"No," he said simply, both answering her question and mimicking her non answer in one word. "I came to see you, first and foremost. The rest can happen when it happens, but you were what was important to me."
He sighed again, debating the wisdom of telling her this next. But ultimately he trusted his sister, and he had no intention of keeping things from her, especially not something as big as this.
"I asked Rel to move in with me," he said quietly. "She needs a place to stay, even if it's only temporary. And despite what our parents are saying, she didn't do anything wrong but be herself. It's not fair, Rah. It's not fair that we can more or less be ourselves with no repercussions, because who we are happens to be what they want." He took a deep breath and went on before she could interrupt him.
"We were talking about you and how unfair it was that Mother and Father turned your birthday into some political do. Your birthday, Rah, and it should have been about you, but they made it about them. They don't much care about our happiness, and we've made our peace with that... but is it so wrong that Rel decided to stand up for hers?"