How Green Becomes Wood

"Thank you." Dark nodded, making a note on his list, "Be sure to do the baseboards before I have to mop, okay? We have to wash the stove, vacuum the couch... I have already done the ceiling fans, vents, the soap bottles... I want to go back around the door frames today, because dust lingers, tomorrow morning or after everyone is in bed tonight I want to reclean the kitchen and the bathroom down here..." He pulled at his beard, "We should brush Enkidu. Outside."
 
"Alec and I can do Enkidu after he gets back from friendshipping," Xander said.

"What am I doing?" Alec asked, coming in. "And, see, it didn't take very long. Such a fuss over a few things!"

"I could say the same for you," Xander grumbled. "Wanna help brush Enkidu?"

"After I get back?"

"Sure."

"Yeah, that sounds like fun!"
 
"When did you want me to take you there?" Dark asked, capping his pen and setting it back down as he leaned back in his chair, swiveling to look at Alec, "I have the time to, and I am glad to, I just need to know as I plan my day. And it is not a fuss, it is important. Really your room should always be clean, but--" He waved the sentence off.
 
"Right after lunch. We're meeting at that little bagel place," Alec told him. "It's just for light refreshments. We'll probably be there for an hour, maybe two, and I can get a ride back if you're busy."

"I can come get you," Xander said.

"You're going to be scrubbing baseboards," Alec pointed out.

"I might be done by then," Xander muttered.
 
"Okay," Dark nodded, dropping the legs of his chair back down and sighing, "No, tab3an," of course, "It is no problem to pick you up. I should run to the Arab market anyway, so."

As he exhaled, Daizi came around, setting breakfast on the table, and stopped just short of hugging him from behind, remembering they were now engaged in their bet. Instead, she squeezed his shoulder. Surely that was acceptable. "It'll be okay, Goose. I promise."
 
Alec smiled and touched Dark's arm lightly. "Ba, I know you are doing this to help yourself, but I want you to know that you keep a spotless, beautiful, tasteful house, and anyone who finds fault is just jealous. This place is amazing."

"We're still going to help you clean," Xander added.

"Oh, absolutely," Alec nodded.
 
"Thank you." Dark replied, drumming on the table with his fingers. Then he sighed again and moved like he was going to stand but Daizi handed him a cup of coffee, again stopping herself just short of kissing him on the temple. Maybe this would be harder than she thought.

"Are you going to do this all again on Friday?" She asked, sliding into her seat beside him.

"Yes."

"I know." Daizi smiled at him sympathetically, "At least we have Ivy, who is both distracting and easy to pin the blame on."
 
"Ba, can you at least let the baseboards go for Friday?" Xander asked. "I really, really think they'll stay properly clean."

"But if you really need them clean, we could do it," Alec offered.
 
Dark took a slow sip of coffee, "We will see how things are looking on the day."

"That's for the future to decide," Daizi promised, "I'll air out all of the windows, so the house smells clean, and tomorrow I'll make up Amty's bed for her and set up the bathroom for her. Cooger promised to pick up the cake and the decorations for us. Everything will be perfect. I promise."
 
"The house is going to be awesome," Xander said. Then he turned his attention to his breakfast and scarfed it down as quickly as he could without being a complete animal. He went off to put in the first load of towels and collect the bedding to be washed.

Alec ate less than normal but still a fair amount. It took him a bit longer than Xander, and he left to go tidy up whatever he could before he got dressed to leave. There was a lot of smaller things to do, and while he didn't want to work up a sweat or get too dirty before his date, there was still a fair amount of stuff he could do.
 
Dark finished his breakfast and then stood to get ready to clean. With a sigh, Daizi scooped up Ivy to keep her distracted while the rest of her family worked. She realized suddenly there was something she had meant to do with her husband the night before which they forgot to because of how emotional Ivy saying her name had made her, and she swore under her breath. This would be a long month.

For once, Dark didn't dress up to any real extent when it was time to take Alec. There wasn't the time, so he just pulled on a nice pair of pants and a black turtleneck so that he didn't feel sloppy but it'd be easy to change back out of when it was time to get back to cleaning.
 
"Thanks for the ride, Ba. I promise to help out more when I get home," Alec told Dark, watching out the window as they drove. "Oh, there it is! There it is. You can drop me off here."
 
"It is no worries, I only care so much about your bedroom because Amty Zeinab will be staying in it and I want her to be comfortable.
She is an old woman." He pulled over where he was told, "You have fun, Alec. Be kind to her. Get the door for her. Let me know when you are ready to be picked up."
 
"I know, Ba, and we'll make it as nice as we can for her," Alec promised. He opened the door and hopped out. "Yes, sir! I'll be on my best behavior. Bye!" He closed the door with care and then headed for the small cafe.
 
Dark nodded briefly to Alec as he stepped out and watched for a few moments. Truly, he hoped this went well. Alec's first real date, it was a big moment.

Exhaling softly, Dark took one final glance at the building and drove to the Arab market.
 
Alec took a deep breath and took off his coat, hanging it over one arm. He brushed down the dark brown vest over his cream-colored button-up shirt, pleased he'd been able to get out of the house without Xander realizing how dressed up he'd gotten. Xander had been curious about this meeting, but Alec had managed to answer his curiosity by saying he was going to be hanging out with some artist friends to discuss art related things. He hadn't asked any further questions, seeming appeased. He stealed himself and walked forward.

Emma was already waiting for him at a table near the window. She fidgeted with her cup nervously until she spotted Alec and waved to him. "Hi! I'm so glad you made it!" she greeted him as he walked in. "You look really nice. The muted tones really make your hair stand out."

"Thanks," Alec said with a shy smile. "You look good, too."

