How Green Becomes Wood

When her brothers came downstairs, Ivy was in her high chair, making odd noises and playing with her food moreso than she was eating it, despite attempts to corral her. Dark and Daizi also did their best to keep the atmosphere light, while giving space to their obviously upset son.

When he said he didn't think he could go, Dark empathetically said, "I will call you in because it is a Friday, but Monday you will need to go."
 
"M'kay," Alec agreed without much spirit. Monday was too far away to even consider. All he knew was that right now, he wanted to go back to bed. He stood up to do just that.

"Do you want me to stay?" Xander asked. Education and parental desires be damned, if Alec wanted him, he'd stay.

Lucky for Xander's education and parental relationship, Alec shook his head. "I'll be okay. You go. Mama and Ba will be here, and someone has to get the homework."

"Okay," Xander agreed, watching hom suspiciously.

Alec headed upstairs, changed back into his pj's, and crawled back into bed.
 
It was very good Alec told Xander he didn't want him home, because that would've been a step too far. It was a break up, and yes Alec was hurting, but it didn't require everyone to stay home to care for him. Xander had gone to school while Alec stayed home after much, much worse events. Side-stepping what was bound to be a fight made both adults relax slightly.

"It is very good it's a Friday," Daizi said cautiously, trying to feel out what sort of conversation they were ready for that day.
 
Xander watched Alec go before turning back to breakfast. Yes, he'd gone to school after much worse, but he'd always felt like he was abandoning Alec. After all this time, he still could not shake the idea that he needed to look after him. Besides, it was "just" a Friday, and there were no tests, quizzes, or other important things scheduled for today. Of all the days to skip, this was a good one. Not to mention, he had a niggling fear deep inside that Alec might go much, much worse. Neither of them had ever broken up with someone, not properly, so all he had to go on were his mum's break-ups, and those had never gone well, not even when it was her choice to leave. Xander wanted to stay because he was afraid. Whether or not his fears were justified, he didn't know.

"Yeah, not much going on at school today," Xander said. "Might need to call Uncle T, though."
 
"Cool. Thanks." Xander bolted his food and cleared off his area before getting ready for school. Once ready for school, he made a detour to give Ivy her daily fistbump goodbye. "Don't try to eat the cat, okay, Mini?"
 
"All right, then. Later. Hope there's still a cat when I get back." Xander gave them all a wave and headed off to school. He wondered if Sloan would want to confer with him, and he also wondered if Becky would still be trying to candy-up Milo.

Kiki, for her part, was very confused. She'd come down to see the twins off like she normally did after her breakfast, but she hadn't seen Alec go upstairs. As far as she could tell, only Xander left, so where was her human? She looked up at Dark and Daizi and mewed for answers.
 
As soon as she got to school, the first thing Sloan did was try to find the twins, not knowing Alec wouldn't be there, because although she wasn't sure she was meant to know Alec had gone through his break up, she wanted to convene and learn more about the events.

~~

"What is the matter, Kiki?" Daizi asked, reaching down one hand to her, "It is quite the unusual day for you, isn't it? You're still just learning."
 
Xander spotted Sloan and raised a hand to catch her attention as he walked toward her. "He decided to stay home today," he told her once they drew up even with each other. "Seems pretty low. Relationships, man."

~~

Kiki rubbed up against Daizi's hand and then trotted toward the door and investigated the shoes. Alec's shoes were still here. What did this mean? This was not how things worked. The two humans were supposed to be gone most of the day and then come home. Everyone else came and went, and the shoes said when they were home. So. Why were these shoes here? She stood inside one shoe and mewed at Daizi, hoping for an explanation.
 
"Yeah, it kind of sucks," Sloan replied, "It gets easier, once you get over the shock of it. Especially if you're the one who broke up. But it's sad at first. I mean, unless they really really sucked and you're glad to be free."

~~

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're asking," Daizi said, lifting Ivy up out of her high chair while Dark began to clean up.

"Go say hello," He told the kitten, "Alec will be glad of your company."
 
"Yeah. Ba said something about mourning what could have been." Xander glanced around, looking for specific people he recognized. "Alec said she really didn't take it well. I'm wondering if she came to school or not today."

~~

Kiki wandered around the feet of the tall people, meowing sadly for a while until she decided that the humans were not listening to her. Or they did not understand her. She turned and trotted upstairs, hopping up the stairs determinedly. Once upstairs, she looked around and went to her room. (The Alec's bedroom.) Alec moved, shocking her. She poofed, her legs spreading wide. Then she realized who was up on the bed. She meowed and hopped up, scolding him for scaring her.

"Hi, Kiki," Alec said with a faint smile. "You're not used to seeing me home, are you?"

Kiki settled down, finding her favorite spot and nestling up to Alec. Her person didn't seem to be feeling well. She would help him feel better. Alec put an arm around her and closed his eyes. Her presence did make him feel a little better.
 
"If she said anything nasty to us, it'd speak volumes," Sloan replied with a shrug, "but I don't think she would. I mean, what would she say? 'You bastard, how dare he choose you, his brother, over me, someone he met, like, six months ago?'"
 
Xander frowned. He hoped that wasn't the case. He liked having Milo hanging around. It was grounding. If Becky was annoying Milo to the degree that he was going to stay in hiding, Xander would have to do something about that. "Maybe he's just running late."
 
"Yep. He's a skittish fellow," Xander agreed, feeling even more moody now. No Alec, no Milo... Only Sloan, and they shared no classes for obvious reasons. He tried his best to shake off the thoughts. "How's the gymnastics going?"
 
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