The news wasn't usually Metz's choice of entertainment or background noise, but the story today spoke of a notorious serial killer and the discovery of his victim's graves thanks to a shrewd journalist's investigation. Metz's attention was divided between the screen, scooping cereal into their mouth, and the open notebook on their lap that occasionally received markings from a red pen.
Eddie wasn't sure what he was doing exactly. Venom had insisted they go and check on them, despite the fact they'd seen their neighbor make their way into their apartment building, understandably shaken up but completely unharmed.
A good neighbor would check on them. And we are good guys, so it is only reasonable that we be good neighbors.
It was ridiculous reasoning, but Eddie found himself agreeing nonetheless. And though he had willingly stood outside their neighbor's door, it was Venom that had taken charge when his resolve flagged and forced his hand to knock on the door.
It was impossible to keep their muscles from tensing at the sudden sharp sound, images of last night's events blasting behind their eyes. Metz set both the bowl and the notebook beside a binder on the coffee table, slowly standing and sliding on their hoodie to cover their tangled, unbrushed hair and maybe hide their face a bit. They padded to the door silently and peeked through the peephole to see a dark haired man standing a couple of feet away from the door, looking out the window while waiting.
Too tall to be the goon. Too short, by far, to be – what they now stoutly convinced themselves was – the costumed vigilante. Then again, Metz reasoned the cannibal hero was probably on some sort of platforms or stilts, so there was no way to really know their height. There was, at least, a familiarity to the face waiting outside, but Metz couldn't exactly pinpoint it just yet. "Can I help you?" Metz asked through the closed door.
"Uh, Hi. Sorry to bother you. I'm Eddie. Eddie Brock," he replied, the last name slipping out almost like a question.
And Venom. It is Us now, Eddie. Not just you.
Metz noticed the way he flinched then fidgeted, shifting his weight from one leg to the other, twisting the ring on his finger. "I'm also your neighbor, from the door right in front of you," he added instead, earning an offended huff from the symbiote, as he jutted a thumb back to the mentioned door behind him.
The name wouldn't have been familiar if not for the news playing still, and Metz now realized that they recognized the voice, too. It came from the television behind her as well, after all, talking about Kasady and his secret graveyard. Still, what was he doing at Metz's door? Even if they were neighbors, it didn't seem like anyone acknowledged each other, in this building. It had been a strange thing to see, but easy to get used to. Except now there was this man at their door.
She is going to open the door. She knows us.
Eddie all but rolled his eyes at this. "You can't know that," he whispered to the voice.
Except, Venom was right. Knowledge of who he was – well, of who Eddie was to the public, anyway – assuaged the tension in Metz' body and deemed the man safe, but curiosity alone prompted them to open the door. "Hi."
"Hi. Sorry," Eddie blurted out, caught off guard by the disappearance of the door. "I don't mean to be out of line. I mean, I haven't even really introduced myself before this. Which probably makes this even more weird, but, uh, I just wanted to check up on you," Eddie said, a hand rising to scratch at his neck as he rambled. "I was going out to the store last night to grab some stuff, snacks mostly. Really, it was also an excuse to escape the goddamn zoo on the first floor, Anyway, I saw you come in, or, well, more like collided with you on accident, but that's not the point. The point is, you looked… Well, you looked like the devil was hot on your heels, to be honest."
I am not a devil! I am a good guy!
At the force of the voice, Eddie winced but recovered quickly.
"Oh. That," Metz said before clearing their throat, looking down for a moment before lifting their chin and smiling at Eddie. "I'm fine, really. Well, better. Just a long day and an even longer night. I'm sorry for the whole bumping into you. I honestly don't even remember doing it, but I was a bit in my head at the time and just wanted to get to my apartment, so it's very likely I did."
"No, no, I gotcha. No need to apologize. I just figured, you know. Anyway, yeah, just, if you ever need anything, I'm just a few feet away," he said, motioning to the door behind him again. "You're new to the complex, right? N-not that I'm like, stalking you or anything," he amended quickly.
You are an idiot.
"It's just, I knew the guy that used to live here. Okay, well, knew isn't exactly the right word. Just, you know, knew in that I'd seen him and exchanged words a few times," Eddie continued to ramble, and Metz watched with amusement as his features began to turn a pale pink. "Anyway, I just, I wanted to make sure you were okay, and I figured I could also take the chance to introduce myself."
