He opens his mouth and remembers the little girl screaming while an inquisitor three feet away from her talked about his daughter and closes it again. 

".......I want to say anyone would be upset by that, but." 

"Most people wouldn't." He sighs. "I... don't laugh."

"I won't." 

"I know we haven't gotten to talk much in private or anything but I have feelings about you I've never had about anyone."

"Why would I laugh about that?" 

"See, this is the reason I have feelings about you."

Sataro lets go just long enough to kiss his forehead. 

"Although probably we'll have to stop this if you're a prophet."

He debates for a moment whether to tell Ashka about Tholassi's offer; decides to not. "Probably," he agrees, and holds Ashka tighter. 

"I can introduce you to people."

"...I should say thank you." 

"For what?"

"For offering to introduce me to people. — sorry, it's a good thing to offer, I just — am not good at people." 

"I can find other men who aren't good at people, or alternately are good at people and will carry the whole interaction."

....oh. In retrospect that is very obviously what he'd meant. Of course. 

"I," he says eloquently, and curls into Ashka. "No." 

"No?"

"They wouldn't be you and it wouldn't be worth it." 

"... Not sure if you noticed but I'm kind of a terrible person."

"Until yesterday I in fact did not notice. But — you're curious and affectionate and warm and I wanted to be you for years and I like when you touch me and I — usually don't. Like when people touch me." 

"You wanted to be the person I was pretending to be to avoid being tortured. Actually."

"Knowing that doesn't make the feeling go away." 

"Actual me sends people off to get killed for breaking laws I think are bullshit and don't follow. And is not actually certain how many kids he has."

"And I still like when you touch me, and the idea of sex with a stranger I don't know still makes me kind of sick, and what does that say about me." 

"Well, probably they wouldn't be a stranger once you're touching them?"

The idea of being introduced to someone with the intent of having sex with them makes him want to never eat again. 

"That's not what I meant."