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The morning air is cold, enough that it would make Peter shiver even under his thickest jacket. But, in the black Audi, the heater on full blast, it's nearly impossible to notice. It's unreasonably early, or maybe it just seems that way to the Peter who had spent last night curled up in bed with Harley, watching movies until far later in the night than they should've been. And, to his credit, he had been awake longer than usual, given the fact that in order to wake up on time to go through his morning routine, get down to Queens and pick up May, he had to wake up much earlier than he was used to.
So now, Peter finds himself in the middle seat of the Audi, Tony Stark (who Peter was pretty sure was only awake because he'd downed as much coffee as he could reasonably get away with before they left) on his right. Tony's arm had found it's place around Peter's middle, mindlessly playing with the fabric of his hoodie as he made small talk with May. Speaking of May, she sat on his left, her hand resting on Peter's shoulder as she responded in turn to whatever Tony was talking about. There's a slight tenseness in her shoulders and her lips are slightly down turned at the corners. He wants to comfort her, tell her that it was inevitable that Tony would step in at some point- but he doesn't. Peter doesn't have the words to make this seem any better, and he knows he'd only receive a small, ingenuine smile from her if he said anything if he tried. He knows she thinks that Tony shouldn't have had to step in. That she could've handled it. And Peter fully trusts that she could've, but, if he had his way, no one would've had to step in. So, maybe Tony's way is the best choice for all of them.
"Do I need to come in with you three, Tony?" Happy asks as he parks the car, the previous conversation having stopped as they approached the school. Peter sinks slightly into his chair as he looks up, realising that, already, there were curious eyes wandering to the expensive car (even by the standards of people like Flash's family, it was overly expensive). He knew they wouldn't be able to see inside, it was Tony Stark's car after all- he wouldn't take that risk, but the anxiety was still there. He knew that once he stepped out of this car, Tony at his side, his life at school wouldn't be the same. People who had previously not even known he'd existed suddenly paying him attention, all to see if they could get close to Tony.
Just the thought of it made him feel sick. But he knew there wasn't any way to avoid this. He'd, in a way, sealed his fate the moment he stepped into this car. And, even if he stayed in the car, when May stepped out as well, everyone would know no matter what he did.
"Nah, we should be fine. It's a high-school, Happy," Tony shrugged, looking up from where he'd been typing something into his phone. Peter was able to catch a glimpse of FRIDAY's contact open on his phone before he turned it off, though he wasn't able to catch what he had been typing.
"And you're Tony Stark. You got a bit of a reputation, don't you think?" Happy pointed out. The "What if the media find out you're here?" goes without saying, but he's pretty sure they all know it's there. Oh shit. Oh god. He'd been worried about his classmates, but what about the media? They'd never leave him alone if they found out, and then he wouldn't be able to be Spider-Man anymore because he would never be able to get into the suit and then they'd figure it out because Spider-Man had been gone ever since the world had found out about Peter-
The hand on his shoulder firmly squeezes, and Peter turns to look at May. "Breath, hun," She murmurs, a kind, patient smile on her face. There's a slight bit of extra pressure around his middle, and Peter distantly recognises it as Tony holding him tighter as well. "Nothings gonna happen, okay? Tony's got it sorted out, right Tony?" May flashes a glare at Tony, slightly narrowing her eyes at him. If Tony's at all affected by May's glare (Peter never can tell if he's joking when he says she's scary), he doesn't show it, clearing his throat.
"FRIDAY's shut off every and all recording devices within a thirty mile radius. They won't be able to be turned on again until ten minutes after we leave the premises. Even if anyone wanted to record it, they couldn't. And if they somehow manage to have it posted, FRI will have it down in less than a minute," Tony explains, turning in his seat so he can look directly at Peter. "I promise you, I have done everything and anything in my power to make sure that the media won't find out about this, Peter, and if they do find out, it'll die in less than a day because no one has any evidence that I was here at all,"
Peter released a breath, somewhat relaxing as he hears the reassurances. But, it doesn't quite ease all his worries. Because sure, the media was, in a lot of ways, the biggest problem, but there was still another problem, one that Tony couldn't solve. No one could.
