Sunset Secret (Peter Parker x Reader)

Chapter 4

Ahhh I forgot to update yesterday, I'm sorry!! I'll be posting chapters on Wednesdays and Saturdays now instead of just the weekend, so keep an eye out!
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YOUR POV:
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"So, guys, I think some introductions are in order," Nat says, the both of us standing in front of a group of six people. When they turn to us, I step behind Nat more, clutching her shirt and keeping only half of my face visible as I look around her. "This is (y/n). She's..." Nat pauses to look for me when she finds me behind her, chuckling slightly, "a little bit shy. So just... you know." I look at everyone, seeing genuine smiles on their faces as they all look at me. "Hey," the man with the goatee says, standing up and crouching in front of me and at my level, "I'm Tony." I look at him and step out a little bit, still holding on to Nat. Tony smiles and holds out his hand, but I move away from it.

Tony looks up at Natasha and realization passes over his face, along with anger. I flinch, and Tony notices, turning back to me and smiling again. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm not angry at you, okay?" I nod, relaxing slightly. I smile just a bit, and that seems to be enough. Tony's face brightens, and he stands back up, walking over to the couch.

Everyone introduces themselves as Pepper, Steve, Clint, and Rhodey. Well, almost everyone. I look at the last person, gasping when I notice them. "You-you're Bruce Banner," I stutter, stepping out a bit more. Everyone turns to him, raising their eyebrows, and I can see that Nat has an adoring smile on her face. "Um, yeah, that's me," he says, sounding surprised. "I-I've read about your work," I say, timidly, and he smiles, awe in his eyes. "Oh, really, now?" I nod, looking down, shyly. "Your studies on gamma radiation are really cool. Especially how you wrote about how they can be used for medicinal practices. But I was surprised that there wasn't anything on Compton scattering."

Everyone's eyes widen, Tony's especially, and they look at me in surprise. "You're a really smart kid, you know that, right?" Bruce asks, and I smile slightly, shrugging my shoulders. "I really liked reading at the orphanages. But I liked the science books the most." Tony chuckles as Bruce smiles, gently, along with everyone else. I look around, seeing that I've completely stepped away from Nat. I tilt my head up at her, noticing that she's looking at me with a soft, proud, smile.

TONY'S POV:
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Rage fills me as I walk to the lab. How dare they? How could anyone think to hurt a child so much that they can't even touch someone? That poor, poor kid. She's only nine, for goodness's sake! That poor girl has probably been traumatised so much that she doesn't trust anyone enough to even talk.

But the way she opened up to Bruce... that seemed to give everyone hope. Including me. And it's obvious that she trusts Natasha more than the rest of us. She's taking baby steps. Just one person at a time.

And it's so damn painful that she actually needs to do that.

But she's getting there.

Slowly but surely.

It'll just take a bit of time.