Dinner with his aunt was always a fun occasion and Peter talked about moving, the new temp job, thinking about maybe freelancing for SI, and he gave her his new address. May dutifully programmed it into her cellphone and also wrote it into her address book.

"It's good to hear you're doing fine, Peter. We rarely talked lately. You were always so busy."

"Sorry, Aunt May. The job market is bad and I keep trying to get something more permanent."

"The offer from SI sounds good."

He shrugged. "I'm thinking about it. It sounds good, but I don't have a steady income if I freelance. If I take the part-time job, too, I'm on the safe side."

But he would be dependent on Tony Stark's good graces. The man knew he was Spider-Man, and if Spider-Man stepped out of line in the Avengers' eyes, Peter Parker might find himself unemployed again.

Not that Peter thought Tony was that vindictive or unfair, but if Spider-Man and the Avengers went head to head, his civilian alter ego wouldn't be able to peacefully work for the man.

He really wished Wade was here to act as a sounding board. He wouldn't make the decision for Peter, but he did have some very good insights sometimes. And he usually managed to thwart off his existential crises.

"I only ever read about you," May suddenly said, scrubbing at an imaginary stain. "Like the fact that you have apparently partnered up with someone called Deadpool?"

Peter knew he was staring.

Wide-eyed, with a good goldfish impression going on.

His brain had stalled, then performed a spectacularly full crash, and was currently valiantly trying to reboot.

And failing.

May had… said… what?! He must have misheard. It hadn't sounded like she knew…

"Uh, what?" he stammered. "Who now?"

"I'm not stupid, Peter. I know you. I've seen you grow up since you were born. I baby-sat you. And then I raised you. You are like my own son. Did you really think you could hide something this massive in your life from me? When were you going to tell me about your secret life?"

"My, ah… huh?" he stuttered. "I don't have a… a secret life."

He was such a bad liar. Had always been. It was a small miracle he hadn't told everyone he was Spider-Man already.

May's expression was tinged with exasperation. "I might be growing old, but I'm not blind or can't add one and one."

"Aunt May…?"

"I know you are Spider-Man."

"I… what?! I mean I… no!"

She stood straight, eyes hard and unforgiving. "Don't try lying, Peter. I've known for a while now. I knew something was up right after Ben's death, but I didn't make the connection until later."

"You never said anything!" he blurted.

Okay, that was as good as a written confession, plus a photobook.

"And what would I have said? That I suspected you, my fifteen year old son, were Spider-Man? That you didn't trust me enough to tell me? Not even after graduation? Or after college?"

"It was never about trust!"

"Then what?" she asked quietly.

"I wanted to keep you safe!" Peter exclaimed.

"From what?"

"Everyone who was coming after me!"

"Me knowing who you are would have endangered me how, Peter?" she asked reasonably. "You never came here with your costume on. If one of those villains had unmasked you, they could have found out about your family anyway. Me knowing wouldn't have endangered me! I was worried one way or another."

She sounded so reasonable. So logical.

Now, in hindsight, it made no sense.

If his aunt had known about Spider-Man she wouldn't have been any more exposed than her not knowing. Peter had taken great care whenever he came home, before he had moved into his own place.

"I didn't want to worry you," he whispered.

"I always worried about you, Peter. School, college, the part-time jobs, trying to be the man in the house after your uncle died…"

Peter swallowed hard, that old pain rising again. It wasn't as cutting anymore, the scar no longer breaking open. But it hurt.

"Sorry?" he offered weakly. "Also, I really didn't know how to tell you. Maybe I was a little afraid."

May walked around the kitchen counter and drew him into a hug. Peter returned it almost desperately. His eyes stung a little.

"You should never be afraid to tell me anything, Peter. We are family. I'm so proud of the man you have become."

His eyes grew even more misty. "You did something right raising me."

May chuckled. "Just something? I think I did everything right. You grew up into a good man, Peter Parker. So, who is this Deadpool?" she asked abruptly.

