Chapter 7
A lot could go wrong, it turned out.
Ned had hacked his suit, giving Peter access to all his suits capabilities, including an IA he’d named Karen. He didn’t know of them, and spent most of the mission failing spectacularly at using them. Finally, he’d just told Karen to set them all to normal.
He’d tracked the bad guys to a gas station, which confused him, until he figured out that this was not their “evil lair,” but that they were on a heist. He’d waited until the two trucks had shown up ⎯ and, to his dismay, the Vulture (as Ned had named him) ⎯ and jumped on after him.
Very bad idea.
The Vulture had just escaped the truck, and when Peter had attempted to jump out after him, he’d hit his head and fallen unconscious.
When he’d woken up, he’d found himself not in the bad guys’ lair, but in a Damage Control deep storage vault. Then he’d spent almost an hour learning about his suits capabilities before getting bored and going back into the truck to see if there was any tech he could use to get out.
Then he’d discovered that the “glowy thingy” was a Chitauri energy core.
He then spent the rest of the night guessing the passcode to open the door to the vault, so he could warn Ned that they’d been carrying around a bomb.
So yeah, a lot could go wrong.
And that wasn’t all! It took him too long to get back, so not only did he miss the Decathlon, but he hadn’t warned Ned in time, and the energy core had activated in an elevator while his friends were touring the National Monument.
Peter had a heart attack getting inside, because he’d had to smash a window at the very top by jumping over a helicopter and using it to get inside.
He managed to save everyone, but he’d also gotten some bumps, bruises, and cuts.
Mr. Stark was going to kill him, and Wade was going to be so unhappy.
Peter didn’t know what was worse.
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“Peter!” Tony yelped, dragging him into a hug. Peter squeezed him back, shaking. “Oh my gosh I was so worried, are you okay?”
“No,” Peter mumbled. “I missed the Decathlon.”
Tony gave a short, shaky laugh. “Of course, he worries about the boyfriend, not that I almost had a heart attack!”
“Antony,” Loki said gently, joining the hug. “You cannot have a heart attack. Your Seiðr will not allow it.”
“It’s a figure of speech,” Tony muttered, pulling Peter impossibly closer. “You’re grounded,” he added.
Peter squawked in alarm. “What? Why?”
“You didn’t tell me you were going to track a couple of dangerous men and hack into your suit, and I couldn’t make sure you didn’t die!”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark, I forgot,” Peter blushed. “I promise to tell you next time.”
Tony’s expression softened ever so slightly, and he kissed the top of Peter’s head. “I’ll let it go this time. But the next time you forget to tell me anything-”
Peter nodded dutifully, then went back to cuddling his guardians.
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(Did you think I’d forget Peter’s date? the author asks. No way, you need more adorableness.
Pretty sure that’s not a word.
Shut up Wade.)
“Mr. Parker,” FRIDAY said, a note of amusement in her tone, “a Mr. Wilson is in the front hall to pick you up for your date.”
Peter flushed as the other Avengers began snickering. “Thanks, FRIDAY.”
“I want to know all the saucy details,” Tony insisted. Loki rolled his eyes and gave Peter an apologetic look.
Peter blushed harder and said, “Goodbye!” He grabbed his sweater and rushed out of the room to laughter and a yelp from Tony (thank you, мама паук).
Wade turned and beamed when he saw Peter emerge from the elevator. Peter was now sure he was as red as a cherry.
Of course, he was instantly distracted from Wade’s smile by his clothes.
He was wearing tight black leather… well, everything. Pants, shirt, jacket, shoes. His jacket was open, showing off his abs-
Pay attention, Peter, Peter thought, shaking himself.
(Don’t pay attention, the author says indignantly.
Were you admiring me, too?
...shut up, Wade….)
“You look amazing, Petey,” Wade grinned.
No, I don’t, it’s just jeans and a t-shirt, I feel underdressed.
“Thanks,” Peter said shyly.
“Aww,” Wade cooed, pulling Peter into a hug. “Let’s go!” He grabbed Peter’s hand and pulled him out the door.
“Um,” Peter said carefully, “where are we-”
He stopped short, seeing the vehicle that most certainly did not belong to any of the Avengers.
A massive black motorcycle was parked between мама паук’s motorbike and one of Tony’s convertibles.
Peter’s jaw dropped. Wade smirked and said, “You were saying, Petey?” He pulled him over to the bike.
“W-where are we going?” Peter stammered.
“That’s a surprise,” Wade winked. He climbed onto the bike and helped Peter on in front of him. Peter flushed again when Wade wrapped an arm around his belly.
