How Green Becomes Wood

"It's better here than back at home," Sloan told them, opening up the box and trying one of the plums, "Oh, these are actually pretty good."

~~

"Goodbye." Dark said, gently taking Daizi's arm to lead her out of the party by the most direct route, hoping to avoid any more conversations. He had enough respect to stop by Blair to say goodbye, using Ivy as an excuse, and since she was looking at the baby, she didn't take issue or offense, although she did offer to let them lay Ivy down in a back room if they would prefer to stay.

This, Daizi turned down, mostly for Dark's safe, expressing how since she didn't know their home layout well, it would be difficult for her to get to her daughter when she woke up, and since the party was outside and they didn't have a baby monitor... It just seemed like it was for the best.

So, Dark and Daizi went home, and once they were inside and Ivy was in her cradle, Daizi sent a quick text to the twins letting them know they were home. By then it was the early evening, and the party would only last for a few more hours anyway.
 
Alec heard his phone and tried three pockets before locating it. "Oh, looks like our folks have left the party and are headed home."

"They lasted longer than expected," Xander admitted. He paused long enough to open his first bag. "Huh. These corn things are basically like chips. Not to bad, either."

~

Lex stalled long enough so it didn't look like she was leaving with Dark and Daizi, and then she, too, made her excuses to Blaire and quietly slipped out with Toby. Time to go home!
 
"I always imagined Mr. Dark would be really good at parties, you know? Like... suave. But I guess a neighborhood barbecue probably isn't his venue. He's too sophisticated." Sloan commented as she slowly tried the various snacks, "Or he presents that way. I think if everyone left when they wanted to the party would be ten minutes long."

~~

They didn't bother turning the lights on when they came inside and sat together in the dark. Enkidu joined them on the couch, resting his head on Daizi's lap, and she snuggled in against Dark.

"My god," She murmured, "It's quiet. When's the last time our house was quiet?"

"When we sent the twins to the sleepover, I think. Why are you tired? I thought you were excited to go."

Daizi shrugged, "I forgot how awful our neighbors are."

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder." Dark told her with a small smile, resting his chin against her hair.

"Did you suffer too badly?"

"Darling, I always suffer."

There was a pause where the uncommon quiet of the house grew even more silent, and Daizi moved her hand from ontop of Enkidu's head to Dark's chest, feeling the slow, strong beat of his head. She drummed her fingers, and then broke the warm quiet, "You're still my favourite person, you know. If I had to choose between saving you or saving one of our children, I'd save our children--"

"Good, I would not want you to choose me over them--"

"But everything about you is still..." She shifted her head so she could grin up at him, "You're my gloomy guy."

"Your 'gloomy guy?'"

She nodded, "Yeah, my gloomy guy. I want you to be as healthy as you can be, Goose, but don't become an optimist on me." She lay her head back down, snuggling into him, "I love that you're morose and sarcastic... But I hope you're not always suffering."

"No, not with you. Never with you."
 
"I'm not sure how sophisticated he actually is, though, admittedly, I'm not sure how to rank sophistication," Alec said as he tried to figure out how to open the glass bottle of soda. There appeared to be a glass ball on top. "He likes the image he presents, and he hates people."

Xander poured the last of the chips into his mouth. "Yep, pretty much," he said around a full mouth. "But he's cool. Got mad skills in an arcade with chance games."
 
Sloan watched Alec struggle and then took the bottle from him, quickly looking it over, and then opening the bottle up for him. "He's well spoken, dresses well..." She shrugged, "I don't think hating people means you aren't sophisticated. And I did see him play a little bit at your birthday party. I'm not sure how you even start to get good at games of chance like that."
 
"Oh, thank you." Alec took a sip and made a face. "Oh! Ah!" He paused and took another sip. "Ugh. This is weird." A third sip.

"Lot's of practice," Xander told Sloan, eying Alec in bemusement. He glanced at Sloan's house. "Welp, I guess this is where we part ways. You good?"

Alec was already turning toward their house, alternating between taking sips and making faces.
 
After taking a few moments to watch Alec and deciding if she wanted to ask about the drink or comment on how it must be an acquired taste, she just told Xander, "Yeah, I'm alright. There's nothing to be done about it anyway, right?" So she gave a little wave and walked home, only stopping to take a breath to ready herself before walking inside to whatever she might find.

The rest of the evening back at home was quiet. Since they ate at the party, there was no need to cook, and had Ivy not still had all of her multitude of needs, Daizi probably would have gone to bed early. But it was peaceful, and it was hard to complain about it. It was... normal, which was strange, but it was comfortable.

It was normal, until Dark stood in the twins' room, gently shaking Alec awake, "Alec, wake up. Do not panic, everything is okay."
 
