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Peter sighed at the thought of MJ and Peter, they weren't talking, they didn't need to, just being there for each other was what they needed at the time. He fiddled around with the science-y stuff he was working on, it had been a long while since he had to cure Conners, it was hidden somewhere in his memory yet it was still there. His chest felt tight at the thought of what the teenagers had, the memory of him and Wade talking one night, going silent and just enjoying the other's existence. Peter'd had a long day, instead of going him and drinking all the beer in his fridge and eating whatever leftovers he had, he stuck around with Wade for the rest of the evening until he felt OK enough to be by himself.
The school was giving him major flashbacks to highschool, the good and the bad moments, all the times he would be bullied and all the times he had with Gwen. Even though it had been a good decade since he left school, and he was slowly approaching his thirties, he had that remaining feeling of being back in school and waiting for the bell to go so he can get home. The lab was way more advance and stocked more than the one he'd ever had back in school, but different universe and a good ten year difference.
Peter (cool youth pastor one) clocked that Peter was looking at the teenager with hurt written all over his face. He thought about MJ, his MJ and all the things they have been through to get to the point they are at. He could see the pain written behind Peter, everything he had said back on the roof, Peter must never have really move on from all the trauma he experienced. (Pastor) Peter had so many questions, the teenager must not have many stories to talk about since he must be starting out, but Peter must have a pile of stories to tell. But with those stories come the scary about of pain, mental health issues and unhealthy coping mechanisms.
"You have someone?" (Pastor) Peter asked, pulling Peter's attention away from the the cure he was working on and the away from the spiral he was inevitably going to find his way down.
Peter shot his head up and looked at (Pastor) Peter, he looked so caring and sweet, like the friend you have that you would go to for advice and help. Shaking his head, Peter found the words, "No. I got no time for uh, Peter Parker stuff, you know?" he took a moment, he did have someone but he was too scared of what might happen, he took the safest option and lied, "Do you?" he wondered. Peter would be happy to know that in another universe he would be happy.
"Uh, that’s a little complicated," he said, but despite how hurt it sounded, (Pastor) Peter sounded almost happy. Peter felt that right in his heart.
"No, I understand. I guess it’s just not in the cards for guys like us," Peter felt like he should punch himself in the face right now, despite how happy he was trying to be, there was something so sad behind what he was saying. He tried to shrug it off and pull the attention away from the conversation, but he was literally talking to himself to that wasn't going to happen.
"Well, I wouldn’t give up. It took a while, but... we made it work," (Pastor) Peter commented. Maybe if he talked to (Pastor) Peter about what was going on he would get some pretty good advice, he was making something work with his relationships so of course there would be some advice he could offer up.
"Yeah?" Peter asked.
"Yeah. Me and... MJ," Peter pulled a face, even though he knew that it wasn't the MJ right in front of them, he still couldn't get the thought out of his head, "My MJ. It, uh... it gets confusing here," (Pastor) Peter corrected himself as he saw Peter's reaction.
"Maybe... I have got someone," Peter piped up, "It's just, y'know, complicated," the thought of the friendship he had with Wade made him smile to himself, the way the Merc would try his damned hardest to make laugh when he felt shitty. He thought about how Wade has non-stop flirted with him for three years now, and yes Peter had flirted back because he want to, because he could. How he trusted someone like Wade more than anyone in the world, more like his world.
(Pastor) Peter became interested, "How so?" Peter cleared his throat and looked up from the very interesting part of the wall he was staring at while thinking about Wade. Peter looked across at (Pastor) Peter who was smirking, both questioningly and smugly, how he was doing it was beyond anyone but someone thats what he looked like.
"We both went through some shit, lost people we loved and... even though he makes it obvious every time we talk that he likes me..." Peter smiled softly, "and yeah, I like him back. It's just, so very, complicated," he said downwards to the set up he had in front of him.
