Peter

Peter had been a little more awake after his quick nap, and had been excited to see everyone again, but he had still crashed pretty quickly the night before. He'd gone to sleep in his own bed, alone, which had been super weird. Thankfully, he was exhausted, and sleep came before too long.

Tony wanted a quick reconnect with Pepper, and had promised to join him as soon as he felt he needed to. Predictably, Peter had woken up to his soulmate curled up against his back. Tony must have been having symptoms from their separation in the night. They weren't even at two weeks yet, but Peter had kind of expected they could at least sleep apart for eight hours by now. If Peter had had any symptoms, he'd slept through them.

Oh. He was awake. That meant it was Wednesday. Wednesday meant Disney World! He rolled over carefully, easing away from Tony, to look at the bedside clock. It said it was nearly 6:45, even though there wasn't much light filtering through the curtains yet this time of year. He grabbed his watch off the charger and fastened it.

"Tony, wake up."

"Hmm?"

"Disney World! We need to get going, if we're gonna beat the crowds!"

"Kid, it's not even light out, an' you've been runnin' me ragged. Thirty more minutes."

Peter poked at the middle of the giant lump of blankets that was his soulmate. Tony yelped and curled into himself, then dragged the covers down to glare back at him.

"Maybe we'll just stay here all day and watch golf on TV. What do you think of that?"

Peter scoffed. "There's no golf on TV on New Year's Eve."

"Tickle me again when I'm trying to sleep and watch me find some," Tony threatened grumpily, burying his face back in his pillow.

"But To-ny, it's gonna be packed today! If we don't get started early, we'll just wait in line all day!"

"Pete, have a little faith. My travel agent is the best, and we have this all figured out. Now come back here and help me get another half hour."

"What if I just get up and get ready instead?" Peter teased, trying hard to have faith that Tony knew what he was doing and to not worry about the crowds.

As an answer, the older man reached over and tugged him back down next to him, cupping his shoulder (and his soul mark) in the process. Peter melted into his touch, and sighed in defeat.

"Cheater."

"It's called 'strategy,' Spiderling. Go back to sleep."

Everything Peter had read and heard the last few days said Disney World was ridiculously busy on New Year's Eve, and it was. One of their security team (which had grown to four, all dressed in very generic "Disney tourist" attire) dropped the rest of them at the front gates of Hollywood Studios, and then went to park the car.

As they waited to go through the front gate, Peter finally got brave enough to ask what he'd been wondering. "So, is there any special billionaire-way to make sure we get to ride certain things?" he asked carefully, twisting his new "magic band" on his wrist. Seriously, if anyone could swing it, it was Tony, but he knew everyone was supposed to kinda be on the same level here… He was pretty excited to do a lot of things though, and the stars may never align to get all of his favorite adults back at Disney World with him. Or on any vacation, really. Old peoples' tolerance for amusement parks was kinda low in general, and he knew they were mostly making it happen for his sake.

"You're actually encouraging me to use my money to bypass the system?" Tony asked, an eyebrow raised in disapproval.

"No! I mean, is that even a thing? I just—"

"Tony, stop teasing him," Pepper said, bumping her hip against her soulmate's. "It's going to be a great day, Peter. And yes, we're going to make sure we get to do everything you want to, sweetheart. Even if it is New Year's Eve. We're all just happy to be here with you."

Peter ducked his head in pleased embarrassment. He was almost an adult himself, but every once in a while it was nice to have people still treat him like a kid. Especially on a trip like this. Everyone should get to be a kid at Disney, right?

They finally made it into the park just as it was officially opening for the day. Happy looked grumpy, as usual, but someone had talked him into wearing a tasteful "Walt Disney Studios" sweatshirt. May and Pepper were bright-eyed and excited to be on vacation, and had somehow found matching Minnie Mouse jackets. Colonel Rhodes looked a little bemused at the whole thing, and was smiley, but not wearing any Mouse paraphernalia. Neither was Tony, for some reason.

