How Green Becomes Wood

"It's really easy to be rebellious when your parents are cool," Sloan grumbled, but got up and walked into the house without telling her dad anyway. She did hurry upstairs and quickly change into the outfit she was planning to wear. It was still a dress, but it was a floral print, teal dress with a ruffled hem and a low back. And, she was wearing her converse again. "Okay," she said, once she got out front with them, "Where are we going?"

"Maybe not," Daizi agreed casually, "but I think they'd probably feel like they're committing a faux pas for cutting you out so obviously. I mean, Dark and I still get invitations... We just don't arrive, most of the time. I think Dark almost died inside when I told him we needed to go this one."
 
Xander indicated down the road. "If we walk that way, there's a weird Chinese food place that has a karaoke machine and weirdo snacks. I don't think it's even actual Chinese food, but they call it that. Or, if you want to go the other way, there's an old graveyard hidden between a couple of commercial buildings. I think one's like a shipping factory or something. The graveyard's small but real cool and quiet."

Lex snickered at that. "I don't blame him, but he's behaving himself better than I am. He even saved me from some lady telling me it wasn't too late to find a husband. As if I didn't get that talk from my mother once a week. But I should have been better behaved."
 
"I think we probably shouldn't be hanging out in a graveyard," Sloan said, not being cut from the same cloth as Dark and Daizi. "I mean, like, if you want to go there we can, but it feels weird to sneak out of a party just to go to a graveyard, you know?"

"Well he's wonderful," Daizi said openly. "But I doubt you were as bad as you think you were, these people just... They get inside of your head. One of them here looked at myself and Dark and said he's 'almost too good looking.' Setting boundaries doesn't make you the bad guy."
 
"Why?" Xander asked. He started walking since no matter which direction they went, they still needed to get down the driveway, but he wouldn't make Sloan go if she didn't want to. "It's just a different kind of community. One full of shut-ins that no one visits."

Alec giggled. "You are getting creepy hanging out in a gothic house. How about we go do some karaoke instead? If the machine even works."

"Almost too good looking for her, I bet," Lex grumbled. "I'm good with setting boundaries. Just not so good at doing it nicely. I'm more of a 'my way or highway' kind of person for better and worse. I can compromise, but I gotta be warmed up to the idea first."
 
"Karaoke seems like a more fun thing to sneak off to," Sloan pointed out, "If we were just going somewhere we could sit and talk, there's no point in sneaking out in the first place."

"Even with people I dislike I try not to make comments about appearances," Daizi said softly, "I think it's important to find balance. I can be stubborn, and I often am, but I've found that sometimes, with the right people, it's worth not immediately going in trusting you know best... But this probably isn't the right conversation for people who just met."
 
"Sometimes, the point is sneaking out," Xander replied, heading in that direction.

"You'll like the place. Just lower your expectations," Alec told Sloan.

Lex shrugged and tucked one hand into her pocket. "It's alright. I've had people I've known for ten years without ever reaching a good, deep conversation. Some people just click conversationally, and some don't. But anyway, do you have two kids? Or three? The guy who came to help me out with the sink - Puma? Tiger? - he said something that got me confused, so now I've started a chart to try to keep track of who's who."
 
"They're pretty low already. Just don't be surprised if I'm grounded after this." Sloan said, following after them, praying her mom just didn't notice. It wasn't impossible to hope.

"Cooger," Daizi corrected, "He's our oldest friend. I mean, he's family. He's Dark's brother, really. And I've got three kids, which is... still so strange to say. Alec and Xander are our twins, they're our foster sons technically, but... They're ours. Dark and I would... It's not really worth getting into, they're our sons. And in October we had Ivy-Qadira, our little girl."
 
"Just blame it on us," Xander assured her with a shrug. "We don't mind, and I am easy to blame."

"He is very blamable," Alec agreed.

"If she's mad, talk up how we're the ones who talked you into going and you tried to talk us out of it. She might say we're never allowed to talk to each other again, but she can't control what you do at school," Xander pointed out cheerfully.

"Cooger, right." Lex dug a small notepad out of her pocket and quickly made a note before stuffing it back in. "That's really cool you fostered your boys. Foster parents are amazing, no joke. And now you've got one of your own? A little girl? That's," she paused, sorting through the correct word to use, "precious."
 
"Wow, you two really don't know what it's like to have a strict parent," Sloan replied, but even though she was beginning to wonder if she should have told her dad after all, she tried to squash the feelings and still follow after them. It would be alright. Certainly. And if not, well... They'd deal with that then, and when she walked into the weird Chinese restaurant, she tried to tell herself, however it turned out, at least she'd have a fun story to tell in the future.

