It doesn't smell rotted either; surely there'd be a stench, if it was rot.

He almost does tell her to piss off, that he knows it's not going to be easy, because nothing fucking is. But that's just his kneejerk response, the thing that gets stuck in his throat. He's trying to be better than that.

"Go ahead," he says mildly, even distractedly. "Everybody so far has had something to say about it; it would be rude of me to deny you a chance."