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Chapter Text

Tony sat in front of Midtown Highschool waiting for Peter and all of his eager classmates to burst through the front doors. He’d arrived early to be towards the front of the line, making himself more visible to Peter as he exited the school. Naturally, there was a trade-off. Arriving at the school a full thirty minutes before the bell rang meant sitting in the car without much to do. Usually, he would play a game on his phone or bring a tablet with him, so he could get a little bit of design work done. Every so often, he would log into part of a meeting or catch up with Pepper. But at the moment, he wasn’t doing any of those things.

The moment he’d set the car into park FRIDAY had notified him of a new email in his personal account. Since that address wasn’t public and he didn’t utilize it for any sort of business, it rarely got any use. Mostly it was reminders for doctor appointments, important confirmation numbers, and periodically something to do with Peter.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked the screen, smiling softly when he was met with a photo he took of Peter the previous weekend. He looked at it for several seconds before swaying his head and clicking the latest notification. He was a little surprised to discover a message from one of Peter’s teachers titled, Re: Peter’s Grades. It seemed odd. Other than a few semi-regular progress reports, he’d never received any sort of message regarding Peter’s grades. Tentatively, he opened the email and scanned the content.

Good Morning,

 

I hope this email finds you well. I have the pleasure of teaching Peter in my second period Literature and Composition class. I have noticed he’s been struggling this semester and has been avoiding certain tasks. The unit we are currently studying is self-reflective and personal narrative writing skills. Students have been reading excerpts from various published memoirs and biographies while working on writing a memoir piece of their own. This memoir was assigned three weeks ago and Peter has not turned in any of the required outlines or rough drafts. When questioned about this, Peter expressed that he hates this unit because he has nothing to write about. He also mentioned he had similar difficulties the year previous. I followed this conversation up by asking him why he'd not asked for assistance. Rather than answer, Peter stormed out of the classroom and sat down in the hallway. I tried to further question his reluctance to complete the assignment but he completely shut down and refused to elaborate. This is not the first time he’s exhibited this kind of behavior in my class over the last few weeks and it is starting to considerably affect his grade.

 

I would like to get to a place where I’m able to help Peter. However, I can’t do that if he’s unwilling to tell me what part of the assignment he’s having trouble with. I am requesting your assistance in reinforcing the importance of engagement and asking for help when necessary.

 

Memoirs are due at the end of the week and the grade will be weighted as a test score. Please keep in mind that this course credit is required for promotion.

 

Thank you for your time,

 

Mrs. Rasha Williams

 

After reaching the end, Tony blinked blankly at the screen before opening the accompanying progress report. It didn’t make any sense. Peter, even before coming to live with him, was an A/B student. He studied hard and always puts his homework before anything else. Even his Spider-Man patrols were reserved for when all of his assignments were done. He couldn’t imagine Peter blatantly ignoring a task, let alone arguing with a teacher about it. He didn’t have a whole lot of time to process it all before the school day ended and students began flooding out the door. He detected Peter immediately. He was happily leaping down the steps and hurrying towards the car, as though he were oblivious to the fact that his language arts grade was on the cusp of failing.

“What is going on with you?” Tony asked the moment Peter shut the passenger side door.

Peter looked up from where he was starting to buckle his seatbelt, his head tilted and his brows furrowed. ‘What?’ he signed.

“I got an email from your Reading and Composition teacher,” Tony replied without missing a beat and could see the blood drain from Peter’s face. He opened his mouth to explain he wasn’t angry but before he could a car horn blared from behind them causing both of them to flinch.

Tony clenched his jaw and reluctantly started the car. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Peter scrambling for his phone. After a few seconds, his own phone buzzed in his lap. Carefully, he placed it into the car’s hands-free mount and opened up the text chat.

‘I’ll take care of it. It’s nothing,’ the most recent text read. To which Tony elevated a singular brow.

“Sure sounded like something to me,” he said, more curious than ever as to what exactly had taken place between Peter and that one particular teacher. “Why haven’t you started that assignment?”

Rather than answer, Peter pressed his lips into a tight, thin line. Tony sighed and turned back to the road, slipping into the traffic before the car behind them could further protest. The moment he was in the flow, he attempted to push for more. Something, anything to explain the situation. “Did you really stomp out of the classroom?” he asked.

Peter jerked his head vigorously in the negative and Tony wanted to believe him. He’d never once seen Peter acting out, even when he had every right to. All he could figure was that the teacher had misread something or was blowing it out of proportion.

“She seemed pretty adamant that you did,” Tony said, hoping to prompt an explanation but he didn’t receive one. He glanced to the side to find the kid sitting rigidly in his seat.

“Then what did happen?” he asked, eyes back on the road. When there was still no reply, he gathered a deep breath in through his nose and released it through his mouth. “Come on, Kid. I need to know what’s going on. Therefore, you need to talk to me,” he said, desperately wanting to know what could possibly be going on in his kid’s head.

He turned to the side just in time to see Peter scowl and turn towards the window.

“Hey,” Tony said, suddenly realizing his mistake. He plucked at the back of Peter’s shirt in an attempt to gain his attention; a difficult task considering he was trying to drive. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. Write, type, sign, do an interpretive dance. I don’t care how you communicate it. I just need to know what’s happening, and I want to hear it from you.”

There was still no response and Tony could feel a spark of annoyance light up within his chest. All he wanted was for Peter to help him understand what had taken place that would warrant such a negative email. He wanted to resolve the situation. But he couldn’t do that until he’d heard Peter’s side of the story. But if he was being honest, he was starting to develop a few concerns of his own. He’d never seen Peter behave so persistently and sorely unresponsive.

