Demons [Eddie Brock] Venom

3. Gritty

                "So," Rory asked as she poured a second cup of coffee, this one for Eddie. "What horrible, tragic life event led to you moving into Pleasure Estates?"

Eddie stood awkwardly in her apartment, partway in the kitchen, partway in the awkward open area that wasn't big enough for furniture. Her apartment was modest, the living room and kitchen all in one area, with a bedroom and tiny bathroom separate. It was all she needed for a single person, though she would move out the moment she could afford something better.

"You don't watch the news much?" he asked, eyebrow peaked.

She cast a side eye-glance, curious why he would be on the news. "I don't have cable, but I read the paper sometimes. The news is so ugly. Sugar? Cream?"

"Sugar, please," he replied. "Thank you."

"So, you're a big shot then? Fall from grace? Tossed off your throne?" she inquired, adding a spoonful of sugar then handing it to Eddie. She studied his expression as he took the mug, but other than bags under his eyes and a distant forlorn look, he gave nothing away. But no one moved in to Pleasure Estates unless they were either hiding from someone or struggled with income.

For Rory, it was both.

"Something like that," he replied with a scowl, but then sipped the coffee and a look of bliss crossed his expression for a brief moment. A fleeting glimpse of what he would look like on a good day. There was the faintest look of reminiscence, a sadness as though he was recalling a time when another woman gave him coffee.

"Take a seat, the landlord is slow to the job, so he'll probably be a few hours. Hope you don't have anywhere to go, you look like shit," Rory stated, seeing he didn't want to talk about his reasons for being here. They were fresh, that much was clear, and Rory knew it was never good to jab your fingers into a fresh cut.

"Thanks, but aren't you wearing the same thing you were in last night?" He tossed playfully, not with the intent to offend, but with the intent to poke fun.

"Ooh," she replied with a chuckle. "That's cute coming from the guy who looks like he's one step away from being homeless. Who brings their stuff to their new place in garbage bags?"

"Didn't have time to get boxes," he replied, reaching out with his free hand and pulling out the stool, taking a seat behind the counter.

Rory leaned over the counter, a meter between her and Eddie's faces. Seeing him this close, she was able to study his face for just a moment. She guessed his age to be a few years older than herself, likely at the peak of his career when he ended up here. She was horribly curious, and so she was unable to stop herself from asking, "So, you fell from grace... and you got booted from your apartment... Girlfriend kick you out?"

Eddie looked up and met her eyes; his were a striking blue colour, absolutely stunning. Rory caught her breath and looked down into her mug, then quickly took a sip to hide that creep of a blush that made its way to her cheeks. She rose to full height then, being too close to this stranger in her apartment. Wondering where her senses went, inviting someone she didn't know into her home, not knowing his intentions but believing, hoping, for them to be genuine. She'd dealt with far too many creeps in her life, and though she didn't trust her gut intuition for it was wrong often, she had a good feeling about Eddie.

"You're good. What do you do for a living?" he asked her.

"And this is where things get awkward. I'm a secretary..." she said, slightly embarrassed. "Not my ideal job, not where I wanted to be at thirty-two, but hey, here I am."

"You are not thirty-two," he exclaimed, his voice suddenly kinder, softer.

She cocked her head to the side. "Yeah, I am."

"What made you stuck here, then?"

She sipped her coffee slowly, pondering, debating in her own mind what she would tell Eddie, and what she should avoid saying. Letting people in and trusting them got her nowhere in the past but hurt, and she knew it would be no different if she did it again. She swore off men a while ago, preferring her own hand, though a few slip ups led to one-night stands and awkward four AM morning escapes.

"Oh, you know, dead end job and an ex-boyfriend who wants me dead," she said casually, an airy tone to her voice as if to laugh at her circumstance, but nothing about it was funny when she really got down to the nitty gritty of it.

And it was gritty.

"I can't tell if you're joking," he said after a solid minute of tense silence.

She made eye contact with him and shook her head. "Wish I was."

Eddie's face was stoic, he was now pondering what Rory said. But before he had a chance to reply, there was a knock on Rory's apartment door. She turned around and walked towards it, coffee cup still in hand as she opened it. Joe, the landlord, stood there with a ring of keys, hours earlier than Rory was expecting him. She found herself surprisingly disappointed.

"Ed, your knight in shining armour is here!" Rory called, even though Eddie was only a few feet away.

He put the coffee cup down on the counter, hardly touched.

"Oh, you can take it," she told him. "Just bring me back the mug sometime, alright?"

Eddie considered the mug, then upon deciding that free caffeine was too good to turn down, he grabbed it and stepped out of Rory's apartment. He turned back after greeting Joe, who arrived far earlier than either of them anticipated.

Far earlier than either of them hoped.

"I'll bring it back tonight," he said. "And it's Eddie, not Ed."

She watched as Joe and Eddie walked towards his apartment. Leaning out her door frame she called, just as Eddie was let into his apartment. "Tonight, seven?"

A smile appeared on his previously forlorn face, just a crack but it was there. "Is that a date?"

"Definitely not," she replied with a cheeky grin.

----- 

So I watched Venom again last night, ideas are flowing! I think I've decided I want to work with the six month period between his job loss and becoming Venom, but also tie in the movie as well. And so I have decided, also, that the chapters will be a bit longer, and the story will have more serious elements. 

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