somethingwithturquoise | MHA #8; Monday Evening [04/07].

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MHA #8; Monday Evening [04/07].

Stark had invited Summer over that evening, in a very Stark sort of way, where he seemed to think that asking her to come over was this big deal that didn't frequently happen, by saying that he wanted to talk to her about something and then freaking out because of how that sounded and reassuring her that it wasn't anything bad, which then spiraled into more explanations and apologies until Summer seriously just wanted to text him back to, dude, just take a Xanax or something.

She didn't, she just told him not to worry about it and said she'd be over, but she was going to bring with her some gummies and a pizza, because it sounded like, whatever was on his mind, he was going to need them.

So, knock-knock, Stark! No, you didn't ask for drugs or food, but you were getting both anyway, personally delivered, because Summer was awesome like that.

[[ and obviously for that guy who lives here ]]

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Summer's apartment was vastly superior. Especially the couch. But Stark's was serviceable.

"Raslak?" He offered because he tried to have that on hand. "Some sodas. Some juice. Nothing too exciting."

He was already headed to the kitchen to grab a bottle and 2 glasses.

"Hmmm," Summer's head tilted a little as she considered. "Actually, I guess that all depends on what it is you wanted to talk about. But I guess soda for now? And some water on hand, these gummies always make me suuuuper thirsty."

The raslak would stay on the counter then but a glass of water and a few cans of soda that he almost fumbled but didn't made it safely to the couch.

"Oh. That. No I just didn't want to text you. About a trip? Soon? Later this month?"

He might be scared to say the word, honestly.

Now, why would he be afraid of just some silly little word?

"Oooh!" Summer's attention brightened. "Like that trip to Jamaica we talked about."

She pause a moment.

"We did talk about Jamaica, right?" She popped open the container and plucked out a gummy before offering it out to Stark. "No, wait, we did, I remember asking you why you thought I'd like it and you telling me about how I had to wear that swimsuit from spring break."

"Exactly!" Stark nodded vigorously. "Jamaica."

Sometimes words were scary, Summer!

"And that's a very good suit and I'd be happy to see it any time. At all." He grinned and carefully took his own gummy out of the container.

"I found a resort that seems very nice, with pools and beaches. Plenty of swimsuit opportunities." He flashed a grin and popped the gummy into his mouth. "I think you'll like it. The resort. All of it."

"I think it's pretty hard to mess up a resort in Jamaica," Summer admitted, then snorted, "but now that I've said that, we'll end up in some real shithole..."

"I would never!"

Stark shook his head. "I think I know better! Vacations are supposed to be fancy and lovely. Nothing terrible. I promise."

Unless they went back to Moya. All bets were off there.

"The end of this month would be good though? To go on a trip?"

"I should clarify," said Summer, with a soft, fond grin at the instant offense. "We'd end up in a place that's a real shithole that you were told was nice and fancy, because people are trying to screw other people over like that all the time. But I mean, just check the reviews, and that's a good way to avoid that.

"But, yeah, totally," she confirmed, reaching for a slice of pizza now. "End of this month sounds pretty good, except for the fact that now I have to wait for it."

Hey, maybe if she pouted at Stark a little, he could move it up to, like, that weekend or something. It for some reason felt like it would be really convenient for her to get away this coming weekend.

"We could always go sooner," Stark said, "but the end of the month is..."

Nope, the word was still scary.

"The end of the month is better, I think." For reasons.

"But I wouldn't mind going somewhere else this weekend?"

Summer touted herself as being the person who knew Stark best, sometimes even better than Stark knew himself, but that, she was having a little trouble following, head tilting as she chewed on her pizza.

"Where would you want to go this weekend?" she wondered, because who was she to complain about more trips? "And why is the end of the month better? Is there some big thing going on in Jamaica at that time?"

Her urge to just google it was strong, but she knew that Stark knew that she sometimes liked to be surprised, so maybe that's what he was building up to?

And then:

"Oooh! Is this a 4/20 thing??"

Okay, now she was getting excited.

Edited 2025-04-07 21:27 (UTC)

"That's before," Stark said, smiling fondly. "That I was hoping we'd celebrate here. Well. Downstairs. Since you missed it last year?"

"But... the end of the month would be a year. Since... Since you asked about...Since we were us?"

