Luckily for Wicked one of them was, though unluckily the one that finally drew Alex's attention also created a hairline crack. His face appeared in the window, and his annoyed expression was very quickly replaced with one of surprise. He gestured for her to wait and hurried down stairs.
Ares was at work, despite numerous threats to stay home and literally sit on Alex if he wasn't going to behave, and after yesterday, Alex couldn't really blame him. He'd be on his best behavior for a week or so, until he let his guard down again. It really wasn't smart to piss off the god of war over and over, but that's was teenage boys were built to do to their fathers.
He ran out into the yard to greet Wicked with a big smile, and a hug, since, why not, no one would see back here. "What are you doing here? Do you have any idea how much trouble you could be in?"