Because He Loves Me

Chapter 4: Detention for Attention

Although Peter did not consider being late to be a bad thing, Kassidy very much did. So Kassidy had ran from the Tower by 7:50 in order to catch the early bus. Peter, who was still barely awake, was sure he would have to tell his parents to call the late bus. He couldn't find it in himself to care, so he still didn't get into the shower until Pepper yelled, "Peter! You're late!" from three floors below. Only then did Peter climb out of bed. He knew if he took a shower he would miss even the late bus, so instead he got dressed then ran into his bathroom and splashed a little water on his hair to make it seem like he had taken a shower. Pepper wasn't fooled but she knew her son would get detention if he was late for the fifth time this quarter. 

"Have a nice day, baby." Pepper said, kissing his cheeks. 

"You too Mom!" Peter said on his way out. "Bye Dad!" he yelled to Tony, who was another three floors down. A muffled, "Bye, baby boy." came up, but for some reason it made peter smile all the way to the late bus. 

Later that afternoon

Despite getting to school early, Kassidy was the one to get detention that day. When she arrived home, Pepper was sitting in the kitchen, cutting apples. Kassidy hated apple slices for reasons unknown, so they had to be for Peter and Tony, who were in the 8th lab working on some fancy upgrade for their suits. Kassidy tried to creep up the stairs unnoticed, but Pepper called her. 

"Kassidy." she said in her warning voice. 

"H-hey mom." Kassidy said, turning around. 

"Where were you? And don't even think about lying to me." Pepper asked. 

"I was at school, what do you mean?" Kassidy asked innocently. 

"Kassidy Maria, school got out at 3 o'clock. So why are you coming home now, at almost five." Pepper asked, putting down her apple knife and folding her arms. 

"I didn't get out until 4:30, I'm lucky I got the late bus back or I would have gotten home twenty minutes in the future." Kassidy said with a lot of sass. 

"Stop stalling Kassidy." Pepper said. Just as she was about to tell Kassidy whats what, Tony and Peter came tramping up the stairs. 

"Hey Kassy, where you been?" Tony asked. 

"Ugh, Ms. Brown did it again?" Peter asked. Kassidy nodded. 

"Yep, and I get it tomorrow too." she said. Tony and Pepper exchanged a look. 

"Isn't Ms. Brown the one who always gives you detention for the stupidest reasons?" Tony asked. 

"Yeah." Kassidy said. "That's where I was." Tony sighed. 

"I'll handle it." he whispered to Pepper, she nodded and kept cutting the apple slices, trying to cut as fast as Peter was eating them. 

"Come on Kassidy, we're going to my office." Tony said, grabbing an apple slice out of Peters hand and leaving the kitchen before Kassidy could respond. When the pair reached the office, Kassidy sat down immediately. The last time she had been here, she had refused to sit down. So Tony's solution was to make her stand - the entire time. In the corner. Which was humiliating because corner timeouts are for little kids, in Kassidy's opinion. And every time Peter was sent to his corner he was equally as embarrassed. And the worst part was that Tony did not find corner time as a bad reminder to use in front of guests. So many times when Tony had a meeting with another Avenger, they would see Peter in his corner. Even if all of the witnesses had told the children that they didn't find it weird, it was just as embarrassing and both children despised it. 

"I see you've learned from last time?" Tony asked with a little smirk. Kassidy didn't reply. "Kassidy, you have gotten detention twice in the past month. That isn't okay. I don't care if Ms. Brown is unreasonable, unless she is giving you detention for breathing too loudly or something like that, you must have done something to provoke it." Tony said. Although his words did not really hurt Kassidy, she quickly began to make her eyes water. Sure enough, Tony's voice softened. 

"I am not mad at you for getting a meaningless detention, but it does go on your permanent record, and you're only a halfway through the quarter. If you get another detention in the next two months, you're going to be suspended. And that's something most colleges don't let fly." he said. Kassidy nodded. 

"I love you so much Kassidy, you, Pepper and your brother are the best things that ever happened to me. But sometimes love also means disciplining you. Tough love is still love, after all." Tony said. Kassidy nodded. 

"Oh, and Kassidy? Why did you get detention in the first place?" Tony asked. 

"Ms. Brown was looking at my phone because I had it lying on my desk, face down. But then Peter's auto-message that he sends every day telling me where to meet him after school went off." Kassidy said. "So when I went to close it Ms. Brown walked back into the room from talking in the hall with someone else and she thought I was on my phone. Which I was, but I wasn't. Like I was looking at it but-" 

"I know.  Okay, then." Tony said. Kassidy looked up at him with doe eyes, begging him not to spank her. Tony twisted her around and landed twenty hard smacks to her ass, then turned her back around to face him. Then he had her stand between his knees, so that she wouldn't leave. 

"Make sure your phone is shut off from now on, m'kay?" Tony said. Kassidy nodded, her eyes brimming with tears. Tony kissed her forehead gently, then sent Kassidy to her bedroom, and where she was not surprised to find Peter waiting. 

"Did he kiss you?" Peter asked. Kassidy nodded.