How Green Becomes Wood

Dark took a deep breath after Xander left, hanging his head low and feeling the weight of his bones. At least the day was over, because he was so, so tired. Slowly, he set about cleaning the kitchen, but couldn't stop thinking about the way Xander had talked about his past with self-harm. The teen was scared, clearly, and so Dark couldn't blame him, but everything he had said wounded him deeply. It wasn't even the words, it was the almost mocking tone he had used, and he knew that was Xander's way, that was how he lashed out, but that didn't make it hurt less.

Again, he looked down at the fresh scar on the side of his hand. It had been an accident, and Xander claimed to know that. Hopefully he truly did. Then, he looked at the scars along his forearm, faded and tattooed over. Some had grown so faint, they weren't visible unless you really knew where to look. And with the tattoos, almost none of them were now visible from a distance.

He lost track of the time he spent looking at them, remembering, but eventually, he rolled his sleeves down, finished cleaning the kitchen, and went to speak with his wife.
 
Alec wandered in, phone in one hand and the other hand in his hair. "Do you think you could help me out with getting a picture?" he asked, not looking up. He sensed someone was near, but hadn't yet paid attention to who it was. "I can't quite get the phone at a good angle to..." He looked up to see Dark and Daizi looking serious. "Uh... what did I miss?" he asked, glancing around for Xander.
 
Dark looked up at Alec, from where he had been lying against his wife, "You did not miss anything," he replied, getting up off of the couch, "Of course I will help you with a picture. What do you need?"
 
"Um... if you are sure. I didn't mean to interrupt anything," Alec said uncertainly. He could feel the tension or something in the air, but he did hold out his phone toward Dark. "I can't get a good angle, especially of the back. Could you get a couple for me?"
 
"No, it is okay." Dark replied, checking to make sure the camera was open. Then, after Alec stood in position, he took a number of pictures from various angles, and then handed the phone back to Alec, "See if you like any of those."
 
Alec flipped through them and then grinned at Dark. "Thank you! These are perfect. I'm going to send a couple to Becky, Tom, and Sloan. Can I tell them you've chosen to quit? Or is that going to stay private for a while?"
 
"Keep it private for now." Dark replied, crossing his arms, "I need to tell Bernice first, and then my coworkers. I want them to hear it from me, not risk them learning through the grapevine."
 
"Okay." Alec bounced a little in excitement. "I'm just so excited! I think it's cool what you are doing. Terrifying, which makes it that much cooler. I hope I'm as brave as you someday." He started to wander off, chortling at his phone as he sent the pictures to his friends, starting with Sloan, with no explanation.
 
"Thank you." Dark replied, sitting back down and immediately being pulled back into his wife's loving arms, "I do not know if I feel brave about it, but I do think it is the correct choice for me."

Sloan opened up her phone and looked at the picture for a few moments before recognizing what she saw, Oh my god, dude, did you dye your hair?
 
Yes! Ba took me to get it done professionally so it would come out good. What do you think? Alec asked Sloan. Tom only said it looked "cool," and Becky gushed that it was awesome and now she wanted to dye her hair.
 
I don't know, it just seemed cool, I think, and I thought red and blue look good together. He decided not to mention his original idea to put in white. I'm glad you like it! I was really hating my hair, but I think I'm back to loving it. I just never knew what to do with it. It was always just there. It existed. Its job was to keep my scalp from being burned. OH!! By the way, I have a secret I really want to tell you, but I can't yet because it's not really my secret to tell. It's a good thing, I think, but I wanted you to know that if I act weird, that's why. I'm trying not to spill the beans. I think I can tell you in a few days.
 
I'm glad you get to really love your hair now! Sloan replied excitedly, and talked for awhile about her own relationship to her hair. Then, she said, Oh my god, one of my friends has a secret about something they can't share yet? How novel! How will I survive! But seriously, don't worry. Thanks for giving me a heads up, I really do appreciate that. I can't wait to hear about it when you're ready!
 
Alec giggled, glad Sloan understood. He figured she would, but he'd wanted to say something and avoid a similar situation as Peter had accidentally put them in. After talking with Sloan for a while about hair and other things, he started to head for bed. He wondered where Xander had gotten off to, but he trusted his brother would come around when he was ready. He'd seen the light out in Xander's shed and figured that's where he was now.

Xander waited as long as he could before heading inside. He checked the time on his phone and waited until it was Daizi's usual bedtime. Only when he was fairly certain Daizi would be heading to bed and Dark with her - whether or not he'd stay in bed - did Xander head inside and try to get upstairs and to his own room as quietly as possible.
 
Dark lingered for an extra length of time by an upstairs window over the backyard, a grim shadow, only to keep an eye on the light in the shed, but he knew Xander was only in their yard, little harm could come to him, and so he went to join Daizi (who, for her part, had calmed down, because Dark explained the situation to her, and, because Xander was her son, she agreed to let it go). She slept fine that night, and Dark did stay in his room, watching the stars from out their bedroom window while he held her, until eventually he, too, fell asleep.
 
The next morning, Xander was up earlier than usual and in the kitchen. Hair still tousled from sleep and dressed in ragged black pants and a sleeveless white shirt, he was working on a batch of cupcakes. He had one batch done and in the oven before the usual time for anyone to come to make breakfast, he had a second batch of a different flavor ready to go in the oven, and he had a cookbook propped open as he followed a recipe for mahlab bread.
 
Daizi came downstairs before Dark, since she tried to let him sleep in, especially with how the previous evening had ended. When she walked into the kitchen, she came to a slow stop, tipping her head to the side, "What's that?" She asked, having no idea who was in the kitchen, only who it wasn't, "That doesn't smell like breakfast foods."
 
"Oh. Mornin'," Xander greeted her, not having heard her come in. "Cake for later. Cupcakes. I have chocolate and strawberry, and I'll make muffins next, but, first, where do we keep the nigella? I know we have some somewhere."
 
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