I know, I'm evil. :3c

Chapter summary: Wade treats Peter to food and a Gym battle.

Chapter Five: Rollercoaster

They spent almost half an hour chatting before Wade suggested that they skedaddle out of there and hit up an actually decent coffee shop that had "the real stuff," complete with better food and prices. Peter agreed, so they got up, pocketed their phones, Wade snuck his hat back on, and they headed out.

It was like walking right back out into an oven, but at least they'd gotten a nice reprieve from the hellish weather. He was actually enjoying himself so much that he had forgotten to re-open Pokémon Go and let it count his steps toward hatching his eggs. He wound up mentioning that, and Wade seemed to straighten his spine, to lift his shoulders, and to hold his head up higher. He looked flattered and happy. Peter felt his heart flutter a little at that sight, and he almost walked right into someone because of it. He whipped himself in a spiraling crescent out of the way just before contact, his spider sense going off and deciding his movements for him. Wade wound up clapping, saying how that had been an incredible save. Peter smiled stupidly.

"You ever take ballet?" Wade asked.

Peter shook his head. "No. I never considered it, actually." He was most definitely flexible enough, and he had more than enough balance and stamina. He'd have to take time out of his already busy schedule to sign up, and if it wasn't a free class, well… that answered his question for him. And besides, it left a bad taste in his mouth - he had been bullied pretty ruthlessly throughout school, and even though college was a lot different than that, he still felt a pang of fear rush through him. He always used to be made fun of for being small, well-read, and probably gay because of those things (which waslong before any of them had hit puberty). He had been an easy target and he couldn't really fight back when he was young. He hadn't known how to. Instead, when knocked to the ground, he'd curl up - which he found out the hard way was a bad idea; it left his kidneys and spine wide open for attack. He'd just taken the kicks as best he could. It had sucked a lot. Aunt May and Uncle Ben had actually talked with him about changing schools, and a few times Peter had agreed with them on it… but he knew, deep down, that he would just find a whole new set of bullies. At least the ones he had he was used to. He could guess their moves and maybe even dodge a few.

Ballet wouldn't benefit him at all.

"I'd probably suck at it," he said, and his voice was suddenly quiet, withdrawn, and insecure.

Wade frowned at him and Peter could see it out of the corner of his eye. "Hey, I didn't mean to bring up anything unpleasant," he said, and his voice was surprisingly gentle. Peter felt moved by the show of kindness and he smiled at Wade, even though it was strained.

"Thank you," he said.

"For what?" Wade questioned, and he shoved his hands right back into his pockets. Having the conversation turn to him obviously made him nervous.

Peter shrugged. For being considerate. For being supportive. For making me feel comfortable. "For being you," he finally answered.

Wade looked bewildered and then barked out a quick, jarring laugh. "Ain't never been told that before."

Peter felt pity rise up in him again. Who had hurt Wade so badly? He'd probably been bullied, too. Peter was pretty sure his skin made a lot of people stare, made him feel vulnerable and ugly. He probably closed himself off after failed attempts at getting close to anyone. It only struck Peter then, that Wade even signing up for a dating site at all was probably more difficult than Peter could ever truly understand. He was so glad he'd forced himself to come to terms with the other's looks, letting him get to know the man under the skin.

"Well," Peter said, and he wasn't really sure where he was going with this. "Everyone but me's missing out, then." He tilted his head a little, glancing up at Wade through his own messy, sweat-laden bangs.

He wasn't expecting Wade to look so lost at that. Peter wondered if he somehow said something wrong. Wade looked away, and neither of them said anything for so long that the silence between them became awkward. Peter inwardly berated himself for it, for ruining what was supposed to be a pleasant, doesn't-have-to-get-serious date. He thought about why he'd kept to himself for so long, why he, too, had pushed everyone away from getting emotionally close to him.

Maybe it was better this way. Anyone who knew him would always be put in danger sooner or later. Sooner or later they'd wind up dead. Everyone but May and Mary Jane had, and that was why Peter had to be so diligent in keeping as many things from them as he could. Hell, he'd broken up with the redhead because it was very possible she'd be the next Gwen. The next Harry. The next Ben.

"Thanks."

Peter was startled by the sudden sound of the other's voice, and his face showed it. He was about to parrot Wade's own words - for what? - but he was cut off as Wade continued.

"Thanks for sayin' that. I didn't think I'd needed to hear it, but, uh…" Wade trailed off, and looked increasingly more awkward as he took a hand out to wave around like he would be able to find his words by snatching them right out of the air. "Shit, that sounded clingy," he grumbled under his breath. "Yeah, well you fuckin' come up with something better on the spot, genius."

Peter was pretty sure that wasn't meant for him to hear, since it was muttered and sounded a little aggressive. He felt sick, actually, and he couldn't put his finger on why.

"You shouldn't have to thank me for acting decent to you," Peter said. Something was wrong and it was making him incredibly uncomfortable. His precog wasn't giving him any warning signs though, so what was causing it?

"The place is up here," Wade said, dropping their previous conversation entirely. Peter was more than okay with that. "It shouldn't be too busy," he added, and once again opened the door for Peter, who was overcome with relief at the feeling of air-conditioning. The place was small, only had five tables and one couch that was facing a wall-mounted TV. It was actually really nicely decorated, and it had a homely kind of feel to it. Peter felt his nerves ease up slightly. It smelled amazing, too.

