Chapter Text
It was a hot summer night on Earth-1610. The sun had slipped just below the horizon, leaving a thin sliver of gold underneath a steadily darkening sky of pink, purple and dark blue hues, and the faint buzz of traffic filled the air. From way up high, the sound of laughter drifted down from one of the city's tallest buildings.
Miles, Gwen, Hobie, and Pavitr had taken up residence on one of Brooklyn's highest rooftops, soaking in the summer air together and kicking back after a long day of cleaning up anomaly after anomaly. Hotdog and various snack wrappers dotted the ground around the four, hardly a proper dinner but anything counts as a meal when you've spent the entire day in action.
Gwen sat cross-legged beside Miles, a look of pure amusement stretched across her face as the other waved his hands around wildly, dramatically retelling the story of taking down Kingpin's collider nearly two years ago. Every now and then she would roll her eyes or threw out a "Hey, I did not say it like that!" with a laugh, nudging him slightly. Miles' words were a bit muffled as he spoke, his cheeks stuffed with a few half-chewed bites of hotdog, and he barely seemed to be stopping for air as he prattled on and on.
Pavitr sat upright with wide eyes, his hands tucked neatly in his lap and his shoulders hunched slightly, leaning forward a bit as Miles' story seemed to be nearing a harrowing climax.
An ungodly amount of food wrappers littered the area around him. With the way that Pavitr had torn into his snacks earlier, it was almost a miracle that he hadn't scarfed down the wrappers, too. The day had been rough, it was to be expected that Pavitr would have a ravenous case of the munchies, so nobody seemed to pay much attention to the fact that their friend had gained such a large appetite and lost all sense of table manners.
Nobody except Hobie, that is.
Hobie sat a few feet away from the group, his legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles as he leaned back against the roof's edge with narrowed eyes. His guitar lay next to him, the pick wedged between the strings at the top of the neck and his snacks sat almost untouched on his opposite side. Despite Miles being the obvious center of attention, Hobie's eyes had hardly left Pavitr the entire day. His expression was hard and unreadable as he stared holes into the other teen.
"And then BAM!" Miles lurched forward dramatically, his eyes wide with a goofy grin plastering his face as he flashed out his palms. "She got hit by a big ass truck!"
Pavitr's hand flew to slap over his mouth with a slight pop as his jaw dropped a bit. "No way!"
Hobie's eyes narrowed further, judging Pavitr's reaction and weighing it in his mind.
"Yeah, it was insane! Peter's face was priceless!" Miles let out a loud laugh and brought his hands to his face as he mimicked Peter B's expression.
Pavitr grinned and scooted forward a bit with apparent unbridled curiosity. "And then what happened?"
"Okay, okay, so then..."
Hobie squinted at Pavitr, his eyes continuing to trace over the other teen, taking in his every move closely. Miles' words had melted away with the traffic below to him and was nothing more than background noise as he relentlessly studied Pavitr.
A well-timed gasp every now and then? How appropriate. A quick hair flip here and there? On brand for the ever-vain Pavitr. A smile that never seemed to fade? On point, but something about this smile was off.
Pavitr's smile was something permanently burned into Hobie's mind, after all, Pavitr was always grinning and bouncing around like a fool even in the direst of situations. How could he not have memorized every detail of that perfect smile when it was being flashed in his face every hour of the day?
The dimples in Pavitr's cheeks weren't creased as he smiled, almost as if it was a mask of a grin being held up. The way his lips curled up seemed forced, and it didn't stretch across his face as nearly as far as it usually did. It was devoid of its usual warmth and charm, flashing only mock happiness that appeared to wane the longer it was plastered across his face, like cracks in a mask.
Unfortunately, Hobie's study did not go unnoticed.
"Hey! Earth-1610 to Hobie!"
Hobie's shoulders jumped a bit at the sudden call out. His eyes snapped from Pavitr to land on Gwen, who was looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and concern. Any other time Hobie would have flamed her for making such a lame joke, but his mind was too far off its leash to make his usual quips and jabs.
