"I want Stephen. Flying. In an Iron Man Suit," Tony grinned at the doctor.

Tony and Stephen had been dating for a month when the engineer decided to present the doctor to his family, so he invited him to a movie night at Stark Tower.

It had been a lovely evening, and after dinner, they sat with Peter and Ned, Pepper, Rhodey and Happy in the lounge talking and laughing. Somehow their conversation had evolved into a kind of truth and dare game.

"No. Absolutely not." Stephen shook his head.

"Why not?"

"I have no idea how those things work!"

"I promise you, it's not that difficult. Even Pepper and Rhodey managed it at first try."

"Hey!" Rhodey cried out offended.

"See it as a compliment."

"How is that a compliment, Tones?"

"Well, it's a compliment for the man who created this wonder of technology – with controls so intuitive that even a first-time-user can master them in seconds."

"Oh, Tony!" Pepper sipped at her drink. "Complimenting yourself? That's low, even for your standards."

He looked at her with big Bambi eyes. "But no one else does it..."

"Don't give me that look. It doesn't work anymore."

"You know me too well." He shrugged.

"Indeed. I'm immune to your crap."

The relationship between Pepper and Tony was still on shaky ground. They had decided to be friends again, and this night was something of a test run for them. So far, the results had been promising, Tony thought.

"Come on, Stephen!" Tony cheered and ordered F.R.I.D.A.Y. to bring in the suit. Seconds later the armor marched into the room.

"No, Jim's an Air Force pilot, and Pepper didn't fly in it, she just walked," Stephen specified.

"Your point being?"

"How many accidents did you have until you were really able to fly the thing for the first time?"

Tony shrugged. "Nearly none – also, that doesn't count. That was work in progress."

Stephen glared at him, but the Avenger remained unfazed.

"Come on, Gandalf. It'll be fun."

"In here? You're crazy, Stark!"

"Fine. We're going outside, then."

Stephen shook his head.

"What's the problem, Merlin?"

"I won't put my life in the hands of that thing!"

"Says the guy who expected me to trust a flying blanket with my life."

Behind Stephen, the Cloak of Levitation fluffed itself up in outrage.

"Hey, that's different! Cloakie is sentient. When something goes wrong, I trust it to make the right decisions."

"If you see it this way, the suit is sentient, too. F.R.I.D.A.Y. can control it any time, if necessary."

Stephen closed his eyes and breathed in slowly.

"I could take my spare suit and come with you."

With a sigh, Stephen mumbled, "I hate you."

Tony grinned. "No, you don't. You love me."

"Yes, I do." Stephen shrugged with an amused smile.

It took Tony a second to realize the significance of this statement.

Even though both of them had the impression that this thing between them could develop into something fairly long-term, none of them had dared to confess the other one their feelings.

Tony gaped at Stephen and said, "That's good. Good to know. I do too. Love you, you know."

"Good to know." The doctor nodded, still grinning.

At this moment they became aware that they were being watched.

"This is just disgusting," Rhodey exclaimed. "Pete, promise me, you'll never get as corny as your dad."

The night ended with all of them going outside to the Quinjet landing pad. Tony helped Stephen into the suit, and after a couple of tries the doctor had figured out the controls of the armor. Together they soared through the night sky.

It was such a completely different experience from flying with the cloak. They were able to fly much faster, perform impressive stunts high in the air, yet Stephen knew he was absolutely safe with Tony at his side. The feeling was indescribable.

When they landed, and Tony retracted his helmet to smile at him, while the others applauded and cheered at them, Stephen thought he could get used to this.

— — —

"If you want me to leave Tony alone, I will do that."

Stephen sat with Pepper in a little café close to the Stark Tower. Outside, thick snowflakes kept tumbling down, adding steadily to the white layer on the streets and sidewalks. They were chatting about everything and nothing in particular when he suddenly had become earnest.

"I can see you still love Tony and know he still loves you. If you tell me to go, I will."

She looked angry at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just what I said. If you think you can make him happy, I won't stand in your way... because I don't want to be 'the other woman', if you understand what I mean."

Hesitantly, she reached over the table and took his hand in hers. "I had my chance – we had our chance. It didn't work out. Maybe it was just bad timing – nonetheless, it's over. But I've never seen Tony as happy as he is when you're around. So, I will pretend this conversation never happened. And don't you dare to suggest anything like this ever again, understood?"

With a sheepish smile, he nodded.