"It all happened rather quickly, actually. The boys had only been living with us for three months or so when I conceived, and we hadn't been actively looking to foster when they came to us. But after one very hectic year, it all worked out, I think." Daizi told her, "Dark and I are hoping this is a year of no more children. Three is quite enough."
 
Alec watched Sloan getting a little more tense. Quietly, he hung back and sent a quick text to Dark. Xander, Sloan, and I got bored. We're not far. We all have our phones. Even me! Could you tell Sloan's dad? She couldn't before we left. That should cover the bases.

The little Chinese place, or whatever it actually was, looked like it used to be some sort of convenience store or like a gas station stop. It had the right shape for it, and the tacky wall hangings and nick knacks like golden waving cats couldn't quite hide the industrial look of the walls and ceiling. The flashing neon sign outside said it was open twenty-four hours, but it was pretty dark inside. Xander walked in fearlessly and called out. A couple of lights flickered on, and an older man of Asian descent shuffled in from the back room. He peered at them through a face full of wrinkles and waved a hand before turning back.

"We can sit and eat at the booths, grab snacks from the bar up front, or just hang out at the karaoke machine. He won't care as long as we pay," Xander told Sloan, already heading for an awkward little stage area crammed in a back corner near the restrooms. The karaoke machine looked like on of those portable rentals, but it had a microphone and speakers, and there was even a screen for the words. Unfortunately, either the screen was upside down or the input wrong because the words scrolled along upside down.


~~

Lex chuckled at that. "One was enough for me. I don't know what I would have done to get surprised with twins, but it sounds like you are happy as a a clam with how it turned out." She turned and frowned slightly. "Huh. I didn't realize there was a trampoline here. Looks like Toby found it." After a beat, she realized Daizi couldn't see it and likely couldn't hear the squeak of the springs with everyone else around. "Toby is using the trampoline to show off a few boarding tricks. He's got a crowd."
 
"I guess we're not singing," Sloan remarked, looking at the flipped karaoke screen, "It's probably for the best, though. I can't really compete against two people who are actually in a band. This a nice enough place, though. I wonder why it's not more popular." She sat down in the little booth with them, looking over the decor, "It almost feels like the place a movie from the 80s would start in... Hey," she looked at the twins, "Have you two ever seen The Breakfast Club?"

~~

"When Dark and I realized we wanted to be parents after all, because for a long time we said absolutely not, we only ever planned on having one. But life had other plans." She said, and not knowing where the trampoline was, didn't turn at all towards it or even really make an effort to, "That sounds... safe. He seems like a very energetic kid."

Just then, Dark walked up to them, greeting his wife first verbally before touching her so he didn't startle her. First he murmured, "Marhaba, my darling," before looking at Lex and gesturing to Ivy, "Hello again. I assure you, this one is mine. You need not worry. Darling, Alec texted: he, Xander, and Sloan left, they are, I believe, out for a walk now." Just like last time he met Lex, he was expressionless with grim, focused eyes.
 
Alec joined Sloan, but Xander poked at the machine, testing it. The mic and speakers worked, at least. "No, I don't think so. Why? Is it a club that meets at breakfast time?"

~~

"Selectively so," Lex grumbled. She turned toward Dark, and a flicker of a real smile crossed her face when she looked at Ivy. "She's cute. Looks like the pair of you smushed together. How old?" The last question was more out of politeness. It was what people asked when meeting parents of a small child, right?
 
"It's a movie. A bunch of high schoolers are all sent to detention and they're told to write a letter and stay silent, but they end up talking to each other and, like, realize they're actually not all that different. And like... I'm Molly Ringwald, and you're Brian. Xander is Bender, and--Well. I guess that's where it stops, anyway. I guess you could say Milo is the basket case, but that's probably just because we don't really know him. Nobody in our group really fits for the Jock, I guess. I haven't seen the movie recently enough to remember if we could make an argument that he's weirdly similar to Peter or not."

~~

"Four months," Daizi said at the exact same time Dark said, "Five months." Then they both paused for a moment, and then Daizi explained, "She's five months old, technically, but she was born six weeks early, so she's not developmentally on the same level as the other five month-olds, which is also why she's smaller than you'd expect." Ivy just happily cooed and grabbed at her father's beard, hair, ear, and nose.
 
"That sounds like a very different detention than the ones I've seen," Alec laughed. "Still, it's nice to know that you think of us as a club like that. I don't think the 'Lunch Club" has quite the same ring to it."

Xander stepped over to talk to the old man. A moment later, he came back with a step stool and the remote controller for the TV. He set up the step stool and climbed up to have a look.

