How Green Becomes Wood

"Exactly, Irish, potatoes, I am being extremely culturally sensitive." Dark replied, "and we have a tool we normally use to make zucchini noodles which can be repurposed for fries. Will you help your brother?"

"Careful!" Daizi squeaked, hearing the minor stumble, "I do not want to spend the rest of the evening plucking ceramic shards from your face. Or, well, listening to Dark do it. I'd probably poke you in the eye." She went to help bring the food outside, but Dark gently caught her by the elbow, while Alec hurried out, and as she turned back towards him, he wrapped her tight in his arms. They said a few private things to each other before separating.

"You are not carrying anything, just go wait for us." Dark said, smoothing her hair, "Just go be comfortable."

She smiled slightly, "I'm pretty sure some french fries don't exceed the amount of weight I'm allowed to carry."

"You do not know how many fries I made. Go, relax, or else I will carry you out there myself."
 
"Enkidu, herd Daizi outside," Xander told the dog, catching the end of the conversation. He picked up the four glasses and carried them outside to where Alec was fussing with the layout of the dishes.

Alec came hurrying back inside and grabbed the napkins and condiments while Xander collected the water pitcher. "You're right, Daizi, it's glorious outside! You should come and sit!"

It didn't take the twins much time at all to get the table set and ready to eat, waiting on Dark, Daizi, and the main burger event.
 
"Fine, I'm going!" She replied, holding up her hands in mock surrender as she headed outside, her dog happily following her. Dark shook his head and helped to bring out the rest of the food.

Once they were all settled, Dark said, "I did my best. And Alec helped, he mixed the ingredients. But I am afraid I could not commit to adding American cheese, I used cheddar."

"Well, thank you for that." She sighed, beginning to relax now that she was with her family, and her dog, and sitting in her garden where the scent of all of her flowers were carried on the breeze.

"Oh, I should mention..." Dark said, a similar excitement to what he had earlier coming back into his eyes, "I spoke with my boss today, and she agreed to let me take paternity leave when the baby comes. I will not be paid my full salary, but I will still be paid, and I am allowed twelve weeks, but, since I am not paid over breaks anyway, the three weeks we get off for Winter do not count, which means I really get fifteen weeks. And that means, too," he looked at the twins, "I will be home when you get home, and I am sure I will be exhausted, but my hope is to retain enough energy to get to put out a nice treat every Friday, even if it is just something picked up from the store. You would have something to look forward to at the end of the week."
 
"Right on," the twins said in an echo of each other.

"Twelve weeks? That's a long time," Xander said in surprise. "I thought guys were lucky to get one week, and teachers have to fight tooth and nail to get time off work."

Alec smiled, resting his chin on his hand. "That will be really nice, to have someone to come home to," he said a touch wistfully. "We've never had that. Not that I mind, not at all, but it'll be nice."

"Especially the snacks bit," Xander agreed. He took a bite of burger and mumbled out, "Cheddar tastes great. Good seasoning, too."

Alec smiled and played with one of the fry curls. "And the curls are properly springy!"

And because phone calls have excellent timing, the phone rang right then.

[It's Ciara and I can't remember whose number she has.]
 
"I am good at haggling." Dark replied. He made sure to mention all of the reasons why he was an asset to them school, including how his students averaged higher scores on the soul-sucking standardized tests they were all required to take, and his AP students averaged 4s and 5s, as well as the anonymous donation they received which hinged on giving him a bonus, which he leveraged in his favour, suggesting whoever donated it clearly wanted him around: all of this, he surmised, would make him a very good asset to other high schools, should he choose to look. Also, and he would never admit to this, he may or may not have emphasized Daizi's blindness as a reason why it was important for him to take the same amount of leave as the women teachers.

"At least for while we're both on leave," Daizi smiled, a great deal of anxiety leaving now that she had confirmation he would be home to help her, "you will come home to two people. Or three, I suppose. And a lot of my work can be done from home, so I've been talking with my boss about transitioning to working remotely, at least until she's weaned, and big enough, for day care. I don't want her there until she's old enough to enjoy playing with other kids."

When his phone rang, Dark stood, planning to walk away from the table to answer it, but when he read the caller id, he stayed near them, since it affected all of them, "Hello, Ciara?" He asked, "Is everything alright?"
 
The twins exchanged puzzled glances. Had she known they were talking her earlier?

There was a pause. Then Ciara cleared her throat and said, "I found a box of Tara's things. I hadn't had the time before, but some of them were mixed in with Mother's things. I don't know when will work for you, but I believe I will be able to bring them down at the end of next week. If that is acceptable."
 
Dark blinked, and took a quick glance at the twins, "Yes, you can bring them by then. Thank you." He walked away from the table, and asked, "Did you want to meet them? Or were you just planning on dropping the things off? We are on summer break, now, so we will be home."
 
A long pause. "I am afraid I cannot commit to anything at this moment," Ciara said a bit abruptly. "I shall keep you informed of any changes. Thank you for your time, I shan't take up any more of it." She hung up abruptly, but not quite fast enough to cut off a quiet sob.

"That was short," Alec commented. "What did she want? Is she coming to visit?"

Xander groaned. "Not more family visits. One is enough."

