"Edward Brock, you get your bitch ass in here right this instant!"

This was, in Eddie's opinion, not the ideal way to start his Tuesday morning, but it was better than others he'd had in the past.

Why is Mary mad at us?

"Dunno, love," Eddie mutters, slowly sitting up on the couch and rubbing his hands over his face.

We should probably go see why.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Then why are you still just sitting here.

" 'Cause 'm tired."

"Eddie!"

"Alright, jeez, I'm comin'," he mutters, sluggishly getting off the couch and walking into the bathroom. "What is it?"

"Toothpaste," is all she says, pointing at the open tube laying on the counter.

"What about it?"

Mary pauses, an indecipherable look on her face, and Eddie, in that moment, remembers all the times when they were kids that she'd gotten upset at him for leaving his clothes on the floor of the bathroom (even though she did it too sometimes) and the perpetually un-capped tubes of toothpaste (it was hard to remember, okay) and he's swept up in a small little wave of nostalgia that quickly dissipates when he sees that she's miffed and that's probably not the best mood to have her in.

"Okay, got it," he says quickly, screwing the lid onto the toothpaste.

"And the razor," she says, nodding to the disposable tool in the sink.

Eddie picks it up and throws it in the trash.

"Thanks," she says, giving a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Remember the rule about communal spaces?"

"Always clean up after yourself?"

"Boy Scout rules, dumbass. 'Always leave it better than you found', or whatever."

"Close enough."

Mary rolls her eyes. "Whatever. Now go on, git," she says, shooing him out of the bathroom.

What does she mean by communal spaces?

"Spaces used by two or more people, i.e. me and her."

Her and I.

"Actually, it's her and me, I was more correct," Eddie says, opening the fridge

Your language is bullshit.

"Never said it wasn't, V. So, what're we feelin' in the ways of food today."

Brains. And chocolate.

"Jeez, you sound like a zombie or something. How about eggs, you like eggs."

Fine. But we still need to talk to Mary. And call Jameson. Not to mention the meeting with the Spiderling later today.

"Yeah, I know," Eddie says, getting the eggs out of the fridge and glancing at the clock on the microwave. It was currently 7:17. "We can talk to Mary tonight, she needs to leave in about ten minutes."

What about Jameson.

"Eh, we have time."

You always say that, and it always ends with you procrastinating until the very last minute.

"Exactly, I have time to procrastinate."

Venom just sighs. Eddie was, often, an idiot.

. . .

"So, what've we got going on in Biology today?" Ned asks, stealing one of Peter's Doritos.

"Hm, I think you know," Peter says, raising his eyebrows.

"Ugh, don't—don't even say the word, please don't."

"Notes," Peter says, grinning.

"You're the worst."

"Hey, I'm not the one made up the curriculum."

"True, I blame the American schooling system."

"And so you should," Peter agrees, eating some of his chips. "Oh, dude, you will not believe what happened to me yesterday."

"Tch, I've heard enough of your superhero weirdness to confidently state: I am immune! Hit me with your best shot."

"Well, I met up with Venom yesterday."

That seemingly gives Ned pause, but he just shakes his head a little and just raises an eyebrow. "That's . . . interesting. What happened?"

"Honestly, looking back it feels like some weird fever dream. Eddie called and said he wanted to talk, and when I showed up he just asked me to agree to an interview every once and awhile."

"Like, for a newspaper?"

"The Daily Bugle, for whatever reason, wants a Spider-Man specific column."

"The Daily Bugle? As in J. Jonah Jameson and his whole 'He's a menace' tirade?"

"The very same."

"Did you say yes?"

"Well, yeah, but everything leading up to that is what's important here. Venom has, apparently, been screwing with me this whole time."

"Really?"

"Yep. According to both of them, they haven't wanted to hurt me at all, and only put on this show of 'we're a big scary monster, and we're gonna eat you' thing because they thought it would be funny."

Ned chuckles, before quickly covering his mouth and trying to pass it off as a cough. He clears his throat. "That's just . . . so mean."

Peter just shakes his head and sighs. "You too? Go ahead, laugh it up. Lemme tell you, it was not nearly as hilarious from my perspective."

"Yeah, yeah, sorry," Ned says, fighting to keep his smile down. "So, Venom's, like, not actually a villain?"

"Apparently not, but even if you asked them, I bet they'd be all, 'Oh, we're not evil, we only eat bad people'. Tch, as if that makes it any better."

"So, more anti-hero than anything?"

Peter hangs his head. "I'm never telling you about my superhero exploits again, especially not involving Deadpool. That's a made-up word for a man who wants to justify his crazy, not something applicable to any and all 'good intentioned' bad guys."

Ned just shrugs. "Speaking of which, have you talked to Venom about the whole eating people thing? That seems pretty important."

Peter clears his throat nervously and shifts in his seat. "Well, no, not yet. But, I am meeting with them tonight to talk about it, so there's that."

"You think they'll agree, or are they more likely to break whatever tentative truce you've got going on right now?"

