Charlie's been crouched in front of the fire, one knee on the floor, twisted to talk to them. Now he stands up, putting a little of his weight on the poker to get started because about seven hundred distinct parts of his body really hurt. Afterwards, it hangs loose from his hand.

Besides standing, Charlie gives neither of them a single fucking reaction. He's stone at the talk of the King's cult on Earth. He's stone at John's declaration of love. 'Stone', in this instance, is a faint smirk. They didn't think this would be relevant to tell him weeks ago?

(They aren't doing it for a reaction. He needs to chill out or remove himself from the situation.)

"Then what?"