He nods. "There was never any choice, but..." he matches the smile, thinking about how Iago had chafed within his own hierarchy, and why. "Those above rarely give any thought to whether or not they should be loyal to those below. So when they keep faith by instinct, it's... a priceless thing." He glances down to the table for a moment, dimpling, at Iago's question, before looking back at him. "Well, if it were someone else... but I'm glad you like him, too, Iago-san. This question aside--I don't want to be in any beds without you, ne? That would be too lonely." He gives him a smile that's a little wistful, a little rueful, the rest self-deprecatingly amused. "That's what keeps me awake and moving in the mornings, ne. --But this question aside, I do want to work with him. I've worked with him before and liked it, and the benefits," he adds soberly, "are good."
Xel pulls his casted foot back under the table (no need for the customer to be sanctioned twice), and presses into Iago's touches, nuzzling only briefly in deference to the setting. "I'm glad," he says in a quietly happy voice, contriving to look at Iago through both their eyelashes. One side of his mouth curls up higher than the other, a little wicked. "I was ready for you to doubt it, though, so I thought I'd anticipate something you might still like. Is that all right?"