To say Peter was nervous would be the understatement of the century. Or multiple centuries. Eras? Anyways, it was safe to say that Peter was more or less vibrating straight out of his worn down athletic shoes.
Tony slapped a hand on his shoulder, and he jolted, snapping out of his anxiety induced haze. "This," Tony introduced, "is my personal intern - Peter."
Peter gave a jittery little wave, lips pulling back in an attempt at a smile but falling into more of a grimace. The rest of the Avengers stared back at him, strewn about on couches and chairs in the common room of the tower. "U-uh hi," he squeaked, face turning crimson as he fidgeted with the hem of his sleeve. "Yeah, I'm, um, Peter - Peter Parker," he clarified.
Banner - Bruce Banner - gave a hesitant wave back, but even he looked confused, his smile more awkward than welcoming. Natasha raised a neat eyebrow, eyes sliding to Tony. Thor interrupted anything she might've tried to say, though, springing to his feet.
"WELCOME, INTERN OF TONY," he boomed, face splitting into a wide grin. Clint leaned back from where he was sitting at the god's side, and Sam rolled his eyes.
"So what's the kid doin' here?" Clint asked.
Tony made an affronted noise, placing a hand on his chest. "He's my intern, Robin Hood."
"Really, Tones? Robin Hood?" Clint accused, face scrunching up.
Tony shrugged nonchalantly. "Well they're both archers. One's a good-hearted thief and the other's a… spy," he dragged out, withholding a smirk.
"Hey!" Clint cried out, indignant. "I'm good-hearted!"
"Good-hearted my ass," Sam muttered into his cup, taking a sip.
Clint whirled around to face him. "I've got kids! I'm a family man!" he defended. Sam shrugged.
Wanda cut into the dispute. "But why is the child here?" she asked, repeating Clint's question.
Tony let out an exasperated sigh, throwing his arms up. "I just told you guys." His voice lowered to a mutter, but was still audible to the group, "God, I thought Clint was the only deaf guy around here."
"I heard that," Clint called dispassionately.
Peter, who'd been darting his eyes around to follow the volley of conversation, raised his hand meekly. They all turned to him and his jaw automatically snapped shut for a moment before he managed to pry it open again. "I'm gonna… go down to the labs, T-Mr. Stark, if that's alright?" He threw a thumb back towards the elevator.
Tony whined - whined - and stamped his foot like a literal child. "Come on Pete, they're not gonna bite," he complained.
Clint shrugged, "I mean…"
Natasha leaned over and cuffed him upside the head. "Family man," she intoned sarcastically. Clint grinned impishly.
Tony squinted at him. "There are children present," he reprimanded sternly.
Clint guffawed, placing a hand on his stomach and throwing his head back. Between bouts of laughter, he managed to huff out, "That's rich, coming from you." He wheezed. "What's next - Language?" He howled again, elbowing Thor in the side.
Across from them and beside Bucky, Steve's eyebrows pulled downwards for a brief second. "That was one time, Clint. One time."
Bucky's expression remained flat, but his eyes glinted with a curious light. His gaze flicked to Steve for a moment before turning to Clint. "What's this about?" he drawled, eyes half lidded and mouth struggling not to twitch.
Clint gasped delightedly, pointing an accusing finger at Steve. "He" - he jabbed his finger - "got on Tony's case for saying a 'bad word,'" he mocked in a high pitched voice, a smirk pulling at his lips.
"One time," Steve emphasized tiredly, annoyance and amusement warring on his face. Bucky wore a small smile for a moment before he schooled his features; his eyes remained crinkled at the corners.
"Whatever you say Stevey," Tony placated condescendingly, flippantly waving his hand around. He turned back to Peter. "See, they're all just a bunch of cuddlekins," he said lightly.
Peter did not, in fact, see that. His eyes caught on the multiple surreptitious weapons strapped to Bucky's person and the outlines of mostly hidden sheaths on Romanov's forearms and shins. He was under no false pretenses that the rest of the Avengers were any less capable of taking him down at a moment's notice. He gave a slightly hysterical bleat of laughter, tapping nervously on his thigh and edging towards the elevator. "Y-yeah Mr. Stark. Um. I'm still gonna… go now," he managed to get out, voice only faintly shrill and a strained smile plastered to his face.
Tony narrowed his eyes at him but only huffed exasperatedly, shooing him away. "I'll let you off the hook this time," he acquiesced. It sounded more like a promise. Or a threat. Peter took it readily, nodding his head quickly and scampering down the hall to the lift, jabbing the button to go down a tad more harshly than necessary.
As he watched the screen marking the elevator's path up to his current floor, he let his super hearing take over to listen to the conversation still going on behind him.
"He's really your intern?" Steve asked. "He seems kinda… young."
Peter could practically hear Tony rolling his eyes. "Yes, Steve. He's in high school. But he's got the brains for the job, and that's all that matters." Peter preened a little at the compliment, a faint pink dusting his cheeks as he smiled slightly.
It dropped with Sam's proceeding words. "Didn't he seem sorta suspicious?" he questioned dubiously.
Tony snorted. "Yeah, cuz people who meet the Avengers all at once at once are usually calm about it," he droned sarcastically.
"But he was pretty jittery," Clint noted.
Tony made an irritated noise. "What's the strongest reaction a fan's had to meeting you?" he asked pointedly.
Thor took the question, happy confusion clear in his voice. "One young lady I met collapsed. Her mouth was frothing quite strongly, but her mother assured me that she was alright."
There was a pause. Then several sighs. "You're Thor," Sam pointed out kindly.
"That I am!" Thor agreed, laughing jovially.
The elevator bell dinged, and Peter stepped inside, tentatively grateful that the suspicions regarding him seemed to have been at least temporarily abated.