#Mute (2018) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hybridequalist · 9 months

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So...I forgot to give my tumblr lovelies this chapter. Oops?

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Taglist (you can be added upon request if you like): @ sesquipedalian-aficionado @nesli26, @manga-crazy, @venomemes, @galleyleelol, @makingtimemine, @jackie-sugarskull, @nightshade7117, @skysthelimit291, @randomshizzles101, @inumorph, @snow-massacre, @phantom-fangirl-stuff, @pixellated-sparks, @vsalamandor2, @otaku-mai, @snarky-badger

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Blinding whiteness. Whose idea was it to make sidewalks white? Why on earth did people insist on light colors for exterior spaces? You'd only just stepped outside and already your eyes were assaulted by aggressive, California sun bouncing off the crowded hospital parking lot. It was almost enough to tempt you to turn right around and search the gift shop for sunglasses or a hat of some kind to protect yourself.

"THERE SHE IS, EDDIE. WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER?"

"Let's giver her a second, she just got a full face of sunlight."

You squinted though tears, looking for your friends--and your ride. You could faintly see someone further down the walkway, sitting on a shiny object that only added to the glare. A few blinks and a hand to shade your face clarified the image: Eddie Brock, still wearing a full jacket despite the sunny day, seated atop his motorcycle. You marched over, waving a greeting. The reporter responded with a nod, shrugging off his backpack and retrieving his extra helmet for you.

"YOU SEEM WEARY, MORSEL," Venom commented. "DID SOMETHING KEEP YOU FROM SLEEP? OR PERHAPS SOMETHING ELSE?"

"It's nothing important," you brushed it off, trying to keep the memory of the weird person from the night before out of your thoughts--you just wanted to go home, eat real food and sleep in your own bed where strangers couldn't encroach on your rest.

The symbiote felt unsatisfied with your answer, but took your words with no further complaint. You tugged on the helmet and settled onto the bike, wrapping your arms securely around Eddie's middle and resisting your natural instinct to pull away when the jacket stretched and lightly secured itself to your skin. With just a few more minor adjustments, the engine began to purr and the motorcycle pulled away from the curb.

It was a funny thing, holding on to another person like this: your rational mind knew that it was just a safety precaution, just the safest position to ride this vehicle, but that didn't stop your heart-rate from rising at the realization that you were holding onto someone in even a slightly intimate way. Stupid oyxtocin; you weren't even touching skin. How long had it been since you'd actually hugged someone? There weren't many people who you felt comfortable asking for such a thing, especially not since moving out on your own. And Eddie didn't feel like a man who was super upfront about breaking that contact barrier. His partner, on the other hand, had no such qualms: Venom was all about the tactile experience, maybe because he was so entwined in sharing his host's sensory perceptions of the world? It probably didn't help that he was very well equipped to hold onto things with his goo-like body and ability to produce tentacle appendages. You wondered what it felt like to be the host when he took over, to be fully surrounded by another being.

Maybe you were more sleep-deprived than you'd suspected. Why were you imagining being held by an alien (and his host)? Why were the thoughts strangely appealing? You didn't even know if you could host Venom in the first place--and being a poor match sounded like a bad time all around. Maybe you were still a bit spooked from the other night and were craving comfort a touch more than usual. Yes, that had to be it. No other reason why you wanted to never let go of the man driving the bike.

Your apartment building couldn't appear quick enough, but in hardly any time at all (or a short eternity--you really had no sense of time right now), you were tugging off the borrowed helmet and taking a moment to fix your appearance from the constant wind. You quickly waved goodbye at the pair and started towards the complex door, determined to just get to your room, put on your comfy pj's and distract yourself from the tangled feelings that had arisen.

"Hey."

You paused, hand on the door handle, and glanced back at Eddie.

"I know this is probably an awkward time to ask," he shrugged, "but would you be willing to consider sitting for an interview sometime? It's the one I mentioned back at the grocery store."

"EDDIE! WHY ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT WORK RIGHT NOW?! I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO ASK THAT OTHER GUY?"

"Chillax, Vee. It never hurts to ask just in case."

"I can only promise to think about it," you signed before repeating your wave farewell and tugging open the door. You remained beside it, however, keeping one eye on the bike through the small, decorative window that sat at eye level. Though slightly warped through the wavy glass, you were able to watch as Eddie revved his motorcycle and pulled away from the curb.

"EDDIE, THIS COULD BE RISKY FOR HER IF SHE SAYS YES."

