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“Look alive, people, this is the most challenging mission of the year!” Tony yelled, startling everyone who, until his entry, had been peacefully and quietly lounging in the common room.
“What mission? I haven’t heard anything?”
“Pride! Come on guys; it’s literally tomorrow!”
“Oh,” Natasha sighed, “I wouldn’t call that challenging, probably our easiest one yet. Marching around, being gay, shitting on any homophobes we see… sounds like a typical day honestly.”
“You know it.” You raised your hand and Natasha returned your high five, though the land shark between you didn’t like to feel left out so he raised his head upwards to nudge your hands with his snout.
“Are you queer, Jeff?” you whispered, though Tony’s interruption mostly drowned you, and Jeffs returned ‘mrrr’, out.
“Yeah, that’s not the hard bit. We need to go all out and make sure people don’t think we’re doing this just because the government asked us to. Nobody accuses me of rainbow washing, especially not for the US government.”
“We are doing it because the government gave us instructions to, though.” Steve reminded.
“You mean you think we wouldn’t have done this anyway? With all the non-straight people in this building? Don’t be ridiculous, grandpa.”
“So what are your plans?” you asked. Out of interest for sure, but also to cut off any reply Steve was about to give.
“Flags!! Tons and tons of flags! Obviously, everyone grabs their own, but I have boxes and boxes, so we let everyone at the parade grab what they want.
Oh, and ‘The Avengers’ have made sizable donations to several LGBTQ+ charities; all year round, but extra this month. You’re welcome.”
“Mrrr!”
“Jeff wants to know where the flags are,” you translated. “He loves flags.”
Tony sighed, “sure Jeff, just ignore the donation… they’re in the garage.”
Jeff squealed; within seconds he was on the run, past the lift as he couldn’t reach the button, and on his way to the stairs in an attempt to hurry down. You were hot on his heels because the last time he’d tried the stairs, he’d tripped and rolled down 10 flights.
You caught up with him quickly, scooping him up and carrying him to safely call for the lift.
This time though, the whole team came with you, and soon Jeff was like the leader of a cult, a bundle of heroes following his every move. Jeff’s troop all headed down to the garage, eyes widening at the towers of boxes, filled with flags of all sorts of colours.
“Help yourself,” was all Tony had to say, and then everyone was searching for what they needed. Natasha grabbed a bisexual flag, Wanda draping the pan one atop herself. The room was filled with people giddy at the representation, grinning as they wrapped their flags like capes around their necks.
You went forth to grab your own, searching through an inordinate number of boxes just to find what you were looking for. Among the stash, you managed to find a rare box filled with small flags, the type you held and waved around rather than drape over yourself. It took some digging within it before you finally emerged with what you had been searching for: the ace flag.
But then that didn’t last long. Yelena came instantly to snatch it from you with a laugh, then dropped down to find the matching aromantic one. You rolled your eyes in mock offence, but you didn’t actually mind sitting with her and finding another asexual one.
With your new one found, you tucked it in your pocket to keep it safe before searching the boxes for more flags. A whine from Jeff stopped you, and then he came up and gently tugged at your trouser leg; he seemed sad when you looked down. You realised he didn’t know which flag to get.
“Hold this for a second, Jeff,” you said, holding out your mini flag and letting him lightly clamp his teeth around the handle. Once he’d taken it, you were free to go to the tallest stack of boxes, clamber up, and then pull a flag from the very top.
Jeff beamed when you returned with a rainbow pride flag long enough to be a blanket on him. He dropped the ace flag back at your feet, and in return, you knelt down and swung the rainbow over him. You had to roll it slightly before tying it loosely around his neck, long enough to be a cape, short enough that he wouldn’t trip.
Jeff spun excitedly at his new accessory. He tried to see it on himself first, then ran in circles around the room so all the other Avengers could see his style. Jeff’s joy was infectious; smiles followed him around the room when they saw him so happy… and that gave you an idea.
Once you were back in your room and you’d made sure Jeff was settled comfortably on your bed, it was time to pull out your phone. You’d seen plenty of videos where people brought their parents to Pride with signs offering free hugs; it had always seemed sweet; to have someone supportive and willing to share love and sharing them with those who didn’t. Now, finally, you had a perfect candidate.
