Tony and Pepper went through the portal with the kids when Stephen made it. Not because they were being clingy, the billionaire told his son, but because they wanted to see T'Challa – and maybe meet the new girl that Shuri had mentioned a time or two to Peter – who had then passed the information to them. Natasha went as well – and Stephen rounded out the group by necessity. Since the Wakandans were supplying all the necessities, all the three visitors needed were clothes and toiletries and the like, so the pile of bags that went through the portal with them wasn't a mountain, and Peter easily handled the really heavy stuff, leaving the smaller bags for his friends.

All of them were grinning when they ended up walking into the ante room of T'Challa's main council chamber, where the king himself was waiting to greet them with a small handful of his council arranged behind him. Peter was a noble of Wakanda, after all, and since he was paying an official visit to his adoptive country, his visit couldn't be downplayed as much as he'd have preferred.

It was T'Challa who stepped forward when Strange closed the portal, and it was Pepper that he greeted, first. His hand caught hers and he brought it up to press lightly against his lips, his dark eyes cheerfully belying the formalness of the occasion.

"Pepper. It is wonderful to see you, again."

She smiled, too. It was hard not to, really.

"You as well, T'Challa. You look good."

"It is the company I am keeping," he assured her.

"We've heard about the company you've been keeping," tony said, offering the man his hand. He was never one to stand on ceremony with friends, but knew a little bit was needed for Wakanda. "When do we get to meet her?"

Another smile from the young king.

"Another time, perhaps."

"Is she the one, then?" Pepper asked, arching an eyebrow, artfully.

T'Challa rolled his eyes, but he was amused.

"We shall see." He turned his attention to Natasha and Stephen, offering his hand to Natasha, first, and then Stephen. "Thank you for bringing them," he told Stephen. He smiled at Natasha, then. "And thank you for trusting us with him."

This was said softly enough that only those closest to him heard it, and she nodded.

"You're welcome."

The moment passed, and then T'Challa turned to Peter and his friends.

"You are all welcomed here. We've prepared a light meal."

It was a little early for breakfast, Wakanda time, and more like a midnight snack for those visiting Americans, but they nodded, and Tony spoke for all of them.

"We accept."

They followed, filing out of the room and moving toward one of the places that were used for informal meals.

"Where's Shuri?" Peter heard Tony ask T'Challa.

He already knew the answer and turned to look at Ned and MJ.

"I think we'll have a chance to nap after we eat," he said. "Shuri said that she'll take us on a tour of the palace grounds, later, as part of our welcome, but it's early morning, here, and they know we're at the end of our day."

"Shuri is assisting with some modifications to one of the booster arrays in the palace power matrix," T'Challa told Tony. "Something about making sure nothing blows up while she is gone with her friends."

Stark smirked.

"So you have no idea what she's doing, do you?"

The king of Wakanda rolled his eyes, well aware that he was being teased – and enjoying the fact – secretly. Being a king was a formal life and it was refreshing to have someone like Tony Stark who was willing to lighten things up a little and never bowed.

"It is bad form to be smarter than a king," he told his friend. "It is even worse to flaunt that fact."

Peter chuckled from behind them and Tony winked.

"Sorry."

But he wasn't and it was obvious.

OOOOOOOOO

MJ looked down at the plate that had been put in front of her and Peter glanced over at the odd expression on his friend's face.

"Problem?"

"This is bacon and eggs."

There was more than that, of course; bacon, eggs, sausages, bread, potatoes, and many varieties of fruit were all in front of them. A small meal but a nod to the fact that there were three teenagers – and two of them were teenaged boys – and they might want more than a simple piece of toast with jam on it.

"Yeah? So?"

She frowned and glanced over at Ned.

"Ned said we were going to have water buffalo and ostrich."

Peter wasn't the only one to look at Ned, who was suddenly sporting a very innocent expression.

"What? I said we might have water buffalo and ostrich," he told them, his eyes wide and without guile. "We might. You never know."

"When's the last time T'Challa – or any of the others – offered you water buffalo?" Tony asked.

"Well… I mean, never. You have them, though, right?"

"We have Cape Buffalo," T'Challa confirmed. "But they are neither domesticated or a preferred food source."

"They are incredibly dangerous," one of the councilors added. "And very protective of their herd mates."

"You will see many on your safari," T'Challa told him – and MJ (he knew that Peter was already aware of what was going to be seen since he'd seen them when he'd safaried with Tony and Pepper) so you will have plenty of chances to see them up close."

"Not too up close," Tony said, pointedly, making everyone at the table who knew him smile.

"They will be fine, Tony," T'Challa assured him. "The guides we are using for their trip are the same ones used for your safari with Pepper. They are knowledgeable, as you know, and will be augmented with a small security team just to make sure nothing untoward happens." He smiled at Peter, Ned, and MJ. "A small team," he assured them.

Peter nodded.

"Shuri told me."

He wasn't concerned. It wasn't going to be a large group with them, and that was what was going to make it so fun. Their security team was a team of two members of the Dora Milaje. They would be around but they weren't going to interact with the safari. If something was dangerous, it would be the guides who explained the issue or set things back on the proper course. The guards were there to keep a constant connection between the safari and the palace. Nothing more.

Besides, it made Tony and Pepper feel better about them being at the compound while Peter was away in Wakanda, so he'd be alright with it, anyway, really.

"When do we leave?" Ned asked, eagerly.

"Today is for final preparations," T'Challa told them. "You will leave first thing, tomorrow."

"Do you have everything you need?" Tony asked the teens. "We're not going to just drop everything and come running if someone forgot their comb."

"We're good," Peter assured them. Of course, he'd had plenty of help packing before coming, so he wasn't worried. And he was a little excited, too. "I brought the camera Elmer gave me."

He had used his phone's camera the last time – and Ned and MJ were both going to do that, too – but this time he was going to try and have some high quality pictures, too. It had been Pepper's suggestion and it was a good one.

"We expect you to use it," Natasha told him.

"We expect you to avoid being eaten by a Cape Buffalo," Stephen added, making everyone but Tony smile.

"We'll do our best," Ned promised.

"Eat," T'Challa said, waving his hand toward their meal, and a handy distraction. "By the time you are finished, Shuri should be finished."

"Great."