” he replied.
“We are… ready to talk if you are.”
“Yeah, I’m ready.” He gave them a small smile. “So, your homeworld?”
They paused. “It is like we told you before, dark and cold. There are no life forms there except for our species.”
“Sounds lonely.”
“It is, especially when you are othered from your own kind.” They paused. “We sought to form a partnership with our hosts while the others wanted a puppet to control. We wanted to truly be bonded, to be symbiotic.
The others were destructful. They desired to conquer entire planets and burn through hosts until it was a desolate wasteland. They saw their hosts as disposable. Would eat right through them without a second thought. They didn’t recognize their hosts as equal, only as tools.”
“That’s why you got so mad when I called you a parasite.” Eddie’s face fell. “God, Vee, I’m so sorry—”
“It is okay, Eddie. You did not know.”
“Still.” He brought a hand to their face and sent a wave of affection through their bond. I’m sorry.
They continued. “We were exiled from the hive for our beliefs. Ended up finding Riot, and we did what we had to to survive. Saw worlds burn, civilizations crumble. Until we found you, Eddie, we thought that would be the rest of our life. You showed us that we could leave and be free as ourselves.”
Eddie pursed his lips. “That’s why you didn’t want me calling you a Klyntar.” He exhaled deeply. “God. That is so fucked up.”
“It is how our species opporates. If you do not obey the hive, you are left to die.”
The tension was palpable. Venom’s anxiety seeped through their bond. Eddie’s own heart started to race, his palms growing sweaty.
Eddie took a deep breath.
“You know,” he began. “I never liked the name Edward.”
They tilted their head to the side.
“My father always used it for me. It became associated with all the pain he put me through.”
His eyes watered. He grabbed the edge of his sleeve and used it to dab away the tears. Jesus, he thought. I haven’t even talked about him that much.
Venom's tendrils rippled out of his arm, winding around it and ending at his wrist. They formed a hand and gently clasped Eddie’s own.
He sent a silent Thanks through the bond. He took a deep breath to steady himself.
“He never cared for me. He blamed me for my mom’s death ‘cause she died during childbirth. Never saw me as his child, only the person who killed his wife.”
Venom curled around him lovingly, affection flooding through their bond.
Eddie sent a silent thanks before continuing.
“You can imagine what that did to kid me. I thought I was going to hell, thought it was my fault that she died even though it doesn’t make any sense. I didn’t want her to die, you know?” He wiped away a tear. “Half the time my father didn’t even acknowledge my existence, and when he did, he was screaming at me for doin’ something wrong. He always called Edward when he did that. Guess the connotation kind of stuck.”
Venom growled. “We will eat your father.”
Eddie let out a small laugh. “He probably wouldn’t taste good. He’s more cigarette than human flavoured now. ‘Sides, last I heard he’s rotting in a nursing home back in New York.”
“We will go on a— what is it called— road trip? We will go on a road trip to eat him.”
Eddie laughed again, the pain in his heart beginning to subside. “You know what? Maybe we will.”
Venom grinned, all of their fangs exposed. Given what they had just said, that probably should’ve made him feel threatened. Instead, he felt comforted.
“Anything for you, Eddie.”