Eddie made Venom promise not to look inside his conscious thoughts on the day he made the reservation. It takes some convincing, mostly because of Venom's tendency to be stubborn for no reason. But, as Eddie knew he would, Venom eventually relented, sensing the excitement from Eddie at the thought of his mysterious plan.
It would have been a bit troublesome to communicate, since Venom couldn't hear Eddie's thoughts, if not for the fact that Eddie had no shame in talking out loud to the symbiote. He couldn't help but grin as Venom pestered him for details, especially when Eddie pulled on a nice sweater and a pair of his nicer jeans. Such an odd thing for his host to do.
As they neared the restaurant in a slightly more upscale part of town that Venom was used to inhabiting, Eddie said, "Tonight is going to be fun, hopefully, but there can't be any shenanigans. I don't want us making a scene and getting kicked out of this place. And now I have to be quiet, so just be patient, okay?"
Venom grumbled in the back of Eddie's mind, but acquiesced. Eddie's excitement fed into Venom's own anticipation for the surprise, and it was hard to be obstinate in such a situation.
The symbiote smelled it as soon as Eddie opened the door. Drifting through the mix of odors that Eddie could barely discern was one that Venom picked up on easily.
Chocolate. Lots and lots of fancy, high quality chocolate.
Eddie?! he cried in his host's mind. A feeling of delight so strong burst through Eddie that he nearly missed the waitress ask him for his reservation. "Brock, party of uh…one, please."
Once the waitress had seated them at a table with the menu, Eddie whispered, "Alright, V. Go ahead and look."
Venom surged inside Eddie's mind and poured through the memories Eddie had of the last time he had fondue. It was a date night with Anne, of course, which Eddie would have shut away if not for the fact that he was having a different date night. Venom mostly ignored the memories of the savory part of their meal focusing instead on the dessert portion. The memory of the thick, rich chocolate made Eddie salivate with Venom's appetite.
Eddie read through the dessert menu, stopping at the entry that read "Pure Chocolate. Milk, Dark, or White." He knew what Venom would choose before the symbiote said Dark chocolate. The good stuff.
With their order placed, Venom squirmed impatiently up and down Eddie's body, feeling a lot like the dropping sensation he'd get on a rollercoaster. Eddie couldn't smell the chocolate from other diners himself, but he could feel the smell of it - through Venom's interpretation of his host's senses - driving the symbiote nuts.
At long last, the waitress finally brought out a pot of already melted chocolate, along with several plates full of food to dip into it. Strawberries. Bananas. Pineapples. Brownies. Pretzel sticks. Marshmallows. Graham crackers. Rice Krispie treats. Cheesecake bites.
Eddie waited just long enough to thank the waitress before she turned away. "Alright, V," he said. "You can take the wheel and dig in. Just don't bring too much attention to us."
Venom didn't need to be told twice. His gratitude rushed over Eddie as the symbiote took control of their body. The world twisted just a bit for Eddie as Venom's senses asserted themselves over his own. The smells of each item of food on their table grew stronger, more individualized. The minute changes in temperature across Eddie's skin became that much more important to his awareness. And the colors shifted, like someone had placed a Photoshop filter over his vision, since the symbiote interpreted the light spectrum on a slightly different range of wavelengths than Eddie did.
Venom grabbed the first thing he could - a marshmallow - and stuck it on a skewer like he'd seen in Eddie's memories. Through his connection with Eddie's mind, Venom had no problem using his host's hands to submerge the marshmallow entirely in the chocolate. He scooped up as much of the dark melt as he could and, without waiting for the chocolate to cool, shoved the entire thing into Eddie's mouth.
Well, not quite. As the chocolate covered marshmallow approached Eddie's mouth, Venom swelled over Eddie's tongue and used the man's own muscles to extend the tongue and pull the marshmallow in from a few inches away. It was less like how a frog snaps a bug, however, and more unnerving than Eddie would like to admit even at this point in their relationship. Venom didn't chew; instead, he closed Eddie's mouth around the marshmallow and divided his tongue into dozens of little tendrils. They shoved their way into the chocolate and marshmallow, breaking it down into basic chemicals and absorbing it into Venom's flesh before retreating back into Eddie's tongue without swallowing
The whole process took maybe a second or so, much quicker than Eddie could chew and swallow anything.