"And, I really do appreciate that, Dad, but it's just…" He sighed, his head falling back to rest on the headrest behind him. "..No one is ever gonna look at me the same at school, are they?"
"…No, Probably not, bambi," Tony reluctantly agreed, eyes shifting to look at the kids scattered around the front of the school. "And I can't do anything about that. So unless you want to start being home-schooled, you're just gonna have to deal with it, kiddo. I'm sorry,"
Peter shrugged vaguely, muttering an 'it's fine' under his breath. He could tell Tony still felt guilty about being unable to do anything, though, at Peter's silence, he seemed to accept that the conversation was, for the most part, over. Tony leaned over, pressing a kiss to the crown of his head and giving him a pat on the shoulder May wasn't holding onto.
"I really am sorry, Roo. You know I'd do anything I could to solve this if I had the option to," Tony sighed, hesitating for a moment before pulling away. He gave one last look to Peter before pulling his sunglasses from his pocket and pulling them on, opening his car door. Peter is about to move to follow him out, but May's hand keeps him in place for a moment longer.
"You know I am always here for you, right? I know I can't… do everything Tony can, and I know I'm not able to be there as much as he is, but I am here for you. I always will be, you know that, right, Peter?" She said softly, a small, resigned smile on her face.
"Yeah, of course," He breathed, letting out a huff of air that almost sounds like a short, awkward chuckle. "I'm not replacing you with him. I don't think I ever could. He has the… Tony shaped part in my life, and you have the May shaped part. You're both important to me. I don't know what I would do without either of you,"
May's smile softened into something more relaxed as she leaned over, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Well, it's lucky that you won't have to find out for a while then," She chuckled, pulling him close to her so she could wrap her arms around him, the tenseness slowly loosening from her shoulders. "I'm not sure I would know what to do without you either, Peter," She murmured.
They spend a few moments there, trapped in each other's embrace until Happy clears his throat from the front of the car. Peter pulls away, watching as Happy nods towards his right, the same place Tony had previously been. There's a hand reaching into the car in offering, and Peter scrambles to take it and let Tony pull him out of the car, earning an amused laugh from May.
"About time kid. You're making me look bad standing there waiting for you to hop out," Tony teased quietly, pulling Peter slightly to the side so May could follow him out. Peter chuckles, directing his attention on the ground so he doesn't have to look at the no doubt shocked faces of his classmates. He chooses not to focus on the fact that he feels incredibly underdressed in Harley's hoodie ( "It's good luck, darlin'!" Harley had insisted, shoving it into his arms as Peter prepared to leave. "Plus, if I can't be there in person at least let me be there in spirit") and a pair of jeans compared to the business casual outfit Tony was wearing and the less-dressed-up-but-still-somewhat-business-looking outfit May had on. He recognised an arm wrapping around his shoulder as they begin to move (Tony's arm, he's sure), steering him in the right direction. There's a hand sliding in to hold his, squeezing his palm (May. It is absolutely May,) at the same time. But he can't focus on that. There's so many eyes. He can feel them. Everywhere. Every set of eyes. Too many eyes. All on him. Focussed on him. Watching. Judging. Eyes. So many Eyes. Oh god. He's never going to be normal again. He's never going to have a day of peace. Everyone will always be watching him. Watching. Eyes. Everywhere. The media will know. They'll find out hes Spider-Man. They're going to get to MJ and Ned. They'll get to May. They'll get to Harley. Oh god. Oh god, why couldn't he just keep it together? Everyone is going to be in danger. He's going to ruin so many lives, just because he couldn't deal with Flash. The eyes will be everywhere. He'll never know peace again. God, the Eyes. Everywhere. Too many Eyes watching. Judging. They'll hate him. So many Eyes.
