somethingwithturquoise | MHA #4; Saturday Afternoon [08/19].

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MHA #4; Saturday Afternoon [08/19].

Summer had sent Stark out earlier that morning, to get some fresh air, to give her some space, and to maybe pick up a few things, but now he was back and had attention demanded of him by Pancakes, which lead to them both falling asleep together on the couch. Which was fine by Summer, because she had a lot to do in the kitchen, between the brownies and getting things started on the utterly ridiculous recipe she'd stumbled across that she'd been absolutely dying to try.

She'd gotten the brownies going while Stark was out, so when he came back, he was definitely coming back to an apartment infused with chocolatey goodness. And while he was napping, she got started on the chicken, so the now it was definitely more that savory barbeque. Baked it up, shredded it, then meticulously layered it with the tortillas and cheese and went to let it set in the fridge for a bit until it was time for the next steps.

Which meant she was now at a little bit of a conundrum. Sleep had definitely been a tricky thing for Stark still, although it was getting better, so she was a little reluctantly to actually wake him up. She should let him get in as much sleep as he could. But, on the other hand, most of the time, that sleep was inevitably interrupted with a nightmare. And she had the opportunity to help him wake up in a much more pleasant way that also involved a lot less screaming and crying, which was better for her, too, and didn't annoy the cat.

So, bringing over the plate of brownies to set on the coffee table, she then leaned over to give him a soft kiss on the cheek and a gentle nudge.

"Hey. Sleepyhead. Wake up, or else I'm eating all these by myself."

She'd huffed and entire K-Zax Array before. She'd be fiiiine.

[[ for the brutally modded alien on the couch, unless anyone else wants to get in touch, and CW for recreation drug use, y'all. ]]

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"There's definitely recipes," Summer assured him, although she hadn't really, personally, checked. But there had to be. She'd be shocked if there weren't....and then she'd have to take the initiative and put some out there herself.

But that was secondary, as she looked over at Stark with a tilted head and a soft smile.

"You want to make them for other people?"

"There's usually cupcakes enough to share," Stark pointed out. "And...maybe someone else needs to relax. But we should make them for us, first. At least."

The stress on 'us' was for emphasis, of course, but also because he was still thrilled by the idea that maybe they were an 'us.'

"Of course," Summer agreed, with a firm nod, although that answer really only made that soft expression even more so. "If anything, we'd have to make sure that they're not too terrible or gross....and also that they work."

"Nothing gross to share," Stark said. "Only for us. Unless it's for a class but that won't be for a while now."

He popped what was left of his brownie into his mouth, chewed it, and then scooted closer to her on the couch.

"But another weekend we should try those. Or just a day you aren't busy. Sometime. No rush. These are good for now."

"Gotta give it a little bit of a breather," Summer said with a grin. "This semester'll be a good palette cleanser, you know?

"And I'm always busy."

Did setting aside a whole day to make a stupid recipe you found online count as busy?

Obviously.

"But I think I can make some time for it."

"I wouldn't want you to get tired of me," Stark said, reaching for another brownie. "But I'll miss classes."

"And you are always busy. I think I've kept you busier this week. You've...you've been very good to me. For me. With me."

"It's alright, Stark," Summer grinned oh-so-innocently over at him, and since she was still stroking Pancakes on her lap, she probably wasn't too far from putting out a faint spy-movie villain vibe with that beatific smile. "Be honest. You can admit it. What you'll really miss is all the gross food.

"But don't worry," she assured him, "I'll make sure you're not left wanting there.

"And," she added, after deciding to maybe not just deftly avoid sincerity by simply not responding to the rest of what he said, "I'm just glad I could help. What are friends for, right, if not helping each other through traumatic nightmare house experiences?"

"I will miss the gross food," Stark admitted. "Seeing what you make. It's always interesting even when it's horrifying. And it's often horrifying."

He took a bite of his brownie before saying anything else.

"I'd do the same, if you needed it," he said finally. "I don't know that I'd do as well. But I'd try. For you. No matter what you needed."

"I know you would," said Summer, finally finishing off her first brownie a d immediately going for the next, because if Stark was going to want to talk about things like this, she'll probably need it. "And, I mean, obviously, not as well, I'm awesome at this, but also, like, you probably don't need to worry about it, either. If anything ever does get to me, I bounce back pretty quickly."

Stark just gave her a long look. "You don't have to, you know. Bounce back quickly."

Stark was living proof of that!

"But it's easier to do with help."

Stark wasn't nearly catatonic or hiding from the world or anything this time. He was just a little extra jumpy and sleep-deprived.

"And you are good at this. You're good at most things."

And Summer returned that long look right back to Stark, slowly chewing her brownie as she tried to decide if it was worth it or not to argue that point.

It wasn't, so, instead, she just said, lightly, almost flippantly, with a smile to match, "I really am, aren't I? But how about you? You good right now? Anything you need? Or want to do while we kill time and wait?"

"I don't need anything else right now," Stark said. "Nothing I can think of. I can think of things to do to pass the time..."

Look, this couch was his happy place and there were reasons for that besides just that it was very comforting, okay?

