How Green Becomes Wood

"They left, yes," Dark replied. He wondered a bit if he should bring them downstairs so as to not taint their room with this energy, but he knew Daizi was definitely smudging the house after this, and he knew that this was probably where the twins would go after they finished talking anyway, so it seemed unnecessary. He pulled the chair away from the desk and sat in it. Daizi, meanwhile, sat on Alec's bed, and gestured for the twins to come sit with her. She didn't know how much she could protect them going forward, but she wanted them to feel protected now.

"No, it wasn't a fight, not really," She said, "Just... a difference in opinion. And it's okay that you were trying to listen, it involved you... Did you hear who came here today?"
 
Alec and Xander chose to sit side by side with Alec between Xander and Daizi. They wanted to be together. "Maybe," Alec said cautiously. "Was it our mother's sister and our... the, um..."

"The dirty bastard that left our mother pregnant and helpless?" Xander finished.

Alec blushed. "Yes. Him."
 
"Yes." Daizi and Dark confirmed simultaneously. Although Dark had remained more calm in the moment, more derision seeped into his voice now. It was entirely foreign to him to even imagine getting a girl pregnant and leaving. He and Daizi were young the first time she conceived, not as young, but young, and even though he was scared and, at the time, had no desire to have kids, he was entirely willing to take on that responsibility. The fact he was in love might have made a difference, but even still, to him, he could understand leaving the woman, but the baby? He had no respect for that.

"He wants to meet you," Daizi put her arm around Alec, making sure to avoid touching Xander as she did so, "we told him we would only let him if you agreed."

Dark moved his chair closer to them, and leaning forward with his elbows on his knees he said, "Unfortunately, even if you say no, if he chooses, he may be able to force us to make you see him, but we are going to do our best to convince him to respect your choice, whatever it is. And we will not force you to make one decision over the other."
 
Xander sat stiff and straight, glowering at the edge of the desk near Dark rather than look at Dark directly. "That makes no sense. He hasn't been around us at all for any reason in fourteen-fifteen years. Why now? What gives him the right to waltz over here and claim us as ours?" His right hand clenched into a fist. His left hand held Alec's tightly.

Alec squeezed Xander's hand as he all but hid under Daizi's arm like a chick seeking safety under its mother's wing. "What about our aunt?" he asked softly. "What did she want?"
 
Daizi squeezed her eyes shut and shifted so she could hold Alec closer without pulling him away from his brother, "I don't know. They kept saying they wouldn't take you from us, and right now I don't think he could if he wanted to, because he's living at a motel, and no court would choose that for you over this, but..." She didn't want to tell them she feared by the way he was talking that his ultimate goal might be to take the twins, "but I don't know why now. He kept saying he didn't know your situation had been so bad."

"Your aunt seemed to want him to take responsibility," Dark told Alec, "She also said she did not know about how you had been living. I think when she learned, she wanted... him... to 'step up.' But they did not seem to like each other much, nor did they seem to be in agreement with each other."

"It was all very strange." It was so much harder now that she was relaying the information to the twins. She didn't know how fair to Declan she should be to the twins, because she wanted to tell them how he kept making excuses, asked for a beer when he came in, and had made her feel like he had arrived because he had been ordered to by their aunt.
 
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"Oh," was all Alec could think to say. He shivered lightly at the thought of going somewhere with some strange man, no matter the supposed relation. If he was in a hotel, then surely no one would try to force them to go with him, right? They had to be safe with Dark and Daizi! Right? He tried to shake away the worries. One step at a time. One day at a time.

Xander was trembling a little, too, though he could hide it better as he was only touching Alec's hand. "So, he wants us to come meet him?" His lip curled in disdain. "Awesome. Great fellow, that. When and where does he think that's going to happen?"
 
Feeling Alec tremble, Daizi smoothed his hair with her other hand, and whispered, "It's okay, habibi, it's okay," Softly, and so naturally she didn't even realize what she had done until later, she kissed the top of his head, "we're not going to let anything bad happen, it's okay."

