How Green Becomes Wood

Dark took Ivy from Daizi, taking Ivy back to their bedroom so he could change her. He didn't have an issue changing her clothes in front of everyone, because her diaper was going to stay on, but he needed to get the safety pins anyway. With a bit of work, he had it pinned to fit her well enough to get away with her wearing it. Returning to the living room, he held her up, "Are we satisfied?" Then he kissed her cheek, "I am sorry, my darling."

"He's choosing to be grumpy about this," Daizi chuckled, "He knows it's more fun if he plays up his irritation."

"I am playing nothing up," He huffed, although he was. "We can do some of the boardwalk games. I do not have anything specific I have not done yet."
 
"Ivy! You are so cute!" Alec told her. "Absolutely adorable! We should get a picture of you. Yes! A family photo! Think we could?"

Xander eyed him. "Really?"

"We need to commemorate this moment of getting our parents - and you - to wear bright colors," Alec told him.

Xander couldn't argue with that even though he wanted to. He kind of wanted to get a couple of pictures of the are to show his friends anyway.
 
"I think getting a family picture is a great idea!" Daizi said, excitedly, "But I take offense at the implication that I'd refuse to wear a bright colour. There is no way for me to know if I like bright colours or not. I think we should find the most embarrassing spot possible, to match our shirts."

Dark looked at his wife with tired eyes and then back at his sons, "Do you see what you have done?"

"The more you whine, the more powerful we get," Daizi replied, drifting back into her bedroom to get a pair of sunglasses--this set were shaped to resemble blood drips, "We should get going, we don't want to waste our last day talking about it."
 
"Absolutely! Let's go! Let's find all the things and take all the pictures and buy all the stuff!" Alec yelled in excitement, running out the door.

"We still have to all fit in the car!" Xander yelled after him as he chased his brother.

"I'll sit on your lap!"

"Not for two days you won't! You're way too heavy!"

"You're way too weak!"

"Hey! Come back here and tell me that to my shirt!"
 
"Don't buy thinks just to buy them," Daizi advised them, putting Ivy into her stroller. Part of her wanted to wear Ivy in her sling today, but then they'd cover up these shirts, and if they were committing, they should commit. "If you sit in his lap, we're likely to get pulled over, and I don't want to guess what would happen to us then."

Going out onto the street, the first thing Dark did was spot a good place to take a picture, settling on in front of a big mosaic sign with the name of the beach on it. As cliche and touristy as he felt, dressed more 'normal' than he had in years, it was sort of nice to just... be a normal, boring, awkward family. It was good to have a group picture. After they took it with the help of a passerby, Daizi made sure he sent it to her family. Then, they continued walking down the strip, picking up whatever souvenirs they were still thinking about from earlier in the trip.
 
The twins didn't actually buy much. A couple of little items that Alec had already been debating on, and Xander got a couple more postcards for Milo, these ones more about the area than just the dolphins. It didn't take them long to find their way to the boardwalk games where Xander challenged Dark to a few of them. Shockingly, he managed to not lose all of the rounds against his father. He allowed himself a bit of gloating while Alec cheered them on.
 
Losing two games stood out to Dark, but didn't crush his ego too badly. The games were intentionally rigged, one could not expect to win every time. One of the ones he lost was luck-based, anyway, and the other... It wasn't one of his favourites, anyway. Besides, he still won the majority, so it wasn't like he had to walk around feeling like he was losing some of his abilities. It wasn't serious.

"It is the t-shirt," He said, playing up his distress to make Xander feel better about winning, "The sleeves are restrictive."

"Sure it is, baby," Daizi replied, rubbing his arm.
 
"Uh-huh, sure, the sleeves. That's your story and you're sticking to it," Xander smirked.

Alec, who hadn't managed to beat a single game, clapped happily. "Well done to you both! So exciting! What's next?"

"Ferris wheel? Or wait until it's darker?" Xander suggested.
 
