A Complicated Web

Chapter Twenty: You Know How To Drive?

The teen genius gave a nervous kind of laugh as he put the car in gear. The fact of the matter was he was about to head into actual traffic, even if it wasn't as heavy as it could be, in an area he didn't know, with Tony freaking Stark in the vehicle. Yeah, no need to be nervous. None at all. He didn't release the pressure of his grip on the wheel as he touched the gas pedal enough to make them crawl forward.

"You're going to have to give her a little more gas," Tony admonished with a slight hint of asperity. Part of him wondered what he'd been thinking to allow this. But what was the alternative? Convenience store food wouldn't cut it, though another part of him wished he'd thought to at least grab some Gatorade or something. That would have helped Fred out, at least for the moment.

Hiro tried to comply, managing a nice ten mile per hour crawl. At least he was still in the parking lot and not out on the street, the billionaire thought. Maybe it would have been better to switch places in a larger one. That way the teen could practice a bit more before getting on the real streets. Well, no time like the present, he supposed. Either Hiro sank or swam. "Okay, let's get back on the road," he instructed.

After a few more nervous moments, Hiro did as instructed, smoothly joining the less crowded street off to the right of the gas station. He felt a bit more comfortable that way. "Um... so where exactly am I going?" he asked.

Tony had his phone out, pulling up a map. "JARVIS," he said to the device, "where's the closest place we can grab a bite to eat without giving Hiro a heart attack since he's the one driving?"

"Are you certain it is wise to allow him behind the wheel? I understand he is not yet licensed." JARVIS replied dryly. But when Tony didn't answer, he rattled off directions to the closest fast food chain in the area. "Do be careful," he intoned as he finished.

Behind his sunglasses, Tony quirked his brows as he rolled his eyes. "Okay," he said, turning his attention back to Hiro, who had at least managed to reach the speed limit, though there were cars still passing him by. "We're going to make a left at the next light so you're going to need to get over a lane. Don't worry, you've got this."

With the guidance of the older man, Hiro managed to evade getting hit, though there were a few horns in protest at his driving skills, or lack thereof. And, after a nerve-wracking ten minutes, they finally pulled into line at a burger joint's drive-thru.

"Relax," Tony reminded. "Someone might get suspicious. I'm going to pretend to be asleep when we pull up to the window so just order me a regular burrito meal with a large coffee. If they ask about cream or sugar, get some on the side. You guys can get whatever you want, within reason. I'm going to give you some cash, but we don't have an unlimited supply at the moment, got it?"

Hiro nodded as he licked his lips. They were coming up on the menu board and the colorful pictures made his stomach growl in anticipation. He was just a normal kid with a normal family just stopping by to get something quick on the way back home from a trip to the big city. Nothing to it. He pulled forward as the car ahead of him moved.

After some dithering, Hiro and Fred decided on what they wanted. And true to his word, Tony was at least pretending to be asleep, his eyes potentially closed behind his shades, head turned to lean against the seat, his arms loosely crossed over his chest. That way he could still keep an eye on Hiro and the cashier/server without seeming to.

When Hiro finally made it to the order window, he fumbled a bit as he told the cashier what they wanted, then handed enough bills to pay for it. He had to undo his seat belt to reach up to the window, but at least there weren't any mishaps and soon he was headed to the second window to pick up their food.

The girl at the front window looked maybe a couple years older than him, a year or two younger than Fred. She gave him a funny look as he waved hesitantly back. "That your dad?" she asked, nodding towards Tony.

"Yeah," Hiro replied, his voice cracking a bit. "Had a long night last night." Well, at least he wasn't outright lying, he supposed. At least not about how long the night had been.

The fast food worker seemed disinterested after that, handing him out bottles of juice and one large coffee, cream and sugar in a small bag. Hiro had to juggle a bit as he passed one bottle back to Fred and put the other between his legs so he could put the coffee in the cup colder, the small bag next to it. By the time he'd gotten things situated, the girl was impatiently waiting for him to take his large bag of food.

"Thanks," Hiro said as he accepted the last bag. He only got an eye roll in reply as the attendant closed the window, her contact with him over.

"Forward," Tony whispered, still pretending to be asleep.

Reminded to put the car back in gear, Hiro almost sped out of the lane, hitting the brakes a bit, causing the car to shudder. He clenched his teeth as he focused on getting them out of the way of the car behind them, trying hard to not hyperventilate. Was this how Wasabi felt when GoGo drove? It was so much more nerve-wracking behind the wheel, he decided.

Once they'd cleared the parking lot, Tony turned to pick up the coffee cup. He opened up the small bag, groaning. "Half and half? Really? What is this world coming to?" But he opened the small containers and emptied them into his cup, along with a couple of packets of sugar. There were some packets of artificial sweetener in there too, but he ignored them. If he was going to have to drink regular coffee, he was not going to adulterate it with fake sweeteners.

Hiro continued to look pensive as he pulled back out onto the main road, narrowly avoiding getting hit by a car whose driver didn't want to go the speed limit. Luckily, the other car swerved around, though the yelled obscenities didn't help the teen's mood. But at least they were back on track. He just hoped they could find another parking lot where it wouldn't matter who saw them so he could switch back with the real driver in the group. Driving under this kind of pressure was for the birds.

Tony sipped his brew, feeling thankful it had come from a fresh pot. There was that at least, though part of him had really wished they'd had an espresso machine so he could have gotten either a cappuccino or at least a latte. He let Hiro drive a few more miles before having him pull over in a shopping center so they could switch places. "Not bad, kid," he said as he clapped Hiro on the back as they walked around the car.

Hiro felt a small glow of pleasure at the praise, though he knew he could have done better. He was all too happy to hand Fred one of the burritos. They'd all decided to go the burrito route as it seemed the least messy of all the choices, though part of him wished he'd gone with the sweet rolls instead. Tony pulled his burrito out and unwrapped half of it before putting the car back in gear.