Well, give him a break, Tony, he's never really had to apologize before - and not for anything this big. Besides, the aftermath of their trip home is weighing on his heart, and he doesn't know what to do or say about it because if he probes his own emotions too deeply he may fall apart. And he doesn't have the right to do that. Not here. Not in front of Tony, who he's hurt so deeply.

"If you're sure," Gene says neutrally, not trusting that answer so far as he can throw it. There's nothing he can do to prove his relative merit to Tony right now, he knows, nothing that wouldn't ring false. So he's just going to lie low for now until they're both done thinking.

And maybe he'll sleep in his chair instead of the bed, in case Tony comes back. He doesn't want Tony to feel like he can't have the bed if Gene's already sleeping in it. Tony hasn't done anything wrong, after all; he hasn't lost mattress privileges.

In some way he's dimly aware of the fact that he's punishing himself much like how Zhang would, and he opts not to think about that.