"Tones, didn't you get banned or something from this park in particular back in the day? '92, if I remember right," Rhodey said.

"You should remember. You were there, cheering me on," Tony said gruffly. "Besides, I think all of that reset when they changed the name. Didn't it used to be MGM something-or-other?"

Peter had glanced back and forth between them both, eyes wide. "What did you do ?" he asked, not sure if he should be disappointed or impressed.

"Not important."

They'd let him in without comment when he scanned his band, so that was lucky, Peter supposed. "It used to be called Disney-MGM Studios," he supplied.

"I had no idea you were such a Disney theme park fan, or we would have done this sooner, Pete," Tony said with a tilt of his head. "Why didn't you ever say anything? We could've hit Disneyland any of the times we were at SI-Malibu."

"We weren't exactly on let's-vacation-together terms, 'Mr. Stark,'" Peter reminded him.

Tony frowned. "You've been to lots of places with me."

Peter smiled in slight discomfort. As natural as it seemed now after spending 24/7 together and having a new co-dependence with Tony, he would never have felt like he could ask for something like this before. And hadn't even prompted this trip!

"But those were all places you invited him, Tony," May supplied gently. "Peter would never have presumed to ask you to bankroll, much less accompany him on such a trip. And honestly, it was kind of out of our price range."

"Hmm. Well, we're doing it now, at least. Pete, what do you want to ride first? We've got about an hour before we have something scheduled."

"Scheduled?" That was weird. Peter opened up the map he'd snagged on the way in. " Star Tours ! This way!" he said, pulling the party to the left.

Star Tours was only a ten minute wait that early in the day. Peter loved it. The effects were a lot older than several of the simulator-rides they'd been on at Universal, but it was Star Wars, and it was like being in one (or several) of the movies. Even the line made him feel like he was in the forests of Endor. Peter had felt like it was Christmas all over again. Everything was awesome. It was just unfortunate that the new Star Wars land wasn't even close to done yet. Peter could see the giant rock spires taking shape behind the construction walls, and it was such a tease.

"Can we come back sometime, after all that opens, and bring Ned?" he asked hopefully. Ned would completely freak. And so would he.

"Of course we can, Pete. Or, you can. We'll see if I survive this trip, first…"

Rhodey rolled his eyes. "Yeah, this is just torture for you. Whatever, man. You loved that ride, too!"

"Maybe. But my stomach has other opinions. And so did Happy's," he said with amusement, glancing back at the man who was looking a little green. "Where to, next, kid?"

Peter consulted the map again. "I kinda want to do the Tower of Terror ? But the line is already pretty long."

"Hmm. Let's table that for a bit later. I don't think Happy's up to any drops. What has a short line right now?"

"Tony, you won't get me on that ride even with no line," Happy said firmly, drawing several amused glances from their friends.

"There aren't like… short lines. Look at Slinky Dog Dash already," Peter said mournfully. "There really aren't that many rides here compared to, like, Epcot, or the Magic Kingdom, but they're cool rides."

"What's the shortest?" May asked.

"The alien spinny ride? Alien Swirling Saucers," he read from the map.

"That's another 'no' from me," Happy grumbled. "But I'll take a video of the rest of you trying not to barf."

"Such a team player, Hap," Tony said, clapping him on the back. "I've always liked that about you."

Peter laughed and led the way (quite a roundabout trek with all the construction).

"Oh my goodness, this is adorable!" Pepper gushed as they walked into Toy Story land.

"Right? The theming is amazing!" Peter said. "It just opened last summer. Wait until you see the line for the Midway Madness ride. It's so over-the-top!"

"How do you even know that?" Happy asked.

"Many, many YouTube videos this week," Tony said, the long-suffering in his tone making everyone in the party laugh, or at least smile.

The Alien Swirling Saucers was a sleeper hit, and most of the adults laughed their heads off during it. Peter had even shyly invited the security team to come ride with them "because Colonel Rhodes doesn't have a seat partner!" and one had stayed off with Happy, but the rest had enjoyed it.

