Author's Note: Here we go, peeps! Second to last chapter!
Eddie and Venom stared out at the city, scanning the horizon currently full of helicopters and spotlights. Cletus should've made a move by now, but there was no movement visible, even from their vantage point. "Come on, come on," he muttered as he shifted. "Where are you?"
"They can't find him!" Venom argued, clearly impatient with all the standing around they were doing.
"They're hunting us too, buddy," Eddie reminded him. His phone rang and he absentmindedly glanced at the screen before answering. "Hey, Dan. What's going on."
"It's Anne. Eddie, Cletus has her."
"Huh?"
"They've taken Metz!" Annie said.
Eddie's whole world shifted sideways for a second and Venom had to put its own hand out to keep them upright. "Metz? No, that's impossible. I made a clean cut. I made sure to make a clean cut. There's no way they could've known about them, Anne."
"Eddie! We must save Metz!"
There was the sound of traffic from Anne's side as Dan drove them. "We went to warn her, just like you said–"
"Them," Eddie interrupted.
"What?" Anne asked, frustrated.
"Stop wasting time."
"Them." Eddie's voice was firm, ignoring Venom. "Metz is non-binary."
Anne was shocked into silence for a pause. To focus on something so insignificant right now, so small – Except, maybe it wasn't. Not to Metz, if they heard the two talking. And if it wasn't trivial to Metz, then apparently it wasn't trivial to Eddie. This made Anne smile, though she tried not to let it show. "We went to warn them to get out of town, like you said. Their apartment was locked, but yours had the door wide open. Dan went in, to make sure it was empty. He only found a cell on the table, on top of some napkin with a hand drawn invitation of sorts," Anne's voice softened. "We knew the phone was theirs because the screen… the screen was on a picture of the two of you."
"Where?" Eddie asked as Venom began to take form over him. "Where did Cletus take Metz?"
"Grace Cathedral. Hurry," Anne said and hung up. "Same goes for you," she told Dan.
Metz came to in darkness, groaning at the pain gathered at the center of their forehead. Shifting, they realized they were gagged, with both hands and feet bound. They heard muffled voices outside before light came through, making them squint against it. Their eyes widened as what could only be described as a red tentacle came into view before running down the side of their face. Except, there was something strangely familiar about the alien limb.
"But first! Gifts!" That was Kasady, Metz recognized.
"Actually traditionally–"
"Shut, your mouth. Father," Kasady's voice came again. "Baby, for our wedding, I got you what you want most." Metz almost gagged. The woman was Kasady's partner? It made a lot of sense.
"The cop?" Metz heard the woman say, her voice giddy with excitement.
"The cop," Kasady agreed, the woman's giggle floating through the air. "Proceed, father."
"Dearly beloved, if anyone objects to this marriage, speak now, or forever hold –"
The front doors slammed open just then, booming throughout the cathedral.
"WHERE IS METZ?!" A surge of relief filled Metz at the familiar voice, even if they were still pissed at them.
"There you are. Death to you, father!" anew voice called out.
"No!" Metz heard a man – the religious one, they assumed – cry out.
"Not you, Father. YOU – father!"
"OH SHIT."
"What're you doing?" Eddie hissed.
"Eddie is like you?" Metz heard Barrison say. That comment made it click. Anne mentioned two aliens, two symbiotes. Kasady had a Venom of their own.
"Not for long," Kasady replied. Just then the lid of whatever Metz was being held in came back down. No way in hell was Metz just going to stay in there without a fight. Grunting, they wormed their way onto their back. It was slow work, and painful, with the way they were tied up, their hands behind their back. There were also items that dug into different parts of their body as Metz finally managed to face the lid, pain reflected on their features. A scream like a banshee tore through the cathedral, audible even through the enclosed box, and it froze Metz's movements for a moment.
Crashing followed soon after and the unmistakable reverberation of a fight ensued. Metz gritted their teeth and kicked up, crying out against the gag when something sharp dug into their side. The lid didn't budge, though, and Metz bit down on the cloth between their teeth instead. They squirmed down in an effort to force the church items out of the way with no success. Pushing on the lid wouldn't help if they couldn't do it with their full strength. So, new plan.
