Peter stared at Wade, speechless. "/What?/" he finally managed.

"You said you climbed in through your window because you were up on the roof," Wade explained, "but /I/ come up here sometimes - to clear my head - and you're never up here, and yet you randomly disappear from your room at the same time I climb up here." He crossed his arms. "What's going on, Peter?"

Anger flared within Peter. Wade had /no right/ to question him like this. "You're not my aunt," he muttered.

"No, I'm not. Frankly, she's rather unobservant, so I'm stepping in for her," Wade fired back, unmoved.

Peter sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It's totally normal for teenagers to…sneak out. I take the fire escape down to the street and just…go for walks. For the same reason you come up here - to clear my head." He was rather surprised at how easily the lie rolled right off of his tongue and wasn't sure if it was cause to be worried or not.

Wade, however, took the bait and nodded slowly. "Okay," he finally replied. "I can respect that." As Peter sighed in relief, the other boy clapped his hands and dropped to the rooftop to sit in a criss-cross position, patting the concrete beside him. "Sit."

Peter did so hesitantly, heart still racing from the fear prompted by the conversation they had just had. He made sure to sit a good distance away from Wade as he lowered himself to the rooftop, acutely aware all the same of how close they were.

Wade was staring up at what few stars could be seen through the layer of pollution blanketing New York City. "I did this every night - looked at the stars - when I was sick," he said thoughtfully, as if to himself.

Peter tensed. He had talked to Wade about his cancer exactly once, and that had been to ask why he continued coming to school. Since then, he hadn't broached the topic because he didn't feel nearly close enough with the boy. Now, however, he sensed a heart-to-heart on the horizon.

He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Your cancer?" he asked carefully.

Wade glanced over at him, nodding. "Yeah. Cancer's a bitch, Peter. Hurts like hell."

"How'd you…?" Peter trailed off timidly.

"Fight it off? Simple. I got treatment," Wade replied as if he was discussing the weather.

"No offense, but how did you…?"

"Afford it? No offense taken. My family's dirt poor." Wade's voice, if possible, had gotten even lighter as he stared up at the stars. It was as if he /wanted/ to be talking about this. Then again, maybe he did. He didn't have many friends at school - actually, he didn't have any, now that Peter thought about it. Maybe he /needed/ someone to talk to about all of this.

"Anyway," Wade continued, "I got free treatment. It was kind of experimental medicine - wasn't even legal."

"But it worked," Peter offered, trying to hide his surprise at hearing that Wade's cancer treatment had been illegal. Tonight, he wasn't even going to approach the ethics of that.

"True," Wade said, his voice hinting that it was far more complicated than that. If there was more, however, he didn't share it. Instead, he continued gazing silently at the night sky. Peter did the same, craning his neck to get a better view.

They sat in companionable silence for several minutes, no words passing between them because nothing needed to be said. For that moment, at least, Wade wasn't homeless and Peter wasn't Spider-Man.

It didn't change the fact that Peter wanted to reach over and kiss Wade, wanted to do so desperately, but it was something.

Peter wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed until he found himself yawning so widely that his jaw popped.

"Time for bed," Wade decided, chuckling, and stood. Peter nodded and joined him.

They stared at each other for a moment. Peter clenched his hands into fists at his sides, digging his fingernails into his palms. /Self control, Peter. Self control./

"This was nice," Wade said quietly after several seconds of this tense silence. Peter just nodded, not trusting his voice.

"We should do it again," Wade whispered, even softer than before. Then, abruptly, he turned and stalked toward the ladder that would return them to Peter's bedroom.

Peter sighed. /Was that a moment?/ he wondered, following Wade.

That night, he lay awake in his bed for quite some time. It felt like his life was spiraling out of control and he wasn't sure how to make it stop or even slow it down. First his feelings for Wade…and now the agreement with Deadpool…

His thoughts kept returning to Wade rather than the anti-hero, however. Did friends watch stars on their rooftops together? He supposed some might, but then again, he couldn't be sure. Whenever he and Ned had sleepovers, they always just hung out in his bedroom, and Ned was pretty much the only friend he had had since the beginning of middle school - since earlier, if he was being honest with himself.

Peter sighed, rolling onto his side and staring at his bedroom wall.

Tonight was going to be a sleepless one. That much was painfully - and exhaustingly - clear.

The next day, Peter was woken early by the sound of sirens and a strange crackling noise. He flew out of bed and was at his window within the span of a couple of seconds and almost before realizing he was moving.

The structure kitty-corner to his apartment building was aflame.

Some were still staggering out of it, choking and screaming. Peter's throat constricted at the horrifying sight and he changed into his Spidey suit in mere seconds. He was out of the window before he could form any sort of plan.

/Deadpool, you'd better show up./ They would need his regenerative powers for this. Peter wasn't even sure if the fire was the result of a crime, but people definitely were in danger, and that was all he needed.

He swung to the ground and started toward the burning building.