Inimitable

Tony remains curled up in bed while T’Challa tries unsuccessfully to draw him out. “Tony, they will come around,” he says.

“Will not and that’s fine. Border tribe knows how to make comfortable beds- are these things vibranium too?” he asks and T’Challa frowns.

“No, its memory foam,” he says.

“Not any kind of memory foam I’ve slept on,” he mumbles, flipping himself over and burying his face in the blankets. They kind of smell like T’Challa, which he resents because he slept there too so where’s his scent? And the cat, which smells strangely like baby powder.

He hears T’Challa approach and he can feel the bed dip as T’Challa sits on it. The cat, who is sitting closer to T’Challa than Tony, makes a disgruntled noise but they both ignore her. “I know they haven’t reacted well to you, but they fear what they don’t understand. It would help if they had exposure to you,” T’Challa murmurs, running his hand softly up Tony’s back. The action feels nice; grounding even so Tony lets it sink in a little before he responds.

“It shouldn’t be my responsibility to make them less afraid. Its their job to confront their own bias, not mine to prove I’m not dangerous,” he tells T’Challa. “Besides, if you look at the evidence it is one hundred percent in my favor- immigration has never destroyed a country. And before you say something about conquering or whatever I’m not talking about that, I mean actual immigration. Or even people sneaking into the country. Americans and Canadians sneak across each others borders all the time and the sky is not falling. If people can’t accept the obvious and irrefutable evidence it shouldn’t by problem. Its theirs,” he says.

“How will people learn if they aren’t exposed to new things?” T’Challa asks softly.

Tony makes a face, “why should I have to put up with their abuse and suspicion because they can’t read a fucking history book?” he asks. After a moment of silence Tony sighs and sits up, “I get what you’re saying T’Challa, but the information they need is already out there- they can find it themselves. This always seems to happen- some random majority group acts like it’s the minority group’s job to explain why they deserve to be treated with basic respect and decency and to put up with as much abuse as necessary until they’re finally seen as an equal person. Do you know how exhausting and horrific it is to explain you’re not lesser to people who resent your existence every day all day long for your entire life? I do. I’m not doing that again.” He has no patience for it- not in America and not in Wakanda either.

T’Challa sighs, settling his hand on Tony’s waist, “you’re right. I don’t really… I’ve never been in that position and perhaps I have taken advantage of people’s patience with me,” he murmurs, looking away.

“So have I. We’ve probably all been on the receiving end of some kind of explanation of something we don’t understand, its just that expecting people to waste their time explaining to you why they should be treated well is a shitty thing to do. And most people have the capability to do their own research so they should do that before freaking out or asking stupid stuff.” God knows Rhodey had been too patient with him when they first met, Pepper too. To this day he can’t believe he thought poverty was a myth as a kid and that people who weren’t really poor were just whining. Not his proudest moment, but the moment Pepper and Rhodey thought was the most amusing thanks to the sheer absurdity of it.

T’Challa lays down beside Tony, burying his face in the blankets. “W’Kabi is going to do something stupid, I can feel it,” he mumbles into the mattress.

“Maybe, but there’s not much you can do about it,” he tells T’Challa, rubbing his back. “If you throat punch him though wait till I’m there to witness it. I’ve always wanted to see someone get throat punched.”

“I am not going to throat punch W’Kabi,” T’Challa says, laughing. “Why would that even happen?”

Tony shrugs, “I don’t know but I think you should keep your options open, fulfill your husband’s dreams, its your job now. Seriously, I don’t want Wakanda to start freaking out on itself but if I get to watch someone get throat punched then I’m not totally opposed to it either,” he says.

“I’m not throat punching W’Kabi for you, Tony. That’s so ridiculous- how did this even become a dream of yours?” he asks, shaking his head with a laugh.

“What? You’ve never had like… a weird thing you’d want to see. Next on my list a president being assassinated but we haven’t had one shitty enough that I wouldn’t feel bad about seeing them die. I just want know if America will end up with another JFK or something. You know, lots of conspiracy theories and all that,” he says.

