How Green Becomes Wood

"I am not hiding," Grumbled the man who had been staying upstairs to avoid being seen as he stepped outside of his bedroom.

"It's never an interference," Daizi promised, "What can I get you to drink?"
 
"Right, my mistake," Xander said dryly. "Aunt Ciara is here, and she's asked after you. I know you aren't hiding, so it'll be no trouble to come say hello and say a few polite words."

"Whatever is most convenient. Lemonade or tea," she replied.
 
Dark sighed, not trying to feel petulant or immature. He knew Ciara, at least, wouldn't literally scream at the sight of him, but even someone was reserved as her was likely to have some reaction. He wasn't blind to how different he looked. His own reflection was startling. But hiding away was also embarrassing. "It would have been rude of me not to say hello."

"Of course," She said, leaving the room with the expectation she'd have time to warn Ciara about Dark's aesthetic change before he came downstairs.
 
"Thank you, Daizi," Ciara said politely as she left.

Dark was hard to read. His expressions were muted at best. The vast majority of people had to learn how to read him to understand even the basic daily expressions. He was a stony mask

When Dark walked into the room, Ciara's expression was a steel vault calm. She stared at him, not a muscle twitching in her face. She said nothing as she examined him in silence for a long moment. Finally, she asked in a tone of professional, polite inquiry, "Are you hiding from someone by changing your appearance?"
 
Her lack of expressions did not surprise him. The way she was clearly examining him did not either but was the exact sort of experience he was loathe to experience. He had become a specimen. "My daughter, against my instructions, got her toy car stuck in my beard."
 
"Yes." Dark said. From the second he realized he would need to shave, he never for a moment considered not growing it back. Ivy scrambled up to her feet and went to her father, tugging on his pant legs and asking to be picked up. This request was quickly granted.
 
"That is understandable," Ciara replied with a slight nod. "It is your signature, after all. I hope you are able to return to it with little issue, and that there are no further reasons for you to be forced to shave it."
 
"I hope she learned from this, I certainly did." Dark said dryly, "But I should have no issue growing it back, although the stubble will be an irritant for the first week or so."

Ivy stretched upwards and pushed Dark's face to one direction, again touching his scar. This time, though, she looked at Ciara and told her, "Baba owie!"
 
Ivy nodded, pushing her head against Dark's cheek.

"When she first saw it she kissed it, the way we kiss her when she hurts herself," Dark informed Ciara while Daizi came back into the room with a tray of rose lemonade.
 
"She is very, very sweet," Daizi confirmed, and would've tripped over one of Ivy's toys had Dark not noticed the upcoming hazard and nudged it out of her path. When she set the drinks down, Daizi said, "This is rose and lavender lemonade, with just a little bit of mint."
 
"Oh," Ciara said in surprise. "Thank you. That sounds delicious."

"Mama makes amazing lemonade, most of it using her own herbs and things from her garden," Alec told her with a proud smile.

Xander nodded. "It's good stuff."
 
"The mint is from my garden, but the lemons are from the farmer's market. I keep considering planting a lemon tree, but I haven't committed to it yet." Daizi explained. Taking the sippy cup off the tray, she handed it to Ivy so she could have a little bit too. Ivy's, though, had been severely watered down.
 
"They're going well," Daizi said, adjusting as her husband sat down besides her, "I have my first day back at the office in two weeks, so I'm looking forward to that, although I'm a bit nervous, which I hadn't expected."
 
"I am sure you will find a new routine quickly," Ciara said carefully. Office life was something she could understand. Missing home life? Not really. Working with a baby? Not even the slightest idea.

"She will, but it'll be rough at first," Alec said cheerfully.
 
"It will be difficult on Ivy at first," Dark said, holding her in his lap while she drank lemonade from her sippy cup, "She will adjust, but her entire life she has been able to visit with her Mama during the day."

"We agreed I'll get to do all the bedtimes for a little while," Daizi added. She knew she was going to miss working from home too, although she was overall looking back to going back to the office. It was nice when she was stressed with something to be able to take a break, go downstairs, and hear her baby laugh or vent to her husband with him near enough for him to hold her as she complained. But, she also knew, she hated zoom meetings, she hated not being able to just go knock on a coworker's door with a question, and she worried about the impact being home for so long would have on her career, because she was certain she was missing out on networking opportunities and her name wasn't getting out there as much as it had been. She was still doing good work and surpassing her job requirements, but she still knew she, probably, wasn't doing as great a job as she did in the office.
 
Ciara carefully considered her answer, in uncertain waters here. "Adjustments are always difficult at any time of life, but, thankfully, humans are resilient creatures. I am sure there is much you will miss about this time of life, but I am equally sure there is much you miss about the office. I suppose there really is no way to truly make things easier, no witty advice or clever suggestions, merely the promise that in going forward through the difficulties, it will get easier."
 
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