"Look, if I can make it work with MJ, my MJ," he corrected himself again, "I'm sure you can make it work with him," (Pastor) Peter felt like being a little shit in this moment, the highschool setting was the blame in this, not his own thoughts of being annoying, "If it's someone who makes you look like that," he pointed at Peter's light blush and unmoving smile, "then go for it with him,"
"Peter!" Ned yells from his laptop on the other side of the lab. Peter felt glad to have the conversation over and done with, he wasn't sure how long he would last before his filter broke fully and he spilt his whole life story to (Pastor) Peter.
The Statue of Liberty being covered in scaffolding and under re-construction was something Peter thought he would never see, they must really love this Cpt. America bloke enough to do this. (Younger) Peter was off getting his message out there, talking to the annoying journalist about how he tried to do his best, Peter couldn't help but want to wrap the younger version of himself in a hug and protect him from the world. He saw the hurt in (Younger) Peter's eyes, but it was so much more than that, he saw how much (Younger) Peter wanted to kill Osborn. Peter worried that he would stop pulling his punches just to feel those few seconds of relief just to have a lifetime of crushing guilt.
Swinging on off the scaffolding, glancing out at the landscape, despite of the impending destruction that was coming their way Peter couldn't help but enjoy the landscape. Peter thought back to when he was about (Younger) Peter's age, "You know Max was," Peter started, "like, the sweetest guy ever..." moving himself away from the scaffolding to stand across from (Pastor) Peter, "before he fell into a pool of electric eels," he added.
"That’ll do it," (Pastor) Peter agreed, turning around to face Peter properly, thinking about how a couple of the people here fell into something and wound up here. His back went at this movement, maybe it didn't help that he fell right back onto a care when he was still fundamentally a child himself, screwing up his back for later years to come, "Ah, there it goes," he groans stretching his back over the bars to try and pop it.
"You okay?" Peter asked, concerned at the scene unfolding before him.
"Oh, it’s my back. It’s kinda stiff from all the swinging I guess," he lied, not wanting to admit it was from him being an idiot.
"Oh yeah, no," it clicked in his head, pointing at his back he tried to reassure (Pastor) Peter that it wasn't just him or his age that could be causing the back problems, "I got a middle back thing too," it wasn't much of a lie, he would normally just ask Wade to crack it every once in a while to release the pressure build up.
"Really?" (Pastor) Peter questioned.
"Yeah. You want me to crack it?" (Pastor) Peter seemed excited at this offer, concerning Peter to question if someone had actually offered to help him.
"Yeah! Yeah, that’d be great," Peter walked through the position (Pastor) Peter had to be in, in order for him to crack his back. Wrapping his arms around (Pastor) Peter's middle, Peter lifted him up off the scaffolding bouncing a couple of times. The sound felt like it echoed for miles, Peter help out his arms in victory of what he had just done, his face had a question written all over it.
"Wow..." his back felt better for the first time in a while, "that’s good!" he praised Peter.
"Right!" he exclaimed, proudly, he might have read a few articles whenever he would mess up his back, ankles or arms. Sometimes the pain would make him feel like an old man, and that didn't stop Wade from teasing him when Peter asked Wade to crack him back. He smiled at the memory, it was silly but it was just something that he would go to when he wanted to make himself smile.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Peter was back along the same street, he was finishing up patrol before he was sucked into the other universe, he knew it was his universe just earlier in the morning. Peter began limping down the street, the back of his leg was searing and he put more and more pressure on it just to walk down the street. His whole body ached to be honest with himself, he was ready for a bath and to call it a night. He wasn't too sure where he was until it all looked familiar enough to place it in his head, he was two streets away from Wade's flat.
Stumbling through the pain, when Peter finally made it to Wade's flat he basically fell on the door instead of knocking. Scaring the living life out of Wade in doing so, Wade opened the door and caught Peter as soon as he saw the younger man. Wade was mumbling some words to himself and Peter as he was pulling the other into his flat, making sure he was safe by the time he lay Peter on the sofa.
