Chapter Text
Peter sat back and observed the other, well, hims, trying to hatch some sort of plan against Morlun and his family of psychic eating vampires who enjoyed picking off Spider people one by one. He leaned his head back against the wall with a dull thunk! Man, multiverses were actually kind of exhausting. If it wasn’t the threat of not only you but your entire universe being destroyed, it was being surrounded by what appeared to be off-brand versions of you, the majority of which had the same name, which meant everyone had to refer to each other by increasingly dramatic hero names or the universe they came from. Personally, Peter thought bring from Earth 1089-B was a bit of a mouth full.
“You okay?” It took Peter a moment to realize that one of the other spider-men had broken away and was talking to him. He ran a hand over his face, momentarily forgetting he had removed his mask. It didn’t really matter when everyone had the same identity, did it?
“Uh, fine. First time, you know? Being… surrounded by alternate versions of me.”
“Tell me about it.” Emboldened by the same opinion, the other Spider-man sat down. “I’m from Earth 41968, apparently.”
“Earth 1089-B,” Peter said, holding out a hand, which the other Spider-man took. They sat back to watch the show between some of the more outspoken alternate versions of themselves.
“Kind of feel like I’m being sent to the kids’ table,” the other Spider-man joked. “These guys just picked me up an hour ago.”
“Yeah, me too, pretty much. I don’t know if I should count myself lucky that I didn’t have to fight any of the Inheritors first or not.” He still had only heard about how ruthless these guys were, and could only guess how many of their… kind? had fallen to these monsters.
“I briefly encountered Karn, but the uh, you know, Superior Spider-man and some others pulled me out. We had to hop around a bit to evade the guy, and here we are.”
“Superior Spider-man,” Peter mumbled under his breath. The guy had a definite… capacity for leadership. Sort of. But he and some of the other versions of himself were a bit darker than he liked to think about. “I don’t have anything against the guy, it’s just… the name is a bit much.”
“Mm,”
“Unless you also go by a slightly blown out of proportion name yourself?”
“Nope, just another Spider-man who moonlights as an undergrad student named Peter Parker.”
“Undergrad, huh? I’m finishing up my masters. Biomedical engineering?”
“Yeah, but to be honest, I might want to double up on quantum physics or something, after this. I mean, I knew about string theory, but I didn’t realize how… possible universe hopping really was. I don’t know if you’ve met him where you are, but this is really making me double guess all of Deadpool’s crazy stories.”
Peter barked out a laugh, the mention of his husband’s hero name bringing a smile to his face. “Yes, Deadpool and I know each other.”
“Really?” Peter 41968 turned to stare at him. Presumably, at least, staring was happening from underneath the mask. “Is it – I mean, um. How is he? W-Where you’re from?”
Peter shrugged, still smiling. “Probably wondering where I am, for starters.”
“Yeah? Do you guys like, go on patrols together or something? Team up?” Peter felt his smile inching higher despite himself.
“We do that,” he said, “among other things.” He left just a hint of something else dangling at the end of that sentence. “And how do you know your Deadpool?”
Apparently, the name of the admittedly polarizing character could only be brought up so many times before some of the other surrounding Spiders picked up on it.
“Ugh, are you talking about Deadpool? At a time like this?”
“We were just saying his funny asides about being in comic books or movies or looking different in another universe may just hold some more weight, now that we all know how possible it is to hop from one dimension to another,” Peter said easily.”
“You think that maniac’s stories are funny?” another Spider-man spoke up.
“Don’t be rude,” Peter shot back.
“Who’s Deadpool?” asked one of the younger Spider-men in a red and black suit.
“This mercenary who can’t die –”
“- You mean you don’t have him where you’re from? Lucky.”
“He threw me off a bridge the first time we met!”
“Me too!”
“Me too!”
“He did what?” Peter 41968 said, a note of distress creeping into his voice.
“He didn’t do that to you?” Peter 1089-B said, more than a little surprised. “He must have liked you a lot right off the bat, then?” the mention of Deadpool liking anyone, more specifically them, led to more background arguing and notes of disgust. Peter held back a laugh – he had thought that Wade’s persistent crush on Spider-man may have been something that happened in more than just their corner of the multiverse.
“We’ve had our differences, I guess,” Peter 41968 said, slowly, “but we didn’t really interact that much before, um… well. It was a whole thing.” Peter 1089-B raised an eyebrow, and around them, some of the other Spider people had stopped arguing, not-so-subtly stopping to listen in. “I was – still am – working for Tony Stark.” This sparked a few grumbles from the mostly red and blue peanut gallery. “Some other employees were stealing tech to sell to random lowlifes to fund their weird parkour vigilante team,”
“- but Tony Stark thought you were stealing from the company because you have horrible luck?” Spider-man from Earth 616 guessed.
