What is in a Name

"YES! You're dead! Finally!"

Tony can't help but raise his eyebrow at the excited shout from an unexpected person. He walks into his living room and finds three boys sitting on the couch, completely immersed in whatever video game they were busy with. Technically, they were two boys and a young man, but by Tony's standards, none of the Avengers really count as an adult ― and there was no way he would call Pietro Maxmoff a grownup.

Peter leans back deep into the couch as he throws his hands over his head in triumph, the gaming console held in his hands.

"You little shit!" Harley exclaims from next to him. He nearly throws his console in outrage. 

"Clean headshot!" Pietro adds with a smirk. 

"So close!" Harley groans as he, too, plops backward into the cushion of the couch. He glares at Peter. "Don't be so smug, you asshole. It was one time."

"You're the asshole," remarks Peter. "You're just bitter that I tore your head off."

Tony quietly leans on the wall with his arms crossed. The boys clearly have not noticed his presence in the room. At first, he thinks of making himself known, although he quickly decides against it. The overall atmosphere feels so natural and chilled that he does not want to disturb it in any way. 

It takes only a few moments before the three of them return their focus on the screen of their respective console.

"I am going to rip your smug little ass off," Harley says.

As they start another round, only a few words are shared as they all concentrate on surviving. They busily click on the plastic buttons.

"Fire in the hall!" Peter yells just before a digitized boom rings from three different consoles.

"God, you're loud," complains Harley. Several sounds of guns shooting and running footsteps follow.

"Oh, shit! Wait―" Pietro sounds a little panicked as he desperately presses the buttons. "Haha― safe!"

"I'm not after you," says Harley. Then Tony can hear the smirk in his voice as he says, "There you are."

"Fuck," grunts Peter, although he is half-laughing. 

There seems to be a one-on-one chase between Harley and Peter. Then―

"WHAT!"

"Oh, you fuckin'―"

Pietro shoots up from his seat with his arms wide open as if he is presenting himself proudly in front of an invisible audience. The two teenagers, on the other hand, sulks in their spots. Peter runs his hand through his hair while Harley throws his head back over the back of the couch. That is when he notices someone standing at the mouth of the hallway. He straightens himself and turns around to look at Tony. Peter picks up something from Harley's action, for he also turns around and finds Tony amusedly watching them. He flinches a little as if he got busted while doing something highly inappropriate. 

"What are you, a stalker?" Harley asks in a satirical tone.

Peter keeps his back to Tony and tries to look unaffected. Unfortunately for him, Tony can see that he is very embarrassed, although he does not see a reason for him to be.

"Sounds like you're having fun with something you shouldn't play," Tony says flatly.

Harley huffs.

"It's just some game," he says.

"That's probably rated for much higher than your age range," Tony replies.

"Yeah, well, that's why we've got him." Harley gestures to Pietro.

"Yeah, well, he's hardly an adult, so he doesn't count," says Tony.

Pietro throws his arms, showing that he is not accepting it.

"I am of age, you know," he says. "And I'm a hundred percent sure that you're not the one to talk about maturity."

"My house, my rules," Tony deadpans. He walks over and takes the gaming console from Harley's hands. "I personally don't have anything against violent games, but maybe this one is having some unhealthy effects on the both of you."

"Geez," says Pietro sarcastically. "Never thought you would be one of those strict no-fun parents."

"I gotta do what I gotta do," says Tony. "I'm even starting to think that maybe we should start a swear jar, too."

"I'm only agreeing to that as long as you're included in that," Harley says. "You're in no place to tell us off for our language."

"Yeah, we might have even gotten it from you," Peter adds quietly.

"Do I need to ground you and have you off from anything that is even remotely close to entertainment?" Tony says. "Including your lab access?"

Peter turns around and looks at him. There's a trace of a genuine shock on his face. Harley looks at him with a suspicious gaze.

Tony gives them both an evil smile before he tosses the console at Harley. The boy catches it easily with both hands.

"Just make sure that Pepper never finds out about this," he says. "That is when you're really getting into trouble."

"Yeah, you don't have to tell us twice about that," says Harley. 

Even Pietro seems uncomfortable at the mention of Pepper. 

"I might even be banned from this place forever if she finds out," he mutters as he sits back down.

Tony walks toward the elevator. Just as he reaches it, he turns back toward the boys.

"And don't have too much snack before dinner," he says.

"Yes, Dad." Sarcasm is abundantly overflowing in Peter's tone. His attention is already back to the game that he doesn't seem to realize what he just said.

Yet, Tony does. Tony's ears never fail to pick up the one word that always makes him feel a complexity of feelings.

Of course, it was not the first time he heard it. Harley has already been using the words quite soon after the revelation of his lineage. And it wasn't even the first time that Peter referred to him as "Dad".

But it was surely the first time that Peter's voice sounded so smooth saying the word ― as if it just came out unconsciously and naturally.

Tony still remembers the day he first met Peter. He never forgot all the things he saw in the boy's eyes ― the hurt, mistrust, anxiety, and doubt. He remembers all the guards and fortress Peter had built up around himself, keeping himself away and secure from the rest of the world. Tony is even sure that Peter never meant to break any of it down for the rest of his life.

And yet… things were changing. Even without realizing it, Peter was slowly adjusting to his new life. Although he still kept himself curled up like a frightened kitten, he was subtly leaving the traces of himself through small gestures and habits. Tony never mentioned to Peter that he noticed how he quietly left carrots out of his dinner or how he preferred chocolate over vanilla ice cream. He may have seen him sneaking ― of all the variety of snacks they got ― a pack of cheddar cheese Doritos into his room late at night and he surely knew how much Peter seemed to love his blue-colored hoodie. They may be only small steps, but there was indeed progress.

It makes Tony wonder. Will there ever be a day when Peter really accepts him as his father? Will he ever call Tony "Dad"?

Tony shakes his head as he enters the elevator. It doesn't matter what Peter calls him. Even if Peter keeps calling Tony by his name, it never changes the fact that the two of them are a family tied by blood. 

After all, what is in a name?