Chapter Text
The sight of Eddie’s apartment was a welcome one, the five of them piling into the dinky little space with visible exhaustion, Venom and Sleeper pulling their hosts along into the apartment to drop them on the couch. Mandrake dropped himself on the kitchen counter with a sigh, still running his hand over his leg where Venom stitched him together.
They fell quiet, Mary and Eddie piled on top of each other as Venom and Sleeper coiled together in a warm embrace.
“Holy fuck,” Mandrake said from where he was face down on cheap faux marble, and Eddie tiredly raised his head from the couch to look at him. “I feel like shit.”
“You okay?” He asked, and Mary stirred in his arms. He looked down at her, and cocked his head. “Mary?”
“Mister Brock…” She said weakly, “I think… we’re experiencing the initial fever that comes with Symbiote contact.”
“Fever?” Oh, he’d almost forgotten about that. Venom untangled from Sleeper to nod in agreement.
Mary’s burning up. He said, and Eddie jumped, hurrying to feel her forehead to realise she was running a high fever.
“Oh, my god. Mary, do you need to eat something?” He did not want her ending up eating a lobster like he did. That was embarrassing.
“Um,” she managed, “No need. Sleeper already ate.”
Sleeper looked at its father, and beamed. Eddie huffed fondly at that, and he shook his head, giving the little Symbiote a noogie before turning back to Mary. “We’d better get the two of you to the hospital, then.”
“I’m fine.” Mary huffed, and Mandrake snorted.
“You were complaining to me that it was really hot on the way home,” he drawled, and for a moment, Eddie thought about a pair of bickering children, and laughed. “I, for one, would kill to go to the hospital. I haven’t had a check-up in, uh, years.”
“In the morning.” Mary groaned, cuddling into Eddie’s chest. “Sleeper, shut him up.”
The Symbiote turned to look at Mandrake, who blew a raspberry at it, and grinned.
“Night night, Mister Mandrake.” It leered, and Mandrake dropped onto the counter, snoring softly.
Eddie snorted, and looked down at Mary, who was well on her way to falling asleep.
“Hey, little lady, get up,” He said, “We need to get you somewhere more comfortable, at least.”
“S’okay, dad.” She muttered, and Sleeper nodded above her. “Night.”
She fell asleep, and the young Symbiote settled down on top of her head, blinking at Eddie curiously. He gave it a smile, and it leaned forward to bump their foreheads together.
“Hey, little buddy.” He said softly, and he felt Venom purring contentedly as he slid out from under Eddie’s skin to bump heads with it. “How’re you doing?”
“I like Mary. Good host. Very smart.” Sleeper said, “Do you like Mary too?”
Do we like children, Eddie? Venom’s words echoed in his head, and Eddie stroked her head gently, chuckling.
“You know what? Yeah, we do.” He replied. “God, we’d make the weirdest family ever, but it sounds good.”
Family. Venom hummed. Sounds good. We like it.
Eddie laughed softly, and leaned back to get comfortable on his beat-up couch. Venom wrapped himself around him comfortably, and for a moment, Eddie felt himself drifting off to sleep—
“Shit,” He said, and Venom looked at him. “We should tell Anne we’re all okay.”
The Symbiote huffed, and pressed Eddie’s phone into his hand.
Goodnight, Eddie. He said cheekily, and Eddie couldn’t even shoot him a glare when he slid back inside Eddie’s body. The man rolled his eyes and looked his apartment over—Mandrake, fast asleep on his kitchen counter, Mary, cuddled close to him, Sleeper draped over her head like a hood.
“Oh, fuck it.” He shook his head. “I’m tired as shit. I’ll tell her all about it in the morning.”
He lay back, drifting off to sleep at the sound of Venom’s purring.
“Everything checks out, not even a single scratch.” Dan nodded, looking up from his clipboard to smile at Eddie, who gave him a strained smile as Anne loomed over him, her expression steely. “Those Symbiotes really are something, aren’t they?”
