Peter knocked on the door to their bathroom. "Wade?"
There was no answer.
"Come on, you've been in there for an hour. We're going to be late!" He glanced at the bedside alarm. Quarter to seven. They had fifteen minutes to make the party. Every year Stark held a private civilian themed party for the heroes so they could have a good time without constantly watching their backs. And every year Wade made them oh-so-unfashionably late.
"Takin' a shit, Pete."
"That's bull and you know it; I'd be able to smell it all the way from across the street, especially with what you had for lunch. Now hurry up, or I swear to god I'll break down this door."
"Hey man, I needed all those onions and deep-fried chili peppers. That shitty hot dog stand you took us to was so shitty, even the birds didn't wanna leave their shit by it. They should rename that place shit dogs with a side of crap."
"How very eloquently put." He was getting annoyed now. If they didn't hurry, they'd be super late again, and Stark would probably leave them locked out this time. Especially after the stunt Wade pulled last year.
He considered just leaving without Wade, attending that party solo. There were lots of people he knew anyway. Lots of friends who he wouldn't be able to have a nice conversation with because Wade would be there by his side, looking glum and intimidating, clinging onto him like an abandoned child. And of course hitting on all the wrong people.
It was so tempting to just leave.
But he knew that for all the show Wade was putting on, for how much he kept on insisting for Peter to just go alone and leave him to rot his brain out all night on the tv, he knew that if he actually left Wade for the party, he'd feel betrayed.
So Peter kept on waiting. "Look, if you come out and by some miracle we make it on time, I'll take you out for ice cream."
"Don't treat me like some child!" he shrieked through the door.
"Who said we were going to just eat that ice cream?" Peter smirked when he heard the toilet flush. The door cracked open, so slightly, and Wade peeked his eye through.
It reminded him of a really bad horror movie.
"You'd better not be shitting me here, Peter. You know I hate it when you tease me like that. You still owe me what you promised last time!" he whined.
"Well, come on out, and maybe we can do both of those things tonight." Peter cocked his brow, doing that little seductive thing with his face that he discovered some time ago had quite the effect on Wade.
It made him whine and fidget. "Fine." He kicked open the door the rest of the way and stepped out. "But if you back out again, I swear Peter, you're gonna be the one sleeping on the couch this time!"
Peter barely even registered what Wade had said.
He was mesmerized by the suit he was wearing. A nicely tailored tux, black as the night, so sleek and form-fitting it emphasized all the sharp curves of his musculature. And the dark navy trim along the collar brought out his eyes so beautifully, Peter couldn't help but just stare.
He realized what he was doing a tad too late when Wade started to shift uncomfortably, tugging at the base of his suit.
"You look very handsome," said Peter, slowly stepping up to Wade, carefully taking his restless hands. He brought them down, thumbs running over the back of his hands soothingly while he smiled brightly up at Wade.
Wade just flinched his head to the side, a slight blush starting to creep across his face. He didn't move away from Peter's hold though. Just tightened his grip and refused to make any eye contact.
Peter brought his hands up to cup Wade's face, tugging gently until their eyes were level. "I promise," he said, leaning up to give him a gentle kiss.
And it was more than just a promise of lace panties and ice cream. It was the unspoken promise that everything would be fine. That Peter was here to guide him through the night. That Peter loved him, and would make sure nothing bad would happen to him.
"Okay?" he asked, thumb brushing up across Wade's cheek.
"Yeah," he nodded, resting his forehead against Peter's.
"Come on, I got Tony to order tacos for the party. Really good ones. If we hurry we can make it before they're all gone." Peter took Wade's hand into his, holding it securely. He grabbed his keys and pulled Wade along to the door.
"I don't trust your judgement of 'good' anymore. Not after that shit dog stand!"
Peter laughed. Wade seemed to be in higher spirits now. It was going to be a decent night.