A mild pain spreads throughout Peter's cheek. It doesn't hurt much, if at all, but he recoils as if it does. He's not going to blow his secret identity over a weak punch from a bully. He lets himself be pushed into the lockers by the force of the punch. The locker door clangs from his impact and MJ is instantly in front of him, blocking Flash's path to him.
"Back off," she warns. Ned steadies Peter's shoulders and checks his cheek.
"Are you okay?" Ned asks worriedly. Peter nods, his expression unwavering as he regains his balance.
"He can't even fight ba-" Flash is cut off by MJ's fist. Ned and Peter stare in shock as Flash stumbles back. By then, a group of students have crowded around them to watch the scene unfold. Flash's eyes widen when he realizes what just happened. MJ, however, crosses her arms with an intense stare trained on Flash. Before Flash can react, a voice interrupts the tension.
"Peter, Michelle, Eugene, my office." Principal Morita's hard gaze lands on them expectantly. The crowd disperses with a few disappointed mumbles and Peter straightens up. Flash stomps after Principal Morita, already yelling about what just went down.
"Did you see her punch me?!" Flash demands, pointing accusingly back at MJ.
"I did. I also saw you punch Peter, first. Office. Now." Mr. Morita maintains his calm demeanor and Flash stomps his way around the corner with an exasperated huff. Then, Mr. Morita looks back to the rest of them. "Ned, can you please get ice packs for Peter and Eugene. Michelle, Peter, follow me." Peter glances to MJ, but she starts to follow Mr. Morita as if she didn't do anything wrong. In Peter's opinion, she didn't. Still, he follows behind the two while Ned goes to get the ice packs. Peter, MJ, and Eugene sit outside Principal Morita's office while he makes calls to their emergency contacts. May's going to kill me. Flash looks like he's about to talk when Peter interrupts him before he can start,
"Don't." Flash scoffs and turns to him.
"Like you can tell me what to do."
"Don't," MJ repeats. Flash immediately shuts his mouth. Peter resists the urge to laugh in his face, which is currently in the process of bruising from MJ's punch. Peter doubts his cheek is even red. Principal Morita comes out of his a few minutes later.
"Michelle, Eugene, both your parents are on your way," he informs.
"Stop calling me that," Flash mutters under his breath.
"Peter," Principal Morita continues, "your aunt said she's currently at work. She asked you to call someone named 'Happy?'" Peter's heart drops. Still, he counts his blessings that she didn't ask him to call Tony.
"Oh, um, okay." Peter nods and Mr. Morita retreats into his office again. Ned arrives with two ice packs, one he hands to Peter and one he begrudgingly throws to Flash. Peter holds his up to my cheek just for show. Slowly, he pulls out his phone and dials Happy. It rings...and rings...and rings... He starts to think of anyone else he can call when Happy picks up just in the nick of time.
"What's up? I'm kind of busy." Happy seems like he's already in a bad mood, which makes Peter's anxiety spike.
"Um, hi, Happy. Could you, uh, pick me up? From school? I know that, that you're preoccupied but May's at work and, and I don't really have anyone else to come get me." There's silence.
"It's 9:32, why do you need picked up?" Happy asks skeptically.
"Well, funny story. I, uh, got in a fight?" Peter says, but it comes out as more of a question.
"Is that a question?"
"Yes?"
"That's...uncharacteristic. You okay?" Happy doesn't seem very convinced. In his defense, Peter probably isn't being very convincing.
"Yeah, yeah I'm okay. Could you just come get me, please?" Peter whispers to keep Flash from hearing his plea.
"Hang tight." With that, Happy hangs up. MJ's parents arrive and Principal Morita allows her to leave with a first warning. Flash and Peter, on the other hand, stay behind. Ned had to go back to class, leaving the two of them alone with matching ice packs and an empty chair between them. It takes Happy another ten minutes to arrive, probably due to lunchtime traffic, but someone...unexpected walks through the doors instead. Designer glasses and all, Tony walks into the school. His posture is stiff and he straightens out his suit cuffs. Peter almost drops his ice pack in surprise when he sees the man. Tony's eyes land on Peter before looking to the ice pack, then to Flash. He's the one who somehow managed to get Peter, the nicest kid I've ever met, to fight him, Tony's mind practically screams at him. Flash looks like he's about to faint out of pure shock, opening his mouth but no words coming out. Once Tony's eyes locks onto Flash, he starts approaching him with a frightening determination. Peter jumps up from his seat, dropping his ice pack in the process, and rushes to block his mentor's path.
"No no no no no!" He pushes on Tony's chest when the man tries to get past him. Tony's jaw is set and his face is firm with a mix of anger and internal struggle.
