Peter POV
Why was he doing this?
No, better question, why did he tell Wade he'd take him to the Dragon Grounds at all?
Peter had always been someone recognized for his intellect, especially back in his original home, but by Xnmeta's scales, he's stupid.
Sure, the whole bonding ordeal was technically over now, but that didn't mean the rest of the jungle dragons weren't still on edge. It wasn't just the paranoia that he and Wade might be mistaken as willing bondee's that made it so dangerous, but because A LOT of the dragons around here still carried grudges from their ancestors. If a human had any sense, they'd bolt out of these mountains the moment the Bonding Period was over.
That's why the human settlement was so small. Batl'Ar was just one of the numerous islands dotting the seas near the coast of the Stark Province and belonged to a great cluster of islands known as the Dragon Isles. The human/dragon pact agreed to leave the Dragon Isles free and untouched from humanity, as a safe haven for the dragon species. Batl'Ar was the only exception because it was the only island close enough to the mainland that made the humans feel safe.
The dragons hadn't wanted to venture far into human territory, and humans didn't want to sail blind into the Dragon Isles. Batl'Ar was the closest meeting point for both worlds and served as the agreed location for the Bonding Period. The settlement was small because Batl'Ar was still dragon territory. The native dragons agreed to leave them be as long as they stayed in the settlement. The only time the rules didn't apply was during the Bonding Period, or when the Natives needed to gather food.
Which was why Peter was so worried. Wade was loud and brash, and would - without a doubt - cross every ethical line without even realizing he'd just insulted an entire race of dragons. Besides, just the sight of him and Peter could cause a frenzy among the dragons. They didn't know he was draeconus. For all they knew, two humans were just waltzing around in their jungles without permission.
But looking back at Wade as he followed Peter's footsteps while explaining the complexity of weapon maintenance, Peter couldn't help the irritating swell in his chest that made him want to do this anyway. Wade looked so sad when he mentioned the expedition party and Peter didn't like seeing that. Not at all. Sad Wade was a weird Wade.
Well, a weirder Wade.
Besides, when Wade looked down, eyes downcast, with his hulking shoulders slumped, it made Peter's chest ache - the bonds fault, probably. Besides, what was a little detour? The Dragon Grounds wasn't that far off, and as long as they were careful and didn't bring attention to themselves, they should be fine.
Keeping one hand secure on his bag, he occasionally patted the pocket to make sure his lavender plants were still there while using the other hand to move foliage aside and direct Wade through the zig-zagging trail fading into the mountain. A lot of the trails were over-grown and hidden, having earlier been forged by travelers and mountaineers before the treaty was even created. There were dozens of them hidden around, and Peter found great pleasuring in finding them and mapping them out for his use.
"Easy, watch your step," he advised, steering Wade over a high bend that slanted downward from their path. One small slip and they'd find themselves dangling off a cliff.
They were walking up a high trail carved into the side of a sheer mountain. It was small, barely fitting the width of a single man on its path, and was so high up most people wouldn't see it, and if they did, it looked like nothing but a weathered groove in the rocks.
"Yikes," Wade said, looking down over the side where the tips of the trees rose like jagged spikes. He inched closer to the rock wall, glaring down as if spiteful.
"Yikes, indeed," Peter agreed, "Would hate for you to fall off a cliff or something."
He could feel Wade's deadpan on his back, "Aye, more jokes. Watch out Spidey, at this rate you'll find yourself warming up to me."
"You wish," Peter said, inwardly grumbling about the nickname. Again. Honestly, how hard was it to call him Peter? Every time he said Spidey it made him want to nose-dive off the cliff and go flying.
This is why he didn't socialize. The smallest things could tip a draeconus off into shifting. A strong scent of meat, if they're hungry enough. A loud noise if it startles them. A name they're referred to while in dragon form.
It may not seem like an issue to Wade, but Peter didn't know how to explain it without giving up information he wasn't supposed to. It was the kind of information that would shun him from his fellow draceonus and send him reeling into some serious consequences. Well, shun him more than he already was, anyway. He was already dealing with the consequences of his actions, he didn't need to add "talked too much to the wrong person" to the list.
Unfortunately, Wade was extremely easy to talk to.
"We're almost there," Peter said, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Wade hadn't fallen to his second death yet. Wade beamed at him and gave him a reassuring thumbs up, as if knowing what he was thinking, and Peter looked away when he felt the strange urge to 'thumbs-up' back.
