Spider-Man touched down softly onto the rooftop, and crept quietly toward a familiar figure crouched near the edge. He made sure to keep out of the other man's sight, doing his best to blend into the shadows provided by a towering skyscraper. His breaths came long and low, too loud in the still air. He held his breath. Better. He skulked closer and closer until, finally, he was able to reach out his hand and-

"You know, I thought spiders were supposed to be quiet." The man in red and black said without turning around.

"Gaaaahhh!" Spider-Man jumped and snapped his hands back to his chest. "How do you do that!?"

Deadpool smirked. "Oh, I've got loads of skills that you don't know about baby boy. That, and I was totally checking out your ass the last four or five times you swung past this ledge. Am I right to assume that my little itsy-bitsy spider was looking for me?"

"Okay, I swung past maybe once-"

"I would disagree, it was at least twice."

"-and I've told you not to call me itsy-bitsy." Spider-Man plopped down next to Deadpool and elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

"And I've told you, darling," Deadpool returned Spider-Man's jab with a shove of his own. "That I'll stop calling you that when you prove to me otherwise." Deadpool's grin was evident even underneath the fabric of his mask.

"Well then I suppose it's a good thing it's our anniversary." Spider-Man placed a feather light kiss mischievously onto Deadpool's astonished lips. "You won't have to wait any longer."

"You…you mean…that...um…" Spider-Man waited for his boyfriend to stumble onto a coherent sentence. Wade could talk his ear off all day, but even the slightest bit of affection could transform into the mercenary into a blathering mess. He wasn't exactly helping matters either. His hands were busy tracing tiny patterns into Deadpool's uniform. He liked touching his boyfriend, sue him.

"Tonight, you and I are going to have dinner like we planned. But it's not going to be at that fancy and ridiculously overpriced place with a name that I can't pronounce like I know you were planning on taking me to. No, don't give me that look, I've got skills too, you know." Spider-Man moved so that he was straddling Wade's lap.

"But that was supposed to be a surprise," Wade protested weakly. Spider-Man hooked his arms around Deadpool's neck and silenced him with a dry kiss. He was really starting to hate these masks. They deserved a proper kiss, goddammit.

"Instead, you are coming over to my place, and I'm going to make some of the best damn food you've ever tasted." He smirked at the look of confusion growing on his boyfriend's face. "Use your words, Wade."

"…I still think it's unfair that you know my name and I don't know yours."

"Well that's going to change after tonight baby." Wade drew back and gave him a look. "What, you can call me all the ridiculous pet names you want, but I can't call you baby?" Wade shook his head. "Oh, the name thing?" Wade nodded vigorously, so much so that if it were not for his healing factor, Spider-Man might have worried about him hurting his neck. "Well, I just figured, it would probably be nice to bare all before we, well, bared all, if you catch my drift. That is, if that's okay with you."

Wade nodded his head slowly, apparently at a loss for words. God, Spider-Man loved being able to do that to him. "You're really going to… I thought we said no gifts?"

Peter groaned. Of course that was how Wade would see it. "Wade. This is not a gift. I didn't just wake up this morning and go, 'you know what would be fun? Revealing my biggest secret to the man I love.'" Spider-Man placed his hands on either side of Wade's face and gently tugged him so that they could see eye to eye. "No babe, this has been a long time coming. It's not a reward, not a gift; it's our next step."

Wade swallowed thickly. "You sure Spidey? It's a pretty big step."

"I'm sure."

"Oh, okay. Yeah. Okay. Yeah" He paused for a moment, considering. "Okay."

"Wade, that was like three okay's. Are…are you okay with this?" Spider-man asked nervously, carefully watching his boyfriend's face for any miniscule aberration that might betray his disinclination.

"I am, just…shit, spidey, give a guy a minute, would ya?" Wade groaned, letting himself fall back onto the hard surface of the rooftop with his hand over his eyes and his legs kicking out over the edge.

It was then that Spider-Man noticed the bag. "Wade, what's that?"

"You're gonna have to be a bit more specific bug-a-boo. Are you referring to the pigeon shit, my fantastic rock-hard abs, or your own comely form?" Wade replied, his response somewhat muffled by his hand.

"The bag, Wade. And don't try and give my any of your lying bullshit. We both know what that bag is for." Oh, he was seething now. Today? Of all days, he decided to do this today?

"I don't suppose I can convince you that it was such a beautiful day that I decided to clean my guns outside for a change?" He looked at Spider-Man hopefully.

"Fifty stories up? I don't think so." Peter spat. "Try again. This time with the truth."

"Fine. I have a job." Wade slumped over to his weapons, drawing them toward him like a mother polar bear might her cubs.

"No duh." Spider-Man rolled his eyes. "How could you do this, Wade? I mean for chrissakes, it's our anniversary. I literally just invited you into my bed. Being with you and knowing that those same hands just killed someone. That they probably had another person's blood on them just hours earlier? It's…It's…" The web-slinger floundered about for a moment, searching for the right word."…it's icky!" He blurted, flinging the words at his boyfriend, who was looking like a kicked puppy.

