How Green Becomes Wood

While the twins ate, the sounds of Ivy's impossibly joyful laughter drifted from the living room as her father treated her to a thrilling game of peek-a-boo, which she adored. When it was time to leave, Dark gave his approval of their outfits, although he did not particularly feel like it was necessary to do, but since they liked to come to him about it, he told them what they wanted, or needed to hear. He was, however, confounded to learn Alec didn't wear undershirts more regularly, considering how much came with complicated care instructions.

When they were ready, he kissed Daizi and Ivy goodbye, and left with the twins to the gym meet.
 
Xander wasn't really looking for Dark's approval of his outfit, more just tagging along with Alec as his brother in all his magpie-brained glory asked for approval. He was amused by Dark's approval but appreciated it. For his part, Alec just wanted to be sure he wasn't going to embarrass Sloan on her big day. Being completely weird at school was one thing, but a gymnastic meet was important! Wasn't it? It seemed important enough to not be embarrassing.

Alec hugged Daizi and Ivy goodbye and dashed out the door. Xander said farewell without the hugs and followed.

When they arrived, the gym was already bustling with people coming and going and finding their places. Alec instinctively clung to Xander, trying to not literally hug his arm, and looked for Sloan or their other friends. Xander looked for Milo.
 
Crowds were never Dark's favourite thing to experience, but when they walked through the gym he told Alec to ask Sloan where they should sit, rather than wandering confused and untethered, and once they got that information, he did his best to lead them to that area. The Level 9s were still performing, so it looked like there was probably an hour or so before Sloan's team did anything.

When they approached the bleachers where they had been instructed to go, Dark spotted Sloan's parents and brother. Her mother was intensely watching the other gymnasts, her father was watching, but less engaged, and Benny was on his phone, but Dark couldn't exactly fault that, since it wasn't even his sister's competitors, and he could guess how many of these things he had been to.

Still, he knew it was probably only right for them to sit somewhere near other members of Sloan's support section within, what he supposed, was where her team's friends and family were, so he came near to them. Not long after that, Milo was spotted milling about by the entrance to the gymnasium, staring wide-eyed at the crowds and trying to figure out where he was supposed to go.
 
Xander spotted Milo and stepped away from Dark and Alec to wave to him. He didn't bother trying to yell out, just waved.

Alec spotted Peter sitting two rows behind Sloan's parents and waved enthusiastically. Peter grinned and waved back, clearly enjoying himself even though he didn't know any of the people currently performing. He'd brought a couple of extra seat cushions and held one up toward Dark with a questioning look.
 
When Milo spotted Xander, he hurried over. "Did you expect it to be so crowded?" He asked, looking around, "There are a million people here."

Seeing Peter, Dark moved slightly back so he was closer to him rather than the adults he didn't particularly like, "Peter," he said in a low voice, "I appreciate the offer, but I do not need to be sitting up any higher than I already am."
 
"No," Xander murmured, not really much happier than Dark about the crowds. "It reminds me of trying to get through the school halls during rush hour." He nodded toward the benches. "We're right over there."

Peter smiled and set the pillow off to the side. "Fair enough. I just thought you'd like a softer seat. How are Ivy and Daizi?"
 
"Oh, cool." Milo said, shrugging, "Do you think we should have brought... Signs, or something? That is what people do, isn't it?"

"They are well," Dark replied, doing his best to slouch somewhat. The raised bleachers meant it wasn't too important, but all it took was one short person on the row behind him, or a child, and everything would be blocked. "Ivy is six months old this week."

When they spoke, Sloan slipped out from whatever pocket dimension they kept gymnasts in, and she stood at the bottom of the bleachers until she caught sight of Alec, and then she waved him down to speak with her. At the moment, although obviously her hair and makeup were ready, she was wearing sweats over her leotard, but they were definitely also relating to the team.
 
"I dunno," Xander frowned. "We didn't." He glanced around. "It looks like only a couple of people did, so I guess it's not a requirement." He indicated for Milo to follow him and started slowly toward the seats. "You got your camera?"

"Oh, that's lovely! Is she rolling over yet?" Peter asked, following the questions his mother had prompted him on before dropping him off.

Alec spotted Sloan and hurried down the bleachers toward her. "Hi! Wow, there are a lot of people here. How are you feeling? All warmed up?"
 
"Yeah," Milo said, adjusting the strap so it showed before tucking it away again. In crowded places, he always wore it tucked underneath his arm for extra security. "It will be sort of cool to take pictures of the gymnasts, I think. There is a lot of movements. And I like lines."

Dark nodded, looking at the gymnasts rather than at Peter, but he had a tiny little smile, if Peter had learned to perceive those things, "She rolls from front to back, but she is not quite strong enough to go the opposite way yet, because she is, if you remember, a month-and-a-half younger than she is meant to be. Or, I suppose, a month-and-a-half older."

"Yeah," Sloan said, bouncing on her heels, "I am going to run through my routines again, but I can't tire myself out, you know? I'm glad you came. And everyone else did, too."
 
