Archive of Our Own

Work Text

Ever since he had left his father to live on his own as a child, Eddie hated the summer breaks in schools. Everyone around him was getting excited to travel with their families, gather some unique experiences and just celebrate life. For Eddie summer breaks in college had always meant, he would be alone in the student dorm, bored as hell or overworking himself in a shitty student job. Yet he was glad, knowing it used to be so much worse. In his high school when he didn’t have the small room in the student dorm yet he had been lucky if he was able to crash at some school friends couch.

The closer they came to the end of the ongoing semester, the more Eddie got nervous and fidgety. He played with his bracelets and tapped his pen almost nonstop while doing his homework until even Venom got annoyed and made him stop by force. Currently he was sitting on his bed with the notebook on his lap, trying to concentrate on his homework, when Venom had made him drop the pen on the pillow next to him.

//Sorry, V…//

Instead of an answer he felt something pressing against his palm and saw a squeezy black tendril that started to curl around his fingers. He understood his idea, that he could fidget with that instead of making annoying noises, and started kneading the black mass. Eddie felt something similar to the vibration of a purr against his chest and smiled.

You are really tense. Should we help you?

Venom’s smug grin seemed to shine in the soft moonlight and Eddie felt his tongue against his cheek.

“Is it just me or are you particularly frisky tonight?” he laughed softly and kissed Venom lovingly. A black tendril grabbed the notebook and put it on the desk next to the bed.

It’s just you.

Venom’s mass emerged his stomach nearly completely now, forming his whole body, just not as huge as their shared form. Eddie felt himself being pushed into the mattress as V stole another deep-tongued kiss.

You are so sensitive.

Eddie smiled and put his arms around V’s broad shoulders. “And you are just horny. You know, you don’t have to ask.” Venom pushed his boxers down, before he lifted Eddie’s legs up around the black mass that imitated human hips.

The next morning Eddie woke up to the annoying sound of his phone’s alarm. His lower body still felt raw and sore when he got up and he just knew how much Venom enjoyed how he reminded Eddie of what they did last night. It had taken Venom a bit to get used to the idea of leaving marks and reminders of their lovemaking on Eddie’s body. At first Venom had been utterly stressed about the injuries but now he could distinguish those marks from real injuries. Still he never let them stay too bad, like the scratches of his claws for example.

Good morning, Eddie! We need to show you a video! Look at that cute cat!

“Morning, V!” he yawned and took the phone, Venom had held out for him. The cat was indeed really cute and Eddie smiled fondly, while the alien excitedly rubbed against his cheek. It had taken him a lot of time to get used to including Venom into his daily routine, apart from all the hectic and panic the incident with the research facility had caused them.

No more thinking about that, Eddie.

He smiled and nodded slightly. Enough for Venom to feel, not enough to be noticable for anyone else, while he was walking to the classroom.

He was really thankful of how good Venom went with it all. Instead of being bored and making trouble in class, he would often pay attention, where Eddie drifted off, later helping him with the homework. V seemed genuinely interested in studying and helping Eddie with what he loved. The symbiote tried his best to make life easier for Eddie instead of more difficult, which not often worked out as planned, but V would never hurt him on purpose.

The professor ended the class and Eddie left the room in a hurry to meet his friends at lunch. After a whole week since their camping trip Flash and Eddie still haven’t had the chance to talk alone. It was as if they both tried to avoid that particular situation, because none of them had an idea how to approach what had happened between them.

Of course the butterflies in his stomach would not disappear and he noticed how Flash tried to be as casual as possible, when they were in public, but always chose to sit right next to him, holding his hand under the table or softly stroking his knee, when noone would see it.

Eddie we should talk to him about it. You are getting impatient yourself.

“That’s not so easy, you know?” he asked and immediately noticed the strange glares. He just pointed to the headphone he wore in one ear and moved on.

It is even easier than you think. You both are making it difficult. What are you scared of?

//Well, I am in a happy relationship with a certain alien lifeform.//

And? We are a hive, the more the better, isn’t that obvious?

//Not for us humans. And I don’t even know if Flash wants this. He maybe does not even want anyone else to know. Being with a boy is not really socially accepted, V.//

Humans are stupid.

While his conclusion was out of question, but it did not help him here.

We understand that humans are not a hive-species like us. Humans are selfish and don’t want to share, not even share other humans! But we don’t see a problem with adding Flash into our relationship. Normal for earthers, right? Two humans in a relationship. Nothing strange.

//Except for human relationships usually don’t include an alien symbiote...//

Which makes it all the better!

Eddie arrived the canteen found the group of friends immediately. Flash waved happily and he sat down on the chair right next to the blonde. “Hey Ed, how was your morning class?” Dan asked politely and they started to eat and chat about their current classes.

“What are your plans for the summer break?” Annie asked noone in particular and Flash answered almost immediately. “Oh, I’ll be in New York! There will be a special football training camp and the school sends me to attend that. You?” Annie and Dan looked each other and spoke about some vacation plans, Europe, they just could not decide on what countries they wanted to see.

“I really want to visit Barcelona, it seems to be the perfect mix of sightseeing, shopping and relaxing at the beach, but Dan wants to visit more cultural places like Austria or Germany.”

Dan grinned and put one arm around Annie. “We should decide soon… We could also make a deal and visit both, Spain and Germany? two weeks each?”

“Hey, Eddie, don’t you speak Spanish and German? Can you recommend anything?” Eddie, who had been rather passive in the conversation, instead ate his lunch and listened to his friends, looked up. “Uh… I’ve never actually been in Europe, sorry.”

Feeling sad, Eddie…

He ignored the dark, but soft voice in his head and smiled at Annie. “Wait,” Flash interrupted them, “you have never been there, but you speak the languages?”

“It’s not like I am fluid in them, I just-” Annie grinned and waved with her hand at him. “Oh, actually he knows a lot more languages! I once saw him reading a book in Swedish as well! Aren’t you currently studying Mandarin?”

“Trying to… I think I reached my limit with that...”

“Oh come on, don’t act like trying to is not already super amazing!” Dan tried to cheer him up.

“It’s not… I just… like words, you know? Can we talk about something else?” he asked obviously uncomfortable and Annie finally accepted. But not to Eddie’s liking.

“What are your plans for the summer break?” she asked and smiled kindly. Great… “Uhm… I’ll try to get that vacation job I had last time again and write down a few things I have in mind.” Venom shifted inside of him, trying to distract him from feeling even more uncomfortable.

We could travel as well! Go to Europe or New York or wherever we want.

//Have fun then, I won’t go anywhere because I can not afford it.//

Wouldn’t go without you…

Venom seemed to be upset about his implication and he felt Flash’s hand on his knee in a calming gesture. The conversation went on without Eddie. Right when they all left for the next class, Eddie was held back by Flash, who had grabbed his arm and pulled him to follow him. “Uh, Flash?” "We need to talk.”

Finally,  we already thought you would never speak to each other again.

“Oh V, shut up for a second,” he whispered but without any bad blood.

Bad mood, not our fault…

Eddie knew, being angry at V was a dick move, but he could not help his bad mood. He always got upset and anxious the closer the summer break came and he felt sorry, but he couldn’t change. “Eddie, I know you are upset… Was it something I said, or..?”

Flash had stopped to pull him around the building and they had found a silent corner, where noone would disturb their chat. He pushed Eddie against the wall with a little too much force and looked at him with worry. “No, I… Sorry…”

“Eddie is upset because he always spends summer break alone.”

“I always thought you would go back to your family in summer break like the rest? Don’t tell me you were here all summer last year?” Flash asked.
“Well, it’s not like I want to stay here, but I can barely afford the room. I don’t...” “We consider Annie, Dan and you our family.” Eddie shifted and felt his cheek growing hot and he was suddenly very aware of Flash’s perfume and how close they were. “What V is trying to say… I don’t have a family anymore. Apart from you guys…”
Flash seemed to relax a bit and he smiled seemingly nervous. “That’s really kind. Thanks, both of you! You know, the camp will be only for a month, we could make plans for after that? Nothing big like Barcelona… Just somewhere nice, maybe with a beach?”

“That sounds nice… thank you for cheering me up, Flash.”

“Eddie… do you have plans for the evening? I thought we could hang out at my place, I’ll order pizza, we could watch a movie or two?”

Say yes, say yes!

“Sounds good! When should I be there?”

“I have training around five, we could walk home together then?”
 
After his last class Eddie went to the weekly appointment with his newspaper group.

Don’t forget to show them that article we wrote!

//Sorry love, but that article is rating different chocolates, that is not exactly…//

Or maybe? //Okay, V, I’ll show the editor, let her decide!//

A happy purr rumbled through his head and Eddie entered the club room. They decided for some topics for their last issue of the semester and then allocated the tasks. After the meeting he even got to give the chocolate-article to his editor, who said that was a good and funny way to finish the year, not too serious articles. “Let’s see how people are gonna react, maybe we could start a series?” she agreed and then left for her next class. V was swirling around his body full with pride and happiness.

When he left as well, Peter Parker was already waiting for him, since they were working on the same story.

“Hi, Peter, nice to be working with you again. How are you?” he asked and smiled. Last time he had been working with Peter for an article about the football team and he had enjoyed the calming presence of the photographer.

“Eddie! I hoped to be set up with you again. Are you interested in having some dinner together? Then we could talk about the layout and what you have in mind so far.”

“Ah sorry, I am already meeting with someone else, but we could talk in the morning at breakfast?  I am sure the others would like meeting you as well!”

“Oh… ehhh… rather no. Flash and I are not quite… on good terms. It has gotten better by about two hundred percent ever since you called him out in PE and somehow ended up friends with him, but if I am being honest… he scares me…”

Eddie understood. He had been aware that Flash had treated Peter similar to himself. But he also knew, that the quarterback regretted his behaviour and wished for a chance to set things right with Peter as well. “I don’t want to force you but maybe try it? He changed a lot this year.” The photographer struggled and then nodded.

“Okay… I guess, I trust you in that. Have a nice evening!”

“Same, see you in the morning.”

We like him, but something is strange about him.

“You keep saying that, but I have no idea what you mean. Can you be more specific?”

It is just.. a feeling…

“A feeling, huh?”

Flash’s training was not quite finished, so he sat down on the side and watched him. It was pretty scary, how ruthless Flash tackled down one of the other players and instead of being shocked or anything, everyone seemed to celebrate him. Even the guy who just got smashed into the ground. It was scary, that this sheer power was not even that visible. Yes, Flash was very muscular compared to others, but with clothes he looked somewhat normal, not the bodybuilder type you could expect with this strength.

Seems like he never truly wanted to hurt you, he could have hit so much harder…

“Yeah, true… still the way he hit hurt anyway…”

Didn’t say he was not a dick for hurting you.

“I think I know what you meant.”

The training came to an end and instead of going into the dressing room with the others, Flash came straight towards Eddie, carrying his sport bag with him.

“You are early! Great, let’s go!”

“Uh, I don’t mind waiting, if you want to-”

“Nah, I always shower at home, the apartment pretty close and I hate those disgusting school showers.”

“Seems fair, they are disgusting... “

“Whatever you did on that gras, it looked amazing.”

“Thanks, V! We just trained some strategies and tackles for our upcoming match.”

“Match? You want to ignite a fire? Does not seem wise with all that grass.”
“No”, Eddie laughed and nearly tripped over. “A football match, a game, remember the one we saw last time?” The symbiote searched through his memories and found what he was looking for. “Oh, we remember! To be fair, your knowledge of football is still alarming. You should train that with Flash instead of running in circles.”
Flash swung an arm over Eddie’s shoulders and the journalist could not even mind the unshowered body pressed against him. Since when did Flash smell this good?

“True, you should come to the rookie training! I will train them in the next semester, you would be my star-student,” Flash offered. “Me?? No, I am absolutely not interested,” he laughed and put his arm around Flash’s back.

The rest of the way they walked in silence, until it became uncomfortable. When they exited the elevator and stepped in front of Flash’s apartment door, V was already impatient and rumbled annoyed in the back of Eddie’s head.

Inside they ordered pizza and Flash announced hopping under the shower. “Wanna join?” he asked with a mischievous grin. Eddie’s cheeks immediately lit up in bright red and he nearly choked on the water he had been drinking. “Uh shouldn’t we… talk about last time… b-before we do it another time?” he asked and was not able to look Flash into the eye. Instead he was inspecting the floor with fake interest.

Flash was silent for a second before he nodded.

“Yes, that was part of why I invited you… let me shower quickly. You can choose a movie, if you want.”

With that, Flash disappeared into his sleeping room, which led to the connected bathroom. Eddie had been staying overnight a few times already, most of the time with Annie and Dan, so he knew the apartment like his own dorm room. He opened the TV-shelf and let V decide on a movie he wanted to watch. The symbiote was an absolute sucker on superhero movies. ‘Eddie, we can be a hero too!’ he would often say and Eddie was able to feel the enormous excitement in the thought of being something more.

Eddie had already explained that this was not possible. Not like the Avengers or anything. Noone would know about his identity or else he would not only endanger his best friends but also be able to be found by his father. Additionally he doubted that the Avengers would just accept an alien lifeform with superpowers. The experiences they had made with aliens were way too bad.

//Hey V, what would you think about...  well what if Flash…?//

You want to know, if we want to add Flash into our hive?

Eddie laughed and sat down on the couch after he had prepared the movie. “Yep, something like that.”

We already said, that we like Flash. He takes good care of us.

“True, but still… it is an important thing to discuss and I want to be sure we are absolutely clear before talking to him…”

Why are you so insecure?

“I don’t know… I never had something like that with another human…”

Not long ago he was not even able to imagine getting intimate with someone else than Venom. He was never able to build enough trust or interest to really get aroused by other people. He heard the door and braced himself.

You worry too much. Flash is as insecure and nervous as you are.

Eddie could not quite believe that, but it helped him calm his nerves. The doorbell rang and Flash got their pizza order before he came back into the living room. “Hey…” he greeted almost shy and sat down next to Eddie, putting down the boxes on the table. He wore shorts and a damp shirt, his hair still wet.

“I’m sorry we didn’t talk about it earlier,” Flash started and fidgeted with his fingers, “I just… never felt anything like this and if I am honest, I am super scared to fuck this up. You are both really important to me and I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I know you are in a relationship and happy. I didn’t mean to… crash in between or anything.”

Eddie was speechless, he would have never guessed to see Flash so flustered and insecure.

“You didn’t crash anywhere. We like you.”

“He is speaking for both of us,” Eddie admitted and played with the black tendrils on his arm, “We both liked… what happened and,” he looked nervous to the side and then right into Flash’s eyes, “if you want to, we would not be opposed to continue.” Flash smiled from eye to eye. “I’d love to continue.”

“We want you to be part of our hive.”

The boys both laughed and the quarterback took Eddie’s hands in his own. “What about you, Eddie? Would you like to be my boyfriend?” he asked.

“O-of course! If you… want too?”

Flash carefully cupped his face with his warm hands and pulled Eddie closer until their lips met. He kissed him soft and full of love, while he wrapped his arms around the smaller body.

Hungry. Let’s eat pizza.

Looking at him questioningly Flash tilted his head to the side when Eddie nearly choked on trying not to laugh. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, V just… totally ruined the mood,” he laughed and kissed Flash’s cheek apologetically.

The rest of the evening, they cuddled, ate pizza and enjoyed the movie Venom had picked out. After the second movie, Eddie got up and stretched his back a bit. Flash followed suit and smiled fondly at him. “You know, you don’t have to leave… you could sleep here?” he offered, but Eddie shook his head. “That sounds really good, but I still have homework to do. Next time?”

He helped him to tidy up the living room and on the door Flash hugged him. It was a kind of weird goodbye because none of them wanted to leave the other, but Eddie just felt everything else would be too fast. Downstairs he could feel Venom shift under his skin, near his stomach, then traveling up his back and eventually oozing out his skin to curl around his neck like a constrictor.

Not trying to choke you, trying to warm you.

“I know, love,” he answered fondly. He could feel the excitement from the movie still flowing through their shared bond. The klyntar lifted his head a bit and rubbed against his jaw.

Why didn’t we stay overnight? You were thinking about it the whole movie.

“That would have been way too fast… I don’t want to rush things, or else it would just be awkward,” he explained and caressed the side of Venom’s head with his fingers.

Venom hummed and leaned into the touch more, before he suddenly stiffened.

“V?”

Eddie stopped walking and tried to hear what could have alerted the symbiote so much. He didn’t really feel scared, walking the way back to his dorm through the forest in the middle of the night, he had Venom with him after all, but if something had V so much on guard, it was definitely reason to watch out. Right when he decided it was probably just a wild rabbit that had their attention by hopping by and wanted to continue walking, he could hear it.
 
A scream. Somewhere near, but he could not quite figure out, where it came from.
 
We need to help! Eddie, now!
The symbiote’s senses were highly vigilant when a shout for help lead the way. In the middle of running, the black mass took over, covered Eddie and jumped up into one of the trees. They made their way through the crown of the trees until they found the scene. Luckily they were just in time. A darkly dressed man was leaning over the girl who had been screaming, who tried to fight her way out of the situation.“Shut the fuck up, bitch!” the man shouted and lifted his fist. They had seen enough to decide, what to do. A black tendril shot out and grabbed the man by the wrist to pull him away from the girl. Venom landed in between them, facing the guy and growled dangerously.
“Don’t you dare to ever lay a finger on a girl again or else we will find you. And we will punish you,”
Venom roared and grabbed him by the hem of his shirt, lifting him from his feet.

“Disgusting scum, trying to rob and hurt an innocent girl. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Right when they were about to let him run, they heard a whimper right behind them. They turned their head and could see the torn clothes, bruises that were starting to grow, a bleeding scratch on her cheek. That guy was not about to rob her. What he had been planning was much worse.

“We changed our mind.”

With a loud growl he bit the head of the guy, felt his bones burst under their teeth and the body going limp in their grip. They threw him away a few metres, out of the sight of the innocent girl. he girl screamed in shock, but instead of running away, she simply stared at the black creature in front of her. Venom immediately leaned down a bit, trying to appear less threatening.

“Are you hurt? Should we bring you to the hospital?”
Venom asked and held their hand out to offer her help. She eyed the huge paw and took it, at least a finger, to lift herself up from the ground.

“I’m… I’m okay… Thank you. You saved me...”

Eddie who was still aware of everything that was happening recognised her face. She was one of the elder students, who lived in the same dorm.

“We can accompany you on your way home. Guarantee your safety.”

She nodded and together they made their way down to the dorm. Not once did she mention, that they had just bitten the attackers head of.

“That’s the building… Thank you again, you probably saved my life… What’s your name?” she asked and smiled at him. They hesitated.
“We are Venom.”

“Venom? Nice to meet you! Thank you so much again. Good night!” She walked off into the building and they left into the dark of the forest. They had to get rid of the body.
 
When Eddie finally arrived his room, he was more than anxious. Not only had they killed a human - a disgusting rapist, but a human no less - but they were also being seen by that girl. Fuck. That blew their cover completely.

Calm down, Eddie! We were being heroes! She doesn’t know it was you.

“Yes, but we also killed a person… That attracts way too much attention. Fuck, I think  I can still taste him.”

But we are no longer on the run. No need to stay hidden! No Drake!

While speaking, Venom extended a long tendril that wrapped around the head of a bottle of soda. Eddie took a long sip, but it didn’t help. He went for the bathroom and brushed his teeth about four times until he felt better. “What if the Avengers take interest in you? I don’t say we should not have helped her, we did the right thing tonight. But I’m scared to lose you…”

You won’t! We are stronger and faster. Our bond is perfect.

Venom emerged his skin and headbutted his forehead, then formed arms to hug him tight. The unexpected midnight snack had given him a lot of strength. It kind of scared Eddie, how much of a difference it was. The diet he could offer the symbiote kept it alive and healthy. But the power that now flooded their shared bond showed him, that he would never be able to live to his full potential on chocolate and raw supermarket-meat only.

“You protect us Eddie. We protect us as well. Noone can separate us. We are happy with the way we are.”

Finally calming down, he quickly texted Flash, who already had asked if they got home safely, that they arrived now. After their evening routine of showering which meant lots of chocolate for dinner and online videos that Venom had discovered in his nightly research and couldn’t wait to show Eddie, they cuddled together under the blanket. Venom seemed keen on distracting him, he even built a nest out of his pillows and the blankets, massaged him carefully while they watched videos. Eddie could feel the love and care through their shared bond.

He didn’t have a particularly good night, but Venom made sure, he was relaxed enough to get some rest. His mood was still not the best, but when Venom gave his best to make an impression of the cute cats they had seen in the videos, Eddie couldn’t help but feel better. “Let’s get ready for breakfast with the others, kitty. Peter wanted to join us today, right?”

We want to find out what’s different about him.

“It’s not like I could ask him, but tell me when you know it.”
He prepared for their classes and met with Peter at the entrance of the canteen. They sat down and Flash nodded them in greeting, oddly silent, looking down on his plate. If he was feeling guilty for bullying Peter? Sometimes Flash was even strange around Eddie, if someone mentioned his past actions.
Flash is doing his best.

Annie joined them and they started to eat, while Eddie and Peter planned their project. Suddenly one of the other students, a friend of Annie, came to their desk and sat down.

“Guy’s have you heard, what happened yesterday?”, she asked. Eddie immediately had a bad feeling about this. “No, what?”, Annie asked and everyone paid close attention to the story of a huge black forest monster being the hero of the night, as it saved one of the senior students. Eddie knew it was exaggerated and they monster in the story way too overpraised but he could feel how proud Venom was.

Eddie immediately noticed, that the part where they had bitten off the head of the attacker was left out completely. “Linda said, it looked like Spider-man, only a lot taller and with more muscles! And huge teeth! So cool, isn’t it?” Annie just rolled her eyes. “Come on, a black forest monster? You don’t believe her, do you? Maybe she drank too much and ran into a tree, the story sounds ridiculous.”

“You think? After what happened in New York, I totally believe in that. She even dared to ask for it’s name! Venom.” Eddie nearly choked on the sandwich he had been eating to distract himself. “Sounds fake,” Flash just laughed and hugged Eddie a bit, “Linda has such a colourful phantasy…”

“Well she actually took a picture, but she asked me not to send it to anyone… but since you won’t believe me?”

On her phone screen there was actually a picture from Venom’s back, right before he disappeared in the forest.

//Well… shit...//

We look so cool! We are heroes now!

Next to him, Peter shifted uncomfortably. “You said, that… creature rescued Linda? What happened to the guy who attacked her?” The girl just shrugged, “Linda didn’t tell me. No idea.”  As fast as she had appeared, as fast she went on when she saw some of her friends to spread those exciting news.

It was only for Peter, that Annie didn’t immediately try to strangle him. “I’m not sure, those are actually good news… I mean, this forest is huge and who knows what escaped the research building after this huge explosion,” Peter wondered. “You think? He saved a person from being attacked, who knows what would have happened to her otherwise?” Dan answered and Annie nodded.

“From what Linda said, he didn’t seem hostile?” They discussed a little bit more, but Eddie already got up.

“Sorry, I got a class in five minutes, I promised a classmate to help him with the homework… See you at Lunch, yeah?”

Eddie, stop being so on edge.

“Ed, wait." Annie had followed him. “What were you thinking?”

“Nothing, it was not my decision. But still, what else should we have done? That guy was about to- Fuck, Annie, I know the situation is bad, but there was no other way.”

“What happened to the attacker?”

“He is dead… We bit off his head, then brought her to the dorm, so she would get there safely… and then we went back to get rid of the body.”

“I hope you hid him well… Eddie! I technically can’t even know about that…”

“Then don’t ask.”

“No wonder, you are so quiet all morning,” she sighted and then pulled him into a hug, “Don’t worry, okay? We are on your side, no matter what.” He hugged her back and smiled. “We try to keep a low profile. Promised.” The morning classes were boring, what didn’t really help Eddie to calm down. Venom had started to playfully curl tendrils around his fingers to distract him from being so nervous.

People think we were doing good. They celebrate us, Eddie! No reason to be worried.

//Still, if the authorities start their research, we should hope, nothing will lead them to us. The Avengers could have a different point of view on what happened… And we still killed a man.//

We did research on the internet. The man was a criminal just got out of prison after a five year sentences for sexual assault. No family.

Surprisingly, this really seemed to calm the guilt in Eddie. Venom showed him the information he was able to gather over their shared bond. The rest of the morning classes, he tried to think about anything else. Venom helped him to distract him enough, that he could calm down again.

We should think about Flash's offer! You usually want to discuss stuff like this.

//Oh, right... Flash wants to go to vacation with us after his camp in New York… what do you think?//

We love the idea! Beach he said. Swimming and sun sounds like an amazing vacation!

On their way to the canteen for lunch Peter stood in front of the entrance busy on the phone. Thanks to Venom’s sensitive senses he was able to hear the last specs of the conversation.

“-onfidental information, I know. I will try my best. Yeah, Just give the plan a chance. Oh, I have to go now, my friend for lunch is here. Bye.” He put the phone away and smiled, “Hey Eddie, I have been waiting for you! Mind if I join you for dinner again? I really enjoyed the breakfast with you guys.”

“Sure, thanks for waiting for me,” Eddie smiled and they both got to their table. The others were already waiting.

“Hey Peter, do you have any plans for the summer break?” Annie asked, they had been talking about their vacation plans with Flash before. "Uhm… Actually… I am going to be on a summer internship to New York… actually it is funny you ask… I wanted to ask Eddie to join. At last if you don’t have anything else planned?”

Eddie looked up evidently surprised. “New York? Me? Uhm, I didn’t plan anything so far.”

“It is an internship on the Daily Bugle. Only a month. I know the owner and showed him some of your articles and he would be interested in having you as an intern as well.”

“That’s a huge opportunity! Wow!” Dan seemed enthusiastic, but as big as this chance was for him, it scared him. He barely got used to Venom in his daily routine, how should he travel with him for an internship?

But we promise to behave! We want to see New York!

“It… it sounds amazing, really, thank you, but… I can’t afford it. I’m sorry.“ He could feel the equivalent to a pout in the back of his head where Venom probably was at the moment. //Sorry, V...//

“Oh please don’t worry about money! It will all be sponsored by Stark Industries! They actually offered me to pay a flat while we are staying in New York and the flights are included as well! When they heard, I was going to New York they offered me to cover everything. The internship is a paid one as well.”

Eddie could not believe what he heard. Whenever something sounded way too good to be true, it probably was. At least his instincts were highly on guard. “Are you insane, Ed? Say yes! I’ll be going to New York too, we could spend the evenings together!” Flash grinned. Peter seemed a bit uneasy at that but nodded. “Please? I’d be so happy to have someone I know there!”

“Uh then… yeah, sure. Why not? It sounds like an amazing chance and I would like to see New York. Thank you very much for thinking of me, Peter!” Peter smiled with something that looked like relief, “Great, I will send you the details later!” He took his phone out and texted someone.

The conversation continued, but Eddie’s mind was still at the offer. Why would Peter think of him? They only worked together like three times, and while he enjoyed his company he did not consider them to be such close friends. They rarely ever talked outside of their newspaper group. After this morning it seemed to be more than just a weird coincidence.

You worry too much, Eddie. You are one of the best aspiring journalists! They should be glad to have you. Got nothing to do with yesterday.

Eddie smiled and drew his attention back to his friends. Dan was currently talking about his study, stuff that noone in their group really understood, but he was so passionate about it. Next to him, Flash stretched and yawned, then let his arm drop on the back of his chair. Really inconspicuous, Thompson, Eddie thought sarcastically but gave in and let himself be pulled closer to the quarterback.

“Hey, when we are in New York, I can show you all the gorgeous pizza places!”, Flash promised in a whisper to his ear.

“I’m sure there is more to New York than pizza, wouldn’t hurt you to go in a museum for once in your life, sunshine.” he smiled. Flash had once told him, that he hated the nickname ‘sunny boy’ some of his other friends sometime used. But still, it suited him so well. “Sunshine? I like it,” he hummed, his nose ghosting against Eddie’s cheek, and for a second Eddie was sure he was about to kiss his cheek, before Flash took his cup and drank his coffee as casually as possible.

He saw the way Annie looked at them, of course she immediately knew that something was different. Female intuition or something like that. He winked at her and cracked a smile, receiving one from her in return.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Eddie's afternoon classes managed to distract him at least a bit from overthinking everything too much. Still he could not help but worry about what had happened last night and Peter's gorgeous offer.

He met Annie and Dan in front of the school building and together they walked down to Flash’s place. His afternoon classes had been cancelled and at lunch he had offered them to organise a dinner for everyone.

“Hey, Eddie. Can I ask you something before we go upstairs?” Annie asked and stopped Eddie with a hand on his arm.

“Sure, what’s bothering you?”

“Not bothering, but… What is that thing going on between you and Flash lately? Ever since our camping trip you were tiptoeing around each other, barely looking into each others eyes and today he couldn’t keep his fingers from you.”

Venom snickered in the back of his head while Eddies face would shame every tomato.

“Uh, well,” he was not quite sure what to say. They had come to terms in being boyfriends now, but they didn’t talk about what to say to their friends. Or anyone… “That’s not easy to say, could we maybe not talk about that now?” he asked instead.

She tilted her head and then hugged him closely. “Sure, but know, we love you and we want you to be careful with yourself…”

“What, are you my mom? I think it is a bit too late for ‘The talk’,” Eddie laughed, “But we love you too. And we are careful, promised.”

They got in the elevator, when Venom decided to speak up in his mind.

Eddie, what is ‘The talk’ ?

“Oh boy…”

Eddie??

“V, please don’t ask me, I am sure Dan won’t mind to explain the birds and the bees to you.”

The birds and the bees? We know about birds and bees, Eddie! Why are you so flustered suddenly?

“He wants to know what you meant by ‘The talk’?” Dan guessed and both of them laughed at how Eddie cringed. “V, I will buy you a kilo of the chocolate you want, if you stop asking… I’ll explain later, but not now.”

Hmpf… Deal! We want chocolate with hazelnuts in it. We love the crunch!

“Sure, why not?” Eddie smiled at how easy Venom was satisfied. Sometimes he wondered if Venom just asked stuff, he already knew would make Eddie uncomfortable, so he was able to gamble some chocolate.

They arrived Flash’s apartment and the whole corridor already smelled amazing and delicious. He had cooked a whole chefs meal for them, inviting them with a wide grin. If someone would have told him a year ago, he would stand in Flash Thompson’s apartment, seeing him in a apron, he would have probably declared them insane.

Now he just got his phone out of his pocket and took a picture, while Flash stood in the kitchen and prepared the plates while Dan and Annie already sat down on the table in the living room.

“Wow, Flash. That looks amazing,” he said, not really looking at the food, “Can I help you somehow?” The quarterback smiled and nodded, “Would you mind getting the cutlery from the drawer over there?” Eddie went to the drawer and when he was out of the doors field of vision, Flash followed him, hugging him right from behind. “I missed you,” he whispered, kissing his neck. He turned around in Flash’s hug and smiled, pointed at the ‘Kiss the cook’-print and leaned forward to place a tiny kiss on Flash’s lips. The blonde grinned, “‘s that all?”

“So greedy, Thompson, don't ruin your appetite for dinner.”

“I'm not ruining it. Come here.”, Flash grinned and stole another kiss. Eddie smiled into the kiss and felt himself being pressed against the kitchen table. “You! Be a bit more quiet.”

“Why? Can't I kiss my boyfriend? Do you prefer to hold hands under the table and kisses in a locker?” Flash pouted and poked his cheek. “We just didn't know, if you... want people to know,” Eddie explained and felt Venoms mass ooze out if his shoulder, wrapping himself around his neck and look at Flash curiously.

