[Glacius only thinks about it for a moment, but a brief cough keeps him from responding until well after he's formulated the response in his head; his spare hand rubs at the base of his throat, near those still-deteriorating gills.] I did appreciate both of those things, Carlisle, make no mistake. The appreciation that I felt for what you have done here was part of what bolstered me to come out and ask. As for the other parts of that motivation... well... I had some nudges in the right direction. When you have a strong enough dosage of medicine in you, you're about as forthcoming as I am. It was a nice change of pace... endearing, even, to hear you be so open.

[The alien shoots his partner a fond grin, then goes a little more somber.] Though it still... took me some time to work up the courage to actually ask you about what you said that night. After what your double said... I, ah. I wasn't sure if you could feel that way, at least not for a creature like me... wasn't sure if you would want to even if you could. So... this has been, uh... quite the relief. [Glacius attempts for a slight chuckle here, trying to keep himself from drifting too close to those awful memories, the way the false Carlisle's words had cut like a hot blade straight through his armor down into his heart.]