Miscommunication

Peter was ecstatic when he saw the limo sitting by the curb in front of his school. When Tony said to expect a ride, he figured that the man would be coming in a normal town car, not this. He smiled brightly, aware that everyone was looking at him. Maybe they would believe him now when he said he knew Tony Stark. Grinning brightly to himself he opened the door and stuck his head In.

Mr. Stark?” He called in, surprised to find it empty of the billionaire.

“He was delayed from a meeting, he’ll meet us at the Tower,” Happy Hogan replied quietly. He was annoyed at the moment and the person It was directed at was on a conference call. He was not a glorified babysitter, yet here he was.

“Oh, well, I’m Peter, and of course you’re Happy. I’ve heard so much about you,” Peter gushed out.

“I’m sure,” Happy replied dryly, keeping the tone abrupt on purpose so the boy hopefully wouldn’t respond to it.

Peter ignored the tone, he was so used to talking with Tony, so it didn’t really register that the driver didn’t want to converse. “How long have you been his driver? Do you like it better then being his body guard? Have you ever knocked someone out with one hit?

Happy sighed, his hand already reaching for the button for the divider, the kid was way to talkative for his own liking. “Don’t you have homework? Wouldn’t you rather get it out the way now, Instead of when you get there?” He asked ignoring the questions, in favor of asking his own.

“Mr. Stark, likes to go over my homework with me,” Peter said truthfully , otherwise he would be doing it now. He wasn’t going to admit to Happy that he enjoyed it when Tony helped him.

“Don’t you have a Stark Pad, or phone that you can Occupy yourself with?” Happy said trying again.

“I do, but I want to talk with you,”Peter said seriously before quieting. Was the man trying to say something?.

“Great,” Happy exhaled out, his tone borderline sarcastic. He took his hand off the knob for the divider, the boy had actually taken the hint.

“Happy, did Mr. Stark say what we would be doing today?” Peter asked after a momentous silence had gone by..

“Mr. Hogan,” Happy replied in return with a sigh, he had been so wrong.

“I’m sorry what?” Peter asked in confusion.

“You can call me Mr. Hogan,” Happy explained to him.

“Why can’t I call you Happy? Tony calls you Happy all the time,” Peter said with a little bit of confusion. What was happening here?

“Mr. Stark is my boss, you however are not. You may call me Mr. Hogan,” Happy repeated in kind.

“If Mr. Stark is your boss and since I’m Mr. Stark’s intern, what does that make me to you?” Peter said cheerfully.

“Nothing,” Happy said flatly. “Nothing to me at all,” he added, just in case the kid had anymore ideas. He was so not amused, and didn’t realize how his words could come across.

Oh,” Peter said quietly, his throat suddenly thick, making It hard to swallow. Well that had hurt, a lot.

“Yes, so If we are finally done with the incessant questions, I’m going to focus on driving,” Happy replied, not noting the tone, as he pushed the button to close the divider.

“Sure,” the teen mumbled out, his smile falling from his face before turning to the window silently.

The small teen was silent for about 10 minutes, his body struggling with his emotions, as he replayed their short conversation over and over in his head. Why would he say that? Why would he intentionally hurt him like that? He hadn’t thought he was being annoying, which was saying something as he knew how he himself could be. He shook his head, his finger flicking away the tears in the corner of his eyes. It didn’t matter, or at least that’s what he was trying to convince himself.

Peter swallowed thickly, unable to stop the quiet sob that broke free. He covered his mouth and nose trying to stifle the cries. He didn’t want to be heard. But at the same time he did, because he wanted out of the car. He was hurt, and he didn’t like it.

Happy noted that the car had gotten quiet but didn’t comment on it, afraid that the boy would start talking again. He was content to ride in silence, and didn’t think anything of it. It was maybe twenty minutes later when he heard the sob, his shoulders tensing before he silently let the divider down.

He could see the child had his legs pulled up to his chest, and the boy’s shoulders were shaking. He was indeed crying. What brought this on?

“Peter, buddy you okay?” He asked quietly, his eyes flickering from the road and back to the top mirror.

Peter sniffled and looked up, his face was one of misery, It was tear streaked and it was obvious to all that he had been crying for Quite some time. He couldn’t even tell Mr. Stark, because Happy was his own driver.

He knew without a shadow of a doubt that he wouldn’t even be believed. And that hurt a lot. He swallowed thickly, he just needed to calm down for a moment to he could be heard.

“C-could you tell Mr. S-stark that I wasn’t feeling well and I’ll see him tomorrow or something?” Peter stammered out softly, bending down to grab his pack. Forget this damn limo, he was getting the hell out of this car.

