“No, Tony,” she told him, leaning to catch his eyes. “It’s fine. Don’t start that.” Unwinding herself from the floor, she stretched, bones and tendons crackling from tension released. “Come on,” Summer said, holding a hand down. She held the other hand behind her, balancing a flame on it. She didn’t have time to have convulsions right now.
Tony took her hand and levered himself back to his feet. He dug the heel of one hand against his eyes and then dragged his fingers through his hair. When he saw a flicker of light, he glanced towards the fire, one corner of his mouth ticking up in a tired half smile for a moment. “You can go burn it off, if you need to,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I can take care of myself from here.”
“I have a better idea. You come wash your face and I’ll start a fire in the fireplace,” Summer replied, leaning up to kiss the edge of the smile. “I have some things I want to say, and then we’re going to watch Mythbusters until you fall asleep.” She didn’t let him object, just pulled on the hand she held, pushing him into the bathroom before kneeling in front of the fireplace. Shooing the sliver of fire on her hand into the arch of it, she thought about all the things she wanted to say.
“We can’t for too long,” he interjected, as he turned on the tap in the bathroom. “Pretty sure Dummy’s in my room, so I’ve gotta head in there to bed at some point.” He cupped his hands under the water, ducked his head slightly to splash his face, and dragged his fingers through his hair. He turned off the water and wandered out of the bathroom, to topple face down on the couch.
“Ahh.” Summer didn’t turn around until she was sure she had her expression under control. “Tony. Um. Should I — ” She hesitated, then gave up and plunged in. “What you told Dummy. Is it what you want? I can stop. If you need me to.” ‘I think,’ she couldn’t help but add, in her mind. “I mean that you two love each other, and I don’t want to be in the way. Or, I can talk to Dummy?”