An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/?
Fandom: Venom (Comics), Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Eddie Brock/Flash Thompson, Eddie Brock/Flash Thompson/Venom Symbiote, Eddie Brock/Venom Symbiote, Andrea Benton & Eddie Brock, Andrea Benton & Flash Thompson
Characters: Eddie Brock, Flash Thompson, Venom Symbiote, Andrea Benton, Mania Symbiote, Betty Brant
Additional Tags: more tags and character tags to come, Slow Burn, Redemption Arc That Actually Sticks, Everyone is Bisexual, Post-Secret Empire, Post-Venomverse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, nothing after Venomverse happened, cherry picking canon after that point, Eventual Smut, there are gonna be lots of cameos from lots of characters in spider-man and venom comics, Enemies to Reluctant Allies to Friends to Lovers, Certified Asshole Lee Price, Venom is a Good Noodle, Andi is a Little Shit, everyone is protective, completely ignores Venom: Dark Origin because fuck that noise, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Jocks Flirting
Summary:
In the aftermath of Venomverse, Eddie Brock's life is in shambles, and the only good thing he finds worth living for is Venom. But his other is very ill, and in re-bonding with it, he made himself a fugitive and lost all his allies.
But Venom didn't. And Flash Thompson, though mourning the loss of his own bond with the symbiote, might be the one person willing to take a chance on Eddie and help him and Venom both. Flash knows the value of a second (or third, or tenth) chance, and comes to realize that maybe there's still hope for Eddie Brock, yet.
10/2; "you forgot your lunch.", unexpected kisses, and getting together. No sads pls ;^;
( just for you, Ama, I will write only sadsI’m kidding, I will try to do better by our boys this timefeel free to request a prompt! )
Veteran’s Affairs OfficeSouth Battery Park City, Manhattan
“…and thanks for your feedback; I’m glad everything was sorted out in time. Government schedules, right? Yeah, it’s the worst. Have a good day, now.”
Flash hit the button to end the call and pulled off his headset. Christ, what a call. Weeks to get the benefits sorted out… He’d been on the phone with four different offices and had only just now gotten anywhere with the vet’s case. He scribbled down a note on a sticky pad to call back in a couple days, and stuck it next to at least ten other sticky notes on the wall of his cubicle. Forty-five minute call, and he was starving.
He rolled his chair back a foot and called over his shoulder, “Hey, Maggie, I’m taking lunch finally, I think I’ll hit the sushi place next door since I…”
Flash turned just enough to spot a very familiar, if potentially imposing figure standing in the doorway of the offices. He stood leaned against the doorframe, a paper lunch sack in his hand, chatting with Flash’s co-worker. At last he glanced up, and grinned at Flash.
“You forgot your lunch, golden boy.”
Flash rolled his eyes at the nickname but couldn’t hold back his wide smile in return. Maggie, for what it was worth, tried to stifle her laughter but didn’t quite manage it. “Edward Brock, my hero, what would I ever do without you?”
“Starve, probably.”
Eddie headed over, and Flash took the sack with one hand and used the other to grab Eddie by the front of his shirt and yank him down for a kiss. It was brief, but long enough for him to catch Maggie turning in her office chair to get back to work.
Eddie laughed under his breath. “What was that for?”
“A thank-you.”
“Nothing to do with me talking with your co-worker while you spent forever on that call?”
“Nope.” Flash buried the insinuation of jealousy and finally let Eddie go. “Hey, since you’re here, do you think you could-?”
“-look over something? Yes. Because your syntax is atrocious. Even in e-mails. The feds probably need an interpreter to figure out what you meant in your reports you send them-”
“Am I gonna have to kiss you again just to shut you up?”
Eddie snorted and grabbed the spare office chair. “Why not? Everyone in this office already thinks we’re dating. But you’re not kissing me after you eat that chicken salad sandwich. Unless you’ve got mints in your drawer. Now, outta the way.”
“I’ll run over your toes, asshole.”
“Good thing,” he said in a low murmur, “Venom’s got me covered for fractures.” When Flash finally moved away from the computer, switching spots with Eddie, he started on his lunch and Eddie switched to the next window. “This one?”
“Mm, yeah,” he said around a mouthful.
“That’s disgusting; don’t talk with food in your mouth.”
“I don’t complain when you go on patrol with Mania and slobber all over muggers. Or when Venom pours out of your orifices like gross ink. Or when I haven’t even bleached the counter but you still want to-”
“Shh. I’m making a Washington secretary’s job easier.”
Eddie worked on the draft while Flash devoured his lunch, watching over Eddie’s shoulder. He had the decency this time to finish his sandwich before speaking up again. “I really do appreciate this, you know.” He recognized the slight tension in Eddie’s shoulders at the notion; the way he got quiet when faced with a sincere comment. “So, uh, anyways, how was lecture this morning?”