"It makes sense for them to hang out and ride with us, right?" Peter asked Tony afterward as they were exiting the ride. "I mean, at least taking turns? Otherwise they're just following us around kinda creepily all day, and for some reason it seems more obvious here than it did at Universal, and will probably make us stand out. Maybe 'cause there's more of them?"

"Yeah, it does. They can have some fun, too, and still keep an eye out," Tony said. "But, we're about to stand out a little more anyways," Tony said, glancing down at his phone. "It looks like our new friend Hunter is here to collect us."

"Who's Hunter?" Peter asked curiously.

"Our tour guide," Tony said carelessly, leading the way across the walkway (where there were some seriously cool-looking restrooms) and reaching forward to greet a young man, removing his sunglasses at the same time, though not his hat. Hunter was taller than Tony and Rhodey, had well-groomed dark blond hair, and a big smile. He was professionally dressed in dark blue dress pants, a matching tie, and had a red-and-blue plaid vest over his white shirt.

"Parker, party of ten?" the young man asked in confusion, obviously aware of, and surprised at who was actually greeting him.

"He's also the answer to how we're going to still get to do all the stuff you want to, even though it's crazy this week," Tony said to Peter, slipping his shades back on.

"Nice to meet you, Hunter. I apologize for using their name"—he placed a hand on Peter and on May's shoulder at the same time—"instead of mine. It helps to keep paparazzi at bay. Their digital search methods are impressive. And we brought our own security as part of our party, so I didn't feel the need to inform anyone."

"We have a VIP tour guide?" Peter finally exclaimed in a whisper.

"Of course, Mr. St—"

"Uh uh uh. Today, I'm Mr. Parker, if you please. Even 'Tony' might be overheard and cause recognition."

"Of course, sir. I admit, I did wonder, when they asked if I'd be willing to take an overtime shift today. Most people are quite happy with the regular range of seven to ten hours," Hunter said.

"That's, uh, Mr. Parker for you," Peter huffed in an amazed amusement. "Never doing anything halfway. Always gotta be extra." The shy smile he shot at his soulmate took any judgment out of the words.

The rest of the group made quiet introductions, and Hunter clapped his hands together. "So, I understand this trip is a bit of a Christmas present for you, Peter. Are you ready to begin?"

"We sorta went behind your back and let them know all the things we were pretty sure you wanted to do, and they've got an itinerary for us," May said, squeezing Peter into a side-hug.

"And my position comes with the magical power to either skip the lines, or at least put you in the fast pass line," Hunter said, "which is recommended for such high profile guests as Mr. Parker, here, and for people who have more resources than time. I met you here to avoid attention, and because one of the most popular attractions here at Hollywood Studios, Slinky Dog Dash, is the first stop of our day together."

"Are you kidding?" Peter said, turning to grin at May. Slinky Dog was her favorite Toy Story character, and he had been so excited for her to ride this one! But not to wait an hour and a half for it. "C'mon, let's go!" he said, grabbing her hand.

"Easy, Sp—uh, Peter," Tony said, choking back one of his common nicknames. "Hunter's shoes don't look like they're meant for running."

"No need to run, friends. We're going to have a great day! Slinky Dog, and then Midway Mania, a snack break, and then the Rockin' Roller Coaster. "

"You had me at 'snack break,'" said Happy.

"C'mon, Hap. Ride the next few with us, and I'll buy you a churro."

"I can buy my own dang churro," Happy said, rolling his eyes, "but this one does look fun."

"It's adorable, you mean," Pepper said, possibly squealing just a tiny bit. "If you're riding with May, Peter, I get Tony for this one!"

Tony

Six hours later, they'd ridden all of those rides, plus the Tower of Terror, (twice, minus Happy) taken pictures with several Toy Story characters, watched a really weird Muppet 4-D show, grabbed a quick lunch, ridden Star Tours again, twice, and seen the Indiana Jones Stunt Show. Peter had sampled at least four different treats, each more sugary-looking than the last one. The security team had been rock stars, switching off on the rides and having just as much fun as their core group, after being given the go-ahead by Happy to do so. Pepper was planning a photo collage on her wall already from all the ride photos (especially the one of Happy and Rhodey's terrified faces on the Rockin' Roller Coaster ), and May looked like she was having the best day ever. He knew how she felt. It was wonderful to see Peter so carefree and happy. And even Rhodey and Happy seemed to be having a good time.