T’Challa snorts, “you are ridiculous. But I have always wanted to see what would happen to a tyrant in Wakanda. Probably tossed off a cliff during the ritual combat but you know, could be different. Also I’ve always wanted to ride a panther but if I tried that it would eat me, and I would deserve it,” he says and Tony throws back his head and laughs.

“Yeah, I’m surprised they didn’t eat you when you decided pranking them was a good idea. You’d be that idiot we see in television shows about animals that gets mauled to death,” he says.

“Yeah, probably. Once I decided to chase flamingoes around and in the process I disturbed some bees. As you can imagine it did not end well,” he says.

Tony shakes his head. “You make no sense at all, but I kind of love you for it,” he tells T’Challa.

*

T’Chaka frowns as Tony explains himself and he can feel the king’s disinterest. Its not that it actually shows, its just the lack of reaction he has to Tony’s words and Tony just doesn’t get it. “You realize this will not gain favor from the border tribe, right?” he asks and Tony tilts his head to the side, confused.

“You think this is a popularity contest? That has nothing to do with it- I don’t want their acceptance, I want their weapons and manpower. Did you not hear my explanation?” he asks, confused.

T’Chaka sighs, “I did, but I have good reason to believe that Klaw will not be able to get into Wakanda again,” he says.

Tony squints, “based off what evidence?” he asks. The king may have his reasons but Tony wants to hear them.

“Leave it be, Tony,” T’Chaka tells him but he shakes his head.

“No T’Chaka- if he’s out there this country is in danger. If America senses that I won’t give them the information they want, and they have, then they’ll have no problem turning to a terrorist to do their dirty work. Look up the history of the Taliban- they’ve done it before. Why are you not more worried?” he asks.

“I said leave it,” the king tells him in a firm tone Tony is sure is the one he uses on his subjects but Tony has never been good at following rules and this is just senseless arrogance on behalf of the king.

“What are you hiding?” Tony snaps, clearly surprising the king. This, Tony gathers, is not the kind of thing a Wakandan citizen would do but maybe they should. Questioning leaders isn’t always a bad thing and even in a country that operates heavily on cooperation they should have a level or transparency in the actions of their leaders.

“I am not hiding anything and you are out of line,” T’Chaka tells him, straightening himself a little and giving Tony a look. One he recognizes in the way T’Challa addresses people he thinks have overstepped their bounds.

Too bad, he thinks, because something is going on here and he’s damn well going to find out what. “You’re clearly hiding something if I’ve pressed your buttons like this- you’ve never spoken to me like this and I doubt you would unless I was too close to a truth you don’t want to admit. So what is it that makes you so sure that Klaw can’t make his way back here if the offer wasn’t good enough?” he asks. He made it in and out once- it stands to reason that he can do it again.

“Klaw does not know what he’s doing,” T’Chaka snaps and Tony frowns, quickly piecing things together.

“If he doesn’t know how to get in how’d he manage to get in and out?” he asks and T’Chaka clenches his jaw.

“I judged your emotional intelligence to be low- clearly I was wrong about that,” he mumbles angrily.

“No, you didn’t. I’m just good at pressing buttons and following basic logic. If Klaw didn’t know how to- are you telling me that his stunt was an inside job?” he asks, realizing probably too late that that’s the only logical explanation for how a foreigner with no knowledge of a high tech isolationist country would be able to pull something like that off. T’Chaka’s harsh wince is what confirms it though. Tony grins, “looks like I finally found a flaw in your system of cooperation. If you functioned more like my government lies would come easy and finding out information like this wouldn’t be so simple. You should work on that,” he says.

T’Chaka shakes his head, “Wakanda does not run on lies and backstabbing simply to prove a point to our opponent without ever considering the population you’re supposed to serve. That is not our way. And in Wakanda people do not question their king like an insolent foreigner who is sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong,” he tells Tony in a low warning tone that Tony ignores.

