New Again

Chapter 6 (Congratulations, you have a son)

Early in the morning at Stark House, Tony, Harley, and Peter were preparing for an important meeting. Tony was carefully putting on his suit, Peter was going over the presentations, and Harley was, as usual, pacing around as if she had forgotten something.

“Ready?” Tony asked, glancing sideways at Peter, still wearing his suit tie.

“No, I guess I still forgot something,” Harley said, hurriedly opening the door and heading outside. But when she opened the door, the sight in front of her shocked her. Harley came out of the door and was faced with a young man who looked exactly like Tony. Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

“Tony…” Harley let out a shaky sound from her throat, her eyes fixated on the man in surprise. “Who… is this?”

The young man calmly took steps towards Tony and Pepper, ignoring Harley. "My name is Prax James Stark," he said coolly, "And I am your son."

Harley looked almost shocked. She slowly turned her head, but couldn't find what to say. Peter paused in front of the door, also surprised, and looked at the man, "Is that... your son?" He turned to Tony, confusion in his eyes.

Tony stared at Prax, frozen, his body taking a step back. His eyes were filled with suspicion and fear. “Prax?” he said, narrowing his eyes and forcing each word out. “Really?” he repeated, but his voice was hoarse and uneasy.

Pepper looked at Tony in surprise, "Tony… is that right? Is this really your son?" she asked, fear and concern evident in her voice.

Pepper's words surged through Tony like a wave. His eyes drifted to Prax, who stood before him like a dream. Reality was slowly hitting him, but there was still something missing in his mind. It was almost impossible to accept it, to dare to accept it. No matter how hard he tried to understand it, it just didn't feel real to him.

Prax’s impassive expression echoed in Tony’s mind. “Are you my son?” the question repeated itself over and over, and slowly everything began to blur. “Prax…” he whispered, but as the words left his lips, they seemed to collide with each other. His vision blurred, his head felt dizzy, and for a moment he lost his balance.

He didn't feel Pepper's gaze, but his body suddenly felt heavy. His vision was beginning to darken. He quickly leaned back against the wall, but even that didn't give him enough support. "Tony...?" he mumbled, his voice trembling. Fear and confusion were weakening his body.

In an instant, he felt as if he had lost all his strength. His knees began to shake, his body began to buckle and he began to fall to the ground. But before he could hear Tony's voice, his vision had gone black and he was about to lose consciousness.

"Pepper!" Tony immediately turned towards her, his panic rising. As Pepper's body slowly fell, Tony quickly reached out his hand, but Pepper's trembling body began to slide towards the ground.

Peter lunged forward. "Pepper! No!" he cried, and held her back. But Pepper's eyes were half-closed and her face was very white.

“Pepper!” Tony shouted, his eyes staring at her with fear. For a moment, everything felt like a nightmare. His heart was pounding, and he had lost control of everything. There was an emptiness so big that it was hard to even process the truth.

However, at that very moment, Prax's calm voice intervened. "So, we were talking about inheritance, right?" he said, very casually, as if nothing had happened.

Harley ignored his cool demeanor and turned on him angrily. “Can’t you see? Pepper fainted!” she said, her voice harsh and angry. “Is this just your playground?”

Prax coolly put his hands in his pockets, his head slightly bowed. His expression unchanging, “I don’t care,” he said coldly, his voice devoid of any empathy. “Give me my inheritance and I’ll leave. It’s that simple.”

Tony couldn't take his eyes off Prax for a moment, not knowing what to do. His attitude, his movements, were exactly like his own. Seeing the same determination and indifference in his eyes made him feel fear on one hand, and deep regret on the other. But he was in such a mixed emotion that he didn't know what to do, even for a moment.

“Pepper fainted, Prax!” Harley said, her voice rising a notch, quickening her pace in anger. “Do you not care that much? Are you only here to collect your inheritance? We can’t accept this!”

Prax, still cool and unconcerned about Harley's reaction, said, "That's your problem. My goal is only to get the inheritance." His expression didn't change at all, just like Tony's. But now something was changing in his gaze: a depth, an alienation, perhaps even anger... Seeing every move and every look Tony made that was similar to his meant something to Prax. But for now, he just wanted to get the inheritance.

Despite Tony’s efforts to suppress the fear and confusion inside him, the burden he felt as a father was weighing heavily on him. “We need to get Pepper safely to the medical center,” he said, but there was still uncertainty in his voice. “And we need to get the DNA test.”

