Apollo LaMarc (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} talldarkand_) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} we_coexist,@ 2016-12-27 08:16:00 |
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The night was just about still. It might have fooled anyone strange or new passing through that this was no more than a ghost town void of people, sounds, the usual things a city of its magnitude would possess. That was not the case, of course. Not by a long measure, but it felt like it to Eric.
It was a difficult thing to stand there on the edge of the pier and look out at the shadow beyond the mist. A hazy, filmy cloud sat just atop the churning, dark water. It was almost a mirror of how the Dark Avenger was presently feeling. Eric knew that beyond the blanket of moisture sat a wall - the wall, the wall that had once been a beacon and now lay as silent and still as the night. Had it not been for the rustle of Bran’s dark feathers (a gesture of restlessness) and the way the cool water lapped eagerly at the legs of the wooden pier, Eric would have been fooled into believing he was dreaming.
It would have been wrong to say he didn't miss her deeply. Lee had faded from this City a while ago and with her she'd taken the last of his heart he'd been willing to give. That was probably what had hurt the most; he’d finally had the courage after all of this time, after losing her once to the realm of death, to tell her what he felt for her. And now she had disappeared again, probably for good. No matter the amount of searching Eric did to find someone to fill the void, he just couldn't escape the cloud that darkened his heart in her absence.
That wasn't to say he hadn't made friends. John was probably the most constant figure in his present life besides Macklyn - the one constant in everything he did. Eric needed John, he understood it and it affected him a great deal. But John would never be Lee. Eric had never been entirely open with Leeloo, he had wanted to be but he couldn't bring himself to expose her to just what lurked beneath the kindness that she knew. And he was less honest with John which made it more of a challenge to be close. In spite of his hiding, Lee had known him better than anyone else. She had an uncanny ability to peer through him and get to the bottom of whatever she wanted.
With a sigh Eric pushed his hands deep into the pockets of his leather jacket, and continued to dream of the wall beyond the water.
Bran cawed, then, impatiently shattering the silence and was rewarded with a gentle nudge from Eric’s leather combat boot at its breast. The large wings of the corvid spread in distaste but the bird settled again. Easily the crow hopped away from the man, lest it be kicked at again, and managed to settle up on the top of one of the legs of the pier nearest to the water.
--
John had been out walking, taking a breather from the club life and the after hours crowds. He’d meant to find some solitude, but he kept an eye out for familiar faces. There were a few he wouldn’t mind running into, and a few he really wanted to avoid.
Still, he moved away from where anybody else was, and therefore was slightly surprised when he happened upon Eric out in the dark, at the docks. Apart from the waves, he first heard the shuffling of the bird, and as he rounded a corner and his eyes fell on the solitary figure, he tilted his head. The man seemed so lost in thought, John almost moved on.
“Haven’t seen you around for a moment,” he stepped out of the shadows at Eric’s side, hands in his pockets, half smirking. He was concerned something was up, however. Eric had seemed to be dealing with a lot, lately. Enough to draw the old pastor’s disposition out slightly. “You and Bran having a quarrel?”
--
Bran felt the shift in the air before Eric did, and in spite of the warning that came Eric felt the familiarity of it. The scent had his heart racing in spite of himself. The hybrid smiled a little, drawn out of his mood by the presence and then the words. Not breaking his gaze from the wall beyond the dark water, Eric shrugged his shoulders, “I've been around.”
Shaking his head, Eric finally turned to behold his friend. “No. I don't think he would understand having a reason to fight. Fighting is human,” Eric explained. Bran ruffled his feathers. “But thanks for the concern.”
In truth, Eric was glad John had stumbled upon him. He probably would have stood there all night and into the day had the vampire not interrupted. “I was just daydreaming and I guess I lost track of the time.”
Not wanting to burden John with it, Eric smiled a bit brighter, “I'm glad to see you. How've you been?” It was true, they hadn't seen each other in a while. Eric had been dealing with a few things that needed tending to before he could return to the cottage. It was slow, but necessary work.
--
John canted his head to the side, unconvinced by the grin he was receiving. His softened demeanor came with heightened sensitivity towards emotions, and a few things troubled him about the way his friend stood now. And, although he didn’t care the same way he would have once, it didn’t mean he felt good about seeing a friend in pain.
