When Peter was twelve years old, his parents got divorced. Simple as that, he had a hard time understanding why his mom moved away but he was pretty smart, more than your average kid. Tony was worried about his reaction, and explained that his mother loved him very much.

Now, Peter was sixteen, fully aware of what divorce meant. Why he had to go back and forth between staying with his dad and his mom. He loves his parents, but there was one problem, whenever he stayed with his mom she didn't pay attention. Either busy working or completely exhausted, barely acknowledging his existence.

But Peter, being the sweet kid he is, didn't want to bother his mom about it. He thought it would ruin things, and he already felt like he ruined his parents' relationship. As always, on every other Friday, it was his mom's weekend, so he was gearing up for the conversation he's been dreading for years.

Tony gave him a side hug, "Alright kiddo, have a great day, and a fun weekend with mom and I'll see you Sunday afternoon okay?"

Peter nodded his head, "Okay bye dad, love you."

Tony kissed his son's forehead and waved him off, Happy then dropped Peter off at school. He wanted to be optimistic about his discussion with his mom. But to be truthful, he knew it was going to be over before it began. When Peter spends the weekend with his mom, he lies to his dad saying they had a good time.

When in reality, he was being ignored but obviously not on purpose. When you're a successful lawyer it's hard to prioritize but that's definitely not an excuse for Pepper's behavior.

Peter's classes went smoothly, his friends knew how he got whenever he was going to his mom's. Ned, MJ, and Flash said to not be afraid, to tell her how he's feeling, he couldn't be a chicken, he needed to go through with it. Except, it wouldn't happen. If Pepper was on time, she's twenty minutes late.

Flash understood how Peter was feeling, even if he was in a different circumstance. His parents rarely pay attention, that's why he took it out on Peter. But that wasn't an excuse, he'd gotten his stuff together and turned over a new leaf. Peter forgave him, and they became friends. "What's the new record of her being late?" He asked.

Peter smiled curtly, "It's okay, Eugene."

Eugene sighed, his friend was too nice. "No. Peter, it really isn't. You need to tell her how you feel even if it hurts her feelings."

Peter shook his head, "You should take your own advice E."

Flash wore a stern expression, "Maybe I will, but if you don't I'll tell her myself."

And just when Peter was going to reply back, on comedic timing, Pepper finally decided to grace them with her presence. Flash gives him a thumbs up, signaling it'll be okay, that somewhat made him feel better, but he was still anxious.

When they finally got to Pepper's house, Peter put his stuff in his room and mustered up some courage. He sat down at the island facing her, her head popping up to see her son looking her directly in the eye as she set her phone down.

"What's up sweetheart?"

"Could we talk? Without any distractions?" He questioned.

"Sure." She replied.

Peter got nervous but spoke up, "I don't mean to sound rude, Mom, but when I come over, you never pay attention. And when you do, you almost forget I'm here. I feel like I have to lie to dad because you already don't like each other."

"Honey, I do pay attention."

Now Peter was annoyed, but he didn't raise his voice. "Really? because the last time I was here, you said and I quote: 'I'm sorry, I forgot you were here' and then you left the room. I had to cook dinner for myself while you were passed out in bed!"

"Peter, I'm a very busy person. I wake up at four in the morning and get home at eleven at night!" She argued.

"That's still just as bad! You're making excuses for your actions, yeah, I get you're busy. But you should at least spend a few hours with me instead of being on your phone cooped up in the office!"

"Peter Benjamin Stark, I do not appreciate your tone!"

"You're not listening! If you paid attention you would've known to come to my decathlon meet last month!"

The teen was fed up, there was no point in reasoning with her, if she wasn't going to listen nor care. He went to his room and called Happy who then called Tony. He was confused, but picked his distressed son up, when they got home Peter immediately went to his room, locking the door, and screaming out in frustration. Tony walked to his son's room to talk to him about the situation.

"Hey kiddo, can I come in? I just want to talk." He heard a few mumbles on the opposite end, then heard the door click, he walked in seeing Peter sitting on his bed holding a pillow close to his chest. All that could be heard were his soft cries.

Tony sat next to him and let Peter lean his head on his father's chest. He held his son, giving him soft kisses on his forehead. "Peter, I want to help you. But I can't if you don't tell me what's wrong, bambino."

"I t.. tried telling mom something, but then we got into a fight."

Tony rubbed his hand on Peter's back, "What were you trying to tell her?"

"Whenever I'm with her, it's like she forgets I'm there. When I told her how I felt, she denied everything I had said. That's when I called. I didn't want to be there anymore. I still don't." Peter admitted.

Tony nodded his head, "You don't want to be with Mom anymore?"

"No, I want to stay with you. Apparently she doesn't love me anymore."

Tony sighed, that made his heart hurt, "Peter, your mom loves you. She may not show it in the best way, but she does. If she doesn't clean her act up then you won't be going back, okay?"

Peter made a noise of confirmation, "I love you kiddo."

"I love you too, Dad."
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The End of Chapter 238