Chapter Text
The house that the woman- who had introduced herself merely as ‘Blind Al’ and had insisted that Peter call her as such- took them to was small, old, and worn, but well-cared for. The furniture was mismatched and shabby, but spotless. The second they walked in, though, what looked like a brand new shelf sitting in the middle of the small living room very loudly collapsed.
“Fucker,” Al grumbled as she made a carefully wide circle around the mess. “That’s the third time. Boy,” she barked, making Peter jump. “Think you can put a shelf together?”
Peter watched her flop down on a poofy chair. After she made an impatient noise, he stepped forward, looking the pieces over. “I think so,” he decided. “I put one like this together for my aunt once.”
“Good. Make yourself useful while we talk.”
She nudged a toolbag towards him with her foot and he dug out a few screwdrivers. He started picking out the smaller pieces of the shelf and putting them aside to sort through.
“What are we going to talk about, exactly?” he asked, somewhat timidly. Al snorted.
“Wade,” she replied simply. Peter hummed.
“How do you know Wade?”
“I live with him. Sometimes.” That was a surprise. And not what Peter had expected.
“Here?” He looked around the oddly put together room. Al hummed.
“Yes. I know he has a lot of different houses and apartments all over the city, but he comes back here a lot. He lets me live here for cheap rent.” She sighed, propping her feet up on a footstool near her chair.
“Okay. So what about Wade did you want to talk to me about?” Peter asked as he laid the framework for the base of the shelf out. Al was quiet for a moment before replying.
“How much do you know about Wade? About his past?”
“Well… nothing, really,” Peter admitted. Wade had hinted at some bad experiences, but he hadn’t really given much detail or even confirmed that any of it was true. “I mean, he pretends to be this open book, and like he is okay with over sharing, but he isn’t really. He’s actually pretty private.”
Al snorted. “To say the least. Figures that you would have noticed that.” She shifted in her chair. “He said he was spending a lot of time with you. There’s a reason he doesn’t do that often. He doesn’t want people to know him.”
They were silent while that statement sunk in. Peter had figured as much, once he had actually paid attention to Wade instead of running every chance he got. Even so, he still sought Peter out, bringing him tacos while he was on patrol, laughing and joking around with him…
“He says you two fucked.”
Peter choked, dropping the board he had been holding up and getting ready to fasten into place. He swore when it hit his foot, snatching it back up. “He-he did?”
“Not in those exact words,” Al admitted. “But yeah.” She pursed her lips. “He wanted me to talk to you and make sure you were okay.”
“Why does everyone keep asking me that?” Peter snapped. “I’m sick of it!”
Al threw a pillow at him, though it missed, landing a few feet away from him. “Shut up, moron. I’m not asking you if you are. I’m just letting you know what Wade wanted.”
“I’m fine,” Peter insisted. “I wasn’t… exactly… against sleeping with him,” he admitted, face heating up. He glanced at Al, but she was merely listening. “I like Wade. He’s a good friend. And he’s, well. I like muscled guys,” he said quickly. Al snorted.
“I get it. Really. But you have to understand something about Wade, to realize why this bothers him.” She sighed, rubbing her eyes behind her shades. “I normally wouldn’t ever tell anyone this. It’s not my place. But I know that Wade won’t tell you, and you need to know if you’re going to keep being around him.”
“Okay…” Peter said slowly.
“Wade was raped.”
The screwdriver slipped from Peter’s hand. He whipped around, looking at Al. His mouth moved, but no sound came out. Swallowing thickly, he tried again. “He was what?”
“Raped.” Al said softly. “It wasn’t long after I moved in with him.”
“What happened?” Peter asked, barely a whisper.
“There was a girl. I never met her, and can’t for the life of me remember her name. Wade had been interested in her for a while, but she wasn’t. Good friend though, she helped him a little.” Al’s voice was quiet. “She came to him one night, said she had changed her mind. Only, it wasn’t her in the morning. There was a- what was it?- image inducer? Some fancy computer thing that made her look like the girl Wade wanted her to be.”
Peter swallowed. “That’s… horrible.”
“It was,” Al agreed. “Wade… he wasn’t over that for a long time. Not sure if he still is, really. And, well he might not remember everything about his life before Deadpool, but… he’s hinted at child abuse before. Molestation and the like.” She shifted in her chair. “So. That’s why he’s so damn worried about you.”
That put a whole new spin on Wade’s reaction to the incident. Peter’s brow furrowed as he carefully added the shelves on and tightened them down so they wouldn’t fall.
“I understand,” he said quietly. Al made a noise to let him know that she was listening. “I get why he’s so worried. Really. But…” His stomach tightened as he thought about what he was about to admit. “I was molested as a kid,” he blurted quickly. A glance at Al showed that she had raised a brow, but otherwise didn’t respond, letting him gather his thoughts. “Not to trivialize what he went through or anything, I swear. The point is, I remember it. I remember the shame and humiliation I felt afterwards.” Two spots of color appeared on his cheeks. “I didn’t feel that way when I woke up after sleeping with Wade.”
