Chapter 4
Clint and James were...not what Wade was used to.
Often times, foster parents would act and smell nice when they first met...but things would change once Wade had moved in. Their true colors always showed.
But these two...they were still nice and silly. Also protective and...loving. They even kept smelling good; Clint smelled like chocolate and lavender while James smelled like a burning bonfire. Wade assumed every foster parent was in it for the money...but he was starting to think these two were actually different.
Not only had most fosters faked the niceties with Wade, but they rarely even liked each other. Which...if all the kisses and hugs were anything to go by...these two were crazy about each other.
They’d taken the pup shopping, let him pick out so much clothes and toys, even the color he’d like to paint his bedroom walls! James said it would be a family project, and honestly Wade had never thought he’d been so excited to do manual labor. They already thought of him as family?
He was still getting comfortable around Bucky, but the pup quickly loved draping himself over Clint who always ended up playing with his hair. And James didn’t mind when he played with his metal fingers when Wade was feeling overwhelmed...or bored.
He was only with them for a week before he began meeting other parts of their family.
Clint had explained that his only relative was a brother, but they weren’t on speaking terms. He didn’t explain further, but Wade guessed it wasn’t for good reasons.
James had a whole set of parents, two siblings, an in law and two nephews. Plus some cousins and aunts and uncles, but James said they lived on the other side of the country and “honestly weren’t worth meeting.”
So they started with James’ brother Steve and his husband Tony freaking Stark. Steve was so big and tall, taller than James but blonde. The Alpha was kind and affectionate, even more so than James. Tony Stark, on the other hand, was nothing like what he was on tv.
The Omega wore sweatpants and a band t- shirt. And...was kind of a dork.
As for the kids, they seemed cool. Harley was eleven and clearly about to present as an Alpha, while Peter was only five and seemed shy.
Wade felt something in him that he hadn’t felt before - and that was the intense desire to befriend this boy. Peter beamed at him and even called him his ‘cousin,’ which made Wade happy all over.
He suddenly felt the need to impress him.
“Well Jimmy, what do you think of these people?...uh huh?...no I totally agree -”
“- who are you talking to?” Peter asked, looking curious as Harley left to join the adults. They were in a playroom, because Tony Stark’s house was so big he had an entire play room.
“Jimmy, he’s my best friend. He’s imaginary, so only I can see him,” Wade explained, smiling when the five year old looked absolutely amazed at that.
“That’s so cool! Can I say hi to him? What does he look like? Did he say we were nice?” the boy asked, jumping up and down in front of the older boy.
“He doesn’t like other people knowing his identity, but he thinks you guys are okay,” Wade said with a shrug, looking around at all the toys and games they had. “So what about you? Who’s your best friend?”
“Oh,” the other pup said with a confused look on his face. “Hmm, I guess Harley is my best friend!” Wade suddenly felt jealous, but tried not to let the other boy notice.
“I don’t think your brother is supposed to be your best friend,” Wade said anyway, cause he was only human.
“Why not? Yours is invisible,” Peter said with a sudden pout, his marshmallow smell shifting to sour.
“You’re right, I guess we should be best friends instead,” Wade said smugly, crossing his arms as the other boy’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“Really? You want to be my best friend?” Peter asked excitedly, his smell changing back to marshmallow.
“Sure, why not,” Wade said, shrugging again as if he wasn’t just as excited as the other pup. The two played Star Wars at Peter’s insistence. Which Wade wasn’t going to complain, given the authentic light sabers they got to fight with and the Jedi robes they got to wear. Mr. Stark came in some time later, smiling at the two and smelling like fresh baked cookies.
“Hey pups, we were thinking of ordering a pizza for dinner. Peter you want cheese pizza? How about you Wade? What toppings do you want?” the older Omega asked as he walked over to the two.
“Cheese cheese cheese!” Peter chanted, putting the toy down and running over to jump in front of his mother. Then Mr. Stark reached down and pinched the boy’s sides, causing him to erupt in laughter. “No Daddy don’t tickle me!” Peter cried before laughing some more.
