Hey!

Man, this one has been pushing at me **hard**. I started it two days ago and actually finished it last night, but I wanted to go over it and make sure it was coherent before I posted it.

So . . . it's shocking, I know, but this is another ficlet about respect. It seems the vast majority of The Field Trip fics have at least two of the following items: the Avengers embarrassing Peter and/or going all 'mama bear' on him because of the bullying; Tony swooping in to save the day; Peter accepting the half-assed apologies adults are fond of giving out to kids when they have no choice; and, identity reveal.

Sometimes, those are really fun and exactly what I want to read. Who doesn't want Tony Stark going all papa-bear on someone's ass?

But I have a lot of personal issues with respect, so it grates on my nerves when fics have Peter explicitly asking the Rogues (or 'team as family', if that's your thing) to stay away from his field trip, only to be utterly ignored. Yeah, it might be in good humor on the part of the team, but it's still disrespectful. And in all truth, them spending the trip dropping in on Peter would cause him ** so many** problems. But even if it didn't, they should agree to his request just because he asked.

You know, show respect.

I also hate the 'Peter is so subdued and desperate to avoid confrontation that he lets everyone get away with their behavior because it's easier and he doesn't want the attention' trope. I mean, I can see the logic, sure, but again, on a personal level, it's irritating as fuck. And it doesn't matter how gentle and non-confrontational you are, at some point, a person will finally have enough. I really haven't seen that, or at least, not to my satisfaction, so . . . I wrote it.

Hopefully, this is a satisfying read. I tried to keep Peter in character, but still showing growth, because that's a thing. So - I guess that's up to you guys to tell me if I succeeded. I hope you enjoy this longer-than-expected ficlet and I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

R.E.S.P.E.C.T (find out what it means to me)

Given the fact that Midtown was a STEM school, it came as no surprise when the standard 2-year waiting period for their request for a field trip was approved and planned.

For Peter Parker, said approval occurred in his junior year, which was the best year of high school, all things being equal. You were past the 'first year' jitters, as it were, but not yet drowning in the sheer amount of stuff you had to do in your senior year. Junior year was the year you were supposed to just enjoy school (if you were a person who liked school, that is).

Given Peter Parker's Luck, it came as no surprise to anyone that the field trip in question was one of ten approved by Stark Industries.

Because of course it was.

This was profoundly bad news for Peter for two main reasons: one being that Flash, having overhead Ned talking about Peter's internship with SI, had made it his mission in life to ensure everyone at Midtown, their third cousins, and all the family pets knew said internship was a lie. How many students actually believed Flash compared to those who believed Peter but kept quiet to keep from antagonizing Flash would forever remain a mystery, but the end result was another barrier between Peter and his peers.

In and of itself, that didn't bother him much. He'd never been one of the popular kids, even before Flash decided that Peter was his own personal boogeyman, so he rarely noticed the attitude of anyone other than Ned and, eventually, MJ.

The teachers and staff, on the other hand . . . that was a problem.

Unfortunately, he didn't realize this problem existed until the day the aforementioned field trip was announced. He was sulking in his seat and blocking out Ned's excited incoherence because he had no desire to go on this excursion, for reasons both obvious and not, when his name was called as the rest of his class ran out the door, chattering excitedly about how awesome Stark Tower was going to be and would they maybe get a glimpse of Tony Stark from across a conference room.

"Peter!"

His name being snapped loudly finally got Peter's attention and he looked up at Mr. Harrington in surprise, having not expected to be yelled at for no reason he could think of. "Sir?" he asked, lifting his eyebrows in curiosity as he straightened in his seat.

The subsequent declaration — not even an accusation; it was a statement of fact — that he was lying about being an intern at SI and the much worse accusation of faking the documents, reports, and signatures nearly sent the young man into a rage, but he managed to summon Spiderman's discipline long enough to keep his temper in check and just nodded stiffly at the stern admonition to 'behave and conduct himself as though he was a worthwhile student of Midtown' before stalking from the room. Behind the harsh, pulsing anger at finding out his teachers genuinely had such a low opinion of him was a potent mix of fear and frustration, because he was caught in the perfect Catch-22.

