[Cable & Deadpool] Summers'son (10/10)

[rallamajoop]

OMG, I actually finished something.

Title: Summers’son
Summary: Settling into the 21st century is giving a teenaged Nathan some trouble.
Chapter: 10/10
Characters/Pairing: Nate/Wade
Rating: PG (this chapter) NC-17 (over all)
Word Count: 3,200
Previous parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9

Notes: The last scene in this chapter follows events from a prior scene back in chapter 7. Considering just how long it's been since I posted chapter 7, I figured people could probably use the reminder. ^^;

---

In their later years, once in a while someone would make the mistake of asking them how they'd got together. (If anything, it was rather more common for some unsuspecting thug to find himself on the receiving end of a diatribe that began, "You think you've you problems? You try making people take you seriously as a badass motherfucking merc who's still dating the same guy he met in high school. Yeah I said guy, did you have a problem with that? Get over here and I'll give you something worth having a problem with..." but this seldom led to the full tale being told, let alone anyone who had the first idea why they were hearing any of it.)

In more polite company, Wade's answer invariably fell along the lines of, "the most messed-up way possible, no thanks to him." Here Nathan would generally interject that as he remembered it, the mess had owed more to someone else with a paralysing fear that his best friend might ever find out how much time Wade spent picturing him naked, and a habit of projecting both at considerable psychic volume every time they hung out. This would lead to Wade offering his own complaints about mixed messages and someone's habit of stripping to win an argument, eventually dissolving into a stream of good-natured bickering along the same lines that at least did managed to demonstrate that, however they may have gotten there, the arrangement must have worked out for them reasonably well in the long run. They could hardly have reached that level of old married couple behaviour otherwise.

One usually did better asking how they met ("In high school, if you'd believe it." "Yeah, that one took some doing, what with how the date on his birth certificate is a whole decade after mine..."), how Wade got himself into the superhero business, how long ago it was they'd begun preparing for the rise of Apocalypse – or why, even now, they still spoke of it as though the battle was far from over. This was all fair enough, because in the big picture, how they'd first established their mutual romantic attraction had to be just about the least important part of the story.

Here is how it should have happened:

One afternoon when the moment seems right, Nathan pops the question, have you ever wondered if you might be a mutant? Wade responds defensively, that much was inevitable, but when Nathan explains that he's a mutant himself and points out the possibility of secondary mutations and the realities of a world where someone invents a new mutant cure or a mutant-targeting superweapon every other week, sooner or later this is something Wade is going to need to know for sure. Nathan shows him his telekinesis, sending objects flying around the room (the revelation about his telepathy can wait for another time). He tells Wade he knows a doctor who lives in their city who could do the test for him in under an hour. Nervous, but unable to fault Nathan's logic, Wade agrees. Nathan makes the appointment. They don't tell Scott or Al.

From the moment they leave, Wade's brimming with nervous energy; for the better part of the whole train journey one of his feet thumps out a staccato beat against the floor. Nathan knows there's a chance he's getting Wade's hopes up for nothing, but his gut tells him he's not wrong.

Wade's eyes go wide on his first sight of Doctor McCoy ("You didn't tell me he was a mutant!" he hisses to Nate. "He is?" Nathan replies, his face the picture of studied innocence, "I always thought he just had a bad skin condition." Wade elbows him in the ribs). He has to have it explained twice why he needs to let the doctor stick a cotton bud in his mouth, then he fidgets terribly through the fifteen minute wait while Doctor McCoy disappears to process the sample, and only fidgets worse when he comes back wanting skin and blood and finally x-rays as well. Nathan can already hear Wade building himself up for disappointment, which is something of a job when he can't quite seem to make up his mind whether yes or no would be the bigger disappointment after coming this far. A dozen times over Nathan nearly tells him that Dr McCoy wouldn't have wanted so many additional tests if he hadn't found something, but stops himself each time. The truth is he doesn't know, and skimming the doctor's surface thoughts does little good when they go by so fast in vocabulary Nathan can't make head or tail out of.