“You look like you went and found yourself a whole lot of new baggage. You sure I can’t help with any of it? At the very least I can lend an ear.”
--
Eric chuckled some and shrugged, “Baggage seems to find me, actually.” Then the hybrid shook his head slowly, unwilling to part with any piece of the burden. John deserved the serenity of not knowing just how much pain Eric was hiding. “People that I get close to tend to vanish, is all,” Eric offered. It wasn't the whole truth, but it was the truth.
There wasn't anything anyone could actually do about it, the City gave and the City took as it pleased. They all were at its mercy and for all of the power Eric possessed it was nothing in comparison to the entity that they dwelled within.
“Don't get too close to me, John. You might vanish too,” Eric teased lightly, though he meant it in some manner. He didn't want to lose John, and knowing he couldn't control the physical aspect of it was disheartening.
Bran cawed and ruffled his feathers at the situation and the overwhelming flow of emotion that it was feeling which stemmed from being connected to the hybrid.
--
John didn’t smile back. He’d been a soldier and a pastor for too long to buy a second of the deflection. But, he couldn’t make his friend talk. And he couldn’t help. Not without Eric’s permission.
“Don’t forget many hands,” he said, shrugging a shoulder. He offered a slight grin finally. “If I do vanish, it’ll probably be for the best. One less monster on the streets. But I don’t plan on going anywhere. And the City doesn’t seem to have any plans for me at all. So, let’s hang out. You doing anything but thinking tonight?”
--
Eric didn't want that fate for John, an easy fading to the abyss that looked similar to the way someone might drown in a vast sea with no rescue. “The City needs you here, John. I need you here too.” He wouldn't burden his friend with it any longer.
At the prospect of hanging out, Eric nodded and then shrugged. “I didn't really have any plans. Honestly I probably would've been here all night if you hadn't found me. I'm ok with wherever the night takes us,” Eric explained.
Hanging out with John was always a highlight of any evening, even when the vampire was being moody or ‘monsterous’ as he thought he was. Eric understood the feeling some; he had never had to experience the hunt for himself or starving from a true bloodlust to the point of taking another's life. But he could relate, he'd consumed blood before. There was just something about the sensation of warm blood flowing over your lips and tongue that one could get lost in. It was beautiful and terrible and right.
“You eat already?” Eric inquired softly. Thinking about blood had him stirring a little bit, even though he didn't need it and he wasn't interested in that kind of satisfaction.
--
John gave the musician a kind smile as a thanks for the sentiment, but he had his own struggles, and understood his own place all too well. Eric might feel like a bad omen, but John’s demons manifested much more actively. He didn’t think for a moment that any population truly benefited from his or his family’s presence. It was more about co-existence at this point.
He smiled at the question. “I always eat before I go out. It’s really asking for trouble otherwise,” he reminded, though a short chuckle dismissed his own statement. “Honestly I’d appreciate the company, no matter the venue.”
--
The hybrid nodded and then turned his back to the dark water and the wall beyond. It felt almost as if he were turning his back on everything that wall stood for, but he didn't have it in him anymore to dwell upon it. It was inevitable and beyond him and it sapped what energy he had left in his possession to try to reclaim any ounce of it. Since first arriving in the Wilds, people had advised him to live in the present, to appreciate what he'd been given and it had been a struggle to accept this as the hand dealt to him.
But at the moment, once the wall was out of sight Eric felt his breath coming easier and his mind began to clear as if the mist itself had been clouding it.
Bran pushed from the dock and took to the air, soaring and coasting on the night.
Eric moved toward John, waiting for the man to lead. Of course a distraction came. A strange feeling overtook the hybrid, and not in a way Eric liked. Something was lurking there in the shadows and Eric could feel it.
Can you feel it too?
It is powerful. Do not underestimate it.
It can't touch me.<\i>
With a sigh, Eric paused. He looked at John, and then out at the darkness. His hands slipped from within the depths of his leather jacket pockets. It was easy enough to slide himself between whatever lurked out there and John, and it would have been a sight to any onlookers the shorter, darker male trying to protect the larger blonde. But Eric would protect John as long as the vampire would let him.
“There's something out there,” Eric warned John in a whisper only the vampire would be able to hear. His dark eyes searched the shadows, scanning for the source of the feeling.
