He was so outrageous, Summer had to laugh. “All right, all right! I’m coming!” She ran down the steps past Tony, jerked open the limo door, and climbed in. “I put myself entirely in your hands, Mr Stark.”
Tony dropped into the seat beside her (careful not to land on her shoes), and closed the door. He had the driver take them back to the Tower, an idea growing in the back of his mind, and took her all the way up to the top floor.
“You’ve got to see this – think you’ll appreciate it, if anyone does,” he says, passing his bar and the still-not-repaired indent of Loki on his floor ((It now has a small plaque that reads ‘Hulk Sorry’ on it, because Tony thought it’d make family dinners less awkward. Didn’t work, but he loves it!)) to the landing deck.
Tony glanced back over his shoulder to Summer, left his shoes and inside sat on the ledge above the city. “Have a look,” he motioned towards the skyline. At this hour, with the sun almost down, it looked like the sky was on fire. Probably more because of pollution and the constant repairs being done to the skyscrapers bad guys seemed to love trashing, but nonetheless, it was pretty neat.
“Gods, that’s so beautiful,” Summer breathed. “I never have the time to really look, when we’re working, you know? But up here, just looking, I can remember why it’s worth it. Why it matters. Makes it hurt a little less.” The wind stirred some loose wisps of hair around her face, and she brushed them back.
Turning, she looked over her shoulder back into the building. “This … is your place.” Her face was a little grave as she looked back at Tony. “I, um … “
Tony leaned back on his palms, legs dangling loosely over the edge. He shot a glance up at Summer, feeling something a little off in her tone. He turned, tucking his foot under the opposite knee so he could face her better and tapped her leg gently.
“Yeah? What of it?”
“Well, you’re, um, who you are … ” Summer twisted her hands together in her skirts. She was starting to blush. “Why are we here, Mr Stark?”
Tony has no problems with women. No qualms about seducing and leaving, or anything in that genre. Expressing genuine affection, care or concern for others though, that’s all foreign to him. He’d learned from Pepper and Rhodey that buying gifts wasn’t always a solution, and buying someone strawberries when they’re allergic is even worse. So, he was trying sentimental gestures now (normally failing miserably without JARVIS’ assistance). Looking at Summer, and thinking of the fire in her wings – it just fit. He couldn’t explain it any other way. Of course, what came out was nowhere near so eloquent.
“Well, it’s just – you know, I’ve never shown anyone else this, and – I figured I’d share it with someone important, or someone who needed it… Reminds me of you… kind of, I’m – not the best with intentions, did I do something wrong again? Break some kind of rule?”
His fumbling explanation did a lot to ease her mind, actually. He was a lot more smooth with the women he was planning to bed and forget. “No, no, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Summer assured Tony. “Only, you know, usually if /you/ bring a woman here, you have something different in mind than looking at the night skyline.” She linked her hands behind her back, looking up at the stars. “I didn’t,” a shrug, “expect that you … would ever … ” She trailed off, somehow unwilling to say it aloud.