How Green Becomes Wood

Alec climbed out of bed and came over to Daizi. His answer was to wrap his arms around her as best he could while she was still leaning. Xander snorted quietly in amusement, moving out of the way for them.
 
"Oh habibi," She murmured, straightening so she could hold him more tightly. After kissing the top of his head, she rested her cheek against his hair, keeping him safe and totally secure.
 
"I know," She sighed, swaying to rock him. "I know." For a few moments she only stood there holding him tightly and alternating between rubbing his back and running her fingers through his hair. Her poor boy. Her poor boy*s*. Eventually she pulled back just enough to cup his face in her hand, "I was going to take a nap too. You're welcome to join me, if it'd comfortable you." As she rubbed her thumb against his cheek, it was clear the offer wasn't only for Alec.
 
"Oh, no, we - I - couldn't do that. We'd crowd you too much," Alec said quickly. "And I think Xander snores."

"If I snored, you'd know for certain. You're waking yourself up in the middle of the night," Xander said dryly.
 
"It's really okay," She promised him, still rubbing her thumb against his cheek, "It's a big bed. If you don't want to, that's alright, but you don't have to worry about me or if there's space. I go to sleep most nights with my giant husband and my dog anyway. And Enkidu does snore, at least sometimes."
 
"I mean, I guess it might be nice," Alec said, quickly breaking down under her touch. "If you're sure it's okay."

"Aren't we a little too old to be doing stuff like that?" Xander asked uncertainly.
 
"It's okay," She said, releasing his face to hug him in close again, "and I don't think you're ever too old. And if you are, well, you've only been with me for less than two years. The clock is different."
 
Alec smiled as he hugged her back. "I'd love to join you," he whispered just loud enough for her to hear.

Xander shifted uncertainly but finally gave in to what he really, truly did want even if he struggled to admit it. "Yeah, alright. The bed's the size of Greenland, so I guess it shouldn't be too bad."
 
"You love Greenland," Daizi smiled, squeezing Alec one last time before letting go and leading the twins to her extremely gothic, but extremely comfortable, bedroom. She doubted there were many places she felt safer than she did within that room, where she had known little but love. It was where she felt secure enough to give birth, which meant more than she believed any man or boy in her life could comprehend. She didn't bother to switch on the lights and drew the canopy curtains back so the twins could crawl in, and after they were settled, she crawled in after them, shut the curtains, and pulled the blanket over them as she lay down.
 
"It's a cool country," Xander shrugged, "and I feel a good size comparison. Australia is too big."

Alec felt a bit like he was wallowing as he crawled up onto the bed, but it was a fun sort of wallow. He got settled first, and Xander flopped down next to him. The pair curled up together, and when Daizi laid down next to Alec, Alec nestled into her, happily sheltered between two of the people he trusted more than anyone else in the world. The blankets and closed curtains accentuated the cave-like feeling, and for that moment, he felt safer than he had all week. He let out a quiet sigh and melted into the bed.

Xander took a little longer to fully relax, but it was not long until he, too, had fallen asleep and gone fully limp. One hand brushed Daizi's arm lightly and went still, fingers resting on her arm. His sleeping mind did not recognize the difference between Daizi and Alec.
 
Daizi settled down, happily wiggling in to be big spoon for her middle-child. The last time she had done this with them, she was twenty weeks pregnant and couldn't hold him half as closely, her baby was in the way. Now Ivy was here and safe in her crib. Part of her wished she had taken her out and brought her to join them, but she was still so small. As much as she wished she could co-sleep with her, she couldn't shake the fear of her or Dark rolling over onto her, and she doubted if Ivy was in the bed now, neither twin, or herself, would get any sleep.

She didn't fall asleep until they both had, because it was her job to watch over them, but shortly after she felt Xander's hand on her, she finally let out the breath she wasn't holding in her lungs but in her soul and reaching out across, settled her hand against his elbow before falling into the sleep she needed as badly as they did.
 
The twins huddled in close, ultimately using up very little space in the massive bed. It was a good deal roomier than sharing a single bed in their own room, and the size did lead to some subconscious security, but they still stayed close to each other and their mother, sleeping more deeply than they had all week.

Sometime later, Ciara called Dark's phone.
 
Downstairs, all Dark knew was all of the rest of his family (even his dog, he presumed) were getting some much needed rest, but he didn't know what their arrangement looked like. Instead, he worked intently, taking the quiet moment to mop the floors. The baseboards he had tackled the day before.

When his phone rang, he answered it through his headphones, "This is G.M. Dark, may I ask who I am speaking with?" Had he looked at his phone instead of answering without breaking his stride, he'd have begun differently.
 
"Good afternoon, Mr. Dark. This is Ciara Cunningham," Ciara said equally formally. "I apologize if I have reached you at a bad time. I attempted to reach Daizi first, but she appears to be unavailable."
 
"Good afternoon. Have no concerns of it, I am only mopping," He replied, his voice softening imperceptibly, "Daizi, Ivy, Alec, Xander, and our dog are all napping, so it seemed the proper time, and I would guess it is why you could not reach her. Is there something I can help you with?"
 
"I had wondered if I might be able to drop by at some point today," she said. "I will be in the neighborhood, as it were, and I have something I would like to give to the boys. It would not take long."
 
"Of course you may, so long as you do not too badly judge the state of things." The house was perfectly clean, but the stress affected his ability to perceive it, "I do not know then they intend to wake, however."
 
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