Pride Is Not The Word I'm Looking For

Chapter 30

-+*^*+- Peter -+*^*+-

Peter opened his eyes slowly, the window in his room shining light in his eyes. Groaning, he shielded his eyes with the covers and rolled over so he wasn't facing the window. Curling into a tight ball he tried going back to sleep. He was almost successful until FRIDAY ruined it.

"Peter I suggest getting up, you have school today and apparently it's still undecided as to who is dropping you off."

"Hnnng," Peter groaned, dramatically throwing the covers off him and rolling off the bed with a thump. When he hit the floor the teenager let out a yelp of pain. An aching throb was coming from his stomach. Looking down he pulled his shirt up and saw a few bruises covering his torso. His heart pounded for a moment, thinking May had beat him again until he remembered the battle yesterday. They had managed to round most of the monsters up and were currently keeping them captive in some super secret underground lair that Tony had. Tony refused to call it a lair but it was totally a lair.

Peter got up from the floor, wincing slightly. His bruises should be healed by the end of the day since the battle was late last night. He was too tired to have had any nightmares, or remember them at least, so he got ready for the day, brushing his teeth and trying to tame his hair.

"FRI, can you tell Tony I'll be down in a few minutes and ask him who's dropping me off please?"

"Of course, one moment."

Content with the AI's answer he grabbed his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and walked out of his room, checking to see if anyone was in the penthouse before taking the elevator down to the main common room. In the elevator he could hear the faint voices of people shouting, his body tensed and he took the backpack of his shoulder. After a while he didn't hear any weapons firing or gunshots so he assumed it was just a regular argument between the team.

The door opened and Peter stepped out of the elevator, walking closer to the bickering voices. Looking over he saw Tony, Nat, Bucky, and Bruce fighting about something. Bruce sitting on the couch with a cup of tea in his hand, shooting deadly glares to Tony and Nat while Bucky stood with his arms crossed and leaning over on one side, the glint of his metal arm refracting the light from the window.

"Uhh, morning?" Peter said with an awkward smile.

All four of the heroes snapped their attention to Peter and it was Bucky who spoke first. "Peter! Hey kiddo, remember when me and Brucie helped you with your history and chem homework? Right?"

Peter nodded, his brows furrowed slightly from confusion. What was all this about-

"Pete!" Tony said, sauntering over to Peter. Normally it would have been impressive but he was wearing a ratty sweatshirt and sweatpants and- yep... those were socks and sandals. Yeah his "swag" game was way off.

"Pete, Kid, Bambino, remember all those times we worked in our lab? All those experiments and inventions? You know- I'm suddenly feeling like a vacation! Why don't I take you to Greece for the weekend?"

"Wait- Mr. Stark- what?" Peter began asking before being interrupted.

"You can't bribe him!!" Nat yelled, walking over to Tony. "He's not a dog!"

"I just want to know what's going o-"

"No! No! See, actually and realistically, James and I should take him to school," Bruce said, standing up and putting his mug down.

So that's what this was about? Seriously? They were arguing over who dropped him off at school? It was so foreign and Peter still had a hard time believing that he was worth fighting over. They all like him that much?

"Uhh... how about Loki takes me?"

The room froze for a solid 3 seconds before Tony burst. "No."

"But Tony-"

"I said no."

"Mr. Stark, he saved me yesterday and-" Peter tried defending.

"Did you hear me?"

"We're honestly fine now-"

"Is my voice working?" Tony asked Bucky, pointing to his neck. "Cause I could have sworn this kid isn't listening to me."

"Then I'll take the subway!" Peter declared, readjusting his backpack and taking a step towards the exit.

Tony's face twitched and he stared at Peter, the teenager staring right back. He knew Tony would never let him go anywhere by himself except for patrols and he always mothered him wherever he went. It was either Loki, or nothing.