stykera | MHA #4, Sunday Morning

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MHA #4, Sunday Morning

Stark had had far more jello (and some of Eliot's mystery cocktail) than one glowy alien could handle last night. Stark had also had more positive attention from more people than he was used to having (which may have lead to the overconsumption).

As a result Stark found himself waking up on Sunday not in his own bed but on Summer's couch, where he had apparently fallen asleep last night rather than attempting to make his way up his apartment. Waking up somewhere somewhat unfamiliar threw him for a moment and he let out a confused little "wha-where-huh?" noise as he sat up a little too quickly.

Once he realized where he still was, and smelled the coffee being made in the kitchen, he relaxed and called out "Summer?" tentatively.

At least he hoped it was Summer making coffee.

[Apartment and coffee modded with permission omg, and expecting the hostess. Obvs.]

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"Oh, good," Summer's voice answered back from the kitchen, a few moments before entering the living room with a large mug of coffee in each hand, one of which she was handing over to him now. "I don't have to drag you all the way over to the clinic after all.

"Sugar?" she then asked. "Cream?"

"Yes," Stark said, nodding more vigorously than he should have and wincing slightly. "I...please. I didn't mean to fall asleep here."

He didn't really remember falling asleep here but he must have sat down and just not gotten back up again.

"You could have woken me."

"Stark," said Summer, firmly, as she set down her own mug on the coffee table and then started back toward the kitchen, talking all the while until she emerged again with the sugar and cream. "Please. Literally the best compliment you could give me is passing out on my couch after a party I threw specifically for you.

"And I could have," she agreed, setting down the accoutrements and picking her mug up again to take a long draw of it. "But I'm not an asshole."

Sometimes.

"You're not," Stark said firmly. "And it was a very good party."

He doctored his own coffee before taking a long sip. "A very good one." The best he'd ever had!

"Thank you. For the party and letting me sleep and the coffee and...everything."

One could argue that it had also been the worst he'd had, too, really.

"Don't mention it."

Seriously. Don't. It could get awkward.

But, as Summer finished with another pill from her mug, she did have to at least double check.

"You had a good time, though?"

As if awkwardness ever stopped Stark. It just delayed him sometimes. Or often.

"I had a wonderful time, Summer. Thank you."

Stark looked down at his mug for a moment. "Did you?"

Summer took a moment, both hands wrapped around her mug as she thought back on the night before with her drink, and when she finished, she wound up with a faint, fond, pleased smile.

"I did."

And then, after a slight hesitation, and kicking a rogue balloon away from the coffee table, she went to sit down on the couch as well.

With a sigh.

"But I am definitely, for real, legit actually taking a break from planning parties now. Margo can so have then next one."

A sip.

"The next few."

Haha, yeah, okay, Summer, good one.

"Didn't you say that after the wedding?" Stark asked as he shifted position so he could face her on the couch.

"I'm glad you didn't. Very glad. Otherwise I wouldn't have had last night and last night was..." He let his voice trail off, trying to figure out the right words.

"Last night was...no one has ever done anything like that for me. Ever. And I..."

He wasn't sure how to best finish that sentence so he put down his mug and rubbed at his face for a moment instead.

"I did say that after the wedding," Summer confirmed, because that was the easier part to deal with, and she sent Stark a grin. "Had to keep you off the trail, make sure you didn't suspect anything..."

She trailed off a little quietly, after that, probably well disguised by the next sip of her coffee.

"And," she added, "Now someone has, and hopefully someone always will whenever January 14th rolls around."

"I didn't," Stark said softly, looking down at his hands now. "I thought maybe we were just talking and nothing would really happen and then you did all of this, for me."

And he didn't deserve it.

"And you," he said, looking over at her now, eye suspiciously damp, "are a better friend than I ever could have hoped for and I..."

He was very tempted to throw his arms around her but he wasn't letting himself do that.

Well, there was coffee to consider. Summer's couch had been picked out specifically to make things like coffee or sangria spills less traumatic, but still!

Summer looked back at Stark, on that look on his face, that little wetness in his eye, and sighed, looking now into her mug, which was way too empty right now, but she'd save that for when she really needed it.

"Stark," she said, and looked back over to him. "anyone at that party would have probably have done all that for you. I mean, yeah, okay, there's like one, maybe two people who would have totally and completely slayed it like I did, but throwing your friend a birthday party is, like, mid-tier friend shit. I just lucked put because we were talking about it and you gave me the opportunity by letting me just pick a date and go hog fucking wild.

"None of this," she gestured toward the post-party apocalypse that was her living room at the moment, "is a reflection of how good of a friend I am so much as it is just a reflection of how shitty the world has been for someone like you. This should be fucking standard.

