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Shuri was introduced as "Shuri, from Wakanda, she's really smart!"
MJ was introduced as "and this is my friend MJ; she likes to draw people in crisis."
It was a surprise they hadn't met before now, because T'Challa had diplomatic reasons to ferry back and forth and he always brought his little sister. Meanwhile, MJ was as constant a fixture at the tower as Peter himself. Incredibly intelligent, she nonetheless spent more time sitting next to Captain America than in Banner's lab with Peter or Tony's lab with Ned. Captain Rogers was often seen next to MJ, perhaps sketching Bucky (because he’s a good subject to draw) and Sam Wilson (because faced with Bucky, he’s
always
in distress) respectively or discussing ways to get citizens involved in politics while cooking.
Shuri, by far the most intelligent, served as a liaison between Tony Stark and minion Ned's brilliant analytical tech smarts and Dr. Banner and minion Peter's creative biological and chemical research. She flitted back and forth between the room with the high tech medical equipment and chemical warning labels and the room with "huuuuuge fuckin robot arms" (Leeds, 2019.) MJ might've caught a glimpse of her, but the tower was a constant beehive of activity.
On the day they were formally introduced, as Peter was taking everyone out on a very well deserved group lunch, he introduced the gang. He started with the aforementioned statements, and then continued swiftly.
"Shuri, Michelle, Michelle, Shuri. Shuri, you know Harley-- MJ, this is Harley. He likes stabbing things and improvising. Ned knows everyone and everyone knows Ned."
To know Peter was to know Ned, because they were inseparable. Especially now that Ned was officially unofficially Peter's guy-in-the-chair.
He needed "like, legit training or whatever" to be official (Parker, paraphrasing Romanoff, 2019) but absolutely no-one disputed the fact that when things got hairy, there was one (1) person Peter needed telling him what to do.
During lunch, MJ did attempt to invest herself in the science breakthroughs as usual. Peter and Ned swapped stories and everyone typically weighed in until they were up to speed on Stark Industries' superpowered R&D team. But the girl-- MJ had never been one to be struck by someone's beauty, but Shuri captivated her on sight.
Was it her perfectly styled hair or the gorgeous indigenous jewelry? Was it her comments that marked her as someone who could rival them all for smarts or the cute accent in which she said them? MJ was hooked.
After lunch, she found her way next to Shuri.
"Michelle, right?" Shuri asked. "It's nice to see another girl here."
"Yeah, Peter and Ned get a little... overwhelming?" MJ said, hating herself for the inflection in her voice that made it a question; that made her sound dumb.
"Sometimes, they do," Shuri said musically, "but I always miss working here when I'm back in Africa."
"How is the reception to a female scientist different?" slips out of MJ's mouth before she can tell her traitorous brain not to interrogate Shuri about the topics she loves-- women's rights. Equality.
"Tony listens to me," Shuri says. "That is very good. He's different from most of the other inventors I've had to work with. I get more problems from my age than my gender. Back in my tribe, everyone knows me, and I am never questioned."
"Sounds like a dream come true."
"It is a dream come true until you are the only one in charge of saving a life," Shuri says.
Peter is a superhero. Peter gets a look in his eyes sometimes, when he’s just failed to save someone. That look is just like this.
Ned helps Peter get that look out of his eyes with soft words.
MJ suddenly wants to be that for Princess Shuri, because the princess, for all Peter's said she's Black Panther's tech woman, is a superhero.
MJ, for once in her life, wants to be a sidekick.
"Do you need any help in your lab?" MJ asks impulsively, because of course, in addition to playing telephone with Peter and Ned, Shuri's a full time inventor.
"I'd love to have you there," Shuri says.
MJ shows up to the lab in the cleanest jeans she owns-- they have paint on the cuffs. Her shirt is Escher. Her hair is up. She holds her notebook and pen like a security blanket.
"Hi?"
"Michelle!" Shuri says from the depths of the lab.
"Should I come in?"
"Sure!"
MJ doesn't think she's ever asked for permission before. She's a walk-right-in sorta gal. Flirting is new territory.
Oh. Is that what she's doing?
After a moment's introspective, she decides it's what she's TRYING to do, and sets off toward Shuri.
Shuri is very, very intelligent. Tony's said (because MJ demanded information) that he was initially impressed with her because she did the same thing Pepper was able to do-- correct him.
He had been designing, when Shuri walked in. On the holographic screen, she caught two parts that would interfere as soon as he tried to put the design through its full range of motion. Tony had been preparing to fabricate the thing, and after her comment, he hit the brakes on his bots and disabled a massive chunk of design.
"Sorry," she said. The setback was enormous.
"You are a genius," he said. "Please work in my lab."
So that was that, apparently.
When Shuri and MJ worked, Shuri did most of the actual designing. MJ offered input, or was someone to bounce ideas off of.
MJ sketched Shuri until she'd filled an entire notebook with the princess. She handed her tools and held things for her. They chattered about politics and rights and society. They ate lunch with Ned and Peter and Harley every day.
And MJ pined, basically.
To the extent of her skills, she was flirting. Soft words and compliments mixed with her normal sarcasm. She took excuses to touch Shuri and didn't notice when Shuri did the same.
It got really bad. So bad that MJ asked Ned for advice.
"Just ask her to lunch or something, dude! She's totally into you."
"What if she's nooooot?"
"She IS."
"But it's not that easy! Ned. What if I told you to just ask Peter out to lunch?"
"He's straight," Ned said quickly. "We're just friends. I don't like him like that."