Everyone had gathered at the medical center. Pepper had gone to the hospital with Tony's support and was immediately taken under control by the medical team. After a while, the medical team prepared to take blood samples from Prax and Tony.

Tony felt compelled to look at Prax, even though his eyes were still on Pepper. His eyes were filled with reflections of the past for a moment, but when it came to Prax, the reality of everything was even harder to cope with.

Prax had his hands in his pockets and was preparing to draw blood with the utmost composure. “When will I get the results?” he asked, a cold look in his eyes. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

"The results should be back in a few minutes. But right now, the most important thing is... finding out if there are any health issues," Tony said, his voice a notch higher, still tense.

Blood was drawn quickly and tests were started. The medical team waited a moment to check that everything was going smoothly before briefing Tony and Prax. Tony still couldn't take his eyes off Prax.

After a while, Helen appeared in the room, holding the lab test results in her hand. Her expression was determined, yet serious.

“The results are in,” Helen said, watching both men closely. “Prax, the results are positive. You are clearly Tony Stark’s biological son.”

“I already knew that,” Prax said, nodding as if he wasn’t surprised by this statement, but his voice still held no emotion. “Can I have my inheritance?”

“Yes, that’s clear,” Helen said, quickly scanning the results, but as she examined the papers more carefully, uncertainty crept onto her face. “But I did notice something, Prax. Some things in your blood seem abnormal. There may be a problem with your liver, in particular.”

Prax replied calmly, his face unchanging as he heard Helen's words. "Yes, I have liver failure," he said, his voice never losing its dullness. "But it doesn't really matter. Everyone dies, right?"

"What do you mean? This is serious, Prax! Liver failure could kill you!" Tony said, staring at Prax in surprise, but there was a breaking point inside him. "You can't be that indifferent!"

Prax continued coolly, his head bowed slightly, his eyes looking into Tony's. "I know that very well. But I've gotten used to living with it," he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Survival or death... we all come to the same conclusion. Why should we worry so much? We'll go when the time comes. What difference does it make?"

Harley stepped forward and angrily approached him. “Prax, it’s not right to think that you don’t have to survive!” she shouted. “You can’t accept it like this. People fight to survive, but you just surrender!”

Prax looked at Harley with a wry look. “Fight?” he said, shrugging. “Everyone is going to die someday. Maybe sooner, maybe later… but eventually we will all leave this world.” There was a coldness in his eyes, an indifference.

Tony narrowed his eyes at Prax. His emotions were mixed. It felt foreign to him to accept his death so casually. “Prax, even if you only want your legacy, you can’t approach it casually. Live… you have to. Things may be different for you, but we’re all here with you.”

“What are you telling me? My life is over,” Prax said, his eyes fixed on Tony, the cruelty in his voice echoing in every word. “The difference between me living or dying is no longer important to me. But I want my inheritance. That’s all.”

Unable to remain silent any longer, Helen asked him a difficult question: "Prax, do you really want to remain indifferent? When did you learn to be so cool?" "This problem with your liver is endangering your life. But more importantly, you have a chance to have a healthy future. If you take this chance, maybe everything can change."

Prax was silent for a moment, but then smiled slightly. “Not everything has a chance, Helen. What is lost over time cannot be found again,” he said, with a void in his eyes. “My life has come to an end. I must accept that.”

When Pepper felt better, they returned to the lake house.

In the large hall of Stark House, Tony was sitting at the head of the table, carefully examining the documents in front of him. Prax, as always, was sitting at the other end of the table, calm and collected, waiting for Tony to speak. Harley and Peter were witnessing this tense meeting in the corner of the room.

“Prax,” Tony said, placing the documents on the table. There was seriousness in his eyes. “We’ll talk about the percentage of the inheritance. I’ll give you 30% of the company. But that depends on your active role in the company. It’s not just taking the money and walking away.”

Prax shook his head, smiling wryly as he heard Tony’s words. “30%?” he said, the disdain clear in his voice. “I don’t find that enough, Tony. You know I deserve more.”

Tony narrowed his eyes slightly. “You have to work to earn it, Prax. I can’t look at the things I’ve built my whole life as just money.”

Prax leaned forward, leaning across the table toward Tony. “I just want my rights,” he said, his voice rising a little. “What you did never changed my life, Tony. I want it changed now.”

