"Excuse me?"

His soul did a summersault in his chest as Peter's expression transformed. Peter had been inconsistent to put it simply this entire evening. His emotions had been forward and uncertain, but now they were quite explicit. There was a frenzy in Peter's eyes, anger laced with something Wade might dare call fear.

"If that's not- you can tell me to shut up and I'll never bring it up again." He offered, not sure if he meant it as he raised his hands in surrender, unnerved as all attention was turned toward him.

Peter used his web-slinger, using a strand to hike himself up slightly to take the weight off his bad leg as he pushed himself forward, sliding through the air toward Wade in such a way that made ancient instinctual bells in Wade's noggin ring like there was no tomorrow. He stumbled over his feet as he backed up toward the window that originally tipped Wade off to the crime scene he discovered. He'd paused his work to wash the silk at some point so the window was open, a saving grace as he backed into the frame. He didn't want to accidentally break a window so he slumped down, sitting on the silk itself.

Peter kept coming, slowing his advance as Wade became stationary but he was staring unblinkingly into Wade's eyes, face twisted as he pushed further into Wade's bubble.

His heart pounded and he leaned back, so far so that he slipped off the full, falling backward with an annoying clang into the fire escape.

"What part of everything I've told you tonight would tell you that I'm open to something like that?" Peter hissed, curling his lip as he sneered down at him, crawling out of the building after Wade. Peter braced himself with one hand against the wall, leaning forward so he was standing over him as they both lay parallel to the ground several stories below.

Peter: despite the sort of demonic display, looked very human. A very angry human, but he was hardly dressed and his feelings were on display. He wasn't hiding behind a mask that made him untouchable, something inhuman. Like this they were overlapping, the Peter Wade knew yet the belittling presence of the webbed hero. Here they were fighting with one another- he could see it.

The fear there was Peter's compassion and gentle nature, terrified of being hurt and hurting someone else. But his hero counterpart was angry that he could be weakened by friendship- relationships of any kind, objecting to the idea.

"Hey, it's okay." He reached a hand up to calm Peter down, glancing at the man's exposed teeth... Had they always been that sharp? "Freaking out isn't going to give either of us the outcome we want."

Despite. His reasoning Peter didn't seem to take an ounce of what he was saying.

It wasn't until a bright flash drew both their attentions that Peters's posture changed at all. They both looked over his in time for a second flash and to hear the rapid fire of a shutter clipping.

His heart fell and he looked up at Peter. He reached out to him, trying to put his hand in between the lens and Peter's face but he was dodged and the arachnid charged forward.

He watched as the hero launched himself at the stranger. It took Wade a moment to even process what was going on and he didn't figure it out until the man down below did because they both started to move at the same time, the man turned to run just as Wade swung his legs over the edge of the fire escape. "Hey!" He called after Peter, hoping the stressed young man would turn his attention toward him long enough to let the photographer get away before Peter could make a fool of himself.

He hit the ground, bracing his fall with a grimace as the school traveled up his angles and knees. His next step hurt his heels but his healing factor caught up just in time to take care of the undoubtedly micro-fractures created from his femur and tibia taking together and momentarily obliterating the cartilage padding the bones in his knee.

"What are you doing?" He reached Peter who by now had the photographer pinned to the ground. "You need to get off of him."

Peter was staring down at the man with a lack of emotion in his face. Meanwhile, the bastard on the ground looked like he was ready to piss himself. His brown eyes flicked over to Wade for a second, silently begging for interference.

He scowled. He wouldn't do anything for the guy, but Peter wasn't thinking clearly.

"Hey, you're mad at me, right? We need to finish our conversation." And Peter needed to get inside before some other people noticed he wasn't as normal as he looked. 

Peter didn't move. He was staring down at the photographer, hand clenching on the man's clothes.

"Just take the camera, then it's just word of mouth. Okay? Nothing happened." Wade knelt down next to Peter.

The arachnid was breathing heavily and he sneered down at the man but his focus broke as he searched for the camera held protectively in the man's arms. He let go of the stranger's shirt and yanked the camera away, tugging so hard that the clastic loopholes for the man's strap broke off, sending tiny shards flying. Peter flipped the camera to pull the cover hiding the memory card. He quickly released it and within a blink the chip was crushed in Peter's hand.

"Okay, now let's go," Wade muttered and tried to pull Peter back but he didn't move.

"Who are you?" Peter hissed, staring at the camera in his hand. He wasn't looking at the man but rather was focused on the casing itself.

"Charles Allan, man c'mon, let me go. I'm just a hobbyist."

"You have a two thousand dollar camera for your hobby?"

"We should leave. Before someone else sees something." Wade pulled on Peter's shoulder, trying to draw his attention away "Please, you got the card, let's just move on." The brunette didn't say anything but this time when Wade tugged on him he stood, balancing his weight on one leg.

"Yeah, I'm bad with money, what can I say?" The man said softly, stumbling up to his feet as Wade put distance between them. He glared over at the stranger "I'd be leaving if I were you."

The man was going to say something smart but Wade was relieved when the fellow raised his palms and backed off.

Peter relaxed. And he was given a chance to breathe again as he turned Peter toward the apartment.

"I don't think he's someone casual," Peter muttered.

"What, you think you have a competitor trying to pick you down? You're going to be fine, Peter. You destroyed the memory card."