"Well, thank you for your neighborly care. I promise I'm alright. I'm Metztli, by the way. You can just call me Metz," they said as they stretched out a hand. Eddie stared at their hand for a moment before carefully shaking it, a flash of relief crossing his face as they shook hands for a moment. "You're on TV. I was just watching your interview about the serial killer. That's some good work you did."
That was all my doing! Tell her!
"That. Yeah. Thanks. I forgot that was going on today," Eddie said, scratching at his neck again after retracting his hand from theirs. "Glad it's over, at least, and that they got some closure for those families." Metz nodded along with this, slightly leaning against the door, watching as he began to fidget again and look around now.
Ask her out. It will be almost two years, Eddie.
"Um, well, okay. Just wanted to… Introduce myself. I already said that," Eddie said with a nervous laugh. He could feel the symbiote bristle inside of him. "Yeah. Sorry. Okay, I'll let you get back to your morning."
In the three months of Metz's new life in California, they hadn't made a single friend, not even a plain old acquaintance, and something about Eddie checking in on them, despite Metz being a complete stranger and him being, well, the currently famous Eddie Brock, made them smile. "Thanks again, Eddie. Maybe we'll actually get to know each other instead of just, you know, knowing each other."
Eddie looked up at them with surprise before smiling himself. It was a crooked smile and wholly endearing in its sincerity. "Yeah. Yeah, that'd be great."
She is obviously interested! Ask her!
His eyes suddenly widened at what the symbiote said and Metz tilted their head, forcing him to feign a look at his watch before running a hand through his hair. "Shit. I have to get going, but yeah, I'll see you around, Metz," he said, his eyes going back to them, unable to keep from smiling. "Have a good one."
Pussy.
Metz waited until Eddie disappeared down the stairs to shut the door, locking it behind them and heading back to the couch. It was the only day Metz had off, and their neighbor was lucky to catch them home on such a late morning. Then again, it was the weekend. It wasn't unusual for some people to be home during those days, was it? Except people tended to use their free time running errands or enjoying… whatever people currently enjoyed in the city. The television was on though, and with how thin the walls were here, it wouldn't be unusual that Eddie heard the sound of it and assumed someone was home.
They wanted to be suspicious of the man, but it seemed almost… impossible. Any reason they could think of for his sudden intrusion into their life was knocked down by a sensible explanation. Or so they thought.
Stranger or not, his simple act of checking up on them, all from an accidental bump in the corridor, shaped Metz's opinion on him. He felt, for lack of a better word, safe.
The thought made Metz pause, tilting their head as if to gain a better view of the idea altogether. In doing so, their books and what was probably now soggy cereal came into their line of sight. Sighing, they pushed away all contemplation of Eddie and safety, focusing their limited time on reading and writing, the television working as background noise now that the segment on Eddie's discovery was over.
Eddie himself, on the other hand, found himself driving around the city aimlessly. His mind was crowded not just by Venom's incessant talking, but his own convoluted thoughts. If nothing else, the symbiote was maybe right about one thing. Anne and Dan would be going on to two years in a relationship soon, with no signs of slowing down. Maybe it was time to move on.
Just considering it clenched his gut painfully, and Eddie revved the bike as if the sound could silence the feeling threatening to overwhelm him. It was quite useless, of course, as the memories forced through his flimsy barricade. The home he and Annie shared, every nook and cranny they christened with their love making, even the dumb cat he secretly adored despite the beast loathing him in return. The countless nights blended together, sounds of laughter and whispers and moans overlapping. They kept coming, flooding his chest until he couldn't breathe, forcing him to gasp for air as the worst of it came crashing into him.
Anne removing the engagement ring, Anne pushing it into his hand, Anne turning away, walking away, not a look back, not a single curious peek, nothing at all.
Watch where you're going!
The sound of a horn accompanied Venom's voice and Eddie managed to serve out of the way of the oncoming truck. He forced the bike in a small space between two cars, swallowing air as his heart jack hammered against his ribs. He needed something, anything, to do. Looking around, he was relieved to find a familiar symbol nearby. There was not yet a better distraction than a whopping service of chocolate ice cream. Maybe he'd even catch a movie after.
Not again! Ice cream gives us brain freeze!