A slurping sound greeted them and then a large, hulking mass stepped into the light of the nearby lamp. Through its maw of sharp teeth lolled it's giant, snake-like tongue.
Eric blinked. So monsters did exist.
The hybrid pressed himself back against John, protectively, and waited.
“It's been too long, precious,” the thing slurped in delight.
--
As Eric relented and turned, John’s smile was just a bit more genuine, and he nodded. “I know a good place for a cup of joe, at the least,” he said. The diner was good for food, too, if Eric needed it.
However, almost as soon as they began moving, John caught the sense of the other monster in the dark. It wasn’t exactly a smell, or sound, or taste. More like a combination of the three. It set John’s hairs on end to be near another predator. He paused, looking around, his eyes falling on Eric as he gave the warning.
And, very suddenly, John was immediately caught between the two presences, and his instincts were on fire. He could tell both were on a hair trigger, and that they were strangers to each other. He almost automatically slowed everything; his movement, and mindset. They weren’t look for a night out or looking for trouble. It had to be something between the two…..
He turned and looked at Venom, the hulking figure still intimidating even though he wasn’t any pushover himself. He raised a hand, calmly. His training in both war and peace were quite deeply rooted. He didn’t panic anymore.
“Eddie,” he turned his head towards the other. The note wasn’t a happy one. Eric brought out John’s older personality, and touched on many of the things that defined him as a human. Which had, even only on a most basic level, influence on his current soul. Or lack thereof. And Eddie…. Well. Those were more monstrous nights. John didn’t think Eric would like him much seeing him like that.
“None of us are enemies. Venom, this is Eric. Eric, Venom.”
--
John knew him. John knew this thing. This monster that reminded him so much of Inque; the menace of a shapeshifiting woman that had tried to take his life.
Eric took a breath. He swallowed and nodded, stepping reluctantly aside from John.
John said none of them were enemies, but this...Eric wasn't sure he was able to accept this Eddie...this Venom so quickly.
Saying nothing, the Hybrid stuffed his hands back into his pockets and watched, rigid.
Venom slurped and approached the pair, pausing within an arms distance. “Your friend is powerful,” came a slurp of a comment, followed with the wiggle of a tongue, “and so fascinating.”
Tilting his head, Venom surveyed the newcomer. How interesting. Eric made his skin crawl with power; it was much like John had but amplified.
His attention went to John, “What has kept you, Precious? Must I seek you out always?” Eddie was curious as to why the man hadn't made contact. They'd had such good times together.
--
“And he is my best friend,” John replied firmly, taking a step towards Venom. He knew the monster that approached him, but he didn’t want trouble. Not between his current company. He could already tell that Eric was put off and ready for trouble, but that wasn’t what he wanted. He half grinned at the second comment, shaking his head. “And, if you left a phone number, perhaps you’d hear from me more. But there’s not a lot I can track from old cobwebs. Not when the City keeps moving the buildings you leave them on.”
He glanced back at Eric, the smile faltering a bit as he tried to think of how to bring them all to common ground as quickly as possible. He could see Eric’s discomfort clearly, and understood it. Venom was a dangerous monster, after all. But still, his religion left him not unapproachable. Both of these men at least seemed to believe in something deeper and better than John could feel anymore.
“You two might actually have something in common, you know. Other than being better men than me. ”
--
Eric felt a surge of pride at being labeled as John’s best friend. His confidence soared and his frame straightened with it almost as if he were a Bird who had puffed the feathers on its breast in effort to drive off anything that might be weaker. John was one of the last lifelines Eric had besides his mate. They both needed each other, Eric knew that, in some way or another but Eric could never make John be his alone. John deserved freedom.
The hybrid wasn't totally settled on the idea of this being, this creature with a human name and an alias being close enough to John to use his pet name. But Eric was trying to be more tolerant of those his friends (and mate) chose to befriend.
There was some good to this beast, Eric could feel a very small iota of radiation stemming from within that black mass of tongue and fangs.
“I would have thought, being the creature that you are, precious, you would not need such devices for communication. Such things are beneath you,” Venom replied, amused at the thought of a vampire needing a telephone to call his friends for a night out of carnage. “And how would such a conversation begin, hm? And where would I keep such a thing?” Venom had no pockets. It was the same issue Peter Parker had with cell phones.