Luckily, Jeff was in agreement. At the end of the video, he let out a small ‘mrrr’ before running off to make his own sign. You watched him go, knowing full well your land stark would be the true star of the show the next day.
—
The team gathered early the following day. They were dressed in whatever clothes they were comfortable in. After all, the main statements were the flags, accessories and face paints they wore with them, representing their identities.
When you eventually entered, all eyes turned on you. Not because of what you were wearing, no. Because of what your land shark wore.
Jeff had slept in his flag, so he remained just as wrapped in it as he had the day before. But there was a new addition to his attire, a sign written by Jeff himself:
“FRƎƎ HUGS.”
He’d never quite grasped which way the E would go.
Nevertheless, Tony grinned at the sight. “I think we’re ready to go!”
—
Roads were shut ahead of the start, and crowds began to gather. There was a buzz in the air, raucous and chaotic, but fun nonetheless, a whole day of people being freely and loudly themselves.
You set up at the front of the crowd, piling the boxes all around each of you and, as the parade passed, handing them out to whoever needed them. Some people recognised the group of you, and you happily took photos and listened to their crying or yelling about how much certain Avengers had helped in their coming out, or just in their lives in general. Or smiled at the others who just gave you an appreciative nod.
But, as expected, Jeff took the spot as the main attraction. He ran back and forth across the street in front of your makeshift stall. His pride cape flew behind him, and he made sure everyone got a chance to see him. The only thing stopping him was the multiple people who read his sign, crouching down in the middle of the road just to give him a hug.
Between handing out flags, you kept an eye on him. When he ran around, he was beaming, spreading joy to the crowds that passed him; they would look over at him, smile, and maybe even take a photo of the joyful land shark.
But then there would be other times, when someone was hugging Jeff. He sat still, letting them get comfort from him for as long as they needed. He would even snuggle into them too… if he could manage. Most of the time, a hug was all they needed before they would pass through, maybe picking up a flag. But others had stories to tell.
Jeff was an excellent listener, as well as being safety conscious. You saw a few occasions where people began to tell Jeff their stories as they hugged him. He’d interrupt, nudging for them to follow, then lead them to the side of the street before plopping himself back down and looking at them to continue. They would then be away from crowds; people wouldn’t have to filter past, and there would be a lesser risk of getting trampled.
The person generally ended up sitting on the floor with Jeff; he would nod earnestly as they told their story and let them hug and pet him as they wanted and needed.
You saw many people bring themselves to tears having their conversation with Jeff, even if the land shark could give little more than a ‘mrr’ in return. Despite it, they still left looking happier than before, more relieved. Jeff looked back at you every time. You would give him a thumbs up and let him continue.
Eventually, the back of the parade went past you, and your job was done, meaning it was your turn to join the crowd. Tony’s robots cleared up the rest of the boxes, and then the Avengers jumped into action, tagging on at the back of the march and showing your support.
Only… one thing was missing.
Your ace flag. The one you had checked several times throughout the day was still sticking out of your pocket. It had disappeared.
You looked frantically around the stall, wondering if it had fallen out, but it was nowhere to be found. You would have seen it by now, so unless you accidentally gave it away, someone had taken it, and there was only one other Avenger who you thought would do such a thing.
“Yelena!” you shouted. It was a struggle to be heard about all the parade noises, but she shot her head up at you. “Did you steal my flag?”
“Not since yesterday, but you did see me do that.” Yelena reached to pull her own one out, then frowned. With a little more worry, she started patting through the several pockets her outfit contained, but it looked like none of them had what she needed.
“But where-”
Jeff burst through the crowd, heading back to come see you, and the unfinished question answered itself. In his mouth, clutched like a skull and crossbones, were two mini ace flags, flapping wildly with the speed he ran.
“There.” You finished with a sigh.
You wouldn’t be getting them back. Jeff lived with you; he stole your stuff all the time. You knew you wouldn’t get it back until he wanted to give them back.
Yelena, however, was not equipped with the same knowledge.
“Give me my flag back, Jeffrey!!”
He squealed, only running faster at the challenge. There was a long way to walk yet, but you had your entertainment sorted: Land Shark vs Widow.
It would be an enjoyable day indeed.
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