Chapter 1

The cold winter wind hit Peter like a slap in the face as he swung through the streets of New York. Though it was a considerably late hour, the city's nightlife was still bustling. The breeze seeped through his Spiderman mask so he could barely feel his cheeks. Despite this, Peter didn't seem to be slowed down by the cold.

Some people waved at the passing by superhero. Peter would gladly wave back, thankful that not everyone sees him as a public menace. A yawn crept up in his throat, dreading that he'd have to wake up for college tomorrow. The city patrols were a daily thing, so balancing his studying, assignments, superhero duties and job at the Daily Bugle didn't leave much time to sleep for the young superhero. Let's just say coffee is Peter's best friend.

With an unfinished report sitting at the back of his mind, Peter decided to call in a night. He turned back towards the direction of his home. He leaped from rooftop to rooftop, keeping in the shadows.

Peter's spidey senses started to twinge, having the biggest feeling that he was being followed. So, he landed onto the nearest rooftop in perfect format. He took position at the edge of the building, keeping an ear out for any danger, but the only thing he heard was the distant sound of the city. He inhaled in and out softly, enjoying the silence.

"Maybe I'm just being paranoid," Peter mumbled, relaxing his muscles and letting his eyes close for a second.

At that moment his spidey senses went crazy, but before he had time to react, a flash of red tackled him off the ledge. Soon Peter found himself, along with his attacker, falling. The attacker clutched onto Peter, his manic laughter ringing in his ears.

"Let me goooooo." Peter cried, trying to gain the upper hand. He extended his arms as his web shooters shot out his only chance of survival. The web clutched onto a building, but the ground was getting closer and closer. Peter squeezed his eyes shut waiting for impact, but the web caught him just in time, only a few feet above the ground.

Peter re-opened his eyes, letting out a sigh of relief, only to recall the cause of this near-death experience was still clutching onto him. He looked down at the red and black suited man hanging onto his waist. Deadpool.

"WOOO! LET'S DO IT AGAIN!" He cheered as if he just got off a roller-coaster. Peter let out a grunt. Of course it was Deadpool. This guy was particularly known for his dangerous impulses and psychotic attributes. Peter can say he's had the displeasure of teaming up with the mercenary a few times and finds him reckless, distracting and most of all, annoying! Who else is crazy enough to free fall off a building.

him reckless, distracting and most of all, annoying! Who else is crazy enough to free fall off a building.

Peter pried the Merc's arms off his waist, causing him to fall the little distance between them and the ground. He landed with a thud.

"Hey!" Deadpool complained to the young superhero. "So not cool, dude. Is that how to treat a friend?"

Peter let go the web, perfectly landing on his feet, and shadowed over the anti-hero.

"We're not friends." He said through gritted teeth as Deadpool pushed himself off the ground. He brushed off the dirt from his suit, before looking up at his favourite spider-themed superhero.

"Yeah, you're right, we're more like lovers."

"Never," Peter growled.

"Partners?"

"Nope."

"Ouch, that hurt, Spidey," Deadpool said, putting his hand on the wrong side of his chest. "Someone's grouchy, what's got your spandex in a twist?"

"The maniac who just pushed me off a building," Peter replied in a deadpan tone. Deadpool giggled.

"Oh Spidey, you're making me blush!" Deadpool flirted bashfully, waving a hand at him. Peter sneered, shaking his head. Peter turned his back on him but the Merc refused to give up without a fight, he launched after him, clutching on to the Spider's leg like a little kid.

"Don't ignore me!" He whined, being dragged along as Peter tried to walk away. Peter gave his leg a good shake, but Deadpool wouldn't budge.

'Ignore him Parker' Peter thought to himself. 'He has to spot at some point."

"Notice me senpai!"

But he didn't.

Peter walked around three blocks in the backstreets of New York and Deadpool was still clinging onto the hero's leg for dear life.

"Senpai, notice me!"

Peter refused to pay an attention, until he felt a hand snake up his inner thigh. Alarm bells went off in Peter's head. He quickly shoved Deadpool 0ff his leg, the merc obliging this time. He could feel his face going red under his mask. Curses ran through his mind as Peter tried his best to calm down.

