How Green Becomes Wood

The incomming text quickly interrupted Dark and Daizi from their flirty games. Raising his lips from the crook of Daizi's neck, he released her hips and, after reading the text to her, went and opened the door curiously.

When he saw them, he stared at them in silence before asking, with confused concern, "...Did something happen?"
 
"Not a thing. I just really like sitting on his bony back," Xander grumbled grouchily.

"You're lucky I started working out more so I could carry you. You're so heavy!" Alec panted, getting them both through the door.

"It's called muscle," Xander shot back.

Alec snorted and carried Xander in to drop him on the couch, not stopping for shoes or salt. "He twisted his ankle."
 
"What happened?" Dark asked, stepping aside to let them in, not questioning their decision not to stop to take off their shoes first, "Spider, will you get an ice pack?"

"You sprained your ankle?" Daizi asked, getting the ice pack as requested, "How?"
 
"I was trying to do this cool flip," Xander started.

Alec sat on the floor and pulled off his shoes. "Truth."

"But it's stupid!" Xander whined.

Alec batted his leg. "Truth!"

Xander sighed. "I wasn't looking where I was going and stepped sideways off the curb."
 
"Truthfully, had you sprained your ankle attempting a flip, it would have been more stupid than merely tripping," Dark chided, instructing Xander to prop his ankle up on a pillow. Daizi passed the ice pack to Dark, who handed it to his son.

"At least you and your brother are even now," Daizi said, before asking, "How did you get home?"
 
"It would have made for a better story than face-planting into the asphalt in front of a bunch of freshmen," Xander grumbled as Alec helped him out of his shoes. He winced as Alec pulled off his left shoe. "I drove. It's the left ankle, so I could still do the peddles."

"True, that does make us even!" Alec said cheerfully as he helped Xander arrange the ice pack on his rapidly swelling ankle.

"Wonderful," Xander huffed.
 
Seeing how it was swelling, Dark turned to leave the room to go fetch the first-aid kit, "Let me bandage that."

"I think if you failed to land a flip, you probably still would've face-planted in front of the freshman, habibi," Daizi said gently, sitting down on the edge of the couch near her son. "At least this way, they won't remember it by next year."

Ivy, meanwhile, stood off to the side, watching the commotion but not knowing what to do about it as she chewed on her fist.
 
Xander sighed and slumped into the couch. "It'll be annoying to listen to their sniggering until they do forget."

"Should I bring you the salt bowl to touch?" Alec asked, picking up their shoes to take to the front door.

Kiki came trotting in, summoned by the sound of Alec's voice. She called to him excitedly, and then was very confused when he started walking to the door again.
 
"I've sprained my ankle too many times to be embarrassed by it," Daizi comforted him, daring to touch the very ends of his hair, "Everyone trips sometimes."

Dark came back into the room with the first aid kit, and asked Xander, "May I bandage your ankle?"
 
"Thanks, Mama," Xander said, appreciating she was trying to comfort him even if it didn't fully work. To Dark, he nodded. "Yeah. Go ahead. I'm not going to have to get it checked professionally, am I?"

Alec brought over the bowl of salt so Xander could touch it. Then he returned it, and though he tried his best to put it back exactly as it was, he did put it an inch too far to the left. He scooped up Kiki and carried her with him to crouch at Xanders head and keep him calm during the bandaging process.
 
"I will not take you tonight," Dark told him, kneeling down and removing the bandages from the first aid kit, "if by tomorrow it has worsened, we will reevaluate." Saying so, he began delicately wrapping Xander's ankle with the same gentle care and expertise he had demonstrated on a cold December evening a few years ago. He tried to touch his son as little as possible, but he preferred to make Xander mildly uncomfortable if it meant giving him better care.

"Ann?" Ivy said quietly, slowly toddling over, holding her stuffed rabbit close to her chest.
 
Xander flinched from pain and discomfort at the touch, but he didn't pull away. "Hey, Mini. Sorry I didn't say hi. It's alright. What do you have? What is that?" He pointed to her rabbit, hoping to distract her from worry.
 
"Yes, owie," Xander confirmed, seeing he wasn't going to distract her.

"It'll be all better soon," Alec assured her. "It just needs a Band-Aid and a kiss better!"

"I can't wait to see you kiss my foot," Xander told him dryly.
 
Xander looked at Ivy in surprise as he took the rabbit. "Thank you, Mini," he said seriously and gave the rabbit a hug. He would not admit it, but it did feel nice to hug the rabbit while his ankle hurt and his skin twitched at being touched.
 
"Ov-oo," Ivy mumbled, stretching up to kiss Xander on the cheek before immediately going to her Mama to be picked up, now needing her own comfort.

"There," Dark said, withdrawing his hands after putting the ice pack back against Xander's ankle, "All done. Just keep your foot elevated."
 
Xander had to physically restrain himself from pulling away from Ivy. It was difficult, but he knew she wouldn't understand. That would just hurt her deeply, and she'd just said a very sweet thing! No way was he going to make her cry. He waited until she'd turned away to go to her mother before vigorously rubbing his cheek. "Alright. I guess I can do that. For how long?"
 
"As much as you can," Dark answered, "If you cannot walk on it tomorrow, I will call you out of school."

Daizi held Ivy in her arms and rubbed her back, "Even after you can walk on it, I'd avoid doing anything to intensive on it for a week or so."
 
"There goes Judo," Xander sighed. "Eh, I've been wishy-washing about leaving anyway. Might as well take this as my sign to do so."

Kiki hopped out of Alec's arms onto the couch. She sniffed around Xander laying there, and then invited herself up onto him. Xander grunted as she walked over his stomach and laid down with great care and deliberation on his chest. She closed her eyes and started purring.
 
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