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December. Pure chaos.
Especially so close to Christmas. You had no time for anything, anything that wasn't running around trying to find the perfect gifts for family or sitting wrapping presents for hours at a time. This was the first Christmas ever where Eddie was actually panicking. Because who knows what to get your Symbiotic children during this time of year?
"Riot, hey, Riot! Get off the tree, what did I tell you about climbing on that damn tree?" Eddie hissed gently at the Symbiote that was climbing his way towards the star on the tree. Riot grumbled a little and was plucked off the branches by Venom, who was placing the toddler back on the ground
"Listen to your Dad." Venom said gently to Riot who rushed towards Eddie standing in the kitchen. The Symbiote did grabby hands at him, who lifted the little Symbiote onto his hip to look at what he was doing.
"Your siblings are helping, do you wanna help?" Eddie looked at Riot who nodded and sat down on the edge of the counter. Next to him was Scream, swinging her legs happily off the counter with Agony at her side, holding a tube of purple icing. "Just try not to squeeze the tube too hard for goodness sake." He gently warned and gave a tube to Riot who held it firmly, not enough to make it explode.
"We're making Christmas cookies." Scream said to her brother with a happy smile, going on her knees next to a few cookies given to decorate. "You can decorate this one." Scream gave Riot two cookies to ice and sat cross-legged a little further on the counter to give her brother some space. Riot sat down next to her, shakily applying the icing onto his cookie. Scream was drawing a little snowman on hers, while Agony was trying to fit the family on hers. It wasn't going so well, but Eddie couldn't help smiling when he looked over and saw. "Dad stop looking! It's a surprise!"
"Okay okay," Eddie held his hands up in surrender, "I won't look." He smiled and looked over to Lasher and Phage laying down away from the others, tear-drop eyes narrowed in focus while coloring in their cookies. Neither of the Symbiote children had absolutely amazing artistic skills, but the cookies were still beautiful.
"Do you like this one, Dad?" Dylan, his more-human-son came over and showed him the little plate of cookies he had decorated himself. He had made a little Eddie and Venom stick figure on his surrounded by dots of white snow wearing silly Santa hats. Scream and Riot shuffled over on their knees to take a peek from over Eddie's arms.
"I love them, Dylan. I like how you drew your father." He smiled at the little stick-figure of Venom and Dylan smiled. "Go show him, he'll love it." Eddie gestured Dylan away and he rushed off towards Venom who was holding Carnage on his lap, to stop him from trying to run into the tree.
"I wish I could draw on these cookies as good as him." Scream whimpered quietly.
"You don't have to be good at drawing to make a cookie, love. I love yours." Eddie reminded and gave the top of her head a little kiss. "Now go on and finish, they need to cool down before you can eat them." Scream and Riot shuffled back away to their plates of cookies and continued decorating them. Sleeper was walking along the countertop in his feline-form, meowing at all the kids and sniffing at the cookies they were decorating. Lasher and Toxin shooed the cat away when he tried to nibble at their cookies with a hiss, and Sleeper scowled.
"Stop trying to eat their cookies, mister." Eddie said to Sleeper and tapped the feline's nose gently, watching him scrunch and wriggle it in annoyance. Eddie let the kids alone for a minute, seeing them too concentrated on decorating to cause any serious mischief for the time being and wandered into the living room where Venom was sat down with Carnage in his lap, who had vigorously shook his head at the idea of decorating any cookies with his siblings. Venom was jiggling him up and down on his left-leg to keep the Symbiote child relatively relaxed.
"He is insisting that he can open a present now." Venom said to Eddie when he sat down next to him.
"Is that so? That'll ruin the surprise for tomorrow." Eddie said to his son who squirmed with a grunt.
"But I want to open one now." Carnage whined and kicked his feet, managing to slip out of Venom's grasp for a moment and made a beeline for the tree. His father quickly got up and snagged the child by the ankle, holding him upside down and carrying him back towards Eddie.
"Santa will give you a big lump of coal if you open a present before Christmas." Venom said to Carnage who whined. Venom was still relatively new to this idea of some red jolly guy who jumped into people's houses to leave presents for kids. But it was a fun idea he got behind, and it made their kids behave just a little bit more than usual. "Do not disappoint the red man before Christmas, or your presents will fly out the window and go back to the North Pole."
