Rory spent the next morning watching clips of Eddie's show before the network fired him; luckily for her she was able to watch it on Youtube. She got up early that morning, when the sun rose and the ray came through the slanted blinds and landed straight in her eyes. After brewing a pot of coffee, she flipped open her laptop and looked him up, knowing that she had plenty of time before she would meet him for their usual morning coffee – getting up at six AM meant she could have another few cups at nine when Eddie woke up.

With one foot propped up on the stool next to the one she was sitting on, she was entranced by his work. The way he spoke of issues that politicians shoved under the rug and refused to acknowledge was commendable. She found herself rooting for Eddie and some of the people he interviewed; good Samaritans who just wanted to help out, homeless people explaining their stories.

She didn't need to watch them to know that Eddie Brock was a good person, but it confirmed her suspicion that he was anyways.

A knock came on her door and she got up, walking over and pulling it open a crack; it was Eddie with two mugs.

"Oh shit, is it nine already?" she asked, turning around and glancing at the clock on the stove.

"Eight, I actually got a full night of sleep last night," he said, something in his words suggesting that maybe it was for the same reason that she got a full rest too; she went to bed with a smile on her face after kissing Eddie, after holding hands with him and feeling his arms around her.

"Yeah, me too," she said as she closed the door and unlatched the chain to let him in. Eddie stepped in and handed her a mug.

"Looks like you already got one," he said as he looked at the counter where her mug and laptop sat.

"No such thing as too much coffee; I need the energy to get me through my day."

"Work today?" he asked as he walked in, they were comfortable enough in each other's presence that they treated each other's apartments like their own. But Rory went beat red as Eddie walked around and spotted what was on her laptop.

"What are you watching?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"Porn," she lied.

He flashed a grin at her, "You call my old work porn? Man, Rory, you need to get out more -ah, but I am flattered."

"Oh shut up," she said with a laugh, walking around her counter and shutting the tab down the shutting the device.

"Thought we weren't looking into each other's pasts?"

She glanced at him then, wondering if he really wanted to know everything. She could sit him down on the couch and tell her story, her two years with him and how she was blind to the signs that were so obvious, that she was way out of her league to begin with and should have slipped out before things got ugly. And they did get ugly, she was trapped and held hostage in her own mind as she was gaslighted.

"Look, Eddie, looking into your past proves you're a good person. Looking into my past gets either one of us hurt or killed. Look where I am now because of it? You think I want to live in this apartment with dickheads like Ziggy and Mike? Of course I don't. You think I want to walk up seven flights of stairs every day brandishing my keys because I'm scared of running into someone who might hurt me in those stairs? My past is ugly, and I don't want to have to see the look on your face when you put the pieces together. The pity, I don't want it."

"Alright." He raised his hands defensively. "Don't think you didn't just make me a million times more curious though."

"Don't," she said. "Promise me, okay?"

"I can't do that," he said. "But I can promise you that I won't let anyone hurt you."

She stiffened but decided to drop it. It was enough for now and knew that he could dig but he wouldn't find much. She wasn't a big shot, she wouldn't turn up online or in news articles. It would be near impossible to find any of her art; she hadn't painted in so long it felt foreign to her. There was hardly anything linking her to her own past, it was buried.

For now.

"You're a stubborn as an ass, you know that right?" she asked.

"Been told a time or two," he replied.

"Hey, I'm going to shower, feel free to stick around -I just have to get ready for work," she said, and as she turned to the bathroom she realized she was comfortable enough to be at her most vulnerable with Eddie in the apartment, because she knew nothing would happen. Just before she shut the bathroom door, she saw him flopping down onto her couch with a newspaper, and she couldn't help but smile.

After her shower she got into her work clothes, and ran a brush through her hair a few times before deciding to let it air dry- she could spend a bit more time with Eddie before she ran off to catch the bus to work. She didn't have a car; a car meant a license and insurance, which was easily trackable. Almost nothing was in her own name, including her cell phone, credit card and rental agreements. All of them were under Rory Kane, her mother's maiden name instead of her father's surname she was raised with -she hoped when most people saw the name on its own, they assumed she was male.

