Tainted Love (Carnage x Reader)

22: Let me help you

Carnage laid beside (Y/n) on the bed, the symbiote form taking over to protectively hover by her side. The intimidating monster that laid on the bed beside her like an alert predator actually made her feel a lot safer. They were watching over her, which made her comfortable.

Cletus had given her a long PJ shirt to wear to bed. It made her very much happy that she didn't have to do this alone. Instead she had him and Red to help her.

She grabbed onto one of the swaying tendrils, pinning it to the bed. They let out a small huff and tried to pull it away like a cat whose tail had been grabbed. They swayed it quickly to try and shake her off. When she refused to let go, they narrowed their white eyes.

(Y/n) was full of curiosity, watching their reaction. There was still so much she was curious about when it came to the symbiote form. They were not quite Cletus, but not quite Red. They were a whole over new person with shared characteristics, including love for her.

They smacked her hand with another tendril and she giggled softly and let go. Usually her laughter got them in a playful mood, but Carnage appeared too tired to play along that night. They just continued to watch the room quietly.

She noticed the lack of interest, which quickly made her smile fade. “Carnage?” She called out to them. It took a moment for them to return their gaze to her. “Can I see Cletus?” She asked, which got a small annoyed sound in response.

“He's resting. Red is mostly in control,” They quickly told her, looking her up and down quickly. “You should also be resting, not tugging at my strands,” They added the complaint with a small scoff.

She frowned at that, which seemed to send a full new kind of alert through Carnage. “What? Why are you giving me that look?” They nervously questioned her, unsettled.

“Are you okay?” She asked, her fingers fiddling with the bedsheets to avoid reaching out for them once again. Carnage paused and watched her play with the blanket for a few moments before shuffling closer. They then gave a small nod.

“I'm fine. Just… I almost lost you today, and that was terrifying,” They explained, gently putting their large claws around her and pulling her underneath their form. “So I have to do a better job protecting you from here on out.”

“You don't have to be so distant though,” She said, reaching up to hold their face. They let out the softest purr as her hands touched them lovingly. She gently caressed the texture of their face, watching small ripples expel around her fingertips

“I'm not trying to be distant, beautiful,” They told her, leaning down to press their fanged maw to her lips. She accepted the kiss and Carnage lifted themself to shift into a better position on top of her, not breaking the makeshift kiss that only the two of them could experience.

(Y/n) hands were trailing along their back when Carnage randomly flinched and she paused, giving them a small hum as a request for them to pull away. They instantly pulled their teeth away from her lips, allowing her to speak.

“Your back… Something seems...” She trailed off and sat up, Carnage sitting up all same. “Let me see it,” She ordered, Carnage sighing as if they knew exactly what she was referring too.

As they turned their back to her, she saw darkened splotches where she knew tendrils usually sprouted out from. The skin was full of divots and the color veined out from the center of each wounded patch. Both her and Carnage remained silent for a long moment until (Y/n) dared to touch the skin once again.

Carnage growled at the touch, causing her to instantly pull away. “Its sensitive,” They explained, turning their head back to look at her. She eyed them for a moment before looking back at his wounds.