How Green Becomes Wood

"See you." Milo murmured, and went off to class. Because he had to go to class, now, because his teachers learned he existed. It didn't matter how overwhelmed he was or how much he wanted to lock himself somewhere dark all day. He had to actually attend school.

But nobody took attendance at lunch, so while Sloan went to their table, Milo scurried off under the bleachers.
 
Alec went to class and did all things school-related. It wasn't easy, but he managed not to constantly thnk about the empty space next to him. It felt like something was missing. Probably because it was, but he needed to focus. Xander would need his notes later.

At lunch, he noticed Milo's absence. He was in the midst of wondering if he should go try to find Milo or let him have some space when Sloan arrived, shortly followed by Peter, who was quickly typing in his phone.

"Are you having a discussion with your girlfriend?" Alec tried with a smile.

Peter looked up blankly. "Huh?"
 
"You're just texting pretty intently," Sloan said, sitting down and trying not to stare at Alec's haircut. She had caught sight of it on Saturday, since she lived across the street, so she had been prepared, but it was still so different. "And have been for like... two weeks straight."
 
"Oh, that!" Peter looked more tired than usual, but he grinned a genuine grin. "I'm just trying to organize something. A surprise, so I can't say anything else. The person the surprise is for just might be at this table!"

"Oh, that's exciting!" Alec grinned. "It must be a big surprise since it's taken you so long."

Peter grimaced. "It has a lot of moving parts, and people's schedules don't always line up. That makes things go kind of slow sometimes."
 
"Wow," Sloan said, resting her chin on her table, "Well, as long as it's something like that. I think we've reached our cap on drama. I'm just glad your world isn't crashing down on you, Peter, I think this table gets way more than its fair share of that."
 
"Crashing down on... Oh, no!" Peter chuckled, already turning back to his phone. "Believe you me, I would definitely tell you if it were."

Alec sighed, glad Peter was okay even if he still wasn't talking, and turned to Sloan. "So... what's new in your world? And what's wrong with my head? You keep staring."
 
"Damn, that sucks," Sloan said, wincing empathetically, "Although it probably doesn't help that you wore his colour palette today. Have you ever read Ouran High School Host Club? I'm not talking about the anime, the anime is different, but there's a set of identical twins in it, and in the manga, one has a sort of identity crisis and he decides to dye his hair black to differentiate himself. At first I was really upset, and so was his twin, but it was actually really cool, in the end." She took a sip of water, "They were redheads, too."
 
"I've never heard of it, but it does sound interesting," Alec agreed. He pulled out his shirt and looked down at it. "I guess I kind of did it without thinking. I needed a grumpy unicorn to keep me company today, but I didn't think about the problem it presented."
 
"At least hair grows back, and I'm sure once he's back you'll be back in your usual clothes. You won't be mistaken for each other for long." Sloan said, patting his shoulder.

Meanwhile, Dark was on cafeteria duty, having almost immediately been thrown back into the deep-end, except now, curious students kept coming up to ask him questions about what they had heard happened.

"Do not be racist," He told one student, who had been dared to ask if the fight was with the father of one of Dark's wives, plural, "Go sit down."

After school, Dark was worn out and in pain, but he still went with Daizi to file the adoption papers, and he did his best to spend time with his family, but he went straight to bed after he got Ivy settled for the night. That morning, much like the day before, he found the task of getting out of bed nearly insurmountable, and yet again Daizi coaxed him out, making it a bit easier by picking out his tie for him, so he had one less thing to do.
 
After school, Alec chose to wait and go home with Dark, hanging out in his classroom to do his homework. He stayed at the back of the room and stayed as quiet as he could to not distract Dark as he worked and managed to get a lot of homework done. He just wasn't ready to ride the bus by himself. Tomorrow. He would tomorrow. After all, tomorrow he wouldn't be alone!

Xander was feeling a lot better after resting most of the previous day. He still was a little slow that morning as he saw his brother and father off to school/work. He could tell Alec was anxious, but he was doing a good job still pushing himself forward no matter what. He decided to make sure dinner was something Alec would like, plus plenty of "traditional" food that Milo could enjoy. He passed the idea past Daizi once the other two had left, making sure she was okay with the idea.
 
Daizi's only concern with Xander's plan was him pushing himself too hard, although she was glad to note he had improved from the day before. It was good he was on the mend. The menu itself was very doable, and she was glad they were inviting a friend over.

The day prior, Daizi had called all of her family to tell them she and Dark were officially adopting the twins. This next day, she set about calling her friends to give them the news.

At school, Milo did chat a bit with Alec, and reaffirmed he'd come by after school, but he still kept more to himself, like he used to. He liked Alec, but he didn't feel anywhere near as comfortable talking to him about his situation as he did with Xander, and he preferred to self-isolate.
 
Sally was, of course, over the moon that the twins asked to be adopted, and the first thing she asked was if they'd be doing an adoption celebration, or if it'd be a quiet, private affair. Mostly, she was just happy for her friend.

Alec tried to reach out and be friendly with Milo, but he could tell Milo wasn't particularly comfortable with hanging around him. So, he didn't push and let Milo do as he pleased. He wanted Milo to know he was there for him, not chase him away. He just tried to focus on school and what he needed to do until it was time to head home.

He stood near the doors just out of the way of the flow of traffic, and stared out at the business happening just outside the doors. He could do this. He could go out and join the bustle. He could go out into the parking lot. He wasn't even technically going into a parking lot. It was just outside the doors. He could do this. It wasn't a problem. He just happened to be waiting here for Milo to join him.
 
Daizi told her that she had no idea what they were going to do when it was finalized. She expected it would be quiet and personal, that's probably what Xander would want. Alec would be more willing to have a big party, she guessed, but she didn't suspect they'd go that way. It hadn't even occurred to her that was something they'd have to think about, and she suggested maybe they'd reserve the back room at a restaurant and have a nice, fancy dinner with their family and close friends, and split the difference between the two options.

As she mopped the floors that afternoon, so Dark wouldn't have to torture himself with the fact they had a guest coming over, who had never been over before, and their floors weren't spotless, she had Ivy in her sling, and she sang, more joyful than she had been in weeks. The thrill had yet to wear off at all.

Milo spotted Alec by the doors and walked up beside him, "It'll be okay, you know. Nothing's gonna happen."
 
Sally promised to not make a big fuss but did ask Daizi to keep her in mind if she needed any help planning. Then she went to tell her husband and all of her friends the good news, needing to share even if they'd have no idea who she was talking about.

Alec smiled at Milo and forced his shoulders down. "Oh, hey! Yeah, of course not. I was just waiting for you," he said as casually as he could manage. "Ready?"
 
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