How Green Becomes Wood

Daizi couldn't help but smile at Alec's intensity, "I have a book you might like. Not with me, I only have it as an audiobook, but I'll keep it in mind for you."

Turning back to Xander, she said, "I don't too often, not alone, anyway. I feel immensely satisfied with what I have, so I don't seek out new things too often, but occasionally I go. And now I have to go a lot more, because you three need more than what we already have stashed away in the house somewhere."
 
"Kids require a lot of junk," Xander admitted. He closed the catalog and stuck it under his arm. "And it's an eighteen-year commitment at minimum. That's pretty wild. Hey, bookworm, it's getting close to bedtime. Are you going to surface anytime soon?"

"Lemme finish this chapter," Alec mumbled.

Xander scratched his neck briefly. "That reminds me, I wanted to try to make dinner tomorrow. Any requests?"
 
"Oh, no, you've done too much for me today. I'd never ask for anything more. Make whatever you and Alec like, Dark and I tend to favor our own tastes... I hadn't even realized it was so late, the day went by so quickly."

She paused, and listened, straining to hear where in the house Dark was, but failed to detect him, "It's nice that you both are so willing to help out. I really do appreciate it, I know I don't ask for a lot of help, but... It's nice."
 
Xander shrugged. "Hey, you guys are always asking us how you can help us, like taking us to the city to buy junk we don't need but totally want, trying to Americanize your foods, stuff like that. Turnabout's fair play, ain't it? But if you don't want to pick, I guess I'll just have to pick for you. Maybe it'll be mac-and-cheese with extra cheese and green beans stirred into a huge, sloppy mess." He grinned at Daizi, fully expecting a faint shudder at least.
 
"You see," She grinned, challenging him as she leaned forwards to face him directly, "I'm currently absurdly pregnant, so you'll be hard pressed to find a food that grosses me out." Except for totally normal, everyday foods most people didn't think twice about. Those she maintained mild to moderate aversions to, but Xander didn't need to know that, and her point that his attempt to frighten her with extra cheese would fail miserably.
 
Xander snickered. "Then you've never had the mac-and-cheese abomination with the super cheap green beans. But I won't torture you, because with my luck, you'll end up liking it and getting totally hooked." He stood and stretched mightily. "Or maybe I'll try something British like beans on toast, or those hundreds of jello recipes from like the 60's or whatever. How does lime jello mixed with cellary, onion, and tuna fish sound?"

Alec finally looked up from his book and marked his place. "What on earth are you two talking about?"
 
"I don't think I can have tuna fish right now," Daizi replied, laughing at Xander's valient attempts. The jello recipies may have been her limit, and she was glad to no longer be in her period of morning sickness. Most of those months were barely a blur to her, with how ill she had felt every day, "Xander is talking about what to make for dinner tomorrow, and I warned him try as he might, he is unlikely to think up a meal that I'll find unfavorable. I basically went from being unable to eat anything to being able to eat everything."
 
"Eating is really nice, and he has decent cooking skills, I think, other than whatever jello and tuna have to do with anything," Alec said, looking mystified. He glanced at the time. "Hey, it's almost bedtime. We should be getting ready."

"You don't say," Xander said dryly. "Alright, I'll do my best, and no tuna. Need anything before we head upstairs?"
 
"No, I'm okay. Thank you. I'm tired, I'll probably just rest here for a little bit until my husband comes looking for me. I'm surprised he hasn't come by yet... Although Enkidu's not here either, so I assume they're walking together, now. But I won't keep you, go on. And sleep well for me, okay?"
 
Xander touched her arm briefly. "Sweet dreams. Hope it was a good birthday for you. See you in the morning." He moved off, heading for his room.

Alec scrambled out of the chair and came to hug Daizi. "I know it's your birthday, but thank you for a great day," he whispered. "You are a marvelous person!"
 
Xander touching her arm stopped Daizi in her tracts, and she turned towards him and mumbled, "I will..." And then she hugged Alec back, and said, "Thank you, habibi. I'm glad you had a good day too, you really do deserve it."

Then she sat back while they retreated upstairs. After a while, as expected, Enkidu came charging inside, back from his walk, and hopped up on the couch beside her, with Dark slowly following behind.

"The boys are going to bed," Daizi said, pulling her husband down to her side.

"So it is just us?" Dark asked.

"Or nearly."
 
Alec finished neatly folding his clothes and putting them away before sitting on the bed. "It was good to see those two so happy."

Xander took off one sock and tossed it into the corner. "I dunno, Alec. I'd say the writing's on the wall." The second sock joined the first. "Seriously, he has a history of cheating. Serial cheating. And Daizi, if she really did believe they belonged together, why the hell would she go around messing with other guys? It's basically... spirit cheating according to her own... belief thingy."

"I'm not quite sure that's it," Alec said, sitting cross-legged in shorts and a loose t-shirt. "She did say she wasn't certain, and she did get engaged."

