How Green Becomes Wood

"That is perfect," Dark said, and took a quick picture or two, and then showed them to Xander for his approval. "You should send this to your Aunt. Or tell her, at least. It would be good to include her."
 
"Yeah, I should," Xander agreed, looking at the pictures. "She said she would come to the talent show, too, so that's cool. That one's a good one. I'll send her that one." He grinned and moved to get in the car. "First to get it home safely."
 
"Is she? That is wonderful news. I will have to get in touch so we can sit together." He took his keys out of his pocket and walked towards his own car, "First one safely home."

Then he said goodbye to Cooger and headed off towards home... making the decision, at a moment when traffic obscured his car from Xander's, to take a slightly longer route. He deserved to (safely) win.
 
Xander followed every rule of the road, driving with just a hint of paranoia as he cautiously made his way home. He had his learner's permit and could drive alone during daylight hours, but he still had a couple of years before he had full, unrestricted driving privileges. He was not risking getting into any trouble with his brand-new car because of some other idiot. He didn't notice Dark taking a different route, and it was with no small amount of confusion that he arrived home first. He wasn't worried, but he was surprised but pleased. He'd won the totally not-a-race!
 
Dark arrived just a couple minutes later and swore getting out of his car, "Well done," he said, feeling no small amount of pleasure at the sight of Xander's excitement, "How did it feel driving it home for the first time?'
 
Xander took a deep breath and patted the car's hood. "Pretty good," he admitted. "Really good. And I think she likes me. After all, we beat you home." He grinned at Dark and gave the car another pat before walking over to join him.
 
"That you did," Dark agreed with a little nod, planning to take his secret about letting Xander win to the grave, "Do you think you are going to name--her? Many people name their cars."

As they walked up the steps, inside Enkidu got up from where he was sitting with Alec and Ivy and walked to the door, and Daizi pivoted, "It sounds like they're home."
 
"I'll have to think about it, but, maybe," Xander said. "Don't know why I called it a her. Felt right. And weird. Car ownership is a strange thing. Did you ever name your car?"

"I wonder what he got," Alec said tightly, looking up from the floor. He picked Ivy up and carried her gently over to Daizi.

Xander stepped inside and carefully wiped his shoes but didn't take them off since he was going to take Alec out to see the car. Instead, he stuck to the edge of the entryway and called out, "We're home!"
 
Dark shook his head, "It never seemed natural to me. But I would be sad to get rid of it, some day. I was very proud when I bought it."

"I wouldn't know," Daizi said, taking Ivy from Alec and telling her, "Do you want to go see your brother's new car?" She waited until Ivy babbled and then walked into the front hall where Dark and Xander were waiting, "Well? How did it go?"
 
And now he knew exactly how Dark felt. It might not be the newest car, but it was in good condition, and it was his that he earned with his own money! Xander grinned and turned to Daizi. "I got one! It's a beauty. It's a, well, a minivan," he said almost sheepishly, "but it's cool. It does smell kind of funky, so you might not like it."

Alec hung back a couple of steps, watching quietly.
 
"You're not going to wait until it's clean to let me see it, will you?" Daizi asked, whining just a little bit, "I'm so happy for you, you really worked hard for this! Oh, I'd hug you so tightly if it was something you liked, I'm really proud of you, Xander! Aren't you proud of your brother, Ivy?"

Ivy cooed happily, holding onto a fistful of her mother's hair. She had no idea what was going on, but everyone seemed happy, so she was too.

"He got a good deal on it, too," Dark said. Like Alec, he was hanging back, but unlike Alec, he just wanted to make sure Xander had his moment all to himself.

"Oh, that's even better!"
 
"Yeah, Ba really haggled 'em down, and I learned a lot," Xander said. He pointed at Ivy. "You are going to have to wait for a ride because I don't have a seat for you in there, but everyone else can have a ride."

Alec took a deep breath and tried to smile, but it came out shaky. He wanted Xander to have his moment, and he felt incredibly selfish for his feelings, but he couldn't escape the emotions gripping his heart and filling his chest. He tried to force himself to seem lighter than he really was. "This is really awesome!"

Xander caught the tone and sobered, staring at his brother. "What's wrong?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong!" Alec tried to assure him. "I'm happy! You finally got your car! It's a terrific thing! Now you can," his voice caught, "you've got your way to leave. Your freedom."
 
There was something warm to Daizi about the way Xander specifically spoke to Ivy, and she nodded her head solemnly, "It's true, habibti. The only time you got to ride out of your carseat was when we were hurrying you to the hospital and needed to keep you warm, and we are never doing that again."

Dark might have said something, but then Alec spoke up, and his distress was immediately evident, so both of them turned and focused on him, "He is not leaving," Dark said gently. Even if that was in Xander's plans, which he doubted, he wouldn't be allowed to.
 
"Yeah, what are you talking about? I'm not leaving," Xander frowned.

"Yes, you are," Alec said, his voice catching more. "You've been waiting for your chance to leave, to escape, to find your freedom."

"And you think I'd leave you?" Xander demanded, caught off guard.

