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“Oh it would be interesting to see him snap but I wouldn’t want it to be on you. Though I want you to stop getting hurt too so I guess I can see eye to eye with him on that.” He’d learned a bit of first aid just in case when he started joining them on patrols and could now maybe handle most small things.

“I’d like that but I have to check if I have any packages scheduled to arrive. Not that I don’t trust my neighbors, I just don’t like leaving things sitting. It would be nice though, like an extended weekend with you.” He’d really liked how they’d worried over him with the rabbit situation. “You really are an angel.”

The topic of healthcare made him sigh, just the thought of it gave him a headache. “It’s a bit more than the fact it’s complicated, my situation itself is complicated too. I’m not even exactly sure if I can get insurance, which means paying whatever fake prices up front. Not that I don’t have the funds, I just refuse to pay 2,000 for an aspirin.” He would have gone on about it but the words died in his throat as he looked at them with his mouth slightly open.

It was like when they’d offered their last name but now he wasn’t sure if they meant it the way he was thinking they did. It would fix things but at the same time he was so very nervous to cross that constantly dancing line in the sand. Closing his mouth, he swallowed as his mind went in every direction trying to figure things out.

“Alexandre…” Sitting still, he looked at them as they stood next to him, holding the door open. It was like he was standing on a cliff looking into the ocean. He wanted to say it, it was killing him not to, but it would be like jumping off that cliff and not knowing if the water was deep enough not to harm him.

It made sense in part, that Lorcan might not dislike him as much now as he may have beforehand. Especially after he had called them when the other had been hurt, he figured it might have earned him some respect from them even if he hadn’t been trying to at the time.

Listening as they spoke, it felt almost like background noise to his thoughts. Like a mouse skittering around in a maze trying to find the cheese while avoiding a trap. That pet name they called him felt even more fitting now, one day he might ask them why they’d chosen that one for him. That look of curiosity on their face as they reached out for him broke him out of his thoughts.

Taking their hand, he moved in close and rested his chin on their head. Looking up at the clinic with just a few lights on, he knew their cousin was waiting but he needed a moment. Things floated through his head as he felt his heart pounding in his chest. Everything hurt again as he wanted to say something, to reach for more than strings. Tiptoeing closer to that edge he wrapped his good arm around them.

The words wove a story, far more than he’d really heard from the other before. It hit close as they held his face, speaking gently as if he might break. He’d normally been a lot better put together when it came to things, with everyone else, but never with them. Just falling and falling even if it had gotten him hurt. It was a taste of his own medicine but things had been different and now this angel of his was stringing along such pretty words, things that wrapped tightly around him.

He’d almost interrupted, wanting to say he wouldn’t leave and why he wouldn’t leave. They were pulling him towards that edge in that small pause and when they spoke again he felt himself being pushed over into that sea below. All at once, those largest worries faded and it felt like he could breathe. Leaning into their touch he could almost cry from the relief he felt, that gnawing worry having stopped.

“I love you too and I won’t leave, won’t run. Never from you, I’ll get this figured out so I can stay safe for you.” There had been a few ideas for the remedy but now he was sure what would work as he leaned down for a kiss. “I want to spend every season with you and enjoy them all.” They had him wrapped around their finger but he didn’t care, he’d wanted to say it for a while.

Smiling as he nodded, René moved forward with them and closed the car door. “I think I have an idea, you gave it to me before but I think this time it might be different. It might work, we can try it together soon. But we can worry about it later, I don’t want Lorcan to come down here and drag us up since he had to leave his home to help and I’m sure he works in the morning.” Moving with them, keeping his good arm wrapped around them, he made his way inside the clinic.

“Shaved ice sounds really good, then we can head home.” It was easier now, that looming Renéwal seemed more a bother than a deadline now that he had someone better to call home. A place that wasn’t empty and silent, where he had more than one person who cared about him. “Maybe just a quick stop at a drug store for some concealer to cover things if Lorcan doesn’t have something for it.”

