"Okay, Pete! We're here!" Tony declared.
"Yay!" Peter exclaimed, bouncing excitedly in his seat.
Tony took a deep breath as he opened the car door. He couldn't believe his son was actually off to Kindergarten! It seemed like only yesterday when he was three and barging into Tony's meetings.
Now he was five! And about to start his first day of Kindergarten!
Tony grabbed Peter's hand and began walking toward the large brick building looming over them.
Luckily, although people knew Tony Stark had a son, they did not know much about him. Pepper and Tony had been able to keep the public information about Peter to a minimum, including his age. Although people knew Stark's son was young, they didn't know a specific age, therefore no one knew he would be starting school that day.
Tony opened the door to the school, stepping inside. The sight that greeted him was a large amount of parents and children of many ages, all talking, crying, laughing, running around. (The school Peter would be attending was K-5)
He felt a small squeeze on his hand. Tony looked down and saw that Peter no longer wore an excited expression, but one of utter fear. Tony immediately scooped Peter up into his arms.
Peter wrapped his arms around Tony's neck and buried his face into Tony's shoulder.
Tony gave his back a reassuring pat before stepping up to the receptionist's desk, "Hi, I'm here to drop off my kid."
"First name?" the reception lady asked, not looking up.
"Peter."
"Last name?"
"Stark."
At this the lady finally looked up. Her eyes widened upon seeing Tony, "T-Tony S-Stark?!"
Tony sighed, "Yep, that's my name."
He was relieved to see that the lady seemed to understand this was not the time to gawk at him. She turned back to her computer, clearing her throat, "Peter Stark: Kindergarten. Teacher: Ms. Riley. He will be in Room 5."
"Thank you very much," Tony said.
He walked away from the desk, fully aware of the fact that some of the other adults in the lobby had noticed his presence.
Tony walked down the hall, looking for Room 5. When he finally found it, the door was open, allowing him to step into room, still holding Peter.
He surveyed the room full of young children running around.
He chuckled quietly to himself. Who would've thought that the Tony Stark would ever be standing in a room full of young children. In a room full of children - dropping off his own child.
A young woman, possibly mid-twenties, walked up to him.
She seemed slightly taken aback when she realized who he was, but she quickly became focused again. "Hello, Mr. Stark," she greeted, offering her hand.
Tony liked her already.
"Hello," he shook her hand.
The lady smiled, "I'm Ms. Riley."
"Tony Stark," Tony said, although he knew she was fully aware of his name.
She nodded before shifting her attention to Peter, "Who is this?"
Tony smiled at Peter, "This is Peter. Hey, Petey, turn around. This nice lady is talking to you."
Peter shifted his position, turning his head to face Ms. Riley. "Hewwo," he said shyly.
Ms. Riley gave him a friendly smile, "Hello, Peter! I'm Ms. Riley! I'm going to be your Kindergarten teacher! Do you know what that means?"
Peter looked at his dad, then back at Ms. Riley. He shrugged his shoulders.
"It means that whenever you are here, you can come to me anytime you need help! Here in this classroom, we will be learning some really cool things, and you can make new friends!"
Peter seemed a little more excited after that explanation.
"Would you like to explore?" Ms. Riley asked.
Peter nodded slowly, before looking up at his dad, "Are you staying?"
Tony smiled sadly at Peter, "Sorry, Pete. I have to get back to work. Ms. Riley will be taking care of you. I'll be back for you at three."
Peter sniffled, "Okay, Daddy..."
Tony took this as a cue to set Peter down.
Peter continued to stand next to Tony, now clutching his pant leg.
Tony honestly would be fine if Peter wanted to go home. Screw school! Tony wanted to keep his kid!
However, Pepper wouldn't be happy if he did that, so...
Tony smiled reassuringly at Peter, "It's okay, kiddo, go make some friends!"
Peter smiled a big toothy grin at his dad, giving him a hug before running into the room.
Tony and Ms. Riley stood still for a moment, watching Peter run away.
"He seems like a sweet kid," Ms. Riley said, smiling at Tony.
"Yeah, he is," Tony agreed.
I really love this series! Next up we will be meeting Ned for the first time! :D