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It’s a sign that Venom’s been watching too many romcoms, more than anything.
They’re walking through the streets of Las Vegas, contemplating their next move, when Venom sees the sign.
Eddie! they shout, interrupting Eddie’s very important monologue about hotwiring cars, because it’s not as easy as Venom might assume it is, and they’ll need to pick a good one if they’re going to get anywhere, but not so good that its anti-theft measures are impenetrable, and it needs to be something that won’t immediately be missed by its owner, and that also won’t stick out like a sore thumb.
Eddie blinks, not thrilled about having his speech interrupted, but maybe this is important. When Venom doesn’t immediately continue, he replies, “...Yeah?”
Look! Venom says excitedly, and they turn Eddie’s head to look across the street, reposition his eyes to focus on something in particular.
At first, Eddie thinks Venom’s directed him to look at the wrong thing, because all he can see is a chapel. It’s a tiny little thing, sandwiched between two huge architectural wonders, barely able to draw any attention to itself. Eddie wouldn’t be surprised if it was made wholly of wood with how flimsy the walls look, shoddily painted white and liable to blow over at any minute. The only reason he knows it’s a chapel at all, and not some kid’s playhouse, is because there’s a cross standing atop the roof, looking just as unstable as the rest of the building.
There’s a tiny window on either side of the main entrance (which is just a normal door, no grand entryway) with frilly pink curtains protecting the interior from anyone trying to peek in. In the left window, there is a piece of paper taped to the glass that reads ‘CHEAP WEDDINGS’.
Eddie’s shaking his head before he even processes what he’s read. “No,” he says, definitive. “No way.”
Eddie! Venom whines, drawing out his name. You know you want to.
“I most definitely do not,” Eddie argues.
You saw that married couple earlier, Venom reminds him. You wanted that. I felt it, Eddie. You cannot hide this from me.
Eddie doesn’t respond immediately. Yes, he had seen the married couple, and he might have stared at them for just a few seconds longer than is socially acceptable. And yes, maybe he did want that—not necessarily the big white wedding, but the act of giving yourself to someone else, of committing the rest of your future to them. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, considering what he had almost had with Anne, but the ache in his chest had caught him off guard.
Only, he doesn’t want it with Anne anymore. He hasn’t wanted anything more from Anne than her friendship since meeting a certain symbiote. Which is the crux of the matter really, because Eddie wants the marriage and the wedding and the vows and the commitments and the celebration of the relationship, and he wants it all with the damn alien he shares a body with.
But, regardless of what Eddie wants, some things will simply never happen. He shakes his head again, as if to dispel the idea from his mind. Frankly, it’s ridiculous that it’s even gotten to the point where he’s seriously considering marrying an alien—Venom doesn’t even have any proof of identity. “Nope,” he says, and he hopes it comes across more decisive than he feels. “Things like that only happen in those shitty movies you watch, V. It’s probably a scam, or there’s a bunch of people waiting to mug us the moment we walk through the door.”
Eddie. Venom takes a step towards the chapel. I would like to be married to you, Eddie. I want that.
Eddie can hear in Venom’s voice that they’re telling the truth—can feel it across their bond that they’re not lying. The sincerity is breathtaking and more than a little terrifying. He takes a moment to consider it—actually, really, truly think about it, without immediately telling himself that it’s an unobtainable idea.
Venom takes another step towards the door. Knull needs a codex to escape Klyntar because we did not truly think any symbiote would ever care for a host enough to bring them back to life, they say, quiet. And yet, I care for you that much, Eddie. I did not think it was possible to love someone else this much. We are already bonded in the way that matters most to us symbiotes. They take another step. I want to be bonded in the way that matters most to humans, too. One more step—they’re only a few feet away from the entrance now.
Eddie mentally pushes Venom away from his limbs, stops being controlled like a puppet. He pauses, thinks. He hesitates for a moment, then asks something that’s been playing on his mind. “You… You knew what would happen if you brought me back to life after Riot killed me,” he says, not really a question at all. “You knew we would be bound together—inseparable.”
Venom pushes across the impression of a nod—it doesn’t even occur to them to deny it. It was that simple then, on the launchpad, watching Eddie’s life drain from his body, and it’s that simple now, even with the consequences of that choice trying to kill them.
“And you did it anyway,” Eddie continues. “You could have had this whole, indescribable life, up in the stars, or just travelling across Earth”—he gestures wildly, trying to encompass the entirety of human existence, and the infinite possibilities in the universe—“and yet you chose me.”
Again, Venom nods. I did.
Eddie stops and really considers it. “...Why? You gave up so much, and you barely even knew me.”
You are it for me, Eddie, they say. My perfect match. There isn’t anything else for me, not since meeting you. Nothing else could ever compare.
