Chapter Text
“V. V you get out here right now.”
He can feel venom’s refusal before he speaks it.
No.
“Why the hell not?”
Eddie adjusts his grip on the cat in his arms and tries very hard not to look down.
He is stuck in a tree. He is stuck in a tree in a park at 9 pm, holding a very frightened and yowling cat.
The cat is already scared. I do not wish to frighten it more.
“Ooh no you don’t- you got us in this mess. Get out here and get me down!”
The leaves around him rustle in the wind and Eddie closes his eyes exhales a very tired sigh. The cat isn’t squirming, but it’s meowing very loudly and it’s making Eddie’s forming headache worse.
I heard the cat meowing for help. We are heroes. We had to save it.
“Yeah but we could have called, like- animal control or something!” Eddie looks frantically around the park. They’re alone. He sighs again. “Bud, you know I’m afraid of heights. I can’t get myself down from here. You gotta help me out here, V.”
Funny how you are still afraid of heights even after all the rooftops we have been on.
“Haha. Yup so ironic,” He shifts his hold on the cat, pulling it closer to his chest. It’s a very big and heavy cat, his arm is already getting sore from holding it. “Now get me down from here.”
There’s a bubble of hesitance Eddie feels radiating from Venom. Eddie squints his eyes and frowns.
“What’s wrong, V?”
There’s silence. Eddie can feel Venom pulsing through him, moving around under his skin. Filling his very being. He feels Venom’s hesitance, and what feels like… Nervousness?
I do not want to harm the cat. Venom finally speaks and Eddie blinks in response. Usually, Venom is reckless. He’s trampled through alleyways and rooftops without a care. Probably squished a few birds or wild animals in the process without realizing or caring. He’s definitely threatened to eat a dog before. This hesitance surprises Eddie.
“You’re not gonna hurt the cat.”
But I am big. Might squish it on accident.
“That’s not gonna happen, bud,” Eddie feels Venom move up his arm and onto his shoulder. A small tendril appears from his shoulder, almost timidly. Venom’s head materializes there- a tiny, black, blob with big white eyes. Venom stares at the cat and then looks up at Eddie. Eddie can’t help but smile at that. “You wanted to save the cat. Getting us down from here is the first step.”
Venom thinks it over. slowly but surely, Eddie can feel Venom covering him. Black tendrils surround his fingers and go up his arms, his sides, his chest. Right before Venom completely consumes him he hears him speak again,
“I will be gentle.”
~
They make it home all in one piece. They had to stop at the pet store to get cat food and a bed for the cat to sleep on. Eddie had kept the cat safely tucked away in his jacket as they looked through the store. It had fallen asleep purring against him.
Eddie now sits on the couch in his apartment with the cat on his lap, still sleeping and softly purring. Venom’s head is poking out of his left shoulder, watching the cat intensely.
“Eddie. It needs a name.”
“Mhmm. What d’you wanna name it, bud?”
He feels Venom thinking it over. The cat shifts in its sleep, yawning and sticking its tongue out.
“Beast.” Venom says, watching the cat closely.
“What?”
“We should name him Beast.”
“Beast huh?” Eddie looks back down at the cat. It’s tongue is still sticking out. It’s black and fluffy, a small piece of it’s right ear is missing. It has a pink nose.
“He is a very ferocious beast.”
The cat snores.
“Beast it is, then.”
~
Later that night Eddie decides maybe bathing the cat would be a good idea.
It isn’t a good idea.
“Ow, shit-!”
Eddie retracts his hand from the cat, blood now dripping down his arm. Venom reacts immediately, healing the scratch quickly. the wound is gone before Eddie can even say anything else.
“Thanks, V,” Eddie ends up saying, and returns to the task at hand.
Beast meows in protest as Eddie bathes him. He tries to scratch Eddie a few more times, until he finally gives up and begrudgingly accepts the bath with simple yowls of protest.
After his bath, Eddie makes sure to dry him off and wrap him tightly in a towel. He plops back down on the couch with Beast in his arms and Venom materializes into his more human form on the couch next to him. The TV is on, playing some random sitcom with the volume turned down very low. They remain sitting on the couch like that for a few minutes, the laughing track from the TV the only sound filling the room. It doesn’t last long, though.
“Eddie?”
“Yeah, V?”
Hesitance. Consideration. Another round of laughter from the TV fills the silent air around them.
“Can I… Hold Beast?”
Eddie smiles. He can still feel Venom’s hesitance through their bond. He makes sure Venom feels his reassurance and affection, and Venom visibly calms down.
“Of course you can hold him, bud. Here,” He shifts on the couch to face Venom better, Beast held securely in one arm, still wrapped in a towel. “Hold your hand out like this.” He demonstrates with his free hand by holding it out, palm up. Venom copies this, black tendrils forming into a big hand. His claws are gone, though. Eddie gently places Beast in Venom’s hand, removing the towel as he does so. Beast barley reacts, he just meows quietly before making himself comfortable and closing his eyes.
Venom is in complete awe. His wide, opal eyes are watching the cat’s every movement. Every breath, every lick, every twitch of his ear. Eddie can hear Venom’s blooming thought of Cute through the bond. He can feel the warm affection bubbling between them as the cat purrs. Eddie can’t help but grin.
This is something he wants to remember.
Eddie pulls out his phone and quickly snaps a picture of the scene: Beast is sprawled out on Venom’s hand, a paw stretching over the edge to lazily play with one of Venom’s tendrils swaying around. Venom seems to be enjoying it.
Eddie is content. Happy. He hadn’t felt like this in a while. He allows this feeling and these thoughts to flow through their bond. Venom immediately reacts by finally looking up from the cat to glance at Eddie with wide, curious eyes. He thinks Venom is smiling (kinda hard to tell with all the teeth and lack of lips.)
“I am happy, too, Eddie,” Venom speaks, holding his other hand out for the cat to playfully swat at while he continues looking at Eddie. “Happy that it is you I bonded with. Happy to have Beast.” Venom finally looks back down at Beast. Eddie’s heart feels like it’s about to burst.
“Happy that we are a family.”