Chapter Text
§-Symbiosis ---%-§
Peter knew he should be patrolling. But it was after 2am and he and Harry had stayed up going over the theorem that Dr. Connors had presented that day until they couldn't manage a coherent thought between them.
Still, the guilt gnawed at him as he trudged home. His suit was stashed in his backpack, just in case he heard anything of interest on his way.
And an unnaturally high pitched scream? Yeah, that was worth checking out.
He swore as he ducked into an alley, and had barely gotten his mask on when the screaming—no, screeching—got louder. It didn't sound human. It sounded like something dying.
“Who's there?” He called out, not bothering to get the rest of his suit on.
Between one breath and the next, the screeching went silent. Everything went silent. He couldn't even hear his own heartbeat and it was so disorienting that Peter felt like the Earth was trying to toss him bodily from its surface.
He grabbed onto the wall. He could still stick. He focused on the feeling of the brick under his fingertips as he willed his midnight snacks to stay in his stomach.
Something—someone?—was on him. Crawling up his leg. He looked down but all he could see was a black shape that absorbed all of the light in the alley. Instinctively he knew that that was what had been screaming out.
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,” he chanted, his eyes widening as the shape seemed to melt into his skin, through his jeans. “What the FUCK ?”
The screeching was back, but now it was inside his own head. Peter dropped to his knees and covered his ears, even as he realized it wouldn't help.
You will suffice. The voice said.
“Get out of my head!” He yelled. The… something. Whatever it was. It was going through his memories, Peter could see them in his mind, like someone thumbing through a stack of Polaroids.
He could feel the thing's distress. It was in pain. And possibly scared.
Fuck. “Are you hurt?”
They have our Other, it growled. Pained. Definitely scared. But not for itself.
“Your Other?” Peter echoed.
New flashes appeared in his mind. The being's memories, he guessed. A man. Tall. Dark hair. Peter could feel a rush of affection and protectiveness that had to belong to the thing that was trying to take up residence in his brain. He felt his ears warm as the memories changed focus. They were suddenly incredibly intimate.
“Woah! Stop that!” He shook his head. “I don't need—or want to see that!”
It was annoyed and instead went back to flipping through his own memories. Unfortunately, some of his own intimate memories had floated to the surface of his mind.
“Not ok!” He flailed uselessly.
We know him!
“What?”
The being pulled up an image of Wade—thankfully clothed this time.
“How could you possibly know Wade?”
My Other knew him.
Jesus Christ. He felt his own spike of jealousy mirrored back at him as they watched its Other's memories of Wade. Meeting him at Hellhouse. Talking. Sharing a few beers. Fucking.
“I really don't want to see that!” He crossed his arms. At least the world had quit spinning.
You are a hero. The voice sounded as though the idea was distasteful. You will help us.
“What?”
More of his memories were being pulled to the surface. Things he did his best not to think about. Uncle Ben. Gwen. Too many people that he'd been too slow, too weak, too him to save. Spider-Man? Its voice was mocking. Peter Parker.
Peter froze. “What?”
You help people, the thing explained. And so you will help us. They have our Other. We need to get him back. We will devour anyone who stands in our way.
Peter slumped to the ground as he was bombarded with the gruesome memories of what it was like to devour someone, realizing just how serious the being's threat was. He yanked off his mask and vomited. It did nothing to stop the sensation of warm fresh blood coursing down his throat, or the feeling of bones crunching between his jaws. Worse still was the way it made him hungry. No, not him. The thing in his head.
“What are you?”
The thing thrummed under his skin, unhappy. We have been called a Symbiote.
Peter blinked. Ok. He knew about symbiosis. “What kind?” He asked. “Mutualistic? Commensalistic? Para—”
We are not a parasite! The voice snarled.
“Ok, ok!” His head hurt. This thing was far too loud for him to handle. “I won't call you that, I'm sorry.”
He could feel its agitation pulsing through him. What is mutualistic?
“Um.” He tried to think of how to explain the concept, but even as he did he realized that a thought was all it took. Right. It could obviously read his thoughts.
We cannot survive your planet without a host, it explained. In return, we will make you stronger. Healthier. Invincible.
Peter laughed. He couldn't help it. The thing thought about its existence and Peter understood. But he was also one of the few who could barely benefit from the Symbiote's abilities.
“Do you have a name?” He asked. Just because he wouldn't benefit didn't mean he wasn't willing to help.
Our kind do not have names. But even as it spoke, Peter could see a memory of the Symbiote and its Other—Eddie, the memory provided—speaking together. “We are Venom.” They growled.
“Venom?” He asked.
No! It screamed so loudly that Peter covered his ears again.
“Well, I have to call you something!” Peter complained loudly. Probably louder than necessary, since it was in him.
Without my Other, we are not Venom, it growled. It was furious, but Peter realized it wasn't angry with him. Most of its rage seemed to aimed at itself. And those that separated it from Eddie.
“Can I call you V?” He asked, throwing thoughts of the images he'd seen of things painted using Vantablack. The thing's black shape had brought it to mind when he'd briefly glimpsed it.
The Symbiote was thinking. If you must call us something, that is acceptable, it eventually decided.
Great. He just needed to go home and tell Wade that he had his own voice in his head. That was sure to go well.
Except Wade wasn't home when he got there. The apartment was locked—a habit he'd finally been able to instill into his boyfriend—and all of the lights were off.
His anxiety seemed to agitate V, which only made his anxiety even worse. He huffed and grabbed a beer from the fridge, occasionally sipping at it as he paced around the small living room. He tried calling Wade. Nothing. It went straight to voicemail, which meant his phone was off.
Wade hadn't been planning on going out that night, as far as Peter could recall. V helpfully dove through his memories.
“Dude, that's incredibly rude, you know,” he scolded.
V paused. He could feel its hesitation. Your partner did not share any plans with you, it told him.
Peter quickly tapped out a text and sent it to Wade.
Peter [02:48]: Text me when you see this. Are you ok?
“Ok. V. What do you know about the people who took Eddie?”
They are Bad, V offered.
“Bad how?”
They hurt people. Do Bad things. We can eat them.
Peter let out a long breath, suddenly grateful that he'd been the one to stumble upon V rather than Wade.
V perked up at that thought. Wade understands! It crowed. But you don't.
“Yes, I do,” he countered. “There are people who do really horrible things. To other people, to the planet. They're selfish and need to be taken out. I just… I disagree with the two of you on what that looks like.”
You disapprove of your partner.
“No, I don't!” He huffed as he dropped onto the couch, effortlessly avoiding spilling his drink. “I love Wade, and I get it. But that doesn't mean I have to be happy about killing—”
Then you don't get it, V argued. If you did, then you would revel in the bloodshed as he does.
Peter felt sick again. V was forcing him to relive the handful of times Peter had witnessed Wade unaliving people. It hadn't been the killing itself, although that had been hard to watch, it was… V had it right. Wade delighted in it.
And he always tried hard not to think about how mind-blowing the sex tended to be after.
V, on the other hand, was fascinated.
“Goddamnit,” Peter groused as V unabashedly poked through those memories as well. “You were supposed to be telling me about the people who have Eddie.”
That got V's attention. We shouldn't have been there, it started. Yesterday? Yes. Yesterday. It showed Peter its memory.
V and Eddie—Venom?—on a motorcycle, driving recklessly through busy traffic, weaving between cars. He could feel what V had felt, wrapped around Eddie's body, taking the form of a helmet and leather jacket. Protecting him. Heightening his reflexes. Bits of inky blackness, V's body, darting out to keep them from colliding with anything. Eddie's own eyes couldn't see through the V-helmet, but he shared V's sight.
Peter was glad he was already laying down. The room spun as his mind tried to reconcile the sensation of being a completely different species.
They were in a building. All white surfaces. It smelled wrong.
And then everything was loud. There was screaming. And pain. So much pain. He heard a voice, Eddie, swearing up and down.
“Give them back you sons of bitches!”
V was panicked. Tried to get back. They latched onto the nearest body they could touch. They hadn't sufficed. The woman's body had burnt up in minutes from V's presence inside her.
Peter went cold. V would have killed him if their chemistry hadn't matched.
V couldn't feel Eddie anymore. Their Other. Their perfect host. Their beloved. They screeched, flailing wildly. They found their way into the ducts of the building. Tried to find Eddie. Failed. Failed. Failed.
They found rodents. Jumped from one to the next until they were outside. Kept jumping. Kept burning through insignificant lives that couldn't hold them.
Peter found them.
Peter's heart was racing. He was crying and he couldn't tell if the tears were his own, or V's. “Do you know where you and Eddie were separated?” He asked, wiping the tears from his face.
V hummed, and Peter had the strangest feeling that it was curling up in his chest, encouraging his heart to calm. He didn't know if he appreciated it or not. No. We did. Eddie told us. But being torn away from our Other… It trailed off.
“Uh. Do you know how far you got from the building? You were on the edges of ESU's campus when I found you.”
We are uncertain. The rodents that hosted us didn't last long, but they could move quickly.
Peter frowned. He couldn't remember any rooms like he'd seen in V's memory, either. And he'd been in all of the labs and science buildings at ESU at some point or another. But nothing had been that white.
Suddenly, V was growling. Peter sat up.
“Shut up, I can't hear,” he snapped. He knew the sound of those heavy footsteps. “It's just Wade.”
Wade who was trying to be very quiet about coming home. Who tried to open the door without unlocking it first. Who swore as he dug a key out of his pocket.
A few moments later the door opened quietly. Or, as quietly as it could with its old rusted hinges. Wade obviously hadn't checked his phone yet if he thought Peter would be trying to sleep.
He looked like he was in a good mood, though. Whatever he'd been out doing tonight must have gone well. He also didn't smell like blood or gunpowder, which was probably a good sign for Peter's mental state as well.
“Oh, hey Sweet Cheeks!” Wade's face lit up as his eyes landed on Peter, who was watching him over the back of the couch. “Why are you still up?”
“Long night studying. Where were you?”
Do you often lie to your partner?
Peter ignored V. He'd get to that part of his night in a second.
“Some asshole had a disagreement with one of my buddies about the going rate for. Uh. Well, you know.”
He nodded. He did know. It also explained why Wade's phone had been off. “Everything turn out ok?”
“Yep. Everything is hunky-dory!”
He's lying.
“What?” Peter had been too startled to keep from replying.
“What, what?” Wade asked.
He stopped moving. His pupils dilated. His heart rate increased. He licked his lips before answering.
“That's all pseudoscience bullshit,” Peter grumbled.
He's getting anxious.
“Because he thinks I'm talking to myself.” He looked back up at Wade. “I'm not, by the way. Talking to myself, I mean.”
“I, uh.” Wade glanced around. “I don't see anyone else here.”
“Yeah. They're. Ok, I know exactly what this is going to sound like, but they're in my head.”
Wade went pale. Yep, that was about how he'd expected Wade to take that news.
“And it's the other reason I'm still up.” He hopped over the back of the couch, moving closer to his boyfriend hesitantly. He really didn't need to spook Wade right then. “I'm not, like. This isn't like White and Yellow.”
White and Yellow? V crashed through his memories, trying to find any scrap of understanding.
“Fuck. You have to stop doing that, V!”
Oooh! Wade hears voices. And he's named them. That's probably a bad sign, isn't it?
“Shut up,” Peter growled, immediately on the defensive.
Wade's face had darkened. “Peter. What the fuck is going on?”
Peter groaned. “V, can you show him?”
Show him what?
“I don't know. The jacket thing?”
No.
“What do you mean, no?”
We were pulled from our Other and had to jump from host to host for hours. It was exhausting. We are weak.
“Goddamnit. Ok, Wade. I was at the library late with Harry, studying.”
“Uh huh.”
“And on my way home, I heard V screaming. So I went to investigate.”
“And V is the voice in your head?”
“It's a Symbiote. An alien.”
Wade looked at him like he'd grown a second head. Which seemed fair. “An alien?”
“Yes. They survive by joining with a host body in a mutualistic symbiosis.”
“And talk to you. In your head.”
Peter nodded. “And other stuff. It showed me some of its memories, and usually it can like.” He waved his hand. “Uh. Kind of take form outside of its host?”
He doesn't believe you.
“Yeah, because I sound insane, V. I wouldn't believe me either.”
“What was pseudoscience bullshit?”
“Oh. It said you were lying when you told me that everything was hunky dory.”
Wade frowned. “I wasn't lying,” he said slowly. “But I did take advantage of the fact that we have slightly different definitions of what hunky dory might mean.”
Oh. Wade was actually entertaining this idea. “What does that mean?”
“That I might have broken the asshole's arm.”
Peter frowned right back. “But your buddy got the payment he wanted for his work?”
“Yeah.”
HE KNOWS EDDIE! V reminded him.
Peter winced at the volume. “Ok. We're coming back to that. And why you felt the need to be creative with the truth. V says you know its Other. Uh. Host. Eddie?”
“Eddie?” Wade considered. “I mean. Yeah. I've met plenty of people named Eddie.”
You were nothing to him, V growled possessively.
“Jesus, calm down, V. Does Eddie have a last name, or is he like Cher or something?”
V was quiet as Peter thought the explanation for his joke at it. Brock. Eddie Brock. He's a journalist. And he fucked your partner.
“Stop bringing that up.” Peter sighed. “V says his last name is Brock, and that he's a journalist.”
And he fucked you and it didn't mean anything.
“Dude, you have to stop showing me that!”
