How Green Becomes Wood

Alec yawned so hard he felt like his jaw was going to fall off. "Alright. Now that we have that settled, I think it's bed time. Or at least lay on my bed and pretend to sleep while watching fish swim in my head time."

Xander snorted. "That's a long time. But we could both use a shower. We smell like fish tanks."

"True. We do. It is a very unique scent," Alec mused.
 
"You have to shower too, Goose, I'm not sharing a bed with someone who smells like a fish tank," Daizi replied, removing her legs from his lap and nudging him up. "I'll put Ivy to sleep, we can save her bath until tomorrow."

When Daizi came back to her bedroom after lying Ivy down for bed, she climbed into bed and found her husband stretched diagonally across it on his back, with his head down at the base. As she found the spaces where he wasn't, she laughed softly and said, "This giant bed and you still manage to take up all of it."

"Darling. There is plenty of space still," He replied, extending his arms to either side of him to demonstrate, even though she couldn't see it.

"What are you doing?" She asked, unable to snuggle beneath the covers because of how her husband was lying in the bed.

"Just thinking."

"About what, Goose?"

"Some of the people we met today," Dark answered, folding his arms beneath his head, "There was a woman who asked me if I was babysitting. She told me the word applies not only to people caring for someone else's child, but for men taking care of their own children. She told me it is not in a man's nature to be nurturing."

"I can't stand when people believe that," Daizi sighed, "and I don't like she put those beliefs onto you."

"I suspect she felt she was complimenting me, but it did not feel like one," Dark replied, "and then, there was this man who was out with his two children, and they were not the most well-behaved children but that is not the children's fault. He clearly just... did not like them. And he did not want to spend time with them or try to really parent them. And he expected me to feel the same way as him. He thought I had been stuck with our children, almost like it was a punishment. And I just... I do not understand it."

"I think a lot of people have children because they think they are supposed to, or..." She tried to reason, but she struggled with it too. She had just began to stay how, unfortunately, a lot of men aren't raised with the expectations to be parents when Dark, still staring up at the canopy said with sudden force and passion:

"Daizi, I love being a father."

"I know you do, Goose," She said, smiling and scooting so she could lie down beside him.

"I cannot explain how much I love it."

"You don't have to," She smiled, shutting her eyes and savouring the moment. "I love getting to parent with you."

The pair of them fell into silence, both thinking their own thoughts as they lay side by side, hardly touching each other but savouring the moments. Then all at once, before he was even aware of it, Dark began to cry, still lying there flat on his back with his head down by the foot of the bed. Immediately, Daizi was sitting up with one hand on his chest, asking him what was wrong, but he couldn't find the words to describe it. It was like everything in his body was aware of something his mind was not.

It passed quickly enough, especially with his loving, patient, gentle wife stroking his hair, murmuring comforting words, and doing her best to not cry right alongside him, and the last thing he recalled before falling asleep was Daizi pulling the blanket over them both like they were swaddled.
 
Monday was a new day for a new week, and so far, everything seemed to be going well. It was nearly lunchtime, and so far, classes had gone smoothly, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Toby had even snuck in a skateboard somehow and was riding it like he used to. No one seemed to care too much yet. Maybe he'd get caught later, but for now, it was funny to see him gliding along gracefully.

Xander sat in the cafeteria with a book open. He was currently alone as Peter was eating with some of his other friends, and Alec was a few paces away, talking to Austin and Becky about a homework project. It wasn't one they were working on together; they were just comparing notes and trying to figure out the best approach. At least, that was what Becky and Alec were doing. Austin looked completely lost and like he vaguely regretted being a part of the conversation, but they were including him just enough so that he didn't feel he could leave. Xander was taking the opportunity to eat his veggie sticks in peace and read a book. The dust jacket said it was for Calculus, but if one were to look at the page, the title at the top read, "Zoroastrianism: An Introduction."
 
Xander glanced up when Sloan approached and started to act as if to hide the book, but when he realized it was only Sloan, he relaxed. "Eh, nothing much. Just some old, nearly dead religion," he said. He glanced toward Alec and his friends, but they were still talking. "How was your weekend?"
 
"Average reading material." Sloan replied, looking weirdly at him for a few moments, "My weekend was fine. I don't really have anything new going on, I'm in the gym most of the time. What about you?
 
Xander grumbled and pulled the book closer, but didn't close it yet. "Pretty good. Went to the aquarium with our dad. It was pretty cool. I'm not sure he's ever gone before, or, at least, it's been a while. It was pretty cool. Sea lions and mermaids and stuff."
 
"Kind of took us by surprise, the mermaid thing, but they were really good. Did you know there's a dude mermaid?" Xander asked.

Alec finished up his conversation, finally, and turned to walk toward the table as Becky and Austin dispersed.

"Crap," Xander muttered, realizing he didn't have time to casually hide his book. He closed it and picked up his backpack. "Sloan, can you talk to Alec for a bit? Now?" he asked urgently.
 
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