Flash smiled and whispered a 'Hey there’, before he kissed the black top of Venoms head.

“Why wouldn't I want people to know?” Flash asked after greeting their other boyfriend.

“Eddie overanalyzes everything. We didn't understand either.”

“Thanks, V,” Eddie sighted sarcastically and turned around again to gather the knives and forks for dinner that Flash had requested. Venom remained looking at Flash, licking his cheek and rubbing against his jawline.

“Then we should maybe start with telling Annie and Dan, it's kinda weird not to tell them,” Eddie asked and helped Flash carrying the last items for their dinner into the living room.

“Bon appetit! Today's dinner is presented by your jefe Flash Thompson to celebrate,” the quarterback announced. “You are aware that the Spanish word for cook is cocinero, right?”

“What my lovely Eddie wants to say is, we want to tell you, that we are in a relationship since yesterday,” Flash continued and put his arms around Eddie's shoulders. Annie and Dan grinned like children. “Wow took you long enough!” Annie answered, “We are really happy for you! And if you dare to hurt Eddie, we know how to hide a body!”

“We will eat him then”

“No hiding bodies and no eating!”
 
They enjoyed the evening with dinner and some movies afterwards. Venom got to eat two whole bars of chocolate that Flash had bought him. After Dan and Annie had left, Eddie helped him to clean the dishes and tidy up.

“You know… the offer still stands, you can sleep over anytime. If you don't want, we don't have to do anything,” Flash said almost casually while putting away the clean dishes. Eddie hesitated.
Mhhh.
“What do you think, V?” He asked.
We want to cuddle with Flash.

“We'd like to stay over… if that's really okay for you?”

Flash was already next to him, hugged him tight and lifted him from his feet. “Great! Oh you don't have any clothes here, do you mind wearing mine?”

He is so excited! Cute!

“I think I could get used to travel like this,” Eddie smiled and wrapped his legs around Flash's hip while the taller boy carried him to the bedroom. Instead of letting him down on the bed, he walked to the wardrobe. Eddie clung to him like a koala bear baby to his mother's chest, while Flash got out some clothes to sleep in.

Don't forget your medication before going to sleep!

“Ah right! Thanks for reminding me, V! Flash could you carry me to my bag before we go to bed?”

“Sure thing!”

Luckily Eddie always had a box with a small stock of meds in case of unplanned events like this. In the past they had often spontaneously stayed over at Flash's apartment. Flash carried him almost effortless through his department, picked up his bag and then went back to the bedroom where he dropped Eddie and crawled on top of him.

Eddie wrapped his arms around Flash's neck and pulled him into a passionate kiss, before he pushed him away a bit to roll on his stomach and grab his backpack. While Eddie sat up and took his meds, Flash took the liberty to massage his back and slowly undress him. He sat behind Eddie and reached around him, touched his stomach and chest. The journalist smiled and leaned back against the quarterback and closed his eyes.

“You smell amazing,” Flash whispered against his ear. They sat in silence for a while before Venom covered Eddie's stomach and pooled over Flash's resting hands.

//Take it easy, Flash never saw you like that.//

We won't scare him. He knows us.

That was true. Flash knew Venom and trusted him. He knew that Eddie and Venom only came as a set and that they had been in an intimate relationship for a long time now. He just didn't know how exactly this intimate relationship worked.

Instead of pulling away, Flash kept his hands still need leaned forward to rest his head on Eddie's shoulder and watch Venom more closely. The symbiote formed the humanoid looking upper body that Eddie knew already. His long tongue caressed Eddie's cheek before he leaned in to kiss Flash.

//Careful you can't feel how much tongue is too much for him.//

It had taken them quite a few tries until Venom had been able to tell how much was perfect for Eddie. And with him he was able to feel what he felt.

With Flash he was way more careful it seemed. The blonde moaned next to him and Eddie felt his heartbeat increasing against his back.

//Don't turn him on too much...//

But we want this, Eddie
.

//I thought we talked about this… we don't want to rush things with him...//

Bullshit…

Venom sounded annoyed, still he pulled back a little. Flash's hands had been traveling over his chest the whole time. His breathing was faster than usual and his cheeks were adorably red.

Eddie turned and kissed his cheeks before he moved away from Flash. He took his hand and pulled him to lie next to him. Venom nested himself against Eddie's back before he melted into his snakelike form and rested his head in the crock of Eddie's neck. They lied on their sides facing each other, the hands on each others side. Eddie smiled and a part of him still couldn't believe how caring and sweet Flash could be.

A behaviour that seemed to be exclusively reserved for his partner only. Eddie leaned closer and nestled against Flash's chest. He felt strong arms around him and his hot breath against his ear.

Flash played with his hair and they both calmed down. He could feel that the other was still tense but he really appreciated, not being pushed or forced into things that felt way too early for him.
 
The next few days passed by in a rush. His last few exams went great with Venom helping him to study. No matter how much he hoped Venom could help him during an exam, the symbiote insisted, that that would be cheating.

After classes, he would either meet up with Peter to plan their trip or stay in Flash’s apartment. So far the quarterback was patient and almost meek to respect his wishes. They would still cuddle and make out, but Flash always kept it above the pants.

In the evening Venom would beg to go on patrol, and more than once they were actually able to protect innocents from danger. They refrained from eating people or biting off heads. The campus was definitely a safer place ever since the gossip about Venom, the lethal protector was spreading. Eddie hated how famous they were by now, but still felt like they were doing good.
We are doing good! Like Spider-Man but way cooler!
, Venom would say.
 
Finally the day before their flight to New York came.

We told you to start packing last week!

“I know, I know! I am as good as ready!”

Flash is waiting! We wanted to be at his an hour ago!

“I already texted him. Instead of sulking you could also help me?”

Venom pulled decided to pull some of the T-Shirts from the top level of his wardrobe, which caused the whole stable of clothes to topple over and rain down on the floor and Eddie.

Right this moment Flash knocked and let himself in. “Oh, dear! No wonder, you are still not finished,” he laughed and picked up some shirts. Eddie growled lowly at the symbiote, who now rubbed his head against his jawline like a cat. “Yeah, no. He threw them down, he picks them up,” he decided and took the shirt from Flash’s hand.

We only tried to help!

“Nope, you tried to piss me off for being late. That’s a difference.”

While the symbiote tidied up his mess, the boys finished packing. The suitcase that Flash had lent him was big enough to fit the clothes he would need along with the work material for the internship. They would stay at Flash’s overnight and meet at the airport with Peter in the morning.
 
“You really never traveled by plane?”, Flash asked and smiled fondly at him, when they arrived at his apartment. “No… I never had the money. I don’t know if Annie or Dan ever told you, but… I left home quite early and took care of myself from that time on.”

Flash seemed to hesitate. He put down the suitcase and sat down next to Eddie on his couch. Eddie played with his bracelets, a clear sign of him being nervous about something. Was it the excitement?

“You said before, that you don’t have a family anymore,” he tried and put his hand on Eddie’s back, “Do you want to talk about it?”

He knew that Annie and Dan knew about Eddie’s past, but so far they never once talked about it. He didn’t want to push Eddie into telling him something he was uncomfortable with, but this didn’t mean he was not curious. Eddie only seemed to get more nervous, he could see some black ooze out from his wrist and curl around his fingers. Venom was probably trying to convince him to speak up. To trust Flash with this.

“It’s not like they are dead… I ran away, they probably think I died by now,” Eddie suddenly said. He could see Eddie biting his lower lip.

“I was living on the streets or crashing at friends places in highschool. I had a shitty job after my classes, which is how I was able to pay for food, but it was shitty. I met Annie in highschool, she knew I ran away, but she doesn’t know I was living on the streets then. She helped me apply for the scholarship and I got it. Otherwise I would not be able to study at all.”

Eddie took a deep breath. Flash rubbed his back a bit and nodded. “Sounds really tough. And you never once had contact to your family?” When Eddie just shook his head, he asked, “Why did you run away?”

Eddie shuffled a bit before he leaned away from his hand. Flash understood and took his hand away. “My father… on good days he would just ignore me. On bad days he would beat me up… I deserved it. After all I killed my mother, but… but I just could not live with this anymore. And I decided, before ending it myself, I should rather try and get out of this situation. Try to live on.”

Flash listened to him, but he could not make sense of it. “What do you mean… you killed your mother?” Eddie was suddenly incredibly calm. It was almost scary. Still he would not look into Flash’s direction, just stare at the wall with eyes that seemed so dead inside.

“She died by giving me birth.”

“Oh Eddie, that… I’m sorry you never got to know her. But it was not your fault,” Flash carefully put his hand back on Eddie’s back and felt the shiver. “It was not your fault.”

He pulled him into his arms, placed his hand on Eddie’s head and carefully rubbed his arm with the other. He was aware that his words would not change the way Eddie saw this. He had been forced to grow up in an environment that would continuously blame him for his mother’s dead until he had started to believe it himself.

Eddie quietly sobbed against his chest, fingers digging into his shirt. “It was not your fault. She loved you so much, I am sure. She wanted you to have a chance, to grow up and be happy. She wanted to have you, Eddie.”

The smaller boy didn’t really react other than sobbing a bit harder, shaking in his arms. They sat in silence and Flash just kept holding him close, carefully stroking his back in slow motions and placing tiny kisses on the top of his head. He could see Venom’s mass wrapped around Eddie’s hands, squeezing and massaging it until he eventually calmed down. “‘m sorry,” the journalist whispered.

“No need.”

Flash leaned down and kissed his forehead, pulled him in a bit and then carefully let him go, when he felt Eddie was calming down again. “Thank you, Eddie. I know this was probably very hard to tell someone, but I really appreciate your trust,” he said and kisses the tears on his cheeks away, tasted the salt on his skin.

“Thank you for listening.”

He rubbed his own neck and tried to think of what to do now. While he pretty much knew how to handle Eddie, he was still pretty bad with those situations. Eddie never seemed to mind, when he tried to change the topics, but wouldn’t that be a super insensitive thing to do, now that they were dating?

“Hey, are you hungry? We could order something,” he suggested. Eddie nodded and got up to leave for the bathroom. Should he have said something else? He was not sure. He ordered them something for dinner and then dropped back on the couch. He really fucked up, right?

He felt awful for what had happened to Eddie in his past. If he had only known it before, maybe he wouldn’t have been such a dick to him? Eddie didn’t deserve any of this. He overheard him talking, probably to Venom.

Slowly he got up and walked to the closed door. “-know… but I can’t, this is so embarassing… what is he thinking now? - You think? But what if- yeah, you’re probably right…”

Flash knocked on the door. “Eddie? You okay?” he asked. Silence. Then some hesitant steps, before the door opened. Without thinking twice, he pulled Eddie into another hug and kissed his temple. The smaller boy complained a bit, but didn’t try to stop him, instead Flash could feel his fingers dig in the fabric of his shirt again. “There is no need to feel bad, you know?”

Eddie looked up at him and the red colour around his eyes nearly broke Flash’s heart. He cupped his face and rubbed away some fresh tears with his thumbs before kissing him again. “Flash?” “Yep?” “Do you have any… things you don’t want anyone to know? We would be equal then…”

That was exactly the same idea Flash had already had before, but he was not sure if he was strong enough. But on the other hand, Eddie had been. Eddie had trusted him with his secret.

Instead of answering immediately, he took the smaller boys hand and led him back to the couch, where they sat down.

“I… do, I never told anyone… especially none of you guys, because I did not want anyone to think, I’d make excuses for how I behaved in the past. Especially towards you or Parker.” Eddie looked at him with big, and curious eyes. “I moved out the day you called me out in the gym. Because you made me see that I had been a monster, just like… just like my father. He is an alcoholic and when he’s drunk he used to beat up my sister and me. I would often insult or provoke him, so he would leave my sister alone,” he could not believe he was actually telling someone about this, “my sister ran away, just like you did. I still have her contacts, I know she is fine where she is, but-” Flash hesitated, tried to find words.

“Go on, Flash. We are here for you.”

When he looked up to Eddie again, the symbiote’s snakelike head rested on Eddie’s head, looking at him with just as much empathy as his host.

“I stayed, at first, because I was too scared to leave. I took the anger on myself out on others… like you.”

He felt awfully vulnerable, he hated this feeling. “Since ever my biggest fear was to become like him and when you stood up against me, I saw that I already am.”

To say it out loud was a whole other level than realising himself. The evening after the callout in the gym, he had been angrier than ever. But only at himself.

“That day, I had packed everything important to me and all the savings from football tournaments and moved into this apartment, it was the first thing I found.”
 
Eddie looked around the room and then back to Flash, who stared at the floor. Of course, this did not excuse how he had treated others, but it proved that Flash was not bad from the core. There had been a reason behind his behaviour. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Flash’s neck and kissed his forehead.

“It’s okay… You’ve changed. You are not like him,” he whispered and made Flash face him.

“You are right, this is not an excuse… but it’s a reason and you are working so hard to be a better man. We can see that.”

“We can. You are trying your best.”

Flash looked into his eyes and he could feel his hand on his side. Eddie covered Flash’s hand and smiled softly. “I broke your ribs… that night… and I left you in the forest, because I panicked,” Flash shivered and stared at his side, where his hand rested. Eddie remembered far too well. That had been the night when Venom had found him. The night where he had decided to end it. Flash didn’t know and he could never know.

The Eddie back then had probably wished for Flash Thompson to know he was the reason that he would kill himself. He had wished for scream it into his face, but he was not that person anymore. He leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. “You are not that person. Not anymore."

In the beginning of their friendship he had had to tell himself nearly every day. The Flash who was his friend now, was not the bully from before. Everything changed after he met Venom and everything before didn’t matter anymore.

Before he could say something else, he was pushed away from Flash by the mass that built between them. Venom sat on his lap and looked like a huge round pillow with huge eyes.

“You tell each other things that made you feel bad, only to feel bad again. We don’t understand.”

“Well, it’s a way to show another person that you trust them,” Eddie tried to explain. Flash pet Venom’s head and said, “Sometimes it makes you feel better about it. Because the other person tells you, they forgave you… It shows you, that they stand by you, even if you are weak and vulnerable.”

Eddie could feel how Venom’s thoughts were racing. He suddenly felt shame, sadness, emotional pain so strong, it seemed to paralyze him for a second, before Venom collected himself again.

“Then it would only be fair if I shared with you as well?”

“You don’t have to, if you don’t want to. But we are listening, you know?” Flash offered.

“I was born on a planet we called Klyntar,”
he started and Flash asked, “Your homeplanet, right?”

“Not a home. Our home is with Eddie, and now with you. There are different ideologies how Klyntar are supposed to live. We are a species with a hive mind, but depending on your parentage there are different hives with different believes.  The hive I was born in raised their offspring to believe, that a host is nothing but a shell, like the shoes you wear. Necessary to wander around the universe, but without the right to decide the path they walk on.”

Eddie felt how miserable the symbiote felt by saying this out loud.

“We did not wish for a bond like this. We wished for a match. A soulmate. There were stories of klyntar who found their soulmate, their perfect match. A bond that was as strong that not even death could threaten to undo it. We believed in those stories.”

Venom’s mass suddenly changed it’s form, he melted down, partly sank back into Eddie’s knee in shame, making it impossible to grab him.

“The others in our hive could not accept this. They,”
Venom was clearly not sure what words to use. Eddie could feel him try to communicate what he wanted to say by feelings, pictures in his mind, he could even smell some of his impressions. “They bullied you for believing that,” he guessed and Venom nodded slightly.

“They did. They hurt us. They cast us out.”

More sadness, anger and pain flooded the bond and Eddie could barely keep himself up without breaking into tears.

“We were a loser. But with you, we think we found what we had dreamed of. Our bond is perfect. Never had a host like you.”

Eddie collected him into his arms and leaned against Flash, who also hugged both of them tight. “You are not a loser, V! Not here. Honestly, you are one of the coolest guys I’ve ever met!” Flash stated and Venom finally found his solid form again, the way too big pillow-bean with the huge eyes and the long tongue.
“You think, I am cool?”

Eddie noticed the different pronouns and he knew he would only do that with special meaning. “Of course! V, you are amazing, not only because of the powers! I love you, because you are such an amazing person, you are kind-hearted, funny, and caring!” Eddie meant every word and he knew, Venom would feel it.

Venom shifted between them, when Flash hugged them closer and moved between their bodies to connect them physically.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“I’m really not sure about this whole thing… Sorry, I can’t. I’ll just stay at home, and- HEY!” Flash had grabbed him by the hip and thrown him over his shoulder, like he weighed nothing. “Let me down, I’m serious, I don’t want to step inside this hellmachine, please let me down!” After a few struggles, he just gave up. He really didn’t want to board this way too small plane. Venom did his best to keep his panic at bay, he could feel him messing with the flight-fight-chemicals his brain emitted to urge him into a flight-reaction.

“Why can’t we drive to New York?”

“Because I’m not driving nearly three thousand miles, if the flight is only six hours,” Flash simply said, “Look, I know you are scared of heights, but I swear, you will not even notice when we are on board! I’ll stay with you all the time, if you want, I will hold your hand the whole six hours.”

They had arrived the airport about ten minutes ago and Eddie had tried to talk himself out of this whole thing since. When he had been nervous about his first time flying before, he was plain scared now. They would not board a normal, big passenger-plane, but a private one, organised by Stark Industries. It was way smaller than a normal plane, he just couldn’t trust it.

No reason to be scared! We protect you!

“Still a reason to be scared, what if we crash?”

“Why should we crash, that’s a Stark Industries machine! It’s probably the safest plane there is!”

Venom tried to distract him with drawing his attention to somewhere else, and succeed.

Eddie, look...

“You should carry me more often like that. That’s such an amazing view on your butt,” he said and squeezed one cheek with his hand. “Glad to be able to distract you with that, but I got a nice access as well.” Flash laughed and with his free hand he smacked Eddie’s arse.

“Oh! Hey!” Eddie laughed and hugged Flash weirdly from behind, pressing his face right into the middle of his back. “I’m still scared,” he mumbled into the fabric and tried to calm down. Flash was right. He was probably making a fuzz out of nothing.

“I know, but I’m here. If you want you can try to sleep?”

True, Venom could just make him fall asleep the second they sat in the plane. But the same way, Venom had been insecure about him sleeping and leaving them open and basically unprotected with an unconscious host, he felt uneasy, knowing he would just sleep if anything happened, because Venom was not able to wake him up so fast without messing with the chemicals in his brain too much.

He clung to Flash like his life would depend on it and he knew, that if he would not be carried, he would probably just run. He had been feeling dizzy since they had gotten into the taxi to the airport and now he was upside down, it was getting worse.

“Good morning, uh- is everything okay?” he heard Peter ask, when they arrived the bottom of the stair that led into the plane. “Yep, someone is just anxious, don’t worry,” Flash said and Eddie just mumbled a short ‘morning, Pete,’ into Flash’s jacket.

Flash carried him all the way into the plane and Eddie could hear all the ‘Woah’s and ‘Wow’s from the other two boys when they saw the interieur. Suddenly Flash lifted him a bit and let him fall directly into one of the seats next to a window.

The other two boys got themselves comfortable, Flash sat down next to him and Peter on one of the seats, facing them. “You really don’t need to worry! I traveled in this plane a few times for my internship already and it’s so comfortable!” Peter promised. Eddie could not help but still worry about the flight.

You need to calm down. Your breath way too fast, this will make you additionally dizzy.

//Can’t help it.//

We know, you have a panic attack. Your heart palpitations have increased. Take a deep breath.

Eddie did as Venom suggested and took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, but it only got worse. “Dear, Eddie, your face is all red, are you sure you are okay?” He felt Flash touching his face, but could not quite react to it, other than close his eyes and trying to calm his breath.  
 
Flash could see Eddie spiraling him deeper into his panic attack. Sure, Venom was probably helping him already, but he couldn’t help but worry. Peter seemed to be concerned as well. Flash was never quite sure if he could help Eddie or if he was making him even fuzzier. The pilot announced the start of the plane and he could see the younger boy visibly freeze. Like in slow motion, he put on his seatbelt and then grabbed Flash’s right hand next to his. The engine started and Flash softly rubbed his thumb over Eddie’s back of the hand.

“‘m okay,” Eddie whispered, probably to Venom, but he just nodded. The start would be over soon and when they were in the air Eddie could probably calm down a bit more, hopefully. The machine began to move and gain speed fast, causing Eddie to hyperventilate even more. If he’d kept this going on for another few minutes, he’d probably pass out, so Flash wrapped his arm around Eddie’s shoulder and squeezed him. “Eddie, look!” he said and shoved his face towards the window.

Lucky for him, the other actually opened his eyes and looked out of the window. “Isn’t it beautiful? Look at the sky!”
 
And Eddie did look. For a second it felt like his racing mind was coming to an sudden and complete halt. They were still going up, higher in the sky and suddenly everything looked so small. It was a sign he never had seen before. He leaned forward and could not believe how high up they were. “We are… actually up already…” he whispered and he felt Flash hugging him from behind and his head on his shoulder.

“That’s really beautiful,” Eddie admitted and suddenly he was aware of how calm he felt. The view was so peaceful, so innocent and pure. They passed a wall of clouds, vision going blank before they were up high in the sky, watching the bright blue. He could see the shadow of their plane on the ocean of clouds. Suddenly the speaker went up and the pilot announced, that they were now able to unfasten the seatbelts and walk around. A steward asked them what beverages he could bring them and Flash let go of him. “You okay?”

Eddie nodded slightly, he was still tense, but the panic was gone completely now. “Yes… Thank you.”
 
The rest of the flight was rather boring. Eddie’s camera roll was full of clouds and sky after a few minutes. Flash had taken his headphones out and sat in his seat, eyes closed and listening to his music. Peter had taken the opportunity to speak about some ideas and projects for the internship. Eddie was happy for the distraction, but also glad he had some sort of preparation.

In the end Flash had been right about flying. Once you were in the air there was no difference than traveling by train. The landing was another thing. It was beyond stressful and Eddie felt like he was nearly breaking Flash's hand in the process. After they got out of the plane - Eddie had never felt more thankful to see the ground - they got their luggage and took a taxi to the apartment. Peter had been able to organise, that Flash could stay with them for free instead of paying for a hotel for his camp. He proved himself helpful the moment they arrived because he carried their suitcases upstairs for them.
 
In the evening they ordered pizza and watched some movies before they went to bed.

We are proud of you, Eddie.

“What, why?” he whispered. The walls were thick so he could at least talk to Venom without Peter knowing. The symbiotes voice rumbled in his head and Eddie just tilted his head.

You were scared to agree to this internship. Yet you are here. You were panicked to board this plane. But you did. You are so strong.

“But only because you helped me through it… you and Flash.”

Nonsense. Just learn to take a compliment.

Eddie smiled and he felt the alien ooze out of his skin. The puddle next to him half crawled up the shoulder and arm Eddie was lying on and cuddled himself against the other boy. He absently massaged the black mass and thought about the following day. Flash had to leave early to meet with the other football players. The camp was for players all over the country and it was quite popular. Peter and Eddie had to be in the office around ten on their first day, so their new boss had a bit of a heads up with his daily work before the interns would take up all his time. A knock on his door got his attention and Venom disappeared within the split of a second. “Uh, yes?” Eddie asked while sitting up.

Flash smiled, when he stepped in and closed the door behind him.

“Sorry, were you sleeping? I just… We won’t see each other a lot this week, I guess I just wanted to spend some time with you before it starts,” Flash explained and it looked almost weird the way he stood shyly in front of the door, probably debating with himself if he should just throw himself in Eddie’s bed or just leave again.

“Oh! That’s nice, but you have to get up so early… Is that really okay?”

While saying so, he moved to the side of his bed, making some space for the quarterback. “Sure! I guess, I’m just not used to sleeping alone anymore. It felt so wrong…” Eddie smiled when Flash sat on his bed and lied back down, patting the mattress next to him. “Then sleep here. We missed you too,” he whispered and felt Venom’s mass reaching out for Flash as soon as he had lied down next to them. The black mass pulled itself up the broad chest and finally rested against Flash’s shoulder next to Eddie’s face. The slightly smaller boy cuddled next to his boyfriends side and put his arm around Flash’s hip.

Ever since they were friends, Flash was always rather physical but after their first time being more than just friends on the camping trip, they both had noticed having troubles to just touch the other. It was as if suddenly everything just had felt too intimate and they both respected each other too much than to rush things and risk breaking everything. After a few quite awkward situations they eventually got used to being close in another way than just being friends.

Eddie enjoyed being able to just hug and kiss him, also being hugged and kissed by Flash. The quarterback was way less shy in showing his affection even in public.
 
They both had some experience with other partners as well and while Eddie never had a relationship before Venom and Flash, he had had some female partners in the past. He had learned quite fast, that he didn’t really enjoy doing it with them all too much. It had felt like a chore, like scratching an itch but without the arousal and satisfaction he had always wished for. The first time he had felt something like this towards another person had been with Venom and now with Flash.

Flash was a bit more experienced in terms of relationships, he had had plenty of short lived partnerships with some women before. Sometimes when they made out, Eddie could feel him squeeze his butt or chest a bit, as if missing the softer features of his former girlfriends, but Flash never said anything alike. They both had no experience with other boys and thus it was still a bit of struggling and getting used to each other.
 
They lied there and relaxed for a few minutes, before Flash turned on his side and pulled Eddie closer to kiss him passionately on his lips. While they so far never did anything more than cuddle and kiss, Eddie could feel how much Flash craved for more. He himself also wanted to take it a step further, but he was not sure how much was okay.
Just try it… He’ll stop as soon as you ask him.

Yes, that was no question, he trusted Flash with this.

He wrapped his arms around the others neck and pulled him closer. The kiss deepened and he felt Flash’s tongue in his mouth, carefully at first but becoming bolder every second.

Eddie shifted a bit and suddenly Flash stopped in his tracks to bite down a heavy breath. “Sorry,” the blonde whispered and wanted to lean away, but Eddie held him on his shoulder. “No reason to be sorry.”

He touched Flash’s chest and let his hand slowly slide down to the seam of his pants. “Can I… help you with it?” he asked and drew circles around Flash’s bellybutton. The blonde gasped and nodded quickly. “If you want?”

Eddie could hear Venom purring in the back of his mind.
Yesss

About an hour later they lay next to each other, still heavy panting and sweaty. Flash held him close, kissed him carefully and smiled. “That was amazing,” the quarterback whispered against his lips and pulled Eddie closer to him, until he had the younger boy on top of him. They cuddled and soon Flash fell asleep. Eddie thought how he he could not wait for their actual first time.
So you are ready?

//Yes… We just have to find a good time for it. It should be special.//

Special like ours?

//Exactly!//

We can’t wait for it
~

They nestled closer to the other boy and Eddie put his ear right on top of his chest where he could hear the steady heartbeat. Soon he fell asleep as well, letting Venom keep them safe.
 
The next morning went by in a rush. Flash had to get up early and Eddie woke up with him. They showered together, along with a lot of kisses and another round of making out, they made breakfast and Eddie waited for Peter to wake up after Flash had to leave. He was looking at the phone, reading the latest news until he could har Peter coming out of his room.

“Morning, Peter! Did you sleep well?”

“Good morning, Ed! Yeah, I hope you did as well? Is Flash already gone?”, he asked and took some of the breakfast, Eddie had left on the counter for him. They talked a bit about the news and the internship before they had to leave as well. Their apartment was quite near their workplace and so they could just go by foot.

Eddie was more than overwhelmed by the huge city and all the noises. Luckily Venom seemed undisturbed by the traffic and tumult. After a short introduction into their team, they got their first project. An easy reportage on some local store, Peter was responsible for the pictures while Eddie did the interview and writing. They went out immediately after receiving some gadgets from the workplace.

“This is so exciting! We already get projects to do, can you believe it, Peter?” Eddie smiled and let his fingers slide over the expensive looking notebook. The pages were thicker than any of his cheap notebooks and it felt so smooth. They found the store quickly and finished the work even quicker. After getting back they got their next job right away. At first they collected different projects only to do the writing and editing in the afternoon. When they got home, Flash already waited with dinner he had cooked for them. Eddie and Peter would finish the last bits of their projects and then relax in the evening. Eddie excitedly told Flash about his day and Flash did the same.
 
The following days went on exactly like this. Sweet morning-cuddles, sometimes shared showers, excited workdays and cozy afternoons. Their boss sent them to a lot of jobs outside of the building and Eddie nearly felt like an investigative journalist. He loved every second of it and now he knew exactly, that this was, what he wanted to do with his future.

Peter seemed to enjoy himself as well, but on the third day, he seemed more nervous about their job. “Hey, calm down? It’s just another interview,” Eddie smiled and Peter nodded. “Yeah.”

Of course it was way later than usual. The sun was already going down, but the person they had to interview didn’t agree on an earlier appointment. The air around them was cooling down and Eddie began to realise, that there was close to noone on the streets around them.

Something is strange.

//Who’s the paranoid of us. It’s just getting late.//

Still Eddie knew exactly what Venom meant. “Hey, it’s really strange here… how about take a short cut?” Peter suggested and pointed at some alley. It did not look too dangerous, yet Eddie suddenly had a bad feeling. “Uh, are you sure about that?”

“Yes, it will be a lot shorter, I took this way so often last time I was here, come!”

Peter walked ahead and Eddie followed.

We can smell someone else in there.

//Yeah, just… stay hidden. No matter what.//

They walked along the alley and Peter just talked about their project.
Eddie!
Suddenly something got his attention and before he could turn around, his vision was blocked by a wooden board that was aiming for his head. Right before the impact he could duck away, but he lost his balance and fell back. The guy who had attacked him threw the wooden board at him and turned to hit Peter right into his face. “No!” Eddie dodged the wood and leapt forward, grabbing the attackers ankle with both his hands. He could not risk showing Venom here or else everyone would know it was him. But he had to do something.

Let us help.

“No!”

Eddie managed to make the man lose balance, but now he had his full attention again. He kicked forward and his foot hit right into Eddie’s face, causing an ugly sound.

If we have to hide we can not heal you!

//Then don’t! Just block the pain to a minimum.//

Peter got back up to his feet and tried to pull the man away, but the guy just kicked again, right into the middle of Eddie’s face.

Eddie!

The whimper of his alien boyfriend hurt him, but he could not risk losing him again. Eddie just went limp and when Venom’s instincts told him, that he had turned around to Peter again, he got up as fast as he could and grabbed his jacket. He pulled him away from his friend and made him topple over his feet. “Leave us alone!”

When he managed to make him fall, he grabbed Peter’s wrist and started running. They managed to get a block away from that alley, where more people were on the streets, before Eddie finally fell over and landed on his knees. His whole head spun like hell and he could barely see straight.

“Eddie! Fuck, your nose- we should get to a doctor! I’m so sorry… fuck!”

Peter knelt next to him and held him upright, until the other nodded. “I’m fine… I… feel sick,” he admitted and let Peter help him lean next to a wall. “Okay, head in your neck, just… breathe, okay? I’ll call an ambulance.” “No, that’s not necessary. Could you call Flash instead?”

We can heal internal damages without healing the bruise…

Venom suggested sadly. Eddie agreed silently and could feel how the ill feeling in his stomach disappeared. Eddie was near consciousness, Venom had brought his energy consumption to a minimum. “Eddie! Peter, what happened?” Flash was suddenly by his side, Eddie could not remember Peter calling him.
Lost consciousness, Eddie. We tried not to wake you.

“Mhm,” he mumbled, when he felt being lifted from the ground. His head felt way too light for his body and the way he was carried bridal style made him giggle.

