It's About Time

Ch. 6

Peter was up bright and early the next day.  Pepper had just started on breakfast when Peter came bounding into the kitchen wearing a new shirt and jeans.  His hair was curly, but Pepper could tell he had tried to make it lie flat.  She smiled at him and he grinned back.  Tony followed him, less energetic, and went straight to the coffee machine.  He poured himself a cup of black coffee and downed it in minutes.

"Does this look good, Mom?"  Peter asked.  He turned around so Pepper could see his full outfit then looked at her in anticipation.

"I think it looks great,"  Pepper replied.  Tony grunted then nodded at her.

"Good answer,"  he told her.  "This kid woke me up two minutes after you left so I could help him pick out an outfit."  Pepper rolled her eyes with a grin and Peter felt his face warm up.

"Well, the hash browns will be done in a few minutes,"  Pepper said.  Peter nodded and began setting the table while Tony grabbed the orange juice and ketchup from the fridge.  He pulled the syrup from the cupboard and handed it all to Peter to put on the table.  Once the hash browns were done, they all sat down and ate.  After eating, there was nothing to delay Peter from going to school.

"Can we go now?"  Peter asked, shutting the dishwasher and starting it.  "I want to get there early so I can find out where all my classes are."

"We'll leave in fifteen minutes, Peter,"  Tony said.  Peter nodded and ran to go brush his teeth.  He messed with his hair a little more but wasn't able to fix it.  He shrugged and grabbed his backpack from his desk, pulling it up on his shoulders and grinning.  He grabbed his phone and walked back out to the living room.

"Has it been fifteen minutes yet?"  he asked.  Pepper shook her head and Tony glanced at his watch.

"It's been ten,"  he said.

"Well we need to get to the car if we're gonna be on time,"  Peter exclaimed.  He grabbed his dad's hand and then his mom's and pulled them towards the elevator.

"Hold up, Peter,"  Tony said.  Peter stopped and they both put on their shoes.  Peter's eyes widened and he grabbed a pair of shoes too.  He had forgotten about shoes.  Tony smirked as he watched Peter hastily tie his black converse then jump up.  "Alright.  Now we can go."

"Yes!"  Peter cheered.  He ran into the elevator with Tony and Pepper behind him.  They rode down to the garage and got in a suburban.  Tony had gotten one just for getting Peter from school so people wouldn't be drawn by a fancy car and he could take Peter's friends as well.  Peter climbed in the middle seats while Pepper got in the passenger seat and Tony drove.  Their first stop was Ned's house.

"Peter!"  Ned yelled.  He ran down his driveway and jumped in the same row as Peter.  He shut his door and Tony headed off to Michelle's house.  "Are you excited?"  Peter nodded excitedly.

"He hasn't stopped bouncing all morning,"  Pepper told her nephew.  Peter smiled, embarrassed and quietly whined 'mom'.

"He was up real early too,"  Tony said.  Peter felt his face heat up even more and Ned just grinned.  They arrived at Michelle's house a few minutes later and Pepper sent Peter and Ned to the very back.  They groaned but climbed back anyway and continued their conversation.

"What's up, losers?"  Michelle greeted.  She buckled her seatbelt and Tony pulled onto the freeway.

"Hey, MJ,"  both Ned and Peter said.  She pulled a book from her bag and promptly began to read while Peter and Ned talked about the latest Star Wars movie.

"You can come after school on Friday, right?"  Peter asked Ned.  He nodded.  They were planning to go see it in the theatre the day it came out and they were both very excited.

"We're here!"  Tony announced.  He parked at the far end of the parking lot where people couldn't see them easily and stopped the car.  Michelle climbed out first then Ned who was followed by Peter.  Peter pulled his backpack over his shoulder and turned to face his dad and mom.  They had both gotten out to say goodbye.  Michelle headed towards the school and Ned wandered off a bit to give them privacy.

"Have a good day, Peter,"  Pepper said.  Peter nodded excitedly then glanced back at the large school building.  He gulped and turned back to Pepper, looking more nervous than excited now.  "You'll be fine,"  Pepper promised.  She hugged Peter tightly, rubbing his back and kissing his forehead.

"Yeah,"  Peter said, nodding to himself.  Pepper let him go to hug Tony and he embraced his dad even tighter.

"You'll do good, kiddo,"  Tony said.  Peter was hesitant to let go of his dad and Tony noticed.  He hugged Peter even tighter and kissed his head.  "If you need anything, just call us and we'll help you out.  Don't be scared.  Ned's in every one of your classes and will make sure you don't get lost."

"What if they don't like me?"  Peter asked, pulling back just enough to look up at Tony.

"They'll love you,"  Tony assured him.  "And if they don't, then they're not worthy of your concern."

"Okay,"  Peter said.  He hugged Tony again, short and tight, then let go of him completely.  "I love you guys."

"We love you too, Peter,"  Pepper said.  He nodded and glanced back at Ned who smiled and waved.  Peter waved back and started off in Ned's direction.  He stopped shortly, though, and ran back to hug his parents one last time.

"Thanks for being so awesome,"  Peter said.  Tony and Pepper both kissed him again and he ran off to walk into school with Ned.  Pepper and Tony watched until he was safely inside and out of sight.  Tony sighed and Pepper grabbed his hand.

"He'll be fine,"  Pepper said softly, rubbing his arm.  Tony nodded and she kissed his cheek.  He finally took his eyes off the school doors and turned to her.

"I think I want to stay with him,"  Tony said.  Pepper gave him a look, but she could see the tears forming in his eyes and he worriedly glanced back at the school.  "Just in case, you know?"  Pepper nodded.

"Are you going to at least take me back or should I call Happy?"  Pepper asked.  Tony seemed torn for a moment, then said he would take her back.  It would only take half an hour or so.  Nothing would happen to Peter in that amount of time.  Tony got back in the car and Pepper climbed in the passenger seat.  She held Tony's hand all the way back to the Tower and kissed him quickly before climbing out and hurrying inside.