Career Day: A Short Story

Ch. 2

Written by: @BadassRobin

Peter was so excited for Tony to be coming in for his career day, but he knew that just letting him walk in and try to go with the flow was a horrible idea. So when Peter got back from school, he went down to the training room to ask a certain someone for some help.

"Hey, Uncle Steve!" Peter called out once he entered. Said man turned around from the already beaten up punching bag, wiping his forehead to get rid of whatever sweat he had.

"Hey Pete, what's up?" Steve asked, walking over to the teen.

"I have a favor to ask." Peter said. Steve gave him a look to keep going.

"So Dad is coming in for a career day at my school, and I kinda hoped if you could, you know, help him be less embarrassing." Peter explained. "Maybe just talk to him on what and what not to say?" Steve nodded with a slight smile.

"Yeah, I get it. I'll help as much as I can." Steve replied.

"Awesome! Come meet me in the lab in half an hour. Dad'll probably be there." Peter said, walking out of the training room.

When half an hour passed, Steve stuck to his word and made his way over to the lab. When the doors slid open, he was met with Tony and Peter both tinkering with something at a desk. Peter looked up from whatever he was working on and smiled when he saw Steve, waving him over to the desk.

"Great, you're here!" He exclaimed while getting up from his chair. Tony gave a confused look at Steve then at Peter.

"Why's he here?" He asked, wondering what his son had planned.

"Peter asked me to help you with your career day speech." Steve explained.

"I don't need help with a speech, especially if it's for high school kids." Tony said. Peter gave him a disbelieving look.

"Come on Dad, don't you want to be the coolest one there? We gotta perfect what you're going to say." He said.

"I'm Tony Stark, no matter what I say I'm going to be the coolest one there." Tony said with a smug look.

"Not if you completely bomb it and say something stupid." Peter countered. Tony glared at him but finally caved.

"Fine, you can help." He agreed. Peter and Steve both gave looks of victory.

"Okay, so first of all, you can't say anything embarrassing about me. It's better if you don't talk about me at all. Only talk about Stark Industries." Peter reasoned.

"But embarrassing you is so fun." Tony said jokingly. In all honesty, he had no intention of embarrassing Peter. He wanted career day to go just as smoothly as Peter did.

"I agree with Peter. It's best if you steer clear from off topic questions. Only stick to Stark Industries." Steve said.

"Fine fine, I'll spare the kid." Tony replied as relief spread over Peter. "Anything else I need to know?" Tony asked.

"Introduction is pretty important. Yes, people already know who you are, but they don't know how you act." Steve said. "Make a good impression on everyone." Tony nodded along.

"Also have a plan." Peter started. "Know what you're going to say from the beginning to the end."

"Should I bring index cards or something?" Tony asked.

"No no, you don't need specific words. You're not reciting a poem, but just know what topics you're going to talk and when you're going to say them." Steve explained. Steve and Peter thought of other things that would be important to bring up.

"Oh! Everyone's going to get to ask questions at the end, so be prepared for that." Peter said, suddenly remembering that part.

"If there's a question you don't want to answer, just say so." Steve said. "State it calmly instead of getting nervous trying to avoid the question."

After about an hour, Steve, Peter, and Tony had planned what Tony would say, how he would introduce himself, and how to react during questions. Peter clasped his hands together with a smile clear on his face. He was glad they did this. It made him less nervous about Tony coming in for career day. It surprisingly made Tony feel better too. He didn't want to screw anything up and this little session actually gave him some pointers. When Tony was about to say he was going back to tinkering, Steve came up with another idea.

"How about we have a mock career day?"

"That's a great idea!" Peter agreed. They both looked at Tony expectantly. Tony sighed but, reluctantly, agreed.