He could very easily prove them wrong. It would take one phone call.

But then what? It wasn't like any of the adults at Midtown would admit they were wrong, unless a serious lawsuit was threatened, and even if they did say the words, none of them would mean it. But they would take out their embarrassment and humiliation on Peter, which — well, frankly, that was a headache he didn't need.

So what to do?

The obvious solution was for him to simply not go on the field trip, but he knew that wasn't an option even as the thought occurred. May was amazing in a lot of ways, but she could not understand how precarious Peter's position was. She wasn't academically intelligent enough to have been bullied and harassed the way her nephew was, so she couldn't truly understand it, much less the way the social hierarchy at Midtown worked. But beyond that, she had the irritating adult habit of assuming that Peter was exaggerating how bad things were and thus, not taking him seriously when he tried to get out of doing a school-related activity. And in this case, considering he spent a third of his life at the Tower, mostly working with Tony, sometimes with Pepper, and the rest of his time with the upper-level interns, May would think that him taking a school trip to his second home was hilarious, not dangerous. And nothing he said or did would change her mind, because she was stubborn like that.

So that meant asking her to refuse to let him go on this field trip was out. He wasn't even going to bother trying, because he had no desire to be lectured and/or laughed at for 'being a wuss'.

Talking to Tony was the next logical step, even though that wouldn't really solve anything either.

Because the other half of this clusterfuck was the fact that the Rogue team led by Rogers had returned to the US nearly a year earlier. Peter did not like any of them, though he managed to stay civil because there was no getting rid of them until after the invasion Tony knew was coming finally happened and was dealt with. When Peter had hesitantly asked why the group of backstabbing traitors was needed, Tony had heaved a giant sigh and, doing Peter the courtesy of respecting his intelligence, explained in plain terms that they weren't, but Rogers in particular would destroy everything in his way in order to get in the middle of a fight he felt was 'rightfully his' (yes, Tony did use air quotes for those words, he was that disgusted with the situation). And while T'Challa was perfectly capable of keeping the group subdued, he would refuse to do so for political reasons. As long as the Rogues weren't causing trouble, he was fine with them staying in his country, but the second they began making waves and threatening to expose Wakanda's secrets, all bets were off.

And since the world knew exactly what kind of damage Steve Rogers would do to get what he wanted, Tony decided to preemptively circumvent the carnage.

To their credit, the Accords Panel did try to keep the Rogues away from Tony, by presenting a plan for one year of house arrest in UN-approved housing and an Accords liaison. Unfortunately for everyone, however, the majority of the world wasn't comfortable with that, arguing that an Accords liaison wasn't remotely able to keep the group in line and stop them from engaging in their former habits of going wherever they wanted, wreaking havoc and destruction, and leaving.

But Tony Stark was.

And because 102 of the original 117 signatory countries agreed with this assessment, Tony found himself forced to babysit a group of people he wouldn't spit on if they were on fire.

Worse, he was forced to house them in the Compound, due to both its remote location and the fact that it was already designed and built to accommodate them, though he flat-out refused to allow Barnes to step foot in anything he owned and after he summoned the full Iron Man suit on the one moron who pushed the issue, the Accords Council unanimously agreed that everyone was better served to leave the man in Wakanda (Rogers' wails of outrage were ignored, and he was given the option of staying permanently with Barnes, complete with ankle monitor, or returning to the US with his team. The three weeks he took to decide resulted in a betting pool with a final sum that exceeded a million dollars, all of which was donated to the Damage Fund created for the victims of Bucharest).

But Tony refused to live there full-time, as he had a company to help run and a young man to mentor — and, you know, they all despised the other side. Naturally, instead of agreeing to the addition of a few Accords people and UN soldiers to watch the team while Tony had to be at the Tower — because that would be logical, make sense, and not inconvenience anyone — those same countries demanded that the Rogues go with Tony to the Tower on his long-term trips.

