How Green Becomes Wood

"No, it's okay." She squeezed him, "He looks out for me. And my son, I think, who we named for him, because Dark and I had always said we would, if we had a boy. It would have been better had he lived, but..." She shrugged, and smiled, "I think it was my brother who sent me to the US. It was only after he died that my father decided to ship me off, and he was my older brother, so he was always looking out for me, so I think he knew if I was sent to this one school in New York, I would grow up to be very, very happy, and very, very loved." She stroked Alec's hair and then released him, going to get her basket, "Come on, Xander, we do still have berries to pick."
 
"Excellent! Let's pick us some berries. And no, Enkidu, you can't have these berries," Xander warned the dog as he headed outside. Berries made sense! Unlike people. People required mental and emotional effort. He preferred physical effort.

Alec turned to Dark. "Shall we head outside? Oh, I was wondering if we could go to the library soon. I'm out of books to read."
 
"Of course we can," Dark replied, following his family outside, "we can go on Monday."

They did their best to keep things easy for the next week, for all of their sakes: as it got later into the evenings, Dark would often slip away to the basement, with Daizi bringing him his dinner if he was down there when it was time to eat, and she had been bringing home more takeout to accommodate this new behavior. But, she was back at work, which suggested it wasn't serious. They had picked the theme for the nursery, and were actually getting things for the nursery, which they had never done before, so everything with the baby felt very real. And, if Daizi were asked, very large.

It seemed like it had happened without any warning, but it was suddenly the Fourth of July. The night before, Daizi could be heard quietly pacing up and down the hallways for much of the night, and in the morning she came into the kitchen before Dark. Immediately before Dark. She blew into the kitchen, perhaps more clumsily than she used to, and was, apparently, laying into him in Arabic, while he tried to get a full sentence out in explanation.

"This man," She huffed, now in English, arms folded across her chest, "I don't sleep at all during the night because his spawn is maniacal, and what does he say, lounging in his bed, while I try to get ready for the day? Ah!"

"No, Spider, please, Darling--I did not mean--I had just woken up! It is cute!"

"The man looks at me and just says, 'aw you look like a panda waking up from a nap'!"

"I said I am sorry!"
 
Xander and Alec were only slightly behind Dark and Daizi in their kitchen entrance, and they stood off to the side blinking sleepily at them. They hadn't fully woken up yet and were trying to figure out what was going on. Alec was still in his pajamas, and Xander had on his pants with his pajama shirt, half-dressed.

"Pandas are cute," Alec offered uncertainly.

Xander rubbed his eye and yawned. "Very cute," he agreed. "And black and white. Hmm, yeah, I can see your confusion, Daizi. Seeing as absolutely none of that fits you."

Alec just yawned and moved out of the way if Daizi came for Xander, looking for some cereal.
 
"Spent all night trying to get your demon to sleep so I could sleep, and then you just get to say whatever you want," She whipped towards Xander, "Thank you. You're right," she whipped back towards Dark, "See he knows how to be nice to me."

Dark glanced at Xander, bewildered at how he managed to escape unscathed, and then quietly put some berries in yogurt with granola and handed it to Daizi, because he really could not think of anything else to do.

"Do you think you can buy my silence," Daizi asked, holding the bowl while being shepherded to a chair.

"...yes."

There were a few moments of tense silence before she said, "Fine. But you look like a children's colouring book and you have to rub my back later."

"Whatever you need," Dark replied, and after taking a breath to wait and see her response, he said to the twins, "Cooger wants to know what time to pick you up today. He asked last night, but you were already in bed."
 
Alec brightened at that as he held his bowl of entirely too-sugary cereal. "I forgot! That's today!" He paused, frowning between Dark and Daizi. "Are you going to be alright? Here by yourselves?"

"I think they'll be better by themselves than they would be while tripping over us," Xander said. He fixed two bowls of yogurt the way Dark had and plunked the smaller one in front of Alec. "Eat your yogurt."

Alec frowned. "But I have cereal."

"No, you have sugar-infused wheat by-product," Xander told him. "I checked. Yogurt first, then cereal."

Alec heaved a sigh and shot Dark a pleading look, hoping he'd rescue him from Xander's over-protective bossiness. Xander had taken it upon himself to be very much his brother's keeper since "the incident."
 