"See?" Wade splayed out his fingers in front of him helplessly. "This is why I didn't tell you. I knew you'd react like this." Wade held up a finger, cutting off Spider-Man as he opened his mouth to resume his rant. "No, let me finish. Yes I have a job. No, it isn't exactly kosher. And yeah, no, I don't really even want to do it."

"Then why-" Spider-Man started, but was interrupted by Wade again.

"I accepted the job a long time ago. I put it off for a long time, but my time is running out. The timing sucks, but that's just how it is. The guy who's paying me isn't exactly the kind of guy you want to piss off. The guy he wants dead has got it coming. Initially, the bid was upwards of 40 mill, just for this one guy. And I'm sorry, but you don't have that big of a price for a single guy without a really good reason."

"I don't care what anybody may or may not have done, Deadpool, or how much money you're making. Killing people is wrong. You know that too, or you wouldn't have hidden this from me."

"I do know that sweetheart." Peter shrank away from the endearment that tumbled effortlessly out of the mercenary's mouth. Wade continued, drooping slightly at Spider-man's reaction. "Just, please let me finish. You can decide if you want to be mad at me afterwards." Taking his boyfriend's silence as permission for him to tell his story, he went on.

"Like I said, it was 40 million dollars initially. I'm only doing it for half of that. You see, my employer really hates this guy. To the point where it makes even me uncomfortable. He didn't just want him dead, no that wasn't good enough. He wanted him to die a slow and painful death. Preferably one that involved a combination of fire, acid, and lots of different kinds of knives. He was very specific. It didn't stop there though. He wanted things done to the body after the deed too. Really, really terrible things, the most innocent of which was skinning the man and bringing it back as proof of the kill. Stuff most mercs wouldn't even do normally, but 40 million is a lot of cash. And money has a way of twisting people's minds.

"Now, this was just after I met you, back when I was still trying to figure out how to be a good guy. So I approached this sicko and said 'look, I'll do it, but on one condition. I'm not doing any of that sick shit. It's gross, it's wrong. I get to finish him with a clean headshot, or no deal.' Of course he just laughed in my face and asked why, exactly I thought he'd agree to that. To which I said 'I'll do it for half price.' Now that got his attention. He might've been a depraved son of a bitch, but even he could recognize a deal. After all, I am the best there is at what I do, and what I do is negotiate." Deadpool stopped and sucked air into his lungs for what felt like the first time since he began his story. He stole a wary glance at his spider, trying his best to decipher his expression through his mask.

Spider-Man thought about what Deadpool had just said. It made sense, in a twisted way. He could certainly see why Deadpool would think that this was an acceptable solution to a nasty situation. However, that didn't mean that felt the same way.

"Look Wade, I'm not sure what you want me to say here. I get it, I do, but I can't just condone this. Killing is never the best option, or even the right one," Spider-Man pleaded.

"Then tell me what to do baby, 'cause I'm not really seeing another option here," Wade asked morosely.

"You could protect this guy, or turn him over to police. Hell, you could even turn in your 'employer'. From what you've told me, it seems like he has something coming his way anyway."

Wade nodded, hearing Peter's options, but when he realized that that was the extent of his list, he slowly shook his head. "I've already thought of all that baby boy. I can't protect him, there are just too many gunning for his head." Deadpool held up his hand, ticking down his fingers as he rattled off each remonstration. "I can't just 'turn him over to the police' because of a few little things called 'evidence' and 'reasonable doubt'. From the surface, this guy is squeaky clean. Dirt doesn't even stick to him. Most people don't even know his identity, much less what he does. And as for my employer, there's just no touching him. He has friends on the force, he'd get sprung in no time. Plus, surprise, surprise, you can still organize a hit even from the inside of a prison.

"So yeah, the only way to deal with him would be to sleep him with the fishes instead of my target. But that presents a problem in itself. He is surrounded by guards all the time. He's got 24/7 security, and ties to quite a few of the local gangs. Even if I could take him out, I'd have his goons coming after me left and right. Of course, that's not even factoring in all the mercenaries that would be coming after me."

"Mercenaries?" Spider-Man inquired.

"Yeah, surprisingly enough, killing your boss is a big no no. If you welch out on a deal, it makes everyone look bad. So yeah, they tend to take it upon themselves to beat some sense into you. Plus there's the whole 'Raaargh, you robbed me of my payload' schtick. And that's assuming that he hasn't written the contract somewhere into his will. Dead doesn't always mean forgotten," Wade finished.

Spider-man wrung his hands, his mind racing faster than an Olympic athlete, trying his best to think of a way out of this situation. As the silence stretched on however, he realized that it was a futile effort. "Okay…okay. It's a sucky situation. But just because I understand…because I-" Spider-Man gulped, forcing the words out of his throat. "Because I accept what you have to do. That doesn't mean that I'm okay with it. I don't want this man to die. I can't just shrug off a man's life you can."

