The door opened and Aunt May walked in, talking cheerfully to a man hidden in the looming hood of his jacket.

"Peter! Come meet our guest!"

The figure flinched and watched at the door upstairs opened. A boy, no more than 17 (if that) came out. He looked… tired. He slouched down the stairs with the aura of a person who knew exactly where his foot was going. This won't make sense to you, you've never had to identify someone with training (of the fighting nature). To the man at the door however, this meant the boy was dangerous. The way he felt casual, most people wouldn't look twice at him… but he knew how to move. The man would like to tell you that he does not mean this in a dirty way, and that obviously this boy is important based on where in the story he had been introduced.

"Hi, I'm Peter." The boy (Peter) said, reaching out a hand. The man ignored it.

"Wade." The man (Wade) turned to Aunt May (whose he was not at all related to, but the term Aunt May seemed appropriate for her demeanour.) "Can I use your first aid kit for a moment?"

"Oh of course dear, right this way." May led the man to the bathroom and handed him the kit. The man (Wade) looked at it for a moment and said,

"Do you have a larger one?" May raised her eyebrows and looked past the man toward Peter.

"Peter do you have a larger First Aid kit?"

"er… No?" Peter said, convincing absolutely no one. May smiled,

"What about that one you keep in your room for when you fall down the stairs?" The boy (Peter) blushed at May's words and the man (Wade) smiled to himself. The man would like you to understand that he is smiling because the boy (Peter) does not fall down the stairs. The man would like to bet you a chimichanga that he's been getting in fights. The man (Wade) hopes the boy (Peter) wins.

"Oh yeah… That one… Um… Wade? I'll show you… Aunt May…"

"I'll go get dinner started."

"Oh okay.. cool…" Peter turned to go back upstairs, pausing every couple of seconds to make sure Wade hadn't gotten lost between the ten steps it took to cross the apartment. Wade, for once, decided to stay quiet. It wouldn't due to get attached to this boy (who was very cute but also very very very much too young). The man (Wade) would like to point out once more, that he does not mean this in a dirty way as he isn't a complete monster and doesn't go for people under age.

Peter opened the door to what was clearly his room (it was an absolute pig stye). "Sorry… usually it's cleaner… I've been really busy… I'm sorry about the mess." The boy (Peter) does not want to tell you anything as he is not aware that you exist, however if he did then he would want you to know that he's not (he totally is) being awkward because he likes the way Wade's voice sounds. He definitely doesn't (he totally does) want to hear that voice growl his name. (Unlike Wade, Peter does mean this in the dirty way. Not that he would tell you this.)

Wade (the man) is looking at the room. He is noticing that the entire room is a disaster, except for the desk, the window sill, and the (closed) closet door. Wade would like to point out that although you may or may not know it, he is basically a detective, and that he would bet a thousand dollars that this boy has been sneaking out of his room through the window. He's not really sure what the other two pieces mean though.

Peter (the boy) goes straight to his desk and pulls out a rather larger (by which the author mean, it is significancy larger. Like, not huge, but also not small….. this is isn't helpful… maybe the size of a bread box. Has anyone actually seen a bread box? What even is a bread box?) First Aid kit. Wade would like you to know that he totally called it. (People who 'fall down the stairs' don't need First Aid kits that can give you stitches.)

"Normally I would take care of this myself by this time I'm down a hand." Wade says smiling, and pulling out his hand…. Which is disconnected from his wrist and is being held in his other hand. (It's the right hand that is disconnected if you're interested.) The boy (Peter) baulks. Logically, Wade knows it's because most people would be dead, but he still worries that it's because his super suit wasn't made to stay on without his wrist and is now peeling back, and showing the boy the super duper ugly scarring.

