Despite Peggy's lighter affect, there was a very real possibility for spite bonding. Or spite anything, really, if the personality shift she'd been undergoing over the last few years was any indication. Scott would just have to hope that it was temporary, that his apologies would be enough to smooth over any initial bad behavior - and that the money he'd put forward would smooth over any lingering bad habits. Because it wasn't Peggy's responsibility to undo what he'd allowed the Capitol to have done, and although she also seemed to think the teenager would benefit from time away, she'd be well within her rights to declare Cassie too much work. There was no one to enforce this arrangement, after all. Peggy was only doing this out of the goodness of her heart.
And that definitely had its limits.
"Well, I am," Scott replied, steering the lighthearted tone of their conversation briefly towards sincerity. She might not have required the gratitude, but, like the apologies, it might go a long way for her tolerance after he was gone. Earnestness was difficult to for him to maintain for very long, though, especially when the night's tension seemed to permeate the entirety of Tony's penthouse. So he smirked, shifted his weight, tried to dispel some of the tightness in his shoulders. "And I'm kind of short on anything else compensation-wise, so I guess you're just going to have to take it."