"She's free to refuse. I think she will say no, but if I didn't ask then we'd never know. Besides, we can keep her anonymous and that jacka..."

The thoughts left your range and the usual snippets of traffic replaced the familiar internal voices. Heaving a sigh, you headed for the front office, where you knew Lauren spent business hours if not needed elsewhere. Poking your head into the open doorway, you spotted your landlady on her computer, writing a schedule of some kind. She'd had her hair done recently you noticed, her previously fading cyan braids replaced with her natural dark afro. This was new--normally she get some other eye-catching color right away (she'd been talking about doing pink or lilac). Was she taking a break from dyeing? Or was this just temporary?

You noticed her phone was resting under her arm and immediately shot her a quick text, a faint smile tugging at your lips.

Behind you

Lauren picked up when she felt the vibration, read the text and immediately glanced back at where you stood. She instantly did a double-take and jolted to her feet. Without a word, she rushed forward, arms outstretched. Despite being able to see though both her actions and thoughts, the force of Lauren's hug was surprising and you staggered a step or two catching her and returning the embrace.

Her thoughts were scattered: she was overjoyed to have you back home, overwhelmed with equal concern regarding your health and already bearing the full weight of her work on top of it all. When she released your shoulders, her eyes flickered over your face, searching for any sign that something might be off, any indication that you were unwell.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"A-okay," you responded. "Headaches are all gone, no bumps. The doctor I was seeing was very considerate too."

"I made some lunch since I knew you'd be back soon-ish. Come."

Lauren offered her hand, which you lightly grasped, and lead you back into the hall and down towards her own apartment. Once inside, she released you to fetch a tray of sandwiches, which she set up on her table alongside some plastic plates.

Once the pair of you had settled into munching on lunch--you almost cried at the fresh ingredients after a few nights in the hospital--Lauren took it upon herself to share the news of the past few days. Including, it seemed, some rather pertinent news for you specifically.

"Someone asked for you by name. Most ordinary-looking man I've ever seen. Business casual dress, short hair. Refused to give a name, left as soon as I refused to name any tenants. Reminded me a bit of when the undercover cops try to snoop around, but something about it was...off. I don't know how else to describe it."

"Did he know my full name? Or just first name?" you signed, squinting a little as you tried to remember the faces of anyone who might be putting an effort to find you. Most Agents wouldn't be so bold as to confront a non-relative, but you had successfully avoided them for the most part since leaving High School. Could it be the others then? Of course, most of them wouldn't exactly fit the description of "ordinary-looking" unless they were someone totally new that you'd never met...

"He had your first name very clear. He wasn't as certain on the last name. Any ideas what that was about?"

"None," you partially lied. You had ideas, of course, but the likelihood of those ideas being real were slim at best. "Was that the only stuff I missed, then?"

"That's all in terms of news, but I did want to have a little chat with you before you head home and unwind."

Lauren pressed her hands together and pursed her lips. Her thoughts buzzed like an overexcited hive of honeybees, flitting this way and that as she tried to decide how to open the conversation. You stared at the sandwich in your grasp, willing yourself to ignore the images your landlady had flashing around in her head. You could feel your appetite drying up as your stomach began to twist with nerves.

"Is it bad?" you asked, glad that your hands managed to keep from trembling too much.

"I don't mean to stress you out or anything. It's about Eddie. I did some...research about him."

She couldn't know. There was no way Lauren was able to make the connection between Eddie and the "Demon of San Francisco" rumors. Her thoughts didn't seem to indicate that specific path, but there was definitely some genuine, serious concern for you.

"And what did your background check reveal?" you asked, trying to make your face and signing indicate a teasing tone though your stomach was so knotted you might accidentally give yourself abs.

"Don't get smart," Lauren chastised lightly, rolling her eyes. "Your Eddie is Eddie Brock, the investigative journalist guy--he had some kind of segment on the news that got cancelled a while back."

You nodded, recognizing a few of the clips that Lauren was thinking of.

"Apparently he was briefly fired due to pissing off someone with influence and there was a whole smear campaign put against him. But that's not what bothered me. I doubt he's mentioned it since you've only recently been hanging out, but he used to be engaged to someone, a lawyer I think. From what I found...Eddie used his fiancée's confidential information to make some accusations and it got her into serious trouble."

"But why tell me all this?" you questioned, still uncomfortable.

"This was all in the past year; I just think you should know what kind of guy you're hanging out with. Just something to keep in mind."

