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Fans made a fandom. It was that simple and that beautiful. Ryan didn't have a fucking clue how so many major companies couldn't understand that.
Ryan couldn't even lie, smiling as he scrolled Tumblr. Forget the higher ups, how could some of the other actors not understand that? It was one thing if you played the part good and a total other if you embraced it. The ones that did both? Now, those were the ones that got to live happily in his opinion.
Deadpool was easy for him because he’d loved the character long before getting another chance to play Wade. He had decades of his own passion and fanboying behind him. It drove him forward like that of any fan. Honestly, Ryan was confident that the reason that the Deadpool franchise was so successful was because as a fellow geek, he knew what the people wanted.
"Not paying attention one bit are you? What’s got you distracted?" Hugh asked him, suddenly manifesting over his shoulder and Ryan wondered when his friend had walked into the room. "Ah, a little obsessive, aren't you?"
Ryan tried to dampen his smile and shrugged. He was a little obsessed. Poolverine was like his baby. Inside the comics and out. All the way back in 2016, he’d coined the ship name himself.
It'd been interesting to play with CablePool, SpideyPool was usually a good bit of fun, but neither had anything on what Hugh and him had created. Deadpool & Wolverine could have easily been a ‘meet ugly’ gay romance action movie, saturated in comedy. Literally all they would have had to do was tweak the ending just a hair. God, how much he’d wanted to was insane.
Unfortunately, the world as progressive as it tried to be, wasn't ready for that yet. The real Deadpool fans were, but big business wasn't. Besides, he had to give the movie fans a little bit of closure on Vanessa’s storyline, with a shred of optimism to boost some moods.
Ryan didn’t mind that he had to go into the movies with a lot of an MCU point of view. Everyone needed to know Wade and Vanessa didn’t stay a couple. No one besides dedicated comic book fans would know she was a shapeshifter or that their relationship never worked out anyways.
Since Vanessa wasn't going to be a storyline covered any time soon, if ever, Ryan had decided he just needed to leave that part of the story open ended. Who knew what would happen anyways. If they ever decided to do another Deadpool movie, she could be of use. The characters had a very complicated relationship.
Ryan had to admit if there was another Deadpool movie, it needed to be Deadpool and Wolverine. No doubt. It seemed like it wouldn’t be that hard of a sell either considering how they'd climbed the charts like an Avengers movie. Something that made his chest swell with pride for being a top six highest grossing superhero movie.
Hugh was happy, thrilled, about all of that too and Ryan knew he was down for another team up. He’d probably play any side roles that came up for other Marvel movies as well, but what his buddy really wanted was for the two of them to be working side by side again. The thing they’d always really wanted in their careers. Now that they’d lived that fantasy? It was hard as hell pulling himself out of that world.
"What can I say?" Ryan said, tilting his head back on the couch to look up at his friend. "You know I like to keep up with the fans. All of them are crazy talented."
Ryan looked back down, clicking on the piece of fanart that had Wade in an apron cooking with his mask on and Logan naked, his crotch blocked from view by the counter. The man was pouring whiskey into his cereal bowl like it was milk. Understandable considering it appeared to be morning in the picture, while the merch was chipper as ever leaning over his buddies shoulder to see what he was doing. A lot like Hugh was doing to him now.
"Wow, they got that one on the nose didn’t they," Hugh said, huffing a laugh and Ryan didn’t lean away despite feeling the heat on his ear. "I can feel Logan's irritation."
"Irritated, but into it," Ryan said lightly, impressed by the lines and shading. "...even if it is a secret. The fucking grocery list on the fridge says condoms, lube and… okay I can’t read that but I assume it’s something else dirty. I’d say it’s at the beginning of their relationship. Fucking and trying to ignore the twisted, fluffy feelings inside. Our boys are emotionally damaged, you know."
"I never would have guessed," Hugh said smartly, plucking his phone out of his hands. “Not one bit.”
Instead of fighting for his phone back, Ryan let Hugh scroll it as he walked around to sit beside him on the couch. He wasn’t really into the whole fandom side of the fanbase, as much as he entertained the fans. It made his dedication to the role of Logan all the more meaningful. Sure, he didn’t get crazy over the subject, but he gave it his all for the character and the people that loved him.
“Shit,” Hugh huffed, smiling as he sat down beside him. “How do they manage to make them… fucking cute? It’s either crime fighting, sexual, or domestic bliss.”