“Look at me, Peter. This is serious,” he said, in an attempt to explain why he was so determined to receive a response. “I don’t typically have to worry about this kind of stuff with you. You’re usually well on top of your assignments. What’s the deal with this one?”

Much to Tony’s displeasure, Peter stayed stubbornly faced toward the window.

“Are you legitimately trying to ignore me right now?” he asked, keeping the majority of his frustration at bay by gritting his teeth. “Okay. That’s fine,” he finally breathed out. “But we’re going to be continuing this conversation at home.”

Tony spent the rest of the drive to the tower trying to sort out Peter’s attitude. Try as he might, he couldn't decide what could have triggered it. Nor could he come up with a reason why Peter would be so reluctant to discuss anything. It was all just one big aggravating mystery. Although he did manage to calm down significantly by the time, they’d pulled into the garage.

With a deep breath, Tony pulled the keys from the ignition and shifted in his seat. He wanted to try to confer with Peter one more time before going upstairs. However, before he could compose a singular word, the passenger side door flew open and the kid sprang through it.

Tony cursed under his breath and leaped out of the car to go after him. “Hey! Get back here!” he shouted, stumbling slightly when his knees protested the sudden movement. He pushed through the stiffness and rapidly picked up speed. But it was only with FRIDAY’s assistance that managed to catch up before the elevator arrived. Peter tried to head for the stairs instead, but Tony was quick to catch him by the elbow.

“No! You don’t get to run away from this!” he barked, just before Peter wrenched his arm out of his grasp. “We’re going upstairs, and we’re going to all sit down to figure this out.”

The ride up to the penthouse was quiet. Tony hovered close, half expecting Peter to run the moment the doors opened back up. He was right. As soon as the doors had cracked open enough for Peter to fit his body through them, he was gone. Although he didn’t go far. He fled directly into the kitchen, where Pepper was waiting for them and ducked behind her.

Pepper looked from Tony who was traversing the room, to Peter who was clinging to her arm and back again. “What is going on?” she asked.

Peter vigorously swayed his head while Tony gestured wildly in his direction. “That’s what I’m trying to find out,” he strained loudly. “I received an email from the kid’s teacher and he-”

“-Calm down!” Pepper quietly hissed. “You’re intimidating him!”

“I’m not-” Tony defensively began. Then it registered that Peter wasn’t just hiding from him. He was using Pepper as a shield. It was at that moment that he realized how poorly he’d handled the entire situation. He’d allowed his own emotions to cloud his decisions and obscure every bit of the trauma-informed knowledge he had. Regretfully, he closed his eyes and gathered a deep breath.

“I’m sorry, Pete,” he said softly. “I shouldn't have confronted you like that. I shouldn’t have been yelling just now, and I’m not going to hurt you. I would never hurt you, Bud.”

Peter bit his lip and took a half step out from behind Pepper. ‘You’re angry at me,’ he signed.

“No, I’m frustrated,” Tony breathed out. “I’m also very confused, and you’re not helping me out. Why aren't you doing your work in this teacher’s class?”

Pepper’s face twisted with concern as she turned toward Peter. “Peter?” she gently questioned.

When Peter shook his head, Tony slowly approached, his hands up so they could be seen. “Here. This is the email,” he said, passing his phone to Pepper.

Pepper read through it and calmly stated, “Okay,” as she handed the phone back to Tony. He could tell by her eyes alone that she already had a plan. She always did. That was one of the things he loved about her.

“Peter, why don’t you grab a snack? You can eat it in the kitchen and when you’re done you can join us in the living room,” she said, clearly trying to give everyone some space before revisiting the matter at hand. It was probably a good call. Peter must have thought so too as he hesitantly nodded his head.

Several minutes later, Peter walked into the uncomfortably hushed living room. He kept his head down as he walked past the couch Pepper and Tony were seated on and curled up in the chair adjacent to them.

“Did you get enough to eat?” Pepper skeptically inquired.

Peter shrugged his shoulders. He’d had some water and a few handfuls of cereal but that was it. The looming conversation had his stomach in knots and he wasn’t really sure why. Even without the apology, he knew Tony would never hurt him. And neither would Pepper. He understood they cared about him and that in their words, they were ‘in it for the long haul.’ But other than the very first night when they’d talked to him about the house rules, neither Tony nor Pepper had ever sat him down to discuss anything of consequence. He had no idea what to expect.

“Well, we definitely need to talk about this email,” Pepper said, her voice as casual and even as ever. “But if you decide you want something else at any point, I want you to go get it, okay?”

Peter bobbed his head against his knees but kept his face concealed. If his head was down, he wouldn’t have to see their disappointment- or disapproval.

Pepper cleared her throat, signaling the start of the conversation and asked, “Have you seen the email your teacher sent?”

Peter shook his head. He hadn’t even known there was going to be an email. The last thing Mrs. Williams had said to him was that he needed to get himself together and have something to turn in by the end of the week. She’d never mentioned she’d be contacting anyone. If she had, he would've tried to stop her.

“Let’s start there then,” Pepper said. “That way we can all be on the same page. Do you want me to read it or do you want to read it yourself?”

With very little thought, Peter extended his hand to receive the device. Pepper handed it over without hesitation and he began to read through the email. As he did so, he wondered if the teacher could have possibly worded everything any worse. She seemed to be turning their interaction into something far more dramatic than it has actually been. He clamped his jaw and abruptly passed the phone back into Pepper’s hands.

