"This is a terrible idea…" Pepper said, not for the first time, as they walked across the field, following Peter, Shuri, Valkyrie and Thor.

T'Challa looked as uncertain as she felt, and as they came up to the winged horse, her concern only grew. Pepper had been raised on a farm. She'd had a horse as a child, and there had been many others on the property. The Pegasus was beautiful, yes, brilliant white and powerful, gleaming in the sunlight. But he was a large creature, and Pepper knew as well as anyone – and better than many – just how dangerous those sharp hooves could be.

"It's too late, now," Tony told her, taking her hand. "Don't worry. They'll be fine."

"Have you ridden, before?" the exotic Asgardian woman asked the two teens as they stopped in the front of the horse.

Shuri nodded, eyes moving along the creature's body, admiringly.

"Many times," she replied.

Peter hesitated, but the Pegasus stretched his beautiful neck out, bringing his nose against Peter's cheek.

"I rode a rhino, once," the boy said, reaching up and brushing his hand along the pristine neck. "Not for long. I can ride a bike, though."

Since it was obvious that Valkyrie didn't have a clue what a bike or a rhino was, she gave him a smile.

"You'll enjoy this, I think. Who will go first?"

The two teens looked at each other. The whole ladies first thing seemed appropriate, but if it was dangerous, Peter wanted to go first, to make sure that the thing about not being able to fall off was really a thing.

"I'd like to try it, first, if I may?"

Everyone turned and looked at Pepper, who had spoken up. She stepped forward, releasing Tony's hand and smiling at Peter as she ran her hand along the brilliant white neck of the flying horse. He was soft and she could feel the power in his body – and despite the fact that she simply had been thinking that the best way to make sure it was safe was to try it before they allowed the teens to – she felt a thrill of anticipation at the thought of riding such a magnificent creature.

"It's your celebration," Thor said, shrugging, as he looked at his companion.

Valkyrie nodded.

"Of course."

"Where do I mount?"

Thor himself offered his hand to Pepper as she walked to the horse's side. She took a handful of mane, stepped onto his hand, lightly, and sprang onto the Pegasus's back.

The Pegasus snorted, softly, but his nose was still stuck in Peter's ear. He didn't seem at all perturbed at having someone on his back, but he was definitely interested in Peter.

"Can you feel his mind?" Peter asked Alec, trying to hide his concern about Pepper going for a ride, first. What if something happened to her? What if she fell off? Tony could catch her – and the cloak, maybe – but it would ruin her birthday if there was an accident. "Is he safe?"

"I'm not the Horse Whisperer," Alec told him, amused and not hiding it from his young friend. "But he's very much magical. You can feel that, right?"

"Yes."

The creature tingled, very like the cloak – and even the teleportation rock. And the sanctum, itself, for that matter.

"Then he's probably fine."

"Probably…"

As if in response to Peter's uncertainty, the cloak transferred itself over to Pepper's shoulders just as Valkyrie slapped the animal's rump to get his attention back to what was going on. The horse snorted in Peter's ear, and turned his magnificent head toward her, and she made a motion with her hand, stepping back.

Tony's hand on Peter's shoulder pulled him back, too – although he kept the hand there, which relayed just a little of the nervousness that Stark was feeling. Pepper was his everything, after all.

"Ready?" Valkyrie asked Pepper, who shifted a little on the broad back and then smiled, clearly feeling her own excitement at the thought of what to come.

"Yes."

The horse snorted, again, and then the wings snapped out from the creature's body and he launched himself and his rider into the air with a single leap and a powerful downstroke. The grip on Peter's shoulder tightened just a bit but Tony was looking up, as was Peter, watching as the horse soared into the sky, looking majestic and amazing as it made a wide circle, flying almost lazily, like a giant bird of prey circling the compound and outlying area several times before angling its wings and tilting its body to return toward the field.

Peter's sharp vision made it easy for him to see Pepper's expression as the animal turned back their direction. He smiled at how thrilled she looked, and her smile was broad when the Pegasus came soaring in for a landing that wasn't exactly smooth, but didn't dislodge his rider in any way.

It was Tony who stepped up to give her a hand down, and she swung her leg over the white back and slid down into his arms, easily.