“Flash… you’re here,” he mumbled slurry and everything seemed to spin around him. He grabbed the quarterback’s shoulder and tried to push himself up, only to be reminded of his wobbly stomach. “Urgh…”

Flash held him closer and sighted. “Don’t move, I’ll bring you to a doctor, okay? Just relax,” he tried to calm Eddie down. Peter already had told him of the attack, but it seemed so strange Why would Eddie get hurt like this? Why didn’t Venom just heal him? Or… was Eddie too hurt to be healed by him? Or was he actually playing? No, Eddie never had been a good actor. Maybe Venom wasn’t healing him because of Peter? They went to a doctor nearby who just diagnosed a minor concussion. They got some pain relief meds and Eddie had to rest a lot. Still he was not allowed to sleep for the first few hours, so Flash made sure that they stayed up all evening in the living room, watching movies. Peter went to bed early but he stayed with his hurt boyfriend on the couch. Every now and then he had to wake him up again. “Eddie, you still with me?”

The brunette just nodded and cuddled closer to him. “I’m awake. But… you should sleep,” he mumbled and played with the buttons of Flash’s shirt. “No way, you need to stay awake.”

“We’ll look after him,”
Venom had formed a tiny head next to Eddie’s face and cuddled closer to him. He was speaking in such a tiny and silent voice, Flash had to look twice.

“Our fault…”

Flash shook his head and kissed the black forehead. “No, it’s not. You know why you can not help him with this…” Eddie just nodded slightly. “I’m okay…”
 
“This was not the plan! I did not agree to this. He’s got a concussion!”

“Listen, boy, you knew exactly that it could be dangerous. You know, what the mission is!”

“We still have no proof that he is that monster!”

“In fact, we have enough proof for a legitimate suspicion. We have to make sure this alien is captured and harmless.”

“But Mr. Stark!”

“Peter, just stay calm. We will initiate Plan B now. Your aid is no longer required.”

This was no good. No good at all. Peter stared at the phone and then out of the window. Eddie had tried to save him today, even got hurt in the process. If he really was that monster, why would he risk getting hurt like this?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The next morning, Eddie woke up on the couch, half sitting on top of Flash, who held him close. The quarterback was snoring softly, his head buried at Eddie’s neck.

Eddie, how are you?

//Feeling better, thank you darling... //

We have healed the concussion and the inner damages, but left the bruise on your nose. Be careful with that, it might still hurt.

Eddie smiled and send a rush of gratefulness over their bond. “Flash… hey, you need to get up,” he kissed him carefully on the cheek and felt a jolt going through the bigger man’s body, when he shot awake.

“Eddie! I fell asleep, I’m so sorry!”

“Don’t, I’m feeling so much better already,” Eddie answered and hugged his boyfriend tight.

“Sorry that I had you this worried.”

Flash shook his head and then cupped his face to take a closer look at Eddie. “No reason to say sorry. How are you? You still look awfully tired.”

Eddie smiled and hugged him a bit tighter. “Don’t worry, V took care of it. It’s only the bruise left,” he whispered and kissed Flash’s cheek. The bedroom door to Peter’s room opened and the brunette walked out in his pyjamas. “Eddie, how are you? I’m so sorry…”

Both of them looked at the boy confused. “What, why? I’m glad you didn’t get hurt as well.” Peter seemed to be uncomfortable and sat down next to him. “Yeah but… you got hurt. It was me who suggested that way.” He looked like he wanted to say something else, but instead he just looked away. “How about some coffee and breakfast?” Flash suggested and carefully pushed Eddie down from his lap. “Sounds great, I’ll take chocolate milk,” he said and Flash nodded. Venom curled affectionately somewhere around his stomach-area and seemed a bit less upset in expectation of chocolate milk. Eddie wished, he could talk openly to Venom right now, tell him, that it was not his fault, but he hoped, that the symbiote would understand.
 
Against everyone's protests, Eddie had convinced them, that he felt well enough to go to work today. They had an office day, only writing and editing on the projects they had collected so far. Their boss was not really fond of a bruised intern, but he didn’t say a thing. Overall their day went by fast, they managed to get a lot done and both of them earned a lot of compliments for their work. Right before they wanted to leave, a colleague came in. “Hey, good that I see you. I have a task for you, right for tomorrow morning. We have an appointment with Mr. Tony Stark planned, and the journalist who originally would have interviewed him called in sick. I called him and asked, if he would mind having our interns as training, he agreed. Don’t worry, he is really a good interview partner, used to being asked questions and pretty relaxed.”

“Really? Us? That’s amazing! Thank you so much,” Eddie answered excitedly and wrote down the dates of their appointment. “I’ll send you the interview questions right away via e-Mail, so you can prepare. Uh, and- better buy yourself some concealer to hide that,” she said and pointed to his bruised nose and eye. “Sure, thanks…”
 
At home they had to wait on Flash, who was organising their dinner today, so they took the time to check the interview questions and prepare a bit. Peter had another appointment in the evening, didn’t expect to come home early.

“Fuck, that’s exciting… Don’t you think, that’s like… a bit over our heads, in hindsight?” Eddie asked, anxiety kicking in slowly. Why did he answer so quickly, when she had asked them?
Because it’s a big chance.

“Don’t worry, Eddie… I’m still a longtime intern at Stark Industries, I know the place. And I’ve seen Mr. Stark a few times, he is really nice!” Peter said, while preparing his bag to leave for the evening. “Have a nice time, I’ll sleepover at my friends, but I make sure to be here in the morning, so we can go to the appointment at 10 together.”

“Sure, be careful, okay? See you tomorrow.”
 
When Peter had left, Eddie relaxed quite a bit. He couldn’t wait for Flash to arrive.
We want more chocolate, Eddie.
He got up and moved into their room, making sure the curtains were closed. He knew, there were a lot of heros around and while he didn’t really think, they were looking out for him, he couldn’t know who might look into their room by accident. He got two big chocolate bars from his case and smiled, when Venom manifested his head. “I missed you, darling,” he whispered and kissed his head, carefully unwrapped the chocolate. A black tendril curled around it’s prey before pulling it into the big-toothed mawl of death.

At least this was what Venom thought while he ate the chocolate. “Adorable.”

No, dangerous predator!

“Still adorable!” Venom growled and opened his mouth, leaping himself on Eddie and while he swallowed his head, he melted into the skin, disappearing back into their shared body. He laughed and got back up, turned to his small wardrobe to change into something more comfortable. Right when he had pulled his shirt over the head, strong arms wrapped around his chest.

“I’m home, honey! Did you miss me?” Flash laughed and held him in place, arms still over the head trapped in his shirt. “Flash, you scared me!” He wriggled in the warm embrace and tried to turn around. As soon as he managed, he lowered his arms, so Flash was trapped between his shirt now as well. “Hey there,” He smiled when he was finally seeing him, not more than an inch away from his face. Flash hugged him closer and kissed him lovingly. “I missed you,” the quarterback tried again and Eddie nodded. “We missed you too.”

Eddie slowly took a trial step backwards, feeling how Flash immediately followed him. He took another back and Flash finally took the lead, pushed him back until Eddie met the wall. The blonde pulled Eddie’s shirt over their heads and let it fall right next to them. “Hey there,” Flash grinned and took the moment to take Eddie’s bare upper body in. Warmth crept up Eddie’s cheeks and ears, before he lifted his hands to undress Flash’s shirt in return. “Now we’re even,” he whispered. He was almost scared, he could destroy the fragile mood between them if he spoke too loud. Whatever it was, Eddie liked it. He grabbed Flash’s black belt and pulled him closer, wrapped his free hand around his shoulder and leaned up to kiss him again. The hand on his belt played with the pattern on it.

Flash returned the kiss, pressed against him and touched his body. “I brought pizza,” Flash suddenly whispered against his lips. Eddie smiled. “Didn’t you say, New York pizza tastes better, when it’s cold?” Flash hesitated. “I said that, yeah…” “Peter won’t be staying here overnight.”

Flash suddenly stopped and looked at him. “Eddie…If you

are

saying, what I think you’re

implying

then… please say it with words.” He felt the heat in his cheeks and looked away. Somehow he had hoped, implying would be enough. “W-well I- uh. I’m sorry I made you wait so long, but- I just felt- uhm. N-now feels… right, you know?”

Pizza long forgotten, Flash picked him up around the hips and carried him to the bed. “No need to explain or apologise! You had every right to wait! Oh- wait- I should shower first.” Eddie laughed, when Flash dropped him on the mattress and sat up. “You literally showered half an hour ago before coming home, your hair is still wet,” he laughed.

The quarterback grinned and leaned down, propped one knee next to Eddie and slowly leaned down to kiss him. They both fell back on the mattress and he could feel that Flash was excited, as he himself as well.

We want to join.

“Flash, do you mind, if… V joins?” The quarterback looked confused. “I thought him joining was clear? I mean… you two only come as a pair and I want both of you.”

The symbiote emerged his skin and slowly crawled up Flash’s tan skin and wandered over his back to embrace him. So far, the blonde seemed absolutely comfortable with Venoms touch, he leaned down and kissed Eddie again. He could feel the warm hands on his bare body and yearned to touch Flash as well. He carefully touched his chest, felt the toned muscles.
 
Flash hummed into the kiss and leaned on one arm, so he could move his other. Carefully he played with Eddie’s belt, watching the other closely for signs of discomfort. It was not his first time, nor the first time in a relationship either. But it was the first time, he was this nervous to screw up. Both, Eddie and Venom were important to him in a way he could barely understand. Venom sometimes said, they were made for each other, he still didn’t understand, if the symbiote was just a romantic mess or if he had some superior knowledge about how to match humans. When Eddie made no move to push his hand on the belt away, he opened it and fidgeted with the button.
Let us help.

“Sure, be my guest,” Flash answered with a fond smile, but Eddie suddenly froze. “You… heard that?” “Yeah, Venom asked to help, wait, you didn’t hear it?” Maybe the concussion had been worse than he had thought? “My head is fine, I- you… didn’t say that out loud.”

They both stared into each others eyes for a second. Then Eddie noticed, that the black mass on Flash’s shoulders had disappeared, there was only a thin thread that connected both of them between their sternums.
You were going to bond. We wanted to join bonding.

The boys needed a moment to understand what was happening. Eddie gently touched Flash's cheek and rubbed it with his thumb. “I can feel this as well… That’s… V, I didn’t know, you can do this,” Eddie whispered in awe. Flash could feel the warmth, and it was almost too much at once. His heart skipped a beat, he leaned down to kiss Eddie and all his nerve endings were on fire, sending thrills of arousal through their bond in the bio-feedback of their kiss.

Was this how Eddie felt all the time? Yes, Flash didn’t know how, but he suddenly felt the awareness. Their three minds seemed to be completely merged, like a big house with different flats. Each had his own, could decide what to lock inside and what to have accessible, but they were standing in the hallway and felt everything the other could feel.

We try to keep the connection low, so you won't go insane.

Flash smiled and restarted to undress the other boy, threw his pants down the bed on one side, before undressing himself with Eddie’s help. The light was low, but the light of the streets contoured the slim body beneath him perfectly. “You are beautiful,” he whispered and kissed Eddie’s shoulder.

“You okay?” Flash asked. He leaned down on Eddie to kiss him again, felt the heat of his body. Suddenly he felt insecure, almost scared. It took a bit to realise, those feelings were not coming from him. He wanted to sit up, but Eddie wrapped his arms around his neck. “Please, don’t stop.”
 
Eddie didn’t want him to stop, but he just couldn’t calm down his nerves. He pulled Flash a little down on him, felt his weight on his body. Flash pressed his nose against his neck and wrapped his arms around him, held him close and safe.
Eddie, breathe… you are starting to have a panic attack.
He knew, and he was trying his best not to concentrate too much on his increased heartbeat or the slight shiver in his body.

“We can stop here…” Flash suggested. “No. Just- Can we-," Eddie tried but didn't know what to ask.

He didn’t know what to do. Instead of getting up again, Flash placed tiny kisses along his neck and jawline, touched his bare skin. Suddenly he felt Venom shift heavily between them and the connection between them was left one-sided. He felt Flash’s childish excitement to share this with him, the nervousness to make it feel good for him and the eagerness to please him. Venom let him feel all the love and care, but he also felt worry. He had waited long for him, but he didn’t want to rush him. No preassure. Just enjoy it... He is as nervous as you are.

With that, Venom reopened their connection, Flash didn't seem to notice there had been a pause.

“Eddie, please close your eyes and hold your breath for me,” Flash suddenly asked against his ear. “Huh?” “Just do it.” The brunette hesitated, but then did as Flash asked. Flash counted to ten, each number combined with a kiss against his jawline. “Now slowly breathe out and look at me.”

When Eddie opened his eyes again, he felt extremely relaxed. Flash grabbed one of the pillows and lifted his butt to put it under. “Better?”

To his own surprise, this position was indeed way more comfortable. He smiled shyly and nodded. “Thank you.”
 
They took their time, cuddling, kissing and preparing with the help of Venom.

Finally they could not wait any longer.

“You okay?” Flash asked to make sure. Eddie lay comfortably nested between the pillows and blanket, the pillow below his butt, because when informing himself beforehand, Flash had read that this was the best position. He himself was kneeling before Eddie, who had his long legs wrapped around his hip. Even if Venom had assured them, they were both not in need of the “strange rubber-thing”, Flash had insisted on using it. That’s just how he had been raised, how he had learned to be a good partner.
 
“Yes, I’m good,” Eddie finally said nervously. He shivered a little bit in excitement and it was hard to tell whose excitement it was. Flash carefully pressed against him and thanks to the good preparation and care, his partners had given him, it barely hurt. Still, Flash was way bigger than what Venom had ever made him feel.

Breathe, Eddie

He had been unaware, that he had held his breath, so he closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing for a second. Flash was not far in and had stopped for him to relax again. “I’m fine… don’t stop...,” he asked Flash. The quarterback held him down on his hips and apparently needed all his inner strength to hold back.

“Fuck, Eddie,” the quarterback moaned, when he was in all the way. Eddie was overwhelmed with the shared pleasure, which seemed to be the same for Flash. “Please…”

Eddie didn’t know exactly what he begged for, but Flash seemed to understand nevertheless. He started to move, first slow and steady. It was even more intense, than what he had felt with Venom alone. Soon Flash couldn’t hold back anymore and thrusted into him hard and fast.

They didn’t both didn’t last long, Flash bit down on Eddie’s neck to keep himself from coming already, pushing Eddie over the edge with a loud moan. When the already tight muscles around his cock tensed further, he came before he collapsed down on Eddie.

Eddie wrapped his arms around the blonde and for a minute, they didn’t move, just listening to their rapid breaths. Flash tried to get up, mumbled something like ‘sorry I’m too heavy’ but Eddie just pulled him back. “You’re not. That feels good,” he admitted. He liked the weight of the other on top of him, it made him feel safe and grounded. He pressed his nose in the crock of Flash’s neck and found the strength to play with the babyhair in Flash’s neck. The other one hummed approvingly and cuddled closer on him. They both felt the symbiote moving between them, now covering Flash’s backside in a layer of black goo, keeping him warm and close. The symbiote purred satisfied in their minds, enjoying the share of chemicals that had been produced in their orgasms.
 
After a few minutes, Flash groaned and pressed his nose further against Eddie’s neck. He didn’t want to get up, but he knew how important it was to take good care of a partner after sex. Eddie was still in some kind of afterglow, slowly dozing off. “Eddie?” The younger stretched a bit and hummed tiredly. “How are you?”

He definitely didn’t want to be the ‘tell-me-I’m-awesome’-guy, but he wanted to make sure, Eddie was fine with what they did. Their connection had shown him some concerns of Eddie’s in his most vulnerable moment between them, only he realised that now, that they had a quiet moment to think clear again. He didn’t want Eddie to regret what they did in the heat of the moment.

But Eddie didn’t seem upset or regretting anything. He hugged him closer and kissed his cheek. “I feel good. How about you?” Flash smiled and nodded. “Amazing. That was… really amazing.” Better than with anyone else, he had to admit. Flash enjoyed the warmth another second, before he pushed himself up and out of Eddie, leading to a uncomfortable whine from said and his symbiote.

“Noo… don’t move…”

Get back down, we want to cuddle.

Flash threw the used and knotted rubber in the bin next to the window and then got up to the bathroom. After quickly washing himself, he came back with a warm washcloth, a towel and a glass of water, he gave Eddie first. Then he took his time to carefully clean Eddie. “Oh- what-” He suddenly saw the mark on Eddie’s neck. He touched the growing bruise and teeth markss, that showed so clearly like being drawn on. “I’m so sorry!” The boy just chuckled and twitched, when he carefully touched the mark. “No, don’t be… I kind of… like it.”
You didn’t even draw blood with your weak and tiny teeth.
Flash grinned sheepishly at that. He kind of liked to bite when he came, but his former partners all had been too fragile for that.

Later they were lying in the bed, still naked in their soft towels, covered by the cozy blankets, the symbiote had pulled over them. The symbiote had carefully pulled back from Flash, unconnecting them and leaving an uncomfortable emptiness in his head. On the other hand, he was sure, he wouldn’t have been able to sleep otherwise.

“Eddie… Venom, you both still awake?” The symbiote, who lied between them, looking like a long, black pillow with eyes, hummed. Flash knew, he technically didn’t sleep, but he wanted to include him from the start, when he was going to do this.

“Thank you both… for your trust and for giving me a chance… you have no idea, how much you both mean to me. I-”

Flash hesitated. He had never said this to a partner before. “I love you. Both of you.” Eddie still didn’t open his eyes, but smiled. “I love you too. You never gave me a reason to regret being friends with you.”
“We- I love you too, Flash. You make us feel good and safe.”

He wrapped his arms tightly around Eddie, rubbing his back in slow motions, until they both fell asleep.
 
They both needed to get up early the next morning, which didn’t stop them from early-morning-cuddles. Eddie woke up, still being held by Flash, who snored softly. He pressed his face closer to Flash’s chest and felt the symbiote moving between them.

Good morning, Eddie.

“Morning,” he whispered and kissed the top of Venom’s head. He still could feel the soreness in his butt and the pain from the bite-mark, but he felt happier and healthier than ever.

Because you are.

The snoring stopped and was replaced by a silent groan, before Flash moved. He yawned and hugged Eddie closer. “Morning,” he mumbled against his hair and buried his face between Eddie’s head and the pillow again. How could he even breathe like this? Eddie kept rubbing Flash’s back and waited, until the quarterback was actually awake.

He already knew, that Flash had troubles waking up, when he had been asleep really tight, sometimes being half awake for a couple of times, before he was actually awake, but once this was the case, he was full of energy.
 
After a rather lazy morning, having the pizza from last night for breakfast and more cuddles, Flash had to leave and Eddie prepared for the interview. The most difficult part had been to cover up the bruise in his face. Flash’s mark was comfortably hidden under his clothes. He was really excited to meet Tony Stark, but not because of meeting a VIP. More because of Venom. He had shared his worries with Flash, who had understood him completely. He felt safer, knowing that Flash knew about his worries. Should anything happen, at least one person knew about his whereabouts.

We will protect you. We belong together.

Eddie smiled, but he still worried. Of course, they didn’t want to be seperated, but he was sure, whoever knew about them also knew about the researches on symbiotes and their weaknesses. He didn’t get to answer Venom, when the door opened and Peter came in. “Morning, Ed! Are you ready?”

Eddie got his things and together they left for the interview with Tony Stark.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Is everything prepared so far?”

Not, that he was nervous, but he needed to make sure, the interview would go well. Peter was probably not the best partner for this, way too nervous, but he had to work with what he had. He went through his documents once more, checked his appearance in the mirror once again and took a deep breath.

He could not mess this up, not again.

This time, they had to actually catch the alien. There was no way around it.

“Mr. Stark? Mr. Parker and Mr. Brock are here now. Should I send them in?”

Tony turned around and nodded at his assistant. “Sure, bring them in. Thank you.”

After what had happened in New York, he could never let anything like this happen again. He could never ever let an alien presence endanger the safety of the world. From what he had learned from Carlton Drakes research, he knew how dangerous those creatures were. They had killed about fifty homeless people in the tests within only a week. And now this one was free. It was way harder to actually put a number on the lives this one had taken, because the documentary of the mercenaries Drake had ordered to bring it back were lost.

Stark Industries had gathered the research and information that was left after the huge explosion and found out about the creatures they called symbiotes. After a few weeks without hearing anything, suddenly this creature called Venom was all over the local news around Peter's college.

A knock on the door caught his attention and he put on his business-smiled and leaned against his desk. “Come in, please.”

The assistant let the boys in, who were looking like they felt two inch small in front of him. He moved towards them, his hand stretched out to greet them both. “Good morning, Peter. Hope they treat you fine? And you must be Edward Brock, Peter here really praised your work.” The boy seemed hesitant to take his hand, but didn’t want to appear impolite.
 
“Thank you very much, Mr. Stark. I hope I won’t disappoint you here,” Eddie said and took the offered hand. He was still more than surprised, that Venom didn’t trigger the entrance controls. Which didn’t mean, he would trust Stark in this. Venom had promised to make himself as small and unnoticeable as possible for this. They had talked about it, Venom wasn’t even allowed to comment anything, which could lead to distract Eddie and appear any way strange.

He couldn't shake of the feeling, that this interview was bait.

Stark smiled politely at them and nodded. “Well then, how about we take a walk through the building? I am sure this will be much more exciting, than asking me your questions in this boring office.” Not, that Eddie would mind the office, but the view actually reminded them, how far up they were already. Stark’s office seemed right below the part of the building, that was reserved for the Avengers activities.

Another thing, that made Eddie’s stomach feel sick. The new headquarter of the Avengers was no longer in New York, still it was public knowledge, that they still used the tower. He didn’t know if and which members of the team were actually here, but the possibility was enough to make him nervous.

They followed Stark, and while Peter was walking behind or in front of them to take his pictures, Eddie tried to stay next to him, not behind. The first view questions were actually really good, Stark had agreed, that he was allowed to record his answers additionally. Then they walked towards one of the many glass bridges. While Stark just stepped on it, like it was no difference at all, Eddie stood still. He couldn’t possibly cross this… “Eddie, is everything okay?”, Peter whispered. “U-uh, yeah, I just... “

Before he could think of finding an excuse, not to cross this hellbridge, his legs moved on them own. Peter had a hand on his back and led him additionally to Venom’s careful nudges. He tried not to look down, didn’t want to have a panic attack right in front of Tony Stark.

Said was waiting on the other side, head tilted a little bit. He felt, like this man was looking right through him. “I’m sorry, I… really get nervous about heights,” Eddie explained and took a deep breath, once they were over the damn thing. Stark nodded and said “Amazing, to get over his own fear like that. I am sure, that wasn’t easy.”

Eddie just nodded and took a look at his notes. “Uhm, so… I am really interested in your work with the Avengers. How would you describe the changes, ever since the Sokovia contract?” Stark seemed surprised, but Eddie just had to go on with the interview. He couldn't allow himself to think too much about his own issues.
 
They talked for a while, before suddenly Venom stirred inside of him. Somewhere in the building an alarm went off, the frequency not being lethal, but actually very disturbing to both of them. The alarm only seemed to get louder, making it hard for him to stay concentrated. “I need to check that, would you please stay here for a moment?” Stark asked and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Just when he had left the room, Eddie sunk against the wall, hand on his head. “Eddie?” Peter asked hesitantly. “Sorry, I just… my head feels like it’s going to burst. I'm... a bit sensitive to loud noises..." Which was not even a lie, he had always been sensitive to noises, even before Venom.

He could feel Venom’s pain and how hard it was for the symbiote, not to act out. The alarm grew louder once again. Even Peter winced in pain now. Eddie sunk to his knees. As soon as the pain seemed unbearable anymore, it was suddenly gone, the alarm was off, finally. Venom was still uneasy, trying to fix any damage, it had left to his body. Someone grabbed his shoulder, and when he looked up, he saw Peter, saying something, but he couldn’t hear it.

Your eardrums are damaged, we need time to fix it.

“Peter, I can’t hear you…” He said and from Peter’s look, probably way too loud. He tried to get up, and Peter helped him. “Hey, easy, hm?” Eddie nodded, barely feeling dizzy anymore, but still a bit uneasy. They both leaned against the wall andwaited for Stark to come back. Just now, Eddie realised, that there were no windows in the room at all.

"What do you think?" He asked Peter and saw his nervous reaction. "Y-you are great, Eddie. Really."
 
“Are you kidding me? This should have drawn the symbiote out. According to Drakes documentary it should have seperated the thing from the boy,” Stark asked annoyed. Seemed, it was nearly not as easy, as he had hoped for. Of course, it never was.

Bruce just shrugged. “I have no idea, but it seems, the alarm didn’t only bother the symbiote. The boy’s hearing is horribly damaged according to the computer diagnosis. We wanted to save the boy, by separating them, not kill him along with the alien.”

“If we have to kill the boy, then we have to. The creature is way too dangerous, as soon as it want’s a new host, the boy is as good as dead anyway.”

“Tony! I can’t believe, you just said that. We can’t say for sure, the alien is a thread at all.”

“I told you, this creature is dangerous. Klyntar do not come alone, and they never come to stay, I’ve seen many worlds, rotten and dead, after the Klyntar invaded them. We need to kill the parasite as soon as possible,” Thor said and stepped towards the door.

“Fuck, then we have to separate them in combat. I didn’t want this, but we have to-” “Tony. Why don’t we actually try to talk to them? I am sure, the boy is more than aware of the symbiote in his body,” Bruce tried, but Tony didn’t want to hear it. The scientist was way too emotional about this, seeing himself in the boy probably. Having a monster inside of him, that is meant to destroy and kill. But this was different.

"I agree, this is way too dangerous. You've seen the data, heard what Thor told us about the species. We can not risk this," Clint said and grabbed his bow. Time to meet the alien in 'person'.
 
By the time, the door opened again, Venom had nearly fixed his hearing again.

Eddie. This was a trap.

Eddie saw. Not only Stark, but also Hawkeye and Thor stepped in the room. “Get away from him, Peter,” Tony said, still smiling, only this time there was nothing friendly in his eyes. “You really managed to keep us busy the last few weeks, Edward. Originally we hoped the frequency would already free you from the parasite," Parasite?! "but it has proven to be more obstinate than we gave it credit for.”

Eddie decided to play the gullible and innocent. “P-parasite? Mr. Stark, I have no idea, what you are talking about.”

“Oh, I beg to differ.”

Stark lifted his hand, where he wore his Ironman-glove and shot right into his direction. It was only thanks to Venom’s reflexes, that he managed to jump out of the way in time. “Wow! Hey! N-no need to attack me?”

He backed further away, looking for a way out. Of course, Stark had led them into a room, that was completely safe, no escape. Not even where the blast had hit the wall was one scratch to be seen. Eddie guessed, this was one of the training- or combat-rooms of the Avenger part of the tower.

“Okay, you guys seriously have some problems, but can we not talk about it?” “Why are you here?” Thor asked and stepped forward, causing Eddie to take another step back, keeping his distance at each cost.

“What? Because of my internship… and the interview, that had been a bait to get me into this locked up room, probably? Why did you even bother answering my questions, Mr. Stark?” He asked and felt Venom searching the room for any clues or escapes.

Cameras above your head.

“To scan me first? Did you find something interesting?”

“No, nothing at all. How do you keep the alien hidden so well? Or are you the alien? A shapeshifter, an imposter?” "They have the ability to shapeshift, even change their hosts appearance, but they can not survive in this atmosphere without a host," Thor explained.

“I tell you the same, I told the police after the incident. The symbiote is gone, he protected me and my friends from the explosion. But fire is lethal to them, he died,” Eddie explained, “You could have just sent an email, y’know? Instead of setting all of this up to get me to New York.”

“He has quite the attitude,” Hawkeye remarked and Stark seemed surprised, that Eddie wasn’t scared of them at all.

“Strange, because those frequencies are another weakness of those creatures, right? If you are not with it, why are you so sensible?” Eddie shrugged. “You can not have symbiosis, without some body changes. Some things just stayed the way, he adjusted, even after him leaving.” His heart was beating fast and he felt incredibly sick. Just keep on talking, Eddie, that’s your

superpower

, right? He pushed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and tilted his head to the side. “So, can I leave now?”

“Surely not.” An arrow missed his head far too close, leaving a thin, but long scratch on his cheek. Venom had seen it, but left Eddie to his own human and natural reflexes. Frightened by the sudden attack Eddie lost balance and fell on his butt with an embarrassing noise. His hands shot up in defence and he was actually scared by now. He had been vaguely prepared to have this situation, his poker-face had been only a tactic, to let it fall in the right moment, showing that he was only a scared and nervous, non-threatening boy. But Eddie felt, that Venom was starting to get angry. He needed to calm down as fast as possible.

Those guys are supposed to be the good guys.

True, but on the other hand… they didn’t know details about the Klyntar, they didn’t know Venom like he did. And he was aware, as soon as a trace of Venom would be seen, they were both as good as dead.

“Hey, please! I didn’t do anything, okay? Please…”

“This Klyntar is really good at acting. Don’t let yourself be fooled. We have to annihilate this threat. The host is probably long dead anyway, just an empty shell,” Thor spoke up and suddenly Eddie understood. They did know the Klyntar. Thor did. And he remembered what Venom had told him about his species.

He probably didn’t meet the friendly kind…

No, probably not. But maybe, they could use this to their advantage? This hammer thrown by an Asgardian god was probably enough to break this walls, if it was aimed at a weak spot. Like the doors. Eddie had seen, that they were a bit thinner than the rest of the walls, same material, so a normal or even super-strength human couldn’t break through. But an angry god?

“I'm no empty shell and Venom is not a threat. He would never hurt me,” He shouted angrily. Well, now he had fucked up. He had given away Venom's wellbeing, but he just couldn't keep letting them talk about his mate like this.

In any other situation, he would have preferred to sit down, feeling dizzy and shaky. But now was not the time or place.

“He is a sentient being, who just wants to live in peace, what’s wrong with that? He is not a threat, in many ways he is quite the opposite! You have no idea what you are talking about!” He slowly backed away.

We are not even sure, if he can damage the door.

But if he would, they needed to be prepared to run as fast as possible. If not… they wouldn’t have let him go anyway.

“Eddie, please… This alien is dangerous! It killed people!” Peter said hesitantly.

“So did Thor, who is definitely not human either! V only killed dangerous people, who tried had to kill my friends! He protects people. Like you, Peter.”

Eddie knew, Peter didn’t want people to get hurt. He had felt so bad after Eddie had been injured in this probably set up attack. “Wait,” Peter stepped in front of Thor, “What do you mean, like me?”

“We know, who you are,”
Eddie said, his voice tinted with Venom’s low growl, before the black began to cover his shoulder, forming his head. He tried to look as little hostile as possible, black round face with huge opal eyes. Instead of the huge teeth, only the tip of his tongue stuck out of his mouth.
“And we like, what you stand for. We want to be a hero, just like you.”

Eddie saw, that something changed in the way, at least Peter and Hawkeye were looking at him.

“Nonsense. Klyntar are a species that only know how to destroy and rot away whole civilisations. They never come alone and they never come to stay,” Thor growled, lifting his hammer.

“But it’s true! The rest of the symbiotes were like that, yes, but Venom isn’t! He helped us fight against his own kind, he helped to save us!” Eddie grabbed Venom’s head and nudged him to disappear right back into his body. He barely dodged the hammer, thrown at him, but he could hear the loud noise behind him. The door was definitely broken.

Eddie, down!

A black tendril pulled his head down, right before the hammer flew back into Thor’s hand. Fuck, that was a close call. But on it’s way back, the hammer had hit the door again, increasing the hole further.

Big enough. We will fit through, Eddie!

