A Symbiotic Relationship

Summary: Tony is held prisoner, but rescued by a very strange hero
Warning(s): Spoilers for the Iron Man movies and Venom; AU; explicit sexual content; references to torture; non-explicit eating of a bad guy by an alien symbiote
Pairing: Venom Symbiote/Eddie Brock/Tony Stark

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They’d grabbed him before he could get to his suit. They’d pulled the comm out of his ear, so he couldn’t call JARVIS and ask his AI to call one of the Avengers or another ally to come and rescue him. He was bruised and aching, his whole body one throbbing bruise. And he was looking at one of the thugs who’d pulled his chair round to face him, straddling it and leaning forward. “You tell us what we want to know, Stark, and we’ll let you go. You have no reason to say no.”

“Well, let’s be honest. I have every reason to say no.” Tony smirked, hiding his wince as his split lip pulled. “I mean, we both know that if you had any intention of letting me live, you’d have made a better attempt at keeping your face covered.”

“You think you’ll be able to recognise me later?” the man asked, his voice soft, though not gentle.

Tony laughed. “You know who I am, or you wouldn’t have snatched me. I’m a genius. And I’ve got the funds and equipment to back me up.” He leaned back, almost casually. Careful to keep his captor’s eyes on himself and not on the movement he’d noticed out of the corner of his eye. “You can’t afford to let me walk out of here alive.”

The thug shrugged; a careless, casual movement. “I can make your death quick and painless. Or I can deliver you to your demise in the most painful way imaginable.” He paused. “The choice is yours.”

Something moved in the shadows. Tony saw it out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t let himself react to it. Instead, keeping his eyes on the thug, he asked, “Are you going to talk me to death? Because I’ve got to say, that’ll be a pretty painful way to go.”

Narrowing his eyes, the thug raised his hand, preparing to hit Tony. Before he could connect, however, a black tentacle shot out of the shadows. It wrapped around the thug’s wrist and jerked backwards, sending him toppling to the floor.

A huge, black figure descended upon the man, obscuring the body from Tony’s view. There was one single, high-pitched scream and then the sound of….

“You’re eating him?” Tony couldn’t help the note of disgust that crept into his voice.

The figure turned and looked towards Tony, revealing a truly alien face. White eyes gleamed above a mount filled with rows of sharp fangs and a long pink tongue flicked out as the creature said, “You sound like Eddie.”

Tony opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the creature’s body shook and abruptly shrank down, morphing into an ordinary man who wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and spoke in a disgusted tone. “Again, Venom?”

A smoky black tendril escaped from Tony’s chest, forming into Venom’s face. The creature’s voice sounded almost sulky as he said, “You told me not to eat anymore heads. I didn’t eat another head.”

“Oh, God,” the man muttered, turning green.

Tony cleared his throat, drawing the man’s attention to himself. It also had the added effect of drawing the alien’s attention to him and he glanced warily at it, before addressing the man. “Who are you?”

“I’m Eddie. Eddie Brock.” The man quickly ran over to Tony’s side and slipped behind the chair. There was a tugging on the rope that held Tony fast and then Eddie muttered, “I can’t untie the ropes. And I don’t have a knife on me.” He paused. “Venom?”

Venom’s head appeared on Tony’s other side and he spoke in an almost sulky tone. “I’m not eating rope. Rope doesn’t taste good.”

“Venom, is it?” Tony held back his wince when the face spun to face him and he found himself looking into those white eyes. “I’m Tony Stark. Do you know me? Does your host know me?”

“Hey!” Eddie’s protest was immediate and sounded offended. “I’m not his host. We have a symbiotic relationship.”

Ignoring the words, Venom focused his attention entirely on Tony. “Eddie knows you as a billionaire and an inventor. But I don’t need money or things.”

Tony nodded. “You need food.” He kept his gaze away from the thug’s remains. “Money will make getting the food you need far easier.” He paused for a second or two and then said, “But I can’t help you if you leave me tied up.”

“We have an understanding.” Venom’s head disappeared and the next moment, Tony felt the ropes that bound his wrists loosened. He winced at the ache, bringing his hands round in front of him to rub at the vivid red marks.

Venom’s full body formed in front of Tony and before he could react, he found himself gathered into Venom’s arms, carried towards the window. Venom leaped out and Tony grabbed onto the huge body, trying to catch his breath.

Landing on the ground below sent a jolt through Tony’s whole body and he gave a short gasp, clutching at the body that surrounded him. The night was cold and he shivered as the biting wind sliced through his clothes.

“You’re shivering,” Venom said.

“It’s cold.” Tony couldn’t help but lean into the heat that surrounded him. Venom’s skin, if it could be called that, was smooth and hairless against his hand. “You feel warm,” he commented. “Is your body temperature higher than that of us humans?” He paused and then asked, “Can Eddie feel the cold, wherever he goes when you take over?”

“Eddie is perfectly safe and well,” Venom stated. “I would let him out, but he’s not strong enough to carry you home. I am.”

Tony noted that Venom didn’t say your home. He was speaking like they would share a home. Which made sense, Tony supposed. After all, he’d offered to feed Venom. Maybe in Venom’s culture, offering food was the same as offering to live together. They would have to have a talk about how their peoples and cultures differed later.

“Where is your home?” Venom asked.

Tony looked around, taking in exactly where they were and gave Venom the directions to the tower. Then, he clutched onto the larger being as Venom began heading in that direction, leaping high in the air and ducking into the shadows whenever there was movement that might indicate there was someone there.