At mention of webs, Eric blinked. He'd seen the webs before, those icky greenish almost slimy looking ropes tangled between buildings.
When the next comment came, Eric and Eddie both offered John a look. “You do not give yourself enough credit, precious,” Venom slurped. Eric smirked and nodded, “He took the words out of my mouth…...precious,” the hybrid teased though repeating the pet name sounded wrong on his tongue. Eric had his own pet name for John, he wouldn't use it here. He wouldn't offer such a thing to the monster before them.
The hybrid returned his attention to Venom, whom lifted his large, black clawed hands up, “Do you hear the night? It calls.” Venom said, voice tempting.
--
John definitely noticed Eric’s reaction, and it tugged the corner of his mouth up. He hadn’t realized Eric didn’t know his importance. He’d have found a way to make it more apparent if he had. But it was good to see the positive reaction, in any case.
He sighed slightly at the pet name, but walked over to Venom, reaching up and putting his hand on the other’s powerful shoulder.
“For a godly man, you like to tempt the devil,” he said softly. It was difficult. John hated losing his self control, after so many years of developing it. Venom was tempting, though. The fun of their first night together wasn’t forgotten, even if detoxing from that much fresh blood had left him more than irritable. But Eric was another powerful reminder. He had responsibility here, and people who depended on him to keep control. To Eric, to his sibling and sire, and the establishment he was supposed to protect. Eddie’s offer was tempting, there was no denying that.
“It does though, doesn’t it? Eric and I were going to take a walk ourselves. You’re more than welcome to join us. Perhaps we could find you some pants with pockets,” he said louder, smirking slightly at Eddie. It might have seemed strange for a human-appearing man to speak so casually to a hulking, wide mouthed presence like the symbiote before him, but John had shit talked more than enough in his day to make it seem perfectly natural. Even to an alien with inches of fangs. He ignored the suggestion of his other methods determinedly. He would own to his past actions if questioned, but he generally avoided admitting triple homicides and feeding frenzies.
He glanced back at Eric, hoping this might work. After all, they’d been bound to meet. Eddie had appeared to John more than once and he understood it would most likely continue. There was a definite energy they shared, for better or worse. The question was only if John’s other significant others could handle the strange being, which although quite intriguing, was still quite a mystery to John himself. And in some ways, testing the bonds of a formulated and earned friendship seemed like a harsher trial than to his sister. She may have reacted more harshly if she disagreed, but they shared the same blood. There was a deeper part of them that promised a certain latitude, as had already been proven in the past. Eric didn’t share the same blood or the instinctive bond that came with it. They were friends because they’d connected, and the difference wasn’t unappreciated in the slightest.
--
“And you do not, yourself, tempt such?” Venom replied, tongue wiggling in delight. Not many got close enough to him to touch him, let alone were allowed to approach and do such a thing. Eddie savored the touch, longing again for the feeling of John’s fingers on his skin. Venom wouldn't change here, though. He didn't quite trust the other, darker man.
“Such things as pants or clothes only weigh one down. To be without them is to be free,” Venom replied, leaving it at that.
Both Eric and Eddie needed John. Both of them knew it, but not about the other nor how deeply it ran. Eric could be on his own but he preferred not to be if there was someone friendly around. Eddie hated being alone and he did all he could to forge connections and was desperate to keep them. It was that desperation to be liked, to be adored, that Eddie would have killed for if the situation warranted.
Bran cawed, shattering the night. It landed on one of Eric’s shoulders standing tall and impatiently. The bird didn't care much for the large black mass of a creature that loomed before them.
“Walking is for humans, precious,” Venom slurped, “And where did you expect to end such walking?” It wasn't like Venom could go to the movies or anything. Even if he wanted to. Eddie could, but Venom would just frighten everyone (and enjoy the hell out of the screams).
--
John let out a sigh. In truth, he couldn’t come up with a single activity he’d even want to share aloud in this company; the pair he was standing between were so opposite. He found himself experiencing a peculiar sensation. He was almost ashamed of the two halves of his personality when they were both dragged into the light simultaneously and exposed to each other. The balance had been stabilized internally; he had made peace in his own mind. But each figure present was a very real, very polarized representation of the warring aspects of his personality.
He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders dramatically. “There must be something to entertain three men of the night,” he said, then paused, wincing. Human or demon, he recoiled from that particular phrasing. “Creatures of the… whatever. You know what I mean.”