“If you’re ready, I’d like to clarify a few things,“ Pepper said, and Peter hesitantly nodded his head.

“The teacher mentioned a memoir that’s due soon. Have you started that assignment?” Pepper asked.

Peter bit his lip and shook his head. That part of the email was absolutely true. He’d not even thought about starting that assignment. In fact, he’d made a point of not thinking about it at all. He didn’t want to do it and consequences be damned, he wasn’t going to.

“Okay,” Pepper replied with a slight nod of her head. Peter chanced looking up and could see the tiniest hint of worry in her eyes, but she was doing an excellent job of trying to hide it. Tony, on the other hand, looked more concerned than ever.

“You’re usually remarkably efficient at completing your school work,” Pepper calmly stated. “Is there a reason you’ve not been keeping up with this one?”

There were several reasons why Peter hadn’t started writing the required memoir. But he was disinclined to bring up any of them. ‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ he typed into his phone, feeling slightly guilty as sent it. He knew it wasn’t the answer either of his foster parents wanted to hear. He just hoped they didn’t get too upset with him.

There was a short pause after the message had been read. Peter braced himself for the worse. “Peter, we need to understand what’s happening so we can support you,” Pepper eventually said, then tilted her head slightly to the side. “Do you understand the instructions?’

Peter curtly inclined his head. He knew exactly what Mrs. Williams wanted from him. She’d made a point of giving him a copy of the rubric at least half a dozen times. But knowing the criteria hadn’t made him any more likely to write it.

“It says here that you’re not sure what to write about. Is that it?” Pepper asked, but Peter refused to respond. They had reached the point where he was no longer willing to elaborate. He just wanted the conversation to end.

Although Pepper seemed to note his silence as an agreement and turned her palm upward in suggestion. “I bet if we worked together we could come up with a few ideas,” she said.

Having grown substantially more frustrated, Peter tensed up and squeezed his eyes shut. He could feel Tony and Pepper’s gazes burning holes into him and was overcome with an overwhelming urge to elope. Yet at the same time, he seemed to be rooted in place.

Pepper gently repeated her proposition, asking him if that was a suitable solution. And at that point, Peter felt something break inside of himself break. He bit the inside of his bottom lip until he tasted copper and texted, ‘I don’t want to.’

“Don’t want to what, Sweetheart?” Pepper asked. “Write the memoir?”

Peter glowered.

“Can you tell me why?” she requested.

‘I already told you, I don’t want to talk about it! I don’t want to talk about anything!’ he texted back, keeping his eyes narrowed and his expression hard. He could feel a scream building in his throat and wanted them to know it was there even if he wasn’t willing to release it.

Tony and Pepper exchanged befuddled looks. “We hear you, Pete,” Tony assured. “But we need-”

Before Tony could complete his thought, Peter leaped out of the chair and stomped his foot. He lifted his hands and aggressively signed, ‘no,’ ‘stop,’ and ‘shut up!’ all in rapid succession. Subsequently, he took off toward his room before either of the adults that were currently in charge of him had the opportunity to reprimand him.

Tony flinched slightly as the bedroom door slammed closed and sighed. He’d kept his mouth shut for the entirety of the conversation and couldn’t help but wonder if he should have maintained that. Not that he thought he’d said anything overtly wrong. He was just struggling to accept that Peter, his Peter, was capable of such an outburst. But he supposed he should have seen it coming. With each progression of the discussion, he’d watched the kid become more and more visibly agitated.

“Well, that went swimmingly,” he eventually mumbled. Then turned toward Pepper and ran a weary hand over his face. “Do we have a plan from here?”

“Honestly, I’m unsure,” Pepper replied.

Tony nodded his head and clutched Pepper’s hand. He knew, without a doubt, that she was far more upset by the situation than she was letting on. “Should we talk to the social worker?” he suggested, wondering if maybe this was one of those situations where they should just tap out and allow an expert to handle it. But Pepper was quick to shake her head.

“No,” she said, with determination. “Not yet anyway. Let’s give him some time and if we can’t get to the bottom of it. If we can’t, we’ll contact her,”

Tony hummed a neutral response and glanced down the hallway. He was actually a little surprised that given the kid’s enhancements, the bedroom door was still on its hinges. “How much time are we giving him? Because I didn’t think to reinforce that door and I’m not sure how much more of the kid’s spidey strength that thing can handle,” he quipped, giving Pepper’s hand a gentle squeeze. He was momentarily rewarded when she huffed a small laugh.

“Who would have thought you would need to?” she asked. “I just- I never could have imagined him acting out like that. I don’t understand.”

“I know,” Tony agreed. “I didn’t see it coming either.” Pepper leaned into his side as he mentally combed through everything he knew about Peter and everything they had learned through their required training.

“Maybe,” he said after some contemplation. “Maybe him acting like that toward us is a good thing.”

Pepper scoffed. “Are you being serious right now?”

“Yeah. I am,” Tony replied. “Can you imagine him behaving that way with those assholes that had him before us? He would never. You know why? Because he was terrified of the repercussions. Conceivably, this means he’s not afraid of us, Pep. Maybe realizes we’re not going anywhere at that he’s safe here.”

“Maybe,” Pepper tentatively agreed. “But if that’s the case, then why wouldn’t he just tell us what happened at school?”

It was a reasonable question and Tony, even after giving it a great deal of thought, didn’t have an answer. Although he could assume that whatever the reason was, it had to be a doozy. Peter wasn’t the type of person to abandon a task just because it was challenging. He sighed deeply before admitting defeat. He just didn’t know.