Metz paused enough to strain their ears, wincing when all they heard was the sound of destruction. Wood breaking, walls smashing. It wasn't going to be a pretty sight out there. Focusing once more, they wiggled onto their side and tried hunching to loop their bound arms under their legs and towards the front of their body. Sweat beaded their forehead now, the wideness of the box making it harder to accomplish this task. They could feel pointed corners digging into their skin to the point of drawing blood, but Metz didn't stop.
After what felt like an eternity, Metz triumphantly held their hands before them and pulled off the mouth gag, grinning. They brought the ties to their mouth now, working the knot, their work interrupted with a scream when something crashed into the box they were being held in. Metz tore at the ropes now, cutting their lips with the roughness and not caring, only desperate to get out.
Time was funny – Metz wasn't sure whether five minutes or an hour passed. A cold sheen of sweat covered their body, soaking through to the hoodie Eddie had lent them. But there certainly wasn't any doubt that the battle outside was still raging. Another scream, this time of victory, escaped Metz as they finally freed their wrists. They pushed at the holy objects surrounding them before reaching down and yanking off the rope on their ankles, grinning at how close they were to freedom. Squirming onto their back again, Metz planted both feet on the lid along with their palms and grunted as they strained their muscles against the lid.
Nothing.
Panicking, Metz shrieked as they kicked and banged on the lid before giving another hard shove. The lid weighed nothing now and Metz sprang up to a sitting position only to find thick, red tentacles encasing them from neck to ankles.
"You will watch her die."
Thrashing against its grip did nothing and they whipped their head around. They spotted Anne and Dan hiding behind some scaffolds before they darted their eyes to the destruction below them. And there, under what looked like hundreds of pounds of rubble, they spotted the black figure. Metz was about to call out to him but stopped themselves. Instead, they turned their head to find the red alien – the symbiote – clawing its way up the building towards the bell.
Anne and Dan ran from behind their cover, racing towards Venom and Eddie. Metz noticed Dan pulling at the rubble, yelling something inaudible at the prone figure as Anne did the same. The alien must be in rough shape to not get up, Metz noted, before looking up at the thing whose grip they were in. It resembled Eddie's symbiote, really, aside from the color. Bigger too, if they were being honest here. And hadn't they heard it call someone father? It must've meant Venom, right? Did… did Venom and Eddie have a baby? Metz shook their head at this. Obviously that was impossible. Then again, they knew nothing about how these symbiotes worked and didn't they have more pressing issues to worry about?!
"Oy! Daddy's boy!" Metz shouted up at the creature. It turned to them for a moment only to shriek in their face. "Yeah, yeah. Listen, bud. I don't know what your deal is, but count me out. I'm certainly not who you want."
"You are Eddie's mate."
At this, Metz threw their head back and laughed. The creature certainly didn't expect that reaction and it froze midway up its climb. "Oh, buddy. You've got this all wrong. I'm nothing to that guy, much less his mate. Trust me when I saw, my loss won't affect him in the way you think it will. I mean, look down there," Metz said with a motion of their chin. To their surprise, the creature complied, and the two set their eyes on the scene below them. "Does it look like that guy cares? Don't you think he'd be fighting a lot harder to get out of that pile of trash?"
The creature narrowed its eyes before growling and continuing upwards once again, its movement a blur. From one moment to the next, they were facing the city, the cold air stinging Metz's face. So much for that ploy. They hoped it at least bought more time for Eddie and Venom. Still, it couldn't be denied that it was a beautiful view. If this is how things ended, well.
"Baby," Barrison voice called out, drawing both the red symbiote's and Metz's attention. "It's too much. You've gotta stop him." To every human's surprise, the red symbiote reacted by lashing out, wrapping tendrils around the woman's face.
"What are you doing?!" Kasady demanded, panic in his voice now.
"I'll shut her up for good." Barrison screamed even as the tendrils muffled the sound, fighting against the creature's hold.
"Stop! You're hurting her!" Kasady screamed and Metz noticed the man's face pulling away from under the red skin.. "Get away from her!" Metz's eyes widened as they saw how Kasady ripped away from the symbiote up to his shoulders, desperate to get to Barrison.
"Shut. Up."
