__________

Peter

Peter could tell Deadpool was trying to say something. He figured the guy didn't know how to say it based on the way he kept glancing Peter's way every once in a while. He also chose to ignore the way the man's hand twitched like he was going to reach out and take Peter's. Or maybe Peter was being harsh and the guy had meant to offer him a reasurring touch, but even if it was that he'd argue that Deadpool was the one that needed the reassurance.

The guy had a tendency to zone out, his emotions shifting like the ever-shifting waves of the ocean even if there was nothing but silence between them. Deadpool was unstable, and that was before Peter took into consideration the fact the guy talked to himself. Honestly, what was most strange about the talking was the nervous look the man would send his way after he noticed he was talking out loud.

Crazy was a certainty by this point, but the degree was something Peter was still trying to piece together as they walked down the sidewalk, food long since eaten. His soulmate was talking, discussing weird and fairly random topics. At the moment it was squirrels. Specifically, scary ones.

"Wait, what?" Peter asked stopping the Merc mid-ramble. He needed to silence the man so he could catch up on where this pretty one-sided conversation was going.

" It attacked a pigeon and then started chasing me. And I'll freely admit that I squealed in a not-so-manly manner. But if you ask anyone else, I ignored it." Deadpool said talking with wide hand gestures.

Peter raised an eyebrow before looking down at the cement underfoot. He wasn't sure about this. About this soulmate. It was weird enough that he felt uncomfortable. Not only could he not get any normal archnemesis, but he also had to have fucking weird soulmate... great. but he supposed all the crazies had to belong to someone.

" It was a scary squirrel. A Huge thing, like a small dog with beady little eyes that would such out your soul. It was almost as scary as a freaking cow. And I hate cows. Their stares are very disturbing. " Deadpool said with a little shiver.

Peter's soulmate was a Mercenary that was afraid of cows and big squirrels. . . Squirrels and cows of all things. Not snakes or Sharks, fucking cows. Peter sighed.

" Not to mention that cows are weird and not cute at all. They drool, constantly throw their food back up in their mouths to chew it again, smell because they aren't clean animals, and they attack people." The Anti-Hero continued somehow managing to give Peter a very serious look through the leather mask. "I know from firsthand experience."

" Are you sure it isn't just because you're wearing red?" Peter had to put effort into asking the question.

" Cows can't actually see red."

" Okay. Fine." Peter said holding his hands up in mock surrender though he personally had good relationships with cows. They were gentle and soft with big eyes and not to mention the cute little babies. That and they tasted wonderful when ground up and squished down into patties, grilled with butter, and put on a toasted bun with a good serving of pickles and ketchup. . . Peter had the heart to cringe. He never thought he'd think the words cute, babies, and ground up in the same thought without being tempted towards vegetarian tendencies.

But of course, Peter would be killed from such a diet.

And again Deadpool fell quiet, the air shifting with him as he became mute and emotionless. Maybe he was bipolar or something?

Or maybe. . . It had something to do with Deadpool being called insane. He hoped the man wasn't a mind reader, that would be Peter's thirteenth reason.

Some of the reports about the man Peter had read online stated that Deadpool, his Soulmate, Heartmate, whatever, would talk to himself, have random emotional outbursts, and hallucinations tyoically resulting in phenomenal destruction. But Peter knew well from experience that he couldn't blindly trust just what he had read from the news or S.H.I.E.L.D. files. No one ever got all sides of the story or took into consideration what really happened. If they did, Spider-Man wouldn't be considered a menace or a problem for the NYPD. Through the media it seemed like he was the one in the way, doing stunts, creating trouble, and costing lives. More often than not the police got in his way and far more stopwatches would be going off if he wasn't around. The point being, he couldn't be sure Deadpool was as problematic as he sounded or if it was all just hype.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked.

Deadpool glanced up at Peter, mask no longer void of any emotion. He'd taken a swing for remorse, his silence speaking loudly. Peter couldn't see his eyes but he knew they were staring deep into his own, meaning every syllable of his answer. "I'm sorry," the man said softly.

