He feels the way Tony pulls back to look at him and Steve glances down in response. "Yeah," he answers, as he sees both what looks like disbelief and ... a certain kind of hope, in Tony's eyes.

"I know this one isn't the exact same as the ones you built back home, but your reactor ... it means something Tony. A lot of things." For a long time now, he's never said anything about the reactor because Steve was so sure that someone, surely anyone, has told Tony this already. But right now, for the first time, he realizes that maybe no one has. And because Tony doesn't seem to stop giving him that look, Steve keeps going.

"It reminds me every day that when things were their hardest, you refused to give up. That's why I even had the chance to meet you in the first place, right?" Because without the reactor, Tony would've probably died in Afghanistan, and back then, Steve was just a popsicle in the ice.

Steve pulls Tony down again, if he's willing, so he can keep holding him close when he tells him: "It also reminds me, every day, that you're one of the most brilliant and talented people I know. That you can see things I can't, Tony, and you can make those things real." He chuckles a little though, because he knows how sappy this next part is going to sound.

"But you know, even back home, some days I'd see that glow from beneath your shirt and wonder if you knew how inspiring you are. That arc reactor ... it's ... it will always be a light in the darkness. Not just the one you made for yourself, but the what- dozens? that you made to power your suits, to make the world a better place. To keep people safe? Tony- how could I not see it as anything except beautiful?"

There's just a pause then, before: "Has no one ... said anything like this to you before?"