"But right now I'm fine. Really fine not just saying fine when I don't mean it."

"Oh," said Summer, with a small snort, "I know that. I can always tell when you say you're fine but you're not really."

Because he was a bad liar and also always said it when no one would or should be fine.

"But," she added, shifting a little to face Stark more and also using that as a good excuse to change her position enough that she'd have to move Pancakes off her lap, "I would like to hear more about these potential ideas for passing the time."

"You know me better than most people," Stark pointed out.

Also he was very unconvincing when he said he was fine, yes.

"And...how much time do we have?" And how long was it going to take for the 2 brownies he'd fairly inhaled to really kick in? "We're already on your couch. It's a very good couch. It's my favorite couch. Very comfortable. Good memories."

The smirk on his face was very pronounced at the moment.

See, now? Wasn't this a much ~~easier~~ better topic than how helpful she'd been and quick recoveries and blah blah blah? Summer grinned back. "About an hour," she said. "At least."

She leaned forward toward him a little, lifted a brow, bit her lower lip briefly before asking, "Think that's enough time to make more good memories?"

But she was helpful and sometimes recoveries did take time!

Stark made a thoughtful noise, considering his options.

"It could be. And I did just have a nap and a snack. Not enough time to watch a movie..."

Stark turned so he was facing Summer fully. "Enough time to tell you that I'm thinking of kissing you right now. And I taste like chocolate now. Not like taco jello."

"Well, then," said Summer, lifting her chin and grinning with the note of challenge in her voice, "make like Nike and just do it. Like I'm just going to take you at your word for it, anyway."

"My word that I'm thinking of kissing you?" Stark asked, grinning back. "That's true so often. Why wouldn't I be? You're right here."

"Or," he continued, moving so he was on his knees facing her on the couch and then leaning in, "that I taste of chocolate? I've only eaten brownies since I've been back. See for yourself."

He wasn't going to wait though, he was going to lean in for a very quick and gentle kiss.

Summer was going to point out that it was definitely the latter, because she knew that the former was probably almost always true, but, well, since he didn't really give her a chance to say that, she supposed she'd just have to go with, "Was that supposed to be a kiss?"

Stark blinked at her innocently, eye wide. "What else would it have been? It wasn't a bite."

A bite would be more like what Stark was about to do to the side of her neck, assuming she didn't push him away.

Oh, quite the contrary; Summer was going to loop an arm over Stark's shoulders and pull him in closer. She leaned back, forgetting that she'd set Pancakes there and wincing, just slightly, and she let out a little unimpressed sound and hopped off the couch and skulked over to the bedroom, wanting absolutely no part or even knowledge of any of it.

So, anyway...

Her head tilted back, too, just to make it a little easier, hand now resting on the back of his neck. "Was that a bite?" she had to ask.

"Mmm," Stark murmured against her neck. "Just a little one."

Followed by another, slightly harder one before he leaned his head back just enough to look at her properly. "Better?"

There probably ought to be another kiss to follow that. A much deeper one than the first.

Not that it would be difficult to be deeper than that paltry little first one, but Summer was definitely going to do her part in making sure that Stark knew this one was much better, by kissing him back in a way that was actually worth thinking about.

And she'd be letting that be her answer.

In Stark's opinion any kiss from Summer was worth thinking about. Any contact with Summer was. This particular kiss was very much worth it and he was happy to keep it going until he needed to come up for air.

Maybe it was the nap. Or the two brownies he'd eaten a little too quickly. Maybe it was just the current position he was in. Whatever the reason, he was feeling very content and a little bold right now. Bold enough to repeat something he would normally be hesitant to say.

"I do love you," he whispered, lifting one hand to brush a hair from her cheek.

"I know," Summer said, smiling softly up at Stark. Her fingers brushed against the back of his neck a little. "I love you, too."

And whether or not he would know what to say to that or not, it didn't really matter, because whatever it may or may not be, Summer wasn't going to give him much of a chance to say it before she was kissing him again.

Stark didn't need to say anything in response. Not this time. He just made a very pleased noise and kissed her back in response, moving that hand from her cheek into her hair now.

He could stay here all day. Well, not exactly here. He would need to get closer to Summer if at all possible, which involved a little maneuvering so he was leaning back enough that his free hand could start to slide under the hem of her shirt.

Well, they couldn't stay there all day; there was still an absolutely absurd recipe to finish. But they did need to let it chill in the fridge for an hour (at least), so it could definitely wait, and Summer's body shifted to accommodate, to make it easier to get closer, to move her hand to give him the encouragement that, yes, under her shirt was exactly the right place to go, and, yes, this was exactly how they were going to kill that time.

Well, if Summer was going to so very accommodating then Stark would simply have to take those hints. He could take direction well and he was very much inclined to do whatever Summer wanted. Including, for the moment, putting both hands to work getting under her shirt. Maybe even working on removing that shirt. Her hair could wait a bit. Skin contact was better.

This was going to be a very good way to spend an hour. At least.

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MHA #4; Saturday Afternoon [08/19].

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