They did get to talking after the shower. The chimera's possessive hunger was sated and the way Wade was looking at the prominent mark on Peter's shoulder, he was pleased with his handiwork.
They ordered pizza, which Peter paid for when it came, then settled down on the couch.
"Anything I should know about?" Peter asked as they sat together, still close, Wade's preternatural side rather tactile again.
"Nah. Boring all the way, from the unimaginative airline food to the really slummy backwater landing strip, and the cliché troop of not-so-helpful little helpers. Blew up some stuff, but didn't unalive anyone." Wade grinned around his pizza slide. "They tried unaliving me, though. Repeatedly. Persistent bunch, have to give it to them."
"Successfully?"
"Nope." He popped the 'p' a little. "Some blood loss, some broken bones. Had to pull a bunch of arrows out of my back once. Everyone had already scrammed and left me by my lonesome. Oh, and regrew a few inner organs. I think a foot, too. Otherwise, piece of cake, walk in the park, puppies and sunshine."
Peter scowled a little, but he said nothing.
Wade shot him a brief look. "You… did you get feedback? Feel anything? I mean, there wasn't any, right? Bonds don't work that way. You shouldn't feel anything from me!"
He squeezed the other man's knee reassuringly. "No. Nothing at all."
"Just checking. I'm not a normal preternatural, Petey. Things could get really freaky really suddenly. There might be backlash. Or something else. I don't want you to feel… that… ever!"
Another squeeze.
"Nothing happened on my side. You?"
Wade placed his scarred hand over Peter's, interlacing their fingers. "Nah. All good. No separation anxiety, though I did miss my little spider." He winked.
"You're a sap, Wade Wilson."
"And don't you know it, Peter Parker."
SDSDSD
Peter told Deadpool about his visit with his aunt, about her long-time knowledge that Peter was actually Spider-Man, adding one and one and Deadpool. Coming up with the correct result.
"Smart woman," Deadpool commented.
"Yeah."
"And you are an idiot for thinking she wouldn't figure you out."
Peter shrugged. "I'm just glad she's okay with it."
"Why wouldn't she be? Or is this about the bond?" he added, sounding almost hesitant.
Peter curled slender fingers around Wade's wrist, tugging him close. He pressed their lips together, gentle and loving, tasting pepperoni and cheese.
"She's okay with the bond. With you. Why wouldn't she be?"
He opened his mouth, but Peter placed a hand over it.
"Bonds are not made by force. You didn't rape me, Wade. You didn't coerce, push or threaten. I might have been bad with bullies in school, but not as Spider-Man."
"Not a bully," Wade muttered.
"No. Just annoying and loud. Crude and disrespectful. A rude ass most of the time." He leaned closer again. "My rude ass. I wanted the bond and I have no regrets. That's what I told my aunt. That's what I will tell everyone."
Deadpool's eyes were wide. Peter took his hand off the chapped lips.
"You also have a standing invitation for dinner. When you're ready."
"Huh. She does know who I am, right?"
"She does. She brought it up."
"She does know the stuff I do?" he asked insistently. "I'm not just a sexy body in skin-tight leather and spandex. Bad boy Deadpool? Mercenary, killer, gun for hire, studly bodyguard with an amazing bod?"
Peter chuckled. "She is okay with it," he repeated. "Yes, she reads papers and watches the news. I told her what you do. Aunt May said the bond is judge enough. She wouldn't dare to make assumptions about you by bad press alone. Look at what the Bugle writes about Spider-Man. She's great that way. She knows you make me happy."
Wade was speechless. "Happy," he echoed after a moment, rolling the word around in his mouth.
Peter leaned in close again, their lips brushing against each other as he murmured, "Happy. You're not getting rid of me. You're a keeper. I love you, Wade."
Now the eyes were incredibly wide, the disbelief shining through.
"Please don't play with me," he whimpered. "You can't just say that…"
"Unless I mean it. I mean it. I feel it."
