That Space Spa That Summer Never Shuts Up About, Monday, June 19

[stykera]

Stark had, somehow, managed not to spoil this birthday surprise for Summer despite wanting to several times. He was good at keeping secrets. This was just one he wanted to tell someone about and Summer was the person he told most things to. Still, she'd been surprised. He thought she was happy with everything so far. He hoped she was.

They'd arrived and checked in. He'd dropped off his bag to be delivered to the room later. He'd worn his leather pants as requested though he'd changed out of them and into one of the very lovely robes provided by the spa.

The only issue so far had been that while he'd scheduled two massages it had somehow been recorded as a couples massage with the two of them in the same room. Stark, extremely flustered, had stammered out that they were friends and not a couple. The spa staff had been unimpressed and pointed out that they really didn't care about the nature of their relationship (or lack thereof) and there were not any single massage rooms available so it was this or one of them would miss out entirely. Summer, naturally, objected to the idea that Stark was just going to go mope in a hallway or something and told him to stay.

After that massage that had been somewhat less relaxing for Stark than anticipated they'd headed to the strawberry-scented mineral pool for a soak. Stark was trying not to give Summer too many nervous glances. He wanted this all to go well but it wasn't about him. It was about Summer having a day where she had people to take care of her every need and whim.

"Have you decided what you want to do next? Whatever you like, remember. Anything they have. It's your birthday and you should have what you like." Stark had said similar things already today. He would likely say them again.

[For that gently modded birthday girl and NFB for distance]

Comments

[stykera]

Stark was not foolish enough to say 'what could go wrong' out loud.

"I don't think it will," he said. "I didn't order any horrible food. I think you'll like it all. If it's what it's supposed to be. And...if there's anything I've forgotten or anything you still want after we eat you've only to say it."

[somethingwithturquoise]

And not even a single aghast why would you even say that. That response was practically self-assertive and confident, by Stark standards.

Color Summer impressed.

"I'll have to keep that in mind," she said, with a spark in her eyes that made it pretty clear there was already something there, to wait and see if it was already included. "If there's anything I still...want, after we eat."

[stykera]

Stark, once he'd gotten past the couples massage incident, was feeling fairly confident.

"Look at see what we have then," he encouraged, nodding at the cart.

One cloche was covering a very fancy space charcuterie board. The other contained that floating swirly pink dessert.

[somethingwithturquoise]

Summer grinned eagerly at Stark, taking a big swig from her glass so she could set it down and free both her hands, one for each cloche, though she lifted them one at a time.

"Oooh, there's the cheese!" she said with delight.

Space cheese!

"And that's..."

Summer didn't know what that was, but she did know she needed to post it on Instagram immediately.

[stykera]

"I told you birthdays should have dessert," Stark said, grinning at her reaction. "It's made special here. I don't know how it floats but...it floats. And it's pink."

So it was perfect for Summer, obviously.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Who cares how it floats," said Summer, moving around the cart to snag a few more angles. "I just want to know how it tastes."

A pause. Another shot.

"And probably how to eat it, too, I guess."

[stykera]

"I think once you've cracked it's meant to stop floating," Stark told her. "So just...hit it with your spoon? Or a knife? And then you can eat the pieces."

[somethingwithturquoise]

Summer bit her lip a little, keeping her phone out and on the ready as she searched the cart for said spoon or knife, finding what looked like a spork...but, you know, space-y, literally a sp(ace-f)ork...pressed play to catch the moment as best she could on video while she took a deep breath and then struck the whole thing as best she could with the spork.

And it disappeared into the diaphanous swirls surrounding the sphere, which did, in fact, crack, and split open with a little poof of pink and white smoke with a faint sparkle to it before it split apart into even little shards like slices of its marbled pink...essence? True form? Solidification?

Whatever it was, it was cool as fuck.

And Summer, in an echo of her own narrative, pretty much said as much.

[stykera]

"Ohh," Stark breathed out. He'd chosen very well. Even if he'd spent at least half the time watching Summer watch the dessert.

"Beautiful."

[somethingwithturquoise]

"That's amazing," Summer gushed. "I don't even care if it tastes like crap, now, the showmanship alone makes up--Ooooh, I wonder if we can talk to the cooks and see how they did it, and if I can do anything like this with my jello...."

