Chapter Text
Peter was walking home from the park with Lilo when he overheard an odd disturbance in an alley he was approaching. It was loud enough he was sure anybody could have heard it, but everyone around him simply kept on their own paths.
He stopped in front of the alley's opening to peer inside.
Despite having left the spider suit behind, he still had enhanced abilities and had no concerns about his personal safety.
A crook he'd put in jail several years ago for carjacking was pressed up against the wall by a tall man covered in a red and black suit. Peter spotted the guns at his sides and the katanas strapped to his back and took a cautious step back.
He watched, at first, to understand what was going on, but it seemed he'd already interrupted the moment.
"Come on, man, I just wann-" The man turned his face towards him, the white eyes on his red mask widening. "O. M. G. That dog is so cute!"
He let go of the crook who hastily ran off toward the other end of the alley and disappeared around the corner.
The masked man approached him, pulling a glove off revealing a scarred hand. His voice was a low timber with a heightened pitch from excitement, "Please tell me I can pet the dog, please, please, please."
"Um. Yeah. Sure." Peter froze and stared as the man bent down in front of Lilo and scratched behind her ears in a way that had her tongue sticking out of her mouth.
Peter trusted a dog's instincts and if she had no concerns, he wasn't worried about the strange man giving her a pet, but the crazy amount of weapons was still a huge red flag on the this is bad meter.
"My name's Deadpool. Well, it's Wade, actually, but with the mask on it's Deadpool. Puts a lot more fear in men's hearts than 'Wade'. Your dog is cute."
"So you've said."
The man, Wade apparently, stood and slipped on his glove. Peter was pretty sure there was a grin under his mask. "No need to be jealous, you're plenty cute yourself."
Peter had nothing to say to that comment and simply pointed down the road, "I should, uh. I gotta go. Bye."
He walked away and ignored his cry of, "hate to see you leave, but love to watch you go!"
A few buildings down, he pulled out his phone and called the person on his second speed dial option. It rang twice.
"What's up, kiddo?"
"Hey, Mr. Stark. Dunno what to make of this, but thought you'd want to know. On Twelfth Avenue, next to the laundromat close to Bush Street, there was this guy in a costume and he had a bunch of weapons on him. He didn't look like he was going to hurt anyone, but... Actually, it did look like he was threatening this other guy before he ran off."
"Can you describe him to me?"
"Um, he's tall. He was wearing this red and black costume with a mask. He had guns and swords on him and his hand was scarred. Like maybe fire burns? I'm not sure. Oh, he said he was called Deadpool. Or Wade."
"Could have started with that, Peter," Tony chuckled, "Alright, I know who that asshole is. I'll take care of it, just make your way home."
"Is he a threat? He was really nice to Lilo."
"Forget you ever even met him. And Pete, I mean it, okay? Just come home."
"Alright, alright, be there in a bit."
He was living at the Tower permanently now while going to college three days out of the week. After graduating from high school with honors, MIT was more than happy to have him even if it was as a part-time student. He was on a condensed schedule that worked for him, even managing to slip in extra classes that could be done from home.
Lilo guided them back and they rode the elevator up to their floor. He set her leash aside and wandered to the kitchen for a snack. They'd gotten better at keeping the fridge stocked and he was able to make himself a ham and cheese sandwich that he ate in front of the tv with Lilo laying by his feet.
He was planning on doing homework, but the moment he stood to get his bag, outside the window he saw one of the Iron Man suits flying toward the building with the costumed man in its arms. That was obviously the more interesting thing happening and ignoring his work and Tony's earlier words, he took the elevator up to where he knew the suit would land.
The doors opened and he wandered down the hall. He could already hear Tony speaking with Deadpool and listened in.
"For some reason, there isn't an arrest warrant out for you, but that doesn't mean I have to tolerate you being in this city."
"I won't be here long, pinky promise. I just need to find someone and then I'll be out of your hair."
"Not happening. You're outta here now."
Peter opened the door and poked his head inside. They were in an open hangar where a few of the Iron Legion suits were encased in the walls waiting for some otherworldly disaster. Or to save Peter's ass when Tony wasn't around to do it himself. Whichever happened first.
"That better not be you, Peter!" Tony called out without turning around towards the door.
