What was happening on patrol that night was odd to Wade, Spidey was really quiet. Now don’t get Wade wrong, in the beginning he was always quiet, not really wanting to give Wade the time of day, but recently, they’d been doing really well.
Wade would make some obscure reference, and Spidey would complete it, and vice versa, they were the perfect dynamic duo. Now while Wade didn’t know his name, that didn’t stop how well they worked together.
“Really wish we knew his name, we could stalk him back home and find out for ourselves.”
“Yea… How about no, you crazy Dutch bastard.”
But tonight, something was wrong, Wade would shoot a directed reference towards Webs, and he’d either get a staggered laugh in return, or complete silence. This had Wade metaphorically and literally scratching at his head for the majority of the night.
Webs loved dumb jokes, so why was Wade falling short? Well, Wade figures that out once they stumble upon an illegal smuggling transport.
“Why is it always warehouses?” Wade stage whispers as the two of them crouch on top of a building roof, a fair distance away from said warehouse. Wade is met with silence as Webs skips over the comment.
“I’ll quickly sneak around and web the entrances closed and incapacitate any guards, you get on the roof and wait until I enter the warehouse before you join me, got it?” And before Wade can respond, Spidey is off, scaling down the building and rushing towards the warehouse.
Wade lets out a small confused sigh as he simply drops off the side of the building, his ankles snap, and his bones grind against one another, but with a simple shake of his legs, the ankles snap back into place, and Wade jogs on ahead.
“You think Spidey is on his period?”
“Hey, no sexist remarks!”
Wade quickly heaves himself up onto the warehouse roof, and crouches near a window that gives him a full view of the transport setup.
“Rate my setup.”
It’s not long before one of the sliding metal doors is kicked off its hinges, opening the space wide and revealing Spider-Man standing stock still. There are a few seconds of pause before gun fire starts, Spidey jumps out the way, and Wade comes crashing in through the roof.
“I’m coming out, so you better get this party started.” Wade calls out in a singing tone as he begins firing; rubber bullets, mind you.
Heads and weapons move in the direction of Wade as he quickly moves through the crowd, mildly maiming, and knocking them out.
“The things we do for love.”
“The things we do for ass.”
Spidey swings around the warehouse roof, his usual dexterity seems sloppy tonight, his aim is off, and he seems distracted; despite this, his captures are successful.
Webs swings around the structure beams of the warehouse, occasionally swinging down in an arch kick, or to quickly knock out a lackey by themselves. He was deathly quiet as he moved, it was almost unnerving.
He’d either web them to the floor as he passed, or simply knock them out and leave them on the floor. Spidey still moved with grace, despite his odd night.
Noticing Spidey's good capture streak, Wade speaks up.
“Good job, Webs!” Wade calls out, however, that seems to be his undoing, as Spidey's head snaps to focus on Wade, his movements freeze and his chest stutters slightly.
The pause causes him to lose his grip on the next swing and Webs hits the floor hard, his knees scuff the concrete, but he saves the fall by turning it into a sloppy roll.
However, before Webs can get back on his feet, an enemy moves forward and lays a punch on his jaw, the momentum leaves Spidey laying on the floor, his jaw aching.
And surprisingly enough, Webs doesn’t get up, he lies on the floor, and heaves in breaths.
“Fuck, Spidey.” Wade says in a panic, noticing the spider on the floor.
“Aye aye Captain.”
Wade sprints towards Spidey, while quickly pulling out a small knife from a side pocket, and flinging it towards the lackey, it hits them square in the shoulder, and they stumble back in pain.
“Baby knife.”
Wade hurdles over a crate that was in the way, and drops beside Webs. Deciding there was no time, Wade simply picks the spider up and teleports them away with a simple twist of his teleportation belt buckle.
They end up on a rooftop they commonly hang out on, it overlooks the city below, the tinkling of windows, LED signs and headlights create a surprisingly peaceful atmosphere.
Wade, still holding Spidey, sits him down and props him against a large air conditioning machine. Wade sits down next to the spider and looks him over.