So it only followed that Peter and the Rogues formally met fairly quickly. To their collective surprise, he liked none of them, and worse, he held no awe or respect for them either. Leipzig had done a lot to tarnish his hero-worship, but the final blow was struck when they hid for two years while Tony worked himself into officially diagnosed exhaustion to get amendments approved — changes he'd intended to fight for from the very beginning — and expand recruitment and partnership of other enhanced people to prepare for the coming invasion, only to finally realize he had no choice but to bring the Rogues back or risk another swathe of destruction.

(Siberia was never mentioned, but Peter was far from stupid and Tony hadn't destroyed that suit immediately. Peter saw the damage and knew immediately)

The problem with the Rogues was this: they all despised Tony, and vice versa. They also knew Peter neither liked nor respected them, and it took little time for the feeling to become mutual. Admittedly, this was in large part because he was Tony's protégé — on every level — and had not been shy about showing his loyalty to Tony while firmly rebuffing every attempt they made to 'mentor' and 'teach' him themselves. So their response was to 'tease' him on the occasions they were all at Stark Tower at the same time.

Romanova had tried to break into his room so many times, Pepper had turned it into a drinking game (while also keeping very detailed records of the attempts; like Tony, she had accepted the necessity of the Rogues' usefulness for the coming fight. Unlike him, she refused to allow them to stay a second longer than was legally and contractually necessary . . . and if she had the conditions of their pardons memorized, well, could anyone blame her?), while Barton and Wilson devolved back into adolescence themselves, playing 'pranks' that even the average teenage boy wouldn't find funny and left Peter rolling his eyes and avoiding them as best he could (which wasn't very well, unless he was in Tony's private lab, since none of the group had jobs that would get them out of the Tower. They literally had nothing better to do than stalk and annoy Peter, and frequently by extension, Tony).

Wanda left him alone after the third time he webbed her to the ceiling in response to her attempts to mentally assault him and she'd peed all over herself because the webs he used took a good three hours to dissolve. The others tried intimidating Peter (Romanova) into apologizing by blustering in outrage at him (Rogers) and ambushing him at doors with silly string and the like (Barton and Wilson), only to be stonewalled by an impressively blank look, which Hope took full credit for, and also being webbed to the wall or ceiling. But once Wanda stopped assaulting Peter, he was overjoyed to leave her alone, which left them without that excuse to bother him.

Rogers was the odd one: in a complete turnabout from his established personality, he ignored Peter completely, unless another member of his team was involved — outside his once-a-week attempt to get the young man to leave Tony and submit himself instead to Steve's 'teaching' and 'wisdom'. His efforts were so constant, Peter had stopped verbally answering him; he just left the room when Rogers entered, something that amused Tony to no end (he'd stopped being outraged by the man's persistence the second time he'd heard Peter's dry demand for Rogers to explain a basic scientific concept to him. When he'd gotten nothing but a blank stare, the young man had nodded and asked him to solve a 6th-grade algebraic equation instead. When Rogers failed that as well, Peter had looked him straight in the eye and said, "How, exactly, do you plan to educate me in my chosen educational fields, when you don't know the elemental combination of salt and can't figure out that 'x' equals 4?"

Rogers' incoherent stuttering was very satisfying to see . . . but even that pointed humiliation wasn't enough to deter his efforts to recruit Peter to his team).

The end result was a very tense civility, because one of the things Tony, Pepper, and Hope van Dyne had finally managed to instill in Peter while the Rogues were in hiding was self-respect. It still didn't come naturally to him and probably never would, but when he was pushed or found himself in a position where it was necessary, Peter could be as commanding as the CEOs in his life. He wasn't rude to the team, but he didn't cater to their bullshit, either. This, of course, only spurred them on in their efforts to either coax him to join their team or simply annoy him into an open retaliation that would justify their behavior.

So Peter wasn't looking forward to speaking with Tony at the Tower, because he was there for five weeks, meaning the Rogues were also there, and none of them understood the concept of privacy. This could kind-of be mitigated by keeping conversations confined to the penthouse, but that never worked, as they inevitably found themselves talking out the various problems or issues as they moved around in public. Peter was going to do his best to keep knowledge of this stupid field trip away from the team, but he wasn't holding his breath.