He leans forward a little into T’Chaka’s space. “If you didn’t want me in your business maybe you shouldn’t have rubbed my nose in it. This is your problem and if you think whoever it was that helped Klaw get into this country didn’t tell him about the defenses he’d encounter along with a bunch of other useful information than you’re fucking deluded.” Out of character is what this is- even the king’s craziest plans have had some kind of decision making behind them but this is just senseless and… well, totally illogical. “What kind of person would you have held so much faith in that you’d think they’d keep Wakanda’s secrets even when committing treason?” he asks more to himself than the king but he knows right away that he’s onto something with the question. “The Dora Milaje?” he asks but the king doesn’t respond. “Border tribe?” he asks and nothing. He looks over, considering things for a moment before a thought occurs to him. “A family member?” he asks, hitting his mark when T’Chaka glares at him.

“You are testing my patience,” the king hisses at him, a surprising amount of venom in his words but this is the kind of politics Tony is used to. The king is in his battlefield now and he’s losing terribly.

“If you really wanted to retaliate you would have,” Tony tells him and the king steps closer.

“You have no idea what I’d sacrifice to keep this country safe,” he tells Tony.

“Actually I do. Clearly the answer is family- you all but told me that. But why would a family member even bother to betray Wakanda- what purpose would that have if they’ve never left the country? And why Klaw and the vibranium, what was the goal?” he asks. He’s missing pieces, several of them, but T’Chaka obviously isn’t willing to give them up. It’s out of sheer luck that Tony has gotten as far as he has in figuring this out.

T’Chaka clenches his jaw, “get out of my chamber rooms,” he tells Tony, a final warning in that low, dangerous tone.

He raises an eyebrow, “or what? You’ll kill me to shut me up? I don’t doubt you would- or that anyone here would if they thought it was the only way to keep Wakanda safe. The problem with using a person as a political pawn with a trigger happy country though is that America wouldn’t care whether or not I was cooperating with them. They’d take my death as a direct act of war just so they could get the answers they want themselves. And I doubt you’re willing to put that on the country,” he says.

T’Chaka shakes his head, glaring at Tony with more suspicion and anger than Tony suspects has ever been on the man’s face. “You are insidious,” he tells Tony, who snorts.

“No T’Chaka- I’m American and I’m used to government lies in a way that doesn’t allow you to skirt by with half truths the way you obviously have with people who put a lot of faith and trust in you. How does it feel to know you betrayed the trust of your entire country to cover what I’m sure is a personal mistake?” he asks, head tilted to the side.

“You know nothing,” T’Chaka snaps at him.

“I know more than the rest of your country and that’s got you threatened. I suggest you get ahead of this before it comes around and bites you in the ass- I’m tying to help,” Tony tells him.

“You are tampering with politics you don’t understand!” T’Chaka tells him, shaking his head sharply.

Tony rolls his eyes, “no T’Chaka, you are. You can’t even lie to the face of a guy who can barely read people! Imagine what would happen if someone else came sniffing around- oh wait, I’m sure W’Kabi has already caught on to whatever it is you’re keeping to yourself and he’s pissed off about it enough to directly oppose you. So do yourself a damn favor and clean up the evidence.” There were many areas where America failed, but their ability to spin stories that paint them as innocent of crimes they committed certainly isn’t one of them. Given the right circumstance it’s a useful talent too, even if America tended to use said talent in all the wrong ways.

“This is not America,” T’Chaka snaps.

“No, but maybe you should take American advice if you’re dealing with American politics. Not to mention people would believe whatever you told them on principal- people trust you here. So go get Klaw, kill him off to cover whatever it is your family member did to potentially screw this country over to begin with, make the border tribe happy enough that they’ll stop falling into extreme opinions on your politics and foreigners in the country, and ruin the only other chance America has at getting to you. That’s three birds with one stone and I have no idea why you’re not jumping at it,” he says. Tony just can’t wrap his head around it- this is the easiest solution to all of T’Chaka’s problems and he isn’t taking it out of faith in a family member he either had killed off or that T’Chaka killed himself? Senseless, naïve.

“You have no idea what I stand to lose,” T’Chaka tells him and Tony rolls his eyes.

“You stand to lose a fucking war, T’Chaka. Not to mention start one within your own country with the border tribe going the way it is. Go after Klaw to appease them, cut off America’s only other way in. Cover your secret in the mean time. Problem solved,” Tony tells him.