At about 3:30 PM, they'd just stepped into the Star Wars Launch Bay, where there were all kinds of Star Wars exhibits, and characters, and cool things to check out, when suddenly Tony wondered if they'd be able to extract Peter after the scheduled 30 minutes. The kid looked positively awe-struck.

"Hunter, any chance we can push that transfer out by 20 minutes?" Tony said quietly, watching his kid start flitting from exhibit to exhibit. "I feel like he's gonna need more time here."

"Of course, Mr. Parker. I'll arrange the change."

Everyone else had gathered by the time Tony had to reign Peter in. "Hey, my little Trekkie, it's time to go."

"What did you just say?" Peter's face was screwed up in disgust. The kid was so easy to mess with. "And go where?"

"Just kidding, bud," Tony said, pulling him in for a side hug. We've got a shuttle to catch."

"We're park hopping?" Peter asked excitedly.

"We're what now?"

"Yes, we're hopping over to the Magic Kingdom," Hunter said with a smile.

We're gonna spend New Year's Eve there ? Like the countdown and everything?" Peter clarified eagerly.

"Sure, Pete. If you can keep me going until midnight, that's where we'll do the countdown," Tony said, mentally wincing at what a long day this was going to be. And about how many more people were going to be at the main park. He really loved that kid, didn't he?

The Magic Kingdom on New Year's Eve was everything Peter had dreamed of, and arriving outside the gates in the bright red-and-white "Minnie" van had been the cherry on top. But it was also everything the rest of the adults had been nervous about. So many people everywhere. The weather was nice though, and Hunter shepherded them expertly in a clockwise motion around the park, hitting everything they'd asked for on their itinerary (though they had to double back twice and he'd needed to adjust on the fly when a few things were shut down temporarily).

"Can I just say that these rides are so much more my speed than Universal?" Tony asked, after a really fun ride on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. It was really pretty gentle compared to most of the rides at the other park.

"Yeah, and the pictures are fantastic," Pepper said with a satisfied smile at her phone.

"Seriously, Pepper, you can not put all of those up," Rhodey said, eying his awkward face in the photo as he looked over her shoulder.

"Watch me. Where to next, Hunter?"

"Peter Pan, ma'am."

"And then the carousel?" asked May.

"If you like, of course we can squeeze that in."

"Boss, I ain't riding no carousel," Happy groused. He'd been a good sport so far most of the day, but apparently they'd found his limit.

"Oh Happy, c'mon, it'll be so fun!" May said. "Look, there are lots of adults riding!" she pointed out as they passed it.

The resulting pictures of Tony, Rhodey, Happy, and Peter each perched on a white carousel horse were "all I ever wanted for Christmas, I swear," according to Pepper. At least Peter was smiling. Rhodey looked uncertain, and Happy refused to do anything but look straight forward. Tony played it up, pretending he was a gallant knight on his way to slay a dragon, and the small children behind them giggled their heads off, while their adults looked at Tony like they thought they might know him, if they could just place him.

Tony let Peter pick out a Disney shirt for him, and bright red thing with Mulan's little dragon on the front doling out dishonor on everyone's cows and families and whatnot. Tony rolled his eyes, but changed into it without complaint, and Peter smiled every time he looked at him.

"Mickey Mouse ears?" Peter said hopefully.

"For you, or for me? Whatever you'd like, and no, are those answers."

"Aw, Mr. Staaaaark," Peter whined good naturedly. Tony could tell he didn't really care though, so thankfully he remained ear-less.

Splash Mountain was also a non-starter for Tony, who'd already been soaked enough for three trips the day before, thank you very much. It was just Peter, May, and Pepper on that one, and Tony gallantly found/purchased ponchos for the ladies.