— — —

"I want you to move in with us." Lazily, Tony stroked Stephen's back. Naked and in post-coital bliss they lay in Tony's bed. The doctor rested his head on Tony's chest, and the engineer wound his arms around him.

High on feelings, Tony had blurted out his wish, but when the other man didn't answer, his heart sunk. Hurt, he detangled himself from Stephen and turned on his side, facing away from him.

"It's not I don't want to live with you..." Stephen's voice was low and quiet. "But... I am the guardian of the Sanctum Sanctorum. I can't do my job when I live in the Stark Tower. I'm already spending far too much time here."

"I understand," the Avenger spat out bitterly.

"No, Tony. I don't think you do." He tugged at Tony's shoulder; forced the other man to look him in the eyes. "I can tell you without any doubt that I have never in my life loved someone as much as I love you. It would be great if I could move to the Stark Tower, but my place is in the Sanctum. As much as it pains me, this is non-debatable, I'm afraid."

He pulled Tony closer to hug him. The Avenger was a bit stiff, but he allowed it.

"I have a crazy idea," Stephen whispered into his ear. "It's a pretty big building."

"Stark Tower?"

"No, the Sanctum. There are those rooms on the second floor – you know, in the less insane part of the house – they're a bit separated from the rest of the sanctum, and we could use them as our apartment: There's a kitchen, two bathrooms, another living room – one without trees. Peter could have the bedroom next to the library, and we take the big one with the fireplace. If the interior is too old-fashioned for your taste, no problem, I already talked to Wong, we're allowed to refurbish it to fit our needs. And then, there's the cellar, the one with the beautiful vaulted ceilings – you'd have plenty of room for your workshop there."

"Wait, you're asking me to move with Pete into your madhouse?"

"Yes, I think so."

"You thought about this a lot, didn't you?"

"Of course. I was just waiting for the right moment to ask, but you beat me to that."

"I love you." Tony curled up in Stephen's arms and closed his eyes.

"I know."

"Wait, did you just 'Han Solo' me?"

Stephen just chuckled and hugged him even tighter.

— — —

"Ned said, he wants to marry me," Peter told Tony while the two of them were cooking dinner one evening.

Behind them, on the table sat Stephen and Ned, peeling peas and watching them.

"And what did you say?" asked Tony.

"Of course I said no!"

"Why? Do you think he's just after your money?" Tony turned to eye Ned suspiciously.

"No, he's just after my name!"

Stephen looked at Ned and frowned. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Isn't Ned Stark dead? Sean Bean plays him, so he must be dead, right?"

Slowly, Tony came over to the table and whispered loud enough everyone in the room could hear it, "Don't let him fool you! He still hasn't watched Game of Thrones."

"How can he not have seen it?" Ned and Peter asked simultaneously.

Tony shrugged.

"You know, some people have more important things to do than watching a show about dragons," Stephen stated.

Tony took a spatula out of a drawer and returned to the stove. "Says the guy who started watching Ally McBeal all over again."

Stephen crossed his arms in front of the chest and slumped into his chair. "Oh, shut up!"

— — —

"I want to talk to you, Wong. Do you have a moment?"

Wong was sorting books into different shelves when Tony ambushed him one evening.

"Mr. Stark."

"Oh, call me Tony, after all, we are almost family now."

"You do know that Stephen and I are not related?"

"I wouldn't have guessed," Tony muttered deadpan. "...But you know want people are saying: Sometimes family is a wizard, a billionaire genius, their spider-son, a flying blanket, and a grumpy librarian."

"I've never heard that one."

"Really? People say that all the time!"

"What do you want, Stark?"

"I just wanted to ask if Stephen talked to you about me by any chance."

Wong stared at the Avenger disdainfully. "I do not wish to be involved in the relationship you have with Stephen."

"I understand. But did he ever mention he is unhappy in any way?"

"Please keep me out of this."

Tony ignored him. "In the last few weeks, I had the feeling that he might think this thing we have could be just temporarily and I don't fully commit to him."

Wong sighed and gave in to his fate. "Why would he think that?"

"I don't know... Maybe I wasn't attentive enough. Maybe I didn't show him how much I cared."

Wong's usually stoic face turned grim. "You moved with your son into a building that could potentially kill you, just to be close to him. You started studying the mystic arts for him, even though you despise and distrust magic. Last week you bought a tabloid newspaper and liquidated it because they dared writing the new boyfriend of Tony Stark is way out of his league. Honestly, if he doesn't get the clue, he deserves dying alone."

