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The first thing Wade noticed in the room was Marry Puppins. Looking a little tired, Wade was just glad that the fugly little gremlin was alive after being missing for a week. It wasn't just the sponsorships on the line but the fact that this dog had been with him through hell and helped lead him out through the other side.
"Oh Mary Puppins I could kiss the person who found you—"
Wade looked up at the shelter worker who had, presumably, found his dog.
"You were saying, Mr. Wilson?" The man said. He was at least six feet tall with a build that could easily snap Wade in half. God he was definately blushing now.
"I— Oh my." Wade cleared his throat, trying to get back on track. "What I meant to say was thank you for finding my sweet little bundle of joy. Is there anything is can do to uh… repay the favor?"
"Well uh, some of the younger staff recognize you from your… video blogs?"
"I'm an influencer, sweetheart."
"Whatever. It would mean a lot if you were able to give the shelter a shout out."
Wade smiled. He could imagine the feel good story and could also see the views (and money) it would bring in.
"Sounds perfect! We'll get lunch to discuss," Wade said, handing him a business card.
The man looked confused but Wade was already walking back towards the front desk.
"I'll see you there uh…?"
"Victor."
"Wade Wilson, PuppinPaws on socials."
"Man look at you Mary Puppins. You're like Cupid today," Wade muttered. Things were looking up.
With a future business collab in mind, Wade, honest to Kevin Feige tried his best to remain professional over text as they set up the meeting. Offering to pay, he chose one of those Panera-adjacnt places. Casual but also close enough to his own apartment… just in case.
Planning on going out anyways after, Wade was dressed in a Hawaiian shirt with pink hearts, booty shorts and doc martins.
He looked up from his phone when he heard the door of the cafe open. Victor was wearing a grey flannel with a sturdy brown jacket over, looking at least a little bit like a character from a certain CW show.
"Victor! Over here," he said excitedly.
He walked over to the table.
"So, where have you been all my life~"
"Jail."
Wade choked on his drink. Victor laughed a little and it made Wade feel all warm and gooey inside.
Fuck. Stay focused!
He cleared his throat. "So… how'd you end up working at the shelter?"
"Did some dumb things a long time ago, ended up in jail. There was this program, paired up inmates with formerly stray cats. It— it helped me feel like a person again. I guess when I got out I just— I wanted to repay the favor."
"I know what you mean. Not to get too cheesy but… I'm not sure if I would have gotten through… everything without my little fuzzball. The universe really had a way of picking them huh?"
"Yeah."
"Promise we'll get to business in a second but I have to ask. Do you have any pets?"
"Yeah actually. Brown cat named Casey."
"Awww he must adore you."
Victor laughed. "When I come home he's super cuddly."
Wade himself had never had a cat himself but it sounded nice.
The rest of the date meeting continued on topic. They talked out the specs of the collab and when would be the best time for filming. Victor felt a little out of his depth at times but Wade was good at explaining.
After their initial meeting, Victor had looked the other man up on Instagram with a little help from Jubilee. Part of him had worried that Wade, when they met in person again, would have the snobbish, all-fame-has-gone-to-my-head personality.
But he was pleasantly surprised. Wade definitely liked hearing himself talk but we was never rude. It was a risk revealing something so personal so early into meeting someone new, but Wade handled it with grace.
There was something about him. Not in a bad way but… there was something nice about him that made Victor feel like the world was a little less shit filled; like he wanted to get closer or at least keep Wade around.
Wade extended a hand at the end of their convo.
"So what do you say, partner?"
It was scary reaching out when so many hands before Wades had ended up hurting. But Wade seemed like someone who would understand and maybe even accept the full him.
Victor shook on it. "Partners."