Our Taco Truck
âPeteeer,â The voice stretches like chewing gumâone of those voices that makes Peterâs eyelashes twitch on instinct, because nothing good ever comes after that tone. Nothing calm. Nothing normal.
Peter turns. Wade. Of course.
In his bright red suit, leaning casually against the wall, wearing that lookâthat lookâbehind his lenses. The look of a man two seconds away from doing something⊠so Wade.
âYou know what I realized?â Wade throws out a hand like heâs just been struck by divine revelation. âMy heart is like a fridge. Full of love. But somehow empty, because no one ever comes to my kitchen⊠except pizza guys and contract killers.â He leans in, lowers his voice, conspiratorial: âI want to invite you there. To my kitchen. I mean⊠on a date. Though if you prefer, I can literally cook for you. Or make breakfast. Or both at onceâI multitask like Windows with seventeen updates running.â
Peter blinks. Then blinks again. The corner of his mouth twitchesâlike it always does around this lunatic.
âAre you⊠are you serious right now?â he asks, though he already knows the answer. With Wade, everything is always both serious and not-serious at the same time.
âOh, yeah. Dead serious. Like a heart attack. Like the IRS. Like your Aunt Mayââ Peter cuts him off with a sharp wave of his hand. No way heâs letting that thread unravel. To his surprise (and it is a surprise), Wade actually stops mid-ramble and circles back to the point.
âListen, Petey⊠we could⊠you know⊠grab some food, talk, maybe even beat up a bad guy on the wayâclassic date, all-inclusive. What do you say?â
Peter looks at himâthis walking disaster wrapped in red leather, this absolute hurricane of a man with hands that can kill and hands that can touch so gently itâs like everything is made of stained glass.
He exhales. ââŠOkay,â he says, not quite believing the words coming out of his mouth. âBut, please. No⊠you know⊠no full Wade.â
Wade instantly throws his hands up in mock surrender. âScoutâs honor, Peter Pan. Iâll be good. Wellâas good as Wade Wilson can possibly get. I mean, I canât promise I wonât bring a stuffed unicorn. But at least Iâll wash it first.â
And he actually shows up. He doesnât bail. Doesnât fake a twisted ankle. Doesnât invent some Spider-Man emergency. Peter Parker stands at the entrance of the most⊠the most Wade restaurant imaginable.
ââŠThatâsâŠâ Peter squints. âThatâs a taco truck.â
âYep!â Wade bounces on the balls of his feet like heâs running on fifty double espressos and pure joy. âBut not just any taco truck, Pete! Itâs our taco truck! LookâI even reserved us a table!â He leads Peter around the corner to where a piece of plywood is balanced on stacked crates, two candles flickering on top, along with a polka-dotted rubber mat for good measure. âRomantic? Romantic.â
Peter freezes. Then pinches the bridge of his nose, lips twitching in spite of himself. Because⊠well. Damn it. Itâs cute. Itâs Wade-cute.
âAre you serious?â he rasps, but his voice has gone soft. The laugh slips out without permission.
âOnly thing more serious is death, and even thatâs debatable.â Wade pulls off the mask. His face⊠well. His face. The scars, the crooked grin. But the eyesâdamn it, the eyesâare so alive.
He shrugs, as if shaking off invisible weight. âI just wanted you to know. I really⊠I really want this. With you. Not just the shooting and blowing things up and cracking jokes⊠though obviously that too. But this. Quiet. Eating tacos. Talking. Watching your eyelashes tremble when you laugh.â
Something inside Peter spins in place, like the needle of a broken compass. âI⊠umâŠâ Words slip away from him. âI⊠want to try. If you really⊠mean it. No pressure. No expectations.â
Wadeâs grin lights up like a Christmas tree. âOh, I mean it, baby. I already ordered the tacos. Thatâs basically a proposal in my world.â
They sit. They eat. They laugh. And somewhere along the way, Peter realizesâheâs not waiting for the other shoe to drop. Heâs not flinching. Heâs just⊠there. Just breathing. Just eating tacos with Wade Wilson under the glow of shitty streetlamps. And for some reason, his heart feels⊠lighter.
Night slips in around them. Somewhere in the distance, doors slam, sirens wail, someone laughs down an alley. But hereâitâs just them. Two shadows in flickering light.
âTacos were good,â Peter murmurs, lips quirking. His hands are stuffed in his hoodie pocket, his whole body tense like a coiled spring. âDidnât think my first date with you would be⊠this.â
âHonestly? Me neither,â Wade admits. âI figured weâd end up with at least one bar fight and two minor explosions. But you know what? I like this. Just like that spicy sauce that almost made me cry but didnât. Almost.â
They pause. Eyes lock. That thin, humming-wire tension between them.
Peter exhales a breath of a laugh. âWadeâŠâ
âYeah?â Wadeâs voice drops to almost a whisper, like heâs afraid to shatter the moment.
âIf you donât kiss me right now, youâre going to regret it.â Peter doesnât know where the words come fromâthey just fall out, raw and real.
Wadeâs hands freeze. His eyes go wideâwideâlike a kid on Christmas morning unwrapping a gift he never thought heâd get. Then he laughs. Soft, hoarse, breathless. Head tilts back just a little.
âOh, Spidey,â he exhales. âYou have no idea how long Iâve wanted this.â
And he leans in. Slow. Careful. Like every millisecond is a test: will Peter pull away? Will he say stop?
But Peter doesnât move. He just watches. Lips parted. Breath shaky.
And then their lips meet. Soft. Tentative. Disbelieving.
Peter feels his heart slam against his ribs. Feels the warmth of bare handsâno glovesâghost over his cheek. He reaches back. Just a little. Just enough.
And Wade Wilsonâpoor, broken, beautiful Wadeâmoans softly into his mouth, the kind of sound that makes the world tilt off its axis, and the kiss deepens. Too alive. Too messy. Too real.
Peter smiles into it. And pulls him closer by the collar, not letting go.













