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It all started when Venom had looked up at the light polluted sky a little too long one night after one of their… “hunts.” It was actually only a few seconds, but long enough for Eddie to notice something was wrong.
You ok, big guy? Eddie had questioned softly, and he could feel Venom ripple around him as they slid into their apartment window.
“Hm? Yes! Of course, Eddie. I am always ok.” The symbiote didn’t sound very convincing when he slunk back underneath Eddie’s skin and let him stand on his own.
Eddie raised a brow, knowing something wasn’t right. He stood in the middle of the apartment with his hands on his hips for a moment. “Oh c’mon, V. I can practically feel you sulking in my stomach.”
Venom took a long time to answer when his host moved from his spot to plop down onto the worn couch in the middle of the living room and waited for Venom. The symbiote curled around Eddie’s organs nervously, as if it were thinking hard about what to say.
The stars… You can’t see them very well here. They look lame.
“Oh…” Eddie had hummed and placed his hands on his knees in thought. He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he stared aimlessly at the black screen of the tv. “I think I have an idea…”
And so, that’s how Eddie ended up cruising on his motorcycle through back roads to the closest national forest to San Francisco, which was about a three hour drive. At some point halfway through their drive, Venom had even offered to take control so Eddie could relax. A three hour drive wasn’t all that bad for the average American… But a three hour drive on a motorcycle? It was a bit much.
When they reached Eldorado National Forest it was already dusk; the sun covered the mountains in a warm glow and most people were leaving now. Eddie parked their motorcycle in the very back of the parking lot, away from all the trails and other parked cars. He didn’t plan on using the trails anyways; with Venom, he doesn’t need to worry about getting lost or stranded. And even if they do, he knows that he’s not alone.
Why are we here, Eddie? You’ve kept your thoughts from me… Venom grumbled in his head as he put the kickstand out with his foot and removed his helmet.
“Oh we both know that’s not true,” Eddie snickered. He opened the large pouch that he had attached to the back of the motorcycle, pulling out a grocery bag of chocolate, a blanket, and a six pack of Coors.
Venom let out a low growl that seemed to vibrate throughout Eddie’s skull. It had become an oddly comforting feeling to him since they fought Carnage and Kasady.
Yes! Because you asked me not to look, so I’m not looking! Actually... you promised me a reward, Eddie!
“I sure did, and you’ll get it, I promise. But, you’re doing such a good job so far, bud. I don't wanna ruin the surprise.” Eddie hummed with content as he began walking off into the forest with all of his picnic materials. He smiled at the grumble Venom let out in response, but he knew that the alien secretly enjoyed the praise. “I’ll tell you soon, we just have to do a little bit of walking.”
Fine… Venom let out a dramatic sigh, causing his host to chuckle.
As they walked to their destination, Venom did as he said he would and kept out of Eddie’s thoughts. Though Eddie could tell the symbiote was starting to become impatient as they were reaching the 30 minute mark of their walk. Thankfully, it was only a few more minutes until they made it to their spot. It was a large grassy clearing surrounded by large evergreen trees, and Eddie walked into it until he stood in the very center.
He carefully laid out the blanket over the grass and set up their little snacks in a way that seemed almost romantic. Eddie smiled as he felt Venom’s curiosity grow. He couldn’t help but feel at least a little bit prideful for being able to get Venom to wait for his surprise.
Why are we in the middle of nowhere, Eddie?
Eddie cracked open one of the beers he brought and sat down on the blanket with a contented sigh. He glanced up at the sky, which was framed by the large ring of trees around them. It was still a little too light out to see much of anything, but within the next 20 minutes they should have complete darkness.
“Well um… A couple weeks ago, you mentioned not being able to see the stars in San Francisco. So…” Eddie cleared his throat and motioned around the clearing. “I thought I could take you somewhere where you can see them.”
The symbiote made a small noise, which could’ve been compared to his breath hitching (if he breathed, that is).
Eddie… he whispered after a long pause and a small black tendril wrapped itself around Eddie’s bicep and squeezed gently. It was something Venom had been doing recently, and Eddie summed it up to the symbiote’s version of a hug. The uncharacteristic softness in the symbiote’s voice had Eddie’s cheeks flushing pink.
“It’s just that- well, I… I didn’t want you to think that all of Earth is full of light pollution. The sun is still sort of setting, but look…” Eddie set his beer down and laid back on the blanket, the tall grass underneath acting as a sort of cushion. He pointed up at the dark sky. “You can already see a lot of stars.”