"Yeah, but that engagement was practically an arranged marriage, so it doesn't count," Xander said, dismissing it. He pulled off his pants and folded them neatly in half before tossing them to join his socks where they landed in a rumpled heap. "I guess I can understand not fully getting it, but why excuse dating around? How'd she put it? 'Not being too lazy to settle down and learning we wanted each other?'"

"Close. I think it was more like 'we weren't just settling because we were too lazy to explore," and something about really wanting each other before that," Alec provided.

"Right," Xander nodded before taking off his shirt. He pulled on a large, lightweight t-shirt and plunked down on his ed opposite Alec. "The point is, what is with the idea of 'settling?' Doesn't that mean we're expected to go shopping around like a relationship is a bunch of turnips?"

Alec scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I guess what she meant was more like... house shopping. It's a big commitment, and shouldn't you be certain what you are looking for?"

Xander gave Alec a dry look. "If I'm going house shopping, I'm going to have a list of things that I am looking for in that house and have a pretty decent idea of what I can or cannot fix thanks to the places I've lived in previously. In this case, my parents' home, therefore, my parents relationship. And seeing what our mum went through, trying out relationships like it's some kind of game or just to have one because you can't stand the thought of being alone, no. I'd rather die alone and never loved than go through that. Nu-uh. And shouldn't they be trying to get us to not copy their mistakes and to not be bringing home a new girlfriend every week?"

"Does this mean you've changed your mind about never having a relationship, ever?"

"Nope. I'm still never going down that road. This is just theoretics."

"Alright, fair enough, but what if you think you actually really like someone, but when you've been with them for a while, you find out you just don't quite fit?" Alec challenged. "Like... let's say you want to move to Alaska, but the cold hurts their bones, and they want to move somewhere really warm, but the heat kills you? And maybe you try to compromise, but you're just not happy."

Xander hesitated. "I guess that can happen, yeah," he agreed, "but the difference I see is you didn't go into it with this idea of trying on relationships like trying on shirts to see what style you like. You go in with the idea that you actually want to try to make it work. I'd want to make it work on the first go, but... you know, people are secretive. Maybe it won't work, but I'd go in with the idea of a lasting thing, and I'd make damn sure they'd know that." He huffed out a short laugh and shook his head. "If even Dark and Daizi have marriage-breaking skeletons in their closets, what chance do any of the rest of us have?"

Alec drew his knees up to his chest. "Do you really think their marriage will fail? I mean, really? They've done so well so far."

Xander sighed, suddenly looking very tired. "I don't want it to, Alec. It's not something I want to happen, but cheaters don't change. Daizi might not have cheated, but he did, multiple times, before getting with her. And have you ever noticed the gaps in their tales? They love talking about when they were young and sneaking around, and they'll talk about recent times, but they don't talk about the middle bit. When they do, it's just vague stuff. No specifics. When they talk about when they were young, it's practically a blow-by-blow."

"Are you sure that means anything? It could just be they enjoy remembering when their spark was young and bright. Their day-to-day life now is interesting from the outside, but not much to talk about when it comes to fun stories," Alec pointed out.

"Not a bad point," Xander admitted. He shrugged. "Maybe I'm wrong and the leopard has changed his spots. Maybe Dark really will manage to fight his habits to keep from cheating when Daizi's out of action with the baby for however long that lasts." He held up his hand as Alec started to speak. "Yes, I know that certain things don't happen right after birth, no I don't know details, and no, I don't want to know details."

"Miscarriages are pretty harsh, too," Alec told him. "This won't be his first time going, uh, dry."

Xander shrugged. "As far as we know. And whether or not he really is clean, I don't want to know. I'd rather enjoy this while we can and be blindsided."

"People can change," Alec said softly. "Maybe actions can't change, but hearts can. You changed. You left when Declan came around."

Xander looked away, flushing from shame. "That wasn't my heart, Alec. You gotta know that. That was just stupidity clouding my vision. I came back. I'll always come back, but I'm never leaving again unless I'm forced to. Never. Anyway, it's different when it's brothers, it's not like a romantic relationship."

"It's an action you can't change," Alec pointed out. "You made the action, you regretted the action, and you changed. Maybe that's what happened with Dark. His vision just got very, seriously clouded. He knows full well he did wrong, and it's not like he hid it from Daizi, so maybe his heart changed, even if his past actions can't."

After a long silence, Xander let out a long sigh. "You're probably right, but I just... I can't shake the feeling I got when Daizi mentioned discovery with other partners and Dark talking about cheating. It just gave me a real negative vibe. Maybe I'm overreacting, maybe not, I dunno. I guess the bottom line is, even if I ever do change my mind about getting involved with someone, I'm not taking their advice to go shopping. I have to feel like I'm getting bashed over the head by the sensation that they're the one for me. Whether or not it works out, I gotta feel like it's going to."

Alec smiled faintly and rested his chin on his knees. "I guess it's a good thing you're adding in that one contingency. After all, aren't you the one who said the teen years are when we change."