To say Happy was confused was putting It lightly, his eyes once more flickering to the top mirror and back to the road. “What are you talking about kid?” He asked slowly.

“I want to go home,” Peter whispered out.

“I thought you wanted to go to Stark Tower with Mr. Stark? You’re really going to give up this opportunity?” Happy asked trying to make sense of this kid.

“I do, but at the same time I don’t want to be around someone who thinks I’m Nothing, I get enough of that at school,” the teenager sniffled out.

Happy’s insides froze as he took in the teen’s words. He would come back to the bit about school, but first he needed to understand what the boy was talking about. “I never said you were nothing,” he replied slowly.

“Did so,” Peter replied tearfully. Why on earth would he be crying if he hadn’t of?

Happy frowned trying to remember his exact words, frowning as he did so. He remembered now, but he never meant it how it sounded. “It wasn’t my intention hurt you,” he said apologetically.

Peter froze in his seat, this had just gone bad to worse. He could just imagine Mr. Stark’s face when Happy told him all about this. He knew whose side he would take and he got It, he did.

That didn’t mean he had to like It. He needed a plan, his mind making quick work of how he was going to do this. It was really simple actually, he just hoped that it would work.

“I..I gotta get out the car,” Peter said suddenly, his web making sure that he wouldn’t lose his backpack when he made his getaway.

“Why? What’s wrong now?” Happy asked In return.

He was aware the child was still upset but he didn’t know how to fix the current situation. He needed it resolved before they got to the tower could just imagine Tony chewing him out for upsetting a kid. And not just any kid in particular, this kid who Happy had a suspicion was his boss’s actual child. He would be in the doghouse for weeks if he didn’t fix this.

“I really, really just need to get out of the car,” Peter repeated making sure to put a little bit of anxiousness In his tone this time.

“Do you need to use the bathroom?” Happy asked carefully, he could hear the change in the child’s tone.

Peter didn’t want him to stop at a store or gas station as there would be way too many people around and he wanted to make a quick getaway. He needed another plan, and he quickly held his stomach as if it hurt. “Please pull over Mr. Hogan I really don’t feel well,” he pleaded, making him self gag.

The minute the child gagged, Happy was pulling over to the curb. He did not want to clean up a puddle of sick and it would be him doing it. He wasn’t callous enough to make a child clean up his own sick. He unlocked the door, checking his window before he made a move to get out.

Peter opened his door wide, before he jumped out of the car and took off running down the street.

“Wait! Kid, come back!” Happy called out as he took off after the teen.

But Happy had no hope of catching Peter, as he ducked into a side alley, and quickly scaled the wall to the top of the roof. He didn’t even glance back as he pulled on his suit and swung away.

Happy breathed heavily as he looked around the empty alley, before cursing as he made his way back to the car. He closed the back door before getting back into the drivers seat. He hoped that he would still have a job when Tony got done with him. He drove back to the tower, the silence was too loud.

The weight of guilt settled in his stomach, he had actually made a child cry, just like some kids at school had apparently already done. He would need to tell Tony about If, if the man didn’t fire him first. The drive to the tower was unnaturally quick and Happy knew It was because he was dreading it. Parking the car In the front, he headed inside, not surprised when Tony was there, waiting for them.

Tony looked at Happy in confusion, his eyes flickering behind the man before outright frowning when he didn’t see Peter. “Did he not come to school today?” He asked questioningly.

“No he did,” Happy murmured out.

“Then where is he?” Tony asked slowly.

“I ah…I fucked up,” Happy said with an apologetic shrug.

“What did you do?” Tony asked calmly as he himself had quite a few of those.

“He was talking too much, and I was trying to focus on driving and I may have said something hurtful,” Happy replied with a regretful shake of his head.

“What did you say?” Tony asked tightly. The kid could be anywhere as he doubted the boy had just gone home.

“He asked me what he was to me, and I said nothing. I didn’t mean to imply that he was nothing to me, just that we didn’t have a relationship as of yet,” Happy said with a shake of his head as he remembered the child’s tear streaked face.

“Was he angry?” Tony asked as that was how he was currently feeling. Even if it was an accident, everyone knew you had to watch your words when It came to kids. They were much to sensitive.

“No, he was hurt, and was crying. Before I could apologize he faked a stomach ache and pretended he was going to be sick so I could pull over,” Happy replied quietly.

“And as soon as you stopped, he took off running and scaled a wall?” Tony finished knowingly.

“Yeah,” Happy replied feeling just awful now. “Am I fired boss?” He asked just biting the bullet.

“No, shit happens, but you do owe the kid and apology,” Tony pointed out.