Naturally, his Parker Luck came into play and he never had the chance. He had to meet Tony in the Rogues' kitchen, as something was broken and Tony was repairing it himself. He loathed the group with a passion, but he hated having outsiders in his home more, when they weren't truly needed.

So Peter exited the elevator to the melodious sounds of AC/DC, Tony's creative cursing, and the unmistakable sound of spewing water. Knowing his mentor preferred an audience who could appreciate his puns, Peter tossed himself and his backpack on the couch, and waited patiently for the ten minutes it took Tony to fix the issue and put everything back together, the two of them bantering mindlessly and just enjoying the mini-break.

It took him three concise sentences to explain his dilemma, and Tony only sighed and hugged him when he was done. "It's really so bad that you don't want to come here for this field trip?" he asked quietly . . . but not judgmentally. He was simply trying to verify what he'd heard, which Peter deeply appreciated.

Unfortunately, just as Tony started talking, someone — oh, joy, several someones — exited the elevator behind them, and he couldn't stop them from listening.

Barton crowed in delight, as he tossed something on the floor and headed for the pair. "Field trip!" he chortled, sounding so gleeful it bordered on deranged. "Oh, we're gonna have so much fun with you, Peter Pan!"

Despite his intense hatred of that nickname from that person — who he had asked three times to stop using it — Peter ignored him and just nodded to Tony. "Yeah, it's that bad," he confirmed, jerking his head back to indicate Barton. "And that's why."

"Excuse me?" Sam Wilson demanded indignantly, stomping forward to grab Peter's shoulder — only to huff in annoyance when, without turning his head, the young man sidestepped with the clear intention of avoiding his touch, and then moved forward before he finally turned to face the Rogues, none of whom had the courtesy to ignore a conversation they were clearly not a part of. He was partially shielding Tony from the group and it was obvious even to Rogers that his positioning was very deliberate, something that made the man stiffen with insult, while Romanova gave the pair an assessing look. That spiked Peter's irritation even higher and he snapped, "Yes!" at Wilson. He'd already been annoyed at the basic situation, but now he was doubly ticked off by the blatant rudeness of the group he now faced.

So he didn't mince any words.

"None of you has an ounce of respect, not for Tony and certainly not for me," he informed them in clipped tones. "So you're going to act like a pack of wild hyenas and do everything you can to embarrass me, giggling like preschoolers the entire time, and when you get bored or the tour ends, whichever comes first, you'll saunter back your rooms, completely oblivious to the trouble, the problems, and the destruction you've left in your wake."

He stopped for a very deliberate beat of silence and the tension turned unbearable.

"In other words, it'll be business as usual for you. And while you're congratulating yourselves on a job well-done, I'll have the thankless task of digging myself out from the rubble, all while fending off your fellow hyenas, who are desperate to feed on the soft underbelly you so gleefully exposed to them."

Now the atmosphere was both fraught and shocked, but Tony didn't let it last, though he was clearly surprised and also impressed at the poetic description that was not Peter's normal way of talking.

"Well said," he murmured after a minute of awkward, yet somehow offended, silence.

Unfortunately, as quiet as he'd been, Tony's soft words were enough to jolt the Rogues awake.

"Destruction?!" Rogers gasped, looking so affronted he resembled nothing so much as an owl: eyes wide, head cocked at a weird angle, and outrage oozing from every pore. If he'd had feathers, each one would be fluffed out. The image made Peter's lips twitch in a tiny smile, but it faded even as it formed.

"Yes," he replied shortly. "But since there is zero reason to ask you not to do it, I'm just not gonna get excited about it."

"Zero reason?"

That was Wilson, and his plaintive disbelief earned him matching cold looks from Peter and Tony.

"Yeah," Tony said tersely, putting a protective hand on Peter's shoulder. "We all know you won't respect his wishes to stay away no matter what he says, or what I say, so why bother?"

And with that, he stepped forward, eyes as hard as vibranium, and led Peter through the flabbergasted group to the elevator, leaving a heavy silence behind them. Neither of them was remotely surprised to find out later that not a single member of the Rogues felt even a hint of shame, once they'd all processed everything. In fact, they doubled down on their intentions to crash Peter's field trip, making some truly outrageous plans and refusing to admit those plans were punishment for not just calling them out, but for having the audacity to think for himself and decide that they weren't a good option for him, or an influence he wanted in his life.

