"This entire experience has been... stressful." ZEX looked exhausted, as if all his years had suddenly caught up with him. "I do try to handle everything with as much grace as I can, no matter what the situation but sometimes..." He hesitated... it was almost difficult to say out loud. "I suppose even I can only take so much. One shock after another today, and one with the most distasteful echoes..."

ZEX looked at the Captain and focused on how he felt everytime he looked at him, that desire to have him in every way he could imagine in this body or any other, and his doubt faded, replaced by permanence. Identity. He smiled at him, weak and worn. "I'm sure I am still myself now. You're a most potent reminder, my Captain." Although he doubted the human would ever understand why. "For a moment though... I suppose I wondered. I haven't done that in decades... that's why I was temporarily..." what word to use, "...unsettled. I'll be alright."

Especially if he kept that pleasant contact between them. Hands provided a method of touch between humans that ZEX had never personally experienced until recently, and while his natural arms could twine and twist in ways impossible for humans, his natural form also made it difficult to rub things the way a hand could. A broad flat surface for contact, and the motion wasn't pronounced, but noticable and comforting. He wasn't sure if it was a natural human reaction, or just the fact that his human Captain was touching him again that made him feel... somewhat normal. Affection for him was so grounding.

He still didn't know what was going on, and there were still nagging questions that he didn't have answers to, and he still felt a little unnerved and strange after his momentary lapse, but for now he just appreciated the moment. It felt real.