Chapter Text
Two years, eleven months later
Fuck, okay, let’s get things straight—Wade could tell that maybe the man didn’t mind the kiss so much!!! At least he hoped so. It took him a second to lean into the kiss, of course, but he still did so! (barely). That didn’t change the fact that it was the most awkward kiss ever, couldn’t even be called that. It was an uncomfortable peck, the smash of their faces was brute and slightly painful, since Wade had thrown himself at this man, grabbing him by the cheeks to pull him in, his anxiety making his heart beat as loud as a drum.
What happened was that out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Vanessa, his best friend, walking toward him. What the hell was she doing here at this hour?! Vanessa definitely wouldn’t fall for this lie. The kiss must’ve looked so fake and stiff, and his friend was the furthest thing from a fool. She’d realize that he and the kiss dude weren’t on some romantic date. Well, at least until the kiss turned into something else—the man inhaled and tilted his head, managing to fit his lips with Wade’s more properly. And—those large hands that had been briefly on his hips moved up to his waist, pulling him in—not by much, but enough to make things better. Okay, his hands and body were warm, and Wade suddenly forgot about a lot of things. To his embarrassment, he realized he was actually enjoying this kiss with the random guy. Maybe he shouldn’t be, but a good kiss has that effect on anyone, right? Still, his whole body burned from the shame of it all. He hadn’t even had time to ask him, “Can I please kiss you?” in a whisper before locking lips with him! Wade had no business melting into this broad, tall man, but his body was acting on its own, and his hands found their way to the man’s jaw, then up to his hair—soft and thick—the air metaphorically kicked out of his lungs.
Fucks sake, he needed to snap out of it. He was sighing into the kiss, and that’s when he realized it was getting overwhelmingly too much. No, no, no, no, again, he shouldn’t be enjoying this, so he quickly pushed him away, breaking apart in an instant, frantically searching for Vanessa, who should’ve seen everything. Even though it was 11 p.m. and pretty dark, she was no longer nearby. Huh, maybe it worked? Vanessa had left. What a relief. But on the other hand, kiss dude was still standing in front of him. Wade quickly turned his head to get a better look at the guy he had kissed—his lips slightly parted, chest rising and falling slowly, gaze unfocused, and cheeks flushed. That was the moment Wade realized he was astronomically screwed. The enormity of what he had just done started to weigh on his conscience.
FUCK, FUCK, SHIT.
Of all the people in this stupid department, the person standing in front of him was none other than the damn Dr. Howlett. Seriously, what a shitty joke. Out of all the human beings at Stanford—Dr. Logan Howlett was openly known as the biggest son of a bitch.
Genuinely, it was no surprise. In academia, anyone in a position above graduate student level (Wade’s level, sadly) required some degree of assholery to assert respect or some shit like that. But Dr. Howlett was at the top of the pyramid. He was an exceptional man. Well, he’s never been Wade’s advisor, but the rumors ran wild, and Wade’s roommate, Ellie Phimister, had to scrap two lengthy research projects, pushing her graduation date even further. He was the same man who made Dopinder vomit from anxiety before an exam, the culprit behind half the students in the department delaying their theses or even dropping out of the program altogether... there were plenty of stories, you could sit down for a whole day while chatting about them.
Dr. Howlett was also brilliant, a young academic rock star and biology’s wunderkind, but that didn’t take away from the fact that he was rude and hypercritical. His personality showed in the way he carried himself. To everyone, he was a notoriously moody, obnoxious, terrifying dick, and Wade Wilson had just kissed him.
And now, he could do nothing but stare at him in disbelief. Wade could normally be described as loud and confident, but at that moment, he was at a loss for words. The other man's intense gaze was ridiculously intimidating, and the fact that he was a few inches taller only made it worse. He scowled before speaking up, “Did you . . . Did you just kiss me?” He sounded startled, breathy. His lips were full and plump and . . . God. Kissed. By him.
There was no getting out of this. Might as well have a little fun with it, so he replied smugly, “Nope,” faking confidence, of course, he was shitting himself.
And with that, Howlett nodded and proceeded to walk away. Wade was even more surprised as he seemed like a lost puppy. To his misfortune, he abruptly stopped and came back. “Are you sure?”
“Shit—listen, it’s not what it looks like,” Wade sighed and dramatically covered his face with his hands.
“Okay. Then what the hell is it?” He sounded slightly irritated, pinching the bridge of his nose. “The kiss. Explain it.”
