Day Fourteen: "I didn't mean it."

"You know, you really don't have to do this," Peter said, looking over his shoulder.

"Nonsense. I want to, kiddo," Tony replied.

Peter rubbed the back of his neck. Aunt May had gone out of town with Happy and Peter had been staying with Tony at the Tower. It had been great for both of them. May finally got the vacation she's been needing forever and Peter got to spend more time with Tony. It was great. And May had texted Peter earlier saying she was having a good time.

However, Peter forgot that there were parent-teacher meetings during that week. May would take his mother's place when these events happened. At first, Peter thought he wouldn't have anyone to go to the parent-teacher meetings. Then Tony volunteered to act as his guardian. It did make sense, for Peter loved Tony like his own father. It was just nerve-wracking having someone he looked up to go into his school and talk personally with his teachers.

It wasn't just that. He was worried about what Tony would do if some of the other students bothered him. Specifically Flash Thompson. Peter let it slip to Happy that Flash was bullying him and he had to beg him not to tell Tony. Thankfully, Happy's kept his word but with Tony at the school, he might finally find out.

"You probably have some kind of meeting to get to, though," Peter pointed out. They hadn't exited Tony's Audi.

"Doesn't this count as a meeting?" Tony countered. He took his sunglasses off. "What's going on, kiddo?"

"I just don't want the other students to bother you. They might flock around you and be awestruck and...I know you don't like that from the press, so to deal with it from a bunch of high school kids…"

That was another reason. It wasn't just Flash. He didn't want Tony to feel uncomfortable.

"Is that it?" Tony asked. "If I can handle the press for hours on end, I can handle high school kids easily. Besides, it's only a couple minutes for each class, right? Easy."

Peter fidgeted. "Right, okay."

"What else is it? Are you ashamed of having me in there?"

Peter whipped around so fast his neck popped. "What? No! Of course not, Mister Stark!" he denied immediately. "I'm not ashamed. This is just new for me. To have someone who isn't Aunt May."

"This is new for me, too, Peter," Tony said, softly. He squeezed Peter's shoulder. "It'll be alright. We can get through it together."

"Okay." Peter nodded. "Okay, let's do it."

They stepped out of the car together and Peter felt the pressure building worse now. They were getting looks from other students and their parents already. Tony had put his sunglasses back on and at that moment, Peter wished he had a pair of his own to hide his eyes. He stayed close to Tony's side and tried to block out everyone's stares.

During their walk in, students and parents were already greeting Tony and saying it was an honour to see him in person. Tony, used to this from the press, handled it like a champ. Peter kept his head down and focused on walking. Eventually, the others did start to leave them alone but that was just the beginning. Peter dreaded walking into the first meeting with Tony. The teachers would probably be on Tony the whole time.

The first meeting was with his math teacher. Just like he expected, his teacher was awestruck and shook Tony's hand far longer than he needed to. He asked Tony some questions that Tony easily brushed off. Then they got to what the meeting was really for. Peter and his school progress.

It went well, if not a little embarrassing. He was a good student and he was doing well on tests and so on. It was what the teachers said to Aunt May. They just seemed to make the meeting drag on just to keep Tony in the room, maybe try to get some more personal information out of him.

There was one meeting that Peter stayed out of because he saw Ned finish one of his meetings. He was grateful he didn't have to be embarrassed in front of Tony again.

"Dude, I can't believe you got Tony Stark here," Ned said.

"Yeah, I can't believe it either. I tried to talk him out of it," Peter said. "It's a little…"

"Embarrassing? Yeah, I get that feeling with my mom sometimes," Ned laughed.

Peter smirked. "She's your mom. Of course she's going to embarrass you."

Aunt May embarrassed him sometimes, too. It was just different with Tony.

"Mister Stark seems to be having a decent time. This is his first time experiencing parent-teacher meetings."

"Think he'll want to do it again?" Ned asked.

"He's only here because Aunt May isn't. I doubt he'd come again," Peter said, shrugging. "Besides, you've seen how some people have been acting. He's probably tired of being surrounded by fangirling and fanboying students."

"Weren't you a fan-"

"Okay, that doesn't count anymore," Peter interrupted, laughing.

Ned's mother came out of the classroom and headed in their direction. Tony also exited his classroom.

"Hello," Peter greeted Ned's mother. Tony stepped up to his side. "And, uh, hello again, Mister Stark."

Tony cleared his throat.

"Oh, right." Peter adjusted the collar of his shirt. He pointed to Ned. "This is Ned Leeds, my best friend and this is his mother."

