How Green Becomes Wood

"It's Arab Standard Time," Daizi chuckled, "And anyway, you told me to check what he's wearing, so you don't get to blame me!" She laughed, putting on her coat and shoes.

"Do not worry, Alec, when you have a baby nobody can blame you for being late. We just say she gave us problems and everyone gives us a pass," Dark said coolly, tossing his coat over his shoulder as he went to the car, planning to put it on after buckling Ivy into her car seat.

Then, once they were all in, he drove to the thrift store, and arrived a good ten minutes before the first guest was told to arrive.
 
Alec bounced the whole way there while Xander slouched and grumbled about not wanting to do it, but his words had no real backbone. While thrift stores and finding new outfits might not be his thing, he didn't hate it as much as he pretended to. When they got out, Alec moved to stand where the next people to show up could see him. Xander slouched against the brick wall with arms crossed, still technically in view.
 
It took Dark and Daizi a little bit more time to get inside because they had to unbuckle Ivy and set up a stroller, and in the period of time where they were still outside, Milo came around the corner from back within the store, at an angle where he hadn't seen which care the twins stepped out of.

"Hello," he said, "I think I came early. My grandma dropped me off. Happy Birthday," He presented them with two small gift bags. Inside each one was a small scented candle, a box of skittles, and an A6 size notebook. Because he did not know them well enough to buy them something personal, but couldn't bring himself to go to a birthday party with nothing. After giving the presents he looked up and his eyes widened, "Oh God, it's that scary giant teacher."
 
"Oh, wow! Thank you!" Alec grinned, peeking inside. "We didn't expect anything, really." He followed Milo's glance and said, "Ah. So it is." He wasn't quite sure how to address it even though he fully intended to.

"He's even scarier outside of school, isn't he?" Xander remarked casually. "Lot of rumors about him, and not much known. It's like he wants to keep everything secret and mysterious about himself." He handed Alec his gift bag. "Should put those in the car."

"RIght!" Alec agreed, hiding a smile. He took the bags and headed back to their car where Dark and Daizi were situating Ivy. He paused by them long enough to say what he was doing and stashed the bags.

"He's also our dad," Xander told Milo, waiting until the moment Alec had his head in the "scary teacher's" car to tell Milo that. "That's our mum and baby sister with him, too." Xander put a finger on Milo's shoulder to keep him from running away. "Also, our mum is blind, so don't go sneaking up on her, got it?"
 
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Milo froze and looked at Xander with wide eyes, and his eyes looked even larger because of his glasses, "He's your dad? But--" he looked quickly from Dark to Xander and back again, then suddenly it clicked all at once and his expression went to immediately neutral, and in a lightly teasing tone he said, "You have his eyes." Then he turned lightly and peered at Daizi, his expression only taking on a subtle look of surprise when he saw her face, but all he said, "I never try to sneak up on anyone. But I'll be extra careful."

Out by the car, Daizi laughed when she heard what was going on, and when they came inside, Dark looked down at the new teenager and said, "Hello, Milo."

Milo looked all the way up at Dark and really tried hard not to blanche but only managed to say, "...hello, sir..."

"Hi," Daizi greeted him, "I'm Daizi, and this is Ivy. You must be the new one."

"...yes, ma'am..."
 
Xander rolled his eyes at Milo's comment, but a tension he hadn't realized he'd been holding eased a little. This was the first time he'd ever told someone - at least a school someone - that the man who was very clearly not genetically related to him was his father. He'd been expecting a lot worse and had prepared himself for that subconsciously. Milo's reaction was strangely relaxed. Xander approved.

Alec came over to join them, grinning. "Milo is the extra quiet one."

"He promised to try not to sneak up on anyone," Xander told them.