Later that evening, Peter allowed Tony to lure him out of his room with promises of Thai food and mundane conversation. He was dubious of the latter, but he was also hungry. So, he eventually slinked into the kitchen and joined his foster parents for dinner.

“How was your day today, Peter?” Pepper asked, once everyone had filled their plates and begun to eat.

Rather than type out an extended explanation, as he usually would, Peter warily signed, ‘Okay.’

“Well, I for one, had an extremely boring day,” Tony smilingly interjected. “Pepper made me sit through an entire board meeting and then stood over my shoulder while I read through a three foot tall stack of documents. It was ridiculous. I swear my fingers went numb from the number of times I had to write my own name.”

“That’s your job, Tony. And if you had read those papers as I sent them to you over the last month, you wouldn’t have had to do it all at once,” Pepper laughed. “And since when do you complain about the number of times you’ve been asked to write your name? I watched you have a bazillion things thrust in your face during events and you happily autograph every single one of them. ”

Tony hummed neutrally as glanced between Pepper and his plate. “Bazillion isn’t a real number,” he quipped, then swiftly stuffed a spoonful of rice into his mouth.

“You’re right,” Pepper agreed, with a sly smile and a roll of her eyes. “And that’s definitely what I meant for you to take from that.”

Typically Peter enjoyed being included in the nightly table conversations. But for the time being he was content to sit back and listen to the banter. Although the relief of not being the center of attention didn’t last for long. The moment the playful bickering came to an end, Pepper went back to addressing him.

“Did you get to hang out with Ned and MJ today?” she asked.

Peter nodded his head, not bothering to elaborate. However, Pepper caught on to his lack of verbosity. With her next inquiry, she shifted to a more open-ended question.

“What did you have for lunch?” she asked.

Peter shrugged, willing the attention away from himself. There was a niggling at the back of his head telling him that all of the mundane questions were a trap. That the moment he gave in and started answering they’d slip something in about language arts.

“You feeling okay, Bud?” Tony asked.

Peter looked up, brows together, and nodded. Physically he was fine. Mentally, he was unsure. He was still a little on edge from the afternoon. But he was unwilling to admit that. Hence, he slowly nodded his head.

Once the food had been eaten, Peter went back to his room, plugged his phone in, and lay down across his bed. He wasn’t tired, he simply didn’t know what to do with himself. He was restless and the more he pondered the way the afternoon had gone, the more torn he felt. He’d been stressed out about the stupid writing assignment for weeks. Tony and Pepper being aware of his refusal to complete it had only added to that. He was upset with himself for getting so angry at them for wanting to help. As such, he felt immensely contrite about his behavior. But the biggest divide in his head was what to do about it.

He knew Tony and Pepper wouldn’t let it go, and he genuinely didn’t want to keep fighting with them. But he also didn’t want to have to explain the reasoning behind his non-compliance. It was extremely personal and frankly, he was ashamed to talk about it.

A knock came at his door, interrupting his thoughts. In return, he rapped his knuckles against his bedside table, an agreed upon, non-verbal cue that it was okay to come in. Then he watched as the door crack open and Tony took a single step into the room.

“Hey, kiddo. I was about to head down to the lab, but I wanted to stop by and check on you first. You good?” he asked. 

Peter released the pillow he’s been hugging against his chest and sighed profoundly. ‘Am I in trouble for earlier?’ he texted. He’d never really misbehaved with Tony or Pepper and he wasn’t sure what to expect.

“Jury’s still out, Kid. We don’t know what happened. We have no idea what was going through your head or why you’re so upset,” Tony said matter-of-factly. When Peter frowned, he stepped closer to the bed and tentatively placed his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “It’s hard to punish you for something we don’t understand.”

Peter chewed on his already sore lip and hesitantly typed out, ‘I don’t want to write the memoir.’ Although it required several additional seconds for him to decide whether or not he wanted to forward it.

“Yeah? We gathered that part, Buddy,” Tony said, cracking the tiniest of smiles before growing more serious. “It’s the ‘why’ we’re concerned with. There must be a reason.”

Peter rolled onto his stomach and momentarily buried his face in the previously abandoned pillow. He elevated his head just long enough to type out, ‘It’s embarrassing.’ Less than a second later, the felt the mattress dip beside him.

“Well, I promise whatever it is, Pepper and I won’t hold it against you,” Tony said, just above a whisper. “We care about you, Pete. You can talk to us. We’re safe.”

Peter sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. This placed him mere centimeters from his foster father’s side. ‘I know,’ he signed but made no effort to obtain eye contact.

Tony wrapped an arm around Peter’s shoulders and gave him a quick squeeze. “Glad to hear it, Kiddo,” he said. “Think you might be ready to tell us what’s up?”

Hesitant at first, Peter bobbed his head. Although he wasn’t sure that he was ready, so much as he was ready to get it over with. He hadn’t even said all that much and he already felt vulnerable and anxious about it.

“Should we ask Pepper to come in here?” Tony asked. “ Or would you rather go back to the living room for this?”

Not wanting to leave the comfort of his bed, Peter pointed to the floor.

Tony chuckled lightly and glanced toward the ceiling. “FRIDAY? Can you be a dear and call Pepper in here for us?” he asked. The AI readily complied and just a couple of minutes later, Pepper came striding into the room.

“Hey, boys, she greeted as she walked through the door. “Everything okay?”

Tony patted Peter’s knee and stood up to join Pepper across the room. “Peter might be ready to talk to us,” he said. “But he’s a little embarrassed and wants to do it in here where he feels more comfortable.”