"We'll be okay," Daizi assured him, calming down a ton after eating even just a few bites. For the moment she still believed in how she behaved, but after the moodswing fully passed, she'd be embarrassed, "We aren't American, remember? We're technically citizens, now, but that decision was entirely practical."

Dark, in fact, did not rescue Alec, and instead said, "Would you like some eggs with your breakfast? I was going to make some anyway." He couldn't say a word about the holiday, at least, not a nice one.

Daizi sat her bowl down and brought her hands to her her side, "God that was a strong one. She's going to be like you, babe, I swear. But, no, Alec, I really think it'll be good for us to stay here. We never have the house to ourselves, you two have fun."

Dark's back was turned, because he was preparing his own breakfast, but he did smile a bit at the thought of being alone with his wife. He just wished it wasn't on a day he'd spent curled up in the basement.

"It would be nice to swin in the lake, though," Daizi sighed, still rubbing her bump rather than eating, "Feeling weightless like that..."
 
Alec sighed mournfully when Dark didn't rescue him and ate his yogurt. "No, thank you, eggs are too heavy this early. I'll just have my cereal. And my yogurt." He smiled at Daizi. "Maybe you can come another day. We can all go swimming!"

"If you like swimming in questionable water with fish poo," Xander muttered. "I'll take two eggs, please. I expect us to be doing a heck of a lot of stuff today with Cooger."

"You two have fun today while we're gone, but be careful," Alec warned. He remembered he hadn't answered Dark's question and said, "We can be ready to go in thirty minutes, I think, if Xander will ever stop eating."
 
"I'd like that," Daizi smiled, at last returning to her breakfast, "and please, what trouble could we possibly get into? We're just lingering around the house together."

"It is actually a relatively clean lake. And chlorinated pools are just as questionable." Dark replied, giving Xander the first two eggs he cooked, preferring to make sure the twins and Daizi ate before he did.

"And since Cooger has lake access right off of his property, we don't risk running into other swimmers. If I'm at a public pool, I will bump into a stranger," Daizi chuckled, "People keep telling me to take a water aerobics class, I don't know with what time, I have so many classes I'm supposed to take. But I do love swimming. I love getting to just float." Dark had come up behind her, and before she could react, spun the chair towards himself and easily scooped her up, causing her to shriek from surprise and then laugh.

"There, see? Weightless." He kissed her forehead before setting her back down and returning to the stove while she blushed behind him. As he cracked an egg into the pan, he muttered, "Like holding a grape."

It took her a few minutes to reorient herself, but (still with flushed cheeks) said, "Don't worry, Xander, Cooger will be sure to feed you both."

"I will let him know," Dark added, at last coming to the table to eat his own breakfast.
 
"That kind of trouble comes to mind," Alec said dryly as he watched Dark playing with Daizi and making her blush. It was nice to see a couple get along like them, but it was still moderately embarrassing. "I don't like public pools, but I'm looking forward to the lake. I think it sounds like fun!" He finished off his breakfast and took his dishes to the sink. "I'm going to go get dressed. Back soon!"

Xander practically gulped the hot eggs, ignoring Dark and Daizi as they goofed off. "Okay, but if a fish bites off my toes, I am blaming you guys." He headed up after Alec to brush his teeth and finish dressing.

In a few minutes, they were both dressed properly and back down to help Dark clean up before Cooger arrived.
 
Daizi laughed at Alec's comment, and began to say, "I'm already pr--" but Dark quickly and loudly spoke over her, saying, "If your fish bites off your toes you will survive, go get dressed."

While they were upstairs, Dark texted Cooger to tell him the boys were basically ready whenever he was, and about an hour later he arrived at the house, essentially letting himself in, wearing a stupid American flag shirt and cheerfully exclaimed, "There are my favourite boys! How are y'all? Excited?"
 
Xander eyed Cooger. "Are you a part of the parade? Or undercover and going as the British version American Stereotype?"

"I think you look fantastic!" Alec chirped.

"You think anyone wearing more than one color looks fantastic," Xander pointed out.

