Chapter Text
"Sorry if this is boring," Peter muttered.
Vanessa startled and made a mental note to buy that boy a collar with a bell. Then she looked behind her, turning away from the poster she'd been studying--a colorful World War II era propaganda piece advertising the strategic advantages of nuclear power stations--to study her date instead.
Peter's round, dark eyes focused on the hardwood under his feet and he'd shoved his hands into the pockets of his black jeans up to the wrist. His hunched form made an odd gloomy spot in the brightly lit, colorful room.
With his sloped shoulders and generally slouched, unconfident position, Vanessa might have thought he'd been ghosted if she wasn't the person going out with him.
"Boring?" Vanessa repeated quietly. Peter nodded without looking up. "If I was bored you'd know, sweetie. Why? Is something wrong?"
"I mean, I... I realized I didn't ask what you wanted to do tonight, I picked what I'd want, and then I didn't ask you if what I wanted was okay, I only told you the time and place and I really shouldn't order you around--"
Red alert: Peter meltdown imminent! Vanessa adjusted the strap of her purse higher on her shoulder and closed the short distance between them to take Peter's face in her hands, brushing his hair off his forehead, trying to catch his gaze.
Peter's anxiety never really went away; he and Wade shared that trait. It simmered like a pot on the stove, deceptively silent before panic overwhelmed him and boiled over. And, like Wade, every day Vanessa noticed new warning signs and learned how to lower the heat before disaster.
"Breathe, Pete," she whispered. "I'd tell you if I didn't want to go somewhere, you know that. Wade doesn't have the only mouth in this relationship."
"Sorry," Peter said again, voice cracking in the quiet of the museum. "Sorry, I don't know why I'm... fuck." He squeezed his eyes shut. "Fuck, I didn't mean to ruin it. This was supposed to be our first date, and--"
Vanessa's heart dropped. "Sweetie, you didn't ruin anything." Even in heels she stood several inches shorter than him, so she leaned up on her toes to kiss him on the forehead, leaving the barest pink mark from her lipstick. "I think... I think it's too soon, maybe," she finished gently.
"But I need to prove to you that I want you, not just Wade. I'm already so fucking bad at dating and you deserve more than this."
Peter gave pathetic, but in a cute way, like a kicked puppy. Vanessa sighed and hugged him with one arm while she tucked his face into her shoulder.
"I get it," Vanessa said. And she did.
This week marked the first time Vanessa and Peter experienced Wade's absence together. Obviously Spider-Man and Deadpool's connection strengthened over their months of partnership, so Vanessa assumed Peter missed Wade when he went on any job longer than a few days. But she also thought that, as Wade's girlfriend, she missed him more than Peter did.
No matter how much Peter reassured himself under the guise of reassuring Vanessa that Wade would always come home, his anxiety built. Vanessa insisted he sleep in their apartment at least until Wade returned home so he wouldn't spend too much time alone--and, selfishly, she wouldn't be lonely either.
Over the past five days, Peter might have slept five hours total. He'd get back from work after Vanessa, politely kiss her hello, eat half his normal portion at dinner, patrol all night, and then clamber inside through the window at four am and pace the ceiling from then to sunrise.
On Saturday morning, Peter snapped out of his fugue and seemed to realize how little he'd even acknowledged Vanessa all week. He rushed to ask her out for a museum date and romantic dinner, planning the whole night, not letting her lift a finger. And he treated her so well, attentive and curious and holding her hand as they browsed the exhibit at the Poster Museum, barring about ten minutes ago when he suddenly stepped away.
Vanessa didn't keep leashes on her men unless they asked her to. She figured he went to the bathroom or took a phone call and didn't think anything of it. She thought a lot of it now that she knew something had gone very wrong.
She hugged Peter even tighter. "I have another idea for tonight," she said. Peter grunted against her shoulder. "Forget the reservation. Let's get takeout on our way home. Then we'll eat ice cream and cry and watch Wade's favorite movies so he can yell at us for watching them without him even though he's seen them hundreds of times."
That pulled a laugh out of Peter and Vanessa sighed again, relieved.
"If it's okay to cut our date short," he said, lips against her neck and warm breath making her shiver.
"We're still on a date, hot stuff. A different kind of date," Vanessa said. He nodded but didn't let her go until she released him.