Nothing was owed between them, no matter how unbalanced their relationship. Maybe the first domino to topple had been Tony's willfully volunteering for his Games, but that had been a child's impulsive mistake. Jarvis had no doubt that were Tony-then aware of the full ramifications the way Tony-now could appreciate, things would've played out very differently indeed. That was all that mattered to him. Tony was not a cruel or malicious man. He could be thoughtless or selfish or cowardly, but at the end of the day, he was still family and he still had gone above and beyond to treat Jarvis like a person. Literally, he'd given Jarvis a voice, and what more could he expect of a man so firmly stuck under Stane's thumb?
That had been the state of things for years. Their treason was a small one, a secret shared only in these walls. Now Jarvis was pushing for more and it was well within Tony's purview to say no. There would be no way to argue and no way to move on his own, but Tony was at least hearing him out (no matter that he visibly looked like he'd rather be anywhere else, tense and unhappy in a way that Jarvis hated to know he'd caused). Feeling as if there was nothing left to say, no point he hadn't made or reason to keep pushing, he'd fallen quiet; hands folded in his lap, shoulders rounded, gaze on Tony but without the expectant edge he'd allowed to be visible earlier.
When Tony agreed, you could've knocked Jarvis over with a feather. He blinked. Blinked again. Re-evaluated what he'd heard just to check for misunderstandings, and then cocked his head with a dry, "I believe neon would be counterintuitive to discretion." Agreement was enough for him. Jarvis didn't need a timeline. He didn't need specifics. He didn't need promises or drafted plans. Tentatively pleased with the outcome of the conversation, however painful and awkward it had been, he stood and made a quick gesture, fingers curling toward his palms. "Now give me your jacket so I can treat it or we'll never get the stains out."
It was possible he'd learned how to redirect from Tony, and that was really not the thing he should've picked up along the way.