How Green Becomes Wood

Ivy cooed at him and rolled slightly, slightly sticking her tongue out and then grinning again, showing off her few, sparse teeth. Then she rolled one more time and reached out towards Xander with her little chubby fingers, but couldn't quite reach him, so she let her arm drop down and cooed again, grinning.
 
"Ha, can't reach me, can you?" Xander teased, sticking out his tongue at her and wagging it. He'd finally released his hold on Alec but still stayed close.

"Gasp!" Alec cried, pretending shock. "Do you see that, little Ivy? Do you see that? He's sticking his tongue out at you! How dare he!"

"Hey, she started it," Xander smirked, waving his finger at Ivy and getting it just barely in her reach if she stretched for it.
 
When Xander stuck out his tongue at her, she giggled and mimicked the action before reaching out to grab his finger. She missed it the first time, but the second time she managed to grab ahold of it, and held on as tightly as she could.
 
"Oh, darn. Looks like you got me," Xander said, shaking his finger lightly but not trying to get away. "You're a grippy little thing." He glanced at his finger and raised his brows. "Like really grippy. How come you have this much strength?"

"She uses what she has very well," Alec grinned. "Have you thought about what we're going to do at the beach?"

"It's a beach. I suspect we'll do beach things," Xander said, gently experimenting with how hard he could pull, taking great care not to pull too hard. She had a really good grip!

"I want to make a sad castle!" Alec announced.

Xander gave up and used the finger Ivy was holding to poke her lightly in the nose. "So you've said. Many, many times."
 
When Xander pulled his hand back, Ivy tried her best to pull him back towards her, although he was, of course, stronger than her, and this felt very much like a game. Then, when Xander poked her in the nose, she blinked from surprise and then laughed.

"You'd be good at building a sandcastle," Daizi murmured to her husband, resting her head against his shoulder.
 
"I bet Ba will help me build one, but I also want to try building one on my own," Alec told Xander.

"Speaking of Ba, where are he and Mama?" Xander asked, wiggling his captive finger. at Ivy.

"Inside, I think. Napping," Alec said.

"Napping?" Xander repeated curiously.

"Napping," Alec repeated firmly.

"They could use a good nap," Xander agreed, "as long as this one doesn't decide she wants attention from one of her elders."

"She is getting attention from her elder," Alec pointed out with a smirk. "No retaliation! I'm holding a baby!"

"And the baby is holding me, so we're stuck, but I'll get you later," Xander warned.
 
At the tone Xander used to question their napping, Dark looked at Daizi, wondering how exactly the teen had interpreted that guess. Although, they hadn't napped or napped during the time Alec had Ivy. It was too good to talk to each other and, eventually, do things that weren't quite talking but not yet 'napping.' Daizi only found it amusing they hadn't yet been detected, despite standing out in the open, and whispered to Dark that perhaps they should sneak back inside the house and come out more loudly as to not startle them.

Ivy started to bring Xander's finger to her mouth, but then Enkidu trotted over, and the sight of him distracted her, because she adored that puppy, so she, still holding onto Xander with one hand, reached out to Enkidu with her other.
 
Xander and Alec turned toward Enkidu, and Alec shifted Ivy so she could see Enkidu better.

Xander caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned farther. "Why are you guys skulking around back there in the shadows?" he called.

Alec looked up and waved to Dark, being careful not to lose his grip on Ivy.
 
"We aren't skulking!" Daizi said, and then lied, "We just came outside."

Dark held up one hand to return Alec's wave, and Ivy stopped reaching towards Enkidu the very moment she heard her mother's voice, at which point she let go of Xander, and seeing both of her parents there, she held out both hands to them and grunted and cooed and squeaked incessantly until they came over and reclaimed her.
 
"Well, looks like we've been outranked," Alec grinned.

"Clear favoritism," Xander sniffed.

"I thought we didn't approve of such things in this household?"

"I guess it's true what they say about the youngest."

