Chapter 27
When Peter wakes up, Wade is asleep in his box and he has a blanket over them. His first thought is that Wade's legs are probably growing in and he should fix up the box so it accommodates that. His second thought is that Wade put the blanket over him. His third is that he should give Wade more lotion. His fourth is that he and MJ are visiting Gwen today and he needs to break out his Gwen and Ben Jar so he can buy them flowers. His fifth thought is Fuck. Everything hurts. Stupid bombs. His sixth thought is vague sadness about Tony
His thoughts continue to flurry about and he sits up, grabbing a slice of cold pizza and glancing at the clock. MJ would be here in an hour. He's still almost completely naked. Fuck. He gets up, looking around for a suitable Visiting Gwen shirt. Peter finds a black button-up and some jeans, which he throws on over his bandages and dressed wounds—a lot of which he can tell he won't need in a few hours, or right now.
"Petey?" Wade calls out after a few minutes of Peter attempting to make himself presentable.
Peter peeks out from his spot in the bathroom. "Yeah?" he asks, face questioning.
"You going somewhere?" Wade asks, noting his appearance.
"Um, yeah. I'm visiting Gwen today," Peter admits, "She um—passed away, a few years ago."
"Oh," is all Wade says.
Peter offers a sad little smile and thinks maybe he should bring Aunt May. They could have a picnic and visit Ben, too. He's sure she's worried after seeing the bombing on the news. Peter texts MJ. Then he texts Aunt May, who stopped liking calls after a certain PTA mom named Brittany existed.
Peter pulls out his Gwen and Ben Jar, pulling ten dollars out, closing it, and hiding it away again. Wade stares, obviously confused and maybe angered. Peter doesn't want to explain, but forces himself to. “I-"
"If you don't want to explain, that's fine."
"If it's fine, don't talk like that."
Wade and Peter glare at each other. Peter had never known a mood could drop that fast. They both feel an impending sense of panic but also a cold anger. What if this ruins the friendship? The fucking jar of money.
Peter takes a deep breath. "I promised Gwen I'd bring her flowers everytime I visited," Peter says quietly, eyes flicking down at the crumpled money. "But I realized soon enough that I might not be able to keep that the way things were going, so I made a jar. And I put in some money occasionally so that way I always have enough to buy her some. And Ben, too, because after Gwen died-" Peter’s voice cracks a little.
Wade feels like a dick. "I'm s-"
"Don't apologize, you had no idea," Peter responds, and he smiles.
Wade feels worse.
Peter walks over and pulls Wade into a hug. Wade takes a moment to be shocked before he hugs back, hesitant and tentative. Why was Peter hugging him? Peter stands up a few seconds later. He leaves to grab some lotion for Wade, who looks eternally grateful when he sees it.
MJ knocks on the door a few minutes later. Peter grabs a sun hat and tells Wade he'll probably be gone all day. Before he does, though, he adjusts the box so Wade's leg can fit a bit easier. Then he's out the door and leading the way to Aunt May's.
When they arrive at Aunt May's, Peter knocks on the door. Aunt May opens the door, and her expression grows into a smile, beaming as she hugs him and MJ, before her face goes stern and concerned. "Peter! Are you okay? I heard what happened on the news! And no one told me if you were okay or what happened!" Aunt May scolds and worries at the same time, fretting over how Peter looks. "And the bandages? Are you sure you can even come on a picnic?"
"I'm fine, Aunt May. I swear. Do you have some stuff we can picnic, or are we buying?"
"Of course I have picnic foods! What kind of an aunt do you take me for?"
"Okay Aunt May!"
There's some laughing as she turns to fret over MJ before she pulls them inside to drink something and so they can hold the blanket and picnic basket. Lighthearted conversation ensues as May asks Peter and MJ about their jobs and how things are going and why no one visits her anymore? It's all cheery.
Peter stops by the flower shop like normal. It's a block away from the cemetery. Gwen had always loved lilacs. Ben's favorite was always tulips, though if you asked him he'd definitely disagree. He gets yellow ones, and then they head over to the graves.
They’re buried pretty close together, actually. It was easy to set up a picnic blanket a little farther away from them. They give each other a few minutes alone with Gwen and Ben, to talk and say thanks or maybe to just sit quietly. It's lighthearted, but also sad. They remember the good things, but that does nothing to keep them from remembering that they died in the first place.
"Hey, Gwen," Peter says as he sits in front of the grave. His tone is casual and quiet. It's meant for his and Gwen's ears only. He lays the flowers on the grave. "Got you some lilacs, again. I know they’re your favorite. I um, I have a new friend now. His name's Wade. He's great. He talks a lot, I kinda like it, actually. He always seems so interested in everything he talks about. I think you would've liked him. Stark Tower was bombed. I got hurt, but it wasn't so bad. Tony was worse. If you see him, tell him I'm really sorry, okay? How are you doing? Good, probably. I mean, if it wasn't good, I'm sorry for assuming. Tell me about it sometime, okay? MJ and Aunt May are here. They probably want to say something to you, too. I'll um, go, now. I love- loved- love you,"
His voice cracks at the last words.
He goes to Ben, placing the flowers on Ben's grave. "Hey Uncle Ben. I got you some yellow tulips. I know tulips were your favorite. Life's been kinda weird lately. I have this new friend named Wade. I think you would've liked him, but I don't know because, well, he does things you’d probably disagree with. I'm still doing good with my responsibilities, I think. Although sometimes it gets really stressful. I- I wish you were here. I think you would've been proud."
Peter can feel tears burning into his eyes, blurring his vision as he goes to sit at the blanket. MJ gives him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before leaving to go visit them—mostly Gwen, but she visits Ben occasionally as well. Peter and May talk for a little bit. Small talk.
May leaves after MJ. They do the same thing. Small talk. Neither asks the other what they did or said. They’re too far into their thoughts to have an actual conversation, but they don't want to fall into silence. When May comes back, they eat and laugh and joke and talk.
When Peter comes home, Wade is asleep. Peter turns on Princess Bride. He only cries for a little bit.