[ Astarion is glad that he survived to meet Iorveth, too, but it hadn't felt like a choice at the time. He couldn't die, and he couldn't live, so he did what he could: endure. It doesn't feel particularly gratifying to have done. There's certainly nothing to be proud of. ]

—You would have done more than survive.

[ This isn't Astarion getting down on himself, although he probably could. It's just the truth: Iorveth would have fought much more than Astarion did. He would have fought every second of every day, no matter how tired and miserable it made him, because the alternative would have been worse. That's where the fear of being looked down on comes from, he supposes. The knowledge that Iorveth would have done it all better. ]

But I appreciate the sentiment all the same.

[ He presses his mouth to Iorveth's fingers. ]

It isn't worth dwelling on the past, I suppose, when I have you as my future.