Thank you so much to everyone that has been reading and reviewing! I hope you enjoy the next to last chapter of this story that I have so loved writing!

Goodbyes

September 17th: 4:34pm

Tony felt weird. Strange. Floaty. Like...like his feet weren't quite on the floor, which made sense, because when he looked down, he realized they weren't. Not quite. His body was...strange. Slightly transparent. But no...no his body was sitting in front of him, head tilted back, limbs loose and limp, and Doctor Stephen Strange stood in front of him, lips pursed before moving over to sit on the edge of Peter's bed. In a surprising move, the doctor reached out and adjusted the blankets on Peter's bed, pulling them up to cover his shoulders.

So Doctor Strange already had a soft spot for the kid. Tony couldn't blame him. The kid was like a puppy. No one could resist him. Not Tony. Not the Avengers. And apparently not Stephen Strange.

Strange had taken one look at Peter's body before making some weird hand motions and Tony had been about to ask him to cut it the fuck out when something started happening...glowing. The air above Peter had started to glow. And had Tony not been just talking to Peter's spirit using an ouija board, he would have thought he'd finally snapped. But the air had been glowing and then Stephen had nodded as if that had shed any light on the matter.

But all thoughts of glowing air had flown from his mind when Strange had gone limp in that chair...and then when he'd suddenly returned, letting him know that they were basically damned if they did and damned if they didn't. They had to get Peter to go back into his body or he would die...but even if he went back into his body, he still might die. And also, apparently some wizards had tried to kill his kid. So...it was a weird day, with his ouija board conversations with his kid not even topping the charts for weirdest things happening to him in the last 24 hours.

So he was outside of his body, just like Strange had been. And as he turned to look from his body, to Stephen Strange, to the rest of the room, he found him. He found Peter.

This might be the last time he got the chance to talk to Peter.

He didn't let that thought stop him from practically running over to the boy who was leaning against the wall, but who threw himself into Tony's arms. If ghosts could look sick, Peter looked sick. Pale and strangely thin, he felt light. Bony. Tired. Unsubstantial. It was a stark contrast to how the boy usually felt when the kid would jump into his arms and give him a tight hug before getting to work in the lab. Tony always pretended to roll his eyes and gave Peter a pat on the back before pushing him away and telling him to get to work. Now he held the boy tight, refusing to let go as Peter wrapped his own arms around him with none of the strength that he usually posessed.

"Peter," he whispered, nuzzling his face into Peter's hair. "Peter, Peter…" He pressed his lips to the side of Peter's head and the kid smiled up at him before resting his head on Tony's shoulder. "Talk to me, kid. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," he muttered, and Tony rolled his eyes.

"Tell me the truth."

"I'm just tired."

Tony nodded. Stephen had mentioned that...that the boy would be more and more tired until he just...went to sleep and never got up. Which was unacceptable. But the alternative wasn't that much better.

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry, Pete?"

"Because...because they...they made me do this."

"Peter, if Doctor Oddball is right, then they literally had you under their spell. Mind control, kid. You can't blame yourself for that." The kid shrugged, not looking up from Tony's shoulder, but he didn't mind, just holding the back of his head and rubbing his back. He could stay like this, he thought. He could stay like this and hold him and...and at least...at least Peter would know that he was there. That he was holding him and that he was safe. The thought made tears spring to Tony's eyes and he shook his head, closing his eyes to fight them.

"I don't want to," Peter whispered after a moment, and Tony knew exactly what he meant before he said it.

"I know, buddy."

"I don't wait to die."

"I know. I know, Pete."

"It's not fair! I...I didn't do it! I didn't want to die!"

"I believe you." He held Peter closer, rocking him a little as the tears finally fell. "I know you didn't want this, Pete. And I swear, we're going to find the people that did this to you. Okay? I swear. We're going to find them and we're going to stop him."

Stephen Strange had promised that much before going to meet Peter as a ghost or spirit or whatever. He'd promised that they would stop the rogue sorcerers and bring them to justice and that was all well and good but what about Tony's kid? What about Peter? How was New York supposed to function without Spider-Man? How was Tony supposed to live without Peter? And what about May? And Happy? What about Steve and Sam, who both cared so much about the kids and had been running themselves ragged since they'd found him on that bathroom floor?

And what about Peter? Tony was just supposed to expect him to go back to his body and...and what? Just hope? Pray that he actually woke up soon? Because for the last few days, and especially within the last 24 hours, the boy had been going downhill. His heart had stopped twice. Helen was worried about brain damage.

"I can't feel it," Peter told him suddenly, tears in his voice, but his face was still hidden. "My body. When you held my hand. I couldn't feel it! I won't...I won't know that you're with me if…"

"I will be with you. Peter…" Tony rocked him, taking most of his weight as the boy leaned on him. "I swear to you, I'm going to be with you the whole time. I'm going to be holding you. No matter what. I'll be right there. And...and I'll call May. I'll tell her to come. We'll both be here."

"No...no don't tell May. She...she'll freak out. And if she freaks out…"

"Then you freak out. I know," Tony soothed. "I know. But she'll want to be here." He said it as gently as he could, because as much as he couldn't stomach the thought, he wanted Peter to know that even if the worst happened, he wouldn't be alone.

"May believes in heaven," Peter told him, voice a little muffled as his shoulders shook with the tears that he couldn't seem to stop, Tony crying along with him and struggling to hide it. He needed to be strong for Peter. Steady. Comforting.