Don't get attached, he warned himself. It's bad enough having ONE human friend, I don't need two.
Bond or no bond, this - whatever this THING between him and Wade was - wasn't going to keep going. Wade had a life, Peter had a somewhat-life, and judging by the forlorn look Wade got whenever he talked about the Stark Province it was easy to deduce that he was missing his home.
Peter didn't want to keep that from him, no matter how tight or painful the bond between them stretched. It'd just have to get over it because they were two different people going in two different directions. As simple as that.
"Hey, Spidey-Petey, did you bring any food? I think we passed our noon meal. It takes a lot of food to keep up with this much crazy, you know."
Peter rolled his eyes but dipped into his bag. He knew this trail well-enough that he didn't have to worry about falling. Besides, even if he did, he could shift and fly away before hitting the ground. His only problem would be ripping his bag and revealing his secret in the process.
"Uh, I have some dried fruit," he said, slowing his gait to turn around and hold it out to Wade, who took it all too eagerly. Peter watched him shove the fruit into his mouth and rolled his eyes, but was unable to stop a smile. Why did Wade require so much food anyway?
Peter knew he, personally, needed a lot of food to keep both himself and his dragon side healthy, but Wade seemed to eat more than any normal human. Peter wondered if it had something to do with his healing capabilities. Or if it had something to do with the scars.
But he couldn't bring himself to ask about it. Wade seemed sensitive about the subject. Besides, it sounded like a personal story, and he's never been the best at talking to people. When they got mad or frustrated, he usually only made it worse. So, he'd better just keep the questions to himself.
The path was getting slimmer, which meant the more danger they were in of an imminent death. But it also meant they were nearing the top.
"We're almost to the cliff edge," he said over his shoulder, "The path gets pretty narrow so stick close to-" Wade didn't need to be told twice and instantly moved forward, close enough to touch Peter if he wanted to, and Peter jumped, "to the wall Wade. The wall. Not me!"
Wade blinked, cheeks tainting pink. Blushing, he took a longer-than-necessary step back and fused himself to the wall. "Right, right. Sorry. I didn't mean to - I..." he rubbed his head, trying to brush it off with a shrug and a teasing grin. " Just - you - you look so cuddly and cute. Couldn't help myself." But his grin was too tight and his shoulders were tense. The way his eyes glanced toward the edge made him looked almost panicked. Of course, he's hesitant about being up here. Last time, he plummeted to his should-be death. Peter swallowed, feeling both awkward about his outburst and guilty for bringing Wade up there.
"It's - uh, I..." he coughed into his shirt and turned around. "Just - just follow me, we're almost to the top."
Wade nodded wordlessly.
When the edge came into view, Peter said, without turning, "Just a forewarning, the Dragon Grounds aren't as nice as you're imagining. They're kind of bland, to be honest."
"We shall see, Spidey. We shall see."
Another urge to sprint into the nearest canopy and hunt something down for dinner. But Peter swallowed another rebuke, still feeling bad about his last snap at Wade, and distracted himself by hastening the pace. Their path leveled into smooth ground as they stepped onto the top of the cliff.
Evening was approaching. Given a few more hours it'd be nightfall. Perhaps that path was a bigger detour than he thought. But Wade's smile was back as he stared at the overlooking tree's spread out below them, where the sea glistened in the far distance, and the calls of animals floated through the air as they finished their last tasks for the day, and suddenly it was okay.
Honestly, he didn't seem like a bad person. Sure he could be a bit pushy, and rather talkative and rude, but he was also respectful of Peter and his boundaries, and made good conversation when he wasn't trying to trick him into giving up information. Wade deserved to smile.
"The Dragon Grounds is just over the high-rise over there," Peter said, pointing out the high mound of dirt ahead.
An excited gleamed brightened Wade's eyes and his stride quickened.
"Well come on, Petey, don't you want to see the wild dragons?"
"Right," Peter rolled his eyes, "Because I've never seen one of those before." Still, he followed Wade, shaking his head in amusement when the other man started skipping merrily.
But as they make it over the high rise, Wade's excitement faded. As Peter said, the Dragon Grounds weren't that interesting. It was a large, rugged plane of rock that over-looked a high cliff. The ground was scorched and scratched from fire and talons, and the only plants that grew were prickly and jut out from the cracks in the rocks. It was dull and barren.
