The Balance Between

High Flying Flags And High Speed Races

Loki squealed, earning an odd look from everyone in the room. Tony just laughed before kissing her cheek and pulling out his phone. Bucky walked over to the couch and sat down on the floor next to Sam while Steve left for the kitchen. He motioned for a controller to which Clint handed him one, a huge smile on his face. In the kitchen, Steve grabbed a glass of water and sat down to cool off (not that he needed it).

"Ha! I got a member on my team!" Clint cheered.

Tony and Natasha simultaneously rolled their eyes. The first kept scrolling through his phone before he found a decent picture of the gender-fluid flag. He nudged Loki's shoulder. She looked over to her boyfriend, lips pressed together. He showed her the picture. She squealed a second time.

"Odin's beard! It's beautiful," she gushed. Tony smiled warmly at her before searching something else on his phone. Thor smiled faintly, proud that his sister can finally be herself. Loki looked up and over at Peter who was concentrated on the race he was in. "Does everyone have a flag, young Peter?"

Peter, without even looking away from the television, said, "Yeah, Miss Loki. Mine's pink, blue, and white for being transgender." Tony nodded along before showing a picture of Peter in his pride suit to Loki. Her heart melted at the sight. Tony smiled warmly, just watching her gush. "Mister Stark's is pink, purple, and blue for being bisexual." Tony swiped to a different picture and showed this one to Loki; it was him in his pride suit along with Peter (they were both posing for the picture). She smiled brightly before kissing his cheek. "Mister Captain America and Mister Winter Soldier White Wolf's is a rainbow." Lo and behold, Tony had a picture for the two of them. "And Miss Black Widow and Wanda's are different shades of oranges and magentas." Loki's smile grew at the sight of Natasha and Wanda in matching colors. "You also have another flag for being pansexual. It's pink, blue, and yellow." Tony had to search for a picture of this one. Loki cooed once he finally brought one up.

"Why can't we have flags like these back on Asgard?" Loki questioned, lifting her gaze and fixating it on her brother. He looked over and shrugged. She huffed, blowing a strand of her raven hair out of her face. "Perhaps we should introduce these to everyone."

"Now, Loki," Thor started. "You know all too well that no one will take a liking to them." Loki huffed and crossed her arms but didn't protest. Thor was right; as much as it pained Loki to admit. "But Valkyrie would quite like to see these." Loki nodded. "I'm sure her and Captain Danvers have flags of their own as well." Loki nodded again. Thor shrugged. "I'll see what I can do." She smiled brightly and blew a kiss the thunder god's way. He just shook his head, a smile on his face.

Steve walked back into the room, his glass of water empty and in the sink. He stood behind the couch and watched the race. Obviously he was cheering for Bucky and Clint but he was fine if (if? Who's this old man kidding? When.) Peter and Sam won. Tony and Loki exchanged loving glances from where they sat together. They didn't care who won as long as the two teams had fun. Alright, who were they kidding? They didn't care because they were too busy undressing the other with their eyes to pay attention. It was only Natasha and Thor who were ready to riot if their team didn't win.

Natasha threw down a twenty dollar bill onto the coffee table. "Twenty bucks on Sam and Peter," she declared. Thor turned and glared at her, setting down his own wad of Midgardian currency.

"Twenty bucks says you are wrong, Lady Natasha," he countered. She just shrugged and leaned back on the couch so she could look to Steve. Thor looked to him as well. "Patriotic Captain! Who do you wager will win?" Steve glanced between the two before shaking his head and his hands.

"Oh, no. I'm not betting."

Natasha smirked. "C'mon Rogers. I'll split the money with you when we win." Thor gasped.

"Who says you shall win?" Her smirk grew as she rolled her eyes. "I will split the winnings with you when we win." Natasha scoffed. Peter started laughing from his spot between the two. "You aren't going to bet against your boyfriend, are you?"

Bucky sat up straighter, interest piqued. "Yeah, Stevie. You aren't gonna bet against your boyfriend, are you?" Steve looked between Thor, Bucky, and Natasha. With a sigh, he threw in a twenty and mumbled an 'I'm with Natasha'. The widow smirked victoriously much to Thor's (and Bucky's) displeasure. "Wow, Stevie. And I thought we were friends. No, no. I thought we were more than that. I thought we were lovers! " Steve rolled his eyes and left for the elevator. He took it up to his art studio; a floor Tony had added once he knew everyone was going to be staying at the tower (except, of course, Clint who had his own farm with the 'Mrs'). "I hope you're happy," Bucky whispered, nudging Sam's shoulder. "You have finally stolen my boyfriend." Sam chuckled.

"Dude. I totally am." Sam risked a glance at Bucky who smirked and sped ahead of him. "What the hell?!" Sam shouted, looking back to the television. Bucky roared with laughter as he knocked Peter off course. The young boy gasped and stared at the screen before Clint sped ahead of him. Determined, Peter pressed the button as hard as he could and used one of his banana power ups to wipe Clint out. Peter then took second place. All he needed now was to stop Bucky from winning. "Knock him out!" Sam yelled. Peter narrowed his eyes, his gaze still directed at the screen.

"What do you think I'm doing?" he countered. Tony and Loki laughed; the latter mouthing a 'that's you' to the first. Tony held a finger against Loki's lips earning an eye roll from her. Peter sped up, catching up to Bucky. Timing it perfectly, he sent a power up Bucky's way and knocked him off course. The spider boy reclaimed his first place just in time to cross over the finish line. Both spiders rose their arms and cheered in victory. "Mister Falcon, we won!" Sam smiled at the young boy as he set his controller on the table.

"Great. Now we can rub it in their faces!" Peter giggled and handed Natasha's winning money over to her. The redhead sent a cheeky smile Thor's way (who refused to look at her) before thanking Peter. She pocketed two of the twenties before pulling a ten out of her pocket. With a small kiss to Peter's cheek, she stood up and made her way over to the elevator so she could hand over Steve's winnings.

"Do you really think we should?" Tony whispered. Loki nodded and pressed a kiss against his temple. "But what if he hates the idea?" Loki shook her head.

"He adores you, Anthony. What are you to fear?"

Tony bit his lip, his eyes flicking over to Peter every few seconds. "Rejection." Loki rolled her eyes and nudged him slightly.

"You'll do fine," she promised.

Tony tore his gaze from Loki and fixated it on Peter, who was now scrolling through Tumblr on his phone. "Hey, Pete?" The spider boy looked up and over to his mentor. Loki smiled at her boyfriend reassuringly. "How would you like it if Loki and I officially adopted you?" Peter raised an eyebrow. Tony bit the inside of his lip. "You know, while your aunt is preoccupied we'll be your parents." Peter didn't say anything at first. "But if you don't like that idea we cou-" He was cut off by a tight hug from his son. It took a second for Tony to hug back but when he did, he held onto Peter tightly. Loki smiled at the two warmly before she was being pulled into it by both Peter and Tony.

"I would love that, Mister Stark," Peter said. Tony smiled slightly and pulled out of the hug so he could look into Peter's eyes. He looked over to Loki, as if asking her if he should go through with it. She kept her gaze on Peter.

Tony took in a deep breath before saying, "Actually, Pete. . . It's dad."