How Green Becomes Wood

"I also did not know you had pictures," Dark commented.

Matt scrolled through the photos for a few moments silently with Sean leaning over to also look at the images. Taking a little glance up at Dark, Matt said, handing Alec his phone back, "Honestly you're just rubbing it in. I feel like you should either get to keep your hair or your waistline, not both."

Charlie looked up at him, "Daddy you don't have hair."

"Ouch, Sweetpea," Matt laughed, putting his hand over his heart.

"Don't be mean to Daddy," Sean scolded, "He still has more hair than your brother."
 
"He works very, very hard for his waistline, and, don't worry, you aren't the only one jealous about his hair," Alec assured him. He glanced over at Avery to see how he and Ivy were doing.
 
"Oh, I think we can stop talking about my husband's waistline," Daizi chuckled, touching Dark on the back.

"Honestly the more painful part is the hair, I'm sure I could look like that if I wanted to put in the work, but I like my husband's cooking too much." Matt ran a hand through his hair, "but I miss my hair. Then again," He laughed, almost said something, and then shook his head, deciding against it.

Meanwhile, Ivy and Avery were still mostly just staring at each other. Avery now had a toy in one of his hands but Ivy was sitting on the floor holding tight to her Baba's leg.
 
Alec nodded, smiling, having run out of things to say. He turned his attention back to Charlie and her dinosaurs. At least he knew what to say about plastic dinos.

Xander wondered very, very briefly about what Matt had nearly said and then decided he was glad he didn't know. Some things were better left unsaid. He sat in silence, listening, not contributing anything, wondering how long this awkwardness was going to last.
 
After another few awkward moments Dark asked, "How old is Charlie? I do not recall if you have said."

"She just turned four in August," Sean said.

"Oh wow, how has that been?" Daizi asked, reaching down to touch Ivy's hair, imagining what she'd be like that old.

"She's a year away from kindergarten, so we're working on getting her prepared for that. She's very excited to ride the school bus, aren't you Charlie?"

"Yeah," She said, smiling up at her dads and then she looked at Alec, "Do you ride the school bus?"
 
"I hope you like it. Just remember to stay in your seat, and it will be a lot of fun!" Alec assured her.

Xander stared at Sean for a long moment before answering. "It's high school. It's hormones trapped in a building designed to factory set a bunch of calves with too few bull elephants to keep them in line." He paused. "Other than that, it's been fine. Decent teachers."
 
"Daddy says buses don't have seat belts," Charlie said, "I like pre-school."

Sean laughed, "That's one way to put it, that's for sure."

Dark leaned back to look at Xander, "Only decent?"
 
"That's right, they don't, and at preschool, you get to learn lots of new stuff! Like about dinosaurs!" Alec grinned.

Xander looked around Daizi at Dark. "You're not there. How could they be anything better? Decent is a compliment," he pointed out bluntly.
 
"No," Charlie shook her head, "No dinos in preschool."

"You were a teacher?" Matt asked, surprised.

"Yes, for eleven years. I quit after Ivy was born." Dark explained.

"Huh," Matt blinked.

"Is that a surprise to you?"

"Yes." He answered, a bit too quickly.

"Ouch, Matthew." Dark replied dryly.

Shaking his head and apologizing, Matt explained, "I'm sorry. I'm glad you did so well for yourself, it's just... You're so stable."
 
Alec wasn't sure what to say to that, and now he was distracted by the turn the conversation had taken. He looked up at Matt and Dark, watching between them. At the statement that Dark was "stable," he exchanged a glance with Xander, amused by the word, but he couldn't deny the accuracy of the word.

"If you think that's stable, just wait until you hear what subject he taught," Xander drawled. "History."
 
"See that, at least, doesn't surprise me," Matt replied, waggling his finger both at Xander and then pointing at Dark, "Every time we went to museums together, he would walk around reading every sign and if he you got him going he would go on these diatribes. One night I put on 300 for him and he kept pointing out inconsistencies."

Laughing and gently nudging her husband, Daizi said, "He still does that."

"I'm glad in some ways he hasn't changed then," Matt grinned, "Does he still do that thing where any dessert you could possibly serve him is way too sweet but then he'll get grumpy if you suggest he not finish it?"

"Yes!"

Dark looked over at his wife and realized he had made a grave, grave mistake in deciding to come here.
 
Xander considered suggesting that the reason Dark was interested in museums was because his lost lover was also into museums, but then he decided that might be a touch over the line. "He is a pain to try out new recipes on," he agreed seriously, "but he does make a good body dummy."

"He and Mama are very passionate about... things," Alec agreed. "Lots of things."
 
"What is a body dummy?" Dark asked, looking down at Xander in confusion.

"I'm glad she's able to keep up with him, at least," Matt replied and was about to ask another teasing question when Sean, who had been looking between his husband and his guest interrupted.

"So, uh, Dark, I feel like I have to ask--What was Matt like back then?"

"Oh, uh, I don't really think we have to get into that."

"Back then?" Dark asked coolly, expressionless, "When he had pink hair?"

Looking over at his husband and squeezing his knee, Sean said, "You never told me that."

Down on the floor, Charlie's head shot up and her brown eyes went wide, "Daddy had pink hair!?"
 
"When you stand there and let me put random things on you, like leather clothes and accessories," Xander told him quietly. "Like a dressmaker's dummy, except you don't stick pins in it. Closer to a mannequin."

"Did he look good with the pink?" Alec asked Dark innocently.
 
"Ah. Well, somebody needs to help you with that." Dark nodded, satisfied, and then looked at Alec, "Yes, I thought it suited him. That was back in 2011."

"How long were you together?" Sean asked.

"Ten months," Matt answered at the same time Dark said, "Nine months."
 
The twins glanced between them.

"Awkward," Xander muttered.

"You must have had more than just the pink hair, and were you dying your hair then, Ba?" Alec asked quickly, desperate, as always, to keep the peace.
 
Dark and Matt looked at each other for a moment and then Dark shifted and bent to lift Ivy up into his lap, "Either way, we did not make it to a year. And I occasionally would bleach my hair to put colour into it, but my hair is so dark it makes it difficult to do it without damaging it, especially since I could not afford to go regularly."

"What else were you up to, then?" Sean asked Matt who shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I was trying too hard to look cool, and I was always getting in trouble with him for leaving my socks around."

Dark looked at Sean, "Does he still?"

"...No," Sean answered after a few moments, "But that is primarily because I told Charlie that every time she finds one of Daddy's socks I'll give her a piece of candy. Until she was old enough to make that deal with her, yes."
 
Well, now. That gave the twins some fun ideas. What dastardly deals could they make with their own little sister? What things could they use as bargaining chips to annoy their parents?
 
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