"Tony, why do you have me dressed in one of these things again?" Peter complained, tugging at the sleeve of his tuxedo jacket.
"Come on now. I told you before, it's sexy as hell. You know I almost jumped you at the last one," Tony told him, whispering hot in his ear.
Peter's face turned three shades of pink and he wanted to melt into the floor. "Please stop."
"Never," Tony said and pressed a light kiss to Peter's mouth. "I've gotta give that speech in a bit. Cheer really loud for me, okay?"
Peter shook his head. "I'm going to pretend I don't know you. Go away." Then he grinned and gave Tony a kiss before he shooed the man off to prepare for his speech.
They were attending a charity event being put on by one of those big Manhattan law firms. It was all to benefit a local children's hospital. Tony, as one of the top donors, as well as being Iron Man, had been asked to give a quick speech. For some that might become an excuse to take up as much time as possible to puff themselves up, expressing how important they are. Peter knew from experience that if Tony took more than five minutes it was only because he was asked to fill the time.
Peter found a place to stand near the back, away from most of the other people. He gave Donna a nod and a smile when she rushed by. Maybe he'd have a chance to chat with her later. She definitely seemed to be in charge of coordinating things, but at the same time greeting guests and being something of a hostess. It was exhausting just watching her.
"I don't know how she does it," says a man a few feet away. He's got light brown hair and was just a little taller than Peter.
"Dark magic?" Peter offered.
"I could believe that." The man took a few steps and put out a hand for Peter to shake. "Mike Ross."
"Peter Parker," he said, meeting the handshake.
Mike's eyes lit up. "Oh – Donna's friend from the Stark party."
"You were there?" Peter was sure he would've remembered someone that Donna would have introduced him to.
Mike shook his head. "No, but she mentioned you. Something about a dinner date?" Peter could see the eyebrow waggle even if Mike didn't explicitly do it.
Peter smirked and felt his ears heat. People were talking about him? And not disparagingly? Wow. "Uh, yeah. It turned into more of a lunch date for convenience." Really, it had been coffee, but… whatever.
None of that seemed to faze Mike at all. "So, how do you know Stark?"
Of course. Peter sighed a little. "We work together." Which was the simple, non-lie answer he gave to new people asking about Tony. It was a way to make sure his relationship with Tony seem ordinary, because the inevitable next question was always someone wanting an 'in' or to meet Tony or something. He wanted to head off as much of that as he could.
"Good co-worker? Or is he a jerk because he's right all the time?" Mike asked.
That gave Peter pause. "Are we still talking about Tony?" Because it sort of felt like they weren't.
"Yes and no. My boss is -"
"Right all the time?"
Mike gave an exasperated eyeroll. "Ugh. Enough that it's annoying."
Peter grinned. He even let out a little laugh. "I know the feeling. You'll probably hear a bit of it during his speech here in a bit."
"He – Tony Stark is the guest speaker? I thought this was just some boring firm fund-raiser I couldn't get out of." Mike seemed a little annoyed about not knowing, but also suddenly interested.
"It is," said the man who seemed to just appear out of nowhere behind Mike.
"sh*t! Harvey. You asshole."
Harvey's smile was just as annoying as a similar one Peter had seen from Tony.
"Just a boring fund-raiser?" Peter asked, incredulous. "This is raising money for a children's hospital. It's gonna help a lot of kids."
"He's not wrong," Harvey said. "And with Stark's speech, more people will donate." He looked at Mike. "You brought your checkbook, right?"
Mike stumbled over words a bit. "I – don't have a checkbook."
"That's okay. I'll have them take it out of your paycheck," he said with another unsettling smile. "Nice to see you again, Mr. Parker. Enjoy the event." Then he walked away.
"You too," Peter said, suddenly wishing he had a drink. And that it would do anything.
Mike stared at him for long enough that it was becoming uncomfortable. "You know Harvey too?"
Peter wasn't sure why that was such a surprising reveal. "Yeah. He was at lunch with us." Was that weird? He couldn't imagine how or why it would be, but he still wasn't used to being at these rich people events and talking to rich people. At least not without Tony as back-up. Maybe he'd said something wrong or inappropriate. He had told Tony he was going to f*ck this up.
Mike looked even more surprised. "Wow. You and Donna and Harvey at lunch?"
"Tony too. Is lunch weird or something?"
"No, it's just more social than I've known Harvey to be outside of work necessity."
Peter shrugged. "I've only seen him being social. I only know he's an attorney because Tony asked him to represent him."
"Wait – Harvey said 'no'? To Tony Stark?"
Peter nodded. "Something about too much paperwork."
Mike snorted a laugh. "I can see that."
A sleek woman with dark hair approached and told Mike they should find their seats since the presentation was beginning. Mike turned to leave with her, but turned back to Peter. "You coming?"
Peter shook his head. "I hear him talk all the time. I'm gonna lurk back here with the food."
"See ya in a bit then." And Mike and the woman Peter was pretty sure Mike was into disappeared into the throng of people taking their seats to hear Iron Man speak.
Peter kept his spot near the back after stacking a few snacks on a plate. The food was really good. Pearson Hardman had definitely put some money behind this fund-raiser event.
"Hey, Parker," Donna greeted him, apparently during a brief moment of downtime.
"Hey." He nudged his plate toward her. "Take a load off. Have a snack. Calories are important."
She laughed and picked up a tiny savory pastry puff that she quickly popped into her mouth.
"This event is amazing," he told her.
"Thank you. I saw you met Mike. Are you ditching me and Harvey?" she asked playfully.
His ears heated again. "No. He didn't even have the courtesy to invite me to dinner, much less a play party."
Donna grinned. "I knew that kid was an idiot." She snagged another treat from Peter's plate. "Mmm – have you seen Harvey?"
"He stopped by to pick on Mike a few minutes ago."
"Well, that means he isn't drunk yet. That's good." She snagged one more item from the plate. "Thanks for the snacks. Gotta run. More to do."
"No problem." He finished the treats on his plate while Tony finished his short speech. Then he was going to plead with the man to get him the hell out of this party so he could be comfortable again.
