#humantogether

“You come home covered in blood and your excuse is 'a secret Canadian government agency is trying to kidnap me and take my blood'?” Peter stared at his boyfriend in amazement. “I... I don't know process any of this information.”

“Take your time.” Wade stared back him blinking. He twiddled his thumbs a bit. “Did you process yet?”

Peter looked like he needed to sit down despite already being seated. “And you found this out how?”

“That's the part that involves the blood. Remember when I said that you don't want to know? Because I said that. Just so everyone who wasn't here during the time jump knows.”

Peter stared down at the floor. “And that whole thing... with Francis... he was with them and he was going to...”

“Get what he wanted then dump you half dead in their secret lab? Yes.” Wade sat down beside Peter and wrapped an arm around him. “It'll be okay. I'll kill all of those bastards before I let them hurt you.”

Peter squirmed. “I don't think you should be killing people.”

Wade blinked at him. “They're evil people.”

“I get that but... doesn't that also make you evil?”

“Ouch. I like to think I'm somewhere in the middle.”

Peter wiggled out from under Wade's arm. “You smell like metal.” He went into the bedroom and closed the door.

Wade sighed to himself. “Nice going, dumbass.” He decided to give Peter some time. So, he locked the door for the first time since he'd moved in and dragged the TV stand in front of it before going to the bathroom for a shower. As much as he typically loved his own beautiful face, he couldn't stand the sight of it after Peter had run away from him like that. He felt as gross as he had when Peter had pulled away from him just a few days ago. Shit, they hadn't even been together long before Wade had found a way to fuck it all up.

The lukewarm water of the shower did nothing to make Wade feel any less gross. It was kind of like showering in piss, maybe spit, or both. Don't ask Wade how he knew what any of those things would feel like on his skin. It's not important. Also, it's gross.

He scrubbed away the drying blood from his skin. He spends a long time making there isn't the smallest drop of blood left on his skin or under his nails. He remembers the screaming, the blood, the pain. At least half of it hadn't really been necessary. That was just Wade being vengeful because the guy was a threat to Peter. Not to mention all of the other people the guy had hurt. He deserved it. Wade believed that pretty fucking strongly. Peter was wrong though. The shit he did was monstrous. He deserved better than Wade, but if Wade was still what he wanted then he'd just have to do everything he could to be worth a damn. He could be a mercenary and a good boy friend.

Wade stepped out of the shower once the water went icy. He spent too long drying himself off. Stalling, before he needed to go talk to Peter. He wasn't sure what the right thing to say to him was. If he fucked it up again he could send Peter running. He couldn't protect him if he didn't know where he was. Not that he would run to anyone but Harry. Maybe Mary Jane if he were desperate enough. He hadn't heard Peter talk about them too much, but he was sure they were all still friends. They were always hanging off each other like the starring trio in a 90's teen drama.

He didn't have any clothes in the bathroom so his only option was to put the same boxers back on. He went back out and stood in front of the bedroom door. It took a minute to work up the nerve to knock.

Then he did and a few seconds later the door opened. Wade went in slowly ready to back out if Peter seemed uncomfortable.

Wade looked at Peter, curled up in a little ball at the upper corner of the bed. “How you doin', champ?”

Peter didn't look at him. His eyes were wet.

“Peter...” Wade could barely breath. “Are you afraid of me?”

Shiny eyes rolled up in his direction. Peter's voice was quiet. “No. I trust you.”

The words wash over Wade's skin. He felt relief in every molecule of his body. Finally, he stepped away from the door and sat down on the bed. He wrapped his arms around Peter and pulled him into his lap.

“I'm not going to let them get to you.” He rested his cheek on top of Peter's head. He was completely wrapped up in Wade.

“I don't want them to hurt you either.” Peter sniffed. “I'm scared.”

Wade didn't know what to say. He hugged him a little tighter.

“Wade, I'm so scared.” He snuggled into Wade's chest and cried. Wade tried not to let Peter see when he teared up, too.

“I'm gonna keep you safe,” he said into Peter's hair.

They fell asleep curled up together that way. Peter woke to his stomach rumbling for dinner. He nudged Wade awake, unwilling to leave the room without him just yet.

Wade smiled at him. “Are you hungry, baby boy?”

Peter smiled back, happy for a moment of normalcy. “Need. Food.”

Wade climbed out of the bed and scooped up the little ball that was Peter. He carried him into the kitchen and set him down on the counter. He opened up the cupboards and found mostly junk that Peter had stolen from Francis.

“So... pasta or Oreos? Let's just order take out.”

Peter swung his feet, toes dragging the floor. He didn't seem to want to look at the food in the cupboard. Wade closed the door. “Chinese sound good?”

Peter nodded, biting his lip. Wade cupped his face in his hands.

“Look at me, Peter.” He waited until he looked up. “It's going to be okay. We're going to get through this.”

“We should leave. We could run away.”

“These are guys are everywhere, Petey. I would love to run away with you. But I am completely sure they would find us anywhere. There's only one way to keep you safe.”

