The weight of the world was something that a person could bear. It was the weight of the lives that rested upon it, however, that outweighed billions of tons of rock and metal. Tony was being crushed, not by mountains or earth, but by that intangible and fragile weight. Work had started on amending the Accords almost from the moment of their inception. King T’Chaka, rest his sweet scientific and political brain, had agreed with Tony, way back when. Tony had reason to believe his son was the same.
T’Challa sat in front of him, paging through them at a breakneck pace. When he finally lifted his eyes up to Tony’s, they were bright, “You have made great strides, Dr. Stark-”
Tony held up his hand, “I think you can call me Tony, Your Feline Majesty.”
The tall Amazonian woman to T’Challa’s side twitched, and something flickered over her features, though Tony wasn’t sure if it was a smile or a frown before she settled back down. T’Challa’s face, though, was obviously set in a smile, “Then, shall I insist on you calling me by my proper name, or shall these,” T’Challa paused, his smile growing wider, “pet names become the norm.”
Tony felt his lips twist into an almost involuntary smile, “Well, Fluffy, you are a pretty big kitty. I wouldn’t want you to claw up the furniture.” T’Challa actually laughed at that, the Amazonian woman turning away for a moment before turning back, her face impassive.
Tony arched an eyebrow, “Maybe I should worry about the guard cat instead, though.”
The woman finally looked at Tony, an eyebrow arching upwards. She said nothing though. Pity.
T’Challa spoke instead, “Do not mind Teela. She leads my Dora Milaje, though she has a rather,” T’Challa turned to look at her ruefully, “complicated sense of humor.”
Teela remained silent, but from the look in her eyes, Tony could tell she was more than a little amused, “So she’s the one you brought because the rest of the Amazonian Princess Brigade would be busy cooking my spleen?”
Teela coughed, “We prefer hearts. Or livers.”
T’Challa looked at Teela in shock, “I believe she likes you, Mr. Stark. I’ve yet to hear her speak to anyone but me, and even that is a rare thing.”
Teela simply shrugged, though Tony frowned, “I recall Romanov reporting that one of the Power Puff girls was going to ‘move’ her?”
Teela cracked a smile, but said nothing. T’Challa chucked, “That would have been Nakia.”
Teela nodded, “A gentle soul.”
Tony blinked, “Gentle, huh? What would you have done, baby cakes?”
Teela’s smile widened, “I would not have given her prior notice.”
Tony and T’Challa laughed together, Teela inclining her head. “Got to say, Nekoatsume. You have the best girlfriends.”
“One of you does,” someone said, bursting into his office, no warning and all grace and economy of motions in her Jimmy Choos.
Tony gave her a pout, “That was a low blow. And, hey, FRI, where was my warning? I’m in a meeting with people who could snap me like a twig, here.”
“Sorry, Boss. I did push it to your phone.” FRIDAY said, sounding less sorry and more amused.
Tony pulled out his phone, snorting when he saw that she was correct. And that his phone was silenced. “So you did. What can I do for you, Pepper Pot?”
Pepper womanfully ignored the two Wakandans in the room, “I took a look at the Accords, like you asked. I liked most of your amendments, but I added a few of my own. They should cater more to the inhuman population this way, and we can make sure that nothing like what happened with Ross will happen again.” Pepper shrugged, “Not that what he did with the Raft wasn’t already illegal, but I’ve included provisions for watching the watchers, as it were.”
She handed him a newly notarized stack of papers, fluorescent sticky markers sticking out of the sides, no doubt bringing his attention to the sections she had amended personally, “Thanks, Pep. You’re a lifesaver. How are we doing with the arc reactor plants in California?”
Pepper nodded, “We’ve retrofitted the old San Onofre nuclear reactor. All the nuclear waste’s been disposed of and the plant is fully operational. Soon as Brown gives the go ahead, we can power all of southern California.” Pepper smiled her shark smile, “Southern California Edison has tried to lobby to shut us down. Even filed a law suit. Everything they tried died a stillbirth. So sad. We’ve also retrofitted Diablo Canyon, and Rancho Seco was finished last year. We’re ready to bring all three online.”