Wade spotted him over Tony's shoulder and waved enthusiastically, "Hello cuties! Long time no see."
He approached them and Lilo bounded ahead to get a pet from Tony who was her second favourite human after Peter because he would sneak her food under the table and give her extra treats if she took good care of her master.
"Unless you need something, you're to go back to our floor. I don't want you within 50 feet of this idiot."
Peter returned Wade's wave because he apparently wouldn't stop until he did, and asked, "But why?" He stopped next to Tony and stared at the stranger.
There was something oddly endearing about him, though Peter couldn't quite put his finger on it. Maybe it was the unrestrained excitement or the blatant flirting, and aside from the weapons on his person, he couldn't see a reason to be that worried about him.
"Peter," Tony said his name as a warning and didn't add anything to it.
"Can I pet the doggo?" Wade asked, already pulling off a glove.
"Sure," with a gesture from Peter, Lilo went closer to him to be pet some more.
Wade crouched down and gave her a very thorough petting, and Peter smiled warmly at the sight.
He didn't notice Tony's frown.
"Alright, alright, that's enough. You're leaving. One of the suits is going to drop you off in New Jersey and then you go West from there. I don't care where you go, just make sure it isn't anywhere near here. Understood? Good. Glad we're on the same page. Friday?"
"Yes, Boss."
One of the cases on the wall opened and a suit flew out.
"Oh, come on! Don't be a dick," Wade stood up and slipped on his glove, "Just give me a few days!"
"What are you looking for?" Peter asked curiously.
"Nothing you need to worry about, Petey," Wade deflected the question and there was no room for further conversation as the suit landed behind him, picked him up beneath the armpits, and carried him out of the open hangar. "Bye bye, Petey-pie!"
By the time he started cursing out Iron Man for 'ruining his fun', he was too far for Tony to hear. Peter ignored it in favour of turning an innocent smile towards Tony. He, in turn, stared back completely unimpressed.
"Really, Peter? You had to come up here?"
"I was curious!"
"Sure. Would you like a hundred reasons why you need to stay away from Deadpool? Because I think you need a list. Let's start with..." Tony wrapped an arm around his shoulders and started guiding them back down to their floor. In the meantime, he pulled out his phone in his other hand and Wade Winston Wilson's profile lept out from the screen. "He's clinically insane. Has an arrest warrant out for him in 37 countries, none ours for some reason. Carries around live grenades because he wants to. He literally gets paid to murder people."
Peter read the screen, which was scrolling through a list of people that Deadpool had apparently killed, and unhelpfully pointed out, "Those guys are from that child trafficking ring in Singapore that was taken down, aren't they?" He remembered the story; a few dozen men found murdered in an office building, bullet wounds and body parts strewn about.
"Yes, but that's not the point."
Having seen Deadpool in person, it made a lot of sense that he'd been the person behind the massacre.
Spider-Man had never killed, and Peter Parker didn't believe in that, but the Avengers weren't guilt-free themselves and there was a difference between going after the innocent for fun or taking out horrible people because no one else would.
He'd never tell Wade that what he'd done was right, but neither would he judge him solely on it.
"On top of all that, he's too old for you."
"Mr. Stark!"
It wasn't that easy getting rid of Deadpool. A couple of days later, while taking Lilo out for her walk, Peter found himself face to face with the masked vigilante once more. He jumped off a building next to him and landed face first on the asphalt, but it caught his attention well enough.
Peter helped him stand and watched in morbid fascination as his broken legs reset themselves instantly.
"Um."
"Daddy Stark didn't tell you? Got me a wicked healing factor."
"Oh. That wasn't on the list." Wade's head tilted in confusion and Peter moved on quickly, "Are you alright?"
"Yup! Fine and dandy. Was hoping to drop in on your fine self."
"Really?" Peter tried not to be flattered by the weird stalkerish nature of that and asked, "How did you know I'd be here?"
"This is where you were last time."
"Oh. Right." Looking up at the nearest street sign, that was, in fact, true, "Mr. Stark won't be happy to know you're still in New York."
"Are you gonna out me again, Petey-pie?"
"It's Peter. And I don't see why I shouldn't."
"Pretty please with a cherry on top?" Wade placed his hands in front of his chest in a praying gesture, "I promise to behave."
"Well... why were you looking for me?"
