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Everything felt so out of place as he got slung through this weird "room" it was just a flash of it that passed, but it looked like a network of portals to him, the blast from Doom's machine slung him through this place at high speed till he fell. He crashed down on a roof, the familiar sounds of New York city filled his ears after the numbing silence from the blast started fading, his ears were ringing and the sounds of the street were pretty mute, but it sounded like home to Peter Benjamin Parker.
He groaned as he got up slowly, the smack on the roof would leave him with some bruises, he looked around and frowned, the skyline was off, just a little, it looked pretty legit, apart from the fact that some of the buildings were placed differently, the Oscorp tower wasn't there either and there were construction cranes on different places, then he remembered from this morning.
He sat down on the edge of the roof, watching the city confused as the whistling in his ears faded slowly he tried to organize his mind. He'd have gone with The Fantastic Four on a mission to stop Doom's plan of sending Doom bots into the Nexus of all realities, since Doom seemed to have been able to use his knowledge of the Arcane and science to make a portal. What happened after that was a blur, he recalled using his own knowledge to try and shortcut the machine while Reed had been busy before Johnny had started yelling something and his spider senses had started going nuts, next thing he knew he was being slung through the nexus he guessed now. He got snapped out of his focus by a scream, it took him a while before he realized what the voice was screaming.
"He's going to jump, someone call 911!"
He looked around checking for a jumper, before realizing the people on the street were gawking at him. After all he was sitting and now standing on the edge of an apartment building's roof. He backed away from the edge at once and scrapped his throat.
"I am okay, I am not a jumper! I was taking a picture and enjoying the view!"
He looked for a fire escape and climbed down, using an alley to get away, not wanting to deal with a crowd, especially not since he didn't have his street clothes with him and if he was in a different reality there was no guarantee that he was a hero here. He needed to stay low on the radar till he knew more about this reality and he'd have to hope that Reed found a way to get him home.
He stole some clothes from a wash line along the way, he had little choice so he put on the baggy jeans and hoody he had managed to get his hands on and stuffed his mask and gloves in the hoody. He was in a strange reality, with no money, no papers and no idea how the world worked. During his theft of the clothes he had also come to the conclusion that his web shooters didn't work anymore, were it due to the blast or something to do with this reality he didn't know and he hoped he wouldn't be here long enough to find out.
He went into a few stores asking if he could help out some in the back or something for a bit of money, he made up a stupid lie saying he was a tourist who got mugged and it worked out eventually in a comic store. They had just laid of an employee and needed someone to sort the comics, if he could do that for them he'd get a bit of money, it wasn't much, but he was sure it be enough to keep him fed while he waited for Reed to get him out of here.
He was quiet shocked though when he started with the first boxes of second hand comics, he was staring at a cover that had himself on it getting his ass kicked by Electro, The Amazing Spider-man #17 it said on the cover, the issue was quiet worn, like someone had read it a hundred times. As he went through the boxes labeled Marvel he came across stories of a lot of people he had met, or at least heard of. He started sorting through them and looked at them in awe and confusion.
In this world they were nothing more than fantasy, it irked him, made him feel extremely watched and changeable, because were those people who wrote this seeing in their world somehow? Or was their world nothing more than creations in their heads. It was something that gave him a major headache just thinking about it. He browsed through some of his own comics and found them to be very accurate, not fully as he remembered or lived things, but they came very close.
He got some money for the work he did and got some food with it, returning to the roof he came on and sat there calmly, leaning back against one of the air vents as he ate, he dozed off after a while, only to wake up with the morning sun, getting himself some breakfast before returning to the store, he came across some comics from different suppliers then this Marvel as well, the biggest brand seemed to be called DC and it had some stories he found similar to the Marvel ones, there were smaller brands with some fun comics to, he wondered if all of these people existed somewhere to, but he shook it off his mind.
He repeated this pattern for several days before starting to actually read some of the comics, during his moments he was relaxing, he found them interesting, but a lot of the stories of his friends he had already heard or even participated in. He looked around and bit his lip as he looked at the Deadpool comics, he had met Wade several times, he was mad, annoying as hell and a murderer, but somehow he never had gotten himself to completely look down on Wade. He had always told himself it was because he didn't know him well enough to judge, but since his own comics had seemed rather accurate at first glance, wouldn't Wade's be as well?
He went through the boxes, keeping the unsellable copies of the Deadpool comics separate, after a while he gathered up the courage to ask the manager if he could keep them. The man looked at the amount of boxes he had been through. He got paid per box and he had sorted quite a few since he had come to this weird reality.
"Sure son, you can have them, I hope you'll enjoy them."
"Thanks, Mr. Jensen"
"Say son, where have you been staying since you got robbed?"
"…I have been camping out on a shielded roof…"
The man placed his hand on his shoulder in a fatherly manner, they hadn't really spoken since he got here, except for the regular weather and comic chats, but the man really was kind. He had helped him out a lot and had brought meals from his wife with him for lunch always having extra for him.
"Have you managed to contact anyone to go home?"