It threw Peter off but he nodded, accepting the man's statement but pushing for clarification. "For what?" He just hoped this wasn't some crazy apology. That Deadpool wouldn't turn around and find a way to get him killed following these words. The man was unpredictable from Peter's point of view and was the explanation for the automatic thirty-six-inch distance between them as they walked. Deadpool felt like he was standing next to a wildcard.

"For every time I carelessly died. Guess I never, you know, thought about anyone but myself. It never crossed my mind that maybe I would be hurting someone other than myself. You never even crossed my mind while I was at it." The other explained. "In a way, you weren't real until you were in front of me."

The mention of the brutal abuse of the alarms made Peter stiffen. He wasn't sure what he thought. The mention of the incidents made his blood boil, but at the same time, he felt nothing.

He hated Deadpool but at the same time, he also felt some mild reason to relax over the fact that he was in fact alive. But that relief didn't live deep. He was aware of the pain that clung to him and he wasn't ready to let it go. He'd earned the right to hate Deadpool, whoever the man was. His hate had been with him a very long time, and a small apology wasn't going to do anything to wash them away. He wasn't sure he'd ever let them go. He still wasn't even sure what he wanted to do with the fact he had a soulmate. He wasn't ready to keep him or throw him away yet.

"Thanks, I guess," Peter muttered. He didn't want to give the impression he was forgiving Deadpool, but he wouldn't completely toss the apology away. He sounded heartfelt and he kind of understood what the guy meant about permanence.

"I'm not a genius or mentally stable, but I'm not stupid. I know that you hate me. And I don't blame you."

"Good," Peter said as they kept walking.

" Almost everyone hates me. It's nothing new. You of all people have the right to hate me. Not only did I carelessly scar you for many years of your life, but I'm also one of the ugliest people you could have been paired with. Not only that, I don't die. You're stuck with me forever. But if you don't want me it's okay. I expected that much. I'll get out of your life the second you ask for it. I honestly didn't plan to come. I was going to spare you from wasting your time on me but my own selfish desires got in the way and here I am."

"Hey!" Peter snapped. "I don't care that you feel bad for yourself. That's not my problem, dealing with the shit that happened to me because of you is. Don't put words in my mouth and don't try to get my pity. But we still only get one soulmate so can you just stop? You have no right to walk away from me, you are in debt to me until I relieve you. Do you understand? You are not going to run away from me again." He stopped to glare at the stranger.

Deadpool nodded, standing stiffly where Peter had forced him to stop.

"Good," Peter muttered and stepped away awkwardly. He shoved his hands in his pockets and glanced up at the dark blue sky. It wouldn't be long before it became dark purple and eventually inky with the night. "It's getting late so I think I'm going home. "

Deadpool just nodded

Peter sighed. " I'll be on patrol tomorrow. I'll see you some time then?" He wondered if it sounded as much a question as he meant it to be. If not it must have been a weak command.

"Yeah," Deadpool answered, his voice sounding a bit higher than normal in Peter's opinion... Not that he'd heard him enough to make that decision.

The sound made Peter feel guilty as his gaze softened. "I'll meet you on the roof of the Main Daily Bugle office at 5:30."

The Merc nodded again.

" Bye," Deadpool said, and Peter offered a small wave before turning away.

Special thanks to Patron Jade for their pledge. Their support has brought to you this edited edition of Stopwatch. If you would like to see more of Stopwatch edited in the future, consider pledging $1 to my Patreon. Link in bio.

https://www.patreon.com/Narloch

(Originally published 2016, officially edited 2022)

Until next time

~ Shadow-Assassin

Original Note:

( A/N 100% agree with the cows thing. pigs are the same way. Hate them both. Don't want anything to do with them if it doesn't involve eating in some way. And for those of you who don't know Yes Deadpool is afraid of cows.

Anyway. Please comment and vote! Tell me what chu think about this. Thank you!