An expression of mild shock passes across Gene's face before the wall comes down behind his eyes again. Out of everything he'd expected Tony to bring up, this hadn't been on the list.

And he's not sure how he's going to deal with it. Tony has that stubborn set to his jaw that means that he's not going to budge on this issue.

That begs the question, of course, of what in the hell he wants Gene to do or say about it. His fate back home hasn't been weighing on his mind overmuch because he'd outright refused to think about it, aside from their year trapped in the Dreaming. The prospects for his future are few and dim, and he's happier here in Keeliai.

But...

"Then I'll do it too," he says, surprising even himself. "Then one way or the other, we'll know for sure what becomes of us." And what might become of us, he thinks. "I faced my punishment here; I'll face it there, too."

He wants to prove he's changed, he wants to prove he's trying. And facing the music is the only way he can think of that might serve.