“And also because you’re probably broke and was maybe stealing some stuff for your suit?” a rather intense black-ops version of Spider-man asked.
“…Well, yes, but he hired Deadpool to you know, see if my civilian identity was up to something and, well…”
Peter 1089-B nodded. “You started to develop feelings for him and now you’re worried you won’t be able to see him again if things don’t work out?” There was a pregnant pause, before Peter 41968 very slowly nodded his head. He put his arm around the other’s shoulder consolingly, preparing himself to say something sensitive and brusque enough that someone as emotionally constipated as most Peter Parkers were apparently would be able to take it.
Before he could, however, another spider-man spoke up. “Wait. Feelings? How… What about MJ?” a few others murmured in agreement, while some more were still held up on the thought of Deadpool and romance going together at all.
“What about MJ?” Peter shot back, between the two of them, he was most likely older and had more experience fielding the negative reactions people had when they found out he and Deadpool were involved, and it was making him protective despite himself.
“She’s… well, I mean…” Peter from Earth 616 shot a look to an alternate version of Mary Jane who was, currently, in her Spider-woman suit. Her arms were crossed and she looked unimpressed, despite her mask. “In a decent amount of universes where Peter Parker is Spider-man and Mary Jane is also in that universe and not, you know…” He gestured to her. “they – we – tend to…”
“Be rather consistently connected,” said the Superior Spider-man, who sounded annoyed and bitter, but to be fair sounded that way about most things.
“Good theory,” Peter pointed out, smiling again, “but that does leave out one important part of the equation?”
“Which is?”
“Peter Parker could be gay, or at least, not straight.”
“Wh – I mean. I guess?” Peter from 616 curled a hand over his chin in thought. “In all the ways we’re different, I guess I just didn’t think about that possibility that much.”
“Anyone can be Spider-man,” said the one wearing spikes and a denim jacket. “Peter Parkers seem predisposed to it for whatever reason, but no matter what their race, sex, or age, we can put on the suit and fight battles that need to be won. It makes sense that sexual orientation could change, too.”
“And that’s why you’re with Deadpool?” another Spider-man asked.
“I’m not with Deadpool because I like guys, I like women too. In another universe a few degrees removed from your own, the Peter Parker of Earth 1089-B dated MJ, got together with a few other supers, and settled down with our dear friend Wade Wilson. Permanently.”
“Permanently?” Peter 41968 asked.
“Well, assuming neither of us does something stupid enough to warrant a divorce.”
“You got married?!” Peter from 616 asked. “To Deadpool?!”
“If he kills people, doesn’t that go against some moral code?” A younger spider-woman with a white and black suit said. “I mean I’m not exactly straight either, but…”
“It depends on the moral code this Spider-man has,” said the black ops one, darkly.
“He used to kill,” Peter said, “he hasn’t for years. That was something we had to work on.”
“Oh please,”
“Deadpool is crazy, but he can be clever too, at some point you know he –”
“You mean you could have been with MJ and you left her for –”
“Enough!” Peter 616 and the Superior Spider-man shouted at once.
“Being blinded by relationships and this pointless nattering will do nothing but bring us closer to death,” the latter snarled.
“This has nothing to do with the actual pressing matters at hand,” Peter 616 continued, much more levelly, “which is stopping the Inheritors before they end all of us, and then it won’t matter who we have waiting at home for us. Got it?” He stared at Peter for a moment as the others muttered their agreements and slowly went back to the groups they had been huddling in.
“Got it,” Peter said. “Alright then, chief, any ideas?”
“Well –” He glanced back at Peter 41968 before tugging his mask back on. Hopefully the kid would be alright.
-
“Oh God, I need to sleep for a week. No, two weeks.”
“A month,” Peter said, raising his arm weekly. Peter 41968 was doing a pathetic job of dragging him to the waiting portal that would take him back to his dimension, but he knew he’d be flat on his face if he tried to move without help, so he didn’t talk back.
They had defeated the Inheritors by locking them in an alternate universe that had been effectively destroyed by radioactive fallout – one of their only weaknesses. Presumably it would only hold for a million years, but Peter wasn’t going to be around to deal with that fallout, so he figured that was about as good as they could hope for.
“I’m glad you made it,” the other Peter said. “And that you get to see Wade again.”
“Hah, thanks. I’m sure he would have done some weird dimension hopping of his own otherwise – with even more disastrous results.” Other Spiders were saying goodbye and vanishing off to where they belonged, a few others having small reunions with each other. They both waved at a few of them that they had fought alongside before they went home.