“Oh. Okay,” Pepper replied, sending Tony a look of surprise.

Tony shrugged his shoulders in return and pulled out Peter’s desk chair for Pepper to sit in. Once she was settled, he hopped up onto the corner of the desk to sit beside her. “Take your time, Kiddo,” he said. “It’s fine. We’ve got nowhere else to be.

After a great deal of contemplation, Peter typed and retyped several messages before settling on, ‘I don’t want to write the memoir. It’s weird writing about myself. I don’t like it. There’s nothing I want anyone to read about.’

Pepper tipped her head to the side in thought. “It should be pretty easy to make sure no one except the teacher can read it,” she said with an amount of confidence that unintentionally rubbed Peter the wrong way.

‘I don’t want her to read it either!’ he texted. ‘My life is none of her business!’

Tony slipped down off the top of the desk and rejoined Peter at the edge of the bed. “Easy, Bud. We’re just talking,” he said, holding his hands up in mild surrender. 

‘I know,’ Peter signed. Because he did know. He understood they were simply talking things out and that no one in the room was judging him, or accusing him of anything. But that hadn’t been enough to prevent the swell of indignance that had swelled up in his chest. He was having an extremely hard time figuring out how to express what he was trying to convey.

‘I just don’t want to write about me,’ he tried again. ‘I have nothing good to write about. No one wants to read about all of my dead parents or the half a dozen crappy foster homes I’ve been in.’

The very second he hit the send button on the last text, his eyes widened with realization. ‘Not that this foster home is crappy!’ he hastily corrected. ‘I like it here!’ he messaged. ‘But I don’t want to write about that either. I don’t like being a foster child. I don’t want to write about it.’

“I don’t think you have to focus on any of those things,” Pepper hesitantly suggested. “You could write about something else. It just has to be a small snippet of your life. It could be something easy. You could describe your first visit to a museum or your first time flying on a plane.”

Peter’s first reaction was to type back. ‘I’ve never been on a plane.’ He didn’t know why. It wasn’t important information at the moment. There was just something about the innocent assumption that had taken him by surprise. When would he have ever had the opportunity to fly on a plane?

“We’re going to have to fix that,” Tony said, jerking Peter out of his unnecessary thought process. He shook his head a few times to clear it, then looked back down at his phone.

‘And that wouldn’t work anyway,’ he messaged. ‘Mrs. Williams wants us to write about a ‘turning point’ in our lives. She wants it to have this big deep theme to it. I can’t really write anything like that without emphasizing that I’m in foster care. Not that everyone doesn’t already know,’ he sent next, huffing in self-depreciation before starting a new text. ‘I just don’t want to be the one pointing it out. It makes me feel bad.’ He could feel his eyes welling up with tears of sadness and shame as he watched the little green check appear beside the chat box to indicate it had been read.

“Come here, Buddy,” Tony said while holding his arms out in invitation. Peter instantly fell against him, taking a shaky breath as two strong arms pulled him into a tight embrace. Pepper joined them, taking up Peter's other side, and began to rub the top of his back.

“Thank you for sharing all of that with us Peter,” Pepper murmured. “And now that we understand how you’re feeling, we can work on formulating a solution that won’t affect your grades or make you feel uncomfortable.”

Peter nodded his head against Tony’s chest. He still felt tense but knowing that Pepper and Tony were there for him helped. He just wished they didn’t have to be. As happy as he was to be with them, the hardship it took to get there was a lot to bear.

“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to set up a meeting with your reading and composition teacher and your school counselor,” Pepper offered. “You’d be welcome to come as well, of course. But only if you wanted to. What do you think?”

Peter pulled away from Tony just enough to convey he didn’t want to attend. After Pepper had inclined her head in response, he nuzzled back up against Tony’s chest.

Tony chuckled lightly and ran his fingers through Peter's hair. “You look tired, Pete,” he quietly observed. “You ready for bed?”

Feeling emotionally drained, Peter sat up and dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. The last half of the day had been exceptionally taxing and as much as he hated to admit it, he was ready for bed. Reluctantly, he nodded his head in agreement.

“Well, why don’t you go ahead and get some sleep, then,” Pepper said. “I’ll keep you posted on what’s going on with your school. Though I don’t expect to hear anything until sometime tomorrow.”

Peter nodded once more, that time in understanding and hugged both adults good night.

Chapter Text

The next day as Pepper was preparing for her second meeting of the day, she received a return email from the school counselor. There were a few more short exchanges that lead to a brief phone call. But by the end of the hour, they had a meeting set up for after school had let out for the day. 

“I can pick Peter up this afternoon,” she said as she sat down across from Tony in his office. When he quirked his brow, she quietly huffed. “I have a meeting with that teacher and the counselor at three-fifteen. He can hang around somewhere while I talk to them and then I can drive him back with me.”

“Oh,” Tony replied. “That’s great. I’ll come too.”

“To keep Peter company?” Pepper asked because she’d already decided, that for various reasons, she’d be handling the school end of things on her own. 

“No,” Tony indignantly replied. “To attend the meeting. He’s my kid too. I want to be involved.”

Pepper bunched up her shoulders and grimaced. “Honestly, I’m a little worried that if I let you come, you're going to jump down their throats the second they disagree with you.”

“That’s probably a fair assessment,” Tony smirked. “I still can’t believe that woman waited until the last possible moment to inform us not only that our kid was struggling but that he was acting remarkably out of character as well. It was completely irresponsible. What if something had been seriously wrong?“ he continued to prattle, becoming more and more passionate as he spoke

“And that right there is exactly why I think it would be best if you sat this one out,” Pepper interjected. “I’ve got it.”