"My first lead was a dud, so I was hoping to eat out my feelings with food from a grease pit and thought, you know who looks like they'd enjoy eating garbage? Petey does. So, how about it?"
He stared at him for a moment and then smartly said, "I, uh, don't have any money on me. Not that I have any money at all. My net-worth is negative 5 dollars because my friend bought me a burger the other day."
The mask blinked, which was really weird seeing even though Peter knew the Spider suit did the same thing.
"Isn't your dad a bazillionaire?" He asked sounding genuinely curious.
"My dad's dead," Peter said, again lacking any brain to mouth filter. Well, if Wade was asking him out on a date he was definitely about to change his mind about it.
"Wow, didn't know you could be that harsh. What did he do? I mean, he can be a bit of a dick but you two looked pretty cozy the other day."
It clicked.
"Oh! No, Mr. Stark isn't my dad-"
"I thought it was weird you called him Mr. Stark-"
"He's like, my mentor. It's complicated. Um. Anyway."
"My treat. Me, you, doggo, and disgustingly greasy pizza. What do you say?"
Peter smiled softly, "Sure, that sounds fun. But, um," he waved at Lilo. She wasn't wearing the vest that identified her as a service animal; he rarely had her wear it since that information felt personal, and he had the identification card in his dusty wallet, but that wasn't something he thought Wade needed to know right now.
To anyone else, she was just his dog.
"People don't tend to ask questions when I'm around." Wade started walking down the street and Peter and Lilo followed. They were headed to a part of town he never went to out of the suit for obvious reasons, but everyone steered clear of the man with the swords and Peter felt safe.
"I feel like people would have more questions when you're around."
Wade laughed. They chatted all the way to the little hole in the wall that served them a large pizza that soaked through the box it came in. No one looked twice in their direction and Lilo sat next to his feet. He gave her a piece of crust beneath the table. He was a little surprised that there wasn't anyone in the room he'd had a hand in getting arrested.
He had a pretty good memory for criminal faces
When Wade lifted his mask up to his nose to eat, he spotted the same scars that littered his hands over the rest of the visible skin. He didn't ask about it and it wasn't shared.
They talked about nothing important, video games and movies, celebrities and memes. Tony might have an aneurism to know how much they had in common.
It was still the middle of the day and the sun was bright outside, Peter was comfortable and a little enamoured. Lilo seemed to feel the same, tail wagging and hitting the side of his chair at the sound of Wade's laughter. Unfortunately, in his comfort, he'd forgotten to tell an overprotective someone he'd be home a little later than expected.
His phone rang and he fumbled to pull it out of his pocket. Of course it would be Tony, who had expected him home a half hour ago.
"Hello!" He greeted cheerfully. Wade mimed zipping his mouth shut and throwing away the key.
"What the hell are you doing all the way out there? I'm sending Happy to pick you up, try not to get stabbed in the meantime."
"What? No, I'm fine! I'm having lunch."
"Lunch? Peter, that area is a nesting ground for crime and I know you know that."
"Relax, Mr. Stark, I'm finishing up and then I'll be on my way home. Lilo's with me, I'll be safe."
"Do we need to have another lesson on personal safety?"
Peter rolled his eyes, "I'll see you later. Bye!"
He hung up before Tony could say anything further.
Wade laughed, "You sure he's not your dad?"
He shook his head and smiled, "He definitely acts like it sometimes, but he just cares, that's all."
"Suuure."
"Shut up," Peter said, "Now, are you going to tell me what's so important in New York that you just can't keep away?"
"Can't tell the Iron Douche, okay? I know he has the info I'm looking for but he'll never give it to me and I don't want him trying to stop me. That'd be an exhausting detour."
"As long as you aren't looking to hurt anybody, I can keep a secret."
"Alright, I suppose with a face like that I gotta trust you. I'm looking for Spider-Man."
Peter was really glad he wasn't eating or drinking his soda, as he would have definitely either choked or spat it out in shock. His lips parted and all he could say was, "Ah." He couldn't absorb the information, stuck on the name 'Spider-Man' coming out of someone else's mouth for what felt like the first time in years. Two years, actually.
"And I know he's been MIA for a couple of years now, but his home base was always Queens so he's gotta be around here somewhere."
He managed to move his lips into another word, "Why?"
