How Green Becomes Wood

"I will," Dark said, and after putting away the stool left out the front door and walked down the street to his car, hoping he hadn't made a mistake. Stopping Tristan from being hurt, sure, but he knew he threw some punches he could have avoided, and he didn't want to speak to the police. He had very few positive interactions with them, even when he was in the right.

Once he was in the car, he called Daizi, and after their initial loving greetings, he told her, "Spider, do not be mad at me, I cannot bear it."

"That's never good to hear," She said cautiously, his statement confirming to her she had heard something difficult in his voice, "What did you do?"

"I was in another fight." He confessed to her without any hesitation.

"What!?"

"I won, just like last year," He told her, a faint, almost boyish smirk nearly pulling at his features.

"That is still not what I'm worried about!" Daizi exclaimed, nearly laughing purely from the shock as she pushed her hair back, "Are you okay? Are our children okay?"

"Yes, we are all fine. Our children were not even there, they are perfectly safe. I just have bruises, nothing is broken."

"Where were you?" Daizi asked, even more confused now.

"Grocery shopping."

"You got into a fist fight at the Whole Foods?"

"No, I apologize," Dark said, missing the obvious joke about how he never said it was a fist fight, and then explained the actual details of the fight.

After a prolonged silence, Daizi sighed and said, "That poor man... I want to fuss at you for being reckless, but I am really glad you were there to save him. How is he?"

"Coping," Dark replied, "It is not easy."

"I'll check up on him later," Daizi promised, "And how are you?"

"You know how I am."

Daizi sighed and shut her eyes, wishing she could hug him straight through the phone, "I love you, Goose."

"I love you too," Dark replied, swearing he could feel her embrace through her voice alone.

Meanwhile, at home, Alec and Xander were blissfully unaware. Alec had set up a toy obstacle with Ivy's toys and the cushions and pillows and was getting her to crawl through tunnels and things. Xander stayed on the chair with his foot propped up on the coffee table. Kiki was having a blast chasing things and pouncing through the tunnels and things.

When Dark came home, he went to the trunk to get the groceries and then went inside, leaving the bag on the counter for a moment. Then he went to the bathroom to wash the blood from his hand and neaten himself up. Thankfully, his beard had grown back enough to obscure what was likely going to be a sizable bruise. His suit jacket was in fine shape, but after taking it off, he saw his shirt had ripped near the armpit of his left arm. After splashing his face with water and drying it off, he put his rings back on, and after taking a moment to breathe, he walked out to watch his children, his happy, safe children, play and interact with each other. For some moments, he watched them silently before saying, "I am going to put the groceries, do you need anything?"

"Baba!" Ivy squealed, trying to get over to him but struggling a bit with the obstacle course. Dark let her try for a few moments, he lifted her up and hugged her tenderly to his chest.

"You act as though I have been gone for days, Tifla," He said, smoothing her hair with his right hand.

"Hi, Ba!" Alec greeted him cheerfully. He stepped over a tower of stacked blocks so he could stand closer. His smile faded as he looked at Dark's face, and he tipped his head curiously. "Is everything alright? You have an odd look in your eyes. I can come help you put things away."

"I am okay," Dark replied, unsure if he was lying or not, "Just tired. You can help if you would like, but there is not too much."

"Well, if you're tired, do you want to sit with Ivy and babysit Xander while I put them away?" Alec offered, climbing out of the course.

"I do not need babysitting!" Xander protested.

"You tried to eat a block," Alec pointed out.

"I did not try to eat it. I had a block in one hand, and a pringle in the other. I forgot which had was which."

"It is no problem for me to help," Dark assured them, rubbing Ivy's back, and then he turned to face Xander, "How could you forget which hand had a block and which had a pringle? They feel completely different."

Alec stepped away and tried to sneak off to take care of the groceries by himself. He wanted to show that he could help when Dark was tired and having a hard day. It was the least he could do, he felt.

"This block," Xander said, leaning over to grab it and held it up, "is flat! Mostly. It's a thinner block! And I wasn't paying attention. And I'm drugged."

"But pringles are not flat," Dark replied, amused by his son's antics, "You being on drugs is a good excuse, but that may only prove you ought to have someone watch you. How close did you come to eating the block?"

Xander looked down and tossed the block before crossing his arms. After a moment, he finally grumbled, "Bit it," just loud enough for Dark could hear.

Dark exhaled sharply through his nose, and thought about how nice it was to laugh after the day he had, "Did you leave a bite mark?"

Xander twisted to stare up at him. "What did you make these things out of, balsa wood?" He hesitated a moment. "Balsa's soft, right? Yeah, I think that's a soft one." Then he rallied again. "The softest wood ever? No, I didn't leave a bite mark! And it tastes terrible, by the way. Needs more seasoning."

"You and your sister have both bit that block, I believe," Dark told Xander, "You have similar methods of exploration."

Xander glared at him. "I didn't save you any Pringles," was the best he could muster under the circumstances.

"I do not like them anyway," He lied, but consoled himself with the thought that he was an adult man with adult money and he could buy pringles whenever he so chose.

Xander huffed. He was fairly certain that was a lie, but not certain enough to dare call his father out on it. Instead, he gestured toward Ivy. "Mini had fun with us. She did good. Hardly fussed at all."

"I am glad," He said, looking over towards the good mess they had made. As much as he liked to keep his home tidy, seeing it messed up due to his family enjoying themselves was a different sort of peace. It was good to see his home look lived in like this. "I think she is tired now, do you see how she is holding me?"

"I think she could sleep right there," Xander agreed. "She did miss you. She played hard, but missed you."

"I missed her too," Dark said, leaning back and looking lovingly at the way she held tight to his shirt with one hand. Although her eyes were growing tired, she still looked up at her father as though he were the most important man alive, because to her he was. "I missed you and Alec, too."

Xander snorted, not believing that for a second. He might have, if he'd known what had happened. If he hadn't been so fuzzy-minded, he might have also realized that Dark was being just a little off. Not a lot, just a hair.

Alec came in with a grin. "I got everything put away! And it looks like someone's ready to nap. Don't worry, I'll get this all picked up."