Tony’s issues are more complicated than even Steve understands when it comes to touch. He’s not at all adverse to a hug and he has embraced people whole heartedly when he feels like he’s no longer falling apart. It’s different when he’s in crisis. He suffers those moments alone. Jubilation, however, calls for a more tactile approach. They just haven’t had a win in awhile. And he’s not relieved enough to want to hug Steve.

He’s not sure if he’s even capable of hugging someone like Steve. The man is so alien-- More so than even Thor. At least Thor provides comic relief. Rogers is all paragon of virtue.

Or had been. Now he’s just the hot guy next door who probably will impress both your friend group and your parents for very different reasons. That makes him a little uneasy, but the booze does a great job of buffing that out.

“I didn’t always hate you,” Tony scoffs up into blue eyes that seem almost like they’re swimming. He’s pleasantly dizzy. “I had a t-shirt and every action figure and all of your collectible cards-- I think I burned most of it when my thumb was strong enough to flick a lighter. Shame. It would have been worth something.”

Says the guy with more money in the world than he knows what to do with.

“Dad liked you best. Most people like you best. Even people that sided with me like you best. I wanted to balance that out.” And he’s jealous.