9It was a full year after the events of the Final Battle with Thanos. The World has enjoyed the time spent with the people that were lost from the Snap, now having returned from Banner's Blip shortly after fixing the damage the Mad Titan had done in the past.
During that time, Peter Parker had become a full-time Hero as the Amazing Spider-Man. He had grown accustomed to his New Arm after having Snapped his Fingers to take out Thanos and his army once and for all, a sacrifice that nearly cost him his own life.
After that, he had begun a relationship with Princess Shuri of Wakanda, King T'Challa's Sister, and for a year now, they have been together enjoying the love they shared together.
Spider-Man had also had a Brotherly Best Friendship with T'Challa during the 5 years of Depression that transpired after Thanos's Decimation of the entire Universe. After the Blip, the two took their time off to spend time with their restored friends and family, often keeping up with each other through the internet since they had things to do at their spare time... So imagine Peter's surprise when the Black Panther suddenly made a visit to New York City today.
"T'Challa!" Spidey called out from above, jumping off of the roof and approaching the King. "Hey, how's it going, man?"
T'Challa grinned at his friend, taking off his Mask to greet his fellow Avenger.
"It's good to see you again, Peter. You look well."
"Thanks!" Peter took off his own Mask to get into eye contact. "I'm still getting used to the Arm, but you know, it's grown on me at this point."
"That's good to hear."
Peter sighed, rubbing his head. "So uh... What brings you to New York?"
T'Challa pressed his hands together behind his back, lowering his head down briefly before lifting up to face Parker once more.
"...We need to talk."
Peter nodded. "Okay... What do we need to talk about?"
T'Challa sighed, curling his lips slightly as he tried figuring the words that were deemed necessary for this conversation.
"...We need to talk about Shuri."
Peter widened his eyes. "Oh god... She told you about the Dreads, didn't you?! Wait, she didn't record that, did she?!"
"Well, actually, yes, she did."
"Oh no!"
"But for the record, I'm not really here for that. I don't mind the dreads, even though it was clearly just once."
"Oh... Then why...?" Peter widened his eyes. "Wait... Did she say anything about that time with the Spider-Man/Black Panther Suit Hybrid design?"
"No."
"Oh?"
"But we should really talk about that."
Peter sighed, embarrassingly as he rubbed his head... Then a horrifying thought popped into his mind.
"Shuri... She told you about that time with the Manfredi job, didn't she? Look, she came with me, okay? I told her I got this, but she was already there, and you know, she only got grazed just by the arm! And yeah, I was worried about her safety too, which is why we argued about it! And for the record, I like her, but you know, she's extremely stubborn! Which is something I can relate because I can be stubborn too, but please don't get mad at her because if there's anyone you should get mad at, it's-!"
"I'm... Leaving Wakanda, Peter."
Peter paused his own conversation, essentially pressing the off switch as he dropped his sentence, hearing something he never expected the King to say.
"...You're doing what now?"
T'Challa sighed, nodding his head. "We have plenty of things to discuss. Is there somewhere you'd like to speak in private?"
"...I have a place in mind, but first... Do you like Starbucks?"
"So, do you like the view from up here?"
T'Challa raised a brow as he sat on top of a gargoyle attached to the Chrysler Building while he held a coffee in his hand just looking at the Island of Manhattan from this viewpoint.
"I have to say, you have a very odd way of wanting to have a conversation at a place like this."
"I know!" Peter said as he sat against the wall drinking his coffee. "That's the best part of being Spider-Man; you get to basically eat, drink, and maybe sleep just about anywhere you want, as long as you're careful about it."
T'Challa nodded his head. "I see... You didn't take my Sister up here once, did you?"
Peter dropped his brow, lowering his drink. "...No."
T'Challa raised a brow, turning to his friend. "Peter..."
"...Okay, just the one time. But honestly, I was being really careful about it, okay? I mean, I tied her up in a harness attached around my waist once just so she doesn't drop from this height!"
T'Challa made the smallest of grunts, shaking his head. "Peter!"
