Ben shifted his eyes to the floor. He supposed he ought to have expected this, but that didn't mean he was entirely ready to discuss it with Aldous.

"We've talked about it," he admitted. "But —" he hesitated. If he could have just said yes, let's do it, everything would be over, wouldn't it? He could stay at Aldous' home while they found the solicitor. Aldous would help with that part, surely. A few weeks or months of unpleasantness and then Melody would have been little more than a bad dream.

"But I can't do that to her," he said, shaking his head. "Not after her parents disowned her. She wouldn't have anywhere to go."

  

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A beat, and then Aldous gave a small nod.

"Number two," he continued, now holding up two fingers. "Your only obligation to Melody, in society's eyes, is to provide for her. There is no reason why you should not live separate lives, so long as she might be trusted not to bring shame to you."

Or the family, he thought, but Aldous did not think making this about the Crouch honour was in the least productive.

"She could remain in Irvingly and you can take bachelors' lodgings in London. It would not be so clean a break and would still see you...see you constrained, but where there are no expectations, there can be no falling short of them."

Reuben Crouch

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   Arthur Pettigrew, Dionisia Fisk, Reuben Crouch

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

Oh. Ben had been spending so much of his time and energy over the past year trying to sell the lie that they'd eloped because they were just so madly in love that he had never considered any alternative. But this was exactly what everyone expected of them, wasn't it? This was what everyone would have been saying anyway. A candle that burns bright fades fast, or something like that. Even if they'd been passionately in love last year and run off together a fortnight before her marriage to another man, they could reasonably have gotten tired of each other in the meantime.

It wasn't perfect, as Aldous pointed out, but at the moment the idea of being able to have a desk that he felt was safe from intrusion once again was enough to make it worth it. Melody could go... do whatever she wanted to do, as far as he was concerned. Work at a bookshop or spend all day at the library or whatever she wanted. And he could... well, if he had a private flat he would have a ready avenue to invite Elliot's mother over, if she could get to a discreet floo. He could meet his son.

"What's the third option?" he asked, though his heart and his mind were already running away with the second.

  

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"You talk to your wife and see if you might find common ground."

It was said with a shrug, as though to say, this is probably the obvious option but you may still be miserable. Aldous would never outright say which option he would choose—for Reuben had proven time and time again to do the exact opposite.

Reuben Crouch

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   Reuben Crouch

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

That was the obvious answer, but all the same when Aldous said it Ben felt as though someone had dropped a sack of bricks on him. He raised his drink to his lap and tilted it back to drain the contents. As if he hadn't already tried that. As if that wasn't what he'd been trying to do for the past year, with little to no success. He kept thinking things were improving and that they'd reached some sort of compromise, common ground to move forward on, and then something would happen that put them right back at square one.

Maybe there was something else he could try. Maybe there was something else he could say. But he wouldn't know if it had really worked until it all crashed down again, would he? So he'd just be killing time in the meantime, waiting for the inevitable fallout, still not trusting her or loving her.

He pushed his hands under his thighs to keep from fidgeting, looking down at his knees. "I think I might like to live in London," he said quietly. Then, glancing tentatively up at Aldous, he added, "...If you and Roman could handle the rumors that might follow."

Not that Ben intended to do anything to stir up more rumors, nor that he believed Melody would, but taking separate quarters was bound to make people talk.

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   Aldous Crouch

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"We weathered your marriage," Aldous pointed out with a snort, "and so I daresay your separation should be well within our capabilities. You realize, though, that you cannot simply flee like a thief in the night, that you must tell Melody of your plans?"

What Aldous did not say was that this option was, in his estimation, the best choice for his brother, if Reuben were to have a chance at happiness. A divorce, he suspected, would bring guilt; continued efforts to make his ill-conceived marriage work, misery.

Reuben Crouch

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   Cassius Lestrange

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

Of course Ben knew that. He may have done plenty of fleeing in his life (a good deal of it at Aldous' behest — home from America, to Canada, to Paris, etc) but he wasn't going to just abandon his wife, or move to London and send a letter home after him. He'd need to return to pack, anyway, since he'd only thrown together a few days' worth of clothes in the bag he'd brought when he came to Aldous'.

But the prospect of going now made his stomach flip.

"I can talk to her tomorrow," he said with a nod. "If I can stay here tonight."

  

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"Of course," Aldous agreed swiftly. He would not dream of turning Reuben out, under the circumstances. A beat, and then, hesitantly, he offered, "If—if you think it would help, I would be ha—I would be willing to accompany you."

Whatever bewitching the former Miss Finch had done to get his brother down the aisle she may well repeat to get him to remain in their marital bed.

Reuben Crouch

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   Reuben Crouch

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

Ben started slightly. He hadn't been expecting the offer at all, and had never imagined how the conversation might go with a third party present. It was appealing, because it meant they were unlikely to get into a proper fight. Melody was too practiced at high society to let slip a biting remark if he had his brother at his elbow. He could just deliver his terms, let her know how things were going to be, and expect little in response from her except short remarks or possibly a few tears. It seemed, however, like it would be blind siding Melody to show up with Aldous in tow, and even after she'd violated his privacy and caused him so much misery he wasn't sure that was fair to her. Maybe she deserved a chance to fight a little, before he left for good. He'd survived their fights before; he could handle another.

"I appreciate the offer," he said, sincerely. "But I think it's probably best if I go alone. If you don't hear from me in a day you can send in the aurors," he joked, before realizing this probably wasn't something Aldous was in a mood to smile at.

He fell quiet for a moment, thinking over everything that had transpired since he'd arrived in his brother's parlor. He felt lighter now, and hopeful that maybe someday he might start feeling like his old self again.

"Sorry," he said after a moment. It encompassed a lot: for arriving unannounced, for dropping another problem at Aldous' feet, for crying. For the upcoming separation and the elopement a year ago and everything he'd done prior that had given either of his brothers a headache. Sometimes he didn't know how he'd remained in their good graces so long. He'd been disappointing them for a decade, and Aldous still offered him a place to stay and company during what was going to be one of the most uncomfortable conversations of the year. Melody's parents had disowned her for far less.

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   Aldous Crouch

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Aldous shot his brother a sympathetic smile.

"You needn't apologize—at least, not this time." The joke fell rather flatter than Aldous might have liked, but he could not exactly take it back once it had been said. "I am...proud of you for taking initiative in this situation, Reuben," he added, an attempted recovery, but earnest nonetheless.

Reuben Crouch

  

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— Aldous walks with a cane and pronounced limp as the result of a splinching accident. —

— graphics by lady ❤ —

Ben had no idea what particular situation Aldous was talking about, and there were plenty to choose from. Staying with Melody after the elopement, weathering all the conversations about divorce, the upcoming separation. He didn't feel particularly like he'd taken the initiative in any of them, or that he had done anything over the past year and change that Aldous ought to be proud of, but his chest tightened at the praise all the same.

"Thanks," he said, a little uneasily. Aldous telling Ben he was proud of him was not a dynamic either of them were used to, and Ben wasn't sure if this was the appropriate response. "And thanks for letting me stay. I think... I think this'll be good," he said after a moment. He remembered his conversation with Art, and how concerned Art had been about ... everything. He'd been right, but Ben hadn't been willing to admit it until forced to confront it after spending a whole day burning all his letters. "This'll be good for me."

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   Aldous Crouch

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