Wade stared at him. Them? “Oh, yeah, I remember him. He was poking his nose in places it didn't belong, and wanted to interview a merc. And I was the only one willing to talk to him.”
“Why?”
“Because he wasn't offering much money. And then someone else offered me a lot of money to shut him up.”
“How the hell did that lead to a one night stand?”
Wade's face went red, and it made the white of his scars stand out in sharp relief. “Um.” Bright blue eyes widened. “How do you know about that?”
“Because V knows about it.”
And we're unhappy about it! Tell him that, Peter!
“And V's super jealous and won't drop it.”
You're also jealous!
“No, I'm not, I don't care. It was from before we were together.”
You get upset when we show you.
“Anyone would get upset at seeing something like that. It's not the same thing as being jealous.”
Liar. You lie to him and you lie to yourself.
“You saw?” Wade squeaked.
“Yeah. Um. I guess from Eddie's perspective?” He shifted. He hadn't only seen. The memories were in 4-fucking-D, he could feel everything, too. Wade didn't need to know that part, probably. This was already weird enough.
“Uh. Well, shit. I mean, it was a while ago. I guess I decided he was funny and that sleeping with him would be a better use of my time than killing him.” Wade wasn't meeting his eyes.
Eddie is very funny, V agreed.
§-Symbiosis 10%-§
Chapter 2
Notes:
Thank you to everyone for your patience! And to Dendrite_Blues, Raven_Ehtar, and Shyshadow3246 for looking over this, betaing, and validating that it's not horrible. <3
Sorry it took so long but everything is DONE! Updates will be posted on Saturdays and Wednesdays. :3
Also, I'd recommend going back and re-reading chapter one. Both because it's been a while, and because I've done some edits and made it prettier. :)
Chapter Text
Falling.
Someone is falling.
We can save us!
I can save her!
“I've got us.”
»SNAP«
“No!”
~~~
Everything is on fire.
The building is collapsing.
We're being burnt up.
Immolated.
The weight is crushing.
This is how I'm going to die.
~~~
“You're an asshole, you know that?
“It's a good thing I love you.”
“You should really stay away from me.”
“At least tell me why.
Are you just really that sick of me?”
“No!
“Because I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you!”
~~~
He loves…
Us?
Me?
He is a loser.
Like us.
We love him too.
Bad things happen to people I love.
Bad things happen to people he loves.
But we're not most people.
He can't die.
We won't let him die.
We will protect him.
We can keep each other safe.
“Well, good!
“Because I'm pretty sure I love you too!”
~~~
Our bodies merged as one.
Like always.
But also different.
This bonding has nothing to do with survival.
Late night infomercials.
Too much pizza.
Neither of us giving a shit
about how loud we're being.
Because in that moment
being us
together
was way more important. ~~~
§-Symbiosis 15%-§
Peter woke up very aware of his morning wood. And that he needed to piss. But Wade's arm was draped over him, holding him close. He was warm and comfortable and hardly inclined to get up. He shifted his leg to stretch out and found that he wasn't the only one waking up hard as a rock.
“Good morning to you too,” Wade whispered, his breath against Peter's neck making his hair stand up. “What time is it?”
“Dunno. Doesn't matter.” Peter scooted back, pressing himself more firmly against Wade's front. “I don't have class until this afternoon.”
He got the distinct impression that something was growling in the back of his mind. Which didn't make any sense until, Fuck your classes.
V! Peter yelped and rolled off the bed and to his feet. “Jesus Christ, you scared me! Did you get smaller?”
He caught Wade's mystified expression as he looked down at himself. “No?”
Peter tried to laugh, but it came out all wrong, too high pitched. “Not you,” he corrected. “V.”
We told you that we were exhausted last night. V sounded annoyed at having to repeat itself.
“My alien is still exhausted,” he explained to Wade.
You forgot about us! About Eddie!
“I didn't forget!” He snapped back. “I just woke up, give me a break.”
“You ok, Petey?” Wade asked.
“Yeah, but I'm,” he groaned. “I'm not going to try to have two conversations at once. V, can you do the thing, yet?” He played back a memory V had showed him of an inky black tendril with a face protruding from a shoulder—presumably Eddie's.
V bristled, irritation settling into Peter's chest. No.
Peter sighed and held up a finger towards Wade, signaling him to wait. “Why not?”
We're hungry, it complained. We have to eat. Regain our strength.
“Ok,” Peter ran a hand through his hair, blowing out a slow breath. “What do you eat?”
Images flashed by. Headless bodies. Dozens of them. Peter's stomach roiled. “Nope!” He waved his arms in front of his body. “We're not eating anyone!”
“It wants you to eat people?” Wade asked.
We only eat Bad people! V explained. Eddie taught us that.
Peter could only wonder what the hell kind of a person Eddie was if he'd decided eating anyone was ok. “No.” He repeated forcefully. “What else do you eat?”
You don't try to understand, V snarled. You asked what we eat and then deny us! Its anger was palpable.
“There has to be something else.” Peter growled back, mirroring V's energy. He tried to reverse the feeling of V digging through his memories. Surely there were other things that V could eat to sustain itself.
V caught on and Peter staggered back until he hit the wall from the rush of memories and thoughts V unleashed on him. Eddie's own distress at V taking control when they were in danger. Eddie similarly fighting back against V's need to eat… what? Eddie just thought of it as eating heads, but surely it was something more than that.
He watched as Eddie tried a wide assortment of various foods, as well as a few things that he was pretty sure weren't intended for human consumption. V had responded well to chocolates and red meat (the rarer the better). But living animals, particularly humans, were far and away the most sating.
There had to be a pattern there, Peter knew it. Chocolate, meat, and heads. He could figure it out if he just had some time.
But right then he had a starving alien nestled amongst his ribs. “V,” he said softly, hoping to help calm it down. “Those memories. Chocolate and red meat are good too, right?” He glanced up when he heard Wade stand up and move across the room.
Not enough. V sounded like it was pleading with him. It sounded scared.
Peter sank to the floor and wrapped his arms around his chest. He didn't know if it would work, but he tried to project calming thoughts towards the alien and the sensation of a hug. “We have to at least try.”
Wade was crouched down in front of him, looking none to calm himself. “Should I throw some clothes on and go buy a steak? Or some giant candy bars?” He offered.
V was curling in on itself. Damn it. “Here's the thing, V. I physically can't bite off a human head. So if I'm going to even think about considering this idea, you need to be strong enough to form outside of my body, right?”
It was weird to just know that V was thinking, mulling over his words. Wade could bring us a head, it suggested.
He must have made a face at that because Wade asked, “What's wrong?”
“Nothing,” Peter shook his head. “Yeah. Chocolate and… whatever you can find in the way of fresh meat, I guess.”
After Wade left Peter dragged himself back off the floor and threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He wandered into what he and Wade generously called the kitchen. Really, it was just a corner of the main room that happened to have a fridge and a few cabinets. They'd bought a microwave, a toaster, and a small electric cooktop. Honestly, V wasn't the only one who was hungry. Toast seemed bland enough to settle his stomach. And hopefully it wouldn't taste like too much if he wound up puking it back up.
You could live somewhere nicer, V noted as he spread butter over his toast.
“You're pretty rude for a hitchhiker, buddy,” Peter muttered.
V huffed at him. Your partner makes enough money killing people that the two of you could afford somewhere better, it continued. You feel guilty that you allow your pride to get in the way of accepting his offer to pay for it, even though it means you live somewhere like this.
“I take it back. You're an asshole.” Peter plopped down on the couch with his meager breakfast and willed himself to get it down. “You should really be nicer to a guy who's gonna try to eat raw meat for you.”
The alien was quiet for a few moments. Eat the chocolate first, it suggested. That might allow us to form enough so that you don't have to taste the meat.
Peter grimaced at the thought of V forming in his mouth. “Ok.”
He booted up his laptop while he waited for Wade to get back. Opening up Google Maps he brought up a satellite view of ESU's campus and tried to trace where V and Eddie might have gotten separated.
Even with the pictures, all V could remember was the motorcycle ride and then the too-white hallways. “We could try looking for Eddie's bike?” He suggested. “Do you know the license plate number?”
When he felt V's confusion, Peter thought about what a license plate was, and where it would be found on a motorcycle.
We can track Eddie's motorcycle using that? V asked after pulling up an image of the plate.
Peter scribbled down the plate number before answering. “I mean, it's a start. I'll ask Wade if he knows anyone who might be able to help when he gets back.”
He leaned back against the couch, trying to focus on V's memories of the motorcycle. Knowing the make and model would be helpful too, he knew. But all he was getting was, “black, two wheels, goes fast,” which would be considerably less useful.
You should eat more, V scolded him suddenly.
“I'm about to eat more, calm down.”
V growled softly. Not right now. In general. You don't eat enough.
“I eat fine. Jesus, are you just trying to be my doctor as well as my therapist?”
Peter could feel V moving around his body as though it was taking inventory. It was weird, mostly. The feeling wasn't something physical so much as a general sense of what it was doing.
“Hey, why haven't my Spidey Senses freaked out about you, yet?”
Before Peter had a chance to offer up an explanation, V dug through his thoughts until it understood what Peter was talking about. We are not a threat, it explained. We needed help, and are willing to help you in return.
His thoughts about V's claim were cut off by the sound of Wade returning.
“That is an outrageous amount of chocolate,” Peter said as Wade handed over what had to be the biggest candy bar Peter had ever seen. “Where did you even find this?”
“Valentine's Day is coming up, so just about everywhere has giant novelty candy. Lucky for you!” Wade passed over a second, more reasonably sized, candy bar before taking what V knew was beef over to the fridge. It was Peter's favorite, aerated chocolate. The fact that Wade had taken the time to find Peter's favorite candy bar made his chest flood with warmth.
That cow has been dead for several weeks, V informed him disdainfully.
“Yeah, beef is aged after the cattle have been slaughtered,” Peter explained.
Gross.
Peter rolled his eyes and bit into the smaller chocolate bar. “Don't be so picky.”
“Tell him I got the freshest meat I could in that timeframe,” Wade said as he dropped onto the couch.
We can hear him just fine, V grumbled. And we're not a him.
“Really? You sound male,” Peter pointed out between bites.
V seemed to be perking up a little from the chocolate. It seemed like it might even be trying to stretch out a little. We do not have genders, V explained.
You enjoy that form of chocolate, V noted as Peter finished the bar.
Peter blinked at the sudden topic jump. “Yeah, it's… I like the texture?” He offered. Then, to Wade, “V says it's not a “he”.”
“But “it” is fine?” Wade asked.
Does the other candy have the same texture? V asked, ignoring Wade's question.
Peter just shrugged. “No, it's just solid chocolate.”
“Is eating that thing going to make you sick?”
“I'm more worried about the beef, honestly. But, I think V is going to metabolize most of this?”
We will, yes, V agreed.
Still, Peter felt more than a little bit nauseated after eating what was easily a pound of chocolate. He curled up on his side and pillowed his head on Wade's lap. Without having to ask, Wade understood and started running his fingers through Peter's hair, scratching gently and soothingly along his scalp.
V curled around his stomach. Peter had never been particularly aware of where his stomach was until that moment. It would have been unsettling except that he could feel V's desire to help him feel better.
“Yeah, you'd better,” he griped half-heartedly in V's general direction.
“You ok, Baby?” Wade asked.
“Yeah. Feels weird as hell, though.”
Sorry.
After a few more minutes Peter's stomach settled down. V was moving again, drawing itself together under the skin of his arm. “Hey, don't push yourself,” Peter warned as V summoned the strength to extend a small black tendril.
The tendril turned to face them, and Peter was face to face with the alien. Although it had the same milky white eyes and rows are sharp teeth that Peter had seen in Eddie's memories, this version was remarkably tiny.
“Holy fuck, it's cute,” Wade cooed.
“Thank you for the chocolate,” V said gruffly, looking up at Wade.
“No problem,” Wade replied, as though this sort of situation was anything approaching normal. “Do you still want the meat I bought?”
“Yes.” Then, as an afterthought, “Please.”
Peter stood and followed Wade to the kitchen. “Mmm, raw stew meat,” he said flatly, staring down at the package.
“It's already bite-sized,” Wade explained. “I thought that'd be easier.”
“How are we going to do this?” Peter asked V's tiny form. “Do I need to—”
“No. We can manage.”
He was glad for that because watching V eat the pieces of meat was fascinating. Peter had no idea where the food was going, but he could vaguely taste it in the back of his throat. “Gross,” he echoed V's earlier sentiment.
Once the stew meat was gone, V sank back into Peter's skin, retreating to his chest cavity to rest. Ask your partner about looking for Eddie's motorcycle.
“Right, yeah. Wade, do you know anyone who can track down a license plate?” He asked before launching into an explanation of his thought process.
Wade hummed thoughtfully. “Yeah, I might know someone who can help us out. She's got some police contacts, good for things like this.”
Can we trust her?
“I trust Wade's judgment on things like this, V.”
§-Symbiosis 20%-§
Chapter Text
§-Symbiosis 20%-§
Peter had never been terribly fond of Hellhouse née Sister Margaret's School for Wayward Children. Which, according to Wade, had been an exceptionally terrible boarding school at one time. Now, however, it was a seedy bar that acted as something of a dispatch center for mercenaries. It also housed at least two illegal gambling rings and a handful of people who were willing to fence stolen goods.
It also, however, had a remarkably well-enforced “no weapons and no violence” policy, which meant that it was a useful place to meet with informants. And Wade considered it a second home. So Peter hadn't dragged up every piece of evidence he could find and gifted it anonymously to the police. Yet.