"Are you good?" Gwen raised an eyebrow as she spoke. "You're gonna miss the funniest part."
Hobie did he best to collect himself and let out a curt scoff. "Yeah, yeah, I've 'eard this part before. The little porker gives our boy a hammer or somethin' before floatin' all majestic like into the sky." He gave a fluttering gesture with his hands.
Miles let out a gasp of mock offense and clutched at his chest. "That 'little porker' is Spider-Ham! And it was a mallet, not a hammer! It fits right in my pocket, too!"
A grunt pushed from Hobie's lips and he rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to Pavitr for a brief moment to gauge his reaction.
Pavitr was giggling a bit, one hand brushing its fingers against his lips while the other remained tucked away in his lap, his shoulders shaking a bit with laughter. It's a perfect performance to the untrained eye, but Hobie is an expert. Something is missing.
Pavitr's laughter is hollow, with no real emotion backing it. It's like he's simply pushing the sound out, mimicking a laugh. It doesn't hit Hobie's ears with that sweet melody he's used to. The way his shoulders bounce seems planned but poorly executed, as it doesn't properly line up with the mock laugh he's throwing out. Everything is horribly off rhythm.
On top of this, the usual creases in Pavitr's face when he laughs are totally absent. Hobie knew the features of Pavitr's laughing face like landmarks on a map: his nose crinkles slightly at the bridge as it scrunches up a bit, his eyes crease at the corners gently, and he has a habit of cocking his head to the side ever so slightly, causing his soft curls to sweep across his face a bit and frame it perfectly.
The way Pavitr is laughing now is so eerily wrong.
Gwen's eyes trace Hobie's gaze, casting a glance to Pavitr then back to Hobie once more.
"Dude, you've been staring at Pav all day. It's kind of creepy."
Hobie's stomach dropped and a shot of nerves rocked his body as Gwen pointed this out to the group.
Crap.
Miles pushed out his lips thoughtfully as he sat back on his palms. "Yeah, I'm over here tellin' the story of the century and you're actin' like it's nothing! Do I need to remind you this is a true story of how I saved the multiverse?"
Hobie wanted to bite back a bit and remind Miles that he never shuts up about this story, or even comment something about the immense amount of hotdog still stuffed in his cheeks, but instead he resigns himself to another eyeroll, doing his best to keep his attention off Pavitr now that it's become apparent he's not being as sneaky with his gaze as he thought.
Something cold slings itself over Hobie's shoulder, and he does his best not to recoil.
His eyes dart to the side to meet Pavitr's, up close and personal now, sporting yet another fake grin that doesn't split his face the right way. His arm dangles across Hobie's shoulders in a friendly gesture, though Hobie feels anything but comradery from the touch. It's the middle of summer, yet Pavitr's skin feels eerily cold as it presses against the back of Hobie's neck.
Pavitr playfully jostles Hobie and laughs. "I mean, who can blame him? I have my ancestors to blame for cursing me with their handsome genetics." He enunciated his point with a curt hair flip and a waggle of his eyebrows. "Just say you're smitten with me, Hobie. Why else would you be staring at me?"
He leaned closer, something akin to a threat dripping from his tone as his dull, brown eyes locked with Hobie's, the grin cracking his lips growing wider.
It was a threat Hobie wasn't going to back down from.
Hobie snickered and slung his own arm across Pavitr's shoulders while returning the toothy grin being tossed his way. "I'm not makin' goo goo eyes at your prissy ass! I was just thinkin' that your hair looks off today. Did you run outta coconut oil, or somethin'?"
Pavitr let out an offended gasp and jerked away, his hand flying up to comb his fingers through his hair.
"My hair does not look off today!" He fumed as his fingers worked their way incessantly through his wavy locks. "Did you get hit in the head too hard during clean-up today or something!?" The grin cracking his face had fallen and been replaced by an exasperated frown.