Webs' head lolls and his hands lap open in his lap, his fingers twitching occasionally. A few seconds of silence fill the space, as the cold wind blows. Webs' shoulders shake minutely, and he closes in on himself, almost hunching over.
“Spidey, are you okay? You can’t just drop dead out of nowhere, you’re drop-dead gorgeous, but not any other kind of drop-dead.” Wade says quickly, rambling as he usually does when panicking.
“And that includes Fred.”
“That was a weird movie.”
The ex-merc looks over at Spidey, trying to spot any visible wounds without peeling open the suit. Wade cautiously moves closer from his spot on the floor, he grabs Spidey's shoulder and pulls him towards himself; Intending to check him over, however.
Spidey immediately goes with the motion, he scuffles across the floor, in an almost desperate attempt to be closer to Wade, and lays in a bundle of limbs in his lap as his arms encircle Wade's waist.
One hand wraps under Wade's arm and grips the back katana strap, while the other wraps around the lower half of Wade's waist, and grips the fabric of his suit.
Resembling that of a small child with a large teddy bear.
Spidey buries his head in the crook of Wade's neck, and it's at this moment that Wade can feel the tremors running across his skin, he can feel the hitch in his breath, and can hear the subtle sniffling.
“Oh...”
Wade's hands hover in the air awkwardly for a moment, not knowing how to comfort someone, his eyes blink comically, having not expected Webs to initiate this type of contact.
After a moment, his arms wrap around Webs' shoulders, pulling him further onto his lap, making the hug more comfortable.
One of Wade's arms wraps comfortably around the back of Spidey's shoulders and rests against his rib cage, while the other curls around his head.
Wade's hand rests and caresses Spidey's head, akin to how you’d play with someone's hair.
The gentle touch sends a shuddering hiccup through Webs, his chest expands and shakes as he sobs into Wade's neck.
All the ex-merc can do is stare in shock, as he lightly rocks from side to side. Webs had never been this vulnerable with him, and despite the sad circumstance, Wade was unbelievably happy.
Wade tucks his head down against Spidey's, and continues to rock the two of them.
Time seems to pass slower in this bubble of vulnerability they had created, cars hummed many levels below them, large screens and speakers played music and advertisements, the stars twinkled above.
Yet, none of it mattered as Wade held Spidey together on their rooftop.
“I’m sorry.” A small voice hiccups.
“For what, baby boy?” Wade asks in an equally soft voice, continuing to rock the two of them.
“For being so distant... And cold,” Webs mumbles, Wade goes to speak but he cuts him off, “you don’t deserve that kind of treatment, I should have been better than that.”
Wade frowns, usually self depreciation was his thing, he’d trade marked it and everything. It was so unusual hearing Webs talk himself down.
Given his usual attitude when around Wade was happy and bubbly.
“Well, I accept your apology,” Wade starts, “you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself, Webs”
“Be hard on me.”
“Shut up! We’re having a bonding moment, arm cradling and everything.”
Spidey pulls away from the hug slightly and stares at Wade, his big round reflective mask eyes seem wider, sadder.
That is, until Spidey reaches a hand up and tugs the mask off. Wade freezes up, not knowing if he can stare or not.
“It’s Peter… Peter Parker.” Peter says with a watery smile, tears well up in his eyes.
“Do something! Stop staring at him, say something!”
“I’m Wade, Wade Wilson.” Wade slightly mimics, his voice airy as his eyes dart around Peter's face, taking in every new detail, burning it into his eyes.
Peter lets out a wet chuckle.
“Things haven’t been that great for me, I shouldn’t have patrolled, but… I didn’t want to leave you alone, and cancel at the last minute.” Peter wrings his mask in his hands, his eyes looking off to the side, not wanting to hold eye contact.
“... You don’t have to patrol if you’re not feeling okay, you can take a sick day,” Wade says, the shock slowly wearing off. “Or two… More than two.”
This earns another laugh from Peter.
“What ails you?” Wade asks in a withered voice, mimicking an old lady.
Peter pauses for a moment, a small smile on his face due to Wade's jokes, the smile twitches and falls as Peter remembers the past few months.