"You're right, you're right," he backs off but keeps his hard eyes on Flash, "it's morally wrong to beat up a kid," he mutters.
"Uh, yeah. If that's what convinces you, then yeah." Peter quickly nods.
"Touch my kid again and I'll make your life a living hell. Got it?" Tony manages to keep his composure, but puts every ounce of venom into his words that he can. Peter tries to calm himself at the words. My kid, my kid, my kid, m-
"Yes sir," Flash squeaks. Tony turns his attention back to Peter. He tilts the kid's chin to get a better look at his cheek. Someone punched him and you weren't there.
"You alright?" he questions, inspecting Peter's face.
"Yep. Peachy," Peter answers sarcastically, but nods and avoids eye contact.
"Where's your principal?"
"In his office?" Where else would he be? Peter wonders. Tony then marches straight into the office. Not wanting to stay alone with Flash, Peter quickly follows him.
"Oh, I wasn't expecting to see you here, Mr. Stark." Principal Morita's eyes widen slightly, but he doesn't show much else.
"Wasn't expecting to be here. So, what kind of punishment are we talking? Suspension? Expulsion?" Tony inquires with a touch of heat.
"Mr. Stark!" Peter shouts in disbelief. Tony looks back to him and shrugs his shoulders as if he hasn't just suggested to ruin a kid's academic career.
"Proper repercussions are being enforced, I assure you. This isn't Eugene's first offense, though it is his first time getting physical. Mostly likely a suspension for the rest of the week," Mr. Morita informs simply.
"Not long enough, if you ask me." Tony's voice is tense. Peter quickly grabs onto his blazer sleeve until Tony looks down at him. Peter deliberately takes a slow, deep breath and stares at him with pleading eyes. Tony's face softens ever so slightly, but remains stoic. He slowly turns back to Mr. Morita. "Thank you," he says slowly. He pats Peter's back and ushers them out the door. Peter keeps his head down as they leave out the front doors and walks to the car. Instantly, Peter notices that Happy isn't even in the car.
"Where's Happy?" he asks as they get in the car.
"I drove," Tony murmurs. Oh. Peter sets the ice pack down, since he doesn't actually need it, and watches as Tony starts to drive. Tony is visibly more relaxed, but his knuckles are white from gripping the steering wheel. Peter is about to break the silence when Tony runs the stop sign before leaving campus. Then, he immediately runs a yellow light that turns red while they're halfway through the intersection.
"That's a neat collection of traffic laws you just violated." Peter laughs nervously as he grips the leather seats. Tony glances at Peter before slowing down slightly.
"What the hell happened?" Tony questions, more confused than angry. Now that things have calmed down a bit, Peter's anxiety rears its ugly head again. He only came because he has to. You bothered him. He said he had a busy day. You ruined it. He had more important things to do than to be deal with some superhero wannabe kid who can't even stand up for himself. "Earth to kid. Care to answer today?"
"Oh, um... Well, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Flash is a jerk and I just didn't wanna deal with it today. Flash...didn't like that so he punched me. MJ punched him back," Peter explains simply.
"Hold on, today? As in, this has happened before today?" Tony practically demands.
"Um, well, y'see, it's, it's really nothing to worry about. I can, I can handle it. Usually. Today was just an...off day." Peter tries to keep his voice even. It still hurts.
"I would certainly say so." Peter's heart skips a beat. Does he know I'm upset about yesterday? "You've caught an assassin's metal fist, but can't dodge a high schooler's wimpy punch?" Peter lets out a shaky breath. I should've known that he wouldn't notice. "Looks like we need to work more on those reflexes of yours. Thought that Spidey Sense warns you about danger and a punch seems pretty damn d-"
"It did warn me," Peter interrupts, not looking at Tony's face. He's going to be disappointed in me. Tony stays silent at first, seemingly confused, but then it clicks.
"You let him hit you," he says slowly. Peter nods, keeping his head down. Tony sighs. "Why'd you let him hit you?"
"Cause, y'know...I'm Spider-Man. I'm supposed to be the better person." Peter tries to put some confidence into his voice, because he's honestly happy with his decision. Unfortunately, it comes out shaky. Silence ensues. The rest of the drive is silent until the car comes to a stop in the Tower's garage.
"You did the right thing." Tony doesn't look at Peter as he says it, then promptly gets out. Peter is left in the car, shocked at the approval that just came out of his mentor's mouth. He should feel excited, accomplished, proud. But he doesn't. He feels confused. How can he say that when less than twenty-four hours ago I was having a meltdown because I thought he didn't care? Does he? A knock on Peter's window startles him out of his thoughts. "Some time today would be nice, Underoos." Tony motions for Peter to hurry up.