"Ooh. If you wanted to be convincing you shoulda started with that last bit," MJ said. "Also, he's bi. Told me himself."
"He told YOU and not ME?!"
"Well, Ned, I suspect he did that because he thinks you're straight."
"I'll make you a deal," Ned said, turning pink. "If you ask Shuri out to lunch on Friday, I'll ask Peter out to lunch on Friday. And I'll tell Harley to have lunch with Mr. Stark."
"Deal," MJ said. They shook hands professionally.
On Friday, both Tony and Bruce had caught onto a sense of anticipation, but didn't know what was going on. Ned told Dr. Banner that he was supposed to do something at lunch, and he was nervous, but it was fine. Harley told Stark that Peter was a dumbass but he was rooting for MJ.
And then it was lunchtime.
MJ stopped Shuri on her way out the door and said, "Hey-- uh, maybe we could go somewhere else for lunch? Just the two of us?"
"Like a date?" Shuri asked tentatively.
"Yeah, like a-- yeah."
"Sure!" Shuri said beaming, so that was that.
But Ned chickened out.
He and Peter still ended up eating lunch together alone. MJ was with Shuri, on a date, and Ned told Peter as much. Then he lied and said Harley was having lunch with Mr. Stark because Tony wanted to catch up with his protégée.
MJ found out afterwards. She and Ned had been waiting for Peter and Shuri and Dr. Banner to be done with whatever they were doing.
"How'd it go?" Ned asked.
"We ate lunch," MJ said flippantly. "We held hands. And she asked me on another date. What about you?"
Ned went pink and said, "I didn't-- uh--"
"You didn't tell him?"
Though MJ spoke quietly, her voice was pure steel.
"He might not like me, you know."
MJ groaned.
She pulled out her phone and texted Peter.
MJ: tea time tonight. do not invite ned.
She didn't get a reply, nor did she expect one.
She opened her window at ten that night, letting Peter in. Back when he was first figuring out this whole Spider thing, he'd come in for consultations, bringing Ned along. Then it had evolved into late-night gossip. Sometimes, actual tea was involved.
Tonight, MJ had hot chocolate.
Peter slipped in and took the mug, removing the mask. "MJ!"
"Peter."
"So what's up?"
"I asked Shuri out today, and she said yes, but you knew that already," MJ said, only betraying her cavalier attitude with the slightest pink high on her cheeks. "No, Parker, the tea is yours."
"I don't have any."
"Truth or dare."
"Truth," Peter said. There were very strict rules to this game: one-for-one question ratio, which meant Peter was allowed to ask MJ next. No exposing Spider-Man. No lasting harm. Anything else was on the table.
MJ used it to glean information by building herself a reputation of wicked dares, forcing people to pick truth.
"Truth," Peter said, predictably.
"Who do you have a crush on?"
"No," Peter gasped. "No! Betrayal!"
"Who?"
"You already knew, knockoff Natasha!" Peter accused. "You said don't invite Ned!"
"I suspected," MJ corrected.
"I like Ned," Peter sighed finally. "But he's straight."
He leaned into MJ's consolidation hug.
"Funny," she said. "He thought you're straight."
"I told him," Peter mumbled.
"You did not, dumbass."
"I didn't?"
"No. Okay. Here's the deal. Today, he admitted HE liked YOU-- but thought you were straight. We made a pact. I'd ask Shuri, he'd ask you. And he got Harley out of the way."
Peter made a noise of surprise.
"Since clearly he isn't the braver person, go ask him out."
"You are LYING to me, MJ."
"I am NOT," MJ said indignantly.
"You never had that conversation. You're just guessing that you're right."
"Paranoid ass." MJ flicked Peter's head. "I swear on... on..."
"On your sketch pad," Peter supplied.
"On my sketch pad. Ned and I did really make that agreement."
"Tomorrow," Peter said. "Tomorrow, then."
“Oh, by the way,” MJ said, “I pick truth.”
“MJ, you’re a dick.”
Tomorrow.
MJ accosted Harley, and forced him to lag behind with herself and Shuri at lunch.
Peter, judging by his posture, was babbling at Ned. Ned was reacting hopefully.
And then, although all three other teens swore they blinked and missed who moved first, Peter and Ned were kissing.
MJ immediately started sketching a cartoon. Shuri and Harley held a very quiet celebration after they shuffled themselves and MJ out of the room.
"They move faster than we do," MJ told Shuri.
Shuri gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Oh, don't mind me," Harley said. "Still woefully single."
"Is there anyone we can set you up with?"
“There aren’t any more teens at the tower,” Shuri said.
Harley looked at them, then finally said, "I'm not really serious. I'd really rather just hang out with you guys forever."
"Sure."
"This is new," Tony said, when MJ and Shuri walked into his lab and Ned didn't. Harley trailed along, grinning wickedly.
"Your interns are dating!" he shouted.
Tony cast a critical eye over MJ and Shuri and said, "Peter and Ned?"
"Yeah," MJ said. "They were kissing outside earlier. Pretty sure it's both of their first kiss."
"They grow up so fast," Tony whispered, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye. "Should I give the shovel talk to either of them?"
"We'll handle it, Mr. Stark, don't worry."
"And Shuri and I are dating."
"Wow."
Tony looked at Harley.
"Don't look at me. Single for life."
"You're still a child."
"I'm aro-ace."
Tony clapped Harley on the shoulder, and said, "There is not a single goddamn straight person in this entire tower."
The End.