At that moment, Prax's breathing quickened. He put his hand on his chest and coughed lightly. It started as a small cough, but after a few seconds, blood started to come out of his mouth. Red drops fell onto the table.

Harley jumped up quickly. "Prax! What's going on?" she shouted, her face pale with fear.

Tony froze in shock. Panic rose inside him as his eyes flickered to the bloodstains on the table. “Prax!” he shouted, running over to her. “Prax, can you hear me?”

Prax mumbled weakly as his vision blurred. “I’m… fine…” he said, but his words were almost inaudible.

Prax's coughing stopped for a moment, but the red drops on the table had caught everyone's attention. Harley jumped up quickly, her face full of concern. "Prax! What's going on?!" she shouted.

Tony stared in shock at the blood stains on the table, his body involuntarily tensing. His eyes were fixed on Prax’s face, knowing something was seriously wrong. “Prax!” he said, quickly approaching him. “Do you hear me? What’s going on?”

Prax took a deep breath and straightened in his chair, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. His expression was still stoic, but there was a hint of fatigue. He stared at Tony and remained silent for a moment.

“I’m… fine,” he said, his voice slow but clear. He wiped the blood from his hands on his pants, his eyes locked on Tony’s. “But as usual, you didn’t understand anything.”

Tony, looking at her indifferent attitude, raised his voice. "Prax, this is not normal! Liver failure... You could end up in a worse situation. You can't treat yourself like this!"

Prax nodded, smiling wryly. “Yes, Tony. I know that. I know better than you how short my life is. But that doesn’t stop me, does it?”

“Prax, wait a minute! You can’t be so careless! Stop messing with your health and actually get help!” Harley interrupted, but her voice was shaking with anger. “This is your life! How can you be so careless?”

Prax glanced coldly at Harley, then back at Tony. “I can’t make the same mistake you did, Harley,” he said, his voice hardening. “This life is worthless. But you know what, Tony?” He paused for a moment and gestured at the documents on the table. “Neither your legacy… nor your life… means anything to me.”

Tony's face tightened. "You can't be so indifferent! You only came here for the inheritance, didn't you? But you're not getting anywhere with that attitude!"

Prax quickly rose from his chair, wiping his mouth once more with the back of his hand. His expression was now composed yet filled with anger. “Your legacy and your life are yours, Anthony Edward Stark,” he said, his voice growing harsher with each word. “I want nothing to do with you!”

"Prax, you're not going anywhere! It's not that simple!" Tony shouted, staring at Prax.

Prax, however, ignored Tony's voice and walked towards the door. Harley took a step forward to stop him, but Prax held up his hand to stop her. "You can't stop me," he said. "Nothing in this world... nothing can stop me."

He threw open the door and left without looking back. “Keep the things you fought for, Tony. I don’t need them.”

Prax slammed the door behind him and a silence fell over the room. Tony still stood at the edge of the table, motionless as a statue. His eyes were fixed blankly on the door through which Prax had exited. Prax's blood lay unwashed on the table. The red drops seemed to echo heavily in Tony's mind.

Harley was the first to break the silence that had filled the room. She stepped forward angrily, pushing aside the documents on the table. “What is this guy up to, Tony? Why is he so nonchalant?!” she shouted, but her voice was trembling. Her eyes focused on Tony’s face, but she realized that Tony was in no position to answer her.

Peter stood in the corner, a notebook clutched in his hand, unable to ignore Harley’s anger. “Prax… he’s running from something,” he said, his tone calm but deep. “It’s not just his inheritance or his anger at Tony. He’s running from facing himself. Anyone can see that.”

Tony looked up at Peter’s words. His eyes were red, and his face was frozen in a mixture of disappointment and pain. “I… I didn’t know he was so hurt,” he mumbled. “But I’m beginning to understand. He’s a lonely boy who grew up alone. And now, he’s a lonely man.”

Harley glared at Tony. “But Tony, how can you let him be so indifferent? We know his life is at risk. He has liver failure! Are we just going to let him leave with his inheritance?”

Tony took a deep breath and sat on the edge of the table. “I have to stop him,” he said. But no matter how determined he tried to sound, the desperation he felt as a father was obvious. “But the more I try to help Prax, the further he pushes me away.”

"There must be a reason for him to accept you, Tony," Peter said, stepping closer to Tony. "But Prax is denying everything right now. Perhaps his connection to you is what hurts him the most."