Tony nodded, “Bet the board was happy about that. Biggest energy market in the US. Did you tell them we should be able to sell the excess power to other states?”
Pepper nodded, “The Tower reactor is expanding, too, so we should be able to get a good chunk of New York once it’s finished. We have sixty other domestic reactor locations ready to go a year after the California reactors go online. We have London, Sydney, Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Athens, Jerusalem, Kiev, Stockholm, Tokyo and Cairo all ready to go on the same time as the rest of the domestic plants. We’ll start phasing in the rest of the global locations after that.”
Tony sighed in admiration, “What would I do without you?”
Pepper smiled, her eyes softening as she met his, “Flounder in the dark? What’s your social again?”
“Five?” Tony said, smiling as she started to walk away.
“Missing a few digits, there. Will that be all, Mr. Stark?” Pepper said, though she was already headed to the door. Teela’s gaze followed her out the door, eyes narrowed.
“That’ll be all, Miss. Potts.” Tony said. She waved over her shoulder as she shut the door behind her. Tony coughed and turned back to T’Challa, “Sorry about that. You know how business is. Bet that was all old hat for you, though.”
T’Challa’s grin stayed in place, though there was a predatory note to it now, “Yes, vibranium based energy generation has long been in use in Wakanda.”
Tony arched an eyebrow, “I thought going straight for the elephants was a white people thing?”
Teela snorted, though it was T’Challa who spoke, “Perhaps. I take it, then, that you are not unwilling to discuss the methodology behind your synthetic vibranium?”
Tony drummed his fingers on the table, “Well, are you not unwilling to discuss several fugitives from international law currently hiding out in Wakandan borders?”
T’Challa stiffened, his eyes narrowing.
Teela, though, laughed.
Tony blinked, “Uh, I’m going to be honest, here. I was expecting you to be threatening to show me my innards, not laughing at me putting T, over here, in a tight spot.”
Teela shook her head, laughter subsided but still smiling, “While I am, of course, His Majesty’s bodyguard, first and foremost, I quite like the notion of His Majesty encountering hardship when confronting another individual. His Majesty has always had the run of Wakanda. Here, that power is diminished. It is a good experience for him.”
T’Challa rolled his eyes, but smiled and said nothing. Tony leaned forward, putting his head on his chin, “Huh. Not exactly what I thought you’d say.”
Teela tilted her head, “You expected a xenophobic bigot enthralled with notions of Wakandan superiority?” Teela shook her head, “Wakanda leads the world in many fields, it is true. We are the super power of Africa, it is true. We are a mighty nation, and I am proud of her, and prouder still to call myself a warrior defending her. I would willing give my life, both for her and my king. Notions of supremacy, however, are dangerous. They lead to us underestimating our opponents.” Teela fixed Tony with a too seeing gaze, “Though I do not think you among them. Some of my sisters in the Dora Milaje believe as you would think. I prefer to watch, eyes open, rather than believe I already know all that is before me.” Teela smiled, “A trait, I would presume to say, I share with both you and His Majesty.”
Tony frowned, “Got more than a couple psych evaluations and well respected news sources that would say the exact opposite.”
T’Challa’s frown evened out, a smile clawing its reluctant way back onto his face, “And I think you more skilled at the arts of misdirection, and a more avid student of the human condition, than you would have others believe.”
Tony leaned back in his chair and said nothing. They always said cats had amazing eyes. And what was that thing Mark Twain said? Better to keep your mouth shut and let people believe you’re a fool than open it and remove all doubt? Tony wasn’t usually a student of the “wait and see” school of thought, but he was willing to make an exception when it came to the two people across from the table from him. T’Challa had obviously brought Teela to the table for reasons other than her sense of humor and leg muscles that could probably squish Tony’s head like a watermelon.
