Soulmates soulmating
Soulmate AU: when your soulmate touches your bare skin for the first time, a small heart will appear at that exact spot on both partners.
Peter has been careful lately. Always keeps on his full suit, mask and gloves. He definitely doesn't want to meet his soulmate as Spider-Man. He might be a little daft in the relationship-department, but he's learned from the Black Cat fiasco, thank you very much. When his heart appears, he wants it to be from someone who likes him for Peter, not for Spider-Man. Felicia hurt him, dumping him once she found out he was a nerdy photographer and science reporter for the Bugle. MJ tells him it will work out either way, because duh, soulmates, but that's easy for her to say. She's been with Gwen ever since they had to perform some acrobatic move in gym class and their hearts appeared when they touched. MJ's is at the sole of her foot, while Gwen's is at the inside of her upper leg. Their eyes sparkle nauseatingly when they share their story to new people, when they question them about the weird placement. It sickening cute and he's not jealous. No, not one bit.
MJ has suggested he visits one of those 'True Romance Experiences'. Right. As if feeling as many people up in one eve to hopefully find your match is marginally romantic. Sometimes, when he's alone at night and feels the emptiness and bone-deep longing, he almost caves and visits. But then he thinks about the complications it will bring to his already complicated life, and he just watches another episode of some silly romantic series.
The worst part is the waking up every day with hope. Maybe today is the day, the day he meets her. Or him. His preferences make it even more difficult, as his fishing pond is twice as big. Or more, seeing he's pan. Sighing, wishing he'd quit patrolling a tad bit earlier yesterday, he gets up. He has to hurry to make it in time. Which means no coffee. Fuck. He quickly showers and dresses, grabs his keys and backpack and runs out of the door. When he's safely sitting in the subway (miracles do exist, even at rush hour), he wonders why his pack feels heavier than usual. he carefully opens his pack to reveal a pink glittery Hello Kitty travel mug and a brown package. Huh? There's a note scribbled on the brown paper. Spidey <3 Pool fohevah, an insane amount of hearts surrounding the words. Smiling, he opens it, revealing a slice of home-baked banana bread. He must've slipped it in his bag yesterday night, when he gave Deadpool a piggyback ride back to his apartment and had to pee before leaving again.
Peter takes a sip of the black magic potion, reveling in the uplifting heat. He takes a bite of the banana bread, already knowing it’ll be the best. Deadpool knows his butter from margarine. He silently thanks the merc, who’s been trying to do much better. The thought of their villain hunt last night brings out another smile. He had fun. So much fun, he even entertained the idea of touching him, just to see if they’d be soulmates. He remembered his vow (to be soulmates with someone who likes him as Peter) just in time. Maybe someday he’ll be courageous enough to tell ‘Pool his secret identity, so they can get to know each other better. The hot coffee, delicious treat and happy memories fill him with warmth. He knows he shouldn’t jinx it with his Parker Luck, but he can feel it in his bones. Today will be a good day.
Peter walks into the office, passing a friendly young man with a bucket. When he turns around the corner, he sees his own co-workers huddled together, bustling over themselves to take a look at another guy cleaning the windows. He smiles inwardly at their flirty gazes. Peter wonders if he’ll be the same when he’s middle-aged. He hopes not, but if he still hasn’t found his soulmate by then, he can’t guarantee anything.
His eyes wander to the guy at the window. Suddenly he gets why they’re all salivating over the man. He’s buff. His thighs look like they could snap a neck. His shirt is a size too small, stretching deliciously tight. His biceps look like cables of steel, his back is broad and muscular. Extremely muscular. He wonders how it would feel if those arms would hold him down, restraining his movement when- aaand, don’t go there, you’re at work, Pete. Peter feels his cheek redden a bit. He tries to only look at the man's face. He is scarred. Peter wonders what's the story behind them. His eyes are the bluest he’s ever seen, radiating as he talks to Mary, his colleague from accounting, who normally resides two floors down from them.
Ann is suddenly standing next to him. 'Oh, my. Window boy is back. I wonder if he's scarred like that everywhere.' She seems to lick her lips at the thought. And here Peter thought that middle-aged women had gotten enough time to get their minds out of the gutter.
'Wha-?'
