How Green Becomes Wood

Daizi ran her thumbs along Alec's cheek, "I think we were always meant to find each other. Dark and I needed someone to care for, you and Xander needed someone to take care of you." She knew it was probably the music and the baby that made these feelings stir up so strongly that she needed to express them, but they were real, "and I promise, there is nothing you can do, or say, or think that will ever make me stop loving you..." She sighed. Having finally expressed all these feelings made her feel lighter. They weren't kept secret inside her heart anymore, "You will always have a warm place to come back to, habibi, even after you and Xander have moved out to start your beautiful adult lives."

Daizi lowered her head, then, and laughed quietly, moving one of her hands off of him and putting it back on her middle, "I wish she was bigger so you could feel it too, but I think she feels the same way about you. Of course she does. You're her big brother."

~~

"Of course he will!" Cindy replied, and opened the stall door. Like she said, the horse was already prepared to be led out, so she walked Xander through how to hold the lead and walked the horse out.

"Are you ready to try?" She asked then, holding the lead out to Xander
 
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Alec sniffed, and a couple of tears escaped. "I don't know if we'll ever be able to move out now that we've found safety," he said with a shaky laugh. He rubbed his face dry and tried to get ahold of himself. "I'm sorry it took awhile to warm up to the idea of the wee baby, but now I think I'm excited to meet her. Still a little nervous, but not like before. Just... nervous about the changes that are going to happen." He shrugged a little. It was the truth. "I look forward to learning to love her like how I've come to love you and the professor. Deeply."

~~

Xander took a shaky breath and took hold of the lead. Now was the moment of truth! Or a moment of truth. Getting up would be another. He stepped forward with more confidence than he felt, leading the horse where Cindy indicated. He was doing it! He was walking a horse!
 
"No, it's okay that it took you some time," She assured him, "You had only been with us such a short amount of time. I know she's excited to meet you, she'll have been hearing your name for her entire life. Or at least, since she's developed the ability to hear me speak. But do you want to know a secret? I'm nervous too. I'm scared, even. Having someone so delicate completely dependent on me..." Daizi smiled, not missing what Alec had said, "This little one will be easy to love, much easier than Dark and me, because you won't have to learn to trust her, and babies are born seeking love... and she'll get to know how much I love you. And how much Dark loves you. And all five of us will be the perfect family." Again, Daizi smiled brightly, and laughed, "And I won't be alone in a household of boys anymore."

~~

Ghost calmly walked out after Xander, and Cindy put her hands on her hips with a big smile on her face, "Look at that, you're a natural! You'd think you've been doing this your whole life."

"I think he has been wanting to," Dark replied, taking more pictures of Xander and this horse. After Cindy made sure Xander made it successfully into the pasture where Tiffany was still waiting, she went back and helped Dark lead his horse for the day out with them too.

"Okay, and now's the really fun part, now I get to teach you both how to actually ride the horses."
 
Alec chuckled and took her hand. "Five is a good number. A very good number! And I'm glad you're going to have a girl, for your sake." Leaning closer, he said conspiratorially, "Cooger's terrified." He snickered softly, unable to help himself. "I think we're all going to be just fine, especially her."

~~

Xander beamed and reached up to pat the horse. "I think Ghost just makes me look good. Right, Ghost? So, are you ready to carry a stranger on your back?" He turned to Cindy, eager to learn, his eyes bright. "What's first? What do I not do so Ghost doesn't regret this?"
 
"One person for each point on the Pentagram," Daizi murmured, liking the symbology of it, "I think Dark needs a little girl, too. He's very feminine in some ways... And I'm not surprised Cooger's scared of it. Of her. But he's soft, he'll end up spoiling her worse than anyone else will."
She heard the crowd begin to quiet and presumed the show must be about to start again, so she settled back into her seat while the lights dimmed and the curtain was drawn back, and the music began to play again.

~~

Cindy talked through what Xander needed to do, and what he needed to avoid, and demonstrated on Tiffany how to mount and dismount a horse. Then she got off to help Xander and Dark mount theirs. Luckily, Dark had already been horseback riding once or twice in his life, so he knew the very, very basics, which meant Cindy was able to mostly focus on Xander, who was brand new.

After Xander had mounted, Cindy got back on her horse and asked, "So how does that feel? It's good, right? Alright, so what we're going to do is learn how to make your horse turn left and right, and we'll go around a few times the pasture as practice, and then we'll go out on the actual trail!"
 
