[Is it hard that you'll have a choice when you're done here?]

Astarion had told him about his difficulty with home, however complicated his emotions are about it. He hadn't even wanted to change his cabin but he'd been so sure that he wouldn't return to his world. John isn't trying to catch him in a lie, but he is trying to understand. There's a gentle desire to comfort that filters through, like a cat settling beside you to just be with you through something.