How Green Becomes Wood

"Do you think it's possible to share a bedroom with your Baba and not have it be absolutely spotless?" Daizi chuckled, "No, it's just, it's harder for me to clean things to his standard, and it's harder for you both to reach things I can, so the chores I am able to do have been divided in three. But I also know my garden is in beautiful shape."
 
"It is in really good shape," Xander admitted. "Honestly, Mama, I think your biggest task is the most annoying one: you have to keep the three of us in check and Ivy out of any trouble. That's no small task. Especially the first bit."
 
Daizi chuckled lightly, tipping her head back, "Well, Ivy is napping right now. Your brother is changing and I think I hear your Baba coming down the stairs. I think you're all in hand for the moment. Maybe we're reaching a rare moment of peace." Just saying those words made her heart tense up, because there were few things she was beginning to doubt more than an actual, sustainable peace.
 
"Cool. I'm going to grab the stuff for brushing Enkidu. Tell Alec to bring himself and Enkidu out back when he's ready," Xander said, heading to grab the brushes. "He takes forever to get ready even to brush a dog."

Xander hadn't been out back very long when Alec came clambering down the stairs. "Ready for brushing! Where's Xander?"
 
"Oh. I guess I'll go join him, then!" Alec said. "Give me a yell if you need anything." He headed outside where Xander was throwing the ball for Enkidu in hopes of tiring him out enough to be willing to stand still for a good brushing.

As they started brushing Enkidu, Alec on one side and Xander on the other, Xander asked about Alec's time out with his friends. Alec happily told him what he could without cuing him in on what he had actually been up to. Xander could tell Alec wasn't telling him everything, but he couldn't figure out why. It didn't make sense that Alec would want to hide something like this from him. In the end, Xander decided he was being overly suspicious and let it go. Maybe Alec just thought Xander would be bored with all the stories. So, they focused on brushing Enkidu and playing with him a little.
 
Dark spent most of the rest of the day cleaning absolutely everything, except for what he was saving for early in the morning so it was perfectly spotless. After he was as satisfied as he could manage to be, he rubbed his face and went downstairs to exercise, just to get some of the stress out. Of course he knew he was stressing himself out too, it wouldn't be as bad as he was fearing, but as angry as it made him to admit it: he wanted Saladin to like him. If anyone asked, he'd deny it. Until his dying breath he would deny it. But it was his wife's father. His children's grandfather. So that was the only person he truly cared about impressing. He'd want to know the person who married his daughter, if Ivy chose to get married, treated her well, treated his grandchildren well.

Nothing he did worked, and he knew it was a losing battle. But Dark could not bring himself to stop trying. And he drove himself crazy trying, even as Daizi urged him to relax and let her fight for him. After making full use of the necessary equipment downstairs, including the punching bag, he went upstairs with the sweat visible even through his black t-shirt, still panting, and went upstairs to shower before crawling into bed with his wife and only falling asleep because of it.

Come morning, he quickly went through all the remaining tasks, while upstairs Daizi helped the twins make up one of the two beds for Amty Zeinab and add bathing products for her into their shower.
 
The twins did their best to help Dark clean, and they were eager to help as much as they could. There was only so much they could do as their father ran rampant through the house with every cleaning tool known to mankind, but they did try.

The next morning, while Alec and Daizi made up Alec's bed - deemed the nicer of the two beds - Xander took the bedding necessary for sleeping on the couch. He stashed them in a cupboard close to the couch so they could easily make up and put away their couch bed for the week that the family was there. Then they joined in trying to get everything ready for their guests.
 
"Okay," Dark sighed, pushing his hair back with both hands, causing it to stick out slightly at the side, "I think that is the best we can make it." Checking his watch he sighed, "I have just enough time to shower and make myself presentable before picking them up at the airport."

"Goose," Daizi said gently, holding Ivy on her hip, "It's perfect. Take five minutes to yourself before you go, you need it."

He looked at her and then looked away, "I know. Alec, Xander, thank you for helping. You truly made it easier. I appreciate it."
 
"The only way it could get any better is if you set the place on fire and built it brand new," Xander stated. "If there's even a speck out of place, blame it on Ivy. She doesn't help clean, after all."

"True," Alec smiled. "But we should go get ready, too."

"I get the bathroom, first! I'm not fighting you for the mirror," Xander said, taking off running up the stairs.

"No fair! Come on! Fine, then I get the entire bedroom to change in!" Alec proclaimed, chasing after him.
 
