How Green Becomes Wood

"She has parents who won't let her do anything less, no matter what path she chooses to go down," Alec shrugged. "And I don't mean that in a bad way. It's just how enthusiastic you are."
 
Dark sat down and stretched out one of his legs, looking over at his baby daughter, "She is allowed to be less than wonderful, I am not going to force her to strive towards unyielding perfection." One of his eyebrows flicked up slightly with a little smile, "Still, I believe she will do wonderful things, not because I forbid her from doing less than that, but because she already does."
 
Alec laughed at that. "She will be wonderful no matter what, and she definitely has you wrapped around her finger. You're going to have to be careful of that." He patted the top of Dark's head gently.
 
"I am not wrapped--" Dark began to say, but stopped mid sentence and looked up at Alec bewildered. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Daizi asked, confused by the sudden change in tone.

"He--touched the top of my head. Like I am Enkidu."

Immediately Daizi laughed, "Well, you are a very, very good boy."
 
Alec couldn't help laughing at Dark's expression. "What is so shocking about a head pat? But you are a good boy. An excellent Ba! And totally, one-hundred percent wrapped around both your baby and your wife's fingers. Right, Mama?"
 
"I am not a dog," Dark said with mild indignance, sitting back to really assume a more noble position.

"Nobody called you a dog," Daizi replied, kissing his cheek, "We called you a good boy. And he's certainly not wrapped around anything," she teased, staying leaned in towards her husband, "He's really just very content."
 
"Whenever you want," Dark replied from beneath his stern, frowny expression he so often wore, "It is already out, I suspect I need not spoon feed you like I must do with Ivy."

"See, he's grumpy now," Daizi grinned, gently rubbing Dark's shoulder.
 
"You are sitting on the floor and not appearing to be prepared for dinner, So it only makes sense that I'd ask," Alec pointed out. "Mama, you should know his grumpy face is nearly as cute as Ivy's. Do you think she got it from him?"

"You are all weird," Xander stated.
 
Daizi chuckled, resting her cheek against Dark's shoulder, "Oh, I promise I've known how cute his grumpy face is. I can't see it, but I've felt it before. I am certain she inherited it, and I'm very grateful she did. Come on," She stood up, scooping Ivy with her, "Let's go have dinner, Hummingbird."

Then she reached down her hand to Dark, who rolled his eyes but took it to stand back up and went with them into the kitchen.
 
Enjoying family dinners was nice for Dark and Daizi too. They had nearly a decade of eating just the two of them each night, getting to spend time listening to the twins talk about their day, and now listen to Ivy babble in between spoonfuls was just a quiet, simple victory each night. It was nice to be a family, rather than only a couple. Dark had never had anything like this, and Daizi's dinners varied in how comfortable they were depending on who of her family was at the table that night. But this... This was what they needed.
 
As dinner ended, the twins headed up to get ready for bed. They were quiet as they went through their usual evening routine, avoiding each other as much as they could, but there was only so much they could do when they shared the same bathroom. They sat on the edges of their beds, carefully not looking at each other.

Finally, Alec spoke. "Sorry. For before."

Xander shrugged awkwardly. "Me too. You're just... trying to help."

"But not everything can be fixed by optimism," Alec sighed.

"I wish it could be, but... optimism isn't... the worst," Xander mumbled, reddening slightly. "It's kind of better than, you know, constant darkness."

Alec moved over and sat next to him. "But it's okay to be you. I'd never want you to be anyone but you as long as you were happy. Somehow."

Xander put his arm around Alec, and Alec leaned into him in silence. They stayed that way until they laid down to sleep.
 
Ivy still gave Dark and Daizi a bit of trouble that night, but unlike they night before, she allowed herself to be set down in her crib, and after only two or three tries, she successfully stayed asleep for the rest of the night, at which point Dark and Daizi were able to finally relax into their bed. For how large their bed was, they certainly didn't make great use of it, because with a soft exhale, Daizi snuggled into her husband's chest and shut her eyes, just feeling how his large hands and strong arms enveloped her. It would pass, they both knew it. They just had to get through it.

Ultimately, they managed to achieve most of a good night's sleep, and were a bit more ready to face the day at breakfast than they were the night before.
 
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The next day, things seemed a lot more normal. The twins were still a little cautious with each other - they rarely had this sort of fight and were trying to navigate how to recover from it - but they were both a lot happier with each other, too. They ate breakfast, packed their school lunches, and told the rest of the family goodbye before getting into Xander's van and heading to school.
 
It was nice to see the twins getting along with each other slightly better than they had been the day before, despite it remaining imperfect. A start was a start.

Like they did every day when the twins left, they brought her to the front door and told her to say goodbye to her brothers, and that morning, when she saw her mother wave goodbye, Ivy did too.
 
Alec waved enthusiastically, but Xander didn't notice, busy sorting out his keys. Alec drew his attention to the baby at the door, and Xander willingly waved as well before they got in the van.

The trip to school was uneventful, as usual, and they arrived just a few minutes early, exactly as they both preferred it. That meant they could wander to class without much worry.
 
Recognizing it was the very first time Ivy waved goodbye, Dark and Daizi returned inside, proving her with all the heavy praise she deserved for being so clever.

Milo always arrived early to school, for no real reason, and he went into his first class as soon as he was allowed to.
 
Xander plunked down next to Milo and kicked back in his chair as best as he could. These desks and chairs were not exactly comfortable. Not the worst, but not the best. Alec sat next to Xander and got out his notebook and pencil. He was ready for the day!

"Hey, Milo, guess what?" he said, leaning around Xander.
 
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