How Green Becomes Wood

"I can't even tell if you're being sarcastic or not, because I don't know what pink and blue look like," Daizi lied, since Xander's tone was evident, "But those are the gendered colours, right? The ones people tack onto all babies based on their anatomy? Maybe he wants to evoke the gender reveal."

Having sufficiently teased them both she said, "I don't really know how it's set up to be honest. They had maps online, but not ones I can use. I suppose we can do the sight room first, try to get it out of the way. But I always like to go through museums by just following where my feet take me. Dark is horrified by it, and my coworkers think doing that wrecks historical context, but... We're not going to a history museum!"
 
"Nope, I just like the bright and cheery nature of the clothing," Alec said happily. "But if you did a gender reveal, I'd happily wear it again!"

"Please don't do a reveal," Xander groaned. "So tacky and pointless. How about we do half map, half see what happens? Bit of wandering never hurt nobody, but doing a bit of mapping will help make sure we don't skip anything."

"That's a good idea." Alec shifted and turned around to sit properly next to Daizi. "I can see where your coworkers are coming from, but you're right. We aren't going to a history museum, so we can do whatever we want!"
 
"There's no point in a gender reveal, since I've already told everyone her sex. Maybe when she's older if she realizes her assigned sex doesn't match, then she's welcome to do one of her own." Daizi joked, standing as she heard their stop announced, "Come on, we have to go stand and wait. Xander, resist the urge not to hold on, I don't need to take you back home with a broken face. A half-map is a good idea though, I suppose. Make sure we see everything that interests us... I know they have a really cool section on fossils and static electricity, and a bubble room. Some of it is definitely for kids younger than us, but even that can be fun."
 
"Bubble room?" Alec asked, perking up like a puppy hearing the word "treat."

"Somehow, I doubt they'll have anything too young for us," Xander said dryly. He followed Daizi and stood where indicated, making a face of distaste as he held on.

"I can't wait to see it all!" Alec grinned, holding Daizi's arm and the metal pole.
 
"Yeah, it's cool. There's this chain you can pull that incases you in a bubble if you do it right. For me it's basically pulling a chain... Although I get to enjoy it when it's time to pop it," She shrugged, holding on while the train came to a stop, "I don't know, there's all sorts of things. There's a little planetarium section too, that I'm told is very cool if you can see. Whenever Dark and I have gone we go, because he likes to see it, and I just sort of end up napping. But they have a bed of nails, Xander, if that's more your speed." There was a hint of challenge in her voice, although she couldn't do it with him, since it required lying flat on your back, which she couldn't do.
 
"A bed of nails? Really? I thought that was just a myth," Xander said in surprise. "I'll totally give that a try! You?" He glanced at his brother.

Alec shrugged. "I suppose, maybe. It doesn't sound very comfortable."

"I think that's the point," Xander smirked. "There had better be some, like, slime buckets or something. A barrel of rice, at least. I want to get my hands messy!"
 
"See, then it's good you're with me rather than with Dark, he'd be apoplectic if you ended up slimed. Although, I have no idea what kind of science you expect to do with just a bucket of rice."

When the train stopped, she led them off the train and hurried through the station, keeping a tight grip on Alec. She didn't know if that man from all those weeks ago was still there, but she didn't want to find out, and didn't know if she trusted having two teenagers with her would be enough to keep him away.

"We have to get a cab, but that's no problem. Was that your first time on a train, Xander?" She asked once they made it out onto the street, since she was too focused on getting out of the terminal to ask earlier.
 
"Well, you can do examples of friction, you can hide small toys for a tactile exploration, you can make it float, I think you can put electricity through it," Alec started naming off all the things one could do with rice, but the stopping of the train interrupted him, and he quickly forgot all about what he was talking about. He kept close to Daizi as she held tight to him, feeling her sudden urgency. Rice held no importance when his foster mother suddenly acted like someone or something might be chasing them.

Xander glanced around in confusion as he kept right behind Daizi. Why the rush? He'd forgotten about Daizi's brush with the pushy man and didn't realize what she was trying to avoid. Her sudden hurry put him on guard, and he started looking for danger. Her question jolted him out of that mindset, though not entirely, and he had to think a moment before answering even though the answer was obvious.

"Yeah, first time," he confirmed to her, moving to walk on her other side, trying to keep between Daizi and the main push of people.
 
"Right, that's what I thought," She said, taking a moment to breathe as she waited for a cab. If she weren't pregnant, the speed she were walking would've been no problem, but since she had a baby the size of an eggplant crowding her lungs, their brisk walk left her slightly out of breath, "How does it compare to car travel for you? I prefer the train. Except," she nodded back towards where they had come from, "I still expect to run into that guy again, and I'd really rather not."

She leaned forward slightly, listening to the traffic, "Keep an eye out for a cab. I can get a ride share, but taxis always come this way so it'll be faster."
 
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"Which... oh." Xander scowled. "If he comes by, I'll keep him off you. Don't worry. Never mind that." He looked out in the road and watched the cars whisking past. "Train is cool, but then once you get where you're going, you have to figure out how to get the rest of the way."

"I like the train. The journey is so much more interesting!" Alec told Daizi happily. "I want to enjoy both the journey and the destination."

"Oh, taxi." Xander leaned out and waved down the yellow cab. "Here we go, it's stopping."
 
