How Green Becomes Wood

"Cool." Xander pulled out his phone and texted Milo that if he wanted to come for the weekend, he could, and that Saturday would be the best day if he wanted to stay the night, but otherwise all days were open, and he was welcome to play with Ivy.

"He's going to love that!" Alec grinned.
 
"Who is going to love what?" Daizi asked, coming back into the room with Ivy on her hip.

"One of Alec and Xander's friends is interested in spending time playing with Ivy," Dark explained, double checking he had started the timer for his baking before coming over and saying hello to his daughter.

"Really?" Daizi asked, "That's sweet. Ivy, do you want to make a new friend?"
 
"Of course she does! Don't you, Ivy? You want to play with new friends?" Alec grinned, following Dark to say hello to her. "Did you have a good time at the park with Enkidu?"
 
Ivy squealed and babbled, having absolutely no idea if she should reach out to her father or her brother, because both were so exciting to see.

"Are you done baking, Goose?" Daizi asked innocently.

"It is in the oven, I still need to clean everything up," He answered, smoothing down Ivy's hair. It was getting long for a baby, but she had been born with nice hair, so he supposed it wasn't shocking. It made her even cuter than she already was, and she was distracting enough, Dark didn't think twice about his answer.

"Sit down, then."
 
Xander snorted very quietly so Dark wouldn't hear and left them to it. "Not wrapped around her finger my toe," he muttered in amusement. The Dark he knew would never abandon cleaning up after himself. It looked like she'd stolen him completely. So, Xander set about cleaning up the kitchen for Dark. He'd gotten enough practice that it was easy to do now.

Alec waited until Dark smoothed Ivy's hair and then ruffled it up good. "She's so happy to see you!"
 
Dark, truly, had only intended to go say hello to Ivy, "Hummingbird, Baba needs to go do his dishes."

"No," Daizi huffed, "That is not what our agreement was, and this exactly what I was talking about. Let me finish cooking first, well I let you, now it's Let me do my dishes, next it'll be I want to spend time with our daughter, and then it'll be dinner, and then those dishes, and then Enkidu, and then I get my face scratched up."
 
Alec presented Daizi with the tweezers, placing them in her hand. "Hurry! While Ivy's got him pinned!" He went around behind Dark and held him gently by the shoulders. "I've got him, too! Hurry, Mama! For the sake of your face!"
 
"Sit down, babe." Daizi commanded, taking the tweezers.

Passing one hand over his face--and, admittedly, feeling his 'pinfeather' and understanding Daizi's frustration, Dark sighed heavily and acquiesced to her demand and took a seat, holding up his hands to prove that he wasn't going to try to run. Satisfied, Daizi passed Ivy off and then straddled Dark's lap to keep him still and started ruffling through his beard to find the offending hair, and to make sure there was only one. Then, finally, she took the tweezers and pulled out a shockingly thick hair out of his beard and kissed his cheek before getting off his lap. The entire time, Dark looked slightly up at the ceiling, not knowing where else to direct his gaze with his son standing around while his wife held him down like that.
 
"Hmm, well, this is awkward," Alec remarked, looking away from Dark and Daizi with a blush. He turned Ivy away, too, even though she wouldn't get it. "Still, that's an efficient way to pluck a hair!"
 
"He squirms otherwise," Daizi complained, "and then he gets mad if I pull the wrong hairs. If he just learned to sit still, there wouldn't be this problem." She stood, holding the tweezers with the hair out to Alec, "Look at this thing. Look at it. And he acts like I'm overreacting for wanting to remove it as soon as I notice it."
 
Alec let out a long, low whistle. "That is some hair! Good gracious, that's a thick hair! Good grief, that's like four of mine! Any of my hairs! No, you are not overreacting at all."
 
"I know!" Daizi exclaimed, "It's horrible! If you roll it apart with your fingers and break it, it explodes into a dozen! That's why I need to remove it!" She strode briskly into the kitchen, satisfied with her war-prize, "Xander! Look at this hair! It's a horrible, evil thing. I swear he fought against me pulling it because he's a selfish, selfish man who wanted to pluck it himself!"
 
"Explodes?" Alec asked in shock, but Daizi was already gone. So, he gave Ivy a hug and held her out to her father. "Wanna go to Ba?"

Xander finished drying the last dish and turned to squint at the hair. "That's a pretty gnarly hair, alright. What are you going to do with it now? Keep it?"
 
Dark rubbed his face where the monster hair had been pulled. Daizi was incorrect in her assertion he wanted to pull it for himself, it was much more satisfying for her than it was for him. Shifting, he took Ivy into his arms, kissed her on the head, and then said, "Alright, my darling, now that Mama is no longer harassing me, I do actually need to clean up, but sweet Ivy can help."

"I'm just going to throw it away, but I needed you both to know I am not crazy for needing it to be gone." She replied, bringing the hair to the trash, "Imagine you wake up and feel that hair against your cheek."
 
"I think Xander's almost done, actually," Alec pointed out. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you hung out with Ivy a little longer."

Xander stopped short as he considered what she said. "There would be so many things that would have to happen before I'd get to that point," he finally stated.
 
"Did he?" Dark asked, turning his head towards the kitchen, "I had not noticed because of my wife forcing tweezers into my face."

"In this one case, marriage is hell." Daizi replied, putting the tweezers back in with the rest of the first aid kit.
 
Alec snickered. "I have homework to take care of before my class, so I'd better get to that. I'll see you later!" He sprinted up the stairs, chortling about tweezers.

Xander rubbed his chin contemplatively. Then he shook his head and moved on. "Did you get your satisfaction, at least?"
 
"Honestly?" Daizi asked with a little laugh, "I hate feeling them so much, but when I finally get him cornered and can pull them, I wish there were more. It's really fun. I think if I could see, I'd probably bother his skin a lot more by trying to get at blackheads and whatever. But he takes such good care of his skin, that's probably not even an issue for him."
 
"I've never seen a blackhead on him," Xander told her. He finished up the kitchen and dried his hands. "I need to go get some stuff done before I give Alec a ride to his class. See you for dinner."
 
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