Leaving Bob to work on re-arranging the apartment, Peter, Wade, and Wanda headed back to Avengers Tower for Wade's meeting. Peter planned to spend an hour or so in Bruce's laboratory to at least get a start on his thesis work, and Wanda agreed to sit in on the meeting just to keep an eye on Wade. There would be plenty others in the meeting room, some of whom were standing outside the doors when the trio arrived.

Eddie Brock was one of them, and Peter cringed a little. Though in recent years, Eddie wasn't Peter's arch-nemesis, it was hard to erase memories of the symbiote that more than once touched Peter in all the wrong ways. Wade knew Eddie from their work together with the Thunderbolts, and greeted each other with a grunt of recognition.

Really, Wade had worked with most of the people present, some for the good (like Venom, ugh), and some for the not-so-good (Tony Masters). Masters was hovering in the doorway holding a cup of coffee with a cookie in his hand. Without the mask, he actually looked almost boyish rather than the go-to guy for mercenary training. Considering that the year before, Wade and Peter had spent Christmas at Agency X with Tony, Sandi, and the rest of them-(and had a damn good time)-, Peter couldn't really make noise about Wade's associates.

To Wanda, Masters said, "You must be the sister I've been hearing so much about." He kissed Wanda's knuckles, and said, "Sandi hasn't stopped talking about how funny you are. And she certainly wasn't joking when she said you were better looking than Wade."

Wanda snorted. "I definitely have a better rack."

"I won the dick contest, though," Wade said, and both he and Wanda snickered like five year olds.

Masters looked at Peter, and asked, "How the hell do you put up with two of them?"

Peter shrugged. "Peanut butter and a love of the unique?"

Both Wanda and Wade smooched Peter on the cheek, and Peter told Wade, "I'll be out here when you're finished, okay?"

"See you soon, sweetums," Wade said with a soft kiss and a solid slap to Peter's ass.

Peter winced and glared at him.

Wade leaned close and whispered so only Peter could hear, "Little sore are we?"

Peter continued to glare.

"Don't worry, baby boy." Wade's lips brushed his earlobe as he said, "Dr. Deadpool will kiss it later, make it all better."

Peter's entire head was probably beet red, but he didn't have time to reply or exact vengeance because suddenly the SHIELD therapist was at the door announcing it was time to get started. Wade kissed him again, looped his arm with Wanda's, and disappeared into the room.

After a few moments of fretting about letting Wade out of his sight, Peter headed to the elevators and found his way up to Banner's lab. Bruce was sitting at the desk staring at his computer screen as if it had caused him personal offense. Peter was almost nervous to break his concentration.

Luckily, Bruce looked up as Peter came through the door and his smile eased Peter's fear of an encounter with the Hulk.

"Hey," Bruce said as he stood and stretched. "I almost forgot you were coming by."

"I can come back later if you want," Peter said gesturing towards the door.

"Nah." Bruce waved him towards the computer terminals. "I read over some of your data. Sounds very promising."

Peter shrugged. "It's an excuse to upgrade my equipment."

"Good a reason as any," Bruce said with a smirk.

The two fell into a comfortable silence. Bruce continued to work on his project while Peter poured over his data. All was going well and peaceful, until Tony made an unexpected appearance. He walked into the laboratory with a sack of take out food. The moment he noticed Peter, the smile fell off his face.

"Didn't realize you had company," Tony said with a frown. He plopped the food down on Bruce's desk. "Guess this means your freakshow is hiding somewhere."

"Not hiding," Peter said, keeping his eyes on his work. "He's here for a meeting."

Tony nodded. "Right. Right. I keep forgetting about Steve's pet project to fix his pet project."

"Tony," Bruce said with warning in his voice. "Not the time."

"So when exactly is the fucking time?" Tony snapped back. He angrily opened a sandwich, sending bits of deli meat and vegetable flying as he practically shouted, "Bucky fuckin Barnes is back. Fucker immediately tries to kill Steve. Tries. To. Kill. Him. And what does that dumb fossil do? Of course he leaves me like yesterdays socks, a nice big fuck you to Tony. Still in my goddamn tower, still… Fuck everyone."

Peter and Bruce both looked perplexed. Peter was the one dumb enough to say, "But it's his best friend? He's the only guy alive from when-"

"Fuck Bucky Barnes," Tony growled throwing down his sandwich, which exploded into a deli nightmare on Bruce's desk. Then he balled up his fists and shouted, "And fuck Steve-fucking-Rogers. I'm so done with his hair and his chin and that saccharine goodie goodie homespun whatever… I'm done. With everything. Everyone. Even you," he added, pointing at Bruce. Then he jabbed a finger in Peter's direction. "You too. Done. I'm going back to fucking Malibu. Tell Fury to fuck himself too."

Then Tony stormed out of the laboratory and Bruce grabbed the takeout sack to retrieve his vegetable-only sandwich.

"Uh…" Peter said, looking from Bruce to the door. "That… That was weird."

"Tony isn't good at break ups," Bruce said as he calmly opened a packet of sriracha. "Especially when there wasn't a relationship to begin with. Sort of unresolved, unrequited...I don't know. He's an infant. Just ignore him. He'll sober up and realize he's an asshole."

"What if he takes the suit and just goes?"

Bruce shook his head. "Can't. He installed a breathalyzer. And if you couldn't smell the bourbon, you need your Spidey Senses checked out."

Peter hummed a note. "Kind of makes sense."

"What?" Bruce asked around a bite.

"The way he and Steve are at each other's throats," Peter said with a sigh. "It's like they're having a frigging civil war."

