How Green Becomes Wood

Dark had yet to get fully accustomed to how much of a hugger Alec was, so after the initial surprise, Dark hugged him back. He heard him say something, but not being able to make out the words asked, "What did you say?" without pulling away.

"I think he'd combust if he was given a tacklebox and golf clubs," She laughed, tipping her head back, "could you imagine him golfing? Or like... absolutely losing his mind over the state of the lawn? If he comes that kind of man I'll have to divorce him, I didn't sign up for being married to a stereotypical man."
 
Alec smiled and held the hug for a couple of beats longer before letting go. "Nothing important," he replied. "Thank you for answering my questions. We should probably go get Xander and Daizi before Xander decides we both got lost." He turned and half trotted toward the passenger side of the car. "Shotgun!"

Xander smirked. "I think it sounds fantastic. Maybe a whole bunch of ties and hide a gift card to that hobby wood shop he likes so much under them. Then he'd have to go actually spend money there and get stuff guilt-free."
 
"That is a good idea," Dark said, getting into the drivers side and after Alec was buckled, driving towards the front of the building where Daizi and Xander were waiting.

"That's a good idea," Daizi agreed, "but I'll have to take you or Alec or someone with to help pick out the ties, because the last time I tried to buy Dark one, it turned out to be bright pink with fake sprinkles in the pattern. I couldn't feel them, I just thought it was nice satin, and I only found out because we went to a restaurant, and he wore it for me, and the waiter commented on it. I wanted to die."
 
Alec looked around curiously. "The front seat is roomier than the back," he stated. "It has a great view, too."

Xander couldn't help snickering. "If you take Alec, you might still get ties with sprinkles." After a moment of thought, he suggested, "Why not go with one of your girlfriends? Then you could both get your guys something at the same time. Like maybe Peter's mom or something?"
 
"It is because Tarot and I are tall, so we have to move our seats back," Dark replied, glancing over at Alec for a moment, and then glanced down at his forearm and frowned, "I just noticed, there is this awkward blank space on my wrist. Normally the blank spaces make good use of the negative space, but this is just... there."

"That's probably a good idea. Thank you." She replied, as Dark's car finally pulled up to him. Still, she waited for a few moments to learn if Alec would move back to his usual seat or if she would be sitting in the back, not wanting to make assumptions.
 
Alec glanced at Dark curiously. "Are you sure it is awkward? After all, you have to look when covering them every day for work. Or maybe it was a good use that has gradually become awkward?" Then he glanced out the window. "Oh! We're there. I'll move back." He unbuckled and scrambled out of his seat. "Hi!"

"What took you guys so long?" Xander demanded. "I was beginning to think you'd gone out and bought a whole new car."

Alec stuck his tongue out at Xander, and the pair climbed into the back.
 
"We were just talking," Dark replied while Daizi got into her seat. He briefly turned around to Xander and showed his wrist, "Look at this, it looks like someone went in with an eraser. How have I not noticed this?"

"It looks fine dear," Daizi hummed.

"You cannot see it," Dark huffed.
 
Xander squinted. "Yeah, kind of does. I guess you can put something in that spot."

"I think it looks fabulous as it is!" Alec said happily.

Xander rolled his eyes. "You think everything looks fabulous."

"Well, it does," Alec pouted, "and it's such a small space, what would you even fit there?"
 
"He will find something, I promise," Daizi said.

"Well I cannot go around looking like this," He felt almost indignant, "it is embarrassing. But it is good, there is something I have been wishing I could get, but thought I did not have the space."

Daizi chuckled to herself, knowing perfectly well he had been searching for a place that wasn't perfect until he finally found one, "Well, anyway, I have about a million calls to make when we get home."
 
"Who are you going to start with?" Alec asked, leaning forward curiously.

"The pizza place that delivers for lunch?" Xander suggested.

Alec frowned. "We just had breakfast."

Xander shrugged. "So? It's been like... a couple of hours at least. I'm hungry."
 
"My dad," Daizi replied, "I still haven't told him I'm pregnant. Then Amty Zeinab. But yes, Dark should order pizza while I'm talking to them."

"Spider, if I order pizza at the moment Amty Zeinab answers the phone, it will be cold before you finish talking to her." Dark said, apparently very familiar with this woman.