The fact that they were proving every point he had made never once crossed anyone's mind.

Two weeks later, the axe fell.

Well, it did if you were Peter.

If you were the rest of his class, the day of the field trip arrived.

It had been a very irritating fourteen days; Peter had done his best to avoid the Rogues, going so far as to only enter the building by way of the penthouse windows, and been mostly successful. Unfortunately, he couldn't do the same with his classmates or teachers.

And after the fourth time he'd been 'reminded' that he was forbidden to lie about his internship while they were at SI, he'd stormed to Pepper's office and spent the next hour venting. It wasn't the initial assumption that he, a high school student, couldn't get an internship with SI that rankled; that was true. But the fact that not a single person considered the possibility of an exception boggled his mind — especially when one considered the fact that, according to them, Peter wasn't exceptional enough to earn his place at SI but was somehow skilled enough, gifted enough, and devious enough to fake SI's logo and watermark, spoof the company's official email domain, and forge signatures of people he couldn't possibly have found using outside sources.

But trying to explain that to Midtown's staff was like trying to explain the modern world to Steve Rogers: utterly useless and serving no purpose other than deliberately inducing a migraine by way of beating one's head against a brick wall.

Tony was aware of the problem, since Peter still couldn't lie to his mentor for love, money, or apple pie. But the young man had made him swear not to do anything about it during the field trip itself, and for the same reasons he was dreading what the Rogues were going to do: it would only cause Peter more problems than it solved (he wouldn't find out until the next day that Tony had called in a favor from Magneto and gotten the man to cause a small amount of trouble in Maine, trouble that required the Rogues to subdue instead of the X-Men, and he needed to make sure the fight started the day before the trip and lasted no more than three days. Since Magneto loathed the Rogues as much as Tony did, he easily agreed, so long as Tony considered all debts paid and settled).

Being a genius, Tony understood how precarious Peter's position was. Being a man who cared greatly for Peter, he agreed to leave things alone until after the damned field trip was over, though it was one of the harder things he'd ever agreed to. It simply didn't sit well with him to allow people who should damn well know better to treat his mentee, his son, so disrespectfully, especially in his workplace and home. But needs must and they both knew it.

So that was Tony taken care of. It never occurred to anyone to worry about Pepper.

They were almost done with the trip from hell, and of course, there had been all the expected events: Flash mouthing off, Ned's overwhelming excitement, and the increasingly hateful attitude of both teachers. They refused to believe that Peter's ID card was legit (to be fair, it was a picture of Peter giving Butterfingers a high-five, while DUM-E hoisted a fire extinguisher in the background), with Harrington nearly giving himself a stroke when Peter refused to back down and admit that he'd somehow managed to hack Tony Stark's personal security system (while wondering what the fuck was wrong with these people: how could he be undeserving of an internship if he was smart enough to hack the system? Did no one grasp the hypocritical irony of that?)

Then there were the scattered people who knew Peter and greeted him, though none of them tried to solicit his help. But naturally, he'd bribed or blackmailed or committed some other nefarious act so they'd fake knowing him, according to Flash. And since Harrington and Warren not only already thought the worst of Peter, they both lacked imagination or, apparently, basic intelligence, so this slander was taken as gospel. This led to Mr. Warren threatening Peter with suspension for not engaging in any of the activities or asking questions, to which Peter just shrugged. They couldn't suspend him for not asking questions, and the school officials were going to get a very, very unpleasant surprise in a few days regarding SI and Peter, so he tried hard to ignore the unfair treatment.

But even though he was Spiderman, Peter was also a sixteen-year-old boy. And yes, he'd been given a lot of training and encouragement in the last two years by three of the most successful businesspeople on the planet, but he still had very low self-esteem and had also been putting up with this bullshit for two years with no relief.

So when he finally snapped, it surprised exactly no one with a working brain that Tony stepped in.

Pepper's arrival?

