13338/I like chocolate. I really like chocolate.

I like chocolate. I really like chocolate.
Date of Scene:	20 May 2021
Location:	Joe's Bar, Kingsbridge, The Bronx
Synopsis:	If Psylocke only knew what the symbiote thinks... of chocolate!
Cast of Characters:	Venom, Psylocke

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Venom has posed:
It was a Wednesday night, which isn't traditionally a busy night for the bars. But that suited Eddie Brock just fine. He preferred it to be quieter and calmer. Ducking into Joe's, which wasn't too far from his apartment, Eddie wore a light grey sweater, with the sleeves rolled up, the buttons on the collar undone, and it was a bit loose on him, giving him a relaxed look. Below that he had on blue jeans, and brown shoes. His looked like he had no product in it, and yet it rested as though he had just come from a barber's. The symbiote was great with the little details.

Heading to the bar, he would take up a seat on one of the stools, turning his back partially to the bar, so he could rest his right elbow on it, with his hand hanging down over the edge, while his right arm draped over his hip and fell between his slightly spread legs. The band was currently playing, with the owner, a greying man with a cane, playing the guitar alongside the band. They were doing a cover of Walking in Memphis by Marc Cohn.

Elsewhere, there were a few people playing pool, waiters and waitresses serving appetizers and drinks, and it had a very lived in atmosphere, like the people who came here would keep coming back.

Psylocke has posed:
Betsy had found this place a long time ago. She didn't get to come as often as she'd like unfortunately. When she did, she always hoped it would be a night Joe was performing. Thankfully, tonight was one of those nights.

She came in the door, dressed comfortably. It was more a local place, not a nightclub where one needed to dress to impressed. Thus she was in jeans with short boots that had a small heel. Her shirt was a camisole style in a dark purple that was almost black. Most people probably would think it was black if it wasn't in the right lighting.

She smiled when she saw Joe already on that small stage area he'd set up. Without hesitation, she headed for her favorite barstool. The stool to the left was occupied by a man she didn't recognize. The one to the right was open. No matter, she took her favorite seat and waited for the bartender to notice her.

Venom has posed:
Eddie had been tapping his fingers in the beat along the underside of the bar edge, which was clean of any gum or other things that could get stuck under there. Despite its rustic look, it was well looked after, its patrons were mature enough not to do such things, or a mixture of both. With the bartender coming towards Betsy for her order, Eddie half spun around on his stool, so his body was facing Betsy, but could look to the bartender. Had he spun the other way, he would have brushed against a support column.

Waiting for her to order her drink, he would then ask, "I'll have a Death by Chocolate," which immediately had the symbiote practically screaming in his head, 'yummy!' It was so loud that it might be noticed by a nearby telepath, as you can avoid surface thoughts with relative ease, but surface shouts are harder to block out. The sound in his head was also different than his voice, quite different.

Soon, the bartender would get to work on Betsy's order, as well as the Death by Chocolate. The later was a combination of chocolate vodka, Irish cream, Creme de Cacao, and chocolate ice cream, blended well, while the inside of the hurricane glass was drizzled with chocolate syrup, and after the mixture was poured, it was topped with chocolate shavings.

Psylocke has posed:
"Margarita on the rocks, please," Betsy had requested before preparing to turn and face the stage. The bartender gave a nod then asked Eddie for his order. Hearing the words said, Betsy was immediately raising a hand to catch the bartender's attention again before he could run off and start prepping drinks.

Which is when she heard that loud mental "Yummy!" She glanced to the man next to her but it wasn't the same voice. A look around to see who else might be listening. She did have her walls up, the world around her white noise in the background at all times in her life. But when someone 'yelled' mentally, it could break through those walls since she did keep a tiny bit of opening to try to help her sense if there was danger around her.

Instead there was someone who really thought the drink sounded good. To be fair, so did she. It's why she caught the bartender. "Please change my order. I would like what the gentleman is having as well. Death By Chocolate? Thank you."

As the bartender rushed off to make it, Betsy looked over at Eddie. "It sounds amazing. I hope you don't mind my taking your non-given suggestion."