"Right. Sorry." Peter swiftly gets out of the car and follows Tony as he walks to the elevator. "Um, why didn't you drop me off at the apartment? May is gonna be home soon and it's not like I'm too young to stay home alone," Peter rambles as they get in the elevator and start to go up.
"I'm aware of that. Forgive me for not feeling comfortable about a kid being alone after getting punched," Tony answers sarcastically before walking out of the elevator into the penthouse. "Hungry, kid? Did you eat breakfast?" He walks to the fridge and Peter waits patiently on the couch.
"Do Doritos count as breakfast?" Peter laughs nervously.
"Nope," Tony declines, popping the "p."
"Then...no." Tony turns around to give him a look of disapproval. "But! But, I had-" lunch, Peter is about to say. Then he remembers that he, in fact, did not have lunch yet. He only got through first period. It's barely 9:30 in the morning. "It's technically still morning?" he rebuttals halfheartedly.
"You're damn right it is," Tony borderline scolds before tossing Peter a wrapped up sandwich. Peter catches it with ease and starts unwrapping it. "Keep doing this and I'll make Helen knock some sense into you instead. And then...I dunno, I'll ground you or something." Tony takes an exasperated breath and rubs his forehead. Peter sighs overdramatically.
"I'll get on top of the fridge." Peter gets up and walks past him. Somehow, Tony seems speechless before finally managing a breathless,
"Excuse me?" Peter easily starts climbing on the fridge.
"This house is a nightmare!" He perches on the top and looks down at Tony, only to see his eyes wide and mouth slightly open.
"What...just happened?" Peter opens his mouth to explain but Tony holds up a hand. "Actually, I don't even wanna know." Instead, he walks around the bar.
"It's a Vine! How do you not know that Vine?!" Peter questions, utterly flabbergasted. This will not stand!
"Vine? What on Earth are you talking about?" Peter's whole face lights up.
"Oh my gosh, Mr. Stark. You're gonna love them! There's a whole bunch! Well, Vine's dead so they're all on YouTube now, but still! They're hilarious too!" He gracefully hops down from the fridge and pulls out his phone, ready to bless a fellow human with the knowledge of Vines. It takes him a moment to notice the dark bags under Tony's eyes behind the orange tinted sunglasses. "Mr. Stark, have you been getting enough sleep?" Tony glances to Peter, then readjusts his sunglasses onto his face.
"I could ask you the same thing," he counters. It's not my fault I couldn't sleep, Peter notes.
"Is everything...okay?" Peter asks hesitantly.
"Nothing for you to worry about, kid." That's not an answer though.
"Does it have to do with Ms. Potts? I, I can tell her that it wasn't your fault. I don't want you guys to fight." Tony looks at Peter with hard, conflicted eyes. Peter almost expects him to disagree and say that yes, it was his fault. Peter knows it's not, though.
"Just let it go, Peter," Tony sighs. Peter can tell he's trying to be patient. I should be quiet, but...
"You're obviously tired and you barely sleep enough as it is and I don't want Ms. Potts to be angry and you're stressed, like, all the time. I just, I just wanna help, Mr. Stark." Tony takes a slow breath.
"There's nothing to talk about, alright?" He walks around Peter towards the mounted TV.
"But if you can't sleep, you should talk about it." Peter follows him.
"I'm not discussing this with you," Tony immediately shuts down.
"You need to talk about it to someone. At least Dr. Banner could-"
"No," he says with a tone of finality.
"You need to sleep Mr.-"
"I can't!" he raises his voice ever so slightly.
"But maybe if you-"
"I had a nightmare, alright?!" he yells, causing Peter to involuntarily flinch. Tony rakes his hands through his hair as he stares intently down at his shoes. "I...had a nightmare," he repeats in a softer voice. Good job, you upset him. You shouldn't have pushed it, Peter scolds himself. Tony sits down on the couch.
"Um, I- we could..." C'mon, Peter, use your words. "Do you want to talk about it?" he offers. Tony has his head in his hands, but slightly looks up at Peter. The exhaustion that's so obviously evident on his face looks almost painful. Peter waits patiently as the room takes on a familiar silence.
"It was-" Tony's phone rings, cutting him off. He abruptly stands, taking the phone in his hand, and leaves the room saying, "This is Stark." As soon as he leaves, Peter rips his phone out of his pocket and starts to frantically text Ned as he sits on the couch.
Guy in the Chair
Peter: omfg ned mr starj is freakngw out and i have no idea wgat to do!!!