T’Challa nodded, “Let us put all our cards on the table, then. It is not my intention to stop you from your goal of expanding the arc reactor energy system to the rest of the world. Indeed, many Wakandan scientists are intrigued with the technology, as it differs from our own methods of energy generation.” T’Challa turned serious, “My concern, however, is the fact that the majority of the world is not ready to wield the power that vibranium conveys. I believe you share this opinion, as you have yet to share the method to synthesize the metal with anyone.”
Tony nodded, “You’re not wrong. I’ve had personal experience with what happens when people get their hands on technology, usually mine, I’ll admit, that they’re not ready for.” Tony smiled depreciatingly, “Sometimes, it’s even me that’s not ready for it.”
T’Challa was silent for a long moment, Tony meeting his gaze. “In this,” T’Challa said after a moment, “I think you do yourself a disservice. Do not think my desire to shelter,” T’Challa paused to smile ruefully, “certain individuals an endorsement of their philosophy. I am still very much my father’s son, and still very much wish to continue his legacy. You would have my support in amending the Accords for the betterment of all, if you wish it.”
T’Challa held out his hand, and this time, Tony did not hesitate at all in grasping it, “Well then, let’s get to work.”
“I’ve got to admit,” Tony said as they stepped out of his office in the Tower, night falling fast, and more than ready for a little rest, “I expected you two to be long gone. Not many people who can stand to be around me for more than a couple minutes.”
T’Challa laughed, “Only because you try so hard to rid yourselves of them.”
Tony gasped and placed a hand over his heart, the picture of hurt, “T’Challa, sweetheart, you pierce me right in my cold, dead, shriveled little heart.” Rather, Tony would have been the picture of hurt if the words weren’t delivered in monotone.
Teela grinned again, “You cloak yourself in glamour spun from hurtful words and displeasing insinuations. May I ask, Mr. Stark-”
Tony held a hand up, interrupting her, “Call me Tony, and I can say I’ll answer. Probably.”
Teela’s grin widened, “May I ask, Tony, why you appear to continue the charade? Have His Majesty and I not proven patient enough to see the man beneath?”
Tony tapped his fingers against his sternum, “Habit, mostly. Am I always this abrasive? Sortakindamaybe. Is a lot of it a show? Yes.”
T’Challa hummed, “And what would be the point? Why push away those who would instead be your allies?”
Tony smiled ruefully, “You mean aside from the whole ‘lied to my face about the death of my parents for years’ thing?”
Teela’s gaze shuttered, but T’Challa turned to Tony, the only indication of his surprise being his eyes widening, “You might want to ask Captain Rogers about that. But, anyway, you telling me no one’s ever approached you for your position, not just for you?” Teela’s head tilted, her gaze roving over Tony speculatively, “Now that I’m out of monogamy, looks like that tend to lead to my clothes flying off. You know, just as a warning,” Tony said, grin wide.
Teela’s head tilted the other way, but T’Challa growled playfully, “Have a care, Tony. These Dora Milaje are candidates to be my future Queen.”
Tony turned to T’Challa, stepping into the other man’s space all of a sudden, “Who said it was just going to be the two of us, T’Challa?” Tony bit his lip after he said T’Challa’s name using his best bedroom voice, eyes roving over the King in very visible appreciation.
T’Challa stumbled away from Tony slightly, eyes darting to him, to Teela, and back. Teela laughed, “Perhaps I should recommend we send our future Dora Milaje candidates to you, Tony, to learn the art of the bedroom. Never have I seen His Majesty so flustered after such a proposition,” Teela calmed down, sighing regretfully. “Though he has yet to be taken in by any of our wiles. I would commend you were you to be able to get through to him.”
“Teela!” T’Challa rubbed a hand over his face, scandalized. The man was grinning though, Tony could tell. T’Challa took a deep breath, “To answer your question, though, yes. Many see the crown I would have worn, and that I now wear, rather than the man. In this, however, I believe we have chosen to protect ourselves differently.”
