[Hearing that Firo respects her shouldn't come as a shock by any means. He said it himself that he had it for her when he was angrily stalking her goldfish.

[And yet, there is still a sense of surprise at what Nick says. Not just because of what Firo had said to her, but because of what he's said about Nick as well. How their "types" couldn't get along.]

He was worried what someone like Sato would do to people he cares about. Thinks of as family. He's just doing it the way he knows how.

[Which isn't much different from Rey's current method. She's sure that Nick can understand that much at least, even if he can't agree with their methods.]