Chapter 1
The Reflection in Your Opal Eyes
Sopheezel
Summary:
"Eddie, Why does our heart hurt when you think about your family?"
Eddie slowly lifts his eyes to meet Venom's cloudy, opal ones. "You wouldn't understand," he sighs.
"Then why won't you let us? We don't want to feel this pain anymore."
In which Venom and Eddie are a lot closer to each other than before, Cletus Kasady writes one last letter, and there's to a certain reporter's dark past than what it seems.
Or: An alternate take on the latest Venom movie, including a deeper look inside Eddie's childhood trauma, Mr. Belvedere meeting Venom for the first time, and much more.
(Spoilers for Venom: Let There Be Carnage ahead, summary subject to change. Enjoy!)
AN: Me and my friends had a great time watching V:LTBC together, so I wanted to crank this idea out just in time for Halloween. It was a super cute movie by the way, I recommend it 10/10 ;)
A few things to mention~
- There are major spoilers ahead. You've been warned ^^'
- Venom goes by they/them pronouns :D
- I never read the Spiderman/Venom/Carnage comics, so if there's anything you think I should change/add let me know in the comments ^^
- The first two chapters or so will mainly be a darker/revised retelling of the movie. :)
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy!
Birth
Venom realizes something very interesting about prison bars:
No matter which way you looked through them, the person in front of you always seemed trapped on the other side.
To Eddie, Kasady looks… trapped, imprisoned in a little square cell about two yards in diameter, as he wears a pale blue hospital outfit that matches his constricted, unblinking eyes.
However, to Cletus, Eddie looks trapped in an endless cycle of misery and regret, of violent urges nearly impossible to stem, of a longing for something not-so-much-different than Carnage.
So this is why he says the words that he does.
"I've been thinking a lot about you, Eddie... Because you and I are the same."
The thought of being identical to a psychotic madman responsible for the deaths of at least twenty innocent people makes Eddie want to sigh, or to throw up. He's so sleep deprived he can barely tell the difference between his own emotions anymore, not to mention how he's had to hide them ever since meeting Venom.
God, he really just wanted to go back to his apartment and sleep, but responsibility always calls. Eddie liked to think that his was almost over too, since an entire year had passed since he first interviewed Kasady. Thanks to Venom finding the sharp, rocky cliffside where multiple of his victims were located, the government finally removed the ban on his death penalty. Eddie's final task was to have one last exclusive, one-on-one interview with Kasady about his final words, before the demented redhead was streamlined to lethal injection.
"Anything you wanna, unburden yourself with before… it happens?" He ends up asking rather brusquely, but Cletus looked unperturbed. He had no problem with doing things the blunt way; that kind of force trauma was one of his favorite methods of murder.
(A five year-old girl's skull smashed in with a dial telephone, a teenage boy's forehead repeatedly being slammed into the dashboard of an old, stolen car until his facial features were barely recognizable anymore, a middle aged woman's jaw wired shut into a macabre smile before her eyes were carved out entirely, an elderly man's fingers gnawed off, all the bones in his feet crushed, and multiple flesh wounds resembling bite marks on the side of his neck, the list goes on.)
"Yes," the madman-in-question answers, standing up and making grand gestures with his hands.
"I have wishes to bestow upon you. I want to wish you utter heartbreak.I wish for you to see out your days completely alone as you always have been."
Eddie feels Venom coiling around his muscles, hissing violently like a snake poised to strike. The two had a deal that Venom wouldn't do anything reckless during these visits, but Eddie could tell they were quickly losing patience.
Too late, the symbiote inside of him growls at Kasady's last words. He's hurting your feelings. OUR feelings.
(The prolonged emphasis on the word 'our' does not go unnoticed.)
V, it's ok, we aren't alone. He's wrong. Eddie frantically thinks, trying to keep his symbiote in check before something disastrous happens.
"I'm not wrong," Cletus chirps, speaking again perfectly on time. "Do you want to know why I'm right?"
This time Eddie can't tell if it's him or Venom who drags his feet over the pristine, yellow, DO NOT CROSS line on the floor, leaning closer to the cannibalistic killer without a drop of fear. All the things inside Eddie's head are dangerously quiet, like the calm moment before a terrible storm.
