This was a fairly pain in the ass. Like I started this back in January of this year and stopped at the prologue. Now ingot over my depression lock and did like 7 rewrites on the intro... It oughta be good This based on a prompt by Tumblr user merelypassingtime... I came across it months ago and just now finally finished it! Hope you enjoy!
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Symbiosis was generally a two-way street. Venom needed Eddie to survive on Earth, and while Eddie did not need Venom to survive normally, Venom allowed Eddie use of his abilities to take out bad guys. Such as the thug that used to extort Mrs Chen. Between them, there were no secrets. Save for one.
Shortly after Venom had fully recovered from the explosion, nearly a month after the event itself, Eddie's demeanor had changed and he had pretty much begged Venom for this one secret.
"Please, V," he had started. "I don't ask for a lot. Just please let me have this one."
At the time, Venom had not understood. And even now, he still did not understand. But in the end, he allowed Eddie his secret. Sure, if he wanted, he could just pull the thoughts by force, much like how he did in the beginning of their union. And Eddie knew it. But things were different now. There was trust; and Venom VALUED trust, unlike most of his species. No matter how curious he was, he would not break that trust.
The whole secret thing wasn't all bad. One full day a month he got to be with Annie, and Venom loved her very much. Hell he even eventually grew to tolerate and even like Dan. Not that he had much of a choice, given how Anne refused to allow any ill thoughts about her boyfriend.
Regardless, these once a month visits were fun. Both Anne and Dan always made sure to engage him in conversations and always had the best chocolate. Even tho he did not understand why, he eventually grew to look forward to these outings. Venom knew Anne knew the reason for these trade-offs, and tried asking her about it, but even she put her foot down and refused to give any hints. She said it wasn't her secret to tell, and Venom accepted that. Even tho the secrets hurt.
Venom started to wonder if Eddie was getting tired of their bond. He usually got tired and edgy when they got close to the point in the month when the exchange happened, and was usually happier when he returned. He just wished that Eddie could just trust him with the reasons that he needed these breaks.
Venom never expected to ever get his wish.
One month, when it was the time Eddie usually arranged to meet with Anne for the meet-up for the switch, Venom noticed that Eddie was more on edge than usual.
Eddie had tried to get ahold of Anne for the past hour.
"Ah, finally! Annie, I've been trying to reach you all day. Where do you want to meet to do the exchange?"
"Eddie, I thought I'd told you. Dan is at a medical conference in San Diego. We're out of town for the week." There was a lot of background noise so Anne had to speak loudly.
Venom noted the spike in Eddie's pulse. Usually he didn't pay attention to this monthly conversation, they usually went about the same. But obviously something was different this time.
"But what about… my issue?" Eddie asked in a rushed voice.
"I'm sorry, I swear I thought I told you. Maybe its time you told Venom?"
Eddie let out a defeated sigh. "Yeah, maybe. Sorry to bother you then Anne. You guys enjoy your trip."
"Good luck, Eddie."
As he hung up the phone, Eddie let out a curse under his breath.
IS SOMETHING WRONG EDDIE?
Venom could feel a sense of defeat coming from Eddie as he rubbed a hand over his face.
"It's…nothing V." Eddie said with a sigh. "You were bound to find out anyways."
FIND OUT WHAT?
Eddie's watch went off. "Damn, we don't have as much time as I thought."
TIME FOR WHAT, EDDIE? WHAT IS GOING ON?
Eddie didn't answer the question immediately, instead grabbed a set of motorcycle saddle bags and his helmet.
EDDIE ARE WE GOING SOMEWHERE?
Eddie locked up and headed down the stairs to the parking lot.
"Yeah. We have to head upstate. It's a six hour ride. Look, V, I give you permission to look in my memories for what I do every month, where I go. Look in my memories for 'werewolves.' I know you'll probably have questions, but please don't ask them while we drive. I'll answer them when we get to our destination."
Eddie's request worried Venom a little, but he agreed to it. The ride was fairly uneventful. Eddie's mind was swimming with worry. Why? What was this about a werewolf? Venom tried to find the answer, but the more he dug the more questions he ended up having. What was this all about?
Before long, they got to where Eddie wanted to be. He pulled off on to a trail and continued on as the road grew rougher and rougher, until Eddie had to walk the bike the rest of the way he wanted to go. Eventually they reached their destination, a clearing in the forest near a small lake.
The wooded area was quiet. Peaceful. Earth certainly had such beauty on it. Venom was glad they were able to prevent the invasion.
EDDIE, WE STILL DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING ON. WE LOOKED INTO YOUR MEMORIES AND THE ONLY THING ABOUT WEREWOLVES WE COULD FIND IS FROM MOVIES AND THAT DOES NOT HELP US WITH THE BLANK SPOTS IN YOUR MEMORY WHEN WE TRIED TO FIND OUT WHY YOU COME HERE EVERY MONTH.
