[Tony's arrogance and conceited tendencies are confined to specific venues. He is competitive, and he does tend to show off and be a smug bastard about what he knows, but he's learned that there are things he doesn't know. He's learned in his own way to pick his battles, and that as smart as he is, he's not a god, or a super-soldier, or even a warrior. When most of your associates are more trained than you are, being a spoiled rich kid who happens to have technological genius still comes in second.

In short, Tony Stark has learned the meaning of deference.]

It... feels good. [His answer is calm and reassuring, but not completely committal. He pauses, choosing each word carefully.]

It's hard to trust a feeling like that. Sometimes even harder than trusting a known danger. Because I think if it's too good, it's easy to forget how bad things can get. You want to trust it. But you aren't necessarily wrong here. Just, just be careful.