It was taste that was the most different in their senses. Venom didn't "taste" the things he ate like Eddie did. His cells interpreted the chocolate covered marshmallow through what Eddie had concluded was chemesthesis, the reaction between certain chemicals and Venom's sense of touch, pain, and temperature. To Venom, the treat was less like in Eddie's memory of chocolate fondue and more like the feeling of a cool drink on a hot day, but when the drink is also hot. It was like no sense that Eddie truly had words to describe.
But he didn't need words to understand it. However their senses differed, it changed neither symbiote nor host's appreciation of the rich dark chocolate. The chemicals in the fancy chocolate sent a powerful wave of pleasure through the symbiote that vibrated its way to Eddie's mind. His heart rate jumped. Eddie mentally grinned at Venom's enjoyment and his own satisfaction at having brought him here, an action which Venom unconsciously reflected on Eddie's actual face. The combination of pleasure and satisfaction echoed between the two and made Eddie's body shiver. Venom reacted very much in the way Eddie would if he were in control, shaking his shoulders and head to deal with the sudden onrush of stimulation.
After the first bite, Venom rushed to dip the different foods into the chocolate and dissolve them in Eddie's mouth. Different foods covered in the chocolate caused different chemical reactions to Venom's senses. He found himself particularly liking the pineapples and chocolate, a combination Eddie had never enjoyed himself. They were both grateful that the restaurant was designed with privacy and intimacy in mind; dimly lit and separated from the other diners by high booths, Venom could act a little less like a normal human without fear of being asked to leave. The freedom was invigorating.
In just a few minutes, Venom had eaten all of the pineapples, marshmallows, and brownies, and a sampling of everything else, save the pretzel sticks, which were harder for the symbiote to eat in one bite. He paused, briefly, to let Eddie's body settle a bit from the rush of hormones his meal had released.
"Eddie," Venom said, using Eddie's voice. Both he and Eddie were too giddy, though, and Venom slurred the name, so he switched to speaking directly to Eddie's mind. Eddie, he tried again. You should have some.
What? thought Eddie. No, this is a gift for you. I don't mind. Your enjoyment is my enjoyment too. I like feeling you happy.
Venom hesitated. Then: No. Before either he or Eddie realized what was doing, Venom dunked Eddie's entire hand into the melted chocolate. He pulled it out, dripping all over the table, and licked it off the palm of his hand with Eddie's tongue. Not his.
The rich flavor of the chocolate was enough for Eddie to get over his shock at Venom's actions and start laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. Venom took that moment to release Eddie's body back to their shared state of being. Eddie jumped at the unexpected responsibility of partially controlling his own body, which resulted in him flinging chocolate from his hand all across the table.
Venom emerged from Eddie's skin on his chocolate-covered hand and absorb the chocolate into himself, not wanting the delicious treat to go to waste. The feeling of not-quite-taste and pleasure originating in his hand was so extraordinarily weird that Eddie couldn't help but laugh more.
A waitress, probably having seen the chocolate fly everywhere, approached the laughing man and asked, "Sir, are you alright?"
Eddie caught his breath and scrambled to come up with an answer that would make sense. "Uh, I dropped a pineapple in the chocolate. Then, uh, tried to grab it out." He held up his hand, suspiciously not covered in chocolate, though it had dripped all down his nice shirt sleeve. "With my hand."
The waitress eyed the chocolate that Eddie now saw was splattered across the ceiling and empty booth opposite of him and gave that "I'm not paid enough for this" smile that Eddie was fairly used to by now. "Don't worry, sir," she said. "I'll bring you more napkins." She turned to leave.
"Oh, and can we have more pineapples?" Eddie asked, to Venom's delight.
The waitress gave him that smile again, said, "Of course, sir," and was gone.
Eddie let out the final burst of laughter that he had been holding in, and wiped the tears from his eyes. Venom grinned in Eddie's mind, both amused at his actions and at the happiness it caused in Eddie.
"Thank you, V," Eddie said, once he had settled down. "I needed that. It's been too long since I laughed that much."
You are welcome, Eddie. Now eat.
"Are you sure? Like I said, this is a gift for you."
Yes, I am sure. A pause. Your enjoyment is also my enjoyment.
Eddie smirked at his own words thrown back at him. "Alright then." He smiled at the waitress when she brought him the extra napkins and the plate if fruit. A big tip was in store for her tonight for putting up with them. "Have it your way. But you have to eat the pineapples."
Deal.