How Green Becomes Wood

It took some time, but with Dark's own knowledge on how to settle himself, the help Alec had provided, and then Daizi, he was able to lift his face from his wife's shoulder and say, "I am okay." A few moments after that, he and Daizi were able to get up off the ground and walk back to the twins, but now, subtly, it was Daizi guiding and protecting him. He only made sure there was nothing in her way.
 
Alec wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure what to say. Something reassuring. Or maybe move on like nothing happened? Which would be better?

"Well, that sucked," Xander said bluntly. "Wanna go somewhere quiet for food? A nice, quiet corner."

Alec frowned. "How can you think about food at a time like this?"

"Well, it seems like a decent thing to do to calm down before getting in a cramped car and dealing with stressful driving," Xander pointed out.
 
Daizi tilted her head up towards Dark, gently squeezing his arm, and he took a breath which still trembled slightly before saying, "We can eat." He didn't quite want to admit it, but he didn't even feel up to diving yet. The whole ordeal was exhausting to him.

Daizi pressed against him, wanting to ask where he wanted to go, but knowing he wasn't the sort to want everybody fussing over him. It was hard enough for him to deal with he had a public episode, "Do we still want to get sushi?" She asked instead, and he nodded in response, then corrected himself and verbally confirmed it. "We should put Ivy back into her stroller."
 
"Okay, I can do that," Alec said. He tucked Ivy gently into her stroller and clipped the buckles. "There, she's in."

Xander walked a little ahead of them, keeping his eye out for more "pranks." If he didn't spot them in time, then at least he'd be the first to walk into them.
 
"Thank you," Dark said, watching Alec settle Ivy in, but he wasn't really talking about the stroller. Or he mostly wasn't, anyway. Then he bent down to stroke Ivy's cheek, "I am very, very sorry you were frightened." Then he sighed, rubbed his face, and began pushing the stroller towards the sushi restaurant, with Daizi right behind him, one hand on his back.
 
"I don't think she took it too hard," Alec said, trying to encourage him. "She didn't like it, but she recovered very quickly."

"The place doesn't look too busy," Xander reported from up ahead.
 
"That is good. I do not want her to be afraid." He told Alec, and looked relieved when the restaurant was crowded. Inside, they managed to get seated in a quiet back corner, which Daizi requested "for the baby" and Dark was able to sit in the seat that made him feel most secure, with Daizi right beside him.

After their drinks were ordered and Dark had taken in a little bit of water, Daizi asked, "Are you alright, Goose?"

He inhaled, "Yes. Mostly. I nearly passed out. But I am better now."
 
"That was a cruel joke. I'm sure they didn't mean for it to be so mean, but it turned out mean. They should have at least apologized," Alec frowned.

Xander said nothing, but he knew that at least two of them had meant it to be mean and the third was just a coward. Maybe he should have made them come apologize, but it was one thing to push someone against a wall and another thing entirely to drag two grown people out to say sorry. "I think I'll have the seaweed salad. It's stringy and gross but I like it."
 
"Dark always does their all-you-can-eat sushi deal, because otherwise we'd spend a thousand dollars," Daizi commented, not reaching for the menu because she had a usual order at this specific restaurant.

"And because you do not have to speak to anyone, you just fill out a card." Dark added, looking down at Ivy in her stroller, and when she smiled at him, his shoulders drooped slightly and he carefully unbuckled her and held her closely.

Daizi hummed, drumming on the table, "I don't eat enough to make it worth it."
 
"Can I try the all-you-can-eat?" Xander asked cautiously, examining the menu.

Alec frowned. "You've never had sushi. What if you don't like it?"

"I bet that happens from time to time," Xander shrugged. "I'll just ask them to switch it, right? And there are some non-sushi items. Not many, but some."

"I might try the vegetarian roll. It looks... safe," Alec said, a little nervous but willing.
 
"If you would like to," Dark said, rubbing his thumb against Ivy's hair, "but the restaurant's rule is you cannot share any of the food, and whatever you do not finish they charge you extra for. It is how they combat food waste, I suppose."

"The Philadelphia roll is very safe if you want to try something with fish. It's salmon, cucumber, and cream cheese," Daizi suggested, sensing her son's apprehension.
 
"I bet it's not cheap for them, either," Xander said. He considered and then nodded. "I wanna try one. If I like it, I'll totally do the all-you-can-eat."

"I'd like to try that, I think," Alec said, giving a tentative nod. "It sounds interesting."
 
"That's smart, Xander," Daizi told him, "the first time I had sushi I just about died, I hadn't been warned about the texture, and since I couldn't, you know, see what it looked like I had very little idea of what to expect. But after that first piece, when I could conceptualize it, I liked it. Obviously."
 
Xander took his time deliberating on which of the many choices to make his first foray into the world of sushi, and when the server came to take his order, he picked two of the cheaper rolls that seemed to be different styles. Alec picked the Philadelphia, as Daizi had suggested, and a cucumber roll, which was a vegetarian "sushi" roll. It seemed like a safe try.
 
Dark and Daizi ordered and sat back to wait. Daizi still chatted with the twins, but after ordering, Dark fell silent, listening but not seeming totally engaged. After a while, he lay Ivy back down in the stroller to let her sleep and his gaze drifted from his family, to the window, to the other patrons in the restaurant and back again.

When the sushi arrived, he spoke up mildly, "Let me know what you think."
 
Alec spent a lot of time inspecting his vegetarian roll before finally taking a bite. "Hmm. This isn't half bad!" he said in surprise. "The texture isn't like anything I've ever tried before, not even the rice. It's good!" He tried the Philidelphia roll next with much less hesitation and promptly pulled a face at the strange, unusual texture of raw fish. The flavor was delicious, but the texture was so weird! He didn't say anything, chewing slowly and trying to get used to the texture.

Xander tried a couple of bites and grinned. "Man, this stuff is good! Doesn't taste at all like how I expected. I like it!" His other roll was a spicy style, and it had his eyes watering. He hadn't expected simple raw fish to be able to pack such a punch!
 
Dark carefully watched both boys for their reactions before saying, "It is okay, Xander, one day you will learn to handle spice."

"I'm glad you like it though," Daizi said, "and be glad you'll never be in a situation where you have to give it up for the better part of the year."
 
"I'm fine!" Xander wheezed, his face growing red. "I've built up," wheeze "a tolerance for," wheeze "spice living with you." He grabbed his cup and took a gulp. "Bring it on!" He shoved another piece in his mouth.

Alec rolled his eyes. "Dude, you and I are about as white as white gets. Those jokes about how Germans find pepper spicy applied to us before we found a new home. We've finally reached the level of kind of tolerating a tiny amount of paprika." He studied his roll suspiciously. "I think I like it, but I'm not sure. It's so different!"

Xander said nothing, just gave a sort of squeaky huff in reply.
 
"Maybe I should have suggested you try a California roll first. Crab might be easier to adjust to than salmon." Daizi said, then paused, listening to Xander wheeze. Her brows furrowed, she weighed her options, and guessed at the twins' knowledge, "You should try the green stuff."
 
"This stuff?" Alec asked, pointing at the small blob on his plate. Something in Daizi's tone raised his suspicions, and he eyed her a momet. Then, carefully, he used the tip of a chopstick to take a dab of the green stuff and sniffed it. "It smells like-" he stopped himself and glanced at Xander. "I'm not sure."

Xander took another drink and turned his attention to "the green stuff." "What is it?" he asked, using his own chopstick to scoop up a bit.
 
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