How Green Becomes Wood

"No, it is good you called her. I do not know what might have happen if you had not," Dark said, putting his phone back into his pocket but staying propped up against the door. "Next time somebody comes to this door, we are not home, okay? I cannot..." He gestured vaguely, "It has been a long time since someone has genuinely suspected me of... I know whoever reported us did not actually believe, but those agents..."
 
Alec frowned worriedly. "But... they couldn't have really done anything, could they? Not for real? You haven't done anything, either of you, so what could they do?"

"Whatever they want if they feel like it," Xander shrugged. "They're agents of the government. Never trust agents of the government."

Alec sighed. "Helpful. I'm sure you'll do great in an anarchy state."

"Probably." Xander glanced at Dark. "Do you think you could give me a ride tomorrow? Maybe around eleven or so?"
 
"I do not know. I want to say probably not, almost certainly not, but you were not here when I was young here. There was one man I know of who was in prison for fourteen years for terrorism, except he was innocent of all of it, and it was a mistake. But I do not know most of the case besides that." He shrugged, and he knew, objectively, that anything like that happening was slim, almost impossible. But a week ago he would have thought the FBI being called on him in the first place was impossible. He closed his eyes for a few moments and then opened them, "Sure, I can give you a ride. Where do you want to go?"
 
Xander named a place just outside of town. "It's a riding school or something like that. They posted that they have some saddles for free to anyone who wants to pick them up. They're too worn out to be used as saddles anymore, but a lot of the leather's good for some crafts."

"You have horrible timing," Alec told him, "but a drive out to the country might be nice."
 
"Sure, no problem," Dark said, "it would be nice to get out of the house, even for an errand, and there is no sense in letting something go to waste. I will even let you practice driving there, as long as the road is not too hectic, I would not want us to get into an accident."
 
Xander grinned. "Thanks!" He turned toward the kitchen. "I'm going to put lunch together. Something to celebrate sending two federal agents scurrying with their tails between their legs. I think I'm going to like having an aunt in 'the Bureau.'"

"How do you celebrate something like that?" Alec asked, following him.

"I dunno. I thought I'd see what we have and go from there."

"That's an excellent plan! How about sodas?"

"Good start."

Their voices faded as they stuck their heads into the pantry and refrigerator, pulling together a "celebratory" lunch and leaving Dark and Daizi alone for a few minutes.
 
It took some time of Dark leaning against the wall and return to the living room, and by then Daizi felt, if nothing else, like she had successfully smudged the house. Which allowed her the mental energy to just flop back on the couch, where Dark joined her. They spoke soft words to each other in Arabic, but it was difficult to find things to say. Everything around them felt oppressive, they had found themselves trapped and powerless. They had Ciara, gratefully, and they prayed it would be enough to stop this harassment. It didn't feel much like a celebration to them, and Dark couldn't help but look at his daughter's tan face and dark hair and wonder what she would have to live through. At least she was a natural born citizen, that would help her. He hoped. Maybe he should start faking an American accent, he knew how to... He wouldn't, but he wondered if it would have helped him if he had.

"It will be okay," Daizi eventually sighed, stretching, "I do not imagine after how they left they will be back. So in a way we're back to where we have been before, back to knowing it's out there but not letting it in. And it's almost the new year."
 
Everything was quiet the next day. No knocks on the door. No calls. No one showing up to dis Dark and Daizi's parenting abilities. Nothing. Just quiet. The day after, however, there was a ruckus next door. Alec and Xander both found a window with the best view and watched as a U-haul tried to back into the neighbor's drive and took out a mailbox. Shortly after, a horde of men descended on the house, hauling everything into the big van. It was the largest U-haul availible, and yet it still wasn't big enough as evidenced by a second U-haul showing up and pulling in right after the first one pulled out. In no time at all, the house stood empty. Xander dragged Alec and Enkidu out to play in the snow, yelling up a storm in glee.

The day after, there was a for-sale sign in the yard. And that, it seemed, would be that. They would not be seeing Mrs. Harwood any longer. Peace at last!
 
When Mrs. Harwood moved away, that felt like a celebration. Daizi felt an immense sense of relief, but Dark still felt a bit on edge. It couldn't be that easy, he thought. When the next day came and went without any interruptions, he still didn't fully relax, but that Friday, at least, was Ivy's next checkup. It was a bit nerve wracking, because it was their first time bringing her out into the December cold, but they brought her carrier inside so they could put her in and bundle her up (after being buckled, like the books and websites advised), and then left the twins alone in the house.

But not for long. About ten or fifteen minutes after they drove off, there was a knock at the door. Before either twin would have had a chance to open it, there was the sound of a key going into a lock, the door opening, and then, "Where are my favourite nephews?!"
 
Alec came trotting in from the laundry room, shocked at the sudden entrance, but his shock turned into a wide grin. "Hi, Cooger! What are you doing here? Xander!"