“Right.” Eddie said witheringly, as Anne sat down next to him on the hospital bed with an exasperated sigh. “How’s Mary and Mandrake?”
“Oh, the two that were with you? They’re currently in their own rooms.” Dan reached forward to squeeze Eddie’s hand reassuringly. “They’ll be okay.”
“Does anyone else know about—”
“Sleeper’s okay.” Dan nodded, and patted Eddie’s hand. “Relax, Mr. Dad.”
Anne giggled softly, and Eddie rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. Dan leaned back in his seat with a sigh, and huffed fondly. “But man, those crazy aliens, huh. Never would’ve guessed that your buddy survived all that. And that you made another one!”
“Yeah, we didn’t think that’d happen either. Both of them.” Eddie sighed, resting his chin on his hand. “Mary was a huge help getting that sorted out.”
“Yeah.” Dan nodded. “I don’t think I would’ve managed to help, considering the whole pregnancy thing. You don’t really have all the parts necessary for all that, but there it is. Sleeper.” He ran his hand through his hair, and Anne looked at Eddie worriedly. “Did any complications happen during all that, anyway? Did you, uh, deliver properly?”
Eddie nodded, and then turned pink. Anne grinned at that slightly, and patted his back.
“Well, at least we all got through it in one piece.” She said, “We’re just glad you’re okay, Eddie. Venom, too.”
The Symbiote slid out from under Eddie’s clothes to beam at Anne and Dan, and while Anne smiled at him, Dan still looked nervous. Venom cocked his head at him, and the man laughed weakly.
“Sorry, I’m still not used to you.” he said, and Venom made the best approximation of a shrug a floating blob head could do. “Still, it’s nice to see you, big guy.”
“Do you know someone named Peter Andrews?” He asked, and Eddie looked at his Symbiote.
“Peter Andrews?” He echoed, and Dan cocked his head at him.
“Maybe? If he was a patient of some kind, I can probably look him up.” He said, and Anne looked at him witheringly as he turned to a desktop at his table, already typing away.
“Isn’t that a breach of doctor-patient confidentiality?” Anne asked, crossing her arms as Eddie shrugged.
“Won’t hurt anyone. It’s just me.” Venom headbutted his shoulder, and Eddie gestured at him. “Us.”
Anne looked at Eddie and Venom wryly, frowning deeply, and Eddie gave her a shrug again as they hovered behind Dan’s back.
“And you’re all too willing to look him up!” Anne huffed, elbowing Dan’s back, and the man only laughed as he continued to search his screen. “I swear, you two…”
“Here we go!” Dan lit up, and with a few more keystrokes, he turned back to Anne and Eddie. “He was one of my earlier patients. Passed away from stage four glioblastoma… um. Whoa.” He peered back at his computer, and his eyes widened. Anne cocked her head at him.
“Dan, is there something wrong?”
“Says here that he was given a Life Foundation experimental medicine. Do you think…?”
Eddie’s eyes widened, as the pieces clicked into place.
“Did they say something about medical patches?” He asked, and the doctor blinked at him.
“Y-yeah, actually…” He turned back to the monitor, squinting at it. “Temozolomide administered straight into the head via direct patch contact with the Circle of Willis…” Dan frowned, and looked through it again. “That can’t be right. Hold on.”
He suddenly got up from his seat and headed outside, leaving Anne and Eddie behind in his room. The two shared a look of surprise, before Anne shook her head, sighing fondly.
“When he really gets into it, he just. Bolts right outside.” She chuckled, rubbing her arm as she looked at Eddie. “I think he got that from you.”
Eddie smiled back at her, and patted her hand. Venom rubbed his cheek against hers, and she giggled softly, patting the Symbiote’s head gently as Eddie got up onto his feet.
“Eddie?” She asked, and he gave her a small smile.
“I’ll be back to hear him out.” He said, “I’ll be seeing the other two, make sure they’re alright.”
