A/N: Crossposting a Christmas gift flash fic for bucketofbarnes on Tumblr. Based on a small part vague speculation and a large part a need for whump.
Upon falling into icy water, the immediate reflexive action of most mammals is to gasp. Eddie Brock, even wrapped in an alien lifeform that defies the usual Earth classification, is no exception.
They fall from the bridge. The red tower recedes, leaving the fight with Carnage behind while black water rushes up to meet them, and Eddie is struck with a terrifying sense of déjà vu. Then there's a sharp crack and they break the surface like a pickaxe sliding into ice.
Eddie opens his mouth. The symbiote, momentarily stunned, doesn't stop him. They try to breathe and the icy waters of the San Francisco Bay rush in to flood their lungs.
Struck by the sudden pain of it, Eddie convulses. Inside Venom's protective shell, the symbiote feels his muscles shudder, and weaves deeper into them to wrestle back control.
Eddie, don't try to breathe.
The only thing rushing through Eddie's mind is the memory of a desperate struggle for the surface and overwhelming panic.
...need...air.
Venom catches the frantic rush of his thoughts. The air is up there. Hold on.
Melded together, man and symbiote give a powerful kick and swim towards the surface. They aren't particularly buoyant. Too many heavy metals in Venom's composition and not enough air in Eddie's lungs, but they are strong, and Venom lets their form flow into a tail that pushes the water behind them harder as they fight to make it before their oxygen runs out.
Within seconds that feel far too long, Venom has pushed them out of the water and onto one of the platforms at the base of the bridge. He doesn't pick Eddie up, letting him lie in a heap as he recedes beneath his skin and gives a sudden sharp squeeze of his lungs. The water comes up, Eddie gasping and choking as he half coughs, half vomits it onto the concrete. Then he lies still, the only movement the agonised heaving of his chest.
Slowly, Venom begins to bleed through his skin again, creeping along his neck to caress his face, comforting. We're okay, Eddie.
Eddie shivers, swallows, then tests out his vocal chords. "Yeah, we are, buddy. Still alive."
Up above, Carnage is still out there, wreaking destruction. For now, they're hidden beneath the bridge. "We need to go back," Eddie mutters.
Venom sweeps over him again, wrapping his body tight, and picks them up. I got us, Eddie. Let's go.