By the time Peter reached his quarters he was mostly over the shock of what had happened and on his way to worried.

Not because Shuri had kissed him – twice. Yes, that was scary, and somewhat exciting and astounding, really. Ned had apparently been right – again – and Shuri was interested in him. But that presented a lot of concerns for the boy. A bevy of them from different sources, even, and he was already considering them as he walked into his rooms, closed the door behind him, and flopped down on the couch.

She wanted him to be her boyfriend? Presumably, she did. She asked how he felt and he'd been shocked enough to be honest. No hedging. But she was a princess, and despite the tribe thing, he was aware that he wasn't really a noble of Wakanda. What would T'Challa say when he found out about the kiss? He probably already knew, since Shuri hadn't bothered to hide her actions from the security person. What would he think? What if he thought it was all Peter's idea? What if he thought the birthday party was just a way to lure Shuri to the compound and to get her alone to make a move on her?

Even worse, what if he disapproved and didn't allow Shuri to stay? Or didn't allow her to come back? Or didn't allow Peter to see her, again, for fear that-

"You need to calm down…" Alec said, suddenly, breaking into the panic that was beginning to build. "None of that is going to happen."

"It could," Peter said, getting up, restless, now. "He's a king, and even if she didn't agree with what he said, he could order her to stay away from me, and she'd have to listen." He walked to the window, looking out as well as he could around the sunroom that he and Tony had installed in the window for Nutmeg. The field was dark, except for the security light that was on the corner of the building, but Peter didn't have any trouble seeing out. "What is Tony going to say when he finds out what happened? Or Pepper?"

What if they didn't approve of Shuri and him being more than friends? What if he disappointed them? They'd be nice about it, of course, but he didn't want to see any-

"Stop. Peter, you're working yourself up for nothing." Alec's 'voice' was firm and far more confident than the way Peter felt, just then. "It was just a kiss. Tony and Pepper aren't going to be upset, and neither is T'Challa."

"You don't know that…" Peter muttered. Then he hesitated. "Or do you? Did you check in their minds?"

"I'm not close enough to check in their minds," Alec told him. "And even if I was, it isn't why I'm here. I'd be doing you a great disservice if I allow you use my abilities to get into the heads of the people around you. You need to communicate with them."

"I know."

His stomach clenched, though, and he could feel the panic building, even though he knew – deep down – that Alec was right, and it was just a kiss.

"Natasha is right next door," the ancient sorcerer reminded him.

"Yeah."

That was what he needed; he knew. And Alec knew. She was experienced enough with his panic attacks; she could bring him down before it got bad – or call Stephen if it did get bad. The sorcerer supreme could control him, where no one else could, if he decided to do something crazy. He turned from the window and crossed the room, again, leaving his quarters and going next door. Just as he raised his hand to knock, it opened, and Natasha was in front of him, looking disheveled in sweats and a t-shirt, as if she'd been ready for bed – or had been pulled from her bed by some inner prompting.

The assassin frowned, her beautiful eyes concerned at his appearance. She reached for his hand and pulled him into her room.

"What's going on?"

"Shuri kissed me," Peter replied, walking in and automatically looking for Stephen, but not seeing him. "What do I do? T'Challa isn't going to let her see me, again, and Tony and Pepper are going to think that I'm-"

"Wait…" Natasha was about forty steps behind Peter's reasoning, and well aware of it. She could also see that he was distraught, and like the boy hoped, she recognized the growing panic in his expression – and reacted to it. "Stop, baby… take a breath."

He took a deep breath, trembling, now, but holding still and looking at her.

"Good," Alec said, soothing him from the inside.

"What happened?" Natasha asked. "Tell me, slowly."

"I was walking Shuri to her room and she pulled me into a closet, and she kissed me. She called me clueless and said she was tired of being uncertain. And then she asked if I liked her as more than a friend."

"Oh." Romanoff's expression softened. No wonder he was so panicked. "What did you say?"

"That I do."

Natasha's hand came up to her mouth, which was open in a little 'o' of surprise – it also hid the smile. He was too upset to appreciate the thought of her being amused, she knew.

"Then what happened?"

"Nothing. Honest."