“Sure.” Anne relaxed slightly, and sighed as she leaned on the backrest of her chair. “But who’s Peter Andrews?” She asked, and Eddie sighed as he looked at Venom.
“Mary’s dad.” He said, and Eddie and Anne gaped at him. “I learned about him when I went into Mary—I could see inside her head, saw a dying patient.”
“Someone’s turning into a bit of a journalist himself, too, huh?” Anne smiled at Venom, who beamed at her as Eddie shook his head fondly. “Picking up on the best of Eddie Brock.”
“There’s a lot more where that came from.”
“I know.” Anne replied warmly, and Eddie blushed a little as Venom chuckled, sliding back into Eddie’s skin. Anne chuckled, too, shaking her head with a smile as Eddie made his way to the door. “Hey, Eddie?”
“Yeah?” Eddie stopped at the doorway, giving her a little grin.
“It suits you.” She said, and he cocked his head at her. “Being a dad, I mean. They’re lucky to have you.”
Eddie huffed softly at that, shrugging. “You haven’t seen the worst of it yet.”
“But I do know you.” Anne replied, giving him a knowing wink. “And I know you’ll do just fine.” She let out a little huff of a laugh, shaking her head. “Makes me wonder if I’ll end up as good as you are, if Dan and I ever start a family.”
“You’ll find out.” Eddie chuckled, and gave her a mock salute. “See you in a sec, Anne.”
“See you.” She gave him a mock salute, too, and Eddie strode out of Dan’s office.
Mandrake stared up at the ceiling, frowning to himself as he lay with his hands folded over his abdomen.
“Man.” He said to the ceiling light, “It’s been a wild ride, huh?”
Of course, the ceiling light had nothing to say to him, but Mandrake didn’t mind.
“All this shit about aliens, about Lotus… who’d’ve thought.” He sighed, shutting his eyes. “I thought that shit only happens in New York.”
“Wow, monologuing? That’s new, Mandrake.”
Mandrake jumped, turning to see Eddie peering into his room, a cheeky little grin on his face. Mandrake grinned back at him, sitting up slowly as Eddie settled down on a chair next to him.
“Yeah, well, I’ve got a lot of stuff to process, Mr. Brock, give me a break.” He grinned, and Eddie shrugged.
“How’re you feeling?”
“Like I had a really bad stomach bug, or something.” Mandrake winced, rubbing his abdomen. “I’ve got an IV in me, too. Haven’t had that before.”
“Well, it’s kind of important.” Eddie replied, and Mandrake grinned.
“Yeah, that’s fair.” He replied, and they shared a moment to laugh together, but he sobered up quickly enough. “Hey, so… um… about Lotus…”
“Right.” Eddie nodded. “You gonna explain all that?”
“Well,” Mandrake winced. “They were my best friend since we were little. We grew up together, but eventually our lives drifted apart. They went on to be CEO, and, well, I’m just John Mandrake from Accounting.”
“I see.” Eddie hummed. “Did they have any… inclinations to whatever the hell they were doing?”
“Honestly, no. I hadn’t known them to be that type.” Mandrake replied. “I mean, sure, they were a bit weird, but they weren’t anything too strange. Though I gotta say I’m not surprised they turned out this way. Belladonna grew so quickly, there was definitely something shady going on in there.”
“Yeah, figures.” Eddie replied, and he paused for a moment, sighing deeply. “Mandrake—” He hesitated, and Mandrake cocked his head at him. Eddie grinned at him witheringly, and he shook his head.
“John.” He said, and Mandrake’s eyes widened. “Tell you what, after the Belladonna thing is over, let’s break off our partnership.”
“Wh—” Mandrake’s eyes widened. “But—but Mr. Brock, what about—”
“You’ve given me the list, I’ll follow the rest of the trail.” Eddie gave him a little grin. “You and I both know how dangerous following the clues is, and I really don’t wanna be putting other people in more danger than they already are in.” He patted Mandrake’s shoulder heavily, giving him a little grin. “Besides, Mary’s gonna need more friends than just me.”