The symbiote didn’t say anything, but Eddie could feel the wave of adoration that was practically flowing from Venom. The warm feeling spread through his torso and down his limbs, just barely reaching his fingers and toes. Eddie couldn’t help but give a small laugh at it.
They laid in silence until the sun fully set, leaving them in complete darkness to stare up at the Milky Way as it revealed itself. Eddie’s eyes gazed across the clusters of stars in the watercolor mix of light blues and teals. In all honesty, this was his first time seeing the Milky Way too. At least seeing it in person and not as a picture on the internet.
Venom slowly materialized a head from Eddie’s shoulder to look up at the sky with his own two eyes, which acted as mirrors and reflected the soft light of the night sky.
“Thank you… for taking me here, Eddie…” Venom said softly, looking over at his host.
“Yeah… it’s no problem, dude. I know what it’s like to be homesick.” Eddie shrugged, still looking up at the Milky Way. “It’s a pretty view though, right?”
Venom didn’t take his eyes off of Eddie, but he nodded in agreement anyway. He narrowed his white eyes and studied Eddie’s features. “Yes… it is…”
The symbiote still didn’t quite understand human romance and the average courting process. But lately he has been watching a lot of soap operas and romcoms, and he has grown to enjoy such relationships. Which only made him more curious about how he felt about Eddie.
Eddie was his host and a human, yet Venom threw away his only chance of going back home and world domination for him. He could’ve taken over Earth and he would’ve never known hunger or have any special “rules” he’d need to follow. But he chose Eddie anyway. And now Eddie has gone out of his way and set aside time to do this stargazing picnic just for Venom. Which doesn’t seem like a whole lot, but back on Kylntar, no one had ever done anything for Venom.
“Eddie.” Venom whispered, pulling Eddie’s attention away from the stars.
“Hm?” He hummed. The reporter gazed into Venom’s opalescent eyes, waiting for his symbiote to continue.
“I… You…” He paused, slowly leaning in closer. “Why did you do this for me, Eddie?”
Eddie pursed his lips at the question and he looked back up at the Milky Way. He gave a small shrug and sat up a little bit to take a big gulp of his beer before laying back down.
“You’re my friend. I mean, you’re a pain in the ass sometimes—“
Venom made an offended noise at the comment.
“—but I still want you to be happy. As much as you can be while following the rules, at least. So… I wanted to do this. I… I care about you, ya know?”
“You care about me, Eddie?” Venom repeated, his eyes going wide.
The reporter let out a nervous laugh and sat up fully again. He tried to ignore the quickly growing blush on his cheeks and took another sip of his beer. “Yeah, of course I do… I care about you a lot , man. We’re Venom, right?”
The symbiote let out a rumbling chuckle and nudged Eddie’s temple with the side of his head.
“Awwww… that’s nice. I love you too, Eddie.” Venom teased, sticking out his tongue. He was making fun of Eddie’s sappiness, but the symbiote was practically bubbling with joy, enough so that Eddie could feel it through their bond.
“What?! In your dreams…” Eddie chuckled, playfully pushing the symbiote’s face away before his long tongue could lick his cheek.
The two turned back to the sky and sat in silence for several long moments, staring up at the twinkling stars. Despite the calm and relaxing atmosphere, Venom could feel Eddie’s heart pounding nervously and his head was racing with thoughts. Thoughts of Venom and thoughts of them, together in the same way that Eddie and Anne used to be.
The alien felt… odd because of those thoughts. It was the same recurring feeling that he got when Eddie felt happy. Like when Eddie wore his favorite leather jacket, or when he would have a little extra spending money and buy food from that one expensive burger joint he likes so much.
Eddie cleared his throat, breaking the silence.
“I um… I love you too.” he whispered out as he kept his eyes on the Milky Way, refusing to look at the symbiote.
He could feel that Eddie was telling the truth but his eyes still widened in surprise. Venom could only describe the feeling that ran through his being as “giddy,” like a teenage girl hearing her crush confess in those cheesy coming-of-age movies he’s seen. Eddie doesn’t like those movies, so Venom always watched them at night while his host slept.
Venom hadn’t realized how long he had been staring until Eddie poked him between the eyes, breaking him from his trance.
“Venom? You’re creeping me out, man…”
The symbiote blinked. “Eddie, can I kiss you?”
“Kiss me?!” He nearly choked on his own spit.
“Yes, like that one time,” Venom said, leaning his head closer to Eddie’s. “In the forest, when me and Anne saved your ass.”
The man nodded, his cheeks felt hot with bashfulness. “No, I know, I remember… But I thought that that was Annie that I was kissing.”