Alec wrapped his arms around himself. "You already tried once. What else am I supposed to expect?"

Xander frowned. "That was one time, and it was a mistake. You can't... do you still really hold that against me? It was a stupid mistake."

"I know you didn't mean it that time, but you want away! You want freedom from me, for me to stop holding you back, to stop being attached," Alec babbled nonsensically, starting to hyperventilate. He hunched over, panic slowly overtaking him as he tried to convey what he meant, but his words got jumbled. "You have your own friends now, your own life, your own car, you don't need me!"

Shoes and all, Xander walked over to Alec and took him in his arms. Somehow, the pair of them ended up kneeling, and Xander gripped him tightly. "Listen to me," he said hoarsely, "I am never, never, never going to leave you behind. Never! You're my brother. My twin. Mine. I'm not leaving you for anything or anyone. Ever. I'm not going to replace you, and if you don't want Milo to be-"

"No!" Alec yelped, not trying to pull away. "That's not... I like Milo! It's not that."

"Okay," Xander said, "but... is that all?"

"I just... I'm scared to lose you," Alec whimpered, nestling into his brother.

"You won't. I promise. I'll be the safest driver ever, and I'll take you wherever you want to go, and I promise I'm always coming home," Xander assured him.
 
As this transpired, Dark's gaze shot to Daizi, who stood very still for a few moments and then backed away to set Ivy back in her pack-and-play, handing her an interest toy to keep her occupied, because this was not the time for a little babbling infant. Then she went the longway to the kitchen and switched on the kettle to make tea, still in earshot in case anyone needed anything, but giving them space to process without immediate interference from adults.

Dark watched the twins for a few moments longer, brows furrowed as he contemplated what action should take, before eventually joining his wife in the kitchen and finding something to busy himself with, while still carefully listening in case they needed parental aid.
 
Xander sat and held Alec for a moment before saying softly, "I don't feel like you're holding me back. I feel like you drive me to be better, and you help me to be better. Wherever I go, you're with me, even if you aren't actually there."

Alec gave a watery smile. "That's cheesy. I'm surprised at you."

"Eh, blame Mama for that," Xander said with a slight shrug. "And it's true. I think we both need our own lives, but you're never going to be rid of me, and I don't want to be rid of you."

"Good. Because I don't want to be rid of you." Alec took a deep breath. "For one thing, I need you to be my chauffeur."

Xander snorted in laughter. "Yeah, right, you only want me for what I can do for you."

"Absolutely." Alec sat up and rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm just... I guess I'm slower than you at, you know, adjusting."

"That's okay. I'm sorry I made you feel like I was going to leave you behind," Xander said, ruffling Alec's longer red hair.

Alec smiled. "So. A minivan?"

Xander grinned and stood up before pulling Alec to his feet. "I guess I knew I was going to get into the chauffeuring business. Ready to go see it?"

"Yes!"

Xander turned toward the kitchen. "Mama? Ba? Where'd you go? Wanna see the car?"
 
"We just stepped into the kitchen for a minute," Daizi said, rejoining them in the front hall, "I wanted to give you some space. And I started making tea, in case it was needed. I'd love to go out and see your car, just let me go grab Ivy, first."

"I will get her," Dark said, and left to scoop her up before anyone else had a chance to, murmuring sweet little things to her as he brought her to the front hall, "I cannot leave her inside unattended, and I am sure she would want to see it too."

"She likes to be included," Daizi agreed, slipping on her shoes, and reaching out to Alec so he could help her to wherever the car was parked. After so many years of there only being one car in their driveway, she didn't want to walk directly into the new, second vehicle.
 
"Tea sounds heavenly," Alec admitted, "but, first we should all go and ooh and ahh over a piece of shaped metal on four wheels." He pulled on his shoes and took Daizi's arm, resisting the urge to hug her. Instead, he led her out and faced her toward the car. "Huh. It really is a minivan," he said, surprised.

Xander grinned as he followed them out. "You thought I was joking, didn't you?"

"A little, yes," Alec admitted.
 
When they walked out, Daizi squeezed Alec's arm in a subtle, comforting gesture, but let go as soon as she was within reach of the car to touch it and figure out what they were working with, "It's funny... Dark and I had talked before how we felt were were bound to end up with a minivan outside of our house... We just never expected it'd belong to one of you two. What colour is it?"

"Silver," Dark answered, bringing Ivy to the car, although she clearly only looked at the car because everyone else was, her attention was easily pulled to the people around her.


"Oh, lots of cars are silver, aren't they?" Daizi asked, "That's a good colour, then."
 
"It's a surprisingly inoffensive car," Alec agreed. "I thought you'd get the green one or maybe come back in something like a huge van or something. Can we see inside?"

Xander pulled open the sliding passenger door and the two front doors to let them explore. "It still smells funky, but it just needs a good scrubbing." He glanced toward Sloan's house and then Lex's. "Who do you think is going to come over to check it out first? The skateboarder or Slo?"

"Toby, probably, Alec said, climbing into the van and going all the way to the back. "This thing is roomy!"
 
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