"Do you guys think my hair looks off?"
Hobie let out a mental sigh of relief as Pavitr turned his attention back to Gwen and Miles, who were both cracking up at the sight of Pavitr's wounded pride. The conversation shifted back to meaningless, light-hearted topics and Hobie sank back against the ledge, mulling over what just happened.
Time marched on, and soon the sky was growing dark under the looming cover of night. The group continued chatting as the light died, though it was mainly Miles continuing to dominate the spotlight as he pressed on about heroically blowing up Kingpin's collider and saving the multiverse from destruction. The entire night may have been spent listening to his tangent if not for his phone going off in his pocket.
"Ah, shoot!" Miles was cut off, much to everyone's appreciation, as he dug in his pocket and fished out his phone, the screen casting a faint glow across his face as he checked the notification. "Sorry guys, I gotta bounce. I promised my mom I'd watch the season finale of this cheesy romance drama she likes. I've got a bet with her that Valentina is gonna end up with her childhood friend over the rich city guy!" He jumped to his feet and scrambled to stuff his scattered things back into his backpack.
"Oh! Tell Rio I say 'hi'!" Gwen added as she stood up and began to stretch.
"Ahaha! I will tell Mrs. Morales that you say 'hi'!" Miles countered with a curt finger gun before diving off the building. "Later!"
Upon Miles' departure, Gwen turned to Pavitr and Hobie while checking her watch. "I'd better get going, too."
"What? No fun without your boyfriend?" Hobie teased as he too got up and stretched, letting out an audible grunt as his lanky joints popped a bit in anger from sitting on a roof with minimal back support for hours.
Gwen rolled her eyes and gave Hobie a playful shove to his shoulder. "Shut up! It's just getting late, and I don't wanna make my dad worried. I'll catch you guys later, alright?"
As Gwen disappeared into a spiraling portal of orange, Pavitr waved her off enthusiastically. "Bye, Gwen!" He then turned to Hobie with yet another empty smile. "I should head out, as well. It's getting late, isn't it?" He turned his eyes up to the sky overhead where stars were beginning to poke through.
"Actually... S'been awhile since you an' me have hung out solo, yeah?" Hobie gave a casual roll of his shoulders as he spoke, doing his best to keep a nonchalant air and treading lightly after being called out earlier. "D'you mind if we keep the ball rollin' for a bit longer?" He threw his gaze up from the ground to lock eyes with Pavitr.
The latter stared back at him with dull, unblinking eyes. An eerie silence clung to the air, one that not even the traffic below seemed able to pierce. Tension was rising, and Hobie held his breath as his skin prickled under Pavitr's glossed over gaze, presenting an unreadable emotion. Hobie stared back, accepting the unspoken challenge that had been tossed at his feet. There was no backing down now.
Seconds crawled by, and eventually that hollow grin once again graced Pavitr's lips.
"That's a great idea!" He beamed at Hobie and clapped his hands together with excitement. "The night life of Mumbattan is even better than Brooklyn's!"
Hobie grinned back and crumpled up a food wrapper in his hands as he bent down to clean up and sling his guitar over his back. "Ya know, eatin' junk with the gang's fun and all, but I could really go for somethin' more soulful. You down to grab a bite?"
"Yeah, sounds good! I could definitely go for a bite right now..."
Pavitr pressed a few buttons on his watch and soon the portal to Mumbattan manifested in a blaze of orange and yellow behind him. He turned to face it before giving a wave of his hand, gesturing for Hobie to follow him inside before disappearing.
Hobie took a deep breath and stepped through, shielding his eyes a bit from the glaring light of the portal. Once through, an empty alleyway in an unknown corner of Mumbattan stretched before him. The alley was long and twisting with a brick path underneath, devoid of any foot traffic. It was dim, save for the sluggish passing lights of traffic seeping in from the alley's entrance.
An alarming amount of missing person posters dotted the winding brick walls, billowing gently in the wind like ghosts. As cars passed, light would momentarily flash across the paper faces staring out from the darkness. Hobie paid then little mind as he stepped through.
