Christmas

Christmas. For many people, that meant joy, being together with family, buying presents and thus getting the shopping frenzy under control, but above all enjoying the last month of the year in a contemplative way.

Well... It's a shame that things had to turn out so differently for Eddie Brock! In addition to an alien that had been living with him for almost three months, he now had to deal with a little Blue, who unfortunately chewed on something he had found on the floor for the fifth time. This time, unfortunately, it was Eddie's toothbrush that got caught.

»How did he even manage to get it?«, Eddie asked himself as he was trying to get it out of Blue's mouth.

»Must have fallen down…«, said Venom.

»Why does he always have to chew on everything except his toys?«

Eddie had taken Venom and little Blue to a pet shop on the very first day and had bought everything they needed. In addition to various toys such as a squeaky carrot, there was also a chew bone and the basics of a collar (blue, of course), a leash, treats and dog food for the next two weeks.

And because Eddie had never had a dog before, he had tasked Venom with gathering all possible information that was needed to be known about it, which, as it turned out, was the perfect task for him, since he didn't sleep at night anyway and he could brief Eddie the summary over breakfast in the morning.

When he was finally able to free the toothbrush, he looked disgruntled at the chewed remains and received a disappointed look from Blue for his action.

»Now you've made him sad!«

»Now I've made him sad?!«, Eddie repeated, stunned, with a raised voice.

Grimly, he went to the trash can and threw the remains away. Then he washed his hands thoroughly with soap, because they were full of drool.

»I would not have thought that such a small dog could cause so much chaos...«

»We'll get you a new toothbrush«, Venom said encouragingly.

»It's not just the toothbrush, Venom«, Eddie sighed.

He immediately manifested himself in his snake-like form and looked at Eddie.

»What then?«

»Everything just became so stressful because of him... We haven't even managed to get the commands right yet.«

»You couldn't stand me at first too and now look at us. It'll be okay…«

»Well, you didn't gave me a choice at first, did you?«, Eddie noted.

»And he's not giving you one now either«, grinned Venom.

»Thanks«, Eddie mumbled.

Blue meanwhile padded into the kitchen and looked up at Eddie, who returned his gaze.

»What does he want now?«

»Your toothbrush«, Venom teased.

»Buzz off«, Eddie countered, playfully pushing Venom's head aside.

»Cheer up, Eddie. Tomorrow is Christmas Day. Everything will be much more relaxed. There will be presents!«

»Pfff… You just want me to think about your present so you can read my mind because you're too curious to wait until tomorrow morning!«

»I'm outraged that you think so little of me…«

»But a little hint would be nice if you start like that...«

A sticking out tongue was the answer to which Venom reacted appropriately.

With his long tongue sticking out. Acroooooss Eddie's face.

He grimaced in disgust and backed away.

»Ugh, Venom! That's so disgusting.«

Venom just grinned at him as always.

Eddie immediately went to the bathroom to wash off the drool.

Venom followed his movement, of course, but also little Blue, who was longing for some attention.

Eddie washed his face thoroughly while Venom watched Blue search the floor for new chew toys. Unfortunately, to no avail.

After Eddie had dried his face and hung the towel back, Blue looked at Eddie with wide eyes and wagged his tail excitedly.

Eddie picked the little one up in his arms, only to be licked again. At least his tongue was less rough and slimy than Venom's.

»Remember what I told you about that two weeks ago? That's exactly what I meant.«

»But he hasn't eaten any chocolate yet.«

»And hopefully it stays that way.«

Eddie went back into the kitchen, where he put Blue down and then reached for a can of dog food. He took a spoon out of the slider, scraped out a good portion of jelly and dropped it into his bowl, which Blue stared at hungrily but patiently. At least that's what he had been able to teach Blue in the last few days: to wait until Eddie gave him permission.

»Go.«

Hungrily, he pounced on his dinner while Eddie threw the spoon in the sink and went into the living room.

»Now there are two that I have to feed...«

»Don't look at everything so negatively. Today is Christmas Eve!«

»Yes, but-«

»No buts. You deserve a stress-free break too, and may I remind you that you promised me you wouldn't work til New Year's Eve? That includes Christmas.«

»Wha?«, Eddie began, before realizing how Venom knew that he had just been thinking about his pile of paperwork.

Venom grinned knowingly at Eddie.

»I'll never get used to that«, Eddie sighed and plopped down on the sofa.

Venom's head hovered questioningly above him as Eddie reached for the newspaper next to him and began to read.