Your partner would never forgive you.
“Yeah, that's why I haven't done it,” Peter muttered. “And I need to not be talking to myself in here, ok V? So just hang out for a bit.”
V grumbled as it settled around Peter's stomach.
Peter and Wade had suited up. If they were able to get any good information they wanted to be able to act on it immediately.
Their informant, who refused to give Spider-Man her name, was a short woman with a shaved head, fierce grey eyes, and a row of piercings along her left eyebrow.
“Jesus, 'Pool, you're still teaming up with Mr. Goody Goody here?”
“Yep!” Wade replied brightly. “You don't have to like him, but don't forget that he's my bestest buddy.” He spoke loudly enough that everyone in the room would be sure to hear him. And despite his cheery tone, the undercurrent of threat was hard to miss. Peter also didn't miss the way that Wade had shifted his weight to stand just slightly between Peter and the handful of bar patrons that had been watching them.
“Yeah, whatever.” She looked down at her laptop and pointed at the other chairs around the table. “Sit. And gimme the plate.”
Wade sat down and passed over the slip of paper. But before Peter could sit down, someone called out to him.
“Hey, Spidey, c'mere!”
It was Weasel; Wade's friend—according to them at least—and the closest thing Hellhouse seemed to have to an owner.
“Uh.” He hesitated.
“Go on, Webs,” Wade nodded towards the bar. “We'll see what we can find. You go hang out with Weasel. I'll yell if I have any questions.”
“Please don't yell,” Peter said before making his way to the bar.
“You looked uncomfortable, thought I'd give you an out,” Weasel explained. “You know you'd get a much warmer reception if you weren't dressed like that, right Pete?” Weasel asked, dropping his voice enough that they wouldn't be overheard.
Peter still twitched at the use of his name. “It's a weird situation,” he offered. “I don't think I want myself attached to it, you know?”
Weasel grinned. “You guys doing something sketchy? Finally breaking free of that “do everything by the books” attitude?”
Peter snorted. “I'm a masked vigilante, dude. I don't think that qualifies as doing anything by the books.”
He could feel V perk up and listen to their conversation. What books are you talking about? It asked.
“Yeah, yeah. But if you're talking to Kodiak, that means you don't want the cops involved in whatever you're doing, right?”
“Kodiak?”
Weasel blinked. “Goddamnit. Don't tell her I fucked up, ok.”
“Damn it, Weasel! Don't go telling people my name!” The woman, Kodiak, was glaring daggers at them.
V vibrated in his chest. We might be in danger, it warned.
“How the fuck was I supposed to know you were keeping it a secret?” Weasel called back.
Wade was watching something on the computer screen. “Got it!” He announced, standing up and once again placing himself between Peter and Kodiak. “The bike's still on campus, let's go check it out!” He grabbed Peter's arm and directed him towards the door.
Eddie's motorcycle was parked a mile north of where Peter had found V, near the art building.
“Look familiar, V?”
He turned around in a slow circle giving V a chance to see all of their surroundings.
No. V's frustration bubbled in his chest.
“But this is Eddie's bike, at least?”
Yes. That's our bike.
“Sorry. Didn't realize it was an our thing.”
V managed to project the impression of a shrug.
“Nothing looks familiar, but it is their bike,” Peter relayed to Wade.
“And their parking tickets.” Wade held up the slips of paper. “I can't believe it didn't get towed yet.”
Peter opened his mouth to reply, but his Spidey Senses screeched at him to hit the ground. Without another thought, he dropped and grabbed Wade on his way down.
A second later noise exploded from behind them and the nearby students screamed.
What the fuck was that? V yelped, panicked.
“A gun!”
Not that!
He rolled to his feet and vaulted up the nearest building. Who the hell would be shooting at them in broad daylight? On a college campus?!
“Kodiak, what the fuck ?” Wade jumped to his feet with a yell. He pulled his two katana free as he stalked towards her. Good, at least Wade had the sense to not fire a gun at a school.
“Where's Brock?” Kodiak called out, cocking her gun and training it on Wade.
“That's what we're trying to find out!” Peter webbed the gun and ripped it from her hands. “Why are you shooting at us?!”
Her gaze turned up to Peter. “What do you know about Brock's whereabouts?”
We don't like this. He could feel V shift to cover his arms, just under the skin.
“We don't know where he is. We're looking for him.”
Despite Wade being over a foot taller, and weighing at least a hundred pounds more, she didn't seem concerned in the slightest that he was advancing, poised to strike.
“Why are you looking for Brock?” She asked.
Why does she care so much? V hissed.
That was a good question. “Why do you care?” Peter asked, every muscle tensing as he watched her stand there, unfazed.
Kodiak blinked and her eyes turned milky white.
“That can't be good.”
Something resembling thick blue oil bled out from her eyes and slowly oozed back until it was covering her head. Then her neck and chest. And on and on until he could no longer see Kodiak at all.
She has a Symbiote?
Move! V jerked them to the side moments before an oily blue projectile launched into the building, slamming right into where they'd been.
“Fuck!” Peter hit the ground and rolled, firing webs at Kodiak.
Kodiak—or the Symbiote?—just slashed its arm through the air and cut Peter's webs to shreds.
He could hear more students screaming. Wade had swung at the blue Symbiote, but it seemed entirely unaffected.
Why do they want Eddie?
Blue yanked one of Wade's katana from his hand and held it up. Wade cursed, changing his stance to fight with only one sword and continued slashing into Blue. The Symbiote simply admired the blade, twirling it around and examining all of its angles, even as Wade cut into its mass. As soon as Wade pulled the sword free its shape reformed, uninjured.
“What is it doing?” Peter was on edge. His Senses didn't seem to be responding to it at all. Just like they hadn't responded to V.
“Why can't I sense it, V? It's definitely a threat!”
We don't know. We don't care. That is unimportant!
Blue tossed the sword away. It blinked up at Wade, then held its left hand out as it took the shape of a sword.
“That's a pretty cool trick,” Wade noted, jumping back. “But do you have any idea how to use it?”
“Deadpool!” Peter yelled as Blue's hand-sword swung down, cutting clean through Wade's blade and through his arm.
If Wade screamed, Peter couldn't hear it over the blood rushing in his ears. He fired another web, this one around its forearm. Its arm sharpened, breaking free from the web, but it was enough to draw its attention back to Peter.
“I'm the one who's looking for Eddie!” Peter told it.
“Why?” Its voice was inhuman. He could hear Kodiak as well, but Blue's voice was stronger. It was high pitched and scratchy.
Peter didn't think honesty would be the best policy. But honesty is what Spider-Man did. “Because he needs finding.”
Its eyes narrowed. Wade was all but forgotten as it rushed at Peter. He threw himself to the side, knowing it wouldn't be enough. He closed his eyes, trying to prepare for whatever pain he was about to experience.
But the pain never came. When he opened his eyes he saw a small blob of black blocking the blue. V was protecting him. Them.
“How do we fight it, V?”
“So, this is where you went,” Blue growled. “They were right. We just had to use Brock as bait and you'd turn up sooner or later.”
V snarled. This was a trap! You said you trusted her!
Blue pushed harder, and Peter felt them giving. “Not the time, V! How do we fight?!”
“You don't. You only die.” It pulled back and raised its arm up higher. Peter barely managed to roll out of the way of its hand-sword.
It had been years since Peter had been in danger without being able to rely on his Spidey Senses. It felt as if someone has taken his sight, and he was fighting blind. His webs didn't do anything—not even the fancy ones Stark had designed for him—and he was certain the only reason he hadn't been impaled yet was because of V.
V, who was obviously struggling. They weren't strong enough to do more than just keep Blue from managing direct hits.
Fuck. We need to get away from them. Then have Wade fire a gun nearby.
“What?” Peter yelped. “I'm not suggesting that!”
V's shielding faltered and Blue's next strike left a shallow cut in Peter's arm.
Fire and loud noise! Those are your options!
Peter took a chance and looked around. Most of the students seemed to have cleared out (but a few were still nearby, phones recording everything).
Kodiak had already fired a gun, would a second gunshot be that big of a deal at this point? Where the hell are the police? Peter wondered desperately as he used his webs to fling himself back to Wade's side.
“You ok?”
“Not great,” Wade admitted. He'd lost a lot of blood and was down on one knee, breathing harshly. Knowing that Wade couldn't die—or at least couldn't stay dead—didn't make seeing him like this any easier.
“V has a… Well, it's not a plan. But fire and loud noises are our best bets with that thing.”
Blue was watching them from a distance, its head tilted slightly. As soon as it started moving towards them, Peter jumped in front of Wade and held his arms up. V stayed close to his skin now, reinforcing Peter's arms as Blue swung by the at them. Together they could still hold it off.
“Ok, Webs.” Wade stood up behind him. Peter could hear him pulling a gun from a holster. “I can do loud fire.”
With a deep breath, Peter shoved himself and V into Blue. It wasn't much, but it was enough to knock it off balance. It gave them the chance to leap away and grapple to the top of the art building. He hoped the distance was enough to protect V from the sound.
The gunfire was loud enough to ring painfully in his ears. He felt V recoil and withdraw into his chest.
Three more shots rang out before everything went silent.
“I think it's dead!” Wade yelled up to them.
Peter was cautious when they dropped back down. Kodiak was unconscious, but still breathing. A puddle of blue goo spread out beside her.
“Sorry I killed your friend, V,” Wade said apologetically.
They were not our friend. We aren't upset by their death, V assured him.
“V's not broken up over it.” He knelt down to get a better look at Kodiak. “D'you think she was coming after us herself or was Blue over there in control the whole time?”
V formed a tendril that projected out of Peter's shoulder. “We don't know. They might have been working together.”
“Who was she working for?” Wade asked. “She… They? They said something about using bait to find you?”
V growled. “We trusted you!”
“I know, V,” Peter said soothingly. “Wade, is Kodiak usually like that?”
Wade shrugged. “She was acting like normal at the bar. But no, shooting like that isn't really her style. She's all about stealth and gathering intel, not so much actually going after marks.”
“V, be straight with me. How much control can a Symbiote exert over their host?”
V shifted around, wrapping gently around his arm. “A lot,” they admitted.
“A lot like… being able to do all this?”
“Easily.”
Peter sighed. He skimmed his hand over the top of his mask, wanting to run it through his hair. “So, what do we do with her? Just leave her for the cops, or what?”
“We're not just leaving her for the cops to find,” Wade decided. “She was trying to help us, before. The last few minutes might not have been her fault.”
He retrieved Wade's detached arm and considered their options. They needed to get Kodiak somewhere safe—or at least safe from the police, who would hopefully be showing up soon. Seriously, where are they? But they also needed to address Wade's injury. It had stopped bleeding, at least.
We could eat the evidence, V suggested into Peter's mind.
“What evidence?”
V thought pointedly about simply eating Wade's arm.
“No!” Peter shook his head.
Why not? It'll grow back!
“What's wrong?” Wade sounded concerned.
“V wants to eat your fucking arm,” he complained.
“Well, that would be faster than trying to reattach it…”
Peter swore and tossed the arm to Wade, who fumbled with it once before holding onto it. “No,” he repeated more firmly, directing it at both of them. “I'm grabbing Kodiak. We'll just bring her with us and go crash a medical lab so that we can sew your arm back on.”
He didn't wait for Wade to agree or disagree before gingerly picking up Kodiak's body and starting off towards the medical buildings.
§-Symbiosis 25%-§
Chapter 4
Notes:
Woo! We're at the halfway point, doing great so far
We? What's all this 'we' stuff? I'm doing all the hard work
Break time's over, here we go!
*snort* Sorry, I couldn't resist referencing the Pokèrap of all things. Forgive me. :3
But yeah, here's the halfway point! Things are happening. :D :D :D
CW: Gore. Like, I've gone back and forth really hard on if it's enough to bump the rating up to E or not. I had some people read over it and vote, and it came back overwhelmingly "mature" but still. If you feel differently, don't hesitate to drop me a note in the comments and I'll revise the decision.
Chapter Text
§-Symbiosis 30%-§
Once Wade's arm was good and properly reconnected, they returned to Hellhouse. Kodiak still hadn't woken up, and V couldn't tell them if that was to be expected or not.
Aside from being forced away from Eddie, we've never left a host while they were still alive, they explained.
“Comforting,” Peter muttered. He had to wonder what that would mean for him once they found Eddie. Would separating from V kill him?
Kodiak was still alive, though. Peter hoped that was a good sign.
“Jesus fuck, what did you guys do to her?” Weasel gaped at them as they entered the bar.
“She attacked us,” Wade snapped.
“She's just unconscious, not dead,” Peter explained. “Do you have somewhere that she can rest?”
Weasel's jaw was set but he pointed towards the back room. “There's a couch in the break room.”
“Alright Wade, spill. ” Peter heard Weasel turn his attention back on Wade as Peter walked backwards through the door into the back room.
He could hear someone walking up behind him as he set Kodiak down. His senses screamed danger so he ducked to the side and pivoted to see who it was.
Peter didn't recognize the man aiming a gun at him. He swung his legs out to sweep him off his feet, but before he could connect part of the man's head exploded.
V screeched and burrowed into his gut at the sound of gunfire.
Blood and gray matter decorated the small room. V's hunger must have overcome their fear because Peter could feel them swimming back to his skin. It took Peter a moment to realize he was salivating with V's hunger.
