Tony was smirking until Nick had to go and accuse him of force, and then he was pouting just the same as Nick, tense and ready to argue. No one had to make such a big deal about it, and Pepper definitely came away from it much better than she might have been. Obviously, it was a far greater offense than slicing off Nick's arm, though. So when Billy piped up, Tony bit, "He inn--" before he realized it wasn't really an accusation. A deep breath and flagrant backpeddling was in order, and just a little transparently defensive shifting as Tony put his back to the blue shield and hugged his knee against his chest.
"He was going to make his move on my assistant, and I couldn't stand seeing him with another woman," he said, and flashed them both his boyish grin. It really was too hot in there anymore. It was probably that damn lamp on the subway.