Be My Baby Boy

No more Dead days

It was going to be Wades' birthday in a few days and Peter had been wracking his brain trying to think of something special for it. Peter had been horrified to find out Wade and Pool didn't celebrate his birthday, then even more when he found out why.

"I used to celebrate my Dead day, Wade had said when the topic of birthdays came up. "You know, the first day I died."

"Well, not so much celebrated as..." Pool had said and brought a finger gun to his temple and pulled the finger trigger.

"I had a special gun for just that day," Wade had added. "It hurt less than to remember what I had become."

"Baby Doll..." Peter's voice was barely a whisper from his horror.

"It was just a few times, I promise. Then I met you, and then I left you, and you told me not to do that anymore," Wade had said and pulled Peter to him, crushing him in his arms.

Pool had huffed and joined them, hugging Peter from the other side. "Don't be sad, baby boy. Everything's better now." 

So Peter was determined to make this the best birthday Wade and Pool had ever had. Easier said than done, though. 

Peter was at wits' end to find something that was good enough but then he saw the ad online and his eyes lit up. It would be perfect!! Then he remembered his dire monetary situation and he groaned. He had managed, barely, when Wade was away, because he didn't have to pay rent in Wade's condo. Since Wade had come back, Peter had insisted that he pay half the rent. Shots of Spider-Man and his artsy photos of the city only paid so much and the condo's rent was surprisingly high, even when he only paid half of it. There was also food and electricity to be paid, plus all the supplies for his science projects. 

Peter sighed and checked his bank balance online to see how much he could afford to spend on something that would now be a major disappointment to him, even if Wade and Pool never found out his original plan.

"... what?" Peter stared at the balance blankly. How was that possible? He clicked to check his account statement. There was a deposit on his account from Stark Industries for the amount of... That couldn't be right.

Peter's numb fingers pulled his phone to him and he tapped the right contact. "Mr Stark --" he began when the call connected.

"It's standard minimum wage for New York, back dated to that day in Berlin. Plus hazard pay for space. I can't believe you didn't tell me you were starving," Tony said, sounding grumpier than ever.

"I wasn't --! Wade was exaggerating!"

"I believe even less that I have to admit that they were right. Enjoy your hero's wages, kid," Stark said and rang off.

Peter stared at the amount on his account. He'd never had that much money. He flailed, torn between calling Tony back and forcing him to take the money back and weeping with relief that he wouldn't have to hustle so hard from now on just to make ends meet. Of course Wade and Pool would never let Peter starve, hell, it had been a fight to even get him to accept Peter paying half of the rent, but Peter didn't want to be a... a... kept man. Peter cringed at the thought.

Wade and Pool... at least now Peter could afford to get them what he wanted for their birthday. Energised, he clicked around for a few minutes, then slumped with disappointment. Sold out. Still... perhaps there was a way for him to give Wade and Pool a glimpse...

A few days later, the two Wades and Peter were standing in an alley, all in their supersuits.

"Why are we standing here again?" Wade asked. "Not that it isn't fun..." he said, looking around the dull alley.