--
The invitation to crusade through the evening wasn't one Eric would reply to with positivity. No matter what, he'd vowed to protect Macklyn, and Venom was a dangerous threat to that. Venom risked exposure of what Eric truly was, what Eric was hiding from John so perfectly. The hybrid was unwilling to be tempted blindly into the part of him he didn't even acknowledge existed anymore.
“Two,” Eric corrected softly, straightening his shoulders. “Two men of the night.”
The hybrid looked at John apologetically, and then at the creature looming before them. “You two have fun, I was hoping for something a little quieter. John, when you're done, you know how to find me.”
With that, the hybrid moved forward, around Venom, and began to walk down the pier away from the pair.
--
John paused when Eric spoke up, but before he could say anything his friend was gone. The correction was a small jab, but he let it go with a sigh. Eric was at least correct in assuming he probably wouldn't like whatever Venom had in mind.
John watched him go, then let his eyes roam back to the hulking form before him. He half grinned with a shrug. "He's not a monster. I try not to be around him, too. No stomach for it."
It wasn't completely true, but it was easier than getting into another debate about morality and nature. He just hoped his friend was doing alright, he could tell something had been plaguing the mucisian lately. He wished Eric would open up, just because John was heartless didn't mean he wouldn't want to help his friend. But that was all trivial with him leaving.
John let out a short chuckle, releasing the breath he'd stopped taking while he thought things over. "So, big guy. If it's just the two of us, we've more options. Did you have anything in mind?"
--
Venom knew well that not all monsters were the obvious types, there were some that concealed themselves better than most could even fathom. It wasn't like all monsters were like him, able to show it and flaunt it without caring who saw or noticed.
“Finding the Spider would be a perfect conclusion to the night,” Venom slurped, making a fist with his large, black-clawed hand. “But it is not meant to be for now. He is being elusive.” Venom’s claws uncurled and he swept out toward the city with his hand, “But I believe we could find enough to entertain ourselves, Precious. Fun is never too challenging to discover.”
Further down the coastline was another pier where a cargo ship was docked. A few thugs were presently unloading the cargo in the darkness, shouting and laughing at each other as they performed their task dutifully. The crates and boxes were lined with weapons and stuffed with toy animals as a decoy to the operation.
Venom slurped and turned in the direction of the pier farther down. “Ah, see? Simple enough to find fun.”
--
John was still intrigued by the Spider Venom kept mentioning. He’d kept an eye out for him since hearing, but hadn’t seen anything “spidery” around other than a few webs that were different from Venom’s. More like actual spider webbing.
“We may get lucky and see him,” he shrugged, but turned his focus to the prey Venom had pointed out. He arched a brow, but it seemed like a reasonable enough move. After all, nobody would complain about arms smugglers being taken care of.
He grinned. “Sounds like good hunting. What do you think, big guy? Should we go in hard?”
--
“Any less and it might be considered a disservice, precious,” Venom slurped. Like a shadow, dark and quiet, the large creature was on the move. He lifted his arms and reflexively shot webbing out at a light pole. He swung up to the top part of the lamp, perched and looked down at his prey.
Waiting for the right moment, Venom was patient. His mouth closed, concealing the massive, jagged teeth. Finally, the time was right and Venom shot out another web, grabbing a crate. He pulled hard on the crate, bringing the burly, large thug with it. “Here, let me lend you a hand with that. It looks heavy!” Venom laughed, letting the guy dangle from the webbed up crate.
Venom attached the crate to the light pole lamp, and then leapt down in a swing from a different web, landing easy on the ground of the pier.
“Who else could use a little bit of help? Hm?” He slurped, lunging at another thug.
--
“Phrasing,” the vampire muttered with a chuckle, just before he followed the larger beast. He wasn’t as good at slipping through shadows; Pamela had been doing her best to teach him. But although he knew how to sneak, he didn’t seem to have much of a gift for disappearing or melding. Not like the rest of his blood, anyway. He was a simple charger with enough wits to keep behind cover as long as he could.
In this instance, it was watching where Venom settled, and then moving silently to guard the only exit.
When Venom struck, John watching in satisfaction as the man Venom caught screamed and flailed effortlessly. The rest of the smugglers reacted immediately, pulling out various large, over-compensating weapons. All but one, who took a look at the monster, screamed, and turned to flee.