At last, they're called back into the laboratory, now decorated with back-lit x-rays of various parts of Wade's body. Doctor McCoy grumbles something about the problem with science and answers that only ever lead to more questions, but assures them his tests were conclusive – excepting, he adds looking down at them over his spectacles, on the matter of supplying him with any rational explanation for how Mr Wilson has managed to reach this age without noticing that he's in possession of one of the most enthusiastically overactive healing factors Dr McCoy has ever encountered in his long and distinguished career. As Wade makes assorted sounds of confusion, the doctor takes the opportunity to point out on his x-rays no less than seven different places where Wade's bones show evidence of long-healed breaks, not one of which Wade has any recollection of having broken in the first place. Sure he's had his share of hard knocks, and there was that one attempt to recreate that scene from that new Bond film off the second-story balcony over that went epically wrong and it hurt like a word Dr McCoy finds the need to cough over, but you know what they say about any landing you can walk away from. He's always known he doesn't bruise, but with skin like his who'd notice an extra scrape somewhere? But it's not like he could break something and not notice, that's just dumb.

He goes a little pale as the truth sinks in.

Dr McCoy takes advantage of the extended silence to show them the chart of coloured blobs which apparently prove the presence of a mutant gene in Wade's genetics, then goes on to share some interesting figures on white blood cell activity and cell division rates and what that means regarding Wade's relative odds of surviving a minor case of Ebola, or perhaps the experience of being ripped in two (as a medical professional of course he's obligated not to recommend Wade tries it out – though if his subject does feel the need to test his limits under controlled circumstances he'd be only too happy to make the arrangements).

Wade listens to all this with a distant look of grim determination, Nathan making detailed mental notes in anticipation of having to repeat it all to him again later before it sinks in. This continues up until Wade suddenly grabs a scalpel off a nearby tray and stabs himself through the back of the hand. He glares defiantly at both of them, probably expecting a stronger reaction than Dr McCoy's rolled eyes and complaint that that's really not what he had mind by way of controlled conditions (though at least Wade had had the decency to use a sterilised implement). They all watch with interest as the stab wound seals itself shut in seconds.

("Are you sure that doesn't happen to everyone?" Wade wants to know. "Don't make me demonstrate," Nathan threatens. Wade has to sit down.)

But Wade is nothing if not quick to recover, and he's in a chipper mood on the way back to the station afterwards, chattering on about various things he could hypothetically live through and dumbass dermatologists and his future career as an indestructible medical test subject, should 'stunt man' fall through. Nathan isn't really listening though; his mind is elsewhere. As they'd been leaving, Dr McCoy had pulled him aside and told him that while it's all conjecture at this early stage, the odds are that Wade's healing factor will never let him age beyond twenty-five. Today, he'd stressed, is not the day to drop that particular bombshell on his friend, but sooner or later he has a right to know. He'll trust Nathan's judgement as to when.

Wade could live forever.

As much as Nathan has enjoyed his relationship with Wade, it's always been overshadowed by the awareness that this too shall pass. If Wade's mutant nature was ever going to give him the raw power to rival Nathan's telekinesis or the ability to deflect bullets with his mind, they'd have known long ago. It's been pleasant – necessary, even – for Nathan to take this time to orient himself in the world he'll soon be called on to protect, but he can't ask Wade to follow him where he's going. It wouldn't be fair on either of them.

Until today, when Dr McCoy had innocently revealed that Wade is going to outlive him. Wade could live Nathan's life – fight every battle at his side – and survive. They can be together – he can have Wade – without guilt, without fear. In all their association, this is the first time he's ever felt the right to offer Wade what he knows Wade has wanted since the day they met. The world has given him permission.

It's not until that moment that Nathan had ever consciously allowed himself to recognise how much he wants that too. Now, like a switch has been flicked on, the floodgates are open. It's all but overwhelming.

Reality intrudes in the form of Wade's voice asking why he's standing there like that, earth to Nate, hello? Nathan hears himself mutter some sort of apology and try to shrug it off. He smiles, maybe a little too easily, because Wade gives him a funny look and changes the subject.

This isn't the moment to drop that bombshell on Wade either, he decides. They've surely already had their share of revelations between them for one day.

