How Green Becomes Wood

Realizing Xander had never figured out her situation, Daizi couldn't help but crack up laughing, and it took her a little bit to stop, "You seriously didn't notice? Well, damn, that might be the best compliment I've ever received. I'm so good at going through my day, I seem as though I'm entirely sighted. Shit. Well, that's never happened before. Well, no," she cleared her throat, "once, when I was in high school, we had a substitute teacher who kept yelling at me to take my sunglasses off, because they weren't part of the uniform, but that's different, because I was just sitting at a desk."

"Oh, but that makes the question, though, Xander, are you easily fooled? Easily tricked? It'll be so fun for me if you are," Daizi self-identified as someone with a large emotional shenanigans budget, much to the detriment of her close friends and family, and she probably would have continued laughing about Xander's own unique form of blindness (and she mentally cursed herself for being too caught off guard to say, "What? I'm not blind!"), but then the adult part of her brain took over, so instead she leaned back in her seat and said, "But, you know... The one thing about being blind is that I've never had the privilege of being too proud to ask for help, I've never been able to lie and say I'm able to do something entirely on my own, without the aid of those in a different situation to mine. And sometimes it sucks, because I would give anything to be able to, like, buy new clothes without having to bring my husband along to read the size labels and the price tags, and I would love it if I could recognize I took a wrong turn before I end up in a place entirely unfamiliar to me, and be unable to read a single street sign. But I can't do everything on my own. Nobody can, even if they'd really like to."
 
Xander sat red-faced and not at all enjoying the laugh at his expense, even if he did recognize that it was pretty funny to some. He sank down in his seat, grumbling softly. "Course I'm not an idiot. Blind people have dogs and canes and stuff, and they aren't supposed to be able to cook. And this whole house is so freakin' weird! Can't be expected to catch everything." He kept his voice low, trying not to catch too much attention as she talked.

Alec ignored his brother as he listened politely to Daizi's explanation, trying not to smile too broadly both in relief that she hadn't taken offense and in amusement at the situation. The whole thing was so silly! Still, he did agree with his brother on one aspect; he'd assumed blind people who lived independently had a dog with them or other animals to help. He'd once heard of a seeing-eye pony, which sounded like a lot of fun. He was deeply impressed by her level of competence when dealing with daily life, even when it threw curve balls like a pair of homeless teens showing up on her doorstep.

"What if you had one of those GPS apps on a phone that could talk to you and tell you which way to go?" he suggested. "Would that make it so you could travel without worrying about getting lost? Me, I have the most horrid sense of direction. I don't even have to have any kind of... is disability an alright word? A disability or impediment of any kind to get lost."

Xander snorted softly. "That's true. You got lost walking across the road once. Now that's impressive."
 
"Well, what do you think blind people do all day? We don't just sit in stasis until it is time for us to emerge and go on our walk with our dogs and canes. We've got to be able to take care of ourselves," Daizi asked, although not accusingly. She was clearly trying to get both twins to think more about it, "And it's important to keep in mind that this imaginary of 'blind-as-invalid' is what part of what makes it easy to normalize discrimination against people with disabilities. I have a PhD, I had to work probably twice as hard to get there, but I earned the same degree as any sighted person. There is so much people like me can do, and yet, many people who are blind or legally blind, or otherwise disabled, find it far more difficult to go through school, and earn more advanced degrees, and find gainful employment, because we're often thought of as unable to do anything on our own, and since we are considered unable, society doesn't emphasize accessibility. And the notion blind people are unable to lead full lives is why those who want to adopt find it so difficult." She fiddled with her wedding ring, and took a few moments before she spoke again, but it didn't feel like it did when Dark would pause.