"What- where are you going with this?" the reporter asks quietly.
"You are a cancer to everyone who ever loved you, Eddie." Kasady answers, smiling.
"The only reason you're here now is because you deceived your poor old, trusting fiance for classified information all those months ago. And I have the feeling you're still taking advantage of others as we speak, since you obviously can't do anything yourself. How could you stand being such a disappointment, such a loser?!"
Venom constricts tighter, and Eddie feels like a large black python has wrapped its way around his ribcage. He has to stop himself from visibly wincing.
Only WE can call ourselves that! The symbiote gasps, gravely offended. Eddie would have laughed at their words if he was under any other circumstances, but now was definitely not the time. He gulps nervously.
Cletus sees it, notices that the great, one and only Eddie Brock is starting to crack. So he goes on with everything left, cooing in the scratchy, western drawl he speaks so well,
"Face it, Edward, you're pathetic. It's no wonder 'Daddy could never look at you again after you killed his wife, your mother,
just
by
being
BORN."
For the first time in years, Eddie is reminded of his family. It's the most severe emotional hurt Venom had ever felt since bonding with a host.
They don't understand why such a terrible wave of throbbing anguish crashes over their human's heart, but Venom just acts.
They want to heal the wounds they can sense on the inside, they want to make all of Eddie's agony go away, but Venom has no experience with this kind of pain.
So he focuses on the external issue, a particularly rotten one with a bad haircut, instead.
B A M !
As Cletus is currently being slammed against the prison bars by an alien he can't control, Eddie tries as hard as he possibly can to not have a panic attack.
It's completely silent the entire way home. Eddie doesn't even think about talking to Venom.
After the door is locked behind them, he can feel the symbiote squirm uncomfortably near his shoulder blades, like they can't decide if they should appear at his side or not. He ignores them, just like how he ignores two damn chickens quietly watching him as he goes to grab a beer from the refrigerator. He feeds Cher and Sonny the leftover toast he forgot to eat this morning, since they didn't do anything wrong, before heading over to the couch. In one fluid motion, Eddie sits down, leans forward on his elbows, and sighs.
The previous events from a couple of hours ago play over and over again in his head like a broken record.
Venom hits Kasady, dragging him closer to Eddie. Kasady bites Eddie's hand.
"Hoo boy, I never anticipated meeting someone as filthy as you, Eddie Brock!"
A laugh so ugly and deranged that makes the blaring alarm of a rocket taking off sound pleasant.
"I have tasted blood before, and that. Is. Not. It! How many secrets are you hiding, boy? More than two, that's for sure!"
Prison guards rushing into the room and breaking up the fight, but not before Cletus claws at his own eyes, smearing blood all over his blue irises.
You fucked up.
"You're pathetic."
You fucked up.
"You are a cancer to everyone who ever loved you."
You fucked up.
"You and I are the same."
Eddie inhaled sharply, clutching his forehead with his hands.
...
Any chance of getting more information from Kasady was in the negatives now; the odds he would ever see the bastard face-to-face ever again were about zero too.
...ddie
But that was the least of his concerns right now, he still had to figure out how the actual hell Cletus knew about Anne, and his mother, and his fa-
Eddie.
"Damn parasite, can't you see I'm trying to think here?" Eddie snapped.
The little black slime-in-question poked their head out from behind his back and over his shoulder, finally showing themselves. A tentacle stretched towards the kitchen counter, before grabbing something out of his backpack.
Anne is calling, Venom said flatly.
"Oh," Eddie says, feeling incredibly stupid for not realizing it earlier. Sure enough, the phone V handed him is ringing on silent and says, "ANNE WEYING".
Also, I'm not a parasite, Venom added harshly.
"Sorry V," Eddie sighs, combing his empty hand through his hair. "I shouldn't have called you that."
I forgive you, Venom says. We had a shitty day.
"Oh really, what gave 'ya that kind of idea," Eddie moaned quietly, before picking up the phone. Venom didn't reply, either because they didn't get the sarcasm or because they wanted to hear whatever Anne was going to say first. Eddie didn't really care which.
