Growing Up

14 Years Old

Tony was suspicious. While Peter had always loved coming home and telling Tony about his day at school, he hadn't even tried since he started high school. The first week he had—God, Tony heard so much about Midtown High he probably could have gone there himself. After the first week, however, Peter had stopped talking excitedly about his day and seemed a little less eager to go.

At first, Tony had assumed it was because high school was harder, but when he asked Peter, he said high school wasn't much harder than middle school. Whenever Tony tried Peter asking why he didn't like school as much, the kid always shrugged him off and changed the subject. It was when Tony began to notice bandaids disappearing from the medical cabinet and Peter sometimes limping off the lift that he became really suspicious.

"Dad!" Peter yelled, "I'm home!"

Poking his head around the corner, Tony walked out just in time to see Peter stealing a bandage from the medical cabinet. He had been waiting to catch Peter in the process—not sure how else to approach him about the missing medical supplies—but hadn't actually thought about what he'd do once he did.

Failing to come up with anything else to say, he said, "How about you tell me why you need that?"

Peter jumped at the sudden voice then visibly grimaced in pain. Immediately worried, Tony hurried into the kitchen where Peter was at.

"Hey, kid, what happened?" he asked.

"Nothing!" Peter exclaimed, "I just fell from the rope in PE, it's nothing bad!"

Tony gave him a doubtful look and motioned for Peter to lift up his shirt. Reluctantly, Peter did as he was told and Tony sucked in a breath.

"Peter Stark!" he gasped, looking at the dark bruising along his ribs. "You did not just fall off a rope."

Not letting Peter argue, Tony pulled him back into the lift and took him down to the medical wing. The entire way, Peter protested loudly, but Tony ignored him and took him directly to Bruce.

"Fix him and make him tell you what really happened."

Bruce raised an eyebrow at him then turned to Peter. Slowly, Peter pulled off his shirt and avoided Bruce's eyes.

"God, kid," Bruce muttered, "What happened?"

"He says he fell from the rope in gym, but I don't believe it."

With a nod, Bruce sent Tony out of the room with the excuse of preparing an x-ray. As soon as Tony was gone, Bruce locked the door and closed the blinds so that he couldn't see in.

"Alright, Peter," Bruce said, turning back to the kid. "What really happened?"

Peter didn't answer right away. While he fiddling with his hands, Bruce waited patiently for him to answer. When Peter realised they weren't leaving until Bruce got the truth, he sighed.

"There're these kids at school," Peter began quietly, "They started bullying Ned and I told them to stop."

"Did they?"

"Kind of," Peter said, glancing briefly up at Bruce. "They left Ned alone, but they started picking on me."

"How long ago did this start?" Bruce asked.

"Three of four months ago," Peter answered with a shrug.

"You know I have to tell your dad, right?" Bruce said. Peter nodded solemnly and didn't protest when Bruce asked him to stand for the x-ray. At least someone else would be there when his dad found out.

* * * * *

When Bruce allowed Tony back into the room, he told both Tony and Peter what the x-rays had uncovered. Peter had broken two ribs and had fractured one more. They would heal, but until they did, Peter was going to be in pain. Bruce handed Tony some pain medication then glanced at Peter. Looking down at his lap, Peter avoided his dad's eyes as Bruce told him what he had admitted earlier. When he finished, Tony was silent.

"I'll leave you two," Bruce murmured after a few seconds before turning and walking out of the room.

Moving slowly, Tony joined Peter on the side of the bed and sat beside him.

"I'm gonna talk to the school," he said. Peter looked up at him, but Tony was busy staring out the room's window. "You're staying home long enough so you won't limp around the school, but I'm also going to talk to those bullies."

"It's okay, Dad," Peter said. Tony looked up at Peter, but Peter cut him off before he could say anything. "It doesn't bother me. If they don't bully me, they'll hurt Ned and I don't want that."

"Pete, they broke your ribs," Tony reminded him. Peter rolled his eyes. "When I talk to them, I'll make sure they know to leave both of you alone."

"But—"

"Nope! No buts!" Tony interrupted, "Now, you're going up to bed to rest and I'm going to go talk to some bullies, okay?"

"Fine," Peter grumbled, sliding off the bed. "If they bully Ned, though, I'm gonna make them stop."

Walking out of the medical room and towards the lift, Tony wrapped an arm around his son.

"I wouldn't expect anything else," he said, "But if they bully you again, I'll get them expelled."