"I left a message, but it seems to be difficult for them to get here…"
"How about you come stay at my place then, my son is at college, so his room is available at the moment?"
"Really? That would be a big help, I'll help around the house of course."
"Hey, I couldn't let a kid like you sleep on the streets, it's dangerous at night."
Peter couldn't help but grin sheepishly at that and he nodded gratefully at the owner of the store, before diving back in the boxes, sorting them and adding some more worn down comics to the Deadpool pile, putting them in a bag as he was getting ready for his lunch break.
"I am going for a walk stretch my legs, I'll be back in a bit okay?"
"Sure kid, watch yourself out there."
He went out and bought a spray paint can, going to the roof he landed on and spray painted the fantastic four logo on the vent, before taping a note with the comic store address in the vent. He walked back to the store sitting down for lunch with Mr. Jensen.
The room was cozy, it reminded him of his old room with aunt May, he shook the memory and looked at the pile of Deadpool comics he had gathered, he hadn't read any yet, it felt kind of like intruding, the other heroes talked freely about their adventures, Deadpool would be super cryptic when talking about anything when they'd team up. He didn't trust Deadpool fully, but Wade Wilson sure saved his hide several times in the past already.
"It's almost like picking up his dairies…"
He rubbed his head and groaned slightly, curiosity ripe in his mind, his need to once and for all judge what Deadpool was finally outweighed his moral objections. He picked up the comics and started reading, till he fell asleep with one of them on his face, stirring faintly in his sleep, falling out of his bed when he got woken by a knock on the door.
"Peter, breakfast is ready if you want…"
"Thank you!"
He groaned as he got out of bed, putting on his spider shirt from his suit with the jeans he now had a belt for, his pay didn't allow for a lot of shopping, but he did manage to buy some extra underwear and a belt. He also quickly discovered that wearing his shirt wouldn't give anything away, because a lot of fans of his comics wore replicas of his clothing. It was kind of flattering in a weird way.
He smiled as he joined the family at the breakfast, they reminded him of Aunt May and Uncle Ben, it pulled his heartstrings a bit, but it warmed him as well, they were a nice couple who took him in while he had nothing. He just hoped he wouldn't be intruding for too much longer, he missed home.
He spend most of the day helping the couple by cleaning the yard, he pulled the weeds and mowed the lawn. After all it was the least he could do to repay them. He was grateful for his reflexes and spider sense when he caught Jake Jensen falling of the ladder as he had been cleaning out the gutter edges of the roof. He put the shivering Jake down carefully.
"How about I'll do that hu?"
He smiled warmly at Jake who was still trembling from shock and nodded, sitting down in the grass as he calmed down from the shock, watching as he climbed up the ladder and sat on the roof edge, cleaning the gutter out while holding onto the roof with his powers.
He took of his shirt after a while, since he was feeling the heat from the sun and working and got down when he was done, excepting the lemonade he got offered. He enjoyed the day and when the yard was done he sat down in the sun to read some more comics till it was time for dinner.
He found himself laughing at Wade's humor, especially with the text boxes, he found himself holding his breath at times and whipping away tears that he'd swear was dust in his eyes. Wade was far from perfect, these comics proved that once again, but he could also see what Wade had gone through, he didn't talk about it to anyone, but Peter knew now and he couldn't help but ache for wade's suffering.
He had settled into this new life by now. he had managed to get some paper work for himself and get hired officially in the shop in this time, months had passed by now and the family had taken him in as one of their own. He found himself visiting the roof less and less, he still missed home, but he got used to life as it was. He had tried being a hero in this world for a while, but he found things way too different and the reactions were even more hostile then they had been in the very start when he started out in his reality, his powers also were there, but a lot less reliable then they had been in his world.
He found himself reading the Deadpool comics when he wasn't helping out the Jensen's around the house or shop. Slowly he was enjoying the crazy adventures of the merc that had always annoyed him so much. The killing in the comics bothered him, he didn't approve of Wade's violent nature, but he had come to understand it.
The many subtexts in the comics had captured his attention obviously and he had to read some of the comics several times to fully catch all the dimensions of what was going on with Wade. He found himself dreaming about the merc some nights, sometimes having nightmares about the things he had read that had happened to this merc that never seemed to shut his yap.
Some dreams were of a different more personal nature which he blamed on discovering a site called tumblr where there were some… interesting ideas about the two of them. Those stories reminded him of a remark Wade had once made when he had been stuck with him again, having the merc on his back as he climbed a building he had said "You know, if the internet could see the two of us like this it would have fits." after a sneered "What are you prattling about?" from himself Wade had remarked they must visit different websites.
He had watched some of the more innocent pieces and had been amused by them, but when he had looked deeper he had decided to stop altogether due to nature of the pieces. They had left him a bit… agitated… yeah agitated…that was the emotion…he figured anyway.
Truth be told he had found his view on Wade had changed a lot, in the start he had kept his distrust as he read about Wade's days as a merc, but as he had continued reading and learned how Wade had been made to the man he was now he had felt pity at first, but that hadn't felt quiet right, he had found a deeper understanding for Wade. As he had read more of the different series Wade was in he had come to see he really was a good guy at heart, sure he had a pretty flexible code of honor, but he would rather die himself then hurt a kid, he stuck up for his friends even if he knew they'd mostly use him and stab him in the back later.
