Chapter Text
Peter thought that he might be finally getting a hold of the whole ‘Spider-Man’ thing. It’d been years since he first got bit and he thought he had it all under control.
He’d started to get into a sort of routine, working at a local grocery store, selling his photos when he could, and being Spider-Man. New York wasn’t exactly cheap, which required Peter to be working anytime he wasn’t actively going to school. That meant sacrificing other parts of his life though, most notably his social life.
Luckily or not luckily (Depends on how you look at it) Peter didn’t have any friends during high school, and he definitely didn’t make any after high school so he doesn’t have any. He didn’t have time for friends like he used to. Peter had way too many secrets to even think of having a partner. He couldn’t let himself get close to anyone after what happened to Gwen.
Even thinking of her left a sour taste in his mouth. Now Peter did pretty much anything he could do to be as far away from everyone who’s ever been in his life.
He knew he had issues but there isn’t exactly a therapist that he could trust to keep his identity a secret. So he didn’t really have an option but to suck it up and go on.
He’d thought of telling Aunt May about being Spider-Man but he knew that he’d stress her out. May had always been his biggest supporter and when he came out to her as trans, accepting him immediately. Of course his coming out wasn’t all that glamorous.
Peter had practically shut down. He couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. He stopped getting out of bed, going to school, stopped doing everything really. Aunt May did what she could, making him at least eat. She figured out what was wrong before he did after the way he reacted to her trying to get him to take a shower.
She had started with making Uncle Ben do ‘manly’ stuff with him. To her that meant fishing when neither of them knew how, they live in the city. Or teaching Peter how to make a birdhouse.
It did make Peter feel better.
She got him a therapist after that. Peter was great for a while. When he got bit by the spider he’d been on testosterone for about a year. The spider bite really helped his confidence. He’d grown stronger and a little taller. He was able to look in the mirror when he brushed his teeth. He didn’t have to avoid himself anymore.
But Peter has Parker Luck and he can never stay happy. Ben died. Ben died and it was Peter’s fault.
He got bad again after that. Aunt May tried to help him but she was still grieving.
Aunt May still calls him, and he still answers. Her questions are always the same, ‘How are you doing Peter?’ and ‘I love you’. He always replies with ‘I’m good, how are you?’ and ‘I love you too’ s. He knew she was worried and he couldn’t find it in himself to do anything about it. He still feels guilty about Uncle Ben.
It seemed to be a pattern of steep ups and downs since he can remember. He knows that he’s getting worse. Time is blurring together and each day feels the same as the last. Peter knew he was slipping. He was drowning but he didn’t want to save himself.
–
Peter was patrolling as per usual. He’s jumping from building to building trying to pick up on any sounds of distress. When suddenly he gets a feeling he can’t shake. He’s being watched.
His spidey sense isn’t going off so he knows he’s not in any immediate danger, the thought of being watched still makes him queasy though. He tries to look around as subtle as he can but he doesn’t see anything.
He sighs and continues his patrol. He decides that the best course of action is to ignore the feeling for now.
Except the feeling doesn’t go away. His patrol is nearing the end and he doesn’t want someone to follow him home. He needs to figure out who’s following him but he hates confrontation.
He heaves another sigh and sits on the edge of whatever building he’s on right now. Looking at the city below him he shouts, “You can come out now”
“Aw, I thought I was being sneaky!” The figure comes out of seemingly nowhere.
Peter takes in the person’s appearance, scanning him from head to toe before looking back at the scenery in front of him. He sighed before getting up. He was tired, he didn’t have the energy to fight this random guy.
“You sure do sigh a lot!” The person rolled back and forth on their heels.
Peter glared back, “So… who are you?” Looking at the individual in front of him he wondered how the guy’s mask was able to show that much emotion.
They lit up, “You don’t know who I am?”
Peter shook his head, “Nope.”
“Deadpool, the one and only!” He held his hand out to shake Peter's hand.
Peter looked at the hand and then back at the man, “If you want to fight me can we just get that over with? I’m tired and I wanna go home.” When Peter rejects the hand Deadpool pulls his hand back to flip non-existent hair.
Deadpool looks at him offended, “Fight you? I’m your biggest Fan!” He then pulls out a small collection of knick-knacks.