"Are you sure?"

"Why don't you just marry him?" Wong roared exasperated.

Stunned, Tony looked at him.

"You are a genius!" Excited, he hugged the librarian and ran to the door. "Wong, you are invited to my wedding!"

"Shouldn't you first ask Stephen whether he even wants to marry you before you invite everyone?"

"Right. And a ring!" Tony shouted. "I need a ring!"

With that, he was gone. Wong shook his head and muttered what he could possibly have done to deserve two of them.

— — —

"Tony, we want a dog," Stephen said one evening when they sat together with Wong in the kitchen for dinner.

Tony looked at Peter and Stephen as if they just had stabbed him in the back.

"Listen, Tony... I know you are a cat person, but the truth is: We are not... and we decided we want a dog..."

Tony just stared at them, visibly hurt by their betrayal.

"Honey, please say something."

"How long have you two conspired behind my back?"

"Tony..."

"How long, Stephen?"

"Since you and Peter moved to the Sanctum."

Tony, being the drama queen he was, went down to his workshop and buried himself in his work until the early morning. When he finally came to bed, Stephen curled sleepily around him.

"I just want Pete to have a dog if he wants one. My dad never allowed us to have pets."

"...and you want to be better than your old man," Tony completed his thought.

Stephen nodded, damn him. He knew exactly how good the be-better-than-your-own-father-argument worked on Tony.

A week later they went with Peter to the nearest animal shelter, to adopt a dog, because they had decided to give an abandoned dog a second chance instead of buying a new puppy. The employee of the shelter introduced them to a couple of young dogs who would be a good fit for Peter's temperament, but Peter spotted a sad-looking Basset Hound in a kennel in the corner.

"What about him?" he asked the employee.

"Bats? He has been here for a while. His owner, an old woman, died last year. Since then he's been here. Some people wanted to take him in, but they all brought him back because he's not very nice to new people. I guess he misses his old owner so much."

Peter walked over and stopped in front of the kennel. "I want him."

"Are you sure? He's quite old for a dog and has a weak heart. That could result in a large bill for the vet."

Tony put his hand on Peter's shoulder and faced the employee. "Money won't be a problem, believe me."

"Of course not, Mr. Stark."

Hesitantly, the employee opened the kennel, to allow Peter access.

The dog inside trotted to the teenager, sniffing and wagging his tail.

"Hey, Bats! You're a good boy, right?" Peter dropped to his knees and started to pet the dog, who in turn licked his hand.

"That's new..." the employee uttered.

"What do you mean?" Stephen asked.

"Usually he just barks at people. Sometimes he even bites them."

"Why am I not surprised? Everyone loves Peter."

Stephen and Tony looked grinning at Peter, who sat there, the dog in his lap, laughing when Bats started to lick his face.

Stephen took Tony's hand. "I think we found our dog."

Bats turned out to be a very calm dog with a charming and protective personality. He got along well with the Cloak of Levitation and adored Christine, Pepper, Ned, Rhodey, and Wong. For some reason, he didn't trust Happy. No one understood why.

Of course, Bats also loved Peter and Tony, but his favorite was, without any doubt, Stephen. He followed the doctor everywhere when he was in the Sanctum. Stephen liked his canine shadow more than he was willing to admit.

Until one day, Bats got sick.

No veterinarian was able to tell them what was wrong with the dog. He had stopped eating and didn't like to get touched anymore, but none of the doctors was able to find any physical explanation for his condition.

"If he only could tell us what's wrong!" Peter said one evening sadly.

Stephen got up and ran to his library. When he reemerged in the middle of the night, everyone was fast asleep. He went to the sleeping Bats and petted him softly until he woke up. The dog whimpered silently and tried to get away from Stephen.

With shaking hands, the sorcerer cast a spell on his four-legged friend.

"Now Bats, tell me what's wrong with you."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"'Cause you're going to be mad at me."

"I promise I won't."

"... really?"

"Really."

"...because I did something you told me not to do..."

"I promise, I won't be mad," Stephen repeated.

The dog looked at him with hopeful eyes. "I licked something in your trophy room, and now my tummy hurts."

"Can you tell me what it was?"

"I can show you." With that, Bats got up and waddled to the study behind the living room with the trees. He pointed with his snout at a scroll on the bottom shelf.

Stephen took it and read what was written on it.

"Oh Bats! You're not sick. Or poisoned. You're cursed!"

"Will I die now, Doc?"

"No! Now that I know what's wrong with you, it's no big deal to lift the curse."

