Arc Two. Chapter Forty-Nine. Walkabout

The atmosphere in the warehouse at breakfast was strange. Last night was fun but it also brought several things to the surface.

Gwen and Felicia admitted that they had sex before. Felicia had woken up to find Gwen's hands and fingers exploring, but was already at a tipping point and couldn't stop her. Gwen admitted that Poison didn't overdose like when she was with Peter and while they knew it was okay, they still felt it was doing something behind his back. After discussing it with MJ, they agreed that while Felicia and Gwen did want to sleep together, that they'd talk to Peter first.

"Look, last night was to get the point across that we, all of us," Gwen stared at Felicia, "are here because of you. All Fel and I want to know that if we have sex without you, that you're not going to get mad about it."

"Gwen, nobody minds if I sleep with any of you. So no, if you and Fel, if you and MJ then no, it's fine."

"Uh, I mind though, once in a while is okay, but not without Pete, sorry Gwen," MJ added, knowing full well that it was better to get it out in the open now. Thanksgiving was special, and she wanted it to stay that way.

Gwen looked over at Felicia, sighed, "I," and took a deep breath, "I'm going to tell my dad that Fel and I are dating though, and I think you should tell Aunt May that you and MJ are together."

Peter frowned, "Why?"

"Nobody will accept this Pete, I already get shit from dad about you, every time we speak it's that Parker kid this or dating the delinquent still and," Gwen slumped down, "and I can't say anything back. No matter what I say it's an argument. He'll never accept you, never understand and with Felicia here, become more of an asshole."

"I don't care what your dad thinks Gwen, I only care what you think."

Gwen shook her head, "you don't get it though. Dad is still looking for an excuse to split us up, and with everything that's going on, I don't want him to find one. This isn't a real thing Pete, it's a lie to protect you. It's just one person, just one lie, please."

Peter thought about it, if telling George got Gwen some peace then, "It's fine, but you know, how do you feel about it?" he asked her, Aunt May had been understanding enough, but George was an asshole.

Gwen looked at MJ, "how do I feel? The same way you feel, it's shit and I don't like it, but it's no different than hiding everything else, Pete. You killed two people, telling my dad I'm a lesbian is nothing. I'd rather tell people I'm a lesbian and deal with that than have them dig up everything else cause my dad is an asshole who won't leave you alone." Gwen slumped back in her chair.

The foursome sat staring at each other, unsure of what to say.

"Oh for fuck sake, this is like last night. Peter, we all love you. Last night you could have done anything you wanted, En-E-Thing and no one would have cared. Shit, you could have stuck it up Fels butt and she would have moaned like a whore, so fucking stop it. So what if Gwen and Fel want to tell people they're dating? Grow the fuck up the lot of you. Fucking, fuck." MJ had snapped, she was coming out of her shell piece by piece and more often she was just as blunt as Felicia and just as fiery as Gwen, and Peter knew she took after her dad, even if she wouldn't admit it.

It was Peter that started first, a small laugh, at the absurdity of it all. She was right, they all screwed, they'd had threesomes and last night they'd all shared each other and he enjoyed himself. Even if he wasn't there it was four people who trusted each other. They had been through hell together and at the end of the day, they all loved each other. Once Peter had started, MJ joined in and soon Gwen and Felicia were all smiling and laughing shaking their heads.

"If it saves us from the wrath of MJ, then anything," Peter said, chuckling and MJ tapped him lightly on the cheek before kissing him.

"Don't you forget it."

The air had been cleared and plans had been made. Over the next few weeks, things improved. While he still hadn't finished the new home for Felicia it was coming along nicely, the floors and the plumbing were all hooked up. Felicia stated there was no rush and spent most time sleeping with either Gwen or Peter. The home sat as an empty shell, with the time of year a lot of places were ramping up for the festive season. They were still hesitant to start throwing a lot of money around and Felicia had decided that her apartment was a lost cause, she would just sort out new cards and I.D rather than risk visiting her old place.