“Stop attacking me! We mean no harm, I swear!” Eddie said panicked, his hands once again in the air, slowly stepping backwards. He could see, that neither Thor nor Stark were willing to give up their prejudices.

“Mr. Stark! Maybe we should give him a chance to talk about it,” Peter mumbled. Eddie knew, he was a good person. But the demur actually got him a short time-window, where Stark and Thor were looking at Peter instead of him.

Venom covered him as quickly as possible and leapt them out of the hole in the door. Instead of leading to their freedom, they found themselves in another room, made of similar material. Suddenly the alarm started again, They screamed in agony, held their head to block the noise, but it went deeper than only through their ears. Their very core was being attacked by the frequency.

They sank to their knees, heavily shaking from the pain inflicted to them. Eddie could barely think, his senses being oversensitive in their combined form were being overstimulated, but he had to protect Venom at each cost.

//Can you draw back and hide inside of me? Would this help you not being separated?//

We can’t! We are one, no hiding, no separating!

Eddie finally understood, what Venom had tried to tell him so many times already. All the indications, him being a perfect host, a perfect match. The perfect bond. They were irrevocable and irreversible bonded. Noone could seperate them anymore and if anything would kill Eddie or Venom, the other would die as well. In his panic, he managed to find the speaker, where the noise came from, he threw his arm with a black long tendril against it, causing the speaker to crash down on the floor. Finally the noise was gone.

He growled lowly, but a blast hit their shoulder and threw them to the ground. Only slowly they were able to get up, turning around to a fully armored Ironman and Thor.

“We won’t fight you, Avengers!”

Another blast hit him, making Venom draw back inside of him for the split of a second. He slowly backed away, not willing to fight them.

We have to fight them. They will kill you, Eddie.

//I won’t give them another reason to hurt you… We are good, you are good. We will stand by that!//

“No!” Peter suddenly threw himself in front of him, when Thor threw his hammer. The boy obviously wanted to stop him, but they could not risk him getting hurt because of them. Instead of being able to dodge the attack, they pushed Peter out of the way.

Unfortunately they were not able to protect themselves, so the hammer hit their head, throwing them against the wall behind them in the impact.

The black sunk back into Eddie’s body, leaving him unconscious and bleeding on the floor.

Eddie... Eddie? Answer me! Wake up!

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The moment, the alien disappeared back into Eddie’s body, Peter knew he had fucked up. He had tried to help him, not urging him to save him by getting hurt. He sat on the floor and couldn’t believe, what just happened.

“He… didn’t even fight back,” Peter whispered and turned around. “He didn’t even want to fight back! There was no need to attack him! He only tried to protect his friend,” Peter yelled and turned back towards Eddie. He carefully pushed his shoulder, and tried to wake him.

“Eddie… wake up, come on.”

He lifted him on his lap and checked the wound on his head. It looked awful, so bad Peter was actually wondering how Eddie was still breathing. But probably the alien had protected him from being completely crushed by the strength of the hammer. A black tendril snugg out of the shoulder and almost carefully nudged his hand away from the wound.

“Peter, get away from him! He might still be dangerous,” Mr. Stark warned, when they came closer. Thor knelt down next to Peter, grabbing the black gooey mass, but before he could pull, a hissing sound came from it, as it pulled back inside of Eddie’s body.

“We have to bring him to a hospital!” Peter urged and pulled Eddie’s unconscious body further into his arms.

“No, a hospital won’t be able to help… Bring him to our paramedic-room,” Mr. Banner said, who just had entered the room. Peter lifted him, actually surprised, how lightweight Eddie was despite his muscles and another creature inhabiting his body.

“Oh dear… How am I supposed to explain this to Flash,” he sighted, following Mr. Banner.

At least Eddie was still breathing, probably only thanks to the alien creature.
 
Being lifted and carried to someplace unknown reminded him too much of the time, when Drakes scientists had found him and brought him to earth. Only this time, he actually did have a reason to fight. Someone to protect, someone he loved.

Eddie… you have to wake up!
He tried again, but it was no good.

The hammer had left some serious damage, not only to his head, but also the very core of the human being: Eddie’s brain.
Instead of the quiet pictures and impressions Eddie unknowingly shared while he slept and sometimes dreamed, this time he could not hear anything from his host. In panic he raced through his body, trying to fix every damage, he could find. But his strength had been highly infected by the sonic attacks, so he had to concentrate on the most urgent and dangerous injuries, especially those to Eddie’s head.
“Put him on the bed here, I will run some tests,” Mr. Banner said and Venom felt, how the Spider-boy put them down. “Eddie, come on, please wake up,” Peter whispered and stroked their hair. Venom could endure his touch, he had seen, that the boy didn’t mean to hurt them. He even had tried to stop those self-righteous so-called idiots.

He continued to heal Eddie’s head, but slowly he ran out of energy. He thought about asking Peter for help, but then this other guy was suddenly next to them again, some strange gadgets in his hands. The man pushed one of Eddie’s eyelids up and held a flashlight right into their eyesight.

Disturbed by the annoying light, he created a tendril to push his hands away again and hissed as a warning. He did not want to cause them to think of him as a thread, but he would protect Eddie at all cost.

“Hey, what-” That guy, the Spider-boy had called ‘Dr. Banner’ before, said and seemed to hesitate.

“Be more careful! The alien protects Eddie, you saw that before… Maybe you should explain what you plan to do, before you do it?” Peter suggested. “You think, he understands? Peter, we are talking about an alien.”

“More importantly you are talking about a sentient being that probably knows more of this universe, than you will ever archive,”
Venom answered, forming a small head next to Peter’s hand. Immediately, Banner stepped back and held his hands up. “I’m truly sorry. How should we call you?” He asked and sat down.

“We are Venom. And we will not let you hurt him more. No tests. We can heal him on our own.”

“But Eddie is severely injured. I might not be this kind of doctor, but I can help him heal.” He hissed again and wrapped another protective tendril around Eddie’s shoulders.

“It is your fault, he is injured. We don’t trust you. You want to hurt us. Separate us.”

“That’s true for them. I am just very curious about you, do you understand? I’m not a fighter, I’m a scientist.”

“We know scientists! Drake’s scientists who hurt us, forced us on hosts that didn’t match, killed innocent people. We don’t trust you.”

“But Venom, Eddie needs help… you said, you can help him,” Peter asked, “What do you need? Is there anything

we

can help you with?” The symbiote actually considered it. He did need a lot of strength.

“Chocolate. Chocolate gives us back some strength, we need the chemicals.”

Banner seemed to be confused, “Did you say… chocolate?”

“Yes. We feed on chocolate or raw meat. Eddie won’t let us eat raw fish or sea creatures, because he says they would make him sick. But we prefer chocolate.”

“So that’s why Eddie brought half a case full of chocolate… I will tell Mr. Stark to get some!” Peter promised, but Venom could only growl at the name. When Peter ran out of the room, he drew back into Eddie’s body and ran his own tests to make sure, Eddie was getting better.

The injuries were healed by now, including the bruise on his face. Eddie was still weak, but he should wake up now. Why wouldn’t he wake up?

Eddie… we need you, please.

He would never admit, that he was scared without his host, but his current situation reminded him too much of his time on earth before he had met Eddie. Only that he was not in a glass cage, but trapped in a host that he could not move like this. He was close to being unprotected.

“So, now we will just- wait?” Banner asked and sat down next to them. “I didn’t want them to attack you. I would have prefered to talk to you first. Give you a chance.”

Venom was not interested in what this human had to say, but Eddie would want him to be polite. He formed a head connected to Eddie’s shoulder that hovered over his chest.

“And yet those brainless idiots attacked us without listening to Eddie.”

“Yeah… I know… Listen, I can only imagine how it is to be attacked so suddenly, but-,” He cleared his throat, “Tony had a lot of bad experiences with aliens. We were being attacked by them a few years ago and a lot of people died. He is overly careful, he is probably scared of you. From what we learned from Drakes research, you are not only an intelligent, but also strong and potentially dangerous being.”

“We get your fear. It is justified. But we have no desire to conquer this world. This was the desire of my team members, but they died. We only ever wanted to find out perfect match. Our mate. And we found him. We will not stop protecting him and we will not be separated by him.”

“But from what we know about your species from Thor, you hurt him and control him."

“WE WOULD NEVER HURT HIM.”

Venom could not believe, what this human implied.

“We love him. We would never control him. He is perfect the way he is. Finding a perfect mate is not about taking control, but about symbiosis. Being perfect together.”
 
On his way from the store, Peter unfortunately passed their flat, running right into Flash. “Oh, hey Peter! Where is Eddie?” He asked and smiled at him. He looked so happy to see him. Fuck…

“Uh- there was… an accident. Flash, you should come with me, but please promise me, not to freak out, okay?”

For a second Flash looked, like a statue, his face without any colour, staring at him.

“No… that is a joke, right? Peter, tell me what happened. You only had this interview with-"

Fuck.

"Did- did Stark-”

“Set up a trap to get Venom? Yes. Eddie tried to reason with them and I tried to help, but I made it worse.” On their way back to the tower, he told Flash what had happened. “Did you know, this was a trap?” Flash only asked. “Yes. I- I didn’t know. Mr. Stark and Thor told me how dangerous this alien was and I was scared. I didn’t know what to do… I believed, I could help Eddie, that the alien was controlling or hurting him.”
 
They arrived at the tower a few minutes later and Peter could feel how impatient Flash was getting. Of course, everyone knew being hit by Thor's hammer was nothing a normal human being would survive. The staff at the entrance informed him, that Eddie was no longer in the first-aid rooms, but in one of the more comfortable and private hospital rooms of the Avengers part of the tower.

Peter led the way, in his training with Mr. Rogers and the others, he had been there more often than he could count anyway. In front of the door, Tony, Thor, Steve and Clint were discussing something heatedly, but they stopped, when the boys came around the corner.

“Peter, who is this? I told you not to bring-” Mr. Stark started, but Flash stepped forward.

“Shut up. I’m the partner of the boy you attacked. I can’t believe, you would do something like this, you are supposed to be heros. Supposed to be a role-model. Instead you attack innocent young boys? I bet you are so proud on yourself. Shame on you!” On his way to the door Flash hit - probably not so accidently - his shoulder against Mr. Starks shoulder, and without waiting for an answer he opened the door and stepped in. Peter followed, eyes strictly to the floor, so he didn’t have to face his fellow Avengers.

Inside were Eddie, still unconscious in the bed and Dr. Banner, who was busy setting up some monitors that kept watch over his state. Flash immediately went to the bed and took Eddie’s hand in his.

“Eddie, V, hey... “ He whispered, voice thick and raspy with worry. Peter saw some black mass coming out of Eddie’s wrist and covering Flash’s hand, before the head of the creature emerged from his shoulder again.

“Flash, you are here! Eddie is hurt, he won’t wake up. We healed everything, but he is still so weak… we don’t understand,”
Venom said and the dark voice was uncharacteristically tiny. “V, don’t worry. I am sure you took good care of him. He probably just needs time, this situation was surely emotionally exhausting as well,” Flash tried to cover his own fear, to calm down the alien, but he was still visibly shaking.

The creature leaned forward and rubbed his head against Flash’s jaw, who did not hesitate to put his hand against the black goo and hug it closer, before giving him the chocolate, Peter had bought him. He seemed to be familiar with Venom and there was no way the creature could control a being, he was not connected with.

The realisation, that this creature was actually a friend and not a thread made him feel even worse. Why had he agreed to take part in this? He should have said no, he should have agreed with Dr. Banner and Mr. Rogers about trying to talk to them first. But now the damage was done…

The noises from the machines that were attached to Eddie’s arm suddenly changed rhythm. It seemed, the chocolate had given Venom some strength back.

“Oh no… Eddie?”
Without further explaining anything, the black mass disappeared again.
 
Flash carefully touched Eddie’s cheek and waited for anything to happen. He could not believe, Eddie was lying here, weak and so fragile. Of course, Eddie had told him about his worries, about his concerns, but he had told him, that it would be alright. There was no way, the Avengers would harm him, even if they had found out about Venom, he said.

How could he?

A shiver went through Eddie’s body, like electricity shot through his joints, and a brief moment after that, he was lying absolutely still. Then his face changed into something more painful.

“Eddie… wake up, please,” he begged and nervously rubbed his thumb over the back of Eddie’s hand.

‘Eddie… wake up, please'

were the first words he heard. Then he heard the noises from some machines that reminded him of a hospital. Why was it so horribly cold? His head hurt like hell… What was going on?

He tried to remember what had happened, why was everything so painful, even just lying wherever he were, eyes closed? And why was the room so cold? Or was the cold actually coming from inside of him?

Eddie could not help but shiver, when he suddenly remembered…

The forest, be beaten, then the darkness… Cold. Waking up in his dorm room again- How? How had he managed to get home without remembering? A cold numbness went through his bones, when he remembered the gun. He-

He should not be alive. He should not be feeling this pain. Why?

Panic.

Eddie’s eyes shot open and he was met by a blinding light. He groaned in pain and closed his eyes again.

“Eddie!”

Why was this person sounding so happy about him? Then-

Realisation.

The voice belonged to Flash Thompson. He opened his eyes again, only to confirm his fear. Flash was there, holding- his hand? More panic.

“No… what-?” He whispered and felt how his throat clenched. He could not breathe. He pulled his hand away and tried to get away from him, his body was still weak, but he managed to back away, just enough to nearly fall out of the bed on the other side.

Someone who looked like a doctor was already behind him to prevent him from falling. Eddie didn’t care. His eyes were only on this man who had made his life hell.

“Eddie, you need to calm down, you are safe,” He dared to say. Safe?

“N-no! Go away,” Eddie whispered weak. His whole body shivered and he fought his tears back.

“Leave me alone! I- I can’t- D-don’t hurt me!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Flash stared at Eddie with a blank mind. The way Eddie tried to get away from him and looked him in horror and fear was unbearable. Someone pulled him away on his arm. “Come, let’s wait outside, son,” someone said, but Flash couldn’t move. Couldn’t pull his eyes away from his boyfriend.

Banner tried to calm Eddie down, but he was close to a complete breakdown. Dan and Annie had prepared him for situations like this, but what should he do, when he was causing it?

Outside he sunk to the next wall, only held upwards by the hand on his arm. “Hey, look at me. He is going to be okay.”

Flash looked up, right into the ocean blue eyes of Captain America himself. In every other situation a dream come true, but now? “How can you even dare to say that?” Flash hissed. “This,” he pointed at the door, “is

YOUR

fault!" He punched the wall, pretty sure he just broke his hand, but he couldn't care less. But suddenly, all strength left his body, "And- and mine…He was so scared of the Avengers finding out about V, and I was the one who told him it was going to be alright. I told him, there was no reason to be scared, that you would be reasonable. Instead you lure him into a fucking trap, using his dreams and accomplishments against him? And then attack him?” He looked up at the superhero and had to bite back further insults. "I'm so sorry, son. I wish I would have been there to stop them. But I promise, I will do anything to help you, okay? I made sure, Tony and Thor will leave them alone and that you can stay here until everyrthing is settled."

Captain America's words were meant to soothe him, but they just managed to make him even sadder. “What if I lost him… what if he-” He bit down his lower lip and looked back at the door. “I can’t lose him… I just have to do something.” He turned around and wanted to step in again, opened the door but hesitated. He didn't want to cause Eddie to suffer any more, and he seemed to have just calmed down again. Peter was talking to him, so he just waited to listen.
 
When Flash was brought outside, Eddie still could not calm down. He was aware that he was in the middle of a panic attack, but he could not tell himself to relax. What had happened? Why was he here?

The doctor who was trying to hold him down was probably bruising his arms by now, the way he tried to get free. He only could think of one thing. He had to get out of here. Away from Flash. Away from everything.

Peter crawled on his bed and said something to the doctor, who finally let go of him. “Eddie… Come here, everything is okay, yeah?” And then he found himself in a hug by the other boy. Peter rubbed his back in a calming pace and whispered calming things to his ear. “You are safe here, I’m here… I won’t go, okay?”

“I’m so sorry, Peter,” he whimpered and suddenly the circles on his back stopped. “What do you mean?” Peter asked.

“I didn’t want-

Did you- I-” Eddie just didn’t know what to say. “I didn’t want anyone to find me. I’m sorry, if it was you… it was wrong, please don’t hate me… I had no choice- I don’t understand… how am I still alive?” He broke into tears again and pressed himself further in the embrace, dug his fingers in the fabric of Peter’s jacket.
 
Peter looked up to Dr. Banner for help. What was going on? He didn’t understand, why Eddie suddenly was so scared of Flash, he had thought they were in a relationship now?

“I understand,” He said and closed his eyes. “But… it’s important that you tell me, what you did. I want to help you, but you have to trust me, okay?” He heard the door opening, but he was too concentrated on how Eddie would answer. The boy was already way calmer.

“I don't know how I managed to get home... I thought my ribs were broken, but- Nevermind. When I woke up, I felt so empty and numb. Noone would miss me anyway... Noone needs me. That was the only way for him to make repentance for killing his mother, but-" "Eddie, what are you talking about? You scare me..."

"I shot myself… I remember the gun and… my finger on the trigger… I should have died, Peter. I should be dead.”

The realisation of what Eddie was saying hit him like a train. The injury to his brain had deleted some memories, but what was he talking about? At what point had Eddie tried to shoot himself? He surely would remember, if Eddie had missed classes for such a long time to recover from something like that? But now his apologies made more sense.

Peter saw Dr. Banner looking up and turned his head towards the door. He just saw, how Flash was leaving the room again. He had heard everything...

“Eddie, you- you didn’t-” He hugged him closer. “You didn’t shoot yourself, but you probably lost some memories… Do you remember what day we have?”

Eddie shifted between his arms, but didn’t seem quite ready to let go of him, so he just kept holding him. “Depending on how long I was unconscious... it should be friday. Yesterday was that party, you were there too, taking pictures!” The last party he was on was… almost a year ago? Eddie didn’t remember anything after that? No wonder, he was so scared of Flash. Peter had overheard one of Flash’s friends talk about, how they had probably even killed the boy, breaking his ribs and leaving him in the mud the morning after this party.

He thought about what to do now, but Eddie was sinking heavily against his chest and yawned.

“Eddie- Hey, how about we leave you alone a bit, you should try to rest? I will be back in a bit, okay?” Eddie nodded and got back to rest on the pillow. “Sleep, I just get you something to eat, yes? How about a bit chocolate?” It seemed, Eddie was already half asleep, when he nodded. “Sounds good.”
 
Hearing the snippets of what Eddie said to Peter was enough for Flash. He turned around and ignored Steve’s calls, he just had to get out of here. He needed fresh air.

Flash couldn’t believe it. How had Eddie even been with him? He had tried to kill himself because of him! He vividly remembered the day in the forest, he remembered punching him in the face, then watching, while the others kicked him. Until they heard his bones break. He remembered how scared he was, hearing the wheezing breaths and the sobs. He had believed, he had killed Eddie, leaving him there out of fear. That had not been the first time he had second-guessed his violent behaviour, but it had been the first time, he had tried to change.

And then Eddie had yelled at him in the gym in front of everyone a few days after. He had finally understood, how much of a monster he had been and tried to change ever since. Still, Eddie was lying in there, scared to death of him, believing he had just tried to kill himself. Because of Flash alone. To Eddie, he was still the monster, he had tried to leave behind.

He found his way on a balcony, looking down on the city. He had tried to reach Annie first, but she was not answering her phone. Dan answered his phone after the second ring.

“Hey, Flash, what’s up, is everything okay?” He asked tiredly. Flash didn’t know what to say. “Flash?” Annie asked. Dan had put him on speaker.

“I- Dan… I need help… Eddie was-” How was he supposed to explain this? “Flash? What happened to Eddie?”, Annie asked again.

“He- there was an accident at the Stark tower… They knew of Venom and they tried to lure him out and separate them. He was hurt, and… Venom was able to heal him, but he has lost his memories… Dan, he was so terrified seeing me and from what he told Peter, he believes, he is in the hospital because of his suicide attempt about a year ago.”

Silence, Flash briefly wondered, if the connection had broken off.

“Flash, I’m sorry… he- this must be horrible for you. He didn’t want you to know,” Dan started slowly, but was interrupted by Annie. “What? Dan, you knew? Eddie tried to commit suicide, and you knew? Why didn't you warn us?”

“He didn’t want us to know, Annie. I found out by accident and we talked about it a lot since then. He was not suicidal anymore ever since he was with Venom. And Flash, you know, he really loves you.” Flash only laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Does he? Dan, you didn’t see him. He couldn’t breathe, he had such a bad panic attack, he nearly fell out of bed, only to get away from me.”

Dan sighted on the other end of the line, then something rustled. “You are still in New York? Lemme see, it’s one a.m. here, so it’s seven p.m. in New York right, Annie?” “Yeah, it’s six hours difference.” Annie mumbled something, Flash couldn’t understand. “Flash, the next flight will be around six in the morning, with the time difference, we would arrive around four p.m., okay?”

“No… Eddie wouldn’t want you to miss the rest of your vacation because of this,” Flash mumbled.

“Yeah, but that’s what friends are for. Dan, please book the flight, we should be able to be at the Frankfurt airport around five, I’ll start packing.”

Great, now he had ruined everyone’s day. Flash sat down on the edge of the balcony and lay down on the floor. He sighed and looked up the sky. “What should I do… I want to support him. I want to hold him. I-

I could probably live with never kissing him again, if only he would never look at me like this again. I don’t want to be the reason for his panic attacks, for the fear and tears.”

“Flash, calm down,” Dan said slowly, “You are right. You should try to support him the best you can, but I think it is best to wait until he is ready. Peter is there with you, right? They were not close friends, but he liked him and respected him. If Peter will help you and exlpain him, what happened, he will trust him. You know what to do when he’s like that, you should try to advice Peter. And make sure he takes his meds, I remember he told me, he didn’t take them regularly that time…” Flash nodded. “Yeah… I will try my best. Thank you, both of you. I’m sorry, I woke you up.”

He put his phone away and closed his eyes. He felt the wetness dripping down in his ears, which felt horrible. He didn’t know when he had started crying. He had never felt this lonely in his life. He could not lose Eddie.
 
Eddie could not explain what was happening. He felt so tired, but sleeping was out of question. The last thing he remembered was pulling the trigger. Or at least he thought that… but this didn't explain why Peter and Flash of all people were here with him. Wherever here was.

On second thought he felt like the doctor had been oddly familiar. Everything was just so horribly wrong. He turned to look up the ceiling and sighted. Everything was just too much right now for him to handle, he just wanted to wrap himself up in his blanket, but he was not even at home. He needed to occupy his mind somehow, but there was nothing in this empty hospitalroom, that could help him.

Right at this thought, something cold touched his right hand and lifted it. “W-what is that?”, he sat up and tried to push the black stuff on his hand away. Instead the strange goo just moved around his hand and stuck to his left hand.

“Uh… what-”

He tried to shake it away, but instead it just clung tighter. It almost reacted to his movements, as if it was alive? Right at his thought, the mass suddenly emerged further, forming something like a balloon. Suddenly two white stripes appeared. “What is that?”

He poked it and the white slits opened up to something that looked like shining opal eyes. Another slit opened up in the middle.

“Eddie. How are you?”

“Woah!”

Eddie flinched his arm forward to throw it away, but it just stayed where it was, holding to his wrist, it looked like it was somehow connected to his skin.

“Don’t shake us! We get dizzy…”

“I’m sorry?" He was so shocked, that he didn't even wonder, why he was answering. "What- w-who are you?” The strange animal tilted it’s …

head?

and looked at him with wide eyes.

“Do you hear us?”

“Uhm, yeah. You are talking to me.”

Again the creature just stared.

“Are you… dangerous?”

The door behind him closed and he heard a soft chuckle.

“To anyone but you, I guess. He's protecting you." Eddie turned arond and froze. What was Dr. Banner doing here? Now he knew, why the man had looked so familiar. Of course he knew Dr. Banner, not only from his green and angry alter-ego, but he knew some of his publications. Which only led to confuse him more.

"Why am I here?" He asked and looked at him with a blank expression.

"Eddie, you have retrograde amnesia due to a traumatic brain injury. This means you-”

“I know what it means, Dr. Banner. But why am I? This is not the hospital, right?” Eddie asked.

“Don’t trust him! He is one of those Avengers. Tried to hurt our Eddie, tried to take you away.”
The creature said and rubbed it’s head against his jaw. He was so close to freak out completely. “And… you are?”

“We are Venom. You are our mate, Eddie, but- we can’t find the memories, we created in our time being together. We can’t communicate with you other than like this anymore.”

The creature sounded sad, he felt bad for being the reason. He lifted his hand and carefully rubbed it over it’s skin in a soothing way. “I’m sorry… I try to remember, but- I can’t. Don’t be sad, okay?”

Dr. Banner sat down on the chair next to the bed. “You can’t communicate in a different way anymore? How did you use to talk to Eddie then?” He asked and crossed his arms. He seemed genuinely interested in them. Of course, Eddie was really curious about the black wobbly thing as well.

“Not a thing! Eddie,”
It- no, he whined and looked at him with an expression, that somehow looked pained to Eddie. “You can read my mind?”

“Yes… you used to hear us in your mind as well, but now our bond is damaged.”

The door opened again and Peter came in. He carried quite a few chocolate bars. Way too many.

“Uh, do you plan a chocolate party?” He asked, when Peter dropped them on the bed. “No, it seems Venom feeds on chocolate mostly.” Peter answered. Before Eddie could ask another question, the black mass emerged his skin and dived head first into the pile of chocolate. “H-hey! Don’t eat the wrapping paper, that’s not good for you,” Eddie said and pulled one of the wrapped bars out of Venom’s mouth. The creature growled at him and stared at the chocolate in his hands. “Okay, relax, I’ll hurry.”

He unpacked a few bars and gave them to the- “What are you?” He asked and held one chocolate back. Venom growled again and his head moved, as if he was calculating, if he should just go for the chocolate.

“We are Klyntar. A species that comes from a planet in another solar system. Now give us the chocolate or perish!”

Eddie stared at the alien for a second and then hid the hand with the chocolate behind his back.

“The way I see it, you still need me. You said, we are mates, right? How are we connected, why can you read my mind?”

Next to him, Dr. Banner started laughing. “And here I thought, Peter was bold. You wake up to an alien creature with huge teeth living in your body and you start trading chocolate for answers? You, Eddie, are really something else.”

In the meantime, Venom impatiently pulled at his hand with two tendrils. He opened his hand for Venom to eat the chocolate, then started to unwrap more for him. “I mean… what else should I do? He doesn’t seem hostile. It just feels… oddly familiar.”
 
Peter was as amazed as Dr. Banner. Right after this much of a panic attack, he was so open and curious about a creature in his body, he didn’t know? Maybe he did remember a few things after all. Not conscious, but without even noticing it? He helped to open a few more chocolate bars and watched, as Venom swallowed them whole. “Will this give you enough strength to repair your bond and give him his memories back?” He asked the alien and sat down next to Eddie again.

“We don’t know, if we can repair his memories. But we are fixing the bond, it just takes time... “

Peter nodded and looked at Eddie. He was fascinated by the creature, even if he looked terribly tired.
“Yes, we did, Eddie.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing,” Eddie quickly answered, but smiled fondly. Right, Venom was still able to read his mind, so he was able to ask him things, in private. With yes or no questions, no one could guess, what they were talking about.

When he had been gathering all the chocolate he could find in the big living room of the Avengers, he had seen Flash lying on the balcony. Peter couldn’t imagine, how Flash must be feeling. Eddie could so easily adapt to the symbiote in his body, but couldn’t even breathe with Flash in the same room… But he could absolutely understand it. From Eddie’s point of view, the beatings were still a recent thing. “Dr. Banner, can I talk to Eddie in private? I think, he’s feeling a lot better already.”
 
The scientist just nodded and Eddie felt how his muscles relaxed slightly. Had Venom been the tense one? He saw the alien nod. Peter waited, until Banner had closed the door behind him and then sat on the opposite of the bedside, to look into his eyes.

“We have to talk. And I know, you won’t like it but it is really important, that you listen first, okay? I know, it’s not good to tell amnesia-patients about their lost memories, but I have no choice.” Eddie sighted and felt the symbiote taking his hand and squeezed the black mass carefully. “Is it about…

him

?” He asked and fidgeted with the black tendrils, that curled around his fingers in a playful manner.

“Yes… and I know this sounds crazy, you know he used to bully me as well… so I can absolutely understand you, yes? I’m on your side. But… he’s changed. You two are friends, the last time he bullied you is about a year ago. Even Annie and Dan are friends with him now, you know how protective they are around you. Even Venom likes him.”

“We love him. He’s our mate, Eddie.”

Eddie looked at them, then turned his head to look out of the window. “Our mate? You are saying, he’s our partner? That’s… crazy. I mean, even if we are friends now, what would he want from me of all people?”

Peter and Venom sighted. “You don’t have to fall in love with him, the second you see him, but… He’s really worried about you. Do you think, I could bring him in, without you panicking?” Peter asked genuinely concerned.

Eddie knew, he meant it. But… could he really? He was scared of Flash, still felt the punch in the face, as if it had been a second ago. //What do you think, Venom?// He thought. The black mass suddenly changed, making Venom look more dangerous and alien, than the cute snakelike form before.

“If he hurts us, we eat him.”

“What? No! We don’t eat people! You can have chocolate instead.”

Venom growled, but then sunk back to eat another piece of chocolate, he had just unpacked. Eddie noticed an iron taste, from where he had bit his lower lip upen. He licked over the wound, but before he could feel it, it was healed again. Sure, if Venom could make him survive a shot to the head, he could also heal a simple bite.

“We didn’t heal you that time, we prevented you from shooting yourself. But we

can

heal

any

damage.”

“O-okay… Listen, I will talk to him. Just not today, okay? And not alone.”

“Never alone, Eddie."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Are you kidding me? You will let us in, right now!” “Annie, honey, calm down,” Dan tried to soothe his girlfriend. He felt like he was with She-Hulk. Being tired from the long flight didn’t help. Of course, she always had been extremely protective over Eddie, he felt responsible for him as well. But being angry wouldn’t help their case. “I-I’m really sorry, but you are not on the visitor list, and-” The helpless receptionist said and looked, like she was about to call security.

“Then please call Mr. Stark and tell him, we are here to see Eddie,” Dan answered, before Annie could explode. He rubbed her shoulder and hugged her close. “What if he doesn’t remember us?” She suddenly asked in a tiny voice. She wrapped her arms around him and Dan could feel her worry.

“From what Flash said, he forgot everything after his-” She bit down on her lip, so he rephrased what he had wanted to say, “after meeting Venom. We don’t know, if he remembers Venom, but he definitely remembers us.”

The receptionist finished her phone call and pointed to the elevator right behind her. “Mr. Stark is expecting you.” They entered the elevator and before they could ask, which level, it closed and automatically brought them up. When it opened again, they were in the middle of the Avengers living room.  Dan quickly found Flash sitting on one of the couches. He looked just as depressed, as he had sounded on the phone.

Before they could cross the room to greet him, Tony Stark himself stood in their path.

“So you are the girl yelling at my employees? Who are you?” He asked and crossed his arms. He seemed highly displeased, still he had allowed them to come in. Flash noticed them now and got up. “Annie, Dan! You’re here!”

He ignored Stark with a certain boldness, making very clear, he didn’t think high of him. He hugged them both in a big bear hug. “Peter didn’t tell him yet that you are coming, I’m sure he will be happy to see you both,” Flash said. The way he was holding himself was speaking of misery, Dan felt incredibly bad for him. Flash dropped his shoulders and looked, like he hadn’t been sleeping for the whole night.

“He didn’t talk to you yet?” He asked.