Mandrake grinned a little at that. “That’s true.”
“But… I am gonna ask another favour of you.” Eddie said, “One last thing.”
“Shoot, Mr. Brock.”
“Do you know of any PhD opportunities outside San Francisco? Maybe in New York?” He asked, and Mandrake blinked. Eddie gave him a meaningful look, and the younger man’s eyes widened in realisation.
“Oh, uh… I’ll go ask around.” He replied dazedly. “Friends of friends… that kinda stuff.”
“Mary’s got a very specific skill set.” Eddie gave him a little grin, and Mandrake laughed softly. “I think you know exactly what I’m going for.”
“Yeah, I think I do.” Mandrake nodded. “Thanks for looking out for her, boss.”
“Least I could do.” Eddie huffed. “You get better soon, got it? I’ll ask around for anywhere you could move to, too. Get you out of the weird corporate science crosshairs.”
“That’d be swell, but you know that any big corpo’s gonna be suspicious, one way or another.” Mandrake sighed exasperatedly. “I’ll take the weird corporate science. I’ve got bills to pay.”
“You’re a tough guy.” Eddie snorted softly, and Mandrake grinned at him wryly.
“It is what it is.” He said, laughing as Eddie patted his arm. “But… thanks. I mean it. Thank you so much, Mr. Brock.”
“Don’t mention it.” He got up, and Mandrake jumped.
“Oh, by the way,” He said, and Eddie cocked his head at him. “Mary’s already headed out.”
“What?” Eddie blinked, and Mandrake nodded eagerly.
“She came to see me before she left. Said she had to talk to someone really important, though I can’t really figure out who.” Mandrake explained. “She told me to let you know, and that she’s been grateful for everything.”
“Can’t come see me herself, can she?” Eddie huffed, and Mandrake shrugged helplessly. They fell quiet, and Eddie huffed a little breath of a laugh.
“You like her, don’t you?”
“I, well,” Mandrake laughed sheepishly, “I dunno about that. We only just met.”
“Not a bad thing to get to know her. She’s a good kid.” Eddie shrugged, “Like you. The two of you probably have a lot of things in common, it’s worth a shot.”
“Really?” Mandrake grinned sheepishly, “I mean… I… okay, I did ask her if we could have lunch together.”
“Would you look at that?” Eddie snickered, “Two steps ahead of me.”
“It is what it is.” Mandrake laughed as Eddie nodded.
“Well, thanks for letting me know, John. I’ll see you around.”
“See ya.” Mandrake replied, “I’m gonna enjoy the air conditioning a little more before I kick myself out, too. This’ll be one hell of a story to tell on Twitch tonight.”
“Filter it a little.” Eddie said, and Mandrake nodded.
“Yessir. Like as if the internet’s gonna believe all that shit about aliens, anyway.” He grinned, “Take care, Mr. Brock. Hope you find Mary soon.”
Eddie gave him a grin, too, and headed out.
“Eddie! There you are.”
Eddie looked up from where he and Venom were staring at a snack vending machine to see Dan hurrying towards him, holding up a piece of paper.
“Hey. Thanks for saving me the trouble of looking for you.” He greeted, turning away from the vending machine, and he couldn’t help but grin when he heard Venom’s growl of frustration.
Don’t look away from the machine. I’m still choosing what chocolate to get.
“I got some of Peter Andrews’s records.” Dan said, handing Eddie the piece of paper he got. Eddie looked it over with a thoughtful frown, and Dan gave him a bright smile. “Even the place where he’d been buried.”
“That’s great, Dan.” Eddie lit up, and Dan nodded eagerly.
“Actually, I was told that Mary already left. She just took paracetamol and took off. She must’ve been in a hurry to get somewhere.” Dan said. “I mean, it’s fine, but…”
“I think I’ve got an idea of where she went.” Eddie said, and Dan couldn’t help but smile at that. “Thanks for the help, Dan.”