»What are you doing?«

»I'm relaxing«, Eddie said slowly.

»…«

Eddie began to read in peace, but he was surprised by the sudden silence. Venom didn't ask a single question, didn't make a single comment, or did anything else that might disturb him.

The more he tried to concentrate on his newspaper, the more his thoughts wandered. The silence between the two irritated him. He felt Venom's gaze on him, but he didn't say a word. At some point Eddie couldn't stand it any longer and finally looked out from behind his newspaper with a raised eyebrow and found Venom's face right in front of his.

»What do you want?«

»I can't wait until tomorrow morning«, Venom admitted.

»I already told you-«, Eddie started until a tentacle covered his mouth, which Eddie commented on with a grumble.

Another brought a small folded piece of paper and held it out to Eddie, and the tentacle immediately disappeared from his mouth.

»Tada! Your Christmas present.«

»Oh wow, thank you…«, Eddie said in surprise.

Venom watched Eddie spellbound and observed every little reaction from him as he unfolded the piece of paper.

»A sequence of numbers? Wait- are those coordinates?«, Eddie asked in surprise.

»Hmm-hmm«, Venom nodded.

Eddie was already pulling his cell phone out of his pocket when Venom stopped him.

»Wait!«

Eddie looked at him questioningly.

»You can't look where that is until we're at a certain place.«

»Which place?«

»I won't tell you. But I'll take you there.«

Venom looked at Eddie demandingly.

»What now?«

»Yes, of course now.«

»Oh uh okay... Wait, can we take Blue with us?«, he asked as he put his newspaper down and stood up.

»Not really«, Venom replied with a big grin, which made Eddie suspect something bad. That could almost only mean one thing.

»Oh God…«, he murmured quietly as he went to the door and grabbed his jacket.

»No skyscraper promised«, Venom said before he disappeared so Eddie could put on his jacket.

Eddie breathed a sigh of relief.

A short time later they were already on the road and Venom was commanding Eddie like a navigation voice through the streets, which were incredibly empty at this time of day and especially on this evening. There was practically no one else around.

»Where are you taking me?«, Eddie murmured quietly as he crossed a street.

He had absolutely no idea where Venom was taking him. The only thing he knew was that they were heading east.

»You'll see soon«, Venom said excitedly.

They walked for a few minutes until they finally arrived beneath the Bay Bridge. At night there was a wonderful view of the other side of the bay, which glittered beautifully with its lights. Venom instructed Eddie to cross the street one last time. He walked towards the barrier that separated him from the water.

»And now?«

»Now you can enter the coordinates«, he said, while a tentacle reached for his cell phone and pressed it into his hand. At the same time, Eddie took the piece of paper out of his pocket and started typing in the numbers.

He raised his eyebrows questioningly when he saw where Google Maps had put the pin.

»You want to send me on the bridge?«

»No, not on the bridge.«

Eddie didn't understand anything. He checked the coordinates for errors, but he had typed them all in correctly.

»Then give me a hint…«, he shrugged.

»Look around, Eddie. Where are we?«

Eddie turned around and looked half-heartedly at the surroundings.

»At the pier«, he guessed.

»We've been here before...«

»Can't be, I would remember that-«

Eddie paused and looked around more closely. He took a step back and looked at the intersection next to him. Something seemed familiar, but he couldn't remember it until he turned around again and noticed, with a little more distance, that a section of the barrier in the middle was painted a different shade of white than the rest. As if it had been newly painted...

Eddie's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered. Almost three months ago, they had broken through the barrier here and fled from the police by jumping into the water.

Before that, not far from here, Venom had taken full control for the first time. But back then it felt like drowning. As if he had been trapped in his own body.

»Why are you bringing me back here?«

»Look at the coordinates«, Venom demanded.

Eddie noticed that he was getting impatient with him.

»What did we do after that, Eddie?«

He looked at his cell phone and realized that Venom really didn't want to send him on the bridge.

»No, you surely don't want to-?«

»Oh yes«, he heard Venom say excitedly.

»But you do realise that last time I was soaking wet and frozen after that? The water is probably only 51 degrees!«

»I'll be more careful this time«, he promised.

Venom took his cell phone from Eddie's hand and put it back in his pocket and since there was no car, let alone a person, in sight, he simply let Eddie jump over the barrier.

Eddie was already preparing himself for the cold shock, which surprisingly didn't come when he dived in. However, he noticed in the same moment that he no longer had control.