You didn't detect any malice in Lauren's thoughts--not directly at any rate. It was...concern for you. She didn't want you getting too attached to someone who might be sketchy, no matter how good-looking or charming he was. You briefly wondered what her reaction to Venom would be--probably terror, if you were going to be wholly honest.

In all honesty, this wasn't all new information: you'd done a quick web search on Eddie when you'd first learned his name and knew there had been some drama about his reporting career, but there hadn't been much detail about why, just implying he'd gotten in trouble for poking around. The oh-so minor detail of a fiancée caught in the crossfire was rather startling, though; Eddie had always come across as something as a loner, at least externally--Dr. Dan was the only person who has really shaken that perception.

"Well.." you shrugged, "Thank you for your concern, Lauren. I know you mean well, but I am an adult who can take care of myself."

You felt a little bad having to sign it so explicitly, but your landlady's persistent mothering streak needed to be nipped in the bud before it branched too far. Of course being able to see exactly where she was coming from (with her mind reflecting on memories of protecting a few of your neighbors from abusive partners and family) didn't exactly make it easy, but you didn't need her doing anything risky in the name of protecting you--you had the best early warning system in the world to keep yourself away from dangerous people. Of course, she didn't know that bit either--all she could see of you was what you presented, the partial mask of "normal human".

You politely excused yourself, taking your half-nibbled sandwich with you as you exited Lauren's home. You pondered what you had learned, frowning lightly to yourself. If your understanding of the timeline was correct, then Venom had entered Eddie's life sometime after he'd been fired from his job within the last year--meaning he'd entered the picture after Eddie's breakup with his fiancée. Is that what he'd meant about people walking out of their life? Or had that just been a general statement, conjured by the number of contacts that being a reporter brought?

The keys to your door scrabbled against the lock for a moment as you absent-mindedly stepped inside your home, kicking your shoes off.

There was also the whole thing about an interview--Eddie had mentioned the article twice now and it had been a prevalent thought during most of the time you'd spent with him outside of the hospital. He seemed very interested in your opinion about some newly proposed law that had recently been under heavy debate. You hadn't been paying too much attention, but apparently there was going to be an "official" record of anyone with powers of any kind. It had always been kind of odd hearing about it because, as far as you knew, those records were already being maintained, it just wasn't public knowledge to the "unpowered" majority. Was the department just too small now to keep up their work in the shadows? Were they expanding their reach in response to some top-secret incident? Or was this an independent move?

What could Eddie possibly want you to say in the interview? Did he think this was a big controversy within the mutant community? (Was he aware that there even was a community?) Or was he just looking for a credible quote, to actually put a mutant's words in his article to "spice up" the story?

You knew he'd asked in good faith--he seemed almost pre-prepared to accept rejection, actually. Unlike with Dr. Dan though, you got the sense that it wasn't exactly his natural response to be okay with that--it was a learned skill and a decently recent addition to his metaphorical toolbelt; he was being intentionally conscientious of you, pushing away his natural, rabid curiosity and other potential agendas in an attempt to not intimidate you. How much of that was his partner's urging, you had no real reference for.

A headache began to pulse behind your eyes and you squeezed them shut in an attempt to relieve the pressure. The thoughts of your neighbors--including those above and below--were starting to encroach on your brain, a mixed, multitoned cacophony. The old man two door down was upset about something on TV. The toddler above you desperately needed a nap but couldn't articulate their tiredness to their equally exhausted parent. The grade-school brothers across the hall were playing swords, compounding their excitement. The teen metalhead had some heavy drumbeat pounding and intense in their headphones. Someone walked by on the sidewalk, counting the windows. The college student somewhere below your feet was crying at a romcom. The housewife had just started a spicy segment of her novel. Someone, somewhere, was bored. Someone else was hungry. Another thought from someone, was this a new one? had you already experienced that feeling? Who was it? What was it?

Sudden pain in your foot pulled you partially out of the spiraling mental carousel --you'd accidentally kicked the doorframe of your bathroom while stumbling towards it. Desperate and nearly blind from the sensations all the thoughts kept inserting into your brain, you felt around the cabinet where you kept the strongest commercial sleeping pills money could buy. You shoved one of the chalky tablets into your mouth and forced yourself to swallow it before practically sprinting towards your bed.

You prayed the drugs would kick in fast enough. To finally give you some silence.

#fanfiction #writing #venom x reader #venom 2018 #venom movie #venom symbiote #selectively mute character #selectively mute reader #f!reader #eddie brock #ASL #mind reading #a touch of suspense

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