He swallowed and glared at Wade—because who else would have flaunted Hellhouse's no violence rules to protect Spider-Man?
Peteeerrrr, V whined as Peter bolted away from the dead body and out the back door. Wade was running after him. Patrons were shouting, but no one seemed willing to actually give chase.
We could have eaten him! V complained when Peter stopped to catch his breath.
“Not in front of witnesses.” Peter leaned heavily against the brick wall. He hoped Kodiak hadn't been hurt. Or traumatized. Waking up covered in blood and gore couldn't be fun.
Wade propped himself up next to Peter. “You ok, Spidey?”
“Yes.” Peter crossed his arms. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I wasn't,” Wade admitted.
He rolled so that he had Peter bracketed in between his arms. Putting all of his weight against his right arm, he used his left to drag his mask up over his nose before doing the same with Peter's.
Peter could feel Wade shiver as their lips met, caressing each other with practiced ease.
Wade stepped closer, slotting Peter between his legs, and let his hands roam over Peter's chest and arms.
Kissing? V asked.
“Jesus Christ, V,” Peter bit out. “You can't give us a couple minutes of privacy?”
“What are they saying?” Wade asked against Peter's mouth.
“They wanted to know if we were kissing. Which, yeah, that was kissing, V.”
You enjoy it.
“Yes, very much. Moreso when I don't have backseat commentary.”
Ask Wade to kiss you again.
Peter choked. He leaned his head back against the wall and groaned. “Why?”
Wade's mouth was quirked up in amusement. His hands stilled, one on Peter's arm, the other splayed out over Peter's chest.
We've never experienced kissing. We don't have lips.
“Then look through my memories if you're so curious.”
It isn't the same.
“You two want to share with the class?” Wade asked.
“Apparently Eddie needs to kiss people more.”
No he doesn't! V growled. He kisses us!
“What, does V have a voyeurism kink?”
“Not exactly. They're not used to having lips. And they want us to kiss more.”
“So what's the problem?” Wade grinned.
“You don't find it weird?”
Wade just shrugged. “Not really that much weirder than you having an alien hitchhiker was to start with.”
As if to show just how not-weird Wade found it, he rolled his hips, pressing his groin against Peter's.
Peter gasped when he did it again and Wade took advantage of the chance to lick into Peter's mouth.
His dick twitched eagerly. It didn't take much to have him relaxing into the way Wade had him pinned to the wall, all thoughts of V observing them pushed firmly into the back of his mind.
“We probably shouldn't be doing this out here,” Peter whispered.
“What, don't like the idea of people finding out Spider-Man likes dick?”
“Don't give a fuck about that. But I do have an image to maintain. And I'm not sure exhibitionism is the image I want to be sending out.”
Wade snorted, but pulled back, readjusting Peter's mask. “Baby Boy, people don't go running around in spandex because they're not exhibitionists.”
He rolled his eyes and grabbed Wade's belt, tugging him along as they trekked back to their apartment.
§-Symbiosis 35%-§
Peter stared up at the ceiling as his breathing calmed back down. That had been weird. Not bad, but… weird.
“Curiosity sated?” He asked.
V formed, extending out from his bare stomach. Their eyes drifted between Peter and Wade, blinking slowly. “Yes.”
Wade giggled beside them, stretching out. “So, did you have fun?”
“It was interesting,” V offered. “But not sexually gratifying.”
“Oh.” Wade propped himself up on his arms. “Sorry.”
Peter could feel V's amusement. “Don't be. Symbiotes don't usually have sex at all. It still felt nice.”
“But you have sex with Eddie?” Wade asked.
“Of course.”
“And that's… Gratifying?”
V's eyes lit up. “Very.”
“Damn it, V,” Peter grumbled as they thought about several gratifying encounters they'd shared with Eddie. “You’re killing me.”
“We are not!” V hissed, a little too tensely.
Another memory. From a time when V and Eddie were still learning how to fit together. Eddie had been rather adamantly against eating anyone. And, unable to help it, V's presence had started eating away at Eddie's organs.
Peter sat up suddenly. “What the fuck, V?!” He demanded.
“We're not! We can control it better! Before we didn't care, but we do now!” He could feel V's panic as they hurried to explain.
“What's wrong?” Wade's hand was on Peter's back, and his brows were furrowed.
Peter's eyes narrowed as he stared down at the tendril of black goo that was the best shape V could manage. He thought about the fight with Blue, and how V had done their best to protect him. He thought about how he and Wade would have been killed, or worse, if V hadn't been there to help.
And he thought about how V was doing everything they could to not hurt Peter, even though they were probably starving.
“Wade,” he reached over and linked his fingers with Wade's free hand. “We need to go unalive someone.”
He could have died happily without ever seeing just how excited Wade got at hearing those words from his mouth.
“You're going to let us eat?” V asked.
“You need to be able to fight, right? Blue was working with another Symbiote, weren't they?”
“That's very likely, yes.”
“Then, yeah. I'm gonna let you eat a head.”
V vibrated with excitement and glee and hunger.
“Don't misunderstand. This is a one-time thing, ok? We're gonna eat one head, to get your strength back. And then I'm going to figure out what it is about heads that you're actually benefiting from. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“Oooh, I have a phone call to make!” Wade announced, diving from the bed and fishing his phone from one of the pouches in his suit. “I'm gonna find us a super duper Bad guy so you don't have to feel too guilty about unaliving someone. Ok, Baby Boy?”
Peter grimaced. “Sure, I guess.”
§-Symbiosis 40%-§
Peter and Deadpool were perched on a fire escape overlooking a dark alley. Peter had considered suiting up, but Spider-Man had been part of enough gratuitous violence for one day.
“You sure that's him?” Peter whispered.
“Yep. See, tattoos match and everything,” Wade—he wasn't quite Deadpool yet—pointed out the tattoos on the man's hands and neck. They were visible even with the coat he was wearing.
“Sex trafficking, drugs, ties to the mob, dogfighting… I don't think he's done anything good in his entire life.”
Peter frowned. How did someone even get mixed up in so many things like that? What had happened in his life to lead him down that path?
You're overthinking it, V admonished. There's no forgiving someone like that.
“Of course not,” Peter muttered. “But still.”
“Having second thoughts?”
“I think I'm on like fourth or fifth thoughts, honestly.”
Wade pulled him into a half hug. “Want me to kill him for you? He dies, I get paid, V gets to eat, and you get to keep your hands mostly clean.”
“Shouldn't we be arresting him or something?”
“Kiddo, he's been arrested. He's done jail time. But he's very very rich and has a team of excellent lawyers that are willing to bend the rules if it means keeping their pockets stuffed with cash.”
“Kind of like you're stuffing your pockets by killing him?” Peter bit out.
Wade tensed beside him, he tilted his head so that he could watch Peter.
“I'm killing him so that he can't keep hurting people.” Deadpool's voice was quiet and even and dangerous. It was an unspoken threat and made Peter's Senses tingle and prepare for a fight. “Getting paid for my skills is just a bonus.”
V snarled in his head—a reaction to his Senses?—and then they were forming, leaking out of his skin, and covering his head.
It wasn't unlike wearing a mask. It was also nothing like wearing a mask.
Everything was muted and sharper at the same time. Colors were more vague, but he could pick up details that he'd never been able to see before. He could count the threads on the guy's coat. He could smell something about him that Peter didn't have a word for, but it made his stomach growl.
He could taste Deadpool's… Anxiety, V provided. He's anxious. And angry. Good.
Not good! Peter disagreed. Calm down!
He threatened you!
Peter wanted to take a deep steadying breath. He wanted to apologize for snapping at Wade. He found that he couldn't do either.
Let go, V! He ordered.
It took a moment, but eventually V sank back down inside him, allowing Peter to take in several great gulps of air.
“Are you alright?” Wade again. The mood swings were enough to give Peter vertigo.
Deadpool hadn't threatened him in over two years. Not since before Gwen—. Peter killed that train of thought before it could actually get going.
With the mask on, it was hard to tell if Wade looked apologetic or not.
Peter turned and glared over the railing. Their target had finished his cigarette and was crushing the remains of it under his heel.
“Kill him for us,” he whispered.
“Peter, I'm—”
“Not now, Wade. C'mon.” He pointed down towards the retreating figure.
When Wade was Deadpool, he moved like a cat. It wasn't fair that someone so huge and intimating could also be so smooth and graceful. He landed from the fire escape almost noiselessly, and the man was dead before he'd had a chance to finish turning around to see what had fallen behind him.
Impressive, V noted as Peter dropped down next to him.
Blood bubbled from the man's mouth and out of his stabbed throat. The scent was overwhelming, and all Peter could smell or taste was hot metal, like pennies that had been left on the dashboard of a car.
How could something make him hungry while also making him feel like he was going to vomit at the same time?
Don't be a pussy, V complained. He's already dead, there's no sense wasting him.
Peter clenched his eyes shut. He couldn't speak.
Just do it, V.
He felt V reform over him. He learned that he'd been wrong: his senses could get stronger with V's help. He'd never wanted to disassociate so much in his life. He wanted to be anywhere but here. He couldn't do this.
His limbs were moving of their own accord. No, not their own, he corrected. V's. V couldn't form over his whole body, but he could still control Peter's arms and take hold of the guy's body.
“Are you going to pass out?”
“Huh? No, I'm fine,” Wade sounded so cavalier.
“Not you.”
Maybe, Peter admitted.
He got the impression that V was rolling his eyes.
Then V's jaw stretched impossibly wide and Peter learned what it sounded like when a human head was bitten and torn from its body.
His stomach churned. His own disgust and V's pleasure warred within him. Closing his eyes didn't keep him from tasting everything. Skin and blood and hair and sweat. Peter could now describe what eyeballs tasted like (salty), and how they crunched and squished between V's teeth. The man's skull cracked apart in a distressingly satisfying way. Peter was grateful that brains didn't seem to taste like much of anything. But he could feel them slide down V's throat. Or was it his own throat? Both, he supposed.
“Delicious,” V groaned, running their tongue along the edges of their mouth. They'd been right about not really having lips. Just a giant gaping maw and an unreasonably long tongue. V felt reenergized, and the rush of strength through Peter's nerves knocked the wind out of him.
Bile rose at the back of his throat.
Is Wade ok? He asked.
V's attention drifted back to Wade, who had taken a few steps back and just watched.
“We want to know if you're alright.”
Rendering Wade speechless was a pretty rare feat. Peter might have been a bit proud, usually.
“What are to doing to do with the rest of the body?” Wade asked.
“Do you need it to collect your bounty?”
Those were both good questions, Peter decided. He tried to focus on their conversation rather than what he'd just gone through.
“Hmm. Like a hand or something? Usually I'd take a picture or something—”
“You what?!” Peter yelped, his emotions strong enough for the words to escape V's mouth.
“Oh, that was neat!” Wade took a step closer. “And it's with burner phones, calm down, Petey.”
V used Peter's hands to rifle through the man's pockets until he found a wallet. “Will this suffice?”
“It should,” Wade took the wallet and tucked it into his belt. “If not, this fucker disappearing from the grid will help.”
“Then we will dispose of the rest of the body.”
Peter realized what V was planning. Wait wait wait! When did we go from eating heads to eating the whole person?!
“Usually we don't. But the additional nourishment would be appreciated.”
V must have felt his trepidation—of course they did, V felt everything he felt—because they paused for another moment.
If it would be more comfortable for you, we can form fully now. You would not have to experience this in the same way.
Peter appreciated V's aside, as though he needed to save face in front of Wade.
What would that mean? Would you just be taking over my body completely?
Temporarily.
That would probably be what happened if they fought another Symbiote though, wouldn't it? He might as well find out what that's like when they weren't in danger.
Ok.
For an instant, everything went dark. Like he'd been plunged into a vat of tar. It was suffocating, even though he could still breathe. Couldn't he? Or was V taking care of that for him?
He forced his eyes open. He could see through V's eyes. They towered over Wade now, and the man in their claws felt like a ragdoll in their grip.
Peter thought he'd been strong before, but it was nothing like this.
He could feel what V felt. And they were bleeding into his every muscle, bone, nerve, cell. It was like watching a movie where the audio was just a fraction of a second delayed: they were so close to perfect synchronization but just shy of it.
§-Symbiosis 45%-§
Suddenly the idea of devouring the waste of space in their grasp wasn't revolting. It was recycling. He hadn't done anything good with the stardust that made up his body, his mind, his life. They could eat it, and use the strength to help others.
They pulled off an arm and swallowed it down first. Then the other. The legs required two bites each. His torso three.
“Peter!” Wade yelped.
They looked down at him. But Wade wasn't looking at them. He was pointing past them, to the mouth of the alley.
“Venom…” A voice growled.
That wasn't their name! They weren't Venom! Not without their Other!
The thought was enough to fracture their harmony. They were Peter and V again.
Something even bigger than V was striding towards them. Silver oil. Another Symbiote.
Peter hadn't expected to run into another one so soon. Two in one fucking day?
“I've been looking for you, Venom,” it was grinning.
V was angry. Peter was afraid.
“Where's Eddie?” V snarled, rushing forward. They swung a fist that the other Symbiote easily dodged.
It didn't stop grinning until it took a step back. Peter and V watched as part of its face pulled away, revealing the human it had bonded with. His visible eye was wide in surprise and terror.
“I am Riot,” it reformed, hiding its host away. A host that V and Peter both recognized instantly.
“And Eddie Brock is mine.”
