It started out fine...

[mitochondriaaya]

She was fourteen when the area karate regionals came around. Never mind the fact that it was early December, and her mid-terms were coming up, and she was still trying to come to terms with her new breast size. Like an idiot she said she'd be there, layered on sports bras, and trotted to the gym.

The fights were simple exhibitions, points awarded on execution and touches rather than beating an opponent into the ground. In her third bout Aya was getting tired, and her opponent, a human from two towns over she'd met in the ring before, was as well. That was probably why things went wrong.

Three points in he flubbed a spin kick and his ankle buckled, making the attacking foot lash in an unexpected direction. She didn't get a block up in time and he tagged her hard on the ribs, taking them both to the floor. The referee blew his whistle, hard, halting all conversation as paramedics came forward to access injuries.

One cracked ankle on his side.

Two cracked ribs on hers.

They both managed to facepalm at the same time when it was announced they were unfit to continue. "Next year," they mouthed at each other around the pained wincing as they were bandaged.

Comments

[sliceitwithwind]

Braig and Dilan hustled over to her with the kind of fluttery panic that only sixteen and twenty could manage, "Do you have to go to the hospital?" "Are you going to be okay?" babbling over each other.

[mitochondriaaya]

"It only hurts when I breath?" Aya managed in answer to their warring questions.

"There's very little that can be done for cracked ribs. She hasn't punctured a lung, if she keeps the ribs bound tight and keeps her movements slow and simple for the next several weeks she should be fine," the paramedic offered. "If you're worried though get her X-rayed and your primary care doctor can prescribe pain killers."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Okay." Dilan said, "C'mon, monkey, can you walk? We'll take you home. She can't use painkillers. Thank you."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Yeah, I can walk." Slowly and carefully anyway! "Class change is going to suck." Ow ow ow ow ow feeling like an idiot yep.

"You guys ever break a rib?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Katzu." Dilan pointed out, offering his arm.

"Yeah." Braig said, "It sucked...remember? Three years ago?"

[mitochondriaaya]

She took his arm gratefully, using it as a nice, solid rock against jolting her ribs too much! "Right, that was a rib too wasn't it?" Braig had been rolled against a chunk of driftwood one a rough wave. "I mostly remember the bruising and the knee." Not broken, thankfully, but very, very swollen.

What had Braig done for that?

...

"I can't sleep through it I have midterms!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Yeah." Braig said, shaking his head, "We can get you to midterms, you'll just have to skip the reviews leading up to them." he informed her.

[mitochondriaaya]

"I may need those!" PANICKED LOOK! Then a wince, naturally. At least she didn't forget herself enough to yell? Self preservation instincts for the win!

[sliceitwithwind]

"I'll review with you." Dilan said, soothingly, "I don't need review for my exams."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Well, yeah, your midterms aren't at the same time as highschool ones!" Still, that made her calm down a little yes. "Haran's going to kill me. I wrote that I'd send him a trophy picture. And instead..." she had to tell him she broke her ribs. Yep.

[sliceitwithwind]

"Hey! He's not going to be mad at you! It was totally the other guy's fault, and dad got that on tape. He'll be worried about you!"

[mitochondriaaya]

"It was both of our faults!" Aya countered. "And he'll be annoyed I got hurt at all, just like you guys are!" Annoyed, worried, yeah, same thing! "And now that guy from Burke county is going to take the trophy I just know it." Grump.

[sliceitwithwind]

"I'm not annoyed!" Braig said, "I'm just worried about you."

[mitochondriaaya]

"You wanted us to go out surfing later," Aya pointed out. "Can't do that with busted ribs. Everyone would kill me."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Damn it, Aya!" Okay, now he was a bit annoyed, "That doesn't matter! You being hurt matters!"

Dilan nodded quietly.

[mitochondriaaya]

Aya was angry at herself okay?! "Stupid ribs." Fine. Fine.

"So...rest and milk?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Yup." Dilan said, "And calcium supplements."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Pills. Yay." Ugh. Stupid ribs. Was it too late to change her mind about the sleeping thing? "Still have to go to school but I'll be good and do anything else you say." Because she was like that!

[sliceitwithwind]

Both boys gave her Looks, and Braig said, "Fine, but I'm driving you there and picking you up."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Just until after mid-terms!" Aya smiled at them softly. "I promise. The teachers are still leery about the classes I'm burning through." Resigned but leery!

"Driving is fine. I promise."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Good. Because if you try to walk to school I'm going to be pissed." Braig said, opening the car so that he could take her home.

[mitochondriaaya]

"I'm not dumb enough to give you a reason to tie me into bed." she noted, wincing openly as she bent and carefully slipped in. Yeah. That hurt...kind of a lot. "Ow".

[sliceitwithwind]

Braig gave her a worried look, as did Dilan, but they didn't fuss at her too much on the way home.

[mitochondriaaya]

She was just going to lean her head back against the seat and kind of space as Braig drove? Yeah. Space now but she was alright, if broken, for close to a week! Granted, the boys fussed, and she worried about midterms until they were over, but it was after her last test that she came wandering out to the parking lot, wrapped her hand in Braig's shirt, and rested her hot forehead against him. "I don't feel good."

Yay?

[sliceitwithwind]

"You've got a fever." Braig said, frowning hard, "Into the car...I think you're sick."

He was not a happy lemur on the way home, bellowing inside, "DILAN! COME GET AYA! SHE'S GOT A FEVER!"