Bruce set aside his sandwich, taking off his glasses to rub at the bridge of his nose. "It's getting bad. You haven't been around as much the last couple months, but ever since Bucky was brought to the Tower, it has been a daily test of my patience. And Steve, bless his stupid heart, has no clue why Tony is so pissed. I feel like I'm in high school. And I really hated high school Peter."

Peter snorted, and asked, "So do I need to give Steve a note that says, Do you like Tony? Check yes or no?"

"That kind of sophomoric solution may be what is required." Bruce sighed. "As I've told Tony, Steve feels a sense of duty and obligation when it comes to Barnes. The guy was put through so much hell, he needs a familiar face."

"And Steve pretty much throws everything into a project," Peter said with a sigh.

"Exactly," Bruce said. "Seriously. Fucking high school. They are genuinely testing the limits of my self control. I need a goddamn support group."

Peter frowned. "Maybe I could…"

"No. Please. Don't get involved." Bruce laughed. "No, you actually aggravate the situation."

Peter's brow furrowed. "How the hell do I...?"

"You're happy," Bruce answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "You and Wade, strange as your relationship may seem on the outside, you two are happy together. I'm not a fan of Deadpool, never have been. We've fought more than we've ever been friends, but it is obvious that he cares about you. Enough that he's downstairs in a support group he no doubt thinks is a stupid waste of time because he wants to make you happy. It's adorable in a three-legged-blind-kitten kind of way."

There was a moment when Peter had to debate whether that was a compliment or an insult, because frankly, three-legged-blind-kittens were very adorable. He chose to ignore it, and say, "Wade has changed. A lot."

"Yeah, in more than just the kill count." Bruce scrunched his brow, and asked, "What's the story behind his anatomical changes?"

Peter frowned. "How did…?"

"We did a full body scan on him yesterday," Bruce answered. "And because we've had the joy of piecing him together before, I know for a fact that he never had intersex features. And considering that Wanda has the same features, I-"

"I don't feel comfortable talking about this," Peter said firmly.

Bruce shrugged. "Just scientific curiosity."

"Then ask them," Peter answered. "If he wants to talk to you about it, he will. If he doesn't, it goes under the heading of nobody's business."

"Okay," Bruce said with a nod. "Sorry. I guess that was a little out of line."

"But you are right about one thing," Peter said, a smile starting to curl his lips. "We really are happy together."

Bruce smiled as he picked up his sandwich. "Good."

The meeting ended up lasting almost two hours. Peter was seated on the floor against the wall opposite the door playing a match of Words With Friends against Aunt May. She was thoroughly kicking his ass too, which she kept reminding him every time she put up another word. He was convinced that she was part android at times.

When the doors opened, Peter could see that everyone had the same sort of dazed look on their faces. Some looked as if they had been crying. Wade looked stoic, his mouth in a thin line and eyes downcast. Wanda walked beside him, holding his arm, giving him an encouraging smile. Peter immediately wrapped him in a tight hug.

"You okay?" Peter asked. Wade just sighed heavily, like he was completely drained. So Peter kissed him on the neck, and said, "Let's go home."

Wade didn't have much to say for the rest of the evening. When he saw the newly remodeled bedroom/office, he only nodded and gave a soft, "Thanks," to Bob. He hardly ate anything at supper, and shortly after the dishes were finished, he opted to go to bed instead of joining in on a Mario Kart tournament.

Peter started to follow him, and Wade stopped him, saying, "I just need a little alone-time, okay?"

"Okay," Peter said, kissing his cheek. Wade went into the bedroom, and Peter stood outside the door for a moment.

Then Wanda was tugging at his shirt sleeve, towing him over to the couch and putting a controller in his hand. The first couple rounds he failed miserably, his mind on the haunted look on Wade's face and wondering what happened during the meeting that left everyone there look like they had seen a ghost.

Wanda (Donkey Kong) rammed Peter (Yoshi) off the rainbow path, and said, "Pay attention."

Peter huffed a laugh. "Yeah. Sorry."

"Wade's okay," Wanda said, not taking her eyes off the screen. She was kind of cut throat at video games, just like Wade. She launched a turtle shell at Bob (Toad).

Peter threw out a banana, and asked, "What happened?"

"Oh, you know, the typical," Wanda said. She won the third race in a row, and Bob was grumbling about switching to Wario. She picked the next course, and said, "I've been through what he's going through. Facing your demons. Facing yourself. It's not easy."

"Damn," Peter said, glancing at the door. "You sure he's okay?"

She nodded. "Now pay attention, webhead. Or I'm gonna fling you into the ocean on principle."

They played Mario Kart for a couple hours, ended up having a couple beers, and then Wanda and Bob headed to bed. Bob had brought over an extra thick air mattress with a memory foam topper for the office. According to Wanda, it was the most comfortable bed she'd ever laid on. Even Peter had to admit it was pretty comfortable. They left the door open, and Peter glanced in to see Wanda sitting up against the wall with Bob's head in her lap, stroking his hair like a cat while she read Wade's ancient copy of The Art of War.

He turned to the bedroom door, giving a soft knock before opening. Wade was sitting at the end of the bed in the dark, elbows resting on his knees and his head hanging down. Peter sat beside him, leaning into him a little, and relaxed when Wade reached over to place a hand on Peter's knee.

For a moment, Peter thought Wade was going to say something. He took a deep breath, his body tensing a moment, then closed his mouth as he shook his head. Peter laced his fingers into Wade's hand, and kissed his shoulder.

Wade smiled, a barely there expression that was hard to see in the dark. He cupped Peter's cheek in his calloused hand. Again he seemed like he was going to say something, but instead he placed a gentle kiss on Peter's forehead and got into bed towing Peter behind him.