How Green Becomes Wood

"It is a big house, and it can feel surprising to meet someone in it... but it's smaller than it was a few years ago. It used to be terribly empty." Daizi agreed, walking with Alec down where Dark was waiting. As she predicted, Dark wasn't particularly watching the stairs and waiting with bated breath until the teen came back... Although, the fact Enkidu had come back downstairs made it pretty obvious Daizi was no longer in the nursery, which provided some important context clues.

"Did she fight you going to sleep tonight?" Dark asked when he saw the two of them, noting how Alec was no longer with his book.

"She only fights you," Daizi teased, "but I was afraid I'd wake her again once Alec and I started talking in the hall."
 
Alec went to Enkidu and gave him a good ear scratching before going to a chair where he could still see out the window, but he wasn't watching it quite as obsessively now. "Ivy never fights me on anything," he said innocently, his eyes twinkling.
 
"I hope so," Dark said, briefly looking towards the stairs rather then out the window.

"I can't wait until she starts crawling, then it will be really, really fun to play with her." Daizi sighed, snuggling up to Dark.

He looked at her strangely, "She will be impossible to contain once she is mobile."

"Good thing she's got brothers."
 
"Yes we do," Dark said with a sigh, "I have been holding out hope of finding one that is not... atrocious."

A wry smile dimly lit Daizi's face, and she stroked his hair while trying to gently break the news to him, "We are running out of time, I think we just need to commit to having an ugly gate for a few years."

"You do not have to see it..." Dark sighed, and looked briefly at Alec, "I know, safety is more important. I was hoping to find both."
 
Dark considered this for a time, "Maybe... As long as the edges are not too sharp. I do not know exactly what makes a baby gate properly safe for babies."

As he said this, Cooger's truck pulled into the driveway, "Alright, kid. Tell our family I said hi, I got some fried chicken to eat, and I don't want it to get cold. See you tomorrow, alright?"
 
"Well, we do live next to someone who makes fancy metal things for a living. Maybe she won't charge a shipping and handling fee if you commission a gate from her," Alec grinned. Lights pulling into the driveway distracted him, and he stood to watch out the window.

"Right on," Xander agreed. "Thanks for the ride. I appreciate it. See you tomorrow." He hopped out of the car and headed inside. He stepped inside and his eyes instantly went straight to his brother even before he had kicked off his shoes. "I'm home," he called, toeing off his shoes and touching salt. "Did I miss anything?"

"Hi!" Alec crowed, trying to be casual as he walked over to Xander. "How was it? What was it like?"

Xander hugged him, ruffling his hair playfully. "Pretty cool. Kind of smelly, but cool. It takes a lot longer than I thought."
 
"That is true," Dark agreed softly, considering that option privately, and wondering if he could bring himself to make that commission. He and Daizi both greeted Xander when he came in and confirmed nothing had really happened in the few hours he was gone, but then simply sat back and let him reunite with his brother.

It had been, of course, impossible to communicate what Alec had told her to Dark, but it wasn't really something she needed to. They both knew the twins still struggled with being separated, so it only made sense to let them have the time they needed to settle before interrupting them.
 
Xander and Alec wandered into the living room while Xander told Alec all about the film process. Gradually, he shifted to include Dark and Daizi into the conversation naturally including them. Alec pouted a little that he didn't get to see the pictures yet and expressed sadness that Xander would be missing out the next day. At least he was getting a car! But it seemed sad that he wouldn't see the completed process. Maybe next time, or Milo would do them in two batches.

"Cooger said he's set for the car shopping tomorrow. Are you coming?" Xander asked Dark.
 
"I was planning on it," Dark confirmed, "If you find a car you are certain is the one you want, I think it is important to have a legal guardian there. Cooger would not let you get swindled, but I feel safer to be there myself."

Daizi grinned, turning towards Xander, "Are you excited?"
 
Xander returned Daizi's grin. "Totally! Full freedom to go wherever I want! Well, close enough, anyway. And you'll have another person who can take you wherever you want to go, too." He didn't notice Alec's tiny flinch when he commented on "full freedom."
 
"You can't imagine how envious I am of you," Daizi said with a small sigh, "There aren't as many things that bother me about being blind as you'd think there would be, because it's all I've known, but America just isn't accessible if you can’t drive. You can't imagine what it's like to be the only one of your peers who will never have the ability to not have to rely on others to get somewhere outside of walking distance."
 
"You could get all of that accessibility if you moved to a big city. A lot of people in big cities don't even bother to own cars," Xander pointed out. "But then you'd have to give up an awesome garden and quiet neighborhood where you can walk whenever you want."

Alec said nothing. He understood, only he also understood that his was more of a choice and less of an actual disability.
 
"In the city, sure," Daizi replied with a little shrug, "but if I wanted to leave the city for something... You've heard the story already about the time I got stranded. I'd like to have the ability to just go places without having to worry about who will take me there or what will happen if I miss the bus. At some point, all of my peers will have failing eyesight so it won't matter, and we'll all be roughing it together, but until then..." She trailed off, nestling down against Dark, who moved to accommodate, "I really hate not being able to drive. I'd be nice even to give Dark a break on roadtrips."
 
Xander shrugged. "Then I guess you'll just have to get a guide dog and learn how to skateboard."

"Skateboard blind?" Alec asked in shock.

"Sure, it's been done," Xander yawned. He stood and stretched. "I got homework to do, so I should go focus on that for a bit, I guess."
 
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