T’Chaka finally stands down a little, some of his anger slipping from his frame. “I don’t know how American politics always exists in a state of deceit. I have done one thing, one awful thing wrong and it has weighed on me for years. I don’t understand how America can do this all the time without becoming exhausted,” he says, shaking his head. “And you are good at this,” he notes, giving Tony a suspicious onceover that makes Tony wonder if T’Chaka considered how good Tony is a politics before this. Probably not- he’s not a politician by trade but business and politics are basically one in America. Potentially an oversight due to a misunderstanding of American systems, Tony thinks, would account for the king’s confusion.

“You get used to it,” Tony tells him. “And the game is fun if you have a worthy opponent- America probably should have considered that before sending me specifically. People have long overlooked my political talent thanks to my being an omega and it made me good at business too. Its easy to win a game people think you’re to stupid to win. But in America a system like yours is unthinkable- we’d never have that much trust in our leaders.” Seems like Wakanda shouldn’t either given the information Tony just found but he doesn’t say that out loud.

“Please keep this to yourself,” T’Chaka says softly. “You don’t even know what you know.”

Tony shakes his head, earning a soft wince from T’Chaka. “I’m not in the business of keeping government secrets but the good news is that only T’Challa would believe me anyways. No one else would believe anything I said against you. But I’ll make you a deal- he doesn’t ask and I won’t tell, but if he does I’m not lying to my husband.” T’Challa doesn’t deserve that and Tony won’t to it anyways.

The king relaxes though, “you are dangerous,” he says and Tony snorts.

“You knew that from the beginning. Now maybe use it to your advantage, hmm?”

*

T’Challa shakes his head, “I have no idea what you said to my father but he seems to be simultaneously impressed and frightened with you at the moment,” he says. Yeah, so Tony knows.

“We kind of got into it and I won the argument. Guess it freaked him out,” he says honestly. It’s a half truth but if T’Challa asks for the details he’ll get them.

“He agreed to your plan with Klaw. He reached out to W’Kabi this morning and I’m genuinely curious as to how you managed to convince him when the whole country wanting him dead didn’t.” T’Challa grins and presses his nose to Tony’s cheek, a small but still significant form of scent marking that Tony allows, tilting his head a little to the side to give T’Challa access to his neck. He takes it immediately, nuzzling the underside of Tony’s jaw. “Just goes to prove you’re good for this country,” he murmurs.

It takes a good amount of effort not to snort at that because T’Challa has no idea. Truthfully he has no idea either- he’s still missing a lot of the story and without a motive Tony can’t possibly figure out why T’Chaka is so secretive about this Klaw incident. At this point he doesn’t even have a family member. Shit, if he’s really honest he can’t believe he came across a real life Wakandan conspiracy that he didn’t intend to find and that no one else has put forth as a conspiracy at all.

Usually he isn’t that good at catching secrets out but he’s used to working with seasoned liars, not a community of people that operate in a network of trust that’s wholly unfamiliar to him. It almost makes this entire thing unfair though Tony knows that T’Chaka will catch up immediately- he’s not a stupid man and Tony has shown his hand in the way he handled this situation. T’Chaka will not be stupid enough to play into Tony’s hands again.

“Yeah, not sure everyone would agree to that,” he says, smiling when T’Challa ignores him in favor of sniffing at his neck. Alphas- so easily distracted.

“Mmm,” T’Challa agrees, obviously not listening to what he’s agreeing to. “You smell divine,” he tells Tony.

This time he can’t hold his snort in, “Jesus alphas are useless when they smell something nice. Are you even paying attention?” he asks T’Challa. Instead of responding T’Challa presses his nose to Tony’s neck and takes a hearty sniff. That’s a no. Tony allows it though, smiling as T’Challa nudges his head further to the side because it actually does feel nice, he thinks, when he doesn’t have to worry about the action being some kind of fucked up way to mark territory. He’s heard it all before- that this is a healthy thing to do, and that omegas got pleasure from it, but this is the first time he’s ever allowed himself to feel safe enough to enjoy the feeling of being wanted. Maybe because this time the alpha sniffing him wants the whole, nut just the parts they want to use and discard later.