"Hey, what about me?" Peter protested when he wasn't handed one.

"Wouldn't you know it, I must have forgotten to buy you one. It'll be fine, I'm sure," Tony said with a too-wide smile. Paybacks and all that.

His payback lacked teeth though, since May and Pepper offered to sit in front of Peter, where the riders seemed to be wettest, and he was in the second row. He did get splashed, but not anything like they'd experienced at Universal. Peter was annoyingly smug about it, and Tony may have accidentally hip checked him into a bush, which led to a retaliating attack from the teen, and May had to break it up. They were both grinning when she did.

"It's like having two teenagers," May complained through her own smile.

"Oh, you have no idea," Pepper replied.

"Excuse me," Hunter said. If you'd like to watch the first showing of 'Happily Ever After, ' the fireworks show, it starts in 30 minutes, and we should go find our spot. We do have preferred viewing, but the crowds are formidable tonight, and the whole castle area will take some time to move through.

He wasn't kidding. The crowds in front of the castle were a whole new ball of wax, and Tony wasn't feeling it. So many people, so many noises, and no clear space anywhere he looked. There was just a lot of sensory input. Tony glanced worriedly at Peter, but other than a faint wrinkling of his nose, his soulmate seemed okay, chatting with May as they wound their way through the Hub in front of the castle.

Hunter was doing a good job at trying to lead them through the walkways that cast members were keeping moving, but Tony was really close to a full-blown anxiety attack when their guide finally unclipped a rope to let them through into the preferred viewing area.

Tony sat down quickly, his ears ringing and his legs shaky. After just a moment he felt cool hands on his face and then the outside noise cut out almost completely.

"Pete, are these—"

"My earbuds, yeah." He could still hear Peter's voice, but it was a little muffled.

"But don't you need them right now?" Tony felt a hand in his hair, and recognized the feel of Pepper's nails. She was standing next to him, stroking his hair lightly.

"I will for the fireworks, but right now I'm doing okay. Are they helping?" Peter was sitting next to him on the bench, and satisfied that the earbuds were secure, he scooted right up against Tony, pressing his arm against Tony's soul mark.

Tony closed his eyes and leaned back against him. He felt the tension in his shoulders relax, and the threatening headache began to die down immediately. After a moment, Tony opened his eyes and saw Hunter watching them carefully.

"Do you need any medical attention, Mr. St—er, Parker?" the young man asked nervously.

"No, thank you. I think I'm going to be fine now. All ready for the sky to explode," Tony joked. Hunter didn't look completely convinced, but he helped everyone else in their party get seated, and then moved behind them to wait.

"Is he gonna be with us the rest of the night?" Peter asked quietly, obviously just curious.

"The longest they'd let me book him was 13 hours, paying overtime for the last three. Ten is the usual max," Tony said. "So he's off the clock at 10:30."

"Aw, so he'll miss midnight with us?"

"Apparently so," Tony said, feeling just a little weary at the idea of dealing with this crowd for an additional four hours.

A few moments later the lights dimmed, and Tony quickly returned the noise canceling earbuds to their owner. Fireworks at close range were going to be tough for Peter even with those in place. He hoped it was worth it. He nudged Peter over, and he scooted to make room for Pepper on Tony's other side.

The show was impressive, and they had a great view of the projections. Peter did end up with his hands over his ears on top of the noise-canceling headphones, but he still seemed to enjoy it.

The music towards the end was quite nostalgic, and Tony enjoyed Pepper snuggling into him a bit. He was pretty sure there would also be a few tears, if he checked. She was a force to be reckoned with in the boardroom, and scared him just enough to keep him on track most days, but she cried pretty easily at sappy movies. And, apparently, at Disney World fireworks.

As they ended, and the lights came up, the crowd cheered, and Tony touched Peter's cheek, prompting the teenager to look at him. Peter kept his hands over his ears for another few seconds, but also gave him a quick grin.

