How Green Becomes Wood

Having only met Xander after the period of time where he wore so many fake piercings, he had never expected him to be the sort to reach for those sorts of things, so it took him some time to figure out if Xander was joking or not before replying, "Green goes better with your hair," he finally said, "gingers always look good in green."
 
"Yeah?" Xander lowered the earrings, looked at them consideringly, and then put them back. "I'll have to remember green. Never really thought of it. Anyway, guess it's time to spend money." He folded up Alec's tote and headed for the register. "What color goes best with... How come brown doesn't have a fun name? Red heads are ginger, but you're just... brown."
 
"Brunette." Milo replied, "Blonde, brunette, ginger. I think the only ones who don't have a different name are people with black hair, but I guess technically that's just a very very dark brunette. I don't actually know what looks good with brown hair, though. Probably orange. Fall colors, right? Because trees are brown and we think they're pretty when the seasons change."
 
"Right, brunette," Xander said, snapping his fingers. "I dunno, I was never good at matching colors, but I guess reds and oranges would look pretty good on you. Maybe yellow?"
 
"Maybe. But I don't think I'd like wearing yellow, it's sort of... really bright. I don't know if I'm that kind of person. Oh, speaking of colours--your sister, what do you think her eye colour will end up being? I know that's a weird question, I'm sorry, I just, I know eyes change all the time when you're a baby, so you don't really know what colour their eyes will be for a long time, so I guess I was wondering if you have any guesses." Milo said, standing in line to check out while he dug around in his pocket for the money his grandparents had sent him with.
 
"I figured you wouldn't wear like a bright yellow anything big, just thinking of colors. Guess you could wear a small yellow bow tie or something. I... hadn't thought of it," Xander mused, waiting behind Milo. "I guess maybe dark? Brown? Brown would be my guess. I don't normally get close enough to figure out who has what eye color. No idea what color yours are. I don't even remember what color mine are, usually."
 
"I bet you'd know what colour Alec's eyes are without having to think about it." Milo responded with a wry smile, "And if you can remember his, you'll always know what yours are. My eyes are just brown. I hope she doesn't get brown eyes, I've always been jealous of people with light eyes, like my mom. My dad had brown eyes, though."
 
"Yeah, but if you have light-colored eyes, you usually end up with more eye problems," Xander pointed out. "Plus, if you had light-colored eyes, you'd wish you had dark-colored eyes. I guarantee it." He glanced at Milo and turned slightly away. "So. What color of eyes do I have?"
 
"Isn't she already at risk of that?" Milo asked casually, but then his eyes went wide and he ducked his head, rubbing the back of his neck, "I don't mean it like that. I'm sorry. Um. I guess your eyes are probably brownish too. I'm not actually that great at eye contact. I just pretend like I am."
 
"Yeah, that was a possibility," Xander said, not taking offense. "They were able to tell pretty quickly that she could see fine. And I'm not telling if you're right or wrong there, Stitch." He indicated the register ahead of them. "It's about your turn."
 
"That must have been scary. And they know it's not going to happen later?" He asked, stepping up to the counter, laying his things down, and then managing to fumble the brief conversation with the cashier in every conceivable way.

"I hope you enjoyed your day with us!" The cashier had said.

"Thanks, you too!" He had replied.

And then, fumbling, stuffed the change into his pocket and directed his gaze fully at the ground while waiting for Xander to finish up.
 
Xander stepped up and kept his words short and verging on terse as he made the transaction. It wasn't to be rude, that's just how he communicated with random strangers. He figured someone just trying to do their job didn't want to talk to him any longer than he wanted to talk to them.

"As sure as anyone can be in this life," he said to Milo, picking up the conversation where they'd left off. "Mama's blindness has to do with the nerves in the eye not functioning since birth. It's not one of those degenerative things."
 
"Oh." He scratched his face, not sure if he should say it was a good thing or not. He was about to call it interesting, but then, having received their text, Daizi came down to the gift shop to join them, with Pryce walking with her. He was carrying Ivy, rather pleased to have gotten to be formally introduced, and he was able to point out to Daizi where Milo and Xander were lingering.

"Well," She said, trying to soften her look of absolute satisfaction, "Did you have fun?"
 
"Oh, yeah, it was really great, and the Doc is a pretty guide," Xander told her. "That photography section is pretty epic, and we also saw a pretty neat display of monsters from history. It was kind of boring, but not bad. Needs more monsters." He smirked, teasing her a little.
 
"Oh really?" She broke into a crooked grin, "Maybe you're right, I'll have to speak to my boss and see if we can get a portrait of you hung up in it. That should be a sufficient addition, I think. How did you enjoy it, Milo?"

"The... the monsters?" He asked, looking down at his shoes, even though he couldn't see them.

"Any of it, did you have fun today?"
 
Xander snickered at Daizi's joke and glanced at Milo, who seemed to be ready to implode from awkward. "He told me that apparently, geologists lick rocks, but he didn't like the photography section. There wasn't nearly enough history. Right?" he asked, trying to hit the right tone of teasing prode, and hoping that saying something false would goade Milo into saying more if only to correct him.
 
"Oh, well, no..." Milo said, lifting his head up and shook his head, "Not that I didn't have fun, I did, I meant, no, I didn't think the photography section was really cool, and um, I'm really grateful that you let us see it early."

Daizi smiled, "I'm glad you enjoyed it, and you got to see it. Are you ready to go eat?"
 
"Starving," Xander stated. "I could eat one of those rocks in there. Or maybe a dinosaur." He glanced at Milo. "How about you? Ready to eat something other than a rock or a dino?"
 
"I'm kind of hungry," Milo mumbled, and Daizi inhaled slightly, reached over to take Ivy back from Pryce, and was quiet for a few moments to give Milo a chance if he wanted to decide to say anything else.

When it seemed he was finished, she took Ivy back from Pryce and said, "I have a reservation made at a pretty relaxed, nice restaurant. Pryce, myself, and a few other coworkers have one table, but you and Milo have one just for the two of you. I'm sure you wouldn't want to hang out with us the entire time."
 
"Nice," Xander said, pretending to be more surprised than he actually was. "A kid's table sounds perfect. The adult table usually has boring work discussions and stuff like that." He started walking, letting Milo fall in beside or behind him, whichever suited him better. "Seriously, though, I liked your monster exhibit. And photography is more interesting than I thought."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top