"I know! I know, I shouldn't have! But she asked you know? I... I just couldn't say no to her."
The King sighed, lowering his head in a frustrated brow, knowing his Sister all too well.
"...Alright, well you kept her safe, so... I have no reason to keep going about this conversation."
Peter sighed in relief, pressing a hand on his chest as if a weight was lifted up from his shoulders.
"Hey... Thanks a lot for understanding."
"But..." He turned over to Parker. "I suggest that you don't bring her up here all the time. Once in a lifetime sounds good, but not too much, you hear?"
Peter nodded his head.
"Oh, yeah! Yeah, of course. When it involves your Sister being all the way up here with me, it's reserved for special moment types, so you have nothing to worry about."
The two sighed as their heads turned to the horizon, looking at the city below them as the world around them teemed with life.
"...So what do you mean "You're leaving Wakanda?" Peter asked, raising a brow. "I mean... You technically already left Wakanda, today... Are you talking about a more personal level kind of exit?"
"...Something along those lines, yes." T'Challa said with a nod, pulling a leg up towards his chest as he drank his coffee.
"Well..." Peter turned around, facing the King. "What does that mean exactly?"
T'Challa lowered his head, feeling exhausted as he looked out from his extended viewpoint.
"...It means I'm not going to be around my Kingdom for a long time."
Peter raised a brow, shooting a web on his coffee drink to set it against the wall as he climbed up and started standing on the ground, listening to what T'Challa had to say.
"For a long time, I've thought about the number of ways of righting the mistake Thanos made all those years ago... Last year, we made it right, and I made good on righting that mistake."
"...But?"
"But..." T'Challa sighed once again, raising his head up. "Now that I've fought for them, the people of Wakanda are so happy, even without a Black Panther to guide them... Apparently, after 5 years of being spent away, they have grown stronger, despite the losses. And once they got everyone back, the people grew ever stronger for it."
"Okay, but what does that mean exactly? What are you trying to say?"
T'Challa remained silent for a while... Then after grabbing his coffee, he stood up, turning around as he walked on the gargoyle he sat on, turning to Peter.
"It means that I think I'm ready to find peace within myself... To rest, to look at the World that I've fought for... To look back at the accomplishments I've made, thinking back that I made that happen... Even though of the costs, I was one of the few that made this all happen, I was one of the few who helped bring back the World we knew."
Peter nodded his head, understanding T'Challa's sentiment.
"Okay... Well, that's great! If that's the case, then maybe you could move into New York with us! Shuri and I just found a place, maybe you could hang out with us full time."
T'Challa chuckled, shaking his head while turning around to the gargoyle once more, setting his drink on the ground.
"That's quite an offer, but I'm going to have to decline... This one is a path I must walk alone."
Peter raised a brow. "Really?"
"Yes..." T'Challa sat down on the Eagle Statue, letting his legs hang in the air. "I've fought many things in my life, and now that I've fought them, I've seen just about everything there is to know about... Now I want to walk around this World, and enjoy the freedom that I've helped given to, that I helped give my own Sister to... The opportunities that are out there, I've managed to make it possible, and now... I think it's time for me to enjoy life as it is meant to be."
"...So, that's it then?" Peter asked, raising a brow. "After all this time... You're finally settling down?"
"Yes," T'Challa answered with another nod to his head.
"Oh... Well, that's... That's good to hear, T'Challa... I'm really happy for you."
The King raised a brow, turning his head over to Spider-Man. "What's wrong?"
"Me? Oh... Nothing's wrong."
"Don't lie, you sound sad as a puppy."
"Okay, I don't sound like that."
"No, but you pout like one."
"Hey!"
T'Challa laughed, teasing the young Adult as he raised a brow, hating that kind of teasing.
"Dude, really? I don't pout... Ugh..."
T'Challa quit laughing, making a small chuckle as he continued to sit down, Peter still standing behind him after getting made fun of playfully.
"*Sighs* ...But seriously, what's wrong? You don't sound alright."
Peter sighed, shaking his head.