“You got it.” Dan nodded. “I’ll go write up Mandrake a medical certificate so he can keep taking a few days off. Kid sounds like he needs it.”
“Yeah, he does.” Eddie huffed. “Right, I’m off.”
“Take care.” Dan gave him a little wave, and he watched Eddie as he strode away.
That Saturday morning was lovely. The weather wasn’t too hot, but not too cold, and was comfortable enough for a sweater, but not the fleece-lined boots.
Mary stood in front of a grave, holding a small bouquet of flowers—white lilies, and she couldn’t help but smile at the thought of the brunet young man she left behind at the hospital, with her last message to Eddie Brock.
“Hey, before you go,” Mandrake had said, catching her wrist when she put down the vase of lilies she got for him, “I, uh, wanna have lunch sometime? Maybe?”
“Sure.”
Mary chuckled fondly to herself.
John Mandrake. They had a lot to talk about.
For now, she had someone else she had to see.
“Hey, Dad.” She said quietly, setting the flowers down. “It’s been a while.”
She sat down on top of the soft green grass, running her fingers over his name, sighing softly.
PETER ANDREWS
A loving father, a brilliant scientist
“I finally figured it out, after so long.” She muttered. “I’m sorry. For the longest time, I thought it was my fault. I thought… I couldn’t forgive myself for what I’ve done. I thought I wasn’t—that I don’t deserve you. That I should’ve—should’ve replaced you, or forgotten you, but… you were right in the end, huh?”
Her fingers balled into a fist on the marble, and Sleeper slid out from under her skin to nuzzle her cheek comfortingly.
“Well, it’s all over.” Mary said. “Belladonna’s gone, Atropine will be exposed, and I’ll finally rest easy knowing the truth about what happened to you.”
She looked at Sleeper, who looked at her encouragingly.
“I’m sorry I never accepted your last words to me. It’s… too little, too late, but thanks, Dad. I’ll—I’ll always think of you, and… I’ve found a new family.” She smiled, and Sleeper nuzzled her again. “New friends, new… dad.”
She deflated at the thought of Eddie.
“I hope you don’t mind.”
“Me too.”
The voice behind her was familiar.
“I knew you’d be here first thing after you got out.”
Mary jumped, whirling around to look at Eddie, who gave her a smile and a little wave. His bike was parked by the curb of the road snaking through the graveyard, where a large bouquet of white mums were sitting on the seat. Eddie picked it up before he made his way to her, sitting down next to her to set down the bouquet. Venom slid out from under his clothes, and Sleeper lit up, cuddling against its parent, and Mary watched the two Symbiotes purr against each other warmly.
“Hey.” Eddie said, and she looked at him, her eyes welling up with tears at his soft smile down at her. “I was hoping you’d wait up for me, y’know.”
“I…” Mary laughed tiredly, shaking her head as she looked down at her father’s gravestone. “Sorry. I wouldn’t have known what to say.”
“Did you at least say yes to lunch out with Mandrake?” Eddie asked, and Mary jolted at that, before she burst out laughing.
“Yeah.” She replied, and Eddie beamed at her. “I mean—I’m… I’m not interested, interested, but it’d be nice to make friends, y’know?”
“Just let him know right from the start what you’re getting yourself into.” Eddie huffed, and she nodded, sighing deeply as they both looked at the gravestone again. “Peter Andrews.” He sighed, and Mary nodded sheepishly. “So this is your father, huh?”
“I’ve… I lost him pretty early.” Mary mumbled, and Eddie nodded with a hum. “I mean, not early, early… it wasn’t… I mean…”
She clammed up, biting her lip as her eyes grew misty, and Eddie looked at her fondly, offering her his hand. Mary blinked down at it, a teardrop rolling down her cheek, and Eddie shrugged easily.
“Venom told me you wanted to tell me everything.” He said, and Mary blinked moisture out of her eyes. “But if it’s too hard to put into words, we’ve got something else.”
