- Hiraeth -

... Five ...

this is a really long chapter, so sorry if that's not your thing.
plus, it might be a bit heavy in places. There's talk of death, cancer, and a suicide mention
the next chapter will be happier, I promise

ROSEWATER

Wade's day just kept getting better. The party Peter had brought him to was absolutely amazing. He'd met Iron Man, Captain America, and Black Widow in the span of five minutes! They all seemed very protective of his soulmate, which was understandable. However, Wilson could've done without the not-so-vague threats on his life if he'd ever hurt Peter. People would always think little of him, and that was something he'd learned to live with.

But Peter, holding his hand and leading him through the crowd, was enough to silence the war being waged in his cluttered mind.

"Wade, this is Thor." He heard Parker say before looking up to meet the gaze of an actual god. The man was smiling, unlike everyone else he'd been previously introduced to. Before Wade had the chance to speak, Thor wrapped an arm around his shoulders, squeezing tightly.

"Any friend of Little Tony is a friend of mine!" The Asgardian bellowed, laughing heartily.

Wheezing, Wade managed a choked, "Nice t'meetcha, big guy."

After their interaction, Wilson turned to Peter and giggled, "Little Tony."

"Shut up." Parker punched his companion in the arm, a little harder than he meant to. The party was going even better than he could've imagined. No one had tried to kill each other, and the atmosphere was pleasant. He knew that his 'superfriends' liked Wade, even if most of them didn't show it. Call it the Peter Tingle.

He'd noticed Tony showing another man around. This new figure was tall, about as tall as Steve. He carried himself confidently, even if his eyes gave away his insecurities. Peter found it especially odd that Mr. Stark kept his hand firmly on the other man's back. His mentor was never one to touch people. The two even leaned into one another when they spoke, and that was a clear sign. The teen was brought back from his thoughts when Wade whisper-yelled,

"Is that Dr. Stephen!?" The mercenary was suddenly overcome with nostalgia. He gripped Peter's hand tighter, trying his best to suppress a smile.

Peter, confused, tilted his head. "Who?"

"With Tony Stark! That's Dr. Stephen Strange! He..." The smile came anyway. Wilson could almost cry, he was so overwhelmed with joy. "I gotta say something to him... Oh jeez... Does he even remember me?" The last part was spoken to himself, but Parker heard him easily.

"Where do you know him from?"

Wade's day really couldn't have gotten better. It was insane to think that, in a room full of heroes, he'd find his own. So he told Peter the story.

Wade had battled cancer from an early age. When he was ten, he'd almost died in the hospital's chemotherapy ward. In a way, it wasn't the worst thing in the world. Anything was better than sitting in a stuffy room, full of dying old people. His cancer began spreading to his brain, and he'd had a seizure in the middle of his treatment.
Waking up on an operation table, Wade was met with the most interesting pair of eyes he'd ever seen. They were harsh, intimidating. When his doctor pulled down his mask, the rest of his face proved to match. He was scary, especially to a child.
"I'm Doctor Stephen Strange." He said, as if he'd done it a million times and was getting quite sick of it. "And I just performed emergency surgery on your brain stem. You had a tumor, and now you don't. I saved your life." The words were so bland that they seemed to stick to the roof of the doctor's mouth. He proceeded to ask Wade questions every visit.
"What is your name? What day is today? Please write exactly what I say on this piece of paper." Wade knew that these were cognitivity tests, and that they were commonplace in patients dealing with neurological damage. What he didn't know was that it wasn't Stephen's job to ask these questions.
One day, Wilson decided to strike up a conversation with the surgeon. "Why're you a doctor? Is it cuz you weren't creepy enough to be a dentist?"
This brought a small smile to Stephen's face. Although not usually one for empathy, he'd grown to like this kid. He was different, and he'd come from a bad situation. In an odd way, he reminded him of his sister. He could trust him... right?
"Nah. I became a neurosurgeon to help people. I've always had super steady hands, and studying was a cinch with my photographic memory."
Wade nodded, playing with the corners of his blanket. "Yeah, but like... why'd you wanna help people?"
He watched as Dr. Strange's entire demeanor changed. His smile faltered and his hands squeezed shut. "My sister suffered neurological trauma when she was about your age. Her injury went years untreated, until she drowned one day after a misfire in her brain caused her body to cramp." The words were not spoken with sadness, but distaste. They were detached, numb.
After Stephen had told Wade the story of his sister's death, he took a moment to compose himself. The patient didn't know what to say, so he just stayed quiet. They sat like that for a while, until Strange had to go see another patient.
Every day of Wade's hospital stay after that one, Stephen had come to visit on his lunch break. He'd bring food for the both of them, and they'd talk about their lives before having met each other. They became very close, until Wilson was cleared from the hospital. It wasn't exactly a sad day, but a chance for a new beginning. His cancer had regressed considerably, to the point where it was no longer an issue. He'd missed Dr. Stephen, but he wouldn't forget him.