"Mama!" Peter jumped up out of his chair to hug Pepper.

Leaning down, Pepper smiled and hugged him, kissing his head before letting him go. She settled into the chair beside him at the lunch table and rubbed his back.

"Hey, baby," she said, "Are you ready for this afternoon?"

Peter nodded and took a large bite of his sandwich. Below the table, his feet swung back and forth happily.

"Is Daddy coming?"

With an apologetic smile, Pepper shook her head and Peter's smile dropped just a bit.

"Don't worry, though." She leaned down and whispered, "I'm gonna record it and he's gonna watch it during his meeting."

Peter giggled and nodded, taking another bite of his sandwich.

"Is he in a meeting with Mr. Fury?"

Pepper nodded and told him that all his uncles and aunt were going to be at the meeting too.

Peter grinned. "But not you!"

"Nope," Pepper agreed, "Not me. Now finish your lunch then we'll make sure you have everything for your presentation."

* * * * *

Peter was sure he had put his notecards on his desk, neatly stacked and with one of his mom's hair ties around it. When he got back to the classroom after lunch, though, they were gone. He searched his whole desk and Ned searched his while Pepper and Mrs. Leeds searched the classroom, but the cards were nowhere in sight.

Peter was almost in tears. If he didn't have the notecards, how was he supposed to know what to say? He was going to fail the project and all the kids would laugh at him! His dad would be disappointed and Auntie Tasha would think he was stupid. Why couldn't he just keep the notecards in his backpack where they were safe?

"What's wrong, Peter?" Flash snickered, walking into the classroom. "Lose your notecards?"

Peter sniffled and wiped a hand under his nose.

"You took them!" he exclaimed, pointing accusingly at Flash. "Give them back!"

"If you ask nicely," Flash taunted, pulling them out from behind his back.

Peter sniffled again and more tears pricked his eyes at the sight of his notecards. They were covered in grape juice and had peanut butter smeared on them. Some were torn and the hair tie and disappeared. Before Peter could ask for them anyway, Flash threw the cards at him and they fluttered around him, mixing all together.

Walking into the classroom behind Flash, Mr. Thompson said, "Eugene, don't touch those filthy cards." He looked Peter up and down then turned to his son. "What have I said about hanging around poor kids?"

"They'll just take your money and make you look stupid," Flash repeated, smirking at Peter.

A tear trickled down Peter's face and he wiped it away, but it was quickly replaced by another and another.

"Now my Daddy won't see me do well on my project!" Peter cried, trying to glare at Flash despite his tears.

"Your Daddy is probably a no-good drunkard who can't keep a job," Mr. Thompson told him while Flash snickered.

Peter cried harder, wiping his face and wishing he could disappear. Today was supposed to be a good day, but it was turning out to be awful!

"My Daddy isn't a drunk!" Peter yelled, bunching his fists up at his side.

Mr. Thompson looked at him doubtfully. Seconds later, his eyes widened and he frowned at someone behind Peter.

"Peter?" Pepper asked, putting a hand on his back. "What's wrong, baby?"

Peter turned and buried his face in Pepper's legs. With a loud cry, he said, "He said Daddy was a no-good drunk!"

Pepper ran a hand through his curls, but she paused when Peter continued on to say, "Flash ruined my cards and his daddy called me stupid and poor!"

Her eyes narrowed and she looked up from Peter to face Mr. Thompson. At his side, his son shifted nervously, but Mr. Thompson remained unfazed by the scene in front of him.

"I don't think we've met before," Pepper said, keeping one hand on Peter's back as she straightened.

"I don't make friends with the lower class," Mr. Thompson said, looking at her disdainfully.

"Then it's a good thing I do," Pepper said. Holding out her hand for him to shake, she introduced herself. "Pepper Stark, CEO of Stark industries and Peter's mother."

Recognition flooded Mr. Thompson's face and Pepper nodded.

"Wife to Tony Stark, then," Mr. Thompson murmured. Again, Pepper nodded.

"I believe you owe my son an apology," she told him, turning Peter around to face Mr. Thompson and Flash. He sniffled, clinging to her hand.

"I don't apologise to children who make mistakes, ma'am."

Peter turned and buried his face in Pepper's legs again. Rubbing his back soothing, Pepper stepped forward and pointed at Mr. Thompson accusingly. "Unless you want me and my husband to sue you for harassing our son, you'll be apologising."

Mr. Thompson looked away from Pepper and down at Peter with a look of disgust.

"I'm terribly sorry, young man," he said, bending down and jutting out his lower lip. "Your mother is an awful liar and I hope you know she only married your father for his money."

Pepper wasn't the only one who punched Mr. Thompson. While she broke his nose with a swift punch, Peter punched his groin, a place Aunt Tasha had told him to only hit if the situation called for drastic measures. He wasn't quite sure what drastic meant, but it sounded bad and Mr. Thompson had just said some very mean things about his mom, so he punched the man as hard as he could.

"Dad!" Flash cried as Mr. Thompson collapsed, hands covering his groin.

Pepper smiled down at Peter. "Don't punch there, Peter."

Peter just grinned at her as she patted his back discreetly.

With Mr. Thompson still groaning in pain, Peter turned to Pepper and asked, "Mama, can we make new cards?"

"Of course, baby," she said, taking Peter's hand and leading him back over to his desk so they could write up more notecards before his presentation.

Originally he'd written down Iron Man for what he wanted to be when he grew up, but now he wanted to change it to be his mom. It was a tough choice.