Eddie walked into his old apartment, (which now belonged to Anne, he reminded himself) and took his shoes off at the door, setting them in the closet next to him. He exchanged greetings with Annie and Dan, feeling a bit guilty when he locked eyes with his former girlfriend and fiancée.
' to smile.' Venom said softy in his mind. Eddie nodded and forced a grin, trying to be as convincing as possible for his friends.
'That is good.' The symbiote approved. 'Keep pretending to be happy, and eventually you will BECOME happy. I heard that once on the TV, and sometimes it helps other humans. Hopefully, it helps you, as well.'
Eddie sighed, relieved to have someone who cared about him, even if it was an alien from outer space. "Thank you for your help."
He felt Venom's emotions, concern and relief. 'Anything we can do to help, we will. As long as we are yours, you will be okay.'
The young reporter smiled softly at that, and feeling a bit better about himself now, returned to conversing with Dan and Annie. "So, what are we eating on this fine evening?" He joked.
Anne grinned at him. "Tonight, we're having chicken and turkey with mashed potatoes and ham!"
Eddie faked another smile and nodded again, sitting down at the table to wait for his food. He didn't really feel very hungry, but as long as it would make Venom happy, he would grin and bear it.
When the food eventually came to him, Eddie picked at it sullenly, his thoughts consumed with the memories of Anne kissing him, loving him. He gripped his fork tight in his hand. He wanted her back so badly, but Venom thought of it as a lost cause, and wanted him to let it go. For his own benefit, the symbiote had said. Because he wanted Eddie to be happy, truly happy again.
Venom had explained to him that he missed Eddie's smiles, he missed the sound of his laugh, and the banter they would throw at each other before in past conversations. Now, the human didn't so much as make a sound when the symbiote cracked a joke or a one-liner. It was all just stares and blank expressions from his Other.
So, eventually, Venom had just stopped the humor all together and maintained his focus on helping his friend move on from his emotional trauma. Some days it was difficult enough to even get him to eat, let alone do anything else.
Today was one of those days.
"Come on, Eddie, you need to eat something." Venom muttered as the fork hovered at the human's lips. "Everyone is gonna notice something is wrong, and we don't want that. This is a private matter."
Still he said not a word. No movement, just staring into space, at nothing. Venom sighed. "If you don't eat, I will make you eat. I don't want to force you, but please just eat a little bit of something."
After a moment of silence, Venom made good on his promise and took control. "Just that I warned you." Venom opened Eddie's mouth and made him take a bite of mashed potatoes. Eddie didn't even try to fight this, which only worried Venom even more.
Well, at least he was eating. That was a start. Now he just had to help him with sleeping, because that was another problem that was in dire need of being addressed at some point soon. The nights spent tossing and turning in his bed was beginning to affect Venom's own rest, and that was certainly a problem. Aliens and symbiotes needed sleep, too.
He also had spent some time exploring Eddie's thoughts and emotions and memories. On the inside, he was numb. Devoid of expression and emotion. He had become a total wreck emotionally for the past few weeks now, and Venom was even beginning to fear for his host's life, it had gotten so bad. He had only been steadily spiraling down, deeper into this depressive state of mind.
"Eddie… do you wish to die?" Venom asked softly in his head, fearing the answer, already expecting the response that he would receive from his human. He relinquished his control, waiting for his friend to give him a sign, to let him know that he had been heard.
Eddie remained still and silent for a moment, contemplating the question. After a few seconds, he nodded slowly and whispered a quiet "Yes," and then went back to eating his dinner, his expression dead and hollow, looking like a zombie who had been newly Turned by the virus ravaging the body.
A tendril emerged from his body to rub his chest and wrap around his waist, Venom sighing in his mind. "I am starting to think that there is nothing that I can do to ease this pain you feel. It is only getting progressively worse now." He was silent for a beat as he chose his next words carefully. "I think… maybe it would be best if you were to tell Annie about this. She and her doctor friend might be able to help you better than I can."
"Okay," Eddie murmured, picking at his food again. "If you think it would be best."
"I am serious about this, Eddie," Venom insisted, "I have never seen any of my previous hosts behave in this manner, and you are making me feel like you have just given up on your life and are not really living anymore." The tendril, warm and gentle on Eddie's skin, caressed his abdomen gently in a circular motion in the hopes that it would at least provide some form of comfort and reassurance for his close friend and favorite host.
"You are clearly suffering, and I do not like these thoughts you are having." Venom said, his tone distressed and worried. "They are dark and make me sad for you. I can understand that you are in a difficult state of mind right now, but I care for you very dearly, and I am here for you to make things better for you, and make them safe. To make YOU safe. That is the deal now, ? You can't back out of it now, you must see it through."
More of Eddie's thoughts appeared to him: the human slitting his wrists with a sharp knife, the blade glinting in the light, thick red blood dripping from the metal, the wound deep and scarring. Gasping with pain, body trembling with agony as the blade sliced into the flesh.
"Stop," Venom found himself pleading, his voice small and weak as the thoughts grew darker. "Please stop thinking this way. This is not healthy…"
But they did not stop. They persisted. Venom knew that Eddie was trying to hide these thoughts from his symbiote because he was afraid and ashamed of them, but Venom saw all of it. There would never be any secrets between them. They both knew the other's thoughts and emotions.
Eddie moved to direct his gaze to the top of the refrigerator, where the knives sat innocently, shining as the light reflected from their blades. Venom quickly jerked his head away as soon as he discovered his motives, making the human focus his gaze on something else, something that wasn't that. Something hopeful and uplifting. The Sun was setting outside, a beautiful mix of colors streaming through the windows.
"See the sun, Eddie?" Venom asked, hoping to distract him from his corrruptive mental images that he was experiencing. "It is beautiful, isn't it? We have never had your sunsets and sunrises on Klyntar. That is one of the many things that we like about this Earth. Its beauty. It really is quite inspiring, we think."
He peeked into Eddie's mind while he conversed with him, seeing, with relief, that the thoughts he had had previously were now absent for the moment. He felt a surge of hope fill him now. Maybe there was a chance that he could keep him alive and happy.
Please don't ever leave us, Eddie, Venom thought sullenly, wrapping his tendrils tighter around Eddie's body to hold him in a protective embrace. We won't live without you. You make us so happy.
Please fight this.
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