How Green Becomes Wood

When Daizi had her hand on his back, she felt how he trembled, so she moved closer against him, choosing to keep her hand right there. She didn't fully have her arm around him, but she certainly didn't pull away. Her eyebrows came together when this man insulted Tara's family, and she said, "Both you and Ciara," she turned to the twins, "your aunt," and back to Declan, "is who brought you here to meet them. So she is awful, but she is also the reason you came to meet them? When you were in our home and we asked about your intentions, your response was that you wanted to do whatever she wanted you to do, so..." She shrugged, "considering her family is their family, and the reason why you are here in the first place, perhaps a little less blame is warranted."
 
"Did she tell you why Tara ended up alone in a completely different city without anyone to back her up?" Declan asked, his tone mild. "I walked out, that's lousy, but her family kicked her out when they found out she was pregnant without a husband. Her mother full on chucked her out, and her sister never did nothing to help. Her mother didn't even have any kind of religion or cult to use as an excuse, she just thought it was super embarrassing and shameful and told her to go ruin her own life without dragging her family down with her. The only reason Ciara decided to help was because Tara died. Notice she's not here getting to know them? Nope. She dragged me into it because she thought I hadn't gotten punished like her sister had."

"We're a punishment?" Alec said softly as Xander tensed.

Declan shook his head. "To me? No. You're two kids who got the short end of the stick in life. But to the Cunningham family? Yeah, basically."
 
"Look," Daizi said firmly, "I'm not saying what that family did was correct, but regardless of what her reasons are, she put in the time to track you down. If it was not for her, you would not be here at all. Where I sit, both you and her failed these kids. Your back isn't getting any cleaner by dirtying others."

Dark leaned in towards Declan, and although his voice remained unemotional, he scowled slightly more, and in a low voice said, "Regardless of your feelings, watch what you say. Apologize." Declan was an idiot saying something like that to the twins, as if that wasn't something they would internalize. Of all of his swirling feelings, in that particular moment, anger was currently the winner, "It is not your job for speak for folk who are not here to defend themselves."
 
Declan shrugged, staring right back into Dark's eyes, seeming unconcerned. "Nope. I'm not trying to clean my back. I just want the facts to be absolutely clear. I'm not a monster, and she's not a saint. You two have been dead set on making me out to be the nasty villain, but I want you to be clear that this isn't all my fault. I'm here now, but you are making me regret every second. So." He stood, sliding out of the bench easily. "When you're done making yourselves out to be the saintly heroes in this story, give me a call. I'm not going to sit around getting shamed by a pair of people who have no more idea of what's gone on in my life than I have of what happened in yours." He turned and started striding away.

Alec sat up straighter. "Wait," he whispered, trying to understand what had happened.

Xander frowned, glancing between Daizi and Dark and Declan. "This was pointless."
 
"You don't get to do that," Daizi said calmly as Declan began walking away, "You don't get to walk away because we aren't accepting you and your story at your word. Now, I don't recall making her out to be a saint, but if you really want to prove you are not the bad guy here, sit down and talk to these boys, because if you really want to get to know them, you would be able to handle being questioned."

"Daizi," Dark said quietly, hanging his head slightly. He just couldn't stand listening to this man tell his kids those things. It wasn't fair to them, regardless of if the maternal side of their family viewed them as a punishment or not, that was the sort of thing you didn't tell them, you just loved them more, but still he regretted it because even though he actually wasn't trying to intimidate the man, he still ended up sending him off. And now he and Daizi looked like they had driven him off because of a personal agenda. He looked up at the twins, seeming somehow smaller than usual, and said, "I am sorry... I just... you should not have to hear those things... I did not want..." He rubbed his arm.
 
Declan glanced over his shoulder. "You don't get to treat a guy like trash and expect him to take it. You know where to find me." He kept walking, heading off to the other, smaller parking lot where his motorcycle sat waiting.

Alec folded his arms around himself as he watched Declan walk away. "I don't know what just happened," he admitted.

"What happened is a snarling fest between two tigers wanting the same mountain," Xander said, getting up. He turned and started walking into the park, away from both Declan and his foster parents.

Alec nearly fell over as he scrambled out of his seat and followed after.
 
"We just--" Daizi began, but then dropped it. There was no point. They weren't even treating him like trash, or at least they didn't feel like they were, they just wanted him to be fair, and not just think about himself, but... She slouched, and when the twins began to leave, they both felt inclined to follow, but instinctively reached out to each other to encourage them to stay behind.

The twins need space, and they felt guilty. It was better to just wait until they had cooled off some.
 
Alec didn't say anything as he walked a pace behind Xander, gripping the sleeves of his coat. They didn't hang as long on him as they once did, meaning it was harder than it used to be to hold them. He didn't say anything as they walked, just worked to keep up as best as he could while Xander speed-walked around the park. He didn't know what to think. He didn't know what to do. Declan may have been a bit mouthy, but everyone had their faults, and he didn't seem like he was used to being around kids. Maybe if they gave him more time, he'd either show he wasn't so bad, or maybe he'd show his true colors more clearly. Instead, Dark and Daizi had been very harsh to him. Maybe because they were scared? But they'd said Declan couldn't take them away, so what were they afraid of? Maybe Declan rubbed them the wrong way? Or they knew something they weren't telling? He just didn't know.