"I honestly don't know, and that's the scariest part. We're gonna be meeting in Central Park, and I already have an escape plan at the ready in case things fly south, so I think I'll be good."

"If you say so. Just, be careful, dude."

"I will, and Eddie seems like he's able to keep Venom mostly in check, so I think it'll all work out."

"That's good. I just hope you're right."

"Me too."

. . .

Eddie. Venom says, trying to keep their volume down. Raised voices were not appreciated, and usually got them nowhere when dealing with people. Eddie, stop ignoring us.

Eddie, predictably, says nothing, content to pretend they didn't exist for a while.

This is very immature, you cannot keep this up indefinitely.

Still, nothing.

Eddie! Venom exclaims, finally ready to give up the subtle approach.

"Jesus Christ!" Eddie says, jumping in his seat. "What, V, what is it?"

Call Jameson.

"Really? Again, with the nagging, I already said I'd do it."

You have time now. You are not doing anything.

" 'M watchin' TV. You can't just pry me away from . . ." he trails off, glancing at the screen. "Once Upon a Time."

You are not even paying that much attention.

"Am too."

Then what happened this episode?

"Uh . . ."

Thought so. Call him.

"Oh my God, fine." Eddie says exasperatedly, standing up and getting his phone from where it was charging. "I've had it with all your complaining, it's been hours."

Pointedly ignoring the smugness he could feel radiating from his other, Eddie dials Jameson's number.

"Hello, who's this?"

"Jameson, hey, it's Eddie Brock."

"Eddie, glad to hear from you. So, made up your mind yet?"

"Uh, yeah. I'll take the job."

"That's great! I'll need you to come in tomorrow, show you how things work around here."

"Sure, what time?"

"Let's say 8:00. That work for you?"

"Yeah, I'll be there."

"Good, good. See you then."

"Uh-huh. See ya then."

The call ends and Eddie leans back into the couch, letting out a long sigh.

See. Was that so bad?

"No," he admits, and it's the truth. It just wasn't the phone call itself that had put him off from doing it.

Knew it.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. What time is it?"

2:00.

"We're gonna have to start getting ready in, like, an hour."

Ah, yes, to see the Spiderling. What do you think he wants with us?

"Not a clue, but he did seem pretty nervous about it yesterday, so probably nothing good."

True. Or, he could still be jumpy because of us. We are very scary.

"Nah, I think he's gotten over that, for the most part. Now that he knows you're not out to get him."

Maybe you are correct, maybe you are not. We shall see.

. . .

"Okay, it's okay, you got this, you can do this," Peter stops his pacing and takes a deep breath. "Oh, what are you thinking, you can't do this," he says, leaning against a tree.

So, maybe he was a little nervous about talking with Eddie and Venom. The fact that he was in civies might have a little to do with that, although he was wearing his costume underneath, and had the mask in his pocket in case a speedy escape was required. He once again thought about just running and not looking back, but before he could make a formal decision, he sees Eddie wave at him from a few yards away.

Steeling himself, Peter walks over and raises a hand in greeting. "Hey," he says awkwardly.

"Hey," Eddie says, sounding similarly uncomfortable. "So, what is it you wanna talk to us about?"

Peter clears his throat and shifts nervously. "Oh, well, um . . . Uh, can Venom, like, manifest themself, or something, that might make this easier." He was mostly stalling, because he still wasn't quite sure how to breach the topic.

"Sure, I guess," Eddie says, looking vaguely confused.

Venom slowly starts taking shape in the same spot on Eddie's shoulder, their terrifying grin looming over him. "What is it, little Spiderling?"

Feeling once again miffed by the nickname, Peter says, "It's Spider-Man."

"More like Spider-Boy," Eddie mutters at the same time Venom says, "The Spiderling is a small child, and we feel very confident in our choice of description for him."

"I'm right here, y'know."

"We are aware. Now, what is it you want to talk to us about?"

"Uh, you actually. I know you guys are, like, vigilantes, or something, but I need you to stop."

"Why?" Eddie asks, taking a more defensive stance.

"Well, you have a more . . . violent approach to things, and that's kinda frowned upon here."

"Yeah," Eddie says sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "This is about the whole 'eating people' thing, isn't it?"

"Yep."

"Okay. Look, kid, I know this is a big thing for you and all, and I personally don't really like it that much either, but Venom needs to do it."

"What do you mean?"

"What he means is that if we do not, then we will slowly begin consuming his body, unintentionally."

"Yeah. They get really hungry, and it feels like we're starving. The only other thing that really helps is chocolate."

Peter pauses. "So, you're saying it's like when you stop eating and the body starts to slowly devour muscle and tissue as fuel instead?"

"More or less."

"That's really interesting," Peter murmurs, mostly to himself. "Y'know, I might be able to help you with that."

"Really?"

"I mean, I would have to do some more research, but I would guess that Venom needs some of the chemicals in the human body to properly function." Peter gets a vaguely disgusted look on his face before asking, "Is there any part in particular that gives you more energy, or helps abate the hunger more?"