The day eventually drained away into night and back at the complex, Metz tossed the notebook onto the table with an annoyed grunt and stood, stretching towards the ceiling. Writer's block came more often than not and they needed a break. There was a very strong craving for chocolate coming on and with nothing better to do, Metz pulled on shoes to head out and satisfy it.
When the convenience store came into view, Metz broke into a smile as well. Maybe they were wrong about not having any sort of friends or acquaintances, they thought, seeing the smile the store owner gave Metz as well as they walked in. "Hello, dear."
"Hiya, Mrs. Chen," they replied as they headed to the aisle closest to the register. "Any luck on the chocolate?" The empty stand greeted Metz, providing the answer whilst making them pout. "Never mind."
"Ah ah, hold on, Metz." With that, Mrs. Chen disappeared past the door behind the counter and returned with two bags of M&Ms. "I'll make sure to stash more than this for you when the next shipment comes in," Mrs. Chen promised, setting down the chocolate. "How's waitressing? And how's my cousin treating you over there?"
Metz considered the remaining options on the snack aisle, grabbed some chips then a soda as well and headed back to the counter. "Your cousin is honestly an angel for taking someone with zero experience. I can't thank you enough for that. You saved my ass, really," Metz said while placing the items down. "I think I'm picking it up, though. I haven't broken any more dishes so that's a win, right?"
Mrs. Chen laughed as she rang up the items. "Definitely a win," she nodded while placing Metz's purchases in the cloth bag they brought with them. "But it's late, you know. Not a good thing to be walking around here at this hour. I've told you that. You parked far?"
"Uh, I kind of walked over here," Metz admitted with a sheepish smile. "I'll be fine, though, promise." Mrs. Chen gave a harrumph at this and glanced towards the front windows, a small gasp escaping her.
"There we go. All done. Off you go," the store owner urged, pushing the cloth bag towards her customer. Metz frowned and looked to see what made the woman react that way, but barely made out a figure walking on the other side of the street. "Go on, then," Mrs. Chen said, making a shooing motion with her hands.
"Are you alright, Mrs. Chen?" Metz asked before a dark thought popped into her head. "Is it some, like, protection blackmail? Should I call the cops?"
Mrs. Chen blinked before she let out a laugh, the sound relaxing Metz. "No, no, it's nothing like that," she said. "Just a rude customer I really don't want you to interact with. He can be mean when he wants to be, but he buys a lot, and he's easier to handle when it's just me. Now go on home. I'll see you next time, okay?" Metz narrowed their eyes for a moment before sighing and taking their bag.
"Alright, I believe you. I'll see you later then, Mrs. Chen," Metz said as they headed to the door. They turned to wave one final time at the woman, only to be given another shooing gesture in return.
Metz allowed their eyes to wander to the silhouette that had crossed the street and was headed still towards the convenience store. They decided to stand a few yards from the front door, behind a post, just in case. The figure came into the light dangling over the convenience store, and Metz blinked, eyes wide. "Eddie?" The name spilled out and they slapped a hand over their mouth, sharply turning away to hide their face. They tried to listen to any approaching footsteps, but the sound of the bell over the convenience store door came instead, and Metz let out their breath. Turning back to the store, they tiptoed until they could peek just a little into the store without being seeing. Metz couldn't imagine Eddie as rude, but they obviously couldn't vouch for him either. They figured some unobserved interactions might be beneficial.
They expected some sort of uncomfortable atmosphere, yet Mrs. Chen was facing Eddie with crossed arms and the exchange between them seemed more like friendly banter than rudeness. Movement caught their eye, something like a black blur, and they felt panic flourish. They leaned further to try and catch sight of what it might be, thinking it might be weapon. When Eddie's hands showed to be empty, Metz exhaled and assumed it was probably a random gesture from Eddie, who was wearing a black jacket. Satisfied, Metz turned away. Maybe that wasn't the rude customer. Or maybe Mrs. Chen just needed an excuse to get Metz out of the store? Could there be a reason why she didn't want Metz meeting Eddie? Too bad Metz hadn't come to see Mrs. Chen before, seeing how they were not only neighbors but tentative acquaintances. Avoiding him would be difficult. But what possible explanation could there be for suddenly being run out of the store?
Sounds of music drew Metz from their contemplations as they walked and a groan filled the air as the start of another party on the ground floor came into view. Metz made a mental note to both question Mrs. Cheng about Eddie and invest in some soundproof ear buds before trudging up to the building and preparing for another sleepless night.