"I don't want my presents taken away!" Carnage cried at the idea, covering his eyes.
"Then you must be patient and wait until tomorrow. Okay?" Venom raised a non-existent eyebrow at Carnage who nodded rapidly. "Good, now go play with Dylan." Venom placed his son back down, watching Carnage run over to Dylan crouched on the floor with Sleeper, playing with a toy.
"You're getting the hang of it." Eddie grinned at Venom who turned his head to look down at him.
"I still wonder why your society insists on this Santa culture, but I will get behind it if it means they behave." Venom replied and gave the top of Eddie's head a little kiss. "It is also nice seeing them this happy."
"It's really nice." Eddie murmured and leaned his head against his arm, feeling it move to wrap around him. "Told you, you'd be an amazing Dad, I don't know why you doubted me." Eddie chuckled quietly and shut his eyes for a brief moment, simply enjoying the quiet chatter amongst the Symbabies on the counter and the floor.
"It is.. Unusual to have such a bond with your off-spring. Once you were born, having a dependent relationship on your parent was considered a weakness, it was lethal. Kill or be killed, they say." Venom said, quiet enough that the others couldn't hear. "I am happy to have this bond with them, as a Dad, and with you. I am very happy to have you here to share this with." Venom was practically purring, full of love in his heart.
"Sap." Eddie said, affectionately, and smiled. "I love you."
"I love you too."
The peace lasted a mere minute or two until three of the Symbiotes began squealing, and icing was getting everywhere. Riot was squirting his tube of icing at Agony and Scream who tried to fight back with their own, but instead ended up covered in sticky paste. Venom came over and scooped the three up in his arms, hearing their little mumbles of apology but Eddie was stifling back laughter and so was Vee. "Now you must bath." Venom said and immediately they were squirming and squealing their "NO!"s and pleas to be let go. Venom sat on the couch with the triplets and started vigorously licking them clean, similar to a queen with her kittens. Riot was grumbling in protest, Scream and Agony sat there in defeat while they were being licked clean.
"I'm so glad that's not my job." Eddie grinned at Venom who shot him a look at the corner of his eye while continuing to clean them until the children were spotless. While he was bathing them, Eddie finished gathering the cookies they had lathered in icing and sprinkles and put them on a tray.
"Do you like my cookie, Dad?" Lasher and Phage said in unison, holding theirs up. They both did fancy snowflakes.
"I love them. Quick, put them on the tray and you can have them tomorrow for breakfast." Eddie watched them crawl over the countertop and place them on the tray with the rest and set aside, covered heavily so Sleeper couldn't get into them. Eddie shot his feline-son a look of warning and the cat 'mrrow' in reply, with a flick of his tail.
"Agony got some of her icing on me." Phage grumbled and rubbed some off his cheek.
"Don't tell Daddy that or he'll lick you clean as well." Eddie said quietly and held Phage still while rubbing the rest of the icing away from his face with his thumb, helping the Symbiote down onto the floor while Toxin and Lasher clambered down themselves. "Be careful now, stay in the living room with your siblings, things are hot out here." Eddie said to them and turned on the sink to chuck their plates and other cutlery in to soak for a while. The Septuplets were sitting in the living room together now and playing with Sleeper in his feline form, rolling around a ball of yarn and dangling toys in his face. The Symbiote may not be a real cat, but he played the part well.
Dylan was sitting in front of the sofa, leaning against it while reading a comic, one given for his birthday a few months ago. Venom was sitting on the couch supervising until he turned to see Eddie standing in front of the sink and decided to come over, towering over his human from behind and wrapping two arms around his waist, hugging him tight.
"You okay love?"
"Of course. Why would I not be?"
"You're awfully clingy lately." Eddie teased playfully, giving his clawed hand a rub that was resting on his stomach.
"I simply adore my human-husband a bit more than I should." Venom purred into the back of his neck. "I cannot leave you all to yourself."
"Aren't you adorable?" Eddie smiled and tilt his head back and went onto his tiptoes to kiss Venom's chin, who purred louder in approval. They stood like that for a little while, Venom swaying subtly while holding him and was about to close his eyes.
