He had used every weapon in his arsenal to prevent the breach of the fortress that surrounded his heart. He growled, glared, and head-slapped. The enemy just smiled and dug in deeper
He belittled, insulted and ridiculed. The enemy continued to smile and forged ahead volleying back insights of brilliance and depth.
When those tactics didn't work, he pulled out the big guns - withdrew, and ignored. His enemy was on the ropes, exhausted. He had him where he wanted him, beat down, and weary. Or so he thought.
The last breach was so quiet, so subtle, and so disarming he found his walls had crumbled and left him defenseless admitting "I depend on you".
For all that had happened in the past several years, that was as close to an "I love you" as Tony was going to get right now and he clung to it while he began to divest himself of the one that separated them.