Chapter Text
Although the drive up to the tower was awkward, Steve was thankful he stated his true motive to his companion. Otherwise, they probably wouldn’t have had that nice talk while navigating to the common floor. Even if they weren’t going to see each other after this meeting, it’s still nice to talk to a regular person, someone outside of all this superhero stuff.
Peter was interesting! Not only was he good at photography- based on the sheer amount of his works used in the Daily Bugle newspapers- but he was also really interested in science! He seems to possess multiple talents, while still containing a strong moral code and level-head. That was pretty high praise, considering most of the smart, multi-talented people that Steve met were either evil, egotistic, or could turn into giant green city wrecking machines.
He’s a nice change of pace.
When they finally made it to the common floor, Steve stepped out, Peter following close behind, awestruck. Steve felt much the same way when he first saw the place.
“Stark and Banner should be working up in the lab right now, so we’ll head there first,” Steve said, motioning his head above them to reveal a room enclosed in glass, filled with computers and floating monitors that looked straight out of science fiction.
Peter looked up with a face full of anticipation. Or maybe it was nervousness? It’s hard to tell.
Peter follows Steve up the spiraling staircase and onto the second floor (which doubles as an indoor balcony). He didn’t talk, and Steve didn’t either, letting Peter's mind process and conceive what would happen in the upcoming minutes.
When they arrived at the glass door, they saw 2 figures hunched over countertops, papers strewn about, and many, many monitors lit up with statistics Steve couldn’t even dream of comprehending. When the door opened, the occupants both turned, revealing the slightly surprised and weathered faces of the billionaire and mad scientist.
They probably haven’t slept much the last few days, working on whatever project Tony convinced Bruce to partake in.
“Rodger’s, to what do we owe the pleasure?” Tony spoke first. Steve noticed that their eyes were traced to Peter, who was standing behind him. “And who’s this?” Tony asks, intrigued. If Steve had been any other man, he wouldn’t have noticed the apprehension that comes with unknown people in a safe space.
“This is Peter. Jameson said he was knowledgeable about the whereabouts of Spider-Man,” Steve announced, slightly stepping aside to give Peter a full view of the two occupants.
“U-um…” Peter stuttered out, shoulders tensed and back straight, his face a mix between anxiety and utter excitement. “Hi.”
The room stayed quiet for a few moments, expecting more to be said, but nothing came. Eventually, a small chuckle could be heard from Tony, which only made the blush that was forming on Peter’s ears and face deepen into a brighter red, not unlike the makeup girls used to wear in Steve’s past.
“A little nervous, are we?” Tony jests with a slight smirk. No doubt he already noticed that Peter was a fan, and his ego certainly loves fans.
“Y-yeah. Not every day you get to stand face to face with two of your idols in a building you’ve always wanted to work for,” Peter blurted out, only to cringe. “I mean, uh…” Once again, his sentence trails off, only to be finished by an awkward clearing of the throat.
Before the atmosphere got awkward again, Tony laughed, a smile almost reaching his eyes this time. “Glad to see we’re loved, right, Bruce-y?” He turns his head to the side to look at Bruce, who has a slight blush of his own, albeit masked by an awkward expression and posture. Bruce nodded shyly, and Tony turned back to them.
“How’d you get good ol’ Jamey to agree to help?” Tony asked. Although Steve couldn’t see Peter, he had a sneaking suspicion he flinched.
“I told him we were looking for Spider-Man, and he recommended Peter to help us.” Steve simply explained. He decided that vagueness would save his life from the teasing he’d get if he said he tricked Jameson. The “language” joke is already spreading like wildfire. “You’re the only person to get the most photos of Spider-Man published in the newspaper, right?” he addressed Peter.
“Y-yeah. I, uh, I know his routes by heart at this point.” Peter says, not taking his eyes away from Bruce and Tony. “Not in a weird way though! It’s just his route is similar to mine, you know, and he’s seen me enough to know who I am. Sometimes we even chat and he poses for some photos. Not that those get published.” Peter mutters the last part, finally averting his eyes in favor of discreetly looking around the room. And as discreetly as possible, Peter's eyes sparkle with wonder at the technology.
“Hmm…” Tony seemed amused; Steve noticed. Tony always looked amused, especially in situations where Steve would prefer he didn’t, but, for once, the smile seemed to finally reach his eyes. “And you’re willing to share his route information? Wouldn’t that break some sort of trust between you two?” Tony brought up. Steve thought that was a good point. No doubt advertising Spider-Man’s location was a liability, not only for the vigilante himself but also for Peter.
At this, Peter didn’t seem to be too worried. Or perhaps he’s still in shock. “Oh, no, don’t worry. It's not like he tries to hide his whereabouts constantly. Any dedicated citizen could figure out his basic schedule just based on sightings. Plus, he’s personally permitted me to share my intel with people, so long as I think he thinks they’d be trustworthy.” Peter explains while his head is moving around the room.
I guess he’s less nervous when he’s not looking directly at them.
Everyone in the room takes in the information, reminding themselves that Spider-Man is a city-exclusive vigilante, not a world-defending team with world-ending targets on their backs.
“And who’s more trustworthy than the Avengers, right?” Tony says heartily, moving up to pat Peter on the shoulder. He tenses, but Steve assumes it’s because his idol just touched him. “Why don’t we take a break, yeah?” Tony turns his head to Banner for confirmation, then regards Peter again. “Let’s meet up with everyone else and you can tell us all the info you think we’re trusted enough to know,” he finishes amusedly.
Peter nods, and Tony leads them out of the room, Banner following, and then Steve. They all walk in the direction of what Steve assumes is the conference room. Finally, they’re going to get some useful information on Spider-Man.
Here’s hoping he’s willing to listen once we find him.