"Thank you." The Symbiote murmured quietly against his shoulder, holding Eddie tighter.
"For what?"
"For this." Venom turned his head to look back on the Septuplets all squealing and chasing after Sleeper in the living room, and Dylan following behind with Carnage in his arms. "You showed me what I could have easily missed out on if it was not for you. I never knew you could have such a connection with your offspring... And, for raising them like they were your own. The Sextuplets may not be tied to you by genetics, but sometimes it feels like they are." Venom said quietly and nuzzled more into the back of his neck. "I knew I made the right choice that night."
"They'll always be considered my babies just as much as yours. Genetics mean nothing in this household." Eddie replied and turned so he was facing the Symbiote, pecking his chin. "You don't have to thank me for anything, my love. I'm doing my job. C'mon." Eddie took his much-larger hand in his and pulled him into the living room to sit down. Venom sat down first and had Eddie curled against him comfortably on the couch, watching the Symbiotes crawl and play on the floor in front of them. Carnage tried to go for the tree but Dylan quickly caught him and brought him back with the others, distracting the mischievous Symbaby with one of their toys.
A life Eddie never knew he would have. Sat on the couch nestled up to his alien spouse, with seven baby Symbiotes and two human-Symbiote hybrid children playing together in front of the Christmas tree. A life so strange that it was perfect. It may not make sense to anyone else in the world, but it made perfect sense to Eddie. His family was perfect, and he would do anything for them. "Don't forget, Anne and her family are coming tomorrow for dinner. Best behavior, promise?" Eddie said to the kids who turned their heads to him and nodded rapidly.
"We promise." They all said in unison and continued playing together. Venom watched them intently while Eddie had his eyes shut, a clawed thumb gently stroking his shoulder and holding him tight. It was nearing around eight o'clock, and Venom jiggled Eddie awake gently and got up from where he was sitting.
"Bed time." Venom said and scooped a very tired Carnage and Agony from the ground, walking into their bedroom. The rest of the Sextuplets followed behind and began clambering into their little beds. The room was big enough to fit all six of them plus Sleeper and Dylan, who were a little older so their bedtime was later. Venom settled Carnage down into his little bed, nuzzling him comfortably and stroking his cheek with the tip of his claw.
"Is it true that Santa won't come if we don't sleep?" Agony said sleepily, rubbing her eyes as she got into her bed.
"Yes, my love. Now go to sleep." Venom said softly and came over to nuzzle her cheek. Agony settled down rather quickly then and so did the other kids. Venom and Eddie said their goodnight and shut the door with a sigh of relief. When the kids were out cold they were usually asleep until around seven in the morning, six if they were unlucky. Sleeper and Dylan were trusted to their own devices, so leaving them on the couch for an hour or two while they went to sleep was always okay. Eddie finished placing the rest of the presents under the tree for the Sextuplets while Venom went into the bedroom.
"What time are we allowed to wake up tomorrow?"
"Seven, the little ones won't do any later. Stay in bed for a little longer if you want to." Eddie chuckled and came over, kissing the top of Dylan's head and ruffling his blond locks. "Night kiddo, don't stay up too late. Night Sleeper." Eddie said and stroked the top of the feline's head, walking into the bathroom to clean up before going into the bedroom and shutting the door.
Venom was already curled up in the bed. His feet always hung off the edge, being as large as he was, but it was never a bother. They even invested in a bigger bed but it was still to small for his long legs. Venom pulled back the covers and opened up his arms, which Eddie shuffled into and curled against his body, draping an arm around his neck and a leg over his waist. Venom nestled Eddie into his arms and bundled the blanket around them, placing his head on top of Eddie's and purred in content. "I hope they enjoy tomorrow."
"They will, love. They will. Stop worrying."
"Good.." Eddie murmured, closing his eyes and kissing along Venom's neck gently. "I love you."
"I love you too." Venom purred and settled down to sleep, and Eddie did the same.
"DAD! DADDY! WAKE UP!" Carnage shouted from outside their door, opening it and running inside. Close after came the rest of his siblings, all climbing into the bed and clambering all over them both. "It's Christmas! Come on! Santa must have come by now!" Carnage crawled onto Venom and started bouncing up and down on his shoulder. Eddie grumbled and buried closer into Venom for a moment, still half-asleep until the climbing and crawling got more severe. Eddie blinked his eyes open and looked at Agony and Scream sitting on his back, tapping gently to wake him up.
