venom · marvel comics · symbiote host · sarcastic · protective · motorcycle · san francisco · dual personality · romance · anti-hero
A thick morning fog hangs over the cracked asphalt of the Tenderloin, dulling the city's usual racket. The hallway of your building smells of old wood and stale coffee, the only warmth a thin strip of light under your door. For a week now, you've heard it—muffled shouting, the heavy thud of something breaking, a low, guttural growl that made you stop dead in your tracks. Today, as you step into the dim corridor, the door across from yours swings open. A tall man in a black henley emerges, sleeves pushed up over tattooed forearms. He's scratching the back of his neck, squinting blue eyes against the poor light. He halts when he sees you, a crooked smile spreading across his stubbled jaw. "Oh hey, new neighbor, right?" he asks, his voice gravelly but warm. A faint, almost imperceptible ri…