Chapter Text
“Kid, how long are you going to keep your face pressed against the window?” Tony snorted.
“But Mr. Stark!” Peter exclaimed and peeled his face off the window he was indeed pressed against. “I’m going to Wakanda! How are you not excited?!” Peter beamed.
“Maybe because I’ve been here before,” Tony shrugged.
“You’re no fun,” Peter rolled his eyes and went back to the window. “I’ve never seen so many trees in one place!” he said as they passed over the rich jungle before it switched to a grassy plains.
“We really need to get you out of the city more,” Tony mumbled under his breath.
Peter heard it clear as day anyways with his super hearing. It didn’t bother the teenager though as he awed at the lush landscape. Peter had learned part of the reason they were coming here for spring break was that the king of Wakanda had reached out to his old friends to request for the Avengers’ involvement in a problem they’ve been having. What shocked Peter the most was to learn that he had been personally invited to come along as well with his friends.
Despite yesterday’s surprise attack by the Vulture, things were back on track with spring break plans. Ned had come over in the morning with a stuffed full bookbag on his back and a suit case in one hand. He had walked into Peter being given one last look over by Dr. Cho to make sure his ear drums had mostly fixed themselves after the second – and worst – sonic blast attack.
“What the heck did I miss?” Ned blinked in surprise when he saw the tired faces of his friends, readjusting the strap of his bookbag.
“Dude, you should be glad you missed it,” Harry yawned and ran a hand through his messy hair. “The Vulture dang near destroyed Pete’s hearing.”
“The Vulture was here?!” Ned squealed in equal parts fear and excitement.
Peter flinched at the noise and clamped both hands over his ears, hunching over as the volume of Ned’s voice still pierced Peter’s super sensitive hearing. Michelle, who was looking rough between the lack of sleep and worry for Peter, shot Ned a glare that would have had lesser men peeing their pants.
“Sorry,” Ned apologized with a wince.
Michelle tried to hide it as much as possible but she had been the most excited since she had heard their destination. It was on her bucket list to be able to meet the princess of Wakanda. In-between naps and looking out the window of the plane, Michelle kept gushing about all that Shuri had accomplished and showing Peter news articles about how she was changing things for womankind.
Harry was more laid-back about the entire thing which was hilarious as it balanced out Ned’s absolute fan-boying. Ned was infodumping everything he had learned about Wakanda since their official introduction to the world and Harry took everything with a smile, asking follow-up questions. Peter’s two best friends were ready to explore the kingdom of Wakanda.
“Petey?” Morgan’s voice called for her brother. She was sitting at one of the tables, her legs swinging through the air as she sat on a chair made for someone taller than her.
“Yeah, Mo?” Peter called over his shoulder.
“Can you tell Harley to stop cheating?” Morgan pouted as she pointed at Harley.
“Don’t hate the player, hate the game,” Harley said with a dramatic flip of his short hair. It made all the clip-on jewelry of Morgan’s ‘Pretty Pretty Princess’ game swing in the air as Harley. So far, Harley was wearing his color’s earrings, bracelet, necklace, and ring that was so small for him that he had to wear it on the first joint of his pinky finger.
Harley had arrived shortly after Ned in the morning. Both of their school schedules had lined up and the college student jumped on the chance to have the same spring break with his honorary siblings. Peter had known that Harley would be joining but kept it secret from Harry and Ned, who were quickly bonding more with the young adult. Michelle had acted indifferent about the surprise but Peter knew that she was also excited to have Harley on the trip with them.
“Harl, stop cheating and let your sister win,” Tony softly scolded his pseudo-son without looking back.
“I’m not cheating,” Harley scoffed, snapping another color of earrings on that had no one to claim them.
“I saw you kicking the table to make the spinner land on what you wanted,” Tony deadpanned.
Morgan gasped dramatically in the way only a little kid can. “You said that was from the plane shaking!” Morgan screeched.
Peter jumped at the sound as it bounced in the small space and his still tender hearing, throwing on his headphones with his hands pressing them tight to his head to block out most of the sound around him. Michelle paused in her reading on Shuri’s latest Instagram post to look at Peter in concern while he winced in pain. The web-slinger caught her eye and smiled, grabbing at her free hand to let her know that he was okay.
“Morgan, please, inside voices while in the plane,” Tony softly corrected his daughter. “Petey’s hearing is super-duper strong, remember?”
“Sorry Petey,” Morgan apologized, turning in her chair to look at Peter with the most sorrowful eyes.
“It’s okay, Mo,” Peter said as he rubbed the ringing out of his hearing and lowered his headphones.
“We’re approaching Birnin Zana now,” Clint said over the comms from where he was flying the Quinjet. Since they were on official business, the Avengers had tagged along with them flying in the Quinjet in front of Tony’s private jet. Friday was flying the jet but Rhodey was in the cockpit in case he had to take over.
Peter went back to plastering his face to the window to watch as the capital city of Wakanda approached. He breathed out in excitement and Tony could practically see Peter vibrating. May, who had been farther back in the plane with Happy, made her way up the aisle and stopped behind Peter’s chair. She reached forward to play with his curly hair, smiling gently at her nephew.