"Holy Cheese!" Peter says, surprisingly quiet (he would rather his Aunt didn't come up). He doesn't ask how Wade is still alive, nor does he mention the scarring. Instead Peter uses one arm to toss all of the clothes off of his bed (including several pairs of boxers which he really wishes he'd put away). He pats the bed twice in the surprisingly wide spread indicator to sit down. Wade sits. "Okay, let's see… give me your hand and peel back the fabric from your wrist." Wade laughs.

"Would you like a hand?" He asks and gives Peter his hand. He laughs again and Peter looks away as Wade says, "you're my right hand man! God, I'm fucking hilarious. Oh, sorry, freaking hilarious. You're not supposed to swear in front of kids." Peter looks at Wade for a moment.

"I'm in university."

"Yeah right!"

"Seriously. Okay, I shouldn't be surprised, for some reason I look really young. It's summer so the dorms are empty so I'm staying with Aunt May, but I go to university. I'm 24!" Dead- Wade, purses his lips behind his mask even though Peter won't be able to see it. 24… It's still pretty freaking (fucking) young… but he no longer feel like the creepy uncle. While Wade is busy with his moral dilemma Peter got everything together to start stitching him up. "I would offer some pain killers… But I'm out at the moment. All I've got is morphine and aspirin. I can give you some morphine if you'd like but… like… I've only got enough for an emergency and like…."

"Does this not seem like enough of an emergency to you?"

"I mean… You're not dead, you… must have an special something… and if you burn through it too quick then it doesn't help… and then I'm out…"

"Don't worry about it Petey. It's not that bad." Wade lies (it hurts like fucking hell but it's not the worse he's had by any stretch and Peter is so cute it makes everything better).

"Okay, um… can you hold your hand on while I steady it and stitch it up… Will it heal wrong if it do it wrong or will it correct itself?"

"It will heal wrong. But no stress, I can just cut it off again and regrow it. Not ideal but it works."

"…Okay…" Peter stops talking now and starts making small, careful stitches. As if he's had lots of experience, and Wade can't see much of him 'cause of the hoodie that is in Wade's vision, but what little he can see (Peter's neck, face, and hands) have small scars. Just tiny lines look like they are years old. Maybe they are….

It takes probably 25 minutes of quiet work before Peter says, "Okay, I think we're good!" Wade smiles and rolls the suit edge back together so it's harder to see the stitches and scars. "I don't know how quickly you heal but I recommend checking them in a week to make sure none of them have broken and try not to get them wet. If you'd like I'll take them out again when you're ready…" Peter hopes that he doesn't sound as desperate as he is (he sounds exactly as desperate as he is, but Wade doesn't notice because of how desperate he is. So it all works out.)

"Thank you…"

"Aunt May has probably finished making dinner if you'd like some?" Peter mentions, hopeful. (Peter would've liked you to know that he did not melt as the sound of that voice as it was thanking him!) Wade knows that he should say no. He should leave. He should leave and never return. Even if Peter gets in fights that doesn't mean that he is willing to sign up to his level of fights. However, as anyone who's met him know, Wade is not a good guy. He doesn't do the right thing.

"I'd love some." So Wade says yes. And he stays. Wade would also like you to understand the he (Wade) know this is going somewhere and that it is going to hurt and that Peter is going to get hurt and it will be his (Wade's) fault because he (Wade) is useless and worthless but he (Wade) is the scum of the earth and he will take a happy moment where ever he can find it. (They are so rare.)

Peter stands up and heads to the door, and doesn't bother to check to see if Wade is following (he is). If you know anything about Peter (for whatever reason) you may know (insider knowledge) who he is. We will pretend that you don't (for now) and will tell you now that he can tell that Wade is behind him. However whatever extra senses that Peter may or may not have, tell him that Wade is not a threat. (A statement that Wade would strongly disagree with if he ever heard it.)

May is taking some lasagna out of the oven as they walk down stairs (it had already been in the fridge to finish making when she realised that she was out of cheese, and you cannot make a proper lasagna without cheese. That was why she had left the house in the first place, she never meant to bring Wade back with her. Wade was not cheese.) (To be clear, there was so much cheese in this lasagna that she had used up all of the cheese in the making. Just. In case you were wondering.) May is a wonderful and clever woman, however…. Her cooking… it can leave something to be desired.

