How Green Becomes Wood

Dark nodded once and finished the rest of dinner in silence. When it was ready, he let Daizi know and then went up and knocked on Alec's door to let him know, "I am sure you are not hungry, but you still need to eat. You in particular." He wasn't going to say it, but he didn't want a repeat of last year.
 
He didn't want to eat. He wasn't hungry. The thought of food made him feel a little sick, but he had to obey. Alec dragged himself out of bed and pulled on the first shirt and pair of pants that he saw and came down slowly.

Xander didn't even acknowledge his brother's presence. He ate his usual heaping portion, thanked Dark for the food, and started cleaning up almost immediately.

Alec picked at his food and tried to force himself to eat, but he only got a few bites down. He did drink a lot, feeling dehydrated.
 
The only one who was truly happy at the dinner table that evening was Ivy, who did notice her family seemed distracted, but just tried extra hard to get attention. It was tense, otherwise, which she found confusing at only ten months old, but at least her parents spoke to her extensively throughout the meal.
 
Alec went straight to bed after eating as much as he could manage, and he curled back up under the covers without even glancing at his homework. He couldn't be bothered right now. Maybe later.

Xander got his homework and did it in the living room. He made certain to stay out of Ivy's reach wherever he went, the mere thought of a touch enough to put his hair on end and his skin burning again. Even so, he did talk to her and let her crinkle up his papers if he wanted. He had one unsharpened pencil she could have, but after she'd puppy-dogged the last one, he wasn't sure if it was a good idea to let her have it in case of splinters.
 
Ivy did crinkle his papers a little bit, but due to the time of night, she was prevented from doing too much damage, and both parents worked hard to make sure she didn't accidentally touch her brother. This was not an evening to try it.

When it was finally her bedtime, Dark brought her upstairs to soothe her to sleep, while Daizi hung back with Xander.
 
Xander noticed his parents' attempts to keep Ivy from touching him, and he appreciated it, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he muttered to himself about his math homework and tried to sort out the jumble of numbers and letters one piece at a time. He didn't notice Daizi hanging back.
 
"I really, really don't think so," Xander said, fighting down a sigh. "A part of me just wants to slug him, but that's not allowed or okay. So. I'm doing my homework. Maybe once I figure out what X stands for, I can then find some inner peace."
 
"I spend too much time around babies, I was about to tell you without any irony that X stands for Xander." Daizi replied, unable to resist a little giggle despite how serious the day was, "When we try to teach Ivy the English alphabet, that's what we tell her."
 
"I used to say 'zed' and 'zeh-bra' rather than 'zee' and 'zee-bra' because my English teacher was English," Daizi commented, "but my English has been Americanized, because Dark learned English here, and we were also living with Cooger for so long."
 
"Zeh-brah," Xander muttered to himself. He shook his head and went back to work on his mathematics. Peter also called it "Maths," instead of "Math," which drove Xander nuts. Where did the S come from??
 
Daizi chuckled softly and then stood, knowing she wasn't likely to get anything more out of him, but content that although he was angry, he seemed more or less okay. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Don't stay up too late."
 
"Kay. I'll head to bed as soon as I'm finished here," Xander promised. He needed to finish his math and history, but history was easier than it used to be thanks to a certain teacher.
 
"I'm proud of you," She said simply as she went to the stairs, not feeling a need to explain why. In her opinion, it stood for itself. Then, she got ready for bed, and soon enough she and Dark were cuddled up. If they didn't cuddle, the blankets would be cold, and nothing was worth that.

"I still think you should offer to help Tristan at his store," Daizi said, listening to his slow, even heartbeat.

"Why would I do that?"

"So we don't have to choose between punishing our son and making a man's ability to run his buisness more difficult," Daizi replied.

"You work for him then," Dark smirked, running his thumb along her jawline.

"Me?" Daizi laughed, "I've got a baby to nurse. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't appreciate it if I was dropped off, ten-month-old in tow, and started breastfeeding in the middle of his flowershop."

"I think that would look very elegant."

"It probably would, but if he's anything like his nephews, his head would explode the moment I took one out. And I don't want to have to clean up that mess."
 
Xander fulfilled his promise and did not stay up too late. When he finished his work, he packed everything up and made certain his bag was ready to go for the next day. Then he headed up to his room.

Alec sat up when Xander entered. "I wanted to-"

"Save it," Xander said shortly, hunting out his pajama bottoms.

"But-" Alec tried.

"No. Not in the mood, not interested. Probably won't ever be," Xander said flatly.

Alec huddled in on himself as he watched his brother change for bed. "I never meant to-"

Xander turned on his brother. "Shut. Your. Mouth!" he growled out through clenched teeth. "If you knew... but you don't because you don't care about anyone but yourself and how other people make you feel. So don't even try to say sorry or any other bull because I'm not buying it." He turned back and grabbed his pillow off his bed. "You're finding your own way to school from now on." He turned to leave but paused to add, "And you can forget the band." He walked out of the bedroom, closing the door firmly behind him.

"Okay," Alec whispered. He laid down on his side and curled into a fetal position. "Okay. Okay. It'll be okay. He can be angry. He's allowed. I'm allowed. We need to process. It'll be okay. Eventually, it'll be okay." He rocked himself slightly and cried himself to sleep where he had fitful dreams of canyons and earthquakes.

Xander went down to the living room where he made himself comfortable on the couch with his pillow and a couple of blankets. He didn't care if it was weird - just hoped he wouldn't scare his parents in the morning - he needed space from his brother, and sharing a room was not an option. He fell asleep to dreams of familiar figures pleading to be rescued from catastrophic things, but he couldn't only save one.
 
Dark came downstairs that morning, rubbing his face in exhausting. He hated waking up early, but the best way to assure he had time to work out like he needed to was to get up before Ivy did. On his rest days, Daizi made him sleep in, but this wasn't a rest day. Once he started going, he'd wake up, it would be great, but before then he needed to eat something.

He was temporarily surprised when he saw Xander asleep on the couch, and concerned---this was a lot more serious than he had fully recognized--- but it soon made sense to him, although in his groggy, up-too-early brain, it took him a bit longer than it otherwise would, and until it clicked, he stood, clad only in his pajama pants, staring down at Xander. Then it clicked, and he went to make himself enough of a breakfast to sustain his workout.
 
Xander woke with a start at the sound of Dark making breakfast. It took him a moment to recognize where he was. Realization did not bring any kind of peace. He wandered upstairs and got dressed without waking Alec, and then went downstairs where he left a note that he'd gone out for a run. Early morning runs were uncommon for him, but not unknown. Most martial artists declared running as the best way to increase stamina, so running he went. It was also a good way to clear his head.

When he got back, he took a quick shower, redressed, and got breakfast. He was less actively angry now, but the burning coals still lingered at the bottom of his stomach. When it was time to leave for school, he left early and alone without one word about Alec.

Alec remained in bed. He didn't even get up for breakfast. Just stayed wrapped in blankets.
 
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