Venom has posed:
Eddie briefly brought his hand to his face, not quite brushing his ear, but there was a subtle shake. He was too close to Betsy to whisper for the symbiote to be more careful, to quiet down. Worse, the symbiote was repeating in his head, 'choco-choco-choco-chocolate!' like a train, repeating it again and again, and he smiled at the private joke.

As the lady changed her drink order, the symbiote would say to him, 'can we have her drink too?' which was a good point, as he was able to say, "No... no, nothing wrong with that. I hope you have a sweet tooth, it can be a bit much." Truth be told, he didn't like chocolate all the time. He was growing somewhat tired of it, but the symbiote loved it, and for better or worse, they were stuck with each other. At least the symbiote liked a wide variety of chocolates to shake it up.

Then he offered his hand to her, "name's Eddie." Meanwhile, Joe was breaking in to a rendition of Hurt, Johnny Cash version. The man had the pipes for it.

Psylocke has posed:
Taking the offered hand in hers, she introduced herself, "Betsy. A pleasure to meet you, Eddie." Her grip was firm. Not one of those women who did the half-arsed version with a limp wrist and as though afraid they might get cooties from the contact. There were a few calluses on her hand but not like one got from hard labor. More on the blade of her hand as one might find in a martial artist, if one could recognize that sort of thing.

"I do have to admit I have a sweet tooth at times. Not always thankfully or my workouts would have to be much longer to compensate. But at times, I do like to indulge."

As Joe began that song, she turned her head that direction. "I could listen to him sing all day. I guess he was happy opening a bar though, instead of becoming a professional singer. I'd buy his albums."

Venom has posed:
He was impressed by her handshake. So many women were limp under the circumstances, but hers was full bodied. Surprisingly callused too, for a woman who looked like she did. He had little experience with martial artists, so some details eluded him. It could also be a mixture of the great song and the even greater company.

"Oh, you lift?" He asked, being a bodybuilder himself. He looked it. The man was built. Even if he wasn't working out as hard as he was when he was actively trying to kill Spider-Man. Back then, he was dedicated to a single goal. Now, he was living life, and enjoying chocolate, which made it harder to keep up with the crazy fitness level he had been at.

When she mentioned that she could listen to him sing all day, an inky tendril slid under the bar, behind her, towards where a basket was with some CDs. It grabbed one, leaving the appropriate money, taken from his wallet, and retracted it back, until it handed it to Eddie's far hand. Not having known what the symbiote was doing, there was a brief look of surprise, until he recognized that he was holding CD case, which he would then bring out, "here you go. So you can take him with you."

Psylocke has posed:
At the question, she gave a shake of her head. Focusing on him, not noticing the tendril that was making it's way to the basket of CDs. "No, I don't lift. Have great respect for those that do. I do a combination of yoga and martial arts mainly. A few other things scattered in here or there when they pique my interests."

Then he is offering that CD. Betsy's look of surprise is a real thing. "I ...guess I never actually asked if he had a CD. I feel rather silly now." She gave a little shrug as she accepted the CD, immediately turning it over to read the list of songs there. Some of her favorites Joe covered and a couple she hadn't heard.

She smiled at Eddie. "Thank you. How much do I owe you for it?"

Venom has posed:
He wasn't disappointed. It would have been nice to meet a girl who lifts, but he didn't expect it. He was interested in the yoga and martial arts. She looked Japanese to him, but the accent suggested English, and they were in America, so it was an interesting combination, and he really should get into one of the exercises, yoga, pilates, or whatever was popular these days, and fighting wise, he relied on brute strength, not technique. "I've been meaning to look into that, just, haven't gotten around to it. No real reason. I guess I'm lazy." Which was strange to hear, as a man built like him was anything but lazy.

"Don't sweat it," he added about the CD, and when it came to how much, "uh, I can't remember," he genuinely can't, as he hadn't seen the price, "but how about a trade, the CD for a class, yoga, martial arts, or a combination, your choice?"

Psylocke has posed:
Betsy arches a violet brow, dyed to match the rest of her hair or it would just scream that wasn't her natural hair color. With mutants and aliens around, purple hair wasn't necessarily because of dye these days. Somehow she was positive he wasn't lazy or he wouldn't be a bodybuilder. That took time and dedication.