Venom stayed under the water and started swimming towards the bridge pillar. And no matter how he did it, they swam incredibly fast. They didn't even have to take a breath.

Eddie felt how easily they glided through the water and how amazingly well Venom could see underwater. He was always amazed by his abilities.

»It feels so different this time«, he said, pleasantly surprised.

A few seconds later, Venom jumped out of the water and rolled skillfully. He came to an elegant stop and seeped back into Eddie's skin, who was surprised to find that he had actually stayed completely dry.

Venom manifested in his snake-like form and looked at Eddie with the biggest grin ever.

»Sit down, Eddie.«

»Uh, okay«, he nodded.

He sat down in the same spot he had three months ago and leaned against the pillar.

»I recognize the place, but I have to say I still don't understand why we're here.«

»This is where we met.«

»This is where you threatened to kill me«, he corrected with a know-it-all grin.

»No, I said-«, he began and saw Eddie's smug grin.

»Doesn't matter«, he growled quietly and thought better of it. He took a more serious tone for a change.

»I wanted to give you your present here because this is where we had our first real conversation. I told you about Riot's plans back then and that I would use you for them. Back then, I was firmly convinced that it was the right thing to do, to follow his orders to wipe out your kind.

But after that, everything changed. You accepted me and showed me how beautiful this world is. After a few initial difficulties, we faced Riot together and won against all odds, which only showed me even more what we can achieve when we work together as a team.«

A small tentacle came out from behind Eddie's back with something shiny. It was a snow globe containing San Francisco's tallest skyscrapers and the Golden Gate Bridge. With wide eyes, Eddie carefully took it and looked at it more closely.

»Wow, thank you, Venom.«

Venom grinned slightly, but he hadn't finished his speech yet.

»Christmas is a celebration of love and family, and that's why I want to apologize to you. For almost killing you when I consumed your organs and threatened you to obey me.«

Eddie looked at Venom in disbelief. The usually cheeky symbiote had a serious expression on his face for the first time and looked at Eddie ashamed.

»You're the only family I have«, he added.

Eddie was speechless.

He spread his arms and Venom understood immediately. He started to grin and snuggled up to Eddie, who returned the hug. Eddie felt little tendrils forming and clinging to him.

»I don't know what to say…«

They stayed like that for a while before Venom pulled away and looked at Eddie.

»Apology accepted, even if you didn't have to apologize for anything. After all, you saved my life. Twice.«

»You saved mine too, when you freed Maria and when Riot had me in his claws. You could have run away and left me behind, but you didn't. You jumped up to Riot and gave me your hand.«

»Then we're even«, laughed Eddie.

»For now«, grinned Venom.

Eddie's gaze fell back on the snow globe in his hand.

»I think this is the coolest Christmas present I've ever received.«

Venom felt proud, although this was somewhat tempered by the next words.

»But tell me, where did you get it from anyway?«, Eddie asked curiously.

»Um…«

»Venom?«

»Bought.«

»Where?«

»From Mrs. Chen.«

»With whose money?«

Venom hesitated for a moment, but saw from Eddie's expression that he had no chance.

»With the thief's money«, he admitted sheepishly.

»VENOM!«

»He wanted to steal your motorcycle! I gave the rest away to the homeless«, he justified.

»Oh God«, Eddie muttered, stunned in disbelief, putting his hand on his face. He took a few breaths in and out to calm himself down.

»Okay, yeah, why not…«, he admitted defeat.

At least Venom hadn't eaten anyone for it, and it was even somewhat morally justifiable if he had donated most of it. He couldn't change it anyway.

»Please don't go out at night without me ever again, or I swear I'll chain you to me.«

»Promise.«

»Good…«, Eddie sighed and leaned his head against the pillar. He closed his eyes resignedly and listened to the water in the bay.

»It's nice and quiet here. We should come here more often.«

Venom nodded eagerly.

»I like the view.«

Edie opened his eyes again and looked at Venom.

»Me too, buddy. Better than any skyscraper…«

Venom grinned devilishly at Eddie, whose facial features immediately disappeared.

»What are you planning now?«

»The evening is still long…«

Eddie suspected something bad until he had a brilliant idea.

»Then someone won't get their present today.«

»You wouldn't dare!«

»Only those who are nice get gifts, that's the rule. And anyone who annoys me has to live with the consequences«, Eddie said with a self-satisfied grin, relaxedly folding his arms behind his head.

Venom didn't like the fact that Eddie was thwarting his evil plan. He looked at him with narrowed eyes and decided to tease Eddie another time.