In the living room of Stark House, Tony sat helplessly leaning on the edge of the table, his hands clutching his head. His eyes were fixed on the empty space on the floor, his mind struggling with chaos. Harley and Peter looked at each other silently, seemingly making a decision.

Harley took a step toward Tony. She put a hand on his shoulder and said softly but firmly, “Tony, leave this to us. We will find Prax. But you stay out of it for a while. I know things are complicated between us, but if you don’t want to push Prax even further, you need to back off a little.”

Tony looked Harley in the eye and was silent for a moment. “Harley, I…” he said, but couldn’t finish his sentence. He took a deep breath and nodded slightly. “Okay. But whatever happens, let me know. I don’t want to lose her.”

Harley smiled reassuringly at him. “He’s not going anywhere near us. Don’t worry.”

"This is tough for her, Tony. But we'll do the best we can," Peter said, standing next to Harley and looking at Tony.

Harley nodded, turning to Peter. “Let’s go, Parker. A Stark rescue mission has begun.”

Harley and Peter followed Friday's data as they drove towards the city center. Prax's pulse data and last location led them to a small bar in a narrow street. When the car stopped in front of the bar, Harley turned to Peter, gripping the steering wheel hard.

“Could she work here?” Harley asked, her voice laced with surprise. “Seriously? A Stark works at a bar?”

Peter shrugged. “Maybe he’s just trying to find his own way,” he said. “Let’s go ask him.”

They both got out of the car and walked to the bar. When they entered, they were greeted by dim lights and a faint smell of cigarette smoke. They saw Prax behind the bar, talking to a few customers. He was wearing a black T-shirt and jeans, his face as nonchalant as ever.

Harley approached the bar counter and raised her voice, “Prax!”

When Prax turned his head and saw them, his eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but then he quickly returned to his usual expression. “What are you doing here?” he asked, leaning his hands on the counter.

Harley shot him a stern look. “The real question is, what are you doing here? What are you doing in this bar?”

“I work,” Prax said, shrugging slightly, his voice a touch sarcastic. “I work at a bar, it’s that simple. I don’t want any more inheritance arguments, so I make my own money.”

“Prax, is this really the solution you think it is?” Peter asked, stepping in. “Tony is worried about you, you know.”

"Don't worry about me, Tony," Prax said, turning to Peter. "He doesn't have to worry about me. I can stand on my own two feet."

Harley took a deep breath. “Look, I’m not judging you. But do you think you’re getting your way this way? If you really want to focus on this, fine. But we’re not leaving you here.”

Prax remained silent in the face of Harley's determination.

Finally, Peter pulled Harley by the arm and led her back to the car.

Harley leaned back against the steering wheel and took a deep breath. “Do you really think we should leave her alone?” she asked.

Peter nodded thoughtfully. “I think we should leave it for a while. Prax wants to make his own decisions. But we won’t leave him completely alone. We’ll keep an eye on him.”

Harley smiled, starting the engine. “Okay, Parker. But if there’s a problem, we’ll definitely tell Tony this time.”

Peter nodded, smiling. "Deal." When they got home, Tony and Pepper were talking to each other. The young people went to their room so as not to interrupt the conversation. When Morgan came home, they tried not to let anyone notice and went to bed and slept. In the morning...

They had set out to follow Prax's daily routine.

Harley turned to Peter, leaning on the steering wheel in her car. “Look, Parker. That’s rule number one: we follow him without him ever realizing it. This is a work of art.”

Peter rolled his eyes at Harley. “Artwork? Harley, this might be stupid in a way that’s unbecoming of a Stark. You know that, right?”

Harley shrugged. “Art or not, we need to protect it. Come on, it looks like he’s walking into that bar. We’re after him.”

Harley and Peter took advantage of Prax turning a corner and walked quickly. However, Harley was momentarily distracted and started following another man who resembled Prax. Peter followed Harley and called out quietly, “Harley, I don’t think that’s Prax.”

Harley turned her head and whispered, "Of course it's him, Parker! Look, black t-shirt and jeans. Just like last night."

The man was a little shorter than Harley had realized, and the white hat on his head stood out even more. When Harley finally realized she was following the wrong man, the man suddenly turned around and looked at them. “Is something wrong?” he asked harshly.

"I think my friend wanted to ask what brand of shirt you have!" Peter said, quickly walking over to Harley and smiling sheepishly.

