𝟭: 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗘
𝙅𝙐𝙇𝙄𝘼𝙉𝙀 𝙈𝙊𝙊𝙉
The activity of New York City was constant, with pedestrians and vehicles going about their business all day and night. However, there was still a sense of peace and tranquility that pervaded the city, despite the busyness of its hustle and bustle. The continuous motion of the city dwellers was a reminder that life never paused in the city. This slow and leisurely pace of the night and the calm air, enveloped the landscape, so soothing and calming, almost as if the night knew how to keep a secret.
New York City was quiet. Perhaps too quiet.
This was how Spider-Man and Venom's night routine looked like: Lounging at their favourite rooftop whilst awaiting for crime to happen in New York City.
Now, according to Mark, if they weren't patrolling, their night routine would sound something like bedsqueaks. He said that, not me. I never expected Mark to be so concupiscent. I really didn't, and sometimes it still surprised me.
Although he said he preffered spending time in my bedroom, he also loved protecting the city.
Thus, that was what we were doing now.
I perched myself at the edge of the rooftop, dangling my legs over the side and looking up at the night sky. My eyes glistened like gems in the darkness, and I inhaled deeply, savouring the warm night air. Meanwhile, Mark was legitimately sitting on the building's wall. He had his back nestled against the bricked wall with the top surface of his thighs pressed against his chest.
"God, I hate quiet nights." Mark heaved. He cupped his bare face and peered up to the moon, his doe eyes illuminating majestically. "It's like... Do these people even appreciate how long it takes us to get here?"
I cocked an eyebrow. My gaze landed down to where he was. "Would you like it better with people dying down there?" I inquired. That was obviously a rhetorical question.
"No~ Of course not." Mark said defensively with his head shaking. He cautiously crawled up to where I was and took the seat next to mine. The sides of our arms touched. "It's just tedious, you know? Feels like your lectures in NYU, doesn't it?"
I blinked and shrugged my shoulders before glancing back at the bustling city below us. "I wouldn't know." I mumbled.
"I knew it!" Mark exclaimed thunderously. I could see his face morphing into a look of disappointment. "You've been skipping your lectures, haven't you?" He squinted. I knew with that face of his, I couldn't spit a lie.
Oops.
Automatically, Venom masked my face as an attempt to hide from Mark, both of us feeling irresponsibly ashamed for getting caught.
"Dude, you have got to start going to your lectures..." Mark paused awkwardly. "I know, you're probably gonna say that I'm the biggest hypocrite because I did this a lot in Midtown High." His eyes rolled upwards as he made a blah blah gesture with his hands. "But I'm here to warn you. Don't make the same mistake as I did. You'll thank me later."
An unamused expression formed on my face. "What mistake did you exactly make? You literally graduated and almost became the Valedictorian." I unmasked myself again to show him one of my teasing smirks. "And who became the Valedictorian? Yeah, me. You don't have to worry. I'll manage University."
Mark didn't seem convinced about this, but he had to trust me. "Fine~" He heaved.
Everybody took a different path after graduating from Midtown High.
Donghyuck was currently an internship in Oscorp Industries. It was a leading New York firm that specialized in robotics and chemical manufacturing. Mark decided to take a gap year and had a small part-time job as a photographer under The Daily Bugle, a tabloid newspaper. On the other hand, Naomi and I got accepted in NYU to major Molecular Engineering.
Attending NYU had always been my aspiration as I knew it would bring great pride to my parents. It was the ultimate goal I had longed for, and now it became a reality. Despite living this dream, I encountered challenges in focusing on my studies, mainly due to my new alter ego as Venom. While I highly valued my academic pursuits, my dedication to protecting New York City alongside Mark held a greater importance for me. I constantly faced a dilemma, but I always prioritized being Venom above all else.
So, to simplify it, I knew that diverting my attention away from my education would fire back at me someday and I wasn't doing anything about this.
New York City was still perfectly quiet. There was nothing yet to interrupt this tranquil.
Although I loved action, I also loved this: Just being with Mark, even if it meant being in complete silence.
We've been together for half a year now, and in the span of those 6 months, we spent most of our time with each other and nobody else. We knew everything about each other... Well, I actually knew almost everything about him before getting together, and that was all thanks to my wingman, Donghyuck Lee. Nevertheless, I came to understand him in a deeper level.
To get to my point, what I'm trying to say is that I could never get bored and tired of Mark Lee. Never.
Life wouldn't be like this forever, this was temporary, so I had to savor every second.
I stayed perched with a dreamy expression, lost in the beauty of everything, of the sky, the city and the moment spent with the person I loved.