"Normally I'd just walk, but I don't want to kill my feet," Daizi said after a long pause. She had been trying to figure out exactly how to respond to Xander's declaration about how he'd keepb that man away, because she wanted to let him know she appreciated it, but also knew he, historically, defended people with his fists, and didn't want to risk his safety... So ultimately she chose to say nothing, it didn't matter anyway, "I prefer the train, I don't need to worry about parking or red lights and delays are never my fault."

When the cab stopped, she came forward to give the address, and then crammed into the backseat with the twins, "This is what it'll be like when the baby comes, except Xander will be in the front seat, I'm sure. But this is a short drive."
 
"Why does Xander get to be in the front seat and not me?" Alec complained.

"Because I'm older," Xander replied. He paused and frowned. "I think. Did we ever get that figured out?"

"Not properly, which means I have just as much right as you," Alec stated, sticking out his tongue at Xander.

"Well, I'm definitely meatier, and therefore can push you out of your seat," Xander stated.
 
"I only said he'd have the front seat because I figured you were more likely to be the one who would prefer to sit in the back with me," Daizi shrugged, "if you and Xander would like to switch out or brawl for it or something, you are free to do as you will. Although either brawl in advance or while the baby is awake," She paused and then laughed, "And Alec gets time to plan, Xander doesn't. To make it fair."

Then she sat back, resting her head against the window (having forced one of the twins to take the hump, only because she felt simply too large presently to squeeze in the middle of them), "If you really want to know who the older one is, we can look on the long form of your birth certificates, they list the time of birth. But what would you do if it turned out Alec is the older brother?"
 
"Well, then our names would make slightly more sense," Xander said bluntly.

"Still a touch silly, but more sense," Alec nodded. "I suppose they could be worse. They could be Shawn and Sean. Scoot over, will you?"

Xander edged as close to the door of the car as he could get and still managed to give his brother a side-eye. "You are joking, right? Please tell me you are joking."

"Nope. Or Dusty and Rusty," Alec said, pressing into Xander's side to give Daizi more room. "Also, Gunner and Hunter."

"Xander and Alec are beautiful names and not at all dorky," Xander decided with a firm nod. "Absolutely amazing."
 
Daizi smiled the way she might've had she been the one to name them, "I like your names, exactly as they are. And I think Xander being named first makes the scheme interesting. But maybe I just really like you both, and I know you with those names, so I like them too."

Elsewhere on the street, near to them, a car loudly honked it's horn, which made Daizi sort of jump, but the look on her face proved she was not the one who had been surprised, "I'm glad I'm not having twins, I have no idea how we'd pick two names, it was hard enough picking one. Dark has had a terrible student for nearly every English name I liked, and when it came to the Arabic ones, it was either the name of someone who bullied me, or the name of someone who Dark has some sort of complicated memory with. There was a moment where I was convinced we'd just have to name this one gibberish."
 
"That would be really hard," Alec said sympathetically. "I think I would throw a dart at a list of names and just accept fate."

Xander shifted to a more comfortable position and said, "You know, having and naming twins isn't that hard. Everyone knows they are just one person in two bodies, so giving them the same name is totally acceptable. And dressing them identically, too."
 
"I could never do that," Daizi chuckled, "Although I'm sure Dark would love to dress them up the same. To me that just sort of feels... Kids aren't dolls, you know? I'm always very uncomfortable with people who use their children like accessories or props. Not that Dark will do that, but I know on holidays he'll force her to dress up. But who knows, she may like it. Take after Alec and not Xander in that way."

After awhile, the cab stopped in front of the museum, and Daizi pulled herself out. Like her museum, the science one was a large, sprawling, sophisticated looking building that most children would walk up to and presume to be dull and boring, but unlike Daizi's, from the moment they stepped inside it was full of bright colours and unique displays, rather than remaining a more intellectual atmosphere. Daizi pulled the tickets from her purse and distributed them amongst the twins so they could go through the much shorter security line, "This museum also has a surprisingly good café if you get hungry partway through. Not nice enough to eat a full meal, but good enough."
 
"Whoa," Alec whispered, clinging tightly to Daizi's arm as he took in everything. He stood still, just staring, allowing himself a moment to fully appreciate the display of colors before him. "It's dazzling!"

Xander held his ticket and took Alec's just in case. Sure, the line was short, and what could Alec possibly do to lose it in that short of time? But considering Alec's track record, Xander wasn't taking any chances. "I'm always hungry, but I bet we can make it through without needing to eat," Xander assured Daizi.

Alec peeled himself off of Daizi's arm and forced himself to stand like a normal person capable of walking on their own. "Let's get started!" He marched to the line and bounced on his heels eagerly. "This is going to be the best trip ever!"

"You say that every time," Xander pointed out.

"And I am never wrong," Alec said primly.
 
"I've heard that said before. We've got sort of a friendly rivalry, and people always say my museum's entrance is impressive and imposing, but this one is a lot more fun. Make sure you get a map, you both need to be my eyes!" She allowed herself to be pulled after them, after making it through the mild security.

"Alright, where to first? I know there's the sensory exhibit, but there's also all the other activities we have. There's a cool section on movement with what is essentially a giant hamster wheel, too."
 
Alec fumbled with the map until Xander took over and flipped it open expertly. "Right. Let's see, here. They are divided into sections, it looks like, so if we go section by section, we can then wander within the sections as much as we want, and we should get everything. Let's start with... yeah, this one looks to be mostly about sight, it's got eye parts and experiments with light and stuff. Let's do that one first. Then the next one is about smell."

"I hope they don't make us smell old socks and stuff like that," Alec grumbled, wrinkling his nose. "But they probably will."
 
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