"Yeah, yeah, mister voice of reason," Xander grumbled. He flopped back on the bed and folded his hands behind his head. "Eh, what do I need a relationship for, huh? As long as I got you, I'll never be lonely, I'll never miss out on love, and I'll never be missing out on a voice of reason to my chaotic mess of a head."

Alec smiled and lay down on his own bed. "As long as I have you, I'll never be bored, I'll never be friendless, and I'll never be short of adventures in trying to talk someone out of trouble."

Xander chuckled quietly. "Good night. See you in the morning."

"Xander?"

"Yeah?"

"You'll never leave me again?"

"Never. Not without clearing it with you first or I'm kidnapped."

"Good. Xander?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"See you in the morning."
 
Downstairs, Dark and Daizi's conversation lingered on the soft, gentle conversations had between couples. There was nothing particularly noteworthy, or at least, nothing they'd want the world to know.

It was time alone for them, which was more than enough, and the night passed easily, and Daizi, despite her comments the night before, went to work without a fuss. At last, gratefully, it seemed they had reached a level of true normalcy. Everything was steady, routines were holding, and neither twin was in crisis. Truly, it was bliss.

Even Daizi's train schedule was running smoothly, so she came home right at her normal time, hungry and excited to see what Xander had cooked.
 
Alec sat at the end of the kitchen counter reading off the directions to Xander from his phone screen as Xander hurried to and fro, trying to keep everything going properly. Xander had found two recipes on the internet to try out; Egyptian hawawshi and Iraqui dolma. He could have just asked Dark for a recipe book or something, but he wanted to try something blindly. It was just a weird version of a hamburger and some stuffed vegetables. How hard could it be?

Hard when you try to do two unknown recipes at the same time. Even so, things weren't going too badly. He managed to get everything more or less sorted out and was stuffing the eggplant, bell peppers, and swiss chard when Daizi got home. All that was left was to stuff the crispy pita pockets with the ground meat mixture. He didn't notice Daizi he was so focused on what he was doing.
 
The twins were cooking dinner, and Dark was nowhere to be seen. He didn't know what they were making, and it killed him. He desperately wanted to keep an eye on things and make sure they weren't burning down his kitchen, or destroying it in alternative ways, but it only seemed right to show them he trusted them enough to allow them to cook alone. And he did. For the most part he did. Almost completely. So he gave them their space to work.

Daizi only realized he must be outside because he didn't come to greet her when she home, but couldn't dwell on it at all because, "Oh wow, something smells delicious!" She came further into the kitchen, "What are you making?"
 
Xander jumped a little, ripping a tiny tear in the roasted red bell pepper he was stuffing. "Ah, you gave me a heart attack, Mum. I'm making Dolma, I think. The Iraq version. I hope. And hawawshi. It's almost done."

"I'm helping!" Alec told her proudly. "By mostly not getting in the way and doing the dishes."

"Hey, dishes are a massive help," Xander reminded him, stuffing the last bit of chard.

"How was your day?" Alec asked. "I think your other person is out back trying to remember that he trusts us implicitly, and that he does not think that we will set anything on fire."

"I think I was supposed to stuff these and then roast them," Xander grumbled in annoyance, not really talking to anyone.
 
Daizi stopped almost instantly in the entryway to the kitchen, "What did you call me?" She asked, caught between being about to respond to their choice of dinner and trying to mentally replay what Xander had said to make sure she had heard him correctly. Certainly she hadn't, right? Maybe he had just said, 'um'?

Cautiously, she took a few more steps into the kitchen, and said slowly, referring to the dish names, "Your pronunciation is improving... I'm surprised you chose to make this and not..."
 
Xander frowned as he looked up from trying to coax meat into a bread wrapper. "Huh? I was focused on this. Did I say something?"

"You said lots of things," Alec said calmly. To Daizi he said, "We've been kind of practicing and mostly butchering, but trying. Were you hoping for macaroni smothered in cheese?"

"I can make that for you, if you want. It takes like ten minutes," Xander said cautiously.
 
"You had said--" She began, but then took a breath, deciding if she had heard properly, but he had mispoken, she didn't want to learn that, "No, no, this is wonderful. Much better than mac'n'cheese, but twice unexpected. Dark will be thrilled, he's pickier than I am..."

She sat down, still feeling a bit unsettled from hearing that one, little word, "How long have you both been cooking? I hope you've not wasted too long on us."
 
"TIme making good food is never wasted," Alec said sagely. "That and I have no idea. We just kind of got started and kept going. Over an hour, I think, at least, but it's okay."

"I am never doing two recipes at the same time ever again," Xander said, finishing the last pita pocket. He shoved everything into the oven and triple checked to make sure it was on. "Okay, once that's warmed through, then it's time to eat. Alec, drinks, my man!"

"Coming right up!" Alec agreed, sticking his phone in his pocket and hopping up. "Water, Daizi?"
 
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