Walking into the main area, he looked around at things. It was just as clean and clinical as their home which wasn’t a surprise. “Lorcan, we’re here. It wasn’t a weapon this time.” Shifting slightly, he moved to just holding Alexandre’s hand, fingers laced with theirs as he tried to fix his face a bit. He was certain he was smiling like an idiot even if he was banged up and injured.

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He’d heard the door, followed by some conversation that was a bit too quiet to discern. Getting up from his desk, he heard René calling out for him. So it had been some sort of knight magic, probably similar to that which he and Alexandre used. It left a bit of a bad taste in his mouth but not as much as senshi. Rounding the corner he stepped out into the waiting area and saw the pair. It only took a second or two for him to figure out that something else had also occurred, something that might end up meaning his bets would pay out in the end. Just the smallest corner of his mouth turned up almost into a smile before he flattened his expression and motioned for them to follow along.

“I can see that they got your throat pretty well, so some sort of strengthening magic. I doubt a normal person could leave a mark like that with only one hand, at least on someone your size.” It would be another matter if they were smaller like Alexandre or someone younger as well. “I heard there was a break so I prepared a few options depending on what the X-ray says. Given the fact you don’t look terribly green around the gills, I think it might be a bit less broken than you think. The bruising is probably from the force if nothing else, a fast enough hit with that strength would probably be like getting hit with a bat.” He’d seen a lot of things, things he knew now weren’t just accidents.

Moving along with quick paces, he wasted no time leading them to the X-ray room. “Dear cousin, you should join me in the other room during the scans. As for you René have you had one of these before? I don’t think it would be best to have you remove your shirt and coat but we do need to move it up more to get a bit more of your arm showing. Normally I would have you do the full set of scans in a row but I am going to do one to see things and then help get your coat off at least after that if possible. Even if I’m fairly certain what happened procedure is there for a reason.” Every step was important and was there for safety as well as keeping consistency for proper results.

Shifting a bit, he really couldn’t think of the details. “Red? I think at least. But I’m not sure.” At least the color of the starseed was, that’s what he knew.

Nodding towards Lorcan, he gently pulled his sleeve up a bit and stood with his arm in front of the plate. It wasn’t the first time he’d done this so he knew how it went as a lead apron was given to him. It hurt to spread his fingers but he did the best he could as he watched the pair leave the room. The fact he could move them at all seemed like it might not be that bad but he didn’t want to jinx things as he held his breath for the first scan.

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An eyebrow raised before he narrowed his eyes at his cousin. What had been said gave him something to chew on, to think about, but it wasn’t important now. Looking up through the glass, he spoke through the small intercom. “Thanks, you can breathe and relax your hand now René.”

Staring at the screen, he smiled, a bit proudly, before turning to his cousin. “Yes he’s going to need the rest off. I will do a few more scans after but it’s a greenstick fracture. Your knowledge of plants should give you a clear enough idea of what that means. Either way it just means a brace if you let it heal normally.” He let that last word linger because as much as he was a doctor, he was getting more and more interested in how starseeds worked and what they were able to heal.

Leaning against the console for a moment, he looked between René and Alexandre even though they were separated by the glass. “So he’s been going out there has he? Have you been going with him?” He hadn’t figured the Frenchman would actually do much after the state he’d seen them in that night after they’d been awakened. A senshi with broken magic was a sitting duck, which was good for the side of order but a liability if his cousin went along with them.

Though Aoede had been that way too, from what he’d learned and she’d managed to get herself righted. All this magic bothered him but things were moving towards a direction he could at least sort of be content with. Aside from the one-off, it had been René needing to get patched up more than his cousin who really was the lesser evil. It seemed they were a lot less likely to jump into things than his cousin was and were starting to pull the small blond back. It almost made him chuckle, so much so that the smallest bit of a smile came out as he stepped past his cousin to go back into the main part of the room.