Tony shrugged, pulling the charm and the flirtation back, “We have different audiences to cater to, kitty cakes.” Tony turned and started walking again, the Wakandans following, “I’m guessing the Wakandan population, first, isn’t quite as large as the population of the United States, and second, isn’t quite as idiotic with its consumption or distribution of media.”
T’Challa inclined his head, “Wakanda does indeed have a smaller population. As for our media, some is regulated by the state, some not, but all tend to be more than courteous with regards to my office, if not my personage.”
Tony came to a stop in front of the elevator, “This is your stop, Majesty plus one. FRIDAY will take you to your, ha, presidential suite. Rooms enough for all your body guards, since I’m going to guess you have more waiting in the wings. FRIDAY can help you out with anything you need.” Tony turned the seduction back on a little, “You also have access to my room if you want to come up for a nightcap.”
T’Challa stepped into the elevator, Teela at his shoulder, and a roguish grin spread across his face, “Careful, Tony. Tease a panther too much, and you may find yourself prey. I will see you,” T’Challa paused meaningfully, “later.” T’Challa’s voice had dropped an octave, filling the word with promise.
Tony’s eyebrows shot to his hairline before he started laughing at the sight of Teela staring at her king, looking absolutely poleaxed.
Tony shook his head as the elevator shut, “Sweet dreams, T’Challa.”
“I’ve put our preferred list of amendments to the Accords and released it to most major world news organizations. I’ve also made sure that they know this is only the opening salvo,” Pepper said at their next meeting, this time with Tony sitting in her office.
Tony hemmed and hawed, “We’re prioritizing the amendments regarding seizure of potential vigilantes and toning down the criteria for needing to register, right?”
Pepper pushed another stack of papers towards him, “The lawyers and I thought it would be the best idea. This would seem like common sense work, especially after Ross’s debacle with the Raft, which most nations weren’t happy about anyway. The growing Inhuman population is also something a lot of people are concerned about, and they want the Accords to act as a buffer, but enough people are questioning the potential abuse that we can probably get public support on making sure no one is putting their families or friends at risk. No need to register unless you’re in the field. As for the anonymity and structure of the contracts under the Accords, to say nothing of secret identities and need for privacy, we felt it would be best to wait until later to start pushing harder on those fronts.”
Tony nodded, paging through the relevant articles and amendments that were attached to them, “Did you get T’Challa to look at any of this?”
Pepper shook her head, “I’ll leave that to you, Tony. I’ve only put forward fairly common sense changes, though it looks like a couple of them will still have to be unfriendly amendments. Thankfully this isn’t going to be going through the Security Council, so we won’t have to worry about vetoes, but still.”
Tony smiled, “And how many nations changed their tunes when you let them know we had plans to open arc reactor energy plants inside their borders?”
Pepper smiled back, “More than a couple. We’ve been met with some pushback from the EU, on that front, but since we’re using the arc reactor as an energy source, not selling the reactor itself, we’re not violating any monopoly laws. In point of fact, other factions in the EU were trying to pave the way for us to be authorized as some sort of EU wide sanctioned utilities company. I guess they’re done with Putin’s particular brand of extortion, and the sanctions are making them feel the squeeze.”
Tony snorted, “If we can get a similar idea pushed through the UN…”
Pepper picked up the thought Tony had let trail off, “We’ll have better reason to move into a larger number of countries, effectively broadening the reach of our programs. The board, of course, is over the moon. Projected profit from the California plants, alone, is going to give us a huge bump. After we get the rest of the domestic plants up and running, profits from ArcEnergy should be running into the billions. After we start pushing out the oil and natural gas companies, we should be running into the tens of billions, and that’s just the United States.”
Tony shook his head, “Think of what the old man would say now, if he saw us turning from iron mongers into a tech giant into a utility company.” He put the folder full of accords amendments and Stark Industries expansion plans back on the table.