That was unexpected . . . especially since she was actually breathing fire when she stormed into the room.

Harrington was in the middle of chewing Peter out for the fifth time about his insubordinate attitude and his refusal to stop lying when he grabbed Peter's arm after the young man scoffed and started to walk away.

And that was it.

Tony could no longer stand back and watch. He silently apologized to Peter for breaking his promise, but he simply could not allow this blatant abuse to continue. As usual, the room went dead silent when he sauntered in, eyes going wide and jaws dropping. Peter was the exception to this; when he saw Tony, his eyes showed only relief and more than a little desperation, and Tony gave him a reassuring nod.

"Is there a reason you're harassing my personal intern and apprentice?" he asked in a deceptively calm voice. The teacher manhandling his kid didn't let go, causing him to twist Peter's arm as he jerked around, face slack with shock and horror.

"Y—what?" the man gasped, clearly unable to process Tony's words, and he growled quietly.

"Is there a reason you're harassing my personal intern and apprentice?" he repeated, eyes blazing with rage now, and Harrington swallowed hard. Understanding finally washed over his face and he went white, letting go of Peter and stumbling back a step, while Warren just looked horrified.

This was in large part because Pepper had just entered the lab, but neither Tony nor Peter knew that yet.

"I—your—but—" Harrington stuttered, unable to form a coherent thought . . . but Warren was the one who pulled the pin on the grenade that was Peter Parker's temper.

"I'm sorry, Peter!" he gasped, twisting his hands together and giving the boy a beseeching look. "We . . . I . . . it's just so . . . I'm sorry," he said again, helplessly — but something about it rang hollow and made Tony's teeth itch.

Peter clearly felt the same thing — and his support system was there.

"No, you aren't," the young man said calmly, staring his teacher down. "You aren't remotely sorry. You don't feel the slightest ounce of remorse for thinking so badly of me that you — both of you — have accused me to my face multiple times of not just lying about having a place here at SI, but also of forging paperwork, emails, reports, and signatures. You genuinely believe that I'm capable of that — worse, you really think I did it!"

He paused for several seconds, breathing hard, and gave both men disgusted looks before continuing.

"The only reason you're apologizing now is because Tony is here. You've refused to believe any of the other six people who have verified my employment, because apparently I'm some kind of Pied Piper or maybe Steve Rogers, and can somehow beguile people into following me blindly. But now Tony Stark is here and clearly knows me, so you're 'sorry' because you're terrified I'm going to ask him to ruin you."

He stopped again, lifted his chin a little more, and stared his teachers down, finally taking some control of his life and reputation back.

Tony had never been prouder of anyone in his life.

"Congratulations," he said coldly, quietly, and everyone in the room swallowed nervously. "You're finally right about something. I am going to let him handle this . . . but what he does is up to him. And good luck to you and Morita when you explain to Miss Potts exactly why you've ignored and disregarded the paperwork she herself has been sending over on my behalf. I'd feel sorry for you, but — well, I don't. You have this coming. I have told you and told you and told you that everything was legit and you've ignored me, bullied me, and threatened me. I'm done. Your 'apology' is not accepted and I do not forgive you."

The sound of heels clacking was ominous and the crowd pulled back, clearing a path for Pepper as she strolled to Peter's side, taking instant ownership of the room.

"Well said, Mr. Parker," she told him warmly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder and giving Tony a sharp nod that he returned before moving to stand next to Peter. The three of them were presenting a united front that even Barton and Rogers couldn't mistake and Tony was almost positive that both teachers pissed their pants at the sight. "Is there anything you feel would be an appropriate response beyond the lawsuits we'll be filing for the mishandling of our official, legally-binding paperwork, and the charges of assault we're pressing against the teacher who just put his hands on you in a room with full video and audio recording?"

Warrington actually swooned, and it was the funniest thing Tony had ever seen, even as the memory of the asshole grabbing his kid infuriated him all over again.

Peter just shrugged . . . but there was a dark vindictiveness in his eyes that made Tony proud, though it also saddened him. His kid was too good, too nice, to feel such dark emotions. But the older man couldn't deny that it was warranted, and he certainly wasn't going to tell the kid that he didn't deserve to be angry and hurt and betrayed at the actions of people who were charged to protect and teach him.