"Ignore him," Alec told him. "We are both very excited, and Xander can't wait to jump into the lake!"
 
"How many times a year can you get away with looking like this?" Cooger laughed, "The American dream is getting to look as dumb as you want, and I'm just exercising that right. But if you wanna get in the lake I hope you've got swim trunks. Or we can stop at the Walmart and pick some up, I guess. Just don't want you to be uncomfortably wet."

"And you're planning on driving them back, right?" Daizi asked, "Because obviously neither of us can tonight."

Cooger grinned, "Aw, what do you mean you ain't picking them up, Tarot? I thought you love getting behind the wheel. How's the little one?"

"Getting bigger and stronger."

"I can tell! Er, no offense," He rubbed the back of his neck and walked a little closer before asking, "Can I feel?" and when she granted permission, he put his hand on her belly and after a minute exclaimed, "Holy shit, I felt her kick!"

Hearing this, Dark whipped around, nearly choking on his coffee, but Daizi waved her hand and said, "No he didn't, she's not even moving. Cooger, you have to stop pulling that prank, he's going to have a heart attack. And Goose, you have to stop falling for it." Cooger just laughed while Dark set down his coffee cup, rolled his eyes, and went to get Cooger his portion of the currant berries.

"Take these and get out of my house," He said, and the two stared each other down for a few moments before laughing. Cooger took the jar, and Dark turned towards the twins and asked, "Do you have everything? Alec, do you have your phone? And a phone charger?" It never failed that if Alec had his phone, it was about to die.

Cooger just waved his hand, "Aw, it don't matter, they won't have time to be on their phones anyway. C'mon kiddos, we should hit the road."
 
"Oh! I forgot the charger!" Alec turned and started to sprint up the stairs but stopped when Cooger spoke. "Oh, okay. But I do have my phone!" He held it up triumphantly and nearly dropped it. "See?" He held it out again before tucking it in his pocket. He ran to hug Daizi first, being gentle, then a much tighter hug for Dark. Not that his hug was particularly strong, but he gave it his best try. A manly hug!

Xander, who was trying not to shudder after the discussion about the baby kicking, happily headed for the door. He stopped to give Enkidu a few extra pets and slipped him a treat when he felt Dark wasn't looking. "I got the trunks, no problem. Come on, Alec, we're just going for a few hours, not a century. Bye, Professor, bye, Daizi, yes I have my phone and the sunblock. Alec!"

"Hugs are more important than driving time," Alec retorted before finally following Xander out the door. "Bye!"
 
Daizi hugged Alec more tightly than he hugged her, with one hand on the back of his head, "Have fun," she said. Dark recognized Alec's effort and squeezed him to a roughly equal degree. He was pretty sure that if he did try to hug Alec as tightly as he could, Alec would probably snap in half, and then Xander would murder him, and then Xander and Daizi would have a very awkward relationship going forward. Then they both said their goodbyes to the twins more generally, and to Cooger, who made a relatively brief goodbye before leading them to his truck.

The drive took about half an hour, but it went by quickly, and the final ten minutes were just driving up through the forest until eventually reaching a somewhat out of the way cabin with a gravel driveway. It wasn't a huge place, or at least the building wasn't. There was a small garden with vegetables growing to the side of the house, and when the pulled up a few chickens came around the corner to see what was up, and then quickly scuttled off.

Lounging on the porch railing was a big, black tabby cat with scars on its face, a torn ear, and only one eye. It stretched a bit when the car pulled up but didn't move at all. Stepping lightly from the truck, Cooger pointed at it and said, "Now, boys, that's Hank. He's a dumpster cat, older than either of you."
 
Xander nodded to the cat. "That mangy old thing's a scrapper, ain't he?" he asked with a bit of respect.

"That is one intense cat," Alec said, climbing carefully out of the cab. He didn't notice his phone slipped out of his pocket and happily sat on the seat. It was like it wanted to escape him at all costs. "I thought Daizi said you didn't like growing things," he commented, pointing to the garden.

Xander followed after the chickens curiously. He'd never seen a living one in real life before, at least not this close and roaming free. He kept one eye on the cat, wondering if it hunted chickens.
 