When Peter looks at the knick-knacks he notices that some of them are modeled after Spider-Man and others are just themed after spiders.
“You’re not going to attack me?”
“Nope! Pinky promise, scouts honor!” Deadpool saluted to Peter.
The man practically had stars in his eyes looking at him. He knew that he’d heard the name before. When he started talking Peter blocked it out. Who was this guy? He was talking a lot. Like a lot.
Peter was quickly getting tired of this guy. He starts side stepping towards the ledge and when the guy doesn’t comment on it Peter continues to slip away before swinging away. When he looks at the building Deadpool isn’t there anymore but he also doesn’t feel like he’s being watched anymore, so he considers that a win.
–
When he gets home he decides that it’s probably best to look the guy up. Climbing through his window he rips his mask off and places it on the desk next to his computer, a crappy thing that he’s had for four years probably. It’s absolutely covered in stickers, mostly dumb science puns but he puts any sticker he’s given onto it.
Surprisingly enough, he finds a lot. Just looking up ‘Deadpool’ he found a website that seemed to be made by the guy.
The site had all sorts of embarrassing ads popping up at every corner of the screen. Looking past the ads he found his name, ‘Wade Wilson’. That and his number. The website was surprisingly bare except for his number and his name. When he scrolled down slightly he found a small ‘about me’.
Apparently this guy was a mercenary for hire. And he’s from Canada. The only picture of the page is a small picture of Deadpool posing with maple syrup. So what does a mercenary want to do with Peter?
Going back to the main results of ‘Deadpool’ he finds a Reddit thread talking about the guy. It’s a thread talking about his powers. They’re mostly debating how they work. From the looks of it the guy has some insane regeneration.
He then finds a thread full of horror stories that are supposedly because of Deadpool. Peter is seriously debating the authenticity of some of the stories.
Also, what kind of mercenary acts like that? Was he after Peter or more accurately, Spider-Man. If that was the case then who sent him?
Peter had too many questions. He’s also embarrassed that he didn’t recognize him.
He looks up ‘Wade Wilson’.
After probably a couple hours he looks at the clock. 12:56. He needs to go to sleep. He has to be at work in about six hours.
–
The next day he gets the feeling again, Deadpool’s definitely watching him again. Luckily, he’d gotten a good start to the day, despite not getting much sleep. His favorite barista gave him his coffee for free and he’s been in a good mood ever since. Work wasn’t bad, he was even let off early!
He goes through the usual motions of his patrol. Everything was practically the same as it always is. He tries to be grateful that the old ladies he helps cross the street don’t hit him anymore.
He stops two purse snatchers, helps three old people cross the street, finds the parents of a lost kid, and stops a man from harassing a woman. All in all it was a pretty good day.
He goes back up to the building that he talked to Deadpool on yesterday. It’s one of the higher buildings in New York and he’d be lying if he said he knew what was in it.
Peter sits on the ledge with his knees up to his chest. The breeze feels nice even if it’s muffled through his suit. When he turns around he sees Deadpool.
Peter waves at him. “You followed me again today”, he says, stating the obvious.
Deadpool acts shocked. “Whaaaaaaaaaat?” He puts his arms together and bats his eyelashes (how is he doing that?), “Lil’ ol’ me?”
Peter stands up, “Yep” He brushes off whatever dust could be on his suit, “What do you want?”
“Is a girl not allowed to talk to her future pookie?” Deadpool’s mouth looked like an upside down ‘U’
“Not when the girl is a literal mercenary” He crosses his arms over his chest. “Plus it’s common sense not to talk to strangers.”
“But you’re talking to me right now! And I’m barely a stranger!” Deadpool says, exasperated.
Peter thought the situation was funny, but also the man in front of him was a murderer. A murderer with a Hello Kitty keychain hanging off one of his pouches. He thought back to what he learned while looking him up. The guy was definitely dangerous. He saw stories ranging from him stealing lollipops from babies to taking out entire police squads.
Every time he looked at him he noticed another weapon. There were the obvious ones that stuck out, like the katanas, but there were little pockets everywhere on the suit for all sorts of guns and knives.
Peter has so many questions.