Relaxing his hand, he pulled it close to his chest and babied it a bit. It hurt more after moving his fingers than much. As the pair came back in, he looked at Alexandre a bit confused. “Green stick?” It didn’t translate as he mumbled through some things in French, trying to figure out what it might relate to. The fact they mentioned plants had him even more confused but the fact it apparently wasn’t serious was good.

That smile came back to his face as they kissed his cheek. “Okay, let’s start with the good arm first so there’s less tension.” Shrugging his shoulder, he let his coat slide down a bit while carefully freeing his right arm. He let Alexandre know where to grab things and help as he shifted a bit more. One side done, he let the other work on carefully pulling the other side off and over his injured wrist. Just the touch of the fabric over the worst of it had him gritting his teeth but he’d rather it be over and done with than go slow.

It was a bit awkward getting out his shirt too, though with it being stretchier, there was a lot more give to the fabric as he had the other pull it over his head and arms. A cold chill went through him as he stood there, he hated how cold doctor’s offices could be. “Okay, more scans now I guess?”

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Lorcan busied himself by adjusting the x-ray machine as his cousin helped René. He’d seen more than enough of the man that first night so it didn’t even phase him as Alexandre kissed them. Walking behind the pair, he moved the magnets around on the plate to the next position.

“Just two more for this type of fracture. I need your arm bent in the next one then for the last one held out and down but relaxed. I won’t come back between the scans but I will let you know over the intercom when to change.”

Stepping back after nudging them slightly over and against the plate, he nodded in confirmation that the positioning was right. “Back to the other room now Alexandre.”

As soon as they were both back over behind the glass he looked at Alexandre again. “I guess he did what he could if his magic didn't work. I figured he would be worse off after the first time, given how he was when you showed up at his shop hurt. Maybe that’s just because it was you.” It was food for thought, a bit of bait to find some more out from his cousin.

Clicking the button, the machine took the first scan and Lorcan then pressed the intercom. “Okay next position and this one take a deep breath and hold it.” Releasing the intercom he waited just a few seconds for them to move and take a breath before the machine took the last scan. “Okay you can step off the plate, I know it’s cold.”

Looking things over for a moment, he didn’t see any floating shards really so it had been as clean as it could have been. “Okay I’ve got the brace in the other room so let’s get him over there.”

Lorcan nodded a moment before they stepped back to the other side of the glass. “I guess at least when he’s backed into a corner it seems he can do what needs to be done, more than I expected but good enough.” It meant they were smart, and careful at least when it came to assessing and managing risk. Something his cousin was terrible at. “Yes, just a brace to immobilize things. Less than a month for healing as well if we leave things as is.” It was the best-case scenario for something like that.

Leading them both along to the examination room he motioned for René to hop up on the table while he grabbed the brace from one of the kits he’d prepared for the evening. “Try not to grab at things or lift with this wrist. Even if it’s not broken through, that doesn’t mean you can use it normally.” Looking between the pair he narrowed his eyes at them. “That goes for you too Alexandre, watch out for it. After this though, you can both head out. I would probably refrain from putting your coat on over the brace but the shirt is fine.”

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Watching as the pair came around and started going to the other room, he picked up his shirt and coat with his good arm and followed along. The explanation Alexandre gave helped him understand, even if it unsettled his stomach a bit. “So not too bad then.”

Hopping up on the table, he settled with his coat and shirt on his lap as a pillow beneath his injured arm. He felt a bit awkward, almost like he was being scalded but he hadn’t really planned on trying to do anything with his wrist like this. Sure work would suffer a bit but he really couldn’t move furniture on his own. The only thing he’d be sad about not being able to do would be picking up Alexandre, especially after what had happened right before coming into the clinic.

“I can manage, worst case I can maybe have some help around my shop when it comes to moving things. Sounds like I might need the heat on if I can’t wear my coat though.” A shiver went through him as he sat there, even if he wasn’t one to normally get cold it was hard to stay warm in the clinic.