Tomorrow though – he won't leave it any longer than that. He's made Wade wait long enough

Here is how it shouldn't have:

One night while Scott is out of town the two of them sneak out back together with a case of stolen beer, and proceed to get themselves drunk well past the stage where either of them can remember why they wouldn't usually end up slouched together with Wade's head on Nate's shoulder as they lean back against the wall of the ancient potting shed, past where Wade can remember that he wouldn't usually dare kiss Nathan, and past where Nathan can remember why it would be a bad idea to kiss Wade back, only that he can feel how much Wade wants it and it feels so nice...

It's more than Nathan can bear when they wake, cold and sober, to let Wade try to pretend he can't remember what he did or that it was something he'd never want sober. But even once Nathan's owned up that he does like boys and he knows Wade likes him, he's still got to admit that he's telepathic and more than a little empathic into that deal, and with that much alcohol in his system, he doesn't know for sure whether what he was feeling that night were his own feelings or Wade's.

One way or another, though, some things are probably inevitable.

***

Early on the Monday morning after the sports carnival, Nathan finds Wade sitting on the bleachers, alone. There's a stormy quality the thoughts churning away under his stoic expression that makes Nathan wince away from prying any deeper; nonetheless, there's something there – something the slightest bit artificial about thought cycles keeping Wade angry – that gives him the first glimmer of hope he's felt in days.

"Weasel said you were looking for me," he offers.

"Not how I remember that conversation," says Wade, staring resolutely at the bleacher two steps down and in a tone so far past 'grudging' that the words might have been dragged out of him on meat hooks. "But since you're here, and since I gave you so much crap for lying to me, I figure it's only fair I own up to the thing where I'm mostly gay and I've had a crush on you since... well, pretty much since forever."

"Oh," says Nathan. This he hadn't expected at all.

Wade kicks idly at the back of the bench in front of him. "Yeah, sorta seemed like a bigger deal before I knew you were the terminator, but now? If you give me one lick of grief about it I am going to laugh so hard."

"Well," says Nathan – because to hell with it all, if nothing between him and Wade can ever be the same again, he can surely do something to guide the change for the better. "If we're sharing, there are a couple of other things you should know about me too."

Wade's leg freezes mid-swing. "There's more?“

"Yes. The truth is, I – knew. I knew how you felt about me."

Wade's jaw drops. He looks absolutely livid. "Terry," he growls. "I'm gonna fucking kill her."

"Terry wasn't involved," Nathan says quickly; he needs to get this all out now before he can overthink it. "You see, I'm actually not just telekinetic, I'm telepathic as well. I can read minds."

Wade, to his credit, puts it all together remarkably fast. "You what? You don't think maybe that's the kinda thing you should switch off when you enter the theatre and keep in your pants in public? What the fuck, Nate."

"It's not something I can switch off," Nathan explains. "Wade, I honestly wanted to tell you. But I thought it would be less awkward for both of us if I gave you time to get over your crush on me first." He shrugs, sheepish. Wade's mouth is hanging open again.

"Shit," he says. "Well that worked out just great, didn't it?"

"Not really."

"Never did get over it. Still got it bad for your stupid mutant face right now even though I'd maybe like to crush a few other parts first."

"I know," says Nathan. "But there's one more thing I need to own up to. I've been starting to feel," he stops here, takes a breath, makes himself finish, "To feel glad you never got over me. Like I could feel the same way."

Wade goes completely expressionless. "Alien mutant cyborg time-traveller," he mutters, "Shoulda known all I was left out was gay.“

"Well. I like girls too," says Nathan – not that it really matters, but if he's committed himself to being perfectly honest with Wade even that much misunderstanding feels like some sort of betrayal, "just boys as well. People didn't think of it as such a big thing where I grew up."

"You like me?" Wade's features remain terrifyingly expressionless.

Nathan nods. "I think it's been creeping up on me for a while now."

"Well fuck," Wade declares. "You know I'd be all over that like flies on shit, 'cept I don't think I'm done being mad at you yet."

"Then you don't want to make out?" Nathan will later deny having the slightest idea where this part came from.

"Now? You are such an asshole."

"Who wants to make out with you."

"We're at school, dipshit," says Wade, chucking something which may have been a rusted coke can at Nathan's head. "Not to mention, me: still mad."

"Alright," says Nathan, thinking quickly. "What do I have to do to make it up to you? I assume public humiliation will be involved. Weasel told me once that being made to run naked through the main hallway is fairly traditional."

