His new apartment practically turned into a set for his Bambi streams. It wasn't intentional - or - at least not at first. It was minimalistic, but not in the way that it was tastefully decorated and simple, but unbelievably barren in a way that Peter knew made it look like it was his first apartment. Which it wasn't, but he just didn't really have a lot of stuff. Like - not even enough stuff to completely fill the back of a pickup - nevermind a UHaul.

So it started out empty. Embarrassingly so. Which was why Peter almost took back his sleepover invitation with Wade. Almost being the key word. It only took one look at Deadpool's pleading puppy-dog eyes that - because of the mask - the hero couldn't even see. Peter couldn't help but cave.

Like the sucker he was.

So that's why he was hovering anxiously in the living room, straining his ears - which didn't actually need to strain in the first place - for steps to come down the hall or a tap on his window. While he waited he checked and double checked that: yes, he did still have his mask on, and: no, it hadn't mysteriously disappeared in the five minutes since he last checked. Usually it was the first thing he'd take off after patrolling, so it felt unnatural to wear it at home. It felt especially unnatural to wear it at home without the rest of his suit.

So he fidgeted with his mask and tried not to pace and adjusted the blanket on the couch (again) so it covered the blood stains.

And after getting himself sufficiently riled up he was wholly unprepared for when Wade finally showed up. He was so unprepared that the soft knocking spooked Peter so badly he ended up clinging to the ceiling. The ceiling he'd barely cleaned dirty footprints from.

Ugh.

Peter dropped back down silently, ignoring the waves of adrenaline and rushed to the door. There was no reason to be so nervous about this, really. It was just two guys being dudes. Two bros chilling in an entirely platonic bestie kinda way. Totally normal. Spider-Man and Deadpool hung out all the time on rooftops, it couldn't be that much different in a domestic setting.

It wasn't - like - a date or anything.

Peter shook off that thought and swung the door open. And he might've used a bit more force than necessary. And it might have been frantic enough that some people would've called it enthusiastic. That some people would call being slammed open instead of shut. Peter hadn't been expecting it, so he had to lunge to stop the door from putting a hole in the wall. Apparently Wade hadn't been expecting it either, since he stumbled back.

Peter cleared his throat and leaned against the door, hoping to effect an air of cool and collected. "Hey."

Wade just stared at him for a moment with a curious glint in his eyes, and Peter resisted the urge to check if his mask was still on. Which was probably because Wade's mask was notably off, and so was the rest of his suit. In its place the merc wore sweats and a dark red hoodie. The hoodie was up, of course, not unlike the last times Peter had seen him in casual wear.

After a few seconds the older man blinked and motioned down to his occupied arms. Peter followed the gaze. Wade had a gaming console tucked under one arm and, if Peter had to guess, the bag in his other was full of games. "I know I said I would bring my Switch, but I had this spare just laying around," he explained as he leaned forward to see the apartment over Peter's head. "I figured I could just leave it here and we could play whenever we hung out."

Peter couldn't help but snort at that, because seriously? Who had a spare PlayStation, especially the newest model, just laying around? He responded as such, and backed out of the doorway so Wade could step inside.

At that point Wade usually would have quipped back, but the merc was entirely too focused checking out the sparse apartment. His face was a picture of awe and Peter had absolutely no idea why...

It probably should have been endearing. Or funny. It wasn't every day Wade was rendered speechless by something. Especially when that something just happened to be Spider-Man's boring apartment. But right now it was a little confusing. And unnerving.

Was it the fact that his place was actually clean? That it didn't smell like taco grease and dried blood?

"Most of my stuff is still packed, so it - um - looks a bit empty," Peter warned, and watched concernedly as Wade peeked into his bedroom. "That also means that there shouldn't be any identity revealing stuff out yet. So this is your first and last chance to snoop, got it?"

In lieu of a response, Wade sent Peter the brightest grin he'd ever seen.

Nevermind, it was still pretty endearing.

Peter cleared his throat again. "And - uh - the food should be arriving pretty soon and there are some drinks in the fridge, so feel free to grab whatever you'd like," he offered, like a good little host.

Wade nodded distractedly and, forgetting his arms were otherwise occupied, tried to give a double thumbs up. Only Peter's quick reflexes saved the console from tumbling to the floor.

Wade barely even noticed though, too enthralled by the blank walls and the cardboard boxes...