Clotheslining him was nearly effortless. The younger man was knocked out as his head cracked on the floor. And although he lacked the finesse of shadow-movement, John was as fast as any vampire as he shot forward, almost invisible to the human eye, grabbing the largest and most threatening man by the throat from behind and lifting him up. He was just tall enough to make the man’s feet dangle slightly, even as John’s teeth popped, excited by the hunt. He wrapped his other hand around the man, inhuman strength making it simple enough trap the man’s arms and weapons to his chest firmly as the vampire hissed sweetly into his ear.
“You have options now. Accept our help, you might even live. Or… don’t. We like it when you don’t.”
--
“Why do you run?” Venom slurped, lifting his large, powerful hands up to the fleeing thugs. One by one he ensnared them in webbing; some of them were thrown to the ground by the force of the impact and were stuck there flailing, others were pinned to the barge, to light poles or to each other.
Satisfied, the monster backed down to let John have his fill of the fun as well.
Claws flexing, Venom shot a net of webbing beneath the man dangling from the crate attached to the light pole, and as soon as it had been produced the grip of the man gave out and the thug fell hard into the sticky web-net. “Gotcha!” Venom slurped with pride, lowering his clawed hands to his sides.
--
John watched, eyes bright with amusement as Venom made short work of the men. He walked up to the symbiote, lifting his arm to rest it casually on Venom’s massive shoulder.
“You were rather gentle on them,” he teased lightly, watching the swinging and listening to the muffled struggles. Then he heard the sound of running footsteps and guns being cocked.
He looked over his shoulder casually at what looked like the heads of the night’s crime. “What the FUCK?!” the bigger one with more jewelry snarled. Too easy.
John sped forward, but for the guns could be aimed properly he’d slammed his fist into the chest of the smaller one, sending him flying off his feet almost ten yards, crashing into another set of wooden crates. Then the vampire casually took the boss’s wrist and snapped it, forcing him to howl in pain and drop his large weapon.
John easily took the hand and manipulated the arm to behind the man’s back, seizing his hair by a rather greasy ponytail and chuckling as he locked in his prey. Despite a relative size difference the man was completely unable to move.
“Hm…. One left. Do you want him, big guy?”
--
“You think that was gentle?” Venom inquired, laughing at the thought. “I was saving them for you, precious.” He retorted playfully. Venom was definitely not gentle on purpose. Rather, he liked to string his prey along, it was much more amusing to watch them struggle.
Venom watched with delight as John disarmed the nicer dressed fellows. “Guns never did amuse me,” Venom stated casually, arms folded across his chest patiently as John finished up what he'd set out to do.
At the offer, Venom snarled with delight and approached the disabled human. “With pleasure,” the monster slurped. Venom grabbed the man by the throat, lifted him into the air so his legs dangled and flailed. “But where to begin?” The large, black mass of muscle inquired, tongue lolling out.
In the next moment, Venom crushed the man’s throat in his fist as if it were made of paper. The blood did nothing for him, it was the thrill of taking the life.
--
John stood beneath the two large figures, watching, the predator in him in full admiration of the display. Being where he was, the splatter went right across him, bits of skull and blood sticking to his clothes and across part of his face. He averted his head slightly to avoid getting any in his eyes, but otherwise didn’t move.
The blood was definitely exciting him.
“Luckily I had a big breakfast,” he muttered, though he couldn’t help his tongue snaking out to savor the richness of pure, authentic human blood. “He’d be quite a meal. Though maybe high calorie.”
--
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” Venom commented, releasing what was left of the man. The smack of the corpse against the moist wooden slats of the pier was to be enjoyed.
The monster flexed his bloody claws, lifted his hand upward to look at the dropping appendages and then turned to the vampire for approval.
Desperate for approval.
“We have made quite the mess, you and I,” Venom commented, balling his hand into a fist. Beyond him, a few muffled sounds came from other men he'd ensnared in webbing.
--
Approval was written plainly across John’s blood-splattered face. His teeth were unlikely to retract any time soon, either.
He reached up, touching Venom’s cheek and then laying his palm against the other’s cheek. A bit of a risk, but he didn’t flinch in the slightest as his thumb came within a breath of the creature’s wicked fangs.