Hunter gestured for them to all follow him, and they started shuffling along with the masses. Their party was reduced to a single file line by necessity, with Tony, Peter, and Pepper at the end, since they'd been the furthest into their seating area.

Tony knew the Space Mountain was next on the docket, and he wasn't sure if he was excited. Because of the flow of the crowd, they went up to the right of the castle first, then started coming back next to the little miniature cars. Autopia? Why were those things still running on gas? Tony coughed lightly at the fumes, and turned to say something snarky to Peter only to notice he wasn't there. Happy was right in front of him, though, and Tony grabbed at his sweatshirt.

"Hap, I don't see Peter." Tony looked again. "Or Pepper!"

Happy passed the message up the line, and when it got to Hunter, he shuttled them off to the side of the path.

"Did we lose someone?" he asked, not looking nearly worried enough for Tony's taste.

"Yes, we lost two someones!" He noticed Happy giving terse instructions to the two security team members who were walking with them, and one pulled out a walkie talkie. But the crowd, all eager to get somewhere else was loud, and filling all the visible space. Tony was trying not to feel frantic. They probably just stopped and got cut off, right?

Rhodey made his way back to Tony quickly, probably reading the near-panic on his face. "Tones, relax. They're fine, and they have phones. It will just take it a moment for the crowd to die down and for us to connect with them.

Tony's brain believed his friend, but his heart, which had just settled down from his little panic attack before the show, didn't buy it.

Tony raised his watch to his face. "FRIDAY, find Peter and Pepper." He held it up to his ear, and FRIDAY was talking, but it was too hard to make out what she was saying with the after-music still playing loudly. "Happy!"

"Give us a minute, Boss!" Happy said in annoyance. He had given up on the walkie, and was obviously texting the other two team members.

Oh, Tony could text them too. If they realized they were separated, they'd probably be using their phones! Why didn't he think of that sooner? For some reason his brain didn't work quite as fast as usual when he was worrying about one of them.

He pulled his phone out, and didn't see any texts. But bless FRIDAY: she could probably tell he hadn't understood her, and had pulled up a visual tracker for his missing soulmates. He blew out the air in his lungs abruptly as he saw the two shining dots, together. Not by them, but not too far away, and slowly moving towards them from a different direction than the one they'd come.

"FRI, show me Oscar and Alex," Tony said after glancing up to be sure it was Jake and Breanne who were still with them. Two green dots appeared: one was closing in on them fast, the other was with Pepper and Peter. He sagged against the brick building they had gathered near. They were fine. A team member was with them, and they were making their way this direction. Everything was fine.

"Hap?" he finally said, when he'd caught his breath.

"Yeah, Boss?" Happy said irritably, looking up from where he was texting. "Oscar's almost to us, but Alex isn't answering."

Tony showed him the phone, and Happy visibly relaxed. Then he glared. This shouldn't have been able to happen, even in crowds like this.

Happy's phone must have had a notification, because he suddenly picked it up and looked at it.

"Alex has them," he confirmed. They're walking towards Space Mountain, he said, but will wait at the juncture."

Hunter noticed them talking and moved over to stand by them instead of out where he'd been scanning the crowds for their missing members. "Did they text you?"

Tony held his phone up so Hunter could see it. "Those three dots are them. Can we walk towards them and meet them without missing them?

Hunter looked carefully at the phone. "Yes, I see where they went. This way?"

Within about three minutes, Tony spotted his soulmates, who were laughing and talking with Alex as they walked.

Tony made grabby hands at them, and they came to him, Peter looking a little bewildered at his expression, and Pepper managing to roll her eyes and look apologetic at the same time.

"My fault, sweetheart," she said quickly. "I got cut off by a stroller, but there were the cutest twins in it, in little tiny Mickey beanies, and then when I looked back up, you guys were out of sight."

Tony wrapped her in a tight hug and growled his worry and frustration. No words were needed. She knew about the nightmares. Knew his paranoia about losing her.

"What's your excuse?" Tony asked sternly, turning to Peter without releasing Pepper.

