It's About Time

Ch. 14

Thursday was the day they went to a computer company. Peter had barely been able to go to sleep Wednesday night, too excited for the next day. He woke up before Pepper did and started making breakfast on his own. FRIDAY must have told her, though, because she didn't come out until Tony did. Peter had just finished the french toast when they walked into the dining room. Tony went straight for the coffee and was surprised to see it had already been made. Peter had started on it first thing, knowing his dad was going to be tired after staying up for three days straight just so he could finish working on a breakthrough project.

"Good morning, Peter," Pepper said. She kissed his head and Peter grinned, flipping the last piece of french toast.

"Good morning, Mom!" he exclaimed. He turned around and hugged her quickly. "Hi, Dad!"

"Hey, Pete," Tony said. He ruffled Peter's hair as he walked by and Peter tried to fix it quickly. He took the last piece of french toast off the frying pan and onto a plate already full of french toast. He turned off the stove and carried the french toast plate to the table he had already set. He grabbed the butter, powered sugar, and syrup and put it on the table as well. Once everything was set, they began eating.

"Did you sleep at all last night, Peter?" Pepper asked. Peter nodded, his mouth full of french toast. "Really? Cause you were up late then awake before me." Peter shrugged.

"I did fall asleep," he assured her. "I'm just not tired."

"Are you really that excited to go see Google?" Tony teased. He knew the answer was going to be a very excited 'yes'. Peter had been talking non-stop about going to Google's Chelsea Office ever since he found out about it. He had never been there before, but Tony knew it was Peter's dream to one day work at Google if even for just a summer. Peter also had plans for Stark Industries, so Tony didn't think of Google as much of a threat.

"Dad, this place is so cool!" Peter said. He began telling Tony more about Google and forgot about his french toast entirely. Pepper reminded him he needed to finish his food before they could leave, though, and his talking ceased. He hurried to finish his breakfast then clean up the table before running to brush his teeth. He fixed his hair in the mirror then grabbed his phone and a draw string backpack. Unsurprisingly it had the Stark Industries logo and name on it. Tony tended to invest in cheap little gift store items just for the fun of it and Peter got them by default. He was glad for the draw string backpack, though, because it could easily carry his Stark tablet, phone, and a notebook for all his note taking needs.

"Are you ready yet, Peter?" Tony called down the hall. Peter was at the elevator two seconds later and Tony was impressed. They waved goodbye to Pepper then went down to the garage. Peter climbed in the passenger seat of the suburban and they headed off to pick up Ned and Michelle. They only picked Ned and Michelle up on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All the other days they either took the bus or drove with their own parents.

"Are you ready for this?" Ned asked, climbing into the car.

"Dude, I've been dreaming about this day my whole life," Peter replied. Tony didn't doubt that. He pulled out of Ned's driveway as the two talked animatedly about visiting Google. Michelle joined them instead of reading once she was picked up. Tony wondered if she would one day work for Google or if Peter would manage to convince her to work for Stark Industries.

"Alright, nerds," Tony said, pulling into his regular spot at the far end of the parking lot. "Enjoy your tech day." All three raced out of the car. Peter hugged Tony as best he could through the window then ran into the school building after his friends. He handed his permission slip in to the teacher then joined Ned and Michelle in their regular seats.

"Aren't you worried about someone asking about your backpack?" Ned asked. Peter looked at him, obviously confused by what Ned meant. "It says Stark Industries right on it."

"Ned, you can get this in the gift shop," Peter reminded him. "You have one."

"Oh," Ned said. He nodded. "Right." Peter laughed quietly then looked up at Miss Kramer called for their attention. She led them out to the bus and Ned, Peter, and Michelle tried to sit as close to the front as possible. They wanted to be the first ones off so they could get inside as soon as they could. Of course, Flash noticed and scoffed, muttering 'nerds' as he passed. They didn't pay him any attention, too invested in talking about their upcoming field trip.

"Look, I even brought Karen so I can remember everything," Peter said, pulling out his phone. Ned and Michelle were very familiar with Karen. She lived in every single one of Peter's electronics including his laptop and tablet.

"Hello," Karen said. A few kids glanced at them and gave him strange looks. Peter shoved his phone back in his bag and Karen stopped talking.

"Make sure you get everything," Ned said. Peter nodded. "Like, film the whole tour or something and take loads of pictures."

"Yeah," Peter said. "Don't worry. Both my tablet and phone are fully charged in preparation for today."

"You guys are almost too excited," Michelle said. Peter just rolled his eyes, but also noticed she hadn't brought a book. When he pointed it out to her she shrugged. "So I wanted to pay attention today? What's it to you?" she asked. Peter just grinned and went back to talking about everything he had read about Google's Chelsea Office. It felt like hours before they parked the bus and everyone was let off. Miss Kramer walked them all down the street and into the building. It was even more amazing than Peter could have imagined.