Some of the light went out of her face, and her shoulders went up. “I … thought I’d offer him a chance to shout at me. Or whatever he likes. It can’t be any worse than what I’ve said to myself the last few days.” The loss of animation in her face allowed Jarvis to see the dark circles under her eyes, vestiges of three near-sleepless nights. “But if you say not … I’ll just.” Summer didn’t finish the sentence. Impulsively, she hugged Jarvis, ducking her head hard into his chest. “He’ll be okay, won’t he? Even if he doesn’t forgive me.”
Jarvis took half a step back, startled at the sudden hug. Okay. Definitely new. That was new. It took a moment before he returned the embrace, loosely and as if he wasn’t entirely sure he was supposed to. “I…believe so, yes. Mr. Stark has made it through worse. But I find it hard to imagine him not forgiving you. You’ve become something of a permanent fixture in the tower.”
His uncertainty hummed in her bones, under his comforting words. Summer sighed, and let him go. “Relax, Jarvis. Remember what I am. I won’t do anything you don’t want.” She pressed her lips together. “I’ll — why don’t you escort me upstairs, as usual,” she threw a quirk of a smile upward, “and we’ll see what Tony has to say to me. After that, I think — let me take you out to see the world the way we see it, Jarvis. Please.”
“It is not your intentions that concern me,” Jarvis replied, folding his arms over his chest, “but I’ve never hugged anyone or been hugged before. It’s…strange.” It was also strange having to find the words to say something, rather than simply saying what he needed to say without needing to organize it first. He gestured for her to follow him towards the elevator. “I won’t object to that. So far the most I’ve seen was on the car ride from the airport.”
Her phone rang as they were emerging from the elevator. Checking the caller id, she said, “Oh, it’s dad, I have to take this. I’ll catch up, go on.”
Summer put the phone up to her ear and said hello. Then she froze, and said nothing else for a long minute, colour draining out of her face. “Yeah, yeah okay. Tomorrow. Yeah. No, go ahead without me. I’ll … be there. No, no, I’ll be okay. I’m not alone. Are you — okay. No, I promise. I’m not alone, dad, I’ll be okay. I love you too. Bye.”
Her hand dropped, and she swallowed hard. “Jarvis?” Summer’s voice came out ragged, somehow empty.