How Green Becomes Wood

"No, it's cool," Alec assured him. "It's cool. We get to learn new songs!"

A few minutes later, Xander pulled up in front of Milo's grandparent's place. He turned to look back at Milo. "You good?"
 
Milo looked up at Xander, and after a moment or two just said, "Thanks." Then, after picking at his nail for a moment said, "I just really didn't know how to end it, or what was... expected of me, I guess. I didn't want to get it wrong."
 
Milo nodded, unbuckling his seatbelt, "I just, I didn't know, because everyone was singing, and I didn't want to be weird." He wanted to ask if he had been weird, but he wasn't sure if he wanted that answer, and he was absolutely certain he didn't want to be weird by asking if he was weird, "I did have fun, though, I liked it, so you don't need to worry if I didn't like it or if you had done something wrong, because it was good, I just didn't want to be weird."
 
"You did awesome," Alec assured him, "and if you don't want to sing, you don't have to. You sounded pretty good, if that helps, but, no, you weren't any weirder than, well, me!" He grinned at Milo.

"Less weird than him. I'll wait until I see you go in before I leave," Xander told Milo.
 
"Okay." Milo replied, allowing himself to exhale fully, and then he pushed back his hair and got out of the car, taking his bass, "Thank you. I'd like to, um, do it again. Sometime." He shrugged, "Thanks again for the ride."

Then he scurried back inside, looking out the window after he was inside to watch his friends leave, waving slightly as the van left. That was good, he thought. He had been very brave. Yeah. He had been brave and not too weird.

When the twins made it home, there was a bit of music playing over Daizi's CD player in the living room, and neither parent called out a hello or came by to greet them.
 
Alec looked around in confusion as he toed off his shoes and touched the salt. "Hello?"

"Louder," Xander said with a bit of fear. "We do not want to sneak up on them."

"It's the living room," Alec said, rolling his eyes. "What do you think they'll be doing?" He walked in, hoisting his guitar higher. "We're home!"

"I don't even want to wonder," Xander muttered, following him.
 
In the living room, Ivy was sleeping in the pack and play, but Dark and Daizi were standing in the center of the room, with all of Ivy's toys and the coffee table moved aside, moving together, both pairs of eyes shut. Dark had one hand on the small of Daizi's back and she had one on his shoulder, they turned elegantly in time to the music, not quite waltzing, but not just swaying, either.

It wasn't until Alec called out they were home that either of them recognized the twins had come home, at which point they both turned towards the sound, "Hello," Dark said, pulling slightly away from his wife. At the same time, Daizi said, "I didn't realize it had gotten so late."
 
"Uh, what are you doing?" Xander asked cautiously.

"Hunting for elephants," Alec smirked at him. "They are enjoying a little thing known as a romantic dance."

Xander made a face and turned to take his instrument to the music room. "Lovely."

"Yes, it is," Alec said with a nod.
 
"We were just dancing," Daizi confirmed, sliding back in beside her husband, trying to hide her disappointment at being interrupted. It was like she had been yanked back down to earth.

"Do I need to be questioned about what I choose to do in my own home?" Dark asked sardonically as Xander walked away.
 
"Yes," Xander called back before heading upstairs. "I'm told that's the entire point of having a teenager in the house."

"No, but I do like that song you're playing," Alec said. He turned to follow Xander. "Carry on! Pretend like we aren't here."
 
Dark watched until both of the boys were gone, shaking his head, and then wondered if it was too late, now, to fall back into the intimate, lovestruck state the had been in moments before. But then he looked down at his wife's lovely face, still standing near to him, and the music was still playing. Ivy was still sleeping.

A little smile pulled at the corner of his mouth and he took a step back from her, and allowing himself to be dramatic, bowed respectively before taking her hand and spinning her around, her delighted laugh carrying over the sounds from the CD player.
 
The next couple of days went well. Xander went to his horse therapy, and that went better than expected. He came home more relaxed than he had been in a while, though exhausted. He didn't really talk about it, but he was less prickly. Alec had his Cyr wheel class, too, and he came home chattering about the whole class at high speed and how much he'd had fun. Dark got the first brunt of that rave when he picked up Alec from class, then Daizi, and finally Xander.

