What if Tony gets really self-deprecating when he's drunk and goes "Never have I ever accidentally almost destroyed the world" in reference to Ultron and nobody realised how much he's still being himself up over this (and probably other things). It seems like the team doesn't often get glimpses of this side of him and I'd love to know how they'd react if they perhaps didn't even expect he had such a side (as many people don't).
I think comments like that could help the team in two ways. One, they could laugh them off, together. And by that I don’t mean Tony wouldn’t feel honest guilt (it’s Tony, his guilt issues have issues) but because in a life like theirs you have to be able to laugh it off and move on, that’s the only thing you can do. And they get that. It could help them share this sense of understanding. And through that better relate to Tony.
Then there’s the possibility that they really hear the self-deprecation and realise how much the self-blame is wearing Tony down. Now whilst that realisation might range from a slap in the face to a confirmation of something they’ve already known (depending their relationship with Tony, their attentiveness etc), understanding doesn’t mean they know how to fix it. Emotionally and mentally stable isn’t exactly part of the usual Avengers’ profile.
So, since comforting isn’t their strength - and this isn’t the sort of problem that’s quickly resolved by a single word of reassurance anyways - they’ll go with distraction. Distracting by teasing Tony about something silly he’s guaranteed to be embarrassed by. Distracting him by sharing their own failures. Distracting by saying something nice to him. Distracting him by talking about the latest crazy shit that’s happened to them.
(Yes, I headcanon that they all have Avoidance issues with a capital ‘A’.)
Also, when Tony says “Never have I ever accidentally almost destroyed the world,” I’ll guarantee you, every single one of them drinks.
















