gadgeteerphilanthropist:

iamthefirechild:

The second she tasted the fear, she let go. Tony Stark was afraid? How did that even work? They looked at each other through the wavering water, and Summer started cursing herself. Fear, pain, anguish … every time, those emotions set off the bond early.

There had to be a way to stop that from happening. Gritting her teeth and surfacing, Summer blinked at him for a long moment. “That was a hell of a lot of fear,” she commented finally. “I didn’t think you were afraid of anything.” She tried to slow down her breathing, tried to get used to the faint sense of Stark in the back of her mind.

Rubbing at the back of her neck, she swore again under her breath and started slogging toward the side.

Tony gave her a mildly perplexed look, irritation easing in favor of confusion.  ”Everyone’s afraid of something,” he replied.  ”Was I really that obvious?”  He was generally pretty good at keeping that in check…  After all, it wouldn’t do for Tony Stark to freak out in public, now would it?

Logically, he knew the difference, obviously.  The pool was just the pool, and no one was holding him under.  But knowing that didn’t mean he was going to enjoy it.

Hitching herself up the side of the pool, Summer said over her shoulder, “I cheat. I’m sorry; I won’t do it again.” She flung herself off the edge again, speeding under the water until it was too deep for her to stand  before rolling over and surfacing. “If you’re that afraid, this isn’t the fun I thought it would be, though.”

gadgeteerphilanthropist:

iamthefirechild:

Stripping her shirt up her body and off over her head, Summer grinned. “I just need the water to hold me up and I’m fine.” She shucked her shorts as quickly, leaving it all in a pile on the decking, and knelt to sweep a hand through the water.

Cool, but not cold. Kneel turned into shallow dive, flinging herself through the first foot or so of water with careless ease, before she resurfaced facefirst, long hair swirling around her shoulders. “I guess you’ll just have to punish my audacity, then.”

Tony toed off his shoes and stripped off his shirt, tossing it onto a nearby chair, and sat down on the edge of the pool.  ”Really?  I thought we decided you were in charge.”  He slid into the water, dunked his hands under the surface, and used them to push his hair back and out of the way.  ”In which case, logically, you should probably be punishing me for being a smartass.  Just can’t make up your mind, can you?”

She skimmed a wave at him with the flat of her arm. “Oh, but I can request that you punish me.” With the flash of a grin, she added, “But I like your idea better,” and dropped under the water, aiming for his legs. Both hands wrapped around one leg, and she pulled.