“Peter said, he agreed to talk to me today, but I think he still hesitates… he’s scared of me, I can relate… I was an asshole to him back then,” He said and Dan hugged him again. “Don’t worry, we will talk to him. You know, you’ve changed. He smiled calmly at Flash and then turned around to see, that Annie walked straight towards Tony Stark again. “So, you are the one, who lured him here in false accusations and then attacked him?”

She crossed her arms and looked up at Stark and even Dan was scared of her in this moment. “She’s awesome,” Flash whispered against his ear and he just nodded. “I’m tired of moody teenagers telling me what to do. You don’t even understand half of our business. This boy is hosting a dangerous alien creature. It is our responsibility to prevent this earth to go down.”

Annie smiled, but there was no humor in it. “And here I stand, moody, stupid little teenager, thinking you were one of the most intelligent people in the world… learning, how wrong I was. Venom might be a dangerous alien creature. But he also helped safe this planet from being invaded by his kind and protected innocents, even if it is not his job. It’s yours.And to be honest, some of your members are way more questionable, than Venom! I will advice Eddie to sue you. And I will consult him to-”

Dan carefully put his hand on her shoulder. “Annie, calm down. Let’s see him first, before you-” She turned around. “Before I what?” He just smiled apologetically at her. “Let’s see Eddie,” He simply answered and she nodded. Stark looked like he wanted to say something else, but he didn’t. “Follow me,” Someone else said, and when he turned around, he saw Steve Rogers. He would lie, if he said this wasn’t a boy’s dream come true. “C-captain America?”

“Nice to meet you, son,” The Captain said and smiled. Dan saw, how Flash turned around to go to his place in the corner of the room again, so he took his hand and pulled him with them. “Come with us. We will talk to Eddie, okay?”

Rogers led them towards one of the corridors. “You must be Dan, right? And you are Annie. Peter already told me a lot about you. I’m sure, Eddie will be happy to see you.”
 
Eddie was sitting with Peter at one of the tables in the hospital room. They were asking Venom more questions about his species and being, But Eddie felt, that the symbiote was no longer in the mood for stupid questions, something bothered him. “Hey, Venom… what’s up?” The symbiote turned to look at him, but he didn’t answer aloud.

We are bored, we want to cuddle with Flash. When can we see him?

“Oh… I-”

“What did he say?” Peter asked and put his hand on Eddie’s shoulder. “He wants to see Flash… Venom, I get it… but I can’t… I can’t see him right now. But I won’t forbid you to see him, if you want!”

A suffocating sadness flooded their bond.
“We are bonded… we can’t see him, if you won’t”

“I’m sorry,” Eddie whispered and caressed Venom’s head. They were interrupted by a knock on the door, shortly before Steve stepped back in. The super soldier had insisted on the first name basis, but Eddie still felt unworthy of addressing him like that, so he mostly avoided it. Since he had woken up, Steve and Dr. Banner had been the ones who had spent the most time with him, along with Peter who didn’t even leave him alone for the night.

“Dan! Annie!”

Eddie couldn’t believe to see them here. He knew from Peter that they had been at a vacation in Europe, how could they be here so fast? Annie almost knocked him over by the force she hugged him with. “Oh- Annie! Wow- I…”

He blushed deeply, but he could feel the symbiote disapprove with his quickening heartbeat.

//I can’t help it. You know, I had a crush on her for the longest time...//

Annie let go of him and immediately took his face between her hands, tilting his head from one side to another. “Eddie! Oh my god, I am so happy to see you are not injured anymore. Thank you so much for taking care of him, Venom!” She said and hugged him again.

“We are happy to see you, Annie!”

Eddie smiled shyly at her and just nodded. “I’m fine… Maybe I’ll have some stomach ache from all the chocolate he makes me eat, but other than that,”
“We take care of your tummy as well.”
She smiled and kissed Venom’s forehead fondly. “You are such a good friend.” Eddie could only smile by the pride he felt from the symbiote. “Why are you here? Peter told me, you are in Europe, “ He asked.

“Why? Eddie, you were hurt, we couldn’t just sit there and do nothing,” Dan said from the door. Eddie turned to him, but froze when he saw Flash, then averted his eyes again. He didn’t see before, that the quarterback had entered the room along with them. He only stood by the door, his whole posture insecure and as if he wished to disappear, but it made Eddie uneasy nevertheless. “T-thank you,” He said quieter than before.

Flash is our friend. He is our boyfriend, Eddie… and he is worried as well.

Eddie wanted to hiss an angry ‘he’s not my friend’, but felt he couldn’t. He could not trust Flash, but this didn’t mean he was as cruel as him. Flash was a monster and nothing could change that. How could he ever see him as a friend? It felt like he had woken up in an alternative universe.

Dan stepped closer and now hugged him as well. “Please give him a chance,” He whispered to Eddie’s ear, “You might not trust him, but you trust me, right? We are all here, noone can hurt you. Even Captain America himself is here.” Dan didn’t let go of him, only took one step back, his hands still on Eddie’s shoulders. “Yeah?” He asked, not whispering this time. Eddie bit his lip and nodded. “Y-yeah…”

He didn’t want to see Flash, it brought back all those painful memories. He could still hear his last words, before he had left him to die in the forest.

‘Listen closely, Eddie. We’re not finished with you. Alright?? Not by a long shot. You’ll never escape me. I am having way too much fun with you, buddy.

A shiver went through his body and he felt Venom’s soothing tries to calm him down. From the corner of his eyes he could see Dan urging Flash to come closer.

He means well. Flash loves you, Eddie. He risked his life to save us so many times. Eddie, you said that you love him as well. Imagine how hurt he is from being reminded of how he hurt you in the past.

//Good. He deserves to suffer for what he did.//

Why would you think so? You don’t even mean it, we can feel it. Imagine… this is a whole new person. Who just looks like him and has his name by coincidence...

//That’s now how it works, Venom...//

You can feel, that he’s different…

While that was true in some way, he just could not help himself. He was scared of him.

“Uhm… hi,” Flash said. He was standing next to him. Dan put his hand on Eddie’s back, probably to assure him. It only helped to make him more nervous.

“Hi,” He answered, not even looking up.

“Oh wow, so much tension! I think, we should leave them alone, huh?” Peter said joyfully, probably to overplay his own nervousness. Within a few seconds, everyone but Annie, Dan and Flash had left the room. So much for

Captain America himself is here

.

Eddie turned around to sit on his bed again. “So… Peter said, you want to talk to me?” He finally asked, after noone spoke a word. He fidgeted with his fingers, still not able to look at Flash. He could literally feel how close he was to another panic attack.

Flash mumbled, “Eddie, I just… I’m sorry. I know, this won’t make up for any of the things I did to you, but… Please know, there is no day, where I don’t regret it. I miss you.” Eddie could tell he meant it.

Look at him.

He looked up, right into the forest green eyes. Eyes full of regret and hurt. Eddie was supposed to say anything, right? But what  should he say?

Say that you love him. That you want him to hug and kiss you.

“Venom missed you too.” Eddie could not imagine, being hugged or even kissed by him. Just the thought of Flash coming any closer than this, trying to touch him even, was nearly enough to trigger another panic attack. He felt the urge to apologise for being so distant and afraid of him, but… why? He had never asked to be bullied. It was not his fault.

“I can only imagine, how you are feeling. And I know, we can probably never be the same as before, but do you think… we can try to be friends again?” Flash asked.

Eddie looked up, surprised by the question. Not only that Flash actually wanted to be friends with him, but also the boldness to ask him such think, right after he-

No… to Flash it was a year ago. And a lot could happen within a year. “I don’t know… Maybe… But I can’t trust you right now. Please understand, that I just feel uneasy around you,” He finally answered. It was only fair to be as honest as possible.

In the back of his mind, Venom whined. It felt like they were being ripped apart, losing some part of themselves. Flash looked, like he was going to break down any minute now. “Oh.” Flash nodded like in slow motion. “Of course… I can understand that. I’m sorry, it’s-” He didn’t finish, just turned around and left the room in a hurry. Annie immediately went after him.

Eddie, you made him upset!
Venom whined and suddenly moved his body to stand up.

“What? Stop that!”

We have to go after him! Tell him, it’s going to be alright and then hug him!

“We are not going to do that, stop moving my body!”

But-

“No!”

Suddenly, the grip on his body disappeared and Venom was silent in his mind. Sulking probably, griefing.

Eddie nearly jumped, when Dan put his hand on his shoulder. “Eddie, sit down, we have to talk.” They sat down on the bed and Dan told him roughly what had happened in this year. How Flash had managed to not only gain his trust, but also Dan’s, Annie’s and Venom’s. “He is a good friend, he was only influenced by his environment. You of all people should understand, how an abusive father can change your life. He didn’t have the guts to run away and live on the streets like you.” Eddie was confused. “How do you know about him? My father, I mean... Not even Annie- Wait… does she know?”

Dan leaned back and pulled Eddie into an embrace. “Before this… I was the only one who knew about your suicide attempt. I found out by accident and I promised you not to tell anyone, if you would agree to meet me for a coffee once a week, so we could talk.”

“So you… are my therapist now?” Eddie laughed and leaned into the embrace. Dan lied down with Eddie’s head on his shoulder. Their group was more than used to cuddles and giving each other comfort. That had been this way even before Flash was part of their group. Sometimes he had joked about Eddie being their boyfriend.

“I wouldn’t say therapist… we only talked. You told me a lot about your past, and I never told anyone else…" Dan paused,  "Okay, I guess, I am your therapist after all,” He laughed.

Eddie could feel him rubbing his back and relaxed. “You know… we went for a camping trip, not so long ago… before that you were already acting strange around Flash, but then you really got jumpy whenever he teased you or hugged you. Since you became friends, he was always more the touchy feely guy, and usually you had been very comfortable with that. But that weekend, you were just really acting strange.”

“Why was that?” Eddie asked and looked up to see Dan smiling at the ceiling. “You were scared… you told me, you had fallen in love with him. You felt guilty because you are in a relationship with Venom, but also you were scared, that he would not feel the same way about you. After the camping trip, you wouldn’t speak about it again until… Flash invited us to dinner a few weeks later and the two of you told us, that you were officially an item now. Not that the holding hands under the table and everything in between the trip and the dinner wasn’t obvious enough. I just want to say… you were happy with him. He’s able to make you happy, if you let him.”

Eddie just nodded silently, watching the black mass seeping out his arm, pooling on Dan’s stomach before forming a head.

“That’s what we tried to tell you…”

“But V, I know you love him and mean the best for him, but he only knows you for a day now… He has to learn to trust you and Flash again, give him time, okay?” Dan explained. Venom seemed to think about it and understood.

“So… you said no, because we were pressuring you? Eddie, we didn’t think of how you feel right now, only of how we can get it back to how it used to be. We are sorry for rushing you… Do you hate us now?”

Eddie smiled and rubbed his fingers over Venom’s head. “I thought you know my feelings? I can’t hate you, I can tell, you are really important to me and vice vesa… Just give me time to build that trust again, okay? With Flash as well… I’ll try. I’ll really do...  It really sounds like… like he’s a good friend.” Such a strange thing to say.

“We understand… we won’t force you anymore, that was wrong! Sorry… Can we-”

“You want to check on Flash, right? I think, I can do that.” Dan smiled, when they got up and left the room.
 
They found them in the Avengers living room. Flash was sitting there with Annie, she was hugging him, his head buried to her neck. Was he... crying? Eddie stood still in the door and could not believe, what he saw with his own eyes.

"I don't want him to be afraid of me," Flash sobbed against her shoulder and she just held him close. "I know... give him time, you weren't friends over night last time as well!" She reminded him. Flash mumbled something else, but Eddie could not understand it.

He quietly passed them, gesturing Annie not to say anything. He wanted to test the waters first. How he felt about being so close to him. Slowly he sat down on the couch next to Flash. So far so good. It was hard to feel threatened or scared of him right now. If anything, Eddie felt incredibly guilty of making him so sad. Slowly he raised his hand and touched Flash's shoulder blade.

"Please don't cry..."
Venom had oozed over Flash's shoulder and hugged him, then spread over his face to dry his tears. Flash nearly jumped up and turned around. "E-Eddie..." He swallowed, nervous again. This whole situation was making him uneasy in more than one way. "He's right... I don't want you to cry... and I don't want to be the reason," He said. Venom felt his urge to make Flash feel better, but also felt the blockade in his body.
We can help you. Can we move your hand to take his?
"Y-yes, please," Eddie said directed to Venom's head, that was rubbing against Flash's cheek. Slowly he took Flash's hand in his and gently squeezed it. So far it didn't even feel bad. He just stared at their connected hands and realised how oddly familiar this felt.
Your body remembers... just your mind doesn't. You should hug him.
He couldn't. The thought of being hugged by Flash would make him feel trapped, in his mercy, where he never wanted to be again.
Not be hugged. Hug him. Tell him not to move, if he does.
Sure, they were already holding hands. Maybe he could do that as well... Just hold him. Comfort him, so he wouldn't cry anymore."C-can I.... hug you?" He asked. If he didn't want to be hugged by him, he felt like he should ask before hugging him our of nowhere. Flash stared at him, as if he was seeing a ghost. Which was kind of funny, if you knew that he was friends with an alien living inside of another person."If you want to?" Flash nodded. Eddie leaned forward and carefully put his arms around the taller boy. The quarterback didn't hug back, but he leaned forward, pressed his face against Eddie's shoulder. Behind Flash, Dan and Annie were smiling happy and relieved. This was certainly not the solution of all of Eddie's fears. But it was a start.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Eddie just could not fall asleep. After he had comforted Flash, they had fallen back into not speaking much to each other. He knew, Flash tried to respect him by giving him time, but the situation was troubling to him. He still had no routine in taking his meds on a regular basis, but Venom was more than glad to remind him every morning and evening. The sudden regular intake of his meds actually messed with the chemicals, because he was not used to it. At least he thought so.

Eddie, you should sleep. Your brain is perfectly fine right now. You worry too much.

He knew, but he had so much running through his head that kept him awake. His sleeping situation was also not the most comfortable.

In the evening they had agreed that they would all sleep in the same room, even if Stark had offered everyone their own room. He had insisted that Annie and Dan could share his bed, so now he was lying on the floor with some blankets and pillows, they had stolen from the room Stark had prepared for Annie, Dan and Flash.

“I don’t trust this Stark guy, not to attack you! We won’t separate, but he doesn’t have to know,” Annie had argued.

Peter was lying on the same side of the bed like Eddie, leaning on the wall under the window, while Eddie knew Flash was sleeping on the other side of the bed on the floor as well. It was dark, but he could swear, he could make out Flash’s features from under the bed.

Your visual features are better than those of a standard human, we can see him,
Venom confirmed.

He seemed to have calmed down, still missed Flash, but now understood what was behind Eddie’s behaviour. Still, Eddie could feel him thinking about how to speed up the process somehow. Venom sept our further and enveloped him in his soft black mass. It kind of felt like swimming, but not quite the same.

You are all tense. We can help you relax, how about a massage?

The mass began to move around him, pushed him to lie on his stomach and began to rub his back in an imitation of hands massaging him.  It actually did feel really nice and relaxing. Suddenly Venom stopped.

We have an idea… If you want, we can bond with Flash again! You would be able to feel what he feels, hear his thoughts, his heart! We can block him from having the same information from you. Then you know, you can trust him.

Eddie smiled. He understood how important this was to Venom.

“That sounds nice, but V, trust is not built within a minute… And my mind is still very occupied with understanding the whole ‘being host for an alien creature, who is also my boyfriend’-thing… I try my best, you know, I already got way out of my comfort zone... “

Venom purred and continued to massage him. Eddie knew, he understood and accepted it. He was surprised, how well he had accepted the fact having Venom with him.

You have been with us for a year, your body adjusted already and you feel familiar with us. Deep inside you know, this is not new to you.

“I know… You have no way in giving me my memories back somehow? I mean, you remember, can’t you simply show me?”

He turned around to his side and smiled, when Venom pooled next to him, forming something similar to a large pillow. He wrapped his arms around him and hugged him closer.

We wish, but we can not fix something, that is lost.

“Lost? So… my memories won’t come back…”

He suddenly felt like falling. When even his super alien couldn’t get his memories back…?

They will! We are sure. Dr. Banner said, they only have to be triggered. We only said, we can not get them back.

“Oh… Okay… triggered, huh? But how?”

We don’t know. We should ask him! Maybe he knows ways to trigger memories… But you should sleep now. Or we will lick your ear!

“What?”

The long tongue slid out of Venom’s mouth and he drew it over Eddie’s face.

“Wh- no! S-stop that! V! Alright, alright, I go to sleep!!”
 
The next morning Eddie woke up, half lying under the bed. Someone’s hand rested uncomfortably on his face and when he looked up, he saw it was Dan, who was still sleeping. He turned around to avoid his hand and saw, that the spot next to the other side of the floor was empty. Flash was already up.

Flash couldn’t sleep well, went jogging about an hour ago.

“You talked to him?” Eddie whispered and felt the mental equivalent of a nod.

“Was he… feeling better?”

You care about him.

“I’m not an asshole, V!”

He said, he was fine, but we think, he is still suffering. We have been sleeping at his place for a while now. We are sure, he missed holding you.

Eddie sighted and sat up, forgot about Dan’s hand and basically smacked himself with it. What a great morning. He went to the bathroom and automatically took his meds with glass of water first thing. The symbiote rumbled proudly inside of him.

“So… as far as I understood, we are in the Avengers’ custody because they think you are a threat. Time to convince them of the opposite, don’t you think?”

What do you plan?

“Simply socialising with them. They are only people after all? Super-powered, partly hostile and partly godly people… but people nevertheless.”

He smiled into the mirror and then turned around, already feeling more confident. Fake it, till you make it, they said.

Peter, Dan and Annie were still sleeping, so he decided to go outside on his own. Flash and Peter had brought their luggage here, so he could just grab a new set of clothes and didn’t have to wear the blood-soaked hoodie again.
 
“So… uh- do you remember the way to the living-room?” He asked Venom. The corridor was large and every door looked the same.

“Good morning, sir. For the living area, head down the corridor left-hand-side.” A unfamiliar voice suddenly said.

Eddie turned around, but couldn’t see anyone.

“W-wait, who said that? Is there an invincible Avenger?”

“My name is J.A.R.V.I.S. I am an artificially intelligent computer system.”

“Oh, nice to meet you! Thank you very much, Jarvis,” Eddie said. The symbiote came out and looked at the ceiling.

“But where are you, artificially intelligent computer system?”

“His name is Jarvis, don’t be rude! He helped us,” Eddie scolted.

“We are sorry, Mr. Jarvis.”

Eddie smiled fondly and rubbed Venom’s cheek. He certainly was a good person, how could anyone want to kill him? He would make sure, the Avengers would see him with his eyes as well.

“I don’t have a physical presence, so you are not able to see me. We are glad to help you. Do you wish me to inform Mr. Stark? He’s preparing breakfast right now.”

“What? Oh- no… except you have to… I don’t know?”

When no answer came, he shrugged at Venom and walked down the corridor to the left. Like Jarvis had said, it led right into the huge living area. Eddie took a second to check, who was there, before he took a deep breath and walked in. Venom was hidden under his skin again, but he could feel how uneasy and nervous his alien friend was.

On the couch sat Hawkeye with a woman, probably the Black Widow. They were playing some video game on the huge TV, now pausing it for Eddie.

“G-good morning! Is this spot free?” He asked and sat down, after they just nodded.

“My name is Eddie, it’s really nice to meet you,” He tried, but was interrupted by Venom.

That TV is bigger than our window, Eddie! We want that one!

“Sh, I’m talking, we won’t get such a big TV! Where would you even have it, my room is way too small,” He talked into a different direction, probably looking like an idiot in front of the others. Venom did him the favour to form a head next to his shoulder and talk aloud.

“And we want the console too! That looks so fun! We could play while you sleep!”

“You won’t play, while I sleep, you should sleep too!”

“We don’t sleep Eddie! We are awake and bored. You allowed us to watch Netflix on low volume.”

“Oh? I didn’t remember, sorry… where was I- Ah, yes,” He turned to the two adults again and smiled, “Like he said, I don’t remember, but I’m aware, we had a bad first meeting. I just wanted to take the chance, to make it right.”

Hawkeye looked at him and sighted.

“Look, boy, you don’t have to convince us. I was there, I saw how you protected him and how he protected you. Even when Stark and Thor attacked you, you didn’t even fight back. I’m honestly curious about getting to know your alien friend better, call me Clint, okay?”

“I’m Natasha,” Natasha said and nodded, then held her controller in front of Venom. “You want to play? Clint is not much of a challenge for a rookie.”

“Hey! I beat you last time!” Clint tried to defense himself. “Because you kicked away my controller, that doesn’t count!”

Venom took the controller excitedly with a formed hand, careful not to break it and listened to Natasha’s and Clint’s instructions to use it. Eddie looked around the room and saw Mr. Stark on the kitchen corner, cooking something. It smelled like bacon and scrambled egg. On the balcony in front of the living room was Thor, talking to someone, he didn’t recognise.

It seemed, Jarvis hadn’t informed Mr. Stark about him so far, he didn’t seem to have noticed him. At least Venom was too distracted by the game to be nervous. Clint and Natasha asked questions, seemingly smalltalk, but Eddie knew better. They were both spies, they knew how to ask someone for personal details, without asking them too obviously.

“Eddie, we really need this game, please? We don’t need a big TV !”

He turned around and looked into the big opal eyes.

“Uh, let’s see, when we get home, okay?” He suggested. Maybe he could afford a second hand console from somewhere? Venom seemed to enjoy this game and he could absolutely understand, that he was bored, while Eddie was sleeping. And only watching Netflix was probably boring as well after a while.

Venom purred happily playing with Clint.

“Breakfast is ready,” Mr. Stark said and turned around. He froze for a second, when he saw Eddie, but then just got another plate from the cabinet. Natasha and Clint paused the game and got up. “Hungry?” Clint asked and smiled at the alien.
“Always.”

When Eddie sat down on the big table next to Clint, the door opened and Steve, Dr. Banner and Flash came inside. “Oh great, breakfast,” Steve said and sat down next to him. “S-should I get Peter and the rest?” Eddie asked, slightly overwhelmed by being surrounded by so many people. Especially celebrities like the Avengers. “Oh no, Peter usually eats later. Let them sleep, I’m sure your friends are really exhausted after their long flight,” Banner said with a smile and filled his plate with food. “Help yourself,” Mr. Stark said to his direction, without even looking up. Steve and Flash were talking about some training stuff, the supersoldier even praised the quarterbacks speed and stamina.

Not only bacon and eggs were on the table, Stark had prepared different kinds of fruit, pancakes, buns, toast, hash browns, Eddie was overwhelmed.

Eddie, what’s this? It smells amazing.

“Uhm, that’s basically shredded, pan-fried potatoes,” Eddie explained in a hushed voice.

Like tater tots?

“Yeah, tater tots are made from potato too, do you like them?”

We love tater tots! Please, can we have some shredded tater tots?

He put some of those on his plate, along with some pancakes with chocolate cream. Before he could even grab a fork to start eating, the symbiote came out of his lower arm and ate all in one bite. “What the- Venom!”

Next to him, Clint stared at the now empty plate and then started to burst out laughing. “Guess, he was hungry?” He laughed and on his other side, Steve joined the laughter. Venom just purred and rubbed his head against his cheek.
 
After the breakfast, everyone helped to tidy up a bit, before Steve asked Flash to join him in the gym for another round. Flash walked by him, without even looking at him. Venom made a pained noise in the back of his head.

The rest of the day he spent with Dr. Banner and Clint, answering questions, socialising and getting to know each other. Simply showing, that Venom was not a threat. At some point Steve joined them, but Flash was nowhere to be seen. He probably avoided him now. Was he ashamed of crying in front of him? But Eddie couldn’t count the times he had cried in front of Flash… Even Annie and Dan were able to join them in the living room. The only people, he didn't get to talk with were Thor and Stark.
 
He rolled on his back and sighted. another night, where just could not find sleep and the floor was not getting any more comfortable. "Hey, V? Let’s go for a small walk on the corridor. Maybe I’ll be able to sleep then and I won’t wake the others up…” Sneaking as silent as possible to the door he noticed, that Flash was not in the room. But all his stuff was still here, even the bedding?

He walked down the corridor and got to the living room.
Eddie, we want to go outside,
Venom asked and eddie sighted. “We can’t go outside… we are still in custody, remember?”

Venom moved their head towards the glass door leading to the balcony.

“Oh, I guess… as long as we don’t go too close to the edge, it should be fine?” He hesitated, hand hanging over the door knob.

Heights are no good for you, we know!

“Uhm, Jarvis? Is it okay if I go outside or will this trigger some kind of alarm?”

“You may go outside, The alarm won’t go off, don’t worry. Just tell me, if you want to go inside again, leaving the door open would trigger an alarm.”

“Ah sure! Thank you.”

He went outside and closed the door behind him. Now he saw, what he had meant, there was no door knob from outside. With that many people being able to fly it was probably safer. On the other side, this was only a glass door?

Venom poured out his skin and sat on his shoulder.

It’s beautiful. All those lights…

“Yeah, it really is.”

Some of Venom’s mass pooled in the palm of his hand and formed a human-line hand that grabbed Eddie’s.

We like holding hands, Eddie! Your heart races and the chemicals in your brain taste so good.

“Taste good? I hope, you’ll leave me some and don’t eat all of them,” He laughed and squeezed Venom’s hand. It felt familiar and nice. He really enjoyed having someone so close. Someone he didn’t have to explain his broken brain to, his sometimes strange habits or his past. Venom just knew and still he accepted and loved him.

“We would never trade you for someone else. You are perfect, Eddie! We never get tired of telling you, even if you have bad days, we take care of you,”
Venom said and Eddie could barely believe it. But he just knew, that Venom meant it.

“Thank you. I hope, I can provide the same support for you. I want to make you happy.”

“With Eddie, we are happy.”

When it eventually got too chilly, they went back in, walking right into Tony Stark, fetching himself something from the fridge. The clock above the door told Eddie, that it was around midnight by now.

“Seems I’m not the only one restless tonight,” Stark said without looking up.

“Want something? Milk with honey?”
“We would like some chocolate milk, please.”

“Right, chocolate… You told Banner, you need the chocolate because of some chemicals, you also mentioned raw meat and seafood. I guess phenethylamine is the thing that keeps you healthy, am I right?”

“Yes, this is correct.”

“Good. I want to show you something, follow me.” Stark said and gave him a pack of chocolate milk when he passed by. Eddie hesitated and felt Venom being insecure about this offer.

“It’s not a trap or something, just follow me,” The billionaire said, when he waited at the door, his arms full with stuff he fetched from the fridge.

They walked down some corridor until they reached an elevator, that brought them a few levels down. “You know, ever since we learned about this species from Drakes reports, I was really worried. From his documents, the symbiotes are a race, that only live to consume. Thor’s stories about them were similar, so I automatically assumed, you are a threat for this world.”

“Answer us one thing. Some people on this planet want to see this world burn. Some are hostie, dangerous, destructive. They judge others for having different beliefs and different races. Would you consider humanity a threat for the whole universe, because of those few?”

Stark looked at him and seemed to understand, he only nodded to himself, instead of answering.

“It is no wonder, that your Asgardian only knows the conqueror kind of our species. Because the peaceful don’t jump from host to host. They search their soulmate and stay with them for life. We were born in a pack of conqueror’s, but we never believed in their ways. We wanted to find our soulmate and we found him here. We helped protecting this earth.”

The elevator opened and they stepped outside.

“I get your point. I really do. And I apologize for acting before asking, but I hope you understand, that protecting this earth has priority.”

Eddie didn't really get it. They could always have asked him, before attacking him. But what had happened couldn’t be changed and holding a grudge was not really smart under these conditions. Stark had apologised, which was probably more than he could ask for with the billionaire.

He just nodded, when Stark looked at him expectantly and then turned to see, where they were. Stark stepped forward to put his stuff on the table.

“This is my workshop. Here I work, when I can’t sleep. I really had my best ideas here. Which is where you come in.”

We don’t like this. Let’s go up again, we don’t want to be alone with him.

He sent a soothing ‘calm down’ in the symbiotes direction and crossed his arms. “Where I come in?”

“Exactly. Now that we know, your symbiote is not one of the conqueror kind, one problem still remains. He’s weakened, because chocolate alone can not provide him with enough substance. Our measurements showed, that he’s running on reserve energy for a while now.”

“V, is that true?” He asked and the symbiote stirred somewhere around his stomach.

We are fine. Chocolate keeps us healthy and sane, we don’t need anything else.

“But is it enough for you? Is there something, that would provide you with more phene- sorry, what?”

Phenethylamine. We found another source, but… only emergencies!

“Tell me.”

We swear, we did it to protect an innocent girl! Just once...

“V, just tell me.”

Brains…

Eddie froze. Did they really eat someone’s brain? He couldn’t imagine, agreeing to something like this.

We protected her! He-

Eddie shook his head. “Not important now, what happened happened. Mr. Stark, what is it you want to say with that?”

The technician just sighted. “Finished talking to your alien friend? It’s really weird, if he doesn’t talk aloud.” He asked eating a pop-tart. "Don't tell Thor, I eat his pop-tarts, yes?"

“Yeah, that’s how private conversations work. I just don’t know yet how to answer him without talking. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”

Stark nodded and walked to one of his workbenches. “This is what I worked on for the last few nights. It’s a serum of pure, artificial phenethylamine. It could help nourishing your symbiote and providing him with the energy he needs to function on a full level.”

“That… does it work?” He asked and looked at the small bottle.

“We won’t know, until we tested it,” Stark said and held the bottle out to him. He took it and smelled it. It did smell like chocolate, but he was worried. What if he would try to poison Venom?

A small black tendril wrapped around the bottle and for a second, Eddie thought he’d throw it away. For the split of a second he knew, Venom was planning exactly that. But then it stopped, dipping the tip of a tendril inside.

Eddie! Not poison!!! Food!!!!

“Woah! D-don’t shout inside of my head, that’s way too loud!”

So tasty! Delicious!

“I think, he likes it… can he really have it?”

“Sure, I’m about to produce more, I just wanted to see, if it would work.” Stark smiled satisfied, “Just maybe don’t eat the gla-”

But Venom had already gulped down the whole portion along with the glass.

“I swear, on one beautiful day, I will die of food poisoning because of you,” Eddie sighted.
 
When he got back to his room to eventually find sleep, he sneaked in as quiet as possible. Which was not really necessary, since he found Flash snoring loudly on his spot. The others didn't seem to be bothered. Maybe they were used to the snoring?

We never heard him making those noises... he is usually a very quiet sleeper, like
you.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

He really wished for this day to end finally. But he just couldn’t fall asleep. Some rustling from the other side of the room made clear, that either Peter or Eddie had been shifting under their covers. Maybe awake as well?

Flash didn’t know. He could hear Venom’s soft purr, then some more sheets rustling.

“That sounds nice, but V, trust is not built within a minute… And my mind is still very occupied with understanding the whole ‘being host for an alien creature, who is also my boyfriend’-thing… I try my best, you know, I already got way out of my comfort zone... “

Out of his comfort zone… by what? He doubted, Eddie was talking about Venom, he really seemed comfortable with him. Eddie had gotten out of his comfort zone by hugging him, earlier this day. He bit his lower lip and looked up the ceiling. This really felt like being stabbed through the chest.

“I know… You have no way in giving me my memories back somehow? I mean, you remember, can’t you simply show me?”

Please, Venom, you just have to find a way, he silently prayed and closed his eyes. Please show him, that I am the one whos able to make him happy. I changed, I am not the douche I was before.