“You good, Petey?” Wade purred in his ear. Peter shivered.
“Um. Yeah,” Peter answered dazedly.
“Great!” Wade turned on the motorcycle.
Wade drove like a maniac, while somehow still following all the traffic laws. Peter was a mixture of terrified and delighted, whooping almost the entire time. Wade laughed.
He screeched to a halt in a parking-lot, somehow getting the motorcycle perfectly straight.
(Unlike his sexuality, the author grins.
Wow, how original.
Shut up, Wade.)
Peter looked around and his jaw dropped again. They were standing in front of Dragonfire, a fancy restaurant dedicated to extremely spicy food. (How did Wade know he loved spicy food, the spicier the better?!)
“H-how,” Peter squeaked as Wade helped him off the bike.
Wade grinned, shrugging. “I know the owner.”
“But ⎯ but it-”
Wade laughed and ruffled Peter’s hair. “Come on, Petey.” He took Peter’s hand again and led him into the restaurant.
To Peter’s surprise, the restaurant was almost completely empty, other than the woman at the front. She looked up when he and Wade entered, a smile appearing on her face at once.
“Mr. Wilson, it’s good to see you again,” she said politely. “And this must be your date, Mr. Parker.”
“Hey, Jenny,” Wade said suavely, smiling. “Yep, this is Petey.”
“I’ll have someone lead you to your table,” Jenny said, rolling her eyes amusedly. “Carl!” she barked.
A door at the back of the restaurant opened and a waiter emerged, speed-walking over to them. The nametag on his suit said Carl. “Welcome, Mr. Wilson and guest,” Carl said flatly. “Follow me.” He turned.
Peter gave a muffled giggle at the man’s behavior as Wade gently pulled him after the man.
They sat down at a table near the back, and Wade pulled out Peter’s chair before taking his own seat. Peter was fairly sure he was going to be a blushing mess the entire date.
Carl gave them both menus and said boredly, “Any beverages you’d like, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Parker?”
Peter glanced at the drinks and beamed. “You have pink lemonade!”
Wade smirked behind his menu as Carl raised a brow. “Pink lemonade for Mr. Parker,” the waiter said dryly. “And for Mr. Wilson?”
“Water,” Wade said dismissively, setting down the menu.
“Yes, sir. I will be back momentarily,” Carl said blankly, leaving.
“See anything you like, Petey?” Wade asked, wriggling his eyebrows.
Peter hoped he meant the food, but Wade’s outfit was really distracting.
(So you’re saying you want to ‘eat’ Wade? the author asks innocently.
Yes! Yes, do that-
That wasn’t an invitation, Wade!
You should know not to say things like that around me. Or Stark.)
“Um.” Peter looked at the menu and frowned. “What’s ‘Secret Dragonfire Special?’”
“Don’t get that,” Wade warned. “Even the most spicy-food-lovers don’t eat it. It’s been known to set things on fire.”
Peter blinked. “Not getting that, then.” He glanced down the menu again. “I’ll have nachos with salsa.”
“Their salsa is pretty spicy,” Wade smirked. “Think you can handle it?”
Peter could eat мама паук’s salsa without breaking a sweat, and the only other people who could safely eat her salsa were the two gods and Tony.
(Tony is insane, of course he’d eat Natasha’s Terminator Salsa, the author snorts.)
Peter grinned back in answer, and Wade laughed. “You really do like spicy food.”
“Mhmm,” Peter replied. He paused, then said, “How did you know I love spicy food?”
“I asked MJ for help,” Wade admitted. “About a month before I asked you, of course. I had to reserve the entire restaurant for two hours-”
“What!” Peter sputtered. Well, in hindsight, him reserving the entire restaurant was pretty obvious.
Wade blinked. “Didn’t I tell you?” he asked innocently.
Peter swatted his arm, cheeks burning. “You reserved an entire restaurant for two hours? Why?”
Wade’s playfully innocent expression disappeared. “Because I really like you, Peter,” Wade said seriously. “And I wanted you to know that.”
Peter’s jaw dropped for the third time that night. He swallowed. “Really?” he whispered.
Wade smiled slightly and took Peter’s hand again. “Really.”
“I… I like you, too,” Peter mumbled.
Wade laughed, leaning back. “I know.”
“Wait, what? You do?” Peter was redder than he’d been all evening.
“It was kinda obvious,” Wade said lazily. But Peter saw relief in Wade’s eyes, so at least part of him had thought Peter wasn’t interested. “Hey, so I was wondering ⎯ the school is doing prom early this year. You want to come with me?”
Wade’s only response was a muffled squeal, but that was enough.