Pepper’s smile was soft, she leaned across the table, covering his hand with hers, “I don’t think it matters, Tony. What we’ve built, and what we’re building, is going to bring the world into a new era. A better one. That’s what matters.”
Tony turned his hand up and squeezed hers. She squeezed back before gently disentangling their hands, “Will that be all, Mr. Stark?”
Tony grinned, “That will be all, Miss. Potts.”
With the ranks of the Avengers bolstered by T’Challa, as well as Teela, strangely, they had started taking on more active assignments. Usually, just Tony or Vision were able to go out and take care of things, especially when it came to new Inhumans suddenly coming into their powers. Rhodey was usually stuck playing handler back at the compound as, while the leg braces were helping him walk and run, they had yet to fully integrate the system into the War Machine armor. Tony wanted to make sure everything was at full throttle before Rhodey needed to go out. If the sky opened up and space whales suddenly started pouring through, they might not have a choice, but until then, they were making do with the additions from Wakanda.
“I can see why Miss. Potts thought the newest round of amendments to the accords so vital,” T’Challa said after they got back home.
Vision nodded, his face serene, but holding a hint of happiness, “It was fortunate that the young man decided to accept the training. Doubly so that he was located in New York. We will need to speed the construction of new compounds around the world, however, for those who do not wish to leave their homes in order to come here.”
The kid’s powers had been explosive. Literally. But he had been willing to come to the Avengers compound to learn to use them, which was the important part. The new amendment that Pepper had proposed had stipulated that people with powers that were out of control could gain training regarding how to control them without registering or becoming members of the Avengers. The Avengers database would assign them a trainee number, and a brief overview of their powers, but would contain no personal data aside from that.
It meant that people who were just coming into their abilities wouldn’t have to worry about suddenly being on the front lines of a fight they wanted no part of. And, those who did want to eventually move more towards superhero status were allowed to turn their training registry to a full-fledged Accords Avengers registration when they hit their age of majority. They could do it before, technically, too, if they had parental consent. Unlike certain creepy crawly spider people who had been grandfathered in without needing parental consent.
Spider people who were looking very pouty, “I still say you should have let me leave the quinjet. I would have been fine. It was just a meet and greet!” Training missions with underage members were encouraged, as long as they were primarily non-combat based. However, it meant that the younger kids were observers only.
Donnie shook his head, smiling, “Just keeping an eye on things wasn’t that bad. They let you fly the quinjet, didn’t they? I just sat in the back the entire time.” Donnie was making great strides in terms of his deprograming. Ever since Tony had made the kid his own BARF system, he had made sure to go through a deprogramming routine at least once a day, always with one of the Three Furies or Tony himself on alert, just in case things went sideways.
Peter kicked at the ground as they moved forward. Tony could feel the waves of teenage sulk wafting through the mask, “Yeah, I guess.”
T’Challa’s voice carried the smirk his helmet hid, “Already it appears that the amendments bear fruit. Not only do we stimmy fear in the populace, but our own resident Spider Man has begun to sound almost wise.”
“Hey! I’m plenty wise! I haven’t been jumping around getting into things I can’t get myself out of for a week!” Peter sounded indignant, which would have been more effective if it weren’t for the fact a “week” was a long time for him. It was also rather ineffective given the fact that Tony had, several times, had to bail Peter out of situations that had gone from worse to catastrophic. The kid was going to give Tony a heart attack one of these days.
“I believe your words do you less of a service than you desire,” Teela said. She was still fairly serious and profession during every mission, but Tony and T’Challa had managed to get more than a couple of smiles and laughs out of her on a regular basis.
Tony had honestly come to trust these people. Which was scary.
At first, he hadn’t known what to do with T’Challa, given that the man was harboring Rogers, and though the Wakandan royal and his tag alongs regularly returned to Wakanda for a variety of reasons, Tony had a gut feeling that T’Challa hadn’t confronted Rogers yet about Tony’s little bomb regarding the fate of Howard and Maria Stark.