§-Symbiosis 50%-§
Chapter Text
The sound that tore from V's throat was like that of a wounded animal. They rushed at the silver Symbiote—Riot—and slashed at it with their claws.
It took Peter a moment to recognize that he was no longer in control. He didn't feel like a passenger so much as a hostage. He couldn't even suggest what their shared body should do.
V! He thought desperately. Calm down! We'll save him!
If V heard him, they didn't show it.
Pain ricocheted through them when Riot's arm melted down and reformed as an axe, slashing across their chest.
V stumbled back and all Peter could think about was trying to keep their distance. He wanted his webs. But they hadn't worked last time, so why should they work now?
Good idea, V offered. They leapt into the air and held out their arm like Peter did and shot out long thin tendrils from their wrist—a decent facilimily of his webs! They attached around Riot's leg and yanked it out from under it.
Riot only laughed as it gained its feet. “Petty parlor tricks won't save you, Venom.”
V let out another roar and rushed forward again, their and Peter's brief cooperation shattered. “That’s not our name!” They insisted, swinging and clawing uselessly at Riot. “Only with Eddie—”
“And without him?” Riot grabbed hold of their head and lifted them up by it. “Without this human, what are you then?”
Before V could try to answer, two gunshots rang out. Wade!
Riot’s form rippled and Peter and V fell to the ground. Another shot, closer, left V unstable enough for Peter to force his mind to the forefront. We’re leaving! He commanded and tore off on all fours past Riot and out onto the street. V fought him for control—to go back and fight—but the moment of disorientation had been enough for grief to take hold in V’s mind.
Peter could feel bad about using V’s grief against them later. If they’d stayed, Riot would have killed them, he was certain of it.
“We’ll save him, V, I promise.”
V sunk back into Peter’s skin, all unbridled pain and anguish and fear. They were afraid of Riot. Afraid of what Riot was doing to Eddie.
As soon as he was confident no one would see, Peter used his web-shooters to throw them up into the skies and towards his apartment. He didn’t know why Riot wasn’t following them. Why it was letting them escape.
He hoped Wade was also getting away.
Riot won’t be interested in Wade, V muttered. Only Eddie.
“What’s so special about Eddie?”
V growled at the question.
“I just meant… Why go through all the trouble to take Eddie away from you? Why split you up?”
It wasn’t until they crawled through the window of the apartment that V answered his question. Because Venom is strong. We are strong enough to challenge Riot’s authority.
“So, what? It thinks having Eddie will make it stronger?”
Yes.
Peter ran a hand through his sweat soaked hair. “Did it?”
We don't know. But Riot doesn't understand! V snarled, their anger renewed. They can't be Riot with Eddie! Riot doesn't exist without their previous host!
And Venom… We are strong because of our bond. Alone, we are…
Two memories played back to back.
V and Eddie somewhere dark. Waves were crashing against the ground nearby.
“I know everything about you,” V purred.
“H-how?” Eddie looked terrified of V.
“I am inside your head. You are a loser, Eddie.”
Then,
Dark again, but it smelled like they were walking through the woods. “On my planet, I am kind of a loser, like you! But together, we could be more.”
Peter found himself smiling at the fondness that V felt for those memories.
“You were kind of a dick to him.”
At first, we were concerned only with our survival.
He hummed his understanding and pulled out his phone, sending Wade a text:
Peter [18:32]: Do I need to suit up and come rescue you?
“What changed?” He asked V. He started pacing the living room, waiting for Wade's reply.
We became Venom. We saw Earth through Eddie’s eyes, and no longer wished to conquer it.
Peter nearly dropped his phone. “What?”
Our planet is dying, and so we need a new one, V explained. We came to Earth seeking out a viable place to relocate.
“So you, what? Betrayed your species? For Earth?”
For Eddie, V corrected.
Peter's phone pinged with an incoming message:
Wade [18:35]: Nope! I'm all good! As soon as you two left, Riot skedaddled.
“Then what was the point?” Peter wondered, dropping onto the couch. “Was Riot just going, “Hey, look who I've got?””
No, V squirmed restlessly in his gut. Riot is using Eddie as bait. To hurt us. To punish us.
Peter let out a long breath and let his head drop back. He raised his arm up and stared at his hand, slowly flexing and extending it. He could feel tiny threads of V woven through his muscles. After feeding and bonding, he was stronger than before. There was so much potential in every movement…
“You and I aren't Venom, right?”
No, we are not.
“But… are we something? I mean, for a bit earlier, we weren't just V and Peter, we were…” He waved his hands, floundering for the right word.
Greater than the sum of our parts, V supplied. You understand that which Riot does not.
V poured out from under his skin, forming a head to look him in the eyes. “Is that what you want, Peter? To be us?”
Peter swallowed. Fuck, he hadn't really understood just how much bigger V was, but it was impossible to ignore like this.
And did he want that? When they'd been in sync, he'd enjoyed eating that guy. Was that something he wanted to deal with? Enjoying violence? Maybe even seeking it out?
Like Wade does.
But it was their best chance to fight Riot. If they'd stayed in sync, if V hadn't blocked him out like that, maybe they could have held their own better.
“I think it's something we need to consider.”
V's impossibly long tongue slid up the side of his face, sending a confused and disgusted shudder through Peter. V's tone was bordering on affectionate when they said, “Then we will consider it.”
§-Symbiosis 60%-§
Three long and frustrating days passed, and neither Peter nor Wade had managed to find any sort of lead on where the hell Riot was holed up.
It had to be in the city, which didn't really narrow it down very much. And was likely near ESU, but even that hadn't born any fruit yet.
“And V hasn't remembered anything else?” Wade asked while they took a short break and sat atop one of NYC's buildings.
“Nope,” he popped, trying to shove down his irritation. It wasn't V's fault they couldn't remember.
We're trying!
“I know, V.” He took a bite of his chocolate bar. “It's just… How is something like Riot hiding?”
V rumbled, echoing his distress.
When he lifted the bar again, part of V shot out from his shoulder and snagged the candy, absorbing it, wrapper and all.
“Rude,” Peter glared as V's form sank back under his suit.
Usually the lights from the city and the reflections from the bay were calming for Peter. He liked to climb as high as he could and just watch the pulse of the city when he was feeling overwhelmed.
But tonight all he could think about was V's warning. Riot and several other Symbiotes—including V and Blue—had come to Earth to take it over. All he saw was life just waiting to be snuffed out or possessed.
“C'mon, DP. Just sitting around isn't getting us anywhere.”
Wade grabbed his arm when he tried to stand up and hurried to finish his hotdog. “Sure, sure,” he agreed, “but you've been going non-stop for days, Pete. You need to rest once in a while.”
Peter yanked his arm out of Wade's grip. “I'm sleeping at night. We just took a break. Now let's go!”
The Merc huffed and balled up his trash. “Fine, where are we going?”
“We haven't tried Hellhouse, yet.” He moved towards the edge of the building.
“Yeah, because they'll probably try to shoot you on sight!” Wade scrambled to his feet.
“I'd like to see them try.” Peter pulled his mask the rest of the way down before swan diving off the side of the building. V whooped and cheered in his head the whole way down.
Wade hadn't been wrong about the tense reception. V bubbled up just beneath his skin, ready to defend them if need be.
He narrowed his eyes until his mask echoed the expression, challenging any of the assorted criminals to step forward.
Several seemed ready to take him on. Four or five huge brutes stood as soon as their eyes landed on him.
“Ready?” He breathed.
Ready.
§-Symbiosis 65%-§
They both tensed, waiting for one of the men to make the first move.
But before anything could happen a call of, “Sit your asses down!” rang out.
Kodiak marched through the bar from the back corner until she was inches away from him, glaring up into his mask.
“Mr. Goody Goody.”
“Kodiak,” he nodded.
“‘Pool’s arm ok?”
“Yeah, we got him sewed back up.”
“Good.” She turned to face the rest of the bar. “Listen up! This dumbass,” she jerked her thumb back to point at Peter. “Risked his life to fight an alien and save my ass! And how do you fuckers repay him? By trying to kill him!”
“He killed Rooster!” One of the men shouted.
Presumably, Rooster was the one who'd tried to shoot him. “Technically, Deadpool killed Rooster,” Peter said blandly.
The general sounds of discontent told him that, somehow, Spider-Man was still to blame, as far as they were concerned.
Peter glanced towards the bar to see Weasel leaning back against the wall, his arms crossed, trying to appear apathetic. He looked too uneasy to quite pull it off, though.
Coward, V commented.
Kodiak let out an irritated breath before turning and grabbing Peter's wrist. “What are you even doing here?” She hissed.
“We're looking for Riot.” He replied quietly.
The moment of confusion was quickly replaced by comprehension. “Not here.”
She released his arm and headed for the exit, apparently certain that Peter was just going to follow her.
Watch my back, V.
Watching.
Peter turned and followed her, unconcerned to have his back turned to a group of killers who wanted him dead. They wouldn't get past V.
“Where are we going?” He asked once they were out in the cool night air.
“Do you still have that parasite in you?”
V's fury coursed through him.
“V's not a parasite.” Peter said quickly, trying to encourage V to calm down.
She's the closest thing we have to a lead! Knock it off!
We're not a parasite!
“Deluge was,” Kodiak said. “And whatever that thing might be telling you, it's just using you too.”
“Deluge?” Peter asked. “Oh! The blue one. And you're wrong, V and I are working together.”
“Sure, right now. Right up until you don't do what it wants.”
Peter stopped walking and crossed his arms. “Do you know anything about Riot or not?”
“Deluge was working for him.”
V squirmed uncomfortably at the way she spoke.
“And?”
“Riot wants Venom,” she pointed at him. “And you're harboring it.”
“And why were you working with Riot? What was in it for you?”
Kodiak widened her stance and crossed her arms. “Like I said: Deluge told me what I wanted to hear. Fame, fortune, knocking Brock down a peg or two.”
“You know Eddie?”
She laughed. “Sure. He's famous and all. Or, infamous in my circles. He's a fucking hack journalist who just keeps getting lucky."
Eddie is not a hack! V snarled. He works very hard! He puts himself him danger to find out the truth!
“I know, V,” Peter grit out. Keeping his composure was getting harder. The angrier V got, the more they influenced his emotions. He needed to end this conversation quickly.
“You said Deluge was just using you. What happened?”
“She wanted to attack you and Deadpool.”
“And you didn't?”
“'Pool and I have a good working relationship. It's in my best interest to keep him on my good side.”
“I'm no expert, but I don't think shooting at us was the way to go about that.”
“Are you not listening or do you just have shit for brains?” Kodiak snapped. “Deluge used my body to become that thing! I had no say in it!”
Peter bit his lip. He knew how that felt. To be used and have no control over what was happening or what your body was doing.
A wave of guilt rippled from V, We're sorry, Peter. We should never have done that.
No, he agreed. But I understand. You were freaking out and wanted to fight. I just wanted to run.
“I'm glad we were able to help you,” Peter said sincerely. He was getting the impression that V was a more notable outlier when it came to their treatment of hosts than he'd realized. “One last thing, then we'll leave you alone.”
“What is it?”
“Do you have any idea where Riot is hiding out?”
“I got the impression he moves around a lot. And changes hosts. Never saw him in the same body twice.”
§-Symbiosis 75%-§
Chapter 6
Notes:
Per request: small spoilers for the chapter, so I'm gonna throw them in the ending notes. Click there. 👍
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Tracking down Riot was proving fucking impossible. No one seemed to know anything. No one had seen a giant silver monster roaming around New York, and no one had seen Eddie Brock.
“Your bodega is across the street!” Spider-Man growled at the woman across the counter. He pointed towards the alley where Riot had cornered them. “How can you tell me you didn't see anything?”
The woman took a shaky step back, her eyes watering. “I'm sorry,” she whispered.
“C'mon, man,” Deadpool said firmly. “If she says she didn't see anything, she didn't see anything. Why would she lie to you about it?”
Maybe one of Riot's Symbiotes has taken her for a host, V suggested.
You really think so?
It's a possibility.
Peter dug a lighter out of his pocket and flicked it on. The tiny flame was enough to cause V to retreat away from his arm.
But the frightened woman just looked confused and wary.
“Fine.” He bit out. “But let me know if you see anything.”
“O-ok. I will.”
Peter left with Deadpool following right behind him. He tried to ignore the sounds of the woman sobbing as soon as the door closed behind them.
“Webs, you know I'm all for your new and exciting treatment of Bad Guys,” Deadpool started, referring to Peter's new willingness to hurt people he suspected of lying. “But maybe you should chill out with the civilians?”
“How did she not see anything, DP?” Peter asked, ignoring the suggestion. “Even if she missed Riot, V and I tore out of there looking—”
“Like a black shape in the dark. Even if she caught movement, there was no reason to think it was anything unusual.”
Peter glanced over. He wasn't used to Deadpool being the voice of reason.
“Maybe,” he conceded.
Sometimes you have to be aggressive to get to the bottom of things.
That something else Eddie taught you?
No. But he's better at interrogation than you are.
“Oh, fuck off, V.”
“They being a dick?” Deadpool asked.
“They think I suck at interrogation.”
You suck at being intimidating, V corrected. Which means you must make people intimidated by you.
“I mean, no offense, but they're not wrong. You're more, ‘help your fellow man and talk at people until they let something slip.’ Which is also a good tactic, don't get me wrong.”
He is wrong, though. If you'd been more willing to intimidate—to hurt—maybe Gwen would still be alive.
