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Things that kill me about this scene:
* The way Tony glances back at Nebula as she hands him off to Steve. He doesn’t forget her as soon as he’s back on Earth.
* Steve is the first person to reach the ship. Captain Marvel lands the ship, and Steve just books it across the Compound grounds.
* That first glance from Tony at Steve, and you can practically see him thinking, “You’re alive. Steve.” Until that moment, Tony didn’t know if Steve had survived the Decimation.
* This is the first time since Siberia that either Steve or Tony have touched each other; this is the first time since Siberia that they’ve been together in the same place. Remember, Steve thought Tony was dead, hence the “Earth just lost her best defender” line in Infinity War. And yet the first words out of Tony’s mouth are, “Couldn’t stop him.” The subject of the sentence could be a silent “I” or a silent “We,” but knowing Tony, it’s an “I.” Regardless, Steve answers by saying, “Neither could I.”
Two warriors who fought valiantly but couldn’t win, and though neither one fought Thanos and his army alone, their first instinct with each other is to shoulder the responsibility for the loss alone.
* “I lost the kid,” Tony says, and it’s a pained confession. They fought a war, and now they’re sharing stories and checking each other over for metaphorical injuries.
“Tony, we lost,” Steve replies, and he’s trying, in his own fumbling way, to comfort Tony. Steve can summon the right words for a rousing speech when their team needs it but put him in front of Tony Stark, who he loves, and who he hurt—yes, they hurt each other, badly—and there are no speeches left in him. Just “Tony, we lost.” Underneath that is the silent echo of “It’s not your fault, and you’re not alone. We did what we could and we all lost.”
* These men are terrible at discussing their feelings with each other, but I firmly believe there’s a silent litany of “You’re alive. I missed you. I’m sorry. I missed you so much” that both of them are saying with their eyes. Because of the camera angles, you can’t see Steve’s eyes as well, but Tony’s are definitely glassy with unshed tears.
* These people are having one conversation with their mouths and yet another with their eyes.
* The last GIF. Ah, the last GIF. Pepper and Tony hug and what does Steve do? Does he politely look away while they have their reunion? Nope, not Steve Rogers. He furrows his brow, clenches his jaw, swallows, and stares. Why? Because he wants that hug for himself. He’s the kid on the outside, pressed up against the glass, staring through the shop window at the thing he wants and cannot have.
Steve I’m pining like a motherfucker Rogers, ladies and gentlemen. Marcel, you coward, where is my SteveTony hug?