Without You {𝟙𝟚} | Marvel √

chapter nineteen

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK; On April 16, 2016, marked the day of the end. And the beginning of a new chapter. Emma slowly entered the lounge room of the compound with Pepper following her. Tony had asked them both to come to the compound, and they both reluctantly did so. But as soon as they did, they found Tony sitting in the lounge area, with a plastic bucket next to him.

He looked up when he heard them walk in and immediately shot up from his seat. He still had a foul look over him, but it increasingly softened when he spotted Pepper with Emma. He shivered a sigh before grabbing the bucket and walking over to Emma, holding it out for her, and she stared at him confused.

"What is this?" she asked.

"Oh this? This is for all your electronics," he said and she tensed up, "Since you're still grounded for five months."

She shook her head irritated with him as Pepper looked in between the two confused. "What? Why is she grounded? We've never grounded her before," she said as Emma reluctantly placed her phone in the bucket, keeping tense eye contact with her father.

"Oh, so you didn't tell her why you're grounded for almost half a year?" Tony mockingly asked, "Surprising. I thought you two were little secret telling gal pals."

Emma harshly threw the wrist controls into the bucket as Tony tensed up, and Pepper eyed them heavily. "Why does she have those? Why do you have those?" she asked.

"Oh, so you didn't tell her I went to Germany and snuck onto the airport land strip to help the team fighting against you?" Emma mockingly asked as Tony lightly glared at her while Pepper's eyes widened in shock, "Surprising. I thought you two were supposed to be co-parenting."

"You did what? She did what?!" Pepper practically screamed as Emma turned away from the two, heading over to plop herself on the couch.

"You are running on thin ice, young lady," Tony lectured, "You're about to be grounded for six months if you step one more toe out of line—"

"Then do it," Emma turned back to him, "You're already ruining my life. Go ahead, make it worse."

Tony twitched in fury. "I can hardly look at you right now," he bitterly murmured, "Are you even aware how much trouble you're in? How much trouble you could've been in if The King of Wakanda didn't have our back?"

"Yes...I know...I get it," Emma softly said.

"No, I don't think you do!" Tony shouted as the confused Pepper looked in between the two Starks, "You went on that landing strip, when everyone else told you not to. When everyone else told you to not get involved. When everyone else told you to stay behind because this wasn't some silly fight that ended with ice cream in the end. It was the law, and you could've been outed, and in jail—"

"But I wasn't and I'm not," Emma added.

"Only because King T'Challa lied to the UN and Ross!" Tony yelled and Emma fumbled with her lips, looking down at her hands.

"Maybe, perhaps..." Pepper suddenly intervened as Tony turned to her, "None of this would've happened...if you didn't bring her to Germany!"

"This isn't about me, this is about her!" Tony pointed at Emma.

"Yeah, but you brought her there...you put her in danger," Pepper told him.

"The only person who put her in danger was herself!" Tony almost chuckled at how stupid everyone was acting.

But when her parents just began to bluntly argue, Emma shook her head, not wanting to hear it anymore. She stood up, beginning to leave the room when someone caught her arm.