So fucking weird.

So Peter left Wade to explore to his heart's content and instead carried the PlayStation to the guest room - A.K.A. the only room that had a TV - even if it was currently being used as a computer monitor.

A.K.A. his new streaming room.

From the other room Peter could hear cabinets open and closing, and wondered whether Wade was looking for cups or just being nosy. Either way Peter didn't mind, it wasn't like he had any skeletons in his closets.

Peter sighed and let the HDMI cable fall to the floor.

No, he didn't have any skeletons in his closets, but he did have a bunch of streaming stuff in this one. And if Wade was looking through everything like Peter knew he was...

Well, then he'd find all of Peter's equipment. The cameras, the mics... and the kinky stuff, too.

And it wasn't like Wade would react badly to any of it. If anything he'd act like an excitable puppy, with curiosity and sincerity. An excitable puppy who hadn't ever been trained to not hump people's legs. Wade was predictable like that. Not in most ways, but like that. He could be relied on for nasty jokes and non-judgement. Reliable for more than that, actually. But thinking about it was making Peter feel things he really didn't want to right now, especially with how awkward the platonic bestie hangout had been thus far.

So he webbed the closet doors shut and called it good. If Wade cared to ask Peter could just tell him it was off limits. Wade would respect it, he was good like that.

"Hey, do you want me to grab you anything while I'm out here?" Wade called from the kitchen. It was perfect timing too, just as Peter had finished hooking everything up. A grin spread onto his face.

"Can you grab me a seltzer?"

Peter listened with bated breath as the fridge was opened. His trap had been set, and if he was lucky enough...

A cacophony or cans tumbled to the ground.

"Spidey!" Wade yelped from the other room and Peter just barely held back his laughter.

Yeah, Wade was good like that.

Something which became obvious in the past few months was that Wade loved being in the city.

It's obvious to Peter, who's sent all the stories and memes Wade can't wait to share. The texts are endless, and he got them at all times of the day. Even if Spider-Man and Deadpool had scheduled to hang out or patrol later that night, and even though they were meeting up practically daily. And even though Wade keeps up the constant stream in their chat, whenever he meets Spider-Man he still has something to show off. It's annoying. And exhausting. And kinda nice.

It'd been a long time since people started to see Wade as less of a mercenary and more like a superhero. Technically he was still a merc, but being on SHIELD's team meant he was now considered to be a 'good guy.' Even if SHIELD's ethics at times were... questionable - by Peter's standards, at least. But to most of the public, SHIELD was a bastion of goodness and protection.

Therefore Deadpool was treated like a hero.

No city in the world has a love-hate relationship with super-heroes like New York. Being the epicenter of alien invasions and organized crime kinda does that. The government sanctioned heroes, like the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, have a better overall reputation than vigilantes. Or, at least, with the police, media and people in power. They liked the rules and the illusion of morals. They liked that someone high up was yanking at the hero's leash and making them act righteously (or making them jump through loop after loop just to get one thing done).

Vigilantes, however, had no such restrictions. Which left them wide open to criticism and fault. If the Hulk throws a car, it's because it's what had to be done. If Spider-Man throws a car (a rare occurrence in itself), it's because he's a menace who's hell bent on destroying people's property - or too stupid and reckless to find a better option. It's because Spider-Man is New York's 'very own natural disaster in red and blue spandex.' (Jameson must have a big ol' rage boner for Spider-Man, given how much time he wastes obsessing over his every move).

Peter generally has better experiences with the younger generations. The ones who grew up knowing alien invasions were a possibility and that robots could, feasibly, appear and fuck your shit up. They were also the ones who realized that, as the Avenger's sat in their ivory tower, twiddling their thumbs and waiting for the next big super-villain to attack: the Defenders, Spider-Man and any other street level heroes were out there doing the dirty work. The ones that were genuinely just trying to do the best that they could.

And no, Peter's not bitter. He's just...

Okay, fine. He's pretty bitter about it.

Deadpool didn't exactly fall into either category. He was a free agent, in a way.

He went along with SHIELD missions because he wanted to (and got paid to); he said it was part of his 'redemption arc' - or whatever. Peter believed him. Mostly because Peter (and undoubtedly Fury, too) knew that no weight on Earth - not even Thor's hammer - could pin a motivated Deadpool down. Or stop him from completing his mission or killing his target.

