Chapter 26
Wade sort of half-shoos Peter into sitting on the rim of his bathtub, saying something along the lines of 'I can't fucking reach when you stand!'. Peter sits down, and he hears Wade grab a rag and turn on the faucet behind him. There's the sound of the faucet turning off and then Wade wringing out the rest of the water in the rag, so as not to leave it a dripping mass of wetness that creates more mess than necessary. Then Wade's ramble - which never really stopped - gets a little quicker.
Peter knows that meant Wade is feeling apprehensive, but he doesn’t say anything to reassure him. He needs Wade to know he trusts him, and that means he can’t remind Wade every five seconds what is and isn’t okay. He trusts Wade to know, and in order to show Wade that, he has to let Wade start on his own. Crazy how much progress you can make in trust-bonding with a wet rag.
The warm wetness of the rag touching his skin startles him a little. It feels nice, and he can practically feel the layer of grime leaving his skin. His breath shudders for a moment. He lets Wade wash his back. He's gentle, in a way that really doesn't surprise Peter as much as it does Wade himself. Wade starts talking about seashells. Peter listens in, relaxing at the rather soothing feel of his skin being cleaned off.
Wade does it slowly, taking extra care to be positively certain that he cleans off as much grime as possible. He's extra careful around the various burns, stitches, and other injuries as well. Peter's breath only hitches in pain once. After that, Wade seems to understand exactly what to do. Wade's never-ending stream of words is enough noise for the both of them, and Peter is struck with how much he misses background noise.
His apartment is soundproof. It's how he likes it. If it isn’t, he wouldn’t be able to sleep or breathe or think or even function properly. The smells and sounds alone coming from outside his own apartment would make it impossible. It would- no, it had been a sensory overload. Not in the beginning, of course. When he first got these powers, they had been much less potent. Now, they've grown with him. Sometimes he fears he'll be more spider than human one day.
Regardless, the soundproof walls have always made him live a life of a sort of muted silence. And whilst watching the same movie over and over again served to help lessen it, it was never the same. Peter never really knew how much he missed having decent conversations and listening to other people until he took in Wade. Now, it was increasingly apparent. He is glad Wade is here to keep him company.
"Turn 'round, Baby Boy," Wade suddenly commands, and Peter turns. His eyes catch sight of the rather red rag and he bites his lip. He doesn't give any other sign that it disturbs him, but Wade seems to understand. He moves to rinse out the rag and grabs a new one.
Wade starts talking about merry-go-rounds and fairs. Which leads to carnivals and circuses. Which leads to Clint. Also Peter scolding Wade for some self deprecating jokes he makes. Which is dismissed and goes back to Clint. Which goes to the Avengers. Which is really the exact same ramble as one he's spoken prior, with some words and sentences changed around. Not that Peter particularly minds repeated rambles, he finds them endearing, to be honest. Wade finishes cleaning off Peter's front. Peter runs a hand through his hair, and his fingers come back red.
"Want me to wash your hair, too?" Wade asks.
"Yes, please," Peter responds.
"Don't start sacrificing small animals in my name," is Wade's response. Peter takes that as an 'okay, fine,' and smiles at him. Then he hands him the shower head and sits on the floor. He leans over the edge of the bath so Wade can rinse his hair off.
The water is pink and Peter can see it. It makes him feel sick, which reminds him of his conversation with MJ. He avoids that thought process, because he doesn’t need that to lower his mood right now. Wade is talking about the ocean and mermaids. Peter hasnt heard him talk about them before, so he listens in.
Once they’re done with his hair, they re-bandage and dress his wounds. Then they make their way back to the couch, turning on Princess Bride. Peter feels a familiar buzz in his mind—a certain heaviness in his eyes. He wants to fight it, afraid of the nightmares he'll have. But he glances at Wade, once. And he's out like a light.