"Glad to hear that."

Stephen sat down, and Bats immediately climbed into his lap. Slowly, the sorcerer petted the dog. His hand began to glow, as he lifted the curse from Bats.

"Better?"

"Hmmm." Bats hummed affirmatively.

Smiling, Stephen kept stroking the soft fur.

"Hey, Doc?"

"Yes, Bats?"

"Since when can you speak Dog?"

"Actually, I can't. That's a translation spell. I still speak English, and you still speak Dog, the spell just translates for us. Neat, don't you think?"

"I like being able to talk to you."

"We could keep the spell, but you have to promise me you won't talk when we're in public."

"Promise! There are so many things I want to tell you and Peter and Tony! And now I can!"

The Cloak of Levitation, who had followed them, settled on Stephen's shoulders, hugging both of them.

"Oh, old friend. So you were worried too..." Stephen ran his fingers over the soft red fabric, feeling at peace with the world.

Hours later Tony found them fast asleep on the floor, wrapped up in Cloakie, one snoring louder than the other.

— — —

"I want to find the Rogue Avengers, Tony."

They were in Tony's workshop one morning. Peter had left for school, Tony tinkered on his newest suit and Stephen lounged on his sofa in the corner of the room. He had put his book down, looking sternly at his husband.

"I mean it, Tony."

"Why would you want that?" Tony stubbornly avoided eye contact.

"You had another nightmare."

"How do my nightmares relate to Steve Rogers and his gang?"

"People who don't know you as well as I do, might think you still have nightmares about Siberia or the battle of New York. But I know what you're really losing sleep over." The doctor's voice was calm and composed, not accusing, just stating facts. "Something's out there, something big - and it's coming. Whatever it is, our chances beating it would improve, if the Avengers were united again."

The engineer looked up, tears in his eyes. "You believe me?" he asked questioningly.

Everyone else had told him the scenarios Wanda Maximoff had put in his head were only that – pictures and nothing else – just mind tricks to unsettle an enemy. Finding someone who finally believed him...

"Tony, why would I doubt you?"

"Everyone else does..."

Stephen looked at him long and sternly, until he got up and engulfed him in his arms. It was an awkward position with Tony still sitting, while the sorcerer stood, but neither of them cared at this moment.

"I'm not everyone else. Please believe me when I say I'll always be at your side if you need me." He massaged Tony's temples and the engineer closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. "Also, I've seen enough weird shit in the last years to know there's always something out there to get us and it will come eventually. We should gather as many allies as we can, while we still can. Captain Rogers and his troop would be a great help, especially Maximoff."

"You think?"

"Yes, and I think we shouldn't stop at that! It would be wise to reach out to Wakanda... and I know you don't want to hear that, but we should contact Hank Pym!"

"Good luck finding him!"

Stephen grinned. "I'm magic. Finding him won't be a problem."

"Yeah, but convincing him to join us – even your magic isn't powerful enough to do that trick!"

"Why is that? Why does he hate you so much?"

"To be fair, I don't think he hates me in particular. He just hates Starks in general because of that vendetta he had with my old man."

Stephen sat on the workbench in front of Tony.

"Then, maybe I should talk to him. Seems we have something in common."

Confused, Tony looked up at him.

"I'm not a fan of Howard Stark either..." Stephen said and took his husband's hand into his. "I know you are conflicted when it comes to your father, but I would punch him in the face if I ever met him."

"No, you wouldn't. You're a pacifist."

"Just because I avoid maiming or killing my enemies, doesn't mean I wouldn't knock Howard down if I had the chance."

He slid off the workbench and sat onto Tony's lap.

That made the engineer laugh. "You always say the sweetest things."

With that, he pulled the doctor's head down and kissed him.

— — —

"I want to know what we do next, Stephen."

Weeks later, Stephen had located the Rogue Avengers, and he and Tony had to decide how to proceed now. Should they hand them over to General Ross, who would punish them for their crimes?

"That's up to you, Tony. I'm not an Avenger. I don't have the authority to interfere in the internal affairs of the Avengers."

"You helped me to find them."

"Well, that was just me being a concerned citizen and helping Iron Man."

"All right then, I'm not talking to the Sorcerer Supreme here; I'm just asking my husband for his advice."

"Okay... My advice is: Renegotiate."

"What?"

"The Sokovia-Accords. Renegotiate the damn accords. If you hand Rogers and the others over to Ross, we would have accomplished nothing. He would lock them away, and if we need them, we first would have to break them out of jail."

