[ Fondly: ] He'd like it if you asked him yourself. Not too pushily, mind - he doesn't like to be pushed - but he spends so much time asking after others that he's always a bit touched when others ask after him.

[ A startlingly straight answer, perhaps. Probably much more than Astarion would have expected. Byerly guards Bastien's heart ferociously; it's a gesture of trust to share this. ]

But - He's doing all right, all things told. He endures discomfort with great stoicism. And it's not just swallowing down his feelings; he really does have that sort of stony determination where he doesn't allow it to disturb him.