“I know, I’ll call him,” Happy said before pulling out his phone and walking away.

Tony sighed softly before turning to head back up the elevator. He had been looking forward to spending some time with the little goof in the lab. He had done an upgrade on his gauntlets and he knew that Peter would be Impressed. Content with the fact that Happy was going to apologize, he wasn’t worried.

~*~*~* Three Days Later~*~*~*~

Tony was worried, Peter had been dodging his calls for the last 3 days and he was more then annoyed. He knew better this time, and he didn’t send Happy to pick him up. They still needed to have a little pow wow, but at the moment he was focused on making sure that Peter was okay.

After he had cooled down, Happy had told him that some kids at Peter’s school were bullying him and he was about to nip that in the bud, today. He made his way over to the office and smiled at the woman behind the desk.

“Mr. S-stark,” the woman stuttered out, she was unsure of what he was doing here.

“I’m here to pick up Peter Parker,” Tony told her with a smile, very much aware of the way he was affecting her. But this was normal to him, and it got him in and out of things, so he used It to his advantage.

“Do you have his guardian’s permission?” She asked him questioningly. Even though he was a superhero, she still took her job very seriously.

“I share guardianship with May, it should be on his form,” Tony told her, smiling brightly when she looked through his files and found it.

“He’s in in Biology class, I can ring him up for you, or you can go get him if you’d prefer,” she told him kindly.

“I’ll go get him, what’s his room number?” Tony asked, not wanting to give Peter any exit.

He got the room number and after signing the woman’s paper, he made his way through the school, his shoes clapping onto the the floor as he walked. He could see the kids that weren’t in class, stopping and gaping at him, but he wasn’t paying them any attention. As he got to the classroom, he took a breath before walking on.

“Hi, sorry to interrupt, I’m here to pick up Peter Parker,” Tony told the man standing at the board.

“You’re Tony Stark, I was just talking about the upcoming field trip we have to Stark Tower,” Mr. Cobwell gushed out excitedly. He never expected the man to come to the schoo, and if he was being honest he hadn’t actually believed Peter when he said he got an internship with the Billionaire himself. He would need to apologize.

“Oh, Pete never said anything about that,” Tony said before his eyes roamed over the classroom. He could see Peter in the way back trying to duck down and hide. “Come on Pete, we have things to do,” he called out. He was not going to allow him to continue to run away.

Peter’s face turned crimson as he grabbed his stuff and shoved it into his bag. He had been avoiding Tony, and Happy. He hadn’t answered his phone, and honestly he hoped that the man would just give up.

“It’s good to see you again Ned,” Tony said brightly when he saw the other teen. He didn’t have permission to get him, otherwise he would have. Oh well, there would be other days.

“You too, Mr. Stark,” Ned replied, a bright grin taking up his whole face. He could see his peers turning to look at him disbelief. He himself couldn’t wait until the field trip to Stark Towers as everyone was going to be even more surprised.

Peter sighed softly as he slowly stood up from his desk, a part of him dreading it, but another part hopeful. He had never in a million years thought that the man would do something like this. But Tony Stark, he was finding out was persistent as hell.

And despite the hurt he still felt from the man’s own driver, he was actually in awe that the man himself he actually come to get him. He was just disappointed that Flash wasn’t here today to see for himself.

Shouldering his pack, he made his way to the front of the class, very much aware that everyone was watching him. He was pulled from his thoughts when he felt, rather then saw Tony’s arm come across his shoulder and pulled him close. He allowed himself to press himself closer, grateful when they were finally in the hall and away from prying eyes.

“Hey, we do not run away from our problems, avoidance is not a good coping mechanism I should know,” Tony told him gently.

“I thought you would take Mr. Hogan’s side,” Peter mumbled out.

“Call him Happy kid, and I’m impartial,” Tony told him kindly.

“He said I wasn’t allowed to call him that,” Peter said a bit more bravely.

“I think you’ll find, he’s had a change of heart,” Tony said ruefully, remembering how awful Happy had felt.

Speaking of which, he wanted to get Peter’s side of the story. He knew that Happy hadn’t lied to him, but he wanted to see if the child would actually come clean. “Tell me your side of the story?” He requested.

Peter glanced at the bathroom they were about to pass, he had been planning on visiting it after Biology but then Tony came. He knew that the ride to the city would take a bit of time and he didn’t want to be caught short.
He also didn’t want to get into that, at least until they were away from the school. He didn’t want anyone to know that he had cried like a baby, over some hurtful words. He was both elated, and sad that Flash hadn’t been here today.

He was not going to think on the field trip, it wasn’t for a few days anyway. Shaking his head and gettingg back to the current situation at hand, his gently shrugged off his mentor’s arm.

