There was nothing but good news from the birthday luncheon, and his dad seemed to adjust greatly to the dynamic. He wasn't as talkative as when he talked about Eugene, but that was just his personality. Ian was still shyly clapping and giggling at the children's antics and the adults' banter.
Still, he could tell Arthur often went quiet by himself. While he still played with the children and snapped at his cousin, there would be times when the alpha just stared at the space blankly for a few seconds, as if someone had snatched his soul.
It wasn't hard to guess what caused this, though, and he didn't waste any time asking about it once they were alone in their bedroom that night.
"I'm sorry," Arthur looked flustered and panicked instead. "I shouldn't...ugh, I didn't want to mess your day--"
"You'll be messing my day if you keep things that stress you out from me," Eugene stroked the brown locks. "I won't be able to sleep knowing you're probably feeling miserable because of it."