As things moved along it slowly turned from November into December and the group began to prepare for Christmas.

Christmas had been fun, they had had Aunt May over for dinner while Gwen went home with Felicia. She had been invited over to spend Christmas with her and George, the excuse that her dad was out of the country at some event was used and even if he didn't buy it George was happy to have her there. So it had just been the three of them but it was warm and cosy and the fake Christmas tree Peter had decorated made the inside of the warehouse feel like home to them all.

MJ had cooked as after tasting one of Peter's 'home-cooked' meals she declared him a disaster and relegated him to drinks, which of course Gwen had premixed and left in the fridge for them. They had opened presents, with Peter getting an amateur radio kit as a joke from Aunt May, while he had gotten her a new jacket, warm and fuzzy for the cold winter months. MJ had been given the usual body wash and soap set but with a promise of a more intimate present later from Peter, she had smiled and thanked Aunt May. Of course, she had expected Peter to mean sex but he'd woven a set of gloves from webbing, and while it was cute it was surprisingly comfortable and more, it smelt like Peter, and then, of course, they spend the rest of the night and most of the next few days in bed together, until Gwen and Felicia banged on the home door and demanded they spend time with them.

New Year had been the same, the four spendings time together with a small number of drinks. They all sat on the roof of the warehouse and watched the fireworks from Times Square, each kissing the others, even MJ didn't decline and she gave Gwen a big enough kiss that she dragged Felicia downstairs to bring in the New Year their own way. Peter and MJ, left alone on the roof cuddled up together, glad to spend time alone but happy their family was back together. On the blanket, they stared at the fireworks and as the sounds of Gwen and Felicia drifted up through the hatch they laughed and joined in, adding their own noise, making slow love under the flashes and excitement of a New Year.

Now all the festivities were over and things were starting to get back to normal he started up his plans again. The lube sold well and with the extra money coming in, split three ways between him, Gwen and Felicia, he had enough to start thinking about vendor exams again. He had already ordered 2 and once he passed those he would think about doing more. The exams for his GED were coming up and now he could afford them. They should be a breeze to pass, online mock exams put his pass marks at well over the 99th percentile and he wasn't worried. College and University had faded in his mind, there were much better ways to get a good education and he was exploring them.

After breakfast, Peter cleaned and Gwen and MJ left to get ready for work, he had no issue cooking first thing and had spent some time trying his best to make something edible. After a few months of burnt offerings, he had made progress and was capable of making a decent breakfast for them all. Once Gwen and MJ had left for work, Felicia's second breakfast had been a healthy dose of Peter and once they had finished she crawled back into bed and fell asleep again, leaving him on his own.

It was now just after 10 and he had to be honest with himself, he was bored. It was daytime and he couldn't go out as Venom, he'd trained already, both the fun two-person kind and then actual training and wanted to rest but found his brain ticked over and over with random thoughts. He'd tried meditating but couldn't settle. He'd tried to read and couldn't find anything he hadn't read before.

He was bored and in the end, he decided just to go for a walk. It was cold outside but he barely felt it, and while the winter snow had melted and become winter slush, dying everything a rancid grey and brown, he strode through the district without a care in the world. He needed a little time to himself to regain his focus and the crisp air was helping.

He'd been slacking off with his work on the CLS, and while he didn't object, Felicia wasn't helping. As she wasn't working they spent most mornings cleaning the warehouse and then having sex.

If he was honest he figured that in the few months she'd been living with them that he'd had sex with her more times than Gwen or MJ, maybe even combined. He shook his head at that thought, that he was being stupid in getting even slightly jealous.

He could have any of them anytime in pretty much anyway. Gwen's dad thinking she was a lesbian was nothing if he was pounding her hard at night while Felicia rode her face, and if they enjoyed each other then it meant he didn't worry when he was with MJ. It was the way they had all been raised and slowly he was realising that while it wasn't wrong, it wasn't their way.

