Summer sighed, folding her arms. “I have to admit, I was hoping that when you had something to say to me next it would be a little more …” she flicked a hand, looking for a word, “informative than ‘kinda miss you’. But apparently I’m a sucker and can’t stay away from you. And you’re being more than usually weird.”
Crossing the room, she dropped herself heavily into the sofa and looked at Tony upside down. “So. You missed me, kinda.”
“I’m usually weird?” he asked, with an exaggerated pout. “You’re hardly the one to judge who’s normal, yeah? I could be any Joe next to you.” He grinned. “But, yeah. You’ve been missed. More than you might expect.”
And then he was leaning over her, arms bracketing her to the couch, brown eyes bleeding to a mirrored black. “No wonder you hunger for more control; more power. You can’t even feel him right now. He’s fighting; screaming. It’s impossible to get this fucker to just go to sleep in here, and you can’t even taste his terror? Here you are, spitting in his face just one more time, because your feelings were hurt. Is it any wonder it takes my intervention to get him to just text you?”
“Wh-hat?” Summer flinched back from Tony, from the being who had … replaced Tony, shoving herself into the cushions. Away from those black eyes, framed in a loved face. “What are you?” Her voice shook. “T-tony?!” Heedless of the cost, she flung her senses wide open, finally noticing what she should have seen the moment … no, should have sensed hours ago.
“What have you done to Tony?!”
“Like I said, he’s still in here.” His grin widened. “You can feel him now, can’t you? You know I speak the truth. As for me?” He laughed, cheerful and so like Tony on his increasingly rare good days, and leaned down closer to her face. “I’m from the land down under. A salesman, if you would.” He finally stood, folding his arms across his chest, but still looking down at her as his tone softened. “You could probably benefit from what I have to say.”
“Do I have a choice about listening? No, skip that.” Summer rolled her lips together, considering Tony’s body and the thing that wore it like a suit.
Like Tony wore his suit.
She flinched away from that thought. “What do you want? To give him back? What do I have to do?”
All gods save her from this temptation …