Sleeper coiled a tendril around her wrist, as Venom did the same with Eddie’s, and Mary looked up at him, wide-eyed.
“I’ll listen.” He told her. “It’s okay.”
Mary looked at his hand again, and nodded gingerly, taking it with her own in a warm, reassuring grip, and their Symbiotes melded into each other, their vision tunnelling into darkness.
Eddie found himself staring down at a bedridden man, his dark skin ashen with exhaustion and illness, and a pair of delicate little hands wrapped around his bony one.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” Mary’s voice escaped his lips. “I’m so, so sorry.”
Mary looked a lot like her father, Eddie realised, looking down at the dark-skinned man, at the way he smiled the way Mary smiled, with the dimples at the corners of the lips, and the lines at the corners of the eyes.
“It’s okay, sugar,” Peter Andrews always said, as he withered away in front of Mary’s eyes, “You’re gonna be amazin' without me. You already are.”
Every day, it was largely the same—when Mary was done with her classes (youngest in her class, what a brilliant dear, the nurses said behind her back), she would be with her father, telling him stories about what she did in the lab. Every day was a grasp at hope for Peter’s recovery, every day a whispered prayer that someday, Peter Andrews would stand with his daughter as she became a scientist just like him, but terminal illness had its way of denying you of your dreams.
Mary seemed to understand that. She seemed to know, but she held on. The sun of her life was fading, but what was the sun but burning stars? There were plenty of stars in the sky for those with eyes to see them, and one incredible, wondrous little star in the sky of Mary’s eyes was Dora Skirth.
She followed that star through graduate school. Dora Skirth had been Peter Andrews’s own student, once upon a long time ago, carrying his legacy within her, too, and though Peter couldn’t pass it to his daughter, Dora promised she would.
And so, for a time, Mary was happy. She was happy with following tendrils of brilliance imparted by Dora Skirth through graduate school, straight into the Life Foundation.
She was turning 20 then, and that was when she met Carlton Drake.
Skirth’s hand at her back, reassuring and trusting, the man flashed her a plastic smile and she smiled back with her heart on her sleeve.
For a few years, Mary had worked with Skirth in her lab, but Drake had her developing her Masters’ thesis invention further—the biopatches, biodegradable nanoparticle deliverers of therapeutic drugs. She thought she was making a difference.
She thought—
“Aw, sugar, it’s okay.”
Peter Andrews was dying.
Peter Andrews was dying, and it was Mary’s fault he was.
“It’s my fault, Dad. All my—my research, wasted. I couldn’t save you.”
“You did your best. That’s enough.” Peter’s hand was warm on her cheek. “You’re gonna be extraordinary, Mary. That’s all I could ever ask for.”
In a blur of grey, Eddie found himself standing outside a hospital room, the drone of the heart rate monitor screaming in his ears as he stood next to Mary, younger than he knew her, silently watching through the mirror as the movement of hospital staff reminded him of smoke.
“I’m sorry,” A faceless doctor told them, “The Life Foundation drug failed.”
She knew. She knew what they did to her father—the biopatch, the temozolomide. She knew that temozolomide was for glioblastoma.
What went wrong?
(She thought it was her fault. She made the patch. She killed her father.)
Mary plastered a plastic smile on her face, and persevered.
Skirth was there to hold her through her woes, and right next to her was Drake, words soft and soothing, and Eddie felt the urge to punch him and his stupid face.
“Mary, this may be inappropriate,” He said to a grieving young woman—barely an adult by any standards, forced to grow up far too quickly, far too painfully. He took her hand, and patted her head. “But perhaps you would let me be the father figure you lost in Dr. Andrews?”
The words, back then, made Mary’s heart soar. The grief that had buried her deep in her sorrow clung onto whatever it could get a grip on, even the brittle, double-edged promise offered by Drake’s cunning tongue.
The days blended into each other, spent in bliss at the lab as she bloomed with the praise showered on her by Drake. It was almost magical, an artificial sort of joy that only ever felt hollow in hindsight. Like a rush of endorphins fabricated by cheap party drugs, Mary was on top of the world in a glass palace built on sand.
