National Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day
(symbrock, slice of life, domestic fluff, series: Brock Talk # 11)
Series also on AO3 here!
But Eddie, you always wear your pajamas to work, Venom said patiently.
Eddie deflated a bit at the unexpected reaction to his announcement. “That’s not true,” he grumbled.
Do you even own a pair of pajamas?
“Yes! Anne bought me a pair the Christmas we were together.”
And where are they? Venom asked.
“Uh,” he said, deflating again. “I think I might have left it when she kicked me out.”
He certainly hadn’t bothered packing it any more than he’d packed most of the clothes she’d given him. He wondered for a second if they’d all gone to charity, or if she’d regifted them to Dan.
Before he could get too lost in that train of thought, Venom said triumphantly, See! I am right.
“If anything that proves I’m right,” Eddie countered. “After all, how can I always be wearing my pajamas to work if I don’t even own any?”
Okay, maybe it would be more accurate to say that you always sleep in your clothes.
Venom had him there, so Eddie shrugged. “It saves time in the morning.”
Honestly though, that too had been because of Anne. When he lived on his own he’d been happy to sleep in just his boxers, but Anne had been a big fan of microfiber sheets and Eddie couldn’t stand the way they had felt against his skin. Wearing his worn and comfortable clothes to bed had been the only way he could sleep in her bed. It was a habit he’d never thought to break, even though his sheets were soft cotton again.
“Besides,” he continued, “maybe I was thinking you could wear pajamas to work.”
But, I don’t work, Venom objected.
“Sure you do, you fight crime. Can’t you just see yourself jumping from building to building, stopping criminals and helping people while wearing pajamas?”
No, absolutely not.
“Oh, come on. We could get you a set with little chocolate bars on it, or maybe we could find a big pink onesie with bunny ears.”
I am not wearing bunny ears!
“So, as long as there aren’t any bunny ears, you will wear pajamas?” Eddie asked, slyly.
I never said that, Venom objected.
“Sorta sounded like you did.”
Fine. Not that it matters though, you could never find a pair in my size.
“There are stores for big and tall people, we might get lucky,” Eddie said, without much hope.
Even a store specifically for the big and tall probably wouldn’t be prepared for someone who was seven feet of rippling muscle. They could probably find something online, but it would never get there in time to celebrate the day this week, Eddie thought with disappointment.
Venom gave a huge, aggravated sigh, then offered, Or, I guess I could make the pajamas myself.
“How? Do you sew or something?” Eddie asked doubtfully.
Instead of answering, Venom flowed out to form around him. Eddie relaxed into the sensation, closing his eyes as the blackness covered his face, then opening them again a few seconds later and blinking as he adjusted to seeing through Venom’s eyes, where everything looked sharper and the colors were somehow different.
When he could see clearly, he immediately noticed they looked different. The usual glossy black of their skin covered in matte grey material with what, at first glance, looked like little pink polka dots.
“Wait,” he said, looking closer at their arm. “Are those little brains?”
Yes, Venom agreed, brains are even more delicious than chocolate.
“That’s amazing,” Eddie said, wishing for the first time that their apartment had a mirror bigger than the one on the medicine cabinet in the bathroom so he could appreciate the whole outfit. Then he remembered that they had the next best thing. “You should take a selfie so I can see what we look like.”
Venom grumbled a little in a way that felt more pleased and embarrassed than annoyed, as he did what Eddie had asked, even using a long tendril like a selfie stick so more of the outfit would be visible in the picture.
Looking down at the screen, Eddie was impressed. “Look! You even have one of those long triangle nightcaps! The whole outfit is perfect, darling.”
Of course it is, Venom said, sounding more pleased than outraged.
“Have you always been able to shape clothes like this?”
Yes. Camouflage is an important part of any symbiote’s skills.
“Amazing,” Eddie repeated, then he asked as casually as possible, “And, I don’t suppose you could be clothes for me too, could you?”
Instead of answering, the symbiote started to draw back into Eddie’s skin, only this time he stopped short of disappearing completely leaving Eddie covered from the waist up in glossy black. A second later, the black began to fade and lose its shine until he was standing there in what looked like a copy of his favorite grey sweatshirt, exact down to every rip and stain. The only difference was that this shirt was a thousand times softer, like silk made warm and weightless.
“Wow,” Eddie said, running his hand over the sleeve. When Venom quivered against him slightly, he stopped. “Sorry, is that okay?
Yes, Venom answered quickly. It feels nice, Eddie.
“Feels great for me too. I don’t think I’m ever gonna bother with regular clothes again.”
Good, Venom said, tightening around him in what felt a lot like a hug.
