There was nothing more heartbreaking than hearing Captain America sound so lost. When Tony should have fixed this weeks ago or at least wrestled some control over the outbreak by paying better attention to the patterns so they could be ready when the next awful thing happened. At least Tony knew that they always had to be ready; despite reason or morality, there were a lot of people out there who thought a plague was something to take advantage of. They didn't have to know, too, that they were right.
Glad for the acceptance as much as the anonymity, Tony slid his hand down Steve's back to wrap him in a hug, cheek to his hair where Tony could close his eyes and try to smooth away his deep frown behind Steve's back. It definitely wasn't for his comfort, he didn't deserve that, the Iron Man keeping him isolated from Steve's warmth and as tense as he was when Steve joined him. "It's not over yet," he pointed out. Steve must have been handling it if they were still there. They just had to keep working. What else was new? Successfully schooled, Tony relaxed back onto his heels to catch Steve eye with a question, What next?, then look up once more at the surrounding, vulnerable windows.