#anneweying

Summary: Anne and Dan have finally tied the knot. With Eddie in attendance to the wedding he comes to term with his feelings and relationship with Anne, while Venom isn’t as willing to admit this resolution.

     For a lawyer and a doctor, Eddie imagined their wedding would have been a lot more extravagant than a church ceremony. It was a gorgeous cathedral mind you, beams of red and blue raining down on the aisle from the stained glass was impressive enough. From the golden statue of Christ himself and the gothic stone structures, he figured there would have been a bit more pizazz.

     He imagined there would be more flowers, both in quantity, size, and variety, when in reality the only flowers he could see were pale chrysanthemums here and there. Perhaps a string quartet would have added a more expensive atmosphere to the event rather than an old woman on the organ.

     Maybe it was the dress she wore, simple in its plain satin with little details to it. Though the wedding was modest, Eddie could tell from his back row seat that Anne was happy with where she was. He saw in her tears when saying her vows, in her smile that was interrupted by the first kiss of the newlyweds, and the skip in her step as she and Dan walked out of the church and to their limo.

     This is not the end.

     Eddie sighed through his nose with his friend’s reassurance, pulling a phone up to his ear and answering, “I think it is, bud.” Normally he would be willing to look like a tweaker and just talk to “himself,” but he had to be mindful of the very Catholic crowd he was in, so he excused the talking with the phone.

     It is not.

     Eddie opened his mouth to argue, but the voice continued.

     She still has to go to the courthouse to make it legal, yes?

     “Yes, but-”

     Then I will bite his head off before they arrive.

     “No,” Eddie scolded, his tone growing much more stern than it had been before, “you will not.”

     But-

     “No.”

     …Fine. We still have time.

     Eddie didn’t answer the voice in his head this time, keeping the phone to his ear while he followed the rest of the crowd out the doors. All while uncomfortably avoiding eye contact with those around him, after all half of these people were Anne’s family. He knew them well, he liked all of them, but not all of them still liked him. The brunet kept to himself while he slowly inched forward, the process of leaving being slow while everyone in the church was trying to leave at once.

     Eddie?

     “Hm?”

     You aren’t bothered by this?

     “By what?” Eddie spoke as if he didn’t already know what Venom was talking about. He earned a disapproving grunt from the symbiote as a response. “Why would I be bothered?”

     We worked so hard for her, from underneath Eddie’s suit jacket he could feel a familiar ooze coil around his arm, we did everything right for so long.

     In recognition of this Eddie tossed his head from side to side, still unphased and noting, “About a year I think.” Man, Dan and Anne really hit it off quickly, didn’t they? Not even two years and they tied the knot.

     Yes, which is precisely why we deserve her.

     “More than Dan?”

     Yes, more than Dan!

     “Really?” Cocking a brow, Eddie finally was able to step out of the cathedral doors and into the springtime sun, grains of rice scraping underneath his shoes. “Even though Dan never dug into her work files?” Venom didn’t answer so quickly this time. “Never got her fired? Never - oh, I dunno - betrayed her trust entirely?”

     Eddie could hear a low, thoughtful rumble in his head, followed by: You apologized, though.

     “I did.”

     I thought she forgave you.

     “She did.”

     Then why? We - We made it right by her!

     Eddie never thought he would be stuck explaining such a thing to an alien. It made sense that Venom wouldn’t quite understand this, he came from a different planet and a different culture. The man strolled down the few steps to the sidewalk, drifting off to to the side to stay a little more isolated. While family and friends mingled, he took his phone call.

     “Well… yeah, we made it up to her,” he frowned a little in his thought, “but that doesn’t mean she wants us romantically.”

     Why not?

     “Because we- I proved that she can’t always trust me. Dan never did that to her, so she moved on.” His shoulders slumped. “She fell out of love with me, then fell in love with Dan.”

     But we-!

     “Just because we’re nice to her doesn’t mean we get to marry her.” They were both quiet for a moment, allowing Eddie the moment to glance up from the sidewalk and make eye contact with a handful of people. Most of them were giving him odd or sympathetic looks, they must have overheard his side of the conversation. Eddie began to walk further away from the cluster of wedding guests.

     “Dan is a good guy,” Eddie reassured, “he’s nice, and she’s really, really happy with him. Without me.” Eddie stopped walking when he was a comfortable fifteen feet away from the outliers of the crowd, sighing.

     …You didn’t answer my question, Eddie.

     “What?” His face morphed into a scowl, “I totally did! I just gave you a ton of reasons-”

     Not that. Why aren’t you upset?

     Eddie stopped at this, trying to think of his answer.

     You were distraught because she was not with you. You would cry over her.

     “Thank you for the reminder,” Eddie rolled his eyes.

     We have worked tirelessly for her. It was… uncomfortable, and you failed entirely.

     “Wow, nothing gets past you.”

     Shut up. Why are you not sad? Why did you give up?

     “Give up?”

     You’ve been less determined to earn her favor for a while now, Eddie. Why? When you tried so hard?

     “Ahh,” Eddie lifted his free hand to rub the back of his neck, asking himself the same question. “I… I think I’m over her, V.”

     What?

     “Yeah.”

     Are you certain?

     “Not entirely,” Eddie admitted, “but… yeah, I feel really good. I feel okay about this.”

     She meant a lot to you, Eddie.

     “She still does.” Bringing his hand down, it was comfortably stuffed in his pocket, “Just in a different way, now.”

     …Are you absolutely certain? Venom repeated. You haven’t tried giving her a head yet. That might reignite the spark.

     “Thanks for the advice,” Eddie took in a deep breath, “but I think I just want to find someone else to give heads to.”

     Oh…

     Eddie felt a little guilty, admittedly, but not for himself. He felt content with how his path had separated from Anne’s, difficult as it was. But Venom had struggled a lot with this too. Learning how to properly flirt (he still struggled, hence the gifting heads suggestion), practicing restraint, forcing himself to go into situations that were foreign and uncomfortable. Eddie imagined it would be difficult for an alien to take in for the sake of its host.

     “But,” Eddie’s posture straightened, smiling some, “it’s a new day, my friend. There are plenty of fish in this great sea, we just need to find ours.”

     I thought Anne was ours.

     “Ya thought wrong,” the response was short and sweet, and rude, “but the beautiful thing is now we can start fresh. With someone we both choose and agree with, not just a gal I happen to have old beef with.”

     But I chose Ann-

     “And what better place to get some numbers than a wedding reception?” Eddie pulled his phone away from his ear and shoved it back in his pants pocket, strolling up to the rest of the crowd with a bounce in his step. “But first, chocolate.”

     Chocolate?

     “Nothing helps a broken heart better than chocolate, V,” Eddie poked his head around, trying to eye the nearest gas station, “and no one wants to flirt with a guy sulky over his ex.”

     I knew it! You are-