“Decent. Starting a new report soon.” He’d relaxed almost immediately at the change in subject, continuing to edit the letter, at one point deleting an entire line and re-writing it. Normally, Flash would protest at someone else doing his work, but Eddie was a damn good writer and had gotten even better since returning to school on the government’s dime to pursue his Master’s in Journalism.
(“Cheaper than keeping him in supermax, right?” Flash had suggested, not unreasonably, all things considered.)
Eddie re-read the line to himself before nodding approvingly and moving on. “There’s a microviewer in the library, and I can appreciate the need to reduce space and paper deterioration, but there’s something about…”
He continued on, but Flash had already moved back to Eddie’s side and propped his chin up in his hand, an elbow on the arm of his wheelchair. He had no idea how Eddie multitasked so well. He liked the way Eddie’s eyes blazed when he got really caught up in something. Sometimes, when he thought he could get away with it, Flash liked to watch him work.
He also sometimes wished he’d known Eddie Brock before Venom. He wondered what that guy was like.
“…Flash?”
He blinked. Eddie stared at him. Flash searched for words. “Um, totally.”
“When did you zone out?”
“I didn’t…”
Eddie lifted a thick eyebrow.
“I was… just thinking about…” He laughed and shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.” Flash reached around Eddie to snag a box of Tic Tacs from a drawer. He popped a couple in his mouth and ignored the curious look from Eddie. “Thanks, again. I owe you one.”
He grinned at that, a little predatory. “We’ll keep that in mind for this evening.”
“Ha, ha.” Flash leaned forward and stole another kiss. “My turn to cook tonight. If you have a chance, swing by the apartment and make sure the crock pot didn’t set the place on fire.”
“And if it’s Jack o’ Lantern who’s set it on fire?”
“Then tear him to pieces.”
Something dangerous flashed in Eddie’s eyes; a swirl of black against blue, before it receded back within him. “We should only be so lucky…”
It occurred to Flash that he probably shouldn’t be feeling anything but disgust at the thought of ol’ Jack strung up by his innards, but. Well. Even without his partner, he still had a little bit of venom left in him.
“All right, beat it. Gotta get back on my next call.”
“And I’ve got studies to do. See you, golden boy.”
And Eddie’s hand trailed over his arm as he left, symbiote tendrils leaking out long enough to convey Venom’s own seeming goodbye. The touch left goosebumps in its wake, and Flash watched him disappear from the office suite.
“So,” Maggie remarked from several feet away, “when are you proposing?”
10 and 2 (hmmm lol), picking out furniture for their first shared apartment
(A/N: Super short drabble, I may expand it someday but for now, this is all I have haha. The following takes place within the universe established in Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, except that I’ve shamelessly plucked Eddie Brock out of California and made him a New York native, one year Flash Thompson’s senior. They are young and the world is their oyster and nothing bad has happened.
I have a queue lined up but you can request a prompt here!)
“That’s not going to fit.”
“Sure it will! As long as we go slow…”
“Are you shitting me? This thing is enormous! It doesn’t matter how slowly or carefully we go, it will destroy everything on its way in and besides, there wouldn’t be any room for us to live.”
Flash sprawled out on the mattress and grinned. “I still think we should just look on Craigslist. First apartment! It’s like, a rite of passage. If you don’t have a used mattress that smells a little funky and sits on the floor without a bedframe, what are you even doing with your life?”
Eddie took a breath and closed his eyes. Flash Thompson, while adorable, sweet, athletic, and a hell of a good diner cook, was sometimes… frustrating. “I already told you I was willing to cover the cost of a halfway-decent mattress.” Summers tutoring kids in the Hamptons during his high school days had paid off, even if it had largely been an excuse to spend as much time as humanly possible away from his dad. It was astounding how much parents would fork over to try and give their kid an edge.
He hoped their folks were at least proud of them. Eddie immediately buried the thought.
“…Babe?”
“Hm, sorry, what?”
“I, uh, I was kidding about the King size mattress. Queen is perfect. We could look at-”
“Nah, it’s not you, Flash. It’s just…” He sighed and took a seat next to his boyfriend on the mattress they definitely weren’t getting. “Doesn’t matter. Let’s take another look at the Queen they had on sale, okay?”
Flash gave him a questioning look but leaned over and kissed his cheek. Even just that simple little action made Eddie’s heart flutter in a way that had definitely scared him at first, and okay, he could admit it still did. And now they were going to be living together. Nothing fancy, nothing like the large property his father owned, but it was going to be nice. Nice to stand on his own two feet a little.
