Work Text:
Wade let out a low sigh as he flopped down onto his couch, mentally and physically tired. He stared blankly at the blank TV for several minutes before deciding to move on to his last deed. After a bit of digging he found a pen and blank piece of paper.
Dear hobo who's been sneaking into my apartment...
You'll be happy to know that I'm starting a new life away from here so anything in this apartment is free for the taking. Eat the food, sell the stuff, or keep it I don't care. You've got three weeks until rent is due. Have a good life!
-Wade
With a proud smile Wade taped the note to the broken window he knew said homeless person had been using to get in.
Then, with a skip in his step, he left the apartment, bringing nothing but the clothes on his back with him. The skip soon faded into a walk and then a slow stroll as he gazed around him, at the people walking by that tried to avoid eye contact, the cars whizzing by, the stores and homes lining the streets.
This was it, this was the last time he'd ever see any of these things. Unsurprisingly he began to feel a little sentimental and for the first time ever he took several unneeded detours before going to see his lover. To be fair however he had left a few hours early. Besides there wasn't a ton of good memories within walking distance seeing as the most positive memories were with his lover or when working with his fellow soldiers on board their ship, so he wasn't going to be late. It did feel odd however hesitating to see Peter.
Nevertheless Wade visited a few familiar faces, fellow army veterans mostly, got one last meal at his favourite Mexican place with the last 20 bucks he owned, and went for a long run.
By the time he arrived at Peter and his usual little coast he was just on time, the sun beginning to dip into the ocean horizon. The concern and hesitation that had caused Wade to drag his feet blew away when he saw the familiar and lean body of Peter sitting atop the rock's.
“Peter!” He called excitedly, a new sense of vigor and excitement taking over him as he ran down the short incline into the tiny cove.
At the sound of his name the brunette turned to the older with a pleasant but most definitely nervous smile. His sleek, shining tail flopped once in acknowledgement before drooping back down over the rocks. He opened his arms welcoming and turned as best he could without letting the bag that sat on his lap slip away, to Wade who flopped to his knees and pulled the younger into embrace. As they pulled away Peter wasn't able to get out a greeting before the ex-marine swooped in for a kiss, scarred hands carding through the surprisingly dry hair of the merman.
“He must have been waiting for a while.” Wade thought, gilt bubbling up at having taken his time.
“Evening baby boy.” He said as he pulled away, not wanting the moment to grow quiet or awkward.
“Good evening.” Peter practically whispered a small smile being all he could muster.
“How you feeling?” Wade asked as he shifted so he could sit beside his lover, just close enough for his leg and the brunette's tail to be brushing against each other.
“So scared that I want to puke.” Peter admitted as he hung his head, eyes falling to the bag be had been anxiously picking at for the past half hour.
“Don't worry baby boy, everything will be fine.” Wade said as he gently slipped an arm around the youngers shoulders who leaned into the embrace. Peter laid his head against the older, one hand reaching over to rest atop Wade's leg. Then came a long pause as the two men comforted each other before Peter finally spoke. “Are you sure about this?” He asked and almost instantly felt a tug at his heart when, unlike the immediate assurances that his lover usually gave, Wade hesitated.
“Yes.” The ex-marine finally said gaze focused on his hand as it lade over Peters. They both tightened their grip in anxiety as the brunette let out a long sigh.
“Alright,” Peter said as he lifted his head from his lover's shoulder. “Get undressed.” Wade instantly snorted, trying to hold in his laughter.
“Ruined the moment much. You that horny baby boy?” He asked, receiving a playful smack from the younger.
“Not for that.” Peter quickly defended. “If this works-”
“When this works.” Wade quickly corrected, giving his lover confident grin. Despite the pout he received, the ex-marine new he had raised the youngers confidence at least a tad.
“Your legs will come together to make the base for your tail so we don't want anything in between there and risk getting it involved.” Peter pressed on, deciding not to try and fight his partners confidence.
“Right.” Wade agreed, thankful that his baby boy knew to use simple terms to explain things. The ex-marine stood and quickly slipped off his shirt, throwing it carelessly somewhere on the sand behind them before moving on to his pants button. Part of Peter wanted to point out that shirt removal wasn't necessary but it was probably for the best. Besides he wasn't going to complain about the view.
Once fully disrobed Wade sat back down, flinching slightly when his bare skin hit the cold, pointy rocks. As Peter opened up the bag that still sat atop his tail Wade gazed down at his lower half, momentarily considering having one last honorary pee or something to that the fact.
Before he could make anything close to a definite decision, the brunette pulled out a rather large jar of sorts filled with an amber liquid. Reluctantly he handed it over.
“All you need to do is drink it and it should do the rest.” He explained as Wade opened the container and took an experimental whiff. It didn't particularly have a smell aside from a bit of ocean water but that was probably more the container than the liquid. He then tilted the container side to side and watched as it slid back and forth slowly. “Make sure you get it all and drink slowly.” Peter instructed voice lifting a bit from worry and into a nervous scientist.
Wade looked over at the younger and gave a smile which was barely returned. With one last look at his feet and a quick wiggle of his toes, the ex-marine carefully lifted the container to his lips and tilted it back with the merman watching intently.
