How Green Becomes Wood

"She's learning an entire language, well, two... I might have used the wrong phrase. It's like... Do you know how when Enkidu is in a playful mood, we ask him, 'where's Enkidu's toy?' and not just, 'Where's your toy?' She's too little to understand things like grammar, and she's learning every single word from scratch. We use her name all the time so she learns who she is, and once she has that, it'll be easier for her to understand what we mean by 'Ivy's house'," She paused, grinned down at Ivy, and reiterated, "Yes, Ivy's house!" before continuing, "because if she learns 'house' and she knows who she is, when we say it together she'll understand we mean our home."

Daizi sighed, adjusting the diaper bag on her shoulder, "I hope. I don't really know the science of it, it just feels right. Simple sentences."
 
"That sounds really complicated," Alec said. He indicated the car even though Daizi couldn't see. "There's the car. Xander's still in the driver's seat, so we might have to do a little shuffling."
 
"It sounds complicated when you over explain it, but I think the fact Dark figured out baby talk as soon as he held her proves its instinctual," Daizi replied, allowing herself to laugh a little bit, "Really only he and Dark need to switch, unless you want to sit in the front seat on the drive home."
 
"Makes sense, and, no, I'm good in the backseat," Alec assured her.

Xander reluctantly peeled himself out of the driver's seat and walked around the car to get into the passenger seat. He really enjoyed driving. He slumped in his seat and tapped idly on the door as he stared out the window. Eventually, he'd be able to drive. Eventually!

Alec got in the backseat with Ivy and Daizi and pressed himself against the door, giving Daizi as much room as possible. He was tired. So very tired. He rested his head against the car door and closed his eyes.
 
"You did well," Dark said calmly, moving to the driver's side and adjusting the seat and mirror again (of course, he had to move the seat back before getting in), while Daizi put the carrier into place and then wiggled into the cramped middle seat.

She ended up falling asleep slumped against the car seat not too long into the drive, worn out both from the emotional toll of the day and from the general new parent sleep exhaustion. Dark noticed when he took a glance in the rear view mirror to check on them, and couldn't help but say, "It is unfair how easily she sleeps," before turning down, but not turning off, the music for the rest of the relatively short drive home.
 
Xander glanced back and looked at his brother. "Alec is asleep too. Gunna be fun opening up those doors." He stretched and slumped down even farther before turning his attention to the window, silent for the rest of the ride.

Alec dozed until they pulled into the drive when he woke with a start. "Are we there yet?" he mumbled.
 
"We just made it," Dark said gently while Daizi slowly forced herself to sit up. She groaned lightly and stretched, still exhausted and now sore from her awkward position. He shut off the car and looked at the backseat, "Come on, we should head in side. We all need rest."

Daizi moved her hand to lightly touch Ivy's face, "Not all of us. She's up."
 
Xander grunted and got out of the car before stretching. Alec followed suit, always waiting until after Xander went through a door to follow, even if they weren't both in the back seat. They headed inside, took off their shoes, touched the salt, and petted the dog. Alec sat on the floor out of the way to hug Enkidu, whispering quietly to him as he did so. Xander checked to make sure Dark and Daizi didn't need help before heading toward his room, going slow in case they called him back.
 
They didn't stop him, although Daizi also went upstairs, headed to the nursery. It still wasn't used so often, because they spent most of their time in the living room, but especially in the morning and evening she liked to feed Ivy in the rocking chair. If she had been born in a warmer season, Daizi would have opened the window to hear the birds or catch the scent of the garden, but it was late November, and the sound of cardinals didn't override the chill.

Dark wasn't really sure what to do. He had wanted to sit with and hold his wife, but she deserved time to herself. Then he felt the familiar compulsion to clean everything... but he was exhausted and it truly frustrated him, but he couldn't bring himself to start. A number of thoughts flitted through his mind, and then, swearing, he went upstairs to call his therapist.

Then, a couple weeks went by. Sloan's little brother had his Bar Mitzvah, which the twins and Peter were still invited to. Ivy was 9 weeks old but also really only three weeks old. Thankfully, nothing seemed to get worse between the five of them, at least not that Dark or Daizi could notice. They weren't entirely certain anything had gotten better, they hoped it had, but they didn't know. The semester ended.

The very next morning, that Saturday, Dark used the time he could have been catching up on sleep to make French toast, like he had a year ago, and there were two neatly wrapped presents set on the table.
 
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Alec and Xander mostly kept to themselves and quiet over the next couple of weeks. They weren't really sure how to proceed, so the therapist's suggestion of them going over potential names fell to the wayside. Alec did make a list of names, but, feeling embarrassed, ended up throwing them away. He didn't know how to broach the subject and still felt guilty that his actions had hurt Daizi. With everything aired out, he felt selfish and guilty that he'd held a word in such high standards. Yes, it was a word that meant a lot to him, and it had hurt at the time, but had it really been worth all of this? He didn't know. All he knew was now everything felt awkward. At least Ivy seemed to be doing well.

