It's Not About How You Say It, But About What You Say
Here's a little ficlet!!! Dedicating it to @keep-a-bucket-full-of-stars She was nervous about her presentation today and wanted a fic about it and how in the hell can I say no to that??? I love you, I know you killed it, and I hope this makes you feel better!!! ππππ
Happy @we-love-tony-stark-wednesday!!! ππππ
Btw I'm posting this from my phone and I can't find the "keep reading" button for the life of me, I'm sorry!!!!
"Y'know, Mr. Stark? I'm totally okay with dying; just put me outta my misery."
"For God's sakes, kiddie, it's just a school presentation."
The mentor-protege duo are in the lab, with Peter pacing and fretting over a presentation that he has to give tomorrow morning. Tony can damn near feel the anxiety sweating off the poor kid.
Peter shakily runs his fingers through his hair, "Easy for you to say! You told thousands of people that you're Iron Man without even breaking a sweat."
"You did just fine when you presented to me a few minutes ago."
"Yeah, but that was just practice, and...it's you. I'm comfortable presenting to you, I just...don't like presenting to everyone else."
Tony puts his hand over his heart in mock flattery, "Aw shucks, kid, you're making me blush."
Peter playfully nudges the hero as he paces by him, "Shut up."
Tony just laughs along, "You need to loosen up a little."
"How can I do that when I know that I'll make a fool of myself?"
Tony puts his hand on his kid's shoulder to stop the pacing, "You're not gonna make a fool of yourself, bud, you'll be just fine. So what if you stutter a little bit, the point is, you know mitosis like the back of your hand. You're gonna ace this, I promise."
Peter groans as he smushes his face into his father figure's chest. His voice is muffled through Tony's shirt, "But the teacher said that she's also judging the presentation itself. She's gonna take points off if I stutter and I always stutter when I'm nervous."
Tony frowns. He comfortably wraps his arms around his kid's back, "Really? She actually cares about that?" He feels the kid nod "yes" against his shirt, "Well, she sounds like a pain in the ass."
Peter snorts, "Yeah, she's not my favorite."
Tony's voice softens in empathy, "You're gonna kill this presentation tomorrow, okay, I know it. You're the smartest kid I know."
The teen's cheeks flush at the compliment. He then starts to tremble at the thought of presenting, "What if I'm terrible? What if I suck and I fail, I've never failed before, Mr. Stark. And those stupid kids in the back will laugh at me, and then I'll get a big, fat 'F' on my record, and then I won't get into MIT, and then I'll -"
Tony cuts him off, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop overthinking everything, bud." He nudges the spider-boy so that they can look at each other directly.
When they lock eyes, Tony fluffs Peter's hair to calm him, βThink about this, the only person who's gonna care about the presentation is the teacher. You shouldn't care about anyone else's opinion but hers. The second that the class is over, everyone's gonna forget about it and move on with their lives. Capisce?β
Peter sighs and leans his head back onto his mentor's chest, but his gaze doesn't falter from him, βCapisceβ¦.β
Tony pats his kid on the back in encouragement, βThat's the spirit. Now, what is all this about kids laughing at you?β
The spiderling rolls his eyes and looks away, βThey're just jerks. Sometimes we read aloud in class and...I get nervous...so I stutter, and they always laugh at me.β The boy can feel his cheeks redden in embarrassment.
Tony moves Peter's head so that they can lock eyes again, βDon't listen to those idiots, they're not worth your time, okay? There's nothing wrong with stuttering.β
βI know. Forget about them, forget about everyone else in the class, forget about the teacher, even. Just focus on the material, and I promise you that you're gonna kill it.β Tony then softly smiles and it can't help but warm Peter's heart.
βMaybe I can just imagine that you're there? Maybe even shooting spitballs at those kids?β
βHey, if it gets you through the presentation, go for it. You can even imagine me in my underwear.β
Peter lifts his head up in disgust, βEwww, Mr. Staaaaarkβ¦.β
Tony starts laughing, βOr I can actually show up to the class and actually shoot spitballs at those assholes, that sounds like fun.β
βOkay, not gonna lie, that'd be hilarious.β
They both get into a giggle fit at that.
βYou better tell me everything when I pick you up from school tomorrow, okay? I need all the details. And I think a pizza will be a dire need as an after school snack. What dβya say?β
Peter's eyes light right up, βAmazing...thank you, Mr. Stark.β
Tony knew that the kid wasn't just talking about the pizza, βAnytime, kid...anytime.β
Taglist: @keep-a-bucket-full-of-stars @dexteritymisdirectionsuggestion @i-live-a-mystery @peuty @starkaroos2034 @marvel-us-world @podcastsandcoffee @bestofirondadfics @mythoughtsaretooloud @mmmmmmmmmchicken @riseuplikeglitterandgold @desirexwolf @theoceanphoenixhasrisen @thisisthelifeofafangirl
@ur-a-lizard-hairy @just-the-daydreamer @my-leg-is-not-a-chew-toy @swagfictionreadingnerd @diminajackson @theoffcialdeannawinchester @nerdy-koala-collectors-things
Let me know if you wanna be tagged!!!