Dark looked up at the looming wheel, "I think we should wait. Sunset is always my favourite time. And here, at the top, if we look in one direction, we will see the water, and if we look in the other, we will see the sun go down over Virginia. We should not cheapen it by riding it too soon."

As they walked down the boardwalk, they noticed two things: One, there were some street performers, all much friendly than the singer Dark had threatened, and two, this t-shirt seemed to make Dark much more approachable. People smiled at him. One person actually spoke to him during a brief moment where he was by himself. He wasn't sure he liked it.
 
As they wandered down, Alec heard someone call out, "Hey! You! Kid with the blue and red hair! No, not you, ma'am, the guy!"

He turned, puzzled, and saw the keyboardist and the drummer sitting at what looked like a small, out of the way stage like what some of the other street performers were using. He glanced around before pointing to himself. At the keyboardist's nod, he slowly made his way toward them. Xander realized what was happening and shoved his way forward, as well.

"Hey, guys," said the keyboardist quickly as soon as he saw Xander's glare, "we just wanted to say sorry for what our mate did yesterday. It was not cool, really, and we're sorry. He doesn't speak for all of us. He shouldn't have said those things."

"No?" Xander demanded testily. "Great. Then where's he at to apologize for himself?"

"That is a good question," the drummer grumbled.

"He was supposed to be here an hour and a half ago and hasn't shown up," the keyboardist sighed. "Last I heard from him, he was yelling something about the mafia telling him to get singing lessons or they'd snuff him. I think he got a bit too much sun."

The twins glanced side long toward Dark.
 
Catching the twins' look, Dark put one hand in his pocket and turned away, whistling to look completely and utterly innocent of any wrong doing. Who would possibly do that? To the singer who insulted his children? Certainly not him. Certainly not!

Still, he moved a bit closer, wanting to listen in on this conversation to make sure nobody else needed a talking to.
 
"Yep. Definitely a lot of sun there," Xander agreed. "So he stood you up?"

"Again," mumbled the drummer.

"Again? Why do you work with him?" Xander demanded.

The keyboardist and drummer exchanged glances. Then the keyboardist smiled. "So, you guys into music? Wanna be rockers someday?"

Xander gritted his teeth. The guy couldn't be older than early twenties, and he was talking to them like they were little kids.

"It sure sounds like a fun, really hard way to live!" Alec chirped.

Xander pointed to the guitar propped up off to the side. "Is that an Ibanez? Nice guitar. Hurt to see it get dropped like that."

"Oh, you know it?" the keyboardist asked, surprised. "Yeah, they're really good at holding their tune. Good guitars. A little scratch won't hurt it. You play."

"Oh, sure!" Alec started to say, but Xander overrode him. "Oh, you know, just playing around. Can I hold it? I won't drop it." He was still annoyed, but it looked like there was a chance to do a little showing off on behalf of Alec. If Alec played along. Alec mostly looked puzzled right now.

"Sure! Can't hurt it any more than it's already been hurt." The keyboardist paused. "Uh, if your folks are okay with it."

Xander turned and looked at Dark, knowing he was listening in.
 
Although he did not love this, Dark gave a nod, indicating it was okay. He wished he wasn't in such a stupid, ill-fitting shirt. It took away some of his edge, he feared. By Xander's willingness to take the guitar, he had a guess as to how this might go.
 
Xander picked up the guitar and ran his hand over the slight cosmetic damage. Like the keyboardist had said, it hadn't affected the structure of the guitar. he started strumming the guitar, testing it. The keyboardist listened, nodding with an indulgent look. The drummer wasn't watching, but he seemed to be paying more actual attention. Once Xander felt comfortable with the guitar, he started strumming a simple, cheerful tune. Alec instantly recognized the tune and covered his mouth in shock and hilarity.

Xander started to sing.

Maybe I'm just crazy, maybe I'm a fool
Maybe I don't know how to love, but maybe I do
Maybe you know more than me, but this much is true
This little heart and brain of mine say we're through with you

Alec stepped up to sing the next part, taking his cue from Xander.

