It's done too soon. There's not the return he's expecting. There's no shift of face plate. Not... what he thought would happen if he just blurted those words out. Because it had seemed like such a good idea when he'd started.

Instead of kissing his partner at a party, he's staring down at a Prime on an alien planet. His brain is struggling to catch up with these realizations, struggling, while it also tries to focus on what's being said.

"But I'm... right here?"

He can't see Pax -- Prime -- 's face. That's not right. He tries tilting it up again.

"I'm not disappeared. I don't want to. Disappeared. I ... want to stay."

Stay here, and stay your partner.