Pavitr's back was turned as he started to make his way towards the light of the entrance.
"It's pretty late, but there should be a good shop open ar--"
His sentence was cut off by the whoosh of Hobie's guitar swinging on a deadly crash course for his head.
Pavitr lunged away with admirable speed, ducking under what would have been a skull crushing blow and rolling forward to put some distance between him and his surprise attacker. He leapt up and whipped around to face Hobie, his eyes wide his mouth dropping open in shock.
"Hobie?! What are you doing?!" Confusion broke his voice as he cried out. "You could've killed me!"
Hobie responded in turn with another swing of his guitar in a batter-like pose, still aiming for Pavitr's skull. Pavitr threw himself to the side, once again avoiding the hit as he began to back away.
"Hobie, what's happening?! You've been acting strange all day!" Once again he called out in a desperate tone, his features paved with panic and confusion.
"Oh, cut the bullshit!" Hobie growled as he sends out a strand of webbing, catching Pavitr by the ankles and tripping him before reeling him in with a swift tug. "Your acting skills are shite!"
Pavitr sent out a defensive upward kick as Hobie brought him close. The blow was blocked as Hobie caught his foot by the ankle, but was caught off guard as Pavitr twisted his torso with acrobatic agility, his other foot cracking against Hobie's jaw with a powerful kick. Hobie staggered back with a grunt as Pavitr launched himself a few feet away before calling out once more.
"Just tell me what's wrong! Why are you attacking me? You're my best fri--"
"Shove it!"
Hobie cut Pavitr off, his voice dripping with venom as he brought a hand up to touch the dark bruise blossoming across his jaw.
"You're not Pav!"
Pavitr blinked in confusion and took another step back.
"What are you talking about? Of course I'm Pavitr! I'm Pavitr Prabhakar! Are you insane? Did you actually hit your head too hard today?"
Hobie took a step forward, his lips curling back into a snarl of disgust as he scoffs with contempt. "No, you're not." His words were frigid, cutting down Pavitr's insistence before more lies could spill from his lips. "So stop wearing his face like you are. It's bloody disgusting."
Pavitr froze, his posture growing rigid as Hobie's words clung to the air. The confusion and desperation slowly melted from his face, leaving a blank, emotionless slate. Dull, yet piercing eyes locked with Hobie's, sending a brief shiver crawling down his spine, though he did his best to stand firm and suppress it.
"Ahh... out of all the others, you're truly the most annoying of the bunch..."
"Pavitr"'s face cracked with a devilish smirk, the first genuine emotion Hobie has seen grace its features since this entire mess started to unfold days ago. Its neck jerked and its head titled to the side as the skin along "Pavitr"'s cheek started to split, teeth pushing through the parting flesh. The skin tore down its right cheek, a wide grin running down from the cheek bone to the corner of its lip. Two outward curving tusks sprouted from its gums, sticking out from the mess of teeth dotting its grisly new features.
Black veins snaked forth from the now torn, fleshy grin, inching across the bridge "Pavitr"'s nose and spreading across its face, its right eye flickering from a lovely chocolate brown to a glossy, milky white as the veins crept towards it.
Hobie's stomach churned with horror and as he witnessed the sickening transformation that was all too painfully familiar. A cold sweat bubbled over his skin and his fists clenched with hatred as he watched Pavitr's features become distorted and wrecked.
How dare one of those vile parasites destroy Pavitr like this and use him as a puppet.
"You're one o' those bloody parasites." Hobie growled, his hands slowly bringing his guitar up to a ready to play position. His blood was boiling over with rage and disgust as he eyed the figure before him with unmasked contempt.
"Parasite?" "Pavtir" threw its head back and let out an amused laugh, its shoulders genuinely shaking with laughter this time. "Funny! I prefer the term your friend used before I took him over..."
Its grin grew impossibly wider as it brought a hand to its face.
