What is in a Name

 Peter is definitely not a social butterfly. Not that Tony didn't know, though, of course. It had been clear from the first moment. Still, seeing how awkward and uncomfortable Peter is makes Tony wonder if he is rushing things a little. 

 "A party?" Peter said. The way he looked at Tony showed how disturbed he was even by the very idea.

 "It's an annual thing," Tony answered. "It's nothing formal, so you can just relax and have fun. Maybe get to know everyone."

 "Do I have to?" Peter was not on board with the idea.

 Tony almost felt like he should let Peter off the hook. Almost.

 "Unfortunately," he said. "I need to introduce you to the others. So yes, you have to."

 Peter looked like he had something to say ― to complain, to be accurate ― although he didn't add anything. He just picked at the food that they were eating for dinner.

 And now he is getting off the elevator wearing semi-casual suits with the same expression on his face. Well, maybe not "the same", since there are also nervousness and uneasiness mixed in it. It draws a contrast with Harley's relatively relaxed demeanor. Harley whispers something into Peter, which makes him stare at him. The way Harley smirks lightly indicates that he was messing with Peter a little.

 Tony keeps himself away from socializing with people for a while to keep an eye on his boys. Having been to more parties than one probably should, Tony is easily able to hide into shadows away from people as much as he can attract attention. He watches as Harley and takes Peter to get themselves a drink. Peter stiffly receives the cup Harley hands him. Then Harley and Peter share a few words before they walk over to where Pepper is greeting some of the guests. Pepper is one of the few people that Peter is familiar with. Tony approves of Harley's tactics of assisting Peter ease in.

 Tony is watching Peter and Pepper start a conversation when he gets interrupted by a familiar voice.

 "Hey, Tony." Rhodey approaches him with a cocktail in his hand.

 Tony acknowledges him with a brief a quick raise of his eyebrows. Then he averts his eyes to act naturally like he was not spying on the Stark boys. Yet, Rhodey just knows his too well. He gives a quick glance toward where Tony was watching just now.

 "Is that the other one?" Rhodey asks, jerking his head toward the said direction.

 Tony is about to answer. He is then interrupted yet again by none other than the boys themselves.

 Harley walks through the crowd and approaches Tony and Rhodey. Peter is following closely behind him.

 "Hey, Rhodey," Harley greets Rhodey.

 "Hey, Harles," Rhodey grins at him. He then looks at Peter. "You must be Peter."

 Rhodey stretches out his hand. Peter momentarily looks at it before he takes it. Rhodey gives a firm grip and a shake. He smiles at the boy.

 "Tony's talked about you. Nice to finally meet you."

 "Uh― yeah," says Peter, "I mean, nice to meet you, too, Colonel Rhodes."

 Rhodey shakes his head lightly as he chuckles.

 "Either Rhodey or James, okay?"

 Harley turns to Tony.

 "Have you seen the others? I was trying to find Cap and Sam."

 "They're either by the pool table or somewhere around the windows admiring the view like an old man he is." Tony shrugs.

 "Already tried the pool table. Maybe we should find Bruce first. That might be better, actually."

 Tony hums ins response before looking at Peter.

 "Enjoying the party?"

 Peter gives him an awkward shrug. Harley taps him lightly on his arm.

 "Come on, let's go find Bruce."

 Harley waves his hand at Rhodey and Tony. Then he takes Peter through the crowd once again. Rhodey looks at Tony.

 "Seems like a nice kid."

 "Well, much quieter than Harley, that's for sure," Tony answers. "But he's still a teenager."

 Rhodey chuckles.

 "I think they're both gonna turn out fine. Anyways, everyone's waiting for you to introduce him to them. Come on."

 Tony then maneuvers his way through the scattered crowd and heads toward where Harley and Peter went off to. Within the next minute, he finds the two of them talking to Bruce Banner in the bar area located in the corner. Harley is leaning on the counter while Bruce and Peter are seemingly conversing with each other. Harley notices Tony and Rhodey approaching.

 "I knew these two might get along well," Harley says as Tony reaches the three of them.

 Bruce and Peter both turn their attention to Tony and Rhodey.

 "Hi, Tony," Bruce says.