Peter had figured out a long time ago that Deadpool would always be a killer. He'd been one before Deadpool, and when his mind shattered - following the weeks of constant torture - it'd just solidified his desensitization to gore and death. It wasn't something Spider-Man could fix in him, not something he had the right to try and fix either, as it was neither his responsibility or privilege to decide what could be considered 'fixed' for Wade.

It'd taken a while for the hero to figure that out.

Peter had made peace with it, he could respect it and continue to be patrol partners with Deadpool.

The public didn't see that side as often anymore.

It felt like when an internet celebrity does something terrible, apologizes with an ingenuine script and crocodile tears, and then the next month is back making content, hitting the same numbers they did before their last public scandal (not that Wade has been ingenuine in his redemption). Or - in other words - it felt like people forgot.

And it's not hard to see why.

Most of Wade's free time since the reward of being 'let off' of missions was spent doing small-time hero stuff. Looking for people to help, puppies to smooch, and food carts to give massive tips to.

By this point the locals knew they had a better chance of running into Deadpool than any other hero. And unless there was a reason to be scared of the merc - i.e.: being a villain or an asshole - then there was nothing to be scared of. Deadpool, in truth, was a big softie, if not a little bit crazy. Wade was known to be funny and helpful, notably generous with his time.

And given that heroes are treated a bit like celebrities...

Every time Deadpool wanders the city he has civilians coming up to him, thanking him for saving their friend's-uncle's-neighbor's-dog or asking him to join their TikTok. Peter would bet that somewhere on Wade's phone there's a folder of pictures dedicated to all the people who were just as excited to see a hero as Deadpool was to see them.

And Wade is genuinely excited to interact with them, too. For every selfie they take, he takes two. For every autograph he gives, he asks for one in return - he even keeps a little autograph book hidden away in the magical pouches, kept in a waterproof case "so it doesn't get blood on it."

He'd become some sort of people's superhero, and it's because Wade likes being liked by people, and he's happy to indulge them in whatever they want to include him in.

And therefore Wade loves New York.

And he loves to berate Peter with all the videos and articles and memes he can get his hands on.

This time it was a Tiktok.

It was an edit of Deadpool, taken from a news segment about his recent heroics. Specifically the clips of him, in a suit half burnt with his abs exposed, running out of a house fire, baby carrying a cat, and sporting a raging adrenaline boner.

To be more specific: a thirst trap.

Peter grabbed the spray bottle off his windowsill. It was the one he used for his sad little cactus, but it'd work for this too. He quickly spritzed himself in the face. Down Boy, Down.

The description was @-ing the 'Merc_Wi_a_Mouth' surrounded by tongue emojis and hearts, the comments on the other hand...

They were rabid animals.

The top comment was a simple 'Daddy~'

The next few down were filthy enough to make Peter blush.

By the time Peter returned to the conversation, Wade already started his standard block of texts. Peter had no clue how anyone could text so fast.

Wade: so

Wade: I was scrolling through superhero thirst traps like I usually do

Wade: and to my surprise there was one of ME!!!!!!

Peter started typing, but Wade beat him with a response.

Wade: don't judge me yet

Wade: you have no idea how happy this makes me

Wade: so obviously I was reading through the comments

Wade: and one said they'd fuck me nasty

Wade: even though they have a boyfriend

Oh, right. That comment. It was very... descriptive. Lots of adjectives.

Wade: and I was going to respond

Wade: 'cause who wouldn't

Peter was only able to type one word before the next text came in.

Wade: no scratch that

Wade: you wouldn't

Wade: but then I remembered that I don't get into that drama anymore

Peter: Wade

Wade: unless they have a open relationship but yk

Wade: last time a lady caught me blowing her husband she blew my head off

Wade: yes that was a double entendre

Wade: and then she billed me for the dry cleaning

Wade: not something I want to go through again

There was a pause.

Wade: anyways

Peter: Wade.

Wade: so instead I responded like I usually do

Wade: and told them that you and I are heartmates

Wade: and that we were meant to be together

Wade: and I would never betray your trust like that

Peter: Wade, please?

Wade: sorry!

Wade: and that wasn't even the reason I started texting you in the first place

Wade: I got distracted

Wade: what game do you want me to bring tonight?

Peter waited for the inevitable next message to come, but it seemed like Wade, for once, was letting him get a word in.