Alec woke with a small start and reached up to grab Dark's arm. "Huh? Did the baby come?" he asked groggily. "Where is..." He blinked as he slowly started waking up. He squinted up at Dark and rubbed his eyes with one hand, the other still holding Dark's arm. "What's going on?"
 
"She did," Dark replied, "In October. Hurry, wake your brother. I have something to show you." By the lack of light in the room, it was either very late or extremely early. But he was pleased he was correct in deciding who was the better twin to wake first.
 
Alec nodded and let go of Dark. He yawned, rubbed his eyes, and dragged himself out of bed. Xander's bed was a stumble away, and he sat on the end of it. Gently, he reached out and poked Xander's leg until his brother growled and reached out to swat at the pesky thing. "Wake up," Alec told him.

"Why? What's wrong?" Xander groaned, rolling over to try to stuff his face into his pillow.

Alec shook his leg. "Dunno. Don't think it's bad. Dark wants us."

Both twins threw on a semblance of clothing, pulling on the first things to come to hand, and stumbled out to find Dark. What was going on?
 
"Hurry," Dark said, leading them downstairs and out onto the back deck. On the table, there was a mostly empty glass, a notebook where he had been writing (and scratching out) in Arabic, a candle lit to keep the bugs away, and a shut-off book light. But he gestured up to the sky: "Look."

The sky was clear and full of stars, and there was only a mild chill in the air. For the first few moments, it seemed only like a lovely, but normal, night sky, but then there was a shooting star. And another. And another.
 
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At first, neither knew what they were supposed to be looking at, and Xander was getting grumpier by the second. Why had he been dragged out of his nice, warm, comfy bed and a reasonably good dream to stare at nothing in particular? Alec trusted Dark had a reason and was ultimately too sleepy to reason what that reason might be.

Then they saw the falling stars. Alec's eyes widened, much of the sleepy fog banished in a moment. Xander jerked, startled, then relaxed with his head craned back. Shooting stars! A whole flock of them! Neither said anything. They stood staring in awe at the stars, at most letting out a soft murmur of delight at the sight.
 
For the first few moments, he watched his sons as they recognized what they were seeing. Then he rested his arms on the porch railing and looked up at the falling meteors, ultimately breaking the silence to say, "I have always had to watch them alone. There is no point in waking Daizi for them."
 
Alec took Xander's hand, and Xander leaned into him lightly as they watched the stars streak across the sky. "They are so pretty!" Alec whispered. "We've seen one or two before, but nothing... nothing like this."

Xander nodded, not speaking as he traced the silver lines across the sky. They were beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
 
Dark quietly watched the sky, stepping back only to finish the rest of his drink. He didn't mind they weren't talking much because he was comfortable in silence, and why bother distracting them from this cosmic event? It was better to simply watch the stars.

During a slow moment, though, he did speak up to say, "I can never sleep, and I wish I could, but there is so much in the night I would miss."
 
"It would be healthier if you could," Alec murmured, eyes still on the sky. "But... this is beautiful."

"Dunno how you function," Xander agreed in a low tone. "This is cool."

Alec nodded. "Almost worth it. To me."
 
"I can sleep sometimes. I had been sleeping fairly well. But lately I have been restless. I do not know why." He confessed to them, looking up at the sky, towards the horizon, "Maybe so I could see this, and wake you so you could as well."
 
"I dunno why you haven't been sleeping. It's not like your entire way of life got turned upside down and all of your priorities challenged," Xander pointed out dryly.

Alec smiled and finally dropped his eyes long enough to touch Dark's arm gently. "Thank you for sharing this with us. It was beautiful. I think your restlessness is from a decision you feel like you have to make."

Xander dropped his gaze to frown at Alec. "A decision? What decision?"

Alec shrugged and looked up at the stars. "I have no idea. I just have a feeling, and back when I was reading up on dreams and insomnia, that was one of the causes. Indecision."

"Well. At least he doesn't have to be indecisive about whether or not the new neighbors are going to be cool," Xander said, looking up at the stars again.
 
"Yes but I had been sleeping," Dark told Xander, "I was not, when Ivy was born, but as we settled in, I slept more. And I have not been, again. Which I suppose itself is not too peculiar. I suppose... indecision..." He frowned, slightly furrowing his eyebrows, "Daizi thinks it is because I am happy and I do not know what to do with myself because of it. She said I finally won, and cannot cope with it."
 
"That's a possibility, too," Alec agreed and stifled a yawn. "Some say that your environment is kind of like if you are used to always having noise in the background. If it stops, you try to make more. If you are used to strife, then when there's no strife, you go looking for it." He hoped that made sense to Dark. It barely made sense to him.

Xander looked at Dark curiously. "What did you win? Happiness?"
 
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