“You just summarized most superhero relationships… or all fun ones,” Ryan commented, throwing his arm on the back of the couch behind Hugh’s shoulders. “Work, relaxed home life, and intense sex. I’d say that’s most people’s dream.”
“Yeah, you’re not wrong there,” Hugh agreed, the smile disappearing from his face as he continued to scroll the site.
Ryan gave Hugh the space, time, to indulge himself in the tag. The dynamic in their lives was changing. Big decisions had been made and it left the two of them sharing a house. Of course they easily had their own places, but at this point they didn’t want to be home alone. No reason existed for them to not just stay together. Best friends lived with each other all the time.
“I can’t tell if they want to fuck or fight,” Hugh laughed suddenly, probably having found a good humorous piece.
"You know the answer,” Ryan scoffed, grinning at him. “You act like you weren't in that car the same as Logan, Wade and me. We all would have been fucking in the front seat if told to go with what felt right."
"I know, I know," Hugh said innocently, and Ryan looked over to see him pausing on a fan art piece where Logan was applying lotion to Wade covered in blisters. "I just never stop to look at this stuff. It’s crazy how real they can make it."
“It’s because it is real,” Ryan said, knowing to some degree their natural chemistry as friends helped bring the possibility of a relationship on screen.
Friends to lovers was Ryan’s favorite trope. It was something he felt was stronger than anything else. Love born on a pre-existing bond. He could feel it inside of him.
Sure, enemies to lovers made for a good fuck like a lot of fandom people liked, but the forever came from feeling more. Affection. Appreciation. Respect. All things Wade had for Logan. The things he felt towards Hugh himself too.
"You’ve just never shipped anything before," Ryan told him, shaking himself and trying not to mix Wade’s feelings with his own which he’d always been prone to doing. “You haven't missed anything. People shipped Logan with Scott or Jean for the most part. Yawn. Boring and the worst poly disaster ever. Scott and Jean are one of the few canon couples I ship."
Hugh wrinkled his nose, either in disinterest or disapproval. Ryan resisted snorting, just barely. He preferred not to go down the potential ship bashing route though, so he reached over and took his phone out of the man’s hands. Maybe it wasn’t that good of an idea for letting his friend really explore Poolverine. Seeing how real it really was. One of them being obsessed was enough.
"Old man yaoi. Supreme," Ryan said, holding a hand up for a high five which Hugh indulged him in with a curious and doubtful expression. "Now to figure out how we can achieve their immortality and wait out the day we can get a Poolverine sex scene approval. I might settle for making out with some heavy groping. Okay fine, light groping but that depends entirely on location. If it’s anything less than your hands on my ass or inner thighs, I won’t accept. Lies. Waist caress, with hands dropping to the hips will work."
"Oh man, talk about high demands," Hugh whistled. "You do remember how long it took us to get this movie made, right? You haven't actually turned into an old man, have you? We are going to be waiting a long time for a gay sex scene to get approved."
Ryan knew Hugh was right. It was highly unlikely that it would ever happen. At best, they’d just bluntly acknowledge various sexualities instead of him having to slip in forty suggestive comments or expressions to say it indirectly. Of course that didn’t make him any less sad about it.
“Hey, I said I’d settle for a kiss and some groping,” Ryan playfully conceded, dreaming a bit and finally remembering he’d been planning to go swimming with Hugh this evening.
“You said making out,” Hugh grinned, raising his eyebrows.
“What can I say?” Ryan shrugged. “Wade and I are easy. I’m sure there are other options we could look into to get the job, but I think that might be a bit too much for you.”
“Oh, I’m terrified,” Hugh said dramatically. “Lay it on me.”
Ryan debated it. He was mostly joking, but he was a bisexual Poolverine shipper with a little thing for his best friend. The idea, now that it had popped into existence, was horribly tempting.
God, they could never do what he had thought of. Relationship status’s aside. Once they started, Ryan wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to stop. Physically, because he liked sex, or mentally, because he loved what Hugh and him had together.
Wade’s mask or not, there would be no way to hide his feelings outside of the camera. Hugh identified as straight, and more important was his best friend. The latter, more important than anything else. Ryan knew if he didn’t confess the idea though, the man would prompt him until he did. It was easier to just own it to a certain degree.
"We start an OnlyFans account and wear our super suits while we fuck like rabbits,” Ryan said bluntly, aiming for disinterest. “It will give the Deadpool fans nerdgasms. We’d go viral after a few weeks.”
