He was insane. No, no, that was being melodramatic, wasn't it? Jarvis didn't feel any crazier than he had the day before, or even the hour prior to Master Stark turning up in the kitchen (where Jarvis was certain he'd never seen him at all, but Jarvis didn't exactly spend time standing around, mapping his owner's movements and preferences when it came to every minute of the day, which was perhaps a grave oversight now that he was really faced with having to manage everything alone). Things seemed fairly normal, except for how they weren't at all.
It hadn't been a hallucination. If Jarvis was going to have those, he'd imagine something a lot less stressful than Master Stark waltzing in and announcing he'd like some company. Were hallucinations meant to be frightening? Jarvis wondered, and then wondered again about people and recreational drugs, the little vials of things like morphling and yellow skin and the way ice tinkled in cut crystal tumblers.
People were strange. That was enough, and he could live with that thought as satisfying enough in the face of the unexpected. It wasn't reassuring, but it made sense.
He tidied up the counter by rote: crumb duster, sanitizing cloth, drying cloth (no streaks), and whisked things back to their proper places with ease. Returning things to order, that Jarvis could do. He knew where things went. Him, for example. He belonged here and Master Stark belonged out there, and yet. And yet he'd been invited to cross the line, and he had, which was probably what going mad felt like.
Too late now.
Gathering his little list close, he took a last look around the pristine kitchen, gaze snagging on the innocuous yellow twist of lemon sitting on top of the rubbish bin that would need to be emptied soon enough, and then cautiously eased out to where the other sat. That led to another hesitation, but he did manage to crack a smile at seeing the napkin was in use. It was enough to get him to gingerly take a seat on the floor nearby, list balanced on the bony curve of his knees and gaze flicking to and away from the blaring horror that passed for entertainment with a wince.