"You can't see it? Damn, I was hoping you could tell me." Eddie sighed as he parked the bike next to a tree, taking the keys out and hiding them in a knot. He opened one of the saddlebags, which was empty, and methodically removed his clothes, placing them in the bag. Venom knew this was almost ritual, going by what he had seen in Eddie's memories. He had seen that every month Eddie did this, ending with placing all of his bracelets and ring on top of the pile of clothes, and closing the bag with a snap.
EDDIE, WHAT IS A WEREWOLF?
"Basically, it's a curse. It happened when I was a kid, I was attacked by what I thought was a dog, but it was something much worse." Eddie paused looking up at the darkening sky.
WE STILL DO NOT UNDERSTAND, EDDIE. WHAT IS A CURSE? WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD?
"It means I'm going to transform. I don't really have a choice, and there's not enough time to really explain it. I'm sorry, V." Eddie walked away from his stuff to the other side of the clearing. "I should have told you sooner instead of you finding out this way."
Venom was beginning to feel on edge. Something felt wrong with them.
EDDIE? WHAT IS GOING ON?
"I'm about to transform. I'm sorry I never told you. I don't know if I'll be able to talk to you after I turn. I'll explain in the morning, I promise I–" He trailed off into a grunt, doubling over in pain.
EDDIE?
The sun had finished setting and the moon, bright and full rose up. And for a moment, Eddie blacked out.
As far as Venom could tell, their unconsciousness lasted only a few minutes. But as their mind cleared, Venom realized that something was very wrong.
EDDIE?
There was no response. Venom could sense that while he was still IN Eddie, Eddie was very, very different. Venom took stock over their body to try to see what had happened.
To start, their body was no longer human. Instead it was wolf like. Venom had seen many documentaries on wolves, (what else do you do when your host needs six to eight hours of sleep at night?) and from what he could tell, Eddie was much bigger and meaner than the wolves he had seen on Animal Planet.
Venom tried looking into Eddie's mind and noticed the senses were very much different. Their hearing, smell and sight were much sharper, even than their monstrous Venom form; keener than even any host Venom ever had.
WHAT HAPPENED TO US, EDDIE?
Still no response, tho venom knew that wolf-Eddie heard the question. For some reason this creature they had become would not, could not answer. Instead, they took off running, deeper into the woods.
Venom knew it would be futile to ask Eddie where they were going. Instead he just sat back and watched as the wolf smelled around. He didn't try to achieve symbiosis just yet. He did not want to cause harm to Eddie. Not again. He needed to be patient and observe and take this acclimation slower, to not be detrimental towards the very different biorythms.
SO…WHAT NOW, EDDIE?
Tho the creature Eddie became made know acknowledgement of Venom, he seemed to be aware of his presense. But considering the strange voice did not seem to be a threat, it went ignored.
Venom soon realized that what Eddie was doing was hunting. Venom could tell just by how the creature acted. It was both similar and different to how THEY acted when they stalked bad guys, but it was more skilled.
LET'S SEE HOW YOU HUNT ALONE, EDDIE.
Venom did not broadcast the words thru the bond, not wanting to disturb his host this time. He watched in silence as the wolf-creature smelled for and stalked a prey animal in the forest. He was impressed at how quickly they found a target, a female deer that was minding its own business, and was proud at how quickly Eddie took it down.
YOU MAKE A VERY GOOD PREDATOR, EDDIE.
Given the skill at it Venom wondered if this was why Eddie wasn't too far against their need for hunting and live prey. While they started to enjoy their meal, Venom sensed danger near. But what?
His got his answer really quick as a bear came out to the clearing they were in. Eddie-wolf growled at the bear that was much, much bigger than them, and the bear growled in response. Venom could sense fear and anger from Eddie as they quickly backed down and fled.
WHY EDDIE? WE CAN JUST AS EASILY TAKE THAT DOWN, CAN'T WE?
For the first time, Venom got a response to his commentary and flashes of memories came from their mind. The bear constantly attacking and stealing Eddie's prey, and how the first time Eddie had tried to take down the bear he barely managed to get away. That allowed Venom to connect the dots on another memory. Just a few months ago, he had found Eddie returned from his 'excursions' with bad scarring that he tried to brush off as an accident on his bike, but considering it was during Eddie's 'secret vacations' he didn't look to far into it. As far as he could tell, this bear had for the past several months stolen Eddie's prey. That won't do at all.
WE CAN BE SO MUCH BETTER EDDIE. TOGETHER WE CAN TAKE DOWN THIS BEAR FOR ALWAYS STEALING.
Venom finally managed to finish re-bonding with Eddie and showed the wolf a beast they could be together. At most he could just feel hunger from the wolf, but also a want. A want to take down a big prey, to eat and be full. And finally agreement.
