How Green Becomes Wood

"You don't get too fool around and not tell me how you fooled!" Daizi cried, pretending to be exasperated. Finally, Dark's braincells decided to function again, and he gently took Ivy from Daizi and handed her to Alec.

"There," he said, "now you are ready." His eyebrows flicked slightly closer together, looking at the effect. Then also at the other teenagers who were, until recently, only his students, and still standing close to Alec said, "Ana bhibek tkeer." I love you so much.
 
Alec looked a little confused at first when Dark handed Ivy to him, but then his face lit up as he realized what Dark meant. He blushed a little at Dark's sentence and hid his smile against Ivy. "You are the cutest thing," he told Ivy. "Yes, and you are the most amazing prop I'll ever hold, you know that? But I won't act like your father because that will definitely make its rounds at school."

Tom snickered then called, "Come on, Xander! You're the last one."

Xander stared at the back of the door, gathering his courage, before finally opening it and stepping out. He didn't look directly at anyone as his hands found the pockets and lodged there. He felt like a clown and had no idea if he was pulling off the look right or not.
 
When Alec pressed his face against her, Ivy squirmed and gurgled, managing to briefly grab ahold of Alec's hair.

"I still don't know what's going on!" Daizi exclaimed, now actually feeling a bit exasperated, but Dark sat back down beside her and explained the joke.

"Xander, you look cool," Sloan said, approvingly. It was different and kinda weird, but not necessarily bad, "We kinda match, we've both got on red." Milo just nodded approvingly--it did look about how it was going to in his mind.
 
"I dunno, I guess not," Xander said, cautiously adjusting the belts. He had the non-chain one tighter to act as an actual belt and the chain looser, but it made him think his belt was loose. It was a strange sensation.

"I love it," Alec told him stoutly. "Look at that, Ivy, he's colorful! Do you even recognize him?"

"I doubt anyone is going to recognize you," Xander shot back but with a slight grin. "Good thing we have different hair styles."

Alec ran his hand through his longer hair and smiled. "I suppose I could shorten it."
 
"Not until you're done dressing like Dark," Daizi giggled, "now that he's grown out his hair."

Ivy looked at Xander, and was temporarily distracted by the jangly belt he wore, but then she looked up at his face and grinned at him, because she knew him.

"If we are all settled, you should probably change back into your regular clothes just long enough for us to actually buy these," Dark pointed out.
 
"Glad you approve," Xander told Ivy.

Alec and the others all agreed with Dark and rushed to change back into their regular clothes. It would be a quick thing to change back now that they knew what fit. The extras that didn't fit went to a designated spot near the changing rooms where the employees could put them away properly.
 
After they all paid, and the teens were changing back into their new clothes, Dark and Daizi took Ivy to the car to get her settled, so that they all didn't have to wait while they took down the stroller and buckled her in. They were just finishing it up, and Dark had begun warming up the car, when Daizi remembered, "Wait, are you selecting the best dressed here or at the arcade? And how are you all deciding that?"
 
Xander and Alec exchanged glances, having momentarily forgotten.

"Well, we can't pick them," Alec said, "so we thought we'd bring in someone from the outside. Maybe someone who works at the arcade if they aren't busy."

"I thought you were going to have Daizi pick," Peter pointed out.
 
"Me pick?" Daizi asked, closing Ivy's car door, since Dark was inside it with her and she didn't want the baby to catch a chill, "I guess if you want to be really descriptive about it, but I really can only tell what people are wearing through touch, and only two of you are people I know well enough to be comfortable with touching, and only half of you are okay with touch." She laughed lightly, "But if you're willing to be extra descriptive it could work, especially if you don't tell me who is in what. I only know what Peter and Alec are in, really. And Xander, I guess."
 
"It's you, Baba, or a random stranger," Alec pointed out. "How about you and Baba discuss and decide together once we get to the arcade?" He set about describing each outfit as best as he could to Daizi while the others tried to figure out the car arrangements and who would be sitting where.
 
"That sounds like a great idea," Daizi said, and to the other teens said, "We'll see you there in just a few moments, alright? Xander, can you sit in the back this time? It'll be hard for us to discuss the winner if we're not with each other."

She got into the front seat and realized with some pleasure how nice it was to be in the front seat again, and she and Dark quietly discussed the costume winner. When they arrived at the arcade, they got out, and after getting Ivy situated, Daizi turned to them and said, "We have come to a decision."
 
The twins sat in the back with Ivy, and as Dark and Daizi talked in the front seat, they snickered in the back and compared notes on their own and everyone else's outfits. Peter's was the main attraction, of course.

When they were all at the arcade, the teens gathered in front of Dark and Daizi to hear their announcement.

"Is it mine?" Alec asked, grinning as he swooshed his coat.

"Obviously, it's mine!" Tom stated, pretending to do a bit of line dancing.
 
"We like your outfit, Alec, but we felt we couldn't award it to you without seeming egotistical," Daizi said, putting the noise cancelling earphones on Ivy, who seemed confused by this new sensation, "because you're dressed like my husband, who is one of the judges. And we liked Peter's, but it seemed he just sort of found whatever items went least with each other. Ultimately, we decided our winner is Xander, because he combined colours, patterns, accessories, and stepped outside of his comfort zone."
 
Alec heaved a sigh of disappointment. "Alas, my attempts to woe the judges failed me," he mourned.

Becky snickered and nudged him playfully. "At least you got a mention!"

Xander glanced toward Milo. "Looks like you won, then." At the other's confused looks, he explained, "he helped me out when I choked."
 
"Only a little," Milo shrugged, rubbing his neck, "I really just gave an idea and found the pants. We worked together after that."

"You should've asked Ivy her opinon," Sloan joked, bouncing up and down, "but let's have this conversation inside the arcade, it's still February out here, and now I'm in a skirt."
 
"I guess that's why someone invented the torture device that is pantihose," Becky said, making a face. "At least it gives your legs a tiny bit of warmth."

"Inside!" Tom agreed, blowing on his hands.

"Follow the birthday boy! This was his idea, after all, and he won," Alec said, gently tugging Xander forward and then pushing him toward the arcade.

"Alright! I'm going!" Xander said, taking the lead. He opened the door and held it for Becky and Tom then passed it off to Alec to hold for Daizi and Ivy.
 
"I didn't know I was going to be in a dress today," Sloan replied, hurrying in.

Dark followed in immediately behind Daizi, knowing the arcade would be crowded, and he helped her to the side as soon as she walked in. She knew it would be a difficult environment for her, but she didn't anticipate how immediately overwhelming it would be: noises were coming from every possible direction, at different volumes and pitches, and she had no idea where was what. She floundered with one hand to grab Dark's arm as tightly as she could and murmured, "Don't leave me."

"I will not," he promised, as the rest filed in, and once they were all there he told them he'd pay for the initial tokens (which were just loaded onto a card), since it was a birthday party, but after they ran out they'd probably need to pay for more themselves.
 
"So am I, and my knees are freezing!" Becky grumbled. "It had better be warm in here." It was warm. Loud, but warm.

Peter and the twins instantly gravitated toward the ball and hoop games while Tom and Becky discussed whether or not to start an air hockey tournament. There was so much to do and see!
 
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