The streets around the warehouse were quiet, it was the end of the Christmas period and while the truckers were delivering hundreds of thousands of boxes all over the country, the warehouse district had been quiet of late. With no job, Peter wondered if someone would buy the junkyard, if he had the cash might have thought about it but he knew little about the scrap business and it wasn't the direction he wanted Parker Industries to go in.

It was well into his walk, he'd been wandering aimlessly for an hour, when he smelt something, very close to the perfume he'd identified as Gwen and the other girl's natural scent, filling the air. Looking at the street signs he was nowhere near either Oscorp or MJ's workplace and Felicia was sleeping when he left.

The scent filled him with warmth and it reminded him of freshly made cinnamon rolls, a sweet but heavenly spicy aroma that made his whole body tingle. Sniffing the air he made his way through some back alleys, typical he thought to himself, the last place he would have expected to be walking blindly, until he came across the highest concentration of the smell.

A short thin built woman was standing there, holding an open tube of pale white liquid, her hair was a massive ball of frizz tied up behind her head in a huge beehive hairstyle, unkempt but still clean, she pushed the thin wire frame glasses up a triangular nose,

"You see, symbiotes are a hyper-stimulated species, anything such as loud noises, bright lights, excessive touch and of course, strong smells will attract them, so Mr Venom, the car alarm stunned you, the light blinded you, the electricity overstimulated your nerves, and taking a whiff of the test tube, an aroused woman attracted you, and of course, got you to take your guard down," stopping and pointing Peter looked down, he'd walked into a trap, a literal one.

He noticed the wire mesh at his feet connected to a modified spring-loaded bear trap and the woman pressed a switch she held in her hand and the trap snapped shut. The longer than usual arms of the trap clamped him up to his thighs, trapping him and stopping him from moving.

His symbskin flowed up almost immediately and covered him, it was the daytime but if Ock, Electro or Sandman had paid this woman to entice him, they would be nearby.

"I must admit though, I never expected you to be so young, I know the report said that you were in your teens but I figured it was malnutrition or a simple screw up, but now I see you, yes, a lot younger than I expected."

His muscles locked up as the bear trap clamped onto his legs and sent shocks of electricity through him, sending spasms through his body. He had been right, the suit protected him slightly but it wasn't enough. Thankfully his symbskin protected him from the razor jaws of the trap and dampened the shocks.

With each pulse of the trap, he felt the electricity find a path through him and he adjusted the skins internal structure, mimicking a circuit, he sent the current tracing around himself and back into the ground.

"You know though, I'm kinda disappointed, I thought this would be, I dunno, more climactic," she mimed doing kung fu, making chops and small kicks, "not just oh high, zap caught. You know Venom, I'm disappointed." Coming closer she got right in his face, "and I hate being disappointed."

The numbness he felt faded slowly, but he kept the symbskin hardened over his joints, faking the paralysis. If they wanted him so badly he would let them take him, and to him this almost seemed like a Saturday morning cartoon, and if she had been a man, she would be twirling a moustache about now. She leant over him and pressed a gun to his jugular and injected him with something, he didn't see what it was but he felt the injection site grow cold and figured it was a paralytic. He recognised Sandman who picked him up and threw a cloth sack over his head making sure to give him a few well-placed hits to the gut. The paralytic made the pain fuzzy, and Venom barely felt it.

"Now Marko, there will be time for that later," the woman said,

"Yeah yeah Doc, but I still owe him." Sandman sounded mad and Venom could hear everything going on around him. His heightened senses picking up the fresh plastic in the van they bundled him into, the slight squeal as the brakes were out of alignment and the noises of the bay as they took him to a warehouse. He didn't recognise any of the voices he heard so it was another of the many districts in New York. Industrial areas like the one he lived in sprang up anywhere a ship could berth and there was a lot to choose from but Peter didn't really care. Now that he'd found Sandman, Electro might be nearby and then all he had to find was Ock and he could get his revenge for hurting Gwen and the others.