The man frowned and said, "I bought this T-shirt on the street, is it branded? Unbranded, of course," and continued walking.

Harley turned to Peter and said, "Okay, okay, my bad. Let's find the real Prax!"

After they found Prax’s true route, they began to follow him closely. As Harley drove along the side streets, Peter tried to make a mask out of a newspaper to disguise himself. “Do you think this will work?” Harley asked, looking at the newspaper comically covering Peter’s face.

“Harley, stealth is an art form!” Peter said with pride.

Just then, they noticed Prax walking down a side street. Harley parked the car and she and Peter started to follow him on foot. However, as Harley tried to take a step back, her foot got caught in the lift arm of the garbage truck behind her. When she pulled the arm, the truck's garbage-laden cover opened and a bag inside quickly fell to the ground.

Peter realized Harley's mistake and quickly tried to back away, but the garbage bag burst, spilling its contents at Harley's feet. Harley cried out, wincing, "How can I be so incompetent?!"

When Prax heard the voices and turned around, Harley and Peter suddenly appeared to be heading to a fruit stand on the street and picking oranges. Prax stared at them for a moment, but continued on his way without understanding anything.

When they saw Prax get into a taxi, Harley and Peter quickly jumped in. “We’re going to do it right this time, Parker,” Harley said, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

However, Harley accidentally honked her horn while trying to follow Prax's taxi. When the taxi driver saw Harley in his rearview mirror, he suddenly accelerated and changed lanes.

"What are you doing, Harley? He noticed us!" Peter said in panic.

Harley said, not taking her eyes off the road, "Relax! This is like a test drive. I'm keeping my distance so he doesn't notice us!" But at that moment, Harley veered into the wrong lane and the cars between her and Prax's taxi suddenly stopped, forcing Harley to brake quickly.

Harley and Peter were still trying not to lose Prax as he got out of the taxi and headed to the bar where he worked. Harley finally relaxed for a moment and said, “Parker, if I ever work for Stark Ops, I definitely won’t tell this story.”

When they finally realized Prax was at the bar, Harley and Peter sat in the car and stared at each other. Peter laughed, taking off his newspaper mask. “If a member of the Stark family saw us like this, we’d be completely finished,” he said.

Harley leaned back against the steering wheel, her expression tired but satisfied. “Perhaps it’s best we don’t tell Tony about this,” she said. “But I believe Prax has a chance. So we’ll keep watching.”

Prax had started working at the bar, making drinks for a few customers, while Harley and Peter lurked in the corner of the car across from the bar. Harley had the lid of an ice cream container pressed up against her eyes as binoculars. Peter was still mad at Harley for choosing the lid of an ice cream container instead of buying a pair of binoculars.

"Harley, really? You mean instead of binoculars... this?" Peter asked angrily.

“Parker, this is art. If you use your visual intelligence, anything can be a medium,” Harley said proudly, never taking her eyes off the ice cream lid.

At that moment, Prax came out of the front door of the bar and noticed Harley's strange movements. She frowned, looking directly at them. Harley threw the lid down in panic and ducked under the seat to hide. Peter, not knowing what to do with her sudden movement, opened the window and called out.

"Er... er... Hey! Prax! We just happened to be passing through here!" he said, but his voice was shaking too much.

Prax walked toward the car, hands in his pockets, with a wry expression. “Really? You look like a car full of clumsy agents,” he said.

"We were... uh... protecting you. A Stark should always be safe!" Harley said, sticking her head out of the car. But the look on her face made it clear she didn't trust what she was saying at all.

Prax shook his head, laughing. “So you were following me?” he asked, his tone mocking.

“No, it’s definitely not stalking. It’s a… something,” Peter quickly interjected. He paused, his mind at a loss. Finally, he came up with a lame excuse. “It’s a coincidence! We were just testing Harley’s new ice cream box binoculars!”

Prax couldn't hold back his laughter at the explanation he heard. "Ice cream box binoculars? Seriously? What are you doing?"

Harley glanced at Prax, who was laughing helplessly, and paused for a moment. “Okay, okay. We were following you. But it wasn’t Tony’s request. We were just curious,” she said, a slight hint of embarrassment on her face. “I mean, what are you doing here anyway?”

Prax smiled at Harley's candid confession. "What do I do? I work. As you can see, I'm behind the bar making drinks. Everyone does something for a living, right?"