Venom narrowed his eyes and his grin seemed to widen. His tongue poked out to lick his teeth. Eddie swallowed, knowing exactly what that expression meant.
“ Mostly Anne…?”
Venom let out a low chuckle in reply and that was all Eddie needed for an answer. The reporter covered his face with his hands as the memory of Venom’s tongue being shoved down his throat replayed in his mind.
“Oh god…” He groaned.
“Don’t be like that, Eddie! We both know you liked it…” Venom cooed. His tongue slithered out from between his sharp teeth to lick playfully at his host’s cheek. Eddie twitched in surprise. “You said it yourself, you love me. So… Can I kiss you?”
Eddie peaked out through his fingers and thought for a short moment, before sighing and rubbing his eyes. He sat up straight and turned more toward Venom with his hands placed on his knees.
“Ok, fine. But just one kiss, got it? And watch the teeth.”
“Yes, yes, of course, Eddie!” Venom beamed, leaning in close to Eddie until their faces were only inches apart. “I promise I’ll be gentle.”
“Jesus… Don’t say it like that.” He mumbled, watching as Venom fully closed his mouth, a thin layer of black rippling goo encasing rows of razor sharp teeth. “Ok then… I guess I’ll just…”
It was uncanny seeing Venom’s teeth covered like that, but it put Eddie at ease as he pressed his lips to the seam where Venom’s mouth was closed. His palms felt sweaty despite the cool autumn air and he kept his eyes shut tight as he gently kissed Venom. When the symbiote didn’t pull away and instead leaned into the kiss, Eddie let out a soft sigh of relief through his nose.
Eddie reached a cautious hand up to cup Venom’s jaw as he began to move his lips against the other’s. His cheeks burned with embarrassment as they kissed. The whole situation seemed surreal; not many could say they made out and stargazed with an alien that lives inside their body.
His breath hitched as he felt a tendril slide into his hair, they moved around as if to massage his scalp. It was a comforting feeling, as if to say that it was ok. Eddie’s eyes shot open when Venom pushed the boundaries by swiping the tip of his tongue across Eddie’s lips.
“Ok! That’s enough of that!” Eddie gasped, quickly pulling away from the symbiote, who tilted his head with a questioning look.
“Well you were the one thinking it!” Venom hissed out softly.
“I absolutely was not.”
“Hmmmmm… You were.”
Eddie rolled his eyes and picked his beer back up from the ground. He couldn’t help but think it was a miracle that it hadn’t been knocked over yet. “Let’s just take it slow, ok?”
“Why? Our bond is already far more intimate than anything two humans can have! The only thing we don’t do already is fuck. Well… I’ve been there while you jerked off but you wouldn’t let me do anything.” Venom huffed, sounding almost disappointed.
Eddie choked on the sip of beer he had taken. He set the can down and rubbed his throat, one of Venom’s tendrils gave his back a comforting pat as he caught his breath.
“J-jesus, dude!” He sputtered, wiping some of the beer that dribbled down his chin. Eddie shot the symbiote’s floating head a glare.
“What?! It’s the truth, Eddie.” Venom hissed out, narrowing his eyes at his host.
Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose with a groan. “Ok, yeah. Fine… it is. But still, give a guy a warning next time.”
“Sure, Eddie, whatever you say.” The symbiote grumbled, and Eddie was sure that if Venom could roll his eyes, he would. “But will we eventually?”
“I mean…” he thought for a moment, turning his gaze away from the sky to look at Venom. Eddie frowned for a long moment before letting out a sigh of defeat and rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah… maybe. But that’s a big maybe.”
Venom chuckled and pressed his forehead to his host’s cheek. “Oh I’m sure it won’t be long. You can’t resist me…!”
The symbiote’s voice was rough and low but Eddie could tell he was being playful. He’s long since accepted that this is just the way Venom is, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t like that about his other. He rolled his eyes at Venom and pressed a chaste kiss between his large white eyes.
“Yeah, yeah… Sure, bud.” Eddie said as he laid back down on the blanket to continue their stargazing, to which Venom’s head slunk back underneath Eddie’s skin and wrapped a large tendril around his waist and gave a comforting squeeze.
The autumn night breeze felt cool on Eddie’s skin, but at the same time he felt warm inside as he laid there in the middle of the blanket. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had been so relaxed; probably not since Annie, he was sure. Eddie smiled to himself and slowly shut his eyes as he looked up at the Milky Way.
Eddie… Venom purred inside his head, his rough voice sent shivers down Eddie’s spine. I love you.
“I love you too, V.”