The idyll of her days in this fleeting bliss came to a screeching halt as the world suddenly caged in around them, and Eddie’s vision tunnelled to a man with a sack on his head tied to a chair. He was struggling against his restraints, and Eddie could only watch as a faceless man strode forward, ripping the sack off the man’s head.
The golden flash of the sunflower petal patch shone into view, and it was pressed to the man’s forehead.
“Everything of wonder is of such a beautiful design,” An unfamiliar voice began to say in Eddie’s head, and he realised it was her father’s. It began to melt into something more familiar, and the relief in his chest melted away into anger.
“And it is up to us to discover it.” Drake’s voice finished, and the yellow sunflower petal melted into the skin of the man’s forehead. He began to squirm harder, choking and gasping as his eyes rolled back, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth.
This man was dying— and it was Mary’s fault.
“It wasn’t your fault.” Eddie found himself saying as they snapped back into reality, and they pulled apart, Mary blinking up at him as she panted softly. Eddie laughed tiredly, shaking his head. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“I made the biopatches, Mister Brock.”
“You didn’t kill anyone, kid. You weren’t the one who put the poison in the patch, you didn’t put it on that man.” Eddie said. “They manipulated you when you were grieving and susceptible, used you when you didn’t know any better, and forced you to watch a man die. You didn’t choose to be there.”
Mary looked at him quietly as Eddie sighed deeply.
“No one with a working brain would say you are to blame for anything.” Eddie said, “Plenty of people have died by getting hit by cars. Does that mean the guy who invented cars is to blame?”
“N-no.” Mary couldn’t help but laugh a little, and Eddie grinned at her, elbowing her lightly. “I mean, that’s not the same.”
“How is it different?” Eddie asked, “A car takes people from point A to B. It’s up to the person driving if they wanna run someone over. Same with your biopatches—your patches take some substance into the body without injections. It’s up to the person using the patch if they wanna put aspirin or arsenic in it.”
Mary pursed her lips at that, a tear rolling down her cheek.
“I mean…”
“What happened after that?” Eddie asked, and Mary sighed deeply.
“Then the Symbiote project became more interesting to Drake, and he brought Dr. Skirth with him there. I… I wanted to tag along, but she… she kicked me off the team.” Mary looked down at her hands, deflating. “I… I felt so betrayed. Dr. Skirth had always been so proud of me, I was—I’m the youngest scientist in Life Foundation, and I thought… I thought she would’ve brought me along to the Symbiote project, but she didn’t.”
“So you thought she betrayed you.”
“She was just protecting me.” Mary’s voice quivered. “I didn’t realise it at the time, so I threw myself into my work with Belladonna Cosmetics. And then… the whole mess with Mr. Drake happened, and now we’re here.”
“And now we’re here.” Eddie murmured. “Well, she kept you away well enough.”
“Yeah, until I came poking around and now, I have a new buddy, too.” Mary laughed tiredly as Sleeper slid out from under her skin, covering her head like a hood. “Hi, Sleeper.”
“Happy to be here.” Sleeper said, putting a smile on Eddie’s lips. “We like us.”
“That’s the part that matters.” Eddie nodded, and Mary managed a little smile at him. “Thanks for talking to me, Mary. I mean it.”
“Yeah, I… I mean,” She made a vague gesture between them. “I didn’t exactly do a lot of talking, but I thought you deserved to know.”
“Yeah.” Eddie huffed, looking back at Peter Andrews’s grave. “I’ll take care of your little girl, sir.”
Mary blinked at him owlishly as he gave her a grin.
“Felt only right, y’know?” Eddie shrugged as Sleeper slid back under Mary’s skin. “You’re bonded with our kid, that makes you our kid too.”
“Is that how that works, or is that the pregnancy hormones talking?” Mary huffed a little laugh, making Eddie laugh, shaking his head as he ruffled her hair, slightly messing up her pigtails. “Hey!”