"I, uh, noticed Pepper was gone, and I waited to see if I could see her. Then she found me, and we thought we saw you, but when we finally caught up, it was just a guy wearing the same shirt, and a hat the same color as yours," he said sheepishly. Tony released Pepper, and pulled the teenager in tightly, kissing the side of his head.

"I guess we went the wrong direction," Peter said, next to his ear.

"Ya think?" Tony said, pulling back to stare at his young soulmate in exasperation.

"We saw them get separated, sir, and Oscar continued tailing the main group, while I followed them, and I caught up to make sure they found you again," Alex reported. Alex was the newest member of the team. He barely looked old enough to be security (for them, at least), but his expression told Tony how serious he was about his job.

"Thank you, Alex. I appreciate you. All of you," he amended, taking his friends and the other security members in with his gaze. "This place is nuts, and stuff like this can happen." He thought he saw more than one set of shoulders drop in relief.

"Hey, are we headed for Space Mountain ?" Peter asked brightly, obviously horribly traumatized at their short separation.

"Yes, you little punk. That's the plan. Lead the way, Hunter," Tony said. "And you two, stay in front of me this time."

"But honey, what if you get lost this time?" Pepper teased.

"Face forward, Lady Sass. Stay where I can see you."

She laughed out loud at that, but made a show of complying, Peter scampering in next to her, and gallantly offering her his arm.

Tony was both blessed and also cursed with the most amazing, wonderful, obnoxious, snarky soulmates on the planet. He took a deep breath through his nose and willed his heart to continue to calm down. Now was a fan tas tic time to ride a roller coaster.

With their guide's help, they hit most of the rides left in the Magic Kingdom during the next three hours, and he kept them laughing and well-informed. When it was time for Hunter to leave them, Tony happily handed him a 25% tip in cash.

"Thank you, sir! That's extremely generous."

"You earned it. Go enjoy the last bit of 2018."

"I will, sir. If you come back, please don't hesitate to ask for me. Your party was a delight, and an adventure," the young man said with a quick grin. He nodded at the rest of the group, shook a few hands, and disappeared into the crowd.

"I think he had fun," Peter chirped at his elbow.

"'Delightful and adventurous:' that's pretty much how we roll," Tony agreed, taking a quick swipe at Peter's hair, which, in his defense, was just sitting right there in arm's reach.

"Hey!"

"What? We've been theme-parking it up for like 14 hours now. You think your hair still looks good?"

Peter glared, and retreated to smooth it a bit.

"So, anything we haven't done?" Tony asked the rest of the group.

"How could there possibly be anything left?" Rhodey asked, wide-eyed.

"We didn't do the tea cups," Peter said hopefully.

"There's a reason for that, but if you want to stand in a 20-minute line to go around in circles for a few minutes, I will absolutely support you. From the sidelines."

Peter checked the app. "Actually, it's 30 minutes."

"It's amazing how quickly we all get spoiled," May said with a smirk.

"You better believe it," Tony said, yawning. "So, kid, what do you want to do until midnight? Are you gonna… are you gonna want to see those fireworks, too, from right here?"

Please say no, please say no. Tony wasn't sure if he could handle the press of humanity again today. He reached for Pepper's hand unobtrusively at the memory of losing them both just a few hours ago.

"Actually, I'm pretty wiped out, and we already saw fireworks. Would anyone be upset if we went back to our rooms and rang in the New Year there?"

"Are you kidding?"

" No one would be upset."

"Are you sure, Peter?"

"If mean, if that's what you want."

"Seriously? That sounds amazing."

"Best news today."

Peter laughed outright at the deluge of approval from the adults. "You guys really are old, aren't you?" he asked in amusement.

"Maybe so, but who's the one who slept on my shoulder for 30 minutes on the train around the park, earlier?" Tony asked slyly.

"That's not my fault. The bond's still making me sleepy! So if anything, that was your fault, you know?"

"What did you just say?"