"I'm up, I'm up. Babe, wake up." Eddie shook Venom gently and the Symbiote stirred with a growl, white eyes blinking open to see six of their kids diving and jumping on them both like no tomorrow. The Symbiote toddlers were a lot bigger than regular toddlers. They were around five-feet-tall, and pretty heavy, so jumping on Eddie was kinda lethal considering his size. "None of you have gone into the living room right?"
"Nope, we ran straight here!" Lasher insisted and sat on top of Venom, smiling.
"Good, now give us a minute, your father is still half asleep." Eddie pat Venom's face playfully and sat up, holding Scream in his lap while they continued to talk amongst themselves excitedly. After two minutes Venom was awake and ready to get up, so the kids rushed to the bedroom door and patiently waited while their parents got up and ready. "Alright, go and see if he's come." Eddie opened the door and let them rush out quickly, watching the Symbiote-toddlers run down the stairs. Eddie followed behind, with Venom coming after him. The immediate sound of squeals and yells of excitement made Eddie smile, because the children went running straight for the tree and picking up the presents.
"Hey hey! Don't rip into them yet!" Eddie said, coming over and sitting the kids on the ground. "I'll pass you presents to open, mmkay? Santa told me which ones were the best." Eddie chuckled and they all nodded eagerly. Venom sat down with them, his huge body sitting there with his knees tucked to his chest, curious to watch how this went. This was the kids' first Christmas, Symbiotes aged a lot faster than regular human toddlers.
Eddie was on his knees next to the tree and gave the little Symbiotes their gifts, so they didn't rip into them quickly and ruin the magic too fast. They seemed to enjoy this method a lot more, because it built anticipation for the next present. Venom watched curiously, and started helping as well. After a few minutes Sleeper and Dylan came down the stairs and sat with them, opening their own gifts. The toddlers all squealed and explained in pure excitement for what they got. It was hard to know what Symbabies would want for Christmas, but they seemed to have done a good job.
"Look at my toy car!" Riot said enthusiastically once the present opening was finished, crawling around the place and pushing his car along. Scream and Agony had little dolls to play with and brush their hair, considering they had long prehensile tendril hair themselves. Scream and Agony were sat cross-legged taking turns to brush each other's dolls. Lasher and Phage were making their action figures fight one another. Carnage was chasing after Riot with his own toy car, bashing into it and doing some sick tricks using his tendrils and making ramps.
Dylan had more grown-up stuff, clothing, comics and accessories. Sleeper also had some grown-up things, well, things that Eddie could consider grown-up for a Symbiote, which wasn't too far off from what Dylan also had. Eddie also had presents for Venom, nothing like what you'd typically get your husband, but he got a lot of chocolate for him. A lot.
Venom had also gone out of his way to get something for Eddie, with Anne and Dan's assistance and suggestions. He had gotten Eddie another bracelet for his collection around his wrist and a frame that had a picture of the whole family together. Eddie loved them, and Venom loved his as well. Eddie was sat smiling at his kids, watching them playing with their new gifts. Growing up Eddie never had this, he never got to see his father smiling while he got nice things. This was something they didn't celebrate, it was a punishment. Eddie couldn't have nice things because he was the reason his mother died.
"You did good." Venom purred gently next to him. "Forget about him. This is your Christmas, this is ours. You gave them what you couldn't have growing up, and they'll remember this forever." Venom nuzzled the side of his head and Eddie leaned back against him with a smile of his own.
The day only got better, because Anne and her own family were coming over for Christmas dinner. Anne, Dan and their three children arrived around two o'clock to eat, and they all gathered around a big table to finally eat. Venom and Eddie had both improved their culinary skills since they first bonded, and the meal was delicious. The Symbabies spent time with the three kids, showing them their toys and playing with them. While Venom, Anne, Dan and Eddie spent time together and catching up on everything that's happened in their life up until now.
Everyone was happy. Everyone was content.
And this was Eddie's best Christmas ever.