It didn't make sense. Or, well, it made perfect sense to people who had been here in Starklandia for that long, but for new people -- well. It was hard to grasp the flow of time. Or the lack thereof. Tony knew that Natasha would grasp on to the idea of it all quickly -- she was smart, after all.
There would be other things though, things that she wouldn't want to even try to grasp, might even want to avoid for a while. It felt a little unfair, because Tony knew what those things were. Knew what happened to her, knew what happened after and what sacrifices had been made.
Whatever it takes was just an Avengers motto, and they'd all taken it to heart, apparently. Even if Tony -- here and now -- hadn't yet lived through these things. He still knew.
"Nat," he greeted, stopping in front of her, and looking -- well. Comfortable with himself in a way that he probably hadn't back home. He was still a stickler for being fashionable, even in this place where it didn't matter, and his jeans were designer, his t-shirt vintage and his shoes expensive. But his hair was a little more mussed, a little less product and his smile was a little more honest. "Hey, you."
People came and went here a lot. More often than Tony liked. But there were few people he missed quite as much. Maybe because Natasha was in and out more than most everyone else.