At last she sighed, and raised her head, "And, I do have a cane. But I don't need it getting around my home--I'm glad you find it bizarre, we've worked hard to make it so--because, well, it's mine. I know where things are, I know where the furniture will be. If someone pulled a chair into the center of the room I'd trip over it, but I'd bet a sighted person would stub their toe if you moved their table a few inches away from where it normally is. I also have a dog, but he's not a seeing-eye dog. Well, he has a bit of the training, but he's not legally a service dog. And," She turned towards Alec. It was a very good thing their voices were distinct, "I do have a GPS on my phone, but sometimes you just want to be able to walk to the coffee shop or be able to trust you're getting off the bus at the right stop--but, ultimately, there's nothing wrong with asking for help when you need it. Anyway, I don't mean to lecture you. Except about it being okay to ask for help, I do mean to lecture you about that."

She smirked slightly as Dark returned to them, with a very happy shepherd trotting behind him, and hearing their footsteps she snapped her fingers below the table to get their dog to hurry over to her, and said, "Can you believe, babe, Xander did not realize I was blind? We had to tell him."

"Oh that is..." Dark looked over at that particular twin with an actual, discernable, look of confusion. It only lasted a moment, but it happened, and then he brushed it off and said, "Well, the room is ready. And there's an ensuite, so if either of you want to shower, it has all of the requisite items stocked, they're all unscented."
 
Xander said nothing as he glared at the table, shoulders tense. He kept his thoughts to himself, but a muscle jumped in his jaw he clenched it so tightly as Daizi spoke. He jumped a little at the finger snap and watched the dog warily but not fearfully. He was more used to either feral dogs or little yappy ones that tried to get off their leashes, but the good dogs that walked nicely with their people hadn't gone unnoticed. He knew as long as he didn't show himself as a threat to either the dog or the people, the dog should be fine.

Alec started to stand, and Xander got up, helping him upright. "Thank you, sir, I really appreciate it," Alec said humbly. "I am really sorry we are causing you so much work."

"Why? He practically forced us here," Xander muttered, giving his brother something to lean on.

"Still, thank you for the room and the meal. I appreciate that," Alec said.
 
The dog, Enkidu, sat beside Daizi, looking with his head practically backwards to see her, and his tongue hanging out of his mouth, practically ignoring the twins. When the got up, he righted his head, and for a brief moment closed his mouth, and looked really rather regal, but then he went back to being happily pet by his beloved owner.

"I promise you," Daizi said, scratching her dog behind his ears with both hands, "Dark lives for getting to show guests how good he is at taking care of guests. Karam, you know, generosity." It was more complicated than that, but it was easier to pretend, and hopefully easier for the twins to accept, it was just a cultural difference.

Dark, meanwhile, corrected her, and said, "It is more that I do not want to go to jail, and if that means having people over, so be it. But I can show you to your room if you are ready, I am sure you both must be tired."
 
"Yes, please," Alec said instantly. "I really am quite tired, and a good night's sleep will help my leg heal."

"Just lead the way, Professor," Xander said, moving forward. "Unless we're supposed to find our own way through the house?"

"Please stop, just for tonight," Alec sighed.

Xander grunted but made no promises as he looked at Dark expectantly.
 
Dark led them through the house, which was well decorated, if a bit intense, to the guest room. On the way, they passed by, sat on a solitary shelf, what appeared to be a very small urn, but the plaque was in Arabic, and Dark did not stop to acknowledge it. The bedroom itself was the most normative space they had seen thus far. It still carried the same energy as the rest of the house, it was all done in a coral and sage colour sheme, and it was overall just a largely unassuming space.

"I presumed you would want to share a room," He said, "and Alec, there should be enough pillows so you can sleep with your leg elevated. I suppose I will see you both in the morning. The door locks."