He chuckled and settled his hands on the brute’s shoulders, leaning slightly to look past him.
“We certainly did. But I wonder how much bigger it should be…” he said. They could leave the situation as was, and it may even be considered ‘hero’ work (the headless corpse excepted). Or they could leave a true horror and probably garner attention from people concerned about such brutality.
Such delicious brutality.
John inhaled deeply, though he had no need of breath. He turned his face back to Venom, expression getting slightly more serious. “If we have fun, make sure I don’t leave any bite marks. My sister says I get sloppy when I’m blood-drunk.” He couldn’t have people hunting for vampires. That would be dangerous for him in more ways than one; not the least being earning his sire’s ire.
--
The touch did nothing for him when his skin was coated in the blackness, but the gesture weighed on him. Eddie longed to feel the pressure of fingertips on his skin, the coolness of John’s touch battling the warmth of his own flesh.
Venom shivered in delight. The yearn for connection had the blackness peeling back and in only a moment the man was exposed where the beast once had been. John had seen this before; Eddie was the same as usual, covered in blackness from the shoulders downward. His blue eyes were filled with excitement and they flickered eagerly over the blood-splattered face of his friend.
“You know I would never let anything happen to you that you didn't want, right? We’re far too beautiful together, you and I. Who am I to squander that?” Eddie replied, offering John a tempting smirk, “If you'd rather leave a large mark on the City, I'll help you. I can't promise there won't be biting, it's part of who you are, but I'll do my best. Or, I can make you an offer if you'll hear it…” Eddie said, watching the vampire carefully. “If you spare the citizens the fangs, you can take it out on me instead. That way no one gets too exposed.”
--
It was definitely weird to see the monstrous face turn so human. Especially with the body still attached. But it was a cool kind of weird. John grinned and chuckled, spreading his fingers across the man’s cheek, then playfully whisped under his chin as his hand fell away.
The offer was intriguing, and John crossed his arms to think on it. He didn’t have much of a preference on what they did with these men. They were nothing to him, and neither were their crimes.
“I’ve fed plenty today,” he said first. He was quite used to controlling himself, and while his predator self was absolutely aware of the blood, he was sated enough not to give in simply by smelling it. He chuckled. “It’s just… you tend to bring out the primal side of my nature. And if our sport got too enthusiastic… I have to be careful, if they start hunting vampires I’m not the only one they might find.”
His eyes fell to Eddie’s neck, the veins very clear to him, as was the sound of the blood pulsing through his veins. He couldn’t lie, hungry or no the neck was appealing to him in several ways. Tasting something so… alien, for instance. Also having Eddie in his embrace….
Nope. His teeth weren’t retracting any time soon.
He leaned in, inhaling the human scent along with the peculiar alien smell, nose grazing Eddie’s neck. “Very tempting, though.”
--
“They'd never know what hit them,” Eddie explained, offering a smile. “And that's why I offered to spare you the task of hurting them with your power. I can tend to them.” He wouldn't bring harm to John if he could help it. It wasn't out of the question, their actions warranted repercussion.
When the brush of skin against skin came again, Eddie shivered. His eyes closed. It'd been so long since he'd had someone that close...someone that wanted to be that close. And he wouldn't hide the reaction from John, it didn't seem fair.
He exhaled slowly, a satisfied sound, and his eyes fluttered open. “What would you like to do, then?” Eddie inquired softly, letting John take the lead as to where the night took them.
--
The vein was so close John could almost taste the blood already, but at the last moment he simply gave it a running lick and then pulled away, a slightly wicked grin on his face.
“I think that something that special should happen someplace better. And perhaps, more private,” he smiled, hoping the man wouldn’t be too disappointed. But a little anticipation never hurt anybody really, did it?
--
“You're worth the wait,” came the words in a breath. Eddie really was intrigued by John, not just because of the skill he possessed. There was something there, something beneath the primal scent that Eddie connected with. He didn't believe it was the faith that drove them together - no, John had abandoned his faith, it seemed. Eddie believed, he repented and asked his forgiveness, the ever faithful Catholic he was.
Oh but this...even God would understand.
Eddie swallowed and backed up so as not to be swallowed by the temptation. Again the blackness took him and where the human once was there was only blackness and white and teeth….
“I will follow your lead, Precious. Where the night takes us is up to you.”
--