"Hey, bambino? You with us still?" Tony asks, waving a hand in Peter's face. Peter's sat in a chair. An uncomfortable plastic chair that he recognises as the same ones he has to sit on in class. Shit. When had they gotten to Principal Morita's office? How long had they been trying to get his attention for? "Heyyy, there you are! Focus on me, yeah?"
Tony takes one of Peter's hands in his, pressing it over his Arc Reactor. "Focus on my breathing okay? That's all I'm asking," Peter's hand wraps around the edges of the device, gripping as tightly onto it as he reasonably can without actively crushing it with his strength. And, slowly, as Tony takes exaggerated breaths of air, Peter begins to as well. His breaths are still a bit too quick to be completely natural, and Tony can't imagine the kid is getting enough air, but he's getting there.
"There we go. I'm right here, bambi. It's alright," Tony murmurs, wrapping his hand around Peter's. Yeah. Yeah, Tony's right here, isn't he? Peter can see him. He's right in front of him. Yeah, he's here. May's behind him, back turned to them as she talks to someone at the front desk. He's in Harley's faded red hoodie and he's wearing a pair of black converse that he's drawn all over.
"You're doing great, roo. Just keep breathing with me,"
Tony. He can hear Tony. The overhead fan is whirring, and he can hear the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway. There's the quiet sound of pen scratching against paper coming from inside Principal Morita's office. What's next? It's hear, right? He thinks it's hear. No wait, he just did hear. Fuck. He fucked it up. He was meant to do feel then hear. Fuck. Shit. Of course he fucked that up too. Fuck.
"Hey, hey, it's alright. Just breathe, okay? I've got you,"
Right. Yeah. Okay. It's fine. He'll just do feel now. There's a fake plant next to him and it keeps brushing against his cheek. It's uncomfortable. He hates it. He wants that plant gone. Tony must notice, because in a few seconds in place of the plant's leaves, he feels the man's hand against his cheek, warm and real and not uncomfortable. One more thing, right? He can do that. The chair underneath him is unusually cold, especially considering the fact that he's sitting on it. Maybe it's a new tech thing for school. Permanently cold seats except in summer. That would be the worst. Maybe school really is a torture chamber but for your mind and emotional stability.
"There's no rush, okay kid? You take all the time you need to come back,"
Smell next, right? It's gotta be. There's only two senses left, and you can't really taste two things at once. Okay. Smell. He can do smell. Tony smells like motor oil and some expensive cologne. He always does, no matter how hard he tries to get the smell off him. It's comforting. Peter likes it. He always has. It just screams comfort and he knows that when he smells the mixture, safety will follow. Right. One more thing. Harley. He can smell Harley on his hoodie. He likes it. He likes being wrapped in the smell of Harley. Maybe Harley will cuddle with him while they do their homework. Then he could be wrapped in Harley and in his smell.
Okay. Last one. Taste. What can he taste? The eggs he'd had for breakfast. Pepper made them. They were scrambled. They were better than what he usually had for breakfast. Not that that mattered much since he usually had a protein bar for breakfast if anything.
"…Tony?" Peter mumbled, slowly letting go of the tight grip he had on the Arc Reactor. He doesn't fully let go, but he doesn't hold it in a death grip like before.
"Hey Pete. You back with us?" He asks, the hand that was on Peter's cheek shifting to rest in his hair, gently running through his curls. Peter sighs, falling forward to rest his head on Tony's shoulder, taking a moment to bask in the comfort of his father. The moment only lasts a few minutes at most because a loud, gravelly voice calls out from Principal Morita's office.
"-How long is this going to take!? I'm a very busy man and I don't have time to waste at this goddamn school!"
Peter tensed at the loud noise, loud enough that he didn't even need his enhanced senses to hear it through the door. He could feel Tony look towards the door, though he never let go of Peter. If anything, his grip only got tighter. As if reassuring him that he would keep him safe, no matter how angry this man (Flash's father, surely) was.