Seeing Wade's expression fall made Peter wish it was something better. If he could, he would've made it a beautiful open field, filled with lavender flowers and palm tree's, with a wide waterfall cascading into a pond over-swept with lily-pads and exotic plants. He wished it was something as extravagant as Wade was expecting. But a field would burn up and the plants trampled if the Bonding was done there. Hard rock was the best option.
Peter looked down, finger playing with the strap of his bag. He shouldn't have brought Wade up here at all. What was the point if he was just going to crush is fantasies?
"I - I told it wasn't very interesting," he muttered softly, "It's one of the best places for the bonding though, cause the rocks can't catch on fire and the dragons can fly in from the cliff. It's an easy escape for both species too, if anything were to go wrong."
Wade didn't respond.
"We - we can go back down now, if you want," Peter continued, his fidgeting increasing with Wade's solemn silence. "I - I need to start harvesting the plants anyway, and we're both probably kind of tired. Well, I'm kind of tired. I don't know about you, you can stay up, but...look, the Dragon Grounds are not one of the bright spots in this place. There's this really awesome cove near the beach I could show you. It's definitely a lot better than this rock, anyway, and -"
Wade turned back to him, smile small, but genuine. "Hey, it's not so bad. Kind of anti-climatic, I'll admit, but whatcha gonna do?" he strode forward, inching toward the cliff, with his arms folded. Peter hesitated, before following.
"Besides," he continued, dreamily, "I guess I shouldn't have been expecting much. The way Captain Rogers spoke of it made it sound like a fairyland, but I guess anywhere you get a dragon is pretty special. I mean, just imagine," his voice slipped into something more self-indulgent, "what it would be like to see a dragon land over there and realize it was the one. The one I'd train with, fight with and bond with...wouldn't that be amazing..."
Peter was surprised by the sudden flare in his chest.
"But I'm you're bonded!" He wanted to say, which took him by surprise so violently he had to bite the inside of his cheek and take a step back from Wade. The bond twitched, as if unhappy with Wade's thoughts too, and Peter distracted himself by lifting the flap of his bag to check his plants.
"Yeah," he muttered, trying to pass off as nonchalant. "Yeah, what a shame."
After a few moments, Wade perked up again. "Anyway, thanks for bringing me up here Petey. I know your plants are probably shriveling like a bunch of old bats right now, so I appreciate it. Come on, we can head back now."
He spun on his heels and strode toward Peter.
"Well, shall we," he held his arm out as if to escort him down. Peter thought about disregarding it, but Wade's mood was just lifted and he didn't want to make him feel worse. Besides, his skin was interesting to touch. So he took the arm, albeit begrudgingly, and Wade smiled.
"I am totally warming up to you."
"The only warming up that's gonna happen is tonight when I take another bath."
"Do I get to interrupt that one too?"
"Only if you want to sleep outside tonight."
They were almost back up the rise when something caught Peter's eyes. He didn't notice when they first arrived, but from this angle, he could definitely see something white sticking out from under a rock. He let go of Wade's arm to pick it up.
It was a piece of rolled up parchment.
He brushed dirt off squinted at the word hastily scribbled on the front.
"Oh," he handed it to Wade, "It's for you."
Wade pursed his lips but took it. He looked it over skeptically, before opening it and straightening it out. As he read it, his eyes crinkled and his grin widened.
"It's from Captain Rogers!" he exclaimed, crinkling the paper excitedly in hand. "Look. Look at this, he figured I'd get to the Dragon Grounds on my own. He had faith that I'd make it here. This is AMAZING SPIDEY! Captain Rogers has faith in me!"
Peter grinned, not wanting to mention that he had no idea who that was.
"Look, look," he continued, pointing to a line on the parchment. "He says they've headed back to the port and that he'll try to stall the ships as much as he can. He cares! Ah, this is so great." He hugged the letter to his chest as if absorbing the words into his skin, before delicately refolding it and sliding it into the band around his waist.
Whoever this Captain Rogers was, Wade sure looked up to him. A pleasant filling spread through Peter's chest. He appreciated that this Captain had faith in Wade. Saints know, he deserved it. Besides, it was the happiest Peter's ever seen him.
"Come on," he smiled, pulling Wade toward the ridge. "We should get back before sundown."