"Heads."

Peter nods. "Well, I can't say anything for certain, but I might be able to find out what chemicals you need and make you a sort of alternative food that you can eat instead."

"You can do that?" Eddie asks, looking hopeful.

"Probably. And if I can, then you guys don't have to do the whole vigilante justice thing anymore."

"Oh, uh . . ." Eddie trails off, an uncomfortable look on his face. "Even if you can do that, I wasn't really planning on stopping. I mean, we'll definitely stop the whole killing/maiming thing, but we'll still be going out."

"Why?"

"Well, you won't stop being Spider-Man, even though you don't have to. It's exhilarating, and with the kinda journalism I like to do, I get into plenty of tight spots."

"As long as you guys keep it down and don't kill anyone, I guess that's fine." Peter pauses. "But it might be best if I supervise and help you get into the swing of things."

"First off, that pun was not nearly as sneaky as you thought it was, and secondly, we're not taking the advice of some teenager."

"If you say no, I'll tell the Avengers about you."

Eddie freezes, something akin to horror on his face. "You wouldn't," he says quietly.

"No, I wouldn't," Peter admits. "But, I can't just let two green 'superheroes' loose on New York. You don't know what you're doing."

"Pete, I'm an adult. I can make my own decisions, and I'd say I know better than a kid."

"Says the guy who was fine with eating other people."

Eddie winces. "Okay, low blow. But we only ate bad people, and I tried to keep it to a minimum."

"Doesn't change it."

"I agree with the Spiderling."

Eddie gasps and turns to Venom. "Traitor! You're supposed to be on my side."

"He does have a point, loathe as you are to admit it."

"He's a kid."

He's going to help us, and not alert anyone to our presence, so I think the least we can do is agree to his demands."

Eddie opens his mouth to say something, but pauses. He sighs, looking back at Peter. "Fine," he says reluctantly. "You can . . . supervise us, or whatever. But not for forever, just a few weeks so you can teach us 'Superhero 101', or whatever."

"Yeah, yeah, of course. Wouldn't wanna keep you any longer than I had to."

"Good. And, uh . . . you'll really help us?"

"Uh-huh. You can count on it."

"Thanks, kid."

"No problem. I'm just glad we could settle this civilly."

"As opposed to what? We duke it out in the middle of Central Park? No thanks."

"Yeah, that wouldn't be so fun."

"Nope. Anyways, is that all? 'Cause me 'nd V need to get home and talk to my sister about a few things."

"You're staying with your sister."

"Uh-huh, and she's been pretty cool about it so far, thankfully."

"Oh, well, good luck, I guess."

"I'm gonna need it," Eddie mutters, starting to walk away. "Anytime you wanna start with your Superhero-ing lessons, just shoot us a text."

"I will," Peter says, pulling on his mask. Well, at least he hadn't messed things up too badly. Now he was just gonna have to survive trying to tech Venom how to be a hero.

. . .

"Eddie," Mary says when he walks through the door. "Where you been?"

"Out with a friend," he says immediately. It was infinitely less suspicious than, 'Oh, y'know, just hangin' with Spider-Man, no big'.

"You have fun?"

"Yep. How long you been home?" Eddie asks, sitting down on the couch.

"Few minutes."

"Work okay today?"

"Eh, it wasn't awful."

"That's good." Eddie takes in a deep breath. "So, uh, I need to talk to you."

"Uh-oh. It's never a good thing when someone says that."

"Depends why they wanna talk."

"True, true. So, what is it?"

"Well, uh, we got offered a job at the Daily Bugle a few days ago."

"And?"

"And we took it."

"Ah. You wanna know if you're welcome to stay at casa del Mary."

"Yeah," Eddie says sheepishly. "I was gonna ask earlier, but I couldn't really find the right time, and—"

"Whoa, Whoa, calm down, dude. No need to explain, I get it. And yes, you can stay. But, since you've got a job now I'ma be expecting some rent."

"Of course. Although, when's the lease up on this place?"

"Next month, why?"

"Well, this is a one-bedroom place, and your couch isn't exactly the most comfortable thing in the world, and there's another apartment in this complex that's empty and is two bedroom, and if you wouldn't mind rooming with your annoying little brother, maybe we could move there."

Mary nods. "Eh, I was thinkin' of looking for a roommate anyways, and I'd rather live with you than some stranger. Sure, why not."

"Really?"

"Yep, I can talk to my landlord about it tomorrow. She's pretty cool, so I think it'll be fine."

"If you're sure . . ."

" 'Course I am. You were always the one that went off half-cocked while I kept my cool head, so chill."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"It's true, and you know it. So, you feel like doing anything in particular tonight?"

"Not really."

"Hm. Netflix?"

"Netflix."

And that's a wrap. Final chapter guys, thank you all for the wonderful reviews, it really warms my heart. I'm probably gonna do a sequel to this (I've already started, don't worry) so keep an eye out for that. Thanks for reading, hope you liked it!