fandomtownies | Turtle & Canary; Monday [10/02].

When Summer came in that day wearing a blue button down shirt instead of her usual pink tank top, she thought Apu was going to practically die or something for how excited he got. But honestly, Summer was just sort of feeling...off after the...bizarre and way too introspective Parents Weekend she'd ended up happening, and thought maybe a wardrobe change would at least reflect her current disjointed state of mind, and it just so happened to fall on Blue Shirt Day. Which, really, was kind of ironic, because, well...

"Does this mean you're going to maybe stop bullying Prompto?"

The answer, apparently, was only if he was working today. Apparently, Apu's passion for anti-bullying didn't extend past the first Monday of October. Summer almost thought of calling Prompto to switch shifts with her this week, then, if only to see if it would make Apu's head explode, but if Apu's head exploded, who would be left to deal with the cleanup??

Either way, she was actually looking forward to just focus on her work today instead of....other things.

Today's Squishy Flavors
Fried Scallops
Smarties
Red

Turtle & Canary is open!

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Some mornings you just had to get up a little early and pick up some spooky themed baked goods to bring to the woman you had a still-undefined relationship with.

Baked goods and a PSL. Of course.

"I brought you something," Stark said as he walked in to the store.

"Oh, yeah?" asked Summer, looking up from her inventory clipboard with a faint smile and a pretty solid assumption that Stark was talking to her and not, like, Apu or the cheese panda or something. "What did you bring?"

Stark had not brought anything for either Apu or the Cheese Panda.

"Treats," he said, holding out the coffee and the box from the bakery (which contained an assortment of garish orange and purple frosted baked goods).

"Aww," said Summer, the smile growing a little more, as she set aside the clipboard to take the offered treats. "Thanks, Stark. No pumpkin cup this time?"

"That seemed best as a surprise," he said with just a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "The once. So something a little different today. Did you see the spider cookies? With the little legs?"

"I hear the legs are the best part of a spider cookie," Summer offered cheerfully, as she plucked one out from the box and gave it a little inspection, with maybe a little bit of an uncertain smile to mirror that slight bit of uncertainty in his voice. "Are you going to be bringing some over to the clinic when you go in, too?"

"I'll pick up coffees for them when I go. Cookies were just for you."

And maybe one for himself if Summer felt like sharing.

"Maybe another day I'll bring cookies. Or cupcakes."

He paused, offering a small smile, "not the ones from the weekend."

"Yeah, I don't think those ones are exactly safe for work," Summer said with a small smile back. "They were pretty good, though, right?"

The...several awkward moments borne out of them, maybe not so much, but that was fine, they could totally just ignore all of that, nbd.

Edited 2023-10-02 21:26 (UTC)

"They were," Stark agreed. "I did enjoy them."

They might need to talk about some of the rest of that evening (and the very confusing wakeup yesterday!) at a later date.

"So did Chiana. And maybe...we could make them another time? For us?"

"You don't have to try to hard to convince me to get high at any given time, Stark," Summer pointed out.

Talking about this weekend, however, would probably be a much trickier thing.

"I know this time was...odd," Stark said carefully. "So I wasn't sure."

About a lot of things, really. But maybe if they were both very relaxed talking would be easier?

"Well," Summer reasoned, "we don't...usually...do it, with...with another person involved..."

At least not since the last Parents Weekend, but everything had been so different then to begin with.

"We don't do that with other people, no, not usually," Stark agreed. "There are a lot of things we don't do with other people."

Maybe they needed to start going on group outings?

"Some things are best with two, I think."

"Yeah," said Summer, awkwardly sort of nibbling on a spider leg as she looked away, "I, uh, kind of noticed that..."

Edited 2023-10-02 23:02 (UTC)

Stark looked down, suddenly wishing he had a coffee of his own so there was something to do with his hands rather than just awkwardly twisting them.

"Sometimes..." he started to say. He stopped, frowning down at his hands. "I don't react well when I'm startled like that. Shocked. It's...something else I'm trying to be better at."

"No, no," Summer insisted quickly, shaking her head, and looking back at Stark, "you were fine! It's fine. It was kind of a lot. I mean, me and Chiana, we're also kind of a lot..."

"I like that about you," Stark said quietly, still looking down. "Both of you. But it was. A lot."

The wakeup had been, too, but in a less crisis inducing sort of way.

"And very unexpected."

"...was it really, though?" Summer had to ask, with a squint of her eyes and a thoughtful tilt of her head. "I mean, even radio kind of called that one."

"I thought she was teasing. She does that. I didn't think she'd be serious. Or that..."

Or that Summer would have considered it.

"But it's fine now. I think. Isn't it?"

"It's fine," Summer assured Stark. She was still sort of figuring out exactly what to think about a few things, but other than that... "It was just a little misstep, a little misunderstanding, everything still worked out in the end, right?"

The sigh Stark let out was soft but full of relief.

"I think so? The morning was a little..."
Confusing? Startling? Odd? ~~Exciting?~~
"Much. A little much. But that was fine once everyone was really awake, I think."

He looked back up then, trying to meet her eye. "And we're okay?"

A lot fewer roving hands, once everyone was more awake, for one.

Summer met Stark's eye steadily before giving him a small, assuring nod. "We're okay, Stark."

Another quiet relieved sigh and then Stark smiled brightly at her as he stood up a little straighter.

"Good. Good. I'm glad. And thank you."

And Summer just needed a moment in the wake of that reaction, and all the complicated emotions involved that were obviously still in the process of being sorted out.

So, not really knowing what else to say, she just nodded and said, "you're welcome," with another side of, "You really do worry too much, Stark?"

"I know. I'm...I'm trying to do better. I am."

And he was doing better, often. Just not always.

"Sometimes I just forget that I don't always need to."

Turtle & Canary; Monday [10/02].

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