"He suggested tomorrow, and probably here, unless my lawyer suggests differently, but I am sure he could be convinced to wait. Daizi and I will not do anything that is not by your call." He kept his eyes on his family, never once looking away. Xander especially he looked at, as Alec was already being directly comforted, and knowing Xander didn't like to be touched, Dark chose to instead express to him that he was not going anywhere.
 
Alec closed his eyes as the soft kiss touched the top of his head, seeming to seal in the love and comfort that surrounded him. He was okay. He was safe. No one was going to steal him away, not if these two had anything to say about it. No one was going to take him away from his brother or his new family. Everything was going to be alright. He took a shaky breath as his trembling eased. "Okay," he said softly, trustingly.

Xander scowled and would have crossed his arms if he wasn't holding Alec's hand. "I don't want him here," he stated fiercely. Here was safety. Here was protection. Here was where the bad could not enter. No way was he ever willingly inviting anyone into this space!

Alec lifted his head slightly without pulling away from Daizi. "I think we should meet him," he said, trying to keep his voice strong. "We should see what he was to say. I think we'll regret it if we don't give him a chance."

"And if he turns out to be a complete douche?" Xander demanded.

"We never have to see or speak of him again."

"Seems fair," Xander grumbled. "But not here. Somewhere else."

"Somewhere neutral," Alec agreed.
 
"Alright, we'll find somewhere neutral," Daizi agreed. She preferred it that way, too. Ultimately, despite her deep concerns, she was glad they agreed to see him, if no other reason because it meant they didn't have to worry about what if Declan didn't respect their decision and the difficulties that would bring.

"Somewhere neutral," Dark also repeated. A slight smile tugged at the corners of his mouth: there was something about the way Xander refused to meet him within their home that touched him, and impressed him. And Alec too, the calmness with which he expressed himself, and the foresight he showed, "I am very proud of you both," He wanted to tell them they were being very mature, but there was something about that compliment that, at least when he was a teenager, always felt a bit backhanded, as if it was only being said because they expected immaturity, "and I promise, if at any point you want to leave, we will let you. Unless you want us to, we will not leave you alone."
 
Alec blushed at the compliment but smiled. Dark was proud! He'd made the right choice.

"What, you don't think I can take him by myself?" Xander challenged, but there wasn't any heart in it. He didn't want to go, not one bit, but Alec was right. Better to face it head on than to pass it up and make things worse in some way or another. At best there would be unanswered questions. At worst, their so-called father would insist on seeing them and things would get messy.
 
"Having met him, I am sure you could," Dark replied, "but just in case. And it will make a quicker getaway if you are with people who can drive." He chose to joke slightly because he knew nothing about this was easy, but he hoped being a bit lighthearted about it would help. He knew he should get up and call his lawyer, and unfortunately Declan, but he didn't want to leave the room just yet.

Daizi was resting her chin on Alec's head, and had not yet released him. She wasn't entirely sure if she ever would, because it felt almost like if she never did, nothing bad could ever happen to them. With her eyes closed, she murmured, "You wouldn't get the chance to take him, I'd fight him before you had the chance."
 
"Fair enough," Xander admitted to Dark. He glanced sideways at Daizi. "Forgive my seismic, but no way in he'll am I letting you fight anybody, at least not right now."

"Let's not fight anyone," Alec said from the safety of Daizi's arms. "Let's make it a goal not to fight tomorrow."

Xander huffed but nodded. "Fine, but what if he starts it?"

"Then you can knock him out of his socks," Alec said without blinking. "For our mother."

Xander considered and nodded. "She'd approve, but I promise not to start anything."
 