"Get your hands off my wife!" Kasady roared before he was shoved back into the symbiote's body. The scene was too much for Metz, who turned their face away, eyes burning. When the sound of a body dropping reached their ears, Metz risked a glance to see Barrison's unconscious form on the scaffold's floor, growing smaller as the creature continued its climb to the top of the cathedral. The wind roared in their ears now and while heights usually didn't do much to Metz, the dizzying sight of the whole city spread out below caused them to shut their eyes again as the symbiote reached the peak of the church.
Holding Metz up face to face, the creature roared and let its long, slimy tongue slide over Metz's jaw, drawing a shriek from them. Its jaws seemed to unhinge and it lowered its head towards them. Squeezing their eyes shut, Metz awaited the end.
It never came.
Instead, a bellow resounded throughout the sky and Metz's eyes sprang open to find Venom with a giant pipe piercing through the head of the red symbiote. It took a moment to realize the thing's grip on the cathedral loosened and the group went tumbling through the air down towards the open roof. A scream of their own was ripped from Metz throat as they pummeled downwards, until the breath from their lungs was choked out when a tentacle clenched around their midsection.
Shocked, Metz looked up to find Venom on its stomach, arm outstretched towards Metz. Their eyes widened a split second later. "Look out!"
The red symbiote was on Venom, stabbing at the other alien with arms that were molded into spikes. Metz heard the black symbiote grunt, but its hold didn't loosen. Instead, they felt themselves being lowered towards the cathedral floor. Tears sprung from Venom's eyes and Metz's heart clenched. "Let go!" they screamed, clawing at the black goo as their descent continued. "Let me go and protect yourself and Eddie, dammit!"
Venom either didn't listen or didn't care, roaring now with each stab from the red symbiote but refusing to let Metz drop. In a last ditch effort, Metz writhed their arms into the hoodie and scrounged their head into the fabric. The actions surprised Venom and Metz took the chance to push off and fully slip out of it, leaving the symbiote clutching onto an empty hoodie.
The fall wasn't pretty. It wasn't high enough to be fatal, but when Metz landed, multiple grotesque cracks sound followed and they howled in pain. "METZ!"
"We got them!" Anne called out, coming into view along with Dan.
"You get that fucker or so help me god, Venom, I'm having your head!" Metz screamed, gritting their teeth after as the couple each took an arm and dragged them out of the way of falling debris.
Once Metz was settled against one of the scaffold's posts, Dan quickly lowered himself to examine Metz. "Closed fractures, that's a small blessing," he muttered as his hands skimmed over their legs. "No risk of infection at least. So far, I feel two, maybe three fractures. We won't know for sure until we get you to a hospital."
"I'm not leaving without Eddie," Metz retorted immediately, leaning forward to catch a glimpse through the open ceiling and growling when the pain shot up their legs. Anne and Dan exchanged looks, and just when Anne was about to speak, Barrison's scream filled the air. Wide eyed, the trio watched the woman fall from the ceiling, a sonic boom emitting from her lips. Falling not even a second after was the cathedral's bell, landing squarely on top of Barrison. Metz flinched only for a moment, their gaze caught by something else familiar.
From the gap fell a black blob, seconds later followed by a red one, then another delay before the bodies of Eddie and Kasady followed. Dan jumped to his feet, climbing the scaffold as fast and as high as possible, reaching out to the black symbiote while Anne held him in place. Metz's only focus was their neighbor and they yelled out at him. "Eddie!"
The scream seemed to bolt him from a stupor and he flailed at his surroundings, managing to snatch onto a jutted pipe. Before Metz could scream again, a cold feeling surrounded them and their eyes shot to their body. They were covered in the inky goo they'd seen on Anne and Eddie, spreading over their limbs quickly. "What the fuck?"
You're hurt. I'll heal you.
"I don't matter right now! Get Eddie!" Metz commanded at the voice that was now in their head. Is this what Eddie lived with all this time?
"Venom!" the man in question screamed.
Two seconds.
"You get your slimy paws, hands, tendrils, whatever the fuck you call them off me right this instance or –" Metz couldn't continue as Venom engulfed them. They felt their legs shifting, crackling almost, as the symbiote fixed them before the two stood. They were not as bulky looking as when Eddie hosted Venom, but Metz could feel the easy power of the symbiote. Before they could be taken in by it, they heard Eddie scream and their eyes snapped upwards to see his slip on the pipe fail.
