Despite the fact that the various human politicians involved in the Decennial had wandered off, the four brothers remained.
Arthur had ended the meeting, but he had not dismissed his brothers, and so they stayed.
When it was only the four of them left, and the yawning distance betweem them was made all the more obvious without the human bodies attempting to bridge them together, Arthur cleared his throat.
"As you know, Alfred has been living with me since November 2016," he began. This was news to Alisdair, though of course he hadn't spoken to Arthur in months by that point.
Still, Aidan surely would have mentioned it. Alisdair glanced over at him. His brother's forehead was furrowed in confusion. He hadn't known, either.
Then Arthur had expected Alwyn to tell them, and Alwyn, who had never approved of Alfred, even when he'd been a little tyke, had done what he always did whenever something he didn't like occured. He'd ignored it.
Poor lad, thought Alisdair. Only Arthur and Alwyn for company.
He brought his attention back to Arthur, whose confidence was waning at the head of the table. It meant that whatever they were still sat there for, it was personal.
"Well, he's invited all of you over to our London home for dinner. You know how he is." He punctuated his statement with an eyeroll that did nothing to cover up his fondness. Arthur had a hard time denying Alfred anything, nowadays.
It was something he and Alisdair had in common, though he'd often wondered if it came from the same place. Our London home, he'd said - which could mean nothing.
"Well, I'm in," he replied.
"Me too!" Aidan chimed in. He turned expectantly towards Alwyn, and so did Alisdair.
Alwyn's lips were pursed tightly, but he nodded at Arthur.
"Good," Arthur said, packing up his things. He stood, and all of them followed suit. "I trust you all remember the address. Luckily, Alfred doesn't much care for ceremony, so dress how you wish. I'll see you tonight at 7."
With that, they went their separate ways.
