Xarakas chuckled softly as she chastised him, pressing a small kiss to her forehead as he wrapped his own arms around her waist and lifted her slightly, swaying with her gently in the water as he held her close.
"I'm not particularly used to having people offer to do things for me. I'm just happy to be here, truthfully," he murmured, offering her a little smile as he pressed another kiss to her forehead. "Besides, I'm still supposed to help you wash too."
Asha tightened her arms around his neck as he started to lift her, though it came as a surprise when he only swayed next, almost as if they were dancing, and kissed her forehead.
"Really? You just want to stand here and talk?" She didn't quite know how to express anything except confusion over that.
She wasn't typically someone people sought out for casual conversation or company. They always had a purpose, the sole exception probably being Cenric. It wasn't necessarily anything she minded, but it was why Xarakas's seeming lack of wanting anything in particular confused her now.
"Are you sure?" She didn't quite tell him point-blank that his claim was hard to believe, but hit was close. "You really don't have to, Xarakas. Washing you was mostly an attempt to make up for earlier… or would've been."
If he weren't somehow uniquely capable of claiming he wanted her desperately one moment and then the way he behaved the next making her feel undesirable and as if she should just leave him alone, leaving her unable to parse out what to do with him.
As Asha clarified what she'd meant when she'd asked what he wanted, Xarakas frowned faintly, moving back over to the edge of the bath to set her down on the edge where she'd been sitting before he had pulled her in.
"I think I understand... This is just about sex, which is fine, but if you want something specific, l'd prefer that you just tell me what you want outright. No point in fumbling around, trying to figure out what we each want, when we can just be upfront with one another," he spoke, offering her a gentle smile in the hopes of assuring her that he wasn't upset.
"So, that said, what is it you wanted me to do for you?"
Asha frowned as Xarakas set her on the edge of the tub, fussed at her for beating around the bush, and asked her point blank what she wanted from him, quickly shaking her head. "No, that's not—" She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, looking at him.
"I was trying to do something for you, Xarakas. I'm not fumbling or trying to get anything from you. Or if I am fumbling, it's not about that, at the very least," she clarified, though she looked as if she fought with whether to say anything else.
Though as she recalled what he'd shared with her, she softly explained, "You just confused me when you said you were just happy being here and didn't want anything. No one wants to spend time with me just to spend time with me. It just never really occurred to me that you might want to. And I certainly don't understand why."