"Pleasure to meet you. Finally." Tony reached over and shook their hands. Peter didn't miss the sparkle in Ned's eyes. "This kid talks about you a lot."

Peter felt himself blush and it was hard not to bury his face in his palms. Tony rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Should we head to the next one, star boy?"

"Oh god…" Peter mumbled at the new nickname. "Okay. Wish me luck, Ned."

"Good luck, dude. See you later."

They did their friendship handshake and went their separate ways.

"Today hasn't been so bad, has it?" Tony said after a while. "You're such a good student."

"Mister Stark," Peter huffed, feeling even more embarrassed. It was hard to place his finger as to why it was more embarrassing with him than Aunt May. "Thanks."

There was only one more meeting before it was time for lunch and Peter couldn't be more grateful. He wanted to step out of this building for a while, get some fresh air, collect himself and prepare for the final two meetings.

Things were never easy though and barely went Peter's way. The nightmare he was avoiding perfectly like the plague was ruined while Tony was in another meeting. Flash had come out of the room across from the one Tony was currently in. If Peter had his web shooters, this one and only time he'd trap Flash to the wall so he could escape.

"Penis Parker." Flash sauntered up to him. "Heard you bribed Tony Stark to come here. How'd you manage that? Your fake internship?"

"It's not a fake internship and I didn't bribe Mister Stark," Peter said, sharply. He tried to keep his cool. "You don't want to do this now, do you? With so many people around?"

It didn't take long for a crowd to form. Why? Because some people were waiting for the day Peter might actually 'have the guts' to fight back against Flash. He couldn't, though. With how frustrating Flash was, he didn't know if he could hold back for long. And that scared him.

This crowd was also slightly different because there were parents around. Anxiety started to creep in.

"Does anyone believe this guy? Does anyone really believe that Penis Parker has a real internship?" Flash yelled to the crowd.

There weren't exactly cheers but there were whispers. It sounded like cheers though just because of Peter's enhanced hearing. It was hard not to cover his ears. It was hard to keep his cool. He saw Ned walk through the crowd. He also noticed MJ standing nearby. At least there were some people on his side.

"I might not have parents like you do, Flash, but my aunt is there for me more often than not," Peter said, abruptly. "Un-unlike your parents…"

He immediately regretted speaking. Not just because it would trigger Flash into punching him, but he stooped to his level. Something he had noticed with Flash was that his parents weren't always around. He saw him texting something like not seeing them for a while. He didn't mean to. His phone was just lying on his desk open. It was an accident. Now he regretted seeing it.

He never wanted to stoop to his level. It made him feel sick and he felt that perhaps he actually deserved the punch Flash was going to give him.

"Now, what's happening out here?"

Oh, great.

Tony and his amazing timing.

"Nothing," Peter said before Flash had the chance to say anything. He hadn't even noticed Tony had managed to grab Flash's arm to stop his punch from reaching Peter's face.

"Don't tell me nothing," Tony said, dryly. He looked to Flash. "Why are you hitting my ki- mentee?"

"Mister Stark, please-"

"No, this is inappropriate behaviour."

"It's kinda my fault," Peter mumbled. He shouldn't have brought up Flash's parents even if Flash was being a jerk to him.

Flash stuttered, not knowing what to say. Peter didn't blame him. If he was in Flash's position, he'd freeze up too and he would have no idea what to say. Tony Stark was not someone you lied to. Tony Stark was not someone you tried to make excuses to because he'd see right through them.

Tony let go of Flash's arm. Flash stepped back.

"Okay, let's get something straight, kid-"

"Mister Stark!" Peter shouted. He shoved him away, out of his space. "Stop it! Just...Stop!"

Tony's attention went from Flash to Peter. Peter didn't need to see his eyes to know they probably looked conflicted, maybe even insulted that Peter shoved him the way he did.

"Kid-"

"I can take care of my own problems, Mister Stark," Peter snapped.

"I know you can-"

"So, stop stepping in! It's like how you hover over me when I get too inj…" he trailed off, stopping himself from almost revealing his identity. "Just let me handle my own problems!"

"Peter-"

"I don't need you."

The silence was palpable. All Peter could really hear was Tony's heartbeat and how it had skipped a beat. How it had picked up. How it had stuttered. How it probably ended up that way because of what he said. He was really glad Tony was wearing his sunglasses because he didn't want to see the hurt Peter knew he inflicted upon him.

"Okay." Tony nodded. His voice was emotionless. "Okay."

