Riiiight. Gene smiles at Tony, and it's genuine, if brittle. It's hard not to return one of Tony's smiles; he has to admit to himself, he's still a bit smitten. "Thanks." He nods again when he returns his attention to Howard, and takes the offered seat, curling his hands around the mug, his shoulders straight. But it wouldn't take Sherlock Holmes to tell they'd practically be up around his ears if he didn't keep such tight control over himself.

"It's...good to see you," Gene says to Howard after a moment. "And I should probably apologize for what I did. I know that doesn't fix anything. But I'm sorry all the same."

Look! Look at how penitent he is!