“You knew it would create the codex—knew it would risk unlocking Knull’s cage. You risked destroying the whole universe to save… me.”
Because if you had died, Eddie, I would have lost my universe.
This gives Eddie pause. He considers what Venom is saying, what they’re feeling. “You—you understand what this means, yes? What marriage means to humans?”
Venom sends the impression of a very solemn nod across their bond. The agreement to be bound together for the rest of our life, they say. The promise to look after each other in sickness and in health, through thick and thin.
Eddie licks his lips. “Till death do us part?” he asks quietly. His voice is husky.
Not even death could tear us apart, Eddie, Venom vows. They reach deep inside, to their bond, where their two separate beings merge into one—where they become indistinguishable from one another, because there isn’t an ‘Eddie’ and a ‘Venom’, there is simply them. Venom cups the codex, draws Eddie’s attention to where it sits in their body, lets him feel how their life forces are inseparable, forever joined. It has tried, and it failed. We are stronger now, together, and we cannot ever be apart.
For a long moment, Eddie can’t speak. He’s overwhelmed by the feeling of their bond—of them, as one singular being. He belongs to Venom, just as Venom belongs to him. There is no one without the other, not anymore. He realises, right then, that he won’t let anything get between himself and Venom. Fuck Knull, fuck the xenophage, fuck the US Army, and fuck the whole damn universe if it thinks any of that would be enough to separate them. He would do anything to keep feeling exactly how he’s feeling now—loved, safe, protected, special, loved.
Eddie exhales slowly. He’s stood right outside the chapel now—doesn’t remember how he got there, doesn’t remember if it was him or Venom that moved their body. He can feel Venom thrumming with energy, right beneath his skin, the feeling lighting Eddie’s nerves on fire. “You know this will all be for show, right? It won’t be a real, legally accepted marriage.”
Not for show, Eddie, Venom replies. For us. I do not care what the rest of the world thinks of us. I would like to be able to call you my husband.
That word, in Venom’s voice, sends a thrill through Eddie. He thinks about being Venom’s, about Venom being his… When he speaks again, he’s breathless. “Yeah, okay,” he murmurs.
Eddie, Venom says, voice loud and clear and emotional in a way it so rarely is. Will you marry me?
Eddie smiles. He must look completely strange, grinning to himself as he stands outside this dinky little chapel, but he doesn’t care. He’s never been this happy before—never realized how much he’d wanted to hear those words from the only being in the whole universe that he's ever truly loved. He nods, then clears his throat to find his voice. “Yes, love.”
He places a hand on the chapel’s door, and Venom wraps a tentacle around his wrist, twining all the way to his fingers. Together, they open the door and step through.
The inside of the chapel looks much like the exterior: a cheap facsimile of a church. There’s an aisle down the centre, with pews of either side made of rows of folding chairs. At the back there’s an altar (which Eddie is pretty sure is actually just a cardboard box with a tablecloth draped over it), with an honest-to-god, half-deflated balloon arch behind it. Everything was, at one point, bleach-white, but it’s aged into more of a beige colour. Someone has clearly tried to offset that with the abundance of pink accents on every surface—pink trim on all the fabric, pink bows on every corner—but it’s only really succeeded in making it look tacky.
The carpet, too, is beige, with an assortment of suspicious stains leading the entire way down the aisle. Eddie decides he’d really rather not know what else has gone on in this place.
There’s a man sat in one of the chairs along the back, looking incredibly bored as he scrolls on his phone. He’s wearing what is probably supposed to pass as a priest’s outfit, but instead looks like a cheap Halloween costume. He looks up as Eddie enters and smiles, entirely too happy to see someone gullible enough to actually walk through the door.
“Greetings,” he says, standing to shake Eddie’s hand. “What can I do for a fine gentleman such as yourself on this fine evening?”
“We want to get married,” Eddie blurts out.
The priest raises an eyebrow, looking behind Eddie for his apparent partner. “We?” he asks, confused, when no one else appears.
Eddie mentally nudges Venom, trusting they’ll know what to do. He’s typically against Venom revealing themselves to people who don’t need to know but, fuck it, he figures they’ve earned this. And he can hardly get married to himself (even though that is sorta kinda what he’s doing).
Venom is clearly thrilled about everything that’s happening. They manifest their usual over-the-shoulder tentacle which unfurls into their face, grinning even wider than normal. They jut their face forward, getting into the priest’s personal space, and confirm, “We.”
The priest, as Eddie has come to expect after a year of doing this sort of shit, looks completely fucking terrified. Eddie elbows whatever part of Venom he can reach and silently tells them to behave themselves.
“What on God’s green Earth…” the priest mutters, unable to take his eyes off Venom.
