#lashed

Eddie reached up to the top of his laptop’s screen, gently scooping up the tiny alien that had decided to climb onto it. He was deep into his newest story and had been stuck on a particular part of the article for several hours. His patience had begun to wear thin and the constant distractions caused by his tiny children were certainly not helping him to focus.

Sleeper eagerly clung to his hand, practically vibrating with excitement once they’d realised that they had their father’s attention finally. With a deep breath, Eddie allowed the tension to seep from his body as he smiled softly at the alien as they lovingly reached up towards his face with a couple of gooey tentacles.

There was a loud crash, followed by a panicked screech, and both Eddie and Sleeper’s heads shot up in time to see Riot racing out from the kitchen with Lasher and Agony in tow. It would seem that they had managed to knock a tray of cutlery off the edge of the kitchen island and had decided to scatter.

The three of them stopped in their tracks upon seeing that they had been spotted, each of them offering their own sheepish grins. Carnage glanced over the edge of the counter, grinning rather smugly as he took a bite of the chocolate chip biscuit in his grasp. The previous day all of the symbiotes had been allowed a single cookie after their dinner, but Carnage had decided to save his until the next day and was now revelling in the envious looks of his siblings as he slowly devoured the treat, deliberately savouring it in front of them.

Eddie felt his other stir within, the top half of their body appearing beside him with a slight frown as they looked upon their unruly spawn. He moved to stand and clear up the mess, but his lover was quick to push him back down with a hand, “We will do this, Eddie” they hummed, moving towards the kitchen.

They proceeded the herd the three children back towards the mess where they all reluctantly began to pick up the silverware and hand it to the adult to place back onto the counter. Meanwhile, Scream and Phage were lazily sprawled across the couch, only just paying attention to whatever mindless program was on the television.

They were all bored, that much was obvious. It had been a while since the family had all left the house, and everyone was beginning to go stir crazy staring at the same four walls for hours on end. Eddie allowed Sleeper to crawl down from his hand and onto the table beside his laptop before he stretched his cramped muscles.

“Who wants ice cream?” Immediately every head in the house shot up, eyes wide with interest. Scream and Phage dived from the couch, slithering across the wooden floor and practically leaping onto Eddie’s legs, using them to climb up onto the table. Carnage attempted to jump all the way from the kitchen counter to their father, but ended up coming just short, forcing the human to reach out and snatch the symbiote from the air before they could fall.

By the time his lover had placed the cutlery away, Lasher, Riot and Agony were already making their way up the table’s legs, chanting “Ice cream, ice cream!” as they jumped up and down. While Sleeper was too young to speak without a host, they joined in with the rest of their siblings, squeaking excitedly in tune with their demanding voices.

Eddie smiled down at the collection of brightly coloured aliens as his partner re-joined with him, their minds becoming one once more. They asked him why he had so suddenly decided to abandon his work and take the family out for some treats, and Eddie needed only to direct his lover’s attention towards the happy smiles of their symbiote babies to answer their question.

“Vivi?” Scream asked, offering up their best puppy dog eyes, as if sensing their conversation, “Get ice cream, Vivi?” The others each tilted their heads in question. Their father had offered it, but there was always the chance of their other parent disagreeing. It was, of course, futile for them to even try and say ‘no’ to their horde of adorable spawn.

It was a beautiful day out, the sun shining down on them and a soft breeze to keep them cool. The small family had found themselves a nice little secluded spot by the water where they could enjoy some chocolate ice cream and the children could spend some time running around to burn off all of the extra sugar.

Each symbiote was allowed a large scoop of ice cream for themselves, which they all wolfed down at an unimaginable pace. Carnage was the first to finish but received only a mild brain freeze as his reward, much to the amusement of the other aliens.

They spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the fresh air and playing in the small patch of soft grass. Agony and Lasher were playing by the water’s edge, splashing one another while their parent kept a close eye on them, should they accidentally fall in.

Phage had discovered that by climbing a nearby tree they had an excellent view of the water and surrounding city; besides, it was great fun for them to explore all of the little nooks and crannies. They certainly didn’t get startled when a squirrel burst out of one of the holes they had been inspecting.  It was a fearsome beast that only just got away with its life. It just happened to look like a common rodent. Yes, that was it.

Scream, Riot and Carnage were racing around, chasing the poor sea gulls who had previously been resting happily. Fortunately, the birds seemed used to being chased about by small children, even if these particular children weren’t exactly human.

Eddie couldn’t help laughing softly to himself when Riot and Carnage ended up pouncing onto one another in their attempt to capture one of the birds. His Other also seemed to snicker at their antics, even if he only heard it in their mind. Sleeper woke briefly from their nap on his lap at the sound, glancing around to ensure they were still safe before drifting off again.

Eddie felt his lover begin to materialise around him and leaned back into their embrace, enjoying the way they purred contentedly. He felt their feelings of love and admiration for himself and their spawn, and he was quick to reciprocate the emotion, smiling to himself when their purrs only grew louder.