How Green Becomes Wood

"No, he is not okay." Dark replied honestly, "But it is not your fault. He is struggling with the fact he cannot both share a room with you and possess an inordinate amount of belongings. He wants both and is struggling with that not being an option."
 
"It's like his brain is malfunctioning every time that kind of thing gets brought up," Xander grumbled quietly. He huffed in annoyance, needing to be annoyed or else he'd be overcome with worry. "What about you? How are you doing?"
 
"It is a wonderful year to not have any meaningful emotional connection to the holiday." Dark replied, "But we will go, you and your brother will behave, we will all compliment Mrs. Cooger's cooking, and we will be gracious and upstanding."
 
"I am glad to see him, if nothing else. I am going to his cabin on Saturday, so just the two of us can spend some time together." Dark said, "Anyway, I should go retrieve Ivy. Your mother is trying to get work done."
 
"And I should get my homework done so I don't have to worry about it later," Xander shrugged. "See you at dinner, then."

Homework did not take him long as the teachers were surprisingly merciful this holiday weekend. Once he finished with that, he headed out to his shed to work more on the bilby. It was coming together, but it was slow, fiddly work. Lots of small folds and details. It was the most complicated piece he'd ever tried to make.

At dinner time, he came in to help, also keeping Ivy occupied as much as he could to give his parents a break.

Alec did not come out for dinner, and though he responded to inquiries, he didn't open the door. He wanted to stay alone, sheltered amongst his things and closed off from the world. The absence of Xander's things was like an open wound, but that was better than being out with people.
 
As always, they brought a plate of food up to Alec. They refused to let him starve himself. Other than that, they let him be. If nothing else, Daizi was pleased she had a nice, long break from work and over dinner asked Xander questions about his plans for break and if there was anything he wanted for his new room. There was a lot happening, but she wanted this new phase to be a positive one for him. It was his own space, he was branching out, and, in her opinion, he deserved to enjoy it and be excited for it. The situation around it wasn't perfect, but if it's what he wanted for himself she wasn't going to pretend to grieve.

Dark still wasn't sleeping well at night, but at around 4am he finally crashed because his body really just couldn't take it any longer. Since Daizi didn't have work in the morning and therefore had no schedule to keep, she got up to get Ivy and cook breakfast and let him stay sleeping for as long as he could. It wasn't like he needed to be awake so she could pass her daughter off to him before she had to go to her office.
 
Xander was hesitant at first to talk about his new room, but as Daizi asked him questions and talked about the future, he couldn't help allowing himself to dream a little. Unlike Alec, he did not have big, flashy plans. He actually spoke fondly of having white or light gray walls and not much space. He didn't need a lot of space, and he didn't want a lot of space. Perhaps an elevated bed with storage underneath and a small area to hang his clothes. A spot for a desk, maybe even a folding desk, was an extra that he hoped for. His only regret, which he unthinkingly voiced multiple times, was that he wasn't positive the wardrobe Dark had built would fit, or could be carried down the stairs if it did fit. It was one of the very few possessions he did not want to part with. He slept on the couch again, unbothered as it was a temporary thing.

The next morning, he headed to his shed directly after breakfast, determined to try to finish the project that day. He had more time, but he wanted to get it done and see the finished product. It was going to be epic! He hoped. There was still time for it to turn into a disaster.

Alec didn't come out of his room until eleven. Even then he wasn't sure he wanted to be out and about, but he was going to drink a good amount of water and try, try, to eat something.
 
As Xander explained his plans and hopes for his room, Dark made a mental note to do everything he could to find a way to get that wardrobe to fit. He had built it for Xander, Xander deserved to keep it. Even if he had to disassemble what parts of it could be disassembled to move it down, he would find a way.

Just as every day since the whole mess began, Dark and Daizi spoke to Alec calmly and without anger or frustration. They were not babying him but they were not tip-toeing around him either. When he first made an appearance, he was given a gentle reminder they were still going to Cooger's parents' home tomorrow for Thanksgiving. It wasn't until Ivy was napping, though, that they approached him more seriously. "Alec, do you have a minute?" Daizi asked gently, knowing perfectly well he had nothing going on just then.
 
"We need to talk about who you would like to attend therapy with going forwards," Daizi said, sitting down on the couch. Beside her, Dark sat up his laptop to pull up the list of therapists recommended by Alec's old one so they could look at it together.

"Your past therapist sent a list of recommendations," He said, "Although we do not necessarily need to pick from this list."
 
Alec barely glanced at the list. "But I don't know any of these people. How am I supposed to know who's going to be a good candidate? The last one I tried gave up on me, and it wasn't working, so how am I supposed to know who to try?" he sighed.
 
"You do not with absolute certainty." Dark replied, opening up the first name on the list, "But you can read about their practice, their therapeutic approach, and their reviews to see if any of them seem like someone you'd be willing to try. If you are apathetic to all of them, we will just pick one."

"Do you have a preference about speaking to either a man or a woman?" Daizi asked, "I know Dark and I both prefer speaking to someone of our own genders."
 
"Um, I don't know. I guess a woman," Alec said. Women tended to be nicer, right? And, in general, he had an easier time talking to his female peers than his male ones. He had no idea what a therapist might make of that. He cast his eyes over the profile Dark had opened. "I guess that one is... fine." He shifted uneasily. He was not actively trying to fight them anymore, but he was still uncomfortable and anxious.
 
"A little bit... not really." He looked more closely and then shrugged. "I don't know what I'm looking for. Not really." Grudgingly, he asked, "Can I see more? Maybe I'll have a better idea of what I'm looking at and for with comparison."
 
"Of course," Dark replied, sliding his laptop over towards Alec so he could see a bit better, "If we have decided you do not want to see a male therapist, we can strike this half of the names off of the list, unless you would still like to look at them."
 
"I'll look at them first since I don't think I'll want one," Alec said, mostly to prove that he was putting some kind of attempt into this process. He hated this process. He didn't think it was useful. But he was trying to follow their instructions.

He didn't like any of the male therapists, probably a self-perpetuating prophecy, but he at least looked. He skimmed through the females next. He was able to say no to a couple, but the rest started to blur together. In the end, he pointed out three and said one of them. They were actually the three whose names he liked the most, but he didn't tell his parents that.
 
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