Wade all but agreed, though he was still fawning over the letter like a love-sick dame. His excitement seemed to carry through the air and everything seem much more lively. The sun cast a warm light that warmed Peter's skin, and a pleasant breeze drifted through the foliage. It smelled of an incoming storm, but the aroma was fresh and pleasant.
Come to think of it, he was quite glad they decided to come up here after all.
Or, he was for a moment. Just as they stepped on the path leading down, a crunching noise in the underbrush reached Peter's ears and he stopped, looking over the tree's skeptically. Wade kept going a few paces more before he realized Peter wasn't with him and turned, eyeing him warily.
"Uh...Spidey? Something wrong?"
The name only put him more on edge and held a finger to his lips, looking around the buzzing plants. He listened for the Crooked Spined Beetle.
It had gone quiet.
His eyes landed on a shadowed patch of trees, where a pair of sharp yellow eyes stared back, and no sooner, a roar erupted from a fanged maw. Trees bent to the side as a giant, green scaled dragon emerged from its hideout, teeth-bared and eyes furious. Peter recognized it instantly.
It was an old cranky veteran that lived in a cave not far from here. It generally left the Dragon Grounds alone during the Bonding Period, but Peter knew all too well that it set up refuge here to pick off any stragglers. He's almost tussled with the old dragon a few times, just because the thing was as mean as an angry hive of hornets, and tended to attack anything that moved in its general vicinity.
"Ohhhhhhh, shit," Wade said, craning his neck in awe.
Ohhhh shit, indeed.
The dragon took a step forward, roaring so loud it sent a wave of hot air over their faces. It's scaled nose was wrinkled and sneering, mouth salivating, with its eyes fixated hotly on Wade, who, with the bigger build and scars, likely looked more like an intimidating threat. The dragon took a step forward, baring its teeth at Wade, and Peter felt an unfamiliar flair of anger. He stepped in front of Wade, baring his teeth back.
"Petey, what are you-"
"Stay behind me," Peter told him, which might've been funny given the fact that Wade was almost a good few inches taller than him, but he was no less grateful when Wade took his advice.
Peter backed them both up as the dragon inched closer.
Slowly, arms almost of their own will, he took off his bag and handed backward to Wade, who took it curiously.
"Head toward the path, Wade," he said, "quiet and slow. Be careful and don't make any sudden movements."
"Yeah, okay, but what about you?"
Yeah, what about him? To this old withered scale bag, Peter was nothing but another human. He couldn't turn into a dragon in front of it, he'd blow his whole cover. The life he made for himself would be useless if the jungle knew he was a draeconus.
But he couldn't let Wade get hurt either. This dragon was terribly bitter about the war, and would spare no expense in killing him. Both of them. Wade might be able to survive a fall from a cliff, but could he survive getting eaten alive?
"I'm gonna keep its attention," he said, shooing Wade off, "I'll be fine."
Wade looked as though he didn't quite like that idea, but backed up nonetheless, taking slow, begrudging steps.
As much as Peter wished the dragon would consider him more of a threat, it wasn't fooled. Its eyes flickered to the side, just for a fraction of a second at Wade, then it looked back at Peter and another wave of heat swelled between them. Peter barely dived to the side just as a column of flame swept over his head.
When it receded, Peter sat up feeling much more irritated. His clothes were singed and hot and would've combusted into flame if he'd been any closer. Fortunately, as a draeconus, he was a bit more flame retardant than most people.
...people...
Oh shit, Wade!
Peter jumped to his feet, looking desperately for a pair of broad shoulders and a dirtied shirt. He found it a good few feet away from him, where Wade was groaning on the ground, curled in on himself. His skin was spotted with red, angry blisters and Peter winced as if he'd been burnt himself.
Wade was a nice guy, he didn't deserve this aggression! Who did this dragon think it was anyway? Peter was sick of it's haughty, violent attitude. Why couldn't it just let the past stay in the past. The blasted war was over, for crying out loud.
His fists clenched and he pried his eyes from his Bonded. It took a lot to get him angry, but seeing Wade on the ground like that opened a fiery pit in his stomach. "Son of a BITCH!" he shouted and ran at the dragon. It saw him coming and huffed, eyes amused as it snapped its teeth, eager for an easy kill.
But Peter was having NONE of that. He stared at the dragon, dead in the eye, and felt a shift in his body. It snapped something inside him, as if he'd just been hit with a whip. When he was younger the sensation had been painful, but it was a process all draeconus got used to the more they did it.