“Call me pregnant again, Mary, we’re gonna have issues.” Eddie grumbled. “Do you think it’ll happen again? This, uh, making Sleeper thing?”
“I don’t know.” Mary shook her head as Venom emerged from under Eddie’s skin with a dark laugh.
“Not for a long time, at least.” Venom said, and Mary sighed in relief. “But we’ll know who to call when it happens again.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Eddie sighed. “Two Symbiotes on Earth is enough.”
“Don’t you guys have, like, birth control or something?” Mary asked, cocking her head, and Eddie looked at her witheringly. “It was worth a shot.”
“We can control ourselves.” Venom huffed, and Eddie looked at him witheringly. “What?”
“Agree to disagree.” Eddie muttered, and Venom scoffed, affronted, making Mary laugh as Sleeper emerged from her skin to laugh along with her, pressing their foreheads together. Eddie and Venom sobered up, watching them laugh together, and they shared a knowing smile.
We like us. Venom’s voice was warm in Eddie’s head, and Eddie nodded.
All of us, he thought, and meant far more than he ever thought he would.
“John, you take care of these kids, okay?” Eddie gave the young man a lopsided grin, and Mandrake laughed, giving him a mock salute.
“I’ll try my best, Mr. Brock, but I think Mary and Sleeper can kick my ass better than I can kick my own ass.” He said, and hugged the man. “Thanks for everything.”
“You did good, kid.” Eddie nodded, and Mandrake headed into the sedan’s driver’s seat. Mary looked up at Eddie, and the man gave her a soft smile.
“Mister Brock,” She said quietly. “Thank you for everything.”
“Nah, kid. Thank you.” He pulled her into a tight hug, and she sighed deeply as she hugged him back, burying her face into his chest as he stroked her head gently. “You helped us out a lot, Mary. Me and Venom—we’ll never forget you.”
“I’ll never forget you too.” Mary’s voice shook, and Eddie pressed a kiss to the side of her head gently. “I’ll come back for Thanksgiving.”
And Christmas.
“Yeah, and Christmas too.” Mary nodded, hearing Venom through their link with Sleeper. “I’m gonna miss the both of you.”
We’ll miss you too, Mary.
Mary squeezed Eddie a little tighter, as if that little bit more would make it to Venom, and the both of them pulled away from each other, smiling with shimmering, watery eyes.
“Is this what watching your kid go to college feels like?” Eddie laughed softly, and Mary giggled.
“I suppose it is.” She said, “I’ll keep in touch, Mister Brock.”
“See you soon, Mary.” Eddie waved her goodbye, and she hurried into the sedan after Mandrake.
He leaned against the doorway of his apartment complex, smiling fondly as he watched them drive away, and he shook his head.
“C’mon, Venom. Time for this old man to get some sleep.” He murmured, and the Symbiote slid out from under his skin to grin at him.
Food first.
Eddie laughed.
“Fine,” He said. “If you say so.”
“I’m sure we’ve got a lot to talk about.” Mandrake said, and Mary nodded tiredly. “But I think that can wait.”
She cocked her head at him as he handed her his phone.
“Someone wants to talk to you.” He grinned, not taking his eyes off the road, and Mary took the phone from him uneasily.
“Who’s… this?”
“The people who I hit up to get your scholarship grant.”
Mary’s eyes widened, and she pressed the phone to her ear.
“Hello?” She asked, “Yes, this is Mary Andrews?”
She jumped, and lit up. “Yes! Thank you very much for your generosity!” Mary looked out of the window as Mandrake began to drive out of San Francisco. “Yes. Yes, I am into exobiology. Yes, I have… experience in that field.”
Sleeper slid out from under her skin, and rested its head between her twintails to watch the city go by.
“Yes. Yes, sir.”
Mandrake smiled to himself.
“Thank you, Mister Stark.” Mary smiled, “I promise, I won’t let you down!”