Gene laughs, once. It's a bitter chuckle, born of desperation and sadness. "You might."

He's aware that he does that, but this - this would be a more bitter pill for Tony to swallow. This is no minor transgression. This is a serious issue.

But he'd promised, he'd promised, he'd promised Tony, he'd said he was trying to be better. And this had happened before Tony had even come, before Gene had even gone back the first time, and he had been younger, so much younger than he was now, and so angry, and so scared.

He had been the boy Tony hated, and had good reason to hate.