story time with peter
Peter began to feel the effects of the fight once it was over. His arms and legs were sore, his back was stiff, and there was a heavy weight in his chest from the whole experience. Older Peter was holding him up just as much as he was supporting him, and he wasn’t the one who got stabbed in the back.
He could see the wizard - and yeah he was still processing the fact that magic exists - floating above the torch on the Statue of Liberty, waving his hands around in intricate patterns and shooting out rings of light into the purple cracks dancing across the sky.
Peter winced and took in a shutting breath, older Peter tightening his grip on his shoulder in a comforting response.
He had done it. He had saved MJ.
When the shield fell from Lady Liberty’s hand, causing the entire structure to shake, Peter watched, completely frozen with fear, as MJ slipped over the side.
He noticed young Peter jump after her and tried to fight away the images dancing in his mind of Gwen falling inside the clock tower. He could hear the sound of the web snapping and gears breaking, and her gasp in surprise as she first began to fall. He could feel the wind rushing against his face through his mask as he dove after her, using every ounce of his strength. He could see her face as she realized he wouldn’t make it to her in time. Her bright blue eyes glistening with tears, closing for the last time. He heard the sickening snap of her back breaking against the force of his taught web and saw her body bounce. It was like the world was moving in slow motion.
Then he saw young Peter, just before he reached MJ, as he was struck by Green Goblin’s glider and ripped away from her. His spider sense screamed and pulled him from his daze, shooting a tingling sensation down his spine.
With an involuntary shout, Peter threw himself over the edge, using falling debris to help push himself further and faster. He completely ignored his web shooters this time around, reaching the girl and wrapping his arms around her with a death grip. He shot out a web, using it to slow them down, and landed on the ground, MJ held safely in his arms.
As soon as his feet hit the floor, Peter felt his chest swell with emotion and his eyes prick with tears. He took a few shallow breaths as his eyes traveled over the girl in his arms, “Are you okay?” he asked, voice wavering.
With wide eyes, she surveyed the scene around them and her eyes met Peter’s, “Yeah,” MJ breathed out, “I’m okay.”
And like the strong, brave young woman she was, MJ asked him too, “Are you okay?” and Peter could feel the tears begin to stream down his cheeks.
He nodded his head because, yes, he was okay. Because he had done it. He saved her.
With one final wild gesture waved by the wizard’s hands, bands of yellow light exploded into the air and Peter’s senses began to hum dully. Older Peter must have felt it too because he stepped away, facing his younger counterpart. It was time to go home.
Peter watched as his body began to glow and he started fading from existence. He threw up his patented Peter Parker peace sign with a forced smile on his face and the other man mimicked him as his vision filled with light and his senses edged out.
For a few peaceful seconds, everything was quiet.
And then he reappeared in the same spot he was taken from to begin with, the living room of his and Wade’s apartment.
He blinked a few times as everything materialized into existence around him. The busy sounds of New York outside the windows grew louder alongside his ragged breathing and beating heart pounding in his ears.
He didn’t even notice the other man in the room until they spoke up, “Peter?” a familiar voice asked, unbelieving.
Peter looked up through his wet lashes and saw Wade standing defensively across the room, his favorite gun raised and pointed, a mixed look of confusion and relief adorning his scarred face. His Deadpool suit was on, and Peter could see the handles of Bea and Arthur peeking up over his shoulders, but his mask was off, showing his hazel eyes, and Peter was grateful.
His entire body sagged with relief and exhaustion, and with tears starting to spill from his eyes, Peter managed to gasp an alleviated “Wade-“ before his legs gave out underneath him and he collapsed to the rugged floor.
Within seconds, Wade was at his side, placing a warm hand on his back and helping him sit up, “Baby boy, what happened? Where were you?” he asked, voice cracking with nerves, and he, of course, began rambling, “I came home the other day and you- you were gone! You were gone and your suit was gone! You didn’t leave a note, you didn’t call me or text me! Hell, I would’ve taken a damn carrier pigeon! God knows New York has plenty! I was so worried! Yellow kept saying you got murdered! And White’s been trying to convince me that you left but you would never do that, right? Right? And then-“
Wade could talk for hours without Peter having to say a thing. It was something he really liked about Wade. He could fill in the quiet spaces in Peter’s life. He appreciated the familiar banter, it felt like home. But right now, Wade’s mumbling was clearly going nowhere positive, so Peter knew he needed to shut him down, and he was the only one on Earth who could do that.
“Wade-“ Peter interrupted him, attempting to quiet the man down, but once Wade began, he was hard to stop. He had one warm hand placed on Peter’s back, rubbing comforting patterns and gesturing around wildly with the other.
“I went out looking for you! I swear I checked every alleyway from Yonkers to Long Beach! I checked the sewers and subways and that Mexican restaurant we went to on our first date! I even went to Iron Dick to see if he knew anything, but he turned me away! Can you believe it? You break into a man’s tower a few times, steal a couple of jets, and what? Just like that he doesn’t trust me-“
“Wade-“ he tried again, a little louder this time. Peter was lightly smiling at this point, listening to his boyfriend ramble only confirmed his love for him.