I relished the sensation of the gentle breeze rustling across my skin. However, my trance was broken when I felt a gentle touch against my cheek. I turned my head to see Mark, and my breath caught in my throat as I gazed into his eyes. Mark's fingers brushed against my cheek and proceeded to the side, tucking a hair strand just behind my ear. I felt my heart beat faster and my throat close, all while a warm sense of joy and love washed over me.
Mark looked at me with an intensity that could only be described as pure love and adoration. The warmth in his gaze was all-encompassing, as if his world revolved around me.
It just never got old, huh? - These ridiculously severe rush of romantic thrill Mark was able to give me, every single time he did something, even if it was small.
I grinned faintly. "Hmm?"
Mark tilted his head and returned a subtle smile too. "Nothing... I'm just proud of you, Juli. Proud of you finessing your position as the new Venom." He gave me a small nudge. "I know someone who'd be proud too~"
Someone. That someone would be Jaehyun. Oh God, the topic of him was still very sensitive to me, to both of us in fact.
I didn't believe we ever finished grieving his death.
Mark was still tremendously sorrowed about his departure. Mark's wish was always befriending Venom in a deeper level, and he thought that this goal of his would succeed after the first time Jaehyun revealed his real name to him. He figured it was the first step. Unfortunately, the universe didn't give them enough time. It was cruel.
On the other hand, I still couldn't get rid of this enormous guilt and blame I had ever since the moment I pulled away from our embrace and realized Jaehyun's choice. They said it wasn't my fault and I knew that, but part of me despised myself for not being cautious enough with that weapon that could've saved him. I hated myself for it so much. So fucking much.
I didn't feel like showing pained emotions, so I tried to divert the topic.
I pursed my lips as a small sigh slipped out my mouth. I looked back at the sky. "You're right... But it still seems like not everyone approves of me." I stated. "I don't think I've fully accomplished this position if not everyone from the public likes me."
When Captain Walkers took the role as the head of the NYPD, us as vigilantes had created a stronger and fonder relationship with them. We disclosed that the old Venom could no longer be in position to be a vigilante and had to be replaced by somebody else, and that was me.
When the public took notice of this, they were not happy about it. A lot didn't like me, mainly because they felt unfamiliar with me and because, well, because I'm a woman. There were lots of criticism about me such as: Hating because of my gender, or making up a theory about me murdering the old Venom to steal his position. It was crazy. NYPD had to inform the public about the truth. When a couple of months passed by, the backlash I was getting lessened, but that didn't mean that it was completely gone.
"Oh, come on Juli~" Mark shook his head. "They love you." He tried to be convincing but that wasn't gonna work on me.
"Yeah, sure." I rolled my eyes. "They love me so much they wanted to show it by throwing tomatoes at me yesterday, when I tried disarming those thieves in Walmart."
Mark chewed on his lower lip, unable to defend his previous statement. He noticed that he couldn't, so he gave up. "Who cares about those stupid people? What matters is I like you, Jaehyun likes you, Naomi and Donghyuck too, and the NYPD." He shrugged.
"You wouldn't understand." I muttered. "Everyone loves Spider-Man, I mean look at that, they even love seeing you with Ronald McDonald." I pointed my finger at the billboard just a few buildings away from us, where it portrayed Spider-Man and Ronald McDonald standing hand to hand with joyous demeanors.
Mark sneered and shook his head. It was a sign of disapproval. "That's photoshop." He crossed his arms and scowled. "And if they really loved me, they would remember the hyphen. It's Spider-Man, not Spiderman!"
I couldn't suppress a laugh. Mark always had his ways of making me smile and laugh whenever I was feeling down. He never failed.
It was an enjoyable moment, but I knew this wouldn't last long.
Our conversation paused abruptly as we simultaneously felt a strange sensation, like a tingling sensation coursing through our bodies as if there was an imminent threat lurking nearby. This was our ESP, extrasensory perception: Perception or communication outside of normal sensory capability, as in telepathy and clairvoyance.
Mark liked to call it "Markie-tingle".
The tingling sensation grew in intensity as we scanned our surroundings, trying to determine the source of this overwhelming feeling of danger.
Suddenly, thunderous gun blasts jolted both of us as our heads snapped down to the road where two box vans sped through whilst firing their guns into the sky in a victory celebration.
"Mask."
Venom: About damn time... I hate third wheeling! Copy.
First crime on sight, and we were here to rescue the night.
AUTHOR NOTE:
Hello guys! How was the first chapter? Hehe, I hope it was fine~ This chapter just basically kinda sums up what's going on in their lives and so on. Actually, I wrote Spider-Man without the hyphen in my first book WOOPSIEEEE!
By the way! I will be taking lots of references from the movies, comics and so on! Anyways that's all, goodbye you all! 💚🤘🏼
Look at this though, so cute.