Peter looked away from him.

“It's not pretty, but it's them or you and I would never let anything happen to you.”

Peter wrapped his arms around Wade and pulled him down for a hug. “I'm scared for us both.”

“We're the good guys here. We're gonna make it through this.”

Peter let him go and Wade search for his cell phone. They weren't in his pockets because he wasn't wearing any pants. Either he dropped it somewhere or it had ended up in the fire. He shouldn't have been so hasty, but he'd been too emotional.

He searched around the apartment before giving up and going back to Peter. “Can I borrow your phone? Mine seems to have left me for a better man.”

“Sure.” Peter handed his phone over to Wade who made the call to the Chinese restaurant.

Peter opened his eyes to an unfamiliar room. It definitely wasn't 'home', but then again where was these days? Still, the bed he was laying in smelled like Wade and it made him feel safe. Peter couldn't help himself from turning over and burying his face in the pillow. Even though he had slept there all night, the smell was still just Wade. Familiar and comforting, possibly in spite of the mess he was surrounded by. Though, to be fair. There wasn't a lot that could be done about that.

The room was just big enough to fit a twin sized bed and a dresser. He wasn't confident that the drawers opened all of the way before they hit the bed. In fact, judging by the scuffs on the third drawer, they weren't. There was stuff piled on top of the dresser: a plastic unicorn, a Wolverine action figure, a box that was overstuffed with shoes, a photo strip of him and Wade from the arcade. There was a pile of clothes at the end of the bed and more covering up the floor.

Peter sighed. The man was useless on his own. They had always been pretty useless without each other. Peter wasn't sure how either of them had made it so long.

He pulled himself out of the bed and stretched. Then, he searched around for his cell phone. It was half hanging out of the side pocket of his bag. He must have just shoved it somewhere in his hurry to flee the scene. The thing was dead from being left on all night. He dug out the charger and set it up on Wade's dresser to charge.

The rest of the apartment was empty, but Peter had kind of expected that. He wasn't sure where Wade was going to run off to, he just knew he wouldn't want to be there when Peter woke up. He went to Wade's makeshift bed and found the note under his pillow.

Pete Petey Peteio Peter, Called into work, be back eventually. PS. Don't open the freezer. PPS. If you do, I can explain.

Love Wade

Peter smiled to himself. Yep, that's Wade. He plopped himself down on the couch.

He didn't have to work today. Which was great since he couldn't seem to stop thinking about what happened. He'd  expected to feel terrified thinking of Ajax whether because of what he had done or because of what Wade had done. The thing was though, he didn't. He felt safe. Wade had given him a place to stay and even though he had been gone so long, Peter knew that he was welcome here. He knew he wouldn't have to go through any of that again. Wade was kind of an angel. Even if there was definitely a lot of darkness going on there. But, Wade had always been angry at the world in a real scary way.

Since he wasn't working, he might as well do some laundry. Then he could wear his own clothes without smelling like Ajax. And he might as well do Wade's laundry while he was at it. So, he searched the apartment for a laundry basket and got their clothes together.

He considered going to a different laundromat in case someone can looking for him wondering how Ajax's head had gotten so exploded. But, he really just needed something normal.

Peter was grateful that Mrs. Lopez was there. She smiled when she saw and watched him load up his laundry. Then, he took a seat beside her.

She took his hand in two of hers and looked him right in the face. “How are you today, chiquito?”

He shook his head. “I don't know, signora Lopez.”

She brushed his bangs back from his face. “I know. You're hungry. You're always hungry.” She turned away and pulled a bag out of her purse. “I bought us Takis to share. You tell me then you can have some.” She offered a sly smile.

Peter couldn't help but smile, too. “I was kind of... in a bad situation. An old friend of mine got me out.”

Mrs. Lopez offered him the Takis bag and he took one. “I have a good place to stay now. Someone I trust looking out for me. At least I think I can trust him.” He took another Taki. “It's just that... I think that I'm in love with him, but I don't know if he's going to disappear again like he did before. And I don't know if he still thinks of me that way or not. He's been through a lot.”

“Aye, chiquito. You have some problem on your hands.” She shook her head. “You know what I would do?”

“What?”

“I would tell him that I love him. No one can guarantee that a man won't disappear. Men love to disappear, but if you love him and he loves you then he will always come back,” she said this like the life expert Peter believed her to be.

“What if he doesn't love me?”

She smacked his hand. “What's not to love? Don't even think like that, chiquito. He does love you. He must.”

Peter smiled. “Thanks, signora.”

“Anytime.” She smiled back at him.

Peter's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out to find a text from Harry.

 Guess whos back?

Underneath was a picture of Harry walking out of the airport.

 Meet me for hoagies?”

Peter smiled to himself, then he texted back. Anywhere, but Delmars. Give me an hour?

 lol Tired of the old man already? Np. See you soon

Peter finished up his laundry, and his half of the Takis, as quickly as he could. He gave Mrs. Lopez a cheerful goodbye before he left. Then, he hurried back to Wade's place only then realizing that he hadn't locked the door and didn't have any way to do so. He also didn't have a cell phone number to call Wade and let him know that he wasn't there and that his door was unlocked. Shit. Hopefully, Wade would be back before too long and it wouldn't matter. Peter wasn't canceling his plans with Harry.