“Lost? So… my memories won’t come back…”

What? For a second it felt like he couldn’t breathe anymore. If Eddie wouldn’t get his memories back, it meant, he would never trust him again? He really wanted to believe, he could once again make him trust him again, but truth be told… he didn’t know if he had the strength. He loved Eddie with all his heart, if his memories wouldn’t return… maybe it was better to let him go? To let him heal and live his own life. This Eddie was probably better off without him...

“Oh… Okay… triggered, huh? But how?”

Flash had heard enough. His memories needed to be triggered. But how?
He turned around and put the ear plugs of his smartphone into his ears and closed his eyes again. His music finally helped him to fall into a restless sleep.
 
He really didn’t sleep long, but decided he couldn’t just lie around anymore. The clock of his smartphone told him, it was around four, early enough. He got up and collected his running shoes and a fresh pair of clothes from the suitcase next to the door.

Running would help him. Like always, when his urges were about to overpower him.

“Flash, where are you going?”

He turned around and smiled, sneaking closer around the bed. “Sh, not so loud… I’m going out jogging.”

“It’s too early… can’t you stay with us?”

“No, Eddie wouldn’t like me to sit here when he gets up… it’s kinda creepy.”

“You are our boyfriend, it’s considered romantic watching his special one sleep.”

“But not if your special one can’t remember your relationship and is scared of you… I still love both of you. Just give him time, I’m fine, okay?”

He kissed Venom’s head and then got up to get dressed and leaving the room as quiet as possible.
 
On the corridor down to the stairs he saw another figure.

“Good morning, son,” Steve Rogers greeted him with a tired smile, “Can’t sleep?”

“No… decided to go for a run…”

“At this time through New York? You’ll get yourself stabbed. I was on my way to go jogging down in the Avengers training centre. Not as good as a park by sunrise, but you are more than welcome to join me!” Surprised, Flash couldn’t do anything else than nod. “Sure! Can’t promise, I can keep up with you, but I’ll try.”
 
In the end, they really had an amazing time. Flash was pretty sure, that Steve had held himself back, but he had a great time. And not once he thought about anything but his training. After their shower they went for breakfast. Steven had told him, that Tony was stress-cooking almost every morning!

In the living room, he saw that Eddie was already sitting on the table as well. He wanted to leave right away, he wasn’t too hungry, but Steve already offered him a chair next to him. Most of the attention was on Venom.

“Hey, Flash? How about for another round after the breakfast? I’m sure our fitness centre should be to your liking.”

“Oh, sure! It would be an honour!”

He passed Eddie, trying not to look at him. He didn’t have the heart. He longed to kiss him, it felt like a part of him being ripped apart.
 
After another two hours of training, he decided to go out for a walk. He had to be anywhere, but in the same room with Eddie. He thought back to when he had offered to take Eddie on a vacation after his trainings camp. It all had been so beautiful in his mind. Flash knew exactly, that Eddie never had been on a vacation before their camping trip. He had wanted to show Eddie and Venom the beach…
 
He spent the whole day walking through the city, buying some souvenirs and some gifts for Eddie and Venom as well.

On his way back he heard loud screaming coming from a bar. He shouldn’t… but he could use the distraction. It was only watching a game, right? He went inside and sat on the bar, ordered a coke.

The game was intense, the crowd was too. He found a group to watch the game with pretty fast. And after a while he couldn’t count how many beers he had drowned anymore.

After the game, the group decided to go to another bar. Who was he to say no?

It was past midnight, when he arrived back home. Eddie was not in the room. He could barely find his own bedding. At least he didn’t see everything twice in the dark, when he felt his way along the wall. He barely made it to the floor.
 
Flash woke up the next morning with a horrible headache. He didn’t even remember, how he had made it home or when he had managed to fall asleep. He groaned and at up, rubbing his face between his hands. What time was it? He looked for his phone but didn’t find it next to him. Not in the pockets of his jeans as well… shit, he hadn’t lost it?
“Are you looking for something?”

When he looked up, Dan was sitting on the bed holding up his phone. Noone else was in the room, it was probably late morning. He dropped back on his back and held his hand out. “Gimme the phone, Dan,” He mumbled a bit slurred.

“341 days.”

Flash didn’t answer. He didn’t need that speech now.

“341 days… Flash, not even 4 weeks and you would have been sober for a whole year. Why did you do that?”

“Why? What do you think? It’s not like I can do any more damage, right? He wouldn’t care, even if he knew!”

“That you quit drinking because of Eddie? I’m sure he would be proud if he knew. Memories or not. Flash, it was you who said that you hated yourself when you drank… that you drowned all the hate and the abuse from your father… You were the one asking me for help. And I’m not going to let you down. You can’t do that anymore.”

“Who cares?” Flash shouted and got up. “Give me my fucking phone, I don’t need your lectures, okay?” He grabbed his phone and stormed out the room. Who was Dan even to tell him what to do? He was so sick of trying so hard. Maybe he was not the good guy after all? This was all a fucking joke, the universe had decided that he couldn’t change. That he shouldn’t be on the good side. He left the Stark Tower, not even knowing where to go.
 
Eddie just came back from breakfast with a bit of food for Dan, when he saw Flash storming out in another direction. He asked Venom to knock, because his arms were loaded. “Uh, hey,” He greeted, when he got inside. The room smelled horribly, reminded him of all those parties where the students drank way too much.

He dropped the food on the bed and sat down next to him.

“Did something happen? You look upset…”

“Yeah, it’s just… I worry about Flash. He’s not himself… I can’t really… talk about it, I promised him, sorry.”

“Oh, I understand… maybe I can try to talk to him today? I feel guilty about being so cold to him...  It seemed, like he really tried and you all trust him. I still can’t believe he actually loves me, but… I think, I’m okay with talking to him in private.”

Dan smiled and nodded. “Yes, that sounds good. I’m sure he'd really appreciates it.” Venom stole some of Dan’s pancakes, but Dan didn’t mind.
 
The day went by peaceful he was even able to talk to Thor about everything and the God of Thunder seemed to be very interested in the different cultures within the Klyntar species. He was sorry about the prejudgement, but Eddie could see why he had been worried.

“If you want, I can show you some things, son of Brock. I could take you for a flight over the city.”

“We would gladly take the offer, but Eddie won’t fly, he’s scared of heights.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Brockson! But I also found an amazing place, the man of iron once showed me! It’s called Shawarma Palace!”

“That sounds amazing, I’d love to go there!” Thor smiled. “I’m really sorry, you lost your memories… but I can tell that this lightning boy really likes you.”

“You mean Flash? I still can’t really believe it… Before I wrote this article… when I was still invincible to him… He was actually my first crush…”

“Then it’s meant to be. Don’t wait, take this opportunity. I’ll have to leave now, farewell, Brockson. I'll be back for the dinner.” Thor left them alone and Eddie got up as well.

We should look for Flash now… it’s getting dark soon, you wanted to talk to him today.

“Yes, let’s find him, okay?”

He was actually surprisingly comfortable with the thought of asking him to talk to him. He even had thought about where they could go. The balcony seemed like the perfect place, peaceful and they wouldn’t be bothered by anyone else. And the view had something very calming.
 
“Flash? No, he didn’t come back yet,” Annie wondered and looked to Dan. The surgeon to be looked up. “Hey Jarvis, is Flash in the tower?”

“No, Flash Thompson left the tower around 11 a.m. and didn’t come back since.” Dan’s face was more than concerning to Eddie. Flash was strong and tall, there was no reason for Dan to look so worried… unless… he knew that something was happening.

“It’s okay, we will go look for him,” Eddie offered and got up.

We can find him.
 
They left the tower with Stark’s permission and Venom led the way through the alleys. New York was a huge city and without Venom’s help he would probably be lost before he even walked one block from the tower.

Oh come on, the tower is so huge, you’d find your way home without us.

“Probably, but it wouldn’t be so fun.” He said, pointing at his earplugs, when he got some weird glances. It was already getting dark and without Venom, he wouldn’t feel safe at all.

He’s near. Behind us.

Eddie turned around just in time to see Flash, before he grabbed his arm and pulled him into the next alley.

Before Eddie could say a word, he found himself pressed against the cold stone.

“What the fuck are you doing outside at this time?” Flash growled. He looked really angry and Eddie was immediately met with his biggest fears again. “U-uh- w-we went looking for you,” He mumbled, not able to look into those angry eyes, but he also noticed the stench of booze in his breath..

Flash let go of him., “Yeah, like you fucking care.”, he growled and turned to leave. “Wait!” Eddie grabbed his arm to hold him back, but that just managed to make him more angry. The quarterback turned around fast and pushed him against the wall, elbow pressing down on Eddie’s chest.

“What. Do. You. Want?”

“T-talk! I just- I wanted to talk!” Eddie said hasty. He hadn’t felt so incredibly helpless and scared since the party. Had he been right? Had Flash just played nice around the others?

We don’t understand? What did we do wrong?

Even Venom sounded utterly helpless with the situation.

“Talk? Ha!” At least Flash let go of him. “Yeah, now you want to talk? Did Dan send you? He should fucking mind his own business.”

“Flash, please-”

“No! You got what you wanted, okay? I'll leave you alone, I don’t bother you anymore, why do you follow me then? Make it even harder for me, do you even know how I feel? You don’t care. Then don’t act like you do! I can’t do this anymore, okay? I tried. I really did. But I won’t walk around and act like everything is fine, when it’s not. Just leave me the fuck alone, okay?”

It was only the heartbroken whine in the back of his mind, that kept Eddie from accepting and leaving.

“I won’t leave you alone, Flash… You’re drunk, you don’t know, what you are saying… I only ask for a chance, okay?”

Flash laughed, but his voice had no humor. Without saying another word, he grabbed Eddie by the front of his shirt and pulled him closer, violently kissed him and then pushed him against the wall without breaking the kiss. Being trapped between the cold stone in his back and Flash’s massive body only managed to make him panic more. He clawed Flash’s arm and tried to push him away, but he was powerless against him.

Flash let go of him and looked at him with empty eyes.

“I love you. I really do, but you only see the monster I had been… no, the monster I am. I only say it one more time: Leave me alone.”

“I won’t! Flash, come back with me, we can talk tomorrow when you are sober again, I don’t want to talk to you now when you’re this dr-” Eddie didn’t even manage to finish his sentences, before Flash punched him right in the face. The force threw him to the ground, even if Venom’s fast reflexes had prevented him from feeling the pain.

You’re bleeding, we will heal it, don’t worry!
 
Eddie stared to the ground, tasting the iron on his tongue. He was barely able to realise, what had happened. Why would Flash hit him? Tears dropped down on the pavement. Nothing had changed. Everything was like he used to know it. But why was he so upset then?

He had allowed himself to hope. Hope, that Flash had changed and that he was allowed to be happy. Life was a fucking joke and he now understood, that whatever he would do, it would just end with him on the ground, bleeding and crying.

“E-eddie…” Flash whispered as if in shock. He stared at him and suddenly fell to his knees. ´”Eddie, I’m sorry, I didn’t- I won’t-”
He wrapped his arms around Eddie and pulled him close. Eddie could feel him trembling, while he held him and whispered tiny apologies.

But inside, Eddie felt dead. He couldn’t even bring himself to be scared. He just felt nothing at all. “Then why did you do it?” He asked and if he would have felt anything, it would probably be surprise by how calm he sounded.

No, not calm… apathetic.

“I’m… I’m an alcoholic… I drank all the time, even in school I was drunk half the time. I hated myself so much- I…. after you called me out in the gym and showed me how  much i was like my abusive dad, I stopped,” Flash sounded hesistant.

“Only Dan knows. I had been sober for almost a year now… 341 days. I wanted to tell you, if I had managed a year. I wanted you to be proud of me… but- I can’t….” Flash started sobbing and pressed his face in the crock of Eddie’s neck. “I just can’t.”

We don’t understand… Eddie… help us, please.

“You say, you love me.”

“I do! I really do.”

“Then prove it.”

Flash shot up and looked into his eyes, desperate to take every chance.

“I will!”

“However hard it is?”

“I’d do everything!”

Eddie nodded. “You’ll stop drinking. And every day you are able not to drink… I’ll allow you to sleep next to me. To kiss me and to hold me. I’ll allow you to be my boyfriend. But if you ever drink again, I will leave and never look back. Do you understand?”

Flash stared at him. “You- are you sure you want that?”

Tears ran down Eddie’s face, when he nodded. “You are a fucking idiot… but I- I always had a crush on you. I’ll fall in love with you again, I know it. But I won’t be with someone who is violent against me.”

“If you ever hit us again, we will eat you.”
Venom krept out of his skin and stared at Flash, looking more dangerous than ever.

“No eating people, Venom!” Eddie said but turned around to Flash, “But if you ever hit me again, I won’t stop him.”

“I won’t! Really, I won’t!” Flash sobbed and pulled him into a way too tight hug again.

Too wet as well, he’s sobbing on our hoodie…

Eddie wrapped his arms around Flash’s shoulders as much as possible. “Calm down… we’ll go back, okay? And then we’ll go to sleep, yes?” Flash nodded against his shoulder and took a few deep breaths, before they both got up.

It took them a while to get back.
 
As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, Annie and Dan had already been waiting for them.

“Eddie! Flash! Where have you been? Your arm- what happened?”

Eddie looked down where Annie lifted his arm and saw, that his jacket was torn open. Probably from falling to the ground. “Oh, that- It’s nothing really! Some guys tried to mug us, but Flash found us and helped us, so Venom didn’t have to step in.”

He took Flash’s hand and smiled at him. Instead of answering, the quarterback simply nodded and looked away. They didn’t have to know the truth, it would only make things more complicated. Eddie felt more comfortable with the lie, even if Venom didn’t understand why.

They got to their room and Eddie got his bedding to the other side of the bed. Flash had already laid down. “Can I… sleep here?” He asked and literally felt Annie and Dan piercing his back with their gazes from behind. “If… you want?” Flash asked disbelieving. Eddie just put his pillow down next to Flash’s head and got down.

The blonde put his arm loosely around his hip and Eddie closed his eyes, relaxing slowly.

We don’t understand. He hurt you, why did you decide to trust him now?

//I know a few things about doing wrong things, when you are drunk.//

But you are not angry at him, we are angry!

//But he didn’t do it to hurt me, he was angry at himself. I understood that it never had been personally. He never hated me, only himself.//

He hated himself, so he hurt others?

//It probably won’t make sense to you, but it’s a very human thing… I always used to think of him as a monster, but he’s just broken… like me.//

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

When Eddie woke up in the morning he found himself in an almost painful bearhug. Flash was half lying on top of him and snored into his ear. And he was smelling… Eddie groaned and carefully tried to push him off, but Flash only wrapped his arms tighter around him.
Good Morning, Eddie. We already tried, but he doesn’t wake up. Dan and Annie got up and said, they would bring us some breakfast.
“Good morning, V… Thank you,” he mumbled and turned his head to look at Flash. The quarterback looked more peaceful, than he had ever seen him. Which brought his mind back to yesterday evening.
Eddie… Can we talk about yesterday?
The hesitating way Venom asked him made him curious. “Sure, tell me what bothers you.”Not that he had figured out what had happened himself, but he felt the symbiotes distress like it was his own. Maybe it was?
Flash hurt us. You felt so bad and suddenly nothing anymore. And when he started crying you decided to forgive him. Why? We told you he changed, but yesterday he proved that he didn’t change at all! We don’t want him to hurt us.
Eddie thought about what Venom said and closed his eyes. He didn’t want anyone to be part of this conversation, so he concentrated really hard to have it only in his mind.
Yesterday was different. When he had realised what he had done and started crying, I suddenly understood, that he did change. I know, this sounds illogical, but he never was this monster, I made of him in my mind. He is only human and he’s hurting. Someone hurt him really bad and he tried to cope with it the same way I did.

I went into depression and mental diseases because of it, he turned to alcohol that made him aggressive.

So what you are saying is… that he is exactly like you? Only that he didn’t develop a mental disease but alcohol disease?

Exactly. You all told me that he changed. Why should he act like he did only to fall back after a whole year. I believe him, that he did change, but the alcohol made him angry again because he felt helpless in this situation.
Eddie could feel Venom hesitating, before he felt the equivalent of a nod.
We trust him a lot and he was very good to us. If he will not do it again, we are able to forgive it.
Flash suddenly groaned in his sleep and then turned on his back.
We are free!
Eddie grinned and sat up. He opened the curtains and smiled, when he heard another muffled complain from Flash, who turned on his stomach to bury his face in the pillow."Good morning, sunshine!" He chirped and turned to get some clothes from his suitcase. Leaning down in front of the mirror what was attached to the wardrobe next to where the suitcases were he suddenly saw something that he didn't notice before. Of course, he had sneaked out of the room when the others had slept for the last few days and had dressed himself in the dark.He stopped dead in his tracks."Venom… what's that?"Slowly he dropped the hoodie he had just grabbed and moved closer to the mirror.On his neck, right under the line of the hoodie he had been wearing was a dark blue but seemingly fading spot.Standing upright it was not even visible unless he pulled the fabric down a bit.
Bite mark
"I see that-"
Then why do you ask?
"Because I- Venom!! W-who bit me?"He felt a tendril on his neck, carefully nudging him to turn his head towards-"Oh…" He felt his face heat up and looking back in the mirror, he saw his bright red cheeks. Carefully he pulled down his hoodie again and touched the dark spot.It didn't hurt to his surprise, but suddenly he felt something like… pride?
When we first were intimate together it was just between the two of us. And the first time we left marks on our body, we wanted to heal them right away but you asked us not to.