'Oh sweetie, don't pretend you didn't notice. I'm sure you want to know if they cover his private parts as much as everybody. And I think you're our best change to find out.' She walks over to the man, grabbing a bottle of coke from her bag. 'Hey, gorgeous. Want a coke?' She smiles sweetly as she hands the man the can, her hands twirling a strand of her grey curls. She looks like a school girl, all innocence and smiles. Peter knows better.
The man looks at her, eyes sparkling. 'You're just hoping for a Coca Cola Light break, aren't you?'
All his colleagues are laughing now. Peter doesn't really get it. Must be a generation thingy. The man pops the can open and gulps up the liquid, wiping his head with his arm. He makes a fucking show of it. One that shouldn’t be that ridiculously hot. He hears Ann whoop.
Peter realizes he's still standing in the aisle, so he moves to the nearest free desk. The movement makes the man look at him. His gaze rakes Peter’s face and body, slowing at his ass. When he looks back up again, an appreciative smile tugs at his lips. He looks back at Ann and resumes their conversation. Peter feels his cheeks heat up again as he puts his things on the desk and sits down. That gaze felt... Indecent. Exhilarating. Like he was being undressed and judged, and somehow the man liked the lithe nerd he saw. He tries to calm his inner turmoil and turns on his computer. His e-mails show he needs to do a photo shoot this afternoon, someone who saved a bag of puppies from the water. He likes these assignments best, always making sure these small-time heroes sparkle on the photo's. Other than that it's a slow day. He starts editing the photo's they need for the Saturday special.
Peter notices his co-workers return to their places. Ann sits at the desk next to him. His spider-sense knows exactly where the man is all the time, humming in a foreign way. Peter has no idea why, but it’s not the usual warning-buzz, so he decides to leave it. He tries to ignore the man, but it's hard. Like not thinking of a pink elephant in a tutu hard. When he involuntarily looks up, he sees the man stretching his arms high up to reach the top of the frame, making his shirt ride up a bit. It reveals rock-hard abs. He thinks he might drool if he doesn't look away. He has to look away. Before the man notices. He has to- he can't.
The man seems to feel he's being watched and looks up, eyes darting to Peter's in an instant. The crooked appreciative smile returns, followed by an honest to God wink. Fuuuuuuck. Peter's fucked as he blushes ferociously and averts his gaze.
'It seems the hot-shot really likes you.' Ann leans in as she whispers. Unfortunately, Ann is rather hard-hearing and doesn't know how to keep the volume down. Peter steals another glance at the man. A grin is forming at his lips. 'I'm sure he wouldn't mind a handful of your ass.' Peter chokes on his own spit, his cheeks burning up with shame. The man's shoulders shake with silent laughter. 'Well, Tiger? Go for it.' She growls and even makes claws of her hands. Claws!
'Please, let the earth swallow me whole.' Peter mutters.
And of course Ann hears thát. She conveniently misses all the extra work JJ gives her, her turn to buy new ketchup for grilled cheese Tuesday, but this... 'I'm sure you'd rather have him swallow you.' She gestures at the man and winks at Peter.
Mortified, he looks at her. The man laughs out loud, wheezing and wiping his eyes as he walks out to the kitchen.
‘A-hann!' He sounds like a pouting adolescent.
'Yes, sweetheart?'
'Don't try an innocent grandmother on me, Ann.' He glares at her. 'You're not remotely that age.'
'Well, sweetie, would you have taken any action yourself?'
He knows she's right, but still. He just stays silent, arms crossed.
'You know you wouldn't. Now, I'd like a cappuccino with extra milk. And while you're at it, fetch that hard-working man one too.' She smiles at him as she pushes his office chair towards the kitchen, the same way the man has gone. He glares daggers at her, but stands up and moves anyway. If only to apologize. 'You'll thank me later! Remember to invite me to the wedding!' Ann laughs when he enters the kitchen.
Peter enters the kitchen. Of course, the man is standing right there, looking at who just entered the room. A crooked smile forms. 'Hi.'
Oh God. Even his voice is strong. Sultry. Seductive. It resonates in Peter's stomach, making it do a somersault. 'Uhm... hi?' His voice squeaks.
'Do you know if there's a smoking area somewhere here?'
Shit. That's a definite no-go. Peter hates smoking.
His face must've fallen, because the man clarifies: 'I'd rather sit in the sun for a while than being cooped up here.'