"Well?" he asked, unnecessarily.

"That was incredible." She patted the horse's side in thanks, and stepped away, and the cloak disengaged from her shoulders and waited, clearly waiting to see who was next to go. If it was annoyed at the idea of being used in such a capacity, Peter couldn't feel it. "I'm convinced."

Shuri stepped up, her eyes bright. Girls and horses were universal.

"I would like to try it, please."

To his credit, T'Challa didn't look too worried as his little sister was tossed up onto the back of the Pegasus, next, by Thor. The god of Thunder smiled and slapped the animal's rear, and its rear foot shot out, missing him only because his reflexes were a match for the creature. The lesson was learned, though, and Valkyrie smirked at Thor, who rolled his eyes.

Fine, the horse didn't like having his rump slapped, no matter that it had only been good-natured.

"Hold his mane if you feel the need for something to steady you," Valkyrie told Shuri, who immediately reached for a handful of the silvery hair in front of her, even as the cloak settled over her shoulders like a heavy blanket.

The others stepped back and the Pegasus once more launched into the sky, and Shuri clutched at the mane, but yelped in excitement at the same time.

"You had to try it first, huh?" Peter heard Tony murmur softly to Pepper.

"I know horses better than both of them," she reminded him. Of course, Peter knew nothing about them, and while Shuri had ridden before, the princess was from a nation that didn't boast many – if any – of the creatures. "If someone was going to fall off, it was going to be me."

"I love you, birthday girl," Tony whispered, and Peter smiled, even while he watched the bright white creature in the sky give his rider an experience that she wouldn't soon – if ever – forget.

Pepper didn't give a verbal response, and whatever she might have done Peter didn't see. Shuri's ride lasted a few minutes longer than Pepper's had, and the girl was grinning almost foolishly by the time the horse came in for his landing, wings flaring to slow his speed as he did.

"That was incredible," Shuri said, smiling happily at her brother and mother as Thor helped her off the huge animal's back. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Valkyrie assured her, pleased at the courtesy. A Pegasus wasn't normally used for entertainment like this, after all. She turned to Peter. "Ready?"

The boy nodded, stepping up and placing his uninjured hand against the warm side, pressing his palm against its incandescent hide. The Pegasus snorted, turning its head and nuzzling his nose against Peter's cheek, whuffling him, almost cheerfully.

"Need help?" Thor asked.

Peter shook his head. He was Spiderman, right? He could leap onto a small building, he probably wouldn't have any problem jumping up onto a horse. Even a tall one like this.

"No. I think I'm good."

He jumped, and brought his leg over like he'd seen in a million movies, and caught the toe of his shoe against the creature's wing. The motion that should have been smooth – he was a pretty graceful kid, after all – was almost completely spoiled by a near tumble off the far side of the Pegasus's back. Only a shift in the body under him – and a quick step to the side – kept him from looking like an idiot, and maybe having Pepper tell him she changed her mind.

Peter righted himself, grinning down at the others at his near miss – and pointedly ignoring the uncertainty that had suddenly sprang up in Pepper and Tony's expressions. The cloak flew up to his shoulders and settled with him, and Peter tightened his legs around that barrel body. The Pegasus craned his neck so it could look back at him, and Peter felt a thrill run through him – and realized that he wasn't feeling his own emotions, he was getting a vibe from the horse. The Pegasus.

"I think you're right," Alec agreed, and it was clear he was amused – and maybe a little awed. "It's magical, after all, and everyone knows magical things like you. No reason he would be any different, right?"

Peter nodded.

"True."

"Ready?" Valkyrie asked, unaware of the silent conversation – although she was a lot more synced with the Pegasus and had caught his interest in the boy.

"Yes."

"Hold on," Pepper told him.

Peter reached for that silvery mane like he'd seen Shuri do, and a moment later the powerful creature he was sitting on launched himself – and his rider – into the air. Peter gave a whoop of excitement, and Tony shook his head.

"Good thing he's allergic," Stark told his wife. "I'm thinking he'd be tempted to ask for one for Christmas, or something."

And, of course, then Tony would absolutely try to find one.