Peter: he looks exausted and he's super irritatd with me cause i keep trying toask him ehats wrong but hw wouldn't talj abot ut
Peter: then ge finallt said that he had a nightmare and I hkbestly had no idea wgat to d o??? like how am i supposedto help him????
Ned: woah dude calm down
Ned: deep breaths
Ned: and slow down i can barely understand you thru your typos
Peter: okay sorry im just freaking out
Peter: i dont know what to do without pissing him off yknow
Ned: yeah i get it
Ned: try to get him do the talking
Ned: like dont ask him too much
Ned: just enough to let him know that youre willing to listen n stuff
Peter: i can do that
Peter: thanks ned i really appreciate it
Ned: anytime dude
Ned: you gonna be okay?
Tony's angry voice tears Peter's attention away from his phone.
"I told you I don't know! What else do you want from me?! Even if I did know where they are, I wouldn't rat them out to an asshat like you!" It doesn't take Peter's enhanced hearing to figure out how mad Tony is. Give up who? Is he talking about...the Accords? And the rogue Avengers? Tony walks back into the room with his hair even more messed up than before, his sunglasses off, and his jaw clenched. He's beyond pissed.
"Is, is everything okay?" Peter stutters nervously.
"Yes." Tony walks past the sofa and straight into the kitchen.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Peter hesitantly asks, barely above a whisper.
"No," Tony breathes through clenched teeth. Peter tries to calm himself. Deep breaths, just like Ned said. Don't push him too hard. Just let him know you're there for him.
"Hey, I'm, uh, I'm here for you. I'm a good listener too, so if you w-"
"Can't you just keep your mouth shut for two seconds?!" Tony screams. Peter freezes. The remainder of his words get caught in his throat. His heart picks up and a knot forms in the pit of his stomach. You did something wrong. Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong- He keeps his eyes trained straight ahead and tightly presses his lips together. It feels like he was just sucker punched in the gut. "Pete, I'm-" Tony starts in a much softer tone, but Peter doesn't let him finish. He can't.
"No, it's fine. I'll get out of your hair. Sorry. See you later, Mr. Stark." Peter pulls his backpack over his shoulder and gets out of the penthouse as fast as he can. He decides to take the stairs. He doesn't want to take the elevators since he knows F.R.I.D.A.Y. would be able to talk to him and Tony would be able to see him. Instead, he considers using his web-shooters to swing out of the Tower and over to Ned's house. Sometimes he misses the burning sensation in his lungs that he used to get when he ran. His endurance is too high from the spider bite now. The footsteps echo in the empty stairwell as he runs down flight after flight. Why do I keep coming back when he treats me like this? All I do is upset him. After about twenty or so flights, he slows down enough to pull out his phone and check the new texts.
Guy in the Chair
Ned: peter?
Ned: ????
Ned: you didnt answer me
Ned: are you okay???
Peter: can you look into anything relating to Mr. Stark being idk traumatized
Peter: like what happened in afghanistan
Peter: and the sokovia accords
Ned: of course i can
Ned: im your Guy in the Chair™
Peter: without getting arrested
Ned: less easy but still doable
Ned: why? and you never answered if youre okay
Peter: he's been acting weird lately
Peter: like super on edge
Peter: and someone's giving him a hard time and accusing him of harboring the rogue avengers
Ned: dude thatd be badass
Peter: also illegal
Peter: i just wanna know whats going on and i know Mr. Stark wont tell me
Ned: maybe cause you arent supposed to know
Peter: technicalities
Peter: so can you do it?
Ned: ugh
Ned: yeah i can do it
Ned: on one condition
Peter: im going to regret this arent i
Ned: you have to come with me to betty's house party
Peter: you have to be joking
Peter: do i need to remind you what happened when we tried to go to liz's party????
Peter: I GOT DROPPED OUT OF THE SKY NED
Ned: i know i know but she's really upset about liz being gone and she was lonely
Ned: and she came up to me like super sad asking if we wanted to come
Peter: please tell me you didnt
Ned: ...i told her we would come
Peter: you know how much i dont like parties!!!
Ned: do you want to wear my hat of confidence?
Peter: no ned
Peter: what i want is to not go
Ned: pleeeeaaaaase
Peter: ugh
Peter: youre lucky youre my best friend
Peter: cause youre a pain in the ass
Peter: but you still have to look into the accords
Peter: i'll be over at your place in a few minutes
Ned: JWNXOENDOEH THANK YOU SO MUCH PETER YOURE THE BEST
Ned: I'LL START LOOKING
Peter: im definitely going to regret this
---
Notes:
Thank you for reading <3