It felt like Peter's chest had been plunged into icy water. V was right. If he hadn't been so concerned with keeping Norman alive and uninjured, he'd have never had the chance to toss Gwen from that bridge.
His hands balled up into fists. Norman was in Raft. Where he couldn't hurt anyone else.
But that didn't bring Gwen back. It didn't erase his failure.
Or Ben? Or those children? Do you understand, Peter? A willingness to punish Bad People isn't a flaw. It's—
“That's enough!” Peter hadn't meant to shout. And Spider-Man yelling at nothing was enough to get the attention from even New York's bystanders. Fuck.
That's enough, V. I get it.
V rippled with relief under his skin.
And this won't be like before. We're going to save Eddie.
§-Symbiosis 80%-§
“Webs?” Worry was heavy in Deadpool's voice.
“I'm good. Sorry.” He flashed Deadpool a pair of finger guns.
Even through the mask he looked unconvinced. “Where's the next stop?”
“V? Any thoughts?”
We could eat more heads, they suggested.
Not those kinds of thoughts.
We meant… We could try to lure Riot to us?
No, you didn't.
V mimicked a huff. We're hungry.
Peter pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Anything useful?” Deadpool asked.
“No,” he sighed. “But I think they're getting hangry.”
Deadpool snorted. “I wouldn't say no to some lunch.”
“Not the sort of lunch they're suggesting.” Peter paused, then smiled to himself. “Unless you and I need to have a very important conversation about cannibalism?”
There was a confused pause before Deadpool burst out laughing hard enough that he doubled over. “M-maybe tonight, V,” he offered through his laughter.
“Don't encourage them,” Peter complained as V perked up.
“Well, it's been a few days, right? I don't know how often Symbiotes need to eat.”
Huh. Neither did Peter.
V, I need honesty here. How often do you need to eat heads?
Need? V asked. Under ideal circumstances—like being bonded with Eddie, Peter didn't need them to specify—every two weeks or so would suffice.
And current circumstances?
We don't know. We would probably manage with only one a week.
I'm sensing a but, here.
But we need to keep our strength up.
Peter blew out a long breath.
“What's up?” Deadpool asked.
“How, uh. How easy would it be to find an exceptionally Bad Guy on really short notice?”
The other man's posture softened and he set a warm hand on Peter's shoulder. “Easier than I really want you to know.”
Peter wasn't even sure what all this man had done to earn his spot onto Deadpool's list of “Very Very Bad People”. Murder had been briefly mentioned.
V had convinced him not to take Wade's out this time. The man's scream of fear had been intoxicating in a way that Peter didn't have time to think about because he and V—they—had grabbed hold of him and torn his head from his body with their claws.
That much unrestrained strength…
They liked the way his skull crunched between their jaws as they bit off his scalp. Their long tongue scooped his brains out like pudding and it flowed down their throat just as easily.
The criminal had eaten something recently that gave his tongue an unpleasant aftertaste that left them glad that they hadn't saved it for last.
“Is that fun?” Deadpool asked from his perch on a dumpster several feet away.
“Would you like to try an eye?” They offered, plucking it from his skull. “It's the second-best part.”
“No thank you,” he managed. They'd never heard Deadpool sound grossed out like that before. Interesting.
They shrugged and popped the rest of the head into their mouth in one bite.
“Jesus, you two are just in perfect sync, huh?”
“No,” they admitted. “Perfect symbiosis is rare, and difficult to achieve.”
“Really?” Deadpool sounded curious.
Before he could ask any follow-up questions, Peter's phone rang.
“Thank you for bein’ a friend,” his phone sang.
Fuck! That's Aunt May!
V growled at the interruption but let the man's body drop before sinking back under Peter's skin.
Peter stared down at the body for a moment, watching blood pool on the ground from what was left of his neck. He swallowed down his unease before answering his phone, trying to sound carefree. “Hey, Aunt May!”
“Peter, where have you been?” May sounded worried.
“Um,” Peter kicked at a rock at his feet. His mind blanked on any plausible excuses. “You know, around? Why, what's up?”
“Around?” She repeated. “Is that why I had to lie and tell Harry you were sick when he called me yesterday? He said you haven't been going to class, or work, or your internship... Peter, what have you gotten yourself into?”
He swallowed and shot Deadpool a desperate look, as though he could be of any help. “I've been… Busy.” There, that wasn't lying.
“Being Spider-Man?” She asked.
“Y-yeah. You know, usually I keep to the neighborhood, but sometimes The Avengers—”
“Don't you dare try to lie to me young man!”
“What?” Peter squeaked.
“I read the papers, Peter. I've seen what Spider-Man's been getting up to. And even if I hadn't, Mr. Stark called me a few minutes ago and—”
“He what?”
Despite not understanding Peter's anger or indignation, V flared to life all the same, surging eagerly through his body.
“He said you've been attacking civilians and that Deadpool—”
The phone shattered in their hand.
“Petey?” Deadpool dropped from the dumpster and was by their side in an instant. “Peter, what's wrong?”
“Stark,” they seethed.
§-Symbiosis 85%-§
V's voice bled harmoniously into Peter's. Their teeth grit in Peter's indignation at being looked down on. V rippled under his skin, eagerly providing him with a feedback loop of aggression.
“What'd Iron Douche do? I need more to go on, here.”
They didn't answer. Instead, they turned towards the bag that Peter had brought with them and set to changing into his suit.
“Talk to me, Webs,” Deadpool grabbed at Peter's wrist, only for them to wrench it away.
“We're paying The Avengers a visit.”
Deadpool let out a long breath. He nodded. “Ok. Lead the way.”
They blinked, calibrating the mask. Deadpool was coming with them? Right, that made sense. Of course, Deadpool would come along.
V's amusement trickled along their bond as Deadpool clung to their back while they swung through the city.
There were several unmarked windows spread across Avengers Tower that allowed Spider-Man easy access to the building. They paused at the one nearest to where their mask was reading off two heat signatures.
One of them was Tony Stark.
However, the window was two floors down from them.
Go in here and head for the elevator?
Break through the window.
That window is bomb-proof, there's no way we're breaking it.
V cackled and launched them upwards.
“Uh, Spidey?” Deadpool asked as their arm pulled back.
“We've got this.” They were strong enough to break the window! They laughed and whooped as they tumbled into the building.
Holy shit, V!
Told you. More than the sum of our parts.
They grinned, giddy with excitement at what they had just done. What they could do!
§-Symbiosis 90%-§
“What the fuck, Parker?”
Right. Stark.
“I could ask you the same question,” they growled, getting to their feet. “Why did you call May?”
“You called May?” The other heat signature—Bruce Banner—spoke, looking unimpressed. “What happened to, ‘We'll call Peter in and see what's going on?’”
“Because I tried that. Someone,” he looked pointedly at Peter. “Never answered their phone, or texts, or even the emails I sent. What was I supposed to do? I was worried about you, kid.”
“We're not a kid! And we don't need you looking out for us.”
“Peter,” Bruce took a measured step forward.
They felt Deadpool shift, standing closer to them. Whether to attack or defend, they weren't sure.
“We know you're not a kid,” Bruce continued. “But the stuff you've been doing… You're our friend, of course we would be worried about you.”
Stark wasn't looking at Peter anymore, his eyes were trained on Deadpool.
“You can stop. We've got this handled.”
“Yeah, I've seen how you and Deadpool are handling things,” Stark bit out. They watched him closely, ready to spring if he tried to summon his suit. “Since when does the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man beat people up?”
“Since that's what the situation called for.” Their agitation rose. Where did Stark get off acting so high and mighty, anyway? Like he had never hurt anyone? Killed anyone.
“And what's this “we” shit? Wilson's brand of crazy finally rubbing off on you? I fucking told you to stay away—”
It was only Deadpool throwing his arm in front of them that kept them from leaping across the room and tearing into Stark's throat.
“You don't want to fight The Avengers,” Deadpool cautioned, a hint of desperation in his voice.
“Yes we do,” they argued. “We would win, they can't—”
“What about Eddie?”
Their bond trembled for a moment, and it was Peter and V looking at the situation.
Peter still wanted to fight. To make them understand.
But Eddie was V's only priority.
Sorry, Peter thought. I got carried away.
“Who's Eddie?” Bruce asked. “Please tell us what's going on.”
Irritation resurfaced as quickly as he'd managed to calm it down. “You've been stalking me for the last week and still haven't caught on to what we're doing?” Peter shouted.
He stalked across the room until he was inches from Stark, glaring down at his face. He drew himself up, taking advantage of every bit of height he had on him.
“You self-righteous fuck,” he spat. “All you want is to try to control me. Well I'm sick of it. Fuck. You.”
Stark refused to be cowed, though. “Fine. If you want to go play mercenary with your boyfriend, I can't stop you. But you're not using my tech to do it.”
Was that really all it was going to take? “I never needed your tech anyway.”
Peter took a step back and pulled off his mask, dropping it unceremoniously to the floor. His gloves and web-shooters followed.
He paused, considering how much StarkTech had been integrated into his suit over the years. Then he just shrugged and pulled off the suit itself.
“C'mon, DP.” He said, only allowing himself a second to enjoy Stark's and Bruce's surprised expressions.
V was pulsing through him, right under his skin. Waiting.
“We taking the elevator?” Deadpool asked, glancing between the suit and Peter's nude form.
“No need.”
Black ooze bubbled up, covering his skin. It crawled up over his head—eyes, ears, nose, mouth. Down his torso and legs.
But instead of V's massive hulking form, they stayed tight against Peter's body. And, in what they would later admit was a moment of vanity, white spiderwebs decorated their black form. They glanced down to see a white angular spider emblazoned across their chest.
“Jesus fuck,” Deadpool whispered hoarsely.
“What the fuck is that?” Stark yelled.
They glanced back. They could hear the accelerated heartbeats of the other three in the room. Could smell a mix of anxiety and fear. And what they assumed (hoped) was Wade's faint arousal.
“We are Vertigo.”
§-Symbiosis 95%-§
Notes:
Tony and Peter get into an argument. It's from Peter's VERY skewed perspective and Tony doesn't come off looking all that great in it. But it's only Peter's opinion of the situation.
(I'm sure a lot of you know I adore Tony Stark with all of my soul, otherwise I wouldn't have written 200k+ from his perspective. :)) )
Chapter 7
Notes:
Posting this chapter early because I have to be at work early tomorrow (boo!), and I figured you lovelies would prefer an early chapter than a late one. :)
Chapter Text
§-Symbiosis 100%-§
Anne said you were run out of New York City, They reminded him as he scrounged through his laundry for another clean shirt to pack.
“She was being hyperbolic, Love. I wasn't literally run out of the city. I can go back.”
“But why would you want to?” They asked, flowing out so that They could wrap around Eddie's neck and shoulders—warm and comforting. “We could just stay here, where you're loved and respected.” Their tongue snaked up and dragged along the side of his face.
He turned his head to press a quick kiss to the top of Their head. “We could, but there's something going on there, Darling. And no one else is talking about it.”
They attempted to pout against his neck. “It could be dangerous.”
“All the more reason for Us to go, then.” He finished tossing toiletries into his bag. “We'll be safe from anything, right?”
“Yes. We'll protect Us, Eddie,” They purred into his ear. “From anything. You'll always be safe with Us.”
Eddie smiled and ran his fingers through Their form, feeling it flow around him like mercury. “Plus, it's a 3,000-mile drive.” He projected images of mountains, flatlands, lakes, and rivers. Everything he could think of that They might drive past on the cross-country trip. “Don't You keep saying You want to see more of Earth for Yourself?”
They latched onto the images that Eddie provided, Their curiosity overtaking Their trepidation. “Beautiful.”
“Mmhmm. And even better in person.”
“And if it's a trap, Eddie?”
Damn, Eddie could barely remember the last time They had been so on edge. “Then We'll eat her. Problem solved.”
It wasn't like Eddie didn't understand Their concern. It had been a weird-ass phone call.
“Brock speaking.”
“Mr. Eddie Brock,” he could hear the woman's smile from the other end of the line. “I'm delighted to speak with you.”
Eddie paused his typing mid-word and shared a bewildered glance with Them, who had been eagerly working through a bag of unpopped popcorn.
(He'd tried to show Them that it was better cooked, but They couldn't be swayed. “We like the crunch, Eddie.” )
“Always happy to talk to a fan,” he offered. “How can I help you, Ms…”
“I’ve got a scoop for you!” She chirped.
He frowned. No one really talked like that anymore. “Thanks, but I've already got a lot on my plate. But I know a few people who’d be willing to hear you out.”
She hummed in a way that Eddie suspected was meant to be disappointment. But it felt too calculated. Too perfect. “But I really think you're the only man for the job, Mr. Brock. There's something evil happening here.”
Evil, huh? Well, it couldn't hurt to listen. “Alright. Tell me your name, and I'll listen to what you have to say.”
“Jane Smith.”
Just hang up the phone, Love, They suggested. She's wasting your time.
“Are you in danger, Jane?” He could at least try to give her the benefit of the doubt.
“Everyone in New York is.”
Nope, he decided. There was no way in hell he was traveling across the country. “New York?” He echoed. “Why not call The Avengers? They're already there.”
“I have!” She insisted. “I think they know about all the killing. They're just not doing anything about it!”
Eddie hesitated before pulling up Google Maps and looking up rough directions from his apartment to New York City. “How much killing?”
“Hundreds of people over the last few years. Executed brutally,” she added. “At first I thought maybe it was a gang or something, but… Now I think it's all the same guy.”