"Demon."
"Pavitr"'s words had hardly left its mouth before it lunged at Hobie with startling speed, its outstretched fingers sprouting claws and its jaw hanging open like a wild beast. Hobie raised his guitar to shield himself, causing "Pavitr"'s jaws to snap against the neck of the guitar. Gnarled teeth grated up and down the strings, generating a sharp screech that made its eyes twitch with discomfort.
Hobie strained against "Pavitr"'s strength, doing his best to firmly root his feet against the ground and push back against the animalistic attack. Claw-tipped fingers swung up to clench his sides, digging into his flesh. Hobie let out a pained grunt and kicked "Pavitr" square in the chest, sending it flying back into one of the alley's walls.
Hobie fumbled to draw his pick from the guitar's strings, but his fingers proved not quick enough as "Pavitr" springboarded off the wall back at Hobie, this time managing to sink its teeth into his forearm.
Hobie gritted his teeth and his eyes narrowed as his arm was torn into, the pick slipping from his fingers and hitting the brick floor with a soft patter. "Pavitr"'s breath fanned hot against his arm, its one unchanged eye darting up to stare at him with a deep hunger while its lips curled back into a smirk as it clamped down. Drool dripped from the corners of its mouth, adding to the feral and unhinged mania ravaging what should be Pavitr's soft, bright features.
It's tearing Hobie's heart to pieces.
With his free hand, Hobie grabbed at the large, upward curving tooth protruding from the top of "Pavitr"'s gums, attempting to tear it off his arm. This only incited it to clench down harder, its teeth sinking deeper and drawing out another pained gasp from Hobie.
Hobie reeled his fist back and punched "Pavitr" across the jaw. He tried not to think too much about how it still painfully resembled Pavitr despite half his features being wrecked, and how the grunts of pain his blows elicited still sounded just like him. He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled his fist back once more before landing hit after hit, until finally "Pavitr"'s hold loosened enough for him to wretch his arm free to push his attacker away.
Hobie's breath was ragged and heavy with pain as he clutched his forearm. Blood bubbled up from the gnarly set of teeth marks imbedded deep in his flesh, trickling down his arm and onto the brick pavement in a languid stream of red.
"Pavitr" picked itself up, hunching slightly as it flashed a toothy grin, its teeth and chin stained in a dark shade of crimson. A monstrously long tongue unfurled from the split side of its face, glistening with saliva. The tongue drug across its bloodied features, greedily taking in every last drop before letting out a faint chuckle.
"At least one of us got a bite, huh?" It laughed, tilting its head to the side to study Hobie as its tongue partially retracted back in, the tip still lolling out to dangle from the side of its face.
Hobie clenched his fist, inciting more blood to push through each craterous tooth mark dotting his arm.
"I'll fuckin' kill you for usin' him."
His fingertips struck across the strings of his guitar and they roared to life, sending an ear-splitting melody into the air.
"Pavitr"'s knees buckled and its claw-tipped fingers curled as the sound rocked its now convulsing body, eyes shooting wide open and its one pupil dilating into a pinprick. It crashed to the ground in a writhing frenzy while its hands grasped and clawed wildly at its ears, animalistic screams erupting from its throat. Thankfully, they sounded nothing at all like Pavitr.
Hobie sneered down at the crumpled figure with satisfaction, wanting to inflict all the pain in the world onto the thing that dared to masquerade as Pavitr. He stepped closer and brought his fingers down once more to swipe against the reverberating strings. Another punk-rock chord hit the air, mingling with "Pavitr"'s screeches to create a symphony of rage and desperation.
Hobie took delight in the pained cries rising up from the writhing mess, striking chord after chord, letting his anger take control of his hands. His fingers trembled from the heightened emotions running through his veins, but he pushed them down and pressed on in his efforts to drive the loathsome creature out of Pavitr.
Eventually, Hobie's ears picked up on something new joining the mix of chaotic sounds splitting the air. Something familiar. He strained his ears and listened hard, his fingers still madly strumming his guitar as he picked the sounds littering the air apart.
