How Green Becomes Wood

"They are like coyotes. Clever little scavengers. London is full of them, or so I have heard. In a show I enjoy, a character is tormented by foxes." Dark tilted his head slightly, watching the fox sniff through the garden, "They are in Iraq, too."
 
Xander leaned back, putting one arm on the back of the couch. "Seems like they and their cousins are pretty much everywhere." He paused and frowned. "What show do you enjoy where someone's getting fox bullied?"
 
"It is called Fleabag, which you are too young for. At least, too young for the first season, the second is less... It is different. The foxes are metaphorical." Dark explained, and explained to Xander his interpretation of the metaphor. "If the show ever comes for a third season, I will be extremely disappointed. The story is complete as it is."
 
"Alright, then, I'm looking forward to understanding more... 'when I'm older,'" Xander said, smirking a little. "Speaking of getting older, I know you're supposed to enjoy every minute and not waste it thinking about the next thing, but what are you most looking forward to as the mini gets older?"
 
This was a question Dark took some time to think about. "I want to braid her hair before school. And watch those horrible musicals they make children perform. And I want to talk with her, and answer her questions. Like this. When she needs it." He looked down at his hands, "Those are four things.'
 
"I think you're allowed," Xander chuckled. "Sounds cute. Except for the musicals. I don't look forward to them, but I'll go for her." He hesitated, considering whether or not to ask his next question for a moment. After a bit, he decided, why not? Lightly, he asked, "How about when Alec and I get older? What are you looking forward to then? Less hormonal drama?"
 
"I do not look forward to the other children, or expect talent from anyone on that stage, but I look forward to seeing her smile when she sees us in the audience." Dark replied, with a tiny little smile. Then he took about as much time thinking about Xander's next question, if not longer, than he did with his last one. "With Alec, I look forward to seeing what he goes onto create. And what he does. With both of you, I look forward to seeing what you do, but I can... envision Alec as some... fashion designer or musician, or something creative that takes him far. I look forward to reading an article about him, some day. With you? I really look forward to being able to visit your home, and eat the dinner you cooked for me, and talk about what you are making in your shop. And talk about what I am making in mine. And tease you about when I had to teach you how to cut an orange." He swallowed hard then, and looked up at the ceiling for a few moments, "And I look forward to the day you can buy a horse. With all three of you, I look forward to when you all come back home and visit on the Holidays. And bragging about you three."
 
To Xander's surprise, emotion clogged his throat, and he had to take a moment to let it pass before he could speak. Even so, his voice came out a little husky. "Here I was thinking from they way you talked that we'd never be moving out," he joked. "We'd be stuck here forever!" He managed a smile and dropped his gaze. "I... look forward to being able to share those things with you."
 
"Neither of us would mind if you did choose to stay, Daizi especially would love having family around forever. It is not so bizarre, for us. If any of you three get married or have kids, I suspect we would find a way to fit everyone, somehow." Dark took a deep breath and laughed very softly, "but I do not think you would like that. I think you will be very happy to one day have a place that is yours, or yours and Alec's. I bet you will fix it up all on your own. Or take our help begrudgingly. And I would not stop you from that." He gave Xander a little smile and then sighed deeply, watching as their fox trotted away, "I look forward to experiencing them. And watching you live the life you deserve to live."
 
Xander sat in silence watching out the window as he let everything Dark had said swirl through his mind and sing in slowly. "I never thought about the future much before coming here," he admitted. "Maybe something like next week, maybe, or fantasies I knew would never come true, but now... it's almost weird. I'm kind of... scared... to think about a future that could actually happen, but it's... comforting to know that someone's looking forward to seeing what happens." He didn't know if that made sense, but he hoped it would.
 
"I understand," Dark said, because he really, deeply did. "But you can take comfort in knowing if you ever slip up, out in the world, you always have somewhere to go back to. I know, though, it doesn't make it easier to figure out what you want out of life, when you never thought you had a reason to think about it before."
 
