How Green Becomes Wood

Many months ago, but less than a year, Daizi remembered Alec saying, casual as anything, that it wouldn't feel right to be adopted by them. Now he had changed his name to hers. He and Xander were hers and Dark's, and nothing could ever, ever take them away. It didn't matter who tried. Raking her fingers through Alec's red hair, she was probably ruining his styling work but didn't realize. "I love you," She cried, "I've always loved you."

"Thank you," He repeated, taking the envelopes. Ivy's he stuck into an inside pocket of his suit jacket, but he held the other two in his hands for when the twins were ready to receive them. "I apologize," he blinked, casting his gaze around the courtroom like he was crawling back into reality. Ivy was fussing. She did not understand she was seeing happy tears. Cooger was trying to settle her. "It has... been a long time coming. A very long time." He bent, rapping his knuckles lightly on the table beside Xander, trying to catch his attention without touching him.
 
"I love you, too, Mama!" Alec rasped, tears running down his cheeks. His hair was completely ruined, but he didn't care right now. He hugged his new mother as if he was never going to let her go. She would never supplant his birth mother, but she was no less of a mother to him. She was a completely different type, and he felt lucky in a very strange way that he got to enjoy having not one but two mothers! Perhaps in less than ideal circumstances, but right now, that didn't matter. Perhaps even more importantly, legally, no one could ever try to take him away. No one could ever take Xander. They were safe! Safe forever unless they, themselves, chose to leave that safety.

Lance grinned and gave Dark's shoulder a quick congratulatory clap before turning to go. "I'm happy for you. If you need anything, you have my number." Then he headed out, leaving them to their celebration.

Xander jumped a little, but far less than if someone had touched him, and turned toward the sound. He looked up at Dark, dazed.
 
Daizi couldn't think of anything left to say. She couldn't hug Xander, so she hugged Alec as tightly as she could manage for the two of them. Eventually she'd have to pull away, but she was just too happy. Much too happy.

Since Dark was in no state to respond properly, Cooger murmured a goodbye to Lance on the family's behalf while Dark looked down at the other teenager. Slowly, he filled his lungs with what felt like new air before saying, "I told you."
 
Confusion crossed Xander's face as he stared up at Dark. "Told me what?" he asked, caught off guard. He tried to think back, but his might had decided it didn't want to do anything but hum happily and not present him with any past conversations.
 
"That it would be better for us both if we went to my home to argue, rather than continue to stand in the snow," He answered. Then after a moment, turning to see Ivy for a moment, "and I told you both. Nothing would make us not want you."
 
Xander stared at Dark. Then he let out a sudden laugh. "Yeah, I guess you were right," he agreed, rising from his seat. "On both accounts. Does it ever get old, being right all the time?"

The young man who'd shown them to their seats came up to them. "I am so sorry to interrupt, but there is another family waiting to be seen. I am afraid I must ask you to please make way for the next case. Please, accept my congratulations! I hope your family has many happy years together to come."

Alec reluctantly pulled away from Daizi and tried to wipe his eyes without smearing his makeup without much success. At least he wasn't wearing much. "We really should make way! We're standing in the way of another family's happiness."
 
Dark couldn't fight back a smirk at Xander's reaction, "No, it does not. Come on, let us go." When Alec pulled away from Daizi, Dark took her arm, lingering just long enough to dry her face and slightly manage to fix her makeup. Luckily, they had time before the party to fix themselves up. Then he took his daughter from Cooger and walked out of the court room as a family, the adoption certificate tucked safely into a folder he had brought for this purpose.

Once in the hall, Cooger finally took his moment to hug and congratulate all of them, "Glad to have the hard part behind y'all," He said, "We should talk about it literally anywhere but at the court house."
 
Alec squealed happily and hugged Cooger tight for a moment before letting him go. "This is the best day of my life!" he proclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

"Inside voice," Xander snickered.

"This is the best day of my life!" Alec whispered loudly, putting an arm around Xander's shoulders as they walked.

Xander grumbled his complaint but did nothing to actually escape.
 
Cooger hugged him back and patted his back, "Best day so far. Don't count yourself too early."

"I think we've said that before," Daizi smiled, walking with her family out into the October sunlight, "We have some time before the party, right?"
 
"We have about an hour, I think, or more?" Alec asked uncertainly.

Xander checked his phone. "Two hours before people are supposed to start arriving. We gave ourselves plenty of time since we weren't sure how long this would take."
 
"Two hours means we have just enough time to get ice cream," Cooger said, "I feel like you all deserve a private celebration before you have the big one. I mean, I'm not necessarily inviting myself, or nothing, I could run back to the house if there's anything you need done before they get there."
 
"What are you talking about?" Alec demanded, reaching out to snag Cooger's arm. "You're coming with us for an ice cream celebration! Right, Xander?"

"Damn straight," Xander agreed. "You're our odest-known family member, after all, second only to our parents. You should be there."
 
"If you insist," Cooger chuckled, nudging against Dark who rolled his eyes, delighted in his quiet way.

"I think it is only fair," Dark answered, walking towards the car and swiveling his head just enough to kiss the top of Ivy's head as she pulled at him, "He was my first family member, after all."
 
"See? Top-tier family! I wonder what kind of benefits that comes with?" Alec mused.

"Permanent invites to all parties and ice cream socials," Xander replied.

The twins waited until Ivy was in and buckled up before climbing into the car. They were already trying to decide what flavor they wanted for ice cream.
 
Sitting in the car, Dark and Daizi took a brief moment of quiet, squeezed each other's hands and then drove to the ice cream shop. On the way, coming out of his deep thoughts he said, "I still cannot believe you chose to take our names."
 
"We talked about it a lot," Alec said, glancing at Xander, "and with our respective therapists, and there was a lot of discussion about why we'd keep our original vs. taking yours and... well, with no disrespect to Cunningham, we felt that the name Wahid-Dark carries a lot more weight as far as familial connection goes. We have Aunt Ciara and our mother, but other than that, we have no actual connection to that side of the family. Everything we have from here on out is built up from nothing. With you, well... You are family, and Ivy was born our family." He wasn't sure he was explaining well, but he was trying.

"Plus, it's way cooler," Xander added.

"That too," Alec agreed.
 
"I'm going to start crying again," Daizi murmured, turning her face away and trying to keep herself together. She was not nearly hydrated enough for it.

"Well." Dark answered, only looking ahead at the road, "It is an honour. Xander Wahid-Dark. Alec Wahid-Dark. Ivy Wahid-Dark."

"Now we actually have to submit the paperwork to hyphenate our names," Daizi said, "We've not gotten around to it yet. It's only been a year."

"We have been busy."

"You literally changed your first name."
 
Alec giggled and tried to brush away his own tears without smudging more. "I guess it makes a weird sort of sense for you to not hyphenate your name and for all of your kids to have the hyphenated name."

"Or we could be the start of a whole new line of hyphenated names!" Xander grinned. "Ivy could keep it after she got married, her kids could have it, her partner could take it, the whole nine yards!"
 
Dark chuckled, "That would be ideal. We deserve a dynasty."

"Arab women don't actually take their husband's surname," Daizi mentioned, "so by hyphenating, I'd be breaking with tradition. It's a positive thing for my father, because otherwise I think he'd be torn between distress at me not keeping with tradition and thrilled that I don't have Dark's name as mine."
 
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