~~

"Oh, a premie? Ouch," Lex hissed. "I've never dealt with premies directly, but I've heard the stories. She sure looks like she's making up for lost time, though. My boy, Toby, was born with some complications, but nothing like that. We were out in two days." She paused, seemed to consider saying something, and then shook it off. "She rolling over yet?"
 
"I mean, the principal didn't want them mingling, obviously. They locked him out. It's a good movie, you should watch it. I mean, I guess I kind of feel more like the basketcase than anything... I think her name was Allison, actually, but I know everyone else would think I'm Claire. And I guess I relate to her, too." Sloan said, sitting back, "I think if you watched it you'd understand a little better."

~~

"We were in the hospital for two weeks," Daizi told her, taking Ivy from her husband, and then, after giving Ivy a little kiss, braced herself for when Ivy returned the gesture, but really, "It could have been a lot worse, we were still lucky. But knowing her now, you wouldn't believe how frail she was then."

"She just began rolling over onto her back on Monday," Dark added, "she has not made it the other way, yet."
 
"I have no doubt of that," Alec agreed. "As it is, it's just names."

Xander climbed down from the stool and scowled at the TV as he clicked the remote. Then his face lit up in a grin. "Hey! Got it!"

~~

Lex nodded, shoving her hands into her pockets. "It really is something how resilient they are. They are so tiny and little and fragile even when born right, but they can take a lot that's throne at them. It is something else."
 
"Good job," Sloan said, still sitting in the booth. Then, choosing to be a little bit of a scamp, added, "I guess that means you have to sing first, since you're already up there."

~~

"Yeah," Daizi agreed, snuggling her baby close and practically melting with the love she felt for her, "Ivy fought from the very beginning. Didn't you, baby? Ivy is so strong, yes she is~!" She held onto Ivy's hand, grinning as Ivy nestled in against her--curious but getting a little bit sleepy, "She forgot to breathe when she was brand new, and had problems with her blood pressure, but she, I guess, decided very early on she was going to be here with us."

"I would hold her in one of my hands," Dark added, but to Lex his face hadn't softened at all.

"Sometimes I think she is the most stubborn of all our children." Daizi said, turning her head to kiss her daughter again before saying, "I'm sorry. I know talking about your baby is like talking about the dream you had last night, nobody really cares that much. We just waited so long to have her, it's hard not to get excited over everything she does. How old is Toby?"
 
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Xander looked at her. Then at the mic. "Aw, man!" he whined.

"She's right!" Alec said happily.

Xander groaned but nodded. "Alright. Fine. I'll do it." He selected the first song on the list and sang along to it heartily. Or as heartily as he could since he didn't know the song at all. He ended up stammering and stuttering his way through until the end.

Alec laughed and clapped before turning to Sloan. "Your turn because you chose the place!"

~~

Lex stood awkwardly nodding along, already trying to think of an escape route when Daizi and Dark (kind of) got mushy over Ivy. She looked away, trying to see if there was anywhere else to be, but nowhere except the buffet table looked all that interesting. She dragged her attention back when Daizi commented how talking about the baby was like talking about a dream and then asked a question. "Toby? Oh, he's seventeen I think he said he was in your class?" she nodded toward Dark. "He got held back in the fifth grade, so he's kind of behind in school."
 
"Ugh, alright," Sloan groaned, sliding up and out of her seat, walking up to the microphone. She didn't have stage fright like Dark did, but she also was strictly a 'sing in my car' kind of girl. So, after flicking through the songs for a while, she settled on 'Let it Fall' by Emmelie de Forest, and she sang well enough. Not perfectly, not in a way that would make jaws drop at this undiscovered talent, but she was fine.

When she finished, she awkwardly put the mic back and said, "See, the problem is now the literal singer of your band is going to go, and we're all going to look stupid by comparison."

~~

"Yes, he is one of my students," Dark nodded. "The participation part of a grade will not be a problem for him in any class, I do not suspect. Although mine is not handled in the typical fashion either."
 
"Oh, please!" Alec said, rolling his eyes. "You make it sound like a contest." He got up and started flicking through the songs thoughtfully.

Xander dropped into the seat opposite Sloan and snorted. "I never look stupid," he told her with a smirk.

Alec found a song he liked and started enthusiastically singing "Work This Body" by Walk the Moon. Yes, he was better than either Sloan or Xander, but he was focused more on enjoyment than trying to do his best. That showed in his singing, but he didn't care. Singing with friends was fun!

~~

Lex nodded. "He has been engaged then? Good. I was a little worried about the transition for him, but I figured he'd handle it. From the way he talks and what he's told me other students have said about you, your non-typical fashion is working."
 
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