Wade: if you don't choose I'm going to pick overcooked again

Wade: and I know how frustrated it makes you

Peter: Bring over your Switch.

Peter: We're playing Stardew.

Peter: I need something relaxing after the headache you just gave me.

Wade responded with a gif of Bea Arthur.

Peter wasn't sure what it meant, but he assumed Wade would be bringing over his Switch anyways.

Over time his streaming room accumulated more stuff. Soundproofing panels so he could yell to his heart's content, a futon so that his guest bedroom could still function as a guest bedroom - if that was ever actually needed (unlikely) - or look enough like a bedroom if it worked for whatever stream he was doing.

On nicer days, when there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the light bounced off of the clean white walls of his apartment, he set up in his living room.

And that usually meant he got to bask in the sun for a whole stream. Usually. But today he was fully suited up, even going far enough to have an extra layer.

And his viewers thought it strange, too. So Peter had to come up with an explanation on the fly. While he was stalling he kept his hands moving, feigning the need to focus as he worked on his design. Twisting the ropes this way and that, down his front and then parallel to the cleft of his ass.

Carefully, he adjusted the rope so it was hugging the sides of his erection instead of suffocating it, even if it was causing the fabric to strain. Going without the cup was a good idea today, seeing how the comments were reacting thus far. They were rowdy, excitable. Like wild animals he had to scare away with a stick. Every inch he gave them - about his body - about his life - only fueled their horny.

He made a cross over his stomach and up his side, over his hoodie. Its thick material added much needed cushioning between the new ropes and his tender ribs. "My apartment's too cold to go shirtless today," he finally settled on.

No, it wasn't. And other than the fact that his sunbathing time had been stolen from him, he wasn't even annoyed. It was just... The last time chat had seen bruises painting up and down his sides they started asking if he was camming against his will or if he needed help.

And it wasn't like Peter was mad that they were concerned. If he'd seen a streamer covered in bruises he probably would've felt the same. They just didn't know that when he talked about fighting crime, he was actually telling the truth.

The commenters had a lot to say about his answer. Most were glad he was putting himself first. Some others were bummed. Well, actually, most were bummed, but they were still understanding. They liked seeing his skin, his muscles. Especially when they were tied up so prettily in rope. Speaking of which...

He showed off the knot he'd just made. A couple of commenters recognized it.

"I see that some of you guys have already figured it out," Peter nodded. "Let's not ruin the surprise for anyone else, okay?"

That caused the majority - who apparently weren't boy-scouts, (or at least never earned their knot-tying badge) - to start begging for a hint. A couple donations came in, too.

Instead of giving them what they wanted, Peter just laughed. "Well, that'd be ruining the surprise, wouldn't it?"

The commenters continued to argue back and forth about what the surprise could be, and the few who already knew were throwing in smug replies. Instead of paying those any mind, Peter kept his eye out for another question and relaxed back against the couch. His knees were starting to ache, but if he actually sat down there was a good chance his surprise would fall apart. He had to be very careful.

When it became apparent that his viewers weren't going to let the issue go, Peter changed the topic.

"Do you guys think the real Spider-Man plays with his webbing like this?" Peter paused to let some answers roll in. "Probably not, right? It'd probably be too sticky."

The chat reacted as intended and Peter just laughed. Trust internet pervs to be internet pervs. If only Wade were here. He'd have so many innuendos to share.

His next question was: "Where do you guys think he gets them anyway? Like, are they synthetic? Organic?"

A couple theories were thrown out. One said Spider-Man was a secret government project with special tech. Another said Spider-Man was clearly a genius inventor like Tony Stark (and if Peter secretly preened at that, nobody had to know).

The most common suggestion, however, was that Spider-Man had spinnerets. The real debate happened between those who thought they came out of his wrists, and the rest who thought the webs came from his ass.

"How would that even work though? They shoot out from his wrists?"

buzzy-slyr420: He'd thread them up the suit and have something to shoot them.

"Mmm," Peter hummed, biting back a self-indulgent smile. "So he's still a genius inventor, then?"

Predictably the chat went back into a frenzy. And Peter watched on with amusement, letting the chat battle it out. Sewing chaos was one of his favorite pastimes.

As time went on, the commenters came up with increasingly strange theories on where the webs came from. His favorite so far theorized that he wasn't a man, and instead was thousands of spiders in a suit.

