Answer Me
" Yes! Hole in one! I'm totally wiping the floor with you tonight Pete!" Gwen exclaimed proudly before marking on her score card.
Peter didn't respond however, because as usual he had his head in the clouds. Once again lost in thought and spacing out from the world around him. Gwen quickly waved her hand in front of Peter's face to get his attention. Peter blinked a couple times before looking at the petite blonde in front of him. " Oh sorry... did you say something?"
Gwen smirked and grabbed Peter by his hand, whisping him over to the nearest picnic table. She quickly pulled him down to sit next to her. " Alright Pete, spill it."
Peter looked at his fiesty friend. She was dressed in a white with pink inner lining hoodie and black leggings. The hoodie fit her a bit big but, Gwen looked great in it. Her fashion style choices helped to keep Peter comfortable. She was an amazing friend to Peter and at this point could read him like a book. So it made sense that she caught onto the simple fact he just wasn't into mini-golf. Peter looked down at the picnic table. It was old and worn out by all the use it had seen. As with such types of things it was also littered with markings, either by marker or just carved into the surface. Peter found himself tracing the rough texture of a crudely carved heart. Gwen placed her hand over Peter's, "Talk to me." she spoke softly. The hints of concern laced her voice and grabbed Peter's attention.
" Sorry Gwen... I know you wanted to spend time together. I guess I just have a lot on my mind."
Gwen squeezed his hand reassuringly. " Pete... I understand. You almost died. That's why I brought you here tonight. But as usual, I just can't get you out of your head.
Peter looked up at Gwen with a solemn expression. "There are just so many unanswered questions Gwen. Being Spider-man is a huge part of my identity. Still, I don't want anyone to get hurt because of my power. I don't know how my parents cope with that. "
Gwen stretched her arms upwards before resting them behind her head. " When you told me about your family and your power... I was shocked to say the least. When you have people you care about in life... that's a tough secret to keep. But, if you ask me... I think your family are handling it better because they can trust each other. You have that too Pete. You just need to be willing to accept it."
Peter stared at Gwen in awe. She was right, as usual. Flying solo this whole time was my way of insuring the safety of my loved ones. It also allowed me to maintain my personal freedom. Here I thought this made me a stronger hero... when in actuality it just made me more vulnerable. It isn't wrong to ask for help. And right now, I need help more than ever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" How are you feeling?"
Peter grimaced, " Well, I can't say waking up to Foggy staring at me was all that pleasent."
Matt smirked, " Sorry about that. He means well, but he is a big fan of yours. I asked his to leave you be but, he really wanted an autograph. "
Peter looked around the small cafe. It was moderately busy, but it was still pretty quiet. The clientele mostly consisted of buisness men who were either working on personal computers or relaxing.
" You seem to have a lot on your mind. You aren't normally so quiet." Matt said as he stirred some sugar into his coffee.
" You aren't going to tell anyone about last night are you? The last thing I need right now is to worry my parents. I've had a lot on my mind and... I just got a bit overwhelmed last night." Peter paused a moment as he tried to read Matt's expression. It was useless however, seeing as his blind friend always had a faultless poker face. Whether he developed it from his carreer as a lawyer or his blindness, it didn't seem to matter. "Look I would really appreciate it if we could just forget last night even happened."
The lawyer was quiet a few moments after Peter's request. He then slid his coffee towards the middle of the table and pulled out his wallet to pay for it. "I won't say anything. Just remember that I am right next door if you need to talk." A quiet alarm began to beep as Matt lay some money on the table. "I need to go to court. I hope you'll take me up on my offer though."
Watching as Matt straightened his tie and made his way out of the cafe, I was left there alone to think on the events of the past few days. Everyone has been doing this for me though. Trying to help me in some way or another. I'm not helpless though. I get that they are worried but, it's over now. I'm healthy again. No more chest pain or muscle spasms. No more blackouts and medical testing. It's kind of like I was given another chance at life. Is that why I am out of sorts?
Peter found himself wandering the city as he reflected. He needed this time. He needed to understand why he didn't feel right. It was like every nerve in his body was tense with unease. It was foreign to him to be filled with so much self doubt. Well, at least since he finished school.
" It is dangerous to walk these streets at such an hour young man."
Peter looked up from the side walk his eyes had been glued to since he started his walk. A man stood about six feet in front of him under a flickering street light. "Thanks for the warning. I guess time got away from me." He replied as he stopped in his tracks.
The strange man smiled, " I think you should return home." The man said as he pointed towards the sky. " A storm approaches."
Peter looked up to see storm clouds accumulating and lightning strikes in the distance. " Thanks I - -" As he returned his gaze back to the man's location, he realized he was gone. He looked around for a moment to see if he could spot him but, there was no one to be seen. "That's never a good sign ..." he murmured to himself before quickly turning on his heels to head home.
He was standing in his livingroom within an hour. The storm hit him as he was halfway there and it was coming down hard outside. His clothes were soaked and he could feel himself shivering like crazy. He walked into his bathroom and began to peel off his drenched clothing. A loud booming thunder had his apartment rumbling. Peter looked around his bathroom as the lights started humming. Another explosion of thunder came soon after and the power shut off. Peter groaned as he tried to flick the light switch on and off in futility. "Fantastic..."