Al laughed, though not unkindly. “Well damn. Sounds like you’re good.” She crossed her hands in her lap. “Don’t worry kid, he’ll come around. And when he does, you can tell him that yourself.”
“I’m not sure he will come around,” Peter admitted with a huff. Al clucked her tongue.
“He will. Trust me. I told you, he likes you.”
Peter wasn’t too sure if that would be enough, but he didn’t say so. He snapped the last piece of shelf into place and gave it a slight shove. It held together, so he put the tools back into the bag and zipped it shut. As he was, a little Rumba slowly crawled across the rug and bumped into his knee, before turning and rolling off further into the house. Peter smiled a little.
“Thank you,” he told Al, climbing to his feet. “For talking to me. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”
“I want Wade to be happy,” she said, looking up in his general direction. “He’s been better since he started hanging around you. If there’s one thing that boy deserves, it’s happiness.”
Peter smiled again. “I don’t know if I’m the right person to make him happy, but I’ll try. He’s a good friend.”
“’Friend’, huh?” Al asked, brows raising slightly.
“Friend,” Peter repeated, blushing. “We haven’t… I mean, there’s not been a chance to talk… I’m not sure he… or I…” Al cut off his babbling.
“I’m teasing, dipshit. It’s fine. I don’t care what you two do. In fact, I’d rather not hear about it. But whatever it is, it makes the both of you happy.”
“Okay… and if he does come by, would you tell him I’d like to talk to him?”
“Sure, kid.” Al nodded. “Thanks for putting that shelf together for me. Maybe it’ll last a week before it falls apart. That would be a new record.” She sat back in her chair once more. “I’d walk you to the door, but I don’t want to.”
“That’s fine,” Peter assured. “I can see myself out.”
He had a lot to consider now. Really, he knew he should go back to the tower, but he was tired. So, sleep, real food, and a shower, then he could think about everything he had learned. And there was only one person he wanted to talk to while he did.
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[8:52 AM] You’re not in homeroom? GS
[9:01 AM] No. I’m taking a recovery day. PP
[9:02 AM] I’m on my way. GS
-----
Gwen burst through the door before Peter had even managed to open it all the way. She was flushed, panting a little, and had a bag in her arms. She squinted, looking Peter over. “Wait. You look fine. I thought this was a recovery day?” She lifted the bag, which Peter realized was her shit-Peter-hurt-himself first aid bag. He shook his head quickly.
“Not like that. I didn’t mean… no, I’m okay. Physically.”
Gwen sat the bag down, looking understanding. “So a mental wellness day?”
“Kind of.” Peter crossed his arms. “Look, come up to my room and I’ll explain.”
A little while later, he winced as she punched his arm.
“I can’t believe it!” she shouted. Peter rubbed his nose sheepishly.
“I didn’t even know something like that existed, let alone that it could be mass produced or something to use against us.”
“No,” Gwen corrected. “I can’t believe you lost your virginity before me!”
Peter blinked and then laughed. “That’s what you can’t believe? Not the weird crazy sex powder? The unknown forces trying to make the Avengers sleep with each other?”
“Well yeah, all of that stuff too,” Gwen said, rolling her eyes. “But still. You. Before me. Never thought it would happen.” She leaned forward, smirking. “What was it like?”
Peter flushed, shrugging. “I dunno. Good?”
“Good? Come on, Parker, you can do better than that.”
“I mean, yeah, it was great.” Peter fluffed his hair up with one hand. “Like, really nice. Better than I thought my first time would be. Wade really knows what he’s doing.”
“Are you going to see him again?”
At that, Peter faltered a little. “I don’t know,” he admitted softly. “He sort of… ran away when he found out that I’m only 17.”
“But that’s the age of consent in New York,” Gwen pointed out.
“I think it’s the principle of the matter that bothers him.” He plucked at a loose string on his pajama pants. “Plus, the whole, whoops no choice we have to sleep together thing. I mean, he and I were just starting to be friends, you know?”
Gwen patted his shoulder. “He’d be crazy to turn you down, Peter.”
“That’s another thing.” Peter threw his hands up. “I’m not sure I want to be more than friends with him yet. I never really thought about it before this. Well, not seriously.”
“One date doesn’t mean you have to marry the guy. You’ve already slept with him, might as well give him a chance,” Gwen reasoned.
“Gee, thanks.”
“No, I mean it. I’ve never met him, but you kinda brighten up when you talk about him, in case you hadn’t known. So there must be something there.”
“He’s a little… off. Weird.”
“But you like him.” She didn’t say it like it was meant to be a question.
“Yes.”
“So, the next time you talk to him, just suggest you two try a date. You already know he’s good in bed, so you’ve got something to look forward to.”
Peter groaned and hit her over the head with a pillow. “I hate you.”
“You love me,” she corrected, leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder. “You’d be a wreck without me.”
“Fine. I would. But you’re still terrible.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. C’mon, let’s get some ice cream and you can tell me more about Wade McDreamyMusclePants.”
“Hate you. Seriously.”
“Love you too.”