"I'll be back around nine. Will you stop?" Peter fixed his tie the way Aunt May taught him. Wade was clinging to his arm, acting as if he was leaving for good. "Call Weasel or Vanessa."

"But they're working tonight! Can't I come too? I'll be good. I promise!"

Jackson was going to kill him but Peter couldn't say no to the look on Wade's face. "Okay. But you have to sincerely apologize to Jackson first." That damn pout. "I mean it. Promise?"

Wade folded his arms like a petulant child. "Promise. Only because I love you."

"Peter, man, what the hell?" Jackson was only in the bottom half of his costume when they arrived. Taking down Boomerang took longer than expected, and he was half an hour late getting back. "The fuck are you looking at, Wilson?" Wade reached out but Jackson smacked his hand away. "Don't even try." He returned his attention to Peter. "What is he doing here?"

Peter nudged Wade in the side. "'m sorry," he mumbled. Peter nudged him again, harder. "Okay!" He stood in front of Jackson. "I'm sorry, Jackson. You're not that bad a guy."

Jackson raised an eyebrow at Peter, who nodded encouragingly. He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Apology accepted. I'm sorry too. Do you want to stay?" Wade nodded excitedly. "Take box five." Wade grabbed Peter's hand and dragged him away but not before Peter caught "You owe me big time" from his friend.

He and Wade shifted through the crowds and Peter almost collided with someone. Wade caught him and was about to give the guy some words when Peter spoke first. "Charlie?"

"Oh, hey, Peter, Wade." The man smiled. "You guys fans of the ballet?"

Wade opened his mouth to respond when Peter elbowed him hard in the side. "We're here to support our friend. He's playing the Mouse King." He jabbed Wade again before he could say anything.

"You know my son Jackson?" Peter and Wade blinked and glanced at each other. Jackson never mentioned his father. Both had met his moms; Wade got along more with Megan, Peter with Sophie. "He hasn't told you about me?" Charlie only looked guilty. "Guess he's right not to. I've never been much of a d—"

"You were never my dad. You were never around." Jackson reappeared, in full costume, behind the man. "You abandoned my moms before I was born. What are you doing here?" He walked over to Peter and handed him an envelope, and Wade a lengthy parcel. "Get going. Starts in a few." The look on his face was enough for Peter to pull Wade along into the box.

Once settled, Peter opened the envelope to find a letter, along with a Jedi belt buckle. He read it while Wade unwrapped what looked like a sword, which got him excited until he realized it was an umbrella. A folded piece of paper read, "I know you love swords and this one comes in handy. Merry Christmas, Wade. –J"

"I ever tell you how much I love Jackson?" Peter scoffed and wiped his eyes. "You alright, Petey?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah." Jackson's note was about how he considered Peter his best friend and how much he meant to him. The lights dimmed and he leaned on Wade's shoulder.

In the lobby afterwards, people were milling and chatting. Wade snuck up behind Jackson and picked him up, making him yelp. "I had no idea you were so talented!" Jackson swatted at his arms. "You're so graceful." Jackson gave Peter a pleading look but the brunet shook his head.

"This may be as affectionate as he gets so enjoy it now." Jackson gave up and slumped in Wade's arms.

"There are no words for your performance, Jacks. It was brief but you stood out." Charlie arrived and Wade put Jackson down. "I wanted to support you a little. Noticed your moms weren't here."

Jackson pulled out his phone and scrolled through rows of missed calls and texts from his mothers. "Oh God," he muttered. "I gotta go!"

"Jackson!" Peter called after him but then everyone's attention turned to a monitor, where an airplane had emergency landed in a field and there were hostages. "C'mon, Wade!"

Spider-Man wasn't on the scene, at least as far as Kid Psionic could see. What he did, however, was something in a cape messily consuming a woman. "Jesus fucking Chr—"

"What do we got?" He nearly fell off the air traffic control tower when Spider-Man swung up beside him.

"You really gotta stop doin' that! We got one hell of an ugly motherfucker cannibalizing passengers. My family is on that plane." He held out his gloved hand. "Team up? I won't curse you out."

Spider-Man looked at him for half a second before accepting the gesture. "Fire and ice?"

Kid Psionic held up his hands and nodded. "Fire and ice. Let's go."

Peter and Wade arrived on the scene but were kept back by officers. "Holy fuck." Wade watched the action wide-eyed. He and Peter practically idolized Spider-Man, and only recently had they heard about Kid Psionic.

"He's so cool." Wade pulled out his phone and started recording. "Who do you think he is?"

"No id—" Everyone ducked as something exploded. Kid Psionic was flashing in and out, moving passengers out of harm's way.

Megan and Sophie came up behind Wade. "What are you two doing here?" Sophie asked as she hugged Peter.

"We followed the news?" The women looked at each other. Jackson only kept his secret to his immediate family, namely them. "What's going on?"

Another explosion and someone screamed. A decapitated head landed on the cop car, and everyone backed away. Kid Psionic reappeared. "There. Problem solved. Not too bad for the first day of Christmas break." Spider-Man swung down next to him. "Don't give me that look. I do me, and that sometimes involves killing." He walked over and put a hand on his moms' shoulders. "You alright, Mom? Mother?"

"Not here," Megan murmured.

"What do you me—" He turned and faced his friends. "Oh shit." He covered his mouth. "Sup, guys?"

"I can't believe you never told us!" Jackson sat, arms folded, across from Peter and Wade in Peter's room. "How could you keep this big a secret from us?"

"First of all, you and I are barely friends. Secondly, I didn't tell you because this is one of those things that, if you knew, you could be in danger. Believe it or not, as much as you piss me off, Wade, I care a great deal about you."

Peter had been quiet. Just the realization that his best friend was a superhero... It was amazing. "Jacks?" Wade stopped, having been pestering Jackson to show off his powers, and both of them looked at Peter. "This doesn't change anything, right?"

"No. God, no. I'm still your best friend, dude. I'm like that short-lived UPN show, except my powers are genetic. I'm still not entirely sure." He moved to sit next to him. "It's still you and me against the world." Wade made an indignant noise. "You too."

A week passed without incident. Jackson used to spend almost all of his free time with Peter but—according to Megan—he was catching up with his father. His Instagram stories were filled with goofy selfies and pictures he got people to take of him and Charlie.

"You notice how he smiles a lot more?" Wade piped up from behind Peter. "You think that's why he was so annoyed all the time? Because he didn't have a strong male influence?"

Peter thought about it. "Maybe? I mean, Flash picks on him way more than me." That was easily contributed to them being in more of the same classes. "Sophie told me that he had to change schools four times in three years because of how bad the bullying was. Can't really blame him for being so cynical."

Wade wrapped his arms around Peter. "Kinda just wanna hug him and tell him it's gonna be okay."

Peter smiled softly. He knew he was the only one Wade showed any real emotion to, and this statement made him love the guy all the more. "You can be a real sweetheart when you want to be."

"Is that an invitation to be pervy?" Peter couldn't help but snort. "Now I want what's in here." He slid his hand down the back of Peter's jeans, earning a squeak. "Make more noises like that." Wade leaned beside him, whispering in his ear, "Why do you have such a perfect ass?"

Peter's face was scarlet and he couldn't form words, so he simply pulled away. "We gotta get that Christmas Eve party going." Wade looked at him as if he hit him. "If you're good and don't mess around, you can touch my ass all you want after. Deal?"

Wade sighed dramatically. "Deal."