"That's for when your bud loses a bet!" Wade snaps. "When your wannabe boyfriend screws you over it's completely different!"

"I'd do it though."

"I know, that's what takes all the fun out of it! You wanna make up for this you'd have to do something more like – like you have to tell the school counsellor all about your irresistible fetish for toenail clippings, or you get yourself caught spanking the monkey in the men's while moaning the name of your English teacher, or you explain to Blind Al exactly what you did to make me mad at you and beg for her help making it right!"

Nathan winces. "Okay, less comfortable with those."

"See? That's what you get for underestimating the imagination of Wade Motherfucking Wilson." Wade folds his arms in a victorious sort of manner. "Now get over here and kiss me already."

"What?"

"You heard. C'mon, Summers, before I change my mind."

Ball's in your court now, dickhead. The thought flickers through Nathan's mind so quickly he isn't sure whether it came from Wade or his own mental processes; either way, it's hard to argue. In public or not there's no-one watching them at the moment – a quick psychic scan is enough to make very sure of that – so at the least this isn't a split decision Wade will have to regret, and while that's a very nice excuse for why he's still standing here hesitating it's still that: an excuse. Not a response.

He takes a step forward; the task of finding his balance on the steps suddenly demanding far more of his concentration than it ever does normally. Wade has his arms folded and is staring at him with what comes very close to the perfect poker face, but underneath it all there's the unshakable impression of a body faintly thrumming with nerves. Nathan stops below him; with Wade seated and him standing their heights are just about a match. They both hesitate one last time as Wade swallows visibly, then Nathan lets his eyes drift closed as he closes the gap.

Wade's breath is warm against his mouth, his lips soft, opening uncertainly under Nathan's as he drops to kiss Wade's bottom lip. He kisses back a little more confidently when Nathan returns to cover his mouth properly, his internal monologue stuttering out into static for several seconds before he has any success starting it up again. It's ridiculously chaste, but here and now neither of them seem prepared to try for more, and nothing else matters when Nathan knows that from here, there's no going back.

Feeling bold, he says, "You know, while we're doing confessions, I've quite enjoyed some of those fantasies of yours."

Wade knees him in the gut. "Sheesh, if you gotta peek in on that stuff at least have the common decency to pretend you didn't." He stares petulantly off into the distance as Nathan doubles over – not quite winded but a little too close – then, a little more quietly, asks, "Which ones?"

Nathan lets himself grin. He straightens up. "Wanna cut school?"

"Yeah, okay," says Wade, hopping to his feet. "You are such a bad influence."

"I know," says Nathan, leaning a hand on Wade's shoulder as they make their way down. "I learnt from the best."

Comments

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

LOVED THIS :D

[rallamajoop.livejournal.com]

Thanks! ^_^

[scribe-protra.livejournal.com]

Awwwwww. AWWWWWWWW. So much yay for happy fluffy endings!

[rallamajoop.livejournal.com]

Even allowing for chapter 9, this was always born to be a terribly fluffy AU. *g* Glad you liked!

[silvercobwebs.livejournal.com]

Wonderful! This whole series has made me happy in so many ways. :)

[rallamajoop.livejournal.com]

Yay, glad to hear it, thanks! =D

[delmareve.livejournal.com]

This story was incredibly enjoyable. I loved delving into all the little alternate universes, and your characterization of Nate and Wade is as flawless as ever. Congrats on completing this, and thank you for all the links to the CDP kink memes and comms. I never was very good at this whole 'fandom' thing, and my comedic writing is sub-par at best, but you and several others have inspired me to go ahead with a Final Fantasy-ish CDP AU. Whether of not it will ever see the light of day is up for debate. ;) Awesome work as always, and looking forward to whatever you have in store for us next!

[rallamajoop.livejournal.com]

Aww, thanks! <3 I have a suspicion that I've probably lost a few readers thanks to all my messing around with different AUs, so it's lovely to hear there are still others who felt it really worked for the story. :3

and thank you for all the links to the CDP kink memes and comms

Ha, no worries, I do that to just about everyone who's new to the fandom. I've been meaning to put together some sort of proper recs/fandom primer post for, oh, must be years now, but in the meantime I can at least chuck a few useful links around.

you and several others have inspired me to go ahead with a Final Fantasy-ish CDP AU. Whether of not it will ever see the light of day is up for debate. ;)

Final Fantasy-ish, huh? Interesting, best of luck with that, and yeah, that's how it pretty well always works with fic. If you get it to work, yay! If not, eh, same as 50% or more of all ideas. ^^;

[acechan.livejournal.com]

This is so adorable.