Eddie clears his throat. It’s only a matter of time until the xenophage or the Army track them down, after all. “I know how insane this must look,” he says, “but could we… hurry this up a little bit?”
The priest looks back at him, dumbfounded. He gulps. “You…” He points a shaking finger at Eddie. “Want to marry that.” He turns the finger to Venom.
Venom growls at him, snaps their jaw forward towards the finger still pointed at them. The priest yelps and jumps back.
“C’mon, man,” Eddie says. “This can hardly be the weirdest thing you’ve seen in Vegas.”
The priest is still looking at Venom like they’ll eat his head, wary of getting too close. “No, this… This probably takes the cake,” he says, nodding to himself woodenly. He turns to Eddie, apparently trying to pretend Venom doesn’t exist and speaking only to the human. “You… You good for the money? It’s two hundred bucks to get hitched, if you really want.”
Venom takes the money Martin gave them and waves it in front of the priest’s face. “Twenty dollars, and we don’t eat your face,” they say, with the tone they normally save for criminals.
The priest shies away from Venom’s outstretched tentacle and looks at Eddie, rightfully concerned. “You couldn’t even buy the marriage license with that,” he says, hesitantly.
Eddie just shrugs, the action mirrored somewhat by Venom. “We’re fugitives,” he says, unbothered, “and Venom’s not exactly human. We’re not too worried about doing this legally.”
With one final look between them, and also what looks like a quick prayer, the priest takes the money from Venom’s tentacle. “...Fine.” He stuffs the bills into his pocket, then stalks off to stand in front of the altar while muttering something about needing a new job. He gestures impatiently for Eddie to follow him.
Eddie does so, and he and Venom fall into formation in front of the priest. Venom is floating directly in front of Eddie, stretched far enough away that they can see each other properly.
The priest clears his throat. “Right…” He takes a set of cue cards out from his pocket and flips through them. “Normally I would start by welcoming the guests to this ceremony”—he gestures to the rows of empty chairs—“and by telling a romantic story about the couple. But, since you guys threatened to bite my head off, I think we’ll skip that.” He thumbs through a few more cards. “Please tell me you’ve at least written your own vows.”
Venom nods, eager. Eddie hasn’t prepared anything—didn’t know this was a thing that could happen until fifteen minutes ago. He nods anyway, because he’ll always be happy to talk about what Venom means to him.
“Great.” The priest nods. “Then let’s get this over with. Do you…” He looks at Eddie pointedly.
“Edward Brock,” Eddie fills in.
“Do you, Edward Brock, take…” he trails off, looking at Venom this time.
“Venom,” Venom says.
“...Take Venom to be your…” he trails off again, now looking between both of them.
Eddie looks to Venom, and finds them already staring at him. “Partner?” he suggests. “Husband?”
Venom grins, even wider than normal. “Husband,” they agree.
The priest swallows loudly. “Great.” He turns back to Eddie. “Do you, Edward Brock, take Venom to be your husband, your best friend, the love of your life?”
Eddie looks at Venom—really looks. He looks at the alien that had terrified him and tried to kill him only a year ago, and that he would give up the entire world for, if it meant Venom would be safe. He thinks about how far they’ve come, from uneasy compromise, to willing symbiosis, and now something that the English language simply doesn’t have words for, because what they have is unlike anything else. He loves Venom, it’s that simple, and yet it’s so much more. “I do,” he says, and he hopes Venom can feel his sincerity, how he has never been so sure of anything in his life.
The priest exhales, looking at Eddie like he’s crazy, before turning to Venom. “And do you, Venom, take Edward Brock to be your husband, your best friend, the love of your life?”
Venom stares at Eddie. Their eyes are twinkling in the fluorescent lights, maybe even tearing up, and Eddie thinks they’ve never looked more beautiful. Their black pseudoskin, their sharp teeth and their permanent grin, their pearlescent eyes that curl around their head—he can’t believe that Venom is his, that no one else gets them.
“I do,” Venom says. Their voice is quieter than normal, more intimate, meant purely for Eddie.
The priest nods. “Edward, you may read your vows.”
Eddie clears his throat. “V, I haven’t exactly… prepared anything here, but I don’t think I need to. What I said before we fought Carnage was true: I was no one—a loser—before I met you. Together, we are something that I couldn’t have even dreamed of. You make me special. You make me want to be someone that deserves you. I know we had a somewhat rocky start, but I can’t imagine my life without you—it wouldn’t be a life, y’know, because what we have together is a life, and everything before you was just existing. I think I’ve forgotten how to do anything except love you.”
Eddie still remembers preparing his vows for his and Anne’s wedding. He’d had months, and he’d read hundreds of guides online, but nothing had ever felt right. It’s the exact opposite now, like he’s opened his mouth and he can’t stop the words from falling. Like he needs Venom to know how much he loves them, like he needs the priest and the rest of the world to know, like he wants to shout it from the rooftops. He consciously tries to open his mind to Venom, to allow the symbiote to feel what he’s feeling, in the hopes that he can convey even a tenth of his emotions.
