The list of things that annoyed Steve about Tony Stark was... extensive. The man was arrogant, obnoxious, and seemed to spend most of his time in a state of slurring, stumbling intoxication. What put Steve over the edge and into "loathing" territory was the fact that Stark was also one of Stane's puppets, responsible for outfitting the Peacekeepers with the weapons they used to terrify the districts into submission. Steve certainly hadn't ever made his feelings toward the Capitol a secret, so the fact that Stark was being snippy with him now, acting as if Steve was the one responsible for derailing this dinner - that just added fuel to Steve's anger. Surely Stark must have realized this would be the inevitable conclusion of the two of them spending any length of time together. Acting as if he'd invited Steve over with nothing but the best of intentions was just plain insulting. This dinner, Steve was sure, had been nothing more than an opportunity to toy with him, to get him wound up, and possibly to report back to Stane once it was all over and done with.
Steve could feel his eyes narrowing as Stark's tone started shifting toward outright condescension. The tips of his ears were hot, unquestionably turning a fiery red, and he was clenching his jaw so hard that his teeth were starting to ache. And then Stark switched from condescension to an outright lecture, and on the heels of Natasha's vicious jab at him the previous evening, Steve's self-control snapped.
"Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot," he snarled. "I've got friends here - Clint's a friend, and Thor's a friend. Not everyone needs a crowd of people following them around all evening. Not everyone's that desperate for attention." That such a need was pathetic was evident enough in Steve's tone that he didn't actually need to say it out loud. There was nothing driving Steve's response but anger, because deep down, he knew that both Stark and Natasha had a point. He'd not been on his game last night, had let the macabre atmosphere eat away at him until he'd been unable to properly keep it together.
Still, this wasn't a well-reasoned, pleasant conversation; all Steve wanted now was to get at Stark the same way Stark was getting to him.
"What, did your parents not hug you enough when you were a kid?" Steve continued, daggers in his eyes. He gave a short, sharp, utterly unamused laugh. "Besides, speaking of your parents - doesn't look like all their Capitol friends did them that much good, in the end."
And that was... that was crossing a line, probably. Definitely. Steve felt a brief flash of shame, though he didn't let it show on his face. Steve was usually better than that sort of cheap shot, but then again, he was fairly confident that the man in front of him deserved whatever Steve could think to throw at him.