He had also come to realize Wade had a big list of issues, mostly being his own self loathing, this guy really wouldn't allow himself a break, even when he seemed happy at some times, he always had this suicidal self destructive underlying demeanor. He didn't seem to think himself worthy of any love or praise for what he did. The mouthy demeanor of the merc was just a mask, a big disguise to hide what was going on inside the man's head and heart and for some reason Peter found himself wanting to understand Wade even more.
He was reading his favorite comic as the bell of the store door went, closing the book calmly as he looked up.
"Hey there, what ca-"
He stopped talking as he looked at the man that came in, a red hoody, baggy black pants, combat boots and sunglasses even though it was a cloudy day, his hands in his pockets as a grin crept on the scared face.
"Yo Petey, I came to take you home"
"Wade? … How? Why you?"
"They asked me, dimension hopping is my specialty"
"Took you long enough"
"Plenty of possibilities to go through you know…"
He huffed and got up watching the merc with an annoyed scowl crossing his arms over his chest before letting out a defeated sight. As he gestured around him calmly.
"Can you wait till the boss comes back? We'll leave tonight…"
"Fine, fine…"
His "savior" took a seat and looked at the content of the store casually for a moment, a slight grin playing on his lips again in a knowing manner, that managed to both piss Peter of as well as making him painfully aware of his backpack with Deadpool comics that he scooted under the counter.
The silence between Wade and himself was deafening, so he turned on the radio as he put his comic from the counter in his pack as well and zipped it close before Wade could peak in it. He fumbled slightly and wished more then ever that it had been Johnny or Reed who had come to get him.
"So Wade, want a cola or something?"
"Sure, give me some caffeine Baby boy that's a great idea."
The smirk on the man's face really annoyed him, but he wondered what was playing in Wade's head, but he wasn't going to bring that knowledge up so he just tossed Wade a can of Coca Cola from the mini fridge under the counter.
"How much time passed…over there?"
"About a week…"
"It's been 5 months here…"
"Time is a funny thing, it runs different in different worlds or realities."
Peter nodded and drank some of his own can of coke and leant back on his chair calmly watching the relaxed merc before him, he couldn't help but wonder if Wade had visited this world before it would explain some of the statements he made.
"Have you been here before Wade?"
"Maybe, but I know about these things from the very start…"
He gestured at the comics and leant back relaxed as well, he wanted to ask further, but he didn't want to know as well, it was such a mind blowing situations, he felt crazy for having this knowledge, no wonder everyone had always called Wade crazy for the way he acted and the statements he made.
The door opened again after a while and it was Mr. Jensen who came in and looked at Wade confused and shocked at the visible scarred tissue. Peter smiled at him and scrapped his throat nervously, wringing his hands slightly since he had no idea how to explain this.
"Hello sir, I am Wade, Petey's boyfriend, I am sorry I didn't come to pick him up sooner, but I had an accident as you can see it took a lot of healing, I hope he didn't cause you any trouble?"
He turned a deep red at that, he was so going to smack Wade for that later, but he scrapped his throat again and tried to stay calm as he bit his lip for a moment watching the shocked Mr. Jensen.
"We'll be traveling home tonight we have a night flight…"
Peter smiled weakly at the man who looked between them a few times, for obvious reasons he seemed very suspicious about Wade, Peter couldn't exactly blame the man, Wade looked far from trustworthy and he had just announced himself his boyfriend.
"Very well then, you should go get your stuff at the house then and tell Monica we have a guest for dinner, she'll cook a nice goodbye dinner…"
"Thanks Jake, I'll do that…"
He smiled at the man and got up grabbing his bag and gestured Wade to follow as he left the store smacked the merc when they were out of sight from the store. Glaring him down annoyed even though he still had the blush on his face.
"You're not my boyfriend."
He sat at the table with the family, eating silently while Wade ate and talked to the Jensens, he seemed very amused by some of the stories and he told some of the stupid situations they had been in together in the past, telling them without talking about the superheroes part of course.
Peter felt like he could sink through the ground and just staid silent most of it, kicking Wade against his shins when he crossed the line a few times. The family that had taken him in seemed more at ease with him leaving with Wade though, Wade's cheerful banter seemed to have won them over.
"Well kiddo take good care of yourself and you big guy, don't you dare break this kid's heart, he's golden so you better treat him right."
"Of course Mr. Jensen, I wouldn't dare to violate your trust."
Peter mumbled a goodbye as he carried his stuff in a gym bag as he went with Wade walking back into town, supposedly to the bus stop, but they climbed up the roof in silence while Peter bit his lip. He watched silently for the most part as Wade configured his teleporter.
"Hey Wade…when we're back…you owe me a date for claiming that you're my boyfriend."
"Sure baby boy, we'll go on a hundred dates if I get to call you that again."
Before he could respond the merc pulled him close to him and activated the device, making the roof disappear as they held tight to each other.