A familiar voice rung out from the gargled cries and screeches, causing Hobie's heart to jump with hope.
Pavitr.
Pavitr's own screams joined into the cacophony of sounds, and Hobie watched with wide eyes as the flesh along his cheek started to mend back together and the ungodly number of teeth started to recede back into his gums. Pavitr squirmed, his fingers scratching at the ground and his head jerking back and forth as the symbiote began to peel off him, the veins streaking across his face lifting up like tentacles as the creature was forced to retreat.
Hobie's heart rate quickened, and his hands shook harder as he played with more urgency, fueled by the sight of Pavitr breaking through. More screams erupted from Pavitr, causing Hobie's face to flash with guilt, despite knowing this pain was necessary. He bit back his emotions and pressed on, hoping Pavitr would forgive him in the end.
An undulating, oozing black mass sprung forth from Pavitr's face and landed against the ground with a sticky squelch. It writhed weakly and simply resided to twitching where it landed, most likely too stunned from Hobie's punk-rock onslaught to make a proper getaway.
Despite his burning desire to stomp the bloody thing into the pavement, ultimately Hobie's care for Pavitr outweighed his hatred for the symbiote. He threw himself onto his knees and drew the still shaking Pavitr towards him, his hands desperately combing the disheveled wavy locks out of the other's face to examine him.
His eyes traced along the welcome sight of Pavitr's unadulterated features, his face no longer split with that long, harrowing grin. Warmth began to pool back into his skin, and Hobie let out a long sigh of relief as warm, chocolate eyes darted up to meet his.
"H-Hobie..."
Pavitr's voice was weak and rasping as he extended a quivering hand up to Hobie, who eagerly took it and drew it to his chest.
"I'm here, Pav! You're gonna be okay. Everythin's s'alright now."
Hobie did his best to reassure Pavitr, giving his hand a gentle squeeze and holding the other teen as close as possible while relief washed over him, whisking away the fear and anger still lingering in his veins.
Pavitr's body continued to tremble and twitch uncontrollably in Hobie's grasp, and strangled cries rose from his throat. His eyes widened as he started to cough and gasp for air, his free hand flying up to clutch at the material covering his chest.
Hobie's brows furrowed and his grip on Pavitr tightened, the relief leaving his system as quickly as it came. Panic broke his voice as he spoke, though he did his best to sound calm for Pavitr's sake.
"Oi, Pav? You alright? Tell me what's wrong!"
Pavitr began to writhe in Hobie's arms, his jaw clenching and his face distorting with pain as he squeezed Hobie's hand.
"H-Hurts! Hobie, it hurts...!"
"What? What hurts?"
Pavitr only gasped and gritted his teeth in response.
Fear was starting to overpower the calmness Hobie was trying to present as his eyes scanned Pavitr's body for any injuries left behind by the symbiote's invasion. Everything appeared normal on the outside.
On the outside.
Hobie's heart dropped with dread as the realization hit him.
"No..."
Pavitr's face was growing pale and his gasps for air were becoming increasingly frantic as his chest heaved. The hand holding Hobie's was starting to grip him harder and harder, his knuckles turning white and his tendons pushing up against his skin as his hold tightened. Beads of sweat started to trickle down his face, coating his skin in a cold sheen while his eyes squeezed shut and his brows scrunched together, creasing his face in an intense expression of agony.
"Goddammit all!" Hobie screamed, his relief from moments ago thoroughly shot dead and replaced with a newfound sense of rage even stronger than before. An intense conflict gripped his heart as his eyes flew from Pavitr to the twitching black mass lying a few feet away.
Desperation and fear drove him to thrust the hand holding Pavitr's over to the black ooze, bringing Pavitr's fingers inches away from one of the dark tendrils snaking along the ground.