“What are you doing Pete?” Tony asked in confusion.

“I’m gonna go to the bathroom,” Peter replied honestly.

“Nice try kiddo, I heard from Happy how you made your getaway the other day,” he said dryly. “I’m coming with you,” he added.

Peter flushed because of course Happy told him, and a little bit embarrassed that Tony was going to come in to chaperone him. He shook his head quickly, that didn’t sound like a fun time. Despite his reservations, he decided that he would wait until they got to the tower.

“No Its fine,” he murmured out. “Did you drive?” He asked instead, smiling brightly as the arm returned to his shoulder.

“No, Collin drove, you haven’t met him yet,” Tony said truthfully. He hadn’t had Happy for obvious reasons and he didn’t want Peter to run again.

Peter sighed softly, his shoulders losing the tension. For a moment he had thought that Happy had driven and he was suddenly riddled with anxiety. He sighed softly as Tony led the way out of the school and too the car.

He was surprised yet again to see another limo and eagerly opened the door and dove in. He contemplated sitting across from Tony, rather then besides him, but his mentor had other ideas.

“Come sit next to me,” Tony requested as he shut the door behind him and pulled on his seatbelt. He wouldn’t normally wear one but he was trying to be a better role model.

Peter obediently moved so he was sitting next to Tony, pulling on his own seatbelt and watching as they drove away from the school. He reached across to grab a water from the mini fridge in the car and gulped it down.
He was a little nervous but was trying not to show it. As he set the half full bottle in the cup holder, he was reminded ever so slightly about his bladder. Adding more water had not been a good idea in the slightest. He looked at his hands, not about to start talking unless he was prompted. He actually felt a little bit embarrassed now, had he over reacted?

“Kiddo, are you going to tell me what happened between the two of you?” Tony asked him after a moment of silence had gone by. Even if he had already heard the events from Happy. He wanted Peter to know his side mattered too.

“Happy was mean,” Peter mumbled out, his gaze on his lap. He knew he sounded like a little kid, but he had been properly hurt and he hadn’t liked it. Overreaction or not, it had hurt his heart to be told that.

“He told me,” Tony said softly. “I’m sorry he said that,” he added. He didn’t want to repeat it because Peter might actually try to believe it was true. And it wasn’t, the kid didn’t know how much he meant to him or to May.

“Yeah? I know he’s your bodyguard and friend, but I was really scared that you would take his side and wouldn’t believe me,” the teen whispered out sadly.

Tony would never admit it but his heart broke at the child’s dejected tone. Did he really think so low of himself and Tony for that matter? How else would he come to this conclusion?

“Kid, that would never happen, I know I haven’t said it because I don’t like sharing my feelings, but you mean the world to me,” Tony told him frankly.

Peter was In shock at Tony’s word, before a huge grin overtook his face. “Wow,” he breathed out happily.

“Yeah, So don’t go getting anymore ideas Into your head that I don’t care for you. I will always come for you, even when you don’t want me too,” Tony said seriously.

Peter blushed at the words then, getting a little bit embarrassed now. “Okay, okay, enough with the heavy, I believe you,” he said brightly.

“You’d better,” Tony said cheerfully, making a move to say something else before his phone rang. “Sorry kid, I have to take this,” he said apologetically.

“It’s okay,” Peter told him happily, he knew that Tony wouldn’t be on the phone the whole time. He smiled to himself before turning to look out the window when he felt it again.

The teen felt a bit uneasy, his senses starting to tingle but he knew there was no immediate danger coming. It was the fact that his bladder was getting more and more annoyed the longer he ignored It.

He couldn’t even bring it up again, because Tony was on the phone. He nodded softly, he would tell him as soon as he got off the phone. It didn’t take long for him to go from, annoyed to urgent, especially with how fast his body had metabolized the water he had drunk. He glanced up at Tony but the man was still chatting away and the teen grimaced, unconsciously starting to move around in his seat.

Even though he was on the phone, he was sitting right next to the teen, so Tony could feel the movement. He just assumed the kid was bored, but then the child whimpered and he could no longer ignore him. Was something the matter? Had he hurt himself and had hid it?

Tony placed the phone on his shoulder for a moment and turned to the child. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Peter answered quickly, probably too quickly if the arch of the man’s eyebrow meant anything.

“Pep, I’m going to have to call you back,” Tony said into the phone a moment later, wincing as she of course didn’t believe him. “I’m not lying, something is wrong with Pete, I gotta go Pep,” he repeated, his eyebrow going up as she immediately believed him. Seriously? That’s all it took for her to let him get out of the call? He hung up his phone and turned to the child.

