How Green Becomes Wood

"Becky is interested Conner, but Conner is interested in Lacy, and Lacy knows Becky likes Conner, and Lacy doesn't care about Conner, she likes Austin, but she's still leading Conner on as if she might give him a chance. Austin doesn't have a clue about Lacy or Becky and is only interested video games and the gaming club."
 
"Well, I think he's. Total tool and not worth it, but Becky thinks he is and has made a couple of passes at Brian, Lucy's ex, to try to get back at her. The success of that attempt has not yet been established," Alec huffed. "It's so ridiculous! I mean, it's not like he's even on Abby's level. I don't see what she sees in him."
 
Dark shook his head, "Connors never are worth it. Brians are on thin ice. And you can trust me on that." He had personally never dated a Connor, but he had dated people who had, and he had seen many in his time. "Although, I hope Becky learns it is not worth it to fight with other women over men." He looked at Ivy, "I am also talking to you, my darling girl. Men are not worth it."
 
"That very much depends on the woman. Daizi is. I have been with many women who are not. But men and women who are worth it do not play games anyway, and if you ever find yourself having feelings for someone who plays games?" He looked at Alec seriously now, "You deserve better than to be in that mess." He squeezed Alec's shoulder one last time before letting go, "She is upstairs. I actually think she was making sure her harp is tuned."
 
It was such a serious thing to say, and Alec actually paused to consider it. He wasn't sure he knew what to say to his father, but he did take him seriously. Then he smiled and said, "I'm going upstairs, then. There's a lot to do before I even get to my homework!"
 
Alec headed into the music room to see his mother, and of course he had to fill her in on all the latest school gossip and drama. He was not actually fully invested in the gossip, but it did amuse him, and he liked that now he was finally a part of the school enough to hear about it.

Xander came down after a while to work on his homework. He sat on the floor next to the coffee table and set to work, grumbling as he did so.
 
Daizi laughed about the drama and took it less seriously than Dark did, although to his credit, he tried to be fun about it. Sometimes she stopped playing altogether just to listen to him, grinning brightly as he spoke. They couldn't do this as mucy as they used to, but it never stopped mattering to her.

Before Xander had come downstairs, Dark had started to play with Ivy on the floor, and not long after her brother had sat down, she quickly jingled over to him, trying to grab curiously at his homework.
 
Alec soon settled down to playing with Daizi, soaking in the time that he got to spend with her and loving every second of it. Playing with her was so much fun! She was so lively and fun! And playing with her was different than with the band members.

Xander glanced down at Ivy and let her have some pieces of paper and an unsharpened pencil. He talked to her about what he was doing, his tone grave and serious, sometimes nodding along with her babbles.
 
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The vast majority of the songs Daizi liked to play were passionate and dramatic and haunting. She hardly knew a single pop song, but she played ballads, the sort you needed to howl to if you were going to sing them properly. In music, as in all aspects of her life, she felt everything deeply and entirely.

Ivy gladly took one of his pencils and proceeded to chew it like a dog, but listened intently, sitting right by his side like his personal, drooling assistant.
 
Alec threw himself into the music, loving every note. It was so different from his normal, and yet it felt so right. There were times when he never wanted these music sessions to end.

Xander nodded to Ivy and talked to her more, explaining what he was doing and the steps he was taking as he did them. He knew she couldn't understand a word of it, but it strangely enough made him feel connected to her. It was dumb, but it felt good, so he kept going for as long as she appeared interested. It certainly made homework more interesting.
 
Being able to play the harp without tiny baby hands grabbing for the strings definitely made the process of making music easier. And getting to have other instruments melding together made it so much more enjoyable. And it was nice to hear what Alec was able to play, he had learned a lot since she first began teaching him.

Downstairs, Ivy was looking up at Xander with bright, loving eyes. She babbled at him, and still sometimes tried to grab at the page, but mostly she just watched him. Dark sat back, ready to intervene if it looked like she was at risk of ruining Xander's homework, but he was impressed with how well he was explaining it--it meant he really understood the content.

Gradually, as Ivy watched Xander, she began to lean against him, still looking up at him with her love-filled eyes.
 
Xander was focused enough on his homework that he didn't realize Ivy was leaning on him at first. It was not until he started to turn, looking for something, that he felt her weight against him. He froze, suddenly conflicted. Should he do something? Pull away? Say something? He tried to calm himself. It was okay. She was just a baby. She was only touching clothes. It was going to be okay. He fidgeting with his pencil and stopped explaining his Math history to her.
 
When he stopped talking, Ivy scooted slightly and looked up at him curiously, trying to figure out what had changed. She made a cute, confused little noise at him and touched his paper again, not sure what had happened.

"Ivy," Dark said gently, able to see the problem and trying to gently redirect her without going in and tearing her away. "Come here, baby."

Ivy looked over at her father but then up at Xander again, making the same sound.
 
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Xander took a deep, shaking breath. Please don't cry.. please don't cry. He carefully inched himself to one side, trying to achieve just a little space between himself and Ivy. Please don't cry. "So, you see," he forced himself to say, his voice shaking, "we need to find the factorization of the number if we want to make a proper grid."
 
To her credit, Ivy did not cry. She was able to tell there was something she wasn't used to, and she could tell Xander was sad, but she was confused about what had happened. So, for a third time, she made her soft little noise and gave him her biggest smile, watching him closely.

Dark, meanwhile, moved closer in so he could grab Ivy in case she tried leaning in again.
 
Xander focused on his breathing for a moment. In and out. He was safe. In and out. There was no threat. In and out. The problem had been resolved and could be again. Feeling a little more stable, he managed a little smile at Ivy. "You really like homework, don't you?" he asked her. "Can't wait to do your own? It's okay. You'll get your chance soon enough."
 
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