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Eddie didn't plan on caring about the kid, much less taking care of him like he was his own child. He wasn't the most active parent in his actual child's life, so being so involved with a stranger, a grown man at that, was absurd. But nothing about his life was normal, and his partner was dead set on claiming the vigilante as their baby.
It didn't help that the man was so accident-prone. You would think someone as nimble as a spider who swung twenty feet in the air would watch over their health better, but Peter was a fucking mess. More often than not, he was taking hits he could easily dodge and then made excuses when they asked about it.
It pissed the blonde off, especially with the Punisher claiming he cared so much about the boy and threatening his beloved over him. If Frank gave so much of a damn, he would get the man into some goddamn therapy because the arachnid needed it. He was borderline suicidal and laughed it off with a smile on his face.
One night in particular made this abundantly clear to the odd couple. They had been patrolling with Peter, with the man wearing a thick puffer jacket and earmuffs due to the ongoing blizzard that surrounded them. Despite this, Peter was still doing flips and cartwheels and spin kicks as they fought a bunch of Z-list East Coast villains.
Venom was praising the boy in the back of Eddie's mind as the man resisted the urge to eat their enemies' heads and simply incapacitated them with a couple of back-breaking stomps. They didn't want to disappoint their adopted street rat, and the cops had really been on their ass with the trail of bodies they'd been leaving.
Which meant less meals and more anger. Eddie soothed his love as they whined at the loss of a treat and continued throwing the lovers into a nearby brick wall to knock them out when he heard it. A cry of pain and a sickening crunch that instinctively caused his mouth to salivate, but his heart plummeted.
Because he recognized that small voice. His hands trembled with barely contained rage as he turned his head to see Peter on the ground. Panting in pain as his leg sat at an unnatural angle that would make an EMT vomit up their lunch. The scum known as a human responsible didn't have time to react as the couple pounced.
Eddie was delirious with bloodlust as his beloved screeched and howled in agony at the sight of what he saw as a baby symbiote being attacked. The man was left defenseless as the blonde tore him apart. Ripping him apart, skin, bones, and flesh staining Eddie's black trenchcoat and sneakers as the crook screamed blindly.
Plea for mercy and apologies to no one filled the air as the man's teammates, who were still conscious, could only observe in terror. A human being was turned into a pile of lumps and pus in seconds. They shivered and prayed to whatever God they believed in that they wouldn't be next and that someone would save them.
Thankfully, the child was more important than the couple having a free buffet. With gore and the man's stomach fluids soaking their front, they crouched down in Eddie's body to help Peter up. The spider did not comment on the fact that the no-kill rule had been broken, but that was more due to delirium than not caring.
"We got you, little one." They spoke as one, as they often did when emotions became so complex you couldn't sort through what was human and what was alien.
Peter understood, whimpering as his body started to heal the snapped bone and torn muscle. He grunted. Then his mouth filled with saliva, and he managed to vomit away from the chest of his savior as he began to tremble between whines. His eyes were glazed, and it was clear that no quips, no words, would come from him.
That didn't matter to Eddie, and it sure as hell didn't matter to Venom. They gave the remaining men a snarl before walking to the edge of the roof and dropping. Landing on a rusty fire escape, it shook under their weight and loudly creaked as they jumped off into the black night. To a place where they could heal their little one and then, when he was asleep, return to feast upon whoever sent those men after him.