Someone was killing hundreds of people and neither the cops nor The Avengers were doing anything about it?
Despite knowing that they were driving towards either A) a highly dangerous criminal, or B) A trap, the drive was surprisingly peaceful.
They sped along Interstate 80, weaving seamlessly through traffic, pushing their Ducati as fast as it could go.
Eddie loved speed—always had—and now that he could take advantage of that as often as he wanted? Yeah, he definitely abused the fact that They could keep him safe.
We enjoy going fast too.
He grinned behind the helmet that They had formed around his head. It was completely unnecessary, of course, but as they were already pushing 120mph, there was no need to draw additional attention to themselves (or let a camera get a picture of his face).
They also got to eat an interesting criminal in Wyoming.
“Well, We had been making good time,” Eddie grumbled as he picked his way back to their bike.
You're the one who wanted to stop, They pointed out. Besides, it's late, and you need to rest.
“Do I, though?” He asked. “You can keep me going for a few days without sleep, no problem.”
Suddenly Eddie found that he couldn't move his limbs. “Seriously, Babe?”
Seriously, Eddie. Just because We can, doesn't mean We should. We're likely heading into a fight.
Eddie sighed. “Fine, fine, we'll find a motel or something.”
They were pleased with his concession and released him so he could finish getting on the bike.
They convinced him to stop and sleep in Illinois, too. And then even insisted once they got to New York City.
“But we're here!” Eddie complained.
Good! Then you can sleep for tonight, and We'll investigate first thing in the morning.
“You're killing me here. I'm fine.”
They moved, pouring out over his skin and wrapping around his chest and stomach under his clothing. “We are protecting you, Beloved. Keeping you safe.”
Even as he huffed he sent Them waves of love and gratitude.
§-Symbiosis 100%-§
They quickly realized that the address they'd been given was for a building on the outskirts of a college campus. From the architecture it might have been a part of the school, but it was hard to say for certain. It didn't have any signage to denote the name of the building.
A trap?
“Maybe. Might just be some student housing.”
They bristled at every sound as Eddie climbed up the steps. He had barely raised his hand to knock when the door swung open and something smooth and yellow wrapped around his arm.
It took Eddie a moment for his brain to supply, Symbiote.
They didn't have any such delay, however, and had already surged forward, blanketing Eddie's body and breaking free from the other Symbiote's grasp.
We told you!
Later!
“Who are you?” Venom asked, their claws closing around the other's throat.
“We are Havoc,” it gasped out.
“Why are you here?”
It grinned despite the crushing force around its neck. “We've been searching for you, Venom.”
Venom snarled and hurled the smaller Symbiote into the building.
Eddie could feel Their confusion. How did Havoc know Their name?
Rather than stand and fight, Havoc made a break for the hallway and charged downwards.
Venom gave chase, dropping to all fours to more quickly close the distance between them.
Is Havoc the one Jane called us about?
No.
They shared flashes of memories with Eddie.
Five Symbiotes traveling through space, seeking out a new world for their kind to devour inhabit. The silver one was their leader. The blue one was a tactician and strategist. Yellow wasn't one for combat, but they had a keen mind for finding viable hosts to bond with. The pink one, who Eddie recognized as Agony, had been something of a sharpshooter before Venom had destroyed them. And of course, there was his Other, as black and lovely as ever. They were a shield and cannon fodder, the defensive force.
Jane led us to them? Eddie asked as They started down a set of stairs. Why?
Because We are a traitor, They explained.
No, I mean, why work with them?
Venom stopped at the next landing. Havoc was a flight below Them.
Eddie, what is this place? We're so far down, but there haven't been any doors.
I don't know.
Eddie should have noticed how strange that was faster. They took the next set of stairs more cautiously, slinking down like a cat.
Something smelled strange, but They couldn't place it.
A door slammed open below Them, so They knew their descent was coming to an end.
Darling, wait a moment.
They paused at the last landing. Yes, Love?
If they lead Us here because they're after You… We can leave. We can go back home like You said.
They already know how to find Us.
But it's three against one.
Against two.
Venom leapt down the last flight of stairs and stood up straight as They pushed through the door.
Everything was white. It was blinding in its intensity. The floor, the ceiling, every surface: white. It was disorienting, and Venom stumbled before catching Themself.
They caught sight of several people standing towards the back of the room, along with Havoc.
And then Their world was only noise.
Venom screeched and tried to cover Their ears, even knowing it wouldn't help. The frequency went higher and They felt like they were vibrating apart.
Because They were.
Eddie screamed as half of his soul was torn from his body—from his very cells. They were stripped away from him and there was nothing he could do about it. He reached out and lunged for Them, but two of the people tackled him and held him down.
The pain was like nothing he'd ever felt before. He'd rather be set on fire again than deal with this searing emptiness.
“Give Them back you sons of bitches!”
He could see Them struggle along the floor until They came into contact with a woman.
Eddie ignored the pang of jealousy as They tried to bond with the woman, only to burn through her. They abandoned her lifeless husk, and a man walked towards Them, a jar in his hands.
These people wanted Them. Havoc was with them, so it stood to reason that the other three Symbiotes might be close, as well. They wanted to hurt Them for betraying their mission.
“Run!” He called out.
He let out a sigh of short-lived relief when They made it to a vent and disappeared from sight.
They would come back for him, he reminded himself. In the meantime, he was hardly helpless. He was stronger than most even without Them.
Except right then he couldn't even throw off the two people holding him down. He was weak and drained and exhausted. Fuck.
“So, you're Venom's new host?” A tall woman with platinum blonde hair and pale eyes stood in front of him. Like the others, she was also decked out all in white.
The fuck is with this decor? He wondered, even as he growled and bared his teeth. They had made it very clear: alone, They weren't Venom. Who they became through their bond, that was Venom.
“They're my Other,” he corrected her.
Her laugh reminded him of the jingling of bells, and it set his already frayed nerves on edge.
“How cute,” she mused, crouching down. Her fingers dug into his short hair and she jerked his head back. “Venom thinks of you as Their partner.”
She was smiling, but it didn't reach her eyes.
Eddie was in danger.
“But there must be something interesting about you,” she continued. “Or They wouldn't have abandoned us. Something about you made Them strong.” She leaned even closer and blinked. Her pale eyes turned opalescent and something silver crawled down her arm and over Eddie's head.
“And if you're worth bonding to, then you should be mine.”
Being bound to Riot—as he called himself—was nothing like their Other. Riot never possessed him for long. A few minutes here, a few there. Just long enough to keep him weak and unable to fight his way free.
There was another door in the white room. It led into a lab of sorts, where Eddie was held in… Honestly, it reminded him of a fish tank. Or a too-small enclosure at a zoo.
But even if he'd had the room to pace around, he never had the energy. They were keeping him hooked up to an IV, making sure all of his “dietary requirements” were being met.
He was a lab rat. Just something new and interesting for the Symbiotes to study. Not a living thing with his own wants and needs.
They hadn't even provided him anything to use the restroom with until he'd very pointedly pissed on the glass in front of them.
It was the closest thing he'd felt to happiness since They had escaped.
§̷̨̨̤̬̲̘̣͇͛͊̿̃̃͘̚ͅ-̴͙̖͙̬̹̾̾͑̓͌̇͘͝S̷̺͚̗͔͊̈́̒y̷̧͍̎͗̕m̷̧̮̦͍͙̂͐͊͒͑̊̕͝b̴̩͖͇̘̙͎̰̑͗͗̊̈́̑͆͘̕i̶̬̙̥͉̒̀̽̅̕͜ŏ̴̠̖̩̱̙͇̝̎͊͘͝͝͝ͅș̸̹͇̙̋̽͜ḯ̶͇͕̏̒̿͠ṡ̸̨̻̫̘̪̊̄̈͝͝͠ ̵̰͔̻͙̹̈́̓͌͌̈́ͅ0̷̡͇͓̻͍̖̔̑̔̉̌̉̅̿̈́%̶̢̩͎̠̦̹͇̼̃-̴̨̧͚͖͔̽̂͆̍̐͠͠§̴̢̡̦̮̫̘̇̍̀̎
Chapter 8
Notes:
It's tiiimmmeeee.
Actually: posting the last chapter now because I'm very excited and because I open at work tomorrow. Note to self: no more update schedules that involve Saturday morning. :P
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
§-Symbiosis 95%-§
Vertigo stalked through campus for what had to have been the dozenth time. They didn't expect anything new, but it was the only lead they had.
Deadpool was trailing along behind them. He hadn't stopped smelling anxious since they had properly bonded and taken this new form.
Maybe we should go back and look around where I found you?
We've searched there!
We've searched everywhere!
Their form shuddered for a moment until they paused and took a calming breath.
Sorry.
Don't be. I'm worried about him, too.
“We're going to go look around the alley where we met.”
When Deadpool didn't answer they turned back to check on him. He was standing back away from them, phone in his hand.
“Everything ok, DP?” Their head tilted to the side.
He held up a finger, wait.
They fought the urge to ignore the command. It was a reasonable request. But Vertigo felt like all they'd been doing was waiting! Waiting for any sign of where Riot might be. Any sign of where Eddie was.
They were sick of waiting. They wanted to do something.
Deadpool's phone rang, and when he answered Kodiak's voice came through the line.
“Who's the best?” She sang.
“Depends. What do you have for us?”
Vertigo stepped closer, listening intently. Through the phone her voice sounded different. But it was also familiar in a way they couldn't place.
“I have a sighting of a yellow monster going into an unused building on ESU's campus. And also a bunch of people. Buuut, the people have a tendency to not come back out…”
“Sweet!”
“Sweet?” Vertigo narrowed their eyes.
“I mean, that's bad, too, obviously,” Deadpool backtracked. “But, hey, yellow monster?”
Is there a yellow Symbiote?
We come in all kinds of colors.
On Earth, V!
They considered for a moment before, Yes.
“Havoc!” Vertigo shouted suddenly.
“Sorry?”
“The yellow Symbiote, they called themselves Havoc, before…”
More flashes of the white room. Then somewhere else? No. Leading to the room. Venom launching themself through a hallway and down stairs, chasing after Havoc.
“What building?” They demanded.
“Hello to you too, Spider-Man,” Kodiak muttered. “It's unused and doesn't seem to have a name anymore. But, because I'm great, I did some digging, and there are some older records that refer to it as Willard Hall.”
“Wonder what Willard did to get his name taken off the building,” Deadpool mused.
“Embezzlement.”
“Huh?”
“We read about it, once.” Vertigo turned. “We know where it is.”
Without waiting for Deadpool—no more waiting!—Vertigo tore off towards the building. They were close! They had something!
“Spid—Uh, Vertigo! Hold up!” Deadpool called after them.
They paused to let Deadpool catch up only once they reached the foot of the stairs leading up into the building.
“Thanks,” he panted. “Jesus you're fast. Have you always been this fast?”
“We've always been faster than you,” Vertigo informed him. “But we are faster, now.”
Deadpool have them a thumbs up while he caught his breath. “Ok. So, what's the plan?”
“We go in, we eat everyone, we get Eddie back.”
“What? Eat everyone? That's not a plan, that's just murder.”
Vertigo glanced from Deadpool to the door. “We thought you'd like our plan.”
“If everyone in there was a Bad Guy, sure, I'd love the plan. But we already know that people are being manipulated and are doing things against their will.”
“They are between Eddie and us. They are not innocent.”
At that Deadpool climbed the steps and placed himself between Vertigo and the door, ignoring their warning growl.
“We're not killing everyone,” he insisted. “If even one of those people is Good—”
“Get out of our way or we'll just eat you first.”
Woah! We are not eating Wade!
He's trying to stop us from saving Eddie.
No he's not! Plus, and I can't believe I'm saying this, Wade is right. There's a good chance not all of the people involved are here willingly. Killing Riot and Havoc is one thing. But we're not killing any humans unless we have no other choice.
§-Symbiosis 90%-§
“Fine.”
Neither of them really relaxed as they went through the door. The main room was empty. Glancing around, Vertigo got the impression that at one time it had been a one-room lecture hall of some sort.
They pushed through the only other door in the room, and wandered down the hallway. They tapped on the wall and some areas sounded hollow behind the sheetrock.
“They closed off all the other rooms.”
“Weird,” Deadpool muttered. “Wonder why?”
“No idea.”
Only one door remained, and it opened to the several flights of stairs they'd seen in V's memories.
“It feels like an old video game, leading us into the final boss fight,” Deadpool mused as they descended.
Vertigo rolled their eyes.
“Was it Silent Hill that just had that one really long hallway at the end?”
“Focus,” they snapped.
“I am focusing!” Deadpool complained.
They stopped at the final door.
“Wade.”
“Hmm? What's wrong? Sense something?”
“No. We can't Sense the Symbiotes.” Their grip on the door handle tightened. “In case something happens—”
“Nothing's going to happen.”
“But just in case—”
“Stop. That's a giant death flag and you know it.”
“Wade, be serious!”
“I am being serious! Don't go into a fight with a fucking “In case something happens” mentality!”
Vertigo opened their mouth to argue, but then they did Sense something.
“Gun!”
They slammed open the door and part of their arm morphed, creating a shield to deflect the bullets.
Deadpool's answering fire took out the man's leg. “And stay down!”
“If they aren't healing, then they aren't being controlled.”
“I never said that all of them were being controlled. Just that some of them could be.”
Vertigo snarled and threw themselves into the center of the too-white room. “Where is Eddie?” They demanded.