 "Bruce." Tony nods. "I see you've met my new kid."

 "Yes, and I'm really impressed," Bruce answers as he glimpses at Peter. There is a fondness in his eyes. "He's got quite a bright mind."

 Peter awkwardly laughs and fidgets.

 "Makes me feel like a dumb one, and I thought I was rather smart," remarks Harley with a smirk.

 "You're intelligent, too, Harley," Bruce says with a smile. "It's just that we're into different fields."

 "I know, I was just kidding," Harley says. "I'm not offended, don't worry. No need to get all serious there."

 They are sharing small talk when a low feminine voice joins in.

 "So, this is the new Stark kid I see here?"

 Natasha Romanoff emerges from behind Peter. Peter's eyes grow wide. He jumps as he turns around to face the red-haired woman.

 "Don't scare the kid, Nat," says Tony.

 Natasha just shrugs and sets her eyes on Peter. She has a smile that looks both graceful and dangerous at the same time on her face.

 Peter looks ready to back off and run away.

 Natasha turns her eyes to Tony.

 "You sure he's yours? He looks too innocent to be a mini Stark."

 Tony rolls his eyes.

 "A mini Stark? Is that 'mini Stark' I just heard?"

 Tony's looks so done as Clint Barton makes an appearance. He has a mischievous grin on his face as he sets his eyes on Peter. He stands with Natasha as the two assassins pressure him with their interested glances.

 Clint offers a hand to Peter.

 "Clint Barton. You probably know already. I work with your daddy."

 Peter looks at him for a moment before quickly taking his hand.

 "Peter Parker. Yeah, I do. I mean, I've heard about you," he stutters.

 Clint laughs. "He really is pure, isn't he? How do you have a kid like this?"

 He pats Peter on his shoulder.

 "I might have to give you a few lessons on some teenage rebellion."

 "Please don't," Tony retorts. "I don't need another one turning against me."

 "Whoa, whoa, whoa," Harley says, throwing his hands up. "What do you mean, 'another one'? What are you implying?"

 The casual conversation goes on. Well, as casual as it can be as the Avengers joke around and Peter just awkwardly and nervously watches from one person to another. In fact, he looks almost like he's on the verge of being squashed.

 Harley taps Peter on his arm.

 "Come on," he says, "I bet Pietro and Wanda are more of a fun bunch to hang out with than these guys."

 Clint frowns at him comically.

 "Are you calling us old?" He says.

 "No, I'm just calling you boring," Harley remarks with a smirk and a shrug of his shoulders. He then walks away from the Avengers. 

 Peter smiles awkwardly before he quickly follows Harley.

 "Is he still cross about the waffles?" Clint says.

 That is when Tony hears Captain America's voice from behind him. "Hey, everyone."

 Sam is standing behind him as usual. He looks around the group and raises his eyebrow.

 "Did we miss something?"

 Clint just grins and sips his drink. 

 "Oh yeah, you just missed big time, buddy," he says.

 It is about half an hour later when Tony is finally free to himself again. He thinks it might be a good time to check how Peter is doing. As much as he likes to trash talk Harley, he trusts him that he will take responsibility as a brother, of course. Still, as a parent, he isn't supposed to just neglect his kid, who seemed very reluctant and uncomfortable, in the wilderness of a party full of strangers, right?

 God, it still feels weird how he has become a parent now, Tony thinks.

 Tony moves around the floor through the crowd, scanning for where he might find Peter. He usually searches for deserted corners and quiet spots.

 Then he finally finds the boy sitting on one of the couches in an empty sitting area, away from the majority of people. He is alone as he leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees and his half-filled cup on the table before him. Tony looks around the boy, but it seems like Harley is nowhere to be found.

 Tony is about to walk over to Peter when a young female in a tight silver dress walks past him. The woman's heels click against the floor as she makes her way toward Peter. She looks to be in her late teens or early twenties. 

 "Hi," Tony hears the woman say.

 Peter looks up at her. The woman smiles at him.

 Tony thinks for a moment if he should intervene. Yet, this might be a chance for Peter to really mingle with people on his own. If things flowed naturally, he might be able to relax and get comfortable a little.

