How Green Becomes Wood

Dark hugged him back, "It is only an appointment, nothing to worry about. I will see you after work." He released Alec, held up one hand, and then went outside to the car, driving to whatever his appointment was.
 
"Suspiciously vague," Alec remarked but went to go get ready for work. It took him a while, and when he finished, he went to find Amty Zeinab. "What is your favorite flower, Amty?"
 
"Oh, I love jasmine," Zeinab smiled, bouncing Ivy, who had easily warmed up to her great-great aunt, "and I can't help but have some affection for the Lotus. What's your favourite flower, habibi?"
 
Alec giggled. "They do have a bright vibrancy to them!"

Xander walked into the room tossing his keys in one hand. "Time to go. Ready?"

"Ready," Alec said. He hugged his mother first. "I'll see you after work. And you, Amty, and you, Ivy!"
 
"We'll be here," Daizi replied, squeezing Alec into a hug, "Tell your uncle I said hi, okay? You both have a nice time."

After the twins left, Zeinab called Daizi over and squeezed her in one arm while holding Ivy in the other, "Good, now I have time alone with my two favourite girls."
 
When Xander dropped Alec off at work, Alec went in and found Tristan talking with a customer. It took him half a second to locate the customer as they were also in a wheelchair. Theirs was much sleaker than Tristan's with no arm rests, and the wheels angled in slightly. The face caught Alec's attention most of all. Daizi's face was asymmetrical, but this person's entire looked like some kind of rubber mask dreamed up in a prop and costume factory with one large divot and several smaller lumps in odd places. One eye was smaller than the other and did not seem to have sight. They were smiling at Tristan as they used their hands to make shapes and indications, and Alec realized with a start that they were using sign. He'd never seen it done in real life before. It was fascinating. Tristan watched and slowly signed back, his hands tripping over themselves as he worked out the signs. The customer laughed and shook their head, correcting Tristan on one of his signs.

Alec cleared his throat as he approached. "I hope I'm not intruding, but I wanted to say I'm here, sir."

Tristan looked up and smiled. "Hello! Alec, this is Pat. Pat, this is my nephew, Alec."

Pat smiled and gave a little wave. "Nice to meet you," they said, their words thick and slurred slightly but easy to understand. "Tristan mentioned you before. You are a good worker!"

Alec smiled shyly. "Thanks! I do my best."

"Can you do your best to help me get him into a new chair?" Pat asked with a lopsided grin. "He won't leave that old hospital hearse!"

"I like arm rests," Tristan defended with a smile. "At least my sign is coming along."

Pat nodded jerkily and looked up at Alec. "I was born deaf because of a tumor in my brain," they said, indicating their head with one hand. "I know sign better than speaking, but now I have an implant and can hear in one ear. Tristan is terrible at sign but better at speach, so we try to meet in the middle."

"It is a lopsided middle, I am afraid," Tritan apologized.

"Aw, you get better!" Pat said cheerfully, giving a wave of their hand. "I should go now. My bus will be here soon. Don't want to miss that! It is long way to roll."

Tristan chuckled and gave Pat their purchase, a small African violet nestled in a small bowl. "Be careful not to crush the leaves." He made a few signs in farewell.

Pat laughed and returned the signs. "Have good day!"

"I met Pat during physical therapy a few years ago," Tristan told Alec as Pat rolled out the door. "They promised me that if I could get a story up and running, they would buy one plant from me each month. They have always kept their promise. Except one month when they missed out because they weren't feeling well. They said they weren't well, but I think it was because I was out of stock of violets."

Alec giggled and tied on his apron. "That might have had something to do with it. So! What first? Oh, and Mama says hello."
 
At home, Daizi gladly snuggled up against her aunt and the pair of them read books to Ivy until it was her nap time, at which point Zeinab looked at her grand-niece and said, "You should also get some rest."

"No, I'm okay, Amty. I want to spend time with you."

Zeinab clicked her tongue and rocked up onto her toes to cup Daizi's face in her hand, "We have plenty of time together. But you run around all of the time, you need to go rest too. How are you going to host a big party on Saturday otherwise? Go."

"You'll be bored."

"No," She said, patting Daizi's cheek, "This is the most quiet the house has been in days, and the most quiet it will be in days, you take advantage of it. Your boys are away, your baby is asleep, there is nobody here to take care of. You go rest, I'm ordering you to."
 
Xander, meanwhile, was brushing out his horse, Mudslide, while talking with his therapist. He unloaded about everything he was feeling about Saladin while they warmed up Mudslide to work, and she listened without judgment, nodding quietly as she let him verbally process. She didn't need to say much, at least not at first, but having a responsive ear was helping him work through everything. Better to leave it here in the warmup pen then to take it home. When he finished, she talked, discussing with him ways to handle what was happening and methods to calm down in the moment. The way he felt was valid, his desire to protect someone who'd protected him was fully natural, but it was also important to show respect for someone and treat them kindly no matter how they were acting. Not because they'd "earned it," but because it reflected on who Xander was. That did not equal being a rug for other people, there was a time and a place to stand firm, but she did warn him to take great care and caution with how he did it. They both agreed Daizi's relationship was the most important thing, and if it could be saved it should be. Beyond that... It was on Saladin and his behavior.

After a good, deep talk, Xander took Mudslide to the arena where they started working. Mudslide was a young, energetic horse who still did not fully trust Xander or anyone else. He was mischievous and enjoyed pushing boundaries, but he also genuinely seemed to like working and especially learning new things. It was an interesting challenge, and Xander did sometimes find himself getting frustrated, but then he reminded himself to look at it like a puzzle. Mudslide was an ever changing puzzle to be solved, that was all.
 
After Daizi had been in her bedroom for awhile, Zeinab slipped upstairs. First, she gently snuck into the nursery to check on Ivy, and after assuring herself the littlest one was fully and completely passed out, she crept into the main bedroom.

"Daizi," She murmured quietly and when the figure in the bed didn't reply, she came further into the room. Walking up to the bed, she watched as Daizi tossed restlessly and then pulled the blanket back over her where it had slipped and bent to kiss her head. At least she was sleeping, Zeinab thought, caressing her niece's hair and recalling when she was only a baby. "Life has never been easy for you," Zeinab whispered, "but you are so loved."

She stayed by her bedside for a little while longer and then set about the rest of the house, doing what chores she could manage. Oh, she'd need her own rest after this, her bones didn't find it as easy as she once did, but it was worth it.

At exactly six-thirty, Dark parked outside the flower shop and debated going inside before ultimately deciding to just text Alec he had arrived. He wasn't exactly dressed to see the public, at least not by his own standards.
 
After a few minutes, Alec came out with two bouquets carefully wrapped up in brown paper. He got into the car and buckled up before handing Dark a cosmos flower that was a deep, moody red color. "Thank you for picking me up! Here, have a floor flower."
 
"Thank you," Dark replied, taking the flower and reached behind him to lay the flower in the back seat so it wouldn't become crushed, but he was a bit stiff as he did so, "How was work today?" His hair was slightly messed in the back, but it was obvious he had tried to smooth it back down.
 
Alec eyed him narrowly. "It was good. I met a friend of Uncle Tristan's. They're trying to get him to do a different kind of wheelchair. Theirs did look more mobile. Were you working out at the gym?"
 
"You could have had an appointment at the gym," Alec pointed out. "Was it another tattoo? Would your hair get that messy with a tattoo? Maybe a massage? I don't know if he'll switch. He says he likes arm rests, but I have noticed they kind of get in the way when he's pushing himself around."
 
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