Apartment Above Wellspring Arms, Monday Afternoon

[mouthy_merc]

It would have been polite, as a guest, to have waited for Nate to get into the apartment before going to the fridge and grabbing himself a beer.

But, then again, once you've shot someone in the head multiple times, such social mores were no longer applicable, it seemed.

"Ooo! You even got the good stuff!"

Comments

[mouthy-merc.livejournal.com]

"..."

Wade calmly put the beer bottle down and flopped back on the chair. His feet sure were interesting.

"What next?"

[spring-lost.livejournal.com]

Far be it from Nate to admit when he was hopelessly out of his depth. "Um... You say he doesn't trust you," he said, "and you don't trust him. Trust takes more than a day, or a week, or a month, and it has to be earned..." Not that that was any kind of issue with him, or anything.

He scratched the back of his head, trying to conjure up some further response. "I can't tell you how to do that. No one can. So... I suggest we have another beer."

He had the oddest feeling there were two women somewhere out there who were laughing and didn't know why, but he wasn't going to acknowledge it.

[mouthy-merc.livejournal.com]

Damn lack of a magical answer.

"Beer me, then!"

[spring-lost.livejournal.com]

Nate pulled up from his seat, turning towards the kitchen. "What I do think you need to do is take some time to take a look at yourself," he noted, pulling open the fridge and rummaging around for some with a slightly higher percentage. "What you're hoping to do, who you're hoping to be."

And strolled straight back, dangling the bottle of tripel over Wade's head.

[mouthy-merc.livejournal.com]

Which Wade snagged and opened quickly.

"If this ends in me getting cloned, replaced by a Skrull, killed, becoming Captain America, or turning out to be a mythical creature... so help me, I will kill the editing staff."

[spring-lost.livejournal.com]

Nate sank back down on the couch with his own bottle. He popped the cap off with his thumb. "And you're still teaching."

[mouthy-merc.livejournal.com]

"Well... you know. It's fun." Wade cleared his throat and took a long swig of the beer. "I wouldn't say it gives my life meaning and all that other sentimental crap you hear, but... it's pretty nice."

A beat.

"And there's a kid that looks just like me and it's creepy."

[spring-lost.livejournal.com]

"Like it or not," Nate said, with a vague kind of smile, "You're contributing. In your own way."

[mouthy-merc.livejournal.com]

"--pretty me, not normal me and I wanna punch him so bad--- Wait, what?"

[spring-lost.livejournal.com]

"You're contributing," Nate repeated. Calmly. He sipped his beer thoughtfully. "And I suggest you smack him over the head... or consider duct-tape."

[mouthy-merc.livejournal.com]

He was not contributing. He was... passing the time.

And stuff.

"Duct-tape sounds like a good idea..."

[spring-lost.livejournal.com]

"It usually does."

Sure, Wade's teaching methods could probably use a little polishing, but...

"You could've gone back to merc work," he said, mildly, "Instead you're on this island, saving Captain America and teaching kids about the justice system." A pause. "From your own perspective."

[mouthy-merc.livejournal.com]

"Well there were things and he was all unconscious and he made me a cake and shut up!" Wade snapped, finishing his beer quickly.

[spring-lost.livejournal.com]

"It's a good thing, Wade." He was sipping his with a far greater amount of calm.

[mouthy-merc.livejournal.com]

Narrowing his eyes at Nate, he got up for more beer. A lot more.

"Maybe I'm not trying to do the good thing," He said sulkily.

[spring-lost.livejournal.com]

Nate glanced up from the couch. He'd like another one, too, but... "Maybe," he said. "And maybe not. I'm just saying you should consider everything you've done here. Yourself."

[mouthy-merc.livejournal.com]

"Because I'm just a huge fan of being all introspective," Wade shot back, keeping three beers for himself. "I can crouch on a rooftop and watch the city and brood and think about my dead parents."

[spring-lost.livejournal.com]

"I know a few good rooftops..." Nate was just going to have to steal one, then. He finished off his own bottle. "Like I said," he said, "You have to be your own man."

And he needed to stop denying his own potential; it had become a little obvious over the past while. But Nate had known that since Wade had come back and saved Dom, first. "And if the radio is to be believed, Cap wasn't the only one you brought back."

He had a feeling the television might have to be turned on, soon.

[mouthy-merc.livejournal.com]

Which was an excellent bit of narrative as Deadpool snagged the remote to do just that.

"They were kids. It's not like I was gonna be like some sheriff type people and not help."

[spring-lost.livejournal.com]

"So you helped."

[mouthy-merc.livejournal.com]

"Maybe." Oh look, Anthony Bourdain.

Yes, yes he was like a petulant child.

[spring-lost.livejournal.com]

And Nate was just going to take a moment to grin before he let that one slide. His point had been made.

He leaned forward and stole a beer off the table.