How Green Becomes Wood

Daizi felt it over, and did her best to hide her grin, "I think it's absolutely perfect. And it will absolutely fit him." She was actually pretty sure it would fit her, even in her pregnant state, since the belt was so long, and Dark was large but not wide.

Daizi handed the belt to Dark who looked at it, and after a moment asked, "Why do you hate me when I show you nothing but love?"
 
"How do you know this isn't how I show my love?" Alec countered. "At least it's the right length. I could have tried to get you to squish yourself into something my size." He grinned and pushed Dark's hand lightly. "What's the worst that can happen?"
 
"It could be cursed," He cautioned Alec.

"Why would they be selling cursed belts here?" Daizi asked, grinning, "Just try it."

He playfully glared at her, "Where else are cursed objects sold besides thrift stores, flea markets, and antique shops? And I'm wearing suspenders." But nonetheless he looped it through his beltloops and buckled it.
 
Alec tipped his head and studied Dark. "You know, that belt actually kind of works on you. Not with what you are currently wearing, but you. It goes well with the tattoos, but you could only wear it on special occasions. Probably with something black. Maybe leather." He grinned. "You can wear it when Daizi wears her red dress!"
 
"I could wear anything when she wears that dress because no one will be looking at me," He replied, but went to the mirror to look. He didn't experience a huge revelation, but he did have to admit it looked better on than it did just being presented to him.

"Dark does have a leather jacket," Daizi mused, walking over to Dark to tap on his back, partially to annoy him and partially to announce her presence (even though he could see her in the mirror) and hug him from behind, "It makes him seem very cool when he breaks it out."
 
"You two would stop a crowd if you two dressed like that," Alec assured them. He grinned. "So! Daizi is definitely buying the red dress, Dark gets the belt, and you'll only wear it when you want to cause trouble, right?" He smiled at Daizi. "And you should get the other outfits that make you comfortable, too."
 
"I'm going to," Daizi replied, backing off from Dark and giving her baby bump a few pats, "I don't really have a choice not to. If I don't get them, I'll just have to go somewhere else."

Dark removed the belt, and lifting all the clothes Daizi needed, asked, "Did you really not find anything you liked for yourself?"
 
"No, it's okay," Alec assured him. "Maybe next time, if there is one. This was a lot of fun to find!" He Held up the paisley shirt in front of Dark and shook it slightly. "It's just a shame I didn't find you one in your size. Maybe next time!" He chuckled and started helping to fold up the clothes they'd picked.
 
Alec hesitated a moment and then gave in. "Okay, sure! Let's see what you can find me, Professor!" He turned and headed for the pant section that looked most promising. He looked through the hanging pants, not really looking that closely.
 
Dark walked through about where he estimated Alec's size to be now, and began pulling pieces. Mostly, they were solid colours, but bright ones: corals, reds, blues, greens, but all simple, single colours, rather than heavily patterned ones. In addition, he included a few simple black and grey pieces. It was his estimation that what Alec needed to learn most, from a fashion perspective, was how to highlight certain pieces, rather than making up an entire outfit out of stand-out pieces. The best way to do that, he believed, was to have more simple, if colourful pieces, to accent whatever dramatic piece he chose without pulling focus.

Although, tucked between the simple, pattern free pants Dark believed Alec probably overlooked because they weren't extravagant was a pair of jeans which around the hips, upper thighs, and ankles were bright blue with an almost fleur-de-lis pattern, the knees replicated an MC Escher painting. It was always difficult to tell what sort of fashion Alec liked, so these he held up to him directly, "What do you think about these?"
 
Alec's eyes brightened. "Those are amazing!" he keened. "Absolutely beautiful! How did you find those?" He grinned, reaching out to poke them. "I like them a lot. I can match anything to them! They have all the colors!"
 
Dark turned slightly back towards the rack, "You may have just stopped looking too early. I am only estimating your size, so they may not fit, but it is possible you were looking at a size too small. You are taller than you used to be."
 
Alec grinned and stood as tall as he could, stretching himself out. "You're right! I am a lot taller now." He paused and looked at Dark. "That's a lot of pants." He looked at Dark doubtfully but with a smile. "How much time do we have?"
 
"I hope he's okay staying home alone," Alec fretted as they moved toward the fitting rooms. "I know he doesn't like shopping like this, but it still makes me feel a little bad." He glanced up at Dark. "That's silly, isn't it? Trying to enjoy a day for yourself and still worrying about someone else when logically you know they are probably listening to the music you hate way too loud?"
 
"It is not silly," Dark replied, walking with Alec. Daizi had excused herself to the restroom, having been to the store often enough to know where it was. "Daizi is an adult and I still worry about her when she is home and I am not. Or when we are apart at all. And I know she worries about me, too. It is because we love them and we want them to be safe, we just cannot let that worry control our lives. At the end of the day, we need to trust they are not a baby, they can survive some time unattended. Daizi and I give you that trust every day after school, right?"

Dark looked down at Alec and squeezed his shoulder, "But it's always okay if you want to call or text him just to check in."
 
Alec smiled up at Dark. "You really are as smart as a professor, but in the important things," he said. He nodded to the fitting room. "I'll text him in there. Maybe I can send him a picture of some of the things I try on!" He took the pants and stepped into the room, closing the door carefully. He tried on the ridiculous shirts first, just to test. Both fit him loosely, the binocular ones at least a size too large, but he figured that meant they would fit Xander and Declan, and he didn't mind wearing looser clothes. He knew he should, but he'd deal with that later.

Once he had on the colorful kaleidoscopic shirt and the blue and white pants Dark had picked out, he took a picture of himself and sent it to Xander. I found the outfit you can wear! Then, on a whim, and after making certain nothing inappropriate was showing, he texted the picture to Sloan, thinking she would get a laugh at the colors. I don't need layers to be colorful in this!

Texts sent, he stepped out and showed Dark, knowing full well that the colors were likely an affront to the eyes.
 
Dark looked at Alec and tried very hard not to laugh because the kid was fifteen, and fifteen year-olds never recover from things like that, "The shirt is still... how it looks, but it looks like the pants fit you very well, he said." He asked the requisite questions adults asked minors about new clothes: could he sit in them, etc., and was mildly concerned about how ancient he sounded, but he'd deal with that later.

While Dark was going through these questions, Sloan replied to Alec's text: Did your foster mom help pick out your outfit? JK! The pants look dope though!
 
Alec answered all of the questions and finally chuckled at Dark. "You can laugh," he told him. "I know you hate it, but that's okay." He smiled and did a mock twirl. "I know I'm as fabulously distracting and hip as a disco ball." He grinned and looked down. "I promise not to wear this shirt with these pants ever again if you let yourself laugh." He gave a wave. "I'm going to try on the other ones."

He stepped back into the room and closed the door before checking his phone. He grinned when he saw both Sloan and Xander had replied. Xander had said something Alec decided not to repeat, but he had responded! That was enough for him. To Sloan, he texted back, The shirt is for Xander. He's going to a concert tonight and promised to wear something noticeable in case he got separated. Do you think it's noticeable enough?
 
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