Dark had planned to leave the conversation there, and let them have space to themselves, but he stopped himself as he was about to leave, and turning back, one last time, he took a breath and said, "Please, take some time to think about what you want for your immediate and distant futures. I know it just seems like I am getting in your way, and being intentionally obtrusive, but I... Well, I understand better than you might think, where you both are right now. This place," His arms were crossed, but he gestured with one finger around at the room, "this is all because of Daizi, and her family, my origins are more similar to where you are. So," he cleared his throat. It felt as if he had given them a detailed look into his past, even though he hadn't shared even a single specific fact, "think about where you wish to be." This time, it wasn't a lecture, or a demand, or thinly-veiled way to discuss the truth without admitting to it, this time, he just seemed earnest. And then he left, not bothering to say goodnight.
 
Xander closed the door, locked it, then reached into his backpack and pulled out a small wedge-shaped door stopper. He shoved it under the door, pushing it in firmly with his foot. He only trusted locks so far. Sure, the wedge could be overcome and shoved aside, but it would take effort and time. Time that he could use getting out the window. He checked the window and tried opening it, testing its maneuverability. It moved reluctantly but without a lot of raucous noise. He locked it again with a slight nod of approval. It would do for an escape route.

While Xander was exploring the room, Alec half-limped, half-fell into the bed. He rolled to a sitting position on the edge of the bed and slid out of his grey jacket, then the first shirt, then the second shirt, leaving him in a white undershirt. He didn't bother to pull off his pants, instead stretching out on top of the blankets with a sigh of comfort and relief.

"Don't get too comfortable," Xander growled as he stood looking out the window. "We're gone tomorrow morning. Before they get up. 'Think about your future!'" he mimicked in a high-pitched voice. "Ha! We don't have that luxury, and he's not our dad. If he thinks he can control us, he can forget it."

"I think they're nice, or at least trying to be," Alec said quietly. "And... maybe he's right about thinking about the future."

Xander snorted. "He's just trying to fix us and change his dark, mysterious past." He stood and started pacing in agitation. "The dude is so obviously secretive and mysterious he's like an emo teen! All moody and junk."

"Are you describing the professor or yourself?" Alec asked in amusement.

"Funny," Xander said dryly. "You're abso-friggin'-lutely hilarious. You really trust these guys?" he demanded, hooking a thumb toward the door.

Alec shrugged. "No, but I don't really want to be the Christmas morning news as a dead body they found to be quickly forgotten. Maybe the city will make some noise about trying to help homeless kids for a while, there will be some fuss for a month or two, and then it'll all die down. And we'll be dead. And forgotten. I say we put up with it, play nice, smile, and wait until they get sick of us. It'll happen sooner or later, so why not take advantage of free food and a warm place to sleep while we can?"

"Because if we don't drive them crazy, they sure as hell are going to drive me to homicide!" Xander snarled. "Seriously, did you hear them? They take turns lecturing us as much as they possibly can! First him then her. So I didn't notice she was blind, so what? Isn't that the point? To not be treated differently than anyone else? And then she's gotta go and scold us for not knowing some basic junk about the way they function. Of course I didn't think they just sat in a closet waiting to be activated! How is that my fault? It's not like we have a massive disabled people's culture here that we're a part of. She got mad at us for making an assumption, except we weren't! She was assuming our assumption! That's worse!" He scratched his ear in irritation. The site of his one true piercing had been itching a lot lately.

Alec heaved a sigh. "To be fair, the disabled community like the blind and deaf haven't exactly been treated well. It makes sense she'd want to teach us to think better."

"Yeah, teach, not hit us with a word hammer," Xander growled. "I go to school to get lectured. I'm not living with a pair of creepy witchcrafty 'splainers who try to run our lives."

"Xander," Alec said quietly, "please shut up. I'm just tired. Really tired. Please. Can you stop being angry just for tonight?"

Xander stopped and looked at Alec. His eyes were closed, his face still pale as if he were chilled. Xander walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "Okay," he said softly. "We'll rest. Maybe stay for breakfast. Then figure things out tomorrow." He nudged Alec over and pulled down the blankets. Then he crawled into bed with his brother and pulled the blankets over them both.