“Alright cheese fiend, I’ll stop. Wade? Cheese pizza okay?”
Wade only nodded in reply, frozen a little at what he just saw. There was a bad feeling in his stomach, confusion as well as he stared at the pair wondering what just happened.
“Come on you two, help us pick out a movie to watch,” Mr. Stark said as the two followed him back into the living room. Clint was sitting and having a conversation with Harley, so Wade continued walking as he saw James head towards the kitchen. Steve was in there with him, but he thought the blonde Alpha wouldn’t mind as the pup went straight to the brunette and gently squeezed his metal hand.
“Can I talk to you?” he asked James quietly when he turned to Wade. The Alphas shared a look before his foster father smiled at him and led the two to the hallway.
“What’s up pup?” James asked as he squatted down to be eye level with Wade.
“I just…” Wade began, pausing when he wasn’t sure how to say the next words. He felt comfortable enough with the Alpha to talk to him about this, but for some reason he still felt a little weird. “What’s tickling?” he finally asked, staring at James and almost daring him to make fun of him for the question. It caught the Alpha off guard, but he kept his face neutral.
“Well, it’s when you touch someone on a certain part of their body, and it makes them laugh. Best spots are the armpit, ribs and knee. Why do you ask Wade?”
“I…” Wade got stuck again, deciding to just say it with the hope James won’t push it further. “I saw Mr. Stark tickle Peter and...I had an old foster mother tickle me...but I didn’t laugh. And I didn’t like it.” James was silent for a moment, his smell changing from confused to angry. Wade didn’t flinch in fear because he knew the Alpha wasn’t angry at him.
“That’s not tickling, Wade. Scott said he talked to you about good versus bad touch, right? That...that sounds like bad touch. Tickling is silly and also a good touch,” the Alpha said gently, looking like he was thinking for a moment before a smile appeared on his face. “Why don’t I show you what it’s supposed to look like on Clint? He’s super ticklish and especially ticklish on his neck,” Bucky said with a wink, the smell of a good bonfire returning to the brunette.
Wade could also see the same look he has when he does something - to quote Scott - ‘mischievous’.
So the pup nods eagerly, feeling something warm in his chest when the Alpha chuckled and nodded for Wade to follow him. They walked back to the living room, where Steve was now sitting on the floor with the boys coloring while Clint and Mr. Stark sat on the nearby couch. Wade smiled as James shot another wink at him and moved around to stand behind his mate.
Then the Alpha quietly put a finger to his mouth, shushing Wade who was getting more and more excited, before the brunette shot his hands at the blonde’s neck and wiggled his fingers against his skin.
Clint’s shoulders immediately scrunched up to his ears and he let out a shriek in laughter. Wade watched with delight as James moved his hands from the Omega’s neck to his ribs, which made Clint laugh harder and squirm on the couch. The others had turned to them when Clint first shrieked, and now they were joining in on the laughter Wade couldn’t help but join as well.
“JAMES!” the blonde shrieked out, stumbling off the couch as James stood back up with a giant smile. “What the hell??” Wade was curled over in laughter, wiping his eyes and walking around the couch to help his foster mother get back up.
“Wade asked me about ‘tickling,’ doll, I was just helping our pup.” Wade felt himself blush but shook it off as he climbed on the couch next to Clint, offering the blonde an innocent grin. The Omega squinted back and forth between the two, but was kept from chiding them when Peter spoke up suddenly.
“Papa you should tickle Daddy!”
“Oh no he shouldn’t,” Mr. Stark said with a smile, scooting away from his mate.
“How about I tickle you Petey-pie?” the blonde Alpha said before grabbing the pup, pulling him into his lap and digging his fingers into the boy’s sides. Wade smiled, leaning into Clint’s side and watched his new best friend laugh and laugh and laugh.
This was...a pretty cool family…