"I don't like growing flowers because flowers are just for looking but vegetables are good. Romain lettuce always is being recalled for listeria or something, and honestly, I just feel like they charge way much for potatoes at the grocery store." He shrugged, "My idea is to get to the point where I can totally live off my plot of land and not have to worry about anything else, but I'm kinda a lazy guy when it comes to cooking and it's way easier to order a pizza." He stared at his garden with hands on his hips, "I also don't want a full farm, ya know? Can't stand farms. I mean, they're important and all for the world we've built, I just feel like so much farm work these days is exploitative, we all imagine it's like Stardew Valley but it's really more like minimum wage workers in awful conditions."

He walked over to his porch and gave Hank a few good scritches, "And yep, Hank's a good one. I've been fostering cats for years now, but Hank just showed up at my apartment about twelve years ago. He was about five years old at the time, so he's up there. Keeps good watch over the kittens though. I love the older cats, if I ever stopped fostering and decided to adopt a few permanent residents, besides Hank, I'd only take in the seniors, those are some cats with character, cats who have seen a thing or two, you know what I mean? I once fostered this cat, I called him Darryl, but I swear this cat looked like someone had trapped a Wizard in a cat's body. You don't know what you're gonna get with a kitten, and you can't just, like, talk to 'em, ya know? I love a cat with grit, right Hank?"

Dutifully, Hank meowed a deep, gravelly sound and stayed exactly where he was, "Right, well, y'all better bring your stuff inside, c'mon. What do you want to do? I know swimming, but I've got my boat, it's a nice little speed boat, we can fish. Man, this is awesome. I can always get to, like, a barbecue somewhere, but it sucks that I can never spend the 4th with Dark, it's cool to get to be with you kiddos."
 
"Hello, Hank, it is nice to meet you," Alec greeted him dutifully but didn't try to pet him. He wasn't sure he liked cats, but Hank was a fascinating creature. "I used to read books about a farm dog named Hank. It was a long time ago." He shook himself and said, "Maybe if you two built a really big bunker that was properly soundproofed but had good ventilation, you could have a barbeque in there and have fun that way?"

"You can't be soundproofed and ventilated enough to create a bunch of smoke at the same time," Xander called from where he was still following the chickens around. He'd picked one hen in particular and was keeping within a few feet of it, watching it curiously. Chickens were far more interesting than cats. He could see cats any day of the week. Not so with chickens.

Alec shrugged. "Oh well. I guess not. Well, we didn't have a lot of plans, but I guess we could fish, or we could stalk chickens, which is apparently Xander's idea of fun, and I was wondering if we could explore some on land? How much time do we have? Until dark, right? We could take the chickens swimming."
 
"Nah, I mean, that's a good idea, but if it were just about the fireworks I'd cook the food in advance and just bring it over, but the whole day is really complicated and weird for him, which makes sense. He's a citizen now, but it's still, you know, he came to a country three years after the then-president referred to his country as part of the 'Axis of Evil,' so it's a whole thing," He peered around at Xander, "Be careful with 'em, they're not aggressive or nothing, but they'll peck at you. Chickens think fingers look like worms. Did you know, every egg you've eaten since moving in with Dark and Tarot have come from my birds? They haven't bought eggs in years."

He stepped up onto his porch, unlocking the door and propping it open, unconcerned. A few more cats milled out, none nearly as rough looking as Hank, "You're welcome to explore. I've got ya basically until the fireworks are over, unless you decide you want to go home sooner, which is totally your call. But I picked up those sparklers and I promised y'all s'mores. Oh, Xander," He rested his arms on the porch railing, and leaning out said, "Keep an eye out for Millie, my guard goose. She'll get cranky, but she's just doing her job."
 
Alec backed up a step, trying to respect the cats' space. He wasn't afraid, just cautious, though he did crouch down to get a good look at them. "What's it like to foster cats? Do you find homes consistently, or do some of them stay forever? Does it hurt to give them away?"

Xander paused and glanced around. "Guard goose?" he repeated, not concerned. He thought geese were about the same size and temperament as chickens. Chickens were definitely not scary. He figured if they tried to get too aggressive, he'd just kick them off. He wouldn't try to hurt them, but he wasn't going to stand there and take it from the world's most popular lunch meat.
 
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