Peter was fairly certain he was going to vomit.

He had been carrying Deadpool while the black-and-red clad hero had given him instructions to his home. Now, they had arrived.

"Are you sure /this/ is where you live?" Peter asked slowly, glancing around the rooftop of his apartment building. Had Spider-Man seriously had a murderous maniac living a rooftop above him this entire time?

"Actually, I live a floor below," Deadpool replied casually. He grabbed his mask and yanked it off before Peter could process his words.

Peter physically staggered backwards as if he had been punched in the gut. He felt like reality was suddenly playing a cruel, cruel prank on him.

"/Wade?/" he breathed, staring into the other boy's familiar face.

Wade nodded. "Surprise…/Peter./"

As if in a trance, Peter reached up and pulled off his own mask. The game was up. "Holy shit," he muttered, running a hand through his hair and turning away. He felt lightheaded, and his nausea had only grown. All this time…

"Sorry for not telling you sooner, but I didn't know who you were at first," Wade explained apologetically. "Your suit kind of changes your voice - muffles it. When you were talking with your mask pulled up earlier - then I realized."

Peter nodded distantly. "You're Deadpool." His voice was remarkably calm.

Wade laughed. "This - this isn't really easy for me, either. I mean, you're /Spider-Man. Peter Parker/ is Spider-Man."

Peter whirled around to face Wade. "You can't tell /anyone./" His voice was desperate, pleading. He hated being at the mercy of the whims of a boy who he now knew was completely insane. And he had been /sleeping on Peter's couch!/

Wade crossed his arms defensively. "What made you think I would? Nobody can know about me, either, or I would be arrested," he pointed out, gesturing to his own suit. "I've /killed/ people, Peter."

Peter groaned at this reminder, crouching down as the world started to spin disconcertingly. This was awful, way worse than when Ned had discovered this secret. Peter's mind was frantically dissecting the past few days, all of the strange pieces - Wade's strange disappearances, his comment coming up to the roof to "clear his head" - falling into place.

"I'm sorry, Peter," Wade said softly. Then, he said as if to himself, "Jesus Christ! /Peter Parker/ is Spider-Man!"

"What /happened/ to you?" Peter demanded, standing and turning to face him. "Honest answer, full story. Go."

Wade blinked at him. "Um," he started, then stopped.

"/Now./" Peter's lips thinned.

"Okay, okay. My family's absolute shit," Wade hastily explained, "as I'm sure you've realized."

Peter nodded silently.

"They couldn't afford cancer treatment, not that they would have wasted money on it if they could. I was prepared to have to die without ever having taken a single pill. Then this…guy found me." Wade stopped and took a deep breath as if to steady himself. "He promised me these…these amazing powers. And I didn't have to pay or anything. I was so desperate, in so much pain, so…I agreed." He shut his eyes briefly as if these memories still hurt.

"The treatment was…awful, to say the least. It wasn't government mandated and, like I said, it was illegal, so the dudes running the place could treat their inmates - us - however they wanted. Yeah, I guess we /were/ technically inmates. We weren't allowed to leave, after all, and we /were/ tortured. So brutally, Peter…"

Peter shivered at the dark tone in Wade's voice and the distant look in his eyes. What had /happened/ to him at this strange facility?

"It was all to make this recessive gene - well, I won't bore you with the science" - Wade glanced at him and grinned slightly - "although I'm sure you of all people wouldn't mind it. Anyway, when it was all over, I was…was superhuman. I had regenerative powers, super strength, agility, precision - the works. I went back home and - and now I'm just trying to use my powers for good. And if some people have to die while I'm doing that, so be it." His voice had taken on a steely quality that, quite frankly, scared Peter.

He took a deep breath. Peter knew what he had to do. "Wade…"

Wade glanced at him, waiting.

"Will you work with me?"

"Work with you?" Wade's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Yeah. Fighting crimes in a…not-murdery way."

Wade was silent for a long moment, his expression unreadable. "Sure," he finally decided, a slow smile spreading over his face, and Peter's heart lifted. "What do I have to lose? My family's gone."

Peter summoned the last of his courage. "No," he said, "it's not."

Wade smiled at him, a genuine smile. "Thank you, Peter."

Peter nodded and, before he could do something stupid, walked to the edge of the building and crawled down into his bedroom. Wade came down in a few minutes and retreated to his living room bed without looking at Peter again.

Peter was so tired and in pain from his minor sears that he didn't bother to change out of his Spidey suit for quite some time. Instead, he sat on the edge of his bed, thinking.

Finally, he crossed his room to the full-length mirror and stared at himself, pulling off his mask slowly. "I am working with Wade Wilson - Deadpool," he whispered disbelievingly. A slow grin spread over his face. Was this /actually/ his life? He would have to tell Ned all about it - /if/ Wade gave him permission to share his secret identity. Peter wouldn't reveal Wade's secrets like he had accidentally revealed his own.

For now, he would change into some normal clothes.

He stripped out of his suit and pulled on a pair of jeans. Every movement hurt, so he changed slowly, and he could see angry red patches on his arms and chest where he had been singed. They would be hell to cover up from Aunt May, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

His door creaked open and he turned nervously, still instinctively expecting Aunt May to be in the doorway, asking what he wanted for dinner, her eyes widening as she saw his injuries.

Instead, Wade leaned against the doorframe, watching him with an unfathomable expression in his eyes.

"Hey." Peter said uncertainly.

Wade took a step into Peter's room and swung the door shut behind him. Before Peter could ask him what he was doing, Wade had crossed the room and grabbed Peter's shoulders, kissing him.

Peter gasped, drawing back instinctively in surprise and finally letting himself relax into the kiss. It wasn't gentle or sweet. Instead, it was desperate, furious. Peter's heart was racing furiously. He grabbed Wade's biceps to keep himself from collapsing, as lightheaded as he felt. Wade just kissed him harder.

Finally, one of them pulled away - Peter wasn't sure who. Wade rested his forehead on Peter's. Both boys were panting for breath.

"Oh," Peter whispered, his brain empty of all coherent thoughts except for shock.

"Agreed," Wade replied huskily, chest heaving.

"Boys?" Aunt May called innocently from the living room. "What do you want for dinner?"

Wade tore himself away from Peter and strolled out of the latter's bedroom, starting a casual conversation with May as he did so. Peter stared after him, still gasping for air.

He collapsed backwards onto his bed, a huge smile spreading over his face. Maybe his life /was/ a mess. Maybe Deadpool /had/ kill people. Maybe he was in over his head with it all.

But at least he could figure it out with Wade.