Alec closed his eyes and let the music flow over him, enjoying every note and beat. He'd never known music could feel like this. It was like dropping into a parallel dimension. For now, he could let his worries, fears, and anxieties fade away. For now, he could rest and enjoy.

~~

It took Xander a bit to figure out how to get his foot into the stirrup. It had the tendency to flop away from him and tap the horse's side, which could not have been comfortable, but it seemed Ghost had seen and done it all in regards to clueless riders. Eventually, Xander got his right foot into the left stirrup and half jumped half pulled himself up into the saddle. The mounting block helped give him that bit of height, but it was still a bit of work for someone who'd never done it before. He settled into the saddle and took a moment to get his left foot into the opposite stirrup. He sat for a moment, feeling the curve of the saddle and resting one hand on the saddle horn with the other fumbling with the reins.

"Okay, forward, left, right, trail," Xander mumbled. He hesitated and adjusted the reigns, giving the horse slack and cautiously nudged the horse's side with his legs like he'd read about in a couple of books. "Uh, forward, Ghost?" he suggested.
 
The baby had settled down again, so for the second half of the orchestra, Daizi was able to finally really lose herself in the music, and it was incredible. She couldn't watch anyone, so she didn't have to worry about any external person stealing her attention. The music surrounded her, and she let it, and her thoughts move her.

~~

Cindy laughed good-naturedly at Xander trying to get the horse to move and then road to his side to help him out, "Don't worry," she said, "It takes a bit to figure it out."

She took the time to patiently explain to Xander how to get Ghost to walk, and explained the different commands he would need to know.
 
It took Xander a bit to pick up the subtleties of guiding the horse, but, in truth, they were quite basic, and with a horse as experienced and patient as this, it was not that hard or frightening. He tried not to think about the fact that he was really high up on a creature that probably weighed close to a ton and was only tolerating him because it wanted to. Instead, he focused on laying the reins just so, putting the right amount of pressure with his legs, and not squeezing or yelling. He felt more focused than he ever had before in his life. At least, the good kind of focus. Ghost was a creature with his own mind, and yet it was allowing him to learn without judgment or concern for the time. In no time at all, Xander was guiding Ghost toward the trail and reminding himself to sit up straight and not slouch. No grabbing the horn, either, unless necessary.
 
After everyone was moving steadily, Cindy lead Dark and Xander out onto the trail. She stayed close enough to them to make sure there weren't any issues, but gave them a bit of space, because she understood perfectly well that nobody came on the trail to speak to her. And it was an easy path, one where they could more or less sit back and enjoy the scenery and the animals.

"I do not know what we will do for your 16th birthday," Dark mused. They couldn't ride side-by-side, but they were near enough that they could still easily talk, "I may have tapped out on surprises too early."
 
"You are just a little too good at this for your own good," Xander admitted, giving Dark a full grin. "This is aw-" He paused as he momentarily lost his balance and took a moment to straighten himself. "Awesome! I can't wait to tell Alec. No way are he and Daizi having this good a time while dressed up fancy, right?" He was teasing. He figured whatever Daizi had in mind, it had to be fun for Alec. Or at least a good experience. He reached down and gently stroked the horse's neck. He wondered if Cooger would board a horse for him. That was a thing, right? Boarding horses?
 
"At what, riding the horse or doing nice things for you?" He asked, but the smile on Xander's face gave him an idea of what the answer was. It had been a long time since he had seen Xander smile, and Dark wasn't sure he had ever seen him smile like this. Maybe back in March when he and Daizi gave them their phones. But this was different, somewhere inside Dark was stirred. This was literally a dream come true for Xander, he knew that. It was probably why parents really liked keeping the ruse of Santa, or why other parents refused to tell the lie at all, because they wanted credit, "They are definitely having a good time, just a different kind of a good time, although Daizi is a bit jealous she couldn't do this. Maybe next year."
 
Xander chose not to answer Dark's question, figuring he knew the answer. He sat up straight and stretched. "We definitely gotta get her and Alec up here. And these horses are so sweet, I bet Mini could join us in a sling on your back or front." He paused and frowned up at Dark. "How come even when I'm on a really tall horse, you're still taller than me?"
 
"That would be nice, if it is safe. I do not even know what she will be able to do this time next year." He glanced down at his chest, trying to imagine a baby being there. It was almost impossible. All of those ultrasounds, but he couldn't picture the actual baby. The pictures were all black and white. He could guess her hair colour and complexion, but he couldn't imagine her face. Even her eyes seemed impossible to predict. But she'd be there, sooner than not. The thought was thrilling but he felt the anxiety rise up in his chest again at the reality of it. Dark felt no regrets about having a baby, and his excitement grew about as quickly as his wife did, maybe faster, but good stress was still stress, and change was scary for anyone.