"The airport is a bit of a drive, so you have time before we make it back here," Dark promised them, "Today it is only Amty Zeinab, Saladin, and Amty Fadia and her husband are arriving, and I suspect Fadia and Darius will just want to go to their AirBNB, and come by for dinner. Saladin is going to want to come here immediately."

"What's important is we all have time, and everything is going to be lovely, and they're going to be exhausted, and we don't have to walk around on eggshells. It's okay," Daizi reminded them, taking a deep breath out of hope they'd follow her example, "You three, go get ready. We are not meeting the President."
 
"You're right. Ba would be a lot less stressed if it was just the president of any country," Xander mumbled to Alec.

Alec elbowed him but snickered quietly. "We'll be on our best behavior, right?"

"Right, but I'm not going to pretend not to be me," Xander stated.

"Fair," Alec agreed.

The pair got ready, and Alec did try to tone himself down a little. He wasn't quite sure what Saladin thought of men wearing makeup and things like that, so he just put on a very basic amount, just enough to smooth out his skin and brighten his eyes. Then he chose a bright, multi-colored top and a solid, neutral pair of pants and matching jacket and a black belt. It felt festive and a little dressed up, but not a full suit.

Xander, as always, wore black. His nicest outfit of black, but still simple and also not a full suit.
 
When Dark came back downstairs, he had definitely dressed down. He was still in a full suit, and still in black, but he didn't accessorize like normal. He even wore a light grey shirt. Really, his outfit was the most like what he wore as a teacher than he had in months. With a heavy sigh, he leaned against the counter and drank a cup of tea, taking five minutes like Daizi had commanded him to.

"Goose," Daizi said softly, standing in the archway and running her fingers along its groove, "Please don't make me feel guilty for wanting my family to visit."

"I am trying not to."

"I know, and I know my father is unkind to you, and you know I always battle for you. But I am letting you know now, before they arrive, if you mope around the entire time they're here, at some point it will start to hurt me. Because I love you, and I know this is stressful for you, and I wish it didn't have to be, but..."

Dark watched her for a few moments and then crossed the room to her, squeezing her hand because the rules of their stupid bet allowed for it, "You do not need to explain, I understand. I am sorry."

"It's hard for me too, Goose," She promised, squeezing his hand back, "I don't like hearing those things about you. But you like my favourite aunts, and they adore you, and just... focus on them. And on why they're coming in the first place."

He nodded, even though she couldn't see, "I love you, Spider. I promise to stop moping about it."

"You can mope a little," Daizi assured him. "I love you too."
 
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When the twins came down, Alec looked around at the adults and his brother and frowned. "I tried not to be as bold as usual, and yet I still feel like I'm an obnoxiously bright spot in here."

"Nah, just a bright spot," Xander said. "Obnoxious would be clown makeup and a honking nose."
 
"Oh, don't worry," Daizi smiled, turning towards him, "You all look the same to me. But we can dress Ivy in something more colourful today to help you blend in better."

"Daizi dresses in more than all black, it is a," He waved one hand, "gradient of colour. Although some of us are more equipped for a spontaneous funeral than others."
 
"I bet Ivy would like a little color. Color is fun and distracting!" Alec grinned. "Right, Ivy?"

Xander eyed Dark. "When you say things like that, it seems like you are going to be the reason why we're holding a funeral. 'Cause you axed somebody."

"If he was an actor, he'd make one of the most phenomenal villains ever!" Alec stated.
 
Dark tried to hide his amusement at what felt like some level of praise, "I thought I was making a joke. Like a... Surprise party. But, instead of balloons and cake, there is a corpse."

"Instead of balloons there's a corpse," Daizi snorted, the sentence genuinely catching her by surprise making her laugh before she was prepared to. "Surely you can have both. When I die, put a balloon arch over my body."
 
Alec cackled while Xander rolled his eyes but was unable to completely hide his amusement.

"I guess the only real difference between a birthday party and a funeral is the number of people crying," Xander remarked. "Sometimes the number od dead people, too, depending on who's party you are attending."
 
"Now, I for one prefer my parties to be made up primarily of the dead," Dark waved one hand as he headed to the front door, knowing it was about time for him to leave, "but then again, if anyone ever dares throw me a birthday party, I will never forgive them."

"Yeah, god forbid anyone dare give you a balloon," Daizi teased.
 
"No parties for you!" Alec drawled, following him. "Poor, sad, forgotten Dark!"

"And that's just the way he likes it," Xander nodded.

"So, does that mean he's a happy Dark?"

"It might, and being a happy Dark would not make him very happy."

"True. Quite a conundrum!"
 
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