"I... I don't know, T'Challa... I mean, you're leaving Wakanda, and you're going on this personal quest on your own to settle down... I don't know, it feels like something's dying right now."
"And what exactly could be dying at this moment?"
Peter shrugged, shaking his head. "...This friendship... An end of an era, or something... I'm not sure, I just... This feels like you're saying goodbye right now, which is technically what you're doing at this moment."
T'Challa sighed, standing up once more as he took a couple of steps to the left, waving his hand over.
"Come... Stand with me."
Peter did what he was told, walking on top of the gargoyle as he stood next to the Black Panther, looking out into the city with him, standing together as brothers at heart.
"During our training together, do you remember what I've ever told you about death? Something I told you a few weeks after the fight with those thugs in that alleyway?"
Peter nodded his head. "Yeah... I'm pretty sure that I nearly killed them when I think about it clearly."
T'Challa nodded his head, folding his arms together.
"Death is not the end. It's more of a stepping off point. You reach out with both hands and Bast and Sekhmet, they lead you into a green veld where you can run forever."
He let go of his arms, allowing a hand to be planted gently on Peter's shoulders as he turned his head over to the Wall-Crawler.
"This may be the end of a journey... But it is not the end of the Chapter... When a bond is forged, you tend to carry it with you no matter where you go, be it life or death... And the bonds we have shared, the friendship we carry, the goals we've achieved... That stays within our very souls for the rest of Eternity, however long that may be. We may be able to see each other again, though when we do, who knows? We could be the same people we were, or we could be entirely different. But whatever that change is, I have faith that change is going to be a good kind of change, however big or small that may be."
Peter sighed, lowering his head once only to raise it again as he turned around, facing the King with a smile.
"...I'm really going to miss you, man."
"Yeah, I'll miss you too, little Brother. Come here."
The Black Panther pulled Spider-Man over to give him a playful noogie, teasing him further as they enjoyed other's company together, for as long as it may be until a siren rang out, interrupting their moment together as they looked down seeing trouble going off.
"Ugh, crap... That's me."
T'Challa hummed, stepping back. "Well... Perhaps we should part ways."
Peter raised a brow. "Well... Maybe not yet." He put his Mask back on, turning back into Spider-Man. "You could come with me, beat up some bad guys. You know, just for old time's sakes."
T'Challa sighed, smiling once more as he made another gentle nod. "For old time's sakes."
Spidey nodded his head, seeing the Black Panther don his Mask as he raised his hands, ready to spin a Web.
"Ready?"
"As always."
The Black Panther jumped first, allowing Spider-Man to jump right after him as he shot a web at his Back, catching him in mid-air so they could swing together one last time to enjoy their time together... However long that may be...
Okay... This one was somewhat difficult for me to write because, well... As you already know, Chadwick Boseman died yesterday, and it is very depressing to think about.
I know everybody already knows about the Cancer, and the fact that he's been fighting it for 4 years, all while making all those movies during the time he had left... And you know, I think the reason he didn't tell anyone about it publically was that he wanted to give out happiness to the world, not let it be so grim and dull and depressed... I think he was somewhat like Stan Lee, trying to spread happiness wherever he went, and you know what? Chadwick did an impeccable job doing so.
*Sighs* Anyway... For those wondering, I'm still working on Episode 3 of TFA Season 6 as we speak. Uh, a couple of days ago, I made a Tumblr post that was originally supposed to be posted on Ao3, but the site was giving me issues posting it, so I just put it on Tumblr instead. I have a link set up on Ao3 for those who are mostly Fanfiction readers, so just look at my profile on there, and you can check for the link that should take you where you want to go.
And yeah... That's about that... I hope everybody has a splendid day, be sure to give out a Review/Comment to give me your thoughts about this and be sure to live happy as we all deserve to.
As for Chadwick Boseman, if you're listening to all of us, then you may continue the same message as I relay to you.
Rest in Power, your Highness... Rest blissfully in Cosmic Power, and thank you for inspiring an entire generation.
Wakanda Forever.