How Green Becomes Wood

"Are you sure about that?" Dark asked with a wry smirk, holding his hand up near Xander's face as a comparison tool as he passed by, "It does feel nice. It restores the skin barrier. Or did you mean the ritual?"

As Xander went upstairs, Daizi slipped out of her bedroom, hurriedly tying a robe. Her hair, which was slightly more damp than Dark's, was pulled back, and she wore a similar mask, because like he said, they did it together, "Habibi, you're home a bit earlier than we expected. You didn't drive too quickly, right?" She teased, "Traffic was good."
 
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"Hardy har har," Xander muttered dryly as he headed upstairs.

"No, I meant the face mask. I keep meaning to try it out, but I never think of it until too late," Alec admitted. He smiled at Dark. Normally, he waited to be asked about things like this, but he was too excited! "Tonight went perfectly! Everything was absolutely perfect. Sloan had a great time, and so did everyone else! I think even Milo enjoyed himself."

Upstairs, Xander stopped short, a little startled by Daizi's sudden appearance, but then he relaxed. "Nah, traffic was good, and things just kind of started winding up naturally." He chose not to comment on her appearance or face mask.
 
Dark exhaled through his nose as he turned back to Alec. Xander had walked head first into that. "Routines are important, if you make a habit of something, you do not forget to do it. Skincare is important, too, people neglect it too often and then wonder why they look bad. But--I am glad the party went well, and everyone, even Milo, enjoyed themselves. You put a lot of work into it, I hope you feel accomplished, because you should."

"Good," She smiled, in a particularly tranquil mood, "Did you have fun at the party?"
 
Alec closed his eyes for a moment and smiled. "I do. I really do." He raised his hands and slowly turned in place, exhausted but giddy with joy that he'd managed to bring so much happiness to his friend. Even if this was the only time he could do something like this, it was worth it.

Xander considered. "Yeah," he finally said. "The music was pretty good, the food was good, and a lot of chatty people." He thought about mentioning that it was fun to watch people make a fool of themselves on the dance floor but decided against it.
 
"Good," He nodded, "You should help plan something for Daizi's birthday. It is not for quite a number of months, but hers is next." In truth, he wasn't certain if Daizi would want a party like that, what she wanted to do changed every year, but he wanted to be supportive and encouraging of something Alec found enjoyment and took pride in.

"I'm glad to hear that. I know Alec really put a lot of work in, I'm glad it turned out well," Daizi said, running her fingers along the robe's lapel as she thought for a moment, "Did you do any dancing?"
 
Alec giggled and slowed down to a stop. "Hmm, if she wants one, sure! I wouldn't mind helping you plan for one. It would be fun!"

"He did a good job, and the Hollis' really pulled out all the stops. Nope, I stood next to the dance floor. That's as close as I got to dancing," Xander told her. "Pretty much everyone else did at some point, though."
 
"We will have to think about it, and decide if it is something she will enjoy. But I suppose it would not need to be a surprise party--I think she may prefer it not to be--so we would not need to make many guesses. We will see as it approaches, if you were able to organize this in a week, well," He shrugged his shoulders but looked down at Alec with a glimmer in his eyes, "What can you not do?"

"I love dancing. Dark does too, but you would never guess it. I'm pretty sure he's secretly looking forward to my friend Spencer's wedding in September," She leaned in towards Xander and dropping her voice, "Even if he is technically a Bridesmaid."
 
"Hmm, I can't make a cake as good as Xander, but that's why we keep him around," Alec grinned.

"Guys can do that?" Xander asked, confused. "Wouldn't that be like a... bride's man?"
 
"It is a strength to know when you are imperfect," Dark replied, although he knew Alec was only joking, "Are there any pictures of you and Xander from tonight? I know you do not like them. But you may want them, some day, if they exist."