"Oh, that's right," Summer said, "didn't I turn into a squirrel during it last..."

She blinked as the rest of what Stark had said seemed to have caught up with her in the jumble of excitement.

"...year..."

She blinked again.

"I'm sorry. What?"

You heard it, Summer. And now you remembering how, around this time last year, you turned into a squirrel just as you were about to tell Stark that they should just give the whole dating thing a try, and then actually did that once you came back from a squirrel. Right around this time. In April. One. Year. Ago.

"Noooo," she said slowly, looking at Stark a little strangely as she shook her head. "No, no, that....that can't be right..."

But she knew how time worked, and it was definitely right, somehow this whole little let's just try it thing had turned into an...

Oh, god, she didn't even want to think it.

An...anniversary.

See, this was why words could be scary!

"It...but it is. Almost a year."

A year which had been very good for him in so many ways.

"Is that...are you all right?"

Oh, hey, universe? Hi. Summer Smith checking in, now would be a really good time to do that whole squirrel thing again?

Universe?

No? Nothing? Yeah, okay, fine, that's fine.

"Uh-huh," Summer managed to squeak out, looking anything but all right. "I'm good. Super good! A whole year, huh? Of us. Actually being a thing."

"Summer..."

This was not the hoped for reaction. This was pretty close to the feared reaction, honestly.

"Yes," Stark said softly, reaching for her hand to squeeze it gently if she let him. "Almost. Not quite yet. I thought a trip would be a good way to mark it..."

But now he was rethinking his life choices and maybe wondering if he could just turn into a koala instead? Or throw himself into the sea?

"I mean, yeah, no, sure, definitely," said Summer, her head bobbing a little and she seemed to have to remind herself to blink. "That's definitely a thing people do! To celebrate! Their..."

And squirrel now!

Nope, still human.

"...anniversaries..."

Squirrel now!

Damn! Nothing.

"...a....whole ass year together..."

Squirrel!

Dammit!

"....the first---Hey!" Summer bolted up to her feet. "How about that raslak? To, you know," what a lovely and very normal laugh that was, Summer, "uh, celebrate!"

"I'll get it," Stark said, quickly getting to his own feet and turning towards the kitchen. "But...maybe have some of your water first? Or the pizza? Both?"

He'd done this wrong. He'd never done this before and he'd done it wrong somehow!

"Or we can both go." Maybe it was better to keep her where he could see her? In case she...fainted? Willed herself to explode?

"And...you know...you don't have to...just..." He paused, wanting to say something and then deciding that maybe he could try for a joke. Maybe.

"Don't get weird about it," he said, very softly. Maybe it wasn't a joke after all. But she'd said it to him before and it seemed like it might be right time to echo it.

She had said it before, and she was being weird about it, and honestly, calling her out on it, whether that had been Stark's intention or not, was probably thr best thing he could have done just then. Because it forced her to stop and acknowledge it and, most importantly, acknowledge the why she was being weird.

A blush creeping up over her face, Summer stopped, closed her eyes, and slowly breathed out. "Okay," she said, to sort of settle herself down, and she shook her head. "Right. Don't be weird about it...I..."

She shook her head again and looked up at Stark. "I'm sorry, Stark, it's just that--"

Oh, sure. Now she turned into a squirrel! Thanks a lot, universe.

"Just what? Frell!"

Why was the universe like this?

"You didn't even get to eat any of your pizza," he said, looking down at his squirrelfriend. "And I didn't get to show you the resort and...it's fine. It will end. You'll be back to yourself. It will be fine."

Right? If he repeated it enough maybe it would be true.

"Do you still want some of the raslak? And pizza?"

Look, the night was frelled up but that didn't mean anyone had to suffer more than was necessary.

Right now, apparently, all squirrel Summer wanted to do was let out a squirrely groan, roll her tiny little squirrely eyes, and flop, very dramatically, onto her squirrely back on Stark's not-squirrely floor.

Stark sank heavily to the couch and sighed.

"I'm sorry."

Maybe April was just cursed for Summer? Like how Stark was often a koala in July for mysterious reasons.

"I'll feed the cat. Don't worry. Do you want to stay here so she doesn't chase you?"

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MHA #8; Monday Evening [04/07].

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