Xander stopped near Dark but with enough space for Alec to sit between them. "How's this? You got a good view from here?" he asked Milo, sitting down. "By the way, what's your favorite part of museums?" Wow, that was incredibly smooth. Not. Maybe Milo would be too distracted to think much about it.

"She's really coming along quite well," Peter said, nodding. "How is Daizi doing being home all the time? Is she coping well?"

"Tom texted to say he coudn't make it, but Becky should be here any minute," Alec told her. He couldn't help bouncing with her. "This is all so cool!"
 
"Oh yeah," Milo said, taking a quick peek through his lens "This is fine." He began to lower his camera, and watching the routine raised the camera again and took a few quick pictures. "I like... taxidermized animals. Not in a weird way. I just, I like how they make them look like they're in the middle of something. Frozen in time."

Dark turned and looked at Peter now, "You may tell your mother she is always welcome to visit Daizi, or call if she is worried but cannot make the drive."

"Oh, cool. The nines still have some time left, I think." She looked around at the different stations, "I like the competitions. And our leotards look really awesome this time."
 
"That's cool. I like how they manage to make a lot of history stuff not boring," Xander remarked. "And the changing exhibits. There was one about text through time a while back."

Peter chuckled. "She'll be glad to hear that, thank you. I'll tell her."

Alec looked at the top half and grinned. "Yours looks awesome, that's for sure!"
 
"I think history is pretty cool. I used to, um, want to do Historical Reenactment. I like... living history, you know? I like to see it happen." He shrugged, "And I like paintings of people. But not like... Portraits, you know? I like how Edgar Degas painted."

"I am sure she knows, but it is good to be reminded." Dark said with a little nod.

"Thanks! I really like the sheer sleeves and the cutouts," Sloan said happily, doing a slight turn, "And the colour actually looks good on me. They've put us in some horrible ones, especially when I was younger. Although you don't get to see just how strong my arms are."
 
"I know that one!" Xander grinned, pleased he got the reference. "Yeah, they're very..." He frowned. "Well smudged... in the right way... with, um, good colors?" He wilted a little. "They're nice."

Becky came scrambling up, breathless, and all but threw herself into the spot next to Peter. "Did I miss it? Did I miss her? Oh, hi, Mr. Dark! Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"I guess that means we get to be taken by surprise," Alec chuckled. "You really look fabulous. Like... a ballerina with Black Widow kind of power behind it! Not saying ballerinas are weak at all, just different kind of strong."
 
"I like the way he painted ballet dancers. When I was in Chicago, I went with the Art Institute with my--" He stopped, looking down at his camera, "Students get in for free there."

"Hello, Becky." Dark nodded politely, "You have not missed anything, do not worry."

"Thanks," She said brightly, waving to Becky when she ran in. "I should probably get back."
 
"Really? That's pretty cool," Xander said, glancing briefly at Milo. "I've never seen ballet in real life. I didn't think..." He paused, frowning. He glanced around cautiously, but no one else was listening. "I didn't think guys could like stuff like that," he said as quietly as he could while still loud enough for Milo to hear. "First time at a gymnastics thing, too."

"You're right on time," Peter told her.

Becky stood and waved enthusiastically to Sloan before plunking back down. "Oh good! Gymnastics are so awesome! I tried doing them when I was younger, but I sprained my ankle really bad and couldn't get passed the fear of doing it again. Oh well! It's so much fun to watch."

"Break a leg! Or whatever the right term for you-know-what is," Alec grinned. "Bye!" He turned and hurried back toward his seat.
 
Milo looked at him and then shifted, tapping his camera, "There are a lot of guys who do ballet. I didn't, but I... There was..." He leaned in towards Xander, "I, um, dated a girl. In Chicago. She did ballet."

Not particularly wanting to surround himself with cheerleaders, Dark politely excused himself, and quickly regretted it when Blair Appelbaum forced him into conversation as Sloan waved again and hurried back to her team to finish getting totally ready for the competition.
 
"Yeah?" Xander raised an eyebrow at Milo, surprised by the confession. "Cool." He turned his attention back to the front. "Must have been fun to watch." He debated on his question before tentatively asking, "Do you still keep in touch with her?"

Alec grinned and inched back. "Hey, Becky, can I talk to you real quick?"

Becky looked confused but nodded, and the pair huddled for some quiet whispering until it was Sloan's turn. Peter watched them for a bit, curious, then shrugged and turned back to watching the other competitors.
 
"It was," He replied, taking a few more pictures of the gymnasts at key moments, "I didn't have a phone, then. Not one with texting, anyway. And we left suddenly, I didn't get to say goodbye."
 
"Now that majorly sucks," Xander said flatly. "Sorry." He gestured to the floor. "Looks like Sloan's group is starting to get ready. Alec! What color is she? It's hard to see who's who from here."

"Huh? Oh, she's dark red. Maroon!" Alec said cheerfully.

Xander glanced at Milo. "I hope your camera likes maroon."
 
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