Wade wished he had asked something easier to explain. Anyone else would have just called Wade a weirdo and moved on, but Logan Howlett didn’t have a single gram of empathy in his entire being. He’d never understand.
“Listen, I really don’t want to sound rude, but this is really none of your business.” Wade was trying to escape this, maybe acting like an idiot, but whatever.
Logan looked at him for a few seconds before sighing. “Yes. Of course.” His tone lost the surprise and was now normal, a bit dry. “I’ll just go back to my office and start my Title IX complaint.”
Good, this was finally over—wait. “Your WHAT now?” Geez, this guy.
“How can you not know? Title IX is a federal law that protects against sexual misconduct within academic settings.”
“I do know!”
“So, you’re just playin’ dumb?”
“No! I just didn’t assault you at all!!”
“You kissed me before asking for consent, in an academic setting. What’s so hard to understand?”
“But I did ask if I could kiss you!”
“And then did so without having a response from me.”
“What? You said yes.”
“Excuse me? You are trying to implant fake memories in my mind.”
Wade grunted and pouted out of frustration. “I thought I heard you say yes.”
“Did you really?” He grunted back, clearly mocking him, copying his expressions.
Wade raised his eyebrows and scrunched his nose, letting his imagination wander on murdering someone for the first time. Someone named Logan Howlett, or himself, or both.
“Listen, I’m sorry. I’m in a weird situation and needed help. Can we just forget this happened?”
Logan clearly studied his face for a moment. “Is there something wrong with you? Kissing strangers isn’t normal at all.”
Wade rolled his eyes. “There isn’t anything wrong. Please don’t file a complaint, you don’t even know my name.”
“I need to hear your reason to form an opinion. I can check the building scans to find your name. And most importantly, do you know how unsanitary this whole deal was? What if I had the flu and you started a pandemic on campus?”
“What are you even talking about?”
Logan shrugged. He was messing with Wade, who wasn’t having it. “So, there's this girl called Vanessa Carlysle,” Wade started explaining, accepting defeat. “She’s a graduate student who was passing by.” This is where the story got real childish for their ages, but Howlett was stone-cold, staring daggers into him. He probably wouldn’t move until hearing the whole thing, so he continued. “We dated for a while, some time ago, then we broke up. It was a mutual agreement, so we stayed close, besties if you must. But she avoids talking about crushes and things around me. She thinks I haven’t moved on completely, and I have!”
Wade reminisced about his time with Vanessa. It was short and sweet, but their friendship was stronger and slightly tainted by the breakup.
“Long story short, after we ended things, she hit it off with some guy—really good-looking and sweet—but she said no because she’s afraid of hurting my feelings and refuses to date until I’m ready to get out there too.”
Wade had accidentally eavesdropped on a conversation between Vanessa and Ellie, where she seemed so excited to be with someone new but was so concerned about him getting lonely or insecure. It’s dumb to him. He wasn’t some needy guy, but Ness was so sweet, his closest friend of all time, so a white lie couldn’t hurt.
“I just lied and told her that I was already dating someone else. That’s what I was supposed to be doing right now, but I used the free time to work on my project, and she wasn’t supposed to be here. I want her to have the good things she deserves, and I’m positive she would do the same for me and—” Wade was getting worked up, stopping himself from rambling further. Howlett couldn’t have cared less, judging by the nonchalant way he responded.
“Ah.” His expression was unreadable.
Crap. Wade’s mind started spinning, and he realized that maybe he had assaulted the poor guy, imagining consent and probably making him have an awkward moment. He’s a professor anyway, should be respected above everything.
What if he gets kicked out for this?
Crap. His pulse sped up, and he couldn’t calm down now.
“I’m really fucking sorry, Dr. Howlett. If you felt truly offended, then file the complaint, and again, I apologize for my inappropriate behavior,” the words came out rushed and breathy. “I’m going to leave now. Thanks for understanding, and sorry.” With that, Wade spun around quickly and sprinted down the hallway. He could hear Logan calling after him.
“Wade, wait!” like two times, but he couldn’t care less. His legs kept moving, sprinting down flights of stairs to exit the building quickly. He passed a lot of people on the street and didn’t stop to catch his breath until the doorknob of his apartment was near the palm of his hand. He made his way inside, and as soon as his back hit the mattress, he realized a lot of things. His lab mice and research had been totally ditched, just like his laptop and hoodie—he forgot to buy the snacks that Ellie liked as a gift too. What a fucking night.
Also, this totally never crossed Wade’s mind, but Dr. Logan Howlett—the fucker—called him by his name.