Alec was asleep in seconds. Xander took a bit longer, pressing up close to his brother. Neither of them stirred much through the night. Xander woke early before the sun even rose. He got up and snuck out to use the bathroom and wash up briefly before tiptoeing back to his room. Alec still hadn't woken. Xander frowned. While the heavier sleeper of the two, Alec usually woke when Xander was moving around. He didn't feel feverish when Xander tentatively touched his forehead. He moved the blankets and touched Alec's ankle. It was hot and heavily swollen. That did not look good. Xander frowned and tucked Alec back in. It looked like he was going to have to suck it up and try to play nice to the married lecturers. They weren't going anywhere anytime soon. Absently, he scratched his ear and waited to hear the couple stirring.
 
Dark went back downstairs. He'd love to just lie down, after all of the events of the day, but there were dishes to do and Daizi feeds the dog, but he walks him, and he was just--overcome with adult responsibilities. He returned to the kitchen, where Daizi was putting leftovers away, humming quietly to herself.

"Hey," Dark said, "it is me."

"Hey... how are you?"

Running his hands roughly over his face, he let out a deep sigh, "I have no idea what we are going to do."

She couldn't see him, but she had known him for so long and could sense the emotions radiating off of him, and she set her work aside so she could wrap her arms tightly around her husband, bringing his head to her shoulder. It was funny, almost, she was by no means a short woman, but he was a giant, so she still needed to stand on her toes, and he still needed to hunch over, "You're a good man," she murmured, "so many people wouldn't be working as hard as you are for those two boys upstairs. And I know it must bring up a lot of emotion for you."

"I just, I worry... I do not want them to die, I do not want anything to happen to us--"

"What could possibly happen to us?"

"If I do not report their situation, and they find out, then I could go to jail for six months, and then I will lose my job, and we will not be able to see each other, and you will have to hire a maid because you cannot keep this place clean on your own, and with Enkidu's separation anxiety, he will probably implode on himself."

"Okay, first of all, who's they?" Daizi reached up and took Dark's face in her hands, rubbing her thumb against his cheek, "You're so neurotic, it's a miracle you ever remember to breathe, Goose, you're not going to go to jail. If you're punished at all, we'll be fined, but we can afford that, but that won't even happen, because 'they' won't find out by tomorrow, and if and when 'they' do, I mean--Why are you hesitant to file that report?"

Dark took a deep breath and looked long at Daizi's face. She wasn't wearing her sunglasses anymore, because she only wore them for the twins' benefit, and he was glad, because he liked her better without them. Her unfocused, wandering, cloudy eyes were still her eyes, and he loved getting to see them, "Because if I file, they will run."

"Exactly, so you're just doing your due diligence. You're acting in good faith, so you don't have to worry about that." She kissed him, and then released him, and went back to putting away the food, and he set about doing his nightly chores, and they finally allowed themselves to chat about other, less important things, and eventually, they went to bed.

And Dark did not like getting up early. Not even a little bit. But, he suspected if he did not, those two might try to run away, so even though it was the first full day of break, he woke up as if it were a school day. Even Daizi, who was a morning person, was still asleep--lord, she was a goddess to his eyes, and privately he mourned the day they had planned to have, as he brushed his teeth and pulled on his exercise clothes. He doubted, what with everything going on, that he would have time to do his planned workout, but it relieved stress, and he liked it. So he headed down the hallway, with all of the tattoos on his arms and hands on display: there were roses and spiders on the backs of his hands, and blue evil-eyes, and celestial bodies, and Dionysus surrounded by dolphins--recalling to mind that old myth--and so much more to recount, because there was not an empty patch of skin to be seen, except for his palms, and so the narrative was all encompassing.
 
Xander heard Dark moving about and pulled the door stopper from under the door, tucking it back into his backpack where it belonged. Then he ran his hands through his hair briefly before unlocking the door and stepping out. He still wore the same clothes from yesterday, and his white shirt looked extra wrinkled and disheveled. Barefoot, he padded out the door to try to catch Dark.