Without hesitation, the symbiote jump and caught Eddie mid-air effortlessly, landing with a strange gracefulness beside Anne and Dan. Told you we'd get him. As they set Eddie down, Venom began crawling out of Metz and into its true host, walking away towards the now fallen Kasady. The serial killer was attempting to merge again with his own symbiote – it must've gotten hit worse, judging by the slow progress it was making across the debris.
Metz stood bewildered, staring at the back of Venom's form, before looking down at their legs. Not a twinge of an ache, even. They took a tentative step, then another, walking in a slow circle. "This is insane," they muttered, still staring at their legs.
Anne's attention was on Metz and she leaned in towards them. "The power's nice though, isn't it?" she whispered, startling Metz and making them blush. "Done it twice and it's both ghastly and addictive."
"He did not taste good," Metz heard Venom say, before picking up the broken body of Kasady, bringing him face to face with its row of teeth. Metz saw half of Eddie's face appear and Kasady and Eddie exchanged words, too quietly for Metz to hear. Then, Eddie was back in the symbiote and Venom spoke. "Fuck this guy!"
Before anyone could avert their eyes, Venom bit off Kasady's head and tossed the body aside. Anne and Dan groaned, Dan slightly gagging, but Metz just glared at the symbiote before making their through the rubble, sidestepping or hopping over obstacles. Their path was obvious and they climbed a particularly tall piece of debris from the fallen ceiling to be able to come face to face to Venom.
"Metz! You see now? We are the good guys!"
Gasps from both Anne and Dan filled the air when Metz raised a hand and slapped the symbiote as hard as they could. Venom's face turned with the hit, more out of surprise than the force behind it, its white eyes wide. "You get Eddie Brock out here right now, unless you're looking to take his share as well." There had been a sting to the hit – not enough to actually hurt Venom, but enough to not be tempted to take a second hit – and it hastily obeyed. "And you better keep him in place, Venom."
"No, no, no," Eddie stuttered as the black goo raced back under his skin. All but the feet, as Metz commanded, which kept him planted on the ground. "Metz. I'm so–"
The second slap echoed through the cathedral. Human skin being struck was much more satisfying than the muffled sound given by the symbiote's skin. Metz watched Eddie's head rock to the side as he yelped. "Jesus! I should've just let you slap Carnage around instead," he said, trying to diffuse their anger with a joke as he rubbed at his cheek. Metz remained atop of the debris with their hands on their hips now. "Come on, Metz, just–"
"Remember that talk, Eddie?" Metz said as if Eddie hadn't spoken at all. "You remember, right? I was positive I made myself absolutely clear about what happens when someone breaks my trust. You said I could trust you, Eddie."
You should've listened to me when you had the chance.
"Actually, I said I would try not to break your trust," Eddie corrected then yelped again when Metz smacked the side of his head. "For fuck's sake, I just saved your life, Metz!"
"Technically, I saved their life," Venom spoke up, its head floating just behind Eddie's left shoulder, making sure to stay out of Metz reach.
"After you endangered it!" Metz all but snarled, causing both Eddie and Venom to flinch back from another possible slap. "And I saved both of your asses when I made you drop me so you could focus on your headless buddy over there, which caused me to break my legs, according to Doctor Dan."
"I, uh, actually am a doctor," Dan called out from behind the trio.
"I fixed those, too," Venom pointed out, though much more meekly this time. When it noticed Metz's burning glare, it quickly continued. "I told him to tell you, Metz, about us, but he wouldn't listen."
Metz narrowed their eyes at Eddie when Venom gave this news and Eddie threw his hands up in front of his face. "I wanted to! I really did! I just… I didn't know how."
"You told Anne and Dan," Metz threw back, crossing their arms over their chest.
"I never told them anything. Anne found out by accident and Dan found out when Anne forced Venom out of me once. That was almost two years ago," Eddie explained, peeking through his fingers. "Please don't hit me again. I'm truly, very sorry. There wasn't a time I wasn't trying to figure out how to tell you, even before you told me about… you know."
