Chapter Text
Pepper bitterly checked her watch, as frustration filled her stomach. To say that this was getting annoying was an understatement, but even more, the fact that it never seemed to get better made this fact even worse.
A few weeks ago, Tony himself hired a new intern named Peter Parker, and while he was nice, he was one of the most disorganized and unstructured people she had ever met. The boy was very intelligent, but Pepper couldn’t help but think he was under qualified for this position. Perhaps in a couple of years, when he was college age…
It wasn’t that Pepper disliked Peter, but she didn’t understand why Tony seemed so dead set on keeping him as an intern. The boy could be quite frustrating, but Pepper didn’t dislike him at all. In fact, he seemed like a pretty decent person…
Fifteen minutes after he was supposed to arrive, Peter Parker walked into her office, looking frazzled and worried. Pepper for a moment felt sympathy for the boy, until she crossed her arms on the desk in front of her in annoyance, preparing for any excuse the boy was about to give her.
“What happened this time, Mr. Parker?” She asked calmly, but failed to mask the annoyance in her voice.
Why would I ask that? I don’t want to hear it.
Peter then started to ramble, “So my teacher released us from class late, right? Anyways, I was like, ‘excuse me, Mr. Harrington, some of us have jobs to get to’ and he took that as me giving him an attitude, so I had to stay a few minutes extra. Then I got to the subway finally and-“
“Okay, just try not let this happen again Mr. Parker.” Pepper cut him off, not wanting to hear his whole story.
Peter nodded, almost ashamed , “I truly am sorry, Ms. Potts… it won’t happen again, I promise.”
Pepper tried not to scoff. That’s the third time this week that he “promised” wouldn’t happen again. She had to remind herself that he was just a kid sometimes.
“Your work is on your desk. Please get it done.”
***
Hours pass by, and Pepper is getting ready to leave for the day, when she enters the lab to make sure the interns put all of their equipment away. What she sees makes her blood begin to boil.
Sitting at one of the lab tables was Peter Parker, working on tinkering on one of his projects. Anger started to boil in her stomach looking at the young boy working over time- which they were going to have to pay him for.
Just what I needed tonight. To stay over time just to babysit this kid.
“Mr. Parker, what are you still doing here?” Pepper asked, her voice masking the boiling anger she was still feeling.
Peter’s head snapped up as his body jumped, as if he didn’t expect Pepper to be standing there.
“Ms. Potts… I uh… I thought since I was fifteen minutes late this morning, I could make up for it now.” Peter asked.
Somehow, that only made Pepper more annoyed, “You still should have left forty five minutes ago.”
Peter blinked, as if he didn’t realize the time, causing Pepper to mentally roll her eyes. Of course he did.
“I-I’m sorry Ms. Potts, I will leave right now.” He stuttered.
So Pepper stood there, watching the boy pack up in a hurry, and she began to feel a bit guilty. From all her years taking care of Tony, Pepper knew what anxiety looked like, and she hoped she didn’t cause this kid to go into a full blown anxiety attack. Nevertheless, he exited the room, not even glancing at Pepper.
“Have a good night Peter.” Pepper said, attempting to be polite.
Peter simply responded with, “You too.”
Pepper sighed. What was she going to do with him?