Tristan watched Dark go and started slowly closing up the shop. There was still over an hour before the shop closed for the day, but there was plenty he could do to start closing up. He wondered what Dark would have said if he'd admitted that his father was an ardent denier of the holocaust, and thus Tristan had blatantly ignored a large part of history while growing up. Tristan had only recently (comparatively to most people) begun to understand the true horrors of what that meant. It was not really a conversation he wanted to have. The door opened, an three young women walked in, looking hopeful and then disappointed when they realized the good-looking giant was no longer in the shop. They still each bought a single flower.
~~
[I totally did not forget to write this in greater detail earlier]
Xander had already finished up his therapy session, and he had a lot to think about as he drove home. Of course, his therapist had spotted the anger he was holding from a mile away and had told him to run a lap around the corral before getting close to a horse. He'd accepted without argument, used to this technique. It worked rather well for him because the corral was made of loose dirt, not hardened or anything else easy to run on, and that meant it was a lot harder to run, equalling more energy spent. One lap around the corral was worth three runs around an equal-sized area with solid ground. That meant that while he was still angry, it was a lot easier to focus and try to channel his energy to more productive things. His therapist had a few good points about his problem with Milo and Alec, too, but did assure him he could be as angry as he wanted. She did warn him to be careful not to let that anger fester. It could sit, if he needed it to, but it did need to be dealt with. It was okay to even create new boundaries with his brother, and it might take time to properly deal with the anger, but it did need to eventually be dealt with. He promised to think about it and headed home after cleaning the stalls.
He got home before Dark, and as usual, went straight for a shower. He came back down to do his homework and greeted Ivy as usual, but he still could not bring himself to let her touch even his hand. He was wearing long pants and a long-sleeved shirt to avoid accidental skin-to-skin contact, as well. It was easier through fabric, though still not something he liked.
Alec had spent his time doing homework, cleaning his room, and then doing a few other chores around the house. When Xander got home, Alec's greeting still went unacknowledged. Alec hung around, keeping his distance, watching Xander quietly, trying desperately to think of something, anything, to make this better.
