Goodbye
Peter stared down at New York City beneath him. The lights went on for miles in the night sky and he tried to imagine himself as tiny and insignificant as the smallest spec in the distance.
He turned eighteen tomorrow and he’d been desperately awaiting this day for almost a month- yet now that it was here, his stomach was swirling from anxiety.
Legally, he could auction himself off, but he wasn’t doing this because he wanted to like some omegas did.
He needed whichever rich alpha that bid on him to pay off his aunt’s mortgage and cover some of her medical bills. The woman was sick and Peter was finding it impossible to get good work.
Playing pizza boy and freelance photographer wasn’t bringing in enough money to cover the expenses.
So what was trading in a couple of years of his life for financial security?
Every. Omega. Did. It.
He looked down at his phone, praying that Deadpool wouldn’t stand him up tonight. He at least wanted to give the mercenary a reason as to why he was disappearing.
He didn’t want his friend to think that he’d abandoned him.
Peter spun around to face the fire escape when he heard footsteps clattering up the metallic railing. He felt relieved when he saw Wade appear, panting for breath and clutching his side through his red and black suit.
“You never make this easy for me, do you?” The alpha accused, pointing a finger at him. “Just because you can get up here easy, doesn’t mean I can.”
Spider-Man rolled his eyes underneath his own mask and reached for his backpack. He’d been kind enough to grab some take-out food and he held out a carton to Wade.
For the prosperity of their friendship.
“Hope you fancy Chinese tonight.” He offered and rolled his mask up to eat.
Wade pulled his off. He’d gotten over his insecurities around the other hero long ago.
-
“What’s wrong, Webs? You seem kind of down.” Wade nudged him playfully. “Look- if your girlfriend has dumped you, I’m more than happy to take her place.”
Peter laughed at that, although he knew that the other was being half-serious; trying his luck just like he always did.
It was bizarre to Peter. Wade didn’t really know him, yet the mercenary seemed to adore him anyway. They really had become close over the last two years.
It pained him that he was going to ruin everything now.
“No girlfriend… but I do have some other news… and I don’t want you to take it badly, okay?”
Wade frowned, unsure what to make of how sour the mood had just turned. He placed his almost empty food carton down and decided to stop cracking jokes.
It seemed the hero was really down on his luck somehow. Why else would he have called him up here?
“Okay… although, I doubt you could do anything to upset me, sweet cheeks. We’re besties.”
Peter stood and then reached up to ghost his fingertips under the hem of his mask.
He was doing this… he was doing this. He had to.
Mentally he counted to three before he pulled the spandex upwards and off of his head.
The boy ruffled his hair and his large doe eyes stared down at Wade, wondering if the mercenary would realize on sight that he wasn’t a beta. Some alphas could just tell from the combination of his soft features and small frame.
As expected, the mercenary’s jaw dropped. Wade scanned Peter’s face. He noticed that his skin was smooth, his eyelashes were full and he had little dimples in his cheeks.
God, he was so pretty. He was angelic. The alpha’s fingers twitched, wanting to reach out and pet him.
Did he purr? Oh god, he bet he purred!
“Baby boy.” The nickname felt like it meant so much more now and he pulled himself to his feet too.
Here Peter was, fighting on the streets when he should be in a nice home being worshipped and tended to like the precious gem that he was. “I thought you were just a really cute beta.”
Would he have even flirted with his superhero friend had he known the truth? Wade felt like he didn’t deserve an omega. They were rare and perfect and just unobtainable- and definitely not for a guy like him.
“I always knew you were special.”
The boy grimaced at those words and took a step back. Whether Wade realized he was doing it or not, he was advancing on him. The omega knew well enough to keep his distance from an overly-curious alpha.
“So I guess my secret’s out.” Peter waved his hand at himself awkwardly, hoping that the man wouldn’t make an even bigger deal out of this the longer he gawked at him.
“I asked you to come see me because I wanted to say goodbye for a while… there’s something I’ve got to do… and I don’t think there’ll be any room for Spider-Man… unless there’s like a massive threat.”
Wade didn’t even miss a beat. His arms came up to cross over his chest. If Peter was an omega, then he had a damn good idea what this meant!
“Are you auctioning yourself?”
It was a common thing for omegas to do. They made up less than one percent of the whole population. Rich alphas would bid for their time. They were centerpieces at parties. They got spoiled rotten and adored. It was only natural that Peter would want that life for himself.
Yet- this still didn’t feel like his style.
The boy that Wade was looking at was tough. He was a savior. He fought for the city. Why was he suddenly going soft? A horrible thought crossed his mind and anger stirred in his core.
“Is somebody making you do this?” He dared to ask, mentally preparing himself to skewer any man that forced Peter into some sort of weird omega contract. He would destroy them.
“What?” Peter tilted his head and laughed. Then he shook it.
“No one is forcing me, Wade… but I do need a lot of money.” He confessed, lowering his eyes so that the other couldn’t see the sadness in them. “My Aunt is sick and she’ll lose her house if I don’t find a way to pay it off...” He moved to take a seat on the edge of the building again.