“And honestly I still can’t figure out how to use that toaster oven thing you got a few weeks ago and it keeps beeping at me-“
“Wade!” Peter finally got the man to stop, and he looked at him with wide, worried eyes. Despite the tears staining his cheeks, Peter was smiling up at Wade, “Please stop talking… just, give me a minute.”
Wade gulped, “Yeah, sorry,” he whispered. Peter took the quiet moment to take a few deep breaths, trying to calm down his racing heart. Wade was looking over his face and form as if checking for injuries, a look of relieved hope gleaming in his eyes.
Peter grabbed onto the front of his suit and pulled him forward forcefully, meeting in the middle for an eager kiss. Wade kissed back immediately, hungrily. His scarred lips dancing along Peter’s soft ones. They broke apart with a gasp. “I really missed you,” Peter breathed, sounding small but genuine.
Wade just nodded his head with a bright smile, and Peter could see tears in his eyes too. “I missed you too, baby boy,” he spoke in a soft voice, warming Peter to his core. “Do you wanna talk about it? Or do you wanna wait?” he asked, wiping the tears from Peter’s face and resting both hands on his shoulders.
“No, no. We should talk about it,” he answered with furrowed eyebrows, “I am still processing it all so it’s probably a good idea to talk about it,” he nodded.
With a soft affirmation and a final delicate kiss, Wade lifted Peter off the floor and placed him gently on the couch, wrapping a soft blanket over the smaller man's shoulders and ruffling his hair, which Peter swatted away. He shuffled over to the kitchen and began rummaging around. Peter could hear him opening cabinets and pulling out a mug, but Peter mostly ignored the noise, opting instead to close his eyes and lean into the couch cushions, thinking over his words and trying to figure out exactly how he was going to explain this all to Wade. After a few minutes, Peter felt himself start to drift off, but Wade’s heavy footsteps padding back into the living room made him snap awake with attention.
Wade handed Peter a large mug of hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, mini marshmallows, rainbow sprinkles and all. Peter accepted it gratefully with a tired smile and took a large sip, humming as he swallowed the warm, sweet liquid. He shifted in his seat as Wade dropped down next to him.
“So…” Peter began lamely.
“So…” Wade parroted, still looking over Peter, unbelieving, “What the hell happened?”
Peter huffed a breath and placed his mug on the coffee table, turning his body towards his boyfriend, giving him his full attention. Wade noticed this and sat up straighter, squaring his shoulders and looking deeply into Peter’s brown eyes.
“So… I had just come back from patrol. I was standing right over there… I hadn’t even taken my suit off yet, and my spidey-senses started going crazy,” he ran a hand through his already messy hair, “Before I could even realize what was happening, there was this… bright… yellow light… shining from every direction. And- and I blinked and I was in some alleyway in New York, but not this New York,” he gestured around. Wade wasn’t looking at him like he was a completely crazy person, so he continued, “I- uh, I wandered around for a while. I tried to, to find my way back to our apartment but… it wasn’t there,” Peter began panicking, his voice filling with emotion. Wade took Peter’s hands in his own and rubbed circles over his knuckles, calming him down. Peter took a breath and began again, “There were news broadcasts, newspapers, everywhere! Saying that Spider-man’s identity was revealed, that it was Peter Parker, that it was me!” Wade sucked in a surprised breath but held his tongue, “But- it wasn't me! I mean- it was a Peter Parker who was Spider-man, but it wasn’t my face!
“And then, this… portal opened up… and there were these kids, Ned and, and MJ, and there was another Peter Parker… well, another another Peter Parker, this one much older, and they said Peter needed our help, the younger one, Peter number one, because- because he had just lost his Aunt May,” he breathed in a short, shaky breath and Wade tightened his grip on his hands, “and- and Dr. Connors was there but he was the Lizard again! And so was Max- uh, Electro. And we worked together to make cures for all of them,” Wade was nodding along, completely engulfed in the story, making little noises to reassure Peter he was listening, though Peter was speaking rapidly, words jumbling together, “And we had this crazy fight on the Statue of Liberty, but- but the Statue of Liberty had Captain America’s shield on it… for some reason… and there was this giant… sand monster, and an old dude with robotic tentacle arms and the Green Goblin was there too accept it- it wasn’t Harry… it was… his father? But not my Harry’s father, it was Peter number two’s Harry’s father. And Gwen-“ an involuntary sob racked from Peter’s chest. He dropped his head and took a deep breath, he knew he’d have a hard time re-telling this part of the story.
“Gwen was there?” Wade asked quietly, carefully. He ducked his head, his eyes trying to meet Peter’s.