"No, I know nothing happened," she assured him. "But what did Shuri say?"

"We were at her door and she asked me in, but I reminded her that Tony said no boys in the girls' rooms, so I didn't go in."

"And then what?"

"She kissed me, again – right in front of her guard – and said we'd talk in the morning."

"Oh. And then…?"

"I went to my room, started panicking and came here."

Poor baby.

She nodded.

"What are you most worried about?" Natasha asked. "That she kissed you in front of her guard, and that the guard will tell T'Challa?"

It was specifically mentioned, so she was sure she was correct.

"Yes. He could make her go home. Or tell her he doesn't want her to come back, because he doesn't approve of me. Or he might-"

"Wait. Why doesn't he approve of you? Did he say that?"

"No. But I'm not really boyfriend material for a princess, right? He's a king. He can make her stop being my friend."

"I happen to know that he likes you very much," Natasha told Peter, taking his hand and walking him over to her sofa and pressing him down into the leather. She sat down next to him, turned so that she could watch him, carefully. "I also know that king or not, he can't tell Shuri not to be your friend. And he wouldn't do that, anyway."

"You don't think so?"

"Do you?" she asked, pointedly. "If someone tried to tell you that you couldn't be Shuri's friend, would you agree? Even if it was the king of Wakanda?"

"No. I'd still be her friend."

"Shuri's old enough to make some decisions, herself," Natasha said. "And who she dates is one of them. By her peoples' standards, she's an adult. I'm not saying the two of you should rush out and get married, or something," Romanoff added. "But dating isn't so serious, really. I think a lot of people already assumed that you were."

"Really?"

"You spend a lot of time together," she pointed out. "And you're always holding hands."

"Oh."

"Take a deep breath." He did what he was told. "Now… what else?"

"What about Tony and Pepper?"

"What about them?" she asked. "You're worried about their reaction to the kiss? Or what they would think if you and Shuri were dating…?"

"I don't want to disappoint them."

"They could never be disappointed by you. Certainly not because you wanted to be Shuri's boyfriend. I think they'd be more upset if they thought you were holding back because you didn't think they would approve. Besides, Shuri's a pretty good catch, really. If you're going to set your sights on finding a girlfriend, she's right up at the top of the list."

"Because she's a princess?"

Natasha smiled, and shook her head.

"Because she's brilliant, and mature, and a genuinely nice person. And she already knows your secret, so you don't have to hide anything from her."

"Oh."

"Not to mention," she added. "She knows you pretty well, and knows what you do and isn't afraid of that. MJ was a good choice for you, too – for many of the same reasons that Shuri is – but MJ couldn't handle you being in danger. Shuri is royalty, and has been raised to understand that sometimes in order to protect your people, or your loved ones, you have to put yourself in harm's way."

"I didn't think about that…"

"I know." Natasha smiled. "Because you're clueless."

That made Peter smile, too.

"I guess so."

"Feel better?"

"Yes."

"The world isn't going to end because of a kiss, baby. I promise."

"It was two kisses, technically," Peter reminded her.

"It better stay just kisses," the super spy told him, pointedly. "If you know what's good for you. I can only hold back so many assassins if word were to get out to T'Challa that you're thinking about other foolishness."

Peter blushed, then, and shook his head.

"No. I know better." He hesitated. "What do I say to her? In the morning, I mean…"

"Good morning is a good start…"

He rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean. I'm no good talking to girls. Women, I mean…"

"You're good at talking to Shuri," she reminded him.

"Because she's my friend."

"She's still your friend," Natasha told him. "Just keep that in mind."

Peter hesitated, seeing the truth in that, and then shrugged.

"Yeah. I'll try."

"Good. Feel better?"

"Yes." Definitely not in the panic that he had been, anyway. And better about the world in general. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Need anything else?"

Her way of asking him if he wanted to stay in her rooms, that night, he knew.

"No. I'm good. Thanks to you." He hugged her, wishing there were better and more powerful words than just thank you that he could use. "I'm going to go to bed."

"Good."

"As soon as I find my cat."

Nutmeg wasn't in his rooms, after all. Which meant that he was probably out destroying something.