"Naeam, yeah, but that's why I call her," She turned back towards the twins, "Zeinab is one of my aunts. Technically, she's my father's aunt, but I sit through one marathon of a conversation, and then I get all of the family gossip, and she shares my news with everyone else. It's streamlined, and she actually likes Dark."

"She always says I do not eat enough."

"She never thinks anyone eats enough."
 
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"I like this woman," Xander said.

"You hate talking on the phone, and we have no family gossip," Alec pointed out.

"Yeah, but she suggests food," Xander replied. "That has to make up for something."

Alec frowned as a new thought occurred to him. "Daizi, will your family be coming to visit when the baby is born?"

Xander hadn't thought of that, and he tensed, waiting for the answer.
 
"They certainly will be," Daizi sighed. She loved her family, but it was a big family, with very strong opinions, "Amty Zeinab and my father, certainly. All the aunties I'm sure. They won't be staying in the house. We don't have the space. And we'll teach you all of the proper etiquette."

"You do not have to worry," Dark glanced at him in the rear view mirror, "many of them hate me but they will adore you. Do you know what all of them will say to you, about a thousand times?"

"Muhammad was adopted." Daizi answered for him, intentionally increasing her accent.

Dark chuckled and did the same, "And he adopted children himself!"
 
Alec and Xander exchanged uneasy glances. They weren't certain how to respond to this news. It sounded utterly terrifying even without the cultural differences.

"During the time of the Roman Empire, adopted children were better protected and had safer laws than natural children," Alec offered his random bit of trivia.

"What kind of pizza are we getting?" Xander asked, choosing his route of subject change.
 
"Whatever you like, I suppose," Dark said, and finished the drive home. Once there, Daizi, like she said she would, went upstairs and didn't come back down for a few hours, because she had so many calls to make. While she was on the phone, Dark ordered pizza according to everybody's tastes, and when it was delivered, he brought up a few pieces to her office for her.

A few days later, it was another time to meet Declan. This time, it was at the roller rink, and Dark was spending half of the morning trying to guess if they'd have rollerskates large enough for him.
 
The rink was not exactly the most polished place, but everything was still perfectly useable, and the skates were all in good condition. Unfortunately, they did not have skates in Dark's size. The largest they had was one size too small. The older man helping them with their shoes reminisced that they used to have big enough skates, but they'd grown old and cracked from disuse until someone had finally tossed them out and not bothered to get new ones.

Neither Alec nor Xander had done much skating on either ice or hardwood, but they had given it a go at least once. Still, Declan was only too happy to help them learn the ropes. They picked it up quick, and in no time at all, they were all skating around the rink. Declan made sure Alec was alright, but he gradually shifted all of his attention to Xander. After a while, Alec edged his way off the rink and joined Dark, content to sit and watch as Xander and Declan started showing off to each other on the nearly empty rink.
 
Dark took them not having his size easily, it wasn't particularly shocking. He made some comment about the universe not wanting him to show off and let it go. So, he stood at the walls of the rink and watched them, growing privately but increasingly more irritated as Declan ignored Alec.

When teen came to spend the rest of the time with him, Dark frowned and stayed very protective near him, and took the time to ask him questions so he didn't feel too left out. Then, while he turned his head to think, his eyes settled on something in the back of the rink, and a sly grin spread over his face, "There is a claw machine in the corner."
 
Alec looked up at him curiously. "A claw machine?" he repeated. "You mean one of toy vendors that only cheats you out of your hard-earned money and inevitably make you pay far more than the toy is worth just to try to gain the satisfaction of having 'won' it?" He turned to look, wondering where Dark was going with this and hoping he was guessing correctly.
 
"Have some faith in me, please," Dark replied, "they only cheat you if you do not know how to play the game. Come on," He gestured for for Alec to follow him and went to the claw machine, arms crossed over his chest. It was a fairly standard machine with the standard stuffed toys, a few cheap watches, and some wooden treasure chests, because the machine was themed to pirates.

After a few moments he said, "If you went for those," and pointed to toys that were pressed tightly together, "then sure, you may be out of luck, but those," he pointed to items more spaced out, "those are very possible, if you get the angle right."
 
Alec studied the stuffed toys carefully, trying decipher what Dark was talking about. "How can a claw that goes up and down have an angle?" he asked Dark. "It moves on a grid pattern, doesn't it? So how do you change an angle?"
 
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