May decides against mention how very long they were up stairs. Maybe the man (Wade) was more badly wounded than he acted. Maybe not. Either way, she's decided not to say anything for the time. She'll take care of Peters sheets tomorrow after she's finished with her own. Actually, she revises, she'll make Peter take care of his own sheets. Peter sits in his normal seat and gestures to Wade to take the spare one what his Uncle had used… Back when… Anyway.

"Are you doing better now Wade?"

"Oh yes, much better, Love-of-my-life, saviour-of-my-soul."

"Oh Wade, all I did was help you up when you fell over and led you to a bench. And honestly I didn't help that much. I couldn't exactly carry you there at my age."

"Don't be silly you don't look more than 5 months old!" Wade laughs at his own joke. May and Peter both pause. May smiles at Wade a moment later and Peter smiles just a second after that. Then he (Peter) pauses again.

"Wait… What?"

"Wade is making a reference to the way I share my name with the month of May."

"Oh yeah. Duh. I totally got it. Yeah, no, absolutely. No, yeah. Obviously." Peter said, completely confusing Aunt May. (She was clever but often failed to understand what Peter was saying. He talks too much science and when he was nervous spoke in a way that made no sense at all. Is 'yeah no' a yes or a no?) "I just… You made a…. what?" Sometimes Aunt May thinks that she's failed the boy who he says things like this. She's tried her best… but Peter's social skills will be winning no awards. Wade didn't seem to mind too much. Wade was such a polite, awkward young man and May hoped she should make him feel less self conscious about his burns. And if she thought that Peter could use a few more friends and a few less enemies… well… old women were allowed to hope.

"So, Wade, what do you do?" May asked placing a bit of lasagna and salad on each of the three plates while Peter jumped up to grab water for everyone. Such a sweet boy.

"I'm an independent contractor in a less than ideal sector. I enjoy my job for the most part… it's just… well… it's work. I'd rather think about of things you understand. What does lovely lady like you do all day?" May smiled at the harmless words. Anyone could tell that Wade was just being nice but it still felt good.

"Let's see, I try my best to make sure that Peter here doesn't starve to death. He's a growing boy but he's never eating enough." Aunt May smiled as Peter (who was back in his chair) slid down in his seat.

"Maaayyyyyy." it was the well known Parker whine. It had become something of an inside joke after Peter had done it and his voice had broken right in the middle of it. Three times in a row.

"I have a knitting class that I teach, very classic Aunt and all. Most of my time I'm helping my Peter, or more recently, the neighbours. The one just over has three kids and the parents both work two jobs so I go over and look after the young ones in the evenings. Peter, what have you been up to?"

"Ehhh.. Not much." Peter said, drawing out each word and sounding entirely unconvincing. May nods at him to continue. (May is not an idiot, and Peter is a terrible liar. She is not fooled.)

"Yeah, Peter, what do you do?" Wade teases (Wade would like you to know that he's nervous and that he's made a terrible mistake and that he really enjoys hearing Peter flounder.)

"…I do science… stuff. And. Um. My friend Gwen and I, we go bowling." (Peter, if he knew you where there, would have wanted you to know that he is fully aware that he's a terrible liar. It's because he feels bad every. single. gosh-darn time.)

The majority of the meal continued along this vein. Wade was anxious, and regretted not saying everything he didn't say, and hated himself for everything he did. May was cheerful and also getting increasingly convinced that Peter and Wade would make a most darling couple. Finally Peter, was getting flustered. Over and over again. And may he just think (silently to himself - no one will ever know), Wade's laugh (when Peter explained how he burned off his eyebrows when he was 16) was delightful. Absolutely delightful.

Peter could get used to this. (He thought to himself, in his head, where no one could hear his thoughts.)