We didn't understand but you felt proud of them. Wearing them like a trophy.
"Yes… it's … kind of pretty?"
It is. Pretty on your pale skin.
"I'm not that pale!""You are…" Flash mumbled in his pillow."Yeah great, thanks," Eddie answered with a laugh and then turned to get his hoodie."Are you feeling a bit better?" He asked while undressing his hoodie. Flash looked up but had to look down again obviously bothered by the light.Eddie sat on the bed and looked down on the quarterback. He could imagine the hangover but he didn't feel the slightest empathy. It was his own fault for drinking so much.But he was neither an asshole nor cruel."Can you get up?"Flash only grumbled into his pillow again."Can you get up and kiss me good morning?"
Extrinsic motivation?
It seemed to work since Flash was already fighting to push himself up. He managed to sit up but only fell back on his ass and leaned on the wall.
At least he tried?
He did and Eddie saw that."Do you feel like puking?""Nah… it's just my head that kills me," Flash mumbled, "and the memories…""Oh, well I hope so. You hit me."Flash clenched his fists and looked away.
You are torturing him… we thought you forgave him?
Eddie nodded and got up, crossed the few inches between them and sat down next to Flash to lean on the wall."You fucked up. You had your moment to cry and apologize for it yesterday and you have your moment to feel guilty now. But then I want you to get up and be the man everyone tried to convince me you are. Can you promise me that?"Flash sighted and then leaned forward, covered his face with his hands."I don't know… I fucked up so bad. How can you even sit here with me? I don't understand…"Eddie carefully put his hand on Flash's back and when the taller man didn't try to push him away, he rubbed his hand over the broad muscles."Hey … listen, I'm really bad with that, okay? Push talking others, when I can't even motivate myself to get up in the morning some days… look at me?"Flash seemed to fight himself, before he turned and looked at him. His eyes were full of sadness, shame and guilt.Eddie got on his knees and pulled him into a tight embrace but he felt that Flash didn't even dare to lift his arms. He buried his face in the crock of Eddie's neck and just relaxed in the hug."I love you so much … the way you looked at me after you woke up- it- it just broke me," Flash whispered, "I never want to be the reason for you to be this scared anymore.""I'm- I think-I'm not scared of you anymore, Flash. It's okay… alright? You- you can hug me.I meant what I say yesterday. I give you the chance and I want you to fight. I'm aware that being addicted is not a choice, but I want to help you. You made it almost one year and I'm so proud of that. I'm sorry that I'm the reason you fell back.""No!!! It's not your fault, Eddie!"Flash got up and looked to him in shock."Don't- don't think that…"Eddie lifted a hand to cup his face, smiled softly at him before-"What the fuck???"He stared at his arm. The black paint all over his shoulder.Before Flash could answer he shot up and ran to the mirror."That's- oh no no no! T-that's a tattoo??"
"We helped you design it! It's beautiful!"
Eddie couldn't express with words what he felt when he stared at it open-mouthed. Behind him Flash was finally on his feet and stood behind him now."It really is…" Flash carefully touched the black skin on his back, before he embraced him and kissed his shoulder. It still felt weird, being touched like this but on the other hand… he enjoyed it.His heart jumped and he blushed again."Can I kiss you?""Maybe? If you brush your teeth?"Flash laughed against his neck and sighted then."I probably smell horrible… wanna shower with me?""Take it slow, Romeo!"Eddie turned around in between Flash's arms and wrapped his arms around his torso, pressed his face against his chest."Probably should get used to this soon, mh?"Flash only huffed and pat his back before he shoved him away a bit. He kissed Eddie's forehead before he turned around to go to the bathroom. 
He's showering, we should take our meds!
True, Venom was right. He took them and then finally dressed himself. Flash was barely any good even after the shower. After they had breakfast with Dan and Annie he had to force the quarterback to leave the room so they could open the window. Hopefully the scent wouldn't stay there. In the living room they seemed to interrupt a meeting of the Avengers but as soon as they got inside, it seemed they acted like nothing ever happened. They spent the day relaxing with Clint, Scott Lang and his adorable daughter playing video games. Flash was barely able to hold the controller, suffering from his hangover.Eddie could feel Dan watching them closely. He seemed to be genuinely worried about them but it still bothered him. He was old enough to take care of himself and Venom was there to help him too!It had been Dan who had tried to convince him of trusting Flash and now he was acting like trusting Flash was a big mistake? In the evening Annie and Dan asked them to sleep in the bed as well. Peter had been visiting a friend and was not sleeping in the tower and the bed was big enough for all of them.Flash was sleeping on the right side with Eddie next to him while Eddie was being sandwiched by Flash and Dan, who slept in the middle next to Annie.Being as tired as he had been all day, Flash fell asleep fast with his arms wrapped around Eddie's middle, spooning him from behind and his nose pressed against Eddie's neck.He couldn't fall asleep right away but being trapped between so many people without a distraction made Venom nervous and Eddie could feel it.The symbiote sept out of his skin and pooled between him and Dan before he formed a pillowlike form.
We want to cuddle… cuddle us, Eddie!
The host smiled and pulled him closer, carefully kissing the top of the black mass. A long tongue licked his cheek and he felt Venoms joy.He massaged the black skin and heard some rustling next to him."Eddie, are you awake?" Dan whispered."Yes… can't sleep?"Dan sighted and turned towards him. The moonlight enabled him to see his figures."Annie hat mir erzählt, du sprichst Deutsch…?" (Annie told me you speak German...?)Eddie was surprised to hear him speak German."Yeah but since when-""I studied it for our trip to Europe, do you mind-? I kind of want to keep it private…""Oh, sicher. Was gibt's?" He simply asked. (Oh sure. What's up?)Dan seemed to think about how to express what he wanted to say in the foreign language."Du warst gestern nicht ehrlich. War er es?" (You weren't being honest yesterday. Was it him ?)"Ich hab erzählt was passiert ist. Was ist dein Problem? Ihr wolltet, dass ich mich gut mit ihm verstehe und ihm eine Chance geben, oder?" (I told you what had happened. What's your problem? You all wanted that I  himt givea another chance, right?)"Du sprichst zu schnell… aber ja, ich mache mir Sorgen. Ich hab nicht erwartet, dass er wieder anfängt zu trinken." (You are talking too fast... But yes, now I'm worried. I didn't expect him to start drinking again."Eddie could see what was bothering Dan. He knew of Flash's violent behaviour when he was drunk and he probably felt responsible."Wir sind okay. Wir haben miteinander gesprochen und ich möchte ihm eine Chance geben." (Wenn are fine. We talked to each other and I'll give him another chance.)Dan looked at him and nodded."Ihr seid ein süßes Paar … und er hat dich wirklich glücklich gemacht. Aber wenn er dir weh tut-" (You make a cute couple... And he really made you happy. But if he'll hurt you-)"Dann gibt es dich, Annie und Venom, die ihm vermutlich die Beine abhacken. Aber ich kann auf mich aufpassen. Ich weiß, ich wirke schwach wegen meiner Krankheit, aber ich bin es nicht." (Then there's you, Annie and Venom to cut off his legs. But I can protect myself. I know I appear week because of my disease, but I'm not.)Dan smiled and rubbed his arm."You are the strongest person I know… but even superheroes like you need sleep… sweet dreams.""Sleep well," Eddie answered and fell asleep soon. The next morning Dan and Annie for up earlier to go on a walk together and promised to bring some breakfast afterwards. Flash woke up right after they had left and he seemed to be in a better mood already.They cuddled for a while before Flash suddenly got up. "Hey… Can you sit up for a moment?" Flash asked before he hurried to his suitcase and threw out some clothes."I wanted to give it to you sooner… but I never knew if you actually felt something for me… we went shopping groceries together a few months ago, that was shortly after we got V back from the research facility and I bought a box of chocolate pralines… I wanted to give them to you so much sooner but it always felt weird- I carried them with me for half a year now? But now it just…"He turned around and sat down next to Eddie holding a box of pralines that looked so expensive that Eddie could probably pay his rent with them."Flash! I can't take this! It's so expensive."
"But it's chocolate!"
He looked up and saw the redness on Flash's cheeks and smiled. "Thank you!" Flash suddenly felt like his stomach was going to turn. Never had he imagined giving Eddie this under those circumstances. Or at all… he had been too scared to be rejected even when they had been an official item."Uhm… you… maybe want to open it…""Sure! We can share some for breakfast until Dan and Annie come back."Eddie opened the box and suddenly froze when he saw what was inside."I planned to give it to you for your birthday, but-Listen, I don't know if I have the right… especially now … but I know your bracelets have important meanings. I saw this one and thought… maybe you wanted one that reminded you of my love… it's- I bought it before-I shouldn't have-"When he looked up he saw that Eddie was still staring at the package, tears running down his cheeks."W-what? Eddie!"Fuck, he shouldn't have pulled that box out now. He really didn't want to upset Eddie further right the moment where he was actually willing to talk to him again."It's beautiful! Is it really for me?" Eddie suddenly asked with a small cute hiccup in the end. He looked up and took the bracelet from the box to look at it up close."Those are-""Our initials, yes."In a flat part of the silver were the letters FEV engraved in a beautifully curved font. The silver plate was wrapped around an expensive leather band closed by an expensive silver clasp."It stands for … our pack. Venom called us that before and I-" Flash was not even able to finish when Eddie suddenly jumped at him and threw his arms around his neck."It's beautiful! Flash- thank you!" He sobbed and clung tight to him. Flash was overwhelmed by the sudden affection and wrapped his arms around Eddie's trembling body."I really love you. More than anything," Flash whispered against his neck and closed his eyes. He felt Venoms warm tendrils wrap around him in a motion to join the hug. A soft knock on the door announced Dan and Annie who brought the breakfast."Ah sorry, we are interrupting a moment?" Dan asked but didn't move to leave the room again. Instead he just sat down on the bed and spread the plates with food in the middle. Eddie leaned back and bit his lower lip, kind of embarrassed. He looked down on the bracelet and let his fingers slide over the letters on the silver part. His head was hurting...Annie knelt down in front of him and smiled. She took the bracelet and put it on his arm right to the others. That was when Eddie noticed another new black bracelet that had already been on his arm before. He carefully touched them and smiled.
We bought it for you.
"I… remember," he whispered and couldn't believe it.He remembered going to the mall with his friends and letting Venom chose a bracelet for him."But you… make a much prettier bracelet…"
You remember?
"Eddie, did you just say- what do you remember?" Dan asked and Flash was also right next to him again."Not sure … everything, I think…" How should he know what he didn't remember?He turned to look at Flash and couldn't stop trembling. He remembered everything.
Our bracelet! You called it a reminder of our love. It really was!
"Yes it was… thank you, V"He couldn't keep himself from sobbing into the crock of his elbow trying to dry his tears. He couldn't believe, how much he had hurt Flash. But now he remembered again.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Eddie finally could remember parts of his past few months again, including his relationship with Flash and getting to know and love Venom. His memory was not back completely, he often found himself confused about things, but mostly he was just happy to be back.It really felt like he was gone for quite a while, but he still remembered what had happened while he didn’t remember. If that made any sense?
It does, now stop confusing yourself!
“I’m not!” Eddie whispered and poked the black mass in front of him.“You’re not?” Flash mumbled tiredly and pulled him closer. The quarterback was lying behind him and now kissed his neck softly.
“He is overthinking stuff again”
Eddie grinned and mumbled a soft “Traitor” before he felt the hand on his stomach sliding under his shirt up to his chest. “Stop overthinking, you should be sleeping, Ed,” Flash mumbled helpfully. He was probably more than exhausted from their reunion. They had celebrated his return with their friends and after that only the three of them.Eddie still felt the sweet soreness, when he turned around to cuddle closer to Flash.“I’m not overthinking, I’m just happy.” He kissed Flash and the symbiote pooled between the two of them.“Good, we have a busy day ahead of us,” Flash answered and began to snore lightly after a few minutes. He always fell asleep easily, Eddie was a bit envious sometimes.
We could always make you sleep easily.
//No, I should be able to find sleep on my own, I just take longer than other people, but that’s okay. Since I have you and Flash, I kind of love this moment… he’s so cute when he’s falling asleep.//
He sometimes even talks in his sleep. You never did that.
Eddie smiled and closed his eyes to concentrate on letting his body rest. The next morning, he woke up by a soft nudge in his ribs.
We are hungry, wake up!
“Mmm… V- can you not wake me up? You know, I have chocolate for you in the drawer,” Eddie mumbled in his pillow and didn’t move one bit. Much to Venom’s annoyance apparently, since the symbiote nudged him again, even harder this time.
We are not at home!
For a second, Eddie lied still. Then he got up so fast, that he was dizzy for a second. Where were they?
Avengers tower! We got here after they found out about us. Flash, Dan and Annie are here too, but they already went to breakfast.
“Right… yeah… then let’s join them, okay?”The symbiote pooled out from his stomach and formed an upper body, carefully taking his head between his huge, black hands.
“Are you feeling well? We still have no full access to your memories…”
“I’m alright, thank you. I just got myself confused, you know how I am,” He smiled and kissed Venom’s palm. The alien surely looked like he was blushing.“Now come, you are hungry right? Avengers tower, you said… should I dress in something special?”
“You wore one of your hoodies and jeans, like usual.”
Eddie nodded and after getting dressed quickly, he followed Venom’s instructions to the living room.
We can just go in, don’t worry. We are still not cleared to leave the building, but we can move freely inside.
He stepped inside the living room and suddenly found himself in the middle of the whole main team.“Good morning, Eddie! I already heard that your memories have recovered! I’m so glad!” Dr. Banner greeted him.“Oh- erm- T-thank you,” He mumbled and took a step back. All those eyes on him. All those important people who did great things, now looking at him, like they would expect him to do just the same. Or the exact opposite.As if they couldn’t decide if he was a possible member or threat.
Panicking again. Go to Flash, he’s to your left.
Eddie turned around without another word and walked straight towards his boyfriend, wishing he could just be invincible for now.
We can be. But there is no reason. No one can hurt you.
“Good morning, babe,” Flash greeted and hugged him, before carefully shoving him so that Flash blocked the sight to the rest of the room. Eddie was aware, that he had met all this people already, still it didn’t feel like it. He barely remembered, as if the memories from the last few days just vanished. Just like the bits of a dream you remembered in the morning, that became less and less aware of.“Can we… go back to the room for breakfast?” He whispered and looked up to Flash.The taller man smiled softly. “We could, but you should stay here and get to know them.”“Maybe I don’t want to… I want to go home, Flash.”Flash nodded. “I know. Just give them a chance, yeah?”Was Flash kidding him? Giving the Avengers a chance? Wasn’t it the exact opposite?“I’m not sure, if I want that… they see me as a threat, they attacked us,” He whispered and sighted. Venom told him, it was okay. That they no longer meant a threat and that they actually tried to make their life easier.That Dr. Banner even tried to produce an artificial phenethylamine chemical that Venom could consume to stay at full strength without having to eat brains.If even V could trust them-“Let’s have some breakfast first, yeah? Sit next to me, they know you are probably still a bit confused from just having your memories back.” Eddie nodded and took a step to the side to analyze the situation from afar. There was a huge table, stuffed with all kinds of food. A few people he recognised as part of the Avengers were sitting around it already, but seemed to wait until everybody was sitting. Annie and Dan were sitting on one side already, next to Peter and two empty chairs. Probably theirs.Without waiting for his okay, Flash suddenly took his hand and softly pulled until Eddie followed.
Look, they did this for us!
Eddie followed Venom’s attention to a big plate full of tons of bacon and other kinds of breakfast meat right where the empty chairs were.When Flash and Eddie finally sat down, the rest also sat down, only waiting for one other person.“Well… seems Tony is late again. J.A.R.V.I.S., could you please shut down his computer and lights?” Dr. Banner asked, “Not without saving his files please!”“Certainly, Dr. Banner,” J.A.R.V.I.S. answered.Eddie remembered talking to the artificially intelligent program to find his way through the building. A few seconds everything was quiet, then from the other side of the door, cursing got louder and louder.“Fuck, Banner! I told you, I’d join for breakfast, I was only a little late! No need to shut down everything! I was in the middle of-”He broke off to drown a cup of coffee after he finally sat and apparently wanted to continue right after, but Captain America just shut him down by talking himself.“So, Eddie, you have your memories back. How about the memories of your time with us when you didn’t remember?” He asked calm and friendly. All eyes on Eddie again.“Uh- I-”He looked down to the hand on his leg, softly massaging him under the table.“They vanish… Like- when you wake up and remember your dream, but details just disappear with every second…”“Poetic, somehow?” The person next to him said and pat his back. He remembered him from the news as Hawkeye.“So, first of all. There is no need to be nervous around us. The last few days we got to know you a little and your symbiote as well. It was our mistake not to try and talk to you first. So in the name of all of us, I’d like to apologize,” Tony said and looked like he meant it.“Of course… as long as you won’t attack him anymore? I’m not much of a fight, but a dead boy wouldn’t look too good in the press,” He answered as stern as possible.Tony just stared at him for a second before smiling.“You are not much of a fight? I beg to disagree. You probably got more fight for your symbiote in you, than any of us. And you have the youth on your side, too.What I wanted to say is: We are sorry. And we want you on our team.”The fork Eddie had held fell to the table, as he stared at Stark open-mouthed.“W-what?”“You heard me right. We want to train you in our team of the next generation of Avengers. As I said, we are old. We are blind and make mistakes, because we’ve seen too much.”Captain America nodded. “We did plenty of discussing, but in the end, everyone agreed that you’d be a perfect addition to the team. You’d be in a team with Spider-Man and a few others, they’d come by later today to introduce themselves to you.”“Spider-Man comes… over to introduce himself?”“Eddie! That’s so exciting!” Flash said and squeezed his leg a bit too tight in excitement. Everyone knew he was the biggest Spidey-fan alive.The journalist just smiled at Peter, who seemed to be very interested in his breakfast suddenly and then nodded.“I’d be happy to meet them, but- I don’t know, if I should say yes to your offer. I’m not a fighter or a hero… I’m just- just me.”“Just think about it,” Natasha said and smiled, “Stay with us this week, get to know us and maybe train with us. Even if you decide not to join us, we’d be glad to teach you a few things.”“If we learned one thing, it's that with great power comes great responsibility. It’s like powers like yours magnetically attract villains, so you should be prepared anyhow,” Hawkeye remarked.“I really think you shouldn’t steal Spider-Man’s catchphrase,” Flash grumbled and everyone laughed.
Please think about it. We could be a hero! In a team with the spider boy and others, Eddie!
//You know, I’m not hero material… My mental strength is less than optimal for such a thing. What if there is an attack and I’m too deep down with our depression to even leave the bed?//
Just wait and think about it. And grab some bacon, we are starving!
Before he even could take a slice, a black tendril rose from his arm and grabbed some, before Venom’s head formed and he ate it all in one bite.“I swear, you’ll make me fat or die from food poisoning,” He sighted and took some fresh fruit for himself.“So, whatever Venom eats will land in your system as well? In Drake's report, it was mentioned that he absorbed bullets and stuff after the first attempt to get Venom back.”“Right, he protected Flash and me from the bullets. But he didn’t absorb them, they were slowed down in his mass and then fell to the floor..”
“But we can digest them as well!”
"I told you, I don’t need food poisoning.” After breakfast, Dan and Annie announced that they would make a trip through the city. Eddie looked at them and suddenly realised.“Wait! You were in Europe!”Dan smiled and put his hand on Eddie’s shoulder. “We came back as soon as we heard, that you had been injured. You already felt bad because of it, so don’t start now.”Eddie just nodded and forced himself to smile, “Well- can’t promise I won’t, but I really want to see pictures!” Dan promised he’d show them after their trip today. They rested in their room for a short time, Flash told him about the past few days. Eddie could feel him getting more and more excited.“So… do you think, your new team members have arrived already?” He asked.Even Venom got excited at the thought of the possibility Captain America had offered them.“Captain America said, we could come to the training grounds whenever we feel ready… so, we could just go and check, don’t you think?” He offered and Flash was up and at the door before he could even finish.So he still didn’t know about Peter being Spider-Man, interesting.
We didn’t tell him and Peter somehow managed to keep it secret, we have no idea how!
They followed J.A.R.V.I.S.’s instructions to the training grounds. Currently not all members were present, but the people he saw from the door were impressive already.At the moment Spider-Man was sparring with a girl who had gauntlets that were shooting some kind of blasts at the boy. The web-fluid, Peter shot at her didn’t even stick to her shiny silver armor.“Vibranium.” Eddie jumped and turned around to see that another person was standing next to the door, watching the fight. “Super weightlight and able to withstand even bullets. Do you see the glow between the parts? Shuri uses some kind of electric energy to build a barrier on top of the armor, so the web can not stick to it.”“Sounds like you just made that up,” Eddie laughed, but the guy just grinned.“Nah. Couldn’t make that up in my wildest dreams. That’s made from vibranium too,” the dark-haired guy said and pointed to his left arm, “I don’t think, we’ve met. James Barnes. You can call me Bucky, everyone does that.”“Oh! Very nice to meet you, Bucky. I’ve heard a lot about you already.”“Probably not too pleasant things,” Bucky sighted and smiled sadly. Eddie shook his head. “Not at all. You are a hero. I think you are even Dan’s favourite Avenger.”“What? You’re kidding me!” “No, I swear! If he knew, you are in the same building, he’d probably ask you to sign a thousand things!”“I just arrived today, but I’ll be at the dinner with everyone. Just show me who he is, so I can say ‘hi’ to him.”Eddie stared at him open-mouthed.“You probably shouldn’t,” Flash laughed, “Dan would die from a stroke the second you look at him! He’s the cutest fanboy ever! He even has a poster of you and Steve on his dorm door.”“You are the one to speak! You have a Spidey fanclub,” Eddie laughed and of course Peter had the timing to appear next to them at this very moment.“A Spidey fanclub? I didn’t know there was such a thing,” He said and his voice promised a warm smile, while the mask perfectly hid his features.“So, that’s the new member? He really looks strong and fast, but also not quite the smartest. Come here boy, show me what you got,” Shuri smiled and grabbed Flash’s arm.“Do you think, we can stick on that armor?” Venom asked, as he sat on his shoulder like a big hamster. Bucky almost jumped and then came closer to poke the black mass. “What is that- did your gum just talk?”“We are not a gum. We are a symbiote,” Venom said and sounded almost offended. He presented his tongue to the former soldier and then disappeared back into Eddie’s skin.“Oh, come on, V, don’t be like that! You wanted to be in this team, so be nice to our team members!”
So you want to do this?
“Yeah, I think, we should give it a chance… Can’t do any more harm, right?”“I figure… you are more likely to be the symbiote guy?” Shuri laughed and pat Flash’s shoulder, then began to squeeze his arm muscles, “but damn, your muscles are so big, they bend reality!”Flash looked like as if he couldn’t decide if he was confused or flattered.“Uhm… thank you, I guess?”“Hi, you must be Eddie, nice to meet you! You can call me Spidey or whatever you want, this is my friend Shuri!” Peter greeted him and streched his hand in his direction.Eddie politely shook it. “The pleasure is mine!” He said and nodded to the girl, “Also nice to meet you, Shuri. You’re the princess of Wakanda, right?”“Well informed, mister! You may call me your holy queen as well, but I guess Shuri is just fine! I’m thrilled to meet your symbiotic partner! Can you ask him to say hello?”  
“We heard you. We are Venom and we are pleased to meet you, princess Shuri. And you, spider-boy.”
Venom formed a head and wrapped a black tendril around her extended hand to mimic their gesture from before, so he shook her arm one time and then withdrew the tendril again.“I think we have to work on your handshake, V,” Eddie said and softly stroked Venom’s cheek.
“Bucky told us about your armor. Can we touch it?”
Shuri nodded in excitement. “Sure! Do you want to test if you can stick on it?”“Exactly!” Venom seemed equally excited.“Wait, wait- This… electricity thing you used… does it come with soundwaves or heat?” Eddie asked and held Venom back before he could throw himself on the vibranium.“Oh, no. My gauntlet does have a sonic boost, but we’ve already been informed not to use that around you, don’t worry!”Venom shot a tendril at the armplate and flipped off the second he met the vibranium.“We try again!” Shuri seemed to be extremely curious to watch the alien, so she just held her arm out once more. This time the tendril actually seemed to flip off again, but got a grip and stuck to the plate, softly pulling at her arm before letting go.
“Got you! We are better than Spider-Man! Yes!”
Eddie couldn’t believe, Venom was trying to make a competition about stickyness.“Wait- how did you do that?? Please, you have to tell me! Maybe I can improve it even further with your help,” Shuri wondered.It seemed that Venom had found a certain pattern in the vector field of the electricity, so he just moved his mass around them to get through and stick on the vibranium armor.After a few tests and some actual training with Bucky watching over them and sometimes throwing in some commands or tips, they decided, that it was time to rest now. They sat down in a small circle next to the training field.
We are hungry, Eddie…
“Maybe we can ask Mr. J.A.R.V.I.S. if we can get something?” He suggested and Venom approved immediately.“What do you need?” Bucky asked and sat down next to him.“V is getting hungry. He needs a lot of food to maintain his energy, most foods only have a small amount of the chemicals he needs,” Eddie explained.“Right, I think Dr. Banner was working on something!” Peter answered.“And it actually worked,” Flash grinned, “You tested it already, but I think he’s not ready yet for the mass production.”“Really? That sounds amazing, then you could use your full potential without the brains!”“Wait- brains?” Spidey asked and turned towards Shuri, who - if possible - seemed even more excited.“You said, he needs certain chemicals? And I heard he eats a ton of chocolate and meat! Now you say brains! Phenethylamine! You say, Dr. Banner is able to produce artificial phenethylamine? Damn, that’s huge! I can’t wait to read his study about this!”“But- brains?” Peter asked again and seemed a bit more desperate, “Am I the only one… wondering?”“Probably, yeah. I’ve seen worse in my life. And as far as I heard, he doesn’t randomly kill people. There have only been two cases, right? Were they good guys? Decend and kind?”
“No. A rapist and a murderer. We have to say, that Eddie carefully explained morals and such to us, we understand that murder and eating brains is not wanted by your society. But we protected innocent people and we couldn’t help the situation but kill those two men. We could have let them rot in some forrest or make them have some purpose in life, to nutrish us. We chose the latter.”
Venom curled in his lap and purred, when Eddie massaged his head.“I fully stand behind this,” He said firmly and Peter didn’t say anything else. After getting to know each other a bit more and a more than embarassing asking for Spider-Man’s autographes by Flash, they decided that it was time for dinner.“Today a few more came, since we officially want to introduce you to everyone. Some of them you have met the last week already, but they know that you won’t quite remember them personally,” Bucky explained when they went to the elevator.“Maybe I shouldn’t join dinner today… I don’t feel so well,” Eddie mumbled, but Flash only wrapped his arm around him.“Sorry, but no. I know, you are nervous and I am aware, you have a reason, but they really want to get to know you and Venom better. If someone is mean to you, just let Venom eat them and noone else will dare to be mean to you.”“You know, I won’t let Venom eat someone! Especially not one of the Avengers in a room full of Avengers!”Flash just laughed and then kissed him.“OHMIGOD!” Shuri screeched and grabbed Peters arm, “They kissed! You saw this?? Omg, kiss again!” She pulled her phone out and held it up at them to take a picture. “Uhm- why?”“Because you are so incredibly cute! Oh god, I am sure my followers will love you! They’ll write fanfics about you, I’m sure! The football jock and the shy nerd, that’s gold!”“Football jock?” Flash asked and Eddie had to held back a grin. “If it fits, it sits, my dear jock,” He grinned and stretched on his toes to kiss Flash’s cheek.Behind him, it sounded like Shuri was having the time of her life.Peter was barely able to stand, laughing his ass off and Bucky? He probably wondered what was wrong with this generation. But he didn’t seem the slightest disgusted by them being a pair.“You really shouldn’t label them like that, Shuri! I personally wouldn’t say, Eddie counts as the basic shy nerd. He’s more of a salty nerd,” Bucky suddenly said. Shuri stared at him, looking like she was about to explode.“If anything, I’m more like the depressed and almost suicidal nerd, but thank you,” Eddie sighted with a tired smile. “Cut the almost suicidal, you haven’t been for over a year or else Venom would have alarmed us already!” Flash said and kissed his forehead. “I was only kidding, I’m not suicidal anymore. Not even almost.” Eddie promised and leaned to Flash’s chest, before the elevator announced their arrival. The living room was already prepared with an even larger table than before, it was now rounder, so more people could fit in without sitting too far from each other.Dinner with the Avengers was not the worst thing. He was still extremely uneasy around most of them, but they were welcoming and kind to him. Dan almost died when Bucky greeted him and like Eddie had guessed, Bucky had to sign quite a few things for him.“Hey boy, can I talk to you alone for a moment?” Tony suddenly said, when they were finished with dinner and most of them fought about what movie to watch together now.“Alone? No.” Eddie said and stepped back from the engineer.“I know, I know. With you and Venom.”“I know what you meant, my answer is no. I don’t trust you, you never gave me reason to. You almost killed Venom and me.”It seemed like the whole room was suddenly quiet and Eddie felt their eyes on his back. Tony struggled with himself, trying to find words.“Listen, I apologized, didn’t I?”“I don’t care… You can talk to me here, if you want, but I don’t want to be alone in a room with you. You still think we are a threat and I know you still think that Venom is controlling me and has some evil plans. And while you can not put down your prejudices against him, I simply can not trust you.”Tony growled lowly, suddenly looking up over his shoulders. Flash was by his side, wrapping an arm around Eddie.He didn’t say anything but his presence was enough for Eddie to feel more confident.“What do you want to talk about? We’re all ears.”“I- … listen boy, I just wanted to give you something.” He held out a box and pushed it in Eddie’s hands before he turned around and stomped out of the room. Bruce came closer to them and smiled at him. “I understand you… You have all the rights to be angry at him, but I think this was his way of saying, that he was wrong. He’s not very good with admitting mistakes, you know?”“I already guessed so,” Eddie said sadly and looked down at the box. “What’s inside?” Flash asked and when Eddie didn’t try to find out, he lifted the box. Tiny things that looked like earphones. “What are those?”Bruce smiled. “Ask him.” Eddie hesitated, but then turned to follow Stark. Out of the room, J.A.R.V.I.S. led him the way to the privat workshop of the scientist. “Mr. Stark?” He asked and saw him sitting on one of the desks, staring at an older version of the Ironman suit in front of him.“You know… I really believed, I would do some good. Prevent a bad species from destroying our planet. What Thor told us about the Klyntar-It… it scared me to death. I was blinded by my fear and I can’t forgive myself for what I did. I’m not angry at you or anything, don’t worry.” The man said, not looking at him.Eddie sat down on one of the chairs, but kept his distance.“Sometimes we have to look past our fears to see that we are all not so different.”Tony turned around. “How come, you speak so wisely? You're what, 14?”“I just… had a similar situation a few days ago. When I couldn’t remember, I was so blind by fear, that I didn’t even listen to all of my friends telling me, that Flash is a good person, a friend. I hurt him and I am so ashamed of myself, because the way I hurt him is way deeper than knives can cut.”Eddie sighted and bis his lip. “I guess, what I want to say is… I know you didn’t want to harm anyone. You thought you were protecting people, including me.”Tony looked so utterly tired and done with life. Eddie could relate more than he wanted to.“I am so sorry for what happend.” “We know. Both of us. Maybe you want to hear what Venom has to say? To those stories about Klyntar you’ve heard?”And Tony did listen. He took the information in like a sponge. “Of course, it is more likely to meet a group of traveling and conquering Klyntar instead of a peaceful folk who established their own life already… Fuck, Venom, will you be able to forgive me?”
“Under three conditions.”
“Sure! Shoot.”“We want you to promise, you’ll protect Eddie. We don’t want to be a research guinea pig and..” Venom lifted one of the earpieces, “We want to know what that thing is!”“Of course, I’ll promise! We are interested in researching your kind more, but only under conditions you fully agree on beforehand! If we may. And those? I built them for you, maybe they come in handy… I couldn’t test them yet for the lack of Klyntar, but we don’t have to test them now.”
“What’s their purpose?”
“To protect both of you! Some of our members fight with sonic weapons and in combat we can not always control the situation. They are meant to be used like earphones and should protect you from harm full frequency by sending sound waves that are not harmful to you and neutralize the lethal ones. But we should test them under safer conditions before you use them in an actual fight. Oh and they also work as a communication tool in combat!”Tony suddenly got all excited about explaining all the fancy technology and Eddie didn’t understand as much as he wanted. But they were meant to protect them from harm. “Thank you so much, Mr. Stark!” He hugged the billionaire and felt him hugging back. “God, don’t tell Peter about this, okay?? Now let’s get back up, we’ll miss another half an hour of fighting over the movie otherwise.” In the end the group was able to decide for a movie after another two hours of discussion and when the opening tunes of Jurassic Park started, Eddie was already half asleep, cuddled under a blanket against the warm body of his football jock boyfriend. They shared a couch with Shuri and Peter (who had been so sad that he had missed dinner and Spider-Man, when Flash had excitedly told him about meeting his favourite hero today) and Eddie would have to think of asking Shuri for all the photos of them in the morning. After a long time it felt like life was finally being good again.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Are you sure, you don’t want to come over tonight?” Flash asked while leaning on the door frame. “Yes, I am sure. I’ve been away so long, I missed to be at home so much,” Eddie sighted, as he sat down on the bed.

Flash chuckled and sat next to him, wrapping his arm around his waist.

“But my home is your home too. You know, I wondered-”

“Hey, what do you eat for dinner? I think we should order something and then watch a movie!” Eddie interrupted him and felt growing confusion from his symbiote.

//Just… tell us what you want to eat...//

“Can we have raw steak?”

“Uhm? No? But we can check, if one of the delivery services does deliver steak,” He suggested and looked at Flash. “Sounds good! Does your part-time-job as Avenger pay this good?”

Eddie was kind of ashamed to admit it.

“Not really, but… Stark did a background research on me and probably found my bills and financials… I can’t prove it’s from him, but when we arrived at the airport, I suddenly had a large sum of money on my account… I don’t plan on wasting it, but I still have my job, so nothing’s wrong with treating my boyfriend with a fancy diner... “

“Eddie, does take out apply as fancy diner?” Flash laughed and leaned forward to kiss him.

“Well, if it’s steak, yeah?”

“We can’t eat out, because we want to eat steak, please!”

“I was just kidding, but what did I do to deserve such a fancy treatment from my beloved boyfriends?”

“Are you kidding me? You were there for me more than anyone before. Even when I couldn’t remember,” Eddie smiled and leaned against Flash’s body. They decided what to order on Flash’s smartphone and then lied back on the bed to cuddle while waiting.

“I’m not stupid,” Flash suddenly said and Eddie sat back up to look down on him. “What?”

“I know you changed subject. I just wanted… to let you know, I won’t bring it up again, if you feel uncomfortable.”

Ashamed, Eddie nodded. “Never thought you were stupid, it’s just…”

He looked around his room and his heart sunk.

“All of this… a few years ago, I couldn’t even imagine to have my own- my own all of this. I was homeless, after I ran away and I worked so hard for this.

It’s not that I don’t want to move in with you, it’s just… I don’t know if I am ready to leave all this behind.”

Flash turned to his side and wrapped an arm around his hip, kissing Eddie’s side.

“I understand.”
 
The following few months passed in a rush. The new semester started and thanks to the eventful break, he was more than happy to have his plain student life back. Even without taking his meds regularly before, he had been able to have a good A-B level, but with the new motivation now, he absolutely aced every test and exam he took.

The relationship with Flash and Venom was more than he could’ve ever dreamed of. Flash was a dork and sometimes an idiot too, but Eddie knew he loved him. He knew exactly how hard it was for Flash not to drink and more than often he would find him way too close to the bottle, especially at student parties. But even if Eddie would never even think about making his threat of leaving him for drinking again true, Flash kept word. The first few weeks had been easy on him, the shitty feeling of a hangover still vivid in his mind, as well as the regret and the self-hate. But after a month or two the urge had become unbearable sometimes. Some evenings, it was almost dangerous to be near him. But Venom and Eddie couldn’t bring themselves to fear him anymore, no matter how angry or frustrated he was, only because he was forced to stay sober.

But other than that, Flash really was the best boyfriend-
What?
The best human boyfriend, Eddie could think of. He was supportive and even if Eddie had bad days, he would just stay with him.

Speaking of which, his mental health was better than ever. He really did improve his life so much, that he barely had any bad days. There was no healing for his disease and sometimes even the meds, Venom and Flash combined couldn’t get him out of bed, but instead of being annoyed, forcing him to get up or leaving him by himself (which would have been absolutely understandable for him as well) Flash just lied down next to him, wrapped him up in a nest of blankets and pillows and watched videos and movies with Venom to keep the symbiote busy as well.

Once every week a member of the Avengers visited him in a nearby headquarter, no flying for Eddie involved! They trained over the weekend and Eddie learned more and more basics about being an Avenger. The trainings program made him fitter and stronger and even without the help of Venom, he was able to do some basic combat now. Flash often joined his training and they both got better and better.

“You need to be able to fight without the symbiote. You never know, if someone is able to separate you and knowing you are able to fight will also lift your self-confidence,” Captain America often said. It was true.
 
The first actual mission was a few months after he had been in New York in the summer break. Flash and he just had arrived Eddie's room from their last class before the winter break, when some unknown number called him.

“Brock?”

“Agent Brock? This is Maria Hill. We’ve got a mission for you. A quinjet will get you soon, so please pack everything you’ll need and wait in your dorm flat. Further instructions will follow from the members on board.”

The call was ended abruptly.

What was that?

“Eddie, who called?”

“Uhm… I’m not sure. She said, her name was Maria Hill and that someone will pick me up for a mission?”

Flash looked a bit worried and then turned on the TV. On date nights they usually didn’t watch TV or were on the phone, so the news only got to them now. San Francisco was under attack.

Both of them sat down in front of the TV and looked at the destruction. People were screaming and running on the streets, a few heroes trying to get back the control over the situation.

A giant Ant-Man was protecting a few civilians from the laser blasts, while Daredevil fought with what looked like androids. They were taller than an average human and apart from two legs and arms, they didn’t have much similarity with humans. Large tails reminded him of lizard people and the legs looked like those that furries wore at conventions.

“What the fuck is that?” Flash cursed and Venom wrapped around his shoulders.

We’ve never met creatures like this on our journey through the universe.

“But… would we even be able to fight them?” Eddie asked and Flash grabbed his arm. “Are you kidding me? They take Scot and Matt apart, Tony and Steve don’t look too well either. You won’t fight!”

“B-But… but they want me there… If we can help-”

“And if you’ll die? No.”

“Flash, I- I don’t want to, but what can I do? Venom and I trained hard and we got stronger!”

Flash looked at him for a second and then nodded. “I’ll come with you.”

“No! That’s too dangerous,”

“You’ll need me there! I will stay in the jet, but you maybe need support!”

He’s right. If you were to have a panic attack Flash can calm you down better than us!

“I know, but-”

Someone knocked on the door and Eddie’s heart sunk. He grabbed his emergency backpack and opened the door. Clint was standing in front of him, his clothes so casual, he almost didn’t recognise him. Probably the goal, so nobody would guess Eddie to be Venom.

“I’m coming with you!” Flash said and took the backpack from Eddie’s shoulder.

“No way,” Clint simply said and turned around, “Now come on, boy, we have to hurry!”

Flash just followed them and kept on carrying Eddie’s stuff and apparently Clint didn’t even bother to care when all of them got into the quinjet. Instead he just took two pairs of headphones and gave it to them.

Eddie recognised the special frequency blocking headphones, that would keep the pain at a minimum and reduced the risk of dying from the sound completely.

“So, what happened? What are those creatures?” Flash asked and sat next to Eddie. Clint sighted and began to undress the sweatpants. He was wearing his leather suit right underneath the casual clothes.

“No idea what they are or what they want. They appeared in the middle of San Francisco and began to destroy the buildings. We immediately got most of the heroes nearby to fight and they actually are easy to beat. The problem is that there are simply too many.

They fight hand-to-hand or with those laser blast guns.”

He explained, while preparing his arrows.
 
They arrived at the centrum of the destruction within about twenty minutes. Before they landed, Venom poured out of his skin and covered him completely. The huge alien growled and stretched a bit.

“W-Wow… I think, I never get used to this,” Flash said with a weird excitement in his eyes.
Fear boner…

//You don’t say// Eddie thought smugly and they turned to Flash.

“Hi, Flash. Missed us?”
They growled and stepped to him, licking over his neck with his huge, long tongue.

“Yes-” Flash almost moaned and bit his lower lip. He touched their chest and his whole face turned red. Venom leaned forward and growled quietly to his ear:
“Imagine what we could do to you in this form.”

Eddie really respected Flash for not dropping dead, but it looked like it was close enough.

“Yeah, quit your flirting, you know everyone can hear you over the channel?” Clint grumbled, already annoyed with his adolescent protégés.

“I’d say there are kids in this channel, but since you two are those kids…” Steve sighted over com and they heard Tony chuckling from somewhere.

“God damn it, can’t you be serious for once, boys?” She acted serious, but Eddie could hear her smile through the voice chat.
 
The scene they arrived to was more than chaotic. The quinjet was not landing, but opening the back for them to jump out. They held their hand out for Hawkeye, who grabbed it and climbed on their back, before they jumped out of the jet.

“Thanks, bud, you follow me for starters, okay? I suggested you coming with us, so you listen to my commands, are we clear?”

“Verily,”
They answered, because Eddie always wanted to say that. Thor just laughed somewhere in their voice chat and Clint just rolled his eyes.

“Can you take this seriously?” He asked and Venom growled lowly.

“We are. But our host is more than nervous and trying to joke around it makes him less nervous.”

“So that’s only Venom talking now?” Bruce suddenly said over the channel.

“No. We are both of us now. That’s our full symbiotic form.”

“Quite impressive, Big One, we know you can talk, how about showing us some action?” Tony said as he was flying over their heads to shoot a few lizard-androids.
 
And action they did. Eddie couldn’t deny he was proud of how amazingly they fought together. All his training had made them stronger too. Flash was watching over them in the quinjet hovering above the city and the agent called Maria Hill led them from same quinjet to where the intruders were attacking. It was almost running too smooth.
 
Before they could realise what was happening, one of the aliens who had been fighting with them was pulling out the laser weapon. They managed to move to the side just in time, felt the heat of the shot next to their neck as it barely missed. They shot out a tendril that hit a hole through the alien’s chest and watched as its body dropped dead. They had taken the liberty to bite one’s head off, but Venom didn’t get any real value from their brain chemicals, so they just kept ignoring the bodies.

A loud explosion got their attention and when they looked up, they saw that the shot was never meant to hurt them. The alien had been aiming for the quinet.

“Fuck! Flash, Mrs. Hill, are you alright?”
They shouted and hurried to the location where the jet had crashed into a building.

“Yeah, but I can’t open the door! Are you close by?” Flash answered and they heard some knocking, probably from him trying to tackle the door open.

“Mrs. Hill is unconscious, the rest of the crew is dead,” He said and finally Venom found the jet. It was buried in broken walls of the building they had crashed into.

They wanted to lift one of the stones, but another intruder attacked him from behind, throwing him into the wall nearby.
“We’d need a little help here!”

“Hulk’s on his way to you boys, keep them away from the jet as long as you can,” Steve informed them and they did as he had suggested. The crash had caught the attention of the aliens and Venom barely managed to kill one another.

Suddenly Hulk basically fell from the sky and smashed three aliens at once.

“OPEN JET! HULK SMASH ALIENS”

“Yes! Thank you, Hulk! Flash, get away from the door.”

They turned around and threw some large bricks to the side and then ripped off the door of the quinjet with one movement. As soon as they saw that Flash was unharmed, apart from a few scratches, they felt like they were able to breathe again.

“Missed me?” Flash smiled tiredly, carrying Mrs. Hill over one shoulder.

“We will escort you away from here!”

“No, I’m fine! Bring her to the medics, I’m gonna-”

Suddenly another laser blast hit the jet, aiming for the tank.
 
Everything seemed to have slowed down. Eddie could hear his breathing, even his beating heart, as if every noise around him was dulled to a silent whisper. The force of the explosion hit them and Eddie couldn’t do anything, as it threw him off his feet.

As soon as his head crashed into a nearby wall that once had been a building, the time was back to normal. No it was twice as fast. He looked down at his hands, the black goo around him was gone. He was sitting in the middle of a war zone. And his only concern was, that it was way too quiet. Venom?

Here…

The voice was quiet and the next he knew was him getting back on his feet. Flash was lying there, unconscious, lying in front of a chunk of metal that was pierced down the ground. No-
 
Flash was not lying in front of it. The metal was pierced through him. 
 
No. No-
 
Don’t! We can’t help! We can’t fight!
 
“Then don’t!” He just yelled, tears blinding him, as he ran to Flash. There was so much blood, so much dust and stones that once had been a bureau tower in the middle of a beautiful city. “Flash! Flash, please,” He cried and touched his head. Blood, everywhere. His hands were dripping from it, after caressing the strawberry blonde hair.
 
That was not possible. 
 
“I told you not to come with me- I- I told you- Flash! Don’t do that to me, please!” He begged and grabbed his hand, squeezed it as hard as he could, without breaking it.

“Flash, wake up,”

Flash could not be dead. 
 
“BOY GET AWAY FROM THERE!” Tony shouted over the voice chat, but when he looked up, it was way too late. Another blast aimed right for them. Eddie moved in the line as quickly as he could, protecting Flash with all he had.

Next he knew was being pulled to his feet by someone. The person was talking to him, but he was not able to make out the words. 
 
What happened? Venom? Tell me, what happened?

Nothing.

A small word, but it was able to describe Eddie’s whole world. In this moment, his very being was nothing.