It wasn’t that Tony wanted T’Challa to kick Steve and the gang out of Wakanda, though. Rather, it was the opposite. Instead, it felt like something the monarch deserved to know, not because Tony wanted pity, but because it showed something about Rogers’s character that Tony couldn’t have seen until that moment, and he wanted to make sure T’Challa wasn’t blind-sided the same way.
As for T’Challa harboring Bucky Barnes.
Well.
The BARF system had given Tony more than a little distance in that regard. Tony knew that, at some level, he had been pulling his punches that fight, or he would have just popped out some shoulder missiles or the laser cutter early. It wasn’t as if Tony didn’t have a magnificent suite of on board weapons that were capable of dealing lethal damage to just about anyone. Except the Hulk. Or Thor.
Beyond the whole, “Maybe I don’t actually want to kill you,” thing, though, Tony wasn’t sure. He understood why Rogers had made his choices. He knew Bucky had had no control over his actions. It didn’t make the knowing easier, though. And it didn’t make the betrayal less rough.
“Tony,” a deep voice snapped Tony’s eyes up and his focus back to his surroundings. T’Challa smiled at him, “You are returned. Where was it that you went?”
Tony’s eyes fluttered shut for a brief moment before he cleared his mind, “Just thinking. You know how it is.”
T’Challa’s eyes flickered between Tony’s, and Teela gazed at him speculatively from over T’Challa’s shoulder. “Yes,” T’Challa said softly. “Yes I think I do.”
“You want to what?” Pepper asked in that very even voice that meant she was done playing nice.
Tony coughed, “I’m not saying I want it done right away, Pep, but I just-”
“You want to organize a pardon – and not just any pardon, but a pardon from the UN secretary general – for a half dozen international criminals. Not counting the former brainwashed HYDRA assassin. And not mentioning two of them left you to die-”
“Now, come on, Pep, I don’t think-” Tony tried to gainsay her, but failed.
“to die. In Siberia.” Pepper’s complexion was beginning to match her hair color, “To say nothing of the men who made questionable decisions, putting their families in danger. Families which should rightly be party to this discussion.”
Tony’s gaze flickered to T’Challa, who remained impassive, if looking somewhat annoyed, then to Teela, who simply looked amused at Tony squirming, “Yes, okay, agreed, that was my bad. FRIDAY, if Laura and Maggie are free, could you-”
Megaera and Tisiphone waltzed in on matching Jimmy Choos, “FRIDAY already caught us up, Tony.” Laura said. She looked amused. Which was more than Tony could say for Maggie. She just looked pissed.
“I’m not sure I’m willing to give him another chance.” Maggie ground out. Tony opened his mouth to speak, but Maggie just held up her hand, “I get the whole let him loose for the fate of the world thing. I do. But, for me, no. This has just been,” Maggie shook her head, “Did he even think of Cassie? Did he think of her when he just swanned off to Germany because Captain America called him? Did he actually think the Accords were some UN conspiracy?” Maggie looked like she was going to work herself up even further, but Laura put her hand on Maggie’s shoulder, and Tisiphone settled down, her hand coming up to cover Laura’s.
Tony knew quite well that Laura had inquired to the lawyers about divorcing Clint. Laura hadn’t filed any paperwork yet, but Tony knew that she had kept everything the lawyers had given her. They had talked about it, even. Tony had told her that he honestly believed Clint would be back. Tony had asked her to maybe wait until she could listen to what Clint had to say for himself.
Laura was silent, though, with regards to potential work to bring the husbands out from the cold. Tony wasn’t going to do anything without support from Pepper, to say nothing of the other two Furies. Pepper was the one who was the face of SI, now, and she had made a lot of connections. Tony could certainly try to get this through, and with T’Challa’s help, they might get something cobbled together. But they also might not. Pepper was a factor that could tilt everything into the green.
