How Green Becomes Wood

"That's interesting," Cooger nodded, "When I was a kid, I wanted to name my cousin Batman. I was really mad when they named him Jeremy. I'm never having kids, but if I had a daughter, I'd name her Lucy, after my Nana Lucille. She was a tough old lady, could hit you with her slipper from across the room. Like Bullseye, or something. But my folks wanted me to be lawyers like them, and 'bout lost their minds when I said I wasn't going to college at all, but Nana told me, 'Go where you have to, follow your arrow, lemme deal with your folks.' She was real proud when I bought this place."

When Alec picked up the rock, Cooger whistled and said, "Would you look at that! That's a pretty neat rock, you've got a good eye, kid."
 
Xander snickered. "She sounds really cool. I'm never having kids either. I'm never getting into any kind of a relationship, like you." He stretched, enjoying the wide spaces and fresh air. He didn't know if he wanted to live out in the middle of nowhere, but he definitely wanted to get out here more often. He felt a lot calmer out here.

Alec handed Cooger the rock. "Here, you can have it, if you want, unless you already have a bunch of cool stones." He glanced about. "I wonder if I can find one for Daizi."
 
"I used to be sweet on this woman who was a goat farmer, but it didn't work out for about a hundred reasons, so it's not really that I never got into any kind of relationship," Cooger told Xander, "I probably would've settled down if I met someone who made me feel the way Tarot apparently makes Dark feel, but I never met someone like that. And now I'm too content in this sorta life to want to change it."

He turned the rock over in his hands and then handed it back, "Nah, my little Sage. You keep it, or give it to Tarot. Doubt you'll find another turtle rock. Take it home, write the date on it in permanent marker or paint it or whatever. But keep it for yourself as a souvenir."
 
Xander nodded like he understood, but he didn't, not really. Dark and Daizi had given him a proper, healthy relationship to look up to and to model his own potential future relationships after, but he still didn't fully understand what made them work. It seemed like magic and really good luck. How did they actually make things like that work? He knew what it was supposed to look like, but how did you get there? How did Dark and Diazi work out and not Cooger and a goat herder? It was easier to just swear off relationships altogether.

Alec smiled and carefully tucked the rock into the breast pocket of his vest. "Thank you, Cooger. I'll take good care of it. I have a spot on the desk I can put it."
 
Cooger didn't know that Xander didn't understand, but even if he did, he didn't have any answers. It was just as confounding to him as it was to anyone. Dating was hard, relationships were harder, and he had even spoken closely with Dark about it, but everything Dark said about it sounded way too simple to be the truth. He wondered if maybe Tarot was right when she said she and Dark have been chasing each other through time forever, and that they were soulmates, and that was enough. They certainly seemed like soulmates.

"You don't have to thank me, you found the thing. But definitely keep it around, it's good to keep little mementos like that. They make good conversation starters later. I can't stand those empty minimalist houses you see sometimes, where they're designed to look like nobody ever lives in them? Like a soulless Ikea Showroom. You gotta keep random things around, it's human nature."
 
"I agree," Alec nodded. "But not too much stuff, then all the really interesting bits get lost, and it turns into a border house. A house should definitely be a home, not just a... a garage for your body when you don't need to be out and about. I want a house that's filled with color! Maybe a few pieces set out that I rotate through. That would keep everything fresh, but not overwhelming."
 
"Tarot's dad's house has some rooms where you feel like you shouldn't be allowed to enter them unless you've been powerwashed and even then breathing makes you feel like you're disrupting it. But you can have those kinds of houses if you have that kinda money. They've got those gates and everything, but unlike some of the people they know, haven't given themselves those grass lawns. She doesn't talk much about what her inheritance will be, but she's been saying for decades she's putting it all into philanthropy," Cooger said, really just making conversation as they walked, "A colourful house is nice. I'm not really an architecture person, and not really a design person either, but I do think it's cool to see how a person's home always really feels like them as a person. What about you, Xander? What do you want your future home to be like?"
 
"I'm terrified of meeting them," Alec admitted quietly and went off to study some ragged little wildflowers he'd spotted.

Xander looked at Cooger a little blankly. "I'm not really a designer, kind of like you, so I guess it's going to be a colorful one, like Alec said. I suppose as long as I get a corner that's not too bright, I'm happy with that."
 
"Nah, don't be. They're good people. Loud people, but good people. At their core, anyway. Her father can be a bit intimidating. Not in the way that Dark is, he's not the silent glaring type, and he's easy to read, but he interrogates you, but I think the only person he really hates is Dark. But fathers normally hate the man who marry their daughter, especially if it's not the man they wanted her to marry." Cooger explained, trying to be honest about them, "They'll immediately see you as family, though. I'm family to them, and I've got less of a claim than you do."

He glanced at Xander while Hank stopped to sniff the base of a tree trunk, "You plan to live together forever then?" He sounded almost incredulous, "Never try to see how it is on your own?"
 
"Never try to see how it is on your own?"

Xander's eyes narrowed as sudden tension rushed through him, chasing away the newly found relaxation. "No," he said, the word nearly coming out as a snap. "I don't need to be on my own. I don't need to be separate. I don't need to go flying down the highways on my own. I'm happy staying with my brother. You got a problem with that?"

It wasn't Cooger's fault. It had been a reasonable enough question, but, unfortunately, it was a question that had been asked in a more nefarious manner by another adult male. Cooger hadn't just poked a bruise, he'd jabbed a finger into a gaping wound that was struggling to heal.