"Yeah, and then you turned right around and used that against me," Metz shot back heatedly. The anger grew as they recalled what Eddie said to chase them away. "You used the one thing you knew would hurt me."
Eddie's expression looked pained, but he stood his ground. Well, Venom stood his ground for him. "It was the only way to keep you safe! You just, refused to stay away and I had to find a way–" Eddie yelled before leaning back, his expression changing as something clicked. "You went back to my apartment, didn't you?" Metz froze at this, eyes widening, and that was enough for Eddie to know he was right. "Even after I ran you off, even after I was such a giant dick, you went back. Here I was thinking it really was my fault they found out about you, that they found some hint of you in my place that I missed hiding. God, you're so goddamn stubborn."
"Well, you should've hidden this better too, then!" Metz said, yanking the chain from under their shirt, dangling the ring in front of Eddie's eyes. "Kinda defeats the whole being a dick image when you're leaving souvenirs behind." His skin flushed as he gave the ring a single glance before lowering his hands, looking anywhere but at the piece of jewelry. "Yeah, that's what I thought. I'm not stupid, Eddie. I know why you did what you did. But, this is your last chance. Is there anything else you've been hiding for my own 'protection'?"
"There definitely is," Venom piped up. Eddie's head whipped to try and look at the symbiote hanging behind his shoulder. "But, you've been hiding something, too, Metz. See, the thing about binding with a symbiote, even for a minute, is that we can see everything inside our human's mind." Metz looked confused for a moment then mortified when Venom lifted a single, thin tendril, pointed at its host and formed a heart after. The little scene was hidden, but Eddie quickly took note of the shift in Metz's expression. "Despite his deserving the beating for not telling you about us, it is unfair to hold him to such a standard when you have been keeping a secret for his 'protection', too."
"Metz?" Eddie said, a questioning look on his face.
Without a word, Metz turned away and started to climb down from the debris. They weren't able to even toe solid ground before black tendrils wrapped themselves around their body and pulled them taut against Eddie, their faces barely inches apart. "Uh-uh. What's Venom talking about?" he asked, his eyes boring into theirs.
Just kiss them already, you moron.
"I have no idea what –" Metz's sentence was interrupted by Eddie's mouth on theirs. Their body betrayed them by melting against his, their own lips parting with barely any suggestion from his own. Eddie didn't hesitate to deepen the kiss.
"Should… should we leave?" Metz heard Dan whisper to Anne.
Venom's hold moved away and Metz was left with just Eddie's arms around them. "I am still pissed. At both of you," Metz said breathlessly when Eddie pulled back. "Royally and completely pi–" Eddie shut them up another kiss.
"I get it, I get it," he replied after, pressing his forehead against theirs. "No more secrets. I swear on my life."
"If you so much as bend your promise, no amount of pretty tokens or slaps will get you forgiveness, you hear me?" Metz warned even as their arms wrapped around his neck. Eddie smiled, that blessedly crooked and entirely heart-melting smile. "Now what?"
Before Eddie could answer, the sound of a chopper turned deafening and a spotlight swept the destroyed cathedral. Venom reacted quickly, taking over and shielding Metz behind it just as the spotlight landed on them. "Now we run."
Anne, Dan, and Metz dashed through the shadows, Venom distracting the helicopter before jumping towards the exit the others went through. The symbiote quickly retracted back into Eddie as they hid on the side of the cathedral. "You two need to get out of here," Anne directed at Eddie. "Mulligan won't let you go so easily now."
"Yeah. Yeah, I know," Eddie said, realization dawning on him. He turned to Metz and tried to hide the sudden pain in his chest. "You need to go with them. It's us they want."
"No."
"Jesus, Metz. One time. One time is all I ask for where you actually listen to me," Eddie huffed, wiping a hand down his face in frustration. "No one knows you're involved. You could go on like normal. Not me. This?" he said, motioning to him and Venom's head now hovering over Eddie's shoulder. "There's no normal here and not just because I've got a pet alien. The only option here is running."
"You are my pet, Eddie!" Venom said.
Anne took a step towards the trio, irritated. "Really don't have time to be arguing here," she said. "We're going to be hearing police sirens any moment now."