EXCELLENT!
And at that, Venom surrounded Eddie much like the first time they transformed to fight Carlton Drake's goons. Soon the wolf was much bigger and more deadly than ever, with longer, sharper claws, and deadly teeth. There was a taste of glee and death on their mouth. There was a rush of adrenaline and elation almost, ready to take down anything. And they took off on the hunt.
Eddie slowly woke from his slumber, the sun was just starting to rise, warming the area. He felt the usual soreness he felt after his monthly transformation, no longer feeling the tiredness that usually happened right before. The transformations usually felt close to healing, even though they were extremely draining the day of. He stretched, feeling every muscle pull and every joint pop, glad to be human again and he rolled to his back so he could stare at the sky which was slowly lightening. It was only then as his mind fully came awake that he realized….
MORNING EDDIE.
Eddie sat up with a start. "Venom! You're still here."
WHY WOULD I NOT BE?
Eddie sighed. "It's not that, I had no idea what the transformation would…" He trailed off looking down at his hands that he was about to rub his face on, noting the dried stiffness they had. He then looked around and noticed the destruction around them. He jumped quickly to his feet, running away from what obviously used to be a bear, shouting a curse. "What the hell happened?"
WE TOOK DOWN THE BEAR THAT KEEPS STEALING YOUR FOOD.
"You took… wait how?" Eddie walked away from the nightmare that was before him. He looked down and noted that he was also covered in this mess, so he headed towards he lake.
TOGETHER. WE FORMED OUR VENOM FORM, ALBIET IT WAS DIFFERENT IN YOUR WOLF FORM. DO YOU WANT TO SEE HOW?
Eddie held up his hands. "I'll… take your word for it V. Thanks. That bear's been stealing the other me's food for a while now, according to the park rangers it migrated down from the mountains and they've been trying to figure how to get it back up. Guess that's a moot point now, huh"
Eddie let out a derisive laugh as he stepped into the cool water of the lake.
EDDIE, WHAT EXACTLY IS A WEREWOLF? WE SAW US TURN INTO A WOLF LIKE CREATURE, BUT THAT WAS NOTHING LIKE THE IMAGES FROM THE HORROR MOVIES WE WATCH.
"Hmm? Oh, right. Well like I said last night, its pretty much a curse. When I was a kid, I went to a camp out with some friends. Though I wouldn't really call them my friends, since… you know about how hard I struggled with that." Eddie shrugged and started to wipe off the mess from the night before. "One night, I was attacked by what I had thought was an ordinary wolf. A month later I started to get really sick. And the bite wound started burning really bad. My dad of course just thought I was being a pussy about it, pretending to be sick."
Eddie finished cleaning himself and started swimming to fully wake up.
"Luckily my sister was into monster movies and books and she had a hunch that maybe what bit me was a werewolf. She locked me in the basement on the night of the full moon. She stayed nearby just in case I WASN'T a werewolf. Fortunately my dad was drunk as usual and didn't pay us any mind. Unfortunately she was right on her hunch."
WE STILL DO NOT QUITE UNDERSTAND EDDIE. WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN?
Eddie walked to the edge of the pond, where he knew there was a log to sit on. "Once a month, on the night of the full moon I have to transform into that creature you saw last night. I come out here to make sure I can't hurt anyone. If I bite anyone they would be cursed as well, and I can't let that happen."
WHY?
"Why?" Eddie splashed his face to cool it down. "You saw what I became, what we became. That kind of creature is far more dangerous than probably even Riot. Hell I had no idea what this would even do to us!"
US? IS THIS WHY YOU HAD US BE WITH ANNIE WHEN YOU TRANSFORMED?
Eddie sighed. "Yeah, man I didn't know how this would effect our bond; if we would be able to handle this." Eddie trailed off as he caught the tail end of a feeling that quickly vanished. "V…. what was that?"
IT WAS NOTHING EDDIE.
"V, were you worried that i was trying to get rid of you?"
OF COURSE NOT EDDIE.
Eddie could tell his symbiotic friend was lying.
"V… Come out. Let me see you, right here." Eddie held his hands side by side in front of his face.
Venom formed a snake like form right where Eddie requested, his face ended up being inches from his.
"V, listen. There is nothing in this world that that could ever convince me to get rid of you. No matter how aggravating you may be, there is nothing that I would ever trade you for."
EVEN IF SOMEHOW YOU FOUND A CURE FOR YOUR CURSE?
"Not even that, bud. And now that I know we can survive every month, there is nothing that you could do to make me get rid of you. You understand?" Eddie pulled Venom's face towards his so their noses were pressed together
YES, EDDIE.
"Good. Now let's get dressed and head back into town. I'm hungry for something other than bear.
SO WHEN IS THE NEXT FULL MOON?