“I’ve been waiting for my eighteenth birthday. The last few months have been rough.”
Eighteen.
Fucking eighteen.
Wade frowned and studied his friend’s features closer. Then his stomach sank when the realization hit him.
He’d been hitting on a kid.
“Webs… I swear I didn’t know you were this young.” He promised and moved to sit with him again, this time making sure to put a bit of space between them. “With your schedule, I thought you were at least a college student.”
Had he really been flirting with the other hero since he’d been sixteen?
Wade genuinely felt queasy.
“I’m… really sorry. And I mean that.”
Peter laughed again. Wade was cute sometimes. Annoying- but he had his sweet moments.
The man couldn’t be blamed though. He’d never seen his face until now. Not to mention the omega was kind of used to older men falling over themselves trying to win his affections.
Before he’d graduated high school, an alpha neighbor had offered him lifts in the morning as soon as he left his house. Another man had waited for him every single afternoon at the school gates with bunches of flowers. He’d been approached on the street by strangers. He’d been hassled.
Even the alpha boys at school had made it a game to see which one of them could win him and the teachers had given him special treatment, as though ‘omega brain’ was a real thing.
Spider-Man had been an escape. Once he’d installed scent blockers into the suit and had put on the mask, he’d been able to be himself with no secondary gender to hold him back.
Just your average friendly neighborhood boring beta.
“Wade… It’s okay. You couldn’t have known. And… honestly it was kind of nice.” Peter gave him a gentle smile. “It meant you liked me for me.”
Silence.
It wasn’t often that the merc with the mouth was rendered speechless. He stared out at the city as though he was trying to pluck a solution out of thin air.
“You know there’s probably another way, right? You could crowdfund. Or start a cutesy OnlyFans.” He suggested, hoping that this would sound more appealing to Peter. “You probably wouldn’t even have to do anything sexual to get guys to subscribe- just wear those pretty omega robes and purr at the camera.”
That was true. Omegas who went down that route had massive fanbases online. They were rare and therefore desired more.
But the income would also be inconsistent.
Anxiety gnawed at Peter and he wanted his Aunt’s problems to be solved as quickly as possible.
“I need something solid, Wade. And besides, omegas that do that end up getting stalked… like really, really badly. I hate being hounded.”
Wade gave him a sympathetic look and then slapped his lap as an idea struck him.
“I could rob a bank!” He suggested. “I’ve done it before- But don’t worry that was years ago and for a client! Nothing recent I promise!” He backtracked and held his hands in the air when he saw the hero’s eyebrows shoot up.
Sometimes admitting too much to his do-gooder friend was a bad thing.
Peter gave his shoulders a playful push and grinned to himself. It was screwed up because he knew that the alpha would do that for him.
Wade had a good heart, even if his morals were skewed sometimes.
“Don’t.” He warned before looking back down and rolling his eyes to himself. “I’ve made up my mind. It’s not like I’ll be mistreated. There are too many laws for that… and besides… I’ve already signed myself up for tomorrow.”
Wade gripped the ledge that he was sitting on.
“How long for?” He dared to ask.
Peter bit his lip. “A three-year term. My eighteenth birthday to my twenty-first.”
Wade’s breath came out as a hiss and Peter heard him curse to himself. He wasn’t happy about this. Was it because he was upset that he was losing his friend, or was it because he was genuinely worried?
“I’ll be back, Wade. Three years tops. I promise.”
Peter reached to grab the empty food cartons to stash back into his backpack. He didn’t want to litter.
“I need you to message me sometimes.” The man’s words came out as a demand instead of a request. Wade was conflicted. There was nothing wrong with what Spidey was doing- he just didn’t trust other alphas. Especially not ones that thought they owned him.
He was young. He was naïve. This wasn’t good.
“Promise me.”
Peter nodded slowly. He could. Legally, he could have contact with anyone- as long as he wasn’t sleeping with them.
“I promise.”
The boy let them drift into a long silence and he listened to the noise of the city below.
There was something else that he needed to tell Wade. They’d been friends for two years now and the antihero had always had his best interests at heart.
Peter trusted him. The man had seen his face now. They may as well go the whole way with the identity reveal.
Just in case.
“My name’s Peter.”
He leaned his head on the alpha’s shoulder, feeling stronger by letting his guard down and exhaled a long sigh.
“Peter.” He felt his friend shift to get a better look at him.
Wade’s eyes were wide, as though this had been the most shocking thing he’d been told all night.
“Yeah- Peter Parker.”
The mercenary grinned, his scarred skin becoming even more creased. He felt like whooping, despite how somber the mood felt.
This felt like a win somehow! Friendship level twenty- or something!
“Peter… Petey… Petey Pie…” He tried and poked the hero in the side. “I think you suit Petie Pie.”
The boy rolled his eyes. He loved Wade and he was going to miss him. All of his playful banter made his heart feel light, even on days that were difficult.
“You wouldn’t be saying that if I were a boring beta.” He joked back.
A part of Peter wished that he’d been older, or the mercenary younger. In a different universe, they might have made a cute couple.
“Oh no… you could never be boring, baby boy.”
Wade gave his shoulder another shove.