“I told you before, Venom. Eddie is here, with me.”
They turned. There was Eddie, a hand over his chest, and a self-confident smirk that looked all wrong on his face.
“We are not Venom,” they corrected. “We are—”
“I don't actually care,” Riot replied, its silver mass covering Eddie's arm and sharpening into an axe. “You compromised our mission for… What? This human?”
“Yes.”
“See, I thought he must be something incredible, to tear you away from us. But no. I've seen his mind, and he's nothing at all.”
Riot formed fully, stalking towards them.
“But your current host? The Spider-Man? He's actually something interesting, isn't he?”
Deep inside of Vertigo, Peter's fear clutched at his heart. They were in so, so, much danger. And without V, without being Vertigo, he would be useless. No Senses, no webs. Nothing.
Calm down! We are Vertigo! We will win!
Before Riot could strike, they made the first move, charging at it.
Riot obviously wasn't expecting their speed and maneuverability. It didn't mean they managed to dodge everything Riot threw at them, but they avoided the worst of it easily enough.
But fuck, Riot was strong. It struck at them with blades and whips and projectiles.
Vertigo's webs were more effective than Spider-Man's had been, but not by as much as they'd hoped.
Then suddenly, Riot was slowing down. Was weakening.
Vertigo grinned, flashing their rows of sharp teeth.
“You haven't been a very good Other,” they mocked, kicking Riot to the ground. “You didn't take care of your host. But without our hosts, we are nothing.”
“I'm not nothing!” Riot growled, trying to push itself back up.
“You don't get it, Riot. If you're bad to your host, they'll fight back.” They leaned over, closing their fist around Riot's throat. “And if your host is fighting you, you're nothing but a parasite.”
Peter watched as V poured out of him and over Riot, forcing the other Symbiote away from Eddie.
He stumbled backwards and hit the floor, dazed and winded at the sudden shift. Colors righted themselves, and it seemed like everything became muted. The smell and taste of the room changed, until it just seemed oddly clinical, rather than filled with anxiety and rage.
A puddle of silver ooze fell to the ground after draining out of Eddie. It jerked around wildly on the floor, trying to crawl towards him.
Shit. He should do something, he knew. But his muscles all felt sore, and he felt so empty without V in his head.
Venom snarled at Riot. And holy shit, Venom was huge. All black and hulking muscles, shining in the weird light of the room.
No, not all black, Peter corrected. The son of a bitch had a white spider across their chest.
“Don't touch him!”
“I got it, V!” Deadpool announced. There was a burst of fire that Peter couldn't place the source of.
He wanted—needed—to ask what had happened.
Instead, he passed out.
* * *
§-Symbiosis ---%-§
When Peter woke again, he was curled up in his bed, the blankets cocooned tightly around him. He immediately started struggling out of the blankets so that he could get up.
“Hey, woah, you need to rest more, Baby Boy.”
Wade was beside him, pressing a hand to his chest to guide him back down onto the bed.
“What happened?” He freed his arms, ignoring Wade's chastising cluck.
“You passed out. I brought you home.”
Peter rolled his eyes. “I figured that much out. Before that.”
“Before that, you and V kicked Riot's ass while I fended off some people who, after careful consideration, I'm pretty sure we could have just unalived and been done with it.”
Peter frowned and ran a hand through his hair. He'd been so ok with just killing people… “Did you?”
“Nope. The only death back there was Riot's.”
“Right. There was a fire?”
“Mmhmm.”
“What did you do?”
Wade grinned. “Lit that bitch up. Fire and spray paint was all it took.”
Peter returned Wade's smile and reached up to pull him down by the shirt.
“Okay, okay,” Wade chuckled, laying down and letting Peter tuck himself up against him.
“Everything is really quiet now.”
“Yeah?”
He nodded, then pressed his face against Wade's chest. “Feels weird. Empty. I didn't think I'd get so used to having an alien in my head in just a week.” Peter clenched his eyes closed. “I really let shit get out of hand. I'm sorry.”
“No need to apologize to me,” Wade assured him. “It was pretty cool watching you beat the fuck out of criminals.”
“Plus you thought Vertigo was sexy.”
“No, I—Vertigo was terrifying.”
“So I should mark you down as scared and horny, then?” He grinned despite himself.
“Sure—no. Shut up.”
“Never.”
But he let silence fall around then for a few long quiet minutes.
“Babe?”
“Yeah?”
“You really liked seeing me like that? All… violent and shit?”
“When it was directed at Bad Guys, yeah. When you started being a dick to civilians… not so much.”
He nodded. “It's not… That's not how Spider-Man does things.”
“It was for a few days.”
Peter groaned. “Yeah. And I liked it.”
“I noticed.”
“They were people who had hurt others… and I got to hurt them back. That…” He blinked. “That's why you do what you do, isn't it?”
“More or less,” Wade admitted. “It's usually less about hurting them and more about removing them from the system.”
“Usually?”
“Sometimes it's also about hurting them.”
Peter leaned up and kissed him. “I think I get it.”
“Does that mean you're going to quit asking me to stop?”
“I've never asked you to stop.”
“Not in so many words, but—”
“It means I don't want you to stop,” Peter relented.
Wade kissed him again, his tongue swiping at Peter's lip until Peter nipped at it.
“I'm resting.”
“So I can't kiss you?” Wade pouted.
Peter gave him a pointed look. “No. Because I know us.”
Wade chuckled and settled back down beside him, his fingers trailing up and down Peter's arm.
“So, what are you gonna do about The Avengers?”
“What about them?”
“You going to apologize, or…?”
Peter snorted. “No, fuck that. Not after the way Stark talked about you.”
“While I appreciate you defending my honor, what about your suits?”
“I've been making my own suits for years, Wade. And I'm pretty sure I can recreate most of the useful stuff Stark added. You might not have noticed, but in fact I'm very very smart.”
“And so humble,” Wade teased.
“The humblest,” he agreed, but his amusement was cut short. “Ffff—. I do need to apologize to my professors. And Harry. And my boss. And Aunt May. Oh my God.” He tried to burrow further into the blankets as that realization set upon him. “Oh my God, I just… I just let everyone down this week. I'm so fucked.”
“Breathe, Petey, it's gonna be ok. Tell your teachers and your boss you were super duper sick or something. And, I dunno, you could probably tell May the truth.” Wade pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Plus, you didn't let everyone down.”
“Yes, I did.”
“No, that's just your brain being mean to you. I happen to know for a fact that there's an alien and their comatose boyfriend in the other room that you didn't let down at all.”
Peter hummed. He had helped V and Eddie. That was true. “Wait, what? Comatose? And in the other room?”
Disregarding Wade's attempts to keep him in the bed, Peter freed himself and darted into the living room.
§-Symbiosis ???%-§
When Eddie woke up, he had no idea where he was. He was in an apartment he didn't recognize, on a couch he'd never seen before.
But before panic could properly take hold, he could feel Them curl protectively around his heart.
You're safe, Love, They assured him.
Where are we?
He could feel Them considering which information They wanted to share first.
New York. With friends.
Friends?
Our friends. Peter and Wade.
They only showed him a few images from the days that They'd spent separated. The younger man, Peter—who was also Spider-Man—had been the one to find Them. And Wade was… Oh! He knew Wade!
Yes, Their amusement tickled up his spine.
They helped you?
Yes. We were a good team.
Eddie relaxed into the couch cushions. How long have I been out?
A few days. We've been keeping you asleep. We needed time to mend the worst of what Riot did to you.
He frowned. He didn't think he'd ever been injured enough that They had had to keep him unconscious for… Well, any time at all, actually.
That sounds bad.
It was, They admitted. But you're doing better now.
Maybe physically he was doing better. Every time he closed his eyes he thought about Riot, and what being bonded to it had felt like.
Why didn't Riot just like… Lobotomize me?
They bristled at the idea, tightening Their grip around his chest.
I'm not saying I'd have preferred it, Dear, I just don't understand why he didn't.
We can't claim to understand how Riot thought, They eventually decided. We have never tried controlling a host like that. But We are grateful that Riot didn't try.
He hummed audibly, getting the attention of one of the people living in the apartment.
“Hey, Pete, he's alive!”
It was Wade who was grinning down at him. “We were starting to worry.”
They protruded up from his shoulder to give Wade an irritated look. “We told you We had everything under control.”
“Yeah, but after two and a half days, we're still gonna worry, V.”
“V?” Eddie asked.
They provided images that Peter had provided them upon suggesting the nickname.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” Peter asked, coming into the room from what was likely the bedroom.
“You named my Other after paint?” Eddie asked, incredulous. He'd have sat up if They would have let him.
Peter scowled at him. “Vantablack isn't paint. It's a special coating that achieves nearly zero reflectivity. It's made up of nanotubes that—”
“That Anish Kapoor used as a paint—”
“I don't give a fuck about Anish—”
“Is this really the time?” They grumbled, interrupting the argument before either of them could really get going.
“He started it,” Peter pouted.
“You two have really strong emotions about the weirdest shit,” Wade said, his grin having never faltered.
“Wait, if Eddie knows all that about Vantablack, why didn't You?”
“We don't know everything that Eddie knows.” They blinked. “Just most things.”
“Does that mean you know “most of” the things I know?”
“Yes.” They grinned, flashing their teeth.
“Cool. Have fun with all that chemistry and physics.”
“Chem and physics? You use that a lot as Spider-Man?” Eddie asked.
“Yep.” Peter dragged one of the folding chairs away from the small table over towards the couch and sat down. “Especially since I have to rebuild my web-shooters now.”
“You could probably just apologize.”
“Nah, fuck that.” Peter smiled and reached over to pat Them on the head. “I was getting sick of being under The Avengers's thumb anyway.”
“Not to interrupt,” Wade interrupted, “but do you need some food, Eddie?”
Eddie blinked. Was he hungry? He mostly just felt tired, but food probably wouldn't be a bad idea.
“Are my guts all patched up, Sweetheart?”
“Of course,” They preened.
“So… Soup?” Peter suggested. “When was the last time you ate?”
“I… Have no idea, honestly. The morning before Riot got me?”
“Oh, yeah, you need something simple, like broth. That was over a week ago.”
“What about a head?” Wade suggested.
“What did I just say about—Well, no, hang on.” Peter looked like he was considering it. “So long as V's the one who eats it… V, would that be helpful?”
Huh. He'd expected Peter to offer more resistance than that. Or any at all, really. Peter was ok with Them eating people?
“We ate a couple of people together,” They explained. “He understands the necessity of it now.”
“Ok, for the record, I still think there are better options than eating people. And now that I'm not running around the city looking for Eddie, I'll gonna run some tests in my lab.”
“Let us know what you find.” They stretched out and coiled over Eddie's chest. They gently nudged at him until he got the hint and started running his fingers through Their body.
“So… Are we doing a head, or soup?” Wade asked. “Because either way, I need to make some calls, I just want to know who I'm calling.”
They let out a purr of appreciation and one tendril reached out to wrap around his wrist. “Eddie's still not in a state where forming Venom is feasible.”
“No big deal, I can just go get a head.”
Peter sputtered at him. “You are not bringing a decapitated head into our apartment!”
“Fine, I'll bring the whole dead guy. I'm sure they could use the extra nutrition.”
“Wade, no, that's… That's not the issue at hand, here.”
Eddie smiled and let their argument fall into the background in his mind. Normally he'd have liked to join in, but right then he just didn't have the energy, and even just listening to them was exhausting.
They're good people.
Yeah, that's the impression I'm getting. He tilted his head up enough to give Them a quick peck of a kiss.
Aside from the calm and affection that Eddie could feel flowing between their bond, he could also detect something that felt almost like guilt.
What's wrong, Love?
We spent the last week bonded with Peter…
Right. And?
And it was a lot of fun, They said it as if they were admitting to a crime. We were worried about you the entire time, but—
Eddie did his best to send all of the warmth and acceptance he could muster across their bond, interrupting Their self-deprecation.
I'm glad You found someone You could work so well with.
Being Us is always better, though. We wouldn't trade it for anything.
Yeah. I love You too. I'm glad We're back together.
And We broke Our promise. We said We'd always keep you safe.
You got me back, Darling. You've kept me safe.
Never letting go of you again, Eddie. Never.
Never, he agreed.
§-Symbiosis 100%-§
Notes:
Will there be more?
Yeah, probably! (There's for sure one other thing I've written that I'll upload soon.) :)And here it is!
Falling for the First Time [Additional Content]
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Wolfloner on Chapter 1 Sat 31 Oct 2020 12:35AM UTC
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Brynncognito on Chapter 1 Mon 21 Jun 2021 03:30AM UTC
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Wolfloner on Chapter 1 Mon 21 Jun 2021 11:44AM UTC
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AnarchyisOKAY on Chapter 1 Mon 04 Oct 2021 07:05PM UTC
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Wolfloner on Chapter 1 Mon 04 Oct 2021 09:34PM UTC
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gayshipsandanxiety on Chapter 1 Tue 28 Dec 2021 12:46AM UTC
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Wolfloner on Chapter 1 Wed 29 Dec 2021 12:31PM UTC
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iDontHaveACleverQuip (PonderingPrinces) on Chapter 1 Mon 11 Apr 2022 02:18PM UTC
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Wolfloner on Chapter 1 Fri 09 Dec 2022 01:18PM UTC
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iDontHaveACleverQuip (PonderingPrinces) on Chapter 1 Fri 09 Dec 2022 08:35PM UTC
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