It had the consistency of yogurt but not quite as silky. The taste was something akin to corn dog batter and not yet ripe berries.
“I've had worse.” Wade thought to himself as he began to tap the bottom of the container in hopes of getting every last drop.
As he finally lowered the container, which Peter grabbed and put to the side, the older begin to feel cold. His shoulders tightened at the chill and his eyelids became heavy.
“How are you feeling Wade?” Peter asked, hand raising to cup his lover's cheek when he wouldn't look his way. “W-de.” The ex-marine's brows knitted in confusion as he tried to focus on the youngers face and voice.
Numbness was taking over Wade's lower half and a sound similar to plastic puzzle pieces snapping together consumed him. His heavy lids made each blink last a couple seconds, with each time he opened them he found Peters distressed expression, mouth open as if screaming something but he wasn't heard over the repeated snapping.
After a few slow blinks he suddenly found himself back down on the rocks, Peter over him shaking almost violently. Tears slid down the brunette's cheeks and dotted the olders scarred flesh. Wade felt a prickle of guilt at his baby boy's expression but couldn't find himself to go into a panic, he was just far too tired, too cold.
Another slow blink and suddenly Peter was gone, the pinks and oranges of the sky meeting him.
“It must be later than I thought.” Wade pondered over the slowly quieting snapping. His body still felt numb and cold but his eyelids felt a bit lighter. He was finally met with silence aside from the gently moving waves of the ocean.
With a fair bit of force, Wade sat himself up, Peter's name on the tip of his tongue before stopping in realization. His mouth fell open as he stared down as what were once his legs.
There now lay a tail. The colour was black with thin red strips outlining each scale. Unlike Peters, the smooth scales did not hold any shine. They were dull, almost as if they were drawn on by something like crayons or chalk. The large fin at the end started as black for only half an inch before fading into red and frilling out 2 feet.
For a long moment he simply stared, brain trying to process that this was part of him, before attempting to move it. It took a few tries seeing as it turned out to be a lot heavier than the ex-marine was expecting. All he could manage was a twist the first couple times as he was more used to moving two independent limbs rather than one. Once he got the hang of it though, he flopped it gleefully against the rocks, grinning from ear-to-ear. It was surprisingly tough as he could just barely feel the stone below him.
He was so lost in excitedly smacking against the rocks that it took him a moment to notice Peter rising beside him, eyes glazed over and hair askew as if just sleeping.
Wade quickly turned his grin to his lover, praise on his lips when Peters face suddenly fell, tears almost instantly filling his big doe eyes.
“Whoa whoa what's the matter baby boy?” Wade asked with a horse voice in a bit of a panic, hands rising to grab the younger shoulders.
“You're awake.” Peter practically muttered, voice just as wrecked as the ex-marines.
Wade's brow raised in confusion.
Okay so maybe he had passed out but the sun was still on the horizon.
“I was only out for a few minutes so don't-”
“Few minutes!” The brunette screamed in what may sound like anger but the tears revealed it was more hurt and worried then aggression. “You've been gone for hours.” Wade's mind stalled for a moment as he processed what he had heard.
“So that's the sun rise...” He thought. “How long was Peter sitting here?”
“I- I-” The brunette stuttered as tears overflowed. “I didn't know what to do. I couldn't take you to anyone when you passed out and then your heart stopped and I couldn't... I... I'M JUST SO HAPPY YOU'RE ALIVE!” Peter wailed, breaking down as he flung his arms around his lover.
The ex-marine sat stunned for a long moment before wrapping his arms around the trembling man.
“I'm so sorry.” Wade said though it was drowned out by the brunette's cries of joy. “But hey, look.” Wade said with a few pats to the youngers back, hoping to distract his lover from the past few hours. After a few sniffles Peter turned his head, though he did not lift from his lover's shoulder. The two look down at the newly-acquired tail as Wade attempted to brush his and Peters tail fins together though more ended up tapping their scales together with a soft click. “Look at what you did with that big brain of yours.”
“I almost killed you.” Peter said dejectedly as he wrapped his more experienced tail around the ex-marines purely for the sake of pulling the man he thought he had lost closer.
“Maybe.” Wade instinctively winced at his own stupidity as Peter curled further into him. “But you also brought us closer than we ever were before.” He continued, taking a finger under his baby boys chin and gently lifting it so they could see each other properly. Peters eyes where still drowned in guilt and worry while Wade's shone with all the love he could muster. “We can be together properly now. No having to set up secret meetings or only being able to speak to each other for an hour or two a day. You can take me home, feed me, cuddle me, and I can still be there in the morning.” Wade said with something akin to amazement in his voice at the impending moments they could finally share together.
Despite the fear and pain still held in the brunettes chest, Peter couldn't help the light smile that's spread over his face as the reality of the situation sank in.
They both leaned in and let their lips lock in a needy, desperate kiss as Wade wrapped one arm around the youngers waist. Peter didn't really take note of it until he felt the arm tugging him forward. Peter didn't have a chance to fight back as, with the ex-marines strength, they both went tumbling over the rock age and in to the water. Instantly Peter panicked, being so used to the idea that his lover could drowned but was held firm to the elders chest. When he was able to pull away he was met with an excited smile and the rise and fall of a breathing merman's chest.