"Spidey, you alright?" Deadpool called after him as the superhero walked away from him. "Hey buddy I didnt-"

Peter finally had it, he blew up. He span around and grabbed Deadpool by the suit, before smashing him against the wall. He forcefully pushed Deadpool against the alley walls. Oddly, the mercenary didn't fight back, not that Peter even noticed anyway. Somehow, he forgot he was going up against a professional killer.

"For the last time!" He bellowed, pushing all his weight onto the Merc. "I'm not your lover, I'm not your partner, and I am definitely not your friend. So stay away from me"

There were a tense few seconds where nothing was said, the two were locked in an intense stare. Then a faded scream was heard in the distance. Peter let go of Deadpool's suit and took a step back, still locked in forceful glares.

"I have work to do." He snarled, turning around to swing off, but not before turning back to give one last warning.

"Stay out of my way."

With that, Spiderman turned away to find the source of the screams, leaving Deadpool alone in the dark ally.

Spiderman pushed Wade against the alley wall with great force. The Merc couldn't help but think that this looked like the start of a really hot fanfiction. Wade could have easily fought back, hell, he could have snapped the pint-size hero into a pretzel if he wanted to, but in all honesty, he would never lay a hand on his idol. He's always looked up to the webbed hero, wishing he could be more like him.

(Yellow): You're no Spiderman.

(White): Never was-

(Yellow): Never will be-

(White): You're the bad guy. Might as well act like one.

(Yellow): Pretzel time!

Wade tried his best to block out the annoying voices ringing through his head. Instead, he focused on the beloved Spiderman, waiting for him to make his next move.

"For the last time!" He yelled, Wade, feeling his hot breath through his mask. "I'm not your lover, I'm not your partner, and I am not your friend. So stay away from me"

(Yellow): Ouch, right up main street!

They held that position for a moment, intense glares holding. If Wade wasn't so offended by the Spider's word, he'd probably be really turned on right now. But he was offended. The webbed hero's words cut through him worst than any blade ever has.

But Wade couldn't say he was surprised.

There was a cry in the distance. Spiderman let go of his leather suit, taking a step back, his gaze never leaving Deadpool's.

"I have work to do." He snarled, turning away from the mercenary. Before he swung off, he gave Wade his last warning.

"Stay out of my way."

And then he was gone. Wade stood alone in the dark alley, watching his hero going off to do what he does best, help people. An odd wave of self-pity washed over him.

(White): You disgust me.

(Yellow) You know, I could really go for some pretzels right now.

Not far away, Peter found a group of hooded men surrounding an elderly man. effect He stood above them, counting all the figures. Six, he counted six.

'ehh, that's not so bad.'

Peter readjusted his web shooters and stretched his limbs a bit, before slowly descended the building behind the group, making sure he was covered by shadow.

"Come with us," the leader ordered, holding up a gun to the man. "and we'll let you live."

"How about, you let him go anyway, and I'll go easy on your sorry behinds?"

The group swivelled around sharply, only to find the friendly neighborhood Spiderman emerge from the shadow. Now with their attention fully on the masked hero, the victim took this time to escape. One of the men raised a gun at the fleeing senior, but it was webbed out his hand before he could fire it. Five more guns were raised.

"C'mon guys, let's play nicely."

Shots were fired. Spiderman flipped out of the way, dodging the firing bullets. More webs were shot, pulling the guns out of the men's hands. He checked to make sure the victim got away safely, before turning back to the bad guys. Now with all men disarmed, this should be an easy fight. The six men surrounded Peter, waiting to catch him off guard.

"Six against one? That doesn't really seem fair." One of the men went to strike, But Spiderman easily flipping over him, tripping him up with his webs. "I mean, for you guys."

Peter was caught mid-quip when one of the men flung him against the wall with immense force. He bashed into it hard, pain exploding from his head. He raised his hand, waiting for his webs to extend out of his wrists, but his web shooters gave a few sparks and died on him. They obviously busted from when he hit the wall.

'Okay, it looks like we have to do this the old-fashioned way.'

The men took advantage while the hero was down, one of them grabbing him by the collar to take a swing at him. Peter got the upper hand, hitting him right in the eye. To his surprise, the man didn't even react. With the hero taken aback, the goon took this time to throw a punch to his nose. Before Peter had time to react to the pain, he was pinned down by two other guys, while another got a good blow in his gut. Soon Peter managed to get a good kick in before regaining his stance. There was no way these guys were just muggers, whoever these guys were, they knew what they were doing.