“Do you really think that… it could work – in my universe?” Peter glanced over. Both of them had sizeable tears in their masks and suits, identical brown hair and dark eyes poking out from the holes.
“I think that a lot of different Deadpools can become really great friends and teammates to a lot of different Spider people. Us Peters act kind of similar, whether we want to admit it or not.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“Really, I think you just have to decide for yourself if that’s what you want. Being with Wade definitely brought in a lot of unique challenges, stuff that never happened when I was with Gwen, Or MJ, or some other people…” Peter frowned. “I hate to say it, but I think the main point I’m trying to get across is going to be a ‘Follow your heart,’ sort of idea, you know?”
The other Peter groaned. “That’s such a cop out!”
Peter laughed. “Sorry. Ow.” The jostling was definitely not going well with the major ass kicking he had at the hands of the Inheritors half an hour prior. Peter 41968 was also beat up, but still managed to take pity on him. He hefted his arm higher over his shoulders and started moving again.
“Come on, let’s get you home.”
-
Wade wasn’t just waiting in their apartment – he was at the door. “Spidey? That you?” he asked, rough voice uncharacteristically delicate. Peter limped through the doorway and tore off what remained of his mask.
“It’s me, Wade.” He was immediately surrounded in a strong embrace, making his aching ribs creak and his overworked lungs strain for air. “T-Too tight.”
“I don’t care. Where the hell did you go?”
“Multiverse fight. Psychic vampires… trying to kill… every Spider-man. Trapped them in another dimension…” Wade pulled back, and Peter coughed. “Apparently, every spider person makes up the center of the universe.”
“Well, duh, I could have told you that.” Peter huffed out a laugh.
“Am I allowed to shower and go lay down?” he asked. Wade nodded, but didn’t let go of the loose grasp he held Peter in. “Wade?”
“I just can’t believe you got to meet dozens of other Peters at once,” Wade said. “Do you know how many morally bankrupt things I would do to get the chance?”
Peter snorted, then winced at his entire body protested the motion. “Believe me, it’s not exactly a sleepover when you’re being chased by a host of unkillable monsters.”
“Other Deadpools?”
“Wade!” Peter batted his arms away and made his way to the bathroom. “I guess some of them were pretty cool – and it wasn’t just Peters, either.” He frowned. “Most of them didn’t exactly hold you in the highest regard, though.”
“You brought me up?”
“Actually… this other Peter did first. It sounds like he and his Wade are in the middle of some romcom nonsense.”
“And what universe was this? Just… for future reference.” Peter rolled his eyes.
“That Peter has to figure things out for himself just like we had to. I wished him luck, and anyway, it sounds like he’s half gone on that version of you already. Once he’s back in his dimension and the two of them go on some wacky adventure, I’m sure they’ll be falling into each other’s arms in no time.”
“That sounds pretty optimistic.”
Peter shrugged. “Hey, I just survived and got to fight with a bunch of other Spider people. I might need to sleep off a rib fracture, but I’m in high spirits.” At the mention of sleeping off another fracture, Wade groaned.
“What did I tell you about –”
“I said physic vampires!!”
-
Peter from Earth 41968 used the last of his strength to web himself up to the ledge of his second story room and pry open the window. He tugged off his most likely trashed uniform, plugged his phone in, and promptly passed out for the next twelve hours.
When he woke up, he washed away his scrapes and blood that may have been his, shared breakfast with Aunt May so she wouldn’t worry, and went back to his room to start on some of his schoolwork.
When he checked his phone, he saw some messages from MJ and Ned, and a few from Wade, who had asked where he was since he had missed last night’s patrol.
Peter contemplated his answer. Would Wade be impressed that he had gone on his own multiverse adventure? He could even mention there was a Peter who not only liked his universe’s Wade, but also got married to him. That was good for a laugh if nothing else, right?
Except, he still wasn’t sure how close Wade wanted to be with him. He had done something awful, even if it may have been justified at the time, done to protect his identity from someone he didn’t know if he could completely trust, he now looked back on the last few months with complete embarrassment. Wade seemed to enjoy his company, but only as a friend. He didn’t know if it would ever grow beyond that, even if Peter couldn’t stop wondering what that other Peter’s life was like, how… special his relationship had to be with Wade to speak of him so fondly.
He chewed on his lip, brain looping with endless thoughts and questions he couldn’t know the answer to. Finally, he replied to Wade’s message:
Yeah, sorry, got caught up with a secret project. Maybe next week.
He’d tell Wade when he was ready. All the details, about the fight and the multiverse and Earth 1089-B.
Just. Not yet.