"I understand that, Mr. Thompson. However-" Principal Morita said, sounding tired. Peter can't help but wonder if something similar had been happening while he was calming down, just quieter. No. It couldn't have been. He would've heard it, surely.
"There is no however!" The man growled, slamming his hands down on the principal's desk. "If this kid and his parents don't show up in the next five minutes I am leaving,"
Tony breathed in before letting the air out in a sigh, looking up to meet May's eyes. She seemed just as unwilling to enter the office as he felt but, they both knew they needed to head in there one way or another, whether they wanted to or not. "Hey Pete? I think that's our cue to head in. Otherwise Princess Temper-Tantrum in there might start crying. Probably time for his bottle,"
Peter laughed, pulling away from Tony with a smile. "Nah. I think someone just got him up too early," Peter added, standing up with Tony. The man laughs, wrapping his arm around Peter's shoulder's once more as May comes to join them.
"We could keep him waiting. Let him think he'll get to leave then walk in at the last minute," May adds, a sly smirk on her face as they walk towards the office.
"Oh that's cruel, May," Tony snorted, pausing out front of the office door. He offers a look of encouragement towards Peter before steeling his expression into the intimidating glare so many people are familiar seeing him with. He pushes open the door, gesturing for Peter and May to go first before stepping inside himself.
"Apologies. We got caught up with something," Tony says simply, standing behind the chair Peter had taken a seat in. His hands rest on the backrest of the chair and every now and then, Peter can feel Tony's fingers slip off the cushion to toy with a few strands of his hair. In the set of chairs next to the table, Peter can practically see all the colour drain from Flash's face, the teenager sucking in a deep breath of air. He can tell Flash's father feels the same, though, he's a lot better at hiding his fear than Flash is (read: He keeps looking at his phone so he doesn't have to spend more than a few seconds looking at Tony). Mr. Harrington is stood on the other side of the desk behind Principal Morita, hands clasped behind his back. He looks just as terrified as he did last Friday when Peter was leaving, perhaps a bit more.
"It's alright Mr. Stark, Ms. Parker. You're here now and that's what matters," Principal Morita says, clasping his hands over top of his stack of paper (seriously, how much paper work did this guy have? Not even Pepper had this much paperwork to sign). "Now, in regards to this meeting, there was a… situation on Friday during our student's Stark Industries field trip which I'm hoping we'll be able to resolve here. Flash said some rude things to Peter on Friday which lead to Peter getting upset and the eventual involvement of Mr. Stark. I believe this has been completely blown out of proportion,"
Peter can feel Tony's hand clench tighter around the back rest of the seat, squeezing the cushion with a strength so strong that Peter was surprised the leather hadn't cracked yet. Or, at the very least, he hadn't heard it crack yet. Did leather make a sound when it cracked? He wasn't sure. "Blown out of proportion?" He hissed, narrowing his eyes at the principal.
"Yes," Principal Morita agreed, swallowing back his fear at the narrow eyed glare coming from Tony. "I believe this has been blown out of proportion. Peter shouldn't have run to you about what I perceive to be playground insults and Flash should've had the responsibility to not say them in the first place. Therefore, I believe four days worth of detention for both and a written apology should suffice as punishment,"
"Excuse me?!" May shouts, pushing herself up from her chair. There's a burning fire in her eyes, like she couldn't believe that the principal would imply that that low of a punishment would be enough. " Playground insults, are they?" She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Do you even know any of what Mr. Thompson's kid said to Peter?"
"Well, it's simply what Mr. Harrington said they were. And, as the only staff member there, I have to trust his judgement," Principal Morita said, clearing his throat. "And based on his explanation of the events, I believe that this is a worthy punishment,"
"Oh, yeah. Of course he did," Tony scoffed, taking his hands off the chair to mirror May's pose. "Did he happen to mention the transphobic comments he made? The comments made about his family? Did he mention the fact that he very openly implied that Peter has been doing underage prostitution in order to get our attention, which, is very untrue? The fact that this has seemingly been going for a while now?"
