How Green Becomes Wood

"I think so, in the pantry. Why?" Daizi said, reclining on the couch, "and because you two are my children, and therefore you are, in a way, his grandchildren, and grandchildren get a pass. I'm sure he would have preferred Xander not to get into a fight, but I told him it was to defend a friend's honour and he was immediately on board. I didn't mention what part of the friend's honour he was defending."
 
"Probably for the best," Xander smirked, heading into the kitchen.

"He is so kind, in his own stiff way," Alec sighed happily. Then he frowned and turned toward Xander. "Wait, wait, wait, what are you doing with peanut butter? You are not spreading it around school, are you?"
 
"As long as you are not my husband, he is surprisingly welcoming." Daizi told Alec, shaking out her hair and shutting her eyes. She had only just settled down comfortably when the second part of Alec's statement stuck out to her, and she sat up and swiveled towards the kitchen again, "Wait--What are you going to do with the peanut butter? You can't waste it, I didn't know you were asking for some plot."
 
"It's not for my plot," Xander said, looking through the pantry. "It's Sloan's idea."

Alec shifted Ivy to the other arm, huffing a little with how heavy she was getting. "That wasn't her idea! She just wanted to help with the rumors. Spreading peanut butter on anything isn't going to help."

"No? Not even a peanut butter sandwich?" Xander smirked.
 
"Are you just making a sandwich?" Daizi asked, pushing her hair back, "because I'd really prefer you not waste food. I don't even understand what's happening."

Ivy reached up as Alec moved her and grabbed a small fistful of his hair, immediately trying to bring it to her mouth.
 
Alec was not fully paying attention to Ivy and tipped his head to accommodate her pulling, not realizing where his hair or her fist was going. "Yesterday, Sloan asked Xander via text what he wanted to do about the rumors, if he wanted to start any counter rumors. What did he want to spread? Xander just said 'peanut butter,' which is two words, not one, by the way."

Xander smirked and held up the jar. "Come on. I was just going to put it in your backpack and tell you to take it to Sloan. You make it sound as though I had some kind of diabolical master plan in mind."
 
Ivy happily put Alec's hair directly into her mouth, and one of the pitfalls of a blind mother was how she was unable to warn him this was coming.

"You are all very strange," Daizi chuckled, settling back down on the couch, "I wouldn't think she was only looking for one word, I'd expect a full sentence. Like, 'tell them I was undercover and stopping drug trafficking' or something equally absurd or dramatic."
 
"The one word thing is because he keeps thinking 'peanut butter' is one word," Alec explained. "It's not what Sloan expected. It doesn't ultimately matter, really. I like the idea of saying he was stopping drug trafficking, especially concerning some of the rumors about Baba."

Xander rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll put the peanut pause butter away. Two words, not one. And, Alec?"

"What?"

"I don't think hair is a part of a baby's balanced diet."

Alec looked confused until he realized what was happening. "Oh, no, Ivy, you can't eat my hair. Or anyone's hair. Please get that out of your mouth."

While his brother was distracted trying to gently untangle his little sister, Xander snuck the jar into Alec's backpack.
 
Daizi slumped down, rubbing her hands over her face, "She puts everything she can grab directly into her mouth. I've had to start putting my hair up every day. This is why they say mothers have a baby and immediately get a soccer mom cut. I refuse, Ivy, you can't make me!" She laughed, "It's amazing Dark is remaining committed to his longer hair. When he finally went in to get it cut, I thought he'd have gone back to his before-her length. I don't mind, I love it, but with how he is, I thought baby drool in his hair would kill him."
 
"Yeah, but it's her drool, and she can do absolutely no wrong," Alec said dryly as he finally got the last few strands free. "I guess I'll have to either cut mine or experiment with up-does myself."

"Dude, if you start wearing a man-bun, I swear I'm going to cut it off while you sleep," Xander warned.

Alec stuck his tongue out at him.
 
"I think he's working on accepting there are some things he cannot control." Daizi said, "and in his defense, I can't recall her doing anything wrong. She's still just learning is all. We just have to keep telling her no when she sucks on our hair. And invest in headbands."
 
"Oh! Headbands could be fun!" Alec grinned.

Xander just sighed.

Alec lifted Ivy up high. "What do you think, huh? What do you think? Come on, let's go ruin my homework together before Baba gets home!" He "airplaned" her out of the room, being very gentle and making certain he had a good grip as he scurried as fast as he dared across the floor and up the stairs.

"I'd better go keep an eye on them," Xander grumbled, following after.
 
Ivy squealed laughing at the way Alec carried her away, and Daizi just beamed at the way he interacted with his sister. After how long it took him to accept she was on her way, the love he showed her now felt so fulfilling and warm.

"She can be a lot of fun," She told Xander as he begrudgingly followed after his siblings.
 
"As long as she doesn't try to eat my hair," Xander said, patting his much shorter locks. Right now, he had the shortest hair in the household. In order for Ivy to get to it, she'd have to essentially be holding his head. That was unlikely to happen anytime soon.
 
"She'll try to, but if she grabs your hair just take it back out of her hand. She only trys to eat it because it's how she explores the world." Daizi replied casually, completely understanding Xander's perspective and was trying to let him know he didn't have to worry too badly.
 
"Good thing she grows out of exploring with her mouth," Xander commented.

"Isn't that what we do with food?" Alec called down at him.

"I don't even know what to say to that," Xander sighed and followed Alec up the stairs to figure out his homework. Maybe if he worked hard on it for the next couple of days, he could get it all done and have the rest of the week to help Couger at his job.
 
"I am in complete agreement," Daizi sighed, lying back. By the time Dark came home, she was asleep, one hand hanging off the couch and resting on Enkidu, who slept on the floor in front of her, and after touching the salt and taking off his shoes, he lay a blanket over her and stooped to kiss her head. God, she was divine. It still felt so strange to come home to her instead of the other way around.

But, there was no real point in lingering with her when she was sound asleep, and he wasn't going to risk waking her, so he went upstairs and knocked on the twins door to let them know he had come home.
 
Xander used his foot to open the door since it wasn't fully latched. He and Alec sat on the floor with their homework spread between them, and Alec had Ivy sat on his lap, pretending she was helping him with his work. He'd gotten one of her small toys that she didn't play with often and used that to trade her for anything she tried to grab that he didn't want her to have.

"What's the capital of Peru?" Xander asked Dark in greeting.
 
Stepping into the room and seeing his sons and his daughter together surprised him, and he paused for a moment with a neutral expression but warm eyes, and he cleared his throat to answer Xander, "...Lima, I think? Or Cusco?" At the sound of his voice, Ivy turned her head and her face lit up into a huge grin, and she squealed, kicking her legs and flailing her arms so intensely that, if Alec wasn't actively supporting her, she would fall over onto his leg. "ahlaan tifl! Hi, baby!" Dark said, sitting down on the floor, "Baba was wondering where Ivy was!"
 
Alec laughed and dropped the pencil he was holding so he could support Ivy better. "She's helping us with our homework. See? She's been an excellent help and inspiration!" He indicated the three papers that Ivy had managed to get ahold of and wrinkle up. They were still mostly in one piece, but now had a few extra hills and valleys. "Ivy, do you want to go to Baba?"

"Cusco or Lima, probably," Xander said as he wrote it down. "That should cover all the bases."
 
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