Life with Tony Stark has been taking quite a lot of getting used to, possibly more than you're cut out for.

 Tony is a popular man, so he always seems to be surrounded by people. It looks like there are even more Avengers now; to you, it seems like more of them just keep coming out of nowhere. You're not sure about any of them, though, and you normally hide behind Tony whenever any of them are around.

 The one you've seen most often is Dr. Banner, whom Tony always seems to be working on experiments with. If Banner sees you, he'll smile at you and say, "Hi, Y/N." You never get close to him, however, and you normally stay next to or behind Tony.

 "She's/He's a real shy one, huh?" he asks Tony.

 "Yeah. She's/He's been through some stuff, but we're on it, right?" Tony bends down to scratch your head. "You've got nothing to be afraid of here."

 You've noticed Tony attracts a lot of people, too, loud people he refers to as 'paparazzi'. You're always scared if they ever appear when you're out with Tony and Pepper, and always hide behind one of them.

 "I wish they would go away whenever we have Y/N with us," you hear Tony say to Pepper once. "I mean, I know I've welcomed attention before, but things are different now, and no one seems to get it."

 All in all, that seems to be your life with Tony and Pepper. You're not as afraid of his friends as you were when you went to live with them, and you're slowly getting used to the rest of the Avengers, though you don't think you're ready to be friends with any of them yet. And you're certainly not going to be friends with the loud paparazzi people.

 You think everything's all right, but one evening when you're sitting with Tony and Pepper, you realize what they're discussing.

 "But they wouldn't take her/him away from us because this old owner wants her/him back," Pepper is saying.

 "No, I don't think so," Tony replies. "Y/N has a good home here with us. Yes, the Avengers do cause a little destruction every now and then, but Y/N isn't in any danger here. I think whatever owner she/he had before us abused her/him. That's why she/he gets so scared. The people we spoke to were pretty sure that was what had happened."

 Old memories come to you while listening to this conversation, things you've tried not to think about since you came to live with Tony and Pepper. You move closer to Tony, and lay your head on his lap.

 "Hey. I'm sorry." Tony gently pets your head. "You don't have to leave. You know that, right? You won't have to go live with anyone else."

 "That's right," Pepper says, giving you a warm smile. "Your home is right here with us, honey."

 Hearing them both say so makes you feel a little better. You know they'll do everything possible to make sure you stay with them, and you love them even more for it.