"Yeah? What about you?" Tony wondered, trying to sound casual. Like they were discussing the weather instead of something unspeakable.

"I...I hope so."

The words were like a knife in Tony's heart but he forced himself to respond. "If there's anyone on this planet that deserves a place like heaven, it's you. You're the best kid in the world, Pete. The best thing that ever happened to me, right up there with Pepper. I...I'm so glad I got to meet you. I'm so glad you showed up on that Youtube video...that I...that I got my shit together and figured out how to mentor you, even if I did a terrible job…"

"No." Peter shook his head, voice firm despite the tears. "You were the best mentor! And...and the best…" Peter swallowed hard, not finishing the sentence, but Tony practically heard the word anyway.

Father.

"You're the best," Peter finished.

"Yeah, well you're going to have to get me one of those 'World's Best Boss' mugs when you wake up, huh? Let everybody know how great I am."

Tony's voice had been teasing, but Peter's voice was soft. Solemn. "Everyone already knows how great you are."

Tony tightened his arms around the boy even as the kid's knees started to buckle. "Pete…"

"I could just stay here. If...If I'm going to die…"

"Pete…"

"Then I'd rather do it with you!" Peter finished stubbornly. Tony pulled away then, holding Peter's cheeks in his hands as the kid leaned against him. He was just a kid. Just a child. "I don't want to die alone."

"You won't be alone. And Pete...I have the best doctors here. Hell, Doctor Strange is one of the best in the world. He's practically a medical wizard." The joke got the desired laugh, and Tony knew that he'd always treasure that, despite the tears that accompanied it. "I love you, Peter. I love you like my own son. You...you mean everything to me, kid. And I wouldn't be asking you to do this if I didn't think it was our absolute best option."

Peter sniffed, bringing a weak hand up to swipe at his eyes, doing no good whatsoever.

"You are not going to be alone. I promise. I'm right here with you. Always. And...and when you wake up, I'm disabling that stupid protocol. Friday is going to tell me every time you leave your house now. I'm putting one of those trackers in your teeth so I can find you at all times. And I'm putting cameras in your apartment."

Peter snorted. "May won't let you."

"Who says May has to know? Snitches get stitches, Pete." He smiled, running a thumb under Peter's eyes. "We're going to that haunted house you've been dying to go to, and we're going to my new summer house in Malibu for the winter. Hell, we'll go to Europe over Christmas if you want. All of us. May and Happy and you and me and Pep. The whole family. The Avengers too if they want to come. It's going to be great, Pete." The words made goosebumps appear on his arms, hair raising in desperate anticipation. It had to be true. It all had to be true. He couldn't live with any other outcome.

After a moment of silence, the boy nodded, that familiar determination returning to his eyes. "Okay."

Tony smiled, forcing it despite the pain in his chest. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Tony nodded then, gripping Peter's shoulders as the two straightened. "Okay. Good." He looked at Peter, looked him up and down. He wouldn't let himself forget. Not ever. No matter what. Turning to their bodies that were side by side, one in the bed and one in the chair, Tony felt his chest clench. He wasn't sending Peter to his death, he reminded himself. He was doing the best thing possible. There were only two options, and he didn't have time to figure out a third. So he led the boy over to their bodies, himself standing in front of the chair, and Peter in front of bed. "I love you, kid. And I'm right here."

"I love you too." Peter hesitated, leaning against the bed as though he were solid. As though nothing was really all that wrong. "Mr. Sark?"

"Yeah, buddy?"

"If...if I don't…" Tony wanted to stop him, but he forced himself to remain silent. "Just...tell May. And Ned. And MJ. Just...tell them I loved them so much."

"I will."

"And tell Steve it wasn't his fault. And tell Sam thank you."

"You got it, Pete."

"And…" The boy spoke quickly. Desperately. "Tell Flash that I forgive him...that I know he was just...it doesn't matter. Tell him it's fine. And Happy...tell him I'm sorry I got on his nerves so much but that I really liked him a lot."

"I'll tell everyone," Tony agreed, nodding and crying and trying to stop. To look calm so that Peter would be calm.

"And...and...be okay."

That one stopped him cold, but Peter went on.

"Promise. Promise that you'll be okay. That you'll keep saving people and that you'll still be happy and...and have date nights with Pepper and maybe bring Ned down to the lab. He'd really love it."

Tony reached out a hand, and the words tasted like ashes on his tongue. "I'll be okay, Underoos. For you. I promise." The words had started as a lie, but looking into Peter's eyes, he realized it was true. He would do everything he could to be okay even if the worst happened...because Peter had asked him to. He'd do anything to honor the last wishes of the boy who was his son.

"Okay." Peter nodded, swallowing hard and squeezing his hand. "Okay."

"I love you, Pete."

"I love you too. And...and thank you. So much. For everything."

Tony wanted to tell him that there was nothing to thank him for. That it had been Peter that had brought so much joy to his life. That Tony was the lucky one here. But he just smiled. "It was my pleasure. Every bit of it." Peter smiled back, nodding and knowing without any more words being said.

It was time.

"We'll do it together. Okay, Pete?"

"Okay."

"On three?"

"Yeah."

"Alright." Tony squeezed his hand. "One."

He took a step closer to his body, and Peter did the same.

"Two."

He let go of Peter's hand and prayed that it wouldn't be the last time.

"I'll see you on the other side, Mr. Stark."

And then Tony stepped into his body.

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