He embraced that sensation, welcoming it on with gritted teeth. Now that he thought about it, his whole body felt out of place. Two legs? How weak. No fangs? That wouldn't do.
His entire body shuddered as his bones hollowed and expanded. His skin hardened, his face elongated. Claws grew from the tips of his fingers, fangs emerged in his mouth. He felt as though he'd just stepped into a bonfire, and it was burning up his old body to make room for a new one.
Seconds later, he slammed into the green dragon, who was so startled with the sudden transformation it went down easily. Peter threw his weight on top of it, shoving it into the ground harder, just to be sure.
This creature, he thought, looking the dragon over with disgust, this low-life beast dared try and attack HIS Bonded? It burned HIS WADE? For absolutely no reason at all!
Like grease in a fire, something scalding filled Peter's veins and he snapped at the dragon, dangerously close to the soft scales under its jaw. One bite and he could rip the jugular out. He maneuvered his limbs so he had a sure-footed stance on its wings, with the other four holding down its chest and arms. It was completely immobilized and vulnerable. His chest swelled, heating up with a wave of fire of his own. Most dragons could resist heat, but it would be easy to burn his soft scales.
That'd leave a good message in case it tried to attack Wade again.
But, looking down at the wide fearful gaze of his elder, Peter's expression softened. How could he think of harming another one of his kind like this? He was draceonus, so he was still part dragon. All his life he was taught to help, not hurt. What would his family think of him?
The fire in his chest couldn't just be swallowed down though. So he let it out, scalding the ground just above the dragons head, making it recoil and whimper from the heat, angling its soft scales away. For good measure, he punctuated his message with a guttural roar in its face that made the dragon simper and bow its head, a sign of defeat.
He stared into its eyes, growling lowly, to make sure its lesson was learned. After a moment of waiting to make sure it wouldn't attack again, Peter pushed off and scurried over to Wade, careful not to step on him as he stood over him with his wings open and flared. Now it knew that this human was under his COMPLETE protection, and any threat against his Bonded wouldn't be tolerated.
The dragon kept it's uneasy gaze on him as it got to its feet, now with a particular distaste in its eyes. Peter growled at it, challenging, and it looked away, scampering meekly back to it's den of trees.
Peter stood over Wade still, somewhat paranoid that it'd come back anyway.
He was snapped out of his skepticism when a voice below him said, "Holy SHIT!"
He looked down where Wade was gaping at him in astonishment, lying propped up on his elbows. "You - you just - the things went - FIRE - and then you - you - DRAGON - and it - WOW!"
Peter bowed his head bashfully, but looked away with a snort. Wade was being dramatic again.
He stepped away so he wasn't concealing Wade anymore and crouched down on his two front legs to get a better view of him. His skin was still red and blistered, but it was healing fast. Most of them were already gone. That's a relief. He didn't like seeing people hurt.
He got back up and peered behind them at the aclove of tree's, growled at the eyes hidden within, and stepped toward the cliff. He shook his wings to get rid of the stench of-of the dragon, taking a deep breath of air. He inhaled the scent of the pines, dirt, and salt. A rustle of wind sifted over his wings and beckoned him toward the cliff edge.
His clothes were torn. Good. They were irritating anyway. Restrictive of his movements, itchy, and terrible. Why he'd wear them all the time anyway? Scales were so much better, and provided way better protection. Sometimes, he wasn't sure why he stayed in human form so often.
The sun was descending fast. The sky was burned orange and red, but was quickly fading into purple. The nocturnal dragons would be waking soon. Wade was already nearly burnt alive, and Peter didn't need him getting attacked again. They needed to get to the cave quickly.
And the quickest way was down.
He smiled a toothy, dragon smile and looked down at Wade, who was still gaping. He lowered his neck so they were eye-level, basking pleasantly in how much taller he was now.
"Spidey?" Wade muttered. Peter hummed. That's correct, he wasn't really Peter anymore, was he.
Spidey. He liked it. He wasn't quite a spider, but he was smaller than most dragons. Besides, there was a reason people were prone to fear spiders, however small and gangly they could be.
Spidey. Yeah, that sounded good.
"That was...that was so awesome," Wade exclaimed, eyes brighter than they were when he'd read Captain Rogers letters. Spidey preened. "The way you-you transformed, and man you kicked that dragons ass. Look at it, whimpering and fleeing. Wow!"