Eventually he had to push off the couch and show off the full design, though, and after doing a couple awkward turns on his knees he'd noticed something strange.

shooky: deadpool/?

i-love-tny-stark: Property of Deadpool ;'D ??????

"Uhhhh," Peter twisted around so he could see the back. Which one was this again? He didn't think he had more than one red hoodie.

A second later he choked on his spit.

Taking up most of the back was the Deadpool symbol, but that wasn't the problem. No, it was the fact that at the bottom of the hoodie, right in tramp stamp territory, were the words 'Property of Deadpool.'

"I-" Peter laughed nervously, "I guess I wore the wrong hoodie by accident."

shooky: its so cooll!

shooky: ive never seen deadpool merch weher did you get it?

Peter looked back again, carefully pulling away a rope near the bottom, revealing the top line of the text, so instead it read as: 'This Hoodie Is Property of Deadpool.'

Apparently Wade had forgotten his hoodie. But knowing Wade, he'd probably done it on purpose. Just so he had another reason to show up at Spider-Man's door and cajole him into making a web hammock.

"It's homemade," Peter responded with a huff. Deadpool was the only superhero he knew that was cheesy enough to wear his own merch, and the only superhero cheesy enough to make his own merch so he could wear it.

lil-mis-cake: is he lik ur suprhero crush thn?

shooky: you did a really good job!!

He immediately thanked Shooky - even if it was Wade who actually made it. Viewers were always happy to be acknowledged. The question however, took a second for Peter to mull over.

There was a part of himself he could indulge as Bambi. Something that he might never feel comfortable allowing for himself otherwise - as fragile and vulnerable as love was. There wasn't really any reason he had to deny it here. No consequences of showing something so tender and personal.

So maybe...bam

"I guess he is," Peter replied simply, and suddenly felt like smiling a sappy smile.

He stayed and watched chat for a little while longer, answering a few questions here and there about his crush on Deadpool. There were some viewers who seemed a little jealous, and even though Peter figured they would leave if he continued drooling over Deadpool's rippling abs, he couldn't bring himself to care. He felt really good right now. The air felt lighter and Peter felt freer than he had in a long time - even if he was currently hog tied and kneeling on the floor.

And if it saved him from some stalker-ish fans, then that was just a bonus.

Sooner than he would've liked, he got the notification signaling his stream was almost at its end. The finale that he'd so carefully prepared for.

Out of seemingly nowhere, Peter hummed, "Y'know, if I were Spider-Man I could rip out of these ropes with just my strength alone."

The commenters took a second to catch up, but when they did a fair portion of the chat was instantly excited. They knew this tone of voice by now, they knew something special was coming.

"I guess it's a good thing I actually am Spider-Man then, huh?" Peter grinned at the camera, leaning forward a bit. Then he paused, trying for all the world to look disappointed. "It's a shame though. I just got these ropes and they're so nice, so soft. I get tied up so often on the job - well - you know how it is. The ropes criminals use always tear up my wrists, but I splurged on such nice ones for you guys. I don't know if I could handle tearing them apart when I spent my hard earned money on them..."

As expected, the chat started filling with small donations.

He let it go for a little, pretending to contemplate it the whole time. It was part of the game and his chat knew it, but Peter made sure to never let it go on for too long.

Peter's fake alarm went off right on time, and Peter straightened up. It was something he'd made for the roleplay. Specifically as some sort of 'crime siren' so that 'Spider-Man' knew there was a bad guy to fight, and he could run off. Which meant he had an excuse if he actually did have to run off and fight crime.

Either way, Peter sighed dramatically. "Well, I guess that decides it then."

The viewers cheered and Peter couldn't help but laugh then, breaking character. He made a little show of squirming around on the floor, turning only enough that they could see his hands - so they knew he wasn't cheating by cutting himself free - and strained his arms against his binds like he did during his practice run. Then, he released the tension on the ropes, gently jostling them so the knot would come undone. Within seconds the ropes were pooling around him.

And in the next second he was on his feet and jogging out of frame. "I'll see you guys soon. Have a good night!" He called and made sure his window opened loudly.

Peter waited an extra five minutes, listening to the stream notifications chime as the last couple donations came in and people started filtering out. Next time he'd have to explain his trick, but until then he could enjoy their shock and amazement.

Later that night, Peter sent a text to Wade telling him to come pick up his hoodie.

Wade asked if Peter wanted him to bring tacos or pizza.