"I know that all this time, you've wanted to explain to Maria and me what your life is really like now. You wanted to tell us what you've done, wanted us to know just how much your life has changed..."
"Maybe you haven't even realized it yourself, but that put a great deal of pressure on you. You wanted to prove to us that you'd done a lot, that you'd done well, yet you didn't want to tell us that we'd already been left behind by this era."
"Tony, you've always been like this. Whenever you want to speak plainly but also want to sound tactful, you become terribly anxious. You even wear those emotions on your face. Maria and I have seen it countless times."
"No, you haven't..." Stark denied it instinctively, but Howard's amused voice came through the communicator.
"Haven't what? Haven't seen that awkward look on your face? Or haven't been left behind by the times? Tony, stop deceiving yourself."
"Maria and I already fulfilled our mission in the last era. Even if the ending was a little rushed and hurt you, we're happy to see that you have the life you do today."
"You don't need to alter the course of your current life because of our unexpected return. We don't want you to do that either."
"So we thought the best way would be for us to disappear from your life again. That way, you can keep moving forward along this wonderful path."
"No... no..." Stark kept denying it.
"No Stark can live on someone else's pity." Howard's tone grew heavy. "...That's how we all are."
"Regrettably, when you look back, what you saw in my life wasn't pride like yours. I kept retreating, again and again, like a coward."
"No... that's not true..." Stark's