The sun was shining through the window, but that didn't bother Eddie much. He rolled onto the other side and closed his eyes, but he felt something slowly tugging at his duvet.

»Venom, stop it«, Eddie grumbled sleepily.

»But we have to get up«, Venom countered in his mind.

»Can't we have a lie-in?« Eddie wished he had a mute switch again. He still hadn't really gotten used to it, despite the fact that it had been a year since he'd been living with the symbiote.

»But there isn't one! And to answer your question: no. Today is the appointment with the Life Foundation attorneys, if I may remind you. Besides, we're hungry.«

Another thing he wouldn't get used to: Venom could read his mind at any time, much to Eddie's displeasure.

»Five more minutes and then we'll get up.«

»No, right now.« And with that, Venom pulled Eddie out of bed by manifesting a tentacle on his foot, sticking it to the floor, and pulling, eventually landing them hard on the floor.

»Stand up.«

»You're annoying,« he replied.

Eddie took a deep breath and finally did so. He looked at his apartment. The red couch was crooked in the room, plastic packaging from chocolate bars and other sweets lay everywhere on the floor, and here and there those crumbs too. The dishes were piled up in the kitchen and to make matters worse there were also several oversized holes in the ceiling, which testified to Venom's destructive mania. To get it under control, Eddie had hung an old tire in the middle of the room, which he now looked at with pity. It was half torn up, making it difficult to read the writing: SNOOKY.

There were also two chickens living in the apartment, which Venom dubbed "Sonny and Cher". These were for him in an emergency, or his almost insatiable hunger. Namely, he needed a chemical called phenylethylamine, which was essential for his survival. And, to Eddie's chagrin, that only comes in brains and chocolate, so they had to eat a lot of it, preferably the latter.

»But we could also eat one or the other head again. That would also be easy on your wallet.«

You could almost hear his grin, but Eddie ignored his comment.

He went into the kitchen to make breakfast, but Venom already let some tentacles come out of Eddie's back and went to work himself.

»I'll take care of it today.«

»All right.«

That probably meant there wouldn't be one after all. Eddie grabbed some juice out of the fridge and watched Venom start demolishing the kitchen. Then he went to the table and sat down. He closed his eyes and blocked out the noise. But the moment of relaxation was shattered when Venom tapped him and shoved a stack of letters under his nose.

»Thanks.«

»You're welcome.«

There weren't many, but one stood out. It was quite small, but its red writing was immediately noticeable. He came from San Quentin Prison. Eddie opened it and was amazed at what he found. In the letter was a handwritten note signed by Cletus Kasady. A serial killer sentenced to death whom he has visited several times for interviews. The FBI had hoped that Kasady would give them some information about bodies that were still hidden, but instead he'd only babbled nonsense and uttered poetry. All the paperwork was still piling up on his desk. Oddly enough, Kasady had asked for him, Eddie Brock, of all people, and exclusively. As a result, the FBI was breathing down his neck, and one Detective Mulligan in particular.

He took the note and read:

dearest friend,

the state of California reinstated my death sentence to my chagrin. On September 13th, 2019 at 12 o'clock it should be ready. That's why I want you to be present at the moment of my passing. They will stop my heart and you, my friend, should not miss this unique opportunity. But before that I would like you to pay me one last visit. Finally, we still have to say goodbye to each other.

your friend

Cletus Kasady

As soon as Eddie had finished reading the letter, Venom's voice spoke up in his head.

»I guess he really isn't quite right in the head.«

»But that would be the last chance to get any information from him after all. All the bodies still haven't been found and if he's dead that won't change«, Eddie said.

He had actually hoped that he could at least contribute something by visiting him, as he wanted.

In addition, Kasady's death sentence was lifted indefinitely. It still bothered him a lot that Eddie couldn't help in the end.

»You did your best, but you can't read a serial killer in the head. The FBI couldn't get any information out of him either.«

»But what's wrong with trying one last time?« Eddie didn't give up. The 13th was already tomorrow, so he couldn't afford much convincing, but he didn't want to do it without Venom's approval.

The Klyntar fell silent for a moment.

»If you really want. But now it's time for breakfast«, he finally said, but not without an annoyed undertone that resonated quietly. Eddie couldn't help but smile a little. It happened too seldom that he won such discussions.

Venom used its long tentacles to grab two plates and a large cup of coffee from the kitchen and place them in front of Eddie with a „tada". They were crammed with waffles and what appeared to be scrambled eggs. On top, chocolate sauce dripped from the waffles and a large pile of whipped cream was enthroned on top.

»Uh, thanks.« Eddie took one and ate it.

»But you know, we really need to talk about your cooking skills. We can't just eat chocolate, fast food and waffles.«

Eddie felt Venom emerge from his shoulder in his snake-like form and face him.

»It tastes good!«

»I know, but sometimes we need to eat something healthy. Lettuce, for example.«

»Lions don't eat lettuce!« Venom said firmly. He hated that green stuff. Eddie once urged him to try it, but he immediately spat it out. Eddie, on the other hand, almost burst out laughing. Since then he had sworn never to touch that disgusting stuff again.

Venom didn't miss the wide grin on his host's face when he remembered it, too, which earned him a sparkling look from his symbiote. But he also twisted his face into a broad grin, whereupon Eddie's abruptly disappeared with foreboding.

»Your tiny head doesn't really have a lot of recipes I could use to cook us something nice, though.«

Eddie didn't respond to this provocation, so the Klyntar finally grabbed a waffle with a small tentacle and devoured it in one piece. Eddie watched him suspiciously. The sight of that maw, studded with two rows of fangs, still made him uneasy. Even though he knew Venom would never harm him, he was always able to kill someone else with no problem.

He spun around when Venom's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

»We've had that enough times now, Eddie. I would never do anything to harm you.«

»Damn, V! You shouldn't keep poking around in my thoughts!«

»There's so much interesting stuff to see.« His eyes lit up and he grinned broadly.

»That's scary!« That wasn't all that bothered him though, because unlike Venom, Eddie couldn't see in his mind, so Venom had a definite advantage over him.

»That would also be far too much for you and your little brain«, he remarked casually.

»Oh, and I thought we didn't have any secrets?«

Even Eddie couldn't help his grin.

»Maybe I'll show you something when I get a chance«, he replied quietly with a dreamy look at the street.

They sat silently at the breakfast table for a moment, lost in thought, until Venom changed his mind.

»Tell me, when is the appointment again?«

»At eleven. Why do you ask?«

»Because it's already half past ten.«

»Oh shit.« Eddie jumped up and dressed quickly. Venom grabbed the keys and they escaped out the door.

After the incidents last year, the Life Foundation insisted that it wanted to clarify the matter in court. But Eddie had hired a lawyer and he had consequently threatened to file a public lawsuit. As a result, the Life Foundation, fearing a PR disaster, withdrew the lawsuit and a meeting was agreed upon at which both parties would sign non-disclosure agreements.

That day was today.

Eddie and Venom were right on time. The lawyers met one last time, then the contracts were exchanged. These stated that none of the parties to these incidents would take legal action and that all evidence was not to be made public. Otherwise, the agreed conditions would become invalid and there would be a risk of heavy fines.

Both were signed and returned. With that, the matter was settled and the lawyers left without a goodbye and Eddie was relieved that this matter was finally settled as well.