Demons [Eddie Brock] Venom

16. Symbiotic

Summer was coming to an end, August slipped into September and the leaves were beginning to change every day. Sunsets changed as the season turned over, from brilliant orbs that turned the skies cotton candy, purple and pink with every shade of blue in between, they turned more orange. The world turned orange. The burnt orange on the trees went dark as the sun began to set, the skies lit up like it was the last time they could. A single shade of brilliant blue caressed by the smatter of orange clouds running through it.

Rory sat with a mug of coffee on the roof of the building, watching the skies change.

Autumn sunsets took over the entire world.

She was painting, but it had been so long since she appreciated the beauty of the natural world that she forgot all about it. Over the past two months, Rory spent a lot of time up on the roof, where it was easier to paint and harder to be distracted. But her painting reached out to her like a friend she had not seen in years, it was time to catch up on everything they missed together. As she set her coffee down she picked up a paintbrush and added another stroke, a different colour of orange.

The door from the stairwell opened, but Rory didn't turn to look, she knew it was Eddie. No one came up here, especially not now that nights grew colder and longer. Besides, only Eddie knew she came up here, since it was against the building regulations. But the door was never locked, they discovered when she wondered where she could paint; her apartment didn't have the flare she needed, the spark and inspiration. So, she found herself on the roof, but wondered as it started to get colder, just how long she could be out there.

"Brought the mail," Eddie said, as though they were a married couple, not neighbours with benefits who had keys to each others' apartments and mail boxes.

Rory pulled her toque a little tighter as a gust of wind danced over the rooftop. After putting her paintbrush back down, she turned on her stool and glanced at Eddie, who was standing next to her now. This weird connection that they had was hard to explain, but it worked. Regardless of how unorthodox it was, it worked. They both got what they wanted out of it; companionship, someone to trust, someone to confide in, and yet with no obligation to tell all their secrets. Rory had half expected Eddie to dig up her past already, and her his, and yet they maintained that distance and it kept things working for them.

Eddie handed her three pieces of mail, and Rory noticed that the rest of them -his mail- had red on them. Outstanding bills, last notices.

A hand gripped her heart tight; she didn't want to see Eddie gone, but he still hadn't found work. As he trained her, she paid him, but she couldn't pay enough to help him so much with rent that things were easy for him. Jobs were turned down time and time again, he was unable to keep himself afloat, and yet remained remarkably calm about it all.

Rory put two pieces of mail in her bag; bills and spam and opened the important one. The one she was waiting for. She tore it open quickly, and yanked out the paper, unfolding it with haste. Her heart, which had been tight, now sunk down into the pit of her stomach.

She swore under her breath, then handed Eddie the paper as he was just as eager to know the outcome. But by her hunched shoulders and her deep sigh, it was obvious how the attempt to evict Mike went.

"This is bullshit," Eddie muttered, hand clenching the paper so tight that it warped under his angry grip. "That asshole assaulted you, he gets away clean because there is no evidence? You had photos of the bruise on your face, you documented every time he made you uncomfortable... What more did they want? How far does it have to get for him to be reprimanded for his actions?"

"Eddie, calm down," Rory said, taking the papers back. "It's not a surprise, and I guess all my evidence could have been forged, right? Other than you, I had no eye witnesses to anything."

"I don't care," Eddie growled.

"He hasn't bothered me since that night, anyways, maybe he's grown up."

"Nah." Eddie shook his head. "He'll just be targeting someone else."

"That is the reality of it," Rory replied. She sighed, putting the failed eviction attempt into her purse to read over later, some reading material before bed to depress her into a fitful sleep. She slept well, lately, mostly the nights she spent at Eddie's place.

An idea struck her then. "Hey Eddie? I have a proposition."

"Go on." He sounded interested to hear what she had to say.

"We're spending a lot of money to basically live in each other's apartment... Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not trying to weasel my way in or anything, but I think it would be a financial benefit if maybe we lived in one apartment." Her heart was hammering in her chest; living with a man? She wondered if she would ever end up comfortable with someone to do that again. She realized that she was, that Eddie was the type of guy who could make her feel comfortable and safe. It was obvious he would never do anything she wasn't comfortable with, but she realized that perhaps SHE was using his financial crisis, abusing it.

So, she quickly added, "I will not be offended if you say no, I understand that that's a huge... step... and we're not even... We're something but we're not that. I'm just suggesting it because it would benefit both of us and help us with money, don't think of it as charity, more of a symbiotic relationship."

He laughed at her analogy. "Is that what our relationship is?"

"It fits for now," she said with a grin.

"Let's think about it."

"Okay," she replied, wondering if he was worried about the implications of living with someone. She could see in his eyes he was wondering if he was moving too quickly, he was wondering if Anne was living with someone new, or if she was alone. Rory could see Eddie running through every outcome, and she wondered if she would ever be able to say Eddie was something more than a symbiotic relationship, a neighbour with benefits.

They both wanted to, but they were both scared to push it further, to call it something else.

But their fear was not holding them back from enjoying a sunset on a roof together. 

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Do you see what I did there?

I'm blown away by the show of love and support of this story, it's truly inspired me to work harder at this story. You guys want fluff? You're getting fluff. You guys want better description? You got it. You guys want more seriousness? You'll get it. 

And don't worry, we'll get lots of Venom soon too.

I'm basing this story as though the film happened in October, so it is currently September in this chapter!