He stripped down and grabbed a towel to dry himself off. Once dried enough, he picked up his wet clothing and tossed them in the sink to dry off and went to his room with a towel around his waist to grab some warm clothes. As lightning danced in the sky outside his empty apartment would light up as well. For some reason Peter found this relaxing. It was the most comfortable he had felt all week. Peter lay on his bed so he could watch the storm out of his bedroom window. Just as he was starting to doze off, there was a loud knocking at his window. Peter sat up quickly as he saw the dark silhouette of a man looking inside. Then the shock passed as he realized who it was and got up to open the window.
"Wade, what are you doing out in this storm?" Peter asked as he watched the Merc crawl through the window into his room.
"I uh...I was worried about you. Are you...feeling okay?" He asked as he moved out of in front of the window and watched as Peter closed it.
Peter turned around and looked down at his now mud covered floor. "I'm fine, can't say the same for my carpet though." He glanced at Wade who was wearing civvies. "Dude, you're soaked...aren't you cold? " Wade looked down at himself and looked back at Peter before shrugging. Peter rolled his eyes and grabbed Wade by his bicep and dragged him to the bathroom. "I'll get you some clothes. Dry off in here and I'll be right back."
Peter closed the door to the bathroom and walked back to his bedroom closet. He looked for a shirt and pants he thought might fit the Merc. The task was much harder than he thought though. Peter was much slimmer built, compared to the muscular and broad man in his bathroom. He settled with a tank top and some stretchy sweat pants and headed back to the restroom and knocked on the door. "They might not fit you that great but...it's...the best..." Peter's words got caught in his throat as the bathroom door cracked open slowly.
He had never seen the Merc without clothing covering the majority of his body. There before him stood this same man with nothing but a towel on and a solemn look on his face. Peter swallowed hard as his eyes scanned the mouthy man's form. The entirety of his skin was scarred. It was a site to see especially over his tight muscular frame. He quickly looked into the tall man's eyes only to be caught off guard by the piercing light blue iris of his gaze. Peter's mouth felt dry as he tried to think of something to say. Wade must of realized that he could see him, despite the lights being out because he gently took the clothes from Peter and closed the door with a quiet word of thanks.
Peter stood there stunned for a moment before he stepped away from the bathroom door and walked into the kitchen. He had never seen his friend before. Not like that. Especially those eyes of his. He always imagined Wade with a goofy grin on his face. He felt like he had just peered into the man's soul. It looked sad and...lonely. Peter tried to shake the thought from his head as he filled a glass with water and downed it.
When the Merc finally emerged from the bathroom, Peter was a little disheartened to see that he had put his mask back on. But that quickly was forgotten when he saw how poorly his clothing fit him and he could hardly contain his laughter.
Wade was laughing too. "I guess it was too much to ask of you to hand me something a bit more fitting. By the way...these probably will never fit you the same again."
Peter was in tears and holding his sides. His sweats barely went down past Wade's knees and the tank top, even as stretched out as it were didn't even cover the man's belly.
It took a few moments for Peter to catch his breath from all the laughter. Wade was now looking around his bare livingroom. "Nice place..." he said with clear sarcasm.
Peter blushed, "Uh...yeah...I'm not really home often enough to bother furnishing it properly. What are you doing here anyway? I hadn't seen you in days and now here you are out of the blue."
"Yeah, I've had a rough week. Plus I figured you were probably gonna need some space after the whole...near death thing."
Peter's smile slowly faded from his face and Wade saw this. He looked at his empty livingroom in the darkness and then back to Wade. "I have a favor to ask you."
Wade tilted his head a bit as he watched Peter walk over to him. "Umm...yeah?"
Peter stopped right in front of Wade and stared at his masked face. The memory of his maskless expression still fresh in his mind. He wasn't sure why it had taken him so long to realize it. The simple truth was...he and Wade felt the same. Peter reached up and slipped his thumbs under the hem of Wade's mask. The unevenness of the flesh on the merc's neck sent chills down his spine. Wade seemed frozen in place and Peter could feel how tense he had become. He softly spoke,"...it's okay...isn't it?" Peter asked as he slowly rolled the mask up to where his thumbs were now tracing the merc's jawline.
Wade was stiff but, he gave Peter a hesitant nod and closed his eyes as Peter slowly peeled his mask off. His mask now off Wade opened his eyes and slowly looked down at Peter who was looking back at him. He didn't look disgusted or shocked. His expression was hard for Wade to understand because no one has ever looked at him that way before. His heart was pounding in his chest so hard he thought Peter might even be able to hear it. Then he did something he never expected. Peter was smiling at him. "Why?"
Peter looked down at Wade's mask before handing it back to him. Seeing Wade's face filled Peter with a sense of fulfillment. His true and vulnerable expression seemed to cause his anxiety to just dissipate. He wanted to see this more often. To feel this way always."Because...I like seeing the real you. And you should have a place to be okay without your mask. I feel that way with you. Like I...can trust you completely. I feel more alive when you are around."
Peter watched as Wade's face reflected shock and confusion towards his words. As if he didn't understand what he was hearing. "Do you trust me Wade?"
Wade felt his face grow flush and hot. But he couldn't take his eyes off of the short brunette before him. Even if he thought this was a dream he nodded slowly.
Peter looked thrilled and his smiling face made Wade feel like he was going to melt. " I'm glad...so just one more question."
Wade didn't realise it, but he had started smiling. Sincerely smiling. "Anything...just ask. I'm all yours webs."
Peter chuckled his adorable little laugh. "Move in with me?"