Is This Love
Pitor woke up to an empty bed, which immediately broke his heart. As he went through his morning routine he thought hard on a way to make Wade feel better, something nice he could do to ease the tension. Maybe get Mexican food for dinner tonight from some cheap fast food place instead of making something. He didn't like his kids eating fast food but the fact that it would make them, and Wade, happy was enough to convince him.
After stepping out into the hallway, Pitor was hit with a… strange smell. Not bad, per say, but far from good. Like food that was overcooked but not yet burnt.
Wait.
Pitor rushed down the stairs, heading to the kitchen as fast as he could. He loved all the trainees, he really did, but he didn't trust mutant teenagers in a kitchen just yet. With Bobby's recklessness and Jubilations "creativity" it was stressful just to think about. When he finally reached the entrance to the kitchen, though, he was surprised to find it wasn't one of the students at the stove, but rather Wade.
"The eggs aren't the greatest," Ellie piped up from the island, "but the bacon slaps pretty hard." Yukio nodded enthusiastically next to her, a piece of bacon sticking out of her mouth. It seemed to be oven cooked. Piotr glanced at their plates to see servings of scrambled eggs. They were, as Piotr had guessed, overcooked, but they had a medley of seasonings in them and a good heap of cheese piled on them as if to cover up the flaws. A similar plate was placed before him and he looked up to a beaming Wade, drowning in his blue frilled apron and another set of his clothes. He seemed to have bounced back pretty quickly from yesterday, and as much as Piotr would like to talk about it he knew how Wade was and that dropping it really was the best course of action.
"Thank you," Piotr said, a pleasantly surprised look on his face. Wade gave him another smile, smaller this time, no teeth. There was an emotion in his eyes that Piotr couldn't place, but he could tell it wasn't particularly negative.
He looked around as he ate (Ellie was right; the eggs weren't anything to write home about, but the bacon was extremely good) and he noticed that Wade had taken a page out of his book and tried to clean off the dishes as he was done with them. They were piling up like he didn't know the best and most space efficient way to put them in the sink, but an effort was still made. There were a few other students who made their way through the kitchen with plates and utensils, ones that were brave, or foolish, enough to trust Wades food. Even Logan passed through, but judging by the amount of grease on his plate all he had was the bacon.
As always, after an hour of socializing Yukio and Ellie headed out. Today was their break day and Ellie was determined to teach Yukio how to longboard. Piotr wished them luck, not noticing Wade hesitantly walking up to him, nervousness palatable. When he did notice he didn't say anything, just gave him a questionable look and let him take control of how the conversation would go.
Wade opened and closed his mouth a few times, just slightly, before finally deciding what to say.
"I don't know how to work your dishwasher," he said, plain and simple. Piotr snickered a bit but composed himself letting his face go soft.
"I'll take care of it," Piotr said, voice kind, as he got off the stool. The minute there was space Wade took his space, spinning so he could watch him work. Piotr looked at the dishes for a second before turning to the fridge to pull out a juice box (Fruit Punch, not as good as Berry Medley but still tasty) and placed it in front of the other man before starting his after soak dish rinse. Which is a dishwashing tip the writer highly recommends. Soak, rinse, scrub, rinse. You're welcome, reader.
After putting most of the dishes in the washer, Piotr spoke up, not turning to look at Wade. "When was the last time you took a shower?"
Wade sat in silence. He wasn't super into admitting how long he's gone without practicing one of the staples of proper hygiene. It wasn't something he was usually asked about, no one but Vanessa and his mother ever cared about that. Wades head snapped up when Piotr spoke again.
"It's okay if it's been a while. Negasonic also has issues with hygiene, too. Is nothing to be ashamed of, happens to the best of us."
"Whatever you say, Mr. Showers Everyday At 6 AM," Wade quipped with no real venom behind it. Although he knew she would be pissed to know Piotr told him that, knowing someone close to him had the same mental blocks he suffered from made him feel a little better. "A month, maybe. Definitely longer than two weeks. Long enough to start smelling sour." Piotr just replied with a small hum, turning away from the dishes to sit across from Wade, not yet meeting his eyes. He didn't look grossed out at all, just thoughtful.
"Do you need special body wash for your skin," Piotr finally asked, looking up with a look of pure genuine curiosity. The soft kind, the kind… kind. Like he was asking a kid if he preferred Paw Patrol bandaids or Hello Kitty bandaids. The correct answer being Hello Kitty, of course.
"I, uh, don't know… Vanessa used to buy me this super fancy shit but I don't remember what it's called so I just use the Irish Spring stuff." Piotr made a face at that and Wade had to stop himself from laughing at his disdain over something as simple as body wash.
"Go get ready, presentable. We will go to store today. I've been meaning to stock up on groceries and you need necess-" Before Piotr could finish Wade was already darting up the stairs, whooping and hollering as he shucked off the apron. Piotr was happy to see him so enthusiastic about getting out of the mansion, although it resulted in his favorite apron ending up on the floor. This was going to be good for him.