"We're going," Metz assured Anne and cracked a smile at Eddie as they hooked their arm around his. "Did you already forget? I'm already on the run." He rolled his eyes even as a chuckle escaped him. "I have nothing holding me here either, if you leave." Metz caught Anne's surprised then suspicious expression as she stared at Metz then at Eddie. "Uh, long story. I promise there's no aliens, serial killers, or cops involved in it," Metz clarified.
"Might've been better if there were," Eddie muttered, earning a jab to the ribs from Metz's elbow. "Jesus, you're gonna break me," he whined even as his arm snaked around Metz's waist. He glanced over at Anne who still looked wary. "Kind of is a long story, though. Don't worry. I trust Metz with my life. Now go. And take care. Both of you."
"Thank you, by the way, for helping these two chuckleheads rescue me," Metz said to the couple with a genuine smile. "Stay safe."
"Goodbye Anne! Goodbye Dan!"
"Take care, champ," Anne said after a pause. "You too, Metz. Keep them in line."
At this Metz grinned. "Oh, trust. I will."
This earned a laugh from Anne and Dan simply raised a hand at them before taking his fiancée's hand. The couple ran through the rain and out of sight, just as the sound of police cars began to echo.
Venom engulfed Eddie and picked up Metz, slinging away from the scene. "You know, I did the rescuing. Dan and Anne were more of a hindrance, really," it said as the trio practically flew through the city. The cold air bit relentlessly into Metz's skin and they felt their teeth chattering. They reached the Golden Gate Park, though, landing in the same spot Eddie had brought Metz to on their first bike ride. "This should be safe for now." The symbiote set Metz gently on the ground before reaching inside himself and bringing out something gray. "Here, Metz."
"You held on to it?" they asked, surprised to see the hoodie they had slipped out of to free themselves from Venom's saving grip in the cathedral. "In the middle of a fight?"
"Eddie did," Venom corrected before racing to hibernate under his host's skin again so as to not draw attention to them. Said host stood with his hands in his pockets, trying not to blush as Metz smiled and pulled on the hoodie. The trio sat at the bench for a moment, processing the intense events of the day. Metz rubbed their forearms absentmindedly, looking up at the sky, trying to warm themselves up faster.
Eddie noticed, of course. "Still cold?" Before the question was finished, Venom's tendril shot out and dragged Metz across the seat and into Eddie's arms. "Jesus, Venom. You can't go yanking Metz around like that!"
The human in question blushed fiercely now. Sure, the two had kissed, but it had been a spur of the moment thing, initiated by Eddie, for starters. Physical affection wasn't exactly the norm between them and Eddie, though. "I don't think I scared him enough yet," they muttered, even if they were a bit grateful at the fact Eddie still held them close, rubbing their shoulder gently and sharing his body warmth.
"Eddie? Metz?"
Both humans looked at each other, something about the symbiote's tone hinting at that was coming was not good news. The two turned to look at the hovering face of Venom next to Eddie's own shoulder. "Yeah?" Eddie asked.
"It's time." Metz frowned as Eddie fell into a pensive silence. He pointed at the statue in front of the trio after a moment.
"You see those two? That's Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. They're two very different people, with different takes on the world, different ways of doing things. Sometimes they didn't like each other a whole lot, but ultimately, they worked together to bring out the best in each other."
"I must go alone. It is me, they want."
"Well, my dear, Sancho. Facts are the enemy of truth."
"What does that even mean?"
"It means that we, we are–"
"Fugitives!
Metz snorted, pushing a hand against their mouth to keep from laughing out loud. "Yeah," Eddie conceded with a chuckle of his own.
"On the run!"
"That, too," Eddie said with a nod, smiling down at Metz now.
"So," Metz spoke up, returning Eddie's smile. "How's it feel, Mr. Brock?"
"How does what feel?" he asked, nervous.
"Being a fugitive on the run, of course," they asked as the trio stood. "You know, with it being your first time."
Eddie barked out a laugh and shook his head as they walked down the darkened path. "Never thought it'd end up this way. But, honestly? Feels exhilarating. Like a fresh start. Except a lot less lonely than I thought it would be." Metz smiled wide at this and the three disappeared into the shadows.