By the time they reached the tower, Venom’s body heat was sufficient enough to warm Tony up. And when they got inside, it was almost too hot; but even though Tony could get down and walk on his own, he decided that being carried felt much more comfortable. And his body was starting to ache and throb, as adrenaline wore off and he realised just how much danger he was in.

Tony directed Venom around the security and towards the elevator. Once the doors opened, Venom put Tony on the floor and then shrank down, morphing back into Eddie.

The two of them stepped into the elevator and the doors closed. As it began to travel up to the living quarters, Tony glanced sideways at Eddie. “I think I recognise you. Reporter, right?”

“I was,” Eddie replied. “Lost my job. Had my life ruined.” He hunched in one corner of the elevator, rubbing a hand over his face that was pale and drawn. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked far too thin.

“You look like you need feeding just as much as Venom,” Tony commented. “You don’t look healthy. I’ve got a lab here. We can run some tests.”

“I don’t need tests,” Eddie muttered, pulling at his sleeves, almost self-consciously. “I already know what’s going on. Venom’s hungry all the time. I can’t afford to keep him fed enough. Not on the money I’m making now.” He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, a hint of green creeping into his features. “I don’t like it when he eats people, but the alternative is snacking on my organs. And that’s no alternative.”

The doors opened to the living space and Tony stepped out. He didn’t check to see if Eddie was following him, instead heading immediately to the kitchen. “Is he picky about what he eats outside of humans and your organs?”

“Meat and fish, the more raw the better,” Eddie answered. “But if you’re not going to cook it at all, I’ll let Venom out to consume it.” He grimaced. “I wouldn’t be able to keep it down.”

“Got it.” Tony opened the fridge and took out two bottles of water. He handed one to Eddie and kept the other for himself. He uncapped it and drank about half of the contents before saying, “I have to thank you for coming to rescue me. Did you know I was kidnapped? Or was it just a case of being in the right place at the right time?”

“I try to direct Venom towards the bad guys. If he has to eat someone….” Eddie shrugged and fingered the cap on the bottle. “Do you have any beer?”

“No alcohol, I’m afraid.” Tony shrugged apologetically. “I’ve found it’s better to avoid having the temptation at all. But you’ll find I have plenty of food for both you and Venom.” He paused. “Can Venom hear us talking?”

“He can always hear what’s going on,” Eddie replied. “And I can hear his thoughts. He can hear me thinking, but only if I direct my thoughts to him. I think.” He uncapped the bottle and drank some of it.

“Are we home now, Eddie?” Venom’s head poked out of Eddie’s shoulder, looking at both of the two humans.

Eddie glanced at Tony, who nodded. “You both have a home here for as long as you need. You helped me. Saved my life, probably. I was grabbed when I didn’t have access to my armour or my AI. I owe you one.”

“So you will pay us in food and shelter?” Venom demanded.

“I will,” Tony agreed. “Are you hungry now?”

Venom seemed to consider that for a few moments before he replied, “The bad guy I ate has filled me sufficiently now. Will you sleep with us now?”

Eddie flushed visibly. “Venom.”

The creature’s face didn’t change in any way as he said, “You have thought about mating with him. Mating with both of us.” Venom swung his face towards Tony. “Will you?”

“That’s a bit forward.” Tony nodded to the main room. “Why don’t we go through there and sit on the couch? Maybe cuddle a bit.” Giving action to words, he walked through and sat down.

By the time he was sat on the couch, Venom had entirely taken over Eddie’s form and sank down next to Tony. One tendril brushed exploringly over Tony’s face, slipping down under his shirt so that Tony could feel the cool, solid flesh against his bare skin. “Eddie thinks that you are a playboy. Not a loser. Like him.”

“Does Eddie know you call him a loser?” Tony set the bottle down on the table and unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his chest and making it easier for the tendril to explore his chest and down over his stomach.

“We are both what he calls losers,” Venom stated. “But I am not one here on Earth.” He paused. “I saved you today.”

“You did.” Tony moved a bit nearer to Venom. He let his hand rub down Venom’s chest, touching flesh that was smooth and had no obvious body parts. No nipples or obvious pen is. If Venom wanted or was expecting Tony to sleep with him, Tony wasn’t sure how that would work.

The tendril moved down lower and the end formed into digits, hooking into the waistband of Tony’s pants and tugging them and his underwear down, exposing his member. The newly-formed digits closed around it, quickly encouraging an erection to form.

Tony groaned, letting his head fall back and close his eyes. It didn’t feel nearly as strange as he thought it might, considering it wasn’t a human touching him. Heat spread through his member, more of a pleasant warmth than painful. The thought filtered through his mind that maybe Venom could regulate his own body temperature; but that thought was quickly gone as his body reacted to the touch. It wasn’t long before his orgasm rippled through him and he gasped out.

It was a few moments before Tony fully came back to himself and when he opened his eyes again, it was to see that Eddie was sitting there instead of Venom. He gave the other human a quick grin. “Did Venom learn that from you?”

“Or possibly from surfing the web.” Eddie shrugged. “He’s been absorbing a lot of information.” He hesitated, then leaned forward and quickly pressed a kiss to Tony’s lips.

Tony returned the kiss, grasping the back of Eddie’s head as he deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue into the other man’s mouth. His hands slid down Eddie’s shoulders and he wrapped them around the other man’s waist, drawing him tight against his bare chest.

Eddie sighed and relaxed into Tony’s arms. “So are we cuddling for now?” he mumbled.

“We’re cuddling for right now,” Tony agreed. “We can deal with the rest later.” He let himself just relax. The aches and pains he was suffering from no longer hurt so much. He certainly hadn’t been expecting to come home with two extra people, one of whom was a demanding alien, but he wasn’t complaining.

The End