How Green Becomes Wood

"Strawberries." Daizi answered, nuzzling Ivy's head, "We were so torn between sweet potato and chicken, and I was thinking about how we joked about letting her decide. Then we remembered how much she reached for the strawberries in our garden, so... She made it very clear what she wanted to try."

Enkidu panted when the stopped, his pink tongue lolling sideways out of his mouth and looked curiously with bright eyes up at his boy.
 
"Strawberries is a good one!" Alec grinned. "Nice choice." He finished cleaning up and then turned to making lunch for himself and his brother.

Xander stared down at the dog for a moment. Then he sighed and gave Enkidu a pat on the head before turning to take the long way back toward home. Of all the people he had ever known in his life, Dark was the one he knew he could trust. Strangely, he felt he could trust Dark even more than Daizi, though he'd never say it out loud. It wasn't that he didn't trust Daizi, it was just less somehow. Dark had proven himself time and again. If Dark had a reason to hide things, it must be for a good reason. Xander didn't know what that reason was, but maybe he was being too self-centered in thinking he needed to know or that it was in any way about him or Alec. Dark must have a reason. Xander would just have to do the thing he hated most and let it go. Trust Dark and Daizi to handle this. If it was his business or involved him, Dark would tell him.
 
Ivy made a cheerful little, "Ah ah ah" sound, the tiniest sliver of her very first tooth poking through her gums and Daizi repeated the noise back at her before tapping her husband on the shoulder to remind him to go and get dressed. He stood up, took his daughter briefly and said to her, "After today, my darling girl, we will get to spend so, so much time together. You just have to have one more day with Baba going to work, just one day more!"

Then he handed her back to his wife and went upstairs to change, truly thrilled the year was finally, finally over.
 
Alec watched him go before turning to Daizi. "Is he actually going to be able to make himself go back to work after summer is over?"

Xander arrived back home with Enkidu, totally out of breath but satisfied with his run. He kicked off his shoes and unleashed Enkidu before touching the salt. He headed straight upstairs toward the shower but paused when he saw Dark's back. He stared at it. Yes, he was still annoyed, and part of that annoyance, he was realizing, was the fear he'd felt when Dark had come in bloody and Daizi had reacted so worriedly. He was afraid of what had happened to Dark and what Dark might do to himself. But he could trust Dark. Dark wouldn't do something like that, and things would be less stressful once school was out. He gave a little nod and disappeared into the bathroom for a super fast shower before changing. Things would be fine, and they weren't as bad as they'd seemed.
 
Daizi sighed, rubbing Ivy's back. As much as she wanted to tell Alec something definitive, the only way she could answer him was to tell the truth, "I don't know. He told Bernice he is coming back in the fall."

When Dark met Xander on the stares, and they made eye contact, he could see there was some unrest there. That should probably be addressed, but the morning before school didn't seem to be the right time for it. Anyway, Xander was on his way to shower and Dark needed to get dressed so they wouldn't be late for their last day of the year.
 
Alec heaved a sigh and tapped Ivy lightly on the nose. "I feel like I should be jealous of all the attention you get, but you're so cute that I can't be. I want to give you all the attention, too! You adorable little tyke."

When Xander came down from the shower, Alec asked, "Do you have everything ready for after school?"

Xander nodded. "We need to stop by the convenience store on the way, but, yeah, I've got everything."
 
"It will even out when she isn't learning so many new things all the time," Daizi replied, bouncing Ivy on her hip, "Right, baby girl? Say, 'I'm learning so much!' You are, habibti! You're such a clever baby!" Daizi grinned at her baby's multitude of noises and then told her boys, "Have a good day at school, okay? We're going to have a great summer this year, I think."
 
Alec gave Daizi and Ivy a big hug. "We will! To all of it! I can't wait to see you after school!"

"I'll be back a little later," Xander told her. "We should leave a little early if we're going to get there on time. Tell Ba we'll see him at school."

"Bye, Ba!" Alec called up the stairs as he dashed to get his shoes.

Xander followed at a more sedate pace to get his shoes and made sure he and Alec both had everything they needed before heading out to his van.
 
Daizi made her goodbyes to both of her boys, and had Ivy wave goodbye to them. Not long after they left for school, Dark came downstairs, said goodbye, and drove himself there. He, too, had after school plans, but Daizi already knew about it.

When she was alone, she called Cooger first to tell him about what had happened, assuring to him it was an accident, because with what Dark said and how he was behaving about it, she believed that was the truth. He promised to stop by later, and then she called Sally to update her on the situation, assuring her it was okay and they didn't need her to rush over, just needing to tell her how stressful the whole situation was and how hard it was to pick her husband over her baby.
 