He searched through the freshly cleaned clothes until he found something worth wearing. Then, he went into the bathroom to fix his hair. The sight of the shower made his heart ache. He couldn't help but remember how safe he'd felt with Wade so close by. He hadn't felt that way in a long time. Now, he just had to make sure he didn't do anything to screw it up.

He texted Harry who agreed to meet him halfway at little cafe that they guy was way too fond of. Twenty minutes later, that's where he found him.

His hair, spiked up in the front, didn't match the tie-less suit he was rocking, but still it made Peter smile. Harry might have been someone who desperately wanted to make his father proud, but at the same time he needed to go his own way. That's what traveling had been all about after all. He thought if he took the time to cut loose and be whoever he wanted then business school would be less painful. Peter hoped he was right.

“Peter!” Harry spotted him from his fancy cafe table. He crossed the room and pulled Peter into a hug.

“Hey, Harry. You look great, man.”

Harry pulled back and smiled. “Thanks. You look... like you.” They both laughed. “It's a good look. That's a compliment.”

“Thanks.” They sat down together. “How was Europe?”

“Man you should have seen it!” Harry set off on an enthusiastic tirade while Peter smiled. “It was gorgeous. Everything is old and full of culture. There's all this history ya know-”

“And how many of the locals did you get into your bed?”

“You know me and MJ are uh... taking some time off right?” Harry looked away guiltily.

“She mentioned it, but I didn't pry. Seemed personal.”

Harry shrugged. “We didn't fight or anything. It's just, we're going to different schools and we have different ideas about things. We thought maybe we should take a break. And now she's talking about full on breaking up. Just calling it quits. She says we'll be different people by the time we're done with school and that we should both be allowed 'the freedom to grow into who we're mean to be'.”

Peter frowned. “She's right...”

“Yeah. I know. I know she is. She always is.”

Peter reached a hand out to his friend's arm. “I know that it's hard, too.”

Harry sniffed. Peter wondered if he would actually cry. “I tried... in Europe. Have you seen girls from Spain?” Harry shook his head. “Girls from Spain, dude. Still, they weren't my Mary Jane.”

Peter didn't know what to say. MJ was right about people changing. In fact, that was exactly what Peter was afraid of. What Wade had changed? What if he had? They were all really young. It made sense for MJ and Harry to break up until they decided who they were as people. From Peter had seen, they were growing in two different directions. MJ was all about her art and about making a difference in the world. She was out there marching in the streets and calling out corrupt politicians. Meanwhile, Harry was learning how to make friends with the kind of people MJ was working to tear down. Peter didn't believe for a second that Harry thought the people in his father's circle were 'good people', but Harry would do whatever he had to to make sure Oscorp stayed at the top of the biomedical game like his father always had.

Without anything left to say on the topic, the boys went and ordered up some lunch. They came back to the table with their meals and then it was Peter's turn.

“So, how's life outside of the home?” Harry asked.

Peter shrugged. “About what I expected.”

“Details, Pete.”

Peter took a deep breath. “I'm living with Wade.”

Harry choked on his latte. “You're what? With- how?”

“He came back and we... ran into each other. Now, I'm staying at his place.”

“Where's he been all this time?”

“Turns out he joined the military?”

“What? Seriously?” Harry's eyes almost fell out his head. “Why didn't he tell you?”

Peter shrugged. “I don't know. I guess he just felt like it was what he needed to do.”

“He should have wrote you a letter or something. You thought he was dead for a while.”

“He... suggested that whatever he was doing was 'classified'. I don't think he was really able to keep in touch with anyone.”

“Shit. For real?”

“Yeah, Harry. For real.”

“Wow.” Harry sat back in his seat while he thought it over. “So, are you guys...”

“Nope.”

Harry's eyes narrowed. “Nope?”

Peter sighed. “I haven't said anything about it.”

“Why not? You know he's into you.”

“He was. When we were kids. We're not kids now.”

Harry scoffed. “You coulda fooled me. What are you afraid of?”

Peter shifted in his seat. “It's like what MJ said. What if we're different people?”

“Are you trying to tell me that Wade back-talking-smart-mouthed-over-protective Wilson has changed?”

“He doesn't seem different, but...”

“He's always going to love you, Peter. And you're never going to stop mooning over him until you give it a chance. Me and MJ are very obviously taking different paths in life. But you can go any way you want. That doesn't mean you should follow Wade anywhere he goes, though. In fact, you should get him walking your path. It's what he wants.”

“What does that even mean?”

“Don't let him grow apart from you. Choose to grow together. Show him how you see the world. You two were always so wrapped up in each other. You're different, but you can walk the same path.”

“I think Europe made you a poet.”

“Shut up. You know what I'm trying to say. Just tell him the truth and don't be afraid of what happens.”