[stykera]

Space wine and cheese could not hope to compare to space dessert that did that.

"I'm sure you could ask." Whether or not the dessert chef would divulge any secrets was another issue entirely.

"We should eat first," Stark said, picking up a slice of cheese that was a very lovely shade of pale blue.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"We should," Summer said, piercing her spork into one of those neat little sharks and popping it into her mouth.

And letting out a small groan after just two bites, a hand to her still-full mouth as she said, "Fuck. That's insane."

[stykera]

Stark's eye was locked on Summer as he watched her intently. That was a better reaction than he had even hoped for.

"I'm glad you like it."

That was all he'd wanted from the day. Just for Summer to enjoy herself and she certainly sounded like she was right now.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"You have to try it," said Summer, once she'd chewed a bit more and swallowed, diving the spork in again for another piece. "Not sure how it'll be after that space cheese, but.."

She leaned forward a little, against the cart a bit, to offer it out to Stark to have a bite.

[stykera]

A quick sip of space wine ought to clear the palate!

Stark leaned forward, never taking his eye off Summer, and took the bite off the spork.

Chewed. Let out his own very pleased little noise and closed his eye.

"Maybe we don't even need the cheese."

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Right?" said Summer, who may have taken her turn in watching as Stark took his bite with a faint, pleased smile on her face. "I can't believe I didn't even know they had something like this."

She was going to go ahead and eat what was left on the spork, too. It was her birthday, Stark could get his own.

[stykera]

"Next time we'll order it again," Stark said before he could think about the words coming out of his mouth. But then he heard them and decided it was a good time to grab another spork and spear another piece for himself so he was too busy making a tiny pleased groaning noise to say anything else.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"I'm not sure," said Summer, watching Stark a little more closely now, at least until she carved out a smaller piece with her spork and picked up her wine to see if they complimented eacj other well, and the fact that she still let out a small, appreciative sound, even though she consciously tried not to,"anyone can handle having something like this more than once in their lifetime. Like, what did they even make this out of? Literal dreams and rainbows and the tears of their enemies?"

[stykera]

"Bliss," Stark said. "I didn't know you could make food out of it. But they did. This may be the best thing I've ever put in my mouth."

Although Summer was also getting a look like she was extremely delicious right now as well.

[somethingwithturquoise]

Summer bit her lip (after running her tongue over it, of course, just in case there was any more lingering morsels of space cake there) as she looked at Stark, but, well, if he was just going to set her up with a perfect serve like that...

The only problem was that there were almost too many good responses, and now she had to choose.

"The best?" she asked. "I really need to step up my game."

Starting now? Starting now, because if that wasn't an invitation to just reach over and grab a hold of Stark's shirt and pull him into a kiss over the cart, she didn't know what was.

[stykera]

Stark would have said something but he was very busy suddenly kissing her back with all the fervor of someone who had been thinking of doing so the entire day. He tried his best to maneuver around the cart without breaking it off but wasn't entirely successful.

With a frustrated huff he shoved the cart aside and stepped in very close so he could speak right into her ear.

"Did you think of something else you wanted for your birthday, then?"

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Careful!" Summer protested, a little, at that awkward maneuvering, that little shove; knocking over the cart and the space cake on it would be tragic!

All the more reason to pull Stark away from that, and, subsequently, of course, toward the bed. Safely distant from the space cake.

But once that was settled, she grinned at Stark with a nod, letting her grip loosen so she could run her hands down his chest, toward his hips.

"Mmhm," she purred out. "I think I did."

[stykera]

He wouldn't have hurt the cake, Summer. It was just in the way.

"What do you want, Summer?" Stark asked, voice low, before he pressed a kiss against her neck. "Anything you want."

[somethingwithturquoise]

Summer closed her eyes and tilted her head back, to encourage Stark to linger a little with those neck kisses as a hand for its way to Stark's back as if to hold him there in that place, in that moment, and breathless sigh escaped her before she would respond.

And when she did, all it was was a quiet little, "Anything?"

[stykera]

"Anything," Stark said against her neck. "Anything at all."

He couldn't get much closer than they were but he could try. One hand made its way to her waist just to make sure she didn't go anywhere, fingers ever so gently sliding under the bottom of her shirt.