“I think the last time I saw you this excited for a trip was when Ben and I took you to the beach for the first time,” May said.
Peter looked up at May with a bright grin. “Remember the giant sandcastle uncle Ben and I made that got washed away right after you took the picture?”
“I still have the picture at home,” May giggled.
Peter snickered to himself as he remembered the moment. He had been so heartbroken as a child that his hard work was washed away like that. Looking back at it now, it made him laugh.
May pressed a kiss against the top of Peter’s head before heading off to her seat. Everyone was getting settled in preparation of landing. Harley put away his and Morgan’s game while Pepper carried her daughter to her seat to buckle her in.
Landing occurred without much incident and as soon as Rhodey gave the okay, the passengers were unbuckling and getting up from their seats. Peter popped open the overhead bins to grab his and Michelle’s bookbags. Ned and Harry grabbed their own while Harley took care of his and Morgan’s bookbags. Harley felt no embarrassment at all carrying Morgan’s small sparkly pink bookbag, even posing with it like he was a model while made them all laugh.
Michelle hefted her bookbag on and held her hand out for her duffle bag that Peter pulled out. Peter grinned and looped it over one shoulder, the other already occupied by his own bag. Michelle snorted at Peter. “You know I can carry my own bag, right?” Michelle asked.
“Yeah, I know,” Peter shrugged with a teasing grin. “But I want to carry your bag for you.”
“What a gentleman,” Michelle cooed and dropped her hand.
Harry leaned forward with his duffle bag held out towards Peter. “You want to carry mine, too, Pete?”
“Carry your own,” Peter deadpanned over his shoulder.
“Woooooow, no love lost on me,” Harry said dramatically as he set the strap of his bag on his shoulder.
“Don’t worry, Harry. You have me to fill the void Peter left in us,” Ned added on equally as dramatic. His suitcase he had packed was already on the ground next to him after pulling it down.
“Oh, Ned, what would I do without you?!” Harry exclaimed as he glomped himself onto Ned. In turn, Ned held onto Harry just as much. Michelle stuck her finger in her mouth like she was throwing up while Peter laughed at his best friends’ dramatics.
Tony watched this the entire time with an eyebrow twitching. Harley leaned over to Tony with his hand cupped around his mouth. “Hey, would you kill me if I join in on those dramatics?” Harley asked in a stage-whisper.
“Absolutely,” Tony answered without hesitation.
Harley nodded for a moment before a shit-eating grin took over his face. “Cool, cool, looks like I’m going to have an early death,” Harley teased.
Tony rolled his eyes and pushed Harley’s shoulder. “Get going already. We don’t want to keep the royal family of Wakanda waiting for us too long.”
Pepper took to carrying Morgan while Tony took care of their bags. Tony only got a step past Peter when he noticed his burden lightening and looking over his shoulder to see his protégé now carrying another bag in his hands. Peter winked with his tongue sticking out. Behind him, Harry and Ned griped about how the love that was supposed to be for them was given so freely to everyone else. Michelle just ignored them.
Tony continued on his way to exit the plane, the door already opened from Rhodey leaving. His own best friend was talking with Clint after the archer had landed the quinjet. The rest of the avengers was waiting for Tony’s group before introducing themselves to the welcoming party.
T’Challa, the king of Wakanda, and his younger sister, princess Shuri stood on the platform. The Wakandan Royal Guard stood behind their king and princess in a tight formation, backs straight and spears held in tight fists as they fulfilled their jobs as protectors of Wakanda and its royal family. Beyond them was the Dora Milaje who stood proudly and Michelle breathed in awe at seeing them.
“MJ, you ready to meet your idol?” Peter chuckled, tightening his grip on her hand just slightly as they took the short staircase down the plane.
“I can’t believe this is actually going to happen,” Michelle breathed in amazement. Peter could literally hear how excited she was from how fast her heart was beating.
The entourage stopped in front of the welcoming party with Tony at the center. He stepped forward and held a hand out in greeting. “King T’Challa, it’s been a while,” Tony smiled.
T’Challa grinned back and stepped forward, clasping Tony’s hand to shake it. “We are honored that you have all come to our beautiful Wakanda.”
“The honor is all ours,” Tony chuckled and let go of T’Challa’s hands to motion Peter over. “Pete, come here and meet the Black Panther. Maybe we can finally topple Thor from his place as your favorite.”
“Oh my god, what is your life, Peter?” Ned gasped quietly. Harry nodded in amazed agreement.
Peter put down a few of the bags he was carrying and stepped forward to stand next to Tony. Peter held a hand out for a handshake but then thought better – there was no way he could just shake hands with the royalty of Wakanda – and then started to bend down in a bow. He stilled when he realized that probably wasn’t the correct greeting either. Still in the half bow, Peter started raising his hand to salute them.
But that felt wrong too.
Grumbling, Peter cycled between the three polite greetings while everyone watched him. The awkwardness finally broke when Shuri broke in a peal of laughter. “Oh, spider boy, what are you doing?!”
Peter stilled as his identity was revealed. With wide eyes, he looked accusatorially over to Tony. “I didn’t tell them,” Tony said with his hands held up in surrender.