"If we're in a neutral space, then I'd have my cane, if I'm fast enough I could knock him out from a safe distance," She laughed, "but, it is probably a good idea to remain nonviolent, except for extenuating circumstances." She squeezed Alec's shoulder, acknowledging his willingness to fight for their mom. Daizi was always glad, never jealous, when they spoke about their biological mother, especially when they were favourable towards her. She never wanted them to forget her, and she couldn't help but feel some fondness for this woman she never met, considering what she had brought her. Really, she desperately wished she could speak to this stranger, and let her know her boys were alright, and that she was going to take just the best care of them.

Dark watched the three of them, running his thumb over his wedding ring. They really felt like a family. It was awful that this, of all things, was what made it that way. There was so much he couldn't predict about what was in their future, so he could only hope, desperately, that nothing would take this away. He wished he had a sketchbook on him, but seeing as he didn't, he just watched and did his best to commit it to memory.
 
Xander looked at Dark and said, "You said you had to talk to your lawyer. I know what we want to happen, but what really happens next? To us?" he asked cautiously. "I get that we're meeting him and all of that, but could he really take us if he wanted to? And you couldn't do anything about it?" He didn't want to go. He wanted to stay, but life was cruel. What he wanted was rarely granted. It was best to be prepared.
 
"Honestly? I do not know. At present, I do not believe he could take you, because at present he lives in a motel, meaning he has no permanent address, and that, I am sure, would favor us over him in the eyes of the court. But if he gets a house, and really pushes to take you? I wish I knew," He sighed. There was so much he would give to have all of the answers but he didn't, "I think what helps, or may help, is that he has never paid child support, which... Well, if it comes to it, I think we could make the argument that he should lose claim to you. Because he abandoned you. But I do not know, and I will have to have many long conversations with our lawyer."

Daizi listened to his question, and she considered it deeply while Dark did his best to answer. When he stopped talking, she said, "I don't think, in any case, he could take you back without going through the court, and going through the court means speaking in front of a judge, whose job it is to decide what is best for you both. And you should have a voice there."
 
Xander nodded slowly. "Okay," he said, satisfied with Dark's honesty. "I'll talk to him. I'll see what he has to say. But I'm not going anywhere with him."

"Maybe he won't be terrible?" Alec offered hopefully. "Maybe we'll get along okay. I don't want to leave, either, but maybe it won't be terrible."
 
"I hope he won't be terrible either," Daizi said. She didn't particularly like him for the little time they knew each other, but for their sake, she hoped he'd be good with them, "a large family is nice. My family back in Egypt is massive," Inside, she was still wary, but didn't want to stress them out too much, "we'll support you regardless of how he is, and bring you right back here." She hummed, and was about to say something more when she paused, sat up a little straighter, and brought her hand to her belly. Then, she settled back down, but now kept only one hand on Alec, "at the very least, it will be good to get your medical history from his side. That's important to have. And we can probably get your mother's from your aunt."

"I can call her too," Dark suggested, "I have a lot of people to call."

"Call our lawyer first."
 
"When you call her," Alec said slowly, "would you ask if she has anything that belonged to our mom? Pictures and things?"

Xander gave him an odd look. "What do you want that for?"

"We might want it later, when we're older," Alec said with a little smile. He looked up at Daizi. "You should rest. This much stress isn't healthy." He took her hand and squeezed it gently, worried about her.
 
"I will," Dark replied, and looked down again at his wedding ring, which was the only thing he owned from his family. He didn't question why Alec wanted those things, he understood perfectly well. Even though he had no real love for his parents, it was good to have something from where you came from, for good or ill.

"I'm okay," She smiled down at him, looking, somehow, very much at peace, "I think I'll be stressed regardless of where I am, and I..." She paused, lightly caressing her middle, "I'm okay. Unless you two would rather be alone."
 
Alec glanced over at Xander, who was glowering at a spot in the floor so hard it was a wonder it didn't suddenly combust into flames, and his knee jiggled rapidly. "I don't want to be alone," he admitted softly.

Xander looked up abruptly. "Who wants to take the dog for a walk?" he demanded.
 
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