"Why? Well, Petey, where to start? Spider-Man is the pinnacle of superhero-dom. The creme de la creme, the cream of the crop. If I had to choose between Spider-Man and the Universe, I'd choose Spider-Man."
"Um, that doesn't really tell me why," Peter managed to say.
For Wade to flirt with regular, plain-old Peter, and then to show such admiration...? Adoration? For his superhero self was a lot to take in in one day. The slice of pizza he was holding loosely was dripping grease down his hand. He didn't notice.
Wade shifted, as if out of discomfort but Peter didn't know if he was capable of that feeling. He always seemed so assured about everything.
"It's a long story, but really I just wanted to meet him." He sounded hesitant and Peter decided not to push.
"I see, um, well, like you said. He's been missing for at least two years now, I really don't think you'll find him." The suit was growing dusty.
"I'm not known for giving up, cutie." Wade winked, "I'll find a way."
He couldn't think of anything else to say that didn't include outing himself and he remained silent. He drew the pizza to his mouth and took a bite.
"But just because I'm Spidey's number one fanboy doesn't mean you can't be my favourite too."
Not missing a chance to be a smartass, he spoke around his food, "I'm pretty sure the definition of a favourite states that there's only one."
"Awe, don't be jelly, Pumpkin. You might be my new favourite after date number three."
"Wade!" Peter hoped he wasn't blushing. He was definitely blushing. Wade winked and he kind of wanted to punch him and also kind of not.
"Well, daddy calls and midnight tolls, so let's get you home before you turn into a pumpkin."
"The carriage was the pumpkin, not Cinderella."
"Disney fan? Maybe you'll outrank Spidey before date number three after all."
"I'm leaving now." Peter stood, "Thanks for lunch."
"Can I walk you home? Or as close to home as I can get without being shot."
Peter laughed softly at the image that produced; Tony Stark cocking a shotgun and threatening Wade, Peter next to him begging him not to shoot in the typical daughter in distress style of 80s television. Shaking his head he dispelled the weird picture. He leaned down and picked up Lilo's leash. "Sure, but I can't promise you won't be shot."
"That's a chance I'm willing to take to make sure this cutie gets home safe." Wade bent down and pet her.
"Her name's Lilo, by the way. I don't think I told you."
"You never introduced yourself either," Wade pointed out. "Got your name from Daddy Stark."
"Please never call him that again. And I'm Peter Parker."
"Alliteration buddies. We're a match made in heaven." Wade rolled down his mask and stood. The two walked out of the dingy pizza place without anyone's eyes on them.
The invisibility that came with being with someone visibly dangerous was a unique experience; Peter wouldn't say he minded.
"I can't say I know much about Stark, but I never took him as someone that liked kids. When did you end up in the picture? I mean, you live with him, right?"
"I do. It's... complicated. I was, I guess I still am, his intern. I work with him on... things. Everything." He tried to explain but ended up repeating, "It's complicated."
"That's alright. I get daddy issues. And mommy issues. I have a lot of issues. I can understand a lot of things."
That was a worrying revelation, but from what he'd read of his profile, not particularly surprising.
They took the back alleys and roads back to the Tower, or a block away where Wade thought it safe to part from him. He gave Lilo a pet and when standing up straight stood a little too close for Peter's comfort.
"I, uh, should get going. I can already feel a lecture coming on and I don't want to make it worse." Peter looked up at him, knowing his cheeks were flushed and not paying it any mind. Wade smelt like gun powder and he kind of liked it.
"Sure, cutie. You go on in before you get grounded. But first," Wade pulled his phone out of one of his suit's many pockets, unlocked it, and held it out for Peter, "I don't mind waiting at that corner for you to show up, but planning a second date might be easier if I had your number."
Peter couldn't help the giggle that escaped. He took the phone, glittery pink with a Hello Kitty pop on the back, and input his phone number, texting himself quickly. He handed it back to Wade when he was finished.
"I'll see you later." He moved to the tip of his toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He waved and turned around, walking towards the Tower and forcing himself not to look back.
Ignoring Tony's lecture was particularly easy that day. He hoped he didn't know about Wade, but there was nothing to indicate he had any suspicions. There was no way he was going to tell him he was in the city, or that they'd had a date, or that Deadpool was looking for Spider-Man. That had bad news written all over it.