"You look sleepy."
"I'm not," Peter lied. When Tony raised an eyebrow at him, he smiled and shrugged. "Not too much."
"You didn't sleep well?" Pepper asked, frowning as she reached out and brushed her palm against his forehead. True, he hadn't been sick or injured in a while, now, but it was a habit to be concerned, and she couldn't help her automatic reaction. "Are you alright?"
Luckily, Peter was too good-natured to be annoyed at what could easily be called babying. He shook his head.
"I'm fine. Just looking forward to today."
"At least he didn't get up at 4 am to go shopping," Stephen said, seating himself at the same table Tony and Pepper had just occupied.
Strange had just arrived in the compound – although he'd been awake a while, since he'd asked Natasha the evening before if she and Carol had wanted him to simply portal them into the city for their day of frenzied shopping. Pointing out that it was crazy to drive if they didn't need to – especially with the crowds that would be out – the two women had taken him up on the offer. He'd woken at 2:45 and had gone to collect them, hiding the annoyance he felt that they both looked wide-eyed and fresh, while he felt sleepy and rumpled. He took them to the sanctum, and they told him that they could use cabs and UBER from there on, and would have no problem getting a ride back to the compound when they were done.
"If you run into any problems, Wong will be here at the sanctum all day," he'd reminded them, brushing a kiss against her lips before shooing them out the door so he could go back to bed.
Romanoff and Danvers hadn't been at all offended, and had immediately joined the crowds of early morning shoppers who were out determined to get the best deals while everyone else slept in. Strange had slept another hour before his alarm woke him, reminding him that he needed to get ready for his day and get to the compound so he could bring Shuri from Wakanda.
"Your cloak didn't want to come?" Tony asked, smirking.
There was no way anyone would get him up at 4 am to go shopping.
"To a farm?" Stephen asked, raising an eyebrow, pointedly. "Filled with dirt, and manure, and who knows what kind of crazy earth creatures hell-bent on touching it or chewing on it? Not likely." He looked at Peter. "Have you spoken to Shuri this morning?"
"Yeah." That was one of the reasons that he was tired. She'd called him, earlier. "She's got her pumpkin chucker on one of those levitating carts, so it won't be hard to move through the portal."
The sorcerer looked at Tony and Pepper.
"You're feeding me breakfast, right?"
"Of course," Pepper assured him.
OOOOOOOOOO
"Are they ready?"
Peter nodded, ending the call with Shuri and putting his phone in his pocket.
"She says they are."
He smiled, always in a good mood when Shuri was coming for a visit, and stepped to the side to stand beside Tony and Pepper, and felt Tony put a hand on his shoulder, as if to remind him not to rush through the portal to drag Shuri through faster.
Stephen waved his hands in the familiar arc, and a moment later the portal was open. The first thing through was the cart that Peter had warned them about, and there was a sheet over the device that was on it. Tony wasn't the only showman in the world, after all, and the princess of Wakanda was going to make sure no one had a chance to analyze her machine until she was ready to let them. Shuri walked through behind the cart, pushing it and already smiling at the people waiting for them. Two of the Wakandan palace guards followed her, and then – surprising all of them – T'Challa walked through, as well, with Okoye beside him.
Even more surprising, the young king was holding a tiny piglet in his arms.
"T'Challa!" Pepper was the first to step forward, her smile bright, despite the early hour. "What a surprise."
His smile was warm.
"Me?" he asked. "Or the pig?"
"Both." She greeted him, warmly, welcoming him to the compound as a proper hostess would. "Are you staying?"
"I am." He smiled a greeting to Tony, and handed him the piglet, who squealed. "Mother has sent this fellow as a gift to the farmers."
Shuri grinned.
"I told her that Gina is smitten with Ironpig, but that Tony has not, yet, allowed him to go there."
"Because he's a baby…" Tony said, scratching the ears of the newcomer. "What a handsome guy."
"Are Ned and MJ here, yet?" Shuri asked, hugging Pepper in greeting.
"No. They're going to meet us at the farm. It's easier that way. Steve went to get them."
"Are you ready?" Tony asked. "Or can we offer you something to eat? Or something to drink?"
He was a good host, too, after all, and knew the drill well, by then.
T'Challa smiled and shook his head.
"Thank you, but no. We are fine."
They were also dressed for cold weather, they noticed. Wakanda was in sun-baked Africa, of course, but the nights were chilly, and they had arrived in clothing suited to those nights, rather than the warm days. It would work well in the November morning cold.
"The other devices are loaded in the truck and ready. We're just waiting for you."
"Are we all going together?" T'Challa asked as they turned to leave the workroom that Stephen preferred to use as a portal room.
"That was the initial plan," Stark told him. "But since you're here – and Okoye – we'll mix it up a bit. The truck will hold five. Me, Pepper, you, Stephen, and Okoye. Peter can driver Shuri and the rest of the escort in his car."
Meaning the two palace guards that had arrived with Shuri.
T'Challa nodded.
"That will be fine."
"We get to take the piglet," Shuri said. She flashed Peter a smile. "I was thinking we could name him T'piglet."
"Or T'choinker," Tony suggested.
T'Challa rolled his eyes, and looked at Pepper.
"I do not understand why you put up with such an annoyance. Shuri is my sister, so I was not given a choice, but you-"
"She loves me," Tony interrupted, pleased with himself for getting such a good dig in. Kings were fun to tease, but the opportunity didn't come up, often. "So she has to."
They walked to the garage, with the cart being pushed ahead of them, and Tony led them over to the large truck that was used for those times when they needed to haul something or pull a trailer. The devices everyone had made weren't so large that they didn't fit in the bed of the truck, and Peter and Tony loaded Shuri's without moving the sheet any more than necessary, allowing her to have her moment of secrecy. It was more fun that way, after all. Then Stark closed up the tailgate and turned back to his guests.
"Are we good?"
Everyone nodded, but Pepper frowned.
"You don't think we should put T'choinker in a carrier?"
Her eyes were amused, especially when Shuri snorted at the question. Peter smiled, too.
"I'll go get Ironpig's," he offered.
"Call Ned, too," Tony told him. "Find out how far out they are, and let them know we're leaving."
"I will."
"I will go help him," Shuri said.
"He does not need your assistance," her brother told her, stopping her before she could follow. "He is making a phone call and the carrier will not be large, as it is not a large pig. You can wait with us."
She scowled, but didn't argue, and Tony nudged her with his elbow to distract her.
"So… how about a peek at your chucker while Peter isn't here to see?"
A smile and a shake of the head proved the distraction worked.
"You will have to wait, also."
Damn.