The brown clouded over with silver, the switch abrupt, but not really startling Peter any more. The surge of the preternatural was powerful, racing through the connection, pulling him close on a level no one else could understand. The chimera rose, the size and strength amazing to feel, the darkness roiling forward and enveloping Peter.
He closed his eyes with a soft exhalation of air, head falling forward as the surge turned almost sexual.
He loved seeing it unrestrained, so beautiful and graceful, so amazing. It was unique and wonderful, sleek and deadly, and Peter could look at it all day and never tire.
"You can see it," Wade murmured.
"I always could."
Hands ran over Peter's body, stroking, caressing, petting.
"Thank you," the chimera murmured.
Peter kissed him let himself fall, entrusting himself completely. The chimera purred, pleased, far from triumphant, and snuggled next to him, its wings covering Peter's soul like a cool, silky blanket.
"I love you," Wade said softly. "And I want to keep you."
"I'm a good catch," Peter quipped.
"The best."
And seeing the smile, the absolutely happy smile… It gave Peter more than anything in the world. It was something special, something to be treasured, and he would never give it up. Never.
SDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSD
When Peter mentioned Stark and his offer the next day at breakfast, Deadpool froze, bagel halfway to his mouth. There was a dangerous glint in his eyes and Peter reached automatically along the anchor line, tugging a little.
"Wade."
Wade growled softly. The chimera snapped sharp teeth at the hold its mate had on it, but it didn't even come close. It was agitated, but not enough to start lashing out.
"Wade," he repeated patiently. "I'm all grown up. Stop the bristling. Stark will keep my secret. I trust him. And I might just take him up on the job offer." He held up a hand. "Because I want to work. I'm not the trophy mutant in your bedroom."
"Or living room. Closet. Kitchen island. Roof," Deadpool listed cheerfully, the switch in his demeanor as always abrupt. "He's still a dick in a tin can."
Peter shrugged. "It was bound to happen one day," he murmured, leaning against Wade.
Breakfast on the couch had somehow seemed more appealing this morning than in the kitchen. Bagels, toast, coffee. Nothing fancy.
The other man rested his cheek against Peter's hair. There was a soft, content sigh. Wade suddenly radiated ease. He was a relaxed presence at the other end of the anchor. The chimera was curled up and purring gently, all kitty, no monster. It could change at the drop of a hat, but right now it was just calmness. Where there had been growly posturing, it was now gone.
"The Avengers have resources. Stark has them. If they wanted to know who I am, they just had to invest time, money and covert ops. I bet Fury has known ever since I got my powers."
"One-eyed motherfucker knows too much." Deadpool grunted. "I'll up security. Twenty-four seven bodyguard at your service, Master Parker," he added with a fake British accent.
Peter chuckled. "Overkill. Not that I'd mind you hanging around, but you'd be bored out of your mind."
"Better than getting Avengernapped."
"They won't do anything, Wade. Ever. They don't gain anything from knowing who I am. I just didn't want to come out to them." He laughed a little at his own words. "Not like that. Everyone knows who the Avengers are, but Spider-Man is something else. I'm still going to assist if they ask nicely. You can tag along if you want."
"Tag along?" he echoed, sounding mock outraged.
"Yep."
"Okily-dokily," was the carefree reply. "They'll get the bill in the mail. I know a guy who can help us set up a water tight contract."
"No contract."
"Aw, shucks."
"You're a menace," Peter sighed.
Wade just beamed at him. "Thank you."
"You're more than welcome."
SD
He had to get to work, earn money, and Deadpool, in his full gear with his mask on, was off to do whatever mercenaries did when not hanging out with their favorite spider person.
SDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSD
Peter did get to see Deadpool's file.
It was Hawkeye who gave him a USB drive one day as they ran into each other. Accidentally, of course. Not that Peter believed it.
"Why?" Spider-Man asked, fingers closing around the drive.
Hawkeye shrugged.
There was a surge of annoyance that he bit back angrily. Why would the Avengers, or just Hawkeye, want him to get the whole file on his bonded? It would change nothing at all. Nothing! Peter wouldn't want to leave Deadpool, Wade, whatever those files contained. They were connected on levels that surpassed mere personal pasts.