If Spidey were human, he probably would've been blushing brighter than the sunset. Instead, he nudged Wade with his nose affectionately and looked over the cliff, gesturing with his head.
Wade looked between the two, suddenly apprehensive. "You're not going to throw me down there are you?"
Spidey rolled his eyes. Of course, he wouldn't do that. Wade was going to throw himself off. But they did need to get a move on. He backed away from Wade, giving himself enough running room, and surged forward, tucking his wings to his side and plunged off the cliff-side.
The air cut around him as he dived, halfway down to the bottom he unfurled his wings and caught a mighty gasp of wind that carried him up. When his momentum softened, he flapped several times and rose in the air. He soared back up the cliff and circled Wade, watching his jaw-drop.
His Bonded didn't move for several seconds and Spidey roared at him, not too harshly, and dived down the cliff again. Wade watched curiously, inching toward the edge as he scratched his head.
The bond in Spidey's chest thrummed as if to get his attention. He could feel his connection with Wade now, better than ever. A coiled piece of rope that synced them together, too strong to tear and too thick to fray. Spidey probed at it a few times, before gripping on to it timidly. It was hazy and shaken, but the bond immerses into him, filling his body with a pleasantly warm sensation that tickled under his scales like bubbles to water.
Jump, he said and felt the message carry back to the ground, where Wade jumped back with a loud curse and looked around crazily as if he'd seen a ghost.
"Did -" his eyes returned to Spidey, "Did you just fucking talk to me?"
Jump, Spidey repeated. His hold on the Bond was slipping. The connection was their, but he couldn't communicate for long. It was getting exhausting.
"What...WHAT? I'm - I'm not jumping off a cliff? You know how bad that went last time."
Will catch you, Spidey said before the thread connecting his thoughts to Wade's broke.
Damn, that Bonded stuff was tough to hold on to.
Wade tilted his head as if thinking about it. Given a moment, he threw his hands up in a defeated manner, countenance one of crazy excitement, and took off in a run. Spidey grinned and roared his encouragement, beating his wings hard as he followed Wade's movements.
"YOU BETTER FUCKING CATCH ME!" Wade yelled as he leapt over the side. Spidey roared back as a thrill of energy shot up his spine, and dived nose-first through the air. Wade was falling fast, screaming, with his eyes clammed shut.
Spidey waited till he was barely above him, veered to the side, and twisted again, wrapping Wade securely within his second arms. He made sure Wade was tucked tightly against his underbelly, before unfurling his wings and catching a high drift of air, and their descent stopped as if they were being lifted by an immense hand.
As soon as their speed slowed, Spidey flapped his wings and they soared. The air was cooler as night descended, and in the distance, clouds were collecting fast. Immense, dark, and menacing - they were in for a mighty storm.
They were only flying for a few minutes when they neared the cave. Before they descended, Spidey looked down at Wade, who was tangled around his claws, clutching with white-knuckles, but staring at the world around them with eyes wide like a child.
Oh yeah, he was unconscious last time he was carried like this.
He slowed his flying so Wade could see without so much wind buffeting his face. His eyes were like saucers as he drank up every detail.
They neared the cave. Spidey veered up the side of the cliff, and instead of landing on the ground, he hovered in the air and carefully dug his claws into the cliff side, easily finding the junctures and dips in the rocks. Careful that Wade wouldn't hit the rock wall, he tucked his wings back in and crawled down like a lizard, and landed safely at the mouth of the cave.
He let Wade go, watching in amusement as he stumbled to regain his balance before slowly turning back around.
"That. Was. Fucking. AWESOME!" he exclaimed. "I mean, for a minute I thought you weren't going to catch me, but you did. Thank you for that by the way. I appreciate not being skewered by branches again."
Spidey dipped his head and turned back toward the cave. The opening was still open, much to his chagrin. He didn't like the idea of other creatures getting into his home. He nudged Wade toward the cave, waited until he was inside, then grabbed the boulder near the entrance and rolled it in front of the cave mouth.
Once it was secure, he turned around with a huff. The cave was too full of human stuff to really compensate for his size. So, he tapped into the other side of him. Another crack split through his body and he was shifting again. He shrunk this time, bones thickening as they grew smaller, wings shrinking, horns disappearing until he was his human self again.
The only thing left of Spidey was a large patch of scales covering a large expanse of Peter's chest, and the bony ridges of a spine still protruding from his back, but even those were beginning to fade into his skin. Wade was waiting for him back in the main room, arms crossed over his chest with a wide smile.