It wasn't a fool proof way to hide, but it worked this long.

"Oh, wow, you look great," Eddie said when Rory walked around the coffee table where his feet were propped up and sat down on the couch beside him.

"The wet, tousled hair look?" She asked with a laugh.

"Better than this bedhead," Eddie pointed at his own hair.

"I'm digging the unemployed look on you, though," she joked. "Any luck with work?"

He shook his head solemnly; though he was handling unemployment better than most people, it was wearing him thin. His job was his life, Rory knew that from watching some of his stuff earlier. He enjoyed what he did, and that was stripped away from him because of Carlton Drake -she sympathized with him.

"You'll find something." She placed her hand on his thigh just above the knee and held tightly for a brief moment, a gesture of encouragement. "I should head out, though, gonna miss the bus if I linger any longer. Feel free to hang around, if you, uh, prefer my apartment better."

"And why would I prefer yours?"

"Yours is a little drab, Eddie. Buy a plant or something."

He chuckled, then he stood up when she did. "Hey, maybe I can give you a lift?"

"You drive?"

"I have a bike."

"Like a motorcycle? I'm not so sure wet helmet hair is going to fly at work..."

"You can pull it off. Come on," he suggested. "You'll love it."

"I'm usually in sweat pants by five thirty, and in bed by ten, I'm not exactly a thrill seeker," she said nervously, but she was tempted, she wouldn't deny that. She glanced over her shoulder to the window; it was a nice day out, less risk of getting hurt. Plus, she didn't have to sit on public transit while people stared at her the entire time.

Five minutes later, she was tightening the helmet and hoisting herself onto the bike behind Eddie. Her arms wrapped around his waist shamelessly, holding tight as the bike took off. The loudness of the engine tuned out every thought in her head except one; she was alive, she was here with Eddie. The rumble of the bike reminded her of the risks of being on this bike, the risks of being so close to Eddie.

The drive was too short, the enjoyment of the thrill ending too soon -and more specifically being so close to him- and Rory found herself disappointed to be at work already. Eddie killed the engine while parked in front of her work building, and removed his helmet. Rory removed hers as well and handed it back to Eddie, her hair tousled.

Eddie threw the kickstand down and reached his hand up and fixed a bit of Rory's hair. "There, work ready."

She laughed. "Thank you, Eddie."

"Keep the helmet, can I pick you up after work?" He asked.

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I think I'd like that."

"Look at you, one ride and you're officially a thrill seeker," he complimented playfully.

Rolling her eyes at him, she nudged her hand into his for a split second. "See you at five?"

He nodded. "Hey Rory?"

"Mm?"

"Can I kiss you?"

Rory couldn't help but smile even broader than before; she wondered how it was possible to be more attracted to someone. Men were given every ounce of sexuality displayed to them at all times; underwear models displayed on buildings and billboards, TV ads for food somehow frequently displayed a woman in a bathing suit and a killer body. It was so easy for men to find sexual gratification in day-to-day things, and yet the one thing that made Rory's knees weak was someone asking for her consent, someone who saw, understood and respected her unspoken boundaries without having to be told.

It made her whole body tingle, and when she nodded, Eddie stepped up and kissed her gently.

"See you tonight," he said as he got back on the bike and tore off. 

-----

Guys! I wanted to reach 3K yesterday and I almost hit 4K! I can't believe it, you're amazing, all of you! Every single person who commented, voted, added to a reading list, even you silent readers, I respect and thank all of you. Without you, my writing wouldn't be possible.

I know you guys all want Rory to meet Venom and Anne, but give it time, I want to flesh this out and use these remaining five months well. I'm trying to establish who Rory is, figure out her past in detail, and she's going to have to overcome a lot of things before I tie this in to the bulk of the film.

So hang in there, stick around for the ride, it's going to be a long one! 

And with that said, I have a list of people who have commented and dedications will be handed out, I may never get to all of you, because the list is already  24 people long, so I think by the time I reach the end of those dedications there will be a lot more people. If, by the end of the book (whenever that will be), you've commented and no dedication has been given, I'll post a list at the end as a thank you.