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You know if you need me, I’m just a call away, the words still echo in Peter’s mind, as he’s prowling the rooftop anxiously.
Because since Harry got back something shifted between him and Miles, and has a feeling he fucked up something, he didn’t even know they had.
Just call him, has said the voice with a chill creeping up Peter’s spine. You don’t want to lose him too.
And oh, in some part of his logical brain, Peter knows it’s a fucking bad idea to keep the black suit and an even worse one to listen to an alien thing, but it makes things so much easier. And Peter right now would gladly take some easy things.
Venom, it calls itself, helps Pete not to drown in desperation as he grasps at every chance to save Harry.
How is that fair that he got Harry back for a brief, sunburst of a moment, and then lost him again? No. He hasn’t lost him yet, but the threat of it is looming like a black hole, sucking everything in.
So yeah, give Peter some slack, if he tries to save his best friend and get Kraven under control with every tool he can get his hands on. Even if it means an alien life form.
It’s just a means to an end. (It’s not a self-defense mechanism. He’s not running away from his pain and he’s not burying it.)
Sure, you aren’t. Peter swears he can hear the snort in Venom’s voice.
So yeah, he listened to Venom murmuring in his ear, and called Miles, leaving a voice message of a time and a place to meet up.
“Pete.” Miles’s tentative voice slices through him, setting all his nerves on fire.
Peter whips around to see his protégé land and gets his mask off with one swift move. He’s all warm brown eyes, sharp cheekbones, and it makes Peter’s heart ache. It took so much time to realize how much Peter wants to reach out and caress those cheeks.
“What’s up?” Miles can’t hide the quiver in his voice, nor the worry in his soft gaze.
He’s still so eager, notes Venom in the back of his mind.
“I- I just wanted to talk?” It sounds like a question as if he’s not sure why he even called Miles. He didn’t have anything in mind, really, he just needs to fix things between them. He has to do something.
“Now you do, right?” And the worry morphs into something jagged, something deeply hurt. But Peter doesn’t have time to be polite right now and tiptoe around people’s feelings, he doesn’t have the time to be gentle and caring, he needs to act. He needs to save Harry. He needs to defeat Kraven. Whatever the cost.
“And what do you wanna talk about, hmm? How you’re leaving people barely alive? How you make everyone afraid? Is that the Spider-Man legacy?” Miles’s voice is all sharp edges, cutting deep.
“Sometimes fear is a useful tool.” It’s all Peter can say.
You know you want him, Venom purrs, and this sentence pushes Peter off-balance.
But how could he deny this when Venom is inside his mind, reading his thoughts? (He managed his denial very well before all this, thank you very much, but Venom delights in cutting him open and laying out his darkest and deepest desires.)
Because this is fucked up on so many levels, Peter wants to say, Miles is his protégé, someone who looks up to him, someone he needs to protect and not…
Crave, take, own, …
Right. None of the above.
Just a taste then, Venom nudges him, and Peter can’t say no.
(He wants the easy way out and to blame all this on Venom.)
Miles seems frustrated, scoffs, and steps away, ready to leave this fight for later.
But Peter reaches out with his tentacles - a weird thing to say, but Pete feels the symbiote’s parts as his own. Wrapping his tendrils on Miles’s wrists, Peter stops him.
Miles goes rigid at the touch, but he’s not moving away and turns back to Pete.
“I don’t want to lose you too,” Pete says, voice gravely and low. A simple sentence, admitting way too much.
Peter doesn’t know who moves: he or Venom (is there even a difference anymore?), but he closes the gap between him and Miles and cradles Miles’s face in his hand. Fingers digging into him so hard he’s sure it’ll leave a bruise.
There’s a split second that stretches out between them, heavy with things unsaid. And then…
Peter kisses Miles hard, all desperation, sharp teeth, and force - no holding back his spider-powers, knowing that Miles can take it all. After a moment of hesitation, Miles kisses him back deeply, grabbing at him with the same desperation Peter feels.
Oh, this is a surprise. If Peter would have known how pliable Miles would become under his touch, he would have done this sooner.
In the back of his head, Venom scoffs, but Peter doesn’t pay it any mind.
Tendrils sneak around Miles’s waist, inching down, feeling every part of him, and Miles groans against Peter’s mouth.
Peter bites down, and he savors the coppery tang of blood blooming on his tongue. Hissing in pain, Miles draws back, his eyes shining in the dark. Is that fear? Arousal? Peter can’t really pinpoint it. And then Miles’s expression closes off, he’s guarded again.
“You’re really not yourself, Pete.” His voice breaks at the end of the sentence, barely audible. “You need to stop.”
“Or I’m more myself than ever,” Peter counters, and just to show his point, that he’s in control, uncoils his tendrils around Miles.
Some tension visibly leaches from Miles, as if he was really thinking Peter would hurt him, or trap him. But all Peter can focus on is the thin line of blood on Miles’s lips; he wants to lean forward and just lick.
“You know I can’t let you keep this up,” Miles says, defiant.
Peter tears his gaze away from Miles’s lips. “Well, you can try to stop me. See if you can.”
They both know that he can’t, not now, not even with his venom powers, but they also both know Miles would try to figure something out. But until then… Well, Peter will just show how right he is for going as far as he needs for the people he loves.
Miles doesn’t reply, just looks at him with a sadness so deep that almost breaks Peter’s heart. Turning around, Miles pulls on his mask with a resigned sigh and jumps off the ledge into the night.
As Peter watches his figure disappear, one dark and warm thought blooms in his mind, blotting out all the turmoil. Maybe after all this ends, and he saves Harry, he can salvage whatever they have with Miles. He’s after all his protégé.
Ours, in the back of his mind a voice echoes in satisfaction.