Alec heard the tone of Xander's voice and hurried back, anxiety sparking in his eyes. "Is everything okay?"
 
"Woah, hey," Cooger held up his hands in surrender, "Didn't mean nothin' by it, my bad. I was just asking. You don't meet too many brothers who want to live in the same house all their lives, but if that's what you want, hell, more power to you. Whatever makes you happy!" He wanted to suggest a nice duplex or houses with a shared yard, because they were fun ways to live together without being in the same house, but it was obvious it was a sore spot, so he wasn't going to suggest anything.

Instead, he changed the topic. It was awkward, because he was trying to think of something quickly, so he ended up asking, "So, you've met Hank, you've met some of the other cats, and you've met Enkidu. Do you think you're a dog person or a cat person, knowing them?"
 
Alec stepped closer to Xander and took his hand, holding it lightly. When Xander glanced at him, he smiled gently. Cooger wasn't Declan. There was no harm in what he asked. It was just a question. Xander looked away, flushing faintly, but his shoulders relaxed. They weren't in danger here. Sometimes, it was hard to remember that.

Alec turned to Cooger, still holding Xander's hand, and said, "I'm not sure. Cats make me nervous for a really silly reason. When I look at Enkidu, it feels like something, someone, who wants to be with you and make you happy and wants to be with you. When I look at the cats, it feels like they are judging you and deciding if you are worth their time."
 
"Cats are judging you and deciding if you're worth their time," Cooger replied, nodding, "it's funny, I think. Dark has a dog, but he's a cat, and I've got cats, but I'm pretty sure I'm a dog. But I guess then it makes sense why we keep the opposite pet, because we're friends, so clearly we like hanging out around those personalities. And Dark's someone who needs a good dog personality to be around. Tarot's not a dog, but she's wild, and I mean that in the truest sense of the term, nobody's able to tame that lady. So with her being wild and me being a dog, we nearly made him into a functional human being."

He chuckled. Hank walked across some fallen branches, but deciding the walk was over for him, plopped himself down in the sun, "Now you two are your own people, 'cause you grew up not under his thumb, but that kid's probably either going to grow up a menace or the most normal person you'll ever meet. Scary to think about. Imagine them two raising a future accountant."
 
Alec looked a little confused at first. Tame? What did it mean to tame someone? Then he shook it off. He'd deal with that another day. He grinned up at Cooger. "Truly, she is going to be the most proper menace ever! So incredibly sweet and gentle and a menace. Daizi will see to that."

Xander paused to look back at Hank. He wondered what he and Alec were. Maybe feral dogs that were in the process of being tamed? He certainly bit the hand that fed him often enough.
 
"Yeah, she will. Dark's gonna have his hands full. He had his hands full just with her, I mean, do you know how they really started actually dating?" He stopped walking, "On second thought, that's not a story you'd want to know. The point is, she's always been like she is, and you two are teenagers, so you're a lot to handle by default, and now a baby raised by Tarot?" He whistled, "Man's going to have white hair by the time the kid can walk."

He chuckled, looking over at both twins, "It'll be fun for you both like it'll be fun for me. Cause us three? We don't have any real responsibility, we get to just have fun with it."
 
"That's true," Alec agreed. "We three can go ride on the boat if we want."

"We can feed her sugar and give her back," Xander smirked.

"We can play hide and seek with her and maybe take a nap while she finds us," Alec mused.

"Most of all, we can give her back," Xander nodded. "I'm not changing any dirty diapers. None of them."

Alec shook his head. "Not me, either! No way!"
 
"The best part is teaching her words she shouldn't know or other things that won't negatively affect her at all, but will annoy the crap outta her parents. When my cousin was sleeping over in my house, I'd trick him into going downstairs after bedtime asking for cookies. Or, you know, you could be nice about it and rearrange her toys so they look like they're having a meeting when she's not in the room, after she's old enough to enjoy Toy Story." He chuckled. It was his opinion that the best thing to do with babies was use them as a tool for mischief, and unfortunately for Dark, he suspected Daizi would behave similarly, although since it was her kid, she'd have to show some level of restraint.

When the twins spoke about what they wouldn't do, though, he slowed down a bit. He couldn't exactly blame them, although he had no choice but to be neutral on the whole diaper thing, since he knew, as an adult uncle, he'd end up changing a few, but also because he emptied too many litter boxes and helped too many people with their plumbing to ever make a fuss about it. But he was curious about how strong their conviction was, so he asked, "What if you know she needs a changing, and you can also tell they're both absolutely exhausted?"
 
"Nope," Xander said flatly. "No diapers. It's nasty."

"Well... maybe, I don't know," Alec said uncomfortably. "I mean, I don't know. I don't think so."

Xander shook his head. "She's a girl. I'm not changing a girl's diaper, absolutely not. I don't want to change a diaper, period, but especially not a girl's."
 
"Alright. I was just curious. Better let Dark and Tarot know you have a firm line on it, though, so they don't ask you to babysit for 'em," He wasn't trying to guilt them or anything, and even though he had some apprehension about having a niece, not a third nephew... "That's good, though, 'cause that means I'll get to babysit her," he was excited to get to teach their baby how to live. Really live, like only someone like him could teach a person.
 
"Maybe if it was an emergency," Alec said. "Emergencies are always special times, though, extenuating circumstances and all of that."

"Well, yeah, maybe an emergency," Xander agreed. "Short-term babysitting is fine, but Dark's already made it clear he's not putting that kid down for five seconds unless she's sound asleep." He looked around. "Where are we? Are we still near the cabin?" He wasn't at all worried, just a little disoriented.
 
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