Peter rubbed his thighs, breathing slowly, panicking would not help his plight. He was aware that Mr. Stark had hung up the phone and swallowed audibly. He was a little bit embarrassed that he let himself to get into this predicament.

“Talk to me kid, what’s wrong?” Tony asked immediately. “Does anything hurt?” He questioned.

“No,” Peter replied quietly before pressing his legs together as he wiggling went up a notch. He didn’t even seemed to notice how much movement he was doing, just that it was helping him not embarrass himself.

“Ants in your pants kiddo?” Tony teased playfully.

Peter flushed at his mentor’s comment, because that meant he was far from being subtle. Well it couldn’t be helped. With Mr. Stark picking him up early, he hadn’t had a chance to use the toilet. As the man had wanted to come in with him, because he had been afraid that Peter would leave.

He conceded that Tony hadn’t been wrong, he probably would have made a getaway. He was just glad that everything had worked out. But he was also aware that the tension that he had felt In regards to Happy had stressed out his full bladder. Unless he wanted to decorate the leather seats in his pee, he unfortunately had to speak up.

“Uh no, I Uh, I need to use the restroom,” he said quietly.

Tony sighed softly, as he turned his full attention on the child now. “How bad?”

“Really bad, I need to go like yesterday,” Peter told him urgently, jerking slightly as the car suddenly stopped. He wondered for a moment if the driver had heard him just that quick and had a moment of elation until Tony cursed.

“Shit,” Tony muttered out, before bringing down the middle divider.

He could hear JARVIS coming through the radio telling him that there was an accident in 2 miles, and it took over 3 lanes of traffic. There was only one lane, and there was no way for them to get over because traffic was at a standstill.

“Oh no,” Peter moaned out because he wasn’t deaf and he could hear the radio, not to mention see all of the cars and they weren’t moving.

He whimpered and tried continued to squirm In the limited space he had with the seatbelt on. It was starting to dig into his abdomen. He knew the rules of the road, and he didn’t want Tony to get a ticket or something.

Tony frowned before leaning over and undoing the child’s belt and his. They weren’t moving at all, so there was no danger. Everyone was at a total standstill. “You’re going to be fine, how long do you think you can hold it though?” He asked.

“No that long, I would usually be going by now,” Peter admitted out worriedly pressing his knees tightly together.

“You just have to piss right?” Tony clarified as he looked around the limo for anything the kid could use in an emergency.

“Yeah,” Peter replied tightly. His body couldn’t hold that much because of how quickly he metabolized everything.

He did not have a lot of time, and he was starting to get frantic. What would happen If he peed on the seats? How would Aunt May pay for the bill? It was bound to be much to expensive.

“Stop freaking out, just let me think,” Tony told him calmly, his brain going a mile a minute.

“I can’t, I have to go, please,” Peter pleaded out desperately.

Tony looked around them, there was a small cluster of trees and bushes on the side of the freeway. But they were in the fast lane, and despite no one moving, Peter was not about to cross 4 lanes of traffic.

And he couldn’t go with him, because the minute he showed his face there went privacy for the child. He could hear the boy whimpering and he knew that would probably lead to tears and he didn’t want Pete upset.

Finally spotting the half empty after bottle, he lowered down the window and poured the rest out, before letting it back up. Thankfully the windows were tinted so no one could even see in.

“So I have a solution, but let’s wait until you can’t hold it anymore yeah?” Tony said, aware that the boy might be against it. This is why he was planning on waiting until the child was about to pee himself. Because it was no longer a matter of if, it was when.

“I can’t hold it now,” Peter told him frantically, aware of the bottle. He wasn’t that far gone In his desperation.

“Kid, it can’t be that bad already,” Tony told him patiently.

“It Is!” Peter cried out, his voice breaking into a sob on the last word, as he had been forced to grab his crotch right then and there.

“You just love proving me wrong don’t you,” Tony said softly before he passed over the bottle. He pressed the button to bring the divider up again, to give the child a bit more privacy.

Peter grabbed the bottle thankfully, holding it in his mouth as he made quick work of his jeans. He moved forward in the seat, so his knee was resting on the floor before pulling himself out of his pants, and pointing himself In the bottle opening.

Tony quickly averted his eyes, laughing lightly as he did so, the child had no such shame.

“What’s so funny?” Peter asked breathlessly as he peed in the bottle.

“You have next to no shame kid,” Tony said fondly.

“Guess I must get that from my old man,” Peter said cheekily, his eyes never leaving the bottle. He didn’t want to miss and get the rug.

“I guess so,” Tony said with a grin of his own.