He turned and walked away, everyone in the crowd moving out of his way, probably scared of what might happen if they touched him. All eyes were on Peter then. He flinched when a hand landed on his shoulder and he whipped around. It was just Ned, thank god.

"Dude, you okay?" he said.

"Move along, people, come on now." MJ said, waving people away. Soon enough the crowd dispersed but not without a few more stares.

"I can't believe you just told Tony Stark you don't need him," Ned said, sounding understandably shaken up. It was a sight to behold.

"Me either…"

"Like, I thought Mister Stark was your dad now."

That's what hurt the most. Tony was like his father. He never wanted to hurt him. Not like this. Physical pain would probably hurt less.

"You should probably go after him before something happens," Ned said, nudging him.

"Yeah," Peter said, nodding. He did their handshake again and took off outside.

When Peter got outside he noticed the Audi was gone. He didn't blame Tony for leaving the premises. If he was in Tony's place, he'd probably leave too. He probably needed time to comprehend what Peter had said to him. He might not know that Peter didn't mean it.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Tony's number. He got the answering machine, much to his dismay.

"Mister Stark, please pick up. Tell me where you are."

He hung up and left the school grounds. There was a chance he went to the Tower. Peter went to the nearest alleyway to get changed into his suit and took off like his life depended on it. Or rather, like Tony's might've depended on it. Bad things happened after arguments almost all the time. He didn't want Tony to think he meant what he said.

He tried to have Karen contact FRIDAY but there was no response on that end either. Peter imagined Tony having been kidnapped and taken somewhere cold and dark. He imagined someone torturing him and thinking that Peter didn't care about him. He imagined how horrible that would feel, having that as a final thought.

"Stop it, Peter. Stop jumping to conclusions!" Peter scolded himself as he flung through the city.

Peter went straight to Tony's personal lab after getting to the Tower, completely forgetting to greet FRIDAY. He took his mask off and burst through the lab door. His ears were blasted right away with AC/DC. He deflated and released a sigh of relief when he saw Tony. His back was facing him and he was hunched over the work table.

"MISTER STARK!" Peter shouted over the music.

Tony still didn't turn around. Peter doubted it was because he was ignoring him. He hoped it was just the music anyway. Peter walked up to him and patted his shoulder. Tony flinched and looked to his left. Peter waved innocently.

"TURN IT DOWN, PLEASE."

Tony waved to the ceiling to indicate to FRIDAY to turn the volume down. The AI did so. The music was much quieter now, barely even there. Tony wiped his grease filled hands with a towel and looked at Peter. Wrenches and wires were on the table near a blueprint.

"Shouldn't you be at school, kiddo?" Tony asked.

"I was worried after you took off," Peter said, frowning.

"I probably should've stayed, huh?"

"No kidding. I thought something happened to you," Peter said. "Like in the movies! When people leave after a fight bad things happen."

"It's possible." Tony nodded. He sighed. "I thought I should give you some space after that outburst. I thought you needed it."

Peter looked down. "I guess I did but...I still would've liked if you stayed so we could talk about it."

Tony squeezed his shoulder gently.

"I'm sorry, Tony," Peter whispered. "I didn't mean it. I do need you. A lot."

"It's alright," Tony said.

"But I also want you to know that you don't have to take care of all of my problems for me," Peter went on. "I can stand on my own two feet sometimes, you know?"

"I know."

"I understand when I get really injured," Peter said. He shifted and bit his lip, then he took a deep breath. "But when it comes to my school problems, you have to let me handle it."

There was a moment of silence and Peter worried that Tony didn't understand or would refuse to let him take care of himself.

"Alright," Tony said, nodding. He smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I'll ease up on the hovering, kiddo."

Peter smiled brightly. "Thank you, Tony."


Author's Note: Okay, first things first: I know Peter had a moment of OOCness with Flash by talking back but hear me out. I needed a reason for Flash to want to punch him 'cause I don't think he'd do that randomly. And I saw a video comment where someone said Flash's parents aren't always there and blah blah blah. That's how I got the idea. But I think I kinda made up for Peter's OOCness by writing that he immediately regretted saying that and stooping to a bully's level.

Secondly: Never ever leave someone after a fight. Ever. I'm a huge advocate of that because those terrible words you say to that friend/family member, could be the last thing you ever say to them. No one needs that regret and guilt. So just try to ease the tension or something but never outright leave after an argument. Same goes for going to bed angry. Just don't, kiddos.

That's all for now. I'll see ya'll in the next chapter.

Thanks for reading!

~Kurosaki