Wednesday was a regular Wednesday, and, finally, it was Thursday and time for Alec's first day at work at Tristan's shop. Xander dropped him off, hung out for a little bit, and then abandoned him to fend for himself.
 
Over the next two days, Daizi's bruise only got uglier, but clearly nothing was broken or sprained, so it didn't seem to bother her, unless Ivy happened to hit it hard. The twins seemed to be doing better, too, which made things easier, and come Thursday, after wishing Alec the best luck in the world on his very first day with an actual job, Dark and Daizi stepped slowly outside with Ivy.

It was just the three of them, at least until Xander came home, and Xander kept himself pretty busy with Judo, his buisness, and horse therapy. And soon both boys would be back in school. It'd be just the three of them a lot more often, then. Daizi worked from home, which kept her busy, but less busy than had she been in the office, which she'd be returning to once Ivy only nursed in the morning and evening, so she didn't need to be there anymore. Sometimes she and Dark had talked about her going back sooner, but Daizi couldn't bring herself to commit to it. Ivy was the only baby she'd ever had, she didn't want to sacrifice parts of mothering a baby for convenience. But it didn't seem that long before she'd be back in the office anyway, with how quickly time was going by. When she did, it'd just be Dark and Ivy home all day.

All at once, as they sat outside in the morning sun, it occurred to both of them that there never would be a normal, there never would be a consistency, because even when things were good, which they weren't totally just then, but they would be soon, it seemed, things were always changing. They weren't going to have a consistent rhythm like they used to before that one day in December, because babies grew too quickly, and the twins were catching up on a lot of development they had missed during their years stuck in survival mode, One day, they'd be back to true consistency, but it wouldn't be for... a long while yet.

The realization was a bit scary and a bit exhausting, but still Daizi lay on her stomach and put her face near to her daughter's and told her, not for the first time, "Ivy-Qadira, Mama is so happy you're here." because it was a bit exciting, too.
 
Alec, meanwhile, was hard at work sweeping the floors. It was a boring job, and one that didn't take long considering the size of the place, but he worked thoroughly, implementing a lot of the tactics he'd seen Dark using when sweeping the floors at home. Katherine kept an eye on him from her station behind the counter when he was up front, and in the back, Tristan watched him while putting together several bouquets for a client's order. Alec couldn't figure out what Katerhine thought of him, she was so guarded, but he was fairly certain he amused Tristan.

When a customer came in, Katherine had him put aside the broom and watch the transaction. It was pretty straightforward other than the fact that since they couldn't put barcodes on flowers, they had to type in the costs and the codes for the type of flower by hand rather than just scan it. She assured him there was a cheat sheet he could use, but she'd have to find it, first. After the first couple of customers came through, she stood with him and showed him how to work the till and let him run a few fake transactions. It would be a while before he would be trusted to run it by himself, but there was no reason to not get him familiar with it.

After a brief time at the till, it was back to cleaning. Whenever there wasn't a customer in the store, Alec's job was to clean the stands holding the flowers, wiping away any dust and spilled water. It was careful work to not drop anything, and he felt quite proud of himself when he got to the end of his shift and he hadn't dropped a single vase or harmed a single flower!

Xander came to pick him up, and Tristan bid him goodbye, giving him a single rose to take home. The rose was not pristine or perfect in looks, but still smelled amazing and still looked beautiful in its own way, so Tristan wanted it to spend what time it had with people who'd appreciate its beauty for what it was rather than what it "should" be.

It was a very happy but exhausted Alec that got in the car to head home with Xander.
 
At home was a peaceful, quiet day with a very mobile and enthusiastic baby, but when the twins came home, Daizi was almost immediately at the door, excited to hear all about how the day had gone. She waited just long enough for the twins to take off their shoes and feel like they were home before coming around to ask, "So? How was your first day?"
 
"It was awesome! A little boring since my main job was cleaning, but it was still so cool! I got to watch Tristan make a few bouquets, and it was truly like a new form of art." Alec took her hand and carefully placed the rose in it. "This is for you. I'm sorry it's not a growing plant, but Tristan said it doesn't make the cut for a bouquet."

"Looks fine to me," Xander said, glancing at it.
 
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