How Green Becomes Wood

"Alright, fair enough," Xander said with a shrug. "I can't believe I'm going to a musical with cats in it, but whatever. I wonder if they, like, yeowl or something."

Alec, who was familiar with the musical, grinned at Dark. He was looking forward to Friday for two different reasons!"
 
"I am sure you will have a great time." Dark replied, "If you do, later this year the professional theatre in the city is having a show Daizi has been interested in, and we can go to that. But I am sure you both are busy and Ivy is furious I walked away from her. She seems to have discovered jealousy."
 
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"Now that's going to be fun to work with," Xander said dryly.

Alec said, "Thanks for acting as a go-between for Aunt Ciara! That's super helpful."

"What's super helpful is you finding my belt. Come on. I gotta get these pictures uploaded, and that takes forever. Don't make taking them take forever or I'll start docking you pay," Xander warned.

Alec glanced at Dark and rolled his eyes. "Ths slave master summons me."
 
"If you are getting paid then he is not a slave master," Dark said coolly, as he left the shed, intending to go back inside, "but I will leave you to it. Let me know if you need anything."
 
"Don't forget we're meeting Milo tomorrow!" Alec called after him as Xander physically moved him into a better position.

"You're more likely to forget than he is," Xander told him. "Now hold still!"
 
"I remember," Dark said, really adoring everything those boys did.

The next day, Milo knocked on the door, his instrument case in hand. For all of the things he had lost over the years, he had taken close care over it, and he was glad he had been invited over first, because otherwise he was certain he would be sitting outside the practice building anxiously checking the time and address before other people arrived, despite knowing with full certainly he had arrived early. This circumvented all of that.
 
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There came a bit of a clatter from inside and someone calling, "Milo's here!" and a few more clatters. It took a bit longer than some would have thought for the door to open, and when it did, it was Xander holding Alec over one should.

"Hey, Milo. Come on in," he greeted him as if nothing were amiss. "We'll be ready in a sec."

"I am ready!" Alec protested, wriggling furiously. "Ow, your shoulder is really pointy!"

"Then stop wiggling!" Xander told him.

Alec half fell from Xander' shoulder, catching himself in time. He smiled happily at Milo. "Hi! This is a no-shoe house, unless you want to stand next to the door the whole time, but I'm sure-"

"He'll be fine," Xander cut him off. "He's been here before. Come on! Show me where you hid it!"

"No! No!" Alec fought back as Xander attempted to manhandle him. The results were Alec and Xander twisting around awkwardly until Alec ended up on the floor being dragged by one leg. "Nooooo!" he fake-yelled, pretending to claw the floor. "Enkidu, save me!"

"You wouldn't need saving if you'd stop stealing my stuff! Now walk before I drag you up the stairs!" Xander grumbled.

"It's not stealing if I meant to put it back! It's borrowing!" Alec protested but agreed to walk up the stairs rather than be carried.
 
"Um," Milo's eyes went wide and he took a step back, unsure of how to react to this and he stumbled over his words, "I--is everything... Um..." He knew he was allowed inside, but there was so much going on, it wasn't until Dark appeared from the doorway to ask him to enter that he scurried inside and took off his shoes, touching the salt as directed. After the door shut, he picked up his bass again, because he just felt strange leaving his things set down. After gathering enough of his wits to say something coherent, he asked, "What did, um, Alec take?"
 
"Fancy new bag I made for my online store," Xander told him as he came back down. "Someone ordered one, and that's the only one I have in stock. I gotta get it in the mail tomorrow before the mail goes out."
 
"Oh. I, um, hope he finds it. That seems pretty important." Milo replied, starting to set down and then picking back up his case. "Um, how have you... been?" He hated small talk. Why did people make small talk? What was he supposed to say?
 
"Terrible, but I'm working through it," Xander said blandly. "How about you?"

"I found it!" Alec called from upstairs. "Be right down, I lost my sock. And my phone. But I also found my favorite pencil!"
 
"Oh. I'm sorry." Milo answered, looking his head around the room, "I've been... okay. Things have been boring, which I guess is better than terrible. How did he lose his sock?" He asked, daring to take a step forward and turning his head up towards the stairs, and he was just about to suggest calling Alec's phone when he heard a jingle sound, "Did you get a cat?"
 
"I've stopped asking those kinds of questions," Xander sighed. He looked over when Milo asked about the cat. "Nope, not yet. Alec's been wanting one for some reason. I don't know why. You're hearing the mini wandering around. I guess someone put her down to see what havoc she's going to get into."
 
"Really?" Milo asked, his face brightening and walking towards the sound, grinning when he saw Ivy crawling around the floor, chasing after a toy, "Oh, wow," He turned towards Xander, "Everytime I see her she does so much more. Babies are so cool."
 
Xander smirked. "You're the first kid I've ever known to actually want to hang around someone's kid sister. But, yeah, she's pretty cool. Figuring out the whole standing thing still, but won't be long."
 
"I like babies," Milo shrugged, not quite daring enough to go over to where Daizi and Ivy were sitting in the living room, but watching from a distance, "You can tell them anything, and they don't care if you stutter or if you were talking for too long without remembering to ask someone else a question, they're just happy to be there. They're like a dog but with a monkey's brain. They have people hands." He looked at Xander, "When she's walking you need to always make sure your door is locked if you're changing, because babies don't understand privacy, and one of my cousins walked in on me once."
 
"Charming," Xander commented. He glanced between Milo and the living room. "Come on," he said, nudging Milo's elbow with his own. He walked into the living room. "Mama, Stitch wants to see Mini."
 
"Really?" Daizi asked, scooping up Ivy to stop her from getting too far away, causing some minor protests, "You're welcome to come in and say hello."

Milo looked quickly at Xander and then awkwardly followed him inside, sitting down on the floor some distance away from them, watching how Daizi turned Ivy around to face outwards. "Hello," he said in a gently voice, somewhere between baby-talking and speaking normally, "My name is Milo." After seeing the way Ivy curled slightly towards her mom when he started talking to her, he couldn't help but smile and saw, "Aw, you're a bit shy, huh? That's okay, I am too."
 
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