He meant to tell Dark that Alec wasn't feeling well. He meant to politely ask - or at least attempt to ask politely- if he could help with breakfast or similar. When he spotted his teacher, however, that was not what came out. "You're the tattooed man from Believe it or Not," he blurted in confusion and shock, staring at the dozens of tattoos. "Are you Arab mafia?" There was no accusation in his tone, just bewilderment.
 
"Illustrated," he corrected, even though almost nobody except for himself, his wife, and a dead sci-fi writer would ever use the term, "and if I was mafia do you really think I would be working at a high school? I just like them," He looked down at his arms, turning them over. To an extent, his tattoos were a way of exerting control over his past and future, because nobody would look at him and see old scars, they'd see what he actively decided he wanted them to see. It was impossible to stop people from perceiving you, but you could alter what they perceive.


"Is everything alright, though? Did you need something?"
 
"Okay," Xander said slowly, still staring at Dark's arms. Illustrated? Weren't books illustrated, not people? He shook himself. "Yeah, Alec isn't feeling so hot this morning, so I guess we're stuck here." He paused just a moment to force himself not to show any irritation. "Do you need any help or whatever for breakfast or something?" His tone still came across a little sulky, and his hands shoved into his pockets didn't help. He didn't want to admit it, but he was worried for his brother. Irritation and annoyance were easier to handle than worry.
 
"Is he alright?" Dark glanced up the hallway, "I am sure you will not trust it, but we have ibuprofen and what have you."

"And I promised Daizi I was going to make french toast today, you are welcome to help if you so choose. Thank you." He was genuinely surprised Xander offered to help, but was glad to see that twin wasn't exclusively antagonistic.
 
Xander scratched the tip of his left ear briefly, debating on his answer. "I think some pain meds will be good," he agreed grudgingly. "I don't know where you keep them. If you can point the way, I'll take care of him then help you with the toast."

He'd never actually made French toast before. He'd had it a couple of times, not often, but enough to know he liked the sticky stuff. Maybe he could help with the cleanup or the setup if Dark didn't want to teach him how to do it. Xander suspected Dark's teacherly instincts would drive him to try to teach Xander cooking, but he would be equally unsurprised if he didn't. Adults didn't have time to teach kids stuff. They were busy trying to keep everyone alive.
 
Dark nodded, and brought Xander to the medicine cabinet. He handed him a bottle of pain meds and said, "We should probably rewrap it today. Is he awake yet?" He allowed Xander to look through their medical supplies in case there was something he thought Alec might need and didn't really feel concerned about it, there was nothing there that could be abused, and it wasn't where they kept any prescription medications. In the meanwhile, he went to the freezer to get an icepack and from a different cabinet pulled out a glass, "Sprains I am fairly familiar with. Daizi is graceful, but the world is unforgiving. And running was a fact of life when I was a kid."

After handing everything over, he began getting ingredients and bowls from around the kitchen to begin breakfast, "I will get this started down here, and if you need anything, just ask, okay?"
 
Xander eyed the medicine cabinet and looked things over critically. It looked like an ordinary medicine cabinet, though he didn't see any prescriptions. Odd. Not that he cared. It was too hard to sell prescription meds when you were already on everyone's most likely suspect list. He couldn't even count the number of times he and his locker had been searched at school. He took the Ibprophen, ice pack, and glass.

"Thanks," he mumbled cautiously. "I'll be back in a minute." He turned and hurried back to their room. Play nice. He just had to play nice until Alec felt better. "Alec, are you up?"

His twin rubbed his eyes blearily and looked up at him. "Morning. I'm up."

"Good. Breakfast is en route, and your ankle looks like it belongs to some freaky monster," Xander told him.

Xander helped Alec prop his ankle up even more on the pillows and tucked the ice pack under the blankets. Then came the glass of water and the meds. Alec made a face but took the pills Xander handed him.