"The baby of the family gets spoiled and favorited no matter what?"

"Yep, and not to mention, everyone wants their mama."

"This is true. This is true."

Xander gave Enkidu a belly rub. "Don't worry, pup. You're still the favorite dog."
 
"Everyone prefers the person who feeds them," Daizi said, sitting down in the grass with them as she held Ivy close, nuzzling against her. "and she's known me for longer than any of you."

Dark smiled just slightly, sitting on the ground with the rest of them, "She would want you both as much as us if you were up at two a.m. pacing around the house with her for hours when she refuses to sleep. But She does prefer you both to Cooger, because she sees you more often."

They both knew they could get up and go somewhere else, but it was a nice day, and it was worth it to just take some time in the grass with their children and dog, at least until it came time to put dinner together. There wasn't anywhere else they wanted to be.
 
"Poor Cooger gets left out of a lot," Alec chuckled. He reached over and joined Xander in petting Enkidu. "I would get up at 2 to help, but I sleep through it."

"He sleeps through anything," Xander agreed.

"You started training me early with your snoring," Alec smirked.
 
"It is his own fault for living so far away." Dark replied, mildly indignant. "But we see each other as much as we can. But he cannot be here as often as someone who actually lives here."

"I feel like claiming you would get up at 2 to help, but sleeping through it, is like saying you would live underwater, but you don't like getting your hair wet." Daizi teased, setting Ivy down in her lap and letting her pet Enkidu.
 
"Guess we need to start a creepy commune, then," Xander said.

"I don't see the connection," Alec frowned at Daizi, trying to understand. "I would get up, but nobody wakes me. Including Ivy."
 
Dark looked at Xander, "Be careful what you wish for, Daizi would agree to that so quickly if she could get some of her family members to move here."

"It's like you said, 'I'd get up with her if I would get up,'" Daizi grinned, ruffling Ivy's hair, "Anyway, it doesn't matter now, really, because she almost always sleeps through the night these days."
 
Xander couldn't help a slight shudder. He didn't know how he felt about living so closely to such loud, boisterous, happy people all the time.

"Good," Alec chirped. "So! Are you ready for the fourth? Xander and I need to go out and get food. We should do that today."

"We can do that today," Xander agreed.
 
"We've invited Cooger, who is thrilled to get to come here and celebrate, and who is planning to stay the night here, and has provided a list of things he intends to bring, including sparklers, those popsicles we had when you had a water balloon fight, and he is even going to make rice krispie treats decorated for the fourth. That is about as much planning as we need to do."

"I am picking up my perscription tomorrow," Dark said, lying down so he could be closer to Ivy's level, shutting one eye as she grabbed for his face. "What are you needing to pick up?"
 
"Marshmallows," the twins said simultaneously.

"Crackers."

"Chocolate."

"Terrible hot dogs."

"Great hot dogs."

"Saurcraut."

"Pickle relish!"

"More chocolate."

"Those weird, Little Debbie cake things."

"A classic."
 
"You've really thought about it," Daizi chuckled, "At least there will be five of us here for it, although I don't personally like saurcraut. Is that particularly common for the Fourth of July? I've never celebrated it before."

Dark booped Ivy on the nose and wondered what she'd be like when she was their age, and how she'd relate to her three nationalities. She was bound to be more American then her parents, and much, much more American than her grandfather, but he wondered if she'd be as American as her brothers. It was going to be more complicated for her to know who she was than it was for the rest of them, he thought, but those were all thoughts Ivy wasn't anywhere near having. "We should get bubbles," he said, "I think Ivy would like bubbles."
 
"Nah, sauerkraut is German, and I have no idea why or how, but it's something our mum would bring out every year," Xander explained. "We didn't last year because..." He hesitated and then shrugged. "Just didn't."

"We can this year, just a little jar, and we'll totally get bubbles!" Alec grinned.

Xander nodded. "Bubbles are a must."
 
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