Xander came down from upstairs and looked at Cooger, puzzled. "Hey, man. How's it going?" He offered Cooger a fistbump.
 
Cooger returned the gesture in kind, "Hey, lads. How you've been? Despite the obvious, I mean. I was just in the neighborhood, and by in the neighborhood, I mean waiting just around the corner for y'alls folks to leave, so I could come around and kidnap ya. How's that sound? 'Cause see, it's just about Christmas, I mean, it's literally just a few days away, and I had gotten to thinking, y'all should get to have your American Christmas, 'cause Dark and Tarot don't really do much for it besides make a nice dinner and share gifts."
 
Alec's eyes lit up. "You mean... can we get a tree?" he almost whispered, quivering in delight.

Xander hid his excitement a little better. "A tree would be pretty cool, I guess, or whatever. But he didn't say tree, Alec. So, what are you thinking? Tinsel?"
 
"Oh, no, I definitely meant a tree," he chuckled, "grab your coats. If we work fast, we can get a good one and have it set up before Dark comes home, and then he won't have to stress and we get a real Christmas in here. Come on, we've gotta hustle."
 
The twins needed no further urging as they scrambled into their coats, told Enkidu they'd be back, and raced for the truck. Alec found the Christmas station and started singing along despite Xander's complaints until Xander started joining in.
 
Cooger laughed as the twins piled in, "See, I was thinking to myself, we do this once or twice, then it becomes tradition, and suddenly they're celebrating Christmas and they'll make a point of staying out for awhile, so we can have bigger excursions, yeah? And they'll be none the wiser."

For that year, they got to drive to a nearby farm, but it was an actual farm, where they cut down the trees themselves, "Now y'all can pick any tree you want, but you gotta let me be the one to cut it down, at least this year. If I sneak you out and one of you cuts off your foot, I'll never hear the end of it. And Dark loves his vaulted ceilings, so I don't think we have to worry about getting one too tall."
 
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"Is this where Christmas trees come from?" Alec asked in shock, wandering around. "I thought that was just... I don't know. For the movies or something."

"Where did you think they came from?" Xander scoffed, pretending he hadn't thought the same thing. "The supermarket?"

Alec sniffed at him, pretending offense. "I have no idea because I didn't think about it." He grinned and hurried to a nearby tree. "How about this one? This one is so tall! But it reminds me of that one tiny fake one we got. Remember that?"

Xander grinned as he walked over to the four-foot tree. "That was a better tree than the paper one we cut out and taped to the wall. Let's go taller! How about that one?" He pointed to a tree that had to be over ten feet tall.

Alec wrinkled his nose. "Too tall! We'd never even see the star. And I liked the paper one! We got to cut out all the decorations."

"Yeah, I guess that was nice." Xander turned to Cooger. "What makes a good Christmas tree? Like a solidly good tree?"
 
"My mom always said you gotta look around until you find one that sings," Cooger replied, sizing up the trees, "but I always look for one that ain't got bald spots, no brown dead spots, that feels fresh. There are different species, too. I like a fraser fir, they've got pretty good needle retention, ya know? And short little needles, so the ornaments don't slip. Douglas firs are really popular, but we've got beef. I couldn't tell you why."
 
"You can have a beef with a tree?" Xander asked quizzically.

"You of all people should know the answer to that considering your history with butterflies," Alec pointed out mildly.

Xander grumbled but accepted Alec's reply. With that out of the way, the pair of them got down to business hunting through the snow for the perfect tree. They had a few heated debates over the merits of a few trees but finally settled on two: a six-foot-tall fraser fir tree and an eight-foot-tall blue spruce.

"They both have their good points, and both are beautifully fluffy," Alec told Cooger, "but I don't know which one is best. I like the fraser. I think it feels right."

"But our parents are both literally taller than the tree," Xander huffed. "Why not the blue spruce? It's even got great coloration!"
 
"Technically Tarot is about the same height as that tree, not taller," Cooger commented, grinning. He took a mental note of Xander openly calling them their parents to share privately with them after inevitably Dark got fussy over his kidnapping of them, "But Dark is definitely higher than it. Spruce holds needles well, but they're sharp when the fall. Luckily we don't gotta care about how long it lasts 'cause it's already almost Christmas." He took a step back and looked at both trees, "One question we gotta ask is who is going to put the star on top? 'Cause if one of you wants to do it, I don't know how y'all are reaching the top of an 8 foot tree."
 
"A ladder and a lot of careful balancing," Xander replied promptly. "It won't be too hard! And I won't even jump."

"You'd better not jump," Alec grumbled. "Why not the shorter one? It'll be easier to decorate, and seeing the top of the tree just means he'll get to enjoy the star more."

Xander frowned, stomping in place to keep his feet warm. "That's not how you enjoy the star on top! You lean back on the couch and gaze upward. Right, Cooger?"
 
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