"When is breakfast?" Alec asked, laying back. Just that small amount of movement seemed to have exhausted him.

"In a few, I guess. I said I'd help," Xander shrugged. At Alec's critical look, he scowled. "Helping buys time. Makes you seem like less of a leech. Once you're better, then we get out of here."

Alec nodded in agreement. "Alright, but I'll miss the pillows."

Xander pulled the blankets up over him and returned to the kitchen. "He's away. Gave him the meds and the ice pack," he told Dark, standing as far away as the kitchen allowed.
 
"How is he doing?" Dark asked. He had a mixture in a shallow bowl, and was in the process of slicing a loaf of clearly home-made bread, "we really just drown the bread in that, and toss it in a skillet, it is only complicated in theory. Would you mind," he glanced over his shoulder at a bag of oranges, "peeling those? Or you could slice strawberries, whichever you prefer." He would have him cut a pomegranate, just to have all of his fruit dealt with, but he figured it would take too long to explain how to manage a pomegranate, and it was not exactly necessary for breakfast.

After he finished slicing the bread, he began dropping the pieces on the skillet to cook them properly, and said, "I will probably have you run food up to Alec, unless he is determined to come downstairs. It is not ideal to eat in bed, but he is wounded, so exceptions can be made. It is not good cold, so, he will probably eat before either of us."
 
"He's fine, just tired," Xander said as he eyed the strawberries and oranges critically. What was one supposed to do when the oranges were not presliced? He thought back to eating in the cafeteria and tried to remember what other people did. Right, the orange bit came off like peeling a skin. He picked up an orange without washing his hands and started picking at it with his nails.

"I can take it up to him," he said, narrowly avoiding a spray of orange skin juice. So, oranges fought back, did they? All for a better challenge! He dove into trying to peel off the skin, mangling the shape of the orange as he went.
 
"Ah," Dark expressed, looking over at Xander, "you come from the same lineage as my homesteader friend--please, take a moment, wash your hands, then peel and," He quickly rewashed his own hands, because he had been working with egg, and then he picked up the fruit knife on the cutting board by the strawberries and oranges, "You can peel it like this," he demonstrated, "peeling it with your hands is fine, but you do not need to dig in so deeply. As for the strawberries, you slice off the leaves, and then slice them down like this," again, he demonstrated, "you can use the same knife for both." He wasn't annoyed, and didn't linger on the explanation for longer than needed. Then he returned to the toast itself.

In the meanwhile, Daizi came breezily into the kitchen, freshly awake. She wore a loosely tied robe ankle-length over what was clearly one of Dark's shirts and mismatched socks. Her long, wild hair was braided out her face and tied with a ribbon. She heard Dark talking to someone, so she presumed one of the twins was awake, because he rarely spoke to himself in English, "Good morning," she hummed, "tea...?"

"Good morning, Spider," Dark replied, "Xander is here with me, he is helping with breakfast. I have not begun making tea or coffee yet."

"Wow..." Daizi smiled, and being able to orient where her husband was in the room, went up and hugged him from behind, "he's a good kid. I think I'll make our black tea with rose petals today, that sound good, babe? Do you want any, Xander? How 'bout your brother, do you think?"
 
Xander eyed Dark a little distrustfully when he took over the peeling, but he watched keenly. Any skill could be useful in situations others might not think to apply them. Especially knife skills. When Dark moved away, he washed his hands and set about trying to skin the orange properly. It went a lot faster with the knife than his bare hands. He picked it up rather quickly, and each orange went faster than the last. He did wonder what "homesteading" was, but he didn't ask.

Then Daizi swept in, and he inched slightly to one side so he could better watch her. Did she have to sound so shocked that he was helping? No need to underline what an ass he was, he already knew that.

"I don't think I've ever had a drop of tea in my life," Xander admitted. He finished the last orange and moved on to the strawberries. "Probably shouldn't waste it on us. Water's good." Not to mention he didn't like the idea of trying to drink a flower.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top