joey looks over at him, eyebrows still pulled together slightly. "you're a jerk, you know that?" they both know that she's referencing several things at the moment, not just his words minutes ago.
"yeah," he tells her, shaking his head and looking a...
a/n: saw thor love and thunder today. no, i am not doing ok thank you for asking!
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IT'S THE NEXT DAY.
After a much-needed day of rest for everyone who attended the party, things are slowly picking back up; it's Sunday, and regular S.H.I.E.L.D. and Avenger training and business picks back up on Monday, just like always.
Joey honestly can't believe her dad never found out about the alcohol. Or, if he did, that he didn't come to give her a full-name lecture about it.
Regardless, the day has gone by at a pretty standard pace; Joey slept in, spent half the day catching up and hanging out with Nat again, and then got called in by Friday to her dad's office at 3:00 to have a belated reunion with Pepper and Rhodey.
It's around 5:45 now, and Joey isn't the only resident headed down to the dining room. Catered meals aren't exactly common in the Avengers compound, but during her brief catching up in her dad's office, Tony explained to her that the party wasn't actually for Joey to get to know anyone, he just wanted to have a party. The meal tonight would be a welcoming dinner for her and Peter, exclusive to the main team. Not to mention, it's Italian food; Joey's favorite.
As she makes it out of the elevator, Joey grabs Peter, who is walking just a few steps ahead of her, by the arm.
"Hey," he says, though it sounds more like a question than a greeting.
"I need to sit by someone I know. My dad stressed me out earlier about the whole team being here tonight."
"The party last night wasn't more stressful than this?" He asks. Joey prepares a snotty comeback, before catching Peter's expression and realizing that he's genuinely asking.
"Small crowds are scarier than big crowds," Joey explains offhandedly. "Will you please just...?"
"Sure," he answers finally, nonchalantly. Joey is silently grateful, but also holds back an eye roll at the fact that Peter is definitely feeling cool for knowing more Avengers than her.
As they start down the hallway to the dining area, Joey can already hear people chatting it up, and as the table comes into view, she's desperately scanning the table for Caprese pasta salad— her favorite food, of all time, ever. When she spots it, she can't help her mouth from watering.
The left end of the table is empty, and the middle is only occupied by Bucky and Sam, and Loki across from them. At the right end of the table, Tony is seated across from Pepper; he has Happy and Rhodey on either side of him, and Pepper has Agent Hill on her right. Despite the fact that Joey wants to take a seat near her family, her slight fear of Director Fury (who is seated at the head of that side of the table) puts her off of that thought.
