A/N

So this is my first Spideypool fic! It is a death fic, so I'm sorry about that. I really hope you enjoy it! Thank you so much for stopping in!

Lingering

It had been a long fight. A fight that had taken everything he had. Six against one wasn't exactly good odds steered in his favor. Sure, he had, ultimately, won. He saved the innocent New York people caught in the cross fires between he and his most powerful enemies. But the building still collapsed. Debris still fell on him as he huddled protectively over innocent people who had just been going about their daily lives. Fire licked at his body, and he ached all over. He had been beaten, burned, thrown through walls, electrocuted, and wounded.

But yeah, he had won. Peter had caught the bad guys, and left them webbed up for S.H.I.E.L.D. to collect, quickly disappearing from the scene so he wouldn't be taken in himself.

Though…now he was regretting not staying.

It was getting rather painful to breathe.

And his wounds weren't healing over as quickly as he thought they would.

Peter groaned, leaning back against the small wall on top of the apartment building he had stumbled on. Swinging made him too dizzy and he had to stop when he couldn't distinguish the sky from the ground anymore.

I really should've stayed. Peter thought. Getting arrested and treated would've been better than dying on this roof. That thought jolted him.

Dying. He was dying.

Peter had been in a lot of deadly situations, but never had he admitted he was dying. He had been shot, stabbed, strangled, drowned, and beaten relentlessly…but he had never believed he was dying. Usually, he joked about it, shaking off broken bones and the likely hood of internal bleeding as if it were dust on his shoulder. He had been hurt a lot, but he had always recovered.

But this time…he really was doubting a healthy turn around.

He could feel every ache and pain coursing through his body like fire, slowly roasting him alive. Peter felt some of his ribs crack when he had been bound tightly in animatronic arms, and knew that's why it was hurting so much to draw in air. He wouldn't doubt it if one of his lungs had been punctured. The fire had burned his arms and legs, and he could feel his skin cracking and bleeding. His head pounded painfully as each throb irritated the fractures in his skull. Peter's abdomen also hurt, but he didn't know if that was from some sort of internal injury or the bruises that had likely turned him black and blue from the frustrations his enemies had taken out on him. Then again…it could be both.

The point being, Peter hurt. "Hurt" not being a strong enough word, if he were being honest. He was in agony, and he really wished that he had stuck around for when S.H.I.E.L.D came on to the scene. They could've helped, even if he did end up spending the rest of his life locked away.

But then… He thought. I wouldn't, exactly, have a life in that case either.

He caught himself again. He was really thinking about his own death. Of course, Peter had thought about dying. He risked his life every time he put on the Spider-Man suit. Well, maybe not every time. Saving cats from trees wasn't all that life threatening. But still. He had powerful enemies under the guise of his alter ego. Every one of them was out for his blood, and some had come close before.

This time, though, it seems that they'd won.

Peter coughed, tasting copper. He knew it was blood. He had tasted blood several times.

He groaned as his fit began to settle down, feeling his ribs creak and jostle from the force of his coughing. He tried to draw in a deep breath, but that only resulted in a lot of gasping and wheezing.

"Not looking so hot tonight Spider-Babe"

Peter looked up, his confused mind recognizing the familiar voice but unable to place it.

He didn't know what to feel when he saw Deadpool standing in front of him, in full suit with his hands on his hips and a curious tilt to his head.

"Hey Wade." Peter said, unable to find the energy to throw a quip the mercenaries way, like he normally would. He just…hurt too much and he needed to focus on breathing more than he and Wades playful-insult game.

"I saw the news." Wade said, trying to keep the conversation light, but Peter could see the tense and…worried set to his shoulders. "From what I could make out form the shitty camera work, you didn't fair to well."

Peter huffed out a short laugh, that read more as a wheeze to the mercenary. "No. Not really." He said.

"Okay." Wade said, dropping all signs of his casual façade. "We need to get you some help." He moved closer to the fallen vigilante, crouching and quickly scooping his lithe form into his arm.

Well, maybe a little too quickly.

Spider-Man screamed, and it was the purest sound of agony Deadpool had ever heard. The young hero began to gasp in short breathes and his whole body stated to tremble.

"Please…please." Spidey whimpered. "Put me down…please."

Without a second thought, Wade sat down, gently lying Spidey down on the roof and supporting his upper body in his lap and arms as the hero worked to regain control over his breathing and shaking body.

Wade realized that Spidey wouldn't be getting any help.

Peter calmed. His breaths were shallow and painful, but the fire that erupted within him when Deadpool had picked him up had cooled. He cracked his eyes open, finding that Wade was holding him.

Peter couldn't help but smile.

"Don't take advantage of me…in my weakened state."

Wade snorted. He couldn't help it. It was funny and he had a rather dark sense of humor. It wasn't a huge secret that Wade flirted with Spidey. He had tones of flirtatious and derogatory nicknames for the vigilante, and constantly came on to him. He figured Spidey tolerated it because he had thought it was all a joke. That was what Wade did. He flirted and cat-called, and Spidey knew from first hand experiences, and from the few times they had teamed up, that Deadpool used flirtation as a distraction method for the bad guys they fought. It was highly likely that Spidey thought it was all a joke. Just a game they played.

