Like Dads, Like Son

[slimyteeth]

Telling Dick about Venom had lifted a great weight off of Eddie. Not only had the boy not freaked out, but he'd accepted Venom and now thought they were the coolest dads ever. Dad, that was something Eddie still liked hearing from Dick. Venom had even promised to scare any bullies who dared pick on their son, even if he hadn't had to make good on that promise yet.

Eddie was watching TV while browsing the internet at the moment. Dick hadn't come home yet, but he wasn't too worried. Dick had said he would be a little late coming home, since he and his lab partner had a project they were working on. He'd promised to be home by dinner, anyway.

The news was interrupted by a special bulletin, causing Eddie to look up. Apparently there was something going on at a local store, a robbery. More importantly, a kid in a costume was there on the scene, with the news reporter wondering if they were a new wannabe hero or some kid being a daredevil. Either way, Eddie easily recognized the kid in the mask. And things didn't look good for him.

Is that Dick?

Immediately, Eddie rushed out of the apartment and ducked behind an alley, suiting up into Venom. The bike was fast, but Venom could get them there easier.

Leaping across buildings, the store luckily wasn't too far away. The group of gunmen were still there. Venom jumped off the building and barged through the front door, snarling.

Comments

[utilitybelted]

As much as Dick wanted to flip his way across rooftops and beat up bad guys, he knew the only way he was going to get to do it without Eddie putting his foot down was to do it by following the rules. And as rules went, they weren't the worst, and he was a sensible enough kid that he could see the reason for them.

"Okay, no rushing in without waiting for back up, I promise."

[slimyteeth]

"Third, if we deem a situation too dangerous, you step away and let Venom and I handle it." Looking up and away from Dick, Eddie addressed Venom. "Also, so long as the kid's with us, we don't do anything that could traumatized him. Got it?"

Fine.

Venom only had to read Eddie's mind to know exactly what he meant.

[utilitybelted]

For his part, Dick is genuinely intrigued what traumatising things Venom might do - he can make a couple of educated guesses, admittedly, but he wonders if there's anything else that he doesn't know about.

But he knows what's expected of him right now so instead of letting his curiosity run wild he focuses on the matter at hand and nods.

"Okay," it's a small price to pay for getting to do it at all.

[slimyteeth]

"You endanger yourself, or act reckless, you're grounded for a week." Eddie thought maybe he was being a bit harsh, but it was in the name of keeping Dick safe, if he really wanted to fight alongside Venom.

Now that this is all settled, we could use some food.

"You got it." Looking back down at Dick, he said, "What's say we just get some take out?"

[utilitybelted]

"I promise I'll be as safe as I can," Dick says obediently - and he does actually mean it, he's not the kind of person to make a promise lightly for a start, but also he'd much rather stay out of a fight or two than be grounded for a whole week. Of course that might change when he's actually in the moment, but right now it seems an easy rule to follow.

"Yea! Takeout!" he cheers, brightening up almost instantly.

[slimyteeth]

"Just keep one thing in mind. V and I are bulletproof, you aren't."

Eddie would take a bullet in a heartbeat for Dick, but thankfully the symbiote is tougher than he looked. Eddie also isn't about to risk Venom bonding to Dick, because they have no way of knowing if their son's a genetic match for the symbiote.

"How's Chinese sound?"

[utilitybelted]

"What if I got a bullet-proof costume? Like... like kevlar or something? Just for extra safety?" and if that gave him a little more excuse to get stuck into dangerous situations because he was slightly more protected, well, that was neither here nor there and definitely not why he was asking about such things.

"Chinese is great."

[slimyteeth]

"We'll talk about that later." Eddie can't believe they're talking about this, getting a kevlar vest for their son. He thought the hardest part about being a dad would be making sure Dick was raised right, and talking to teachers who had it out for the boy. Now here they are talking about Dick fighting crime with them and putting himself in danger, and kevlar vests.

The Chinese place is just a few blocks from the apartment, and thankfully they're pretty fast, so they're able to get the food and resume their walk back home.