Ivar opened his eyes and slowly blinked. It took a moment of looking around to remember that he wasn't at home anymore. Thank the gods for that! He'd moved in with his older brother, Hvitserk, over his mother's loud protests. Fortunately, his father had been reasonably aware that Ivar desperately wanted to be more independent. He'd agreed to the move only if Hvitserk was able to find a ground floor flat. Hvitserk had easily found a three bedroomed flat and also asked Sigurd to move in. Ragnar had stiffened at that request. He wasn't sure if Ivar and Sigurd would be a good mix. The two had fought like cats and dogs since Ivar was old enough to chase around after his brothers. Hvitserk had a plan. He explained to Ragnar that he thought the two of them would get along much better away from their mother. Ivar wanted independence and Sigurd wanted attention from his mother. After a mental review of the ups and downs of the situation, Ragnar finally agreed to the plan. He wanted to see his children getting along with each other. If Hvitserk thought he could get the two youngest Lothbroks to bury the hatchet, then Ragnar was all for it.
Ivar laid there for a moment as he slowly stretched. He had to be careful as he extended his feet. More often than not, a good stretch would lead to leg cramps, and he really wasn't in the mood to start screaming in pain first thing this morning. He listened closely to see if he was the only one moving around. He could usually tell if one or both of his brothers were up by the way they moved around. Hvitserk would pad quietly around as he got ready for work. Sigurd could usually be heard softly strumming the guitar by his bed. Ivar reached up and grabbed the bar Hvitserk and Ubbe had installed at the side of his bed. He pulled himself to a sitting position and reached for the clothes he kept in easy reach on the bed side table. As he dressed, he remembered that he had two exams coming up today, moaning as he realized he hadn't really studied for either of them. It looked like he was going to be cramming on the way to school today. He wondered who was taking him today, Hvitserk or his dad.
There was a quick knock on his door. "Ivar? You awake?" It was Sigurd, much to Ivar's surprise. He wasn't used to Sigurd being the one to check on him.
"I'm awake." He responded. Sigurd opened the door and walked in without asking. He came straight to Ivar and picked up his crutches. Then he held out his arm.
"C'mon. I'll help you to the kitchen." He offered. Ivar almost dropped to the floor in shock. 'Was he serious?' He looked at Sigurd closely. Sigurd didn't look like he was joking. Ivar reached out and grasped his hand warily. Without another word, Sigurd pulled him to his feet and slung his right arm over Ivar's left shoulder. Ivar grabbed his waist to steady himself as Sigurd headed out of the room. He walked fast enough that Ivar had to use his other hand to steady himself on the wall, but not fast enough to drag him off his feet. It was a first for Ivar. Normally, it was Hvitserk who helped him to the kitchen. He didn't say a word, though. He wasn't sure what had caused Sigurd to offer, but so far, they weren't fighting, and he wanted to keep it that way.
Hvitserk was in the kitchen, taking his first sip of coffee. He looked up and almost spat it out in surprise. 'Was he seeing what he thought he was seeing? Was that actually Sigurd helping Ivar?' He stayed silent as his brothers came into the kitchen. Like Ivar, he wasn't about to say anything to cause the two to start fighting. This was what he'd hoped for when he asked them to move in with him. He knew Ivar didn't like to fight and he also knew that deep down, Sigurd did love Ivar. He'd only begun constantly picking fights after realizing that their mother paid more attention to Ivar than any of them. If he wanted her to notice him, the quickest and surest way to get her attention was to start a fight with Ivar.
Ivar sat down at the kitchen table. Hvitserk, knowing what his brothers liked to eat, had already fixed breakfast for both of them. Flinching in anticipation, Ivar quietly thanked Sigurd for helping him. Sigurd didn't answer him, but he smiled a bit and tipped his head. As Hvitserk watched them, he hoped this was the start of them finally making peace with each other. As they ate, Ivar told Hvitserk he'd forgotten to study so he might not talk much on the way to school. Hvitserk shook his head as he chuckled. 'It looked like he might have to start personally making sure Ivar studied and completed his homework before he could play his games.'
There was a booming knock in the door. Hvitserk went to let his dad and brothers in. Ragnar led the way into the kitchen. He hadn't anticipated how much he was going to miss his two youngest kids. Knowing that things were still tense between the two of them, he went to Sigurd first. Hugging him and ruffling his hair, he was relieved when Sigurd laughed. As Ubbe and Bjorn came to see their brothers, he moved on to Ivar.
"Your mother made me promise to give her a full report on you. How is it going?" He asked, roughly stroking Ivar's hair. He took note of Sigurd narrowing his eyes at the question.
"It's going well. I'm keeping up with my studies and my medication. I'm not overtaxing myself. Tell her I'm doing great." Ivar answered the question quickly, wanting to get Sigurd's attention away from him. Hearing a quiet snort, he tensed and waited for the first taunt. Luckily, Bjorn and Ubbe were still on each side of Sigurd. Before he could speak, the two of them were tickling him playfully. Ragnar and Hvitserk both relaxed as the crisis was temporarily averted. They knew they couldn't keep the boys from fighting forever, but just maybe they could help them tone it down enough to where neither of them ended up injured or dead. Things had been getting pretty violent before Hvitserk moved them in.
"How about riding to school with your old man?" Ragnar asked him quietly. Ivar looked up hopefully. It wasn't often that he had Ragnar's undivided attention. He looked at Hvitserk who nodded.
"Hey, Sigurd. It's been ages since we took you to school. How about it?" Bjorn jumped in with a question of his own. Sigurd leveled his gaze at Ivar, but he still didn't speak to him. He, Bjorn and Ubbe headed out to the vehicle. Ragnar patted Ivar on the back.
"Are you taking your chair or just your crutches?" He knew Ivar hated having to sit down all the time. Ivar shook his head no. He'd been trying to get around more on just his crutches. That hadn't been possible while living with his mother. She'd ignored the fact that he wanted to be more mobile.
Ragnar guided Ivar out to his truck as Hvitserk closed and locked the door behind them. He hopped into his truck and waited until Ragnar had Ivar settled in. Then he waved as they went one way, and he went the other way. As Ragnar drove to his school, Ivar told him all about his classes and teachers. Ragnar was pleased to hear that everyone seemed to get along with Ivar. That pleased him very much as he'd been worried that Ivar's condition would lead the other students to bullying Ivar. He pulled up in the driveway and parked. Going around to the passenger side, he didn't try to help Ivar. He knew his son would want to get himself out of the truck. He simply unloaded the crutches and Ivar's backpack. Looking over at the building, he saw Sigurd standing with his friends as he watched him and Ivar. Bjorn always had driven faster than him. He waited until Ivar was steady on his crutches, with his backpack on his shoulders. Then he watched as Ivar made his careful way into the building. He waved at Sigurd and got back into his truck. Then as the students all entered the building, he drove away.