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Caritas, Monday

Well, Jane had been busy back home for a little bit there, but was raring to go at the bar again.

Much to Tino's obvious dismay.

"Why would I have quit?" Jane asked, frowning at where Tino was sullenly wiping down part of the bar top away from her. "And it was a vacation week in there too, you know."

Not that she'd gone, but. Still.

Ignoring him, she straightened the sign directing people to where the Purim party was in the back room instead.

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"I like that," Stark decided. "That's a good toast. Although... let's get drunk has its place."

Like sangria nights, for instance.

"I do like getting drunk," Summer agreed, with a nod. "But I do also like, you know, living. And good health....I guess I just like toasts!"

But, speaking of which, she gave Stark a smile and lifted her glass, tilting it his way to clink against his. "L'chaim, Stark. Happy Purim."

"I like living too. And you living," Stark said, clinking his glass gently.

Just in case that wasn't clear!

"Do you still want your gift tonight?"

Summer took a good long drink worthy of a post-toast drink before lowering her glass with an excited grin Stark's way. "Oooh, did you bring it?" she asked, then nodded. "Yes. Yes, I would like my gift tonight."

"I brought it," Stark said. "In case you wanted it. But do you want it now? Or should I wait until later?"

Should they both be a little drunk first?

Summer bit her lip a little, shifting slightly as she didn't know which answer was best in this case. "Should it wait for later?" she asked. "I mean, obviously, I want it now, but if you think it's better for later, then I...think I can wait..."

There was maybe just a little bit of imploring in her eyes, though, as she looked at Stark, eyes that seemed to be begging the question of whether or not he'd really make her wait for it even longer than she already had.

"I don't want to make you wait if you don't want to," Stark said quickly. "I know waiting can be difficult."

And when she looked at him like that he was inclined to give her whatever she wanted.

He was going to finish his glass of wine first. "Give me a moment?"

"I guess I can manage to wait just a moment longer," Summer decided, doing a very poor job of hiding a faint smirk behind a sip of wine.

"I hope so," Stark said, smiling at her before heading over to where he had stashed her gift to grab it. And a jello shot, which he downed before coming back. Just in case he needed it.

"It's just something small," he reminded her. "I got it for you on the trip. To thank you and because it seemed like something you'd like and...I hope you like it." He ducked his head a little as he held it the little bag containing the little gift.

Stark going to go get it gave Summer the chance to finish up more of her wine before setting aside the glass to free up both hands to take the bag from Stark with a curious, intrigued, honestly kind of excited smile. " You really don't have to thank me," she said, starting to open the bag to peer inside and reach in her hand to retrieve the contents. Of course, she knew who she was talking to, so she wasn't going to dwell on that too long. "I'm just glad it worked out that you could come along, and that my vacant guest spot could be--"

Summer had the bracelet out now, holding it between her fingers as she looked it over. "Oh...Stark..."

"Of course I had to thank you," Stark began but his voice trailed off.

"Do you like it?"

Please don't crush his little glowy heart, Summer.

"Stark," Summer said again, this time giving him a soft, appreciative smile. "It's perfect."

And then she might end up crushing his little glowy heart, as she moved in for a hug, although probably not because she wasn't, like, going to hug hard or anything.

There was, however, a little bit of an extra squeeze in the hug right before she confessed, "There's just one problem, though."

That was a very welcome hug and one Stark was happy to return. If you were listening closely you might even be able to hear a soft, contented sigh escape him.

Until Summer's words sank in and he stiffened in her arms. But he didn't let go. "What's wrong?"

"I mean," said Summer, holding the bracelet up behind Stark's shoulder a little to admire it even in the midst of the hug, and it was a good thing for the hug, too, so Stark couldn't see the stupid grin forming on her terrible, shameless face, "it's just...like...I literally have nothing that will go with this color, like, at all."

Edited 2023-03-06 21:04 (UTC)

Stark let that sink in, then let out a very relieved laugh and hugged Summer a little tighter and then gently rested his head against hers.

"That wasn't nice at all. I was worried! I thought I'd gotten it wrong."

Summer was just going to take a moment to be overly pleased and smug at how that had landed.

"It's a bracelet, Stark," she said, unwrapping her arms and stepping away so she could go and add said bracelet to her wrist. "What could you have gotten wrong about a bracelet?"

Although, as she did go to put it on her wrist, she did stop, suddenly, staring down at the unfamiliar absence of something already being there. The thin back FitBit-like band she'd been wearing for years now, the tracker Barry had given her, which she'd only just removed, finally, the other day.

(And then promptly remembered to text him that, ohmygod, she wasn't dead, she just removed the tracker, ohmygod, so that had been a whole conversation).

So Summer had gone from a hug almost immediately into just staring at her wrist and trying to push down the swell of emotions that went with it being so incredible bare, because she was at a partynot going to get upset now...

She cleared her throat, which did nothing to dislodge the lump that had now formed in there, and very stoicly went to put the bracelet on her other wrist, even if it was a little more awkward doing it with that hand.

"I love it," she then told Stark, pulling up her best, albeit softest, smile. "For real. Thank you."

There was another, even softer, sigh when Summer pulled back. Followed by a concerned look as Stark watched Summer.

"I could have gotten a lot of things wrong about a bracelet! I don't know. I don't...I don't buy jewelry. Maybe it was the wrong sort of pink or it wouldn't fit or you don't even like bracelets..."

He shrugged slightly then held out a hand. "Do you want help with it?"

"No," Summer insisted, with a small note of irritation as she struggled to find a good angle to tighten it with one hand once it was on her wrist. "I've got it, it's fi--"

The bracelet managed to slip right back off her wrist and onto the floor and Summer huffed out an annoyed sigh before sweeping down to pick it up, and promptly depositing it into Stark's hand and holding up her wrist.

"Yes, please," she sighed.

"I'm always to happy to help," he reminded her softly. He took the bracelet from her and very carefully fastened it around her wrist.

Did his fingers need to brush against her wrist as much as they did? Probably not. Maybe he was just being thorough.

"I'm glad you like it. I don't buy things like this. Ever."

Well, the linger care he took in fastening the bracelet certainly didn't help Summer untangle the sudden mess of emotions that had hit her just then (it might have knotted it up just that much worse), but it did at least seem to take some of the edge off of that spark of irritation.

"Well," she said, looking at the bracelet and trying not to think of little blue boxes or any absurd implications of Stark not buying things like this. Ever., "you didn't do too bad for your first time, then. It's cute. It's a very nice gesture. And it is....definitely me."

"I just wanted to do something nice for you," Stark told her as he (rather reluctantly) released her and took a small step back.

"I'm glad it's you," he said, looking back up at her face. "I would have been very sad if I had gotten it all wrong."

"Well, then," said Summer, with a faint, hopefully encouraging smile, "it's a good thing you didn't get it wrong, huh?"

"A very good thing for me," Stark agreed, smiling brightly back at her. He was encouraged. Maybe not as encouraged as he could be but encouraged all the same.

Maybe it was a good thing for Summer, too.

Funny you should say that, narrative.

"Good for me, too," Summer noted, lifting up her wrist to show the gift off just a little bit. "Otherwise I'd be just be stuck with some ugly-ass bracelet."

"I wouldn't buy you something ugly," Stark protested.

"Unless, maybe," he said, "maybe if you made me eat something truly horrible?"

Caritas, Monday

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