"I can go alone though, it's no big deal."
The truth was that when it came to your family, the less the people you actually respect see of them, the better. Tony was enough, the menacing bastard (affectionate). Meeting your parents, after what everyone's heard – they're in the news every other week at least – means they'll come with assumptions and shit. They'd be right to and over fifty percent of what is public knowledge is true but keeping it all contained is very important to you. Keeping your personal, school, and friends away from your last name was kind of a major priority for you when you left for school months ago. It's not that you're afraid your mom and dad won't approve – you couldn't honestly give less fucks about their opinion on the people you choose to hang out with – it was more that it might change the important people's opinions of you after meeting them.
So, the fact that Natasha Romanoff volunteered to tag along when you secretly wanted her to for the task of convincing your dad to make this hazing thing go away so Pietro doesn't get suspended...it's risky. If he sees her as your weakness or just doesn't approve of your heart eyes, the speedster could be screwed. Or she'll just make you so nervous and self-conscious in the setting he creates that you'll fumble and make a fool of yourself. Screwing over Pietro yet again. Damn, he's getting railed in a lot of these scenarios. Jealous. But on some level, you did really want them to properly meet. And if it all went right, maybe she'd see more good in him than most people do.
"I know you can handle it," She shrugged, stuffing her hands into her pockets, and acting like she wasn't casually giving you heart palpitations, "But I'd like to be your backup."
Why is that hot? You need to be caged.
There's another thing about the Romanoff girl that you've failed to mention – obvious, but still. It's that when she sets her mind on something, it's nearly impossible to sway her. Another thing is that when you're as feral for her as you are, there's no attempt being made to actually sway her. See the problem? The beautiful, sexy problem.
"Okay – yeah, I mean, since you...want to."
That smoothness is exactly what landed you in front of your father as he talks animatedly on the phone, in his zone. He's charming and persuasive like no other when he wants to be – his kids take after him some there, but you're just relieved he's in a good mood, your nervousness ebbing away the longer you stand here next to Natasha while your dad laughs loudly. Luckily, he only holds up a finger and gives you an apologetic smile before he attempts to wrap up said phone call.
"Thanks Jerry, send me the numbers and we'll discuss this over golf on Sunday – you gotta work on that back swing anyway!" A small pause as he listens to the response, his smile never wavering, "Sure, bring the wife and kids! I'll bring mine if you bring yours," He cackles and you frown a little, "Alright, buddy, see you then."
He ends the call and then looks to you expectantly, ignoring Natasha completely, so you start with, "Hey, dad, this is my...friend, Natasha Romanoff," You introduce formally, and she gives a little wave, but again, eyes are still on you, so you turn to her, "Nat, this is my dad, Howard Stark."
"It's nice to meet you. Y/n and Tony have told me quite a bit."
Her tone has an edge to it that he probably didn't notice, but you definitely did, and you have to refrain from smirking, knowing she knew enough about this man to be put off.
"Right," He claps his hands together and then rubs them, "What's this about then? Can't be the house, you texted me not too long ago that everything's settled. Are you flunking out? Does your mother know you're here?"
The questions don't really put you off since it is random of you in his eyes to pop in practically unannounced and voluntarily. Usually, even if you needed him to do something himself, you'd try your mother first because she was easier to talk to and understood how you usually went about things. So, you don't get deterred by the slight interrogation.
"I need your help," You tell him honestly and he raises his eyebrows, "Mom doesn't know I'm here, but my friend is in trouble, and I think you're our only option right now."
"Only option? You mean last resort," He snapped, and you took a slow, deep breath, trying to refrain from sassing back because you needed his help and if tabling your own opinions and emotions is what it took to help Pietro, you'd do it, "Alright, so tell me what happened."
So, you laid it all out there. How Pietro is one of the people who live with you, how he's joined a fraternity and got into a bad situation with a hazing gone wrong to the point where he got caught for stealing the answers to some exams. You didn't hold back, knowing he needed all the facts going in if he chose to offer any help and didn't want him finding any surprises later that would just have him bailing from the whole thing, not wanting to get his hands dirty on principle. Natasha stayed quiet the entire time which didn't make you hesitate, but it was curious.
"Okay," He nodded after you finished, sitting back and steepling his fingers in front of his chin, "Not sure where I can help your friend, he made a choice, and he needs to suffer the consequences. Actions usually have those when they're irresponsible."
Your blood had been slowly boiling since he first ignored Natasha but now it was pooling over and you couldn't help but let some of it spill out of your mouthhole – it didn't seem to matter anyway since he was clearly uninterested in helping.
"You're Howard fucking Stark. You played golf with a handful of leaders of the UN last week, have the power to stop and start wars, but this? Covering up a hazing scandal so my friend doesn't get expelled is too much for you?" You spat at him, Natasha tensing next to you when you added, "After everything you put Tony through, what you put me through, you really think-"
"Now, slow down before you say something you can't take back, Y/n, I'm not-"
"Mister Stark," Natasha addressed him calmly and directly, both of you looking to her because it's the first she's spoken since introductions, "I think we can come to a compromise," She paused and he nodded for her to go on after a long moment of studying her face – heh, been there, but for totally, nonplatonic, different reasons, "If you take this on, it could boost your foundation. Try to think of the benefits you could gain from this and not the risks and downsides," She thought quickly on her feet, "Fraternities and hazing have gone hand in hand for as long as they've existed, and it's never been under good light. It's known worldwide. Correcting this hazing situation could set an example for the future of at least this university, making sure no innocent accomplices are ruined for it and making your name look even more upstanding for your future deals and company demands."
