How Green Becomes Wood

"Something everyone seems to notice in the past year when it was never a problem before," Xander grumbled. He tapped on his desk for a bit before digging out a stress ball - this one bright pink - and handed it to Milo. No hard feelings. He was annoyed, but no hard feelings. He'd get over it.
 
Milo shrugged one last time, not knowing what to say about that because he hadn't known Xander that long. Murmuring a thanks for the stressball, he picked it up and began to squeeze it as class started.
 
Class went by smoothly, and soon it was time to move on to the next class. And then the next. And then they were free! Xander took his time getting ready to go, in no rush to get anywhere specific even though he did have things he needed to do.

Alec chatted with friends as he passed, enjoying the new sense of community and returning to that community. He hadn't realized he'd missed this over the summer! Adults must really miss the forced proximity to their friends.
 
Soon enough it was the end of the day and Milo was finally free to go home. Sloan had practice after, because she was seldomly not busy, but she loved it and was more than ready for more of it. Still, she made sure to say goodbye to the twins when she passed them by on her way to her car.
 
"I'll talk to our parents about you coming over this weekend," Xander told Milo as they walked toward his bike. It was kind of in the same direction as the parking lot. "Do you want to stay the night? Just asking if you want to. If it's too much trouble, they'll say no."
 
"Oh, I dunno." Milo replied, rubbing the back of his neck, trying to figure out if he'd find it awkward or not. On one hand, it could be fun, and it'd make his grandparents happy that he was being normal. But on the other hand, what was he supposed to do if he realized he didn't actually like it and felt overwhelmed, "Could I, um, think about it?"
 
"Sure. I'll pitch as a possibility to them. Then they can tell me if it's a flat no or not just as a possibility," Xander told him. "And if you hate it, I can give you a ride back home whenever. I don't mind. But no pressure if you don't want to. Just lemme know. You want a ride home?"
 
"Alright. See you later." Xander turned and headed for the car while Alec hurried to catch up.

The trip home was quiet as they both sat sorting through their day. It was nice to be able to decompress a little before reaching home. They pulled into the driveway, and Alec climbed out first, dragging his backpack behind him. Xander led the way into the house and called out a greeting as they walked in.
 
"Marhaban," Dark called from the kitchen, just outside of the view from the hall, "Spider, can you--please,"

"No, just stay still!" She replied, pleading, "Just let me get it. Hi, darlings! Goose, come back here!"

"I am trying to cook--"

"If I don't get it, you're never going to let me get it!" She huffed, and from the sound of it hopped slightly, "Stop being so tall!"
 
The twins hesitated and glanced at each other. To know, or not to know, that was the eternal question. They raised brows and made faces at each other before doing a quick game of rock, paper, scissors. It took mere seconds. Then they kicked off their shoes, left their backpacks by the stairs, and walked into the kitchen, bracing themselves for what was to come.

"What's for dinner?" Xander asked cautiously.

"Too early for dinner. Snacks," Alec corrected.
 
Daizi was standing by Dark who was, apparently, attempting to do something with dough, but Daizi kept jumping slightly at his back with one hand on her shoulder for leverage, trying to pull him away from the counter top, or at the very least get him to bend down. In her other hand, she had a pair of tweezers, "Tell your father to stop being so tall!"

"That is really not something I can control." Dark said flatly, moving out of the way when she jumped at a bad angle and almost slammed her head into his face, "Just let me finish this."

"No, because then I'll forget, and then when I remember, you'll be in the middle of something else, and then you'll tell me to wait, and then I'll never get it! Just let me get it!"
 
Tweezers. What could a blind woman want with tweezers? Did she feel an extra pointy hair in the wrong place? They watched in fascination as she hopped while Dark never missed a dough beat.

"Ba, you really should stop being so tall," Alec said as seriously as he could manage while still being highly confused.

"What are you trying to get?" Xander dared ask.
 
"He has one of his pinfeathers!" Daizi huffed, jumping up again.

"I do not have pinfeathers."

She tried pulling him backwards again, "That's what they are, and they're annoying, and I need to get it!"

"It is not even hygienic to be plucking at my face while I am cooking," Dark pointed out.

"Well if you would just sit down then you wouldn't be cooking," She replied, putting her arms around his waist to try to move him that way, but he was too solid... and too stubborn. "You aren't the one who needs to deal with it!"

"It is, in fact on my face."
 
"I can't believe I'm asking this," Xander muttered before raising his voice. "What exactly is a pinfeather when it is not on a bird?"

"Is it a stray beard hair?" Alec asked cautiously.
 
"He gets these hairs that are multiple hairs growing out of one follicle, so he gets these super hairs that are extra thick and coarse and scratchy, and I hate them. His beard is really soft except for them." Daizi replied, resting her forehead against the middle of Dark's back. Then she sighed forcefully, "And they're really, really fun to pull out."

"I never said you cannot, I said not now," Dark reminded her, really just enjoying her frustration.

"But you'll forget if I wait! And then I get stuck dealing with the horrible, scratchy thing!" She replied, trying to tug him back one last time.

Dark looked down at her, "I think you are teaching your children a bad message by not accepting my answer."

"You want it for yourself! You want to be the one to pluck it!"
 
Xander glanced at Alec. "Is this the weirdest argument we've heard them have?"

"If it's not, it's really close," Alec replied.

"I thought so." Xander watched Dark for a bit. "Normally I'd leave you two at it, but I want to taste whatever he's making, so how about I keep an eye on him for you, Mama, and remind you of your.... pinfeather ordeal when he's finished? Alec, you take the tweezers, and then when you two are ready, you can fight for the tweezers not over dough."
 
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