How Green Becomes Wood

When Alec went out to look out, Daizi stood up and made a cup of tea before going over to him and asking, "Do you want to go outside? They're much more enjoyable when not through a pane of glass, at least in my experience. We can go walking together, if you'd like that."

Dark, meanwhile, lingered in the kitchen. He and his wife had subtly assembled a plan of action, and he was just waiting for it to time for him to play his hand in it.
 
Alec hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yes, walking sounds nice," he agreed. "Nature has a way of soothing everything, doesn't it? Or lifting spirits, or enhancing happy thoughts you're already having." He opened the door for Daizi and stepped out with her, looking around the garden he'd grown slowly more and more familiar with.

Xander poked about the kitchen tidying up and making sure everything was up to Dark's level of cleanliness.
 
Daizi smiled warmly as she stepped outside into the late summer air, "It does. That's why I worked so hard on the garden, and why Dark put up such tall fences to block out the sight of our neighbors. We would have preferred to be in the middle of nowhere in a house like this, but it wasn't exactly possible, so we did our best to hide it. But we left little holes for rabbits and squirrels and things to find their way in... I don't think Eden would be as lovely as mine, when you really need a comforting place to escape to. They didn't have swings, anyway."

After a few moments of watching Xander clean, Dark got up to help out too, "Is everything okay at school?"
 
"I hope they did. What would Eden be without swings?" Alec smiled. "Where are the flowers that are supposed bloom soon? Oh! Nevermind, I think I see some over there." He walked toward the flowers and leaned over to smell the delicate scents. "Which ones are these?"

Xander shrugged. "Usual drama. Nothing I can't handle," he asked Dark casually. He was used to handle school drama. Recent school days had actually been shockingly drama free, but the old drama was different from this new one. Alec hadn't been a part of the drama, at least, not in that way. Xander wasn't entirely sure how to handle this other than to wait for Alec to screw his head back on straight.
 
Daizi followed Alec to the flowers, and bent awkwardly to feel their shape, unable to perfectly remember what were planted there, "Asters. They're meant to represent love and wisdom. And faith. The ancient Greeks used to leave them on the alters of the gods... We thought about naming the baby after them, but decided against it."

"Alright..." Dark nodded, drying his hands, "Is Alec okay? I noticed he was not eating much at dinner again. I am going to speak with him in a little bit, and Daizi is already there, but... Well, I always prefer to know what I am walking into, if you know."
 
"They are very pretty. I like their shape," Alec told her. "They remind me of... almost a reverse splash. It might not make sense, but that's what I see."

Xander eyed Dark suspiciously. If he didn't know better, he'd suspect he was being pumped for information or asked to snitch, but Dark wasn't like that. "I dunno," he finally admitted. "He doesn't talk to me much anymore, but he's trying to branch out with his friendship group, I guess, and it's not going so well. That's all I got."
 
"I don't really know what a splash looks like," Daizi said thoughtfully, "I know how it feels when something splashes you, and I know what a spill feels like, but I've never been able to see something splash. Do you have a favourite flower?"

Dark nodded, leaning against the countertop and drumming the fingers of one hand against his arm, "It is strange that he is not talking to you...I am sorry to hear it is not going well for him. I hope he is willing to talk to me, or to Daizi..." It worried him how unlike himself Alec was being, and it was even more concerning to learn Xander didn't have much more information than he did. So, with a breath, he set about making two more cups of tea.
 
"A splash actually feels a lot how it looks," Alec remarked. "It's kind of like an onomatopoeia, like how bees go buzz. I don't have a favorite flower yet. I like a lot of them, but I especially like the ones that smell nice. Not all of them smell nice or even at all."

Xander didn't answer. He stared down at the countertop and scrubbed viciously at an invisible speck. He knew why Alec wasn't talking to him. Alec probably hadn't even fully grasped the realization, himself, but Xander knew why. Alec still hadn't forgiven him for what had happened with Declan. Not fully. Ever since that horrible day when Xander had nearly left, an invisible wall had fallen between them. Sometimes it flexed a little and gave him a toe hold, but he wasn't allowed into anything serious. Not anymore. He'd hurt Alec in the worst way possible, and Alec was protecting himself from that ever happening again. Xander couldn't blame him. He wasn't sure he wouldn't do exactly the same thing, no matter how much it hurt to be on this side of things.
 
"My favourite are dandelions," Daizi said, "I don't know if I've said that before. It's funny, I spend so much time meticulously caring for plants, and growing the ones I specifically chose, and my favourites are the one who come to me all on their own, regardless of if it's convenient. And I'm not trying to speak metaphorically, it's just the simple truth." She inhaled, "All my roses, my apple tree... Nothing seems quite as perfect to me as a dandelion. I do like ivy, though, but that's not a flower."

"Are you okay?" Dark asked, quietly getting a third mug from the cabinet and dropping a teabag into it.
 
"Dandelions are very pretty, very sunny and light," Alec agreed. "Nothing says summer like a dandelion. I've even heard that they are eatable. I wonder if they taste good?"

Xander shot Dark a quick little smirk. "Hey, no one's trying to talk to me about a certain condition or hugging me, so I'm pretty well fantastic."
 
"They are good, I've had them in salad before. And I've had them in wine, but it's been a long time since I did... They sell dandelion tea, too, which I like. There's a lot of spice in it. Do you want to sit? It's early enough in the evening, I can't imagine you're rushing to bed yet." Daizi offered, although she was quite willing to keep walking with him. But she knew, and was trying not to show that she knew, that she needed to at least try to have a more serious talk with him, and it seemed like it might be easier if he were more settled.

