Without You {𝟙𝟚} | Marvel √

chapter twelve

As soon as leaving the Parker residence, Emma was escorted out of the building by Tony, the two climbing into the parked SUV outside. And as soon as they were alone, Emma didn't take long to smack her father's arm. "Ow!" he snapped, quickly looking at his daughter who was leaning against her seat, crossing her arms with a dull look on her, "What was that for?!"

"Hm, let me think about it," Emma said before mocking a thinking expression, "You sent me away after you refused to help my best friend. You didn't talk to me for days. And then you come back, only to recruit my other best friend for your dumb crusade."

"You gave me no choice but to send you away—"

"You could've chosen to not abandon your daughter," Emma muttered and Tony's expression softened in annoyance.

"I did not abandon you," Tony said and Emma scoffed, "You were willing to destroy everything we've built for the past fifteen years to keep you safe to help your friend. Allie is a big girl, she can help herself. If she knew what you were willing to risk, she wouldn't want you to do it."

Emma looked over at him, staring at him for a moment before sternly saying, "How much do I need to prove to you that I don't care about being your secret daughter anymore?" and Tony scoffed, "You care more about saving yourself and your secret than helping the people you're supposed to care about."

"It's not me I'm saving, damnit!" he snapped and Emma tensed up, "You are the secret I'm trying to protect, and you are the only thing I care more about anything else. Okay? Nobody can know about you, especially now. It's too dangerous now. I have too many enemies. Everything is too complicated now."

Emma shook her head, looking away from him, "It's always too complicated," she muttered.

Tony kept his eyes on her, it hurt him that he made her so upset. He wished things weren't the way they were. "You have to know...I hated what I did," he softly said and Emma slowly looked over at him, "I didn't want to send you away. But I thought it was the only thing to keep you safe from doing anything irrational."

Emma eyed him with her eyes suddenly glossed over. She fully turned her body towards him, pursing her lips. "I'm not that eight year old little girl anymore, Daddy," she told him, "You can't keep treating me like I am."

"You'll always be my little eight year old who wanted to help me in the lab of our old house," Tony told her and Emma held in a shaking breath, knowing there was no use in arguing with him. He wouldn't see her point on anything. Not when he still saw her as a child and not as a growing young adult. "I'm sorry I flirted with your friend's aunt..."

Emma was silent a moment, thinking, before placing her blue eyes on his brown ones. "Why can't I go on missions?" she quietly asked.

"Why? Why?" Tony loudly asked and Emma tensed up, "Here's a reminder; 2012," and she had to repress rolling her eyes, "I thought bringing my eleven year old daughter with me to New York City wouldn't cause any problems. Thought, oh hey, this place is armed. Has security. Armed weapons. Plenty of people who could protect her. But then she went and got kidnapped by a crazy god."

"His name was Loki—"

"I don't care! He took an innocent little girl just out of spite and you wonder why you don't go on missions," Tony sternly said.

"I can be a good asset," Emma said, "I know my way around computers. I can track people down. I can hack into systems—"

"Hack?"

"Half the people on the team don't even know how to work their phone right," Emma continued.

"My work is dangerous, you know this," Tony told her, "I don't know what I would do if you got hurt on my watch."