Before she could remark on it though, their drinks were delivered. She looked at the chocolatey goodness in front of her and let out a low "Oh my." Then she reached for the straw that was poked into the drink and pulled it to her lips. A quick sip and there was a happy moan from the taste as she rolled her eyes expressively before looking back to Eddie. "This is amazing."

Then she focused on his earlier offered deal. "I don't normally teach adults. I teach martial arts to students at a school as an extra curricular activity." She considered as she set the CD down on the bar near her drink for now. "If we are talking one lesson, probably yoga would be easier. You can learn things you'll actually be able to use without further lessons that way."

Venom has posed:
The symbiote once again screamed in his mind as the Death by Chocolate arrived. It wasn't exactly Shakespeare. More like 'Gimme gimme gimme!' Which Eddie dutifully obliged, taking a large drink of it. It was deep and thick enough that it didn't yet sound like he was slurping it, but his went down by a fairly noticeable degree.

With some chocolate in his system, the symbiote began to sing in his head, 'I like chocolate. I really like chocolate. Just one bite and I feel all right. I like chocolate.' It was hard to carry on a conversation with the symbiote going on and on about it. 'When I wake I choose a bar of milk, dark or white, which I dip in my hot chocolate then I take a bite. Then for dinner, chocolate pudding with chocolate sauce, and for tea I eat a full size chocolate horse.'

"I'm a quick learner," he offered, the symbiote going on, 'It takes milk, and lots of sugar and some cocoa beans, to make a gooey double triple chocolate chip ice cream. With chocolate hundreds and thousands and twenty seven flakes. Not to mention chocolate muffins, brownies, biscuits, and cakes.' Eddie tried his best to speak over the symbiote, who was deafening him, "It sounds like fun. And thanks for making an exception for a late bloomer."

As he took another sip, the symbiote was in heaven, 'I like chocolate. I really like chocolate. Just one bite and I feel all right. I like chocolate.' He then lifted the straw out of it, and licked his tongue against it, getting a stronger taste, especially with the shavings. 'I like big sacks of chocolate stars, and bags of chocolate bars. When the last few crumbs hit my tongue, I've just gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta get some more, from the store. I can't stop spending money in the shop. People say "pack it up and pack it in" but I need chocolate everything.'

Psylocke has posed:
Again there was that momentary scream in her head then it was gone. The symbiote's singing wasn't enough to set off her telepathic senses although she was still aware of that white-noise around her, just always there, that little whisper that makes one think if they concentrate, they can make out what is being said. But if she concentrates, it will explode into full thoughts and memories as she entered someone's mind. It was enough to drive some people crazy. Perhaps that was why a lot of telepaths were slightly unstable.

"I'll need your full name and a way to reach you. Oh and your date of birth would be helpful so I can do a full background check to make sure you aren't like a serial killer or something," Betsy adds with a laugh, mostly joking on the full background check. She didn't need to go that far. She just needed to peek into his head.

As he had raised his voice like there was something he was trying to be heard over, she arched a brow curiously. "Are you alright?" Maybe he was hard of hearing?

Venom has posed:
And so much for that lesson, Eddie thought. If she was serious about the background check, there was no way he was getting a lesson. And hearing his last name, well, Eddie Brock was well known. He was Venom. He had been on trial. But not everyone paid that close attention to trials and such. Plus, if he buried the lead, maybe he could get past it. So he offered, "Edward Charles Allen Brock, my phone number is 347-224-5635, and my address is 700 Brook Ave, Bronx, NY 10455, United States" Hopefully in all of that, she would not pick up on Edward Brock equates Eddie Brock, and Eddie Brock equates Venom.

"Oh, no, nothing, probably just some water from when I was swimming earlier," which he was, "you never can quite get that last bit of water out, now can you, right?" The symbiote, which had been singing up to this point, 'I've got a chocolate dog. He likes to stay indoors. He never wants to play. He just likes licking his paws. I've got a chocolate cat. I like to give her a cuddle, but when she curls up by the fire, she wakes up in a puddle.' Then back into 'I like chocolate. I really like chocolate. Just one bite and I feel all right. I like chocolate.'

