How Green Becomes Wood

With one hand over his bruise and his eyes shut, Dark slowly sat upright, thinking about how he was moving the way Daizi had at the end of her pregnancy. Then he opened his eyes and stopped in place, "You cut your hair."

"Hm..." Daizi hummed, getting up to make some coffee for Dark, "Not much has changed since you last had to stay home, besides what she can do. Now that she can roll both ways we can look out for when she starts planking."
 
"Kind of, yeah," Alec said uncomfortably. "It was a bit impulsive. Xander helped smooth it out a bit, but now it looks like a worse version of his." He indicated Ivy. "Would you like some help carrying her?"

"Planking? That thing where you're on your toes and holding yourself up with your elbows or arms, or the thing where you just lay and pretend to be a plank?" Xander asked. "Is it a core muscle thing?"
 
"I see." He pushed himself out of bed and stretched, but stretched too much and inhaled sharply, "Just keep an eye on her, she is within my weight restriction." He went and opened up the door to his rather impressive and meticulously organized walk-in closet and squinted at his clothing and then just opened a drawer, pulled out a simple black t-shirt, and put it on. Although he knew he should have just zipped up a hoody, he couldn't bring himself to do so. It hung loose and awkward around his middle, and he lightly stretched it with one hand, frowning. "You can carry her downstairs if you would like to, though."

"The first one. It is a core thing, and it gets her ready to crawl. Can you believe that?" She left the water for the coffee preparing to boil on the stove and then started the electric kettle for tea. "She's seven months old next week, too."
 
Alec didn't need a second invitation as he scooped up Ivy and hugged her, giving her little kisses on her cheek. "Hello, you! Ready to go downstairs? To see Mama and Xanader?" He headed downstairs, bouncing Ivy as he went.

Xander frowned. "Nah, that can't be right. Can it? How'd she get so old so fast?"
 
Ivy stared up up at Alec, her face getting the same tiny little wrinkle between her eyebrows that Daizi got when she was thinking about something, but she still babbled, and held onto her brother, with Dark following after them.

"I don't know!" Daizi replied, distressed, "I was doing her laundry the other day, because I'm always doing her laundry, and I found one of the onesies she wore when she was very very brand new, and it was so tiny! She's three times the size she was seven months ago!"
 
"That's a pretty substantial growth rate," Xander agreed. He turned when he heard Alec, Ivy, and Dark arriving. "Speak of the Mini. Sup, Mouse?"

"Look, there's Xander!" Alec said happily, turning Ivy so she could see her other brother, not realizing her potential confusion. "How long until you can say Xander? And there's Mama!"
 
"I know," Daizi sighed, "She's almost doubled her size twice already!" Then she turned to grin at her baby, who, now, was looking at Xander. And then she looked up at Alec again. And she put her hand into her mouth as she looked at both of them before absolutely bursting into tears.
 
"What did I do?" Alec asked in shock. He hurried over to Daizi and held Ivy out to her. "I don't know what I did, but Mamas make everything better.

Xander, for his part, covered his ears as Ivy's wails pierced straight through his tender brain. "What's the matter?" he asked even though he couldn't hear the answer.
 
Daizi quickly scooped up Ivy, bouncing her and shushing her, "It's okay, Hummingbird. What's the matter, baby? What happened?"

Coming into the room and walking up to his wife and daughter, Dark looked down at Ivy, whose little face was now red and scrunched up, but was, moments ago, still looking at both brothers, "I think she is confused," he said, stroking her hair with his thumb.
 
"Well, I, I don't think she hates it," Daizi said, still bouncing Ivy and giving her little kisses, "Right, baby? You don't hate Alec's new haircut!"

"She was fine until she saw the both of you together," Dark pointed out.
 
The twins glanced at each other as realization dawned. "She can't tell us apart," they said simultaneously.

"That hasn't happened in a long time," Xander remarked.

"She must think I'm you," Alec said with a wince.
 
"Oh no," Daizi said softly, burying her face in Ivy's hair to hide a small amount of amusement at the situation, "Ivy, are you confused by your brothers? Poor sweet girl!"

"It probably is not so thought out as she thinks you are him," Dark attempted to comfort, "just that she knows you look different, but did not know you looked different until and she saw both of you, and it is startling for her. She would cry if I shaved my beard, and I have no siblings."
 
"She was looking at me funny before, but I didn't think about it," Alec admitted. "I'm sorry, Ivy. I promise I'm still me."

"And I'm still me," Xander promised, turning so his bruise wasn't immediately visible.
 
"It's still Alec, sweet girl, Mama promises," Daizi murmured, kissing her little head, and once she was only sniffling, Daizi handed her back to Alec. "See? Everything is okay!"

Ivy grabbed onto Alec's shirt and looked up at him, seemingly on the verge of breaking down in tears again, but at least temporarily holding it together.

"Poor girl," Dark sighed, looking with mild surprise when his wife put a cup of coffee into his hands and allowed himself to be sat down, "The world is very scary when you are learning about everything for the first time."
 
Alec smiled at Ivy. "It'll be alright. My hair will grow longer, and I'll look even more fabulous! It just needed a bit of... care."

"Yeah, she doesn't care about that," Xander said mildly. "Try the song."

Alec rolled his eyes at Xander but held Ivy closer and began softly singing her the song that Daizi sang to them all. He'd sung it to Ivy from time to time, though his version sounded a bit different from Daizi's because he couldn't get the pronunciation right. He'd leaned into that instead of trying to constantly correct himself and instead developed it as his own song that was still Daizi's song. Xander sometimes hummed it, but he wasn't usually alone with Ivy long enough to feel comfortable singing it much, so it was still Alec's song.
 
Dark and Daizi quickly looked at Alec, recognizing a variation on the song Daizi sang. Some of the words had become nonsensical, but they appreciated it for what it was. Very slowly Ivy relaxed, smushing her face against him first, and then settling back and eating his shirt, just like a typical day.

"That was beautiful," Daizi said softly, feeling a great number of things.
 
Alec blushed, realizing he'd never sung the song around Dark or Daizi. At least, not enough of it for them to realize he'd changed it a little. He hadn't wanted them to think he was treating the song irreverently. "I'm sorry I changed the words a little," he said, "but she seems to like it. Not as much as your song, of course." He looked down at his shirt as it got soggier and soggier.
 
"No no, it's okay," Daizi assured him. There was some small part of her that was sad that she wasn't the only one who sang her lullaby, but mostly she was overwhelmed with how much attention Alec paid her and how hard he must have worked to learn it, which demonstrated how much the song mattered to him. And it meant, if Alec ever decided to have kids, it would be passed down. "I can teach you the actual lyrics, if you like."
 
Alec debated and then nodded with a smile. He could still sing his version if he wanted, but it would be good to know the real words. "Yes, I'd like that." He hugged Ivy, cuddling her close in sheer relief that she'd relaxed with him.

Xander finished his breakfast and stood to clean up his area. "I'm going back to my room unless anyone needs me."

Just then, someone knocked on the front door. It was Lex, waiting patiently on the porch with a large casserole dish in one hand.
 
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