Heavy Healing

13- Wade

Peter looked nice, but he couldn't help but notice how jumpy He'd gotten. The Brunette did not leave his side until they were outside. Not that Peter left his side, but they went down the stairs at Wade's speed and Peter stuck with him stride for stride. Normally he slowed down a little for Peter's benefit but this time he'd been pushed to go faster. And he didn't get the sense it was because Peter was excited to go out.

"Everything alright?" He asked tentatively. He wasn't confident that Peter was the type to answer that question honestly in the context that they had been friends for some time now. He knew that prior to his insistence on pestering Peter that the brunette would never share things like this if someone asked. Peter just wasn't one to ask for help . . . which he understood but he was also able to identify it as a character flaw, even in the instance that he possessed a similar characteristic.

"Yeah, why?" Peter looked over at him, his face clearly expressing his disease.

Wade sighed and looked down at him, stopping to force Peter to turn and look at him. "You're bothered by something. More than usual." He added.

"I was just spooked on my way out, seriously, it's fine. Just . . . walk me back up when we come back? It's nothing serious, I was hallucinating for all I know." Peter mustered a smile.

"Can you tell me about what exactly happened when we get where we're going?" he asked.

"I mean, I already kind of told you. Really it's nothing,"

"Peter," He said evenly, waiting for an actual answer as opposed to the excuses and deflections he was being given.

He met his gaze, holding it for a second in a way that made Wade feel odd. Not in a bad or good way. It just struck him . . . like he was looking at a different person with the way Peter cocked his head slightly and his soft expression fell away as he regarded him intently for a moment. He was looking at someone who was incredibly aware and assessing a situation's complexity and likely reading him as much as he was reading Peter in turn.  "Yes?"

"You can ask for help. Even if it's something trivial, okay? I care about you, even if it's not entirely mutual. I appreciate you, and everything you've given me. Let me help you when it's possible, please?"

The hard expression and the person Wade didn't recognize blinked off of Peter's face. "What? I've given you? I haven't done anything for you, you're the one who is always giving me things?" Peter grumbled and tilted his back, eyeing Wade. "What have I given you?"

Just the way Peter was looking at him was a part of the gifts that were always being given. "Just being here is more than most have ever given me." He didn't want to have  a whole session explaining how being treated like a human was liberating and romantic. The bar was low . . . he knew that. But low bar or not, Peter wasn't just making the cut. He was someone that was genuinely kind and precious. Even if there were sides to Peter he hadn't seen, he knew that deep down Peter was a kind soul. There wasn't the usual benefit of being kind to Wade in the same sense a man could be kind to a woman or someone of prestige. Wade had nothing to offer Peter, really. Food, sure, but Peter was always uncomfortable receiving those gifts. Wade was ugly, and Peter dismissed that. Obviously, that made Wade happy, but it had kind of shifted his approach to everything, He felt better about himself, even besides the magic of the healing process he was committed to with Dr. Kaisen.

Actually, being so familiar with the Peter he knew sparked excitement in him as he recalled the darkened expression he'd been given. He wanted to know whomever else Peter was. He wanted to know how . .  . special he was.

"I appreciate that," Peter said slowly, carefully picking over some hurdles in his mind as he looked away. "Just walk me back upstairs, okay? I might have just been spooked."