But with Eddie talking about water in his ear, the symbiote asked him, 'are you all right Eddie? Why didn't you tell us you were unwell? We should take the chocolate and go home. And get more chocolate on the way home.'

Psylocke has posed:
Betsy took the information in without writing it down. Maybe she could remember such things. Or so it likely seemed to him. "I was mostly kidding about the background check," she told him with a faint giggle, a bit amused her took her so seriously.

She took another long sip of her drink but the level wasn't going down nearly as quickly as Eddie's. "You don't get brain freeze drinking it that fast?" she asked curiously, since there was a liberal amount of ice cream involved, even if it was blended with alcohol.

"So you swim too. Good cardio and full body workout." She played with her straw a moment. "What do you do for a living?" SHe'd mentioned she was a teacher after all.

Venom has posed:
"Oh, in that case, forget I said all that," he tried to laugh it off. It seemed genuine. Though he did seem a little nervous. Was it just that Betsy was a rather impressive woman and men were often nervous around her, or was there more to it? At least she giggled at his efforts.

He had nearly finished his, which was keeping the symbiote satisfied, but it was still talking to him, concern in its deep gravelly voice, 'we should go. You need rest, and hydration. Chocolate milk is good for that. Or a hot chocolate to warm you up. Better make it both, to hydrate, cool you down, and warm you up.' It didn't work that way, but at least the symbiote cared.

"I've built up a tolerance," he offered to her, which had far more truth to it than she likely knew. "I'm a journalist," also true, mostly written," under pen names, "the odd bit of video," as some sites would actually allow him to earn money under his own name, "I could write about your school if you think it would help." He had no idea where she worked, so didn't know if her school needed help or not.

Psylocke has posed:
Thinking about someone doing a story on the school had Betsy shaking her head negatively. "I appreciate the thought but it's a private boarding school. Not big on a lot publicity as we are smaller. We already have to turn away enough students. I don't think we should get written up and have to just turn away more. It is really nice of you to offer."

A journalist. Which had her wheels starting to spin. The name sort of sounded familiar. Brock something. Why did it ring a bell?

"Would I likely have read or seen anything you've done?" Loaded question but she's meaning as a journalist, not as the topic being written about.

Venom has posed:
Raising a hand, "oh, I understand, I figured that was a strong possibility." There were schools that needed to seek attention, and those that hid from it, and there was no way for him to know, which one she came from. She had thus far only given her personal name, no surname, yet she had asked for his full name, and talked about a background check. Now she was diving into his job. She would make a good investigative reporter. Or a spy.

"I wrote about the conflict in Corto Maltese, the regime change in Khandaq, Brexit, Bialya, oh, and there was the story about when Superman rescued a cat from a tree." Was the last one true, or just a joke?

Psylocke has posed:
"So likely I would've seen the Brexit one. Maybe that is why your name is familiar." She took another sip of her drink but realized she wasn't going to be able to finish it. It was only about halfway done.

"She reached for a napkin and grabbed a pen from a cup filled with them the bartender used so people could sign their credit card slips. "Here is my number. Reach out to me sometime and we'll set up that yoga lesson. Unfortunately, I need to go. It's been a pleasure, Eddie." She picked up her CD, gave him another smile, then slipped off the barstool

Venom has posed:
"Could be," he added helpfully. It was possible. Though he was fairly certain he knew why his name was so noteworthy. He really should adopt an alias, but that wasn't him. He was Eddie Brock. He could change it, but he would know it was a lie. Changing now would be the coward's way out.

He watched with interest as she reached for the napkin and wrote her number down on it. Sure, it was a yoga lesson that had been set up, but she was nice, stunning, and he got her number, even with the yoga lesson rider. He gratefully accepted the napkin, "will do, the pleasure has been all mine." And with another smile, and slight wave, she was off the barstool, likely to rapidly depart the bar.

Alas, the symbiote ruined the moment by asking, 'can we have her Death by Chocolate too? It's just going to go to waste. Why not in our tummy? It's yummy, yummy, yummy!' At least now he could whisper, 'no, that's not socially acceptable, you know this' seemingly to himself.