Tony and Peter, Father and Son

Not Good Enough

     The day was not looking good for Peter as he got up forty-three minutes late. He ran into the kitchen, tripping on his untied shoe laces, landing squarely on his face, earning him a chuckle from Rhodes, since he stayed over the night, and his mom Pepper.
Oh geez, he thought as he groaned in pain. Rubbing his bruised cheek from the fall, he grabbed a ripe apple and a soft banana from the bunch and rushed towards the garage. Tony, he thanked whoever was up in the sky, was waiting for him, car already running.
     As they drew closer to school, the pair decided that it would be best if Peter wasn't seen in public straight after the conference, especially in an overly nice car, with Tony especially.  Things could just happen, and, well, you know how exploding at reporters worked out last time.
As Peter hopped out of the car, Tony said goodbye and they were both on their separate ways, both in a mess of anxiety over what was to come that day. Tony hoped for the best. Peter expected the worse.

     Being late to class was the last thing to worry about, Peter just didn't want to be seen by Flash. Somehow, against all odds, young Peter was able to get to chemistry on time without any occurrences. Thank the gods, hell thank Thor for this miracle, Peter thought to himself. 
     His day went on much like this, worrying about getting to class without getting beat up.  Working himself up just to be flooded with relief at not getting tormented.

     Across town, Tony Stark was in a fit of worrying. At first he hoped for the best, but then all he could think of were the bad scenarios that had a possibility of playing out. However unlikely they were there was still a chance in his mind.
     Pepper put him in as manny business meetings as she could. Trying to take his mind off of his son. It didn't help. None  of it helped, not one but. With all of Tony's worrying, Pepper herself couldn't help but join in.
     Even Natasha and Rhodes were in a fit of anxiety, just less noticeable as they were both seasoned soldiers of a different making. Each had coping mechanisms, and lets just say that no one would question why four exploded punching bags showed up the next day, or why so many fast food wrappers were found in the kitchen trash can. No one would question either of these occurrences, not a single person.

     As young Stark's day progressed further along in it's schedule, he could ho early here his father telling him he had ants in his pants, well more like spiders now but who's to say?  Lunch time came quickly and he was finally able to sit down and fuel his inner black whole that led into oblivion.
     As Peter had initially suspected, lunch time was the predator's striking hour. Somehow, Peter still had no clue as to how, Flash sauntered over to his table with grace and agility not to be expected from  a guy that large in muscles. hot breath from the words spoken made the smaller boy's skin crawl. None of it good, and lots to do with meeting at the back of the school when the last bell rings to signal the end of the day.
    
     Tony was so excited for the end of the school day that he decided to pick his kid up personally. oh how the worry had taken, nothing could stop him now, nothing could stop him from seeing his son after the long day of school ended. Not even Pepper could change his anxiety induced mind.

     Peter was dragged outside, and before he could react, the first blow hit him hard in the jaw. That, he thought with immense sarcasm, is going to leave a mark.  Instead of speaking this out loud, he just grunted with the pain pulsing in his throbbing jaw.
    Its funny sometimes how you can just loose yourself in your own little world, not at all paying attention to the world around you. That is exactly how it was for Peter. From a bystander's point of view it would look like flash had already beaten the crap out of the poor kid but was attacking for the fun of it, but in reality, Peter was just thinking about his dad, and how the afternoon would go after this.

     Tony got to the school quite quickly despite the traffic, but I guess it helps being able to invent flying cars almost as nice as Coulson's Lola. 
     Five, then ten, then twenty minutes passed. Deciding to drive around the school was definitely one of Tony's smartest decisions. There he found an older and larger boy beating up a smaller and weaker looking kid. Tony recognized the smaller kid almost immediately and took action nearly as fast.
     Tony fired his blaster near the kids as a warning shot that did its job splendidly. The aggressive kid saw the flash of a repulser beam and heard it hit the ground with a searing end and ran for the hills.  Tony rushed forward and scooped his kid up and ran towards his car as fast as he could.  Pete would be okay, he had to be okay. If not for himself, then for Tony, for Pepper, for New York, hell, for the world. His kid would be alright.

     Hey guys, sorry it's really late. Forgive me? 918 words
~Gray