"Well, it's two women getting married, so both sides are Bridesmaids. I'm sure technically there's another term when a man is in the bridal party on a woman's side, but I don't know it. He's only in the wedding party because I'm a bridesmaid on Spencer's side, and they wanted to make sure I was, you know, paired up with someone who would remember to actually help me out. So Mittz agreed to let Dark in her party, but he's absolved from any requirements. He just has to wear the colours and stand in line." Daizi explained, knowing it was much less interesting than it seemed at first.
 
Alec hesitated, thinking back. "No, I don't think we did get any pictures. At least, not knowingly," he said slowly. He fell silent a moment, thinking. "Maybe... maybe we should consider taking pictures more. Memories," he murmured, remembering Milo's shoebox.

"That sounds... really boring," Xander said, trying and failing to not say what he was thinking. "Well, I'm thinking of heading to bed, so I guess you can get back to face masking or whatever."
 
"I never loved pictures, and I suppose most of them I still do not," Dark mused, walking away from the front hall with Alec, but stopping at the stairs, "but there are some that matter to me a great deal. And the older I get, the more I wish I had more from my past to take with me, which is why I encourage you to be different."


"It'll be less boring at the reception, then it's just a party. I'm excited, but I think they said their primary colours are peach and lilac. I know how lilacs smell and peaches taste, but that's as far as I understand it, but those are the colours we'll be wearing. I'm excited for all of it, personally, but it's almost unanimous that most people prefer the reception. I won't keep you up, though, sleep well. I've got to wash this off, anyway."
 
"I think you might be right about that," Alec admitted slowly. "It's just... hard to change a habit." He smiled at his foster father. "I'm sure you know that as well as anyone. But I should get to bed. You have a face mask to wash off." He started up the stairs with a yawn.

Xander squinted at Daizi, trying to imagine her in either color. "I guess you'd look okay in peach, but I don't know how well peach and lilac go together," he said uncertainly. "At least the afterparty sounds fun. I'll see you in the morning." He stepped into his bedroom to start getting ready for bed.
 
"I know," Dark said warmly, putting his hand on Alec's shoulder, "and people survived for most of history without photographs, and Daizi still essentially does. So do not feel pressure to change a habit overnight. Goodnight." He waited for a few moments at the base of the stairs before heading up to his own room to ash his face.

"I wouldn't know," Daizi said casually, "Sleep in tomorrow, it is Saturday. I can handle breakfast." Then she, too, went back into her bedroom.
 
The twins crashed in their room, out like lights within seconds once their heads touched the pillows. If they'd stayed awake, they might have discussed pastel colors, or the semi-immortality of pictures, or how well the party had gone, or any number of things, but instead, they passed out into a deep slumber, barely even moving until well into the next morning.
 
In their own bedroom, Dark and Daizi washed their face masks off, finished up the rest of their nighttime routine, and then crawled into bed. Daizi fell asleep almost immediately, snuggled tight in Dark's strong arms, but Dark didn't hold out for too much longer. He didn't believe in the magic of the ritual, but the actions he was asked to take were agreeable, and then they drank wine and cuddled while doing skin care, the children were home safe and happy... He slept just fine.

Come morning, Daizi had to wiggle out of his embrace before getting dressed and getting Ivy for the morning, and as promised, as soon as she had finished changing and feeding Ivy, she made breakfast, leaving Dark and the twins to sleep in.
 
The twins finally got up far later than they normally did and came stumbling down the stairs in loose shirts and pajamma bottoms, their hair sticking out in all directions. Alec's longer hair was making itself into some very interesting shapes.

"Breakfast?" Alec asked the kitchen in general, his tone hopeful. Xander just blinked sleepily.
 
"I'm glad to hear that," Daizi said, setting out a proper, Egyptian breakfast, while carrying Ivy in her sling. "Dark is sleeping hard, he's out hard. Isn't there a children's book about a fish like that?"
 
Alec nodded as he moved over to say hello to Ivy. "Uh-huh. I can't remember exactly how it went, and it was a daycare book so half of the words were smudged, anyway. It was something about a fish with rainbow scales that learned to... give away his scales? Something like that?"

"To be happy with nothing, I think," Xander said doubtfully, sitting down at the table.
 
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