forty-seven.
Wade was pacing the small bathroom while waiting out the final stretch of the drugs being in Peter's system. Once he was finally a little closer to normal Wade could get him cleaned up and fed, then eventually to bed. For now, though, he was preoccupied pacing and asking himself just how he managed to let Peter get into this situation in the first place. Why weren't his friends with him? If one of them had been there, maybe his drink wouldn't have been spiked.
Truthfully though, if one of his friends had been there, he probably wouldn't have had anything to drink at all and would have never been in this situation in the first place. Wade scratched his brow and sighed. If he'd been here in the first place nothing would have happened either. He chose work over coming to the party, and now the consequences were getting to his head.
The whole butterfly effect was really getting to him. If he'd skipped work, Peter wouldn't have been drugged, but the bad guys also would have got away scot-free. And there was no way in hell that he was about to let that happen. No, this was a ladder that he was working his way up. The more jobs he took, the more money he had, the more trust he had. Everything worked according to plan. And the plan was to move forward... But not like this.
He looked down at the boy he... loved? In shame.
Everything he'd done to get here, all the orders he'd taken, the lives he'd ended. Even all of the people he saved... It seems like it's all been for nothing when things like this happen... And if anything happens to Peter, then the whole world could end... And what would he get out of it?
It'd already been made clear that if he failed his mission, then he would spend the rest of his life as a dancing monkey behind a thick wall of glass somewhere. An experiment for their amusement. He'd be a lab rat all over again. There were a lot of things he could handle, but he didn't think that could be one of them. He never wanted to do that again...
But then again, if he completed his mission, then the girl would suffer that fate instead. She'd live her life knowing nothing more than torture and pain inside of a 4x4 room. She would never know love or gentility. All she would know how to do is be the weapon that they wanted her to be. She'd never know what she was truly capable of...
She would never know that she was the key.
She'd never find anything inside of herself. She'd never find someone that made her feel like they put the stars in the sky just for her to see at night. She'd never know Peter, and all he'd do for her.
As of right now though, she didn't exist yet, and by the looks of things, she wouldn't for a while. He sat on the closed lid of the toilet and made a call directly to the man who made him the serum that he gave to Peter.
"Listen, I think there's something wrong with the serum you gave me." On the other end, silence, but he knew he was being listened to rather intently. "His healing powers are fucked. Some kids drugged him tonight and his body isn't fighting it off as fast as it should. You either need to tell me how to remove the serum, or find me something that'll up his healing abilities back to normal. This wasn't part of the deal."
Knowing he'd receive no verbal answer, he hung up and put his phone down. Less than a minute later a text from a blocked number came through with a time and place to meet for an additive serum to repair Peter's healing abilities. Three days from now, high noon, just a few blocks from here. Then, he'd be able to fix Peter's healing ability back to normal and hopefully wouldn't have to deal with anything like this again.
He just wanted his baby safe, no matter what it took. No matter if he wasn't his baby just yet. He would be, Wade knew it. He had to. It was the only way that this could work. The only way!
Wade was sitting with his head in his hands when he heard a soft groan from the tub. He looked up to see Peter glancing around in confusion. "Wade?"
Wade crouched next to the tub and held onto Peter's hand. "I'll explain, but first we gotta get you cleaned up okay? You really did a number on yourself."
It was then that Peter happened to look down and finally see the vomit caked into his clothes, crusted on his hands. He began to tear up at wondering what the hell happened to him, but he calmed down once Wade cupped his cheeks.
"I'm gonna clean you up, Petey, you're gonna be alright. It's gonna be okay. You're gonna be all cleaned up and fed and nice and toasty in your bed before sun-up, okay?"
Peter was vaguely nodding along to what Wade was saying all while being helped to his feet and out of his clothes.
"Do you want these washed or thrown out?"
Peter looked over the clothes and shook his head. "Save the shirt, I don't care about the rest."
Wade pulled the shirt out of the pile and stuck it by Peter's laundry basket before kicking the rest of the clothes away. He helped Peter to stand outside of the tub while Wade ran the water to a good heat before helping Peter back into it. He told him to sit and relax for a minute and Peter obliged, letting his muscles relax a little in the hot tub. Wade gathered the ruined clothes and dropped them into the trash before starting a load of Peter's laundry for him. He threw a couple of big towels and pajamas into the dryer to let them run for a while and get warm.
Wade poked his head out of the bathroom and saw that the girl that helped him was awake, sitting next to MJ who was still sleeping. He whisper-yelled to her, asking what her name was. She told him it was Marie. If it was the truth or not he didn't care. She asked if he had a smoke she could bum, and he said yes, but only if she'd carry the trash out when she went to smoke it.
She agreed and took both the cigarette and the trash bag from his outstretched hand before quietly going outside. Wade waits to make sure MJ stays asleep before closing the bathroom door most of the way. He turns back to Peter who's already looking up at him with innocent eyes.
"What happened to me, Wade? Was I... Taken advantage of?"
Wade rushed to Peter's side and took his hand. "Oh no baby, I would never let anything like that happen to you... No... But I wasn't fast enough to keep them from spiking your drink. they gave you a drug that would basically make sure that you wouldn't remember... Not their faces, not talking to them, nothing. Your friend MJ stayed over. She and another girl helped me take care of you, and that other girl is gonna help me take care of the guys who did this to you."
Peter's eyes were wide. Drugged? MJ? "M-MJ's here?"
Wade nodded, telling him that she refused to leave until he was better. He just nodded and looked back to the bath water. Wade didn't try and say anything more, nor did he try and make him talk anymore. He just carefully helped him wash up, then wrapped him in the warm towels he pulled from the dryer. He let the clothes keep running so they'd stay warm for a while as he helped Peter dry off. He asked him what he wanted to eat, and Peter said he'd be okay with something quick because he just wanted to crawl into bed and be comfortable.
Wade laughed and agreed to make him something while he dressed, and Peter nodded. Peter waited for Wade to leave the bathroom before sitting on the edge of the tub. Wade came back a couple of minutes later with a sandwich and a can of Sprite, which Peter gladly took.
Wade didn't think he'd ever seen anyone eat a sandwich so fast, and it kinda made him chuckle, but also feel bad. Peter must be starving. Once he was finished eating, Peter kept sipping on his Sprite, not wanting to over-do it and throw up everything he just got into him.
Wade took the plate back into the kitchen and when he returned, he helped Peter into his warm clothes, and then carried him to his bed, quickly tucking him under the covers so the clothes would heat the blankets a little bit and he wouldn't freeze to death.
Marie was now curled up with MJ on the floor, their limbs tangled together and hair covering their faces. It was cute. Wade turned off the bathroom lights and locked Peter's door after doing a quick glance around to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be. He used the dimmer to turn down the lights and smiled when Peter plugged in the fairy lights strung across the bed's headboard.
Wade turned the lights down a little more before crawling into bed with Peter and pulling him close. He kissed the boy on the top of his head and felt Peter grip tightly onto his arm with both hands.
"I'm safe now, right? You're not... Nothing's gonna happen, right?" His voice was breaking a little and it hurt Wade's heart.
"No baby, you're safe. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you. I've got you now." He kissed Peter on the head again. Peter calmly curled up to Wade's chest and let himself be held, fully aware that Wade had a hand wrapped around the handle of a gun beneath his pillow.
And he felt the safest he'd ever been in his life.