AN: So sorry, someone asked me how old Peter was in the last chapter and I realized I never made that clear, so I apologize. Peter was about eight or nine years old in the last chapter, my guess was it took place shortly after the first Avengers movie. In this chapter he is definitely at least thirteen, maybe fourteen.

Also, I didn't really know how to describe this fic without giving too much away so it might take a different turn than you were expecting but I hope you all like it. Anyway, enjoy!

"Mr. Stark!" Tony smiled at the familiar, yet ever changing voice. The boy on the bed seemed to change so much in the last few years that he had been visiting him, and yet… he was still so small and weak. He could tell without asking that today was a bad day. Peter lay flush against his bed, not even lifting his head when Tony came in.

"Hey, kid!" Tony didn't let any of those observations show on his face, however. Pete knew he was sick, he didn't need people to remind him with their pitying looks.

He glanced at Mary, Richard wasn't there today. She was mostly the same, tired, but there was a sort of frantic look to her as well.

"I brought you some new reading material," Peter was smart. He could eat up whatever Tony brought him, whether it be physics, biology, mathematics, or even engineering. His parents had not allowed his time in the hospital to cause a lapse in his education.

"Thanks, Mr. Stark," Peter mumbled, truly pleased, but also tired. "I didn't know if you were coming today."

Tony grimaced. He had pulled back from visiting every week to every month, but he had missed last month because of a mission. "Sorry, kid. Was out of town."

"With the Avengers?" Peter asked, as excited as a sick teenager on a hospital bed could be.

"Yeah," Tony nodded. "It's classified though so don't try to use those adorable puppy dog eyes to get it out of me."

Peter smiled. His teeth looked almost yellow compared to his pale skin. Tony couldn't completely hide his remorse at how sick Peter was looking today. He stepped forward and placed a hand on Peter's bald head. He had never seen the kid with hair, except for pictures from when he was a toddler. Peter leaned into the touch ever so slightly and closed his eyes. Before he removed his hand the teen was asleep.

Tony stepped away and closer to Mary.

"How are you doing?" he asked. Her eyes had a far off, almost crazed look to them. She tried to smile at him, but it crumpled as tears trickled down her face.

"He's worse," she whispered. "He's the worst he's ever been. The treatments aren't working."

There was a lump in Tony's throat and chest. He turned sad eyes back to the kid who, even sleeping, had a look of pain on his face.

"They…" Mary hesitated. "They say he doesn't have much longer."

Tony's head whipped around at those words and his gaze was enough to send Mary into quiet sobs as she fell against him. He was stunned for a moment before wrapping his arms around her. In all the good times and the bad times, he had never really allowed himself to believe that Peter wasn't going to make it. His sorrow was for the pain the kid had to go through, not an inevitable tragedy.

"I don't know what to do, I don't know how to fix him," she cried. Tony awkwardly patted her shoulders, trying to calm her, trying to keep his own tears from spilling.

"Richard thinks…" Mary stopped and pulled away. "Nevermind."

"What?" Tony prodded.

Mary shook her head. "It's nothing."

Tony frowned but didn't press anymore. "Where is Richard?" he asked.

"At work," she said. "It's been so hard trying to keep up our research with Peter like this."

Tony nodded. They had talked about it before. It wasn't hard, it was impossible, their research was nearly three or four years behind, and he knew Osborn was not happy about it.

Mary sighed tiredly and sat down on the uncomfortable couch, raising a hand to her tired eyes.

"I should go," Tony offered. "Let you get some sleep…"

She nodded, not looking at him.

"I'll come back next week," he promised.

She smiled her thanks as he stepped closer to Peter and lay his hand against the boy's head again. Then without thought, even though he had never done it before, he leaned in and kissed the boy's head. A little shocked at himself for the action. He glanced up at Mary, his insecurity showing, but she just had a soft smile on her face. He had been visiting for nearly five years now, sometimes he almost felt a part of the family.

As he stepped out of the room he heard a familiar voice that set his teeth on edge.

"Tony Stark," the voice drawled out.

Tony forced a polite smile on his face. "Dr. Osborn," he said, seeing the man approach the door with Richard Parker by his side. Tony purposefully stood in front of the door.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his tone not coming off as polite or friendly as he intended. How disappointing.

Richard frowned and opened his mouth but it was Norman who spoke up.