"Wow, you guys are really giving me a run for my money." The hero huffed out of breath.

Spiderman kept up the fight, but these guys threw back twice as hard, without even breaking a sweat. Something was off. A final bash into the wall finished him. He bounced off the wall and crashed down to the ground, finding great difficulty picking himself up. He could hear the snickers of his opponents as the leader picked up Peter by the collar. Peter could see a smirk under the hood. He was then thrown back on the floor, hitting the ground with a thud. The men crowded over the young hero, obviously not finished with him. Peter mind raced tiring to find any way to get out of this situation, but with his broken web shooter and a defiantly busted rib, the chances seemed slim.

BANG

One of the men collapsed, howling in pain as he clutched his left leg. Peter had no idea what was happening, he was just relieved for the distraction. The men picked up the bleeding man off the ground. It looked like he's been shot. Peter painfully raised himself from the floor, crouching low not to get hit by any stray bullets. Another shot fired, hitting another man in the shoulder before a tall figure steps out of the shadows, the blades on his back gleaming off the street lights. The red and black suited mercenary stepped into the light.

"That was a warning shot," Deadpool growled, lifting his gun up to eye level. "Next one's going straight in-between the eyes."

At the sight of Deadpool, the hooded men seemed to realize they were outmatched. They scattered off, tails in-between their legs. Once they were out of sight, Deadpool rushed over to Peters side, checking for any serious injuries. Peter took a hitched breath as the Merc felt up the young hero's sides.

"Relax," The man behind the leather mask acknowledged. "I'm only checking for injuries."

Deadpool pulled away his hands, before letting out a grunt.

"I think you've got a couple of sprained ribs, and probably a broken collarbone." He murmured.

But Peter didn't take any notice. He stared straight at the mercenary, a dazed glance under his mask as he tried to work out what just happened.

"You didn't kill them." He said slowly. "You could have killed them, but…. you didn't."

Deadpool is notorious for his mercenary work. He killed to make a living, quite literally, and he was damn good at it. Peter was as sure as hell he would never miss such an easy target. He had all the chances in the world to kill every one of those men. So why didn't he?

Deadpool let out a sarcastic laugh

"You really do think that bad of me, don't you?"

A wave of guilt washed over Peter. He said some pretty harsh things to the anti-hero who just got him out of quite a sticky situation. He groaned mentally. 'Good job, Parker, you're officially the world's biggest asshole.'

Deadpool pulled Peter onto his feet. He dusted the hero off, before snaking his arm under Peter's. The two limped out of the alley without a word. Deadpool was being unusually quiet, not even passing any ridiculous joke, or annoying flirtation. Peter didn't like the silence. He sighed.

"Look, Deadpool-"

Peter's apology was interrupted by the overwhelming sensation that something horrible was going to happen. Not even seconds later the sound of screeching wheels rang through the street. A dark van came into sight. The door slipped open and one of the guys from before poked out of the door. Before Peter even knew what was happening, a shot rang through his ears. He found himself to be pushed painfully to the ground. Next thing he knew the van had sped off into the darkness.

Peter's mind was still buzzing when it was all over. As his adrenaline level started to decrease, he suddenly became very aware of what happened. Deadpool's body was pressed onto his, blood trickling down the mercenary's back, onto Peter's suit. The panic set in.

Images of Uncle Ben came flashing through mind. Though it happened when he was fifteen, he still remembers every detail of it. The flashing lights of the police cars, Uncle Ben lying in a pool of blood. That last voicemail played through his head, over and over.

"You're my hero, and I love you."

Peter was no stranger to close calls. But this time, this time, he became painfully aware of how close he came this time. He was seconds away from being shot. He was seconds away from going down just like Uncle Ben. What would happen to his Aunt May if he died? And the city? What would they think became of their local hero? If Deadpool hadn't been there….

He saved him.

Deadpool saved him.

Peter felt the Merc begin to breathe against his chest. Soon a groan escaped his lips Deadpool shakily pushed himself up, only to seem to remember the young hero squirming underneath him.

"Oh, hey Spidey." He said, his deep voice cracking slightly. "watch ya doing down there?"

Shivers went down the young man's spine. Deadpool has an excellent healing factor, far better than his own. He's survived pretty much everything, from being blown up to having his head smashed to smithereens by the Hulk.