"But as a Stark... why are you here? You could be doing something else," Harley said, a little surprised by the answer.

Prax took a step back, taking his hands out of his pockets. “It seems strange to you that I am here, doesn’t it? But it is my choice. I am learning to stand on my own two feet. And that feels a lot better than any legacy.”

Peter thought for a moment, then smiled slightly. “Okay, Prax. If that’s your path, we’ll respect that. But we’re not going to abandon you.”

Prax raised his eyebrows and said, "Really? You still plan on following me?"

Harley shook her head solemnly. “No, no. We’ll leave you alone now. But… we can give you a ride home. Because that’s a tradition in Stark Operations!” she said, her voice serious but with a slight smile on her face.

Peter and Harley decided to drive Prax home. Prax sat in the backseat, cool as ever. However, things got messy again when Harley accidentally took a wrong turn at a roundabout.

"Harley! You're going the wrong way!" Peter shouted, throwing his ice cream container to the ground.

Harley turned the steering wheel in panic, but at that moment, a cyclist was speeding towards them. Harley quickly slammed on the brakes and the car stopped suddenly. The cyclist glared at them and slowly walked away.

"Is this the Stark tradition? To scare people?" Prax asked sarcastically, crossing her arms in the backseat.

"It's her fault! She should have read the map!" Peter said, blaming Harley.

“What would happen if you read the map?!” Harley replied angrily.

Prax was trying hard not to laugh as he watched the two incompetent agents argue. “Okay, guys. Stop arguing so we can get to my house.”

Finally, when they reached the bar, Prax got out of the car and turned to Harley and Peter, smiling slightly. “I never thought I’d say this, but… thanks. It’s been a weird ride.”

“Working with you is always a strange journey for us,” Peter said, smiling, putting his hand behind his head.

"If anything happens to you, we're always here for you. But you better not make us follow you any further," Harley said, reaching out from the car.

Prax nodded with a small smile and walked into the bar. Harley and Peter looked at each other and took a deep breath at the same time.

“Parker,” Harley said, leaning back against the steering wheel. “I have decided that I will not pry into the Stark business again.”

Peter laughed. “Yeah, that’s… definitely not our area.”

Harley started the car and the duo got lost in the streets of the city, hoping to have a quiet day after this strange and funny adventure, at least for a while.

Night had fallen heavily on House Stark. Tony sat alone in the living room, staring at nothing but the empty glass on the table. The ice had long since melted, but a complex maelstrom continued to swirl in Tony's mind.

Pepper walked down the stairs quietly. She paused for a moment when she saw Tony's calm state, but finally took a deep breath and walked over to him. She sat down across from him on the couch and waited for Tony to break his silence.

Tony finally looked up at Pepper. His tired eyes and pale face betrayed how much stress he was under. “Pepper,” he said, his voice low but firm. “I’m sorry.”

Pepper frowned at him for a moment. “Why?” she asked, but there was an edge to her voice.

“For dragging you into such a complicated situation. For not knowing about Prax for years. And now, for making you part of it,” Tony said, looking away. “This is my fault.”

Pepper took a deep breath, then finally burst out. “Yes, Tony. This is your fault,” she said, her voice rising. “But not just for not knowing about Prax! For not telling me anything! You carry such a heavy burden, and yet, as usual, you decide to live it all out without saying anything!”

Tony looked up at Pepper, surprised. "Pepper, I just… wanted to protect you," he said, his voice defensive.

“Protection?” Pepper shouted, her eyes blazing with anger. “Tony, I’m your partner. I’m part of your family. But how could you keep me from something this big? Prax is battling liver failure and rejecting you, and you thought you could handle it all by yourself?”

Tony bowed his head silently. “You’re right. But I didn’t know what to do. Just accepting his existence was hard enough for me.”

Pepper shook her head, taking a deep breath. "Tony, I love you. But it's become unbearable for you to try to figure everything out on your own. I want to help you, but you're making that impossible by shutting me out."

Tony looked into Pepper’s eyes and said, his voice trembling. “I’m sorry. I really am, Pepper. I didn’t realize it before. I was always trying to protect you, but without realizing it, I pushed you further away.”

Pepper took a deep breath, softening a little. "Tony, this isn't easy for me. But I know it isn't easy for you either," she said. "But we can't go on like this. If things are going to change, we have to do it together. Prax is not just your responsibility, it's ours too."