"Hi you guys," the blonde says. He can practically hear her grin over the phone, and it's known to be contagious. "Sorry for calling on such a short notice, but I have a small favor to ask."
"Hey Anne," Eddie finds the corners of his mouth lifting despite himself, remembering how she was one of the few people Venom trusted enough to reveal themselves to.
"What can we do for 'ya?"
"Dan is going to a medical conference in Colorado this weekend, and he decided to take me with him there early tonight so we can explore the mountains a little bit, so I was wondering if you could…"
"Feed Mr. Belvedere again?" Eddie predicted.
I do not want to. Mr. Belvedere is ugly and cats do not taste delicious, Venom pouts. Eddie rolls his eyes and takes another sip of his beer.
"Yeah," Anne affirms. "Dry food twice a day should be fine until we get back."
"Anne, if you want something to love you, you gotta feed it right. Trust me, I would know," Eddie smirks, looking over his shoulder and at his partner's needle-sharp teeth. V barres them in an attempt at a smile, but it looks more menacing than amicable.
"Of course you would," Anne mutters. "Oh, and speaking of, how have you two been?" There's an awkward pause, before she specifies, "Are you and Venom getting along okay..?"
Oh. That was a pretty good question actually, so it takes Eddie a small moment to come up with a correct response for everyone involved.
"Uh, yeah, we're doing fine, just kinda had a long day at work," he shrugs, taking another sip of his beer and trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. No, we did not have a panic attack. No, we did not almost kill Cletus Kasady. No, we were not one tentacle away from getting sent to Area 51. (Eddie had never been happier in his life than after he realized that there were no video cameras in the room, because otherwise they definitely would have been).
Area 51 does NOT seem like a fun place, Venom shudders, thinking about all the horror sci-fi movies they had seen with their host together.
Apparently Eddie didn't speak nonchalantly enough for Anne's standards.
"...Do you want to talk about it?" she asks patiently.
Yes! Yes we should. Venom nods.
No, no we should not. Eddie instantly thinks in response. Realizing this wasn't an argument they could win, a brief look of guilt flashes over Venom's face once they realize that Eddie's going to lie to her again.
"Oh, it's nothing special Anne, deadlines are just annoying sometimes," he forces a smile on his face, before intentionally changing the subject (knowing exactly what to say).
"Anyways, I'm completely fine with feeding your calico for free, but my symbiote here is a different story."
Anne knows what that means. "It's a good thing I stocked up on snacks then. There's extra chocolate in the cupboard and plenty of tater tots in the freezer. You can cook anything you want, so long as the kitchen isn't completely empty by the time we come back." She smiles.
Venom gasps. Ask her if she got the waffles like I asked.
"Did you get the waffles like V asked?" Those had been all the rage ever since Eddie let Venom make them in his apartment for the first time. It was an extremely dangerous and messy process at first, but now they could do it without sending the entire apartment in flames or getting ketchup on the ceiling if Eddie was lucky. He imagines seeing Anne roll her eyes over the phone, before finishing the last sip of his drink.
"Yes, I got the waffles."
Instantly looking better, any disdain from the previous conversation now gone, Venom says, Lets go feed Mr. Belvedere right now!
We're gonna be in and out of there, there's not much time to mess around tonight, Eddie informs V as he pulls up to Anne's empty apartment on his motorcycle. Sure enough, Mr. Belvedere himself could be seen watching them next to the upstairs window.
Mi casa es tu casa, Eddie thinks happily as he unlocks the front door.
Why do humans speak in different languages? Venom asks.
"I don't really know, V," he murmurs aloud as he walks inside. "It probably has to do with our evolution over different generations as a species or something."
Venom considers the information for a minute.
My old home does not have any other languages. Just one.
"Oh really?" Eddie grins. Planet Ming Mong must not be very special then, after all.
It's called Klyntar! Venom screeches.
As Mr. Belvedere eats his wet cat food, and some instant waffles are cooking in the toaster, Venom and Eddie find themselves in a somewhat uncomfortable silence.
Eddie. Venom breaks it, appearing over his shoulder again.
"What's up?" Eddie asks.
We-
They pause for a second, before gently shaking their humanoid head and trying again.