He handed Peter a blanket, because - right, he was naked again. He quickly wrapped it around his waist, trying not to flush in embarrassment, and scavenged for an extra set of clothes.
He was mid-search before he stopped, eyes widening. "My bag! Where's my bag?"
"Easy," Wade laughed, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder to stop him from racing back outside. "I put it on the table. Don't worry, your flowers are safe."
Peter glanced across the room and, true to his words, his bag was sitting on the table they'd eaten breakfast off of, completely unscratched. He breathed in relief.
"Oh, thanks Wade."
"You're thanking me?" Wade said, incredulously, "You're the one who went all dragon-y on that asshole! Thank you. I mean, that was AWESOME."
Peter was able to blush properly this time. "Er...thank you. It was - it was no problem. Really."
"No problem my ass, you were all like," he made loud growling noises and swiped with imaginary claws, "And he was like, oh no don't hurt me, and then you were like, 'Then you better go away,' and he was like-" he made dramatic sobbing noises and pretended to faint.
Peter whacked his shoulder. "That is not what happened."
"That's exactly what happened. I was there. I remember."
Peter laughed to himself and found a dirty pile of trousers - the last one in his stock - and quickly pulled them on. He was headed toward the basin and food storages, stomach rumbling for food, when he halted, breathe staunching.
He slowly brought his hands up, slapping the sides of his face in horror. "What did I just do?" He whispered to himself. "Oooooh dammit. Damnit. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit." He paced in a wide circled, tugging on his hair frantically.
How could he have been so careless? That was such a reckless and stupid move to pull. "Xmneta help me," he said, banging a fist on the table. "Why am I so dim-witted!?"
"Whoa, whoa, easy there," Wade said, appearing by his side. "What are you talking about? Calm down. It's okay."
"No!" Peter said, holding a finger in his face, "It's not okay. It's the farthest it could be from okay. This is...this is the worst thing that could've happened."
"What are you talking about? If it's about my storytelling, okay, I admit I was a bit dramatic, but-"
"No, that's not it," Peter flapped a hand on him, pacing the floor again. "That dragon saw me shift. It knows I'm a draeconus now! Shit! Shit! Shit! Fuck!"
This is bad. So very, very bad. He's been so careful. For years he's been tip-toeing about the island to keep his secret. Kept himself isolated as best he could. Sure, he made one or two mistakes in those years, but nothing quite like this. His entire foundation here was about to be uprooted. The likelihood of that dragon keeping his muzzle shut about Peter's true nature was little to nothing. They were going to be on his doorstep by morning. He barely made it out the last time, he couldn't afford to be chased off again.
"Whoa, hey, listen to me," Wade grabbed his face, shocking Peter out of the panic he was diving head-first into. "Calm down. Easy does it. Just breathe for a second Petey, you're about to pass out."
He was feeling light-headed. Wade led him to the table and sat him on the stool, and nudged the other one over to himself. With his hands still on the sides of Peter's face, he rubbed his thumb over his cheek lightly. A soothing touch that brought Peter back to the ground.
"Now," Wade said, slow and carefully, "Why is it so bad that that dragon saw you shift?"
Peter winced. Just hearing those words out loud made him want to throw up. "They can't know," Peter whispered, "They can't know I'm draeconus, Wade. I can't - I'm not supposed to-" he took a deep breath that swelled tightly in his chest.
He wasn't supposed to tell Wade either. The words pushed against his lips, dying to get out, but he swallowed them back down. There were too many lives at risk if he said anything. The more people that knew, the more dangerous it'd be. Not just for him, but for all draeconus.
Sometimes, he wished he'd never left at all.
When he didn't go on, Wade sighed as if he expected that much. "Alright, here's what we're gonna do," he said, "I'll make dinner tonight. I want you to go sit at your desk and harvest your flowers. Can you do that? We don't want them to go bad, remember?"
Peter's eyes found his bag and returned to Wade's face. He nodded.
"Good. Now go on, and if I hear you pass out I'll have to wear your glasses until you wake up. You know I will."
Peter nodded again and Wade left him go. Numbly, he retrieved his bag and sat himself down at one of the other tables. He spread the flowers out around him and set to work cutting off the soft petals. His fingers shook as he worked, and his mind fumbled so much it was a wonder he didn't cut himself.