“Weeks?” Hugh scoffed, pointing to his phone. “We upload one video of us doing anything sexual in those suits, and that lot is going to go mad. Feral. All we’d need to do is stick a hand down each other's pants.”
“You don’t have to sell me,” Ryan said seriously. “The temptation is already real.”
“Is it now?” Hugh said, grinning and crossing his arms over his bare chest that suddenly caught his attention more than it had previously.
“Well I’m a bi fanboy, I love Wade and Logan as a couple, I’m a free man, I enjoy putting on a show, and I know the Wolverine would be a seriously nice hard fuck,” Ryan counted off, his body flushing a little hot the more he considered it and he threw one leg over Hugh’s lap for flair. “... too bad you wouldn’t be. You’d need to shave anyway and I know you’re loving those whiskers.”
Hugh laughed a little, stroking his beard. It was graying and Ryan kind of loved it. He was going to be pulling off the silver fox look flawlessly in the future, but he liked the way his friend looked all the time. Clean shaven, five o’clock shadow, or more… it didn’t matter. The man was gorgeous, definitely deserving of that sexiest man alive title he’d once earned.
“Alright, that’s enough of these two for you,” Hugh said, patting his knee softly.
Before Ryan really had time to process what he was saying, Hugh was leaning over him and grabbed for his phone again. He lifted it up, stretching out his arm trying to keep it out of his friend’s reach. It left them both laughing as the man crawled over him, pinning him down against the couch cushions.
As soon as Hugh had his wrist in his hand, Ryan flicked it and sent his phone flying onto the floor. It wasn’t like anything would hurt it. He had an extra durable one with a thick screen protector and a heavy duty case. Hell, if it did happen to crack it would be worth it for the dry, unimpressed expression his friend gave him after watching it skate across the wood.
“You forgot we need the suits, a camera, and to hit record first,” Ryan teased him, wiggling his eyebrows.
Ryan was not at all prepared for the kiss Hugh planted on his lips, making his eyes go wide. It was heavy like he had to think a kiss from Logan would be like. He was looking at his best friend’s eyes though, feeling his thick beard scratch against his chin. Suddenly, his skin was burning making his body vividly aware of the situation.
The two of them had quit caring about each other's personal space years ago. Over a decade ago. It was nothing strange or unusual to end up in it, including on each other's laps from time to time. Talking about fucking with Hugh straddling his waist though? Ryan really hoped whatever game his friend was playing, planned on moving soon or there was going to be something to feel that made it very real what he thought about the situation.
“No,” Hugh said clearly, pulling away enough to talk and leaving Ryan waiting for more information to work off of. “I didn’t, because if we ever do have sex it’s going to be just the two of us. Hugh and Ryan. No Logan and Wade or playing pretend.”
“Us,” Ryan repeated, reeling from the kiss and trying to translate what that meant paired with the word ‘if’. “If we ever have sex, it’s going to be us.”
It sounded strange to say. As if it was something they’d contemplated before. Not to say Ryan hadn’t imagined it, but he’d never looked at it as a real possibility. Thirsting over your straight bestie was a fucking classic. A lot of people dealt with that. Playing with the Poolverine OnlyFans would have just been an excuse to bring those few solo session fantasies to life in a kinky fanboy way that made his crotch throb.
“You and me, mate,” Hugh said, actually leaning back down to kiss him on the nose and Ryan shook his head while trying to look offended. “I’ve never been a natural bottom though, so we’ll have to go real slow.”
“Fuck off!” Ryan laughed loudly, a wide smile breaking out over his face as he shoved the man’s shoulders playfully.
Hugh didn’t climb off of him like Ryan had expected him to. He just continued to look down at him smugly, leaving him no choice but to stare back as he waited. It wasn’t until he said fuck it and placed his hands on the man’s thick thighs that the hovering stand off was broken. Surprisingly with another kiss. One that was a lot less like his friend was proving a point and more genuine.
Never one to turn down a game with his buddy, Ryan allowed himself to moan under the kiss. He could feel Hugh smile against his lips, which naturally made him want to do it again and press upwards for more. A potentially bad idea he didn’t realize until they were already on their way to genuinely making out.
Anxiety screamed to say ‘time!’ and find his spare suit then see if the man had a tripod around. The fresh start in a new life where no one besides the kids meant more to him than his best friend, said ‘keep rolling’. Ryan had always been one to trust his instincts so he did, earning him Hugh’s hand caressing the side of his face with a familiar hand. Maybe just that little taste of Poolverine on Tumblr had already ruined the man. He wasn’t going to complain.