Without hesitation, the mass extended out to wrap the thin tentacle around Pavitr's index finger, slowly sliding itself along the ground and pulling itself up to crawl across Pavitr's palm and up his arm. Hobie bit back his disgust as he watched it ascend up Pavitr's body, dragging itself across his shoulder in a series of sluggish and twisting motions then down to Pavitr's chest. It dove down through the material of Pavitr's suit while he continued to choke for air and tremble against Hobie's chest. Then, it vanished.
A final gasp escaped Pavitr's lips and his eyes rolled back before closing as his body went limp. Hobie's jaw tightened, his hold on Pavitr remaining firm as his eyes searched his face for a sign of life. A sign of anything.
Seconds crawled past, and Hobie's heart pounded like thunder in his ears as he waited, eyes unblinking as he watched with bated breath.
Pale eyes flickered open to meet his.
"Boo!"
Hobie recoiled back, his lip curling in disdain as he shoved "Pavitr" away before shooting back up to his feet.
"Pavitr" let out a chuckle as he rolled away, slowly standing back up with a hunched posture as a crooked grin broke its lips. "What? No hug for me, too?"
"What the hell did you do to him?" Hobie growled, his hands balling into fists at his sides. It was taking every fiber of his being to not beat the ever-loving shit out of the thing that was once again wearing Pavitr's face, the only things restraining him being his burning need for answers and his fear of hurting the real Pavitr.
"Pavitr" tilted its head to the side, crossing its arms to rest its cheek in the palm of its hand as it watched Hobie with those blank eyes, no longer offering the comfort of one remaining unchanged.
"I knew you would try something like this." Its tone was teasing, treating Hobie like a cat toying with a mouse before the kill. "That's why I put a bit of insurance on this body."
Hobie's eyes narrowed. "What the hell d'you mean 'insurance'?"
"Pavitr" sneered, taking a step closer to Hobie, its grin breaking for a moment to vent out a bit of frustration.
"Don't think I haven't noticed the way you've been studying me these past few days. Ever since I entered this host you've been nothing but a nuisance, poking your nose into something that doesn't concern you."
"I didn't fuckin' ask! What d'you mean 'insurance'?!" Hobie's anger was starting to boil over further with every teasing word that pushed its way out of "Pavitr"'s lips. He closed the distance between the two, grabbing a fistful of the material across "Pavitr"'s chest and drawing it close to him. "Answer me."
"Pavitr" seemed to delight in pushing Hobie's buttons, a mocking smile curling its lips once more as it stared up at him. Hobie could see himself reflected in its milky eyes, not a trace of Pavitr to be found anymore.
"Your kind is so delicious..."
Its face started to split at the cheek again, gnarled tusks and teeth sprouting once more as its flesh tore into an elongated smirk.
"I'd never tasted anything quite like a human until I was summoned here. The sweet taste of flesh, how it practically melts on the tongue. The smooth, rich flavor of blood..."
Its tongue darted out to wrap around Hobie's arm clenching the front of its suit, blood still oozing from the deep bite on his forearm. The tongue glided across Hobie's skin, lapping up the free-flowing fluid with a sick thirst, leaving a thick trail of saliva in its wake.
Hobie let out a noise of disgust and released his hold on "Pavitr", pushing it away while taking a step back himself. He flicked the drool off his arm, a combination of saliva and blood hitting the bricks under his feet.
"Pavitr" chuckled, its tongue retracting back before continuing.
"It's hard to control myself when this host is so delectable," Its hands began to trail across its torso. "The appendix and gallbladder missing wouldn't hurt. Even a single kidney, after all, who really needs both?"
It laughed at its own joke before continuing.
"But his heart, oh, it just looks so delicious. A ripe, forbidden fruit just waiting to be harvested. I wouldn't want to kill my precious host though, oh no. A specimen this compatible is few and far between. So... I simply took a nibble. And, ohh, what a treat it was! But only just enough so that if anyone dared separate us, they'd soon find that poor Pavitr can't survive without me."