“I feel like I’m bursting with how much I love you, sometimes,” Eddie continues. “Like the feeling doesn’t fit inside my chest. You understand me, more than anyone else ever could. You’re always there for me, giving me what I need, even when I don’t realize that I need it. What we have is more than anyone else could ever imagine—deeper than anything I’ve ever experienced before—and I vow to you that I will spend the rest of our life protecting that. We will learn and grow together, and we will be together through thick and thin, for as long as we have each other. I vow to give you every ounce of love I have. I don’t say it enough, Venom: I love you.”
He doesn’t feel like he’s done. He feels like he could keep talking for hours, like he would keep finding new ways to express his love for Venom. With the way Venom’s looking at him now, tears welling in their eyes, Eddie thinks that he might just do that anyway.
The priest looks at him closely, ensuring he’s finished speaking. He blinks, thankfully decides not to comment (because Venom might genuinely eat his head, and Eddie wouldn’t put up too much of a fight), then turns to Venom. “Venom, you may read your vows.”
Venom clears their throat, which is a habit they’ve picked up from Eddie and only do when they’re nervous, because they don’t have a throat to clear in the traditional human sense. “Eddie,” they start, voice soft like it always is when they say Eddie’s name. It’s almost a whole sentence, with all of Venom’s love poured into the single word. “A symbiote’s perfect match is something so rare that some believed it to be a myth. Something never before seen, only speculated about. And yet, what we have is more than a perfect match—symbiosis, yes, and genetic compatibility, but also a mutual care, and trust, and love. I truly did not think I could ever feel this deeply for another being, like my entire life revolves around you, like I cannot imagine myself without you. There is no me without you anymore. I betrayed my entire species to stay with you, Eddie, and I would do it again and again without hesitation. I love you. I count myself as the luckiest being in all the stars that our paths crossed, and the happiest that I get to spend the rest of our life together.”
Eddie is so caught up in tracing his eyes over Venom’s face, trying to commit every inch of this moment to memory, bathing in every overpowering emotion that crosses their bond, that he startles when the priest speaks. Venom chuckles at him, a small private smile on their lips just for him.
“Now,” the priest asks, bringing his hands together, “do you have rings?”
Eddie blinks, looking between the priest and Venom. Before he can contemplate robbing the closest jewellery store, though, Venom speaks.
“I do,” they say. They bring Eddie’s left hand up to eye level. A small tentacle appears out of his ring finger and wraps around it. It sits snugly where any wedding band would sit, and then it sinks into his skin, leaving behind a dark, almost tattoo-like ring.
Eddie rubs at the ring a few times in disbelief. It doesn’t budge, it acts like it’s part of his skin and like it has always been there. He looks up at Venom. All he can say is, “I don’t have a ring for you.”
Even without shoulders in this form, Venom still manages a perfectly passable shrug. “I don’t always have hands,” they say, unconcerned. “We can simply share this one.”
The priest looks at Eddie’s new ring, shocked, but also like he should’ve expected something crazy like that. He shakes his head and says, “Your ring exchange is complete, you have made your promises for your married life, and you have given your consent in marriage. You are now joined in the most sacred commitment. May you two be blessed with a lifetime of happiness, health, success and love. By the power vested in me by the State of Nevada, I now pronounce you married.” He pauses. “You may… kiss?”
It’s not their first time kissing. It is their first time kissing with any sort of audience, but Eddie imagines the priest is likely covering his eyes or looking away entirely. He leans forward, butting his forehead gently against Venom’s. Eddie sighs, content, trusting that Venom knows exactly how he feels. Then he tilts his head and presses his lips against Venom’s mouth. It’s more teeth than lips, like always, exactly how Eddie likes it, and Venom hums into it, kissing him back. Then Eddie pulls back, and he just smiles at his symbiote.
A few minutes later, they’re walking out of the chapel together. Nothing has changed, not really—they’re still wanted for murders they did not commit (and some that they definitely did), they’re still being hunted by the US Army and a freaky organic wood chipper, they still hold the key that is keeping the most powerful being in the universe locked away. And yet, Eddie feels lighter, like he and Venom could deal with all of that shit, simply because they're together. He feels, for the first time since leaving Mexico, hope.
Eddie, Venom says, as they’re walking aimlessly down the Strip. My husband. My other half. What do you want to do now?
Eddie smiles at the pet names, at how pleased Venom sounds to be using them. “My love,” he responds, matching Venom’s sappy tone, basking in how the word feels in his mouth. “I think we can do whatever we want.”