“Do you trust them?” Pepper asked, going straight for the jugular.
Tony froze, hand aborting its preemptive gesticulation to articulate a similarly dead point. He didn’t know what to say to that.
Pepper nodded, “That’s what I thought. If the fate of the world is at stake, they can come out of the woodwork and use the good publicity from saving planet Earth to get themselves pardons. Barring that, or some other act of god, I don’t think it’s a good idea to inject overly naïve, highly opinionated, and utterly intractable individuals into a system that is already at work winning back international trust. I already have to deal with someone who’s only two of the three, and I could do without more.”
Tony pouted, “That hurts, Pep.”
Pepper smirked, “Who said I was talking about you?” Her gaze swung to T’Challa and stuck there, all smooth insinuation and fiery green eyes. And, okay, maybe Pepper still didn’t quite approve of any Avenger besides Rhodey and maybe Vision and hopefully Spider Man. She also definitely knew that this had not been Tony’s initial idea, but he had pitched it on T’Challa’s behalf because he had figured it would go over better coming from him.
Tony could practically hear Teela smirking underneath her whole, “I will break you with my pinky” persona. T’Challa growled. That, combined with Pepper’s utterly unimpressed arched eyebrow did tingly things to Tony. He should probably get that checked out. He should also probably tell people, specifically Avengers-who-were-not-Rhodey, about Pepper’s completely undesired present from that one particularly disastrous early Christmas. And Tony was not referring to the giant stuffed rabbit. Which was definitely a great gift.
But, Tony reasoned, it was Pepper’s thing to tell. So Tony was going to leave it up to people who were better at this type of thing than he was. Strange, considering the fact he was an utter control freak, but not strange, considering Pepper and the other two Furies.
In the meantime, Tony trusted Pepper to not roast T’Challa, because even with T’Challa’s definitely-not-super-serum enhancements that no one was supposed to know about, Tony was still pretty sure that did not cover severe third degree burns and the ability to literally rip through an Iron Man armor like paper. But, still, he was actually finding himself becoming friends with the monarch of Wakanda, and he would prefer if Pepper did not kill him. Also, regicide was bad.
“The Avengers have made mistakes,” T’Challa said slowly, his breathing deep, his eyes still glittered a little too brightly for Tony’s taste, though, “but those are reparable. If we extend a helping hand first-”
“We will lose absolutely all credibility with the international community,” Pepper cut T’Challa off neatly. She was used to managing big egos in the form of Tony, and a glance at Teela told Tony that she was finding this show infinitely more amusing than Tony was. Megaera and Tisiphone looked like they wanted popcorn.
T’Challa’s knuckles turned pale where they gripped the armrests. The King of Wakanda was obviously not used to interruption, “I am confident that Steve Rogers will listen to reason-”
Pepper straight up laughed, “Reason? The man who ignored the outcry of one hundred seventeen nations for accountability? The man with no geopolitical experience who decided he knew what was best for the world? The man who decided that inflicting his will upon sovereign nations regardless of the express intent of them and their people was the best course of action? That Steve Rogers?”
Teela leaned in to Tony’s ear, “I believe I like her.”
Tony did not grin.
T’Challa broke the armrests off of the chair and then dropped them to the floor as if nothing had happened, “I am my father’s son, and I have clout in the international forum. My word would go far to mending the rifts that, I am willing to acknowledge, Captain Rogers has brought about. But he is a man of integrity. He fights for what he believes is right, as any true warrior does.”
Pepper nodded, “And your father had as much experience as was reasonable for the monarch of an isolationist state. And you have as much experience as is reasonable for the prince of an isolationist state. I have enough as is reasonable for the former secretary to the CEO of an international corporation that used to sell weapons to every major world government. I also have enough as is reasonable for the CEO of an international corporation that sells highly advanced communications technology, defensive military technology, and energy technology to every major, and many minor, nation states.” Pepper’s voice was sweet as arsenic.