Becky came scurrying toward them excitedly, her reaction at seeing Dark slightly less dramatic than Milo's as she had been around long enough to hear about the connection between them. Alec went to meet her, and they had a quiet discussion about tattoos before she walked over and introduced herself to Milo and greeted Dark and Daizi. She stared a little too long at Daizi's face but managed to remain polite enough beyond that. Tom - not Hank - arrived shortly after, and Becky caught him up to speed on the "Don't talk about the tattoos" thing. He started to introduce himself to Daizi, lost his train of words and stared open-mouthed at her until Becky smacked him with her purse. After which he apologized, red-faced and truly ashamed.
 
Seeing the way Tom gawked at his wife made Dark clench his jaw, but it wasn't something anyone other than the twins would notice, but he relaxed when the teen apologized profusely.

"Don't worry, I'll bet I'd do the same if I saw you for the first time," Daizi apologized good-naturedly, using the line she literally always used. Somewhere inside it stung a little, but not in a way she was unfamiliar with or ever dwelled on anymore.

The mild awkwardness of the moment was thankfully broken by Sloan hurrying up and greeting them and greeting Dark and Daizi with the ease of someone who had grown up across the street from them her entire life. Then she knelt down by the stroller to say hello to Ivy, but didn't touch her since she didn't have permission.
 
"Now all we're missing is Peter," Alec frowned, glancing around. "I thought for certain he'd be here by now. Did I miss a text?"

Xander glanced at his phone. "Nope."

"And he said he'd be here, right?"

"Said so at lunch."

"Then where could he be?"

Xander squinted at the traffic. "Pulling in now with his dad behind the wheel."

Jack parked the vehicle, and Peter hurried over to them. "Sorry! We got lost."

Jack got out and went to say a few words to Dark and Daizi. "Do you need another driver with lot? Or do you have the vehicular situation situated?" He paused and cooed briefly at Ivy.
 
Dark turned, mentally counting the kids. Xander and Alec could be with him and Daizi. That left Peter, Sloan, Milo, Hank, and Becky. Sloan had her own car, she was driving, which left four. "Sloan," Dark asked, "How many can you fit?"

"Four comfortably, but I can squeeze in five, if someone can fit on the hump," Sloan replied, glancing over her shoulder.

"Thank you. We should be alright, then," Dark told Jack, "unless you would rather save some from being crushed."
 
"I can sit on the hump! I don't mind," Peter offered. As the smallest one there, he was the one most likely to manage the easiest.

"Alright, glad that's settled," Jack said, amused. "I guess I'll be on my way, then. Let me know if you need anything. Peter, I'll pick you up from the arcade, right?"

"Right!" Peter confirmed.

Jack gave them a wave and headed back to his car.

"So," Alec said, feeling a bit awkward now that everyone had gathered, "shall we head inside and see what awaits us?"

"Absolutely! I've been looking forward to this all day!" Tom said, leading the way.

"I hate shopping, but I do like dressing up, so my life is a constant tragedy," Becky sighed, following him.
 
"I have a gymnast's body," Sloan told Becky, "nothing fits me properly."

Daizi took Dark's arm, "I need you to push the stroller, babe, I know the aisles are narrow and I don't want to use our daughter as a battering ram."

Milo followed quietly behind them, his hands in his pockets, and looked around with wide eyes.
 
Becky paused and looked Sloan up and down. "Hmm, I see what you mean, but we'll find you something! I think... yes, flowing garments and belts. Belts will totally be your friend, I think. Wanna look together?"

"Try not to wear only black?" Alec urged Xander before hurrying ahead.

"Oh, come on, black is classy!" Xander complained.

"Alec, would you start with pants or shirt first?" Peter asked, drawing Alec away.

Xander shook his head at the group as most of them split off into pairs. He wandered slowly toward one side, not really looking yet. He figured he had some time.
 
Sloan smiled slightly as she followed Becky, "My mom would like you." She didn't have a real issue with dressing 'feminine' but she was by no means a 'girly-girl' and the immediate jump to flowing garments reminded her of her mom telling her to sit like a lady.

