How Green Becomes Wood

"That's his face when he's so close to freaking out?" Sloan asked, wondering if they had looked at the same man, "but teething can be pretty nasty. My dad used to do civil war reenactment, and when Benny and I were teething, he'd give us hardtack he kept in the freezer. At least that's what he tells us."
 
"Their baby sister is teething, hardtack is a kind of cracker that tastes horrible and lasts forever--there's a piece of it in a museum, unrotted, from the Civil War--and how do you have a history teacher for a father but not know what a Civil War Reenactment is? It's when a bunch of people dress up like it's the Civil War and recreate battles and stuff." Sloan answered, feeling like that covered all three sufficiently.
 
"Why would you want to eat hardtack, like, ever?" Xander asked, looking revolted.

"Civil War, yes. Reenactments, no," Alec said, looking interested and not even realizing they'd switched conversational sides.

"Ouch. I've heard that hurts," Peter said thoughtfully.
 
"Because it's the Civil War and those are the rations you have," Sloan replied simply, "He stopped when Benny was little because it was too difficult to find time to attend them, but he still has his uniform in the basement. He's got it on a mannequin and everything, but I don't think it'd fit him anymore. I remember when my cousin was teething, my aunt said it's tough because you can't explain to a baby what is happening in a way they understand."
 
Peter winced. "That sounds miserable for all parties involved."

"I gotta try to make this hardtack stuff," Xander muttered.

"I wonder how one gets into these reenactments," Alec mused with a grin.
 
"Which explains why Mr. Dark got out of here in a hurry," Sloan told Peter with a nod, "All parties means Daizi has been dealing with it all by herself all day. And you two," She turned to the twins, standing up to throw her trash away, "Can speak with my dad for that information. I am sure he would be thrilled to teach you the recipe and get you situated. He'd probably even take you, he loves the Civil War."
 
"You are not getting into any kind of reenactment hobby until you have your own storage space," Xander warned as he slowly started to clean up.

"Fair enough," Alec snickered. He followed Xander but slowed, looking past him at someone on the other side of the cafeteria. He shook himself and hurried forward.
 
Sloan followed Alec's gaze, "What are you looking at?" It might not have been something she used to notice, but after a year of being friends with these two, she was always a little bit on alert around them.
 
Alec blushed bright red and snapped his gaze away. "Nothing!" He squeaked, his voice breaking for the first time in months. "Nothing at all. We really should be getting to class, right? Yep!" He kept his eyes on Xander's back, his ears red.
 
"Oh...kay..." Sloan replied, a bit confused by his reaction, but she shrugged it off, "I'll see you later." She gave a slight wave and then went to class, not giving it or Ivy or the Civil War much more thought.
 
The rest of the day went well for the twins, or as well as finals could be expected. Alec thought about what might be happening at home often but managed not to dwell on it too much. Xander's full mental processes were focused on trying to survive the tests. He had not extra brain power to worry.

Once school let out, he did look for Milo before they left. "Hey, I can't give you a ride home today," he said even though Milo had never accepted his offers previously. "We gotta head straight home. I was wondering, though, you got any plans for after finals? Like right after school?"
 
"I'm going to take you on a ride," Xander stated. "I want to show you something cool, but for now... tests, sleep, and Gatorade."

"We gotta go!" Alec called back, only a few steps ahead of Xander.
 
"A ride where?" Milo asked, not rejecting the offer, but then he looked at how insistent Alec was to get home, so he shrugged and said, "You can tell me later, or text me, I guess.'
 
"We'll talk details later," Xander agreed. He turned toward his brother and started walking. "Hold your pants on, I'm coming!"

"Do you mean hold your horses, or keep your pants on?" Alec asked, puzzled. "Bye, Milo! See you tomorrow!"

"Either. Both. Chill." Xander tentatively shook his head before walking to the van. Once he'd saved up some money, he was going to get this thing wrapped or painted or something to look at least a little cooler than it did now. They both hesitated only a little when approaching, keeping a sharp eye out on all sides. It was ridiculous, they knew, but they couldn't help it. Then it was off to home!
 
Taped to the front door was a handwritten note that read, "Baby Napping," just like what Dark would hang up when Ivy was a newborn and only exclusively slept, ate, or cried. But at least it meant they had gotten her to sleep.

Inside, Dark was sitting in the living room, certainly awake, but with his eyes shut, and Daizi was wilted over his lap. When the twins stepped in, he opened his eyes and looked towards the door, "Welcome home."
 
"Um, are you guys okay?" Xander asked uncertainly once he'd rid himself of his shoes and could walk in.

Alec followed him, carrying his backpack. "Yeah. You left in a big hurry, and you don't look good now."
 
"She wouldn't stop crying," Daizi grumbled into Dark's leg before pushing herself into a seated position and turning to face them. Evidently, she had crumpled down onto her husband the moment Ivy fell asleep because she hadn't changed her shirt, "We had to call the pediatrician, and then we had to call Cooger to pick up baby tylenol, and we have washcloths in the freezer."

"We are very tired."
 
"Sounds like you had a rough day," Alec said sympathetically. "Do you need anything from the store? We can go out and get some stuff for you and Ivy."

"Got dinner plans?" Xander asked. "We can get something, too."
 
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