Peter smiles hesitantly and points him to the large window next to the fridge. 'I usually sit there.'
'On the roof?'
Fuck, clever, Peter. Not everybody likes rooftops. He nods. 'But you could also go to the smoking area outside. I mean, not everybody likes heights and that's okay. Even though I suppose it's slightly inconvenient as a window cleaner. Being afraid of heights, I mean. I-'
'It sounds good.' The man smiles as he stops Peter's rambling. 'Will you and that cute ass join me?'
That stops Peter's brain for a moment. He points at himself. 'Me?'
'I don't see anyone else here but a cute nerd with endless legs and butt to bounce quarters off. In short: yeah, you.'
'O...kay'. He hears himself stutter a bit. If only he could muster up a quarter of the confidence of his alter-ego.
The man opens the window. 'Bring a coffee, sweetums. Lots of sugar, so it's as sweet as you are.'
Peter's hands shake as he gets two coffee, one black, one with 5+ sugar and a few sugarbags to be safe. He steps outside, carefully closing the window while juggling two cups. The man is sitting with his back against the wall, soaking up the sun. It's weird how his spider-sense acts around the man. It's humming like... like it's content and satisfied. There's no other description. The only time he’s experienced anything like it, is when he’s chasing villains with Deadpool, always chalking it off to the adrenaline. The man opens one eye and looks Peter over again. 'Damn, even cuter in daylight.' He smiles as Peter walks over to him. 'Wade.'
'Wait? Oh, I'm sorry. I'll just leave you your coffee. You can sit in silence. I'm sorry for assuming...' Yeah. The man wanted to be alone, he just needed someone to fetch him the coffee. Way to go, Peter. Ann has filled his head with impossibilities, making him act-
The man grabs his arm. 'No, baby-boy. The name's Wade.'
Peter feels it before it's happening. A tingle at his arm makes him look down at it, and his eyes flick back at the ma- Wade. It's like time is running in slow-motion. He drops the coffee cups, watching their path as they fall, their contents spilling and flying everywhere. Time resumes it's linear path again as the coffee flops over Wade's shirt. Wade's eyes look horrified at the hot liquid. Fuck!
'Wade!' He rushes towards him. He pulls Wade's shirt off as quickly as he can, to stop the hot liquid from seeping though and hurting him. Wade sits there, dazed, looking at his bare torso. Peter looks at the shirt and realizes what he just did. 'Shite. I'm so sorry! I needed to- it had to come off because you-' he blushes fiercely.
Wade laughs. 'You know, baby-boy, if you wanted to see me naked, you could've just asked?'
The window opens and Ann looks out. ‘Nów it’s a Coca Cola Light break. Can you do a titty roll?’
‘Ann!’ Peter’s voice is indignant. ‘You can’t-‘
‘Don’t worry, sweetie. I’ll give you some privacy. Remember? Tigerrrr.’ She growls as she closes the window. Peter sees his colleagues glued to the window, looking at them. Ann says something and closes the curtain. It opens for a small moment, revealing Ann making kissy faces, but he also sees his co-workers have left their spot. Ann closes the curtains tightly, giving them the promised privacy.
Horrified, Peter slides down, back against the wall and buries his head in his hands. ‘I shouldn’t have jinxed this day.’
Wade laughs again. 'Are you always this awkward, or did you save that for meeting your soulmate?' He looks at his thumb mesmerized.
Peter follows his gaze and sees the little black heart on it. His eyes flick to his own arm. Yep, it's there. A gorgeous, perfect black heart, an inch or two from the inside of his wrist. He stares at it incredulously. ‘I’m… always this awkward? I think?’ Peter flushes bright red.
Wade looks at him and smiles. ‘Awesome. I do have to tell you something.’ His face falls, a sad look forming. ‘I… I can’t fluff this up, baby-boy. I’m here on a stakeout.’
Peter feels the floor fall from under him. Stakeout? His soulmate is a criminal?
‘I kill people for a living.’
Fuck. That’s the worst kind of criminal in Peter’s book. He swallows and squeaks: ‘what do you mean?’
‘I- I used to be the biggest mercenary there was. But my friend Spidey, he has different morals. So I try to keep the amount of unaliving at a bare minimum. Don’t worry, doll. I really do my best. But I had to do this one in. You see, this here bastard does things to kids tha-’
Peter’s eyes flash towards Wade’s. His mind’s stuck on a word. Unaliving?! ‘Deadpool?’