"Yeah," Xander said with a little sigh. He propped his head on his hand. "Worried about Alec, though. A cyr wheel performer? Really? I mean, it sounds like something he's going to have an absolute blast doing, but as a career?" He shook his head slightly. "I'm going to have to get a really well paying job just to make sure he stays fed."
 
"Do you think he will stay with it?" Dark asked, knowing that he had his own doubts about it, both as a lucrative career and as something Alec was really so passionate about. "Not too long ago he wanted to be an actor."
 
Xander shrugged. "He seemed pretty excited, and he's actually working out, which is as serious as he ever gets. For all I know, he'll switch over to pole dancing. I really hope he doesn't. But this type of thing seems to have caught his attention hard."
 
"Nah, not really. I'll probably do my leather working stuff while I can, and then get some random job. Maybe construction," Xander said. "I'm not clever or flashy enough to do stuff like Alec does, and even if I could train my brain to deal with office work, I'd rather live on the streets than deal with that mental torture. Maybe I'll start with some like fast food joint or something. I like the leather work, but eventually, I'm going to have to pay taxes on it, right? Might as well let someone else figure out the tax bit and take it out of my paycheck than try to deal with it myself."
 
Dark considered this, agreeing with his plan somewhat, "I do not imagine you would enjoy office work, no. Cooger may take you on as an official apprentice. Have you thought about trade school at all? If you want to try something like construction, it may be helpful. And you can always try to be a cook at a restaurant, if you want something a little higher than fast food. But there is nothing wrong with fast food work, it is important work, and may give you flexibility to focus on other dreams of yours."
 
"Eh, it might be nice to do something else, but, let's face it, I'm not exactly the best student in school. I could maybe swing a trade school, but I think it'd be better to stick with what I'm good at," Xander shrugged. "That way I don't end up with a bunch of student debt for some degree I'm never going to use. Construction is nice, hard labor where you just have to be smart enough to follow directions and know when to question said directions before you end up on one of those threads that make fun of buildings with stairs leading into blank walls and stuff. I could work for Cooger, but I'm not sure where that would lead, ultimately. He seems to like being a lone ranger, and I don't have the stuff to run a full business like he does."

Aim low, avoid disappointment, stick to what you knew, and you wouldn't end up bouncing from job to useless job and miserable. Some people could afford dreams, and he was all for supporting Alec with his, but they couldn't both chase dreams. One of them had to keep his feet on the ground and provide the money. Sure, he'd done remarkably well with his leather work, but that was just a hobby. It didn't count. Eventually, people would move on, and the fad would be forgotten. He'd be forgotten. That's just how the world was.
 
"You are not a bad student in school, either. You are passing your classes and you are clever. And financial aid is very possible for you. I will support you regardless of what you decide you want to do, but I do not want you to sell yourself short, either." Dark turned and looked carefully at Xander, "If you could do anything, and you did not have to worry about the cost of it, and you knew you would be able to support yourself and Alec, what would you choose? I know what I would have."
 
Xander reached up to ruffle his hand through his hair as he frowned in thought. "That's a big question," he admitted. "I guess I would... Well, I mean... since we're talking basically dreams come true level here with a fairy godmother, I guess I'd like to do something with horses. I'm not sure what exactly, there's a lot of options there, but I'd want to own one and ride it and do something I could... devote my life to, I guess, and be proud of. Maybe training? Breeding? I guess I could expand on something I'm already doing and figure out horse-related leather items. That'd be pretty cool." He dared to allow a tiny smile at the thought. "Some kind of conservation for really rare breeds would be awesome. Like what they did with the Tahki horse! Most people know it as Prezowski's Horse around here. They were down to twelve horses! Twelve! But zoos and breeding programs got them back and managed to get enough numbers that now they have a small herd running wild again. Real cool." He glanced toward Dark and reigned himself in again, cheeks reddening slightly at his outburst of excitement. "Completely unrealistic, but... yeah." Curiosity got the best of him, and he asked, "What would you pick?"
 
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