"Just came to give my support to two of my best employees and their bright son," Norman offered. His smile was sickening. Tony didn't want him anywhere near Peter… but that wasn't his choice. He stepped to the side.

Richard pushed past him into the room, he looked as anxious as Mary had and sent a nervous glance Tony's way. Tony frowned but was distracted when Osborn began talking to him again.

"And what about you, Mr. Stark?" Osborn asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Peter's a friend of mine," Stark said.

Osborn chuckled. "I didn't realize you had any friends, Stark."

Tony shrugged. "I'm full of surprises."

"You sure are," Osborn said, turning to walk into the room.

"Osborn," Tony called. The man turned, one hand on the doorknob. "Peter is special," Tony said stepping closer. "Don't upset him… or his family."

Osborn smiled. "Trust me, Stark. I know how special he is. I would never do anything to upset him." With that Osborn stepped into the room. Tony still felt his skin crawling, maybe he should stay?

Richard Parker stepped up and shut the door behind Osborn, giving Tony one last anxious glance. Tony shook his head and walked away. It wasn't his place to interfere, it wasn't his job to protect Peter, no matter how much he wanted to.

It took a few days until the Ultron debacle was cleaned up for Tony to look in on the kid again. He felt bad that it had slipped his mind for even that long. It had been weeks since he had seen him, and he had promised to return, but had never made it.

"Jarvis…" he stopped himself. Jarvis was gone now… that was going to take some getting used to. "Friday," he called instead. "Any new messages from Mary or Richard Parker."

"Negative, boss," Friday responded.

He sighed slightly relieved. They would have called if something had happened, wouldn't they?

"There was a news report concerning those names about a week ago," Friday offered helpfully.

"What kind of news report?" Tony asked as he searched his phone contacts for the Parkers. Had they published a new journal?

"Obituary," Friday responded.

Tony's finger froze over the call button. His eyes shut tightly of their own volition.

"Show me," he whispered, even though he was afraid to look. A holographic screen popped up in front of him and it wasn't what he expected.

"Mary and Richard Parker killed in a car accident"

He was shocked, but somehow relieved, but whatever morbid relief he felt was chased away from the following line.

"driving home from their son's funeral."

His breath caught in his throat, overwhelmed by the information, unable to process. His breath started coming faster and he knew immediately what was happening. Soon he was on the ground, against the wall, his knees pushed up to his chest, trying to drag air in.

"Tony?" Pepper's voice called as she stepped into the lab. He wasn't sure if it had been a few minutes or a few hours. It took her a moment to find him but she was by his side in seconds.

"Tony," she cooed as she sat down beside him, pulling him into her. He tried not to cry, but the sobs hit him. He realized it wasn't just about their deaths. It was everything that had happened over the last two weeks. Ultron, Bruce missing, Jarvis … gone. And now this, the purest kid in the world being stolen away from it. Far before he should have been.

"Friday told me what happened," Pepper told him. Huh, Friday was perhaps a little more empathetic than Jarvis. Pepper had known about Peter, of course, she had even come to meet him once. So she knew what he was feeling, even if she wasn't as attached.

"Why didn't they call me?" he asked.

"Maybe they saw the news," Pepper suggested. "Maybe they knew you were handling some pretty big things, and planned to call you when things calmed down."

Tony nodded, mostly calmed himself at this point. "I didn't get a chance to say goodbye."

Pepper sighed and pulled him a little tighter, but it wasn't long before he patted her arm thankfully and pulled away. That was just the way Tony was, the walls might come down for a second, but he was always quick to put them back up. That's what pain did to a person.

AN: Poor Tony… he's going through a lot. So this is supposed to take place right before and after Age of Ultron. I know I'm tugging at y'all's heart strings again so I'm giving you a sneak peek into the next chapter. Here you go:

Peter woke up in a dark and unfamiliar place. He was cold, and uncomfortable… but other than that he felt better than he had felt…well… ever. He felt… strong. He could breathe without that constant tickle that always seemed to plague him, and he felt sharp. He tried to sit up, but something was holding him back, he glanced down and saw thick leather straps wrapped around his chest, legs, and wrists.

"What the fudge?"

AN: LOL. So now you know that Peter is NOT dead, and you can look forward to Tony and Peter's reunion in future chapters.

Stay healthy! Stay safe!

God bless!