Soulmates? No thanks. Nadia would much rather spend her time bathed in the blue glow of her computer screens. The cyber-world? That is something she can control. Soulmates... not so much.
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Nadia has spent most of her life tracking down...
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Nadia made an odd choked noise in the back of her throat and took a minute step back. Had Tony not been closely watching for her reaction, it is possible she could have played this off. She perhaps would have chalked it up to her being startled by his abrupt nature. Maybe she would have stumbled over her words like a newborn fawn or pretended to be horrified by his lack of tact. Instead, Tony saw that his sudden proclamation lowered her shields, and he continued to press forward. "You're hiding something. What is it?" "I-" "And don't give me any more excuses. The grownups are talking now." Nadia took her lower lip between her teeth- a reaction Tony would have had a hard time staying away from if it been any other situation. In fact, between this and the light flush coating her cheeks from her surprise, Tony had to exert more willpower than he would like to resist her. His eyes darted in between the woman in front of him and the kitchen counter. Oh, what he could do to her on that counter. He shook his head and mentally scolded himself for thinking like a hormonal teenage boy. Ironic, seeing as he had just called himself a grownup. Nadia began to speak and Tony's mind focused on the situation once more. "You're right. Though I think perhaps it would be easier to show you rather than explain. My years at the university have taught me that facts speak louder to a scientist than words ever could, and with you being a scientist- well, just follow me." Nadia began to walk past the billionaire to the staircase that leads to her computer station. On the outside, she looked calm and composed, but in reality, her mind was screaming at her. She felt her breath become short, but she managed to swallow the panic attack before it rose past her throat. After what felt like a millennium, Nadia reached the top of the staircase and headed straight for a small machine next to her computer. After pressing a couple of buttons and simultaneously reaching over to open N.U.C.L.E.U.S on her computer, she turned to Tony. "Please step over here and place your hand on this circle. I am going to draw one more small blood sample so that I can rerun the test." Her voice quivered, and her hands shook. Nadia liked to think of herself as a strong woman, but this is a defining moment in her life. Something everyone wished and waited for, and yet she was terrified. Tony had proven himself to have paranoid tendencies- what if he got mad and accused her of falsifying the test? What if he storms out and never spoke to her again? But wasn't she just saying she didn't want a soulmate? None of it made sense. Nadia was caught in an internal paradox. Then, some small part of her subconscious whispered, "But what if it's beautiful? What if he loves you?" "Can't you use some of the blood I already gave you? That sample size was surely enough for multiple tests." Nadia's eyes refocused on Tony's figure at the top of the stairs. "It was. I, um, used it all to check the results", she mumbled. Her hands were still fidgeting behind her back, but she forced herself to take a deep breath and recenter. Her hands stilled. Tony extended his palm and made sure his finger fit into the slot where the needle lay in wait. After a moment, he felt a small pinch, and the computer began its scans. Technology- his world revolved around it and once again, his fate depended upon it. His arc reactor ached, and he was once again reminded of its presence. A beep sounded, and both humans turned to the computer screen. Two files lay stacked upon one another, and the top one showed a very familiar face.
"It's you."
A/N: I had my wisdom teeth pulled. 10/10 not a fun experience.
