Cause that's just the way life goes...
Logan should have known better than to think that he could find some sort of peace. After saving the world, he thought that maybe he deserved to take this second chance at life and run with it. He moved in with Wade and Blind Al, made sure to stay present in Laura's life, even managed to visit the mansion and introduce himself to this world's X-Men. They had offered him a spot on the team, but it had hurt so much to even be there that Logan had turned it down. Wade hadn't come with him, but when Logan left the mansion and turned his feet towards the nearest bar, Wade had been there. Logan let Wade walk him home, not touching a drop of alcohol. All this to say, Logan had a good thing going in this world. He had people he cared about, and people he dared to think cared about him in turn. But of course, life gets in the way.
I push my luck, it shows...
Logan had smelled the cancer in Deadpool's body the minute the man stepped through the portal and into the bar. It permeated the air around him, only barely covered by the sharp tang of blood that always followed the merc. Logan hadn't cared enough about the man to mention it to him. Whether the world was truly ending or not, the man in the red suit wouldn't be around for much longer. And then, the infuritating man had offered him a second chance. A chance to finally be there when the world needed him.
After the fight in the Honda Oddessey, Logan had almost forgotten about the smell that followed Wade. Obviously the man could heal from bullet wounds, stab wounds, claw marks. Why not cancer? He watched as Wade literally held the timelines together and walked away from it. The constant smell of sickness seemed to pale in comparison of all the things Logan had watched Wade heal from, so he pushed it out of his mind. He couldn't fathom a person as resilient as Wade being felled by something like that. Logan was immensely glad that Wade stopped him from leaving after the shwarma. Now that the fighting was done, Wade smelling so sick was all Logan could think about. Logan wanted nothing more than to stay and make sure that the other man was okay, and Wade had given him that chance.
During the party, he watched as Wade flitted about, speaking to everyone and making everyone laugh and smile. He watched him pull Vannessa out of the room, and then come back with a sad look in his eyes and a smaller smile. He cornered Wade in the kitchen after that, wondering what had happened.
"She wants to stay friends. She says there's someone out there for me, but it's not her," Wade's voice was smaller than Logan had ever heard it. There was no laughter, no comical inflection in it. Logan placed a hand on Wade's shoulder, aiming to comfort the man. He hadn't been there for someone in a long time and he was hoping to every god that he was doing it right.
"You deserve better, Wade. You saved the entire universe for her. You're a good man and you deserve someone with a heart like yours." Wade had all but collapsed into him, Logan pulling him into a hug immediately. They stayed like that for a bit until Wade pulled himself away with a fake laugh.
"Wow Wolvie, good to know those muscles are there for more than just fighting." Logan pushed the man away with a chuckle and watched him walk back to the table. His smile fell the minute Wade was no longer looking, the smell of rot hanging in his nose from when he had buried his face into Wade's shoulder.
Thankful you don't send someone to kill me...
Wade and Althea's apartment was a small two bedroom, so Logan moving in made it even smaller. He and Wade shared a bedroom, a bathroom, a closet. Somedays, the smell was overwhelming, covering the merc's normal scent of gunpowder and whiskey. Other days it was easy to ignore. Logan had no idea what to do. How could Wade go around joking and laughing without even acknowledging it? Wasn't he in pain? Logan got a construction job to help cover rent, but Wade went back to being a merc for hire. He would leave in the morning, jokingly blowing Logan a kiss and then traipse in late into the night, smelling like blood and smoke and death. He would change out of his suit right in front of Logan, who busied himself looking over Wade's body for any sign that his healing factor wasn't working. Logan never noticed anything out of the ordinary, Wade cracking tired jokes about Logan checking him out.
It wasn't until Wade got his arm blown off that Logan became almost obsessive about the man's health. An arm growing back usually took Wade a couple of hours, but for some reason it had been almost a day, and the limb still wasn't completely healed. Logan kept the man in bed the entire day, running back and forth from the kitchen to the bedroom. At first, Wade had stayed in bed with almost no forcing.
"You want to play nurse for the day? I'm not complaining. Oh, could you do it shirtless though? I think it would really improve your bedside manner." Logan had growled in response and gone to get a washcloth from the bathroom, placing it over Wade's forehead as if he had a fever.
"Can we at least put something on TV? I have to show you this movie,The Greatest Showman.You're going to love it." Wade had gotten ansty halfway through the movie, claiming he was fine and that his arm was almost back to normal and that he had more bad guys to go after.
"Wade, you're stayin in this bed till it's completely healed. No more of this runnin around half blown to bits. You're gonna get yourself killed, bub," He had aimed to make his voice soft, but it still came out sharp and gruff. Wade flopped back down dramatically.
"I can't be killed, Wolvie. So it doesn't matter if I run around half blown to bits. Plus, this isn't even the worst it's been. One time, Juggernaut snapped me in -"
Logan placed a large hand over Wade's mouth, his stomach dropping at the idea of Wade being in pieces. "Do not finish that sentence."
Wade gave him an odd look, then licked his hand. Logan glared at him and let him have his mouth back. "I'm not asking you to take the week off, just today. Rest."
Wade wriggled around in the sheets, tossing and turning and harrumphing. "But I'm boreeeeddddd."
Logan ran a hand down his face in annoyance. He was really trying not to snap at the man. "Fine." He went to the other side of the bed and pulled back the covers, slipping between them and positioning himself against the headboard. "I'll stay with you. Happy now?"