"Black is classy," Dark agreed, the only scrap of colour on his body being his tattoos and wedding ring, "We are going to be sitting near the sitting room, if you need us, I do not think you need us to keep a close eye on you all."

Milo stood still as everyone splintered off and then awkwardly shuffled after the twins, since he knew them slightly more than the rest. But then he paused, glancing over at Tom and Peter, wondering if maybe he should go with them and let the brothers have some time just them.
 
Becky glanced at Sloan, confused, but then went on. "What about leggings, probably dark or neutral color, and a man's shirt over top? If we get the right style, it should look almost like a dress. If it's shorter, you're going for a casual, comfortable look. If it's longer, you can belt it and it'll look like a dress! Of course, we don't have to do that. If you want, we can look at some fun stuff we might never, ever wear again since this is supposed to be a party." She chattered on excitedly, clearly wanting to involve Sloan but having trouble slowing down enough to let her speak.

"Okay, see you later!" Alec called.

Peter caught up to Tom, and the pair of them were discussing the merits of trying to find an outfit they actually liked or finding the weirdest one possible in celebration of the day. Tom thought they should go weird, but Peter was making some good points for reusability.

Xander glanced toward Milo. He debated for a long moment before picking a shirt at random off the nearest rack and tossing it at Milo. "What do you think?"
 
"So we're going for normal?" Sloan asked, vaguely picking at clothes as she hurried after Becky. At least her plans weren't extreme and she wasn't trying to dress her high femme, "Are we getting shoes too or should we keep the shoes we're wearing in mind?"

Milo caught the shirt with surprising dexterity for a kid who did everything he could not to fight back and he unfolded it, squinted, and then laughed. Turning around the green and yellow striped shirt, he revealed it read: BAD GIRL 03.
 
"I'm keeping my shoes. I... I can't do used shoes," Becky said with a slight shudder. "Sorry, it's a whole thing. Anyway, that was my first instinct, but..." She nodded toward where Tom was trying on what looked like a sequined cowboy hat that had been stepped on at least once, "I don't think that everyone is sharing the same vibe. What do you think we should do?"

"Perfect," Xander said with a straight face. "The colors go with your complexion." He had no idea, but he wasn't going to say anything. "I thought about it for Alec, but green and yellow go terrible with red hair."
 
"My mom won't wear any clothes from a thrift store, so you're doing better than her." Sloan said, rocking up onto her toes to get a better glimpse at Tom, "We can do something un the middle. Something in a style we normally wouldn't wear, you know? Like instead of going," she gestured, "You dress... I don't know, Emo or something."

"Do you think I'm a bad girl?" Milo asked flatly, but there was a tiny grin on his face he couldn't successfully stamp down, "I don't know how yellow looks with red hair, but green famously looks good with it."
 
Becky glanced down at her casual girl-next-door jeans and shirt with a sweater. "Hmm, I could do emo," she agreed with a smile. "What are you going to try? Super girly-girl? Camo? Goth?"

"Well, you're not a good one," Xander tossed back. He frowned and picked out a dark green shirt and held it up. "How about this? This got enough color to it?"
 
"Well we can't all do goth or emo, we'd look like we're mocking Mr. Dark," Sloan pointed out, "and I'm not sure, really. Maybe I'll dress preppy."

"I think it would probably actually look good on you," Milo confessed, sticking his hands back into his pockets, "this is a better thrift store than the one I had to go to when I lived in Iowa."
 
"Good point." Becky gasped and giggled. "Did you ever see that really old show, Clueless? I never really watched it, but my mom loved it. You could dress like a character from there!" She dug her phone out from her purse and quickly looked up some images of the Clueless character cast, which she showed Sloan.

"Our mum really likes it and introduced Alec to it?" Xander said. He held the shirt up to himself, considered, then shrugged and tossed it over his arm. There. One non-black item of clothing. If he happened across a pair of pants he liked, he might add that. He considered asking Milo about Iowa, but chose not to. "What color goes with mouse brown then?"
 
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