Alec frowned at him. "I think we should give her a chance."

Xander looked unconvinced and nearly said something but bit his tongue. He wanted to bring up how Alec had given Declan a chance earlier that day, but he didn't want Dark and Daizi knowing about that.
 
He paused for a moment, thinking about the sound of her sob, and then turned back to them, "No, she is not visiting. I do not think she is ready, but she found some of your mother's things, and she is going to drop them off at the end of next week."

"That will be nice," Daizi said, reaching up towards Dark, touching his forearm, "I'm glad she finally found those things."

"Me too," He replied, sitting back down.

"You know, Xander, if your family was like mine, you'd have, like... 40 cousins coming out of the woodwork trying to meet you, and about half wouldn't even be blood relatives." Daizi added lightly.
 
"Sounds overwhelming and suffocating," Xander said blandly.

"I think it sounds like fun!" Alec chirped. He paused and frowned. "And overwhelming." He popped a curly fry in his mouth and hummed happily. "These are better than fast food!"

"I dunno if I'd go that far, but, yeah, they're pretty good," Xander agreed, munching on three at a time.
 
"Oh, no, trust me, it is overwhelming and suffocating," Daizi replied, "There is a reason I live across an ocean from them. Although some of the cousins are cool."

Dark chewed on a fry thoughtfully, and then said, "It balances out because I have no extended relatives to speak of. If any cousin still lives, there is no real way for us to even find each other, much less make contact."
 
"Oh, that's said," Alec said sympathetically.

"Or is it?" Xander asked with a little smirk.

"Don't be mean," Alec pouted. "There's nothing nice about having no family."

"It leaves you open to create your own," Xander pointed out.

And, of course, the phone had to ring again. This time, it was Declan.
 
"War is destructive," Dark replied flatly, again leaving the table to answer the phone.

As he walked off, Daizi frowned and said, "Doesn't anyone know it's dinner time?"

"Hello, Declan?" Dark asked, silently accepting his food was going to be cold.
 
Alec shook his head. "No one seems to care about such things anymore. The old days of phones on the wall were so much better. You could ignore them and let them ring, and people understood when it was dinner time. Now, if you don't answer, it's because something's happened to you."

Xander stared at his brother. "You've never had a phone attached to the wall once in your life."

"Hey, Darkness!" Declan greeted him enthusiastically. "You are all on summer break now, right? Great!" He didn't pause for Dark to answer. "Listen. Disturbed is playing in the auditorium, and I'm going to get tickets. Would the boys be interested in coming?"
 
"If we get another phone call, we're forbidding Dark from answering it. I don't care if people think he died." Daizi pouted. She had been through a terrible, exhausting day, she wanted him near her.

"Just 'Dark'," He corrected, knowing it was no use, "and... I suppose I can ask?" He walked back to the table, and covering his phone so Declan couldn't hear the answer, asked, "Declan wants to know if you would like to see a band called 'Disturbed' in concert."
 
"Disturbed?" Alec asked, looking unimpressed. "In concert? No, thank you."

Xander, on the other hand, straightened. "Really? Disturbed? Sick! Yes! Count me in! When is it? Can we really go? I've never been!"

Alec shook his head. "I don't care to."
 
Uncovering the speaker, with mild hesitation, Dark said, "Xander is interested, but Alec is not."

"Tell Declan he's interrupting our dinner." Daizi huffed.

Dark rolled his eyes slightly, but nonetheless said, "By the way, you are calling during our dinner, so this is not... the best time."
 
"Alright, I'll just get two tickets then, and tell Xander I'll pick him up at six tomorrow night," Declan told Dark. "I'll have him back before midnight, don't you worry. Have a good dinner!" He hung up then, leaving nothing but a dial tone.

Xander grinned. "Disturbed in concert! Nice! I can't believe he got tickets this late."

Alec shifted uncertainly then turned his attention back to his fries, trying to distract himself. "It might be a fun event."
 
Dark stood still, anxiety rising up at the thought of them going alone together, and with no real time to prepare, "It is tomorrow," he said, sitting back down.

"I love the short notice," Daizi murmured. She also didn't love the idea of them going alone, and it showed, but she did her best not to voice it, "Hey, Xander, will you promise me one thing when you go? And please don't act too cool for it. Wear earplugs, and don't let anyone talk you out of it. Everyone on stage wears them, and the sound technicians wear them, so it won't affect how you hear the music, at least not negatively. You don't want to damage one of your senses." Her worry about him being alone with Declan she and Dark could work through privately, and not put that fear onto the twins, but her worry about protecting his hearing? That she would push heavily onto him.
 
"Ear plugs?" Xander asked, more confused than against the idea. "Is it really that loud?"

"And don't forget to wear something easily memorable in case you get separated," Alec reminded him.

Xander chuckled and ruffled Alec's hair. "It's going to be fine! And fun. Are you sure you don't want to go?"

"Are you sure you want to go? Lots of people get hurt at concerts," Alec said worriedly.

"Lots of people get hurt doing lots of different things," Xander pointed out. "If it makes you feel better, I'll wear ear plugs, and I'll let you pick out the most identifiable thing you can find for me to wear. Deal?"

Alec gave a tiny smile. "Deal."
 
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