How Green Becomes Wood

Daizi raised her eyebrows in surprise, "You're still here? What happened?" She knew the schedules well enough to know right now both twins should be gone. What on earth happened while she was working? Rather than setting Ivy down, she walked into the living room still holding her, "Goose, where are you?"

"Just on the couch," Dark replied, raising his head while Daizi came to sit beside him, "Hello, my darling daughter. Hello, my love."

"Baba!" Ivy squeaked, shimmying out of her mother's arms as soon as she could and crawling into her Baba's lap, grinning brightly. She didn't need to be told what to do. It was her Baba! She loved Baba!

"Did you nap well?" He asked her quietly, smoothing her hair.

"Goose?" Daizi asked quietly, touching her husband's back.
 
"I am glad you are okay," Daizi told Xander, and then turned towards her husband again, rubbing his back, "Are you okay?"

Dark shrugged, hugging his daughter in his arms, "He is upset." And it was his own fault, because he was a broken awful man who was sitting there tricking people into thinking he wasn't. But he couldn't say that just then, even if Daizi was the only one he could say it to.

"I didn't ask about him," Daizi said gently, almost wanting to tell Xander to hurry up and get to his shed already, but not knowing how to do so subtly.
 
Xander understood the unspoken words and walked a little more loudly than usual as he left. "I'll be back later," he called. Then he was out the door and heading for his shed. Time to leave the adults to themselves.
 
"We'll be here," Daizi replied warmly, and then turned to her husband, practically smelling the pain on him, "Goose, are you okay?"

"I..." He began but shook his head, kissing the top of Ivy's head, "I really want to tell you, but I... I will not be able to hold it together. I do not want her to have to see."

"It went that poorly?" Daizi asked in absolute surprise, shifting onto her knees to pull him into a hug, "We just wanted to talk to him about his late work and make sure he was okay, we weren't even mad at him."

"I know."

"I would've had the conversation with you had I known." She kissed the top of his head, wanting to ask him questions but trying to respect his statement that he couldn't talk about it just then. All she could do was hold him while he held Ivy and try to be light.
 
Xander stayed out in his shed working for a little longer than he might have spent at Judo, but he got quite a bit done. He wanted to show the partially made bilby to his father, but he didn't think Dark would be in the mood just yet.

Meanwhile, Alec had finished up every bit of his homework - spite was quite the motivator - and now sat on the bed angrily taking apart a broken metal mobile to use the pieces in other projects.
 
Daizi stayed right by Dark for a long time, keeping her arms securely around him, even after they had set Ivy down to go and play. It had been a long time since she had found him this rattled, nothing was going to pull her away until he at least seemed less like he was doing everything in his power not to cry or worse. At least Ivy playing joyously with them like nothing had happened seemed to help. For all his overwhelming shame and self-loathing, he still enjoyed the constant noises she made and the delight she showed over everything.

"We have the most perfect daughter," Dark murmured softly.

"I know," Daizi sighed, kissing his cheek. "I think we should check on Alec."

"You should go. I do not think he will be glad to see me."

"Are you okay if I go?"

Looking at her for a few moments, he brushed her hair back and asked, "Will you kiss me before you go?"

She smiled, stroked his beard with one hand, and kissed him warmly before standing up, "Ghalib, I love you. With my whole heart and being. You're a good man." Squeezing his hand, she altered her statement, "You're a great man."

Somehow, he words both comforted him and left him feeling more empty than before as he turned his attention back to Ivy, cheering her on even though it was mostly forced while Daizi went upstairs and knocked lightly on Alec's door.

"Habibi?" She asked, still with the door closed, "Are you alright?"
 
Alec looked at the door and debated for a long moment before getting up and going to open it. "I'm fine, Mama. Just working on a project. Dismantaling a thingy to make into a new thingy," he added, answering the inevitable question.
 
Alec heaved a sigh. "Mama, I'm fine. It's just a small percentage lower. I'm still passing, I know all the stuff I need to know, and I haven't skipped a single class. I'm not hiding any deep, dark secrets, and I wasn't acting out. I was fine."
 
"Can you blame us for wanting to check in, though?" Daizi asked softly, leaning against the doorframe, "We're not mind readers, and the last time your grades fell a bit, they then fell more than a bit, and you weren't doing okay then, were you? It's safer to check in when it's not warranted than ignore something important."
 
"Yeah, but this time it is just a little," Alec huffed. "Yeah, I might not be putting my full focus into schooling, but that doesn't mean I don't care completely. Just less than a thousand percent."
 
"That's why we needed to ask, habibi. It was enough for your teacher to mention it." She sighed and held up one hand, "I'm not here to open up that conversation again and force you through it a second time. I just wanted to check in on you and make sure you knew you aren't in trouble, okay? We're not mad at you."
 
Alec doubted that. He felt very much in trouble, and he was mad about it because he didn't feel like it was fair to be in trouble over something that felt so minor in the grand scheme! "I'm angry," he finally admitted, "but I'll get over it. Why wouldn't I? I just want to be left alone right now."
 
When the door shut, Daizi pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded her head. Well. At least he was mad at both of them now. That was... better? She guessed? At least things were fair.
 
Xander came in around dinner time and immediately went to check in on Dark and Daizi. Nope, still gloomy. Oh well. At least, for once, this mess was not his fault! A statement that was simultaneously relieving and concerning. If he wasn't the cause, then what was he supposed to do about the cause? Alec had been calling him a "second dad" lately, which was not something he wanted, so he wanted to stay out of it, but it was his family. He was supposed to do something, right? He always had before.

Alec came down for dinner and quietly ate his portion, cleaning his plate properly. He spoke only exactly what was needed. Nothing more. Then he was back up to his room.
 
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