 So Tony steps aside, leans on the nearby wall, and watches with his arms crossed.

 "Is it okay if I sit down here?" The woman asks smoothly, indicating the empty seat next to Peter. 

 Peter looks around him. It seems that he is silently asking, "Why here when there's so much space available?"

 Yet, he answers, "Um, sure."

 The woman smiles and sits down next to him. She puts down her drink on the table, next to Peter's.

 "I've noticed you've been here for a while," the woman says. "Why are you not joining the party?"

 "I― I'm not a party person, really," Peter answers. He sounds nervous and awkward. He clearly doesn't want to engage in a conversation.

 "Why not?" Yet, the woman is persistent.

 And Peter is too polite to turn her down.

 "I'm just not into these kinds of things," he says.

 "And yet you're still here."

 Peter laughs. There's no humor in there. He then quietly throw quick glances around him.

 "Yeah, well, I didn't have a choice."

 "Oh? So you came here with someone?" The woman then looked toward the rest of the crowd. "Do you have a partner? A date?"

 "More like…" he hesitates a little. Then he slowly says, "Family."

 "Oh, really?" The woman smiles. "Who're you with?"

 Peter quickly moistens his lips. He looks around again.

 "My, uh… my brother…." He sounds awkward and nervous as if he is forcing the words out. He pauses for a moment before he slowly adds, "And, my― uh, my dad."

 Tony can't help but raise his eyebrows. He honestly didn't expect the word to come out of Peter's mouth.

 "That's nice," says the woman. "Would you like to talk about them?"

 Peter's obviously growing more and more uncomfortable by the second. Tony decides that maybe it's time to rescue the boy ― not because the boy just had referred to him as his dad, but because Peter genuinely needed rescuing, just so you know.

 Yet, before he could approach the poor boy, Peter finds him first. Their eyes meet, and the moment they do, Peter stands up and calls, "Hey, uh― Dad!"

 Peter's voice sounds strained as forced. Tony can see how Peter desperately wanted his help in getting out of the situation quietly and peacefully. So Tony plays his part.

 "Come here," he calls toward the boy. "I need you to come meet someone. Now."

 Peter nods and immediately picks up his drink. The movement is so fast and efficient that it shows how badly Peter wants to escape. He turns to the woman.

 "I, I'm sorry," he says. "I think I need to― go."

 The woman looks from Peter to Tony. She answers awkwardly, "Oh, sure. Go ahead."

 Peter then turns around instantly and quickly walks over to where Tony is. Once they are out of her hearing range, Peter whispers, "Thank you."

 Tony smirks.

 "You really need to work on your social skills," he says.

 Peter groans. "Yeah, well, thanks for stating the obvious."

 Just then, Harley appears out of among the people and finds them.

 "Real smooth back there," Harley says after blowing a whistle.

 "Where have you been?" Peter says. His tone is rather accusing.

 "I was getting some more drinks, as I said," Harley responds innocently. "Then I saw this girl coming to you and thought that maybe you can do a bit of mingling by yourself."

 Peter glared at him.

 "Okay, fine," says Harley. "I noticed her checking you out when we were talking to Wanda and Pietro. So I thought that maybe you'd like to meet someone new for a change."

 "Gee," Peter says flatly. "Good to know that my opinion matters around here."

 "Yeah, well, you might wanna get used to it, though," Harley says with a shrug. "Dad throws a lot of parties and chances are that you will probably have to be there."

 Peter sighs.

 "I don't force you two to do anything that you don't want to," Tony says defensively.

 "Then how do you explain taking away our snacks," says Harley.

 "Making us eat more than we want," mumbles Peter.

 "Waking us up in the morning to go to school―"

 "Making me come to this party―"

 "Alright, I get the point," Tony exclaims. "Jesus, I can't say anything around the two of you now, can I?"

 "Just stating the fact here," says Harley.

 Tony scoffs.

 "Alright, enough," he says. Then he pats Peter on the back. "I wasn't lying that you need to come meet someone, though. You still haven't met Cap and Vision."

 Peter doesn't seem to enjoy the idea so much, although he looks far relaxed than when the girl was talking to him.