“Are you sure you want to hear it,” Peter asks in a sincere tone, “I’m giving you the chance to back away.” Peter hesitantly looks around Wade's face, not wanting him to leave.
“I’m staying, baby boy.” Wade says with a small nod, and decides to remove his mask too, given the vulnerability of this moment. Wade saw it only fair to let himself be vulnerable too.
Peter smiles as Wades takes his mask off.
“Well, I’m pretty sure I’ve told you I go to Uni,” Peter asks, Wade nods. “Right, so… I’ve been doing really well with the courses, top of my class, best marks, y’know?”
Wade doesn’t actually know, having never graduated High-School, but Peter doesn’t need to know that, so Wade just nods in agreement.
“Well, it took me a lot of work to do that, so many sleepless nights, and so much stress…” Peter says. “And, I love my aunt, and all she does for me-”
Peter had previously mentioned his aunt, so Wade knew this woman was a saint, she’d been so selfless, and Peter mentions it every time he brings her up.
“I just… I wish she would notice the work I put in, she seems to think so little of me, I thought she’d be prouder.” Tears slowly well back up in Peter's eyes.
“I thought she’d stop yelling at me, I thought she’d stop asking so much of me, and making me feel guilty for enjoying the occasional free day that I’d get.” Peter pauses, taking in a shaky breath.
“I love her, I really do… She just seems less caring than she used to be, she was always so nice and dotting whenever I was sick as a kid.” Peter reminiscing slightly. “Constantly asking me if I needed things, how I was feeling, if I was okay… I want that, I want her to be like that all the time.”
Peter continues, not giving Wade a chance to speak, or for himself to breathe.
“But, I can't ask her to do that, it's too exhausting, no matter how caring you are… But I just-... I can’t help but ache for… For motherly love.”
Wades chest clenches, knowing that ache all too well himself.
“I want her to be like everyone else's mums, how they show up for school events, care for them all the time, give them affection and reassurance.”
“I want that fairytale care, I want her to hug me, and tell me I’m her world… That she loves me, and supports me.”
Peter hiccups, and looks down at the floor. Wade pulls him closer, and the hand that rested on Peter's back starts patting him and rubbing circles.
“I feel like I can’t catch a break, I don't think I’ve heard a single word of praise from her about my Uni work… I’ve worked so hard, I’ve given up so much and taken on so much stress, all for the sake of good grades, and I feel like she’s not even acknowledging me.” Peter pulls away slightly to look up at Wade, and blanches as he takes in Wade's teary-eyed expression.
“Holy shit, someone hug this spider before I break out and do it.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Peter's eyes shine with unshed tears, Wade just shakes his head slightly.
“No, no… You’re okay Petey pie, I know what you mean, maybe not with school, but with wanting a caring mum.” Wade continues talking
“My mum didn’t win any awards for parenting, but she tried. It was never her best, and little Wade will always cry for a mum that’ll come to my rescue and kiss my scratched knees.” Wade says, trying to put in a bit of humour into his words, not used to being so vulnerable about something he tends to avoid talking about.
“Since when did we fucking trauma dump?”
Peter nods in understanding, and leans back into Wade's hug, feeling like they could both use it.
“... I just want her to tell me I’ve done good, that I’m-... That I’m not a complete failure.” Wade freezes up as Peter speaks. “That I’m not lazy, or selfish. I want her to be proud of me, I want her to go to my graduation and cheer louder than every other person, because that's her kid up on the stage.”
Peter heaves in a breath, tears fall from his eyes, and Wade wipes them away, before squeezing Peter in a tight hug.
“Oh, baby boy…” Wade whispers in a sad tone, continuing to rock the two of them. “I’m always here for you, thank you for telling me this.”
“I don't think I’ve seen him be this mature in years.”
“Years? I think you mean in forever.”
“You’ll have to talk to your aunt about this, it can't keep going under the radar if it's making you so upset,” Wade mused, “I can’t really help with that, but we can stay up here for as long as you need, Petey.”
Peter nodded, and shuffled even closer to Wade, the warmth the ex-merc naturally produced made Peter relax into Wade.
“Thank you.”
“Any time, baby boy.”