Deadpool reached forward, bridging the distance between them. "I don't expect to you, sweetheart. Hell, I don't ever want you to be okay with this. You live in the light, and I'm sure as hell not going to be the one that drags you into my darkness." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "And as to the how of me being able to do this, well I guess you could say that-"

"Don't say you're doing him a favor, Wade. Just…don't. I honestly don't know if I could look at you ever again if you say that. So please…just don't." Spider-Man trembled in Deadpool's embrace. Somehow, his boyfriends warmth was both exactly what he needed right now and the single most repulsive thing to him at the moment. He couldn't decide if he just wanted to snuggle in and let Wade make it all better, or if he should just push Deadpool away and get out of this while he still could. Unable to make a decision, he just hung limply in the man's arms.

"No, no!" The arms holding Spider-Man shook with each vocal tremor. I wasn't going to say that! I would never say that. Why would you even think that?

"No, that's a stupid question. Of course you would think that. No sugar-muffin, I was just going to say that I don't see it so much as ending a man's life than preventing his suffering. You're fortunate not to know real pain, baby boy. It does things to you. Sometimes it's not even the pain that's the worst part. Sometimes it's simply the knowledge that no matter what you do, it's not going to end. Ever. I can only pray that you never feel that helpless, Spidey." Wade trailed off, and Spider-Man could tell that he was reliving his days back in the workshop. He squashed down the tiny urge to tell Wade that he was a superhero, he knew pain. Wade rarely talked about his life before he donned the crimson and black spandex get-up, but what little he revealed made Spider-Man sure that nothing that he had ever experienced came even remotely close to Wade's hell.

"It's okay Wade, you don't have to explain," Spider-Man said gently, softly pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Like I said, I understand."

"Yeah, you 'understand', but you think I'm lower than dirt," Wade barked out sharply, his laughter hanging darkly in the crisp air. "I guess it's a good thing I'm done with this shit."

"What?"

"Oh," Wade grinned sheepishly. "I was going to tell you at dinner, but I guess this is as good a time as any. I'm quitting merc work. Not just temporarily either, after tonight, I'm completely done-zo. It's why I'm doing this tonight. Yeah, it's our anniversary, which sucks and feels terrible, but it somehow seemed worse, continuing on and doing this after. Like, I dunno, breaking a trust or something. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that I-" Spider-Man didn't get a chance to hear the rest of Wade's sentence because all of a sudden he was kissing him, and it felt so right. Wait, no it didn't. Stupid masks, Peter grumbled inwardly. The fabric was seriously harshing on his spontaneous pronouncement of approval. He ripped off his boyfriend's mask with the hand that wasn't currently snaking around to grab the man's ass. He rolled his own mask up to his nose and dived back in to continue their makeout. He was surprised then, when his lips did not meet flesh but the rough texture of Wade's hand. He stopped and looke up in surprise.

"Is something wrong?" He asked breathlessly. Wade looked pointedly at Peter's mask and lightly jabbed him in the forehead.

"Any particular reason why I'm here sitting pretty, but you're still covered up?"

"Didn't want to ruin the surprise," Peter answered breathlessly, moving in to mouth at his boyfriend's neck.

"You were going to show me anyways, why not now. Let the schmexy times commence," Wade smirked. Doing his best to push away their earlier argument, Peter grinned into Wade's neck.

"Nuh-uh. I have a plan."

"Oh, you have a plan."

"Yep, and it involves me cooking you dinner," Peter spoke between peppering kisses down Wade's collarbone.

"Mexican?"

"Wade, it's our anniversary."

"Sooo…"

"Of course we're having Mexican." Wade broke out into a grin even as his chutzpa started to wilt from the attention his spider was giving to his neck. "I'm going to text you my address, say six-ish, and you're going to come over in something that isn't a hoodie and jeans, and if I like what I see, then I'm going to open the door and let you into my home."

Wade shivered. "And what will you be wearing, my little spider-mix?"

"Oh, who knows? But you know what I won't be wearing?" Spider-Man paused for effect.

"Underwear?" Great, leave it to Wade to ruin a mood.

"No, babe. I'm going to be at home, waiting for you, and when I finally get to see you, I'm going to be maskless." Spider-Man whispered the last part in Wade's ear. Wade let out a low moan.

"Fuuuuck, baby boy. You sure you don't just want to tell me now? I promise I'll be good." Spider-Man looked up at his boyfriend. The man was breathing raggedly, clearly at least a little aroused. A few hours from now, that would be exactly how he would want his boyfriend to look. But not right now. No matter how delicious Wade looked, he wanted tonight to be perfect. Somehow sharing their special night on a grimy rooftop in front of a building with large picture windows facing towards them seemed less that perfect.

"Nah, baby. The last thing I want is you accidentally blowing up our house with fireworks. Remember our six month?

"What the thing with the rabbit?"

"Yes, the thing with the rabbit."

"It was one time. Besides, I don't even think I'm allowed in that particular Olive Garden anymore."

"That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence."

"I could help you cook. That could be romantic." Wade suggested hopefully.

"No, I want to build the suspense. Besides," peter leaned in to whisper one last parting remark. "This will give you enough time to decide whether you want me to fuck you into the mattress so hard that you forget your own name, or if you'd have me bounce up and down on your cock, and we both see how loud I can scream." Spider-Man pulled away from Wade's frozen embrace, snickering at the way his mouth hung agape, and leaped of the rooftop. Oh, he was an evil, evil man.