Wade’s eyes widen. ‘You know me?’
Peter squeezes his eyes closed. ‘I should say I do.’ Suddenly he bursts out laughing. He shakes with it, tears streaming down his face.
Wade looks at him in concern. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Peachy.’ Peter swipes the tears away. ‘Peter, by the way.’ He holds out his hand at Wade.
Wade raises a browbone, but grabs the hand and shakes it.
‘You might also know me as Bubble Butt, Webs, Webhead, Spidey or just plain Spider-Man.’
Wade seems to freeze on the spot. Complete with total silence and a glassy stare that goes right through Peter. He seems to have a total black-out. The lights are on, but there’s no one home.
‘Wade? Are you okay?’
That shakes Wade out of his rigid state. ‘Am I…? AM I! BUBBLE BUTT! I can’t fucking believe this!’ Wade starts chortle too, which fires up another fit of giggles from Peter. They laugh the tension away, until they’re roaring with it. Peter suspects Ann will open that window any time now to ask them to quiet down, which makes him chortle again. Peter’s core is hurting from it and his eyes feel like they’re going to pop out.
Wade recovers first. He puts his hand on Peter’s bicep. ‘Well, fuck me. What did you ever do to the universe to end up with me?’ A small snort escapes him. ‘Whoever cooked this up must be out of their mind. You and me.’ He giggles again.
Peter feels the hilarity leave him in an instant. ‘I’m glad it’s you.’ He looks at Wade through his lashes, suddenly feeling tiny and insecure.
‘Really?’ Wade looks at him warily. ‘Your morals not in the way?’
‘Don’t sound so amazed. You try so hard to do better, Wade.’
Wade looks like a puppy. ‘That I do, Webs.’
‘Thanks for that coffee, by the way. It made my day.’
‘I would’ve thought meeting your soulmate did that?’
‘That, too.’
They sit in silence for a while.
‘You’re even cuter than I imagined you, you know?’ Wade smiles softly. It lights up his already pretty face. ‘All nerdy and clever and did I mention cute?’
‘You’re just as hot as I imagined you underneath that suit.’ Peter smiles back.
‘Damn.’ He shakes his head. ‘Damn, Petey. You really mean that, don’t ya?’
Peter just nods and reaches for Wade’s cheek. His skin feels textured, rough under his fingertips. Wade shudders from the feather light touch. ‘May I kiss you?’
Wade smirks. ‘You can do whatever you want with me, Peter.’ He wiggles his browbones.
Peter presses his lips to Wade’s. The kiss is firm. He smiles into it. Just when he deepens it, the window swings open. Peter breaks their contact, blushing deeply.
‘Hey, perverts! Break’s over!’ Ann’s voice is too chipper to his ears. ‘Get that ass over here, we’ve got a meeting ten minutes ago! I’ll cover for you for 5 more and then you’re on your own.’ The window shuts again.
Peter presses one last kiss to Wade’s amused lips. Reluctantly he gets up, holding Wade’s hand for just a little too long. ‘I… I have to go. Sorry.’
Wade shrugs. ‘Jobs won’t wait, will they?’
Peter shakes his head and makes his way over to the door. ‘Will I see you tonight?’
‘You betcha. Rosá’s rooftop?’
‘Yeah. 8?’
Wade nods as he looks at his thumb again. Just as Peter closes the door, he yells after him: ‘You should’ve touched my dick, Petey! Imagine the story when the heart showed up there! Oh, I might get one tattooed there just to see that pretty blush of yours when I tell everyone about it. Imagine the aaaaaawkwardness of it.’ He sings the word tauntingly.
Peter manages to stick out his tongue at Wade, before he slams the door.
He hears Wade’s exaggerated happy sigh outside. ‘Our first quarrel, complete with slamming doors. This is love.’
Peter leans against the closed door, gathering his thoughts. He stares at his heart incredulously. Wade and he? Yeah. It’ll work out. He joins the meeting, flashing a happy smile at Ann, who stares at his heart in awe and gives him the thumbs up. He doesn’t hear a single fucking thing in the meeting, mind drifting towards Wade. He can’t wait until it’s 8 o’clock. It is a happy day, so happy, even his bloody Parker luck couldn’t fuck it up.