Inside, after the kettle boiled, Dark poured water into the three mugs and methodically stirred honey into them. One of the three he handed to Xander, "Here. It is Sleepy Time tea, it will help you relax. I know you are fantastic," he had his doubts, "but even the happiest people deserve to have peaceful evenings too. And if you change your mind, or ever feel differently... You can talk to me, I hope you know that. And if you do not want advice, you can say so, and I will just listen. Okay?"
 
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"Oh, sure, we can sit if you are tired," Alec agreed readily, thinking Daizi had offered because her feet were tired or her back was sore. He sat carefully, leaving plenty of room for her. "It is a lovely evening, and all too soon we'll be arriving home in the dark because of the shorter days."

"Thanks," Xander mumbled, accepting the tea. He didn't really know what to say about Dark's invitation. He knew he could talk to Dark about anything, theoretically, but he wasn't really sure how to ask some things, or sometimes even what it was he wanted to ask. Still, it was nice to know the option was there. He just needed to learn how to use it. Like an update in a computer.
 
Daizi carefully lowered herself down beside him, and like she so often did now, rested her mug ontop of her belly, "I always come home in the dark. And leave home in the dark. I wonder if that's why we fell in love, I'm the only person in his life who is completely comfortable with the dark." She couldn't resist a light chuckle, "I know, that's really cheesy. Even for us. But the change of seasons, at least in that way, doesn't really affect me."

Dark picked up the remaining too mugs, "I am going to head out, check on your brother. And now you have an extra reason to be fantastic, yes? Because my hands are full, so I cannot even touch your shoulder. It is a good day to be Xander." It was his best attempt at being light and easy-going. It might have been a bit awkward, but he was trying. It seemed probable that approaching all teenage problems with his war-torn gravity wasn't necessarily helpful, so he was making an effort and being more... Normal.
After giving Xander a slight nod, he went outside. Executing his master plan, he went up to Daizi and Alec and said, "There you are, darling!"

"Hi Goose," She smiled, "we were just talking about seasons, and I was making a fool of myself."

"You? Never. I made you tea... Oh. I did not realize you already had some," he sighed, but then turned to Alec, "would you like it, Alec? It is good."
 
Xander gave Dark an odd look for his attempt at levity, but he nodded in agreement. "Wouldn't want to be anyone else." He waited until Dark was out the door then took his mug up to his room to sit sipping it and looking at the latest sketches he'd made of potential accessories he could make. It was something to lose himself in and not think.

"I'm sorry, I didn't really think about that," Alec apologized. He knew she was joking, but he still felt a little bad for making references to something she'd never get to experience. He looked up when Dark approached and smiled. "Oh, yes, thank you. I'll take it. It smells nice."
 
"No, it's alright," Daizi assured him, "You're allowed to talk about things that aren't part of my reality. Would you like to join us, babe?"

"Sure," Dark said, as if it hadn't been their plan all alone, and he pulled up a chair to sit near them, "it is Sleepy Time tea with honey. I always find it very relaxing, and comforting, when you need it."

"Mine is Magnolia," Daizi remarked, taking a sip, "we were also talking about the flowers. He doesn't have a favourite flower yet, and I was telling him that mine are dandelions."

"I think mine are too," Dark said, "but that could be because they remind me of you."

"You're going to make Alec scurry away," Daizi remarked, and hid her grin by taking another sip of tea.

"My bad. How are you, Alec? You were upstairs when I came home, I did not have a chance to ask."
 
"Oh, I'm fine," Alec said quickly and moved on. "I do not mind when you talk like that, I really don't, but it does feel very private. I think it's sweet." He paused to take a tiny sip of his tea but tried not to give long enough for either Daizi or Dark to remark on his words. "Do you have a favorite flower?" he asked Dark.
 
"I suppose even after so many years just the two of us, we haven't learned when not to express those feelings," Daizi said, in the little amount of time she had while Alec drank. Had she a moment or two longer, she probably would have expressed how it seemed likely that, should they choose to wait until they were alone to express those feelings, with how busy their lives had become, it seemed they'd never get to. And that would be destructive in the long run.

"Night-blooming jasmine," Dark answered without having to think much about it, "I do love dandelions, because they make me think of her," he nodded towards his wife, "and our roses mean a lot to me... But when I was small, the scent of jasmine would blow in through the paneless windows as I was trying to fall asleep, and it would give me something nice to focus on."

"That's why they were some of the first flowers I planted here," Daizi said softly, "Does Xander have a favourite?"
 
"I don't think so. He doesn't pay much attention to the flowers," Alec told her. "I think he enjoys them, but I don't know that he actively likes any of them." Of course, he might, but that wasn't really the kind of information Xander volunteered easily.
 
"Well if you find out, and you find your own favourite flower, when the baby picks hers, we can make a family bouquet. Or we can make one from our birth flowers, wouldn't that be lovely?" Daizi commented earnestly.

"Except I do not know my real birth month," Dark pointed out.

"But you have been celebrating your birthday in January for most of your life, so I think it counts," Daizi replied, "or we can use jasmines for you instead."

She took a sip of her tea and then fell quiet for awhile, peacefully enjoying the night air. Then she remarked, "You seemed quiet at dinner tonight, I hope you're not getting sick."
 
Alec smiled as he looked out over the garden. What flower spoke to him the most? Which one did he love the most? There were just too many to pick on the spur of the moment! He loved so many of the flowers, they were all so different and unique it was nearly impossible to pick a favorite. Eventually, he felt he'd be drawn toward one, but he didn't have a special story like Dark to draw him toward one or another, and he didn't know their meanings well enough to pick based on that, either. Eventually, but not now.

He paused when Daizi mentioned him getting sick. "Oh, no, I'm just tired," he assured her. "It was a long day, and being a teenager is surprisingly tiring."
 
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