"Besides," she added, taking in a little bit of what actually did remain in her mug, "you know I practically just get off on this kind of shit.'

"But no one else did, did they? And none of them offered. And some people didn't even come. And I've never given anyone a party, even."

He'd given someone a cake once. And he'd made Summer pink brownies in June.

"And it doesn't matter if you...if you enjoyed it." Nope, he wasn't going to say it didn't matter if she got off. Those words were not coming out of his mouth. "You made it happen and you made it happen for me and I am very, very grateful. Maybe I'm saying it wrong, I don't know."

He looked down again, frustrated with himself.

"You are a good friend. This isn't just something just anyone does no matter what you say. Just...let me appreciate you? This meant a lot. Means a lot. And you've been a very good friend for a long time now. This whole year, at least, with everything...even when I was terrible company to have."

Summer rolled her eyes, and her next sigh sent her leaning into the back of the couch, making a face at her coffee for being nearly empty at this point, but she finished it off. Should have gotten up to get more, but she was in too much of a good slump right now, so the mug just settled in her lap.

"You were pretty terrible company back then," she agreed. "But, like, you had a good reason. And you appreciate me all the time, dude! Like, half the stuff I do anymore, I swear, it's just because I know you'll appreciate it and, like, validate me for it. Even this party! Like, I'm glad you liked it and everyone did, and everyone was very impressed, but I don't like that it would be such a big...thing, you know? It shouldn't be some big momentous event to throw your friend a super sick, super extra birthday party."

"But it is," Stark protested, looking back over at her. "It is a big thing. For me. But I'll stop saying it if you need me to. I just...I want to make sure you know. But I'll stop. I just...I want to thank you. And I don't really know how."

"'Wow, Summer, thank you for that bomb-ass birthday party. You really outdid yourself, once again! I can't wait to get to do that all over again next year!'"

Summer paused, as if to let that settle, or linger, or sink in, or something.

"That's it," she said. "That's all it needs to be."

That's all it really should be.

"That doesn't feel like enough," Stark said with a soft sigh. "And sometimes just what something needs to be isn't the same as what it ought to be."

"Maybe... could I... would you be upset if I gave you a hug?"

"Stark," Summer looked at him with an expression as exasperated as it was plaimtive, "you constantly placate my insatiable ego and go go along with all my terrible ideas for class. Trust me, it's enough."

Then she drew in a breath and looked at him during the moment she held it, then let it out with a sigh. Leaned over to set her mug down so she could free up her hands and open her arms.

"But, yeah, okay," she said. "Bring it in."

Stark didn't get enough hugs in his life. Even if he'd gotten some last night. That was the reason he was hugging Summer maybe just a little tighter than he ought to.

"Thank you," he said again. They were two very small words. They didn't say enough. He wasn't sure he had the words to say enough, no matter how much Summer insisted that thank you was plenty.

"For everything."

Was he supposed to let go now? Oops.

"I swear to god," said Summer, who was just going to resign herself to letting Stark cling for as long as he needed to and, for her part, included a consoling sort of pat on the shoulder in her less-clinging but tight enough to count as a good one hug back, "if you turn into a koala right now, I am going to totally lose my shit."

Stark let out a little laugh that was muffled by his face being so close to Summer's hair. Which he was not playing with no matter how tempting that might be.

"Did you put something in the coffee?" he asked, loosening his hold but not quite letting go yet.

Before she could stop it, before she could think better of it, and entirely the fault of that little laugh, probably, she would insist later, Summer just said, "Nothing gross, I promise."

And almost instantly regretted it.

Edited 2023-01-16 00:12 (UTC)

That only set off another soft laugh.

"Nothing gross," Stark echoed, finally letting go. He didn't move back to his end of the couch yet though.

"Not even that... thing that Hannibal brought?"

Yes, he'd noticed!

Summer grinned a little at that, and hoped that grin didn't make her newfound relief at being let go and able to pull back a little herself without incident too obvious.

"Say what you will about my jello," she stated, "but at least I haven't put brains in any of them."

Paaaaaause.

"Yet."

Another pause, less confident, with an uncertain frown.

"Or have I? Is it bad that I'm not sure about that, actually?"

"I'm very glad you didn't put brains in any of my birthday food," Stark told her. "Thank you for that, too. And I don't remember brains in any jello before but I haven't seen all of jello. I'm not always there for all the jello."

Just almost every week for 2+ years now, no big deal. Because they were friends.

"Please don't put brains in anything for our class."

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MHA #4, Sunday Morning

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