It wasn't often that Eddie let himself indulge in a bath. His current apartment didn't have a regular tub, and he'd thought about and dismissed the idea of getting a hotel room for the night just so he could take one. But Venom had been asking him for weeks what a 'bath' was. And while Eddie had tried to explain it was hard to describe how the bath made him feel.

So Eddie had jumped at the offer to watch Mr. Belvadere while Anne and Dan left for a weekend. Eddie had promised them it was no big deal. They were friends and that's what friends did for each other.

No need to mention that he was going to abuse the clawfooted tub in the master bathroom. Eddie had spent many a night in that tub. With and without Anne. He'd enjoyed the way he could stretch out in the curved porcelain, warm and content, what a few bubbled to obscure the water. He'd even gone as far as getting a few of those bath bombs. He'd given a few to Anne but kept more for himself.

Now that Anne and Dan had been gone for the better part of the day Eddie felt it safe enough to relax. He'd made sure Mr. Belvadere was fed and his box scooped. Eddie had prepared the bathroom, ready to indulge in some hot, steamy ... relaxation. He'd turned the lights down as he ran steaming hot water to warm the porcelain of the tub while he finished his preparations. Anne had told Eddie he could stay at their place while they were gone since they had better internet, and Dan had made up the gues best with fresh sheets.

Bathtime?Venom asked mentally as it watched Eddie's movements through its host's eyes.

"Yup," Eddie hummed happily as he put out his pajamas on the counter and two towels. One for him, and one for the floor so the mat didn't get sodden with all the water. He'd filled the tub and tested the water, just this side of uncomfortably hot. He let a slow smile spread over his face as he stripped down, unashamed in the presence fo Venom's curiosity.

Eddie put one foot in, winced and pressed forward, knowing that the heat and slight pain would be worth it in the end. He slowly settled by degrees, dipping his body lower and lower until he was sitting in the water that was up to his waist. He sighed and leaned back against the curved side when a sudden rise in the water level had him opening his eyes.

"Vee... What are you doing?" Eddie asked as he looked at the symbiote, fully manifested in its humanoid form that was roughly Eddie's size, sitting in the tub across from him. Venom grinned and held up a tentacle in the shape of a rubber duck.

"Quack!"Venom said with its toothy grin while squeezing the 'duck' in its tentacles.

"You're incorrigible," Eddie sighed with a laugh. Trust an alien goo monster to find rubber duck hilarious and necessary for a bath.

"This is relaxing, Eddie. Good idea,"Venom crooned as it melted some of its mass away to make room for Eddie to lay back in the tub, allowing the warm water to envelop both of them."It makes us feel ... like home."

"You're my home, Vee," Eddie replied as his eyes fell shut to the sound of Venom's contented purr.

END