Hobie's blood ran cold, and a stone of dread plummeted in his stomach as his worst fear was confirmed. The rage coursing through his veins was promptly replaced with horror as he stared at "Pavitr", not wanting to believe the words spilling from its lips.
"You... You're jokin'..."
"Pavitr"'s smirk only split wider as it relished in Hobie's reaction.
"Oh, but I'm not! Pavitr and I, we fit together like a beautiful jigsaw puzzle, incomplete without the other. He needs me just as much as I need him.
Hobie took another step back, his mind reeling from the horrifying revelation that has been laid out in front of him.
Symbiotes; the nasty parasites that nearly destroyed his world and turned his life into a living hell on Earth. His life has once before been chewed up and spit out by these disgusting leeches, but that was all supposed to be in the past. He won that battle and tucked it away deep in his heart, burying it under a newfound sense of purpose and paved over it with a new life.
Why did they have to come for the new happiness he had found? A happiness untouched by the echoes of his past.
Why did it have to be Pavitr?
Hobie is too trapped in his own mind to realize "Pavitr" has closed the distance between the two, its face inches away from his own as it looked up at him in an unblinking stare. Hobie frowned but didn't back down as he stared back, trying to reel his mind and heart back in on a leash so he could focus.
"I'm willing to make a deal with you," "Pavitr gave a slow blink and tilted its head to the side, a devilish smile playing across its stretched lips. "I'm not going to kill him, I'm simply... sharing this body with him. That little nibble on his heart? A onetime thing to ensure our loving connection. I assure you, I'm not out to devour this host. He's precious to me too, you know."
Hobie's eyes narrowed as he begrudgingly listened to what "Pavitr" had to say. It was hard to decipher whether or not it was being truthful, but Hobie was out of options at this point. For now, he would have to play along.
"But,"
"Pavitr" leaned even closer to Hobie, its ghostly white eyes drilling holes into him and sending a shiver crawling down his spine.
"If you dare tell anyone about this... I'll show you just how far my appetite can go. So bite your tongue before I do it for you."
It's yet another hot summer night in Brooklyn. The gang has once again taken up residency atop a skyscraper overlooking the city, high above the traffic and march of people on the sidewalks below. As usual, Miles is dominating the conversation while waving his hands about wildly to enunciate the plot points and twists of his story.
"And it ended with Hector taking Valentina into his arms and kissing her in their old classroom from when they met in elementary. But just when you think the episode is gonna end, the door swung open and the rich city guy from Valentia's office was standing there! And now I have to wait until the next season comes out to find out what happens!"
"Wow... All I did was ask how your night was, but I'm really glad you answered with a detailed rundown of the past sixteen episodes of that show you're watching with your mom!" Gwen laughed as she gave Miles a light punch to the shoulder, looking at him with uncaged amusement.
"Hey, I can't help it! My mom is telling me I haven't won the bet yet 'cause we have to wait for season two!" Miles sighed dramatically as he leaned against her. "I've got a whole month of chores bet on the line here!"
"I wanna say that's really interesting, but I'm actually more interested in knowing what the hell happened to Hobie's arm." Gwen pointed to Hobie who was sitting a few feet away, legs nonchalantly crossed and hands stuffed in his pocket as per usual. His gaze fell down from the sky to land on Gwen, who was now staring at his bandaged arm.
Miles sat upright and joined Gwen in casting a curious stare at Hobie's arm. "Hey, yeah. What did happen? You didn't have that yesterday."
Hobie grunted in response. "S'rude to stare."
Gwen rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't be that way. Just tell us what happened!"
Hobie's posture grew rigid as he wracked his mind for a satisfying explanation. He opened his mouth to dish out a half-baked response, but something cold slung across his shoulders, causing his body to tense. He did his best not to push it away.
"Ahh! It was my fault! We fed some of the street dogs last night and one got a bit too excited, which I should've known. Dosa is a bit of a biter when you're not being careful! Right, Hobie?"
"...Right, 'Pav'."