It was well into the afternoon by the time they were done tossing pumpkins. The field was littered with shards of pumpkin shells and innards and the participants and observers were all getting chilled. It didn't help that it was starting to spit some snow, and that was the final kicker when they decided to call it a day.

"This was a great idea," Ned said as they began loading the truck with the devices and breaking down the table. "We should do it again, sometime."

"With snowballs," Peter suggested, turning to look at Tony, hopefully.

The billionaire rolled his eyes, but he was amused.

"Sure. That could be arranged."

"What do we do with these?" Ned asked, picking his device up and putting it in the truck. "Do we get to keep them?"

"I'm not sending you home with this thing," Pepper told him, also amused. "The first time your little sister annoys you, she'll find herself launched out a window, or something."

The boy allowed his eyes to go wide and innocent – and shocked as if she'd ever even consider that he'd do something like that.

"Whaaaaat?"

Steve chuckled at that.

"We can always store them at the compound," he suggested.

"Or in Wakanda," T'Challa suggested. "They could always go in the technology museum."

"Wakanda has a technology museum?" MJ asked, surprised.

No more than the others – aside from Shuri, obviously.

The young king smiled.

"Of course we do." T'Challa's expression was slightly smug. "It is a known fact that my people were the first to harness fire, and it was my people who started farming, and cultivating."

"I suppose you invented the wheel?" Tony asked, just this side of sarcastically, but definitely with a bit of disbelief in his expression.

"Naturally."

"I don't remember any mention of that in any of the books that I've read," Jack pointed out, comfortable enough with him after the day of being around him that he was willing to be in on the banter.

T'Challa smirked.

"Wakanda is very isolated. Even back in prehistoric times. We would not have shared that discovery, so I suppose that it is possible – very unlikely, however – that others may have invented those things, as well."

"We'll send them home with you, then," Tony told hid friend. "But don't bury them – in case we need them for snowballs in the near future."

"It would be interesting to see," T'Challa agreed. He turned to Jack, and to Gina, who had both watched – and participated in – the various contests the last several hours. "I appreciate your willingness to open your hearths to us," he added. "If ever you need anything, Wakanda will serve."

"It was a pleasure," Jack assured him with a slight bow.

"And we got a pig out of it," Gina reminded him. "Tell your mother thank you and that we'll take good care of him."

T'Challa's bow was kingly, and he looked, pointedly, at Shuri, who echoed his appreciation – although she'd been planning on it, of course.

"Will you stay for a snack before you go?" Gina offer? "I made a cake."

Tony nodded, not even looking at the others.

"An offer we can't refuse."

They could. But why would they? It was cake.

OOOOOOOO

"Are you guys sure you don't want to stay for dinner?"

T'Challa shook his head.

"Thank you, Tony, but no. We will have a long day, as it is, and to stay any longer will just make it longer."

Shuri smiled.

"He will sleep through the council meeting, if he does not get enough rest."

"I'm glad you guys came," Peter told them both. "It was more fun with you here."

"Thank you, Peter," T'Challa replied. "Do not forget to invite us when you decide to chuck snowballs."

"You could always try designing a machine, yourself," Tony told T'Challa.

"Perhaps."

All of the machines were now on the floating cart that Shuri had brought with her, as well as two wheeled carts that were going to be pushed by the Wakandan security people as they went home.

Strange waited until they were all ready and all goodbyes had been said, handshakes and hugs were exchanged – including his own – and then the sorcerer supreme opened a portal back into Shuri's workshop.

"That was pretty fun," Ned said – again. "We should do it more often."

"What other obscure contests can you think of?" Peter asked Tony as they all walked over to the tables in the lounge. "We could try it, next."

The billionaire rolled his eyes, recognizing that he was being teased and more than willing to allow it, since it was Peter.

"I'll let you know."

Still talking about the entertaining day, they settled at the table to eat.

OOOOOOO

Peter wasn't surprised when an arm came around his neck as he was finishing his apple pie and ice cream. Not only did he feel her coming, but he had noticed Ned's eyes light up at the same time.

"Hey, baby, where's MJ?"

He smiled at Natasha when she pulled away so she could see him and seated herself next to Stephen.

"Her family is going to get a Christmas tree, tomorrow," he replied. "So she couldn't stay."

She accepted that with a nod, and reached for a piece of bread as Carol seated herself next to Steve.

"So who won?"

Ned smirked.

"It depends on who you ask – and which competition you mean."

"Oh?"

"What does that mean?" Carol asked, curiously, also reaching for a bread roll.

"It means that Tony's pumpkin didn't go as far as Peter's and Pete's," Pepper answered. "So they had other contests; how high, how long is its hangtime, and which one smashes into the most pieces."

"It would have been boring to just have one long-distance contest," Tony pointed out. "Not to mention all the time it took to design and build them."

Peter nodded his agreement.

"Did you have a good day?"

Romanoff nodded, too, and her smile was cheerful.

"We shopped, and then had lunch at a fancy little café, and then shopped some more. Then it decided to rain on us, so we came home."

"Did you get me anything?"

Carol rolled her eyes.

"We got one of everything out there, I think. Almost certainly there's something for you in one of the bags we brought back."

"And me?" Ned asked.

Natasha smiled.

"And you," she confirmed.

Ned grinned, but it was Pepper who spoke, next, and she was looking at Peter and Ned when she did.

"I don't want you two to stay up late, this evening," she told them. "We're doing brunch at 10 and then Ned's mom wants him home soon after."

The boy rolled his eyes, but he was still cheerful.

"Mom probably wants me to distract everyone else so she can wrap presents."

"You have your tree up?" Stephen asked.

"We put it up super early," he said, nodding. "Just to keep her from going crazy listening to my sister ask a hundred times a day."

"Makes sense to me," Tony said.

"Yeah." He shrugged. "It's fake, so we don't need to worry about it drying out and catching on fire, or something. If it wasn't so gawdy, mom would probably just keep it up all year long."

"Finish eating, guys," Tony told them. "Then we'll see what kind of pre-bed activities we can find."

They nodded, cheerfully. It wasn't like they couldn't just go play video games, but it was a lot more fun to hang out with the Avengers than play GTA – most of the time.