Thankfully, he didn't need to focus on it yet, "Because I am on a horse too," Dark replied, amused by the question, "and because I am taller than you, I need a taller horse than you. I am afraid I may always be taller than you, unless your mother was taller than you let her on to be."
 
Xander huffed and grumbled, "Sadly, no. She was on the shorter side of average, and you saw the other genetic half. I'm not slated to be badgered into joining a basketball team any time soon." He smiled down at the horse. "Of course, being on a bigger horse means mine will definitely be faster!" He leaned forward, pretending like the was going to urge the horse faster, but as much of a dare devil as he was, he wasn't going to risk running on a horse when he barely knew how to properly sit on one. He stayed leaned forward just long enough to worry Dark before sitting back with a laugh.
 
Although he did have a brief moment of concern at the thought Xander may actually try to gallop Ghost off, he laughed along with Xander, shaking his head, "You do not want to be taller than me, anyway. There are too many things you are too tall for. I break my back trying to use some hotel showers, or it feels like it, and airplanes are a nightmare. Average height is better... Although I hope you realize the baby will grow taller than you some day." He smirked slightly, but wasn't lying.
 
"Wait, what?" Xander said, blinking and doing a double take. He studied Dark suspiciously. "You're joking." A pause. "Holy heck, you're not joking, are you?" He wilted in the saddle. "When she's my age, she'll be taller than me when I'm old! Oh, that's so not fair." He stared down at the horse. "Maybe I can get really good on stilts."
 
Dark couldn't help but laugh a deep, rumbly laugh at the way Xander collapsed at the realization, "Daizi and I are both tall, I am not sure what to say. Daizi's father is only about 5'10, so not particularly tall, but her mother's side are all mostly tall. So... Probabilistically, you will come home one day to look up at the person you used to hold. But at least you will always be able to tease her about been the youngest. Poor Alec, he is becoming the middle child."
 
"What's the big deal about being a middle child?" Xander asked curiously. "Oldest is supposed to be the stuffed shirt that acts like another parent, and the youngest is the spoiled brat who gets away with murder, but I've never heard anyone explain why being a middle child is such a big deal." He focused on Ghost as they came to a rocky area. Ghost would find his own way through, but Xander needed to focus on keeping his balance. Past the rocky area, the path opened so they could easily ride side by side.
 
Dark kept an eye on Xander while he navigated the rocks, and then after he was safely through, carefully passed through himself, "Thankfully, I never had siblings, so I do not have any personal experience, but I have been informed by those with siblings that middle children have a reputation for being sort of lost in the shuffle. I suppose it is because the oldest gets all of the panic and mistakes put onto them, because parents do not know what they are doing yet, and they get attention because they are doing everything first, and the youngest is babied. But the middle child does not hit the life achievements first and also are not fawned over for being the littlest, so they get less attention."

He rode up beside Xander, "But it will not happen in this family, because you and Alec are really only minutes apart, and he will technically graduate high school before you, because his name comes first alphabetically. And you do not seem to be the type who will become a 'stuffed shirt.' And we did not have you as babies, so until our youngest turns 15, or, what, two months before she turns 15? everything she does will be the first time Daizi and I experience it. So in some ways she will be like an only child, since her siblings will be much older than her, and you both will likely move out by the time she is 10, I suspect, if not earlier." He looked at Xander seriously for a monent, "You are welcome to live with us for the rest of your life, but Americans typically like to find a place of their own in young adulthood. For myself and Daizi, our cultures keep the norm you live with your parents until you want to get married. Daizi was very rebellious leaving home when she did."
 
Xander grinned at Dark. "That little Mini is going to have the traits of both the first and the youngest kid you're going to need all the luck you can get with that!" He chuckled and shifted on the saddle. It was kind of uncomfortable when you weren't used to riding, but he didn't mind. "But don't worry about it. Or rather, try not to worry to much. You're both worried about her and messing her up, which means you're going to be damn fine parents. You're already doing a pretty decent job."

He was quiet for a minute, feeling the odd sensation of moving forward in a slight side-to-side rolling motion. He'd never felt the like before, but it was strangely soothing. "I don't know about moving out," he admitted finally. "I guess... since we don't have the pressure to leave at a certain time... we'll just go when it feels right. That seem fair?"
 
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