It was an uneventful trip to school even with the brief stop at the convenience store. The twins arrived a little early, as was their normal now, and hung out until it was time to go to class. Just one more day! One more push, and then it was all over! They could be FREE!! Xander tried not to think too much about the plans he had for after school with Milo. He needed to focus and try to get passing grades.

Sally thanked Daizi for updating her and empathized with her on how hard a situation that must be. She asked a few questions, just to clarify, and let Daizi talk as long as she wanted. She truly couldn't imagine that kind of stress.
 
Despite how much school he had missed over the years, Milo wasn't too worried about finals. Tests, so long as he knew what would be on them, didn't bother him much, because he knew what he had to prepare. Whatever gaps he might have had in his knowledge were easy enough to fix because he knew what to study for. So his day went by quickly.

In his classroom, Dark was left really just grading and proctoring, but all things considered, it was an easy day, although he did have to explain to a number of students and most of his coworkers he accidentally cut his hand the night before, because his bandages left questions. To his quiet pleasure, though, the bandages and stitches meant he couldn't put on the foundation to hide his tattoos, and certainly Bernice couldn't fault him for prioritizing his health, so on just that one day, some of the tattoos on his right hand were visible, which only added to his mystery--for once in a way he reveled in.
 
Peter was perhaps the most concerned about his finals, but even he came out looking relieved and satisfied, certain he'd done well. Tom and Becky ambushed Alec during the lunch hour and talked both his ears off excitedly about some camp they were both going to over the summer. Alec cheered with them, happy to hear they'd be off having a good time. Xander stayed as far back from the celebration as he could. He chose instead to exchange a few quieter words with Sloan and exchange summer plans with her.

School ended, and the twins both dashed up to tell Dark farewell - mostly just because they could - and then ran back down to the school parking lot. There, they had to wait for Milo to arrive.
 
The fact they hurried up to say goodbye to him, when they didn't have to, brought genuine joy back into Dark's eyes, and he congratulated them on making it through half of high school.

Milo felt a bit hesitant as he walked out into the parking lot. The last time he joined the twins after school, he watched them be assaulted, and even though he knew it wouldn't happen a second time, he couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.
 
Xander spotted Milo first, and he and Alec went to join him, walking with him to the van. "How do you feel about finals?" Xander asked. "I think I passed. Pretty sure I did."

"I'm positive I did!" Alec grinned. "I'm feeling really good about it!"
 
"I think I passed," Milo said, walking with the two of them to Xander's car, "Tests are pretty easy for me if I have time to study for them, so I'm not too worried. I'm just glad the year is over, I think. It's nice to know how many people I won't be required to see anymore."
 
"Ouch, harsh," Xander said mildly.

Alec giggled, and as they came to the van, he pulled open the back door. "You sit in the front, Milo. Xander's going to drop me off at our street."

Xander climbed into the driver's seat and did his usual pre-drive chack before buckling up. "I'm looking forward to not getting shoved in a classroom with a bunch of other dorks. I like space."

"Sleeping in," Alec sighed happily.
 
"It's not that I hate them or anything," Milo said, sitting where he was told and not trying to feel anxious over the fact he had no idea where he was going. What if he didn't like it? What if Xander put together a big surprise and Milo liked it but didn't smile enough to look grateful? He had been told his whole life he didn't seem grateful enough.
 
"I didn't think you did." Alec leaned forward in his seat to talk to Milo while Xander drove. "If you want any help with your summer school, you can totally ask us! I think we could both use a bit of extra study, anyway."

"Hey, don't be giving away my summer break," Xander complained. To Milo, he added, "But I guess if want, it wouldn't be aweful."

Alec snickered and leaned back until they reached the end of the road their house was on. Xander pulled up to the curb, and Alec hopped out, taking his school bag with him. He had to dive back into the car to retrieve a couple of pencils and his phone. Then he called a farewell and trotted toward home.

Once Xander got the car moving again, he glanced at Milo. "It's not a big celebration or a gift you have to pretend to like," he told his friend, guessing what was on his mind. "We'll be there in just a few minutes."
 
"Okay..." Milo said, still a bit nervous, only because he was an anxious person. "Are you, um. Feeling better? Healthy enough to take a test, I get, but... Your face is looking better, anyway. The bruise, I mean.
 
Xander reached up without thinking to touch the bruised area. "Alec helped me with some concealer for the first few days, but I don't think it needs it anymore. It doesn't hurt, either. My head feels a little weird sometimes, but that's slowly going away, too." He put his hand back on the wheel and turned onto a road that took them up onto a small hill just on the edge of town. Well, there was technically town all around it, but it felt like the edge of town because no one built in the area.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top