Tony rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. “I’m just saying that all of this could have been resolved weeks ago,” he strained.

“And I don’t disagree,” Pepper pressed in return. “But arguing about it isn’t going to get us anywhere.” While she appreciated Tony’s protectiveness and devotion, she was certain that it would be best for Peter if they could come to an amicable agreement. She wasn’t sure that could be accomplished with him in the room. “For Peter’s sake, this needs to be taken care of without you threatening anyone. But I assure you I will be dealing with the mishandling of the situation. We have an accommodation plan in place for him for a reason. This won’t happen again.”

Tony sighed defeatedly and agreed that she was more than capable of making sure everything was appropriately handled. “Fine,” he said. “But I’m still coming to the school. I don’t want the kid sitting outside the door by himself fretting over everything.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Pepper sighed. Then she picked up her phone to fill Peter in on their last-minute plans. 

Later that afternoon, Tony drove up to the school, but rather than pulling into the carpool lane, he parked beside the front office. They stayed there for several minutes to allow as many students as possible to clear out before entering the building. The whole point of setting up a late afternoon meeting was to avoid causing a huge commotion. 

Eventually, Peter came slinking out of the school and slid into the backseat.  ‘How long do we have to be here?’ he texted.

“As long as it takes,” Pepper returned. “I’ll try to make things go as efficiently as possible, but I”m sure you and Tony can find something to do while I’m inside.”

Peter sighed and leaned back in the seat. ‘You have a whole garage full of cars. Why did you have to come in the same one?’ he asked.

Good question,” Tony readily replied. There was a short pause while he tried to formulate an answer. “Uh-” he eloquently began. “Maybe we both wanted to see you. Or Maybe we just like riding in the car together,” he offered. He knew it was a flimsy excuse. But to be honest, it simply hadn’t crossed his mind to take separate cars. He’d told Pepper he’d come with her and no other thought had gone into it. 

Peter rolled his eyes and tucked his arms over his chest. 

“Alright, I need to go inside,” Pepper said, then turned to look in the backseat. “If you desperately want to go home, Tony can take you and I can call for someone else to pick me up. But I was hoping we could all ride back together. Maybe get some ice cream on the way.”

Peter immediately perked up at the mention of ice cream but deflated immediately at her next words.

“That would give us an opportunity to discuss the results of the meeting.”

Having looked back just in time to see the dramatic shift in Peter’s facial expression, Tony reached awkwardly around the seat. When he couldn’t quite reach the kid, he snapped his fingers. “Hey, look at me,”  he said, then waited for Peter to shift his gaze. “When Pepper gets out of the car, why don’t you come to sit up here? There’s a game store and a comic shop around the corner. We can go check one of those out if you want to. Both of them if we have time.”

‘Won’t people recognize you?’ Peter texted. 

Tony shrugged his shoulders and pulled a baseball cap out of the center console. “Maybe, maybe not,”  he said as he pulled the hat down over his casually styled hair. “We’ll cross that bridge if we get to it. But either way, it’ll be fine.”

Peter sucked a deep breath and signed, ‘Okay.’

‘Okay,’ Tony signed back with a smile, then turned toward Pepper. “Shoot me a text when you’re about done. We’ll swing back by to get you.”

Pepper gave Peter a quick hug before marching up to the school’s front door. There were still several teenagers milling around but none of them seemed to be paying her any mind. She walked inside with confidence and strolled into the front office where she was met by the counselor, Peter’s teacher, and unexpectedly, the principal.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Potts, It’s nice to see you again,” Mr. Mortia greeted, his hand outstretched for Pepper to accept. “I wish it were under better circumstances.”

“As do I,” Pepper replied, accepting the principal’s hand and shaking it.

 “I’ve got a conference room set up for us just down the hall,” Mr. Mortia said, directing the group to a door at the end of a short hall. The teacher and counselor went first, Pepper right behind them, while the principal took up the rear. 

 “I typically wouldn't attend these kinds of meetings,” Mr. Mortia said. “But given the special circumstances, I thought it would be best if I sat in.”

There was no confusion in Pepper’s mind as to what the special circumstances were. The moment, Peter had come into their care, they had become high-profile parents; an asset to the school. The principal wasn’t there to ensure Peter’s well-being. He was to make sure the school remained in her’s and Tony’s good graces. She’d yet to decide if that was a good or a bad thing. She supposed time would tell.

“Good afternoon,” a young brown-haired woman said, the moment everyone was seated around the large oval table. “I’m Jean Grey, the ninth-grade counselor. We spoke on the phone earlier.”

“Yes. Of course,” Pepper said, reaching out to shake the woman’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

As soon as Pepper let go, another hand was presented to her. “I’m Rasha Williams. Peter’s Writing and Composition teacher,” the darker-haired woman proclaimed. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

It was right at the tip of Pepper’s tongue to say ‘likewise,’ but she immediately thought better of it. That woman was the reason there were there in the first place and there was nothing pleasurable about it. She settled on saying, “Thank you, Peter was just telling us about you, last night.”

The teacher frowned slightly and everyone took their seats. The counselor started by reading off the list of concerns Pepper had mentioned in their email exchange. Everyone was given the opportunity to add matters to the agenda but no one had anything else to include.

The first order of business was to address Peter’s most recent behavior. The teacher spoke first, relaying what had taken place within her classroom. By the end of her speech, she had labeled him as combative and disrespectful. It made Peppers's blood boil.