The brunette sniffled and looked up at his boyfriend, “No… No, she wasn’t. But Peter’s girlfriend, MJ… she fell…” he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to control his breathing. Wade wiped the tears from his cheeks with his thumbs, “She fell and- and… I… I caught her… I saved her.”
Wade wasted no time pulling Peter into his chest and wrapped him up in a tight bear hug. Peter let himself be moved and immediately sagged into his boyfriend, stuffing his face in the crook of his neck, body shaking with sobs as tears streamed down his face. Wade began mumbling little reassurances into Peter’s ear like, “It’s okay, you’re okay now” and “I’m so proud of you.”
After a few minutes and Peter getting his breathing slightly under control, he pulled back slightly and looked up into Wade’s hazel eyes, “I just wish I could’ve done more-”
“Nope! Nuh-uh,” he cut the younger man off, “None of that. I’m not letting your brain go down that deep, dark rabbit hole again. You did everything you could,” Wade caressed Peter’s cheek with a gentle hand, and Peter leaned into it, eyes fluttering, “And most importantly, you saved MJ. She’s okay, because of you.”
Peter wanted to protest, he wanted to shout at Wade, tell him how wrong he was. Tell him that Gwen’s death was his fault, and that no matter how many Mary Jane’s or Michelle Jones’ he saves, Gwen Stacy’s blood will always be on his hands. But the look in Wade’s eyes - he looked so certain - Peter almost believed him. Wade would never lie to him, so maybe, just maybe, he was right.
“So, uh…” Peter felt like he could finally breathe easy, cuddled in Wade’s lap with Wade holding him close, sitting on their couch in their apartment, at home, “We cured everyone… and the wizard guy sent them all home.”
“Wizard?” Wade repeated, sounding unsure, but Peter ignored him.
“And, uh… Peter one and Peter two and I all hugged and said goodbye and… then I got sent back here,” Peter shrugged, feeling all of the energy drained out of him now that he’d finished explaining, “They were really cool, the Peter’s… They felt like… brothers, you know? You would’ve loved ‘em,” he smiled, tracing lines on Wade’s suit to keep his hands busy.
“Three Peter Parkers?” Wade said, exasperated, “I wouldn’t know what to do with myself! I bet you were the cutest of the three web-heads, though,” he smiled.
“I don’t know…” Peter challenged jokingly, “Peter two had blue eyes! Can you believe it? I didn’t think any version of myself would have blue eyes…” he trailed off.
“Well, you do in the comics,” Wade added cheerfully, “Come to think of it,” he placed an exaggerated finger on his chin, “So do I…”
Peter learned to ignore Wade when he began speaking about comics or movies or animated TV shows, or even names of people who were actors, apparently he was ‘breaking the fourth wall,’ whatever the hell that meant. So he just ignored him and carried on.
“And Peter one was like, a literal child. Baby face and all…” he paused, “He kinda looked like that one kid from the movie about the tsunami? With the hot mom? You know what I’m talking about.”
“Tom Holland?” Wade asked.
“Nevermind,” Peter grumbled and waved away the comment, clearly that was going nowhere, “I was the tallest, though. Both of the other Peter’s were really short,” he chuckled.
“Damn, I wish I could’ve come with you…” Wade pouted like a child, sticking his bottom lip out, making Peter smile, “Hey, wait a minute! You keep saying Peter number one and Peter number two… Were you Peter number three?”
Peter nodded and shrugged his shoulders as if to say yeah, whatever and Wade gasped dramatically, placing a hand on his chest and clutching his non-existent pearls, “How dare they! Making you the final Peter! That’s preposterous! I bet you carried the team! You wiped the floor with their perky little butts!” he gasped again, “Is it cheating if I ask you which Spidey had the best ass? It was you, wasn’t it? I bet it was you-” the man began rambling.
“Me, it was definitely me,” Peter cut it with a sure nod of his head.
Wade gasped again, “I knew it! I told you White! Tobey’s got nothin’ on him!” he shouted at the boxes, waving a pointed finger for emphasis.
“Tobey?” Peter frowned, confused.
Wade ignored him and reached forward, grabbing the brunette’s face with both hands and squeezing it so Peter’s lips puckered out, “Don’t listen to them, Petey,” he reassured him, “You’ll always be my number one Spidey. If you want, we can always figure out a way to hop dimensions and go reclaim your title as number one Spider-man.”
Peter just about melted at the man's sweet words. He shrugged his shoulders, “Meh… Best for last, right?” he smirked.
“Eeeexactly,” Wade smiled.
Wade leaned forward and pecked Peter’s lips lightly, and as soon as he began to pull away, Peter grabbed onto the front of his suit and yanked him back, kissing him deeply, more passionately. They broke apart after a minute.
“You wanna order Mexican and watch all the Star Wars movies?” Wade asked with a quirk of his eyebrow.
Peter didn’t think he could smile any wider, yet he did, “You know me so well,” and he pulled him in for another kiss.