"What - talk to him? On purpose?" Tony stared at him, trying to make sense of that expression, that almost calculating look on Jarvis' face. A large part of the reason he found this catastrophe so unnaturally frustrating was because it was clear to him it didn't have a fix. The thought that someone else might be trying to dream one up triggered a little swell of hope that it would have been so, so much easier to deal without. "The only reason he didn't hit me in the face was because he couldn't stand up straight. And last time - you heard all of that."
Being ashamed and afraid to face up to one of the objects of his maybe slightly questionable behavior had nothing to do with his reluctance, of course. It was easy to marshal logic to his side. "Look, maybe it's for the best. He's a hothead. The less he wants to do with me, the better. We need people like that hanging around us like we need a knife in the back." Even if Jarvis looked like he might be trying to salvage something out of this mess, his agitation was also perfectly clear to someone who'd known him this long, and the guilt that evoked spoke much, much more clearly to Tony than any of the jumble of otherwise unfamiliar and confused responses he was attempting to ignore. Jarvis was the one who actually had to count on him - who didn't have any choice in the matter. Everyone else had options; even those people in Eight, the ones who appeared to have nothing, had Rogers to plead their case to anyone who'd listen. Tony was responsible for a sum total of two people, which was one more than he really felt competent to handle. There was something kind of grounding about it, though. It felt like a trump card in his hand. No easy path forward? Well, here's your map: pick whatever road gets the two of you there alive.
"So ... maybe it's a good thing. Let him keep thinking I'm some monster, I don't care." And if he said that often enough, he might even be able to make it convincing. "We won't have to deal with him. Nothing changes for us. We just - keep going." Surely it was less dangerous to have Rogers dislike him than consider him a friend. What possible benefit could there be to his friendship? From the standpoint of their personal security, the answer was surely: none. "Same as always."