Peter took a hitched breath, before letting out a deep sigh of relief.

"I forgot you could to that." He said, his voice coming out a lot smaller than he meant it . He could almost see the smug look on the Merc's face as he gave a snort.

"Aww, you do care!" He teased.

Deadpool picked himself up, before peeling Peter off the sidewalk. He tried to walk by himself but wobbled with each step. Deadpool went to help, but the young hero dismissed him. He took a few more shaky steps before his knees gave in and Deadpool was right there to catch him. He felt the heat rise to his cheeks, mentally cursing at his vulnerable state. He was shaking uncontrollably under the Merc's arms, and he seemed very aware of it.

"C'mon, baby boy. Let's go get some breakfast."

Soon the two found themselves on the roof of the nearest Chinese restaurant, masks past their noses, watching the sun peek out in the distance. Deadpool greedily chowed down his food, the little box never kept further than a few inches away from his face. Peter, however, pushed his noodles around with a chopstick.

"Dude, if you're not gonna eat that, I will," Deadpool said with a mouthful. Peter replied with a hum, not really taking notice of the mercenary. Deadpool seemed to notice the lack of snarky comments.

"I know I'm not exactly your favorite person," Deadpool started, gaining the Spider's attention. "But if you need a heart to heart right now, I'm here. And I don't give a crap about all that hyper-masculinity shit. Fuck 'no homo', you can be as homo as you like. You won't hear me complaining."

Peter found himself laughing to that, before turning serious again. He was concerned how tempted he was to take up the mercenary offer. Only a few hours ago, he was sure he hated the guy, but now...he wasn't too sure.

'Maybe you're being too hard on the guy. He just saved your life, cut him some slack.'

Peter let out a sigh.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said earlier." He said heavily. "I acted like a huge-"

"Douche?" Deadpool offered lightly. Peter let out a sheepish laugh, his guilt coming back to him.

"Yeah, that."

Deadpool hummed in agreement. He stayed quiet for a moment as if he were thinking, before giving a dry laugh.

"You make it look so damn easy." He said, sounding he was talking more to himself than to Peter.

"Make what look easy?" Peter questioned, wondering what the anti-hero was on about.

"Being…you!" Peter still didn't get what he meant by that, so Deadpool elaborated. "Being good. Being a hero. You make it all look so easy. I've done shit, really, really bad shit. And I know I can't do anything to take that back. But then I see the things you do and I start thinking, hey maybe I could do that…"

"You can," Peter said before thinking it through. He mentally cursed at himself. What was he even saying? So Deadpool saved his life, he's also killed many others. In cold blood. Deadpool's not the type of guy Peter can save.

So why was every fiber of his being telling him otherwise?

"If you're being serious about turning over a new leaf, then I say go for it." Peter continued. He thought about next words very carefully. "And if you need a little moral guidance, I'm all for it."

"So we can be besties?" Deadpool asked excitedly, his child-like tone seeming very out of place with his deep voice.

"I didn't say that!" Peter said quickly waving his hands at the Merc. "I just meant, if you ever wanted to hang out, I wouldn't refuse."

Peter could see Deadpool smile under his mask. Peter gulped, hoping he didn't just make the biggest mistake of his life. Soon after that the two red-suited heroes exchanged numbers and went their separate ways. The Merc offered Peter to guide him home safely, but Peter declined this offer. Just because he was willing to trust the mercenary, didn't mean he wanted him to know where he lived.

Peter limped through the back streets of New York in the early morning sunlight, everywhere would ache with every move. He looked forward to the company he'd have when he'd finally reached home.

Peter felt more than relieved his apartment building came into vision. He slowly trudged up the fire escape, tapping on the window softly when he finally reached his bedroom he shared with his girlfriend, Mary Jane. Peter peered into the dark room, a figure at the other side began to shift. Soon the window was pushed open and the beautiful Mary Jane popped her head out.

"Peter?" She said groggily, squinting at the early sun.

"The one and only." Peter laughed softly, before climbing into bedroom. Peter pried his mask off and threw it aside. He dragged his feet across the small bedroom, collapsing onto the bed. He could still feel Mary Jane's warmth linger on the sheets. He inhaled her scent, feeling at home.

"Try not to bleed all over the bed again." Mary Jane called, fetching a basin of water and cloth to clean his wounds "The stains are really hard to get out."

