How Green Becomes Wood

Sloan told him the name of the pizza place and then rolled her eyes at Alec, "I'll maybe sleep in that shirt, but I'll never wear it to school. It's funny, but dude, I don't want future frat guys asking me to do headstands all day long."
 
"You could always accidentally kick them as you came back down," Peter suggested innocently.

Alec sniggered. "I know, I know, it's stupid and silly. You can get rid of it, if you want, or turn it into a poster. How about a pillow?"
 
"This is my handstand shirt on a pillow?" Sloan asked with a laugh, "That makes a lot of sense. I don't know what I'll do with it, yet. It's too long to train in, maybe if I cut it. If the text was higher, it could be a funny sports bra."
 
"Nice idea," Alec approved.

"What does your gymnastic schedule look like in the near future?" Peter asked out of curiosity.

Xander glanced at Milo now that he'd had time to settle. "Good class?"
 
Sloan shared her schedule to Peter while Milo shrugged, taking out his lunchbox, "It was okay. It's never a bad class, you know? I actually like that one. But it wasn't special, today, really."
 
"Guess not every day is special, but it's cool," Xander shrugged. "What did you mean earlier about being connected or whatever?"
 
Milo took some time to think about it, trying to remember what he did mean. "I think... you know... you had said that it still feels really when your mom talks about it, and dead when our teacher does, but also that you don't really care either way. But like, even though it's not really your heritage, because you were adopted, it's also closer to being your heritage than it is than it is to being the rest of ours, because you're being raised by people who have that heritage. You haven't been forever, but you have now, so it's like, you said you don't bother with modern and ancient Egypt connecting, but if it matters to your mom and dad... I don't know. You're connected to it because you're connected to them, and they're connected to it."
 
Xander took some time to consider this, breaking off pieces of his sandwich and eating them. "Yeah. I guess it does," he agreed. "Hadn't thought about it that way, but I suppose that's true. I'm not good at connecting anything or anyone, but I guess maybe I ought to care a little bit, right?"
 
"If they do, probably yeah. I mean, I don't know how much that far in the past matters to them, or if they view it the way we view it, but if your mom talks passionately about it..." He shrugged, "It's probably worth seeing how she feels about it. Where is your dad from again? Anyway, I don't think connecting to people is something people are good or bad at. It's just, you know. Work. And I'm not a good example of that, but..." He knitted his eyebrows together and bounced one leg, "It's not that I'm bad at it, exactly. It's just that---it makes me really nervous to talk to people, and it's hard to connect to people if you don't talk to them. But they're your parents, so you can talk to them. And parents are always thrilled when they can talk about their own stuff, because parents always have to talk about their kid's stuff. Parents complain about that kinda stuff all the time. Or, at least they do in shows like The Middle. Moms on TV make a big point about how they're not just a mom."
 
Xander shrugged. "I think they play up that kind of thing because it makes good tv, but I bet some are like that. Our Ba, he's from Iraq." He paused. "Came over as a kid during the war. Sometimes talks about it, but not a lot. I think he kind of misses what it could have been more than what it was, but he good stuff, too, so... Yeah. Anyway, they both like to talk about it just to share, you know? So if you ever get any kind of assignment for crypids, Egypt, Iraq, tattoos, or mystic stuff, I know a couple of guys. Oh, house repair and animal rescues, too, from my uncle."
 
"Oh," Milo replied, immediately understanding how serious that was and not knowing how to really engage properly with it. It's not like he could call it cool. "It's not really something we think about a lot, huh? Most of the people you meet are people who signed up to go to a war, not ones where war came to them regardless. 'Guess we're pretty lucky to be relatively isolated." He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, hoping that was about the right thing, "Don't know how much of that stuff I really think about on any day, but I'll keep it in mind. Your mom's pretty smart, I remember her exhibit at the museum."
 
"They both are. He just doesn't show it off as much, usually, especially now that he's not teaching." Xander remembered Milo's love of children and said, "The Mini is smart, too, and stubborn. She figured out how to stand yesterday."
 
"I bet he is, I don't imagine many smart people like your mom marry dumb people, and everyone said your dad was a good teacher, so I figured he's smart. I just don't really know him. I don't know either of them, but I know your mom's work more." Milo replied, worried he made it sound like he thought Mr. Dark was stupid, but he brightened up again when Xander mentioned Ivy's newest achievement, "I think lots of babies learn to do new things purely out of stubbornness. Standing is dangerous, though, it means she'll be walking soon."
 
"Baby locks are a good idea," Milo said, looking down at this lunch, "babies are all little monsters. It's because they're so curious. People talk all the time about how if the baby is quiet, they are causing trouble."
 
"And you're sure you want one of those little troublemakers? You don't just want to work as like, I dunno, a nanny or something?" Xander asked, smirking a little. Not because he thought being a nanny or wanting kids was bad, Milo's reactions just amused him.
 
"Well, yeah, that's the fun of it," Milo replied earnestly, "they drive you crazy but then they make you laugh and you see them go from a potato to a person with thoughts and opinions. Ivy is going to have a favourite animal, one day, and a favourite colour. Then one day she'll have a favourite band and passions and you'll remember when she was just a potato. Anyway, if you work as a nanny, you can end up fired and then you don't get to see the kid you helped raise anymore."
 
"I already sit through ICU visits and bullying," Milo replied, "Haven't been in a major car crash, though. With Hitler, though, look how many kids have screwed up childhoods without becoming Hitler. Look how many kids with good childhoods don't become a Hitler. Statistically, you're in good shape."
 
"It hits different when it's the NICU and your kid dealing with the bully, not you," Xander shrugged, and he could help continuing, "Still, those few Hitler people, they do a heck of a lot of damage for how few they are. Are you sure it's worth the risk?" It was rather amusing standing on the other side of the argument.
 
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