"OK, Baby Boy, you got some questions to answer," Wade muttered as he pulled a First Aid Kit from the kitchen, "You literally disappear for a day and no word, I was worried, you could have left me a note in Yiddish and yes I wouldn't have understood it but it would have been something. Also, I'm so glad you're alive because White and Yellow were being right bitches again..." he rambled, Peter didn't think to stop him letting Wade get it all out of his system, "You were, the both of you were, now shut up," he hissed to himself.
Peter smiled to himself, even though every muscle in his body hurt like all living hell, he still couldn't help but feel happy to be back. Wade practically collapsed onto the sofa with a First Aid Kit in hand and a bottle of painkillers in the other. He began cleaning up Peter's wounds, starting with peeling Peter's mask off carefully as to not disturb any of the wounds. Wincing at the pain, Peter just kept telling Wade he was fine, none of his wounds were bad enough to need stitches. Disinfecting all his wounds, Peter couldn't help but focus on Wade's light touch. He was so careful when it came to Peter, for someone who is known for being brutal and deadly, Wade was sweet and soft when it came to Peter Parker.
Wade asked again why Peter had blanked him for a day, Peter opened up about what had happened to him the the past twenty-four hours. How he wound up in a completely different universe that was so far ahead in technological advancements, how that universes Peter was just eighteen all over again and lost everything. There was an older version of Peter, he couldn't help but point out how he genuinely looked like a 'cool youth pastor' making Wade chuckle. Peter had told Wade about Max being on of his biggest guilts tying itself around his chest, but today was the day he managed to reverse his mistake and both of them were given a second chance. Max was given a second chance at life, and Peter was given a second chance, more like a do over.
Wade still looked on edge, like he didn't believe Peter at all, he was more convinced that Peter was slowly pushing Wade away. Peter could see the tension in Wade's body, it wasn't hard to miss, he was picking the skin around his thumb nail, hardly looking at Peter and he wasn't able to sit on one place long enough. First it was Wade putting all the used supplies in the bin, next it was him getting food and something for them both to drink, after that it was giving Peter some new clothes so he could changed once he got showered and cleaned up properly.
"Wade," Peter said, he was towelling his hair as he was wearing one of Wade's large jumpers and joggers that were just hanging off his frame more than fitting him. Wade found it adorable, the small bit of domesticity he was able to get while not crossing lines and boundaries, "Wade, you've been acting weird all night, I would have thought that you'd be ecstatic about the multiverse being real," he questioned sitting down on the sofa again.
"I am, Petey, it's just..." Wade bit his tongue and pushed it away, "It's nothing,"
Peter shuffled closer to Wade who was already trying to avoid Peter again now that he was out of the room, "Wade, man, you're trying to dodge me in your own apartment, what's your problem?" Peter said, exasperated and annoyed. By this point in the night he was tired and just wanted to talk to Wade, maybe slide in what (Pastor) Peter advised him on.
"You didn't just disappear of the face of the earth for a day to try and get rid of me, like, if you want me to leave you alone just tell me and, bam, I'll be out of you life quicker than you can say cancel another sapphic show," Wade blurted out, fumbling over his words in his own way.
"Wade," Peter tried to swallow a laugh at Wade's add on to his mini-rant, it showed in his face even though he dipped his head to hide it away but Wade didn't miss it himself, "I swear, I swear, I wasn't avoiding you, the whole time I was there all I could think about was how much I wanted you there with me, you'd have loved it so much and I missed you even more," Peter couldn't find his off switch, "The older, Peter, the Pastor Peter," he joked lightly, "asked if I had someone... and yes at first I said 'no', but then I realised I kinda do have someone," Wade felt that right in his heart, "You, I have you," Peter poked Wade in his chest with every word.
"You don't..." he shook his head in disbelief.
"Wade," Peter sighed, "Please, just kiss me now," looking up into Wade eyes to make sure he knew that Peter was serious and then some. Wade slowly moved in, closing the distances between them, it was awkward and stiff, mainly on Wade's half because of just how unsure he was. But the kiss after that was filled with more, more surety, more heat and just more everything in general. Because it was alway gonna be them, it just would have taken a little less time if either of them pulled their head out of their arses sooner. But that was a conversation, to laugh at, for later.