Peter knows many languages. It isn’t really something people know about him, but when he was a kid his parents had pushed for him to learn new languages while it’s still be easy for him, and May and Ben enforced it.
He knows English, of course, ASL, French (the proper actual French, though it wouldn’t be hard to figure out Canadian French), he knows Spanish, Italian, German, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Russian, and he’s still trying to learn Hindi. He can get by talking many Eastern European languages due to the similarities.
Practicing was fairly easy, he had the equivalence of Pen-Pals in his phone contacts that he would call or video chat with to keep his language skills up and try to learn more.
It wasn’t necessarily something he shared at school, though it did make any language class he took significantly easier. Ordering from small restaurants as well earned him some favor with the owners when he spoke in their first language. And it made being Spider-Man so much more enjoyable, people were always surprised when he started speaking their native tongue.
Languages were easy, and fun. They were predictable.
The only person who knows that Peter speaks so many languages now is May. No one else really knows, sure a few people know he speaks another language or two but none know all the languages.
And maybe he should have said something. Explained that he’s eavesdropping on the Avengers. It wasn’t that he ever meant to listen in on their conversations, but sometimes Natasha would start speaking Russian to Bucky, or Clint and Steve would be using sign language, Bruce would speak Hindi on the phone which was Peter’s own motivation for learning it, and Tony and Pepper would speak many different languages to each other and on the phone.
He knows none of those conversations were made for his ears, but it’s really not his fault that none of them considered that he knows more than just English. Though he really should have considered telling him after the first time, or the second, definitely after the third. Yeah, this was totally going to bite him in the ass.
The Avengers had invited him out for dinner. Peter didn’t even realize that they tend to go out for dinner, it just seemed like it would cause too much of a commotion. The full team should bring a lot of attraction when going out, but no, New York just doesn’t care. Well, that’s not fair, they care about Tony Stark, but that’s only because he’s extremely recognizable, unlike everyone else.
But the problem here, is that they brought Peter to a small restaurant that he already goes to frequently enough. A restaurant where the owners know him very well. It was a small Italian restaurant, very lovely place.
“Where is Peter?” Peter heard the voice of Maria, as she burst out of the kitchen.
Tony gave Peter a look, and Peter smiled standing up from his spot and moving over to Maria. Maria gave him a bone crushing hug. Peter hugged her back, knowing he can’t ignore the woman.
“Look at you so tall and handsome, but yet so skinny. Are you not being fed?” She switched into Italian, pinching at his sides. “I tell you to eat more, I give you extra food every time you come here, and yet you’re still skinny.” She tsked.
“Maria, I promise I eat all the food you give me every time, and I end up in a food coma. May always thinks I’m going to die because you give me too much.” Peter laughed, speaking Italian back to her.
“And yet you’re still skinny, now sit, sit, I am going to bring you plenty of food and you are going to eat all of it, no arguments, I don’t want to see a single scrap of food left on your plate.”
Peter laughed as Maria pushed him back into the chair next to Tony.
“I always listen to you Maria, I don’t know why you tell me to finish all of it when you’re food is so good that there is no other choice to finish it. I can’t let your food go to waste.”
“Suck up.” Clint coughed.
Maria heard Clint and rewarded him with a smack across the back of the head. She went back into the kitchen calling Clint miscellaneous names.
“So, you know Italian.” Tony started with a smirk.
“Yep.” Peter smiled, hoping he isn’t in much trouble for not sharing his knowledge of languages.
“Interesting, how am I not aware of this?”
“You didn’t ask.” Peter shrugged.
Tony was quite proud of Peter for knowing Italian, his own first language, but it seemed so strange that Peter just wouldn’t mention it. But teenagers.
“That’s it, it’s just because I didn’t ask?” Tony laughed.
Peter nodded. “I don’t really share that. People at school know I speak Spanish, but only MJ and Ned know I speak Italian, though I’m not sure if they’re aware I speak either of them fluently.”
“So you’re tri-lingual?” Steve decided to ask.
“Uh, no.” Peter shook his head.
He started counting on his fingers how many languages he can speak fluently.
“I can speak 10, fluently, 11 if you consider ASL, and I’m in the process of learning a twelfth. I can’t also manage myself through a handful of other languages.”
“That’s not in your file.” Natasha shook her head, proud of her young spider.
“It’s not like I took classes. I just learn them when I can.”
“So you’re eavesdropping on us when we switch languages.” Tony spoke again, unable to comprehend how a 16 year old happens to know so many languages.
“It’s not on purpose. You guys are the Avengers, so you should know to always be aware of what language another person can speak.”
“You’re unbelievable, kid.”