How Green Becomes Wood

Ivy watched the balloon float and squirmed, smiling brightly at this amazing confusing thing moved across the ceiling.

"Dark made breakfast," Daizi said, "your favourites. Both of yours, seperately. Like a little buffet, and I made your lunch."
 
Alec's eyes widened. "Really? Both of them? Thank you! That must have been so much work!"

Xander noticed Ivy's interest and casually started moving the balloon in her direction so she could see it easier. Plus, that was the direction to the kitchen and he was hungry.
 
"How were supposed to choose between the two of you?" Dark asked, handing Alec a plate. He had also cut up fresh fruit, "but we still have school today so you still should not be too relaxed about it."

Again, Ivy squealed and wiggled, finding the balloon to absolutely be the most fascinating thing in the world at the moment.
 
"I apologize," Dark said, making a plate for himself and Daizi, "I would give you a delayed morning if I could."

The whole time, Ivy squirmed and squealed, smiling brightly at the balloon. As it approached her, she reached her arms out to try to grab it, but couldn't quite successfully reach it yet.
 
Xander pulled the balloon down slowly until he finally held it where Ivy could reach. He didn't let her take it entirely, afraid that she would squeeze it or do something that would make the balloon pop. That would be terrifying and possibly painful for someone so little. "I gotta go eat, so you should look after this for me."

Alec got his plate and slid into his normal chair. "Oh, this looks and smells so good! This is the best birthday ever! Thank you!"
 
When Ivy was finally able to touch the balloon, she squeaked and kicked her feet hard, making Daizi laugh, "Does Ivy like the balloon?" She asked, kissing Ivy's head. Being so young, she could only hold it for a few moments before losing her grip, but as the magical coloured--thing! floated gently back up to the ceiling, she only seemed more entertained.

"I am glad," Dark said softly, a bit of pride sneaking into his face, "and this is just the beginning. It would probably be smart to save presents until after your party, so we do not have to rush through them now. Unless you would prefer to rush."
 
Xander snickered and headed into the kitchen to get a plate. "At least her first birthday gifts should be cheap. Boxes, ribbons, and balloons."

"After so we have all the time we want to enjoy them!" Alec stated.

"Agreed," Xander said as he sat down.

Alec ate enthusiastically for a few bites before asking, "Is everything still okay? Nothing's changed? Ivy will be alright?"
 
"Babies are like cats," Daizi laughed, "you can buy them all the toys in the world and they'll still just want to play in the box. Right, Hummingbird?" She reached out until she caught a balloon string and then pulled another balloon close to Ivy before letting it go and bump against the ceiling again, and Dark stopped pouring a glass of juice to snap a picture of the wonder on his daughter's face.

Both adults were themselves bewildered, though, at Alec's question, and for a few seconds neither answered as they tried to figure out what he was talking about. When it clicked, Dark assured him, "Of course everything is alright. Nothing has changed, we are still following your plans to the letter."

"We bought Ivy noise-blocking headphones for the arcade, and if the lights prove to be overstimulating, then we also have a car seat cover. She will be just fine," Daizi added, "Everything will be perfect."
 
"Good," Alec sighed in relief. "This is going to be so much fun!" He grinned at Xander. "I cannot wait to see the outfit you pick out."

Xander rolled his eyes. "Finish your breakfast, you chaos bringer." He followed his own advice and cleaned his plate, grumbling softly about how good everything was.
 
"Would you like to drive to school today, Xander?" Dark asked. It hadn't been rare during over the past week that Xander would drive either in the morning or in the afternoon, but this was the first time Dark offered the chance to him, "Or would you prefer to be chauffeured?"
 
Xander grinned, eyes sparking with excitement. "I'd like to drive," he replied. "Head to school in style!"

"Should we head straight home after school, or should we wait for you?" Alec asked.
 
"Neither," Dark replied, "I am not going to stay late on your birthday, I will take you home. Well, I will sit in the car, I have a feeling Xander will technically take you home."
 
"Do different cars drive differently?" Daizi asked, genuinely not knowing.

Dark shrugged, bringing the plates to the sink since he had a firm policy nobody did chores on their birthday, "Cars of different sizes feel different, but I have never really noticed a difference between two different cars of the same size."

"I really wish I could drive. I can only imagine how freeing it would be... Do you remember that time I got stranded out in the middle of nowhere on that work trip a few years ago? I went out drinking with an intern, and she ended up going home with some guy and forgot to tell me. My phone had died, and it wasn't a city, it wasn't even a suburb, so I couldn't just catch a taxi back to the hotel, I was completely stranded, in an unfamiliar place." She frowned, stroking Ivy's head as she thought about it. After taking a few moments she said, "It was really, really frightening."
 
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"I hope you fired that intern or got her fired. That was a horribly dangerous thing to do," Alec frowned.

"But it wasn't directly related to the job, so why punish her via the job?" Xander pointed out. "She's a despicable club partner, but maybe not a bad employee."

"Good point, but it was with someone of a higher rank from her work," Alec replied.
 
"I didn't write her a letter of recommendation," Daizi admitted, "but she did apologize profusely. She said she forgot I was blind and since I had been holding her purse for her when she went to dance, when she left she thought I'd be alright."

Dark scowled, shutting off the faucet and drying his hands, "I still cannot believe she did that. I cannot imagine being so dangerously irresponsible."

"She was 24 and excited to be on her first fancy trip."

"Yes, and her decision was to go off with some man, without her ID, in a town where nobody knew her," Dark replied pointedly, "Even if you had a way to get home safely, it was still an incredibly stupid decision. And it was on a work trip, so it was stupid and unprofessional. And I am not saying that because I am a 'slut-shamer,' I have nothing against one-night stands in theory, but you must be safe about it. She did not tell you where she was going, or even when she left the bar, or who she would be with."
 
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Alec choked on his last bite of food when Dark used the term, not expecting such a word to come from him.

"Seems fair to me," Xander agreed, standing up to help clear the table. "I've been hearing some people say that talk like that is 'victim shaming' because it somehow means that we're saying it's all the victim's fault for not taking enough care when we should be focused on the bad guys. I kinda get what they mean, but it's still stupid to do stuff like that. It's still the bad dude's fault, but you should do stuff to try to be safe, like not abandoning your work mate and not telling people where you are."
 
"No, of course she would still be the victim," Dark said quickly, "I did not mean to come off that way. But even though nobody asks to be harmed, there are little precautions all of us can take to be safer. That is why I was upset when you two skipped school, it is an unnecessary risk to not let people know where you are and who you are with, because if something happens, it makes it more difficult to get help to you. Or find you at all, in the worst case. It is not any different than not leaving a drink unattended. And that goes for you both, also," He squinted at his boys, "that is not only a precaution for women."

"Let's not frighten them on their birthday," Daizi mused, mildly amused by this sudden bout of passion shown by him.
 
"I don't think I'll ever go to a bar ever," Alec said nervously. "Or a club. I don't like their music, anyway, and it all sounds horribly unpleasant. At least I don't have to worry about traveling alone!" He grinned at Xander.

"But what if I want to go into a bar or a club and you've come with me to the place?" Xander pointed out.

Alec considered this. "Then I'll hang out with your designated driver while texting updates to Baba."
 
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