“The boy is completely out of it. I’ll bring him somewhere safe,” Clint said to the voice chat and grabbed the aparthic boy. Eddie didn’t even react to being lifted, didn’t answer or make the tiniest noise. He just stared into nothing. Fuck, this was his fault. He shouldn’t have suggested the boy. Now his boyfriend was dead and according to Stark’s scans the symbiote was gone.

What was left was a traumatized boy, that reminded him too much of his children. A boy who was covered in the blood of the person he loved.
 
They managed to get out of the war zone, followed by Hulk who had been carrying Maria Hill and Bucky, who had been heavily injured too.

“Clint, bring them back to the Avengers mansion, the jet shouldn’t take more than two hours. We’ll deal with this and you will make sure, the injured are taken care of, yes?” Stark instructed.

Hulk lifted Maria and Bucky into the jet before turning around and heading back to the fight. Lucky for them the jet only needed vocal instructions to autopilot them out of here.
 
While Maria was slowly regaining her consciousness and Bucky had been able to stop his bleeding side, Eddie just sat there, staring into the void.

“If he keeps on staring this intensely, he’ll rip a hole in our jet. What happened?” Bucky asked and sat down on the floor in front of Eddie, nudging his side. The boy didn’t react.

“He just saw his boyfriend die and probably his symbiote too, leave him alone,” Clint said and couldn’t hate himself more than in this second.

“That’s my fault,” He wanted to destroy something so badly. “I told Maria, Eddie would be ready. And when Flash insisted on coming with us, I didn’t stop him.”

“Hey man, you couldn’t have known. You didn’t kill anyone, it was them. Steve and the rest will manage to stop them.”

“But at what cost?” Clint asked. No one answered.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Eddie stared at the ridiculous large TV screen in the Avengers living room. Back to the Avengers tower, where he was being watched closely. The fight was still on and some brave or incredibly stupid reporter was filming everything. The Avengers were about to lose the fight, when suddenly… a black soldier appeared and started to kill every last intruder with a scary precision. “Isn’t that… the symbiote?” Bucky suddenly said. And now Eddie saw it too. Some of the attacks where those, that Venom used in combat with him. Spike-like tendrils that perforated each enemy. The face was not Venom’s usual, it looked like a mask, close to Spideys design, but when a foe got too close, he opened his maw and killed them with his huge teeth. Venom was alive. And he had found a new host. Eddie didn’t quite know, if this made him feel happy or even more empty. This host knew how to fight. He had the symbiote less than two hours and fought better, than Eddie had ever managed. Venom had always wanted to be a hero. Now he had finally found the host that would make his dream come true. But Eddie couldn’t be there, when they came back. He couldn’t smile and be happy for the symbiote, even if he somehow was. He had lost too much in a too short amount of time. He got up and ignored Bucky calling his name, instead went to the counter of the kitchen. He had to wait until Clint came back and cleared him to leave, but he couldn’t keep on watching being replaced.Eddie found a few bags of candy and took one, before he sat down on the kitchen tiles between the counter and the kitchen isle and leaned against the counter. The pressure in his chest made it impossible to breath, Clint had already told him, that probably a few of his ribs were broken. Not that he cared. He just wished to die faster than this.But he had to keep a promise. He had promised Flash to never let himself be suicidal again, but- what worth had a promise to a dead person?Someone dropped on the floor next to him.“You gonna eat that?” Bucky asked and Eddie just stared at the unopened package of candy, before he held it out for the soldier.“Thanks. Hey, I know you feel like this world is about to end, but… You did amazingly. I’m proud of you. We lost people, but… but I have to tell myself that it was not in vain. I just have to keep on doing what I can to protect the ones that are still alive and you have to do the same.”“I don’t have to do anything. I’m not a fighter… not even his host anymore. The one who’s with him now is the better choice, I just want to go home,” Eddie whispered and took one of the candy frogs that Bucky held out for him. He stared at the crusted blood on his hoodie and tears filled his eyes again. A hiccup almost made him swallow the frog whole. Probably a stupid way to die, Flash would hate that.“I can’t believe he’s dead… I was talking to him. One moment I was talking to him and the next he was dead,” He hiccuped again and didn’t fight the arms that wrapped around him. The cold vibranium was feeling good on his feverish skin.“It’s my fault… I couldn’t protect him… instead I almost killed Venom too, how can one person be so stupid?”“Shh… you’re not. You are inexperienced, but you did well. The best of us make mistakes sometimes. You know how I got in the team… I almost killed all of them.”“It was not you, you were being brainwashed…”“But nobody knew. They only saw me killing people.” Bucky was a good man. He stayed with Eddie, let him cry into his uniform and found words that were actually helping him in this situation. But this wouldn’t make Flash come back to him.He fell asleep on his shoulder and woke up exactly like this about five hours later. At least the clock on the stove said that. The light was dimmed and the TV was off. “Hey, Eddie… feeling any better?” Bucky asked and rubbed his hair playfully. Eddie just shook his head.“Can I go on the roof a bit? I need some fresh air…”Bucky hesitated a minute, before he nodded.“Sure, just don’t jump or anything, Tony would kill me.” He answered, half joking. It was obvious, that he worried but didn’t know how to address his fear differently.“Didn’t plan to. I’m scared of heights, there are more poetic ways to die,” Eddie said as he got to the elevator.“Wait, what?” He didn’t hear the rest. The rooftop was quiet and it was getting cold. It was close to midnight, still the city was shining from the artificial lights. After hesitating a minute, he got closer to the edge and looked down. Venom and Flash had loved views like this. He always had to step back and watch them, scared to see one of them fall. If only he had been able to enjoy the view Flash loved so much together with the quarterback. He sat down on the edge and felt how the wind moved his legs. He stared at the city. On one of the towers he saw the second quinjet, Tony and the others had arrived but they were too busy with that to see him.The cold wind helped him calm down, while he played with the seam of his hoodie. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t even know how to explain Annie and Dan, that he had killed Flash in this. Eddie wondered, if they had seen. If the camera of this reporter on the helicopter had catched the moment of Flash dying? He wanted to see it.Analyse if he could have done anything differently. It would not help him feel better, but maybe, if he would see that there had been no way of protecting him… it would help him ease the pain?
“Eddie…”
He heard the steps from whoever carried the symbiote behind him. 
“I thought you died! Thank god, Clint got you out… He just told me you would be here.”
So… it was not even the symbiote talking to him. Venom never spoke in first person.“Yeah... “ He just answered and flinched away, when a hand touched his shoulder.“Don’t touch me.”He turned around and got up to step away from the edge.“I want to be alone now.”
“Alone? What about Venom?”
“Well, obviously you are the way better host. I saw you fighting… Venom always wanted to be a hero and I am not the person, he can accomplish this with. I couldn’t even protect my-”Eddie’s voice broke and he turned away.“Just make him happy. Because I can’t-”“Wait! Eddie!”Before he could reach the stairs, he heard the voice change. Slowly he turned around and couldn’t believe his eyes. Was he hallucinating?“F-Flash…? N-no way. I saw you die- You-”He stepped back when the man came closer, shaking his head.“A-am I going crazy now?”“No, Eddie, no! It’s me. I didn’t die… Shortly before the second explosion you kind of broke the connection to Venom, so he was able to leave your body and safe my life. I’m alive thanks to you!”Eddie stared at him in disbelief.“But-”“He’s weak… He’s basically the only thing keeping me alive right now, that’s why he can’t draw back or talk at the moment. He barely managed to pull back enough, so you can see my face.”Finally Eddie managed to break free from his paralysis, he slowly stepped towards Flash and touched his face. He was icy cold and being close to him he could see how pale he was.“You’re… dying…?”Flash nodded, sadly. “Bruce and Tony said, the medics could help me, but… I wanted to see you before they do the surgery.”Eddie hugged him closely. “No… you can’t die now! I lost you once, already! Please… you have to fight! And Venom too! Can- can Bruce give you phenethylamine before the surgery? So Venom can help fix the injuries?”Flash kissed his forehead.“He already did, but Venom did everything he can… I love you, Eddie.”“That’s not fair! You just came back-”Flash nodded. “I know.” He coughed and there was blood. “Shit! No!”He grabbed the black soft hand and pulled him inside. The others were in the living room, obviously waiting for him. Eddie was not allowed to go with them, he was confused and didn’t know what to do with himself. The first ten minutes he stood in front of the elevator door and stared at it exactly where Flash had disappeared with the ‘most talented surgeons’ as Tony had said.Nobody had told him anything about Flash’s condition and no one would answer him. So he just stood there and stared.Eventually Peter and Shuri came by and took him to the couch, where the Maximoff twins were playing on the console.“Hey, can we join the race?” Peter asked and Shuri already got the bluetooth controllers for them.“Sure, but Pietro is a bad loser,” Wanda answered in her beautiful accent.“And Wanda is a bad winner. She would never win a real race against me,” her brother answered with a grin. “Here Eddie, play with us. You can’t do anything now until they’ve finished. Don’t worry, Flash will make it. The symbiote is with him and protects him, yes?”“They wouldn’t have let him walk around and go looking for you, if it was that bad,” Shuri agreed.Eddie only shook his head and looked at the device in his hand. “He was dying… I saw it… I don’t even know what happened, last thing I saw was him being pierced to the ground by a giant metal piece from the quinjet. Venom wouldn’t show his body, only his face and he was so pale…”Shuri hesitated, then looked at her phone. “That doesn’t sound good… but he’ll make it. He’s strong!”“And he wouldn’t want you to stare at the door like a lost puppy.” The surgery took until morning. But it seemed the Avengers almost organised plans, so someone would always be with Eddie and keep him occupied and his mind away from all the horrible scenarios.Eddie’s body just refused to rest and when Bucky and Steve had fallen asleep while showing him old movies, he got up as quiet as possible to sit in front of the ground deep window. The view was not as beautiful as from the roof, but it somehow calmed him down a bit more. “Hey… do you want to see him?” Bruce suddenly said as he knelt down to him to give his shoulder a squeeze.“I can? How is he, is he-”Bruce smiled and pressed a finger to his mouth. “Let the fossils sleep.”Eddie looked at the men on the couch and nodded. He followed Bruce as quietly as he could through the building. “He’ll be fine, it was a hard surgery and… he’ll have a long healing process. But what’s most important is, that he’ll live.”Eddie couldn’t find words to describe how relieved he was. Bruce led him to what looked like a hospital corridor and to one of the rooms. It was dark and a few monitors surrounded the bed.Flash was lying there, still sleeping and looking paler and weaker than ever, but he was alive. Eddie sat down next to him and carefully touched his hand. Immediately the black mass of the symbiote pooled out and covered their hands. 
Eddie… we’re sorry…
“You don’t have to be… you both did so well. Thank you for protecting him,” He answered the symbiote. The connection was weak, but he could hear him well enough.
Couldn’t protect all of him…
Eddie hesitated, before looking at Flash a bit closer. In the dark light he hadn’t seen at first, but… “A huge chunk of metal had impaled him through the stomach, the explosion had ripped off part of his legs. The symbiote was not able to reproduce the lost parts, but thanks to him the wounds had closed and he didn’t lose more blood. We had to amputate his legs above the knee...”“But… he was walking,” Eddie said and looked up to Bruce.
That was us. We managed to replace his legs, but that’s only in combined form. We can’t stay with him.
“Venom, if you stay with him, he could walk. I’m okay, yeah? It’s okay if you stay with him. You fought like a real hero back there!”
Flash is a good match, but… not good enough. We’d kill him if we stay longer than a week probably.
“Then-”Eddie tried to think.“Then you stay with me when we are at home! And with Flash, when we go out? Does that work?”
It could work, but he doesn’t need us. We saw humans without legs before. He’ll live! Eddie, he’s alive.
While that was true and Eddie couldn’t be happier about that, he knew that Flash had always been dreaming about a sport carrier. Shit.“I’ll leave the two of you alone. Just… promise you will get a doctor or one of us, if he wakes up. Both of you have been through a lot and it will be a lot for him to handle, if he wakes up. You can’t take that on your shoulders alone.” Bruce was right, he was probably not in the state of mental health to support Flash, but now that he knew that Flash was not dead, he’d manage to put his own troubles behind. That was not important now.Flash had been with him through all his episodes and bad days, now he had the chance to pay him back for all he had done.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Aaaand here we are! That’s the last box,” Eddie announced and huffed, as he dropped the heavy box in the middle of the living room.. Even with Venom’s help he really had packed way too much in one box.Behind him, Flash came in, carrying Eddie’s backpack on his lap. “Wow… I mean, you always told me, you don’t own much, but… Do you realise that this is all of your stuff in three boxes?”“Big, heavy and stuffed boxes,” Venom said and hovered over the boxes. "But most of them are school books from your journalism and language study!" Flash smiled fondly and put the backpack on the couch. "Well, I never needed too much stuff," Eddie explained and opened one box to get himself one of the hoodies. In between his clothes were his camera bag and the notebook. His most valuable treasures. He was being interrupted by Venom pulling at him. “Where is the chocolate?”Flash laughed and pointed to one of the drawers, “I already bought a stack for you, just take what you want!”
“We’ll have to move them to the nightstand!”
“Oh, yeah, good idea… I had them in the kitchen counter once and he wouldn’t shut up before I got up and got him some… Is that okay with you?”Flash grinned and took his hand, “Come.”They went to the bedroom and Eddie couldn’t believe it. On the window side of the bed was a new nightstand with an open and empty drawer. Next to Flash’s wardrobe… was another wardrobe, same type and with open doors and drawers - all empty.“It’s a bit dramatic, but… I wanted to make very clear, that this is your home as well now. You don’t need to ask me, if you can store chocolate in your nightstand. Of course you can!” Eddie almost started crying again. “You’re the best… thank you so much, Flash!”He leaned down and hugged him tight. Flash flinched a little and Eddie knew, he was still insecure about everything.The past few weeks had been a struggle. Eddie had to take Flash to his psychiatrist and in the end she had diagnosed him with a post traumatic depression. He would often joke about being broken, but Eddie knew this was his way of coping with everything.“So, what's the plan now?” Flash asked, obviously trying to change the subject.“Well… I have the room until tomorrow about twelve, I still have to do some repairs, but it’s not gonna take too long, I planned to do that in the morning, so… I thought, I might start unpacking and you order a pizza and choose a movie?”“Sounds great… Hey, I know you said, you’d sell it, since it’s not the universities and we already have a TV but… how about we put your TV in the bedroom? Venom could play on my console then or watch stuff when we’re sleeping?”
“YOU HAVE A CONSOLE?”
Venom was basically vibrating right under his skin, partly pouring out to look at Flash.
“Eddie, we have to keep him!”
“Well, I planned to keep him,” Eddie laughed and kissed Flash softly. Again Flash broke the kiss after a second and then grabbed his wheels to bring himself around the bed. “We could put it on the sideboard here? I don’t need the decoration anyway.”Eddie looked at the football trophies on top of the sideboard. Of course, technically this was the perfect spot for the TV, but…“Really? I don’t want you to move them away, maybe we can find a better place? Like… this highboard? It’s on the wall opposite to the window, so the sun would make them shine even more.”“They don’t shine,” Flash mumbled, staring at his hands in his lap, “Feels more like they’re laughing at me…”“Don’t be ridiculous. Venom, can you believe that? I don’t hear laughter from them.”“Metal doesn’t laugh, Flash,” Venom agreed and Flash looked up, utterly confused. He hadn’t expected such a respond.“You’ll get new ones. You are made for that, Flash. Look at you… you are perfect the way you are.” Flash snorted a laugh and then turned away from him, mumbling “You… really think that, do you?”“Of course! Like- Come here! Let me show you!”Flash hesitated before turning around and wheeling towards him again. “What?”Eddie leaned forward and carefully sat down on his lap. They had done this a few times already and thanks to Venom’s care and healing, Flash’s legs didn’t hurt at all at the preassure. They were as strong as they had been before and carrying Eddie’s weight was no problem at all.“Yeah, you still weight nothing. What did you want to show me?”“Remember the first time I had been sleeping over? After we had told Annie and Dan at dinner? You carried my through your flat and look at you now. You are doing the exact same thing, only way cooler.” Eddie looked into this beautiful green eyes and leaned forward to kiss again, but ended up with a sweaty hand in his face.“Yeah, while you mention it- did you take your meds? It’s almost time, let me get you to your backpack.”
“Yeeeehhhh~~”
Venom had pooled out of the arm that Eddie had wrapped around Flash and crawled on his shoulder, holding himself like a big hamster. He enjoyed to travel like this, didn’t even think about how this wheelchair could be anything else but a cool way to improve moving from one place to another.After they both took their meds and Eddie had set up the TV in the bedroom, he got the first box to unpack. All clothes for the bedroom. When he came in, he saw that Flash was lifting himself from the wheelchair into the bed. He didn’t see the cripple that Flash wanted to see himself as sometimes. He saw those lean muscles tensing and flexing while lifting the weight from the chair to the mattress. He saw how much work it had been for Flash to be here now. They had been able to leave New York about three weeks ago and it had been so hard for Eddie not to ask him to move together right away. After nearly losing him, he had seen how much he really loved Flash. He had felt so much regret for not agreeing to Flash’s question right away and after they had come back he didn’t want Flash to think, that he wanted to move in only because of pity or because Flash couldn’t handle himself anymore.Three weeks Flash had seen how independent he still was, before it was actually Flash bringing the topic back up.
“You know,” Flash had said one evening, “I don’t like you having to walk back home in the dark after dinner almost every day.” Maybe prompting only that he missed sleeping next to Eddie. Maybe even saying that he was scared, that Eddie didn’t want to be that close anymore.

Despite the voice in his head was confused, because walking back home in the dark meant no danger to them, he had smiled and looked at Flash, “You know, I wouldn’t have to walk back home in the dark, if you’d ask me to move in with you, Thompson.”
 “You’re staring again,” Flash said, getting Eddie out of his daydreaming mind and grab attention to himself, not at all amused by it. Eddie blinked and then smiled him. “Sorry, I was enjoying the view… You know, I’m not really hungry, are you?”“Not really… Dan cooked way too much for lunch,” Flash sighted and played with the remote control, “Sleepy already?”Eddie crawled under the covers next to Flash. “Sleepy? No.”Flash froze and then looked at him, like Eddie had said something absolutely crazy.“What then?”“I- uhhm... thought, you might like… to inaugurate our shared bed?”Flash only seemed to understand now. “W-what? Eddie- I can’t-”Eddie kissed him softly and let his fingers glide about the seam of Flash’s shorts. “You know, it seems little you disagrees.”Flustered, Flash pushed him away and stared into his eyes.“Because I miss sex, okay? We didn’t do since- ...and I miss it. Besides… you wouldn’t like me like that.”“Like what? Like this gorgeous, muscled, strong and sexy man? Yeah, you’re right, I’m more likely to be attracted by some skinny ugly nerd than by Mr. “competing with Captain America in a wet T-shirt contest and winning”, you dummy,” He laughed and got Flash to smile just like he used to.“I’m not even sure I can-” “Excuse me sir, but you don’t even know, what we had in mind?”“We? So you actually got V into that plan?”“He’ll be an essential part of it, but first…” His face dawning a serious tone, Eddie took Flash’s hand with one of his while the other cradled his face. Thumb rubbing lightly the rough stubble that had grown there.“If you feel uncomfortable with anything, if I hurt you or you just want to stop for any other reason, then tell me. You don’t need to explain yourself. Say stop and I’ll stop, pull you close and go sleeping, yeah?”“I feel uncomfortable, because… I'm not … really fond of myself right now.”“I know. That’s why I wanted to make you feel good… Do you want me to?”Flash seemed to think for a moment and then nodding in consent. “I trust you, Eddie… but if it’s too much, you’ll-” “Stop. Immediately without question.”“But if I just need you to… stop for a minute?”
“Colours”
Eddie looked up quite confused. Venom had formed over his shoulder and grinned.
“Ask him for colours, when you do something. Green for everything is alright. Yellow for he wants to pause, maybe something doesn’t feel right, but he doesn’t want to stop. Red means stop completely”
“Where did you even get that?”
“We watched human mating videos to learn how to please both of you better.”
“Oh my god, that explains so much,” Eddie said and Flash almost laughed his ass off.“Well, I can live with using colours. Very green at the moment,” Flash admitted and touched the black mass above his shoulder. “But… are you sure you want that too?”“Why wouldn’t I?”“Because…” Flash looked down to his legs, where the knees would have been. Eddie leaned forward and crawled between his legs, took his boyfriend's face into his hands and kissed him as softly as he could.“You are perfect. If you only could see yourself with my eyes…”“Then I would probably still see an useless cripple.”Flash turned his gaze away from Eddie's intense stare but Eddie just lifted Flash's face again to make him look at him.“I see my perfect boyfriend. I see that he’s breathing and living. His heart is beating."Eddie paused for a second before admitting, "Sometimes I dream of that day, you know? How you were lying there, dying. Or dead. Right before Venom managed to save you, I- I thought I had lost you forever.”Eddie hugged him and Flash finally pulled him closer. “You think, that you’re not complete, maybe that I’m disgusted with your body, but that’s not true . You’re still the same person to me.”Flash didn’t seem too convinced, but at least he didn’t push him away anymore. “Show me,” the quarterback allowed and Eddie couldn’t be happier.
Are you sure about that? You’ve never done this before…
Venom asked in concern.Of course he was sure. Maybe… a little nervous. Flash always made him feel special and loved. Thanks to him, Eddie didn’t hate himself anymore, he could see good sides about himself. Now he wanted to give this back. Slowly he pushed up Flash’s shirt and began to place tiny kisses on his chest. “Just relax. Close your eyes,” He whispered against the heated skin and smiled. His want for the other man almost made him lose concentration on the task at hand. 
He closed his eyes… he trusts you, but he’s still too tense.
“I love you so much.”He leaned down and began to slide down Flash’s shorts and didn’t waste any time to take the already half hard cock onto his hand to place kisses on it too. Eddie knew how sensitive Flash was, but he wasn’t the only one. He already felt painfully hard and they had only started…Flash moaned, when Eddie took him into his mouth. One of his hands pulled his hair and the other held him down on the shoulder.It didn’t take long until Flash came in his mouth and sunk back into the pillow.“Mmm… fuck, that was- Eddie,” Flash moaned and pulled him up into a hug. Eddie let himself sink on his boyfriend's chest and hugged him. “Amazing? I know~ But we’re not done yet,” He whispered and kissed his chest.“Not? Eddie, I-”“Colour?” The younger asked and lifted himself on his arms to look him into his eyes. Flash laughed a bit and looked at him, “Seriously?”“Yes. Are you comfortable and relaxed?”“I totally am. Green, if you want the colour!”Eddie leaned forward to kiss him again and carefully pushed down Flash’s pants further. //A little help here, darling?//
Sure, we’ll make him feel so good.
//Be careful, he probably never did this before//Venom’s tendrils helped remove Flash’s pants, while Eddie massaged Flash’s chest and kissed him again. He let his hands glide down Flash’s side, down his stomach and stopped at his navel. He felt the way the body below him tensed. “Colour?”“U-uhm… green… I think…”“Tell me to stop, if you need a break or- or don’t want this.”“Don’t want what?”With a deep breath, he let his hands glide right under his navel and down to the thighs. He massaged the inner sides of Flash’s thighs before pushing them apart. Flash gasped and grabbed the sheets in surprise.Eddie pulled him further down, until his butt pressed against Eddie’s thighs. He held his hip with the left hand and began to massage his arse with the other. Meanwhile the symbiote slithered towards the drawer of Flash’s nightstand and got the lube for them.“O-oh… y-you want to-” Flash stuttered noticing what Venom was doing. After a moment of thought he all but whispered a small 'okay'. Eddie had never felt more insecure than in this moment, but this was not about him and his insecurities. It was about making Flash feel better about himself.When Flash didn’t ask him to stop, he poured some of the lube on his fingers and carefully started to prepare his boyfriend. Eddie gently rubbed his middle finger around the tight ring of muscle in hopes of loosening it enough to make the first finger enter without much resistance. He kept like that until he was sure that Flash was ready for the second finger to be inserted. When he did Flash wriggled and moaned, before gasping a quick “Yellow, stop, please,” and Eddie immediately stopped. “Do you want me to pull them out?” He asked.A quick nod later Eddie had Flash in his arms rubbing his back gently with the dry hand.Flash had looked so vulnerable, tears in his eyes and a red flustered face.“Are you okay?”After a few breaths, Flash nodded. “I’m fine, it just.. it got a bit too overwhelming. It felt… great. I never thought, I’d be into such a thing…”Eddie smiled and held him firmly in his arms. “It’s strange at first… because we were always told it’s wrong. But there is this one spot, that feels just so overwhelmingly great.”“And you really want to do this?”“I want to try… I don’t know, if I’m good, but… whenever you held me and fucked me, I could feel how much you love me. And I want to give that back to you. You are so beautiful and amazing and I don’t want to live one day without you.”Flash sighted and then pulled him closer, just to bite into his neck.“Nnnn!!!” Eddie tried to silent a surprised moan, but Flash exactly knew how much he liked to be marked like that. “And I don’t want to live without you. I love you too, Brock,” Flash answered and then bit him again.“H-hey! Enough, I want you to feel good not the other way around!” “But it feels good to bite you! You’re so delicious”“He’s right, you are!” Eddie blushed and turned his face away. "Would you… continue? All green now." Flash asked flustered and Eddie nodded. He carefully pushed in one finger again, felt how Flash's fingers dug into the soft flesh on his hip. Before he could enter the second finger, his hand was being pushed away by Venom, who wanted to prepare him too. A small tendril of the size of his finger pushed in and as soon as Flash relaxed into the sensation it slowly grew bigger step by step. Eddie knew that this was the much nicer way to be prepared and Flash didn't seem tense or insecure about it for one second. But most importantly he didn't seem to feel pain.“W-wrap your arms around my neck…”Flash did as he said and Eddie lifted him a bit to be able to position himself, so his own dick was rubbing against Flash’s entrance. “I need you to relax, okay? I’ll go slow, just concentrate on me and tell me if it hurts, yes?”Flash nodded and buried his face in the crock of Eddie’s neck. He carefully pressed into him and after a short resistance, he was able to enter him slowly until the head fully popped in. Flash moaned against his neck and then bit him hard. 
Drawing blood… do you want us to heal that?
//I’m fine, just keep massaging him.//The black goo had been crawling all over Flash’s skin to keep him grounded and relaxed.Eddie enjoyed the feeling of Flash’s teeth in his skin, it almost made him come.He kept pushing inch by slow inch, making sure his boyfriend was alright until finally he bottomed out. Eddie kept still for a few moments giving Flash enough time to adjust to his girth before making any other movement.Minute later Eddie asked Flash if he still needed more time or if he could try to start moving.Flash told him to move.So that Eddie did.He started slowly pulling out and inch and the pushing back in, he did this until he was almost pulling his cock completely out before thrusting back in making Flash gasp in pleasure. Eddie had managed to keep a steady rhythm and smiled when Flash moaned louder than before. He was obviously trying to hold back, but he enjoyed it too much to do so.Good.
"Our turn"
Flash looked up, whispered an confused what and his eyes widened, when black poured over Eddie. At first it was only his body that transformed into their shared form, then the black also covered the host’s cock, slowly growing in Flash.
“Colour?”
Flash had never said green faster in his entire lifetime. They smiled at him and let a small growl escape their throat, before the swelling cock started to grow inside of him again. They slowly began moving again. Flash cried out a pleasured moan and held onto them. For a second they stopped, Flash’s grip was not hard enough to hurt them, but enough to make them worry. Before they could even ask if he was in pain, Flash cursed."Fuck, you're torturing me… don’t stop! Please," Flash demanded and they did with pleasure. Their black, gooey cock was still growing inside Flash stretching him out and with another thrust they were pressing against his sweet spot. Flash stared at them in utter surprise as another moan was ripped out of him, Flash’s hand came up to grab their chest and clawed at their skin. They made sure to hold him in place and began to fuck him in a slow and steady rhythm, slowly getting faster and harder. Not as hard as they could, they didn't want to risk hurting Flash, but they gave everything they could to pleasure their partner. Flash himself was trying to grind back against their cock to try and get to them to hit his prostate again. He was so so close… Flash grabbed their back and began scratching over the black skin.Minutes later they were both on the edge and all it took was one coordinated thrust and another bite into their neck to get both to climax at the same time. Seconds passed as their labored breathing began to slow and Venom receded back into their host’s body. Flash was still digging his fingernails into his back, but Eddie didn’t mind. He only was able to stay upright for a moment, trying to give Flash more time, before he collapsed on top of Flash's chest, feeling the way his strong arms wrapped around him.Ah! His job was not done yet! Flash always helped him clean up and gave him water. He leaned up and kissed him again. "Be right back, love" Flash wanted to hold him, but didn't catch him in time. "Wait what? Where are you going?" Eddie disappeared into the bathroom and came out with a lukewarm soaked cloth and a glass of water.After letting Eddie take care of him, Flash pulled him closer and wrapped the bed sheets over them. "I can't believe you've done this." Flash sighted and kissed his forehead. "But… I wouldn't mind doing it again, sometimes?" Eddie smiled happily and cuddled further against him. He preferred to be on the receiving end, didn't like to be in charge like this. But for Flash he'd do anything. And he did enjoy it a lot to see him like this. Moaning and streching under him so beautifully."Sure! As long as you don't demand us to hurt you, we'd do anything for you." 
"Anything."
"Now you sound, like we're offering a murder, V."
"We would murder for him?"
True… but before he could answer, Flash broke into a warm hearted laughter. He hadn't laughed so honestly and free since the accident! Eddie held him close and smiled. "God help me, I'm so in love with you dorks…""And we love you! Now let's sleep, you need to train the rookies early and I have to fix my dorm room!" Eddie didn't feel the soreness in his back he loved so much, but he felt utterly exhaused and satisfied. Hopefully Flash was the same, but he was already relaxed and probably almost asleep. And he was smiling. Eddie watched him another minute or twenty before falling asleep himself. They woke up early and Flash got ready for his training. Until he'd figure out how to play again, he was now in charge of training the rookies and also co-coach to the college team. Eddie unpacked a few things and then went back to his dorm room to tidy up. Right before he was finished, someone knocked on his door. Dan, Annie, Peter and Flash stepped in, everyone was smiling. "Thought, we should be with you when you say goodbye to your room and hello to your new life,” Dan said and hugged him.“We all took the rest of the day off to celebrate with you!” Annie announced and held up a bottle of soda. No champagne or beer allowed around Flash anymore, but no one minded. Everyone was happy, Flash had opened up about his problem and they all did what they could to support him, without pressuring him.“Are you finished here?” Peter asked and looked around. Eddie knew he had one of those dorm rooms too. “We can help, if you need?” Flash offered.Eddie smiled and couldn't believe how far he had come, since meeting Venom."Thank you so much. I'm almost done, only one thing…"He turned around and pulled the curtains to the left, so that the wall underneath could be seen. This was how it all had started. It was kinda fitting. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see Dan. There was no worry in his eyes, no ‘what if he’d do it again’. Instead he looked at him in the knowledge, that Eddie was better now, that he was aware of his friends and his support. Something like this would never happen again. All of his friends were here. The friends that had been able to fill the hole on his chest, to fix him, to make him see the reason and beauty of life again.He now had the two most amazing and caring boyfriends, succeeded in his study and was basically an (junior) Avenger! The only proof of his failure was this hole, the bullet buried deep inside of the wall. His only failure- because his disease was not one. He knew better now. It was a part of him, an unwanted, but he had learned to accept it.He took the small container with the white putty mass and worked it into the bullet hole until no one could see it anymore."Done."