Whatever It Takes

Chapter Thirteen

Moments had to have passed, the light was probably about to turn green, and the only thing that would tell Tony it had was an angry New Yorker behind him honking and swearing. Emma was frozen, her ears rang, her eyes were locked on Tony, but she thought that even if she wanted to look away, she couldn't. She wasn't even sure her heart was beating.

But she didn't tuck and roll, so there's that.

"Emma-" Tony was cut off by the anticipated honking and swearing. He was forced to turn back to the wheel and start driving again, and his chest felt like a shirt so tight it might rip if he breathed too quick. Emma was finally able to turn away from the man, her eyes back on the road. She had forgotten at this point how many cars she had counted. Or even what color they were. The tension was damn near suffocating Tony, and Emma felt to him like she was a million miles away in her passenger seat. Like if she spoke she'd have to yell or he wouldn't hear.

But he heard her clear as day. "How?" her voice sounded empty.

"How do I know?" Tony asked. Emma nodded. Tony swallowed, "we had spent the night together and well... your birthday would line up. Your eyes too.... you-" his beath caught in his throat, "you have my eyes." Emma snorted, but it sounded strained. "So is it your hunch?" she asked. No, Tony thought, but she wouldn't take that. He tried to relax his shoulders. "I'm taking us to the compound to get us a DNA test. But... I do think I'm your father."

Moments passed. They were getting closer now. The busy roads transformed into wide and empty streets lined with trees fading from green to a palette of burning oranges and yellows. Emma tried to watch them as they zipped by. Her fingers tapped together forming a chaotic melody. She tried to imagine how she would go about painting one of them. From the sketch of the tree's skeleton to filling in the brilliant colors highlighted by the sun. Tony however, chewed his lip until he nearly tasted blood. "Emma?" he called her name, not asked it. Once again, she felt a million miles away though he could reach out just barely and touch her - but that would get his hand broken for sure. He tried again "Emma, please say something."

She was back, as if Tonys plea was a trigger. She let out a shrill and bitter laugh, "like what? I just found out I might be one of Tony Stark's infamous one night stands. What the hell would you like me to say to that?" Tony stared intently at the road ahead of him, he really wasn't sure what he wanted her to say. Anything really, so he guessed he'd got what he wanted. He wanted to sink in his seat. Even Tony wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to hit his head off the steering wheel. That's all she thought she was. A one night stand, a blip. God forbid, an accident. "You're not-"

"Yes I was. Don't try to sugarcoat it. " Tony let out a sigh. There was no exact place to go from here. He just had to say what he could before they got the tests done. By now, the compound was only a few minutes away. "When Maya showed up at my house about Killian, I asked her something in a really stupid way. I said 'please tell me there's not a 12 year old kid in the back seat I didn't know about.' I guess that's when she decided I wouldn't be a good dad. Maybe she was right. I've done a lot of growing since then and before then, and... I still wish she would have told me."

"Why?" Emma tutted, "what would the genius billionaire superhero want with a kid running around and slowing you down? And please tell me you're not about to give me that 'changed man' crap." Tony inhaled sharply, but released once he realised she kind of had a point. He really couldn't guarantee back then that he would have been mature about it. He definitely didn't react well when she joked back that the kid was 13. He decided to ask her something else rather than argue it, "do you think I don't want you? Even now?" his words came out quiet and soft. Gentle and worried of her answer. She stared out the window. She didn't reply. Not for a while. "I think you have to figure that out more than I do." Bitter. As he expected, but he already had figured it out. From the second he got off the phone with Pepper. "Already did, kid," he echoed, "when I found out who your mom was, my girlfriend called me. I swear she has a sixth sense. I told her and she asked me nearly the same thing. Asked me what I wanted to do. I told her I wanted to be a dad."