Oh, how wrong he was.

"Wade?"

Deadpool snapped out of his thoughts as Spidey's tiny voice called to him.

"Yeah Babe?" He asked, keeping conversation like he normally would. Flirtatious and light.

"I'm dying, huh?" He asked, those big bug eyes staring into his soul, compelling him to answer with nothing but the simple truth.

"Yeah." Was all Wade could bring himself to say. This was hard. He had never meant to grow so attached to the young hero, but feelings were difficult things to suppress.

Spidey was good. So much unlike himself. The hero only wanted to do the right thing and he had no personal gain in his pursuit to do that. Wade had done good things…for the highest bidder. At first, it had repulsed him at how much the arachnid themed vigilante was driven by "justice" and "responsibility." But then, he came to find it endearing, and he started to search out Spidey's company more and more. He knew he had annoyed him at first, but…then it felt like they were becoming friends. They never said anything or pointed it out, but Wade felt something different when they met and the game of insults and quips picked up, creating a friendly atmosphere. He admired the vigilante. He was everything a childhood hero should be. Good. Brave. Strong. Kind. Selfless. Responsible.

And he didn't look half bad either. And that's covered head to toe in spandex.

Wade was pulled sharply from his thoughts as Spidey entered a coughing fit. He could only watch powerless as the hero gasped and choked, each spasm weakening him more and more.

Eventually, he settled down. His breathing sounded short and painful, and he knew his time was running out.

"Wade…" Spidey said, surprising Deadpool. He thought he had slipped to far away from lucidness to speak anymore.

"Yeah?" Deadpool asked.

Spidey took a short breath, seeming to steel himself for the conversation. "Did you ever…mean anymore…then jokes…when you flirted…with me?"

Wade was caught off guard. He hadn't expected such an odd question, but he wouldn't lie to a dying man.

"Yeah. I did. Still do Spider-Babe."

Spider-Man stayed quite at that, and Wade would've thought he had finally slipped away if it weren't for the slight wheeze to his shallow breathing. He didn't know what he was thinking, but he had spoken the truth. He hoped Spidey could appreciate that.

"I wish…" Spidey finally said after a long pause. "That I had asked…before now."

Wade became perplexed as Spidey once again attempted a weak laugh. What does that mean?

"I like you Wade."

Deadpool felt his heart drop.

"Of course you would tell me this on your deathbed! Really Spider-Babe?!" He joked, but inside…Wade was crushed.

This time, they both laughed weakly.

"It's Peter." Spidey said. "Peter…Parker."

Wade nodded. Spidey knew his real name, of course. It wasn't exactly a secret. But his heart both swelled and cracked as Spidey told him his real name now. He knew what it meant. But it still made him happy. He only wondered what the hero looked like; trying to imagine a face to fit the name.

"Take it off." Peter said, seeming to read Wade's mind.

Ever so gently, Wade slid off Peter's mask.

Wow. Wade thought. He's perfect.

Yeah, Peter was bruised and bloody, but he could see how handsome he was. More perfect than Wade had ever been able to imagine.

"You look good, handsome." He whispered, trying to sound light-hearted, but his voice wavered a bit.

Peter smiled, his glazing and hazel eyes burning through Wade's lenses and he knew what the hero was going to ask before he could say it.

"I'm not really as pretty as I like to boast Babe."

Peter looked at him…giving him the look of a man asking for his last wish.

How could Wade deny a dying man of anything?

Hesitantly, he reached his hand up to his mask, and pulled it off in one swift motion before he could change his mind.

He sat with his eyes closed for a moment, clearly seeing Peter's disgusted face with his mind's eye.

Slowly, he cracked one eye open…and found Peter was still smiling.

Wade opened his eyes all the way, and Peter stared into them with such intensity that he felt like holes were being burned through to the back of his head.

"I'm…a…sucker for…brown eyes…"

Wade stared at him incredulously. He was horribly disfigured, yet all Peter could comment on…were his eyes?

Wade felt a rush of raw emotion tear through him painfully. Peter was amazing…and he cursed the universe for letting this be the way he found out his super-crush liked him too.

Looking back into Peter's eyes, his saw a wordless invitation, and took it.

Wade leaned down and kissed him.

It was a short, and tender kiss. The pressure being light and their tongues only brushed together once…but Wade felt electricity shoot through his body.

He pulled back slowly, letting Peter catch a short breath.

Wade smiled. "Definitely top five on my kiss list."

Peter laughed. A short, weak wheeze, but a laugh none the less. "Top…ten…" He said, a tiny smirk set on his lips.

Wade's grin widen, and he held back the tears threatening to spill over. Peter's eyes flickered to Wade's smile, lingering there. And lingering…and lingering…until Wade realized he wasn't seeing anymore…

A/N

Sorry again, and please review! I would love some feedback! If you liked it, I may continue this as a collection of one-shots...Idk. What do you all think?

Anyway, thanks for stopping in! See ya~