Congrats on sticking it out to the end, and thank you--so much--for being one of the few people who both can and will write an actual, decent C/DP fic.

...And did I mention that this was adorable? :)

[rallamajoop.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks for reading! (And for leaving such terribly flattering feedback too. :3 )

Seriously though, I had to finish this fic, no matter how much trouble the second-to-last chapter may have been. I mean, do you have any idea how long I've had the complete dialogue for the final scene sitting in my head? No way could I let all that go to waste! ;)

[head-voices-xd.livejournal.com]

Oh I always feel so weird commenting on peoples fic, but here goes.

That was awesome. All of your C&DP fics are awesome, from the plots, the characterizations, your ability to finish them, The way you discuss things in the comments, just...everything.

Awesome awesome awesome.

[rallamajoop.livejournal.com]

Hey, sorry for the stupidly late reply here (I have been so ridiculously busy and distracted for the last few weeks), but I want to thank you so much for popping up long enough to leave me this lovely comment. (Wow, you even like the way I discuss things in the comments? XD Aw, seriously, most of the time I'm half afraid I'm boring people with my relentless need to talk about my writing/character interpretations/whatever. ^^; ) Heck, half the time even I'm still too shy to comment on other people's stuff so I sympathise completely, but your comment totally made my morning when I got it so thank you once again. =D

[elvenknight16.livejournal.com]

Okay~
I just totally read this now, and I think I've been awed beyond words.

Because honestly this was wonderful, from beginning to end. Every chapter was amazingly brilliant. Especially with how you characterized Nate & Wade. I love Terry/Theresa and the whole Nate trying to let down Wade, only to realize he'd falling in love with him, was adorable. And perfect, really.

I also enjoyed the AU's you've created, & I'm very sorry I couldn't comment on every chapter, but trust me, if I did that I don't think I'd be able to be finish by today, or that you'd have tons of spam in your inbox coming from me x]

But nonetheless, you've created a wonderful story!! Which I really adore. And I also hope to see more cable/deadpool coming from you :D

Because, you created a masterpiece, and I'm glad to have stumbled upon this~<3

Please never stop writing, whether it's about nate/wade or not, you have a talent, that I'd love to see more of ^_^

[rallamajoop.livejournal.com]

Thank you so very much! (And I mean that very seriously - comments like this completely make my day. ^_^) This whole thing spun into such a long, drawn out and haphazardly told story that it's always relieving to hear it still made sense to someone outside my head. ^^;

Please never stop writing, whether it's about nate/wade or not, you have a talent, that I'd love to see more of ^_^

I have indeed written a whole heap of other Cable/Deadpool fic archived under my memories (http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=rallamajoop&keyword=My+fic+-+Cable+%26+Deadpool&filter=all) - including a few other snippets set in this universe that you may not have found, as I don't think I ever linked back to some of them from the main story. In the bigger picture, ha, I will stop writing when they pry my keyboard from my cold, dead fingers, and not before! Though I do of course reserve the right to experience sporadic periods of prolonged inactivity due to chronic writer's block. >.>

[elvenknight16.livejournal.com]

Your welcome =]

And I've read some more of your Deadpool/Cable work, and you ARE amazing!!!! Seriously I'm glad to have stumbled upon you. I've become so obsessed with this pairing that I actually want to learn more & more about the two until I've captured their characters by heart, so I can write stories about the two~<3

I'm glad you'll never stop writing. Honestly, its really wonderful to see people dedicated to writing fanfiction or to awesome pairings like Cable/Deadpool :D

And it's okay if you get writer's block, every writers gets it, you should just to anything else to distract you from it, or try to find more inspiration.

Good Luck & Best Wishes!!!

