Since they hadn't had to actually walk to the palace, none of them were tired enough to need a nap or anything like that. Just a chance to take a shower (or a bath) and get into a change of clothes that weren't dusty or dirty or already worn. The boys didn't have a lot of options in Wakanda for changes of clothing, so they ended up in jeans and button down shirts in deference to the fact that dinner was almost certainly going to be attended by T'Challa and wearing a Star Wars t-shirt was probably a little too informal for a meal with a king.

They were a little rumpled from being in their bags all week, but they were clean.

MJ, on the other hand had been given a little bit of a warning with Shuri and a suggestion that she might want something nicer to wear than jeans, herself, for their last dinner in Wakanda. She'd brought a sundress that had been left behind when they'd gone on safari in a closet in the suite, so she had nicer clothes to wear and looked far less rumpled than Peter and Ned when she'd joined them in the main room of the suite they were sharing.

"Did you get ahold of Tony or Pepper?" she asked Peter, noticing that he wasn't on his phone; he and Ned were playing a marble game that was on the coffee table.

"Pepper," Peter replied. He smirked. "Tony was in a meeting, and she had his phone to keep him from getting distracted."

"Must have been important."

"That's what Pepper said. He's not great and focusing on a single thing – unless it's technology or a project like that. You look nice."

She smiled.

"Thank you." MJ went and seated herself in one of the chairs, rather than a low-slung sofa like the boys were using. "Who's winning?"

"Beats me," Ned said. "We've never actually played it before."

"How do you know what to do?"

"It might not even be a game," Peter said, shrugging, and looking amused with himself. "We're just making it up as we go along while we wait."

"Where did you get the dress?" Ned asked, frowning. "I didn't see-"

"I left it here," MJ told him with a smirk. "So I wouldn't look like a slob tonight."

There was a knock on the door, and Peter got up to go answer it. He was pretty much expecting it to be Shuri, or one of the palace servants to let them know everything was ready (although it was a little early, he thought) but instead, there were two people he didn't recognize. A woman and a man, both older, with a small satchel in the man's hand. It was the woman who spoke when he answered, though, and she gave a slight bow.

"Greetings, Peter Parker. I am Salina. This is my husband Kal."

"Hi. It's nice to meet you."

He didn't know who they were, though. Luckily, Alec did – although he didn't need the explanation, since Salina spoke up, again, before Alec could.

"Her highness requested that we come to your rooms," she told him. "To assist you in determining what treasures you may have found in your vibranium mine."

"Oh. Neat. Yeah." Peter stepped aside, smiling. "Please come in. Thank you." He walked them to the middle of the room where his friends were sitting, watching. "Hey, guys, this is Salina and her husband Kal. They're here to help look through the stuff from the vibranium mine. To see if there's anything good."

"Sweet." Ned was clearly looking forward to that. "I'll go get my bag."

Peter looked at MJ.

"I'm going to get mine, want me to get yours, too?"

"Please. It's on my bed."

They'd known that Shuri had sent for someone to be available to help them sort out what was good and what was junk from their day in the mine, so none of them had buried their bag too deeply once they'd returned to the palace. Maybe it was sooner than expected, but that was all to the good.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

It was almost an hour later when there was another knock on the door. This one wasn't quite as diffident as the last, but it was again Peter who separated from the others to go answer it. And was surprised to see Tony and Pepper standing on the other side. Surprised enough that it actually took him a moment to react.

"I thought you were in a meeting?"

Tony smiled.

"I was." He couldn't help himself; he reached for the boy and pulled him into a hug. "Now I'm not."

Peter hugged him, cheerfully, and then hugged Pepper, just as happy to see her.

"Hey."

"Hi, honey." She kissed his ear as she let him go. "Are you going to invite us in?" she asked, pointedly. "Or do we stand here like trick-or-treaters on the 1st of November?"

Peter laughed, and moved aside.

"Come in. Is it just you guys? Did Stephen come?"

"Stephen and Natasha, both," Tony confirmed, looking around and seeing Ned hunched over the coffee table with a man the billionaire didn't recognize, and MJ talking to a woman he didn't know. There was a lot of clutter on the table in front of them. "They're making their manners with T'Challa and Shuri."

"Hey Pepper. Hi, Tony," Ned hadn't missed the appearance of Peter's folks. "How was the meeting?"

"Awful. Pepper made me make decisions about business stuff. You know how much I love that. What are you doing?"

"Kal and Salina are helping us with the stuff we found in the mine."

Since Peter was sure that Shuri knew that Salina and Kal were there, he wasn't surprised that Tony didn't look confused as he walked over.

"Anything good?" he asked, curiously.

"There are several very nice stones," Kal said, answering the question, but giving Tony and Pepper a slight bow by way of greeting even as he did. "A diamond as large as my thumb once it is cut and clean."

"Wow. Nice."

"Who found the diamond?" Pepper asked, curiously, her arm around Peter's waist and unwilling to let him go, just yet.

"I did," MJ said with a smile.

"I found a few, too," Ned said. "But not as big."

"He found a couple of emeralds that can be matched, though," Peter said. "And a chunk of high grade vibranium, according to Salina."

"High grade?"

"Good enough to be refined," Salina confirmed. Even sitting, she was clearly comfortable and even looked like she'd been enjoying herself. "It is not very common to find anything of such quality in a mine that has been abandoned."

"What's it worth?" Tony asked, curiously.

"It will depend on how it is handled," the woman told him. "It could be very valuable."

"Or it could be worth nothing," Kal added. He stood up and wiped his hands on his pants. "We will allow you a chance to reconnect with your family," he told the youngsters. "If you have any questions or requests for jewel work, we will be available in the morning before you return home."

"Thank you," Peter said, still acting as host, even though all of them were – technically – hosts. He was an elder of his tribe and was supposed to be getting good at that kind of thing. "We appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge with us."

Twin bows from both Salina and Kal.

"It is our pleasure."

They let themselves out and closed the door behind them. Tony looked at Ned and MJ.

"Did you two have a good time?"

"It was great."

MJ nodded her agreement.

"So much fun."

She and Ned had both been keeping in touch with their folks. Not as often as Peter had checked in with Tony, of course, but Tony was clingier than pretty much Seran Wrap, so that wasn't too surprising.

The billionaire made a show of looking around the room, and then under the sofa.

"What are you looking for?" Ned asked, curiously, accepting Pepper's hug, cheerfully, but watching Tony.

"Just looking to see if any of you are trying to stash an elephant or cheetah cub in your suitcases."

Peter wasn't the only one to grin.

"Nothing like that," Ned said, shrugging. "Shuri was with Peter to keep him from doing anything dumb, and MJ and me are too smart to even try it."

Tony didn't look convinced, but Pepper chuckled and hooked her arm through Ned's.

"Come on," she said. "The others are waiting for us, and I'm hungry."

"Me, too," Tony agreed. He caught MJ's arm to escort her to dinner, leaving Peter to follow them as they left the suite. "I can't wait to hear your stories."