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“Are you sure about this?” Venom asked, for what felt like the hundredth time.
Dave opened his mouth, no doubt to complain about his uncle asking him yet again if he was sure, but he was cut off as Venom continued speaking.
“And before you respond, might I remind you that I am doing this off the books, for FREE, and without parental permission,” Venom said with a pointed look.
Dave had the decency to look sheepish for a moment before his face fell back into his signature scowl.
“I’m 18, you don’t need parental permission,” he retorted.
“Ok, 18-year-old, you got the money for something like this?” Venom dryly asked.
Dave silently shook his head.
“Then please answer my questions. Unless you want to find someone else to do this,” he warned.
Dave sighed, kicking his feet idly as he sat on the examination table.
“Sorry, Uncle V. I just…” he trailed off, looking down at the ground as he thought.
Venom waited patiently; he knew how hard it was for him to verbalize his thoughts and emotions. All throughout his childhood, Dave had seemed quiet. The type to always choose his words carefully. Growing up alongside Eli, who didn’t seem so much as to choose the words that came out of his mouth rather than let them come exploding out as they wished, it sometimes seemed as if Dave didn’t have much to say at all. Venom knew better. Dave had plenty to say—he just didn’t know how to say it. So instead of rushing him, Venom sat quietly, waiting for him to speak when he was ready.
“I need this,” Dave finally spoke. “I need this, Uncle V, so please, do this for me.”
Dave looked up, shaggy bangs shifting and allowing Venom to see the sincerity in his eyes. His eyes blazed with an intensity Venom had seen once before in his brother’s eye. It was the same look Dave’s father had when he met Eva. Venom smiled at his nephew before standing and pulling on a pair of nitrile gloves.
“Alright then. No more questions. Let’s do this,” Venom said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One month ago, Dave and Hal were getting ready for bed.
The two stood at the bathroom mirror, brushing their teeth. Or at least, Hal was attempting to brush his teeth while Dave clung to him, hands wrapped around his midsection and face buried in his neck. Hal huffed as he tried to complete his nighttime routine without elbowing his boyfriend in the face.
“Daveee, I can’t brush my teeth like this,” Hal complained. “And how are you even going to brush yours when you’re wrapped around me like an octopus?”
Dave tried to pout at Hal but the effect was spoiled by the toothbrush in his mouth. He grumbled like a dog being forced to give up his favorite toy but released Hal from his grip. The two quickly finished getting ready and soon enough Hal was wrapped up in Dave’s arms again, this time happily in bed.
“Do you really have to leave tomorrow?” Dave muttered into Hal’s neck.
Hal sighed, shuffling around so the two were lying face to face.
“I have an exam tomorrow, otherwise I’d totally stay,” Hal said.
Dave whined and Hal chuckled as he kissed the pout off of Dave’s lips. It was only Hal’s first semester at college and the two were quickly realizing just how much they hated being apart. Hal came home to visit as often as he could, staying with Dave in his small apartment above Diamond Dogs, but weekend visits weren’t enough when they were used to seeing each other everyday. They texted constantly, Hal sending little pictures of what he was doing and Dave updating Hal on everything happening back home. They also video called every night they could, Hal studying and Dave periodically working on music but sitting silently most of the time, just content to be able to see Hal.
“Sometimes I wish..” Hal trailed off, blushing and hiding his face in the pillow.
Dave hummed curiously, fingers running through Hal’s hair as he tried to coax him back out. Hal kept mumbling into the pillow so Dave switched to tickling the nape of Hal’s neck until he was laughing too hard to stay hidden.
“Sometimes you wish?” Dave prompted, pinching Hal’s side to make him squeak.
Hal slapped Dave’s hand away and bit his lip nervously.
“It’s embarrassing. And weird,” Hal said.
Dave stared blankly at Hal for a moment.
“Once when my parents went away on vacation, I broke the oven because I tried standing on it to reach my Dad’s secret stash of cookies. I broke my arm and Eli called me the Chocolate Chip Dipshit for months. There, now I said something embarrassing, so you can say yours,” Dave said.