"Maybe we should just get red sheets. It'll save you the trouble" Peter said into the pillow when she re-entered the room. Mary Jane gave a snort, pulling out a first aid kit from the back of the wardrobe for when Peter came home in a state. Which has become more frequent lately. Mary Jane sighed, as she sat herself down near her injured boyfriend.

"C'mon tiger, let's get you patched up."

Peter groaned as he slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. A burning sensation spread through his entire body with every move he made. Mary Jane reached out to him to touch his nose slightly. Peter instantly recoiled in pain.

"Ouch" He whimpered softly.

"Don't be such a baby," Mary Jane scolded. She dipped the cloth into the water and dabbed the blood off Peter's face. She then instructed him to take his suit off so she could see the extent of the damage.

"I picked a good day to wear underwear," Peter commented as he unzipped the back of his suit. Mary Jane let out a laugh. Peter gazed up at his beautiful girlfriend, giving her a smirk.

"Or maybe not."

After prying out of the skin-tight suit, Mary Jane worked on patching him up.

"So, what happened this time, hero?" She asked, not even looking up from her work. Peter began to explain the night, putting a lot of emphases on his situation with Deadpool.

"You attract the weirdest people." Mary Jane laughed, putting the bloody cloth into the red stained basin.

"Boy, do I know it." Peter huffed, before bursting into a rant. "He's insane! A total nut-job! He drives me so crazy I just-"

"Then why did you offer to help him out?" Mary Jane interrupted. Peter opened his mouth to reply but found he didn't have an answer.

"Because…" He started slowly, Mary Jane raising a brow in expectation. "Because one less criminal on the streets makes the world a safer place."

"Oh, I see." Mary Jane scoffed, extending every word. A smug look crossed her face as she subtlety shook her head. "As always, you're trying to be the hero,"

"I am a hero." Peter reminded her, gesturing to the abandoned suit on the floor. Mary Jane gave him a pointed look.

"I mean, you're always trying to save people you can't save."

Peter scoffed at this. Mary Jane gave him a light hit on the arm.

"Don't laugh at me Parker, you know I'm right."

Peter continued to shake his head. Mary Jane pushed her lips together in annoyance, knowing that she wasn't going to get through her boyfriend's thick skull.

"You know, for a genius you sure are stupid." She said, placing a gentle hand on Peter's bare chest.

"That's why you love me." Peter said softly, lightly bumping his nose on hers. Mary Jane remained quiet, her eyes averted to his chest. Peter felt a knot tie in his stomach, his growing insecurity coming to the surface. He cupped his girlfriend's face and slowly pressed his lips onto her. Mary Jane kissed him back, but only half-heartedly, before shortly pulling away.

"I need to go," She said in barely a whisper, unable to hide her sad eyes, "I have this project due next week and I have to get an early start on the lab work"

Peter was a little taken aback, but nodded anyway. Mary Jane stood up and got dressed. Before she left Peter gave her one last kiss goodbye, but found it just as empty and unsatisfying as the last.

He softly climbed into his bed, ribs aching with every breath. He climbed into his covers, still lingering Mary Jane's warmth. He looked over at his desk, his unfinished essay still laying there. He turned his back on it, deciding to skip his lectures for that day. Peter closed his eyes, going over current events and wondering how much money it would cost to invest in a therapist.

A dark van parked in front of a large building, six men piled out of it, all armed and all pretty beaten up. Two men helped a limping man through the door, another pressed a cloth to his bleeding shoulder. The leader of the group walked straight to the secretary's desk, pulling off his hood to reveal a bloody lip. The sectary looked up at the man, not seeming affected by his ghastly appearance.

"Go right in," the sectary responded, and the man walks down the corridor to the left, before walking into the last room down the hall.

"I take your mission was successful?" A voice greeted him as soon as he entered the room. The lights were dim and the man's employer back faced the door, the glow of the computer giving off an ominous affect. The man gave a nasty grin.

"Very." He replied. "got a pretty good look at him. He's fast, light on his feet. And he has a high sense for danger. There's no way we can sneak up on him without him picking up on it."

The man facing the computers hummed in thought.

"And the mercenary?" He asked.

"Came running, just like you said."

"Very good. That is all."

As soon as the man in black left the room the old Doctor gave a wicked smile. He turned back to his computer, opening one of the files. A picture of Peter Parker popped up on the screen.