"I take it back!" Peter laughed, dodging away from Tony's hands, which were trying to attack his sides. He grabbed Tony into a tight hug, instead, which he returned after just a moment of pretending to still be mad. "I'm really fine going back. We've done so much, and there are way, way too many people here."

"Amen. I'll call about the shuttle, and they should be out front by the time we make our way there. We still have to go get our car at Hollywood Studios."

"I told you we should have stayed on onsite, Tony," Pepper said with a slight groan.

"But we got way more room, and some privacy this way. Worth it," he argued.

"It's less worth it at almost 11 PM," Pepper complained, tipping her head sideways against his to let him know she wasn't really upset. Just tired. They were all tired. Bless Peter for being willing to be boring!

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They made it back to their AirBnB with about fifteen minutes to spare, and everyone hurried out of their park clothes into comfy pajamas. Happy and Rhodey said they'd seen plenty of New Year's balls drop and went straight to bed, but May, Peter, Tony, and Pepper all crowded together on the couch to watch the footage from Times Square.

"I have to say, this is not how I anticipated our year ending," May said.

"No? I totally had this on my bingo card," Pepper said.

"You had 'New Year's Eve at Disney World with my new platonic soulmate, otherwise known as the kid I would have adopted anyway, given half a chance?'" Tony asked drily.

Everyone laughed, except Peter. All three adults turned to see if something in that statement had bothered him. But nope, he was just fast asleep on Tony's shoulder for the second time that day.

"Poor kid," Pepper cooed softly. "That new-bond sleepy dust is doing a number on him. Were we this tired in the first weeks?" she asked Tony.

"Honestly, I don't remember. The whole thing was such a dumpster fire."

"Hey!"

"Except getting you for a soulmate, of course," he amended, grinning tiredly at her. "Deny it. We were a mess."

"Well, I have to say you've done so much better with Peter. So I guess it was all worth it."

"I'm so, so grateful that he has you, Tony. And you, Pepper. He deserves the world."

"I agree. But should we wake him for the countdown?" Tony asked, glancing at the screen where they were starting. He flipped the volume on.

"If you don't want him pouting all morning tomorrow, you'd better," May said knowingly.

Tony nudged the boy who was now drooling on his shoulder. "Hey, Pete. Peter?"

"Hmm?" Peter said, blinking his eyes open and looking completely confused.

"3! 2! 1!" Cheering erupted on the screen.

"Happy New Year, kid."

"What? Did I miss it?" Peter sat up and looked wildly at the TV.

"Nope, it's now. You heard the last of the countdown, I promise."

"Oh, okay then. Happy New Year." He laid his head back down.

"Nope. I'm not carrying you to bed. Up, Spider-kid, and get yourself to bed. You want to do the other two parks tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah," he said, smiling with his eyes closed. "That'll be good."

Tony sighed, then stood up himself, causing Peter to tumble over, almost hitting Pepper. He and May each took a hand and pulled Peter up, steering him into his suite, where he collapsed, and was asleep almost instantly. May kissed his cheek and headed for her own bedroom across the hall.

"If he's already out, does that mean I get you again tonight?" Pepper asked happily, leaning against Tony as they both looked at the sleeping teenager from the doorway.

"You absolutely do."

"Until you wake up in a few hours feeling itchy because Peter's not with you?" she teased.

"Don't make me think about it, or I might not be able to leave him," he teased back. "But we have to get to sleep quickly. That kid is going to be chomping at the bit way earlier than we want him to."

"You make him sound like a toddler," Pepper laughed.

"There are similarities. But, you know, I wouldn't say 'no' to one of those, too, eventually."

Pepper turned to stare at him. "Are you kidding me?"

"I know I've always been hesitant before, but—"

"Hesitant?"

"Okay, maybe a stronger word than that."

Pepper laughed.

"But I've been thinking about it, and maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing. In a couple years, I mean."

"Huh. Well, that's food for thought. Yeah, we'll have to talk about it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. Happy New Year, Tony."

"Happy New Year, Pep. Love you."

"Sleep. Now."

"Yes, ma'am."