I, am sorry for what I did today.
Eddie looks up now, seeing his reflection through the whites of his partner's eyes. The close proximity didn't bother him anymore.
"You mean... with Kasady?"
They nod.
Eddie's taken aback by this, and feels a huge surge of guilt fill his heart at the apology. He doesn't want Venom to feel responsible for the entire catastrophe with Cletus; if there was anyone to blame it was him. The man inhales, exhales, and says,
"I'm sorry too. I should have been faster, I should have been stronger. None of what happened today was your fault, V."
The symbiote blinks and tilts his head, so Eddie goes on.
"I shouldn't have yelled at you for trying to protect me back there. I should actually be thanking you, but no one could have anticipated-"
His breath hitches in his throat.
"-meeting someone as filthy as you! It's no wonder 'Daddy could never look at you again after you killed his wife, your mother, just by being BORN!"
Beep!
The toaster goes off, causing Eddie to jump out of his chair and for Venom to cover him instinctually.
Jesus fucking- Eddie swears internally, his heart racing. It feels like the walls of the room are closing in on him and he has nowhere to breathe.
"Eddie! It is okay! That was just the toaster." Venom says aloud. When Eddie tries to look at himself through the microwave screen, he is greeted by a dark, muscular frame with two opal eyes and multiple rows of teeth. Venom was protecting him completely.
"We got us. We are fast enough. We are strong enough. We are enough."
Oh. Oh. So that was why the room felt like it was getting smaller, Eddie realizes. When Venom fully surrounded him, bodies and minds merged as one, they stood at about six foot nine.
The lovable black goop-in-question retracts now, silky black tendrils retreating back in Eddie's skin as he goes back to his normal appearance.
We felt our heart race like we were in danger, so we acted on instinct again, they say- and although Eddie can't see their face he swears that they sound apologetic again.
"I'm- I'm sorry, bud-" he grits out, trying to calm down but ultimately failing.
You do not need to say that anymore. We are okay, Venom says in a tone softer than Eddie's ever heard before. It makes his other thoughts stop in their tracks entirely.
"We… are okay," he repeats quietly. "Yeah."
Mr. Belvedere meows, breaking the silence.
Wait, it was watching us the entire time!? Venom exclaims.
"I guess so," Eddie answers, scratching his head in disbelief. He walks closer, crouches down, and reaches out slowly to the cat sitting next to his empty food bowl to make sure he isn't hallucinating.
To everyone's surprise, Mr. Belvedere responds positively, rubbing his face against Eddie's hand like nothing had ever happened.
"Well I'll be damned," Eddie wooshes, too exhausted to come up with anything else to say. "Come on V, eat your waffles and let's go home."
Venom finishes them in two bites.
Eddie lays in bed, finally alone and in the safety of his own apartment. The TV was turned off, Sonny and Cher had been put away (they liked sleeping outside), and everything was (almost) back to normal.
Venom squirms around in Eddie's skin again. He guesses that they're trying to get comfortable somewhere next to his liver.
Eddie? They ask quietly.
"Yeah V?"
What's going to happen tomorrow?
The human hides deeper in the humble abode of his blankets before giving an answer.
"I'll worry about tomorrow when it gets here." He groans into the covers.
Are you still worried about what happened with Kasady today?
Eddie clenches his eyes shut.
"How I feel doesn't matter," he says in a tone much colder than he thought it would be, "that motherfucker won't be alive for much longer anyways."
I see. Venom states, their tone unclear. Goodnight, Eddie. Sleep well.
The clock strikes nine. As one symbiote in the world goes to sleep, another one awakens for the first time.
"Soon come chaos, chaos soon come."
(It is at this moment when Cletus Kasady does indeed die, and Carnage is born.)
AN: We're just gonna say kasady's execution time was 9pm instead of 9am for plot purposes ok cool thanks :)
Also be sure to give Sonny and Cher a round of applause for their stellar performance! #NoChickensWereActuallyHarmedInTheMakingOfThisFic
On a much more serious note though, there will be much more Venom POV next chapter! Hope you guys enjoyed this so far, follows, favorites, and comments are deeply appreciated ^^
Have a good rest of your day!