Emma blushed and twitched her dark blue skirt lightly. "You think so? I wasn't sure about the pink shirt. It's a wild color for me."


"I like it," Alec assured her.

Emma had ordered him a drink and a cookie, so they sat down together and tried to overcome their joint awkwardness.
 
At the Arab Market, Dark's main goal was to get all of the important non-perishables for the party, but also, primarily, Amty Zeinab's favourite snacks. She was his favourite of all of Daizi's relatives, and the closest he came to any loving, parental figure, because much like her grand-niece, Zeinab was everyone's loving, parental figure. So it mattered to him to treat her well.

As he went through the store, going through his list, his friend, or budding friend, who owned the store said, "You look stressed."

"I am always stressed." Dark grumbled, needing to squat to look at the lower shelves.

"More stressed," Khalil peered around the corner to see his giant friend, "Your wife's family is coming in, yes? For your daughter's birthday?"

Dark nodded, stretching back up to his feet, "Many of them, but not all. My father-in-law is."

"That sounds lovely, I am happy for you." Khalil smiled but Dark only grumbled in response.
 
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"So, you think the band is going to split up?" Emma asked sadly as she and Alec sat talking.

Alec nodded. "I've been looking for a backup guitarist or a bassist, but no one really fits. Some just aren't quite what I'm looking for, and some the people, themselves, just don't fit with our group. Peter would rather go full jazz, anyway, but he sticks around because there's not really any jazz bands and he wants to keep in practice even if it's a different style. I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth finding someone."

"I'm sorry," Emma said, touching his hand. "You are so cool in that band. When I see you up there, it's just so amazing! But I guess not everything can last." She sat back. "So, what are you going to do instead? What's your backup plan?"

"I don't really have one," Alec admitted.

Emma raised a brow. "No backup plan? Well, that's not very smart. You always need to have a backup plan. That way, you can always be secure, right? How about we come up with one together?"

"Alright," Alec agreed. "What should a backup plan look like?"

"Well," she tapped her second cup of tea lightly. "Clearly, if you're not sure finding a new member of the band is worth it, then music, or at least being in a band, is not actually as important to you as you thought, so maybe something else. You could try theater again. It has a lot of similar components, and you could even start getting paid to act if you're any good."

"That's a good point," Alec said slowly, feeling suddenly caught in a river.

She held up a finger. "Or! You have a strong tendency to overdo the makeup, which isn't great on the street-"

"It's not?" Alec asked, touching his cheek lightly in surprise.

"But works amazing for theater. A good makeup artist always has work!" she grinned. "You should try hawking your skills that way!"

"Yeah," Alec agreed. "That's not a bad idea."

"You should think about it," she urged. "You can text me later when you come up with a good game plan. Oh! Did I tell you about what happened to my dog the other day?"

"No, you didn't," Alec said, happy to accept the change in topic.

"My backup plan is to be an animal trainer and dog walker, and I've been working with my dogs," Emma explained.

Alec listened, nodding, truly impressed by Emma's drive even if her mannerisms were... strong in some ways. She had a very sharp way with words, but she didn't seem to mean them that way. She was being helpful! In her way. In all, she was a nice conversationalist. She talked about her own life and goals a lot, but she also asked Alec about himself. Eventually, Alec texted Dark that they were done. He walked Emma out to where her mother was waiting in the car to pick her up, and he made certain to hold the door for her and said a polite hello to her mother before they drove off. Then he walked along the sidewalk slowly and idly, just thinking as he waited.
 
"Ghalib, I think perhaps you shouldn't have left the country with your wife the day she was meant to get married" Khalil stated, resting his forearms on the counter.

"That was not my fault, I told her a week in advance of the wedding she should not be with him: She waited until the day of to listen to me." Dark countered, checking his phone when he felt it vibrate in his pocket. "Anyway it was over a decade ago."

"I'm not saying he should still hold the grudge, but I would be angry too. Not that it gives him the right to be cruel to you."

Dark snorted, "He hated me from when he first heard of me. That only cemented his fury."

"Every father hates the man who marries his daughter," Khalil shrugged, "And you were inconsiderate."

"I was romantic."

"You were trouble, no father likes that," Khalil glanced languidly at the door, "Bring a can of cat food when you come up, would you? I have to feed Haffez."

Dark exhaled heavily but did as he was told, "I have to pick up my son from his first date. I can only hope I am not about to meet more in-laws who will despise me." He set the shopping basket down, then the can of cat food, "You should not have named him Haffez."

"Do you expect to meet the parents on a first date?" Khalil asked, typing in the item codes himself, "Why not?"

"Not intentionally, but sometimes parents force themselves upon you," Dark grumbled, bagging the items as soon as they were added to the total, "Because you know as well as I do Haffez means 'the one who serves the master.' Cats will not stand for that, he will eat you in your sleep."

"That is why I keep him fed," Khalil laughed, "You know what'd help you? If you smiled more."

"Kol Khara." He handed his debit card to Khalil after the total was given to him. It was handed back to him along with two presents taped together.

"For your daughter, and your wife."

"Thank you," Dark nodded, tucking it under his arm as he lifted his bags, "Daizi will be delighted."

"Bring them back by the store again," Khalil called as Dark exited and then went about feeding the store cat, a long-haired behemoth with one white paw.

The drive back to Alec wasn't too long, and he pulled up as close to the teen as possible, not daring to get out, in case he'd be met with someone's mother, "How did it go?" He asked out of genuine interest when Alec got in.
 
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Alec hopped in and buckled up. "Good," he said thoughtfully. "She really takes an interest in me, and she was genuinely sad to hear that the band might work out. She was surprised that I don't have a backup plan. Did you you backup plans?" He glanced at Dark and then answered his own question. "No, most of the time you did not have distinct plans. Should I have a backup plan?"
 
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