"Not turning them in makes sense, but renegotiating the Sokovia-Accords?"

"Tony, where is the problem? I know you don't believe in the Sokovia-Accords; you never have. I know you just signed them because you feared the UN would force the Avengers to split up – and we both know how well that worked out."

Tony glared angrily at him.

"Oh, don't give me that look! You went against the damn accords the very same week you signed them! I'm sorry Tony, but I'm with Rogers on this one: I think the safest hands are our own, not some government that can be corrupted."

"So, you side with Rogers?" Tony sounded deeply hurt.

"On this matter? Yes. I'm sorry, but yes."

Tony stepped away from him.

"That doesn't mean I think it was okay what he did in Siberia! He should have told you what he knew about the death of your parents. He shouldn't have left you there on your own in a broken armor and without backup or means of transport to get home."

Tentatively, the doctor pulled Tony into his arms.

"He hurt you and that I will never forgive him!"

"What do you expect me to do now?" Tony asked weakly.

"We go and get the Rogue Avengers if they want it or not. You contact Ross. You call Pepper and tell her to hire an army of lawyers, and then we negotiate the accords until every one of us can sign them with a clear conscience."

"You make that sound so easy, Merlin."

"Believe me, it won't be."

"So reassuring. Thank you."

"I don't understand why you didn't do that in the first place. Hire an army of lawyers, I mean. Why did you just sign it without any resistance? That is not the Tony Stark who told a Senate Committee that they had no claim on inventions, years ago."

"Well, I'm not that person anymore. I thought it was right to sign the accords. We needed to be put in check. Sokovia was my fault because Ultron was my fault. At the time it felt like the only option I had."

"Ultron wasn't your fault alone! I think everyone underestimates the Mind Stone. Those Infinity Stones, they have a mind of their own, that's another reason why they are so dangerous."

"Yeah, maybe. But I initiated it."

Tony put his head on Stephen's shoulder. Standing here with the man he loved, cradled in his arms, made it easier to speak about these things.

"You did that because of the things Maximoff put into your head." Stephen shrugged. "I just think it's unfair, to blame you solely when there were so many others involved. You tried your best to make the world safer."

"Tell that to the people who died in Sokovia."

"I know that's not what you want to hear, but you can't always win." He put his hand under Tony's chin and tipped it up, so the Avenger looked into his face. "Look at all the people Iron Man has saved. Peter, myself... without you..."

Tony put his hand on the doctor's mouth. "Please, don't say that. Just hold me."

— — —

"I want you, just for once, to shut up and listen, Steve!" Tony yelled.

With a deep sigh, Stephen buried this face in his hands.

It had been two weeks – Two weeks of Tony shouting at Rogers and two weeks of Rogers screaming back at Tony. Stephen was at the end of his rope. He was tired, he wanted to go home and be alone, but he had promised to stay at Tony's side. So the sorcerer took a deep breath and remained both in his seat and his body. It would have been so easy to escape this room in his astral form, but for Tony's sake, he stayed. Pepper beside him stroked his shoulder comradely.

"I think a break would be in order, to calm down a bit," the chief negotiator stated and looked from Stark to Rogers. When no one disagreed, the man proclaimed, "Two hours lunch break!"

Outside the conference room of the Avengers compound, Tony started ranting. "What does he think who he is?"

"Tony, I think he has some very valid points," Pepper said.

The engineer glared at her.

"She's absolutely right, Tony. If they want to have authority over the Avengers, they have to pay for them! This is just not on that they call the shots, while you are still the one paying for everything! If they want the Avengers to be an UN-institution, we are entitled to get funding."

"You're not even an Avenger! What do you care?" Tony hissed at Stephen.

"I will ignore what you just said because I know you are stressed an didn't mean that. But the next time you think you can take your frustration out on me, you will be sorry." He sounded calm, almost casually, but there was a dangerous flicker it the eyes of the sorcerer. "Understood?"

Tony nodded sheepshly.

"Anyways, why are you so adamant they hand over Barnes?" Pepper asked, mostly to change the subject.

Stephen realized Tony hadn't told her about the assassination of his parents by the Winter Soldier.

"He killed my parents," Tony spat out bitterly.

"No, he didn't," Stephen disagreed. "Well, physically he did, but that wasn't his choice, he was brainwashed by Hydra!"

"And you believe this story?"

"I took the time to study the leaked Hydra files. Everything I found fortified Rogers' claims, even if there weren't mentioned names."