Hal started laughing, tears appearing in the corners of his eyes as he imagined the whole scenario. Dave smiled softly, Hal’s joy outweighing any embarrassment he felt.
“How old were you?” Hal asked between giggles.
“Old enough to know better. Your turn, what were you gonna say?” Dave prompted.
Hal giggled one last time before sighing softly. He knew Dave wouldn’t judge him but his fears of being “too much” still lingered.
“Sometimes I wish I could put a tracker in you,” Hal screwed his eyes shut as he rambled. “Not that I don’t trust you! I just hate the idea of not knowing where you are or what’s happening to you. I would just want something that showed me your location and maybe your vital signs? I know that I’m not a doctor but being able to see your heart rate to know you're safe, it would make me feel better,” Hal pressed his forehead against Dave. “I just wanna watch over you.”
“What’s weird about that?” Dave asked.
Hal spluttered, ready to argue how most people would find it creepy.
“You’d be like my guardian angel,” Dave mused. “And considering how you’ve already saved me, I can’t think of anyone better for the job.”
Hal’s eyes filled with tears and he lunged forward to kiss Dave. His fingers dug into Dave’s shirt as he tried to haul him impossibly closer while Dave’s hands gripped Hal’s hips like he wanted to brand his skin with his fingerprints. Dave licked into Hal’s mouth, the kiss quickly becoming more heated. He shifted their positions so Hal was pinned underneath him. Dave’s hips began to grind lazily, Hal sloppily meeting his movements as they continued to make out.
Eventually, Hal reluctantly pulled away for air, dodging Dave’s attempt to chase his lips. Dave huffed but switched his attention to renewing the bruises on Hal’s neck, determined to send him back to school fully claimed. Hal yawned and began stroking Dave’s hair until he felt content with his work, switching to gentle, sleepy kisses as the two got comfy once again.
“I love you, Dave,” Hal whispered softly, eyes closing as he drifted off to sleep.
“Love you too, Hal,” Dave replied, pressing one last kiss to Hal’s neck before falling asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Dave had received a package in the mail only a few weeks after Hal had left, he knew exactly what he would find inside. He smiled as he pulled out a small box and a note that simply read “If you still want me to watch over you xx.” He quickly texted his Uncle V to ask for a favor, bringing him the device to figure out how to safely insert. Venom examined it with his colleague, Quiet, and the two were impressed with how professional the technology was. Venom quickly noticed that there was no way the nano-device could have been built in just a few weeks, it seemed like months of work were involved, but kept that to himself. No need to embarrass the kid. After confirming everything was safe, Venom scheduled an appointment for Dave to come in for insertion.
“Alright that does it. The incision is small so it should heal quickly, let me know if you notice any signs of infection. Everything is set on our end so go ahead and text Hal to activate. I want you to hang around afterwards so we can monitor any side effects,” Venom said.
Dave nodded excitedly, pulling out his phone to text Hal.
Good to go.
Hal’s response came quickly.
^-^ okie turning it on now
Dave looked at his arm and saw a faint light blinking under his skin. He then felt a slight shock and tingly sensation in his arm.
“Feel anything?” Venom asked.
Dave shrugged, unsure how to describe the sensation. After about 30 seconds, the light and tingling went away. Dave’s phone pinged with another text from Hal.
Calibration is complete! I can see your stats on my computer rn :3 How does it feel :0
“Felt weird for a bit but it’s gone now,” Dave told Venom.
“Alright, hang around for about 15 minutes or so just to make sure everything is good then you can head out. Call me if you need anything,” Venom instructed, ruffling Dave’s hair on the way out.
Dave gently touched the skin above the nano-device and smiled before grabbing the phone to reply to Hal.
Feels better now that I know you’re watching over me <3
Back at college, Hal blushed happily at the text, adjusting his computer settings so the box with Dave’s vitals would always be in the corner of his screen.