Eddie woke up with a gasp, breathing hard and drenched in sweat, his bed smelling rank with the scent of it. He jumped out of bed and looked around himself frantically, his mind on overdrive, the image of Riot gutting him still fresh in his mind. He grabbed his gun from his nightstand, aiming it into the darkness of the room.

He was breathing rapidly, nearly to the point of hyperventilating. He could not see through the dark, and his mind played tricks on him as he thought he heard noises in the room. He started to shiver, seized by a sudden cold, wrapped up in its embrace. He looked to his right and saw the source of the sudden drop in temperature. A window had been left open, allowing the air from outside into his bedroom.

Eddie sighed and put away his weapon, but leaving the safety off just in case. "Did you open the window?"

"Yes," Venom said from within his mind, his voice reassuring to the human. "You were hot."

"Thank you for that." Eddie said, running a hand through his hair to fix it up a little. "I guess I forgot to turn the fan on."

"You are welcome, Eddie." The symbiote was quiet for a moment before he said, "you were having that dream again. I saw it."

"Yeah, the same one I've been having every night for the last week or so." Eddie sighed nd sat on his bed. "I can't seem to get past it, and I really hate not being able to sleep anymore without dreaming about dying."

A tendril appeared from his body and began to rub his back in a reassuring gesture. "There is nothing to be afraid of anymore. He is dead now."

"I know that. Believe me, I know that there was no way that Riot could have survived that explosion, but sometimes I wonder about it. What would happen if he had survived."

'If Riot had survived, he would have most likely found us again by now. It has been three months since it happened, and you seem to be getting worse. I don't know what I can do for you, and your body is not damaged anymore, so there is nothing for me to fix."

Eddie felt breath on his face, and he looked up to see Venom was eye-level with him, gazing at him thoughtfully. "How did you feel, when he killed me? All I felt was pain, and then nothing. He got me pretty good."

"We were angry. Worried that we would not be able to heal you, but we did. Relieved when you came back to us. No one hurts my Eddie." Venom nuzzled his face and lay his head on Eddie's shoulder.

"I know, bud, I know. No one hurts you, either." Eddie said softly, petting Venom's head like he would with a cat. Venom licked his face, making him giggle lightly and gently push him away. "Stop," he said playfully, humor in his voice. "That tickles."

"Happy now?" The symbiote asked, smiling and showing his teeth. "Hungry? Want chocolate."

Eddie laughed and got up off of his bed. "Yeah, I bet you are, you're ALWAYS hungry." He went into the kitchen and got out two candy bars, offering one to Venom, who quickly ate it almost immediately while Eddie ate his more slowly.

Apparently too slow for Venom, who tried to snatch it out of his hand with one of his tendrils, but Eddie caught him in time, gently smacking it away. "Back off, this one is mine!" He said, laughing again.

The dream was all but forgotten now, the images fading rapidly from his mind. Venom was right, there was nothing to be afraid of now. That chapter of his life had come to a close, and a new one had begun. He stood there, thinking about his past and now his future, wondering what it would be like to have Venom in his body for the rest of his life.

"Eddie?" The symbiote in question broke through his thoughts. "Okay, Eddie?"

The young reporter returned to Earth to feel Venom prodding his insides curiously, slightly worried for his human friend. He rubbed at his eyes and cleared his throat. "Yeah, bud. Yeah, I'm okay." He said, closing the fridge and moving over to the couch in his living room to sit down for a few minutes. "I'm just thinking about something, that's all. Nothing to worry about."

"You were thinking of your future. What will happen after this?" Venom confirmed softly. He shifted under Eddie's skin, twisting and turning as he patrolled his body for any issues that he could fix, making sure that nothing was hurting his friend and host. "You wondered if we would ever leave you?"

Eddie sighed. It was never very easy to keep things from the symbiote for very long, if he was even able to. He was in his head, after all. "It's not like that at all, buddy. I was just thinking if-"

"Do you not want us with you anymore?" Venom asked, and Eddie was surprised to hear that his voice sounded somewhat saddened by this false revelation. Venom curled tightly around his heart, circling it. "Have we not proven ourselves to you, Eddie? Are you still frightened of us?"

"No, Vee, I'm not scared of you, actually quite comfortable with you now, but I'm just wondering if you'll still be here when I'm older. If I ever have kids, stuff like that."

Venom manifested out of his side, just a disembodied head. His tendrils snaked up the side of Eddie's shirt, stopping to caress his face gently and lovingly. "As long as you live, I will always be with you. Keeping you safe. Protecting you. You will never be alone. Never lonely." He licked his human, his tongue soft, gently running over his flesh. This was soothing to Eddie, calming his fears and worries.

"Okay," He said softly, petting venom's head, the symbiote purring softly within him, vibrating his bones. "Okay. I believe you."

He walked out to the balcony of his apartment room, staring u at the stars twinkling above him in the night sky. They truly were a sight to behold. He listened to the sounds of the city, of honking horns and bustling people, hurrying to reach their next destination. The wind blew, shaking the trees and bushes, and Eddie shivered at the sudden cold.

He felt a heavy substance began coating his legs and torso, and looked down at venom covering his lower half, keeping him warm. "Better, Eddie?" He whispered in his mind. "Warm now?"

Eddie nodded. "Yes. Much better" he patted the covering. "Thanks."

"Will always take care of my Eddie," The symbiote said, with more affection than usual. "Never let you feel anything but happy. Safe with me."

Eddie looked below him at the never sleeping city, and smiled. "Come on, let's go get us that chocolate."