"I don't care."

"Why do you insist on blaming him, Tony?"

"Because I want to blame someone! Anyone! Not just some shadowy secret society! I want to hold someone accountable!" Tony yelled.

Stephen put his hand on his shoulder and looked him deep in the eyes. "I know. But he's a victim of circumstance just as you are. He was used as a tool of Hydra against his will."

Tony looked away, but Stephen took his chin and forced him to face him.

"If someone took a hammer and crushed your hand, would you blame the hammer?"

Chewing his lower lip, the engineer shook his head. "No, why would I?"

Stephen didn't answer. He just continued to stare into Tony's eyes.

A weak "I hate you, Gandalf" from Tony was the only indication that he understood the point Stephen was trying to make.

"No, you don't. You love me."

"...Yes, I do."

Suddenly, an excited call attracted their attention, "Look Bats! They're over there!"

Peter, a tray with coffee cups in one hand and the Bat's leash in the other, strolled over to meet them.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y. told us you had a break, so we thought we bring coffee," he explained.

Grinning, he handed everyone a cup. Meanwhile, Bats greeted Pepper, Tony, and Stephen enthusiastically.

"Peter, you are a ray of sunshine on a stormy day," said Stephen, while Tony exclaimed cheerfully, "Yay, Coffee!"

They stood there and chatted when Steve Rogers, Wanda Maximoff, and Sam Wilson entered the hall.

Bats noticed the tense atmosphere in the room immediately. Possessive, the dog moved in front of his family and started snarling at the newcomers.

Stephen tried calming him down, so he missed for what reason Tony and Rogers started shouting at each other again. In the end, it didn't matter, but it caused a chain of tragic events: Hell-bent on protecting his humans, Bats started barking aggressively at Rogers. He crowded Captain America to scare him away, but of course that didn't work.

"Get your stupid dog away from me!"

Peter and Stephen tried to appease the dog, but Bats had torn off his leash and bit Rogers in the leg.

Out of reflex, the Avenger kicked the animal away, who crashed into the nearest wall.

Before the Basset Hound could attack Rogers again, Maximoff trapped him in a force field, where he started to go berserk.

"Let him out!" Stephen yelled.

"I'm not hurting him! I just hold him back," Maximoff responded.

Stephen could see something was wrong with Bats. "He has a weak heart!"

The barking turned into a pitiful whimper, and the short legs of the dog bucked.

"Let me through!" Stephen forcefully punched his way through the magic barrier of Maximoff, but it was too late to help Bats. Tenderly, the sorcerer took the lifeless body in his arms.

Peter joined him. "Is he...?"

Stephen just shook his head, tears in his eyes. He cradled the dead dog in front of his chest and rose to his feet.

Angry he glared at Steve and Tony. "Do you see now that your dispute only hurts others? Get your shit together and sort this out, for fuck's sake!"

Without looking back, he left the building, with a crying Peter following close behind.

Late at night, Stephen lay awake and reviewed the day's events in his mind, silent tears running down his face.

Briefly, he had considered banishing Tony from the bedroom and making him sleep on the sofa, but couldn't bring himself to blame anyone – not even Rogers – for what had happened. It had been just an unfortunate series of events.

"Hey Doc?" a quiet voice above asked anxiously.

The doctor opened his eyes and looked up. Four feet above the bed floated a glowing specter in the shape of a Basset Hound.

"Bats?"

"Yes?"

"What happened to you?"

"I was hoping, you could tell me, Doc."

"You are dead."

"Does that mean, I'm a ghost now?"

"It seems so."

"How did this happen?"

"You had a heart attack."

"No, I mean the-me-being-a-ghost-part."

"I have no idea." He sat up and reached for the glowing phantom, but his hand went straight through it. "Maybe it's a side-effect of the curse you put on yourself recently."

"You sure?"

"It's possible... I'd have to look into this."

After a moment of silence, Bats asked, "...What do we do now?"

"We wake up Peter and Tony and tell them!"

"No. Let them sleep. We surprise them in the morning."

"..Bats?"

"Yes, Doc?"

"I'm glad you're back."

Bats landed on his chest, where he curled up, with his head on Stephen's shoulder.

Before he fell asleep, the sorcerer noticed that the ghost felt a little chilly, but didn't weight an ounce.

In the morning they were woken up by Tony's "Ghost! Ghost!" screams.

Stephen smiled. He realized how strange his life was, but he wouldn't change that for the world.