Peter startled out of the hug, eyes wide. "Uh…"

His aunt gave him an amused, almost teasing smile. "Ah."

"It's not what you think!"

"Really, Peter?"

"Well, maybe it's what you think, but not like you think," he tried.

She gave her nephew a little push toward the couch. "Sit. Tell me everything."

Peter sighed and slumped into the cushions. Where to start? he thought.

"Peter?" May said calmly, voice soft. "Just start somewhere. Like where did you meet?"

He scrubbed a hand through his messy hair and laughed softly. "That's more complicated than you'd think."

But he started. From when Deadpool appeared in his life, to how they had become friends, to how he got to know the man behind the mask.

"He was injured, Aunt May," he added. "Very badly. In the past. He doesn't like to show his face, which is why he wears the mask. Not because of a secret identity."

She listened, nodding slowly. "Burns?" she hazarded a guess.

"Kinda."

Because Wade looked like a burn victim. Bad acid burns. Scars all over.

"He doesn't like to go out?"

He nodded. "Not without the mask, most of the time. And when he does, he hides his skin. There are a few places he openly shows his face, but those are rare. Actually, there's just one." Peter chewed on his lower lip.

May smiled softly. "I'm not going to ask you to bring him over for dinner, but I wouldn't mind having a guest."

"Not sure he would, even if I asked nicely."

She chuckled. "How nicely?"

Peter opened his mouth, then snapped it shut again, hot embarrassment fighting with denial. "It's… I mean…"

"I know what it is, Peter. Like I said, I might be old, but I'm not stupid. Do you love him?"

He knew he was turning into a tomato. His face felt hot.

"Uh, I… I do?"

Her smile expressed her amusement. "I think so, too."

"Uh, there's another thing, Aunt May… Wade's a preternatural."

"Oh." She sounded intrigued.

"He… before the accident…" Peter exhaled sharply. "I'm Spider-Man because of that spider bite. Wade was a hellhound, then something happened to him and he… he became something else, May."

She was silent, waiting for him to either expand or not.

"I'm not sure it's my decision to make, to talk about his past, I mean," Peter finally said. "What he went through killed the preternatural part, left him with something new, something that… no one really knows anything about. It made him Deadpool, but he's so much more."

She nodded. "I understand. Should he ever want to come here, I believe it's best to leave the story to him."

He gave his aunt a relieved smile. May squeezed his hand.

"Have the two of you bonded?" she asked instead, catching him completely off guard again.

Peter had known his aunt for most of his life, but she still managed to do that. He was probably staring at her like a lunatic.

May chuckled. "Oh, you have. Then I know it's a good relationship."

"Uh, you…do… I mean… really?"

She nodded. "Yes. Preternatural bonds are mutual, based on compatibility. Don't look at me like that, Peter. I went to college once, too. I'm also a nurse and sometimes we have a preter or super. New York City has an unusually high population of them, as well as mutants. I'm not unaware of the world outside my window."

"I never said…" He broke off, knowing he had lost.

"Should he want to come one day, he is always welcome. And if he wants to wear his mask, tell him I don't mind, Peter. I'd love to meet him, but I also respect that he doesn't want to show himself to everyone."

Peter hugged her then. "Thank you, May. Thank you so much. I love you."

"I love you, too, Peter. You're my boy. I want you happy. Deadpool makes you happy."

He did.

SDSDSD

Peter left with a large bag of leftovers and ready-to-nuke meals Aunt May had insisted he take. She had apparently cooked for a small army.

She handed him a printed page with her cell and home number, as well as her email.

"Give it to Wade. I'd love to hear from him."

He gave her a kiss, thankful for her acceptance and open-mindedness.

"Can't promise you that he'll take you up on that offer."

"I don't have a problem with it. Have a safe trip home."

SD

Peter was glad they had such a large freezer and fridge when he finally got home.

SDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSD

Peter had a lot of time to think about things, in between kicking bad guy ass into jail. Some encounters left him bruised and battered, others had him treat a cracked rib or a few cuts.

Deadpool dropped in the one night he wasn't patrolling. Peter had taken out his laptop and settled down cross-legged on a low, wide window sill that he had used for just that often before. The window gave him a nice view of New York at night, hiding him because of the depth, as well as the darkness. He hadn't switched on the lights.

"Honey, I'm home!"

Peter chuckled as Deadpool skipped into the apartment, looking chipper, and he closed the laptop. He had been going over Tony's proposition for a freelance contract and he had yet to come to a decision.

"Miss me, Spideybabe?" Deadpool sang. "Because I sure did miss you." He looked around. "I hope I got the right timeline this time. This is always so confusing. No idea how the X-chaps do it, with their variations and all those nifty little plotlines, but I'm not even sure I'm in the right universe."

The connection between them hummed with pleasure and warmth.

"Hey," Peter replied, ignoring the rush of words.

Deadpool inhaled sharply all of a sudden and the chimera's presence was almost overwhelming now.

"Oh, right universe," he whispered, sounding almost awed.

"I hope so. I wouldn't want to think of more than one of you bonded to me."

"Not going to share," was the sharp growl. "Ever! Not even with myself. As fun as a Deadpool-Spidey sandwich sounds…. Spideypool sandwich! This week's special! But I'd rather shoot myself than share you with any kind of alternate me. Ever!"

Peter got up lithely, standing on the window sill, towering over the other man.

Deadpool wrapped his arms around the strong thighs and buried his face into Peter's crotch with a happy croon. Peter burst out laughing.

"Wade!"

"Yeah, I missed this. So, so much! There was just me, a bunch of hard-ass ass-hats who had no clue about the business they were in, my hand, not enough lube, and long, lonely nights spent kicking even harder ass. And some not so hard ass. Maybe boobies, too. Those twins had some rad ninja skills! So how was your work day, baby?"

Peter knelt down, Deadpool's grip on his thighs loosening, and he wrapped his arms around the masked head, pressing his lips against the thick material.

"Missed you," he murmured.

Inside him, that place where he felt the bond flare, the chimera seemed to stretch toward him, all darkness and no light. It enveloped him, searching, touching, wanting, and Peter shuddered a little.

"Can feel it," he whispered.

Deadpool made an affirmative sound.

Peter's fingers worked on the mask and finally managed to remove it, looking into the scarred face, into those deep brown eyes, and he knew Wade was feeling it, too.

There was so much to them, both men had yet to understand. There was no book for them to look up the answers.

"Fuck, I want you," Wade breathed.

"How can I say no to a man of such romantic words."

"I'll bring you all the hearts you want, Petey, but right now I just want to tear your clothes off and make you scream."

That went right through, down south, and Peter kissed the other man hard and fast. Wade went with the program just as quickly.

SD

They didn't even make it to the bed.

SD

"No hearts," Peter mumbled, lying on the rug. "Knowing you, they'd be real."

Wade hummed, sounding extremely pleased and happy.

Peter slapped him, his aim crap, but he did hit flesh.

"Ow," was the laughed reply.

"No hearts. Nothing at all."

"Okiedokie." Wade leaned over the younger man, claiming a kiss. "I'll just give it to you, if you get my drift. All the time, everywhere. Twenty-fucking-four-and-seven."

Peter pushed up against the scarred stomach, his semi-hard dick brushing over the roughness, making it twitch.

Making Wade twitch.

The chimera's eyes flashed silver.

"Think we can make it to the bed?" Peter asked, lips moving against lips.

"Not a chance, baby boy. Not a chance."

SD

It was like reaffirming their connection, their emotions. Everything. Wade looked into the hazel eyes, intense and deep and filled with such raw hunger for him, he wanted to sink his soul into Peter and stay there forever.

tbc...