Chapter Text
Laura was listening to music with her headphones. She no longer had the pair she owned for a year, which was a personal record, but she liked the new pair that Wade had gotten her. It was one with cat ears, fitting for as he called it, "a gamer of the '20s". Laura knew the truth of why Wade had gotten them, though. He always compared her dad's cowlicks to cat ears, and if it wasn't for Logan's stubbornness, Wade would have gotten him that pair. Even though this wasn't something Laura would have picked out on her own, she liked it. She went from having one dead father, to two that cared for her despite not knowing her. Plus, the headphones matched her sunglasses.
It had been about three months since Laura returned to her timeline from the Void. In that time, she and Logan moved in with Wade. It was chaos for the first month. Wade normally lived alone with Al in a one-bedroom apartment. She took her room and he took her couch. Then, Logan got a mattress in the living room, and Laura got a cot in the kitchen. As much as Laura was happy to be close to her dad again, despite him not being her universe's dad, she much preferred to have her own space. The city was very overstimulating for someone who never really lived in one before. And with the chaos of four people cramped up in one apartment, things weren't much better at home. Luckily, though, Wade had some friends about Laura's age that lived nearby, and would offer for Laura to visit them. They had a guest bedroom and it unofficially became Laura's.
But after a while of searching, Wade and Logan found a new place. Laura was sad that Al would be on her own again. She was very nice, and loved having the company to watch TV with. But even she admitted that this wasn't the best setup. Wade had helped Al fill out a form to get extra disability money to cover her rent. He also promised that he would come help out if needed. And then, they moved to another apartment down the street. Now Laura had her own room, her own space. It felt nice.
"Laura! Food's here!"
Laura took off her headphones, making sure to turn them off to conserve the battery. She walked down the hall into the kitchen for dinner. Wade had tried making quesadillas, but as usual for him, he completely burnt them. So now they Uber Eats-ed some McDonald's instead. Wade had refused to get Taco Bell, claiming that it was for the washroom's sake. She sat at the table while Logan sliced the sealing from the bags.
"Eww!" Wade teased. "There's gotta be, like, a thousand superbugs on those claws. That's going on out food, you know?"
"Why does it matter? Everyone here can heal," Logan gruffed.
"Maybe I don't like the taste of metal mixing with my Happy Meal!" Wade quipped.
"I don't either," Laura admitted.
Logan defeatedly handled the contents of the bags with his hands, for Laura if not for Wade. Wade had gotten a burger Happy Meal, and was ecstatic to have received a Hot Wheels toy. He excitedly zoomed it across the table, ignoring his food. Logan had gotten a burger as well, while Laura had settled for some McNuggets. Unfortunately, though, whoever delivered the food wasn't too gentle, as some sauce from Wade's burger made it on to the McNuggets. Laura didn't notice at first, wolfing down her fries and the unscathed nuggets, but as soon as she took a bite out of the contaminated ones, a visceral recoil reflexively appeared on her face. Not wanting to make a big deal, though, Laura swallowed and washed it down with her drink.
But Wade noticed. "Everything okay, princess?"
"Yeah," Laura mumbled.
Logan narrowed his eyes. "Is it Wade's sauce? I got some on my food as well."
Laura gave a small nod. She didn't mean to be a fussy eater. In the lab, she was punished for this, and in the Void, she had to suck it up, ignoring her brain telling her no. Ignoring the disgusted expressions she had to repress to not be disrespectful to the people who took her in. Ignoring her throat trying to deny the wrong food from entering her stomach, and her mouth tingling from the wrong texture. Fussy eaters are brats, Laura had learned. It's rude to decline something that somebody had gone out of their way to offer or order. Laura was already messy at eating, she didn't want to be even more of a pain. With all those internalized thoughts, Laura tried not to let the tears building up in her eyes to be seen. Why was she so difficult?
Yet Laura knew the answer. After settling into Canada, Laura was taken to get diagnosed with autism. With her being autistic, the lack of socialization experienced in the lab as a child worsened her coping mechanisms. Luckily, her new home had helped her adjust, but she was taken from there into the Void. And with survival on the line, one didn't have the time to cope with sensory of social differences.
"I-" Laura stammered, trying to explain, "I can't eat some foods. They just feel... wrong. And it's not like I'm trying to be a pain! My brain, it just refuses."
Wade and Logan nodded. There was a long, awkward, terrifying silence before Logan spoke up. "You can have some of my fries if you give me the spoiled nuggets." Laura smiled and did just so. There wasn't any judgement here. Should she let Wade and Logan know that she is autistic?
* * * * *
Logan had gone to the store to restock the drinks in the fridge, and throwing away the McDonald's trash while he was at it. Laura was helping Wade wipe off the table as he fed Mary Puppins. "Wade?" Laura said shyly.
Wade put the dog bowl down and turned to Laura. Knowing from Laura's face that this was important, Wade gave the rarest gift of all- his full attention. "What is it?"
Laura stammered, her words struggling to form. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you or Daddy this, I really should have, but I am now, I guess." Laura sighed. "When I was 14, I learned that I am autistic."
After a second, Wade nodded. "Thanks for letting me know. It's hard. Is there anything you need?"
"No," Laura said. "I just wanted to let you know. I'm not some brat, or someone who is making things hard..."
"Of course not!" Wade said. "If anything, I'm the diva of the household."
Laura and Wade hugged each other before finishing their chores. Then, they sat on the couch, surfing though the million and a half streaming services to find something to watch for that night's binge. It was Wade's turn, and this man had something to say about literally everything he scrolled through.
"Arrested Development is nice, but it really fell off after the third season. Not to mention the storyline in said third season that did not age well at all. Besides, I don't want to be reminded of FOX today."
"I could use a My Little Pony rewatch, but let's see what else is on first."
"They're still making Law and Order? This'll last longer than Hugh Jackman's Wolverine!"
Then, Wade paused his yapping. For a while. Then he looked at Laura, using that face he does when he either has something very stupid or very genius to say. "What is your Aristotle Moment this time?" Laura asked sarcastically.
Wade gave a laughably-serious looking face. "I just thought a bit. If you're autistic, and you're a clone of Logan... does that mean?"
"Probably," Laura said. "When I was getting diagnosed, they asked for a family history. And I couldn't really do that well since, you know."
"Interesting," Wade said, before "zipping" his lips to show Laura they their conversation was between them only. "Ooh, I found tonight's show, Nailed It! Laura, prepare for the most disgusting food you have ever seen."