And I wonder does it blow your mind?
That I'm leaving you far behind
I wonder does it stop your heart to know
You're not my sunshine, anymore!

The pair joined in at the chorus, and the drummer started to accompany them as it was a simple, easy beat to pick up. The keyboardist stared in shock. It wasn't that the song was overly complicated, and Xander's voice was okay to good with a certain growl that added an edge to the song. Alec's voice, though, was phenomenal, and he hit every high note flawlessly as they dove into the chorus, even dancing just a little on the tiny stage. The drummer seemed to be having fun while the keyboardist stood looking like he was trying to figure out what was happening. The mic wasn't on, so they weren't as loud as they could have been, but they had good projection.

Okay, you're pretty, your face is a work of art
Your smile could light up New York City after dark
Okay, you're Cover Boy pretty, stamped with a beauty mark
But it's such a pity, a boy so pretty
With an ugly heart!
 
Hearing her son sing, Daizi came nearer to them, resting her weight against her cane event thought it wasn't really made for that, beaming with pride. They had grown into very impressive musicians, and she felt she earned a bit of the credit, because she was who first taught Alec how to play an instrument. Beside her, Dark was torn between feeling proud of their courage to improvise a public performance like that and... not quite regret or disappointment, but some level of dissatisfaction with himself that he couldn't be like that. They were an impressive pair, and he wondered how he would rank, if he were able to cope with the thought of people looking at him like that. Daizi's only regret was that Alec didn't sing with her as much as he used to.
 
A small crowd quickly gathered around to listen, bouncing along, and at least one person knew the words. Not well, but enough that they were making an effort. The song ended in a repetition of the chorus after Alec held an impressive note drawing out, "An uh, an uh, an ugly heart!" which meant that the crowd could sing along, and Alec, being the showman he was, engaged with the crowd, stirring up their enthusiasm to the end. Even the keyboardist was able to join in a little bit, and he was grinning.

The song ended, and Alec took his bows, encouraging the small crowd to clap for Xander, the drummer, and the keyboardist before stepping away. The crowd seemed disappointed that the entertainment was over already, but they slowly drifted away.

"Hey, you lied to me," the keyboardist said teasingly as the twins started to walk away. "You two don't just 'play around,' do you?"
 
When the song finished, Daizi cheered a slightly embarrassing amount---she was allowed, because if the twins had them wear cheesy family t-shirts, they had no right to expect her not to make a big show of being their mom when they went ahead and performed an impromptu concert. Dark was more restrained, but he always was.
 
Xander gave the keyboardist a cheeky smirk. "He forced me into a band, and we preform every other weekend," he said, nodding to his brother. "Hope you get a better guitarist."

"Are you sure you don't want to be in our band?" the keyboardist asked.

"Thanks, but that'd be a long drive," Alec laughed. "Thanks for letting us have fun! See you!" He hopped off the tiny stage and ran to his mother. "Mama! How'd we do?"

"She was screaming like mad, I think that means we did well," Xander drawled as he followed Alec.

The keyboardist looked a little disapointed at being abandoned, but he and the drummer started talking about songs they could do without a singer or guitarist.
 
"You did great, habibi!" Daizi said, "You're both so talented! And so skilled! I don't know if I can sing like that. I'm not saying that to be self-deprecating, I know I'm not a bad singer by any means, I just don't know if that's the genre my voice suits. I'm a harpist, so most of the songs I sing aren't as intense."

"That is not true, I have heard you sing to Paramore," Dark pointed out, which Daizi couldn't argue with, "I thought you both were very courageous, performing like that."
 
"You sing beautifully, Mama," Alec assured her. "I miss singing with you sometimes. We should try to do that more often." He turned to Dark when Dark praised them, practically glowing with pride at the words. "Thank you, Ba."

Xander didn't say anything, but he did duck his head with a little smile, proud of the praise. It meant a lot to him to hear Dark say things like that. It meant a lot to hear Daizi's praise, but for some reason, Dark's hit just a little different for him.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top