evolve - symbrock

3

carlton drake really was a nasty son of a bitch. although eddie wasn't a hardcore killer who desperately ached to chomp down on skulls, gazing at that once occupied spot in front of the newspaper stands made his moral compass falter.

it was small moments like this that made him wonder whether it was him or venom that truly wanted to kill drake. yeah, venom was definitely determined to stop riot (for reasons still unknown to his own host), but eddie really hated that piece of shit. "it's ok, we killed him." the sudden boom of the symbiotes thunderous voice shook him.

"yeah, i know buddy" he sighed. he trudged along the same path to mrs. chens humble shop, and took one last glance at the spot his friend once struck questionable deals with him at. though he knew that drake was gone for good and the life foundations awful antics were revealed, no amount of press coverage or homicide could bring her back. eddie somehow still felt responsible.

instead of dwelling on his darker thoughts, eddie opted to buy some rather indulgent snacks for the night. though he had a solid understanding of what vee would enjoy, he felt that familiar ping within his head interject. "let's try...that one!" he yelled similarly to a child. despite being a massive and otherworldly being that held seemingly endless possibilities, venom instead preferred to gawk at hersheys bars- how cute.

"that ones dark chocolate, are you sure? it's different than what you normally eat" eddie replied whilst cautiously flipping over the package. "actually this might be good for us, it's supposed to be good for your brain or liver or some shit" he grabbed a few more bars from the shelf.

"mhmm...liver" venom moaned.

eddie shivered as he made his way up to the counter, plopping down the food and making small talk about his back pain as mrs. c scanned each item. "you meditated, right?" she eyed him.

"no, um, im actually trying a new treatment, it's—uh— super experimental, though. " he hastily grabbed the shopping bag from her hand and exchanged a twenty. "but i promise, it works like a charm" he remarked with a smirk. waving a rather quick goodbye, eddie exited the store and walked quickly past the newsstand and continued in the direction of his apartment. with a five minute walk ahead, venom would most definitely have some kind of hypothesis to propose, however, the abrupt question of "why are you sad?" registered like a blow to the gut.

"what're you talking about?"

"we killed drake and riot, yet you're still upset" venom grumbled, almost in an angry manner.

"vee, listen, im not upset. can we just leave it at that, it's late" eddie pleaded, still speaking in a light tone.

regardless, his mind was teeming with venoms many, many observations. "yes you are. we know you are, we feel it. you come here, you're sad. you call anne, you're sad. you think of maria, you're sa-"

"im not upset, now can we just drop it?" his voice faltered, partly due to frustration as well as the frigid air that surrounded him. having detected this, venom would surely not just let this go as he had so hoped would happen. before the symbiote could even begin their sentence, eddie was quick to interrupt. "listen, maybe we won but things happened along the way, okay? bad things. things people just don't forget about, alright?" though curiosity had prompted venom to wrap around eddies wrists, as usual, he recoiled upon hearing how utterly distraught his host was.

"we understand" venom felt no need to elaborate.

eddie started to pick up speed. with each step he could feel the cool, winter breeze slicing through him, rippling through his clothes and making him shudder uncontrollably. if it wasn't for the wind pricking at his skin and piercing through any exposed flesh like a fine needle, the night would appear quite beautiful. the stars were all dancing up above, and even amongst the foggy sky riddled with smog and covered by clouds, they still twinkled in the eyes of eddie.

venom felt compelled to slither farther down his other half's arm, or travel along his spine and ease any tensions that had built up. venom wanted to do anything that could take eddies mind off of the cocktail of emotions coursing within him, and most importantly keep him from succumbing to hypothermia, but the collection of tendrils stayed fixated on the one spot beneath their hosts chest, just lightly moving along enough to generate some form of warmth. slowly, venom began to disperse along each limb, climbing from shoulder to hand and from thigh to foot. eddie didn't budge, and instead let the mass consume him, gradually enveloping him in a blanket of heat. as each slim member wormed it's way over eddies every finger, a crooked smile appeared on his face.

venom had already moved up to his brain, inserting tiny fragments of them-self into the organ and meticulously absorbed everything eddie was thinking. it was a concoction of grief, anguish, and a hint of violence, and yet he was still maintaining a plastered-on grin. it baffled venom that he wasn't screaming or tearing the heads off of nearby pigeons, but yet they chose not to mention this inquiry.

so mustering up all the information they could gather from this invasion of eddies mind, they whispered the one thing they thought would please him. "is she up there?"

though sympathy sounded foreign on their lips, eddies smile grew fonder. "yeah, she sure is."

[thank naast for this chapter lmao]