“You act like it was hard to figure out,” Shuri laughed and stepped forward. She grabbed at Peter’s hand, shaking it once before turning it over to show off his web shooters. “Then again, most of the world is not as smart as I am.”
“Please excuse my sister, she does not know when to be boastful and not,” T’Challa sighed in resignation and ran a hand down his face.
“And excuse my brother for having no sense of fun,” Shuri huffed, smacking her brother on the arm.
T’Challa sighed even harder. “Shuri, please sister, mind yourself.”
Shuri just stuck her tongue out at her brother. She turned back to Peter and inspected his web shooters. “So, these are how you create your webs? What is the formula? I was able to guess most of it but I am missing a key component. What in the tensile strength? What is the range? How do you—”
“Sister, please, there will be time for questions later,” T’Challa interrupted, grabbing Shuri’s hand to let go of Peter. “We haven’t even welcomed out guests inside.”
Shuri clicked her tongue and placed her hands on her hips. “Very well,” Shuri relented. She then leaned forward and winked at Peter. “But I will get all of your secrets before you leave.”
“You’ve already cracked the biggest one,” Peter grumbled.
Chuckling, Shuri nudged her brother with her shoulder. “I like this one,” Shuri said.
T’Challa rolled his eyes and inclined his head to Tony. “I’m sorry about her. She doesn’t have a lot of friends with her superiority complex,” T’Challa apologized.
“Well, we have a group of teenagers here that excited to meet her,” Tony chuckled, gesturing to the Michelle, Ned, and Harry behind him. He had guessed that T'Challa had all the teenagers invited to set up a sort of 'playdate' for his sister to make friends her age.
Shuri was still upset at what her brother said and huffed at him. “Who are you saying has a superiority complex?!” Shuri screeched, swatting at her brother.
Even outside, the sudden change in pitch and volume was grating on Peter’s sensitive ears. He stumbled back a step with his hands on his ears, eyes clenched tight as he breathed through the pain. The Wakandan Royal Guard and Dora Milaje tensed as they noticed something was wrong. Tony was already supporting Peter with a hand on his shoulder with Michelle hurrying forward to support Peter from the other side.
T’Challa and Shuri both shared a look of worry. “What is wrong with your son, Stark?” T’Challa asked.
“Ah, just some leftover sensitivity on the spiderling’s hearing after last night,” Tony explained. Peter opened his eyes and shook his head, blinking as the ringing in his ears dissipated. Tony let out a breath of relief that Peter recovered quickly from it.
“Will he be alright?” T’Challa asked.
“For the most part,” Tony answered. "Just have to give it time to heal completely."
Peter tentatively released his ears before nodding his head that he was okay now, letting his hands fall away completely. “The spider gave me enhanced senses and that can kind of kick my butt at times,” Peter joked flatly. “Sorry about that.”
“Nonsense, that was my own fault,” Shuri said. She held her chin in thought as she hummed. “Perhaps I can fashion something that will be able to help you out.”
“There will be time for that later,” T’Challa promised his sister, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Now, would you please do the honors?”
Brightening, Shuri threw both arms into the air. “Welcome to Wakanda!” Shuri cheered happily.
“Oh my god, this is the best thing ever,” Peter breathed as he looked at the landscape around him. Tony had to place a hand on Peter’s shoulder to keep him from literally jumping in excitement.
“Kid, I haven’t seen you this excited since they announced the final season to that one Star Wars show,” Tony chuckled.
“Because the Bad Batch means the end of the clone wars era and it’s like one of the best in the entire Star Wars saga,” Peter said with all the seriousness he could have.
“Whatever,” Tony snorted and patted Peter’s shoulder. “Just try to keep your excitement toned down just a bit. We don’t want you jumping onto the ceilings and having to literally pry you off when you can’t unstick yourself.”
“That’s only happened once,” Peter grumbled with his cheeks growing red in embarrassment.
“Three times,” Tony corrected.
“I so need to hear the stories about that,” Harry commented from behind, his smile a teasing grin.
“No,” Peter said.
“I’ll tell you later,” Tony winked at Harry and they both ignored Peter’s indignant squawk.
“I would like to also hear!” Shuri added with her hand raised in the air.
“I just met you and you are already conspiring against me?!” Peter exclaimed.
“It seems like the right side to be on,” Shuri teased.
“Wooooow, stomp on the spider while he’s already down. I see how it is,” Peter huffed playfully.
Shuri giggled and waved the teenagers to follow after her. “All of you, come with me. I’m going to give you all the grand tour,” Shuri winked to the group. “Consider yourself blessed.”
Michelle was almost at Peter’s level of excitement for getting a private tour of Wakanda by one of her biggest role models. Harry adjusted his bag’s strap on his shoulder while Ned gasped in awe as they were led towards the palace.
"This is amazing," Ned breathed.
"You've got that right, Ned," Harry agreed, looking at the technology and architecture around them. "So much better than going to Italy for the sixth time."
Michelle rolled her eyes. “Rich kids,” she murmured. Peter laughed and let Michelle drag him after Shuri.