Wade gasped. "Me in bed with the Wolverine? Oh, happy doesn't even begin to cover it, Peanut!" Wade moved closer, leaning against Logan with his head against his shoulder.
"Watch the hands, Wilson or I'll tie you to the bed and leave you here."
Wade let out a comfortable sigh and snuggled closer. "Don't threaten me with a good time."
Wade fell asleep in minutes, but Logan stayed up, watching the characters on the screen sing and dance. Wade's warmth against his side was a comforting reminder that the man was still here, still alive. He still smelled worringly sick, but his arm was only a few inches shorter than his other, so Logan was trying not to panic. He felt himself starting to drift off, and pulled Wade closer.
I love you, I'm sorry.
Wade woke up to the sounds of Newsies playing on the TV in front of him and warm arms wrapped around him. He shifted slightly, blinking his eyes to wake them up. He remembered falling asleep pressed up against Logan, but now they both were lying down, Wade curled against Logan's chest. Logan's grip was tight, almost suffocatingly so, as if he was worried that Wade would disappear if he let him go.
Wade thought it was funny at first, how worried Logan was over something as small as his arm growing back slower than normal. But then he saw the panic in Logan's eyes when he had talked about the time when he was snapped in half, and he tried to take it more seriously. The man had been stuck to his side all day, putting up with Wade's jokes with barely any annoyance. Something was bothering Logan. It was practically unheard of and caused Wade to burrow closer to Logan's chest.
He dozed back off for a while until he was woken again. Logan's brows were furrowed, his fingers twitching where he held Wade. Every once and a while he would whisper something in his sleep, too quiet for Wade to make out. Wade shifted so he was sitting more upright. Logan was having a nightmare. Wade reached out, gently shaking the man's shoulder.
"Logan. Logan, wake up. You're having a nightmare," Wade whispered. Logan's eyes didn't open, but his body tensed, head moving side to side almost frantically. His mouth was moving, and Wade leaned closer to hear.
Logan was muttering a constant stream of pleas, Wade's heart cracking with every one. He sat up, kneeling next to Logan and shaking him harder.
"Hey Logan, I need you to wake up. Logan, cmon. You're scaring me." Wade gave Logan a particularly viscious shake, and the man's eyes shot open. Wade heard the slide of Logan's claws, but before he could move, the man was grabbing him by the neck and shoving them into his stomach.
Wade groaned in pain, his body already fighting to heal around the metal. The sound seemed to wake Logan, who blinked several times.
"Wade?" Wade could only groan in pain in response. Logan looked down, and cursed. He pulled his claws out quickly, Wade moaning slightly, and let go of his neck. Wade let Logan pull him into his lap, Logan putting pressure on the stab wound.
"Shit, Wade, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Hey bub, open your eyes for me." Logan's voice was colored in panic, shaking as badly as his hands. He cupped Wade's face, shaking it slightly.
Wade moaned slightly at the jostling, and opened his eyes. "I'm okay Wolvie, just give me a second." He pulled his shirt up, and they both watched as the skin knit itself back together. Wade sighed as the pain lessened, and slumped into Logan's hold. "See, I'm all good."
Logan's eyes were still wide, staring at the spot on Wade's stomach where the claw marks had been. He was breathing heavy and his hand left Wade's face to wipe the blood off the mans abdomen. "Hey, Logan I'm okay I promise. Hey." It was Wade's turn to place a hand on Logan's face, pulling his attention to him.
"What's going on in that head of yours, Wolvie?" Logan clenched his eyes shut, and Wade was terrified to see a tear run down his cheek.
"You're dying, Wade. You've been dying ever since I met you, and now you're healing is slowing, and I stabbed you meaning more of your healing was going to that then your cancer and -"
"Woah, woah slow down. I'm not dying," Wade maneuvered himself out of Logan's lap, staying close enough to keep Logan's hands in his. Logan gripped his hands tightly and shook his head.
"You have cancer, Wade. I could smell it on you the minute you stepped out of the portal but I didn't know how to tell you. Ever since, I've been trying to keep an eye on you, but I didn't notice your healing slow till now," Logan was about to cry now, clutching at Wade's hands as Wade just stared. "I'm so sorry. I should've told you sooner, I should've helped you sooner. I love you, Wade. And now I'm losing you just like I lost everyone else."
Wade, for the first time in his life, was speechless. He had no idea how to react to the Wolverine's confession. He did what he always did. He acted on the first impulse he had - to kiss Logan.
Logan gasped softly, but let it happen. Wade's heart was beating like a jackhammer, and he could feel the echo of Logan's. He wiped Logan's tears with his thumb.
"Listen closely, Wolvie. I was diagnosed with stage four cancer years ago, before I looked like this. I joined Weapon X to attempt to cure it, and instead got these scars and triggered a regenerative ability. Technically, I still have cancer, my body just continually replaces the dead cells as much as it can. I'm not going anywhere, big guy."
Logan stared at him. "So... you're okay?" His voice cracked ever so slightly on the last word, and Wade pulled him into a hug.
"As okay as a guy who just had his arm blown off can be. But I'm not dying. I promise, you're stuck with me for a long time." Logan held him tightly. "Next time, ask me sooner instead of worrying yourself like this. I love you too, Logan."
Logan laughed wetly against Wade's shoulder. He pulled away, putting slight space between them. "I will, bub. Maybe we should look into getting you some cologne so you don't keep smelling like cancer."
Wade laid down, Logan following. He let out a laugh. "Are you saying I smell?"
Logan grinned. "I would never say that, darlin."