"Well, I'm sure that there's been some sort of misunderstanding, right, Roger?" Principal Morita hesitantly says, sparing a glance at Mr. Harrington. Peter isn't entirely sure the man is fully here anymore. He's ghostly pale, and honestly? He looks kind of looks like he's going to collapse at some point in the next few minutes.
"Right, except it's not. I have the security footage from the day. I heard what that fucking twat called my son," Tony huffed, ignoring the offended noise that comes from Mr. Thompson at the name he'd called his son. "Matter of fact, actually, FRI? Be a doll and bring up the security footage from the day. You know the clips I want to see, babygirl,"
The footage shoots up from Tony's screen in a blue tinted hologram, displaying in front of room. There's the clip from the elevator at the very beginning of the day ("But you really should let me defend you sometimes. Even if you think you're protecting people by letting Flash bully you, you don't deserve it,"), the clip from after they went to see Bruce's lab ( "I don't know how you managed to get Dr. Banner to lie about knowing you, Penis. Probably bribed him with your parent's money," "Oh wait… you don't have any, do you? They probably died on purpose, you know? Could already tell that death was better than parenting a freak like you") and the clip from when they were in the Avengers museum ( "Hey Pen-Peter! How the hell do you know Black Widow and Hawkeye too? You doing some favours for them to get them to pretend to be your friends too?"). With every comment, Peter hears May gasp quietly behind him, her hand moving to rest on his shoulder. Right. Yeah. She hadn't seen the footage, had she? She'd just found out what happened in a summary over the phone.
"Oh, Peter, baby," She whispers, reaching over and pulling him into a hug. It's almost enough to make him let go and cry. Almost. Seeing those clips, having to remember exactly what it felt like when heard them the first time, being able to see his reactions, it's a lot all at once. But he manages to keep the tears at bay for the moment. He's not sure they'll stay there for forever, but he hopes they'll stay there until at least when he gets in the car.
"Right, sooo, still nothing? Still just 'playground insults'?" Tony drawls, doing air quotes when he says 'playground insults'. To his credit, Principal Morita has the decency to look shocked, if a bit offended by the clips. He sends a look towards Mr. Harrington again, as if asking if he knew about this. The man doesn't reply, looking away from the holographic screen.
"Of course not. I do apologise Mr. Stark. I was truly under the impression it was nothing more than simple comments. I assure you that this will be dealt with properly," The Principal replies, looking towards Mr. Thompson. "Mr. Thompson? I'm sure you also understand the weight of your son's actions, correct? As punishment, I believe it's fitting to give Eugene a week of suspension. I believe it would also be fitting to have Eugene write out an apology for Peter,"
Mr. Thompson scoffs, rolling his eyes as he looks up from his phone. "Fine. Whatever. Let's go, Eugene. You've embarrassed me enough today," Flash leaves with his father in silence, leaving only the Parkers (and the honorary Parker) in the room with the principal.
"I would like to apologise, Peter. If I had known it was that serious, I would've taken action sooner," Principal Morita says as Peter stands, earning a small nod from the teen in response.
"It's fine, Mr. Morita. You can't change the past anyway. Just.. focus on taking it more seriously when people come to you with bullying problems," Peter sighed, nodding once more before walking out with May and Tony.
When Peter returns to school the following day and, the rest of the week, school is somewhat better. Sure, he has a bunch of people coming up to him daily to ask him about Tony, though, the number of people are slowly dwindling by the day. And, sure, maybe he had to hide away at lunch on Tuesday because he was just so overwhelmed by the amount of people coming up to him, but he's fairly certain MJ and Ned understood why he had.
And if they had a substitute for homeroom for the rest of the week? Well, no one was going to comment on it.