Going back home to the Tower, you had to be careful. You needed to change back into your normal clothes and try not to run into anyone. You were excited that you would now get to spend more time with Tony. Though, technically, since you were now working with Bruce, you were already going to be able to spend more time with Tony. Meeting up was different. There was an excitement to it, that buzzed through you.
You were smiling to yourself in the elevator up to your floor when the elevator stopped at the door dinged open. You held your breath as you waited to see who was entering.
Bruce smiled at you when he noticed you in the elevator. "Hey, Y/N," he greeted, stepping in. "Just the person I was looking for."
"You were looking for me?" You wondered.
"Yes," he nodded. "A bunch of the team wants to meet you at dinner tomorrow."
"Oh... uh, what time?"
"Around five."
You thought for a second. You could make it right? Besides Tony would probably be there and if he was, then he wouldn't be able to meet up with you. But then, how would you excuse yourself without making it obvious?
"So," Bruce broke through your thoughts, "what do you say? I know that the Team can seem like a whole lot but I know that they'll love you and they are really excited to get to know you."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be there," you decided.
"Great!" The elevator dinged, opening up to your floor. "I'll see you tomorrow night then!"
~~~
"Hey, Stark," Bucky greeted as he entered the common area kitchen.
Tony was standing in the kitchen, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "Barnes," he replied.
"You coming to the Team dinner tonight? I heard Bruce's new assistant is going to be there. Rumor has it that she's cute."
Tony hated the way his jaw clenched at Bucky's comment. He didn't even know if you two were the same person for sure, but the thought of someone else being attracted to you made him angry.
"Yes, I'm coming," Tony answered. "Why wouldn't I? It's a dinner in my Tower that I'm more than likely paying for."
In his mind, he was already creating a plan to leave the party early. Because what if Bruce's lab assistant and spidey-girl weren't the same person? He couldn't let his spidey-girl down by not showing up.
"Chill, Stark," Bucky said. "It was just a question."
"What does Stark need to chill about this time?" Steve questioned as he came into the room with Sam.
"Is it about Bruce's new assistant? Because I caught a glimpse of her the other day and she is cute." Sam commented.
Tony clenched his jaw and stormed out of the room, heading for his lab.
"Yeah, it was definitely about Bruce's assistant."
~~~
To say that you were nervous about this Team dinner party was a complete understatement. Your nervousness was causing your ability to stick to surfaces to act up, which just made you even more nervous. With every outfit you tried to put together, your hands would stick to the items. You ended up tearing half your wardrobe up while trying to figure out what to wear. You were almost in tears, almost deciding to back up and slip out with your suit to blow off some steam around the city.
"Excuse me, Miss Y/N," FRIDAY interrupted your growing panic. You jumped, not prepared for the AI to speak to you. "The Team dinner is starting in five minutes."
Your eyes snapped to the clock on your dresser reading 4:55 pm. You weren't the type of person to be late, it actually caused you anxiety. Moving quickly, you grabbed your suit and stuffed your hands in it. You went back through your clothes, grateful that your covered hands weren't sticking to the few clothes you had left. You got dressed, put your suit away, and headed for the common floor.
When the elevator doors opened, the sounds of laughter and playful bickering immediately hit your ears. As you ventured further onto the floor, you were able to see the large table with members of the Team sitting around it. You stopped and took in the sight. It was like a large family of misfits. This caused your lips to turn up in a slight smile. You always wanted a family dynamic like this. Growing up in the foster system, you were never so lucky.
"Y/N!" Bruce exclaimed, causing all the attention to go on you. The group quieted down and observed you as you stood there nervously. Bruce rushed over to you. "I'm glad you came." He smiled kindly.
You smiled back. "Yeah," you squeaked.
Over Bruce's shoulder, you met Tony's stare. Your breath caught upon meeting his big brown eyes. You knew that you would never get used to how gorgeous they were—how truly gorgeous Tony was in general.
"Let me introduce you to the Team."
"I—I know all their names, Bruce. You all are kinda famous."
"Why not put that to the test?" Sam jested. "What's my name?"
"Sam Wilson."
You went around and quickly named the rest of those that were there: Wanda, Vision, Natasha, Steve, Bucky, and then finally Tony. You were quickly told that Clint was with his family and Thor was off world so you'd have to meet them another time.
Bruce had saved you a spot next to him. To your surprise, Tony slipped into the empty seat beside you.
"Wow, Stark," Sam commented. "Not going to sit at the head of the table as usual?"
"I thought I'd change it up," Tony responded. "Get to know the new kid."
Bucky and Sam then looked at each other. Suddenly, they were both up and moving to the open seat at the head of the table. You watched as they tipped over the chair and started wrestling with each other. They rolled away from the table, with Steve following after to try and stop them. Natasha had a smirk on her lips as she waltzed over, picked up the chair, and sat in it. She smiled as she looked over at you and winked. You laughed.
Dinner was a nice level of chaos. No one really pressured you into talking, which was nice. Besides, you really enjoyed watching the Team's dynamic. Tony would insert some sassy comments here and there, but not as much as you thought he would. He also didn't really talk to you a whole lot. It was getting later and you glanced at the clock. You notched it was close to 7:00 pm. Before you could stand up and excuse yourself, Tony had stood up.
"Not that this isn't fun, but I'm going up to my lab for the rest of the night," Tony told everyone.
"Oh, come on, Tony," Steve said. "Stay out of the lab for a night."
"Yeah, Stark!" Sam agreed. "Besides, we haven't even started questioning Y/N yet."
"Oh, no," you shook your head. "Honestly, it's fine. I was planning on calling it a night anyway."
"Party poopers," Bucky muttered.
"We haven't even gotten to the games yet!" Sam said.
"Is it possible to do a game night another night?" You asked timidly.
"Of course, Y/N," Bruce answered with a smile.
"Perhaps Natasha and I could also steal you away for a girl's night sometime, too?" Wanda wondered.
You nodded. "Sure, I'd like that." You stood up. "Thank you for this. I enjoyed it. Nice meeting you all."
A chorus of 'goodnight' and 'nice to meet you' were heard as you walked off. Noticing that someone was walking beside you, you glanced over to see that Tony was also walking towards the elevator.
"Mind if we share an elevator?" Tony asked.
"No," you whispered.
"No as in you don't mind or no as in you want to ride the elevator alone?"
"I don't mind sharing."
The two of you stepped into the elevator and turned back to face the doors. The Team heard the elevator doors shut.
"Something is going on there," Natasha noted.
"No," Bruce shook his head, "I told Tony to keep it in his pants."
"Come on, Bruce, since when has anything we said stopped Stark before?" Bucky said.
"Tony has changed since Pepper left," Wanda defended. "Y/N seems sweet and nice, maybe that's exactly what Tony needs."