Let's Begin

Ch. 2

The next morning, Peter woke up on Bruce's floor of Stark Tower, blankets surrounding him from every side and Ned's snoring to his left. He reached for a pillow to cover his ears with and was rewarded with a whack to the head. Yelping, he rubbed his head and looked around for the armed pillow. MJ glared sleepily at him, hugging the pillow tightly, then turned her head so she wasn't looking at him. Peter rolled his eyes. So much for getting an extra pillow.

"Good morning, Peter," Bruce said, walking into the living room.

Peter sat up, figuring he might as well get up if Uncle Bruce was up.

"G'morning, Uncle Bruce," he mumbled. Struggling to escape the blanket heap without tripping on either of his friends or his dad, Peter stood up and followed Bruce into the kitchen.

"Would you like tea?" Bruce asked. Peter shrugged and nodded. Tea sounded nice. Pouring Peter a cup of tea, Bruce asked, "How did you sleep?"

"Good," Peter said softly.

Bruce nodded and smiled, taking a sip of his own tea as Peter tried his. At the taste, he scrunched up his face and looked down at it.

"What kind of tea is this?" he asked Bruce, trying to mask his disgust. Bruce just chuckled.

"It's hibiscus rose," he answered. Peter's mouth twisted and he passed his mug back to Bruce. "Yeah, I don't really like it either but I have to get rid of it or Steve will be upset."

"Steve should be upset he sucks at picking out tea flavours," Peter mumbled.

Bruce grinned and poured Peter's tea down the sink. At least he had an excuse to dump that cup out.

"Yes, he should," Bruce agreed as Peter made himself some hot cocoa and the two sat at the kitchen counter, silently sipping their drinks. "How long do you think we have before your mom finds out you all aren't up there?"

Peter glanced at the stove clock to check the time. 8:07am.

"Um, 8 minutes," Peter said, knowing his mom would want to check on them before leaving for work. "I'd say she's already looking for Dad."

As if on cue, the lift doors began to open. Peter gave Bruce a terrified look and they both darted into the living room.

"Tony?" Pepper called as she stepped off the lift.

In the living room, Bruce shook Tony awake while Peter woke up Ned and MJ. Ned yelped as he woke up and Peter covered his mouth.

"My mom's here," he hissed, pulling them out from the blanket heap.

Ned and MJ's eyes widened. They jumped off the floor and crawled over to the couch to hide while Bruce attempted to clean up their mess (shoving it under the couches). As Pepper rounded the corner into the living room, Bruce and Tony turned around quickly.

"Bruce? Tony?"

Peter motioned for his friends to follow him and they silently crawled towards the lift. With his mom's back to the lift, Peter pressed the button and waited anxiously for the doors to open.

"Hey, Pep!" Tony said loudly as the lift doors slid open.

At the sound, Pepper began to turn and look but Tony grabbed and kissed her. With the distraction, Peter, Ned, and MJ raced into the lift and closed the doors, taking it up to the penthouse while Tony and Bruce came up with a lie to tell Pepper.

"My room!" Peter yelled, tugging Ned in the correct direction.

They ran down the hall to Peter's room and slammed the door shut. As they dove into their beds, they attempted to calm their breathing before Pepper came in to check on them.

"I think I hear her," Ned whispered, still panting. Peter listened closely, but couldn't hear anything.

"You're hallucinating," he whispered back.

A few seconds after their breathing had evened out, the door to Peter's bedroom opened. Peter closed his eyes and tried hard not to hold his breath. It felt like forever before his bedroom door closed again and he squinted to make sure his mom hadn't tried to fool him. She wasn't in the room, though, so he opened his eyes and sat up.

"That was close," Ned whispered, sitting up as well. "Now what do we do?"

"Wait for my dad to come get us and give us the all-clear."