T’Challa twitched but seemed to subside. “This,” T’Challa’s voice was the picture of barely contained, “I will grant you. We have long sealed ourselves from the world. But that does not mean we have turned a blind eye to her.”
Pepper arched an eyebrow, “It also doesn’t mean you’ve actually talked with any major players outside of interactions for the Accords, which most major world players were in favor of from the beginning.”
T’Challa moved to speak, but subsided when Teela put her hand on his shoulder, “Your Majesty, may I speak?” T’Challa paused for a second, then nodded. Teela smiled softly, “I believe we should yield to better wisdom, here. We have gained safety from our time away from the world, but we have also lost touch with her. I think it best that we see the truth of the matter for what it is.”
T’Challa seemed to deflate, “As you will.” T’Challa’s gaze turned steely, though, as he turned back to Pepper, “It is not that I do not support your position. I would not be fighting so hard to make the Accords a more viable document if I did not. It is simply that the Avengers, as individuals, are good people. This is something that should be remembered.”
Pepper’s eyes held T’Challa’s for a long while, “Wait until you get to know them a little better.” Pepper turned to Teela though, and smiled, “As for you. I like you. Would you be interested in a position at Stark Industries?”
Tony grinned.
Teela laughed louder than Tony had ever heard her laugh.
Later, before T’Challa was going home for yet another week, Tony cornered the man. Teela, wonderful bodyguard that she was, just watched from the sidelines, eyes twinkling.
“Tony,” T’Challa said, eyes light with mirth, “if you wish to seduce me, we should wait until Teela is no longer watching. I believe she will get far too much enjoyment out of our activities.”
“It is my duty as Your Majesty’s bodyguard to ensure your personage is safe at all times. Should you choose to pleasure yourself with,” Teela’s eyes flicked to Tony, “certain individuals, I would of course need to ensure you were safe during those proceedings. Many monarchs have been laid low while engaging in pleasures of the flesh.”
Tony rolled his eyes, but grinned. He was glad Pepper hadn’t turned T’Challa off to the notion of being friends. In point of fact, Tony would swear there was some weird respect thing going on between Pepper and T’Challa. Teela obviously liked Pepper and vice versa. Which Tony was more than a little concerned about. He already had three Furies. He didn’t know what he was going to do with a fourth.
“I wanted to give you this,” Tony said, forcing a check into the man’s paws.
T’Challa blinked down, smirk still teasing the corners of the man’s mouth, “You need not pay for my services, though I’m flattered you think me,” T’Challa looked down at the check and stopped talking.
Tony tilted his head, a smirk teasing his own lips now, “While that is an interesting image, Your Hot Pantherness, that should be the cost of one twelve pound vibranium shield.”
T’Challa’s eyes shot up to Tony’s, “Two billion dollars?”
Tony nodded, “If my math is right, and it always is, that should cover the cost of the vibranium ‘appropriated’ by dear old dad back during the war, with a five percent compound interest rate.”
Teela was smiling unabashedly, but said nothing. T’Challa looked into Tony’s eyes for a moment before nodding, putting the check in his pocket, “I will take this for what it is. The University could use new facilities.” T’Challa’s smirk was back, “A tower, perhaps.”
Tony laughed and pulled T’Challa into a startled hug. The move startled Tony, too. He had always been a touchy person, but only with certain people. Maybe the kids were rubbing off on him more than he had thought.
“Fly safe, kitty cat.” Tony said once they parted.
Tony turned to give Teela a handshake, but she pulled him into a hug as well.
“Be safe, Tony. We shall return when we can.” T’Challa said, Teela joining him as they walked into their quinjet, a contingent of Amazonian women on the ramp, some of which looked very displeased.
Teela gave him a small inclination of her head as the ramp was closing, “Be safe, friend.”
Tony stayed on the launch pad of the Tower long after they’d left before calling up the armor and jetting back to the compound.