“No,” she curtly interjected. “That was not Peter being combative or disrespectful. That was Peter being anxious and defensive.”

“Either way,” the teacher stiffly replied. “It was an inappropriate reaction to the situation.”

Pepper had to take a deep breath to prevent herself from snapping. The teacher seemed to be hellbent on avoiding responsibility. “Generally speaking, Peter is a very good student. But he has an educational accommodation plan for a reason,” she breathed out, then sat up taller in her seat. “I don’t think that’s something taken into consideration at any point during this entire debacle. Had you contacted us at the beginning of the month when he first started showing signs of struggling, we could have worked it out before things escalated”

“In the past, we’ve had a difficult time connecting with Peter’s foster parents,” the counselor attempted to explain. However, Pepper wasn’t willing to accept the excuse.

“The moment Peter was placed into our care, we came to the school, introduced ourselves, and updated his paperwork among other things,” she said, glancing toward Mortia who was slowly nodding his head. She nodded back in both acknowledgment and cautious solidarity.

“It was no secret that his guardianship had shifted,” she said. “Yet you didn’t even attempt to contact us until things had gotten well out of hand.”

“I apologize for not emailing sooner, but I wanted to give Peter the opportunity to resolve this on his own,” the teacher suggested, causing Pepper to inwardly sigh.

“Again, Peter has an educational accommodation plan for a reason,” she slowly repeated.

While the counselor typed a few notes into her laptop, the teacher pursed her lips. “I don’t believe Peter’s speech impairment is a factor in this particular situation,” she stated.

Pepper bit it tip of her tongue and forced a polite smile. “Peter’s plan primarily covers his communication differences, yes,” she said, her aggravation barely concealed. “But it also clearly states that those differences stem from emotional trauma. The moment Peter started displaying uncharacteristic behaviors, we should have been contacted.” 

The counselor opened her mouth to reply. However, the principal took that moment, to step in and de-escalate the building tension. “These are all things we can make a note of in his file. We can also reinform all of his teachers of his educational accommodations plan and let them know that you wish to be contacted in events of this nature.”

To Pepper’s relief, neither the teacher nor the counselor made an effort to argue with him. 

“I would appreciate that, thank you,” tightly replied. “Now. As far as the memoir goes- After discussing it with Peter at home, he informed us that he is incredibly uncomfortable with the idea of writing about himself.”

The teacher folded her hands on the table and leaned back in her seat. “Unfortunately that is what this entire unit is about. Self-reflection,” she said.

“I understand that, Mrs. Williams,” Pepper replied without missing a beat “That, however, doesn’t change the fact that this assignment is extremely personal and Peter just isn’t in a place where he can easily write about those kinds of things. His past is complicated and he’s expressed that writing about it makes him feel awkward, stressed, and embarrassed,” she said, pausing briefly to look around the room. “I would hope that we could all agree that Peter’s mental health should take priority in this matter.”

“I don’t disagree. But what would you have me do, Ms. Potts?” the teacher inquired. “I can’t simply excuse him from the test.”

“Well,” Pepper said after a second or two of thought. “What if he were to ghostwrite a memoir for someone else?”

The teacher’s eyebrows raised as she said, “I’m listening.”

Pepper nodded and pulled the wrinkled-up rubric Peter had given her out of her purse. She smoothed it out on the table and turned it so the teacher, counselor, and principal could see it. “In order to meet the grading requirements he’d have to ask whoever he was working with all the right questions in order to gain the appropriate information. Once he writes it out from their perspective, that should be enough to prove he understands unit material.”

“I’m not sure offering something like that, this late in the writing process is fair to the other students,” the teacher said after some brief thought.

“With all due respect, I’m more interested in equity than equality,” Pepper replied without hesitation. “What were discussing is an accommodation that would allow Peter to complete this assignment in a manner that is appropriate for his needs.”

There was a lot of whispering between the staff members in the room. When it quieted down the teacher made a few notes and nodded her head. “Very well,”  she said. “I’ll allow Peter to write his memoir from someone else’s point of view. But the rubric will remain the same.”

“I would expect no less,” said, pleased they had come to an agreement. 

“Is there anything else we need to discuss?” the counselor asked.

“No, I believe that covers it. Thank you,” Pepper smilingly replied. As frustrating as the entire meeting had been. The results were encouraging. She just hoped they actually followed through. If they didn’t, their next meeting wouldn’t be nearly as amicable. 

After everyone had shaken hands, the only thing left for Pepper to do was to wait for her copy of the meeting notes to be printed. While that was being handled, she texted Tony to let him know she was nearly done. It didn’t take terribly long. The moment the paper had been placed into her hand she walked, triumphantly, out of the building. 

Minutes later Tony pulled up to the curb and came to a stop just in front of the office entrance. Peter moved to the back while Pepper climbed into the front, a smile stretched across her face. Peter took that as an indication that things had gone well enough and leaned forward until his head was poking between the two front seats. ‘Ice cream?’ he signed same time Tony asked, “How did it go?”

Pepper pointed playfully toward Peter saying, “Definitely ice cream,”  before addressing Tony with more seriousness. “It went fairly well actually. We have a couple of things to talk about.”

Peter frowned a little. Despite already knowing Pepper’s plans, he’d been hoping they wouldn’t have to talk about anything until they returned to the tower. It had been wishful thinking, really.