"Just something public, something they can't sweep under the rug," Peter said slowly. "They need to learn up close and personal that actions have consequences. But I can't think of anything that could possibly be better than what you'll decide," he stated, giving her a look of mingled admiration and awe that Tony absolutely understood and agreed with.

Then the kid blew his mind.

"But let Tony have some fun, too," he added, giving his mentor an impish grin that nearly had Tony and Pepper both breaking out into laughter — especially when Harrington swayed on his feet again and Warren sagged against the nearest student. Unfortunately for him, it was Ned, who scoffed and moved away. To be honest, Tony wasn't entirely sure how the man didn't immediately fall on his ass, but watching him flail for balance was funny.

But that was a question for later, when he got bored and wanted to play with the laws of physics. For now, he just nodded and said, "You got it, Peter. Go ahead and head to our lab, okay? This tour is done and there's no point to you going to school and coming right back."

"Sure," the kid agreed — and then proceeded to show off his smartass side, one that no one but Ned had really seen before, and earned dropped jaws from everyone present, employees and students alike.

Because he took Pepper's hand and bowed over it, bringing it to his lips and brushing a kiss over her knuckles.

And Pepper Potts, CEO of the biggest company on the planet, fiancée of Tony Stark, and all-around badass woman, actually fucking blushed.

Tony, on the other hand, made the executive decision that Peter was not allowed to spend time with Loki ever again.

The kid was making everyone look bad, and he wasn't even really trying!

Not a word was spoken as he and Ned did their handshake and made quick plans to meet up the next afternoon. No one breathed when Pepper reminded them all that they'd signed NDAs that she knew were worthless when it came to Tony and Peter and his position at SI . . . but then she sweetly told the entire room that if she wasn't able to pinpoint the exact person or persons who violated said NDA, there was a clause in there that allowed SI to legally pursue everyone who had signed. And SI's lawyers did not lose.

It was a quiet, stunned, humbled group of people who left Stark Industries that day. Some of the students were vindicated, others were humiliated, but everyone except Ned was shocked. Never would anyone have imagined that Peter Parker had that kind of attitude, much less that sort of confidence. It was a massive wake-up call for many people, although little changed for Peter himself, a fact he was grateful for.

As for Midtown?

Pepper and Tony and May brainstormed all weekend (there might have been mojitos and a few sangrias involved) and finally came up with the perfect punishment.

Every single member of the staff who had blatantly disrespected Peter or accused him of lying about his internship had to individually go to every class in the school and formally admit their crimes before apologizing for their actions. It couldn't be done all on the same day, and none of the staff could accompany another member. So everyone, students and staff alike, were simultaneously shamed and entertained for more than a month.

Was it an unusual solution?

Very much so.

Was it more than little harsh, possibly even bordering on cruel?

Hell, yes.

Was it warranted?

Absolutely, as Peter was hardly the only student who had suffered not just that kind of disrespect, but also a lack of support when they tried to report their problems.

Did it serve its purpose?

Amazingly enough, it did. It actually worked. The two teachers who refused to comply resigned — and immediately found themselves in a very bad place. The day after their resignations were processed, their teaching credentials were revoked and the lawsuits SI filed against Midtown — both as an entity and as well as certain individuals — showed up on their history. Neither of the former teachers was able to find stable work, in any field, and when they complained to various friends and family, they were met with a shocking lack of sympathy. It was pointed out that all they'd had to do was accept their punishment and things would have been fine. They were the ones who had let their pride rule their lives, and now they got to find out that pride couldn't make money, feed, or clothe them.

It was a very humbling, very effective lesson.

And Peter? Very little changed for him. He would never be the most popular kid in school, but that was fine. He had no desire for that anyway. He had Ned and MJ, and the members of the AcaDec team, since they no longer had to fear Flash, and that was enough.

But the next time he made an assertion that sounded outrageous at first, not a single person objected. They listened, they researched, and few people were surprised when it turned out that he was right.

Isn't it amazing what respect can do?

~~~
fin