When One Story Should End, Another Begins

Chapter 7: Unsurprisingly, Not Dead Yet

You were pleased to know that your friend, wounded as he was, was able to sleep soundly for at least a little while. A few hours after you'd left his bedside and allowed for him to rest, a slight stirring from his room caught your attention, prompting you to rise to your feet from where you'd previously been sitting on his couch and walk to his room to check on him. 

He was now lying on his side, facing the door with his eyes barely open. Wade smiled when he caught sight of you and, seeing that he was awake now, you pushed the door open and returned to sit on the corner of the bed.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" You said in a quiet voice. Obviously, you didn't really have any experience or knowledge of how exactly his recovery process worked, but if you had to guess, even with his healing factor, getting shot in the head would probably give him a little headache at the very, very least. He reached out to turn on the lamp on his bedside table before responding to you, giving you both a much clearer view of the room and of one another. 

"Not bad, actually, though the feeling of dry blood is pretty nasty," he commented, mostly as a joke but you knew he must be right. He kept the blankets up to his collarbones and over the majority of his injuries, whether to hide his the skin he was so self-conscious about or his wounds from you, you weren't sure. 

"I don't really know how this whole healing thing works, but maybe a shower would help? Does that help or hurt?" You inquired of him. 

"Help. A lot, actually. That sounds pretty nice right about now-" he began as he tried to sit up, to which you responded by quickly placing a hand on his shoulder and pushing him back down. 

"Stay here, I'll go run the water," you suggested, not wanting him to move any more than was necessary.

"I appreciate it, Y/N, but I'm okay now. Really. The main wounds have healed over on the skin, it's just a little tender to touch now is all. Thank you for helping me," he moved his hand to rest over yours to try and ease your anxiety and assure you that he really was okay. Moving your hand off his shoulder, he sat up now, stretching uncomfortably before standing and walking to his bathroom. 

You couldn't explain why, but you eyes still had a natural aversion to him today. Perhaps it was because he was still wearing only his boxer briefs. Perhaps you were afraid to see his injuries again. Perhaps you subconsciously avoided looking at his mutated skin because you understood how uncomfortable it seemed to make him. Or maybe it was simply because you didn't quite know how to act around him anymore. After seeing such a completely new and terrifying side of him today on the news, you couldn't decide what to make of him. Regardless, though you knew this was awful judgement, you still considered him a friend. Granted, he was currently a friend on very, very thin ice. At any rate, you wanted to make sure he'd be okay. He would've done the same for you, and you'd never get your answers from him if you ran away now. So, you offered yet another strange proposition to him. 

"I swear I don't mean this to sound as creepy as it probably does, but can I stay and wait while you shower? I want to make sure you're okay and don't fall and knock yourself out or something," you rambled, earning a chuckle from Wade that you could hear though the bathroom door. 

"If you really want to. Again, I'm sure I'll be okay, but if it makes you feel better, be my guest." With his permission to stay, you opted to wait for him on his couch. Looking out the window in his living room, you could see the sun was already down for the night and the city sparkled with its own array of artificial lights. Once you heard the water running, you found yourself wandering to the kitchen to see if there was anything you could make. Your anxiety usually overrode any hunger you may have, but you figured Wade was probably hungry. So, while he showered, you decided to make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Simple, but you figured he'd appreciate it nonetheless. Soon after you started your task, you could faintly hear Wade humming a variety of classic Wham! and A-Ha songs in his shower, bringing a subtle grin to spread across your features.