"Thought you might want to know one day."
"It changes nothing," Spider-Man stated coldly. "At all. You might as well just scrap that thing already."
"I know, kid. You are bonded. Nothing anyone can say about that. Nothing anyone would have foreseen either. Just ask him if he wants to see it. Deadpool might not even know what's floating around inside him."
Peter felt his teeth clench, but he refrained from snarling.
SDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSD
It took him close to two weeks to finally address the file and his possession thereof.
Wade was on his laptop, browsing some very obscure Dark Net sites for ammo and weapons, or just amusing himself with reading out loud hit offers and calls for guns for hire.
"Geez. Fifty grand for a job in Brazil? You wouldn't get me off my ass to New Jersey for that."
Peter played with the drive. "All expenses paid?" he asked.
"To Jersey? Nah. To Brazil, I hope so, baby! I expect nothing but the best, twenty-four hour room service, sexual favors and at least two private jets."
He chuckled.
"I'd have them spring for you, too, baby boy. Like I said, sexual favors." Wade grinned widely.
"I have work I need to go to," was the distracted reply.
Deadpool's eyes fixed on the drive. "Work?" he asked, voice suddenly a little more intense, his demeanor switching.
"Yes and no." He tossed the small device at his partner, who caught it easily. "This is you."
"Hate to break it to you, Petey, but I'm a lot bigger and better endowed."
He shot him a smile. "And don't I know it. Hawkeye gave this to me. To us. Your file. All of it, not just their stuff on Deadpool. This is… all. Courtesy of the Avengers."
Wade was suddenly completely still, those dark eyes on the drive like it was the singular most vile and interesting object in existence.
"You opened it?" he asked, voice absolutely level, but with a brittle feel.
"No."
"Why?"
Peter rose and walked over to the couch, eyes never leaving the tense form.
"I admit I'm curious. The scientist in me wants to know what they did to you. The man bonded to you couldn't care less."
Wade met his eyes, his own a bottomless well of pain, indecision, fear and hatred.
"Nothing changes what we are, Wade," Peter told him firmly.
"They gave it to you," he whispered harshly.
It sounded painful. Like chewing broken glass.
"To us. You might want to know about what they shot into you."
He smiled darkly and there was suddenly a sheen of silver overlaying the brown.
The expression in the scarred face should be frightening. The burning eyes should be terrifying. Actually, he should give this man a wide berth, but Peter wouldn't. Ever.
"I'm like Frankenstein's monster, baby boy. All those parts stuck together and human skin wrapped around the construct. Badly scarred human skin. Yeah, I'm movie material! Nothing can change that! Knowing what's frolicking around inside me isn't going to make it better!"
"Then toss the drive."
Wade looked at the innocent device.
Peter sat down beside him.
"You want to know," Deadpool murmured. "You're so curious. Scientists always are. And you're smart and sexy, with those hipster nerd glasses. All wrapped in one neat little package."
"Wade."
He haunted eyes nearly broke Peter's heart.
"Look at it," the chimera said, the rumble of the preternatural side low and almost threatening. "In my line of work, intel is important. Research your little heart out, write an essay, come up with a paper, then tell the class."
"How about the class reads it with me?"
Deadpool dropped the hard drive into his lap. There was a smirk on his scarred lips all of a sudden, the light in his eyes playful and filled with something else, still dark and dangerous, but different.
"Do I get to blow the teacher to get better grades?"
He laughed and shook his head.
SDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSD
Peter looked into the file that day.
It was stomach turning and the need to hurt those responsible for the experiments. Repeatedly.
What he gleaned from the mass of data – he hadn't dared look at the video files and might never – was that Deadpool's DNA contained donor material from ten different species of preter- and supernaturals. How Weapon X had managed to fuse the supernatural to the preternatural was a mystery.
And so much of it!
"Holy shit," he murmured.
Not all of it had apparently taken, or Wade might be a shifter on top of things, too. Enough had given him a new edge, though.
Quite enough.
tbc...