The ice cream shop Tony took them to was just around the corner. As such, it didn’t take them long to get there. There were a few people at the counter and a couple more sitting around the various little tables. But most of them seemed to be too absorbed in their phones to notice Tony Stark and Pepper Potts had just walked in. The staff certainly did, but they didn’t make a huge fuss about it. Peter was grateful. 

‘Can I have two scoops?’ he texted as he looked through the glass at all of the numerous choices. 

“Of course,” Tony replied with a flippant wave of his hand. “Get whatever you want, Kiddo.”

Peter smiled slyly as he typed out his next message. ‘Can I have three scoops?'

“Can you eat three scoops?” Tony dubiously inquired. 

Peter shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head. 

“Without barfing all over the backseat on the way home?” Tony further pressed.

Peter dipped his chin and raised his eyebrow before slowly nodding his head again. Thanks to his enhanced metabolism, he was sure he could eat three gallons of ice cream and still be fine. Besides, he’d gotten extremely used to eating a snack directly after school and that hadn’t happened. Therefore, he was exceptionally hungry.

Tony blinked back at him a few times before throwing both of his hands carelessly into the air. “Fine, whatever,” he gave in. “Just don’t blame me when you start to feel sick.”

Peter pumped his fist in the air and signed Thank you. Tony began placing the order. When asked, Peter pointed to a bowl and the three different flavors he wanted to have put in it. 

Once everyone was served, they all carried their treats to the back of the store and slid into a corner booth. Peter happily dug into his ice cream while Tony passed out napkins. When more than half of the stack was set in front of him, he rolled his eyes.

“Well, let’s hear it,” Tony said, once he’d finally taken a bite of his own dessert. “What did the teacher say?”

“First and foremost,” Pepper replied, moving all of her attention to Peter. “You’re not going to have to write about yourself. I made sure of it.”

Peter was instantly relieved by the proclamation. He could feel his shoulders sag and his chest loosen. Usually, he was really good at advocating for himself. He’d point out his accommodations plan and the teachers would adjust the assignment accordingly. Most often, he’d ask to have a verbal or video presentation swapped out for something written. Discussing something of that nature was far easier than trying to explain why he wouldn’t be turning in a memoir. He was grateful to have Tony and Pepper so willing to step up for him when he was too uncomfortable to do so himself. 

“That doesn’t mean you’re getting out of the assignment though,” Pepper added, and Peter’s heart momentarily dropped down into his stomach. “You’re going to ghostwrite a memoir for someone else,”

Peter's brows knit together as he tried to place the word. He knew what it meant. He just wasn’t sure how it was meant to be helping him. ‘Ghostwrite?’ he fingerspelled.

Before Pepper could answer, Tony tipped his head to the side and said, “Huh.” As Peter sent him a quizzical look he further mused aloud, “They want him to write a memoir like he’s someone else.”

Peter immediately decided that made sense and it was certainly something he could work with. 

Pepper hummed and nodded in Tony's direction. Then she returned her gaze to Peter. “You’ll need to look at your rubric,  make sure you pick a good topic and collect all the information you’ll need to write a self-reflective piece on their behalf,” she explained.

‘Who?’ Peter signed, unsure of who he was supposed to be taking notes from.

“Whoever. It doesn’t matter much,” Pepper replied. “I’m here if you’d like to interview me. You could probably get Ned or Mrs. Braswell to help if you’d rather. And Tony would probably love to talk about himself with you.”

Tony retaliated resounding, “Hey!” from across the table. For whatever reason, Peter found it funny and giggled quietly to himself. 

Pepper giggled too, then asked, “Does this work for you? Are you okay with this arrangement?”

Feeling much better about the writing process, Peter nodded his head. The new arrangement would probably be more work with the added steps. But not having to write about himself was well worth the trouble. 

Pepper smiled and nudged Tony in the arm. “You and I can talk about the rest at home,” she said. Peter wondered what else there was for them to discuss but didn’t ask. He’s overheard them talking the night before and was nearly positive it had something to do with the way the situation had been handled. He was perfectly okay with being left out of that part of the conversation.

Meanwhile, Tony with his mouth full of ice cream offered a quick thumbs up.

The conversation grew much more pleasant after that. The three of them continued to eat their ice cream in the back corner of the shop. They all happily engaged with Peter as he texted endlessly about the comics he’d picked out earlier. There was no rush as they sat there enjoying one another’s company.

Peter was the last to finish. He scraped the remnants of the melted ice cream on his spoon and shoved it giddily into his mouth. When he was done, he wiped his sticky fingers on a napkin and collected everyone’s trash to carry it to the bin. Pepper and Tony thanked him for cleaning up. Then they all walked outside together and steered their way toward the parking lot.

Once they had arrived at the car, Peter hesitated. Tony and Pepper appeared to notice because they paused directly beside him. For a split second, Peter looked between them. Then, with no warning at all, he tugged both into an affectionate hug. “Thank you,” he murmured, knowing they would understand he was talking about more than the cup of ice cream. 

Pepper reached around and pulled Peter in a bit more closely. “Thank you for letting us help you,” she said softly.

Tony repeated the action, bringing them all so close together that Peter thought he might suffocate between them. But he wouldn’t have had it any other way. As always, he felt safe and loved in their embrace.

“We’re always here to help you. With absolutely anything, okay, Buddy?” he heard Tony say. And he knew without question that it was true. Tony and Pepper had both told him over and over again that they would do anything for him. However, it was nice to hear it again. It was always nice to hear it again. He was certain he’d never get tired of hearing it. 

Even so, he nodded his head against Tony’s chest and smiled contentedly as he whispered, “I know.”