[rallamajoop.livejournal.com]

Aw, it's always great to see new people getting into this fandom. It's not going as strong as it was, but tumblr seems to be doing its bit to breathe new life into things, so who knows? TBH I've been pretty distracted by other new shiny fandoms lately, but I'm not giving up on my other WIPs just yet and gosh it was lovely seeing all your feedback on my older fic turn up in my inbox lately - thank you very much!

I've become so obsessed with this pairing that I actually want to learn more & more about the two

If you want some recs on which parts of their history are most worth checking out, let me know. I can go on and on on the subject, believe me. ;)

[elvenknight16.livejournal.com]

=] I'm glad I actually got myself into it, this pairing is the most beautiful thing in the marvel universe~ other than Storm, but I'm biased, so you ignore that fact.

Tumblr is amazing!!!! It actually helped me find more stories about the two <33333

And what new shiny fandoms are those?

Your welcome ^^ I'm just happy to have found an awesome deadpool/cable writer like you!

I've read some, and most of the stories on lj, but all that's done really is cause me to get distracted from my writings, and reading more about deadpool, and cable/deadpool~

[rallamajoop.livejournal.com]

XD It's not every day you see Cable and Deadpool compared to the beauty of Storm.

And what new shiny fandoms are those?

In order, those would be Homestuck, One Piece and Teen Wolf. I have something of a thing for ridiculously over-complicated universes (Marvel, Homestuck, One Piece), characters suffering from a certain kind of endless verbosity (Homestuck, Stiles from Teen Wolf, and obviously Deadpool), crazy superpowers (all of the above) and almost-canon slash (Cable/Deadpool, Homestuck, Teen Wolf), and especially when they come with a tightly-plotted narrative that will make you laugh one minute and tear your heart out the next (ALL of the above). I've been having a good year for all my favourite things. :3

I've read some, and most of the stories on lj, but all that's done really is cause me to get distracted from my writings, and reading more about deadpool, and cable/deadpool~

Actually, when I said recs, I meant for comics they've appeared in, other than the obvious Cable & Deadpool title. I went on such a huge binge of tracking down their earliest appearances when I fell for the pairing myself, and would be happy to trade notes if you're interested. (Though I can certainly also rec plenty of other great fic out there in this fandom.)

[elvenknight16.livejournal.com]

Lols its probably cause they really are so perfect for each other~<3
But otherwise, Storm is the best female character ever!!!

I've checked out One Piece, and its really interesting, but too long for me to start watching, or reading. Teen Wolf isn't my thing, and Homestuck, well I do remember reading about it, but not liking it much. But I get what you mean about the tightly-plotted narrative, Naruto used to be like that and then it just got sad, very sad, and depressing, and too long. I prefer Bleach or Fairy Tail to Naruto nowadays, but nonetheless I've never stopped loving any of them, especially One Piece, since I did start a few episodes before I gave in, but I might just try again, before I enter Uni in Spring Semester.

From Tv shows, House is a great series, along with The Mentalist. Supernatural was great at first, but then it went too deep, and unrealistic, even for something that clearly was all about the supernatural. Though I do commend it for its great actors, back stories, and intriguing supporting characters. I'm not sure about anything else, but I have began watching 'The Twilight Zone' an old black & white series, that talks about everything odd, and unique, and really great ideas, if you haven't heard of it~

I've seen that too, the recs for comics that they were in, not related to Deadpool & Cable. But thank you anyway ^_^

I've read almost every Cable & Deadpool story in LJ, A03, and ff.net. I got way too obsessed with the two, and well, I wanted to know them better, and read all I can, and I did. So now, I'm just getting inspired, and reading Deadpool comics, so that I can have a better grasp on Wade's character, so I can write fan fiction about him & Cable :3

[ciancionaoith123 (from livejournal.com)]

Just found this thing and have read it in one rush! couldnt stop smirking and giggling and now my face hurts and its all your fault! I really like how cute Wade is in your story. and how Nate tries so hard not to freak out Wade.

Now im going to spend the rest of the night reading all the other stuff you got about them!

[rallamajoop.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much! It's a little crazy to think this weird little AU is still the longest thing I've ever finished for this pairing, but I'm still very fond of it. Everything else I've written for them is up on my AO3 account (http://archiveofourown.org/users/rallamajoop) these days too, where it's all a bit better organised if you're looking for more. :)