Had anyone else asked this, Tony would have played the entire thing off. He would have rolled his eyes, changed the subject, gotten to work. It’s hard to hide from your feelings when someone else is feeling the whispering edges of them too, though, and when you feel theirs in return. Tony squares his jaw and pulls their once again joined hands up to the bump of the reactor in his chest, just faintly visible beneath the white oversized sweatshirt.

“I’ve been good about not believing in anything. You die and that’s it. There’s nothing. And that was a comfort, you know?” His eyes turn away, downward. He’s not ashamed, though he does feel blindsided by the reality of it. “I felt myself go crazy. You saved me in seconds but it felt like years. And you... I understand why all of that happened. Maybe a little pettiness with Thor and anger over the lies but I would have done anything anyone asked if I was stuck there that long.”