When they were more-or-less cut, he piled them into a bowl and stuck the stems in an opposite pile.
At his back, Wade was singing a loud, obscene tavern song as he swayed his hips to imaginary music and cut vegetables. He was acting nonchalant and casual but looked over at Peter ever so often to make sure he wasn't unconscious.
Despite the hysteria banging on the door, Peter forced himself to focus on his task religiously. Not sparing himself a second to dwell on what happened. He wasn't sure how much time passed before the aroma of food filled the space. A few more minutes went by before Wade clapped, snapping Peter out of his daze, and beckoned for him to join him.
Peter dropped the stem he was holding and plopped into the chair by the table.
It's been a long day and his stomach growled hungrily, but just the thought of eating made him nauseous. Anxiety ate away at his stomach like ravenous wildcats.
"Here we are," Wade said, piling his plate with a mound seasoned vegetables and a few chopped up pieces of meat. "You don't mind eating vegetables, right?"
Staring into the wood of the table, Peter grabbed his fork and impaled a carrot roughly. He chewed it mindlessly, swallowed, and grabbed another. He was gonna throw up, but Saints he was hungry.
Wade stared at him, eyebrows knit and lips turned down in worry. But he didn't comment and nibbled on his own food too.
They eat in silence. When the table wouldn't give him the answers he needed, Peter glanced past Wade at his food baskets, which were still pulled out. He was almost out of vegetables. That meant another trip to into the Native's storage pantries.
Or, at least, that would mean another trip to the food storages. Not so much anymore...
He had wanted to start his own garden. There was a grove nearby that he could've sown for his own plants. He's been reading up on books and plant types to figure out what would grow well in the soil, and what wouldn't. There were a few things he planned on trying out to keep animals away.
It would've been a nice project to keep his mind occupied when he wasn't hunting, studying, or making oils. But he would've had to wait for the next planting season.
Not that any of that mattered anymore. He wasn't going to get to make his own garden. Hell, his cave was as good as gone already. Right now the dragon species were probably rallying to chase him out of the jungles. Why wasn't he packing up?
One glance around the cavern and he knew he would have to leave behind most of his stuff. He'd have to pack sparingly. Couldn't take all his books or oils with him. He might be able to take one of his fur blankets, but it'd have to be small. He didn't have any more clean clothes, but even those he'd have to pack lightly too. He'd have to run fast and quick. Lose them in the thicker tree's before flying off once he got to the coves. They might chase him across the ocean for a while, but they'd fall back eventually.
After that...well, he had no idea.
"I can see you panicking from over here," Wade said, snatching Peter's attention.
Peter grimaced and set down his fork, appetite lost for good. And what was he going to do about Wade? The guy had no idea what was going on, or what he got himself into. Peter might be able to get him to the settlement, but was it worth the risk? The dragons might plow the port over in rage, thinking that the treaty has been violated.
Maybe they'll be so preoccupied with chasing Peter, Wade could go around back and meet up with his expedition party.
"Hey," Wade said gently, and Peter peaked up at him. "I don't know what's going on Petey-Pie, and I know your probably not going to tell me, but I'm here for you."
"We don't even know each other," Peter mumbled down at the table. "It's only been a few days."
"And that's good enough for me," he set his fork down, face grim and determined. "Nothing's gonna hurt you, okay? I won't let it."
Peter's face fell in his hands and he groaned, "What am I going to do? This was my home, Wade. My home. And now I can't..." his shoulders sagged.
This time Wade fidgeted and he picked at his plate. Twisting his head to the side, he scratched at his neck and flicked a vegetable away. "You could..." he started, but grimaced, cheeks flushing. "You could...come with me..."
Peter stared at him.
"To the mainland," Wade continued, looking at his food fixedly. "I mean...we're Bonded, so they won't think twice about you being there. I'm part of the dragon guard, so I can get you food and clothing. I won't let anyone bother you either. I think Captain Rogers would understand."
And Peter, with that simple, stuttery sentence, suddenly felt like a rabbit in a snare. Wade was watching him now, eyes hesitant and timid, but wide and expecting an answer. Peter's words were cluttered back in his throat.
Go back to the mainland? With Wade?
That was...
That was not an option he had considered.
Sorry for a long absence guys, was working on other stuff.
Either way, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Peter was getting a bit protective there and Wade has popped the question!
Not THAT question.
But THE question! :D
See you next time!