Xander churned his legs as fast as he could go without actually running. He didn't want to think about anything right now. All the adults seemed to have lost their ever-loving minds right now. Daizi was behaving weird and emotional, Dark was acting a bit closer to his reputation, and Declan... he had no idea what to peg Declan as. One minute, he was awesome. The next, he was storming off. He didn't want to think about any of that right now. He just wanted to walk for a while. Maybe walk all the way home if he could.

Meanwhile, back at the bench, Daizi's cell phone rang.
 
Daizi nearly leapt out of her skin when she heard her phone ring, and quickly fished it out of her purse while Dark sat wishing he could melt into the floor or rewind and try it all again or something.

"H-hello?" She answered, trying to swallow back all of the emotions she was feeling, and not being totally certain who she was about to speak to, not wanting to break down in tears to whoever was on the other end of the line.
 
"Daizi? Hello! It's Sally Hollis," said the cheerful British accent. "I had news for you. I found a dojo that's willing to take Xander on, and as he comes with a recommendation, he can have his first two classes free! It's like a trial period for both him and the teacher to see if it's a good fit. Shall I text you the details?"
 
"Oh, good," Daizi said, trying to sound happy, even though on the other end of the phone her eyes were brimming with tears, "I'd love it if you did, I'm sure he'll be so excited. He really likes getting to be active, thank you so much," holding the phone away from her slightly she repeated the information to her husband.
 
"Hm? Yeah, everything is--" She took a shaky breath, and then fell silent as she tried to mentally will her throat to open up at least a little, and then in one giant blurb broke down explaining, "We were contacted about relatives and it turns out one of them is their biological father and I don't trust him at all, my gut and my third eye just feel like there's something wrong about him and I'm pretty sure he's lied already but the twins met him today and we were put off by the things he was saying so we tried to interrupt it but we fucked it up and he left and we don't know what we're doing and all we want is to keep them safe and not retraumatize them."

Dark raised his eyes slightly, surprised to hear his wife just openly share all of that with someone they barely knew.


"I'm sorry, I just--I don't know what's going to happen and everything's falling apart and also the baby is moving again and I just want to travel back in time and I can't even have a drink."
 
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There was a soft fuzzy noise as if Sally covered the speaker with her hand and murmured to someone else. Then the hand moved with another fuzzy noise, and she said, "I can be at your house in an hour and a half, and I will bring you something as good as alcohol that's safe. Alright? You just sit tight and I'll be right there."
 
"We're at the park--" Daizi tried to explain, but then recovered enough peace of mind to understand they weren't really that far from home and so she said, "Okay... thank you... I just, okay..." She waited for Sally to hang up first and then just sat there and cried. Dark moved from his side of the table to hers, because he was physically unable to sit there, watch her cry, and not do or say anything. He wished he could cry the way she could, although at that moment Daizi was wishing she could control her emotions more like him, but he couldn't. So instead he rested his head against hers, and gazed out at the park, trying to see if he could spot the twins.
 
It took another fifteen minutes of walking, but Xander gradually made his way back around toward the park picnic table where Dark and Daizi sat waiting. His steps slowed as he approached, feeling suddenly guilty. Should he have stayed? Usually, he got in trouble for walking away, but walking away usually kept him from saying something he shouldn't. Was he in trouble now? He might actually feel better if he was.

Alec caught Xander's arm, panting a little. "I think it's time to go home," he said tiredly.

Xander just nodded, and the pair walked over to the table.
 
By the time the twins came back, Daizi had calmed down enough that she wasn't crying anymore. They were still sitting closely to each other, but that wasn't indicative of any strong emotions. Dark still looked guilty, but when he saw them he sat up straighter and tapped Daizi on the shoulder to let her know the twins had come back.

"I'm really sorry," She said, "we screwed that up for you... it wasn't our intention, but we still did. I'm sorry."

Dark nodded deeply, still seeming small, "I am sorry, too."
 
Xander blinked, and Alec stared at them. Both of them had to pause and look back. They couldn't remember ever being told "sorry" by an adult, at least not in a situation this serious. Had they? Maybe Daizi had, maybe Dark, but this was a big deal, and they were apologizing.

"It's okay," Xander said uncomfortably. "Things happen, I guess."

"It was a volatile situation," Alec supplied helpfully. "At least we have another chance, right? To sit down and have a calmer talk another day."

Xander sighed. "I dunno if I want to, but I think, yeah, another day."

"Can we... can we go home now?" Alec asked softly.
 
"Yeah, we can go home," Daizi said, feeling all of her strong emotions well up inside her again, but this time managing to control them, "Next time will be better, whenever you want next time to be." She got up from the bench, and reached out to Dark to help him up, because even though he didn't need help, sometimes it was nice. It was a little bit easier knowing the twins aren't angry with them like they had feared.

As they headed to the car, Dark lightly squeezed Alec's shoulder, but not Xander's, since, of course, Xander didn't like to be touched. Then they got into the car, silently, and drove home.
 
Alec took a shaky breath as he got in the car, buckled, and all but folded up into a little ball. Xander sat tense and silent for the ride, occasionally shifting and twitching unhappily. Things had not gone as well as either of them hoped or as bad as they had feared. Part of them wished it'd gone badly so they didn't have to worry about it anymore, but that seemed unfair.

The moment they arrived home, they got out of the car and all but bolted for their room, closing the door behind them. They didn't want to have anything to do with anyone right now. It was all just too much.
 
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