Xander, for his part, was waiting for Alec to lead the way, for once. He felt comfortable calling Dark and Dazi by whatever names they wanted - though he did prefer Mum and Dad only because of the connection he had to Mum and Dad felt familiar - but ultimately, he wanted to see what Alec would call them. It was not often that he let Alec lead the way, but it was usually in more sensitive situations like this.

CPS agent Lance Corporal did stop by about halfway through the two weeks and stayed long enough to check on them and crack a few jocks, but he hardly even made any notes. Most of what he did do was purely so his bosses could see he did his job and followed up on a report, nothing more.

The twins and Peter attended the Bar Mitzvah and enjoyed themselves, even if they did feel a little awkward. Mostly because it was a religious ceremony and the twins had little understanding of what was happening. Peter was far more relaxed, accustomed to attending all sorts of gatherings, although he admitted this was his first Bar Mitzvah. By the end, though, they were all pretty relaxed and enjoying themselves. They were there for Sloan, after all, and she was always cool.

Two weeks after the rather emotional therapist visit, the twins came downstairs sniffing curiously.

"Is that toast?" Xander asked, following his nose.

"French toast!" Alec told him happily.
 
Daizi hadn't done much work into coming up with new terms. She had already said at the session that the word didn't bother her as long as she had them. Since it mattered more to Alec, she'd let him find what worked. And she had no idea how to even bring it up again. They knew how she felt about them, she continued to try to prove it hadn't changed at all, and gave them space and time to try to figure it out.

"Good morning," Daizi said, smiling at them. She was in her seat, holding Ivy, who was starting to have longer periods where she was awake and alert, "I have something for the two of you."
 
"It smells very good in here," Alec said with a tentative smile. "What's all this?" He gestured toward the gifts and the food. "Did something happen?"

"Is it a special day?" Xander asked, suddenly worried he'd forgotten something. Were gifts required? Should he have gotten somebody a gift??
 
"A year since... what?" Xander asked, a bit mystified.

The light dawned for Alec first. "Since we first arrived!"

"Oh!" Xander smirked at Dark and Daizi. "You mean a year since we were bundled into a stranger's car, taken to his home, and then threatened with witchcraft by his wife."

"To be fair, he was at least our teacher, so not a complete stranger," Alec pointed out.
 
"You weren't threatened with witchcraft, you were threatened with being used in witchcraft," Daizi replied, smiling brightly, "I was going for cult. So it is a special day! I said we should put up streamers and decorations but Dark said he wasn't sure if going that route was a good idea."

"And technically, you agreed to come home with me," Dark said, taking his seat, "You entered my car of your own free will."

"There was some coercion," Daizi chuckled.

"We just... we wanted you to know we are both very happy to have had the both of you live here with us for all this time."
 
Alec went straight to Daizi and hugged her as best he could while she was holding Ivy. "Streamers are always a good idea," he whispered, hugging her tight. "Thank you."

Xander pulled up his chair and plunked down, giving the spread of French toast and fruit a s satisfied nod. "It's been pretty god being here. Best food ever."

"Xander!" Alec scolded.

Xander lifted both hands out in a shrug, smirking. "What? It's true! And comfy beds, and stable rules and regulations, and supporters for passions, and somebody who cares about grades..."
 
Quickly adjusting how she was supporting Ivy, she hugged Alec with her free arm, holding him as securely as she could, "You're so welcome, habibi. You've made our lives so much better, we really do love you so much."

Dark nodded in his way, "I take the compliment. Too many people cannot cook anymore. And I am glad you feel comfortable here."
 
"I love you, too," Alec said sincerely. "Really, I do." He pulled away with a smile and gently ruffled Ivy's sparse hair. "And you."

Xander looked at Dark and smiled faintly, returning the nod. "A good father figure. But do you really need to be called 'Baba?' That's what most kids call their bottles, like when they are bottle-fed instead of nursing." He was teasing, not fully serious, but it did amuse him.
 
Ivy sneezed when Alec ruffled her hair, and then, for a few brief seconds, held actual eye contact with him before looking away again.

Dark turned away and smiled a little at being called a good father figure, but at Xander's question he looked back at him, "Imagine I drop you off in China tomorrow, alone, and I say 'okay learn Mandarin good luck try to start a life,' and nobody around you speaks English. And you try to talk about Alec and say, 'twin,' and they say, 'twin? That sounds like our word for broom, are you sure you want to use that one?'" He shrugged, not angry but trying to get Xander to understand why it mattered to him.
 
Alec smiled at Ivy and sat down in his usual spot.

Xander considered Dark's explanation. "Yeah, alright," he agreed, "I get that, but how come yours is 'Baba' and hers is 'Mama?' Mama sounds so... ordinary here."

"What exactly is ordinary? America is a melting pot, after all," Alec pointed out.

"More like a charcuterie board," Xander pointed out.
 
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