When they finally walked into the apartment, Wade noticed right away that almost nothing had changed. Their old furniture and tv still in the same place he'd left it. The shelves that once held Wade's weird trinkets and pictures were still in the same place, though they were completely bare. The kitchen had dishes piled in the sink, but was otherwise empty and devoid of life. It all just looked...lonely.

Wade felt so guilty. This whole time being apart he'd told himself he was helping Peter. He'd told himself that Peter would have moved on with his life, forgotten about him.

"It didn't feel the same without you. I couldn't just decorate over what should have had your stuff there. I know you probably think I'm some sad little person who should have just gotten over it and moved on. Moved out. And I tried! I really did. I dated a lot of people trying to get over you, but it wasn't the same. It's just...you were the one for me, Wade. And it felt like I lost a part of myself when you left."

Peter sat down on the couch and looked to Wade, silently telling him to sit down as well.

"I'm so sorry," Wade said, facing Peter when he sat. "I really thought-"

"You thought you were doing what's best for me. I know. But we've already established that it wasn't."

Wade could tell that Peter was mad. And he had every right to be. He just wished that he knew how to make it better.

"However," Peter continued, surprising Wade, "I forgive you. I spent the first two years of your absence hating you. I don't have enough hatred left to feel it now that you're here."

Wade reached for Peter's hand, but Peter jerked his hand away before Wade could touch him.

"Pete-"

"It might take me some time to trust you again. To let you back in. I need you to know how much you hurt me. I understand you had good intentions, but that doesn't make how I've felt the past three years just disappear."

Wade bowed his head. The guilt he felt was almost overwhelming. If only he'd known sooner how much damage he had actually done...

He hated himself.

"But, I know you've been hurting too. I'm sure it wasn't easy for you to leave either."

"You're right. It wasn't. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. I felt the most loved I'd ever had when I was with you. I know you might not understand, but my head was telling me constantly that I didn't deserve you. It still tells me that. It's telling me that right now."

Peter's face looked pained. Wade didn't like to be pitied, but Peter never looked at him with pity. He looked at him with empathy, worry, care, and most importantly, he looked at him with love.

"Wade...take off your hoodie."

"What?"

That was the last thing Wade had expected to come from Peter's mouth.

"Are we about to have angry sex?"

"Wade," Peter said flatly. "Be serious. Please, take off your hoodie."

"I-I don't think I can do that for you, Petey."

"Wade, it's me. You know I'd never make fun of you."

"It's not that. I'm just not so sure you'll like what's underneath."

"I've seen what's underneath many times. Trust me, I think I can handle it."

"It's different now, Petey. You won't like it."

"Please, Wade. Whatever it is, I can handle it."

Wade knew what was underneath would hurt Peter. Peter probably figured it was just broken hearts littered across his body.

Slowly, Wade lifted his hoodie. He silently cursed himself for not wearing a shirt underneath (as if Peter would have let him keep it on anyway). As his stomach and chest were revealed, Wade heard Peter gasp softly. It took everything he had not to shove the hoodie back down.

"Wade..." Peter's voice was a whisper.

Wade finally pulled the hoodie off and dropped it on the floor. His chest was covered in scars. New scars. Not just the hearts Peter was used to. They were everywhere. In between nearly every heart on Wade's chest, stomach, and arms was a jagged line, breaking the hearts apart.

"Did you do this?"

"They wouldn't break," Wade said, his voice shaky. "Th-they wouldn't break so I had to do it for them."

"Oh, Wade..."

Peter had started crying.

Wade looked away, not able to look at himself nor Peter. He remembered the night he'd done it. It had been a little more than year after he'd left. The hearts that had formed from Peter's love were still there, not breaking apart like Wade wanted them to. He didn't deserve to have hearts on him. He didn't deserve love. He was ugly and disgusting and the hearts only reminded him of what he could never have. He hated them. So he took matters into his own hands and fixed the problem.

He jumped when a hand touched his chest.

"Oh," Peter said, withdrawing his hand. "Sorry. I should have asked."

"It's okay." Wade sat up straight and closed his eyes, giving Peter permission to touch.

Peter's hands moved slowly, grazing over every new scar on Wade's torso. Wade felt reminiscent of their first date, when Peter touched his scars for the first time. Peter was touching him the same way he had that night, but instead of curiosity, it was with sadness. When they were together, Peter would run his hands along Wade's skin all the time, proving to him that he loved every part of him. How Peter was touching him just then felt the same, and Wade hoped that Peter would still love every part of him. Even the parts that he'd destroyed.

Wade suddenly felt the warmth of another body right in front of him. When he opened his eyes, he saw Peter's face hovering over one of the scars on his chest, his eyes looking up, as if waiting for Wade to open his eyes so he could make sure he knew what was going to happen next. Without warning, Peter pressed his lips to the scar, sending a chill down Wade's spine. Then, Peter did it again to another scar, and another, and another, and another. They moved together, Wade laying down and Peter on top of him, continuously kissing the scars along his torso. At some point, Peter had stopped kissing individual scars and had moved up, trailing kisses up Wade's chest and neck and along his jawline.

"Peter..." Wade breathed out, hoping the brunette would press their lips together. He'd dreamed about kissing Peter again almost every night for the past three years.

Peter kept going, however, and kissed up Wade's face until he reached his forehead, stopping there.

"Do you remember," Peter said, his lips against Wade's forehead as he spoke, "the first time you brought me to your apartment? Do you remember what I said to you?"

Wade was still dazed from what had just happened and was unable to speak, so he kept quiet.

"You called yourself a freak. But I told you that you're not a freak. I said you're beautiful and handsome. I told you that you're funny and kind and that you ramble when you're nervous. I told you that you had a pet named Ira, you called yourself Chef Wade and you'd talk in funny accents. Do you remember that, Wade?"

Wade nodded his head gently, not wanting Peter to move his mouth from its position.

"I got cut off, though, when I noticed you crying. Do you know what I was going to say?"

Wade shook his head, both to answer the question and to come out of his daze.

"I was going to say that you have more love inside you than the scars on your body. I may not have known just how true that was at first, but you more than proved that to me while we were together. You're so loving and caring. You'd always take care of me when I was sick or distressed, you looked out for others, even when they treated you differently. And you loved me with more passion and warmth than I could have ever imagined. You are so beautiful, inside and out. These past three years haven't changed any of that for me, Wade."

Peter lifted his mouth from Wade's forehead and looked at him, eye to eye. Wade moved his face up, going for a kiss, but he was met with a finger instead.

"Do you promise to never disappear again?"

"Yes," Wade said as Peter moved his finger away.

"And do you promise that if you are ever having a problem, you will come to me and we will figure it out together?"

"Yes."

"And do you promise to let me love you, without thinking you don't deserve it?"

"I-I will try. It might take some time. You'll have to work with me on it."

"I promise I will. As long as you stay by my side and don't leave me at the altar again."

"Of course. I promise I will never leave you ever again."

"Will you love me?"

"Yes. Yes, I-"

Peter leaned down and Wade's heart nearly burst out of his chest. He was kissing Peter. Finally. It was really happening. He wrapped his arms around Peter and pulled him closer. The kiss deepened and suddenly Wade was crying. All those years of hurt and pain were melting away as Peter kissed him. He felt something wet fall on his face and he realized Peter was crying too. How could he have been so blind to not see how much Peter needed him? He'd thought that he was draining Peter, taking so much and giving nothing back. He didn't realize that as much as Peter helped him, he helped Peter just the same. He regretted ever hurting Peter, but he would never do it again. He would never leave him again.

They fell asleep there, in each other's arms, neither letting go of the other.