Tony nodded. “You’re right. The only way out of this is to get our act together. But sometimes I feel like I can’t handle this much.”

Pepper leaned in and took his hand. “Tony, when you think you can’t handle it, I’m here,” she said, her voice soft this time. “But you need to know that you need me. You don’t have to be strong alone.”

Tony took a deep breath, holding Pepper's hand tightly. "I need you, Pepper. I always have. But I'm too late to tell you. If anything is going to be fixed with Prax, I know now that we have to do it together."

“Then let’s do it,” Pepper said, smiling slightly. “Together. But if you try to shut me out again, I will climb to the top of Stark Tower and push you down.”

Tony nodded, smiling slightly for the first time. “It’s a deal,” he said. “And this time… I promise. We’ll do everything together.”

It was early morning at Stark House. Morgan was waiting outside the door with Tony and Pepper, her school bag on her back. The excitement in the little girl's eyes was immediately noticeable, even though her face was slightly clouded with sleepiness.

“Dad, we're drawing a dragon in art class today!” Morgan said, looking at Tony.

"A dragon? That's a great idea. But I think you should keep in mind that this dragon is a flying model using Stark technology, okay?" Tony said, smiling as he stroked his daughter's hair.

Morgan chuckled and nodded. “Okay, Dad! But I have to show you after the drawing. Maybe you’ll have better ideas.”

"You might not need your father's input on your dragon drawing, sweetheart. But maybe he could add a little more realistic detail," Pepper said with a small smile, straightening Morgan's bag.

Just then, the school bus arrived. Morgan raced to the door, turned around, and waved. “See you, Mom! See you, Dad!”

Tony sighed softly as he waved. "This girl is growing up, Pepper. Sometimes so fast we can't keep up."

Pepper came over to him and touched his arm lightly. "We'll make it, Tony. But we have a more pressing problem first," she said.

Tony nodded. “You’re right.” Taking a deep breath, “Let’s go inside. Harley and Peter should be at breakfast. We need to put an end to this.”

Harley was sitting at the corner of the kitchen table, spreading too much jam on a piece of toast. Peter was sitting across from her, scribbling on his legal pad. When Tony and Pepper walked in, Harley looked up and smiled. “Are we switching from dad mode to work mode?” he asked.

Tony rolled his eyes. “You’ll get used to it one day, Harley. Your kids always come first.”

Peter looked up at Tony. “Did you put Morgan on the bus? I hope we don’t have to drop him off at school because Harley has a bit too much jam on her and she’ll definitely try to eat it without letting go of the steering wheel.”

"You think a Stark car would have jam stains, Parker? This place is top notch!" Harley said, holding up her piece of toast.

"Okay, okay. Focus. We have something important to talk about," Tony said, sitting down at the head of the breakfast table.

Harley and Peter looked at each other and asked simultaneously, “Prax, right?”

Tony nodded, smiling slightly. “Yeah, right. You need to bring him to the Stark Institute. We need to talk about the legacy and his future.”

Peter frowned, putting down his pen. “Prax is still angry about this. It will be hard to convince him.”

Harley took a bite of toast and chewed, "But we'll try. You always leave the hard part to us, Tony."

Tony shot Harley a wry look. “Harley, it’s a matter of trust. And trusting a Stark like you isn’t a luxury for me, it’s a necessity.”

Harley nodded, smiling. “Okay, okay. We’ll try to convince him. But do we have a good enough plan to get him to stop working at the bar?”

"Whatever your plan is, you have to approach it with trust and patience. If he doesn't trust you, you have to build it slowly," Pepper said, placing coffee on the table at the time.

Tony glanced at Pepper, taking a sip of his coffee. “You’re right, but we can’t do this just by talking.” Then he turned to Harley and Peter. “Bring him here. We’ll talk at the Stark Institute about how he, too, is a Stark and needs to understand his responsibilities.”

"Parker, hold on tight. Because convincing a Stark is always an adventure," Harley said, standing up.

Tony turned to Pepper, smiling slightly. “You should get ready too, because this family meeting is a matter for all of us to resolve, not just me.”

"Okay. But by the end of this meeting, let's make sure everyone has a solution," Pepper said, nodding, determination in her eyes.

After breakfast, there was an air of determination in the house as Peter and Harley got in the car to take action as instructed by Tony. It would be the beginning of a new era for the Stark family.