»All right, you win. But then I'd like my present now too.«

»Well, first of all, you don't ask for presents and secondly, it's at home.«

»No problem!«, he shouted excitedly and disappeared.

Eddie sighed loudly and stood up. The pleasant calm was over.

But before he stepped to the edge, he still had to figure out how to transport the snow globe home.

Venom read his thoughts and was already one step ahead of him. Eddie watched with excitement as Venom turned his hand into his claws and enclosed the snow globe. And not a second later, it had disappeared from his hand.

»Wow«, Eddie marveled.

»How did you do that?«

»What do you think happens to your cell phone when we become one? Or your clothes?«

»No idea? I've never asked myself that question?…«

Venom's black mass now appeared on the rest of Eddie's body, so that he completely disappeared into it. Venom reappeared and immediately jumped into the water.

When he got home, Venom could hardly wait for Eddie to finally unlock the door.

»Hurry up!«

Eddie just rolled his eyes playfully.

»No child on earth could be more impatient than you, buddy…«, he said with a grin.

He had barely opened it when he found himself back in his apartment while Venom closed the door with a tentacle.

Eddie just managed to hang up his jacket and greet little Blue.

»Close your eyes.«

»I thought I already got my present?«, he asked confused, but he gave in and followed his request.

Venom manifested himself in his snake-like form and put something over his head.

Eddie immediately opened his eyes and saw nothing. He pushed the hat up a little further and saw a grinning Venom in front of him.

»A Christmas hat? Really?«, he asked, laughing.

»Best wishes from Mrs. Chen. Now you at least look a little more Christmassy.«

»When did she even give it to you?«

»The same day she gave me the snow globe I asked for«, Venom grinned, making the one in question appear with a tentacle again.

Eddie took it and looked at it again. The snow was whirling around, even though it never actually snows in San Francisco...

»This is definitely going on the desk«, he decided and walked over to the said one. He placed it carefully next to his lamp.

Venom watched Eddie and then looked at him demandingly.

»It's behind the Christmas tree«, he said and pointed to it.

The next moment, Eddie was as if forgotten, because Venom only had eyes for the package that was underneath. He pulled it out with two tentacles. Eddie sat down quietly on his floor to watch Venom intently. It wasn't every day that you saw an alien opening its first Christmas present.

Little Blue, who had been dancing around his feet until just now, was demanding to be petted at the same time. Venom looked at Eddie again, who silently nodded his consent to allow him to open it.

Venom literally ripped the package to shreds and found a huge bar of chocolate.

No, not huge. Gigantic.

Almost 5.5 lbs of the finest chocolate.

His eyes widened and he looked at Eddie as stunned as Eddie had looked at him before.

»Merry Christmas Venom.«

»Eddie…«, he stammered.

»For your information, that wasn't all«, Eddie said mysteriously.

Venom looked at the remains of the box and inspected it, but found nothing else.

»Turn it over«, Eddie whispered tonelessly, pointing with his index finger at the bar of chocolate that he was clutching with his tentacles.

Venom turned it over and found a postcard on the back. He untied it and looked at it more closely. He saw a piece of coastline and a few conifers next to it, photographed during a cloudless sunset.

»What is that?«

»Our vacation destination«, grinned Eddie.

»Vacation? We're going on vacation?!«

»Yes, in three days. I have to get out of the city and you've never been anywhere but here. I wanted to go to the mountains at first, but the weather conditions at this time of year are too extreme. And then the beach was the only thing left on the bucket list.«

»We're going on vacation«, Venom repeated, stunned.

»And we're staying here over New Year's Eve. That's better for you and for little Blue too. I don't want us to be writhing in pain, with Blue barking all the time and my landlord finding out that I have a dog. He'll kill me.«

»He's welcome to try«, countered Venom with a grin.

»And what do you think? Was it worth the wait now?«

»Definitely! Thanks Eddie.«

»You're welcome«, said Eddie with a grin and looked at his watch.

»But to be fair, I'd like to go to bed now. It's already after one o'clock.«

Venom nodded in agreement, sensing how exhausted Eddie was after the long day. He needed his sleep and Venom probably did too for a change.

But he couldn't wait to explore the world outside of San Francisco in three days!

That was my Christmas story (slightly late XD) I know I didn't mention/incorporate Blue much in the story but that will come in the next one. Promise! :D

Btw I have a great adventure planned for the two of them, which I'm currently working on, so stay tuned :)