His metabolism had gone right through the roof after he'd gotten his superpowers, but his budget didn't allow him to ever feel truly satiated. More and more lately, he was feeling worn down after fights, and he always had a lingering hunger cramping up his stomach. It was actually worrying him, and he'd tried to supplement his diet with things like jars of peanuts, but it was hard to get ahold of fruits and vegetables that would stave off his appetite. The local farmers' market was only open during hours where he either had class or needed to catch up on sleep. His meals consisted mostly of starch, because rice, potatoes, and pasta were the cheapest things available at stores. He knew that it wasn't sustainable, but there wasn't a lot he could do. He had to take more classes than he could honestly handle just to qualify for some of the scholarships that were the only reason he was able to attend higher education. Between that, fighting crime, and trying to visit his aunt so she wouldn't be too lonely, he had absolutely no free time left. That train of thought brought him down, because he remembered that his break was ending soon and he would have to dive back into his studies. Spider-Man was probably going to get scarce again.

Wade was busy talking about how good this place's coffee was, and how they made all of the pastries and sandwiches there every morning, how they didn't have them shipped in like other places. Peter set a hand on his stomach, trying to calm his negative thoughts enough to smile for his date. His inability to eat what his body needed wasn't helping him from falling into bouts of depression. He'd been so anxious this morning about what to wear and what Wade would think of him that he hadn't had breakfast like he'd initially made time for. Now he was paying for that; he felt tired and nauseous. The heat had really pushed him, it seemed.

He eyed the menu while Wade rambled on, and saw that they had iced coffee. He tried to decide which of the flavors offered wouldn't be too sweet for him - too much sugar on an empty stomach tended to make him feel even worse off than if he just hadn't had anything in him at all. He pushed his glasses up before he pointed at the list. "Just a plain iced coffee for me," he said, and then he mentally calculated out how much he'd have left for a sandwich. Wade had been right: the prices were way better here. He reached into the refrigerated container and pulled out two ham and cheese sandwiches, and by the time he'd wandered back to the counter, he saw Wade taking out a twenty and handing it over. The brunet juggled the food into one hand so he could fish out his wallet, but Wade waved him off. "Don't worry about it, I'm paying," he said, and he winked at Peter. Without even looking at the change given to him, Wade dumped it all into the tip jar and walked over and threw himself down on the couch like he was right at home.

Peter's brain still hadn't caught up to that. He blinked three times and then glanced down at his wallet. As nice as that was, Peter felt guilt creeping up his back and resting in his gut. A side-effect of growing up poor, he was hyper-aware of other people spending money on him. He mathed it out, plus tax, and knew exactly how much he was going to pay Wade back. He made his way to the couch, which faced away from the rest of the shop, and sat down on the edge of the other side of it. He already knew that he was going to cut things off with Wade, had come to terms with it. He just didn't have the time to socialize, much less have a significant other, and it just felt beyond shitty to have Wade pay for his meal with Peter knowing this was their last date. "Here," he said, and he pulled out a ten. It was more than he owed, but it was about as much as it would have cost if they'd stayed at Starbucks.

Wade eyed the money and then looked up at Peter. He seemed to notice that something was off.

"You don't gotta. It's not like I'm strapped for cash."

Peter pursed his lips and was going to push it further but just gave up and lowered his wallet. The least he could do was make this date a good one for Wade. "Thank you, then," he said, and immediately started opening one of the sandwiches. He was already done with one of them by the time their coffee was done, and since they were the only customers in the place, the woman behind the counter brought them their drinks, setting them on the low table in front of them. Peter thanked her. Just before she left, she turned on the TV for them, and the news was on, having yet another story trying to show Pokémon Go in a bad light. Apparently people were being disrespectful of the World War II monuments and Holocaust Museum. Peter frowned as he took a bite of his second sandwich.

"People are gonna be assholes with or without some dumb app," Wade said, and he sounded annoyed. "Remember Justin Bieber saying that Anne Frank would have been a fan of his? It's not Pokémon that's making people shitty."

Peter nodded. He'd actually forgotten about that. Once again he was struck by familiarity, but also that… maybe he wouldn't have to break up with Wade. The guy seemed pretty understanding, and what if Peter telling him there wouldn't be a second date just destroyed what confidence he had? The 'it's not you, it's me' likely wouldn't go over very well - Peter wondered how many times people have used it on Wade.

"The company's really small so it'd take a while, but they're probably going to eventually make the Pokéstops and Gyms be an opt-in or opt-out deal," Peter said. Just thinking that he would say yes to a second date had raised his spirits. Obviously that meant a lot.

"Speaking of…" Wade pulled out his phone and grinned, casting a look at Peter. "There's a Mystic Gym within range. Wanna take it on?"

The question was so ridiculous that Peter smiled around his mouthful. He swallowed and then cocked his head. "Why not?"

They were on different teams, but they could still both knock down the Gym's prestige points until one of them was able to become the Gym Leader. Peter set his food down on the table, neatly on the wrapping it had come in, and got out his phone. There was a childlike joy filling him right now - his elementary-school self was going ballistic.

Together, they repeatedly took out the Exeggutor and Snorlax until the Gym turned silver with no team owning it. "Would you like to do the honors?" Wade asked, and he sounded so pompous right then. Peter was surprised that someone from team Valor was actually giving someone from Instinct a chance to run the Gym. But Peter shook his head. Even though his Arcanine was his strongest, it would be annihilated within a minute.

"Nah. I don't have anything really worth putting up," he said, and he was… actually really enjoying this. Even though they'd hit a few bumps and he himself had fallen down into some pretty lame thoughts and poorly planned too-early decisions, it seemed like this date was going to be successful.

That is, until Peter looked down at his phone and felt his blood run cold as ice as he saw the name of the new Gym Leader was 'Dealpood'.