"That about does it!" Jose laughed as Conrad exited the emergency room with a cast.
"You really broke it good- they had to put pins in and everything huh?" Jose asked as he lead Conrad to the waiting room to see Yuuri and the others.
"It's not so bad." Conrad said, examining his right arm. "I can't believe I broke it. I can't use my hand at all like this."
"Well, Merry Christmas to you, I guess." the other man teased. "Don't worry- with those pins and that cast you'll be good as new in no time."
Conrad simply nodded and pulled his sweater sleeve down as far as it would go.
"Conrad!"
Yuuri was the first to jump out of his seat and approach him, a sad guilty look in his eyes. "How is it- are you alright?"
"Weller, we've been here for hours!" Wolfram complained. "Are you done yet so we can go home?"
"Wolfram, can you not?" Yuuri snapped, "He just broke his wrist for crying out loud-"
"I'm quite alright, really." Conrad smiled, squeezing Yuuri's arm gently with his free hand. "Yes, we can head back now. I'm sure your father is home."
"He is," Ken said cheerfully, "Your mom says dinner is ready. She changed the whole meal just for you Lord Weller." he laughed, "She said she made your favorite."
Conrad smiled as followed them to the car, Yuuri hovering at his side.
Luckily, cars made Wolfram just as motion-sick as boats, so Wolfram had to sit in the front seat where he had access to a window allowing Yuuri to pile into the back next to Conrad and Murata.
The ride was short and filled with Jose and Ken making small talk as Yuuri leaned into Conrad's side.
"I'm really sorry you got hurt, Conrad." he whispered to the man. "Are you sure you're alright?"
Conrad then leaned down to whisper into Yuuri's ear:
"No, I'm actually all left now."
Yuuri felt a chill pierce his heart as Conrad continued.
"I'm sorry if I caused you alarm your majesty. The doctor told me I would need to go to the pharmacy later to pick up some pain killers. I suppose it might be karma- though for what, I'm not sure. At any rate, I'm glad we're not in Shin Makoku because without my right arm I'd be left unarmed."
"AHHHHH!" Yuuri cried in horror, "Okay, enough! Stop with the arm jokes!"
"I apologize for putting you in harm's way."
"Conrad!"
"I knew it would be a little wrist-y to hang lights while it was snowing."
"CONRAD."
"You walked into that one, Shibuya." Ken laughed.
"He fell into it." Conrad corrected.
Yuuri covered his ears and sank down in his seat.
However, despite his pouting he was thankful that Conrad felt well enough to make bad jokes.
It put his heart at ease, if only a little.
Dinner was a simple, yet joyful affair. Jennifer had originally intended to cook ham and vegetables but due to Conrad's mishap, she made her signature curry instead. She felt awful that the man had hurt himself while helping her decorate.
"You weren't wearing snow boots? I thought you were a soldier- prepared for anything." Shouri scoffed at Conrad as the man tried to act normal while eating with his non-dominant hand.
"Shou-chan." Jennifer scolded, "We didn't have any snow boots, he was wearing your shoes."
"He's wearing my shoes now, too!?"
"Haa, I don't have an extra pair of snow shoes." Shouma said, rubbing his head. "If I'd of known you'd be on the roof today I definitely would have made sure you both had a pair."
"It's alright." Conrad reassured with a relaxed smile.
Yuuri immediately felt anger bubble up in his chest towards his brother- how dare he speak to Conrad like that?
"Papa, try the cookies Greta baked!" Greta chirped from the seat next to Yuuri, causing his anger to fizzle out.
"Oh, of course! Here it goes!" Yuuri announced before taking a bite. "MMMM Oh, it's delicious!" he said dramatically, making her giggle. "Greta you really made these?"
"She really did." Wolfram said, smiling at his little family.
While Greta cheerfully explained to Yuuri how she made such amazing cookies and Gunter gushed about Yuuri's parenting skills, Wolfram's attention drifted to his injured brother. Conrad had barely made a dent in his meal, choosing to eat several cookies instead.
He knew the man had a sweet tooth but it was unlike him to indulge. 'Is his hand really bothering him that much?' Wolfram thought, eyeing the cast. 'Why won't he eat?'
As if to answer Wolfram's question Conrad tried once more to use his left hand with his fork, (he'd given up on chopsticks entirely) but couldn't seem to get the utensil to cooperate.
It would have been comical if the man didn't look so quietly distraught about it.
"Weller-kyo." Wolfram stood. "Come with me to the kitchen. I want the green pickled vegetables."
"Pickles?" Conrad echoed faintly in confusion as the table continued their conversations without them.
Once the two brothers were several feet out of earshot, Wolfram opened the fridge and grabbed out the jar of pickles. "Here- I can't open it." he said, handing the jar to Conrad who held it awkwardly to his chest as he stared at his brother in complete confusion.
"Wolfram-"
"What?" he snapped, crossing his arms. "Are you going to open it or not?"
"Well, I just... you really can't open it?" Conrad asked with a small smile as he set the jar on the counter and attempted to open the lid with his left hand. There was several moments of silence as Conrad struggled to grip the lid and hold the jar still with his cast.
"Well," Conrad said with a small huff of annoyance. "you chose the only person at the table with a broken wrist, Wolf. I can't open it."
"What's wrong with your arm." Wolfram demanded, arms still crossed. "Why can't you open it with your left hand?"
Conrad's eyes widened as he stared down at his little brother in stunned silence.
"Heya guys~!" both men flinched as Ken suddenly appeared around the corner, "We're almost out of curry." he explained cheerfully as he passed by the brothers to retrieve the crock pot off the counter. "So uhh, what's going on here?" he asked, looking between the two.
"Nothing." Wolfram huffed in annoyance before turning on his heel and leaving the kitchen without another word.
Conrad gave the sage a sympathetic smile as he gathered the pickle jar in his arms. "Geika, I don't suppose you can open this jar for me, can you?"
"Uh, sure?" Ken